A Trump supporter holds up a MAGA sign during a rally in Green Bay, Wis., on April 2, 2024. AP Photo/Mike Roemer Jesse Rhodes, UMass Amherst; Adam Eichen, UMass Amherst; Douglas Rice, UMass Amherst; Gregory Wall, UMass Amherst, and Tatishe Nteta, UMass Amherst A decade ago, Donald Trump descended the golden escalator at Trump Tower in New … [Read more...] about What MAGA means to Americans
One ‘big, beautiful’ reason why Republicans in Congress just can’t quit Donald Trump
The U.S. Capitol is seen shortly after the Senate passed its version of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act on July 1, 2025. Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images Charlie Hunt, Boise State University As the U.S. House of Representatives voted to approve President Donald Trump’s sweeping domestic tax and spending package, many critics are wondering how … [Read more...] about One ‘big, beautiful’ reason why Republicans in Congress just can’t quit Donald Trump
Mirror Mirror On The Wall, Who Is the Most Woke One Of All
Disney CEO Bob Igor has called to re-evaluate Disney’s values and focus on entertaining, and refrain from messaging. Disney’s latest re-action remake has inspired some backlash over apparent “wokeness” in Snow White. There is a resistance movement that works to take things for the people-Snow White meets Occupy Wall Street anyone? There are some elements of “woke” in the … [Read more...] about Mirror Mirror On The Wall, Who Is the Most Woke One Of All
AI’s threat to Democracy
Political chicanery with lies and fake news about opposition candidates have been part of the democratic process as long as there have been democracies. You can bet that in ancient Greece and Rome during their democratic periods, candidates and their supporters spread false stories about their opponents to tarnish them in the eyes of the voters. That’s always been considered … [Read more...] about AI’s threat to Democracy
The Bloated Billionaire Bill is class warfare
What’s most important to remember about the monstrous “big beautiful” bill ginned up by Trump’s Reichstag is that Republicans are just being themselves. They’ve always pined to fatten the fat cats and screw the average citizen – to take from the needy and give to the rich, like Robin Hood in reverse. None of this is new. What’s different now is the sheer scale of the … [Read more...] about The Bloated Billionaire Bill is class warfare
From the marriage contract to breaking the glass under the chuppah, many Jewish couples adapt their weddings to celebrate gender equality
The ketubah is a binding document in Jewish law that traditionally spells out a groom’s responsibilities toward his wife ? but that many couples adapt to be more egalitarian. PowerSiege/iStock via Getty Images Plus Samira Mehta, University of Colorado Boulder Traditional Jewish weddings share one key aspect with traditional Christian … [Read more...] about From the marriage contract to breaking the glass under the chuppah, many Jewish couples adapt their weddings to celebrate gender equality
PRAYER FOR AMERICA
Kristi Noem Secretly Took a Cut of Political Donations
Kristi Noem Secretly Took a Cut of Political Donationsby Justin Elliott, Joshua Kaplan and Alex MierjeskiProPublica is a Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative newsroom. Sign up for The Big Story newsletter to receive stories like this one in your inbox.In 2023, while Kristi Noem was governor of South Dakota, she supplemented her income by secretly accepting a cut of the money … [Read more...] about Kristi Noem Secretly Took a Cut of Political Donations
What the Supreme Court ruling against ‘universal injunctions’ means for court challenges to presidential actions
A journalist runs out of the U.S. Supreme Court building carrying a ruling on the last day of the court’s term on June 27, 2025, in Washington, D.C. Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images Cassandra Burke Robertson, Case Western Reserve University When presidents have tried to make big changes through executive orders, they have often hit a roadblock: … [Read more...] about What the Supreme Court ruling against ‘universal injunctions’ means for court challenges to presidential actions
Honoring Gary––An Alternative to a Traditional Memorial Service
