David Atkins

Apparently not tired of being the laughingstock of America and the world, Kansas seems determined to continue topping itself: On March 24, cannabis oil activist Shona Banda‘s life was flipped upside-down after her son was taken from her by the State of Kansas. The ordeal started when counselors at her 11-year-old son’s school conducted a […]

Both neoliberal and conservative politicians love to assert that with enough education and training, the math-heavy jobs of the future will save the economy and permit Americans to live in the American dream. Quick newsflash for them: 42% of all workers in the United States make less than $15 an hour, and most of those […]

If anything proves that stubborn, anti-science recalcitrance isn’t just the province of conservatives, it’s the debate over vaccination. A coalition of far left and far right libertarians, conspiracy theorists and superstitious extremists have joined forces to upend what was once a settled issue, refusing vaccinations to their children on a large enough scale to imperil […]

As Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu continues to decry the landmark deal between the U.S. and Iran, more evidence is emerging that Israel’s current leadership is alienating Americans in droves: The number of Americans who view Israel as an ally of the United States has sharply decreased, according to a new poll published Thursday. Only 54% […]

In a development that will surprise no one, California’s wealthy aren’t doing their part to save water: Beverly Hills and other affluent cities use far more water per capita than less-wealthy communities, prompting some to cast them as villains in California’s water conservation effort. Residents in communities such as La Canada Flintridge, Newport Beach, Malibu […]

Moe Lane over at RedState thinks that Reuters and Barack Obama somehow are to blame for the retaliation looting and killings in Tikrit after the routing of ISIS. And that murder and looting shouldn’t really be newsworthy because heck, that’s what happens in war: Of course the groups sacking the city publicly executed anybody who […]

The water crisis in the western United States and particularly in California has been gaining more attention in recent weeks. It’s clear by now that climate change is creating a new normal of much less water than Californians and their neighbors have been used to. CA governor Jerry Brown has announced new mandatory water use […]

One of the lesser known and more brutal realities about the egg and chicken industry is the fate of baby roosters. Hens lay eggs; roosters don’t. Roosters are aggressive, difficult to care for and generally taste worse than hens. And only a handful of roosters are needed for adequate genetic diversity in breeding. So what […]

Eric Ham, author of The GOP Civil War, argues in The Hill that Jeb Bush has an advantage over Hillary Clinton in the electoral college: Clinton has the path of least resistance to the Democratic nomination. Yet a head-to-head battle with Bush could spell doom, as his advantage in the all-important Electoral College is unquestioned. […]

I wrote earlier today that the powers that be won’t listen to popular will unless the people actually come out to vote. As long as younger progressives sit on the sidelines, the country will be dominated by the will of plutocrats and the reliable conservative voters who align with them. Meteor Blades at Daily Kos […]