Carl Matthes: Apparenlty, Republicans want politicians to control all the wombs in the nation. And, they don’t care if women are raped or hurt to make their point.
American Racism Past and Present
By
Sharon Kyle: 20 years after Los Angeles erupted in civil unrest, still with major differentials in employment, housing, healthcare, education, and wealth between whites and blacks, are we sitting on a powder keg again?
Being American Means Never Having to Say “I’m Sorry”
By
JP Sotille: Never, ever does America apologize to other nations—no matter the cost of the carpet bombing, the toll taken by weapons of mass destruction, the suffering inflicted by propped-up dictators or the futures stolen by artfully-packaged adventurism. Never.
Political Ads Work If Citizens Don’t
By
Charles Hayes: If most Americans lived up to Thomas Jefferson’s expectations about attaining the knowledge required of citizenship, thirty-second political ads would be a waste of money.
Independence Day, For Some
By
In 1852, former slave and legendary abolitionist Frederick Douglass was invited to give a speech at a 4th of July event to commemorate the signing of the Declaration of Independence.
Founding Wisdom
By
Nick Capo: According to Jefferson, freedom and liberty rely on the existence of an educated citizenry, one difficult to manipulate, while economic growth relies on the continued advancement of human knowledge.
Ideological Amplification: When Ideology Turns Toxic
By
Charles Hayes: Ideological amplification in politics is analogous to conflict-ridden emotion on steroids: the only purpose served is to move each side further and further apart.
First Amendment of the United States Constitution
By
Elizabeth Knipe: Of course, this most free-wheeling of all the Amendments in the Bill of Rights is probably the most controversial. The old saying, one man’s poison is another man’s remedy might apply here.
You’re Not Supposed to Be Happy
By
Tina Dupuy: The whole idea of a democracy is accepting you’ll never fully get your own way in government.
What Will It Take to Bring Obama Home? Civics 101
By
Sharon Kyle: Progressives are asking what it will take to get the President to support the issues he ran on. My answer, the country needs to take Civics 101.
Welcome to the “Inland Empire”
By
Ron Wolff: The “Inland Empire” is a vast stretch of land east of Los Angeles County inhabited mostly by cacti and Republicans, characterized over the years by brazen political corruption (the most recent former San Bernardino County assessor used the office as a political headquarters when he wasn’t high on meth or participating in rehab) and the intellectual analysis of issues on a level of sophistication that would make any fifth grader proud.
Out of the Ashes, We Can Build a Strong Progressive Movement
By
Tracy Emblem: The lesson from Tuesday is simple. Democrats must be unified and elect real progressive democratic leaders that stand up for the people on the nation’s issues.
The 4th of July
By
In 1852, legendary abolistionist and former slave Frederick Douglass was asked to give a speech at an event commemorating the signing of the Declaration of Independence. Known for his extraordinary oratory skills, that speech became one of his best known pieces and stands as a reminder that the 4th of July does not hold the [...]
‘Well, That Freedom Ain’t for Me’
By
Berry Craig: The show featured a slave mother’s explanation of the Declaration of Independence to her young son. “…Freedom isn’t something that these men plan on giving us,” she said. “…All of this talk is about them getting their freedom, or more freedom because they’re already free….I told him, ‘Son, these are the same men that will beat Negroes nearly half to death…They call us, who God has created, their property…No, son, these men will not free you. And my son looked at me and said ‘Well, that freedom ain’t for me.’
Gunning for Obama: A Modest Proposal
By
They are sending a not-so-veiled threat to Obama, So you want to be like JFK? They want him to stop going down the path to what they call “socialism”―you know, the kind that failed in Western Europe. Or was it Eastern Europe. Whatever.
Right-Wing Sedition
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In 1798, during the Quasi-war with France, Congress, with President John Adams’ support, passed the Sedition Act. Outraged by attacks on her husband, Abigail Adams supported the act, which was opposed by Thomas Jefferson and James Madison, among others. “Let us not establish a tyranny,” wrote an alarmed Alexander Hamilton to an ally in Congress. [...]
Irish and Black Americans: Have the Parallel Lines Finally Met?
By
Irish immigration to America discrimination On this St. Patrick’s Day, with a black president in the White House, it is interesting – and maybe even somewhat inspiring – to look back on the way the Irish-American and African-American stories have coursed through our history on parallel lines, each struggling against terrific prejudices and slanders. In [...]
Obama: Historical Immortality at 47
By
The moment when Hillary Rodham Clinton suspended the state-by-state roll call vote she had demanded, moving for the 2008 Democratic Convention to nominate Senator Barack Obama by acclamation, was extraordinary. Network cameras, inevitably, zeroed in on African-Americans, young and old, beaming, as tears poured down their cheeks.
A Condolence Letter, Part 2
By
When we left the conversation between former presidents George Washington and Thomas Jefferson, they were commenting on a condolence letter regarding the demise of the United States of America, as written by today’s American Insurgents, (like our founding fathers) today known as Progressive Americans. The two great men have returned to the subject of the [...]
A Jefferson for Obama
By
A hornet’s nest was stirred up recently by my public endorsement of Obama as our next president and then again with my recognition during a speech at University of Virginia of the cousins in my family who are descendants of Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemings. (As a member of the Jefferson family at large, I [...]
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Does the First Amendment Separate Church and State?
Is Thomas Jefferson’s famous phrase “wall of separation between church &
state” too broad an interpretation of the First Amendment? Historian Jon
Butler argues that original intent of the First Amendment was even broader
than that.