Politics Archives - Page 56 of 143

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Writing for Us: Mira Jacob’s Good Talk

The New School author and artist on her new graphic memoir

April 9, 2019 • by Mira Jacob and Liz Sheldon

The title of Mira Jacob’s graphic memoir, Good Talk: A Memoir In Conversations (One World, 2019), succinctly sums up the framework of her book, a collection of messy, hilarious, confusing, and gutting conversations Jacob has with her loved ones about everything from coming into her own as a writer to ...

Blue Monday

Bye Bye Biden

The weakness of his entire candidacy is that he is looking backward at a time when we need to move forward

April 8, 2019 • by Jeffrey C. Isaac

“The more one suffers, the more, I believe, has one a sense for the comic.” – Søren Kierkegaard There is much suffering in the Age of Trump. The principal source of grief is Trump himself: what he does and doesn’t do, what he says and doesn’t say, and what and who is ...

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Reforming Congress is an Achievable Goal

John Lawrence’s Testimony before the House Select Committee on the Modernization of Congress

April 6, 2019 • by John Lawrence

Thank you for your invitation to appear today at this hearing, my first from this side of the dais. I want to offer four observations that, along with the advice from these distinguished congressional scholars, may help guide the work of this Select Committee. Despite the cynicism of many critics inside ...

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The Mueller Report, the Electoral College, and Arugula Lettuce

Past Present Episode 173

April 2, 2019 • by Natalia Mehlman Petrzela, Nicole Hemmer and Neil J. Young

In this episode, Niki, Neil, and Natalia discuss the Mueller Report, the movement to end the Electoral College, and why not many Americans eat arugula lettuce. Here are some links and references mentioned during this week’s show: Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s long-awaited report has been released, though the public has only received ...

The Mueller Report, the Electoral College, and Arugula Lettuce

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The Stansted 15 and the Criminalization of Migrant Solidarity

Solidarity is framed as a crime and anti-terror legislation is mobilized to suppress dissent

April 2, 2019 • by May Robson

In December 2018, laws designed to deal with terrorism – not peaceful protest – were used to convict the Stansted 15. In March 2017, the group of activists had locked themselves around an aircraft to prevent a charter flight due to deport 60 people from taking off. The case is well-documented, with ...

The Stansted 15 and the Criminalization of Migrant Solidarity

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The Liberal Evangelists

Democrats are spreading the word of the religious left

March 30, 2019 • by John Stoehr

Every once in a great while, I write a strident piece exhorting cosmopolitan Democrats to talk about God and country with heart and guts. Some do, of course, but most don’t, because most tend to shy away from the meaty rhetoric of religion and patriotism. There are good reasons for ...

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Political Economy and Unintended Consequences

A letter to the Central High Guys

March 29, 2019 • by Duncan Foley

I graduated from Philadelphia’s Central High School in 1960 in the 214th class. One of the great pleasures of my life has been my ongoing contact with a group of Central alumni, which in recent years has taken the form of an email list. In even more recent years the ...

Political Economy and Unintended Consequences

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American Russophobia in the Age of Liberal Decline

Under President Donald Trump, US–Russian relations have entered a new phase

March 28, 2019 • by Andrei P Tsygankov

Accusations of Russian interference have become the primary route through which to undermine Donald Trump. In order to sustain public outrage, media and political elites provide a constant flow of leaks, rumors and conspiracy theories. Failing liberal self-confidence is to blame for the return of Cold War rhetoric, argues Andrei ...

American Russophobia in the Age of Liberal Decline

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Why I Want Nothing to do with the Green New Deal

Conservatism, Environmentalism and Socialism

March 28, 2019 • by Jake Davis

I was frequently humbled living in the small, oil-rich kingdom. Humbled by the clash between two of nature’s most inhospitable terrains: a great sandy desert meeting a great salty ocean. At the boundary where these two titans collide sits a different kind of marvel: a Starbucks. I would frequent the ...

Why I Want Nothing to do with the Green New Deal

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“Operation Varsity Blues,” the White Supremacy Terrorist Attack in New Zealand, and Beto O’Rourke

Past Present Episode 172

March 26, 2019 • by Natalia Mehlman Petrzela, Nicole Hemmer and Neil J. Young

In this episode, Natalia, Niki, and Neil discuss the college admissions scandal, the white supremacy terrorist attack in New Zealand, and Beto O’Rourke’s bid for the presidency. Here are some links and references mentioned during this week’s show: College admissions has long legally favored the wealthy, but “Operation Varsity Blues” has ...

“Operation Varsity Blues,” the White Supremacy Terrorist Attack in New Zealand, and Beto O’Rourke

Blue Monday

Trump, The Mueller Report, and Democracy

Very Preliminary Thoughts on an Unfolding Story

March 24, 2019 • by Jeffrey C. Isaac

[Note: this piece was filed on Sunday at 2 pm, revised after the release of Attorney General Barr’s letter at 4 pm, and refiled for publication at 6 pm. God only knows what will transpire in the interim.] The issue has always been the need to defend democracy by addressing its ...

Trump, The Mueller Report, and Democracy

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Emergency Powers and Trump: Lessons from Carl Schmitt

Why Trump’s executive actions might be legal yet unconstitutional

March 22, 2019 • by Benjamin Andrew Schupmann

The threat to the constitution that Donald Trump poses was apparent as soon as he entered the presidential primary race. Since his election, Trump has only confirmed that threat: he has abused emergency powers and other executive privileges to advance his private interests and illiberal, antidemocratic values. Despite incessantly broadcasting ...