Latest Stories
Most recently published stories in The Swamp.
Fears of Black Men
Race and color is such a power and pivotal issue in the US today. The racial issues of the country have taken a dramatic turn for the worst, and uptick since 2008. The conclusion of the 2008 election was a turning point of race and racial relations in the US. The Non-Minority American subconscious came out and rebelled against any black or colored. The Non-Minority population showed how fearful they were that an African-American, the first minority, was the face of the most powerful country in the world. Racial tension in the country has gotten worse since the election of Barack Obama into the office of president. For the most part, the general public made the assumption that Obama's winning of the presidency was the great equalizer in the name of race in this country, but we would soon find out that as a country; Americans were still not ready for a person of color or minority as the president. Even to this date 11 years after Obama was elected, we are in the presidency of a self-proclaimed nationalist who has done nothing but talk about blacks, Latinos, immigrants, and the handicapped. In 2015, Donald J. Trump announced that he was running for president and his rallying cry to his voting base was "Make America Great Again." That rallying cry brought all the most racist people out, and all it took was for him to say that he was running for president. Since Trump has taken office, every white nationalist, white supremacist, neo-nazi, or klansmen that has been hiding, has courageously stepped out of the shadows. Charlottesville was a blatant reminder that racism in America is alive and well; especially when the president will not condemn nor call out these groups for what they really are, groups of domestic terrorist organizations.
By A.J. Jones7 years ago in The Swamp
Review of 'The Loudest Voice' 1.1
The Loudest Voice just launched on Showtime last night, with an episode about the launch of Fox News. Or, more specifically, about how Roger Ailes (stunningly portrayed by Russell Crowe) launched Fox News, and with just about everyone else on the screen (the screen of The Loudest Voice) kicking and screaming. That includes owner Rupert Murdock, and just about everyone else in Ailes's orbit.
By Paul Levinson7 years ago in The Swamp
Reason First: Can Someone Be Too Black or Not Black Enough?
The issue over how “black” an individual is should be nil. Whatever the people who say that they’re “black” is actually a floating abstraction or concept are not grounded in reality. What does it mean to be “black?" How does someone qualify for such a tribalist notion? Presidential candidates and Senators Cory Booker and Kamala Harris have both been accused of not being black enough. Most recently, Senator Booker has stated that senator Harris has nothing to prove. It’s as if to be black means you must subscribe to the unknown and unknowable, know who Playboi Carti is dating, and enjoy pig feet smothered in hot sauce. What it means to be black should pale in comparison to being a rational, confident individual.
By Skyler Saunders7 years ago in The Swamp
Minor Quibble with Kamala Harris
Although it's at most a minor quibble with Kamala Harris's superb performance in this past Thursday's Democratic debate—see my assessment of that over here—I thought, as a past President of the Science Fiction Writers of America (1998-2001), that I ought to weigh in on a concern which has made it all the way to The Washington Post.
By Paul Levinson7 years ago in The Swamp
The Horrifying Reality of Child Marriage in the United States
A small, 11 year old girl, Sherry Johnson became pregnant. She was raped by a 20-year-old from her church. Instead of dealing with the police, her family and church decided it would be best for the 11 year old to marry her rapist. Her parents drove her to the next county over, which had a judge likely to give them a marriage license. Sherry had no choice in marrying her 20 year old rapist. Shortly after she married, she stopped going to elementary school. Surprisingly, this is much more common than you would think. When you think of child brides, the US doesn’t necessarily come to mind. The sad truth is that child marriage is legal in nearly every state.
By Lillian Myers7 years ago in The Swamp
Reason First: Should the Government Be Involved in Cornrows and Afros?
Nonessentials, like hair texture and skin color, should have no bearing on whether an employer hires a candidate or not. And there definitely should be no laws for or against natural hair. In reality, in a fully free laissez-faire capitalist society, there would and ought to be discrimination against race, color, sex, sexual preference and anything else that really doesn’t matter among private citizens. All that should be considered is the competence of a given potential employee.
By Skyler Saunders7 years ago in The Swamp
The 27th Amendment
Gregory Watson was an undergrad at the University of Texas, Austin, who rediscovered a forgotten amendment, the 27th Amendment to be accurate. This Amendment had come about on September 25, 1789, including eleven other proposed amendments. The first Congress had wanted to address the issue of salaries for Congress. In 1982, Watson had dredged up this amendment by writing a paper about it. This amendment had not been fully ratified in the 18th century, as it had become constitutional on May 5, 1992, because this was a ratification period of 202 years, 7 months and 10 days when this amendment was finally ratified.
By Iria Vasquez-Paez7 years ago in The Swamp
First Democratic Presidential Debate, Part 2 of 2
I thought the second part of the first 2020 Democratic Presidential debate was better than the first part, in that more of the ten on stage had standout moments. My assessment follows, in descending order of what I thought were the best performances:
By Paul Levinson7 years ago in The Swamp
Bryan Watch: Commerce/Justice
On June 20 and 21, the House debated more amendments to the Commerce-Justice-Science Appropriations bill (HR 3055). There were 31 votes, 23 party line and 8 non-party line. Steil sided with the Republicans 21 out of 23 times on HR 3055 amendment votes, for a support score of 91 percent.
By John Heckenlively7 years ago in The Swamp