As you know, my brother, Gary passed away on January 4, 2025. Before he died, Gary expressed his strong feelings that he did not want a traditional funeral. He wasn’t religious, and he was not connected to a church. He wanted to be cremated. Gary wanted his ashes buried in the garden of the home where he lived for many years and where his son, Ryan, now lives. Gary’s planning … [Read more...] about Honoring Gary––An Alternative to a Traditional Memorial Service
BOMBS OVER BROADWAY
I gotta be honest with you. I didn’t think Trump’s F-bomb was anything unique or scandalous in the New Normal. Sure, it’s not presidential for a president to say, “They don’t know what the fuck they’re doing” to reporters while standing in the White House driveway, but none of this has been presidential. So, I didn’t think it was cartoon worthy, but then I saw one yesterday, … [Read more...] about BOMBS OVER BROADWAY
Using TikTok could be making you more politically polarized, new study finds
Are you in an echo chamber on TikTok? LeoPatrizi/E+ via Getty Images Zicheng Cheng, University of Arizona People on TikTok tend to follow accounts that align with their own political beliefs, meaning the platform is creating political echo chambers among its users. These findings, from a study my collaborators, Yanlin Li and Homero Gil de … [Read more...] about Using TikTok could be making you more politically polarized, new study finds
TOTAL OBLITERATION OF THE TRUTH
Religious Abuse: Divorce Edition
If you want to drive people away from churches, then one way to do so is to heap religious abuse on people who are already victims of abuse. Nobody excels at heaping religious abuse more than preachers who are ignorant about the cultural contexts of Bible passages. One sees such ignorance in the way that some preachers deal with the topics of divorce and remarriage. An … [Read more...] about Religious Abuse: Divorce Edition
Kennedy’s Folly
The Secretary of Health and Human Services, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr, does not believe in traditional medicine and science. One of the greatest advances in medicine in the last century and a half has been the development of vaccines to prevent a whole host of infectious diseases. Literally, millions of lives have been saved by these vaccines which RFK has denigrated. He thinks … [Read more...] about Kennedy’s Folly
The US has entered the Israel-Iran war. Here are 3 scenarios for what might happen next
Ian Parmeter, Australian National University After prevaricating about whether the United States would enter Israel’s war on Iran, President Donald Trump finally made a decision. Early Sunday, US warplanes and submarines struck three of Iran’s nuclear sites at Natanz, Isfahan and Fordow, where the Iranians have a uranium enrichment plant buried about 80 metres beneath … [Read more...] about The US has entered the Israel-Iran war. Here are 3 scenarios for what might happen next
IT’S U.S.-IRAN WAR: U.S. BOMBS IRANIAN NUCLEAR SITES (NEWS AND SOCIAL MEDIA ROUNDUP)
The United States attacked three key Iranian nuclear sites in a dramatic entrance into Israel's war aimed at wiping out Iran's burgeoning nuclear program. President Donald Trump issued a stern warning to Iran. He said unless Iran moves towards peace, more bombings of its threatening sites will be in the offing. Iran is now claiming the Fordow site survived the bombing and … [Read more...] about IT’S U.S.-IRAN WAR: U.S. BOMBS IRANIAN NUCLEAR SITES (NEWS AND SOCIAL MEDIA ROUNDUP)
From ‘Rocket Man’ to ruins: Between the skies of Tehran and Tel Aviv
by Nik Kowsar “It’s a little bit funny… the feeling inside.” I found myself humming Elton John’s “Your Song” as I watched the first videos of Israeli jets bombing the homes of the Islamic Republic’s top generals. Honestly, like many Iranians in exile, I felt a flicker of joy. We have a saying: when a wicked person dies, a flower blooms. So naturally, we dream of a … [Read more...] about From ‘Rocket Man’ to ruins: Between the skies of Tehran and Tel Aviv
TRUMP’S TWO WEEKS SIGNATURE
AI ‘reanimations’: Making facsimiles of the dead raises ethical quandaries
This screenshot of an AI-generated video depicts Christopher Pelkey, who was killed in 2021. Screenshot: Stacey Wales/YouTube Nir Eisikovits, UMass Boston and Daniel J. Feldman, UMass Boston Christopher Pelkey was shot and killed in a road range incident in 2021. On May 8, 2025, at the sentencing hearing for his killer, an AI video … [Read more...] about AI ‘reanimations’: Making facsimiles of the dead raises ethical quandaries