The OJ Simpson Verdict, Jury Nullification and Black Lives Matter: The Power to Acquit
The nation is, once again, caught up in the OJ Simpson trial because of two riveting series that revisit the case. The FX mini-series, American Crime Story, and the ESPN documentary, OJ: Made in America, provide their audiences with a level of detail and sociological interpretation that can only be achieved 20 years ...
You Tell Me: Trump and the Politics of Denial
No-Rule: Thinking about Obama v. Trump Through Hannah Arendt and C.L.R. James
Barack Obama delivered a rousing speech at the recent Democratic National Committee Convention in support of Hillary Clinton’s bid for the Presidency. At the crescendo of the address, Obama exhorted: “We’re not a fragile people. We’re not a frightful people. Our power doesn’t come from some self-declared savior ...
Jo Freeman Captures the Republican National Convention
Noted feminist, political scientist, and photographer Jo Freeman went to the Republican National Convention. Amongst the madness, Freeman managed to capture a humanity rarely seen on the political stage. It's a reminder to us all that, at the end of the day, the foundation of our nation's political economy lies with ...
The 1950s, American Greatness, And Trump’s Brand Of Nostalgia
If you’re unfamiliar with the advertising firm of Ogilvy & Mather, consider this: What James Madison did for the US Constitution, Ogilvy did for advertising. Ogilvy was a champion of pragmatism and a fierce romantic, a combination that made for advertising that reflected the cultural fantasies of the ...
A Kurdish Paradox in Turkey’s Wine Country
It is June and I’m in Elazığ, a city of just over a quarter of million in eastern Turkey. Streets bustle with families and packs of young men clutching their tespih or prayer beads. It is a modern city, but at its height in the 1930s and 1940s, Elazığ served ...
An Open Letter to John McCain
Patriotism, Nationalism, Exceptionalism
You’re Fired!
Donald Trump and the History of Failure
Ridicule is Donald Trump's most prominent rhetorical strategy. Like the schoolyard bully, his attempts to humiliate and dominate others seize on a snippet of public identity, physical appearance or personal history. You can access many of these taunts on his Twitter account: in case you don't want to sift through ...