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Joseph A. Palermo

Professor, historian, author

The Worst Congress Money Can Buy

The Republican-controlled Congress is not "dysfunctional." It would "function" perfectly well if there were an occupant in the White House who gave the Republicans everything they wanted. With divided government they act like petulant children. Voices in the press decrying "dysfunction" render invisible the corporate oligarchy that has bought off the institution. Whether attacking Planned Parenthood and women's reproductive rights, trying to privatize everything from the Veterans Administration to the U.S. Postal Service, handing over Social Security to Wall Street, selling off federal lands, obstructing everything President Obama does, or the million other hidden giveaways to banks, corporations, and the NRA -- all these actions drive home the point that we have the worst Congress money can buy.

Setting the Record Straight from Berlin

These stories of people from China, Somalia, Mali, Sudan, and Tunisia -- testaments to the impact, importance and diversity of global cinema -- have been smothered in the U.S. by the volume of attention given to five words of mine at an opening press conference, which is too bad.

Meryl Streep

Actress and activist

The Same Person Cannot Serve as Prosecutor and Judge in the Same Case. The Supreme Court Needs to Say So

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Every so often, a state judge's conflict of interest in deciding a particular case is so extreme and antithetical to fundamental fairness that the Supreme Court needs to step in to cleanse the taint.

Dorothy Samuels

Senior fellow at the Brennan Center for Justice at New York University School of Law

Two Superpowers We Wish We Had

Gatesletter.com

For billions of families around the world, the challenges of energy and time are very different from ours -- and these challenges have a huge impact on their ability to realize their potential.

Bill Gates

Co-chair, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation

Melinda Gates

Co-chair, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation

We Can Handle the Truth: The Facts on Alzheimer's

Michelle Haymoz Photography via Getty Images

Almost all of us (96 percent) have heard of Alzheimer's disease. Nearly four in five of us know, or have known, someone that has been diagnosed with it. But even with all of that first-hand experience, we aren't doing much about it.

Maria Shriver

Award-winning journalist, bestselling author and leading Alzheimer’s advocate

Black Lives and Blue Uniforms on Campus

Shutterstock

The relationship between black lives and blue uniforms is one that demands our attention if we are going to make progress toward a tomorrow where liberation is achieved. Under the radar of what many are talking about now, is the relationship that law enforcement on college and university campuses have with the surrounding community.

Dante Barry

Executive Director of Million Hoodies Movement for Justice

Pentagon Acts Like Both a Business and a Church to Keep the Money Rolling in

ColorBlind via Getty Images

Not much incentive -- if any -- exists within the Pentagon to play down the threats it perceives itself as facing. Like a business, the Pentagon wants to enlarge its market share and power. Like a church, it's jealous of its authority and stocked with true believers.

William Astore

Writer, Professor, Retired Lt. Colonel, Air Force

No, LGBT People Aren't Exempt from Donald Trump's Blatant Bigotry

There's been a theme among some gay Republicans that implies Donald Trump isn't so bad on equality for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people, or is at least better than most of the other GOP candidates. It's absolutely false -- he's as extreme as Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio.

Michelangelo Signorile

Queer Voices Editor-at-Large, The Huffington Post

Tim Cook Is Securing Steve Jobs' Legacy With Encryption

ASSOCIATED PRESS

There has to be a point in the evolution of consumer privacy (or its disintegration) where we can no longer lower our standards as fast as our situation is deteriorating. When it comes to our privacy we really have to stand firm -- and Tim Cook is doing that.

Adam Levin

Author of Swiped. Former Director New Jersey Division of Consumer Affairs; Co-founder of Credit.com and IDT911

The Supreme Court Vacancy and the Constitutional Responsibilities of the Senate

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Republican members of the Senate Judiciary Committee announced that they will not consider any nominee put forward by our nation's president. This is unconscionable. If they carry through on this threat, it will be directly incompatible with their solemn responsibilities under the U.S. Constitution.

Geoffrey R. Stone

Edward H. Levi Distinguished Service Professor of Law, University of Chicago

'Middle-class' Manufacturing Jobs Pay Fast-food Wages

ASSOCIATED PRESS

With thousands of jobs being added in the past few years, people everywhere are praising the industry for rebuilding our economy and the middle class. But as those of us who work at auto plants know, that's not the full story.

Renee Fenderson

Auto parts worker

Why Progressives Shouldn't Celebrate the Decline of the Evangelical Vote

David Meaders via Getty Images

What progressive wouldn't relish the thought of Donald Trump as the Republican nominee? But there should be no sugarcoating the long-term dangers that an irreligious Republican party presents.

John Compton

Assistant Professor of Political Science, Chapman University

What Debate Moderators Must Know Before the GOP Telemundo Debate

As Republican presidential candidates prepare to take the stage in the only RNC-sanctioned debate on a Spanish-language network, here's what I believe the debate moderators must keep in mind on Thursday night

Dolores Huerta

Co-Founder of United Farm Workers, President of the Dolores Huerta Foundation, Board Member of People For the American Way

You Don't Need Film School to Make an Award-Winning Movie. Trust Me

Katharine Emmer

I never had the dream to be a writer or a director or anything else I learned to do on this film. I just wanted to act. But no one was giving me a job. I wanted my voice heard, and I was willing to do whatever it takes.

Katharine Emmer

Actress, Director, Writer, Producer & Editor

War, What Is It Good for? Absolutely Nothing.

AHMAD AL-RUBAYE via Getty Images

Unless you consider an expanding series of failed states, spreading terror movements, wrecked cities, and countries hemorrhaging refugees as accomplishments, in these years, no goal of Washington -- not a single one -- has been accomplished by war.

