Not Quite Communist

Photo: Ted Eytan via Wikimedia Commons. I decided to focus my message today on trans issues because it’s what made me the most angry this week. And it’s only Tuesday night. A major fight is happening right now over gender-affirming care. Or actually, it has been attacked over and over this past decade. It’s just getting worse as the rhetoric gets worse. This healthcare is essential and even life-s...

The digital public square, whether it’s Facebook or X, often becomes a stage for what can only be described as armchair constitutional experts. They are quick to spew definitive statements, often about sensitive legal matters like immigration, and lately, the loudest nonsense has been about how undocumented immigrants, or “aliens,” as the law calls them, don’t deserve due process. Based on that si...

The statement, “Why can’t we have nice people from Norway?” might sound harmless at first. However, when President Donald Trump made this statement recently, while discussing his rabid immigration policy, it becomes a deeply damaging message. The comment is inappropriate, not just because it’s so vile to say, but because the President is using his immense power, in his capacity as President of the...

The air in the auditorium is thick with anticipation. On stage, an Asian American comedian is winding up a joke, one that starts with a recognizable accent and a familiar parental expectation—the relentless push toward medicine or law. The punchline lands, and the entire room erupts in laughter. It’s a laughter that carries a complex resonance: recognition, relief, and perhaps a touch of discomfor...

We often talk about freedom as if it is a destination. We treat it like a statue carved in stone or a document sealed in glass. We think that once we have it, it sits there, unmoving and permanent. But that is not the reality of liberty. Liberty is organic. It breathes. It needs sustenance. And because it is alive, it is vulnerable. Carlos Bulosan, a man who knew the bitter taste of exclusion just...

The stakes have never been higher, and the goal has never been more clear. That is the caption the U.S. Department of Homeland Security chose to accompany a single, terrifying command, “Remigration now.” It looks like a simple policy update, perhaps a bureaucratic shuffling of papers. But if you peel back the layers of that word, you find a history written in blood and a future that promises the s...

When I hear the name “Black Friday,” I think about how it perfectly shows what capitalism is really about. The name comes from accounting. Red ink means a store is losing money, while black ink means they are making a profit. So, this holiday is named after the moment businesses start making money. It is not about being thankful or being with family. It is about businesses making sure their bank a...

When most Americans picture Thanksgiving, their minds drift almost automatically to Norman Rockwell. We all know the image. It is the famous painting titled Freedom from Want , featuring a matriarch placing a perfectly roasted turkey onto a table surrounded by smiling faces. The table is set with the standard pantheon of sides including bread stuffing, mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, candie...

Photo: Wikimedia Commons. Today marks a dark stain on our national conscience. The news that two National Guardsmen from West Virginia were shot while patrolling Washington, D.C. is a horrifying realization of our worst fears. These are individuals with families, lives, and dreams who were deployed to support Homeland Security operations, and now they lie wounded in a hospital. While we wait for t...

I was pumping gas on Peterson Ave. near the Metra Station today when I overheard a conversation at the next pump. Two people, one in the Ford pickup and the other fueling up, were talking about local queer volunteers who help feed our neighbors. The tone was nasty. One of them laughed and called the volunteers “a bunch of t***** woke virtue signalers.” I flinched when I heard it. It felt like a ph...

Did you miss me? After two weeks in my native Honolulu, I’m back in my Edgewater home. And I’m glad to be back. But after traveling across tribal lands on my way home, it got me thinking about our indigenous friends and the progress they’ve made, or rather erasure of progress. The history of the 1968 Indian Civil Rights Act shows a pattern that is still happening today. In Washington and in stateh...

King David Kalakaua. Photo: Hawaii State Archives. The moment is always the same. As the wheels of my Delta jetliner touch ground at Honolulu International Airport, my heart stops a moment. Flying into Honolulu is a sacred act for me, a spiritual experience returning to the land of my birth and personal culture. This physical connection to the aina , the land, is what reminds me, even as I pass th...

