One of the most intense fights that we are set to see on the American political stage over the course of the next few years will undoubtedly be about voting rights, and rightly so.  This is an issue that is intrinsic to the freedom of our nation, as secure and fair elections are the only way in which we can truly exercise our democracy. The issue has been foolishly split down the middle, into the predictable party pools where the narrative will mutate and radicalize until the argument is far from the middle ground it deserves, and a stalemate occurs in Washington DC. And while our elected imbeciles officials continue to play politics with this all-important issue, the American people have let their opinions be known in a recent poll that seems to contradict much of what the Democratic position has become of late. Amid plenty of partisan rancor over election integrity and voter suppression, a new national poll indicates that most Americans support requiring voter identification to cast a ballot and easier access to early voting. And a survey by Monmouth University released on Monday also indicates that the public is more divided on expanding voting by mail. Eight out of 10 of those questioned in the poll support requiring voter ID, including 91% of Republicans, 87% of independents and 62% of Democrats. Just over seven in 10 – 71% – say in-person early voting ahead of Election Day should be made easier. That includes 89% of Democrats, 68% of independents and 56% of Republicans. Voter ID has been a key sticking point in negotiations over future elections, with Democrats showing little enthusiasm for requiring American voters to provide identification to cast their ballots. This latest poll seems to weaken their position in the argument, however, and could send…

Over the course of the last several years, American culture has been wholly invaded by political narratives.  There is nowhere to hide from your allegiance to Team R or Team D.  Where you shop, what brands you buy, what car you drive, what music you listen to; all of these things can be divvied up along the lines of the false political dichotomy that we’ve been given by our elected overlords, of course, much for the sake of enriching themselves. But I digress. Every facet of our lives can have a political slant to it these days, and nowhere is that more apparent than in the world of sports. Watching our nation’s most talented athletes perfect their abilities on the pitch, the court, the field, or the track had long been an escape from the incessant nature of society itself – politics included.  Now, however, thanks to any number of factors, (and largely Colin Kaepernick), modern athletes are almost expected to have some sort of stance of politics. Some athlete’s opinions are far louder than others, as well. BMX Freestyle rider Chelsea Wolfe, who qualified as an alternate to represent the U.S. at this year’s summer Olympics in Tokyo, said last year that her goal was to win an Olympic medal “so I can burn a US flag on the podium.” “My goal is to win the Olympics so I can burn a US flag on the podium. This is what they focus on during a pandemic. Hurting trans children,” Wolfe wrote on Facebook on March 25, 2020, along with a link to a PinkNews story about the Trump administration’s stance on transgender girls in female athletics. Wolfe identifies as a transgender woman. The post has since been deleted, and the BMX rider attempted to walk back the sensational comment in an…