I wrote for Paste politics from May 2016 to its demise in April 2020, cutting my journalistic teeth in the madness of the Trump era. This is not a complete archive of my over 1,500 posts for the Atlanta-based culture magazine, but a sampling of the kind of analytical and approachable work I did while leading much of Paste‘s political coverage.
Here’s Why the Media and Its Pundits Get American Politics So Wrong
On Deadspin, Gawker, and the War with Major Capital for the Soul of Journalism
America Doesn’t Feel Real Anymore
Capitalism’s Fatal Flaw Is Something So Simple, Anyone Can See It
Trump Supporters Are Right: Whiteness is Under Attack, But Not the Way They Think
These Are America’s Three Major Political Parties
The 10 Best Political Hip-Hop Songs Of All Time
Congressional Titan John Dingell Is Dead at 92, but His Spirit Lives on in Millennial Politics
I Am a Whistleblower, and America Needs More Like Me
- This was a piece I edited by Bank of America whistleblower Brian penny
Making Sense of this Ukrainian Mess With Joe Biden, His Son, the NYT and Rudy Giuliani
In October 2016, I outlined how Trump advisors Michael Flynn, Paul Manafort, and Roger Stone were all aiding Russia’s influence of the 2016 election in an analysis that has stood up through the Mueller investigation.
After joining Paste full-time, I was asked to do a deep dive into this subject.
How Donald Trump’s Own Words Connect him to Russia (Part 1 of 5)
How Donald Trump’s Businesses are Financed by Russian Cash (Part 2 of 5)
The Mysterious Deaths and Arrests of High-Level Russian Officials (Part 3 of 5)
Donald Trump’s FISA Paranoia (Part 4 of 5)
A Unified Theory on Donald Trump’s Russian Connections (Part 5 of 5)
I led the Mueller beat at Paste, and am proud of how my coverage holds up. Many on the left turned the story into some supposed impending downfall of President Trump, while the progressive left largely treated it dismissively. My coverage consistently acknowledged the criminality being alleged along with the evidence provided by the federal government, while acknowledging the difficulties of prosecuting a man with immense Article II powers, as well as the harsh realities about who does and does not go to prison for crimes in America that was laid bare by the 2008 crash. The last item I will share here on this subject is my recap of the final Mueller Report.
Prominent Conservative Blogger Calls for Secession, and the Column Is as Bad as You’d Imagine
I Saw Hate Yesterday in My Hometown of Charlottesville, Virginia
- I edited this heart-felt article by Jordan Breeding the weekend of the Charlottesville murder
How Jake Tapper and the Mainstream Media Got Played by a Koch Brothers Think Tank
Donald Trump Has a GREAT Idea That We Should All Get Behind
British Socialists and Utah Republicans Have the Same Good Idea on How to End Homelessness
Trump’s Tremendously Twisted Logic on Steel and Aluminum Tariffs
Millennial Women Are Going to Destroy the Republican Party
Rudy Giuliani Has Always Been Like This
The 9/11 Attacks Accomplished Every Goal That Osama bin Laden Wanted to Achieve
A New Supreme Court Ruling Against Lead Paint Could Make It Easier to Fight Climate Change
To the Mainstream Media: Stop Normalizing Fascists Like Gavin McInnes and the Proud Boys
What You Think Is Capitalism Isn’t Actually Capitalism
Why Are Democrats Backing a PAYGO Rule That Will Make Liberal Legislation Harder to Pass?
Here’s How the U.S. Could Use “Humanitarian Aid” To Start A War in Venezuela