From the Editors Archives - Page 12 of 171

Democracy

Confederate Monuments Are Not History

Like the contemporary war on “critical race theory,” these statues of the defeated prop up white supremacy in the name of a false past

June 15, 2021 • by Claire Potter and Karen L. Cox

_____ It seemed as though monuments were suddenly in the news during Donald Trump’s presidency, but they have always been controversial. Monuments to the Confederacy were contested by African American citizens as soon as they appeared after 1865. Black citizens understood these monuments for what they were: a rallying point for ...

Columnists

In Defense of Democracy

From Israel to Peru, there are lots of moving pieces in the world right now

June 14, 2021 • by Heather Cox Richardson

_____ President Joe Biden is currently in England, participating in a meeting of the G7, an informal group of wealthy democracies including Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States. The participants have issued a statement reinforcing their shared commitment to “democracy, freedom, equality, the rule of ...

Columnists

How the Press Corps Severs Public Debate from the Constraints of History, Creating Space for Real Harm

To illustrate, let me draw your attention to a local story

June 14, 2021 • by John Stoehr

_____ It’s a pain in the ass, but if you dig down deep enough and for long enough, you’ll probably find at the root of any mainstream debate over “culture war” issues some kind of misrepresentation, distortion, falsehood, or lie. So much of what counts as “debate” begins and ends with ...

How the Press Corps Severs Public Debate from the Constraints of History, Creating Space for Real Harm

Columnists

A Shocking Win in Texas

One of the worst corporate boondoggle programs in the country met its end

June 14, 2021 • by Pat Garofalo

_____ The Texas legislature earned a lot of pixels in the political press recently for the quick rise and sudden demise of a bill full of voting restrictions, which was only defeated thanks to Democrats in the statehouse literally walking out in order to run out the clock on the state’s ...

Columnists

Why Isn’t Joe Manchin For the People?

Manchin appears to be blaming the person calling the fire department, rather than the arsonist, and then saying the firefighters need to work with the guys holding the gasoline cans and matches

June 8, 2021 • by Heather Cox Richardson

_____ Complaining that “the fundamental right to vote has itself become overtly politicized,” Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV) published an op-ed in the Charleston Gazette-Mail yesterday saying that he would vote against S1, the For the People Act, arguing that protecting the right to vote should “never be done in a partisan ...

Columnists

The Business PACs Are Back in Business

Surprise! One-party rule might be profitable

June 8, 2021 • by John Stoehr

_____ Roll Call reported political action committees (PACs) have restarted making contributions to members of the United States Congress. This includes the 147 Republicans who voted against certifying Electoral College votes after the militant storming of the United States Capitol. Cash to both parties mostly stopped in the weeks after the ...

Columnists

Why Maya Wiley Could Be New York City’s First Woman Mayor

Now the top progressive in a Democratic mayoral primary that no one can poll, her error-free campaign and progressive chops could push this first-time candidate over the line

June 7, 2021 • by Claire Potter

_____ It’s a move that may provide an important last-minute jolt of energy for undecided progressives: Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D, NY-14) has endorsed activist and civil rights lawyer Maya Wiley for Mayor of New York City. And it isn’t just an Instagram moment: it is a recognition of what Wiley has already ...

Why Maya Wiley Could Be New York City’s First Woman Mayor

Columnists

We Don’t Need a Commission to Study January 6

We need a functioning government. National commissions rarely solve the problems they are formed to address–and often, they create new ones

June 2, 2021 • by Claire Potter

On Friday, May 9, the Senate failed to pass a bill establishing a bipartisan federal commission to investigate the January 6 attack on the Capitol, an insurrection intended to block Joe Biden from being inaugurated as president. The cloture vote was 54-35, six votes shy of the number needed to bring the ...

We Don’t Need a Commission to Study January 6

Columnists

No, It’s not Shocking that QAnon Believers Long for a Military coup. For Them, This Is the End Times

There are millions of Americans for whom hate is their faith

June 2, 2021 • by John Stoehr

_____ Donie O’Sullivan is a reporter for CNN. His beat appears to be American conspiracy theories. He was on Anderson Cooper’s show last night with reporting on a QAnon conference last weekend during which former Donald Trump adviser and pardoned traitor Michael Flynn said a Myanmar-style military coup “should happen” in ...

No, It’s not Shocking that QAnon Believers Long for a Military coup. For Them, This Is the End Times

Gender

Murder, Marines, and the Mojave

On the 20th anniversary of its publication, author Deanne Stillman contemplates the repercussions of her much-discussed book, “Twentynine Palms”

June 2, 2021 • by Bliss Bowen and Deanne Stillman

_____ If you live in Southern California, odds are better than even that you’ve heard about Twentynine Palms. Deanne Stillman’s 2001 book examines the barbaric rape and murder of 15-year-old Mandi Scott and 20-year-old Rosalie Ortega in August 1991 by a Gulf War veteran. The murderer was stationed at the nearby ...

Columnists

Democrat-in-Chief

Why the ‘Battle for the Soul of the Nation’ is a fight for democracy Itself

June 1, 2021 • by Heather Cox Richardson

_____ On Memorial Day, President Joe Biden spoke at Arlington National Cemetery to remember those who gave the “last full measure of devotion” to the United States, dying in our service. His speech was a full-throated defense of the cause for which those soldiers gave their lives: democracy. “Democracy is more than ...

Columnists

Justice Moves Slowly–But It Moves

Will George Floyd’s murder lead to police reform–and can Donald Trump stay out of jail?

May 26, 2021 • by Heather Cox Richardson

_____ A year ago this week, 46-year-old George Floyd was murdered in Minneapolis as then–police officer Derek Chauvin knelt on his neck for 9 minutes and 29 seconds. While bystanders begged Chauvin to get up, a teenage girl walking by had the presence of mind to video what was happening. Thanks ...

From the Editors

Confederate Monuments Are Not History

Like the contemporary war on “critical race theory,” these statues of the defeated prop up white supremacy in the name of a false past

In Defense of Democracy

From Israel to Peru, there are lots of moving pieces in the world right now

How the Press Corps Severs Public Debate from the Constraints of History, Creating Space for Real Harm

To illustrate, let me draw your attention to a local story

A Shocking Win in Texas

One of the worst corporate boondoggle programs in the country met its end

Why Isn’t Joe Manchin For the People?

Manchin appears to be blaming the person calling the fire department, rather than the arsonist, and then saying the firefighters need to work with the guys holding the gasoline cans and matches

The Business PACs Are Back in Business

Surprise! One-party rule might be profitable

Why Maya Wiley Could Be New York City’s First Woman Mayor

Now the top progressive in a Democratic mayoral primary that no one can poll, her error-free campaign and progressive chops could push this first-time candidate over the line

We Don’t Need a Commission to Study January 6

We need a functioning government. National commissions rarely solve the problems they are formed to address–and often, they create new ones

No, It’s not Shocking that QAnon Believers Long for a Military coup. For Them, This Is the End Times

There are millions of Americans for whom hate is their faith

Murder, Marines, and the Mojave

On the 20th anniversary of its publication, author Deanne Stillman contemplates the repercussions of her much-discussed book, “Twentynine Palms”

Democrat-in-Chief

Why the ‘Battle for the Soul of the Nation’ is a fight for democracy Itself

Justice Moves Slowly–But It Moves

Will George Floyd’s murder lead to police reform–and can Donald Trump stay out of jail?

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