The collapse of democracy in Myanmar is a crisis for democracy everywhere. In the U.S., we witnessed a violent coup attempt on January 6, 2021, but it was thankfully unsuccessful. In Myanmar, which has a long history of colonial and autocratic rule, military officers have successfully replaced a democratically elected government.

March is women’s history month, so it’s a good time to focus on the importance of equal rights. This past January, Congress put forth a bipartisan resolution to extend the deadline to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA), which was introduced in 1972. Most young people have never heard of the ERA, so it’s worth describing its main points, why some Americans have opposed it, and where things stand now.

It is increasingly common for young people to spend a lot of time on their smartphones or other digital devices. This has caused many parents to worry that their kids are becoming addicted to social media and losing important life skills. The news that many Silicon Valley execs don’t let their kids have social media just reinforces this idea.

2021 is the Chinese year of the ox again, and it comes on the heels of 2020, which was suitably the year of the rat. What can we expect from the ox? Oxen are industrious, cautious, and generally helpful, so all signs seem positive. The last time it was the year of the ox was 2009. What happened that year?

In the history of the United States, exactly one presidential candidate has lost and refused to concede. That same candidate, Donald Trump, is also the only sitting president to have been impeached twice in the House of Representatives. Many on the political right question whether it makes any sense to impeach Trump a second time, but it is the correct move.

I remember in 2016 how Barack and Michelle Obama welcomed Donald and Melania Trump to the White House. Nobody thought that the Obamas were happy to do this, or that they were in any way happy to spend time with the Trumps. But they did it, mostly because it’s what outgoing presidents do to help ensure a peaceful transition. To watch the Bidens entire the White House without the Trumps there to greet them was strange.

How is it that a presidential candidate can be winning by over 4 million votes, and yet the race is still “too close to call”? Blame it on the electoral college, the unique and increasingly inconvenient way we select our presidents. Why did the framers of the US Constitution feel the electoral college was necessary?