30 Oct, 2022
Hammers are for building, not harming
Antifa comes swarming into the street, hurling full soda cans at cops and at windows, believing they alone have the right to "burn it down," ala Pol Pot, start over, Year Zero.
15 Oct, 2022
Democracy is an act of moral imagination
Shortly before he died, Congressmember and human rights activist John Lewis wrote a farewell to his fellow citizens, declaring: “Democracy is not a state.
13 Oct, 2022
Putin’s on the ballot
Putin’s on the ballot by Tom H. Hastings 478 words Really, everything’s on the ballot. We hear that reproductive rights...
11 Oct, 2022
Dictatorship? Raise hands
Show of hands: Who wants the US to be a dictatorship? Ah, no one? Well, almost no one. We see your hand, Mr. Trump.
27 Jul, 2022
Remember when it wasn’t normal to punch flight attendants?
“It didn’t matter if it was coming from the left or the right, you should condemn violence 100 percent of the time.” I sat upright when former Deputy Press Secretary Sara Matthews said this during the July 21 January 6th committee hearing.
11 Jul, 2022
21st century citizenship: Four civic skills we need to keep our democracy
As primaries roll out around the country, we’re tracking voter turnout. Raised on Schoolhouse Rock’s cartoon civics lessons, I know that being a good American means voting.
15 Jun, 2022
Is our democracy at risk? Actions we all can take to protect it
“The threats became much more specific, much more graphic, and included not just me by name but included members of my family…” ...
2 May, 2022
Primaries test the violent dishonesty of the right
On April 21st I went to the Top Notch Diner in Cortland OH. Senate candidate Josh Mandel appeared with retired General Michael Flynn, former National Security Advisor in the Trump administration. I listened to Flynn tell the crowd “The election was stolen,” and Mandel brag about being the only candidate in his race to call out the theft.
24 Mar, 2022
The deep connections between democracy and nonviolence
In recent weeks, leaders and commentators here and abroad have rightly framed Russia’s brutal aggression against Ukraine as a struggle between autocracy and democracy.
11 Mar, 2022
Finding our Inner Ukrainian
As we watch Ukrainians defend their country from a brutal onslaught, many of us are seeking ways to engage. We’re donating money, lighting buildings with blue and yellow, analyzing President’s Zelensky’s inspiring leadership.
25 Feb, 2022
Truckers, tractors, and Ukraine: What do they tell us about democracy?
Amidst pictures of the new war in Ukraine, the U.S. is anticipating photos of truck convoys arriving in the Washington D.C. area, protesting many issues including vaccine mandates.
25 Jan, 2022
Unions Must Help Salvage Democracy
If you’re a Texan with a disability, and you need someone to help you fill out your ballot in a polling place (it’s gotten more complicated for you to get a mail-in ballot), your assistant must fill out a document indicating his or her relationship to you...
14 Jan, 2022
Destroying Democracy: China in Hong Kong
On July 1, 1997 the United Kingdom formally handed Hong Kong over to China under an agreement that was supposed to give Hong Kong 50 years of autonomy: “one country, two systems,” Deng Xiaoping promised.
6 Nov, 2021
Vote back better
My Dad skated for the Minnesota Gophers hockey team after he finally got done serving “for the duration” in World War II in the Philippines. So, of course, he was our coach as we PeeWees tried to learn to play hockey in Minnesota in the late 1950s. As a coach, one of his favorite go-to instructions to us was, “OK, team, back to the basics!”...
7 Oct, 2021
The Thread of Truth
In my college days I was a conservative republican. I voted for Barry Goldwater, and Ronald Reagan. But I gave up on the party during the presidential election of 2008...