Jess Lahitou

Jess Lahitou

Bio

Jess is a literature lover, former teacher, new(ish) mother, and politics junkie. Currently in Miami, this Colorado native is embracing the culture shock. Art Basel? Wynwood? Ropa Vieja? Yes, please.

Jess Lahitou Articles

Serve: baby does something. Return: you react in kind. (Image: Thinkstock)

The Most Important Thing Dads Can Do for Baby: Serve and Return

I’m not one for overstatement; the research here is rock solid. And while “serve and return” is borrowed lingo from tennis (hopeful we have some fellow Del Potro fans in the house), the practice has nothing at all to do with sports.

When it comes to babies, “serve and return” refers to meaningful, face-to-face interaction with the little one. The sort of conversation where you’re not just talking at baby, but watching his reactions, and responding in kind.

Read...
Image: Flickr

Red, White And News: John Boehner, Who is He? And Why Should I Care?

The workings of Congress are pretty fascinating. If you like The Borgias, The Tudors, Game of Thrones, House of Cards, then following the seemingly innocuous happenings in DC is a fascinating enterprise. You know that this is where the real action happens.

Read...
Duck Dynasty viewers were likely to vote for Trump. (Image Credit: Flickr/Mike Mozart)

The 'Duck Dynasty' Test: Are We This Politically Predictable?

Four years ago, my husband took a job transfer to Bogota, Colombia.

Read...

Top Twitter Hashtags Of Election 2016 (So Fun)

The 2016 election has, for a while now, felt eerily akin to 1984 (lots ‘o doublespeak coming out of Trump and his supporters). Or The Hunger Games, to take a more recent example of dystopian genre fiction. Wherein, government becomes solely about politics and the media spectacle, rather than actual policies and ideas.

Read...
Sick and tired.

The CNBC Republican Debate: Surprisingly Like The Escaped Blimp

While watching the third Republican debate last night on CNBC, I thought to myself: Self, you’re going to have to write a straight review of this thing. The candidates are too wonky tonight to be caricatured, and even Donald Trump has reigned himself in significantly. The debate was billed as “Your Money, Your Vote,” and the questions hewed pretty close to the economy. Read: not many social-issues gaffe bait.

Read...
Photo Credit: Wikipedia

The Republican Candidates And Their Justin Bieber Alter Egos

Last night the Fox Business Network hosted a debate amongst the 2016 Presidential Republican candidates. Just writing that feels like déjà vu – this would be the 6th debate thus far. And think! Only six more to go!

Read...
(Image Credit: By Donald Trump August 19, 2015 (cropped).jpg: BU Rob13 Hillary Clinton by Gage Skidmore 2.jpg: Gage [GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html) or CC BY-SA 4.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0)], via Wikimedia Commons)

My Very Gen-Y Take On The First Presidential Debate

So I don’t approve, in general, of how my generation tends to come at things, with the focus on: me, my experience, my

Read...
Trump also said it would take him roughly 90 minutes to learn “everything” there was to know about nuclear missiles.

Some Dudes Think They Can Learn 'Everything' In 90 Minutes

As Tom Nichols puts it, ignorance has now become a "virtue." And it takes a whole lot of it to claim you can learn 'everything' about a complex subject - like, say, nuclear weapons - in roughly 90 minutes.

Read...
Image: Wikipedia/Glenn Francis.

Why Spouses Shouldn't Be Off-Limits In Politics

When Americans pick a president, they are looking for someone who is right for the moment. A person who speaks for the time, who is equipped to react and respond accordingly.

Read...