For me, history, the study of it and the making of it, has been an essential part of life.

Growing up in the underground of the poor black community, reading became my salvation, and reading about great historical developments, as well as hearing the soul stirring voice of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. on the radio, was my inspiration.

(1) If hundreds of children every year were killed by falling out of windows, could we all agree that wanting to make windows safer had nothing to do with being anti-window or wanting to take people’s windows away?

(2) If the greatest threat to children’s safety in school were the possibility of  angry rhinoceroses stampeding through the hallways, would we think to solve the problem by stationing an angry rhinoceros in every classroom?

Gerrymandering might be the issue of our time.

You know that sinking feeling you get after every single election where you just can’t understand how one party won so many seats? Gerrymandering is responsible for this phenomenon, which you might as well refer to as “artificial majorities.”

Is there any more grotesque example of American “exceptionalism” than our longstanding failure to respond to recurring, murderous violence in our schools?

Is the nation that led mankind to the moon and back unable to halt the tragic transformation of children and teachers into the neatly gathered, heedlessly compliant soft targets for cowards wielding weapons of war?

After the Florida legislature voted down a bill to ban so-called "assault weapons" with victims of the Stoneman Douglas high school shooting present, Dinesh D'Souza was trending all day yesterday for tweeting a link to the story with the comment: "Worst news since their parents told them to get summer jobs."

Worst news since their parents told them to get summer jobs https://t.co/Vg3mXYvb4c

"Well of course I'd love to have more [Republicans/Democrats] join our side, but they're all crazy."

In my experience, most people believe that they can pin down most of what somebody thinks based on whether they voted Republican or Democratic in the last mid-term. I've argued for a long time that this is a result of "Wedging" rather than reality: a few views from each side are amplified and accepted as universal by the other side.

T.J. O'Hara is joined by Associate Dean Sandra Sperino from University of Cincinnati College of Law. The two discuss sexual harassment within the context of our current socio-political environment, and within the context of Title VII, as well as the article she recently published.

Associate Dean of Faculty and Professor Sperino teaches in the areas of civil procedure, torts, and employment law. In 2013 and 2017, she received the Goldman Prize for Excellence in Teaching, at University of Cincinnati College of Law.

Former San Diego City Councilman turned radio talk show host Carl DeMaio, tells IVN San Diego he  is seriously considering a run for the 50th Congressional District.

A statement was provided to IVN San Diego from DeMaio: “I appreciate all the San Diegans who have reached out to me to encourage me to run for Congress. If we want better results from government, we must first start by fixing Congress and holding them accountable when they violate the public’s trust. I expect to make a decision in the next week.”

There are 10 seconds to go, and it’s not looking good.

Seemingly untouchable in the first half, the Minnesota Vikings are now down by one point against the New Orleans Saints — and I’m getting nervous. Not because I’m particularly passionate about them winning, but because I know my boyfriend Matt will sink into temporary depression if they lose this playoff game.

…Of course, at the time, I didn’t know they would get stomped the following week, but I digress…

There is nothing more prodigal of wonders than the art of being free . . . but nothing is harder than the apprenticeship of liberty.      —Alexis de Tocqueville, Democracy in America

 In 1831, the French aristocrat and historian Alexis de Tocqueville toured the United States for nine months. Ostensibly, he came to study our prison system for the new French King. But really, he wanted to answer the burning question of his life” “Why did democracy take root in America but fail in France?”