What We Mean When We Say ‘Conspiracy Theory’

What exactly do we mean by the phrase “conspiracy theory”? The problem is vexing enough in the academic literature, where scholars have made countless attempts to formulate a firm definition, none of which has managed to push its rival definitions off the stage. In everyday usage, the term is even more slippery: Its meaning constantly stretches and narrows, particularly when …

Is It Time to Disband the Republican Party?

What’s happened to the Republican Party? Back on March 20, 1854, a group of abolitionists met in a small schoolhouse in Ripon, Wisconsin, to fight back against the expansion of slavery. A couple months later in July of 1854, the Ripon group joined with thousands of other anti-slavery activists in Jackson, Michigan, and together they formed what would be called the Republican …

Iran’s Ayatollah Khameini Derides GOP Letter as ‘Collapse of Political Ethics’

Iran’s highest leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Thursday sharply rebuked an open letter released by GOP senators last week, charging that the missive demonstrates “the collapse of political ethics in the United States.” The letter, organized by Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) and signed by 47 Republican senators, directly threatened Iranian leaders that, if a nuclear deal were reached, it would not last …

White Christian America in Decline: Why Young People Are Sick of Conservative Religion

There’s been a lot of media attention recently to the changing demographics of the United States, where, at current rates, people who identify as “white” are expected to become a minority by the year 2050 [3]. But in many ways, the shift in national demographics has been accelerated beyond even that. New data from the American Values Atlas shows [4] that while white people continue …

THE PARTIES’ ROLE REVERSAL ON ‘INTERFERING’ WITH THE COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF’S FOREIGN POLICY

Senate Republicans, obsessed as always with carrying out the agenda of the Israeli government and leading the U.S. into more militarism and war, yesterday wrote a letter to “the leaders of the Islamic Republic of Iran” designed to derail an international agreement governing that country’s nuclear program. Numerous leading Democrats – in Congress and the media – are today using the language of criminality, …

US Intel Vets Oppose Brennan’s CIA Plan

The original idea of the CIA was to have independent-minded experts assessing both short- and longer-term threats to U.S. national security. Mixing with operations and politics was always a danger, which is now highlighted by CIA Director Brennan’s reorganization, opposed by a group of U.S. intelligence veterans. MEMORANDUM FOR: The President FROM: Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity SUBJECT: John Brennan’s Restructuring Plan for CIA Mr. President, the CIA …

Reichstag on the Potomac or ‘Planet of the Apes’?

There are some famous film clips of the US Congress that stand the test of time. One is of attorney Joseph Welch as s subpoenaed witness denouncing the redbaiting charlatan Sen. Joseph McCarthy during his hearings into alleged Communist infiltration of the military and the government. “Have you no sense of decency, sir, at long last?” Welsh says angrily, as the …

The myth destroying America: Why social mobility is beyond ordinary people’s control

In America, there is a strongly held conviction that with hard work, anyone can make it into the middle class. Pew recently found that Americans are far more likely than people in other countries to believe that work determines success, as opposed to other factors beyond an individual’s control. But this positivity comes with a negative side — a tendency to pathologize …

‘Cynical’ Obamacare Challenge Exposes Persistent Flaw of For-Profit System

The U.S. Supreme Court is hearing oral arguments on Wednesday in King v. Burwell, the case that could decide the future of the Affordable Care Act and the healthcare status of an estimated 9.6 million people who have purchased insurance through HealthCare.gov. “The King v. Burwell case is yet another reason to swiftly move beyond the failing ACA to a simpler, publicly financed, …

The Punishment for Ignoring Obamacare Penalty Might Surprise You

Now that April 15th is on the horizon, many taxpayers are bracing themselves for the inevitable penalty that will hit them if they don’t sign up for Obamacare. It’s estimated that at least 3 million households may have to pony up 1% of their income, or $95 per adult, if they don’t have insurance; a number which is poised to …