September | 2016

The Religious Right Loves Vladimir Putin More Than Donald Trump Does

One of the most notable but mostly uncovered political developments in recent years has been how enthusiastically many Religious Right leaders have embraced Russia’s anti-democratic president, former KGB official Vladimir Putin. It seems even more remarkable that the Republican Party’s presidential nominee has been lavishing praise on Putin even as Russia maneuvers to diminish America’s influence in the world. As president, Putin has consolidated his power through attacks on the independent media, the persecution of political opponents, and restrictions on civil society. He has annexed…

Gary Johnson: Don’t Forget About Kelo and Property Rights

In a recent interview, Libertarian presidential candidate Gary Johnson said thatKelo v. City of New London is a key case for evaluating potential Supreme Court nominees: “Would you have any litmus tests for a Supreme Court justice on cases like Kelo, for example, cases that really matter to libertarians, libertarian principles?” Benson asked. “Yeah I think Kelo is one that really does stand out,” Johnson responded. “Although we don’t have litmus tests, but Kelo really stands out as a litmus test, in my opinion.” In…

Clinton PAC: Fox News Anchor Has Conflict of Interest as Presidential Debate Moderator

Media Matters founder David Brock is demanding that the Commission on Presidential Debates remove Fox News anchor Chris Wallace as moderator of the final presidential debate in October. Brock, a staunch ally of Hillary Clinton who also founded pro-Clinton Super PACs Correct the Record and American Bridge 21st Century, argues that Wallace has a conflict of interest because of his relationship to former Fox News CEO Roger Ailes. Former Fox News Chairman and CEO Roger Ailes is reportedly informally advising Donald Trump and helping him…

The Politics of Tomorrow Isn’t Right vs. Left, It’s Managers vs. Verbalists

Since the Cold War ended, U.S. politics has seen a series of insurgent candidacies. Pat Buchanan prefigured Trump in the Republican contests of 1992 and 1996. Ralph Nader challenged the Clinton wing of the Democratic Party from the outside in 2000. Ron Paul vexed establishment Republicans John McCain and Mitt Romney in 2008 and 2012. And this year, Trump was not the only candidate to confound his party’s elite: Bernie Sanders harried Hillary Clinton right up to the Democratic convention. What do these insurgents have…

U.S. House Seats Almost Never Change Parties

With Election Day 2016 a little over two months away, many political analysts are projecting Democrats to gain seats in both the House and Senate. But winning the 30 seats they need to wrest control of the House from the Republicans is generally seen as a longer shot than the four or five Senate seats they’d need to lead that chamber (depending on whether or not Hillary Clinton is elected president and Tim Kaine, as vice president and president of the Senate, has a tie-breaking vote). Shifts of that…

13 Percent of Americans Have No Use for the Internet

For many Americans, going online is an important way to connect with friends and family, shop, get news and search for information. Yet today, 13% of U.S. adults do not use the internet, according to a new Pew Research Center analysis of survey data. The size of this group has changed little over the past three years, despite recent government and social service programs to encourage internet adoption. But that 13% figure is substantially lower than in 2000, when Pew Research Center first began to study the…

New Hacking Tool Breaks Locked Computer’s Password in 20 Seconds

Snatching the login credentials of a locked computer just got easier and faster, thanks to a technique that requires only $50 worth of hardware and takes less than 30 seconds to carry out. Rob Fuller, a principal security engineer at R5 Industries, said the hack works reliably on Windows devices and has also succeeded on OS X, although he’s working with others to determine if it’s just his setup that’s vulnerable. The hack works by plugging a flash-sized minicomputer into an unattended computer that’s logged…

Post-Trump, Conservatives Need Conversation, Not Cocoons

As election day draws closer, tensions are increasing on the right about Donald Trump and (a distinct topic) the futures of conservatism and the Republican party. Many of Trump’s opponents, especially on the right, have offered numerous scapegoats for the rise of Trump: among them, talk radio, racism, and the American public’s supposed lack of virtue. However, one of the single most important structural forces that allowed Trump to win the Republican nomination was the combination of elite incompetence and extreme cultural cocooning. Incompetence and…

The Inside Story of Arianna Huffington’s Departure from HuffPo

In 2005, Arianna Huffington launched the Huffington Post. As it became a huge success, Huffington, who had little experience in technology or journalism, saw her own brand grow in tandem. But life on the Internet can be cruel. And in a few short years, the site was experiencing a Digital Age version of a midlife crisis. It was reaching 26 million unique visitors per month, an astonishing number, but in the Internet business, sites either grow or shrink. And to grow, the Huffington Post needed more…

Dictionary Authors Want to Fleech You Into Saving Obscure Slang Words

As a writer, one of the best things about the English language is its speakers love of borrowing words from other languages. If English speakers don’t have a word for something, we’re happy to borrow some one else’s. Perhaps a more unique characteristic of English is the enormous number of unofficial slang words spoken throughout the vast areas in which English is a native language. Many of these words — such as Appalachia’s whistle pig for groundhog — are basically unknown to English speakers outside of particular…

Understanding the present is the key to the future