Politics & Rule
Turned off NPR this afternoon because I am sick to death of the cliched, both-sides genre Let’s Talk to Voters in Swing States. This particular report (on Here and Now) was trying to be original by talking to swing-state voters considering voting differently this year, but it’s still the same old same old. Given the decimation of local news around the country, these national outlets need to do some actual reporting on goings-on outside their usual frames of reference.
“Here Come the Russians, Again” by David Corn, Mother Jones, May 24, 2024.
The media has an important role to play. The more attention it can cast upon the Russian efforts, the greater the odds that a slice of the electorate will comprehend the threat and perhaps be inoculated from being unduly influenced by these operations.
Of course, the media is largely failing us on this score.
“Trump’s ‘secretary of retribution’ has a ‘target list’ of 350 people he wants arrested." by Jordan Green, Raw Story, July 10, 2024. – Surreal report. The big orange ass attracts the freakiest henchmen.
Important historical context for this week’s unconscionable immunity ruling: Sean Wilentz, “The Dred Scott of Our Time”, NYRB, July 4, 2024, archive.ph/qJ1xx (archived version so anyone can read about this vital topic)
If the Supreme Court’s rulings are clearly at odds with our history, our constitution, and American jurisprudence, are they even binding? Can’t the other two branches of government check the rogue one? Are there no Republicans still in office with sufficient moral fibre to join this fight?
The current moment reminds me of how desperately we need to teach the contested and often fraught history of human rights. We need better literacy on the subject. I’ve done this in a required Western Civ course at GMU.
“Like ‘Being Friends with a Hurricane’": Fintan O’Toole looks at DJT and those who surround him through the unlikely, but illuminating lens of friendship and love. NYRB, 7/18/2024, archive.ph/KIRhG.
Reading about Israel's Universities during War
"Israel’s Universities: The Crackdown", The New York Review of Books, June 5, 2024.
Teaser: “Last October, Palestinian students and academic staff in Israel faced unprecedented penalties for their speech. Now the repression persists.”
Takeaway: This piece shows just how far academic institutions in Israel have been willing to go in order to serve the state’s goals at the expense of academic freedom, free speech, and the rule of law.
Question: How are universities governed in Israel? How vulnerable are they to outside political pressure under less fraught conditions? I am wondering about the political effects of Israel’s extreme right-wing government, on one hand, and the broad effects of the current wartime climate, on the other.
The Republican Party’s divorce from the rule of law is complete.
Aaron Blake, Washington Post
The press conference this afternoon reminds me of what a disaster we averted by showing the orange blob the door after one term. I get frustrated by the slow pace of our response to the invasion (and the horrible laissez-faire federal response to the pandemic nowadays), but oh how much worse this could have been. Meanwhile, I am grateful for the example Ukrainians are providing us, shining light through the cold winter darkness. Slava Ukraini! 🇺🇦
Justitia Again
The following cartoon and comment, which I posted on February 5, 2017, did not age well.
After the latest Spiegel cover and all the news it embodies, this cartoon by Sam Machado feels really good, particularly with its use of gender against the U.S. chauvinist-in-chief.
In case you missed it, this report from July 5, 2022, sums up all the damage: “The U.S. Supreme Court term in review.”
We Are the Problem
We blame the virus for
the disastrous condition
of our schools
the catastrophic state
of our hospitals
the ruinous structure
of our workplaces
the collapsing authority
of our institutions
so we need not acknowledge
the virus is not cause
but revealer
of our society’s frailty.
—@PlaguePoems
Looking forward to a more productive week in quarantine now that martial law and the end of our democracy appear to be off the table for the time being.
Curfew
The disturbing emergency alert sound from my phone (for DC’s 4th curfew night) makes me think of an air raid siren. The blaring is an apt metaphor for this presidency.
Riots
Minnesota Governor Walz’s assertion that ongoing riots are no longer about George Floyd ring true in a way. But were they ever about one man? Floyd’s death was certainly no one-off. The protests—and the participation of so many young people—should give pause to those leaders who would gloss over this society’s brutal injustices and disparities.
'Mr Smith Goes to Washington'
I watched "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington" (1939) last night. Despite the many differences to today's world and the oversimplification of the state political machine, the politics in the film strike me as relevant to our own time. Thing is, though, it would probably resonate with Americans regardless of ideological or party orientation. Anti-Trump people could take its anti-corruption and pro-democracy message to heart. Pro-Trump people could embrace how the Washington outsider triumphs, and credulous pro-Trumpers could go for the anti-corruption, pro-democracy stuff too. Finally, the rough-and-tumble quality of the political game would resonate across the political spectrum.
Happening Here
WPA Federal Art Project in New York City, ca. 1936/37. The play was based on a novel about fascism happening here.
Repository: Library of Congress.