Politics Archives - Page 62 of 112

Democracy

What Americans Can Learn from the Lebanese

Inspiration amid the ruins of Beirut

September 14, 2020 • by Roxana Toma

______ On August 4, 2020, 2,750 tons of ammonium nitrate stored at Beirut’s port blew up, destroying the city’s main commercial hub and damaging large areas of the Lebanese capital. The blast killed more than 170 people, wounded more than 6,000, left nearly 300,000 homeless, and caused damage worth $10-15 billion. Lebanon ...

What Americans Can Learn from the Lebanese

North America

“Alternative Facts” Produce Real Disasters

As Trump officials hide the truth to support the boss’s re-election campaign, Americans become more ill-informed — and vulnerable — than ever

September 13, 2020 • by Heather Cox Richardson

----- Saturday night, at about 10:30, reporter Dan Diamond posted another blockbuster story in Politico. Political appointees at the Department of Health and Human Services have been altering the weekly scientific reports issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), reports that track the course of the coronavirus pandemic. These ...

“Alternative Facts” Produce Real Disasters

Democracy

White Liberals Must Face the Truth: Donald Trump Represents all Republicans

The GOP isn’t a deranged cult. It’s a party of dangerous politics

September 10, 2020 • by John Stoehr

----------------- Ezra Klein, a prominent white liberal, is the top editor at Vox. During August’s Republican National Convention, he tweeted something I think we should address head-on. “This isn’t a political party,” Klein said. “It’s a personality cult.” There are good reasons for making such a claim. The president’s most ardent supporters exhibit traits ...

White Liberals Must Face the Truth: Donald Trump Represents all Republicans

Race

The Danger of Race Reductionism

Two prominent Black leftists warn that simplistic views about “white supremacy” will undermine the fight for social justice

September 10, 2020 • by Rogers Brubaker

At the end of May, prominent leftist political scientist Adolph Reed Jr. was slated to give an online talk cosponsored by the Philadelphia and New York City chapters of the Democratic Socialists of America. But even though Reed was a strong Bernie Sanders supporter, and happens to be Black, some ...

History

When Empires Implode

Does the collapse of the Inca empire teach a lesson about the contemporary United States?

September 10, 2020 • by Stefania de Kenessey

The Inca empire has long fascinated me: young, brash and stunningly successful, this mighty South American kingdom vanished virtually overnight. Recent developments make me wonder whether the United States empire faces a similar implosion. Some of the parallels — admittedly far from perfect — are nonetheless remarkable. The Inca empire rose up ...

Democracy

Scotland Is Stuck

The Scottish National Party is more popular and powerful than ever – but also boxed in to a constitutional stalemate with the UK

September 3, 2020 • by Simon Jones

------------- “Stick with it Scotland,” say the billboards in Glasgow. It’s a slogan applying both to the continued need to keep wearing masks and to practice social distancing, as the country enters a phase of localised measures to restrict movement in the ongoing Covid-19 crisis after a comprehensive lockdown in spring and ...

Democracy

Do They Deliver for You?

Postage stamps and the paradox of democracy

September 3, 2020 • by Laura Goldblatt and Richard Handler

Those were the good old days, right? Looking at those stamps from the perspective of our present public health crisis—when Postmaster General Louis DeJoy, a Trump crony who appears to be hamstringing the United States Postal Service (USPS) so that people will not be able to use the mail to ...

Past Present

Lovecraft Country

Past Present, Episode 224

September 2, 2020 • by Nicole Hemmer, Natalia Mehlman Petrzela and Neil J. Young

Lovecraft Country is attracting attention for its blend of historical drama and horror. Niki discussed this hybrid genre, as explained at Vox. She also mentioned the documentary, Horror Noire: A History of Black Horror. Neil compared Lovecraft Country to Colson Whitehead’s recent novel, The Underground Railroad. Natalia referred to this ...

Democracy

Joe Biden’s Message of Healing

September 2, 2020 • by Robert Ivie

Joe Biden went to Pittsburgh on August 31 to make a campaign speech condemning the violence Donald Trump incites. That was the immediate reason for speaking out, but it was also an occasion to speak up for a better America, one that most citizens can affirm and from which no ...

Democracy

What We Can All Learn from the Lebanese

September 1, 2020 • by Roxana Toma

Lebanon has been crippled by long-running crises for decades. The country endured a devastating 15-year civil war and has often been caught in the crossfire of regional conflicts. In October 2019, people in at least 70 towns across Lebanon protested against government corruption, an incompetent political system, its austerity measures, ...

North America

The Rotten Alliance of Liberals and Neocons Will Likely Shape U.S. Foreign Policy for Years to Come

Trump’s rise led to unity in the interventionist ranks opposing his foreign policy

September 1, 2020 • by Marshall Auerback and James Carden

The mobilization appears to be having an impact. More recently, "more than 100 former staff of [recently deceased Senator John] McCain's congressional offices and campaigns also endorsed Biden for president," according to NBC News and dozens of former staffers from Senator Mitt Romney's 2012 presidential campaign. That GOP support comes in addition to the more ...

The Rotten Alliance of Liberals and Neocons Will Likely Shape U.S. Foreign Policy for Years to Come

North America

Believing Donald Trump’s Lies is a Choice

How Trump’s blizzard of falsehoods enables white racism

August 31, 2020 • by John Stoehr

Dale's work is different categorically from fact-checking. Anyone can do that. Dale, however, makes the lies the story. Moreover, he permits his methodical reporting to culminate in a moral conclusion, one vital to the healthy functioning of a free and open republic. "Trump is a serial liar," Dale said. Before I go ...