While growing up, millions of Americans are introduced to the Star Wars Saga, specifically the first six. If you are anything like me, you didn’t go into the series expecting a political metaphor, but rather another entertaining series of good versus evil. Well, we were wrong. In the three prequel episodes specifically, the movies are…
A major theme running throughout the Democratic Party’s presidential primary is the problem of income inequality. The argument is an appeal to fairness—a value most Americans share. It’s also a distraction from a more insidious inequality: the power the state has over the rest of us. Power inequality is a bigger threat to an egalitarian…
Audrey Conklin on October 30, 2019 Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton condemned Facebook for not policing political ads in a Wednesday tweet. The failed presidential candidate’s tweet came as Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg faces backlash for defending the tech giant’s policy of not fact-checking political ads the same way it fact-checks other ads in…
On Thursday Rep. Steve Cohen (D-TN) introduced two produced amendments to the U.S. Constitution. One of which would eliminate the electoral college, the other would prevent presidents from pardoning themselves or family members. Cohen is who is a vocal opponent of the president introduced both bills as a dig at Trump. “Presidents should not pardon…
LISTEN TO TLR’S LATEST PODCAST: by Micah J. Fleck Yesterday, TLR reported on a controversial bill proposal in West Virginia that if passed would have reclassified homeschooling as “abuse.” Many other outlets jumped on this story, as well, and we are now learning that the very same day all the controversy came to a head, the…
LISTEN TO TLR’S LATEST PODCAST: By Kody Fairfield During a rare interview on NBC’s “Today Show,” former President George W. Bush called the media “indispensable to democracy,” and that “we need an independent media to hold people like me to account.” Bush, speaking to NBC’s Matt Lauer, explained that “power can be ” very addictive and it can…
LISTEN TO TLR’S LATEST PODCAST: By 1776 When people ask me if I vote, I explain to them that voting is basically pointless, so why waste my time? The political system, while giving the appearance of democratic participation, is really an oligarchic regime masquerading as a representative of the people. Upon hearing my explanation, people…
In the shallows of politics, imbeciles are always and everywhere. by Joey Clark Given the widespread idiocy and mean-spiritedness of the 2016 presidential race, one of my favorite H.L. Mencken quotes has been making the rounds on social media: “As democracy is perfected, the office represents, more and more closely, the inner soul of the…
by Darnyell Wint 1. CNN Politics During the 2014 Florida Governor’s Race In the 2014 Florida Governor’s race, CNN Politics excluded Libertarian candidate Adrian Wyllie from the debate by not including him in their “What do you want to ask?” forum. The only two candidates they included were incumbent governor Republican Rick Scott and the…
Politics may often be downstream from culture, but it can also pollute the river of culture if allowed to become too permeating. by Joey Clark Most politicians and their followers are not cynical enough about politics. They hate the players but not the game. Unlike me, they are cynical sentimentalists, i.e. they idealize politics yet are…