Kathleen Geier

This week, an important committee vote will take place in the U.S. Senate. Senate Republicans have long been filibustering President Obama’s appointees to the National Labor Relations Board. As you probably know, the NLRB is a powerful federal agency that oversees elections for labor union representation and makes decisions regarding the unfair labor practice cases […]

Michael Kinsley has written some unfortunate columns lately. The austerity one drew more attention, but a second column, on gay marriage politics, was also fairly cringe-inducing. In that column, Kinsley strongly sympathized with homophobes whom he claimed were being unfairly attacked; but where actual LGBTQ people who want basic human rights are concerned, his sympathies […]

Readers, my next couple of posts will be delayed. I was just working on a long one which, sadly, got eaten when my computer suddenly shut down. Normally when that happens the post is saved and can be retrieved, but that didn’t occur this time. In the meantime, please read Paul Krugman’s superb piece on […]

Today would have been Joey Ramone’s 62nd birthday. Joey and the rest of the Ramones were one of the most influential bands in rock history. It’s sometimes forgotten, but punk rock proper began at CBGB’s in New York City with the Ramones and other bands. The American bands got there first, and only later did […]

Now for some good news: according to economic consultant Rick Nevin, this year, the U.S. is on track to experience the lowest murder rate in over 100 years. Nevin reports that, based on preliminary FBI data, the weighted average murder rate in 30 large localities nationwide this year is 18% lower than it was at […]

Earlier this week, the New York Times reported on the disturbing case of a Catholic priest who, following his 2003 conviction of the sexual abuse of a young boy, continued to work with children . The priest, a man named Michael Fugee, has been working at New Jersey church where, according to the Times, he […]

The “unmasking-of-the-troll” narrative is burgeoning genre in internet journalism, and it’s one that is frequent fascinating, and occasionally riveting (see these two classic examples, for instance). Yesterday, Salon published a piece by Andrew Leonard that is a major contribution to this genre. Leonard’s article illuminates one of the most serious weaknesses of one of the […]

I bet you thought that right-wing talk radio couldn’t get any more vile and hateful. Well, if you believe that, then you better sit down and read this disturbing profile of a conservative talk show host named Pete Santelli. It’s from the invaluable site Right-Wing Watch. The author of the post, Miranda Blue, explains that […]

Here is the fabulous Janelle Monae. This is her latest music video, which co-stars Erykah Badu. Music video is a medium where Monae really shines, due to her bold, arresting sense of style and killer dance moves.

Does immigration hurt the welfare state? Today at Wonkblog, Georgetown poli sci professor Dan Hopkins explores this complicated question. The traditional belief of many historians and social scientists was that America’s diversity, including its racial diversity and large immigrant population, has weakened public support for social welfare programs. The theory has been that diversity undermines […]