Tag Archives: HUFFINGTON POST

  “You’re transitioning from one body to another. From one gender to another. But it’s more than that. I’ve always been the same up in my head. Deep inside I’ve always been the same person. But my body - it was just different. And I wanted to make corrections. I wanted to change myself so I felt more comfortable. And I felt more comfortable in a woman’s body. And that’s who I truly was. I wanted

  After Seth finished his final exam, he walked up to the front of class and handed me a letter. The last sentence alone made all the difference: “I learned a lot about Congress, American history and the true nature of politics – but I also learned what I am capable of. And how I can use that to help others.” As wonderful as this was to read, there was a deeper admission within his lette

  The failure of the U.S. Congress to pass any meaningful gun-safety legislation in the wake of mass shootings is driven by far more than the heavily covered left-right ideological split in both our country and our U.S. House and Senate. This unremitting failure to legislate is also the result of rules that allow for structural defects to exist in Congress - defects that thwart the will of an overwhelming maj

Retirement. Boehner’s no-brainer. He welcomed Pope Francis, and then made his announcement even before His Holiness had left the country. The Speaker was just sick and tired of navigating the political minefield that is the U.S. House of Representatives. And who could blame him.   Now everyone expects the page to turn. But as it does, we see plenty of hand-wringing about who will grab the gavel as the

  Two debates down, and just look at those Outsiders go. Look at the Doc and the Face and the Narcissist increase their gains on the 13 other GOP candidates who have all previously held positions in elective office. One of these Outsiders will fix everything once they become president - just ask ‘em. The wisdom of inexperience. All they’ll need to do is bring their brilliant Outsider perspective and skill

  We know it will happen at some point. The option to make adjustments to our Constitution is part of our civic warranty as U.S. citizens, and we’ve been doing it for more than two centuries. Yet whenever someone debating campaign finance reform goes so far as to suggest ratifying a constitutional amendment to reduce the flood of money in our political system, the idea is typically dismissed as nearly im

  The professor shuffled into the classroom on the first day of his economics course looking the part: bespectacled, bearded, wearing a dark sports jacket with a button-down sneaking out of a crew neck sweater. But it didn’t take long to realize that Woods Bowman was anything but your typical professor. This was back in 2001, when I was enrolled in DePaul University’s Public Service Master’

  [caption id="attachment_709" align="aligncenter" width="820"] The girls of “Maine Girls,” a new documentary co-directed by Yael Luttwak and Abigail Tannebaum Sharon.[/caption]   “I think post-election, I wish that everyone across the whole country could have the opportunity to be in a group like this - where you get to meet people from all over the world. People who’ve live in the U.S. th

“The test of a first rate intelligence is the ability to hold two opposed ideas in the mind at the same time, and still retain the ability to function.” – F. Scott Fitzgerald From as far back as the founders, there has never been an expectation that our national government would personify the kind of “first rate intelligence” described above by Fitzgerald. But throughout our history, the fact that our

Hillary Clinton has been repeatedly quoting Maya Angelou along the presidential campaign trail, imploring voters to believe the first impressions they received from Donald Trump. But with under eight weeks to go, and three upcoming debates, Clinton might want to review another slice of wisdom from Angelou: “I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people

  Shortly after the UK vote a couple of weeks ago, I was asked to give a speech in front of a Chicago group about “Brexit and American Populism.” During the Q&A, a thoughtful twenty-something asked me if I believed Donald Trump would really govern as conservatively or radically as he is promising to on the central issues of his campaign. It’s an oft-asked and interesting question, for more than

  [caption id="attachment_701" align="aligncenter" width="520"] Robert F Kennedy and Marian Wright Edelman (to his right) visiting the Mississippi Delta on April 11, 1967[/caption]   It was 20 years ago this month that I sat as a reporter in Corcoran State Prison and watched Robert F. Kennedy’s killer attend his 10th parole hearing ― and denial. It was 49 years ago today that RFK died from

Like a good number of folks who’ve worked in journalism over the years, for me, Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein continue to be heroes. Genuinely authentic heroes. I know it sounds corny. But it’s true. Or, as Bernstein said on Saturday night at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner (also known as “Nerd Prom”), it’s “the best obtainable version of the truth.” Sure, Woodward’s unbearably slow,

  Catchphrases are catchy. That’s why they’re called catchphrases. Morning in America. Bridge to the 21st Century. Compassionate Conservatism. Yes We Can. Make America Great Again. But slogans can be just as shallow as they are catchy - and sometimes even misleading. At a rally back in October, Donald Trump explained the genesis of his campaign’s closing catchphrase: Drain the Swamp: “I s

  Debates about issues and policies can be boring. Even for journalists. And when you throw in the superficial element of television, plus the competition to draw eyeballs and the imperative to keep them watching, these made-for-broadcast matchups get even further watered down into gladiatorial conflicts. After an unprecedented GOP primary season, the three main events in the general election campaign pre

  The phrase “changing people’s lives” is spoken daily in the world of education and advocacy. I, myself, have been saying it for years. And though I’ve meant these words sincerely on every occasion, it wasn’t until I’d met a truly extraordinary One Million Degrees Scholar that I really understood the two-way street all of us are traveling down within this special community. On a Satu

  Who are the gamers who will show up on November 8th? Who’ll stay home and ride the bench? Calculating who’s going to vote is always a critical conjecture in election campaigns. It’s a question that is soaking up a lot more of the media spotlight at the moment due to the dramatic arc of this year’s carnival political atmosphere. But no matter what the answer turns out to be, the real voter turnou

  He may win the nomination. It is at least conceivable that he could win the White House. But whether this does or doesn’t happen, let’s be clear about one thing: the “fed-up” folks who believe Donald Trump is the alternative to the system are overlooking the system itself. American democracy. We’ve heard all kinds of reasons for why Trump’s wave of supporters has come into existence

Although I am the prototypical super-nerd who habitually watches wall-to-wall coverage of the State of the Union address, I must confess that I recorded it on Tuesday night. Perhaps this only increases my nerd status. But as I was driving home — at the same time President Obama was concluding his speech — a barrage of messages and social media posts lit up my mobile: “POTUS must have read your book!” “So mu

The chicken or the egg? Trump’s lead in the polls or the media’s sycophantic coverage of Trump? The media’s hyperactive coverage of the circus, or the circus’s irresistibly magnetic power over the media? Which comes first? Which feeds which? And does it matter? The answer, of course, will depend on whom you ask. But once in a while, we get a rare moment of clarity. And when it comes from a veteran journa