In July of 1995, Chicago experienced an intense heatwave, watching temperatures climb tas high as 106 degrees Fahrenheit while feeling like124 degrees. Over the five days this extreme heat lasted, 739 people died, most of them Black, low-income, and ...
Putting on a pair of glasses should not be enough to identify a stranger, pull up their home address, and turn a chance encounter into a data profile. But in 2024, two Harvard students did exactly that. Using Meta’s Ray-Ban smart glasses, the facia...
Tropical forests are one of our most crucial defenses against climate change, but they are disappearing at an alarming rate. A record 6.7 million hectares of rainforest were lost in 2024, largely due to agriculture and human-caused wildfires—result...
In my last article, Historical Seriousness and the Bill of Rights pt. 2, I explained the problem of selective historical reliance with a focus on Citizens United v. FEC. Here, I wish to finish that analysis. As mentioned before, Justice Stevens prese...
In my last article, Historical Seriousness and the Bill of Rights pt. 2, I explained the problem of selective historical reliance with a focus on Citizens United v. FEC. Here, I wish to finish that analysis. As mentioned before, Justice Stevens prese...
Marked ballot. Image obtained from Wikimedia Commons. Although the country as a whole has been devastated by the current economic recession, some places have fared worse than others. And among the states that have struggled the most in the last few y...
Marked ballot. Image obtained from Wikimedia Commons. Although the country as a whole has been devastated by the current economic recession, some places have fared worse than others. And among the states that have struggled the most in the last few y...
We interrupt your regularly scheduled “Lena Rants About Something” Wednesday column to bring you important news—in a few hours, the Supreme Court will be hearing arguments for Fisher v. University of Texas at Austin, a case dealing with affirma...
We interrupt your regularly scheduled “Lena Rants About Something” Wednesday column to bring you important news—in a few hours, the Supreme Court will be hearing arguments for Fisher v. University of Texas at Austin, a case dealing with affirma...
Mitt Romney emerged from last week’s debate the undisputed champion and the owner of a substantial bounce in the polls, but he was almost upstaged by an eight-foot tall bird. Romney pledged – while professing his love for Big Bird and debate mode...
Mitt Romney emerged from last week’s debate the undisputed champion and the owner of a substantial bounce in the polls, but he was almost upstaged by an eight-foot tall bird. Romney pledged – while professing his love for Big Bird and debate mode...
As Hans von Spakovsky explains very well in the SCOTUSblog article “Online VRA symposium: The constitutionality of Section 5 comes to the Supremes again,” it’s high past time for the Supreme Court to review Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act,...
As Hans von Spakovsky explains very well in the SCOTUSblog article “Online VRA symposium: The constitutionality of Section 5 comes to the Supremes again,” it’s high past time for the Supreme Court to review Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act,...
Why Obama lost, in 300 words: As a Democrat, what’s infuriating isn’t that Obama lost; it’s why he lost. It’s so historical, so archetypal, that it convinces me that the universe is imploding. Obama was Kerry; he was Gore; he ...
Why Obama lost, in 300 words: As a Democrat, what’s infuriating isn’t that Obama lost; it’s why he lost. It’s so historical, so archetypal, that it convinces me that the universe is imploding. Obama was Kerry; he was Gore; he ...
Mitt needs to chip at Obama’s widening lead among women. The debates are his first chance to speak directly to them. Mitt Romney may not have been on a modern date in 40 years, but new Quinnipiac stats today suggest if he wants to gain any mome...
Mitt needs to chip at Obama’s widening lead among women. The debates are his first chance to speak directly to them. Mitt Romney may not have been on a modern date in 40 years, but new Quinnipiac stats today suggest if he wants to gain any mome...
A recent report by the Population Division of the UN’s Department of Economic and Social Affairs has received a great deal of attention in recent days for its recommendations regarding the aging of the global population. This trend is partly the re...
A recent report by the Population Division of the UN’s Department of Economic and Social Affairs has received a great deal of attention in recent days for its recommendations regarding the aging of the global population. This trend is partly the re...
The first 2012 Barack Obama vs. Mitt Romney debate is coming up on Wednesday. It’s hard to imagine either of the two participants saying anything we haven’t already heard ad nauseam, and our own Michael D’Ortenzio Jr. has already ...
The first 2012 Barack Obama vs. Mitt Romney debate is coming up on Wednesday. It’s hard to imagine either of the two participants saying anything we haven’t already heard ad nauseam, and our own Michael D’Ortenzio Jr. has already ...
Last Wednesday, the New York Times ran an opinion article by Theresa Brown entitled “The Human Cost of the Second Amendment.” In her piece, Brown offers an oft-overlooked viewpoint on the gun control/Second Amendment (the right to bear arms) argu...
Last Wednesday, the New York Times ran an opinion article by Theresa Brown entitled “The Human Cost of the Second Amendment.” In her piece, Brown offers an oft-overlooked viewpoint on the gun control/Second Amendment (the right to bear arms) argu...
In the name of transparency and freedom of information, I need to state right now that I’m a pretty serious feminist. Not necessarily a feminist in the “burn your bra, misandry is great,” but certainly a young lady who believes that women s...
In the name of transparency and freedom of information, I need to state right now that I’m a pretty serious feminist. Not necessarily a feminist in the “burn your bra, misandry is great,” but certainly a young lady who believes that women s...
If these voting laws aren’t overturned, polling places could be much emptier than this one in November’s election. Image courtesy of “Muffet/calliope” on Flickr. Two weeks ago, NPR aired a feature on its program “All Things ...
If these voting laws aren’t overturned, polling places could be much emptier than this one in November’s election. Image courtesy of “Muffet/calliope” on Flickr. Two weeks ago, NPR aired a feature on its program “All Things ...