The debate over equal rights for LGBT Americans has recently focused, bizarrely, on an American fast food staple: the chicken sandwich. Specifically, Chick Fil-A, the Atlanta-based fast food giant that purports to follow "Christian values." Chick Fil-A's President and COO, Dan Cathy, rec… Read full post »

So, as a therapist, I occasionally run across jokes about my profession and my chosen field that I find pretty funny. The problem is, most of my non-therapist friends don't understand them.

 So I'm using OS as an outlet to tell a good number of these jokes that I've collected. Hopefully… Read full post »

 Mitt Romney, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, has been out of the country in a multi-country tour. This was likely an effort to shore up his light foreign policy experience. That experience to date has been limited to a Swiss bank account, untold millions of dollar… Read full post »

Since the advent of the gay rights movement, gay and lesbian people have been bombarded by a myth: that their non-heterosexual sexual orientation is nothing more than a "choice" that they made. This myth promotes the notion that sexual minority people are either disordered or sexu… Read full post »

The legality of abortion has remained a hot topic in American politics since the landmark Roe v. Wade ruling in 1973, which upheld the right of a woman to have an abortion. This ruling has since been hailed by proponents of women's rights and reproductive freedom as a cornerstone ruling… Read full post »

Concerns about LGBT issues in America often focus on things such as the repeal of Don't Ask, Don't Tell, the constitutionality of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), the latest Republican attack on LGBT civil rights, or grassroots campaigns to achieve marriage equality. However, r… Read full post »

Last week Americans were reminded of the terrible impact of bullying when 14 year Jamey Rodemeyer took his own life after being incessantly bullied by classmates.  Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender youth all across America face daily taunts and threats in their schools and in… Read full post »

The political right wing has never been far from the Bible, at least in rhetoric. However, recently there has been an increasing push to further inject their version of Christianity into the governance of the nation.

Besides recent anti-abortion laws and efforts to bar LGBT rights… Read full post »

Perhaps inevitability due to overall GOP discontent with their crop of presidential candidates, Texas Gov. Rick Perry has thrown his Stetson into the ring. Perry enjoys popularity among the American Right, who often cite his record as Texas governor as the way forward. However, a closer… Read full post »

The brutal murder of James Craig Anderson in Jackson, Miss., on June 26 invokes an all too familiar theme in Mississippi history: racism. According to news reports, the 49-year-old African American autoworker was assaulted by a group of white teens, including 18-year-old Deryl Dedmond J… Read full post »

You recall the old phrase, "If you can't beat them, take away their ability to vote"? Well, neither do I, but that appears to be Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker's latest political mantra. Following a string of hotly contested bills passed by the GOP-controlled state legislature, inclu… Read full post »

Besides being the only minority in the GOP presidential field, Herman Cain also stands out from his competitors in another way: his lack of political experience, which Cain cites as an advantage. In fact, although he is relatively new to the public, he has been involved in national poli… Read full post »

Rep. Eric Cantor of Virginia, the Republican House majority leader, has been in the spotlight with his headlining-grabbing intransigence on the debt ceiling negotiations. While his name recognition has dramatically increased since the 2010 elections, it hasn't always been po… Read full post »

As he has been running for president since 2007, Willard Mitt Romney is a man who needs no introduction within political circles. After all he is currently the front-runner in the Republican primary field for the 2012 presidential nomination. However, he has been known as a political op… Read full post »

Ron Paul, the Republican congressman from Texas, has become a living legend for many due to his outspoken libertarian views. Perhaps many of his followers are attracted by his vocal drug-legalization views. Either way, he has attracted a multi-generational following that occasiona… Read full post »

Bernie Sanders, the Independent senator from Vermont and self-described socialist, has been a steadfast supporter of the working class since the beginning of his career. From supporting universal health care and increased Pell Grants to opposing tax cuts for the wealthy, Sanders has con… Read full post »

Republicans around the country proclaim that conservative remedies, such as repealing "Obamacare," or enacting Paul Ryan's Medicare-warping, tax-slashing budget plan, will solve the nation's health care and economic disparities. However, evidence from Mississippi suggests otherwise.

Miss… Read full post »

 Congresswoman Michele Bachman, R-Minn., used the June 13 CNN Republican Debate in New Hampshire to announce her intention to seek the GOP presidential nomination, thereby grabbing headlines. According to MSNBC's Chris Matthews she showed impressive "stagecraft" during the debate.… Read full post »

Political candidates often make gaffes, or mistakes, on the campaign trail, which is understandable as they are, in fact, human. However, lately many Republicans have gone from making simple gaffes to saying things that are outright ridiculous.

When speaking of the ridiculous, former Alaska Gov. Sara… Read full post »

Full disclosure: I am a graduate student (almost done) and my health insurance, Blue Cross Blue Shield, is paid for by my parents- to whom I am extremely thankful.

So- my little brother, 18, experienced some extreme pain a few weeks ago. It was so bad he was throwing up and… Read full post »

A recent string of special election losses may signal a warning to the GOP, which only last year swept into power in a massive surge. From New York to Florida there have been big upsets by Democratic candidates.

These elections, the first since the GOP victories in 2010, may serve… Read full post »

Republicans have made no secret of their opposition to the legality of abortion. In fact, between their resurgence last November and the end of March, they proposed 916 measures in 49 state legislatures relating to reproductive rights, health, and access, according to the Guttmacher Institute. So muc… Read full post »

NASHVILLE, Tenn. - On May 18, the Republican-controlled Tennessee state legislature overwhelmingly passed a bill that would strip Nashville of its anti-bias rights protections for its lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender citizens, and ban any Tennessee city from enacting similar measures. The bill… Read full post »

Quick spoiler alert: the title of this article is intentionally misleading. That elected Republicans are anti-gay-rights is almost expected - it is the common wisdom. The broader conservative movement that the GOP is associated with has an anti-gay streak that they label with the euphemism "tradition… Read full post »