IdeaLog
Five logical fallacies often used in political and policy debate
Posted on August 15, 2018
Progressives have gotten so used to hearing bald-faced political lies that perhaps we have become a little less ready to recognize rhetorical tricks. Let us consider five of the most common informal logical fallacies—arguments...
Call yourself a progressive
Posted on July 27, 2018
From blue states, we often hear the question, “Is it better to call yourself a liberal or a progressive?” From red states we’re asked, “Is it bad politics to call yourself a progressive when...
The media is bungling the facts about immigration
Posted on July 18, 2018
The media is doing a particularly lousy job of covering the Trump Administration’s persecution of non-white immigrants. Although there are plenty of well-researched stories about the horrors of “zero tolerance,” family separation and imprisoning...
Supreme Court will likely put legislators in charge of abortion rights
Posted on July 4, 2018
While our abortion rights allies try to make the best of the upcoming Supreme Court confirmation battle, we must prepare for the likelihood that the nominee will be confirmed and that Roe v. Wade...
Both race and class are essential in a progressive narrative
Posted on June 20, 2018
If there is one certainty about the 2018 General Elections, it’s that the debate will be ugly. Donald Trump will be a central issue, whether or not local candidates want that. There will be...
Fake news versus real news
Posted on June 6, 2018
A democracy cannot function when truth is irrelevant to political debate, when facts are manufactured at will, when voter persuasion is no more elevated than a schoolyard shouting match. But we’ve sunk that low....
Debate proactively!
Posted on May 24, 2018
Over the past twenty years, conservatives have generally trounced progressives at the game of message framing. The right wing identifies specific political goals and then its spokespeople conscientiously repeat poll-tested language—over and over—to shape...
The housing crisis of 2018
Posted on May 9, 2018
Home prices are higher now than at the peak of the housing bubble in 2006. Since the bottom of the housing market in late 2011, the median price of new homes has increased by...
The hypocrisy of the opioid debate
Posted on April 25, 2018
Days ago, the U.S. Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee unanimously approved a bill called the “Opioid Crisis Response Act of 2018.” Since this is a bipartisan measure, it’s no surprise that the...
It sure seems like a cover-up
Posted on April 11, 2018
On October 1, 2017, a gunman named Stephen Paddock killed 58 and injured more than 850 people who were attending a country music concert in Las Vegas. The murderer fired semiautomatic assault weapons, equipped...