Tom Engelhardt

Editor, TomDispatch.com

Campaign Press Adopts the Trump Rules -- They're The Opposite of the Clinton Rules

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Switching back and forth between MSNBC and CNN last Thursday night as they aired competing, hour-long interviews with Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump, viewers ran the risk of whiplash. The threat lingered not just because Clinton and Trump were on opposite ends of the political spectrum, but because the tone and tenor of the two events seemed dramatically different.

Eric Boehlert

Senior Fellow, Media Matters for America

Modi Is Using Nationalism to Deflect Attention From His Failures. Don't Be Fooled.

DIBYANGSHU SARKAR via Getty Images

NEW DELHI -- Modi is using the nationalism card to deflect political discourse away from his failures. He has lost key state elections, the economy is faltering and there is a palpable sense that he is unable to deliver. And the situation may soon get worse. The next general elections are in 2019. Who knows how many of us are going to be arrested for sedition, called terrorist if we are Muslim or beaten up by lynch mobs before then.

Shivam Vij

Journalist

How to Uncover a Military Conspiracy

ABC News/YouTube

Soon after I began reporting on the military, I uncovered something quite disturbing: that thousands of our wounded soldiers are being discharged from the military not for their injuries but for "personality disorder."

Joshua Kors

Investigative Reporter, The Nation

Beating Trump Not So Easy

Win McNamee via Getty Images

Donald Trump just won his third primary, taking Nevada with a commanding 46 percent of the Republican vote. If you take a look back at his campaign so far, you will see a long trail of wishful Washington thinking that was proven wrong and had to be tossed to the side of the road.

Chris Weigant

Political writer and blogger at ChrisWeigant.com

The Hardest Part of My Divorce Has Nothing to Do With My Marriage

Margaret E. Jacobsen

Divorce isn't for the weak. Hell, it isn't even for the strong. You can think you're prepared and ready, but it still won't ready you for what's to come. My own divorce has thrown me completely for a loop.

Romper

A new generation of women figuring out what motherhood means for us.

The U.S. Has Lost Its Damn Mind

Bloomberg via Getty Images

In any properly functioning society, Apple would get adulation for standing up to a government trying to do this. But do you know what Apple got for taking this principled stance? They got sh*t piled on them. Sh*t piled on them by people like this clown.

James Allworth

Coauthor, 'How Will You Measure Your Life?'

Pakistan's Military Threatened Me After I Wrote a Book About Its Army

ilyast via Getty Images

Pakistan's military and intelligence agencies are waging a nasty war on U.S.-based scholars whose writings and public statements undermine cherished narratives promulgated by the army that has dominated Pakistan's governance for most of the state's existence.

C. Christine Fair

Associate professor, Georgetown University; Author, Fighting to the End: The Pakistan Army’s Way of War

How Can Black People Trust Hillary Clinton After the 2008 Campaign?

james rucker

If we support Clinton in the primary now, without confronting this history, it excuses and rewards this behavior, affirming that there is no political cost to throwing Black people under the bus, and making it more likely that Hillary Clinton and other Democrats will continue to use racism for political gain.

James Rucker

Activist, Entrepreneur, Co-founder of ColorOfChange.org and Citizen Engagement Lab

31 Practical Ways to Love Grieving Families in the First Few Days

PeopleImages.com via Getty Images

When my son died, I didn't get a manual on what to do. I didn't get an orientation into how to be a grieving parent. So when some people asked how they could help me and my family, I really didn't know. For those that want to help, here is a list of 31 ways you can provide practical and timely help to grieving parents:

Melanie DeSimone

Shepherd, wife and mother of four amazing children

What Nobody Will Tell You About Virtual Reality

Science fiction films and books have created a hunger for Oculus-style, head-mounted displays (HMDs) and "immersive" experiences, but does wearing a pair of goggles really have more power to transport us? Based on my 10 years of experience in the field I don't think so.

Steven Schkolne

Caltech VR PhD, internationally renowned artist, and 3dSunshine founder

What I Wish I Could Tell My 20-Year-Old Self

Sam Edwards via Getty Images

Do what you say you're going to do. Tell the truth.

Faye Nagy

Mommy. Former Corporate American. New Freelancer/Risk-Taker. Foodie. Traveler. Spiritualist. Simple Living Learner.

Obama Wants This Court Fight

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Senate Republicans have given him absolutely no reason to play nice with them nor observe the asinine gentility that obfuscates the partisan rancor of that institution.

Eoin Higgins

Writer and historian

After Protesting at a Trump Rally, I'm Being Targeted By Islamophobes

CNN

As a hijab-wearing Muslim woman, I garnered a lot of media attention. The coverage and response was overwhelmingly supportive and encouraging. However, there was some vile chatter that attempted to paint me as a possible terrorist.

Rose Hamid

Co-founder and President of the Muslim Women of the Carolinas

Oscar Favorites -- 2016

Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP

This year, I saw every one of the 31 nominated feature films and 15 nominated shorts. Here are my random comments on most of the categories.

David Wallechinsky

Editor-in-Chief, AllGov.com

Moms and Dads: You Can Get Healthy Sleep Too!

Blend Images - Inti St Clair via Getty Images

Most parents don't realize that symptoms such as snoring or consistently waking up in the night could be a sign of a more serious medical condition. Preschool is the peak time for sleep issues and these are things you should be on the lookout for.

Karleigh M. Creighton

Sweet Dreamzzz PR Coordinator. Passion for writing & media.

The Most Exhausting (And Magical) Part of Being a Single Mom

Katie Mitchell

It's easy to get tired of being the glue that holds together this delicate balance. The chauffeur, the chef, the maid, the tutor, the event planner. But without all of these things, I'd have no front row seat to their lives and the million subtle ways they grow and change with every experience.

Katie Mitchell

Composition instructor and writing center director

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