May 1st: Occupy Your Life

On November 4th, 2008, I found myself in a room full of my friends openly weeping. That was the night President Barack Obama was elected to office. I felt I had somewhat of a personal stake in the Obama campaign. That, and I was a little drunk. I don’t claim to be an activist, but I had read his books. I had donated to his campaign back in May of 2007 when it looked like Hillary would win the nomination. Most importantly, I had just gotten back from Egypt, where I had spoken to dozens of Egyptians who liked Obama. I thought his election would send a great signal to the world after 8 years of Bush.

Today, I find myself frustrated. Continue reading “May 1st: Occupy Your Life”

Happy 10th Birthday, Gitmo!

I wanted to do a special post today for the tenth anniversary of the opening of Guantanamo Bay detention camp, the extra-judicial facility where the United States government holds prisoners from the recent wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. 779 prisoners have been held in Guantanamo Bay over the last decade. Exactly 6 have been charged of a crime. This post analyzes the legal issues surrounding Gitmo and finds that it is an illegal violation of the 5th amendment of the Constitution (“due process”). Continue reading “Happy 10th Birthday, Gitmo!”