From the Editors Archives - Page 158 of 171

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An Open Letter to John McCain

August 2, 2016 • by Jeffrey C. Isaac

Dear Senator John McCain: We don’t know each other. You are a war hero, a major public personality, a former Presidential candidate, a distinguished leader of your party, and a Republican. I am a 59 year old political science professor who grew up in New York and lives in Indiana, has ...

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Patriotism, Nationalism, Exceptionalism

August 1, 2016 • by Laura Nelson

Over the past fortnight, two very different versions of patriotism were put on display. One of them was xenophobic, hostile, and downright plug-ugly. The other was hopeful, inclusive, and cheerful. Even though the media-saturated presentations of each were designed to “sell” a prepackaged vision of the political community known as ...

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You’re Fired!

Donald Trump and the History of Failure

August 1, 2016 • by Claire Potter

Ridicule is Donald Trump's most prominent rhetorical strategy. Like the schoolyard bully, his attempts to humiliate and dominate others seize on a snippet of public identity, physical appearance or personal history. You can access many of these taunts on his Twitter account: in case you don't want to sift through ...

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Jo Freeman’s DNC Diary: Bernie Sanders Supporters, More Sad Than Celebratory, More Angry Than Uplifted

Bernie supporters turn victory into defea

July 29, 2016 • by Jo Freeman

Protestors often prefer a brilliant defeat to a drab victory. That’s what happened Tuesday night when Bernie Sanders moved to endorse Hillary Clinton as the Democratic Party nominee by acclamation. Many of his delegates in the WFC walked out. A few blocks away those of his supporters who were watching ...

Jo Freeman’s DNC Diary: Bernie Sanders Supporters, More Sad Than Celebratory, More Angry Than Uplifted

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Hillary Hit A Triple: Her Acceptance Speech Was Patriotic, Feminist, Progressive

July 29, 2016 • by Peter Dreier

Donald Trump was born on third base but thinks he hit a triple. On Thursday night, Hillary Clinton hit a triple. Triples are harder to hit than home runs. They require power AND base-running ability. When you hit a homer, you can jog around the bases. To hit a triple, you have to ...

Hillary Hit A Triple: Her Acceptance Speech Was Patriotic, Feminist, Progressive

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Walking the Walk: a Plea to Fellow Sanders Supporters

July 29, 2016 • by Laura Nelson

I am now afraid to go to sleep. When I wake up I hear stuff that makes me wish I was still in dreamland. Let me elaborate… I have long agreed with media theorist Neil Postman’s observation that television is a medium naturally geared to entertainment. When television sticks to entertainment, ...

Walking the Walk: a Plea to Fellow Sanders Supporters

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Some Thoughts on Shouting Down Allies Much Less Adversaries

July 28, 2016 • by Jeffrey C. Isaac

Interesting questions of political ethics are presented by the various “disruptions” enacted by some “Bernie or Bust” delegates on the DNC convention floor, obviously related, at least in part, to real arguments about “deliberative democracy” and “agonistic democracy.” These oppositions can easily be oversimplified. Some adherents of “deliberation” clearly know ...

Some Thoughts on Shouting Down Allies Much Less Adversaries

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The Trump Conspiracy Story and the Left

July 27, 2016 • by Sanford Schram

President Obama has confirmed that the FBI thinks agents of the Russian government were behind the Wikileaks that brought down Democratic National Committee Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman-Schultz. The FBI is now actively investigating if any laws were broken. The widely discussed theory is that President Vladimir Putin does not like Hillary ...

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Pokemon Go, Turkey’s Coup, and the Irony of Reform

Past Present Episode 44

July 27, 2016 • by Natalia Mehlman Petrzela, Nicole Hemmer and Neil J. Young

Here are some links and references mentioned during this week’s show: The whole world seems to be playing Pokemon Go. Natalia situated the app game in a history of bug collecting but also the long tradition of fears about technology. Neil noted fears about technology went back to the printing ...

Pokemon Go, Turkey’s Coup, and the Irony of Reform

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Why I Support Hillary Clinton For President: A Letter to My Friends on the Left

July 26, 2016 • by Jeffrey C. Isaac

I support Hillary Clinton’s election unreservedly, and intend to work for her election, though I have no illusions about her character or her politics. My primary motivation is my absolute opposition to the candidacy of Donald Trump, who I regard as a danger to liberal democracy. Liberal democracy is a ...

Why I Support Hillary Clinton For President: A Letter to My Friends on the Left

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Will We See Justice for Alton Sterling or Philando Castile?

July 25, 2016 • by Chris Barker

Less than two years ago, a Ferguson grand jury decided not to return an indictment in the shooting death of Michael Brown. The grand jury announced their decision on the evening of November 24, 2014. There had been about 70 hours of testimony and over 60 witnesses. (NPR ...

Will We See Justice for Alton Sterling or Philando Castile?

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Since When Did Voting for Hillary to Stop Trump Make Somebody a Liberal?

July 23, 2016 • by Sanford Schram

Donald J. Trump is now officially the Republican Party nominee for President. Many, many people predicted he would never get there (myself included, in print and over the airwaves). But the unthinkable has happened. Something else strange is happening as well. The closer Trump gets to the White House the more ...