Last year, I testified in the Senate on Antifa and the growing anti-free speech movement in the United States. I specifically disagreed with the statement of House Judiciary Committee Chair Jerry Nadler that Antifa (and its involvement in violent protests) is a “myth.” What was most striking about that hearing was the refusal of Democratic members to condemn Antifa’s activities or recognize the scope of anarchist violence even as riots raged in Portland, Oregon and other cities. Indeed, Sen. Mazie Hirono, D-Hawaii, famously walked out of that hearing after Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, challenged her to condemn Antifa and leftist violence.Now, Portland, Mayor Ted Wheeler…

Humanity’s transgression of ecological limits has caused widespread damage, including a climate emergency, catastrophic loss of biodiversity, and extensive degradation of soils around the world. Earth abuse is also at the root of the Covid-19 pandemic and the grim likelihood that new pathogens will continue to emerge from other animal species to infect humans. Cultivation, deforestation, mining, livestock raising, and other activities degrade and destroy wildlife habitat, leaving animals no choice but to move closer to humans, potentially bringing pathogens along with them. Suburban sprawl and tourism (especially “eco-tourism”) also bring humans and wildlife closer together. Hunting involves the most…

Indianapolis was rocked by a mass shooting this week. Police responded to reports of shots fired at a FedEx operational facility around 11 PM on April 15. Eight people were shot and killed. The shooter, Brandon Hole, 19, killed himself. Hole was confirmed as a former FedEx employee. The motive is still being investigative, but Sikh groups are demanding a hate crimes probe as half of the victims belonged to that ethnic group. Yet, as we piece together why Hole committed this heinous crime, we have to wonder if this tragedy was avoidable. No, I’m not talking about gun control. I’m talking about…

 If we lived in a functioning democracy, January 6 would be remembered as the day Jon Ossoff and the Reverend Raphael Warnock won their Senate seats. Warnock’s race was called early that morning and Ossoff’s only hours later. Years of Democratic organizing in once deep-red Georgia had finally paid off. The improbable twin victories would bring the party control of the Senate. Democrats’ jubilation proved short-lived, however, as hundreds of Trump supporters ransacked the U.S. Capitol in an attempt to disrupt the certification of Joe Biden’s Electoral College victory. Incited by the president’s words—“We will never give up, we will…

Friday, as the jury was being empaneled for the trial of fired police officer Derek Chauvin, the Minneapolis City Council voted 13-0 to approve a record $27 million civil settlement with the family of George Floyd over his death in police custody. Most Americans who saw the nine-minute tape of Chauvin with his knee on the neck of Floyd as he pleaded, “I can’t breathe,” will probably concur with the charge of criminal culpability of Chauvin. Yet, over the months, new facts and factors have emerged. Floyd was not choked to death. He was not asphyxiated. He was not killed…