Trump, the front-runner for the Republican nomination for president in next year’s election, said that immigrants were “poisoning the blood of our country.” He pledged to toughen immigration laws, including by reinstating a travel ban from “terror-plagued countries” and requiring “strong ideological screening” for immigrants in the country without authorization. Hitler used similar language about Jews “poison[ing] the blood of others,” in “Mein Kampf,” his 1925 manifesto.
Commentary
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.
An Affair to Dismember: The Tawdriness of Florida’s GOP Chair and His Moms for Liberty Phony
Republicans cast themselves as the party of piety, traditional gender roles, and family values. This is at odds with reality. Florida GOP chairman Christian Ziegler is accused of rape. His wife Bridget, co-founder of Moms for Liberty and member of the Sarasota School Board who has vowed to bring “religious values” to education, also admits to having an affair with her. Gov. Ron DeSantis had said he wished he could put a Bridget Ziegler on every school board “in every county in Florida.”
‘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?
When Trump Says He’ll be a Dictator, Believe Him
The twice-impeached Trump has made it clear he is still seething about being voted out during the 2020 election. The emotions Trump harbors toward his Republican rivals are volcanic levels of seething anger. His dictatorial impulses–and ambitions–have to be taken seriously.
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.
The Immoral Gamble of ‘Shopping’ for Health Insurance
Between high premiums, deductibles, co-pays, co-insurance, other out-of-pocket costs, and the enduring myth that Americans still get to choose their own doctor, health insurance has become a maze of forced costs and limited options based on impossible choices you shouldn’t have to make. Obamacare has failed. Private insurance is often an overpriced, over-subsidized racket. Medicare alone remains the only viable solution with universal application.
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.
Achieving Our Country According to Norman Lear
Even Americans who strongly disagree with each other may find common ground when they watch the same TV shows and movies, especially those that make us laugh or cry.
Norman Lear, who died on Dec. 5, 2023, at 101, created television shows that did just that.
The Wheels Are Falling Off the Ronbo Bus
Ron DeSantis has decided to show how tough he is, going on the offensive not against Moscow but against a peaceable nation of pink buildings, blue seas, and Black people, wooing voters in Iowa and New Hampshire by hollering, “Like, if the Bahamas were firing rockets into Fort Lauderdale, like, we would not accept that for, like, one minute. I mean, we would just level it.”
Here’s How Social Media Disinformation Gets You
Disinformation is deliberately generated misleading content disseminated for selfish or malicious purposes. Unlike misinformation, which may be shared unwittingly or with good intentions, disinformation aims to foment distrust, destabilize institutions, discredit good intentions, defame opponents and delegitimize sources of knowledge such as science and journalism.
The End of the Republican Party
Talk of political parties facing impending doom is nothing new. Similar rhetoric was levied toward the Democratic Party in the mid-1980s after it had endured consecutive losses at the presidential level, including a massive 49-state rout in 1984. But the Republican Party seems to be engaging in a level of infighting and dysfunction that has even the most cynical observers stepping back and taking notice.
Conservatives’ ‘Anti-Woke’ Alternative to Disney
U.S. conservatives are using action films, dramas and even kids’ cartoons to build their own alternative entertainment industry, one shielded from the alleged liberal biases of Hollywood. The most prominent recent efforts are two streaming entertainment platforms from right-wing pundit Ben Shapiro and “Lady Ballers” star Jeremy Boreing. But conservatives have a spottier record when it comes to entertainment, whether it’s feature films, pop songs or kids’ shows.
A Poisoned Tree Grows in St. Augustine
An 18-year-old migrant faces an aggravated manslaughter charge for the death by heart attack of the sheriff’s deputy who arrested him on a resisting charge, while the migrant was on a sidewalk eating dinner and speaking to his mother by phone at his motel in St. Augustine. The death of the deputy was a tragedy. The charge against the migrant compounds it with a miscarriage of justice in the making.
The Deeply Rooted Biases Biases Behind Transgender Athlete Bans
In 2023, 24 states had laws or regulations in place prohibiting transgender students from participating on public school athletic teams consistent with their gender identity. These bans mean that a person whose sex assigned at birth was male but who identifies as a girl or woman cannot play on a girls or women’s athletic team at a public school in that state. State-level politics and public biases against transgender people are largely to blame.
Taylor Swift, Influencer of the Year
Even before Taylor Swift was named “Person Of The Year” by Time magazine, politicians courted Swiftie voters. The idea that Swifties might be a key demographic in future elections is not far-fetched given their location and age. A majority of Swift’s fans live in the suburbs, the swing territory of American politics. Further, most are Gen Zers or Millennials. These groups encompass an increasing share of the electorate with each passing year.
Hate Crimes Are Up, But Charges and Convictions Are a Challenge
Hate crimes and hate murders are rising across the U.S., but long-term polling data suggests that most Americans are horrified by bias-motivated violence. They also support hate crime legislation, an effort to deter such attacks. Yet police and state attorneys often resist the quick classification of incidents as a hate crime.
The Benefits of Not Arresting Students Over Most School-Based Incidents
School-based arrests are one part of the school-to-prison pipeline, through which students – especially Black and Latine students and those with disabilities – are pushed out of their schools and into the legal system. Getting caught up in the legal system has been linked to negative health, social and academic outcomes, as well as increased risk for future arrest.
Need It Even Be Said? A Military Ethicist Explains Why All Civilian Lives Matter Equally.
