So, I haven't really done this in a while.
Before I joined The American Prospect, I had a pseudonymous blog called Too Sense, which was named after an angry little pseudonymous zine I published in high school. That blog was mostly focused on race, but it helped me get a job here at TAP straight out of journalism school, an opportunity I was very lucky to have. I've spent the last two years writing for our group blog, TAPPED. Having written for TAPPED for so long, I think I may have forgotten how to helm a solo blog, but I suspect I'll figure it out as we go along.
Since joining TAP, I've mainly written about civil rights, human rights, and criminal justice. In general, I'd say I've focused on how America manages the people who are feared and despised by large segments of society, whether it's the more than 7 million Americans in some phase of the correctional system, suspected terror detainees at Gitmo, undocumented immigrants, or even American Muslims trying to build places of worship. Often that means writing about people we see every day whose basic rights -- like the right to vote or the right to marry --are denied or deferred based on the fashionable hysteria of the moment.
So this blog is going to be, loosely speaking, organized around the concept of justice. I don't mean for that to sound corny -- a big part of what interests me personally is the gap between the lofty ideals Americans set for themselves and the ways in which we meet or fall short of those expectations. American history is rich precisely because it is so full of moments where we've risen to the occasion and others where we've fallen tragically short. Nearly a decade after the September 11 attacks, we're in an interesting time to be dealing with these questions -- and in my mind I see this blog as being a place where I can help clarify them. I'll also be offering the occasional thorough fisking. Ultimately this is all more prediction than mission statement -- this blog will go where it goes.
Since my name's up there now, this is also going to be a place where I rant about the political subtext and artistic value of comic books and video games, as well as the occasional nostalgic diatribe about hip-hop music. Also more on zombies.
Anyway, welcome to my new homeblog. Feel free to sit back and put your feet up.
