May 16, 2021Mandela vs. the Mayflower: Why Americans Should Care About PalestineMy family on both sides can trace their lineage back to the pilgrims in 1620, who fled religious persecution in England to settle what would become the United States. My mother’s grandmother was even born with the last name Standish (as in Myles Standish, the captain of the Mayflower and…Israel8 min readIsrael8 min read
Feb 18, 2020Member-only10 Reasons Not To Vote for Mike Bloomberg1. Bloomberg’s History of Racist Policing Policies One of Mike Bloomberg’s biggest lasting legacies as mayor of New York City was his record expansion of the policing policy of “stop & frisk” tactics. Under Bloomberg, the strategy of temporarily detaining “suspicious” individuals and searching them without a stated cause was largely…Democracy12 min readDemocracy12 min read
Feb 9, 2020Can Anyone but Bernie Even Win?Edit: clearly, this article ended up being untrue, as Biden became the nominee and beat Trump. …Democrats8 min readDemocrats8 min read
Sep 4, 2019You’re Using the Word “Fascist” WrongI spent the past summer participating in regular weekly protests at my local farmers market in Bloomington, Indiana as part of the group No Space for Hate. Perhaps you’ve heard of them. If not, the controversy started when an FBI investigation (confirmed by subsequent in-depth research by activists) revealed two…Politics6 min readPolitics6 min read
Jun 28, 2019Member-onlyAll That Glisters is Not Gay Pride: Pinkwashing and Rainbow CapitalismIn the years since Obergefell v. Hodges, the Supreme Court decision which legalized same-sex marriage, pride month has become awash with rainbow-printed products and logos. As a community, queer folks are lucky in a sense because supporting us is becoming profitable, so the support rolls in. However, if we aren’t…LGBTQ6 min readLGBTQ6 min read
Jun 2, 2019The Ungodly Privilege of “Vote Blue No Matter Who”In the fall of 2018, when Indiana was debating whether or not to reelect Senator Joe Donnelly, I had a discussion with a friend at a party, explaining that I was likely going to abstain from voting in the senatorial race because I did not feel either candidate had earned…Politics7 min readPolitics7 min read
Mar 23, 2019Beware of “Populism”Political science scholars have a term that is used in the field to describe both Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders, Brexit and Jeremy Corbyn, France’s National Front and Italy’s Five Star Movement. This concept, called “populism” stretches, somehow, from Latin American decolonization movements to Hitlerian Germany — commentators use it…Politics5 min readPolitics5 min read
Feb 18, 2019An American’s Guide to AusterityHaving grown up and studied political science in the United States, I am continually baffled by the fact that the word “austerity” largely exists outside of our political vocabulary, especially considering how our political system, like that of the United Kingdom, is so rife with austerity policies. …Politics4 min readPolitics4 min read
Feb 11, 2019I’ve Been Inside AIPAC. Ilhan Omar is Right.I am one of the few people in the world who is an alumni of both the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) and National Students for Justice in Palestine. If the acronym AIPAC sounds familiar to you, you’ve probably been paying attention to the controversy surrounding Minnesota representative Ilhan…Israel9 min readIsrael9 min read
Feb 4, 2019Every Argument Against Bernie, RefutedDisclaimer: This story refutes personal attacks against Bernie Sanders as a candidate and a person, not his individual policies. I touch on broad ideological concepts, but not the details of each stance. …Bernie Sanders24 min readBernie Sanders24 min read
