AdvertisementIn an age when “influencers” can make oodles of cash simply by posting pictures of their lunch and kittens, it is not surprising that hate groups have jumped on the monetization bandwagon, using social media to fill their coffers. Indeed, some of these groups have reportedly become quite adept at using digital marketing to fund their hateful causes.The mechanics around how bigoted groups can use social media to spread their messages of racism and antisemitism are quite fascinating, in a morbid and disturbing way.Their methods reveal how social media and other online avenues can...…AdvertisementIn an age when “influencers” can make oodles of cash simply by posting pictures of their lunch and kittens, it is not surprising that hate groups have jumped on the monetization bandwagon, using social media to fill their coffers. Indeed, some of these groups have reportedly become quite adept at using digital marketing to fund their hateful causes.The mechanics around how bigoted groups can use social media to spread their messages of racism and antisemitism are quite fascinating, in a morbid and disturbing way.Their methods reveal how social media and other online avenues can...WW…

ShareThe coronavirus recession is well upon us. In the U.S., layoffs related to the coronavirus began to intensify around the middle of March. By mid-April, the labor market had shed more than 20 million jobs, by far the most dramatic job loss on record—about two and a half times the job loss of the entire Great Recession. And the situation continues to deteriorate—an additional 12 million workers have applied for unemployment compensation since mid-April. There has never been anything like this.The official unemployment rate was 14.7 percent in mid-April, up from 3.5 percent in February....…ShareThe coronavirus recession is well upon us. In the U.S., layoffs related to the coronavirus began to intensify around the middle of March. By mid-April, the labor market had shed more than 20 million jobs, by far the most dramatic job loss on record—about two and a half times the job loss of the entire Great Recession. And the situation continues to deteriorate—an additional 12 million workers have applied for unemployment compensation since mid-April. There has never been anything like this.The official unemployment rate was 14.7 percent in mid-April, up from 3.5 percent in February....WW…

ShareLast Tuesday, voters tuned in to what they hoped would be a substantive discussion of the serious challenges facing our republic. Instead, many came away with the unsettling suspicion that our two-party system has no clothes.American voters want answers and they want hope. That's not just because of the pandemic. Some Louisiana residents just barely have electricity reconnected, five weeks after Hurricane Laura. In the meantime, two subsequent hurricanes made landfall in the Gulf. Many in California, Oregon and Washington remain homeless as a result of fires that continue to burn. Iowa...…ShareLast Tuesday, voters tuned in to what they hoped would be a substantive discussion of the serious challenges facing our republic. Instead, many came away with the unsettling suspicion that our two-party system has no clothes.American voters want answers and they want hope. That's not just because of the pandemic. Some Louisiana residents just barely have electricity reconnected, five weeks after Hurricane Laura. In the meantime, two subsequent hurricanes made landfall in the Gulf. Many in California, Oregon and Washington remain homeless as a result of fires that continue to burn. Iowa...WW…

ShareThis story is being co-published with With the COVID-19 pandemic accelerating in March,Congress scrambled to design a more than $2 trillion economic package that would prop up private companies, keep the financial system liquid, and, at the same time, provide financial help to individuals whose income was evaporating as the result of states issuing stay-at-home orders and temporarily shuttering nonessential businesses.There are two pillars to the effort to help individuals. The first, a massively expanded unemployment insurance system, would bring in freelancers and others...…ShareThis story is being co-published with With the COVID-19 pandemic accelerating in March,Congress scrambled to design a more than $2 trillion economic package that would prop up private companies, keep the financial system liquid, and, at the same time, provide financial help to individuals whose income was evaporating as the result of states issuing stay-at-home orders and temporarily shuttering nonessential businesses.There are two pillars to the effort to help individuals. The first, a massively expanded unemployment insurance system, would bring in freelancers and others...WW…

ShareThe great power competition between Washington and Beijing is heating up. The U.S. effort to contain China's rise is now on full display, as the Trump administration (rightly) blames China for failing to contain the coronavirus pandemic. But the American desire to isolate China, both politically and economically, is no simple matter. China is either the largest or second largest economy in the world, depending upon the metric. And as a result of our longstanding efforts to seduce the Chinese Communist Party with the perks of capitalism, America and its allies are heavily reliant upon...…ShareThe great power competition between Washington and Beijing is heating up. The U.S. effort to contain China's rise is now on full display, as the Trump administration (rightly) blames China for failing to contain the coronavirus pandemic. But the American desire to isolate China, both politically and economically, is no simple matter. China is either the largest or second largest economy in the world, depending upon the metric. And as a result of our longstanding efforts to seduce the Chinese Communist Party with the perks of capitalism, America and its allies are heavily reliant upon...WW…

