Archive for October 2025

Founded in 2023, Alongside offers services related to advanced preparations for death, targeting same-sex couples in particular. For example, they help couples write wills to appoint their other half as the executor, giving them the right to handle their partner’s estate and arrange their funeral. Above: Posters in social enterprise Alongside’s office

Stanford University History Professor Jack Rakove offers a more professional, succinct explanation. In a functioning constitutional republic, the executive (President) lawfully and constitutionally executes the nation’s laws; the parliament (US Congress) passes the laws and provides a check on unlawful or excessive use of executive power; and a constitutional court (Supreme Court) ensures the other two branches of government act lawfully and constitutionally. He observes that none of these things now occur in the United States.

Nearly all participants described the South as a place deeply shaped by conservative values, especially those rooted in religion and traditional family structures. The Black church emerged as both a protective factor and a challenge. While offering vital community support, it also often reinforced stigma around homosexuality and discouraged open conversations about sexual health. Above: Information about PrEP in the clinic can go only so far without community support.

Good data drives good decision-making, and education is no exception. The data provided to researchers from independent research organizations, public-private partnerships, and other institutions helps teachers, administrators, and lawmakers make good decisions about how to approach schooling. That’s why it is critical to highlight the administration’s assault on public data at the Department of Education — just one part of its war on public education in general.

Emotional manipulation has been hardwired into AI right from the beginning

From the wholesale gutting of federal agencies to the ongoing government shutdown, Russell Vought has drawn the road map for the President’s second term. Vought has consolidated power to an extent that insiders say they feel like “he is the commander in chief.”