In the 50 years since “The Exorcist” premiered, the cultural fascination with Satan has persisted. But as religiosity has waned, popular portrayals of Satan have also changed. Rather than embody pure evil, Luciferian characters that are complicated – even likable – have emerged.
The Conversation
A Constitutional Scholar Explains Colorado Court’s Trump Ballot Ban
Taken as a whole, the structure of Section 3 of the 14th Amendment leads to the conclusion that Donald Trump is one of those past or present government officials who by violating his oath of allegiance to the constitutional rules has forfeited his right to present and future office.
Why Did This Bottle of Whiskey Sell for $2.7 Million?
Some investors see luxury collectibles, such as high-end whiskey bottles or casks, as an alternative to other assets like stocks and bonds. But the high price may also have a lot to do with the increasing focus on the purported authenticity of craft products – especially ones like Scotch whisky, which trade on their heritage as much as their flavor.
Populism Is Undermining Our Elections
At the heart of liberal democracy lies the principle of pluralism, that there are diverse views on how society should work and that numerous institutions operate independently to balance competing interests. For this principle to work, it’s important that the public trust that these diverse voices act in good faith. Populism undermines that trust.
‘American Fiction’: Who Gets to Decide Blackness?
Directed by Cord Jefferson and starring Jeffrey Wright, the film presents an opportunity to talk about race, power and white supremacy within intellectual and cultural spaces, including higher education. Specifically, what version of Blackness is acceptable or saleable within American culture?
Sandra Day O’Connor’s Civics Lesson
Beyond her trailblazing role as the first woman appointed to the U.S. Supreme Court, Justice Sandra Day O’Connor considered iCivics – a civics education nonprofit founded after she retired from the court – to be her “most important legacy.”
Why Big Box Chain Stores Are Fleeing Cities
Closures have spread to many suburbs and small towns. Retailers saddled with high debt, overexpansion, shoplifting losses, slumping sales and online competition are shedding stores fast. The reason: Low-income urban households remain in crisis, with high rents and inflation driving up the cost of essentials. Urban chains clustered too many of their own branches close together or too near other chains. And shoplifting has scared away executives.
As Always, Israel Ignores US Appeals to Minimize Casualties in Gaza
Their continued widespread bombing has raised the death toll in Gaza, according to the Hamas-run Health Ministry, to 18,600. And the growing tension between Biden and Israel’s leader, Benjamin Netanyahu, broke into the open on Dec. 12. Biden warned Israel that it is “losing support” over the war.
The Minefield of College Free Speech Codes
Private colleges and universities have speech codes that allow them to punish certain speech. But in their testimony before Congress about antisemitism on their campuses, college presidents tripped, triggered a furor over their prevarications. and one of them resigned after failing to respond clearly to a simple question.
Exile Ridley Scott’s Napoleon to St. Helena
As with every other Napoléon movie, Scott’s version will leave viewers with no understanding of the genocidal war to restore slavery that Bonaparte waged against Black revolutionaries in the French colony of Saint-Domingue – what’s known as Haiti today. It’s like making a movie about Hitler without mentioning the Holocaust.