Feature Archives - Page 53 of 150

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What Does “For the People” Mean?

Anodyne slogans tell us nothing about the Democrats’ agenda

July 25, 2018 • by Claire Potter

Would someone please reconsider the prominent role of marketing in politics? Or perhaps I should rephrase that question -- could we take a close look at the substitution of marketing and branding strategies for politics? I ask this question only days after the Democratic leadership, well-embarked on flipping the House of Representatives ...

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50 Years of Occupation

When will the Israel-Palestine conflict end?

July 25, 2018 • by David J. Lobina

It is now over 50 years since Israel seized Gaza and the West Bank during the war of June 1967, with no end in sight for the military occupation and colonization enforced upon the Palestinians since then. At the same time, it has been some four years since Mahmoud Abbas, ...

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Another Day, Another Step Towards Authoritarianism

Trump spins Russia’s potential interference in 2018 midterms in favor of Democrats

July 24, 2018 • by Jeffrey C. Isaac

Yesterday I posted a column that sought to make sense of the current discussion of “Trump and treason.” The point, which I have reiterated repeatedly over the past two years: whatever might be true of the not-yet disclosed connections between Putin, Trump, and the Trump campaign, everything about Trump, including ...

Another Day, Another Step Towards Authoritarianism

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200 Years of Karl Marx

Some lessons on the politics of commemoration

July 24, 2018 • by Kathy M. Newman

This year marked the 200th anniversary of the birthday Karl Marx, a fierce critic of capitalism. In an effort to think through the legacy of—and the possible futures of—Marx’s influence, the Humanities Center at Carnegie Mellon University hosted Marx@200, a program of more than two dozen lectures, performances, panels, and ...

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Treason, Accents, and Outdoor Play

Past Present Episode 140

July 24, 2018 • by Natalia Mehlman Petrzela, Nicole Hemmer and Neil J. Young

In this episode, Natalia, Neil, and Niki debate the definition of treason, the significance of linguistic accents, and a new practice of prescribing outdoor play. Here are some links and references mentioned during this week’s show: President Trump’s behavior at his joint press conference with Vladimir Putin has earned him the epithet of ...

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The Class of ’74: Congress after Watergate and the Roots of Partisanship

An excerpt from John A. Lawrence’s latest book

July 24, 2018 • by John Lawrence

“A Different Kind of Congress” The Class [of ‘74] brought more than support for reform to archaic House [of Representatives] procedures: it brought generational change, a merging of the external activism of the streets -- the campus, civil rights, and anti-war movements, the battles for women’s rights and consumer protection, the ...

The Class of ’74: Congress after Watergate and the Roots of Partisanship

Blue Monday

Of Summits, Blowhards, and Hard Blowing

Thoughts on Trump, treason, and defending democracy

July 23, 2018 • by Jeffrey C. Isaac

"I merely took the energy it takes to pout, and I wrote some blues." -Duke Ellington In the wake of Donald Trump’s recent Helsinki “summit” with Vladimir Putin, which followed quickly on the heels of Trump’s disastrous meeting with EU leaders in Brussels, talk of “treason” is in the air. To ...

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Justice Through Solidarity

Bernice Yeung’s In a Day’s Work

July 23, 2018 • by Eileen Boris

Bernice Yeung exposes the sexual harassment and rape endemic to isolated fields, offices, and homes. Despite poverty, undocumented status, and economic desperation, women farmworkers, janitors, and domestic workers have mustered the courage to overcome shame and speak out against abuse. Yeung chronicles their personal journeys. Nonetheless, it is easy to ...

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Families Belong Together

2000 people gathered across from White House on June 30

July 22, 2018 • by Jo Freeman

On June 30, almost two thousand people gathered in Lafayette Park across from the White House to denounce President Trump’s "zero tolerance policy" for immigrants seeking to escape violence in Mexico and Central America. The policy led to children being taken away from their parents when families reached the border, ...

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Disturbing our Dogmatic Slumber

The welcome provocations of Aleinikoff and Zamore

July 22, 2018 • by David Owen

The international approach to refugees and asylum seekers needs to be radically altered, just one of the themes taken up by Arc of Protection: Toward a New International Refugee Regime by Alex Aleinikoff and Leah Zamore. The book is both thought-provoking and engaging and I very much welcome its renewed stress on ...

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A Democratic Tea Party?

An incoming wave of ideological hardliners

July 21, 2018 • by John Lawrence

The surprise defeat of NY Rep. Joe Crowley by non-traditional, anti-establishment newcomer Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has fueled extensive speculation about worrisome chasms opening within the Democratic Party as it struggles to reclaim a House majority. As with the victories of other newcomers in a number of races around the country, some speculate ...

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On Opposing Fascism with a Reality TV Face

“Politics as a vocation,” the social condition and Donald Trump

July 20, 2018 • by Jeffrey C. Goldfarb

I am waiting, ever more impatiently, for my fellow citizens to wake up, to confront that it is happening here and now, that fascism with a reality TV face is upon us. Even though the situation appears ridiculous and often comic, it’s ominous. I am not ready to declare that “The ...