Tag Archives: politics

State Senate candidate Asher Platts: “We definitely have a democracy crisis”

Asher Platts is a State Senate candidate in Portland, Maine. He is running as a Green Independent, and he is also Statewide Chair of the party. Platts also maintains a vibrant blog and video channel as the Punk Patriot, though his campaign has been occupying much of his time as of late. He is also […]

Ghostbusters, The Atlantic, paranormal civil liberties, and remembering Harold Ramis

Like many comedy fans—or even anyone with a passing awareness of the past four decades of popular culture—I was saddened to learn of the passing of actor, writer and director Harold Ramis. I love Caddyshack, SCTV, and Groundhog Day, and I was fortunate to be steeped in all of the brilliance he had a hand […]

Ask Alex: Dealing with post-disaster anxiety

Alex, The Boston bombing is affecting me deeper way than I expected it would. I was very young during 9/11, and while a number of things have happened in the country that can make a person feel insecure, this incident has been especially touching. What do you do in order to feel better in situations […]

On online engagement: when I do / don’t

When I see a discussion centered upon potentially contentious issues emerge online, my first impulse is often to jump right in, but then I remember how many hours I have put into engaging in essentially fruitless exchanges in the past. It is easy to be pulled into almost any online conversation where the subject matter […]

On progress, appreciation, and getting back in the ring

Of the two outcomes that were most likely last night, I am elated that President Obama won a second term and, more importantly, that Governor Romney and his outmoded Reagan-revivalist vision of America lost. I am happy to have woken up in a state in which “gay marriage” is a concept that is off the […]

Princess Riot, or: Everything you always wanted to know about princesses (but were afraid to ask)

My three-year-old step-daughter wants to be a princess for Halloween despite her having already gone as one last year. We bluffed, “Okay, but you were a princess already. You can’t be the same thing two years in a row…” (Even though I was a widow’s-peaked blood-sucker like, 400 years in a row when I was […]