ShareI was raised in a religious Muslim home and practiced the faith for a long time. Eventually, I realized I was not a religious man, after spending a long time educating myself, immersed in our texts. Certain things bothered me after I investigated them deeply. I felt the hijab was misogynistic, and I opposed the strain of violence that had emerged from our holy books. Then there were the blasphemy laws outlined in the Quran, which seemed like the opposite of the liberal values I believe in. As a secular man, I went about my life, working as a contractor for the Canadian military for...…ShareI was raised in a religious Muslim home and practiced the faith for a long time. Eventually, I realized I was not a religious man, after spending a long time educating myself, immersed in our texts. Certain things bothered me after I investigated them deeply. I felt the hijab was misogynistic, and I opposed the strain of violence that had emerged from our holy books. Then there were the blasphemy laws outlined in the Quran, which seemed like the opposite of the liberal values I believe in. As a secular man, I went about my life, working as a contractor for the Canadian military for...WW…

ShareNo one can dispute that America is currently undergoing a racial reckoning. Ever since the killing of in the spring of 2020, a nation-wide soul-searching over racism has seized hold of the collective imagination, with everyone from massive corporations to national media outlets leading the charge against America's enduring—even rising—white supremacism.But what if everyone is wrong? What if the media and the national conversation isn't exposing racism so much as creating it, or at least, creating the impression that it is far more prevalent than we thought?This is what I found in my...…ShareNo one can dispute that America is currently undergoing a racial reckoning. Ever since the killing of in the spring of 2020, a nation-wide soul-searching over racism has seized hold of the collective imagination, with everyone from massive corporations to national media outlets leading the charge against America's enduring—even rising—white supremacism.But what if everyone is wrong? What if the media and the national conversation isn't exposing racism so much as creating it, or at least, creating the impression that it is far more prevalent than we thought?This is what I found in my...WW…

ShareWhen the moved its All Star game out of Georgia after state legislators passed a new restrictive voting law, conservative fury was immediate. said corporations need to "." Georgia Governor Brian Kemp called the MLB's reaction "." And Texas Senator said that .But this isn't the first time that sports leagues have led the charge on political activism. In the early 1990s, the from the state of Arizona, after voters failed to pass a Martin Luther King Jr. holiday via state referendum. A few years earlier, then-Governor of Arizona Evan Mecham had , telling "You folks don't need another...…ShareWhen the moved its All Star game out of Georgia after state legislators passed a new restrictive voting law, conservative fury was immediate. said corporations need to "." Georgia Governor Brian Kemp called the MLB's reaction "." And Texas Senator said that .But this isn't the first time that sports leagues have led the charge on political activism. In the early 1990s, the from the state of Arizona, after voters failed to pass a Martin Luther King Jr. holiday via state referendum. A few years earlier, then-Governor of Arizona Evan Mecham had , telling "You folks don't need another...WW…

ShareBig restaurant chains are telling investors that a national minimum wage hike wouldn't be a big deal—even as their corporate lobbying groups in Washington fight plans for a $15 minimum wage."We share your view that a national discussion on wage issues for working Americans is needed—but the Raise the Wage Act is the wrong bill at the wrong time for our nation's restaurants," the National Restaurant Association in a letter to congressional leaders in February. "The restaurant industry and our workforce will suffer from a fast-tracked wage increase and elimination of the tip credit."The...…ShareBig restaurant chains are telling investors that a national minimum wage hike wouldn't be a big deal—even as their corporate lobbying groups in Washington fight plans for a $15 minimum wage."We share your view that a national discussion on wage issues for working Americans is needed—but the Raise the Wage Act is the wrong bill at the wrong time for our nation's restaurants," the National Restaurant Association in a letter to congressional leaders in February. "The restaurant industry and our workforce will suffer from a fast-tracked wage increase and elimination of the tip credit."The...WW…

AdvertisementDespite claims made by Hamas and its defenders, more proof has emerged exposing the fact that the terrorist group routinely uses Palestinian civilians as human shields. Israel’s critics have constantly railed against the Jewish state for supposedly indiscriminately bombing buildings like schools, hospitals, and others. Those who have paid attention to the overall Israeli/Palestinian conflict understand that this is how the terrorist group operates.AdvertisementNow, the Israel Defense Force (IDF) has released even more footage from its ground invasion of the Gaza Strip, the...…AdvertisementDespite claims made by Hamas and its defenders, more proof has emerged exposing the fact that the terrorist group routinely uses Palestinian civilians as human shields. Israel’s critics have constantly railed against the Jewish state for supposedly indiscriminately bombing buildings like schools, hospitals, and others. Those who have paid attention to the overall Israeli/Palestinian conflict understand that this is how the terrorist group operates.AdvertisementNow, the Israel Defense Force (IDF) has released even more footage from its ground invasion of the Gaza Strip, the...WW…