Derision, racism, default and brutality are strange ways to go about making America great again. Let’s hope for the GOP’s sake and everyone else’s that Republicans have the clarity not to fall for Trump’s latest reality show.
Americana
Flagler Reads Together:
In Search of Wilderness
Along the Appalachian Trail
The Appalachian Trail reveals the limits and deceptions, but also the joys, of wilderness in urban America: An essay to accompany Flagler Reads Together’s focus on “Grandma Gatewood’s Walk.”
Republicans On Crack
The crack-up is upon us. The locks have popped. The insane asylums have emptied. The loons are casting ballots. And Mitt Romney’s string quartet is arranging the deck chairs on the Titanic.
E Pluribus Un-American:
The Judeo-Christian Smear of Islam
President Obama’s trip to a mosque to reassure American Muslims of their importance should have been unnecessary. It reveals how deep-seated prejudice remains, especially that of conservative Christians who claim to preach acceptance.
Supreme Court Removes Brawling Brevard Judge For Creating “National Embarrassment”
Calling Judge John C. Murphy’s behavior “appalling” the court ordered him removed from the bench after his altercation with a public defender last year was caught on videotape and went viral.
Conservatives Should Be Leading the Charge to Accept Syrian Refugees. We Have No Choice.
Doesn’t American exceptionalism demand that we lead where others have neither the will nor the courage? We have no choice. America gives sanctuary to those fleeing persecution, argues Nancy Smith. This is what we do and who we are. We’re the good guys.
Paying for Patriotism: The Pentagon’s Crass, Misguided Stunts
The Pentagon has been buying and choreographing patriotism at NFL, baseball and NASCAR events that are made to look spontaneous and voluntary. They’re anything but.
No Sanctuaries: Undocumented Immigrants’ Fears Persist Even as Deportations Are Down
Immigrants’ fear can prevent them from cooperating with police, derail attempts to ensure that all drivers are licensed and endanger growth in areas looking to immigrants to help reverse population losses.
The Age of Bobby Fischer: Before Facebook Mated Eccentrics
In today’s prying, unforgiving online world, Bobby Fischer’s paranoia and personal flaws would have tripped him up long before he became champion and hero in 1972, argues Kenneth Rogoff.
Pope Francis’s Challenge to America
Pope Francis is challenging conservative Americans–and presidential candidates–to rethink their belligerence to Cuba, Palestinians and action on global warming, writes Chris Patten.