As of Nov. 25, according to health officials in the Gaza Strip, more than 14,000 Palestinians have been killed, the majority of whom are women and children. International humanitarian law prohibits direct attacks on civilians and wounded and surrendered soldiers and on civilian objects such as schools, religious centers and hospitals and other civilian infrastructure. There are exceptions. Israel is not abiding by either.
In Florida, Voter-Suppression Is Essential to GOP’s Edge
Republicans in 2023 are on a campaign to emulate what occurred during Reconstruction by disenfranchising African Americans, engaging in severe gerrymandering so that the odds are turn in their favor in 2024. Their harsh and uncompromising position on abortion is costing them support and has led to losses in primaries. But the GOP’s political strategy is explained by former President Donald Trump, who has said the quiet part out loud: Republicans will never again win elections if democratic reforms make voting easier.
‘Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory”s Racist Origins
Dahl’s book is part of a long history of children’s books that feature racist stereotypes – a list that includes six Dr. Seuss books that were removed from publication in 2021. Other children’s classics, such as “Peter Pan” and “Mary Poppins,” have also been criticized for perpetuating racism.
The George Santos Calamity
How could a politician engage in such large-scale deception and get elected? What could stop it from happening again, as politicians seem to be growing more unapologetically deceptive while evading voters’ scrutiny?
The Rise of LGBTQIA+ Sanctuary Cities–Including, Possibly, Tallahassee
At least 15 states and cities have dubbed themselves LGBTQIA+ sanctuaries over the last several years. Sanctuaries are generally considered local refuges, where people who are afraid of persecution or discrimination have legal immunity from particular government policies or laws. Tallahassee, Florida, is among the places that is considering declaring itself a LGBTQIA+ sanctuary.
Bridging Our Divides From a World Away
For all the polarization of America, there are still ways to bridge divides and engage in meaningful conversations, and seeing perspectives from the other side of the river–or the other side of the Atlantic, as does Christine Flowers.
The Kissinger Delusion
This man’s death, way overdue–Kissinger lives to be 100 but Hank Williams, born the same year, dies at 30?–is a tragedy only in one sense: despite the copious and undisputed record about one of the most brutal men of the 20th century, Kissinger is still garnering bootlicking tributes. The tragedy is that America does not learn. It rinses the blood and repeats.
Why Merriam-Webster’s Word of the Year Is ‘Authentic.’ Think AI.
For the past 20 years, Merriam-Webster, the oldest dictionary publisher in the U.S., has chosen a word of the year – a term that encapsulates, in one form or another, the zeitgeist of that past year. In 2020, the word was “pandemic.” The next year’s winner? “Vaccine.” “Authentic” is, at first glance, a little less obvious. According to the publisher’s editor-at-large, Peter Sokolowski, 2023 represented “a kind of crisis of authenticity,” and that the choice was informed by the number of online users who looked up the word’s meaning.
Should Biden Reconsider His Bid for a 2nd Term?
Stung by a succession of high profile polls showing President Joe Biden trailing former president Donald Trump among crucial swing state voters, the White House and its allies in Congress have scrambled to calm jittery nerves and reassure donors and establishment leaders all is well and under control. Many aren’t buying it.
Are Social Media Comments Protected by the First Amendment?
The First Amendment does not protect messages posted on social media platforms. The Supreme Court has agreed to hear five cases during this current term that collectively give the court the opportunity to reexamine the nature of content moderation – the rules governing discussions on social media platforms such as Facebook and X, formerly known as Twitter – and the constitutional limitations on the government to affect speech on the platforms.
How Nazis Targeted Trans People
What the Nazis did about transgender people was chilling, including imprisonment in concentration camps and execution. It’s a reminder that attacks on trans people are nothing new – and that many of them are straight out of the Nazi playbook.
Zealotry Takes the Gavel at the Flagler County School Board
It’s an indication of the Furry-Chong-Hunt majority’s churlishness that the school board member with the most experience, the most education, the most legislative, parliamentary and institutional knowledge by far (Colleen Conklin, who is in her last year), is being passed over as chair on Tuesday for Will Furry, her polar opposite in every respect, and a rookie.
It’s Not Just Trump: What Islamophobes’ Victory in Dutch Election Says About Far Right’s Resurgence
For the first time in Dutch history, a party of the extreme right is the largest in the national parliament. Wilders is an eccentric politician known for his inflammatory rhetoric. He advocates the Netherlands leaving the European Union and has called Islam a “fascist” religion. In a 2016 trial, he was found guilty of inciting discrimination (but received no penalty for the crime).
Court Rules You Can’t Sue to Enforce Voting Rights. Is That Fair?
A federal appeals court in Arkansas ruled on Monday, Nov. 20, 2023, that only the federal government – not private citizens or civil rights groups – could sue to enforce the 1965 Voting Rights Act. This decision will likely be appealed to the Supreme Court – but if it stands, it could gut individual people’s and civil rights groups’ legal right to fight racial discrimination in voting.
Gray Friday: Americans Are Tiptoeing Out of Economic Turmoil
Consumers are conflicted: They’re excited for deals and looking forward to treating themselves, but they’re feeling squeezed by high prices. On average, they plan to spend about US$665 on gifts this holiday season — about $35 less than last year, and substantially less than the National Retail Federation’s 10-year average of $826.
Coded Racism in Jason Aldean’s Song Exposes Problem with Small-Town Values
The Maury County Courthouse in Columbia, Tennessee, has come to represent the overlