Can you identify this person? Occasional Planet’s “Who Am I” series features people who have made important contributions to liberal thought, progressive politics, human rights, enlightened education, and “small-d” democratic principles–both in the US and internationally.

The abbreviated bios in our “Progressive Hall of Fame” only hint at the scope of our hall of famers’ struggles and accomplishments. We hope that curiosity will impel you find out more about these inspiring people, whose professional efforts and personal sacrifices deserve to be remembered—and emulated.

We welcome suggestions from our readers for additional people to include in our progressive hall of fame.

To see a gallery of the progressive role models previously featured on Occasional Planet, click here.

Who is he? Here’s the big reveal:

The post Who am I? Guess the progressive appeared first on Occasional Planet.

I was looking at the St. Louis Post-Dispatch (print copy) the other day and noticed the following:

I glanced at the spreads and suddenly something caught my attention. It has nothing to do with the point spreads or the betting line. I was surprised because it seemed to me that the Post-Dispatch had done something that at the very least indicated an element of political correctness and possibly an endorsement of the progressive side to an argument.

See if you can pick up the one anomaly in the listings. If you see it, why does it exist. You can send your responses in to info@occasionalplanet.org or by submitting a comment below.

The post A small increment of progressive progress: Can you see it? appeared first on Occasional Planet.

Now, class, who has been paying attention to the news this year? Class? Class? Anyone? Bueller? If you have, this little quiz will be a snap, although it’s sometimes more difficult than we expect to identify newsmakers without an accompanying headline. All of the people shown above have made news this year–or deserved to have been in the news. Some of the images show newsmakers in their earlier, youthful incarnations–just to make it a little trickier. Don’t attach any special message to our selection: We basically picked people who have been in the headlines–whether they’ve made positive contributions to the world, or have been victims,  or have embarrassed themselves through scandals or misdeeds.

Just to make it interesting, give yourself 3 minutes to try to name all of the newsmakers. Then show the array to a friend or co-worker, and compare results. Don’t worry: the results will not go on your permanent record, unless you post them on Facebook.

Click here for answers.  [Spoiler alert: They’re all listed in one place, so once you click, no more guessing.]

Ratings:

15 correct answers: Card-carrying member of News Junkies Anonymous

12 – 14  correct answers: Political name-dropper

8 to 11  correct answers: Smarter than a fifth grader

4 to 7 correct answers: Need to check in more often

3 or fewer  correct answers:  Out of touch

The post Who Am I? 2011 Newsmakers photo quiz appeared first on Occasional Planet.