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Columnists

For the Freedom to Vote

The protection of voting rights seems more vital than ever

September 15, 2021 • by Heather Cox Richardson

_____ This week, the team of Democratic senators working on a voting rights measure that could meet the demands of conservative Democratic West Virginia senator Joe Manchin released their bill. The 592-page document is described as a bill “to expand Americans’ access to the ballot box and reduce the influence of ...

Columnists

The Un-Canceling of Biographer Blake Bailey

W.W. Norton took a financial bath on Philip Roth: A Biography, and Skyhorse Press will make all the profits. Is this the end of cancel culture?

August 25, 2021 • by Claire Potter

_____ A little less than three months ago, charges emerged that Blake Bailey had groomed female middle school students for sex and that he had pestered and sexually assaulted adult women. After what were undoubtedly agonizing internal debates, W.W. Norton exercised the morals clause in Bailey’s contract, putting his 2014 memoir ...

The Un-Canceling of Biographer Blake Bailey

Columnists

Is Bad Faith Sabotaging the Fight Against Covid?

To our country’s elites, it makes perfect sense that if the CDC wants the public’s trust, it has to do better

August 25, 2021 • by John Stoehr

_____ Nicole Carroll is the editor-in-chief of USA Today. Earlier this month, her newspaper ran an interview between her and her brother. Chris Carroll refuses to get vaccinated. He’s educated, conservative, religious, and Texas-proud. He’s a Trump supporter, too. Nicole ran the piece to explain why some Americans refuse to do ...

Is Bad Faith Sabotaging the Fight Against Covid?

Columnists

How Do We Solve a Problem Like ‘Vaccine Skeptics’? Stop Respecting Their Excuses for Bad Behavior

We’ve tried respect. It didn’t work

July 21, 2021 • by John Stoehr

_____ Henry Enten used to be a very fine writer for FiveThirtyEight before he became a talking head for CNN. I don’t hold that against him, though. He’s a number-cruncher. In this day and age, we need number-crunchers. And we need them to do more than crunch numbers. We need them ...

How Do We Solve a Problem Like ‘Vaccine Skeptics’? Stop Respecting Their Excuses for Bad Behavior

Columnists

Why Voting Rights Are Still Necessary Trouble

Just a year after Representative Lewis’s death, the rights for which he fought are under greater threat than they have been since 1965

July 21, 2021 • by Heather Cox Richardson

_____ A year ago last week, Georgia Representative John Lewis passed away from pancreatic cancer at 80 years old. As a young adult, Lewis was a “troublemaker,” breaking the laws of his state: the laws upholding racial segregation. He organized voting registration drives and in 1960 was one of the thirteen ...

Why Voting Rights Are Still Necessary Trouble

Columnists

Facts About the Covid Vaccinations Are Totally Political, Because All Facts Are Totally Political

We need a new consensus

July 14, 2021 • by John Stoehr

_____ As you know, Dr. Anthony Fauci is the White House chief pandemic advisor. He appeared on the Sunday morning talk shows as part of the administration’s renewed effort to achieve its goal of vaccinating 70 percent of the US population. But his appearance seemed to do more than that. It ...

Facts About the Covid Vaccinations Are Totally Political, Because All Facts Are Totally Political

Columnists

“What Can I Do to Help?”—Said No Software Solution Ever

Re-hiring human beings for clerical, secretarial, and other traditional pink-collar work would create good jobs and make our offices more attuned to human needs

July 14, 2021 • by Claire Potter

_____ Is there anyone working for a large organization who doesn’t dread the announcement of a new “technology solution?” There’s a hard truth lurking behind every cheerful email about a new platform with a perky name and great graphics. That truth is: more work that used to be done by a ...

“What Can I Do to Help?”—Said No Software Solution Ever

Columnists

The Great Jobs Bait and Switch

July 14, 2021 • by Pat Garofalo

_____ When a corporation and local officials publicly announce an economic development deal, they both reap a bunch of benefits, most importantly positive press. Both the firm and the elected leaders get their names in the paper or on the local TV news, next to statements about new jobs and dollars ...

Columnists

A “Proud Capitalist,” Joe Biden is Championing Competition

Capitalism without competition isn’t capitalism; it’s exploitation

July 13, 2021 • by Heather Cox Richardson

_____ Last week, as President Joe Biden signed “An Executive Order Promoting Competition in the American Economy,” he echoed the language of his predecessors. “[C]ompetition keeps the economy moving and keeps it growing,” he said. “Fair competition is why capitalism has been the world’s greatest force for prosperity and growth…. But ...

A “Proud Capitalist,” Joe Biden is Championing Competition

Columnists

The Very Serious Debate Club

On Josh Barro and his ilk

July 7, 2021 • by John Stoehr

_____ Josh Barro is a columnist for Business Insider. He’s a member of what I’ll call the Very Serious Debate Club. The VSDC constitutes, and I’m guessing here, probably half of the pundit corps in this country. These are men, and they are usually men but not always, who don’t have ...

Columnists

How Trump’s Big Lie Fuels Voter Suppression and Republican Authoritarianism

In American history, the attempt to overturn our election procedures for one man, based on a conspiracy theory, is unprecedented

July 7, 2021 • by Heather Cox Richardson

_____ Six months ago this week, rioters stormed the U.S. Capitol, intending to stop the counting of the certified ballots that would make Joseph R. Biden president and Kamala Harris vice president. This attack was unprecedented. It broke our nation’s long history of the peaceful transfer of power. You know the story ...

How Trump’s Big Lie Fuels Voter Suppression and Republican Authoritarianism

Columnists

Car Alarm in Oklahoma

Driving through an absurd incentive cover-up

July 7, 2021 • by Pat Garofalo

_____ Canoo — a company that makes not boats, but electric cars — announced earlier this month that it will open a new plant in Pryor, Oklahoma. Oklahoma was in the hunt for a Tesla plant that wound up in Austin, Texas, so officials there are spinning this as a very ...

Columnists

For the Freedom to Vote

The protection of voting rights seems more vital than ever

The Un-Canceling of Biographer Blake Bailey

W.W. Norton took a financial bath on Philip Roth: A Biography, and Skyhorse Press will make all the profits. Is this the end of cancel culture?

Is Bad Faith Sabotaging the Fight Against Covid?

To our country’s elites, it makes perfect sense that if the CDC wants the public’s trust, it has to do better

How Do We Solve a Problem Like ‘Vaccine Skeptics’? Stop Respecting Their Excuses for Bad Behavior

We’ve tried respect. It didn’t work

Why Voting Rights Are Still Necessary Trouble

Just a year after Representative Lewis’s death, the rights for which he fought are under greater threat than they have been since 1965

Facts About the Covid Vaccinations Are Totally Political, Because All Facts Are Totally Political

We need a new consensus

“What Can I Do to Help?”—Said No Software Solution Ever

Re-hiring human beings for clerical, secretarial, and other traditional pink-collar work would create good jobs and make our offices more attuned to human needs

The Great Jobs Bait and Switch

A “Proud Capitalist,” Joe Biden is Championing Competition

Capitalism without competition isn’t capitalism; it’s exploitation

The Very Serious Debate Club

On Josh Barro and his ilk

How Trump’s Big Lie Fuels Voter Suppression and Republican Authoritarianism

In American history, the attempt to overturn our election procedures for one man, based on a conspiracy theory, is unprecedented

Car Alarm in Oklahoma

Driving through an absurd incentive cover-up

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