I’m spending my Tuesday in Seattle before getting on a Delta flight to visit my parents. Each time I fly over the vibrant city, with its coffee shops and skyscrapers, I am reminded, as someone who writes and podcasts about the shadows of empire, of the sad story of Chief Seattle. His story is a profound betrayal that echoes the entire devastating history of American colonialism, a story of a man w...

Today everything stopped when the sandhill cranes arrived. Not on a nature preserve, not out in the suburbs, but right along the downtown Chicago lakefront. Can you believe that? Against the backdrop of our towering skyline, these ancient, graceful birds descended for their brief layover, pausing on their long, southbound journey ahead of the full moon. It felt like a scene ripped right out of a d...

It drives me crazy to hear the same tired arguments wheeled out every time we talk about social safety nets. You hear it constantly: people claiming there are too many SNAP beneficiaries, that they’re all lazy, and that they just need to get jobs to support themselves. It’s a simplistic view that ignores the reality of who actually relies on this crucial program. The most vulnerable group, the one...

Today, I wanted to talk about some unsung heroes working at food pantries, some makeshift pantries in particular, across the country. The recent halt of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits, driven by political disputes over contingency funds during a government shutdown, has thrust the phrase “mutual aid” into the public spotlight. For many, this concept of community support...

If you’ve ever looked at European politics and noticed how many parties have the word Christian in their names, you might wonder what’s going on. There are Christian Democrats, Christian Socialists, Christian People’s Parties, and more. It sounds like the churches decided to start their own political leagues. But really, it has more to do with history, values, and how faith shaped Europe after som...

Texas Christian University, a private school, is closing its departments for Women and Gender Studies and Comparative Race and Ethnic Studies. They are combining these programs into the English department. While the school said it was due to low enrollment, this decision is happening as a clear political effort to shut down Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) programs across the country. This i...

The story of the 1936 penny auction in Michigan is not just history. It is a powerful blueprint for community resistance that resonates deeply with the struggles we face right here, right now, in Edgewater and across Chicago. The Great Depression farmers resisted economic disparity. The banks held the power, threatening to strip families of their land and their very survival. The farmers’ response...

Here at The Edgewater Podcast , I talk a lot about progressive politics and the history of colonization, which is really a history of power and who gets to eat. Today, I want to talk about how a simple meal in a Chicago school cafeteria is a powerful act of justice and a smart investment in our future. It’s about the connection between feeding our kids and their ability to learn. When kids go to s...

This week, I just want to say thank you. Thank you to everyone who made the Evanston Nouveau Rotary Club’s Purple Pinkie fundraiser such a success. To the incredible folks at Sketchbook Brewing Co. , you have once again proven that you are more than a brewery. You are a force for good. You craft not only great beer but great community. You give us a space to come together with purpose, to raise a...

I had a quick powwow recently with my friend Randy Kim, host of the podcast Bánh Mì Bites , going over some names. It got me thinking about why I’ve been posting more Asian American Pacific Islander content these few months. And the truth is, it’s not just content. It’s conviction. Because right now, we are under attack. The growing wave of xenophobia in this country isn’t just about rhetoric anym...

Eric Trump claimed his father is “Saving God.” Photo: Gage Skidmore via Wikimedia Commons. When Eric Trump said on a podcast that his father’s administration was “saving God,” I froze for a moment. Because as absurd as it sounds, there are millions of Americans who truly believe that. They believe that one man—angry, vengeful, vulgar, and power-hungry—is somehow the savior of the Almighty. Let’s p...

Chicago Public School lunchroom workers are struggling to pay for the most basic necessities, even as they fight tooth and nail for better wages, fully staffed kitchens, and something as simple as respect and dignity on the job. Let that sink in—this is Chicago, the birthplace of the labor movement, the home of the eight-hour workday, the city that built the modern union. And yet, in 2025, the ver...

Today’s raids in Edgewater, Andersonville, Uptown, Rogers Park, and the City of Evanston have shaken the core of our communities. These are not just neighborhoods on a map. These are places where families work, where children walk to school, where small restaurants serve breakfast before the morning rush. And now, these places have become scenes of fear and violation. ICE and CBP vehicles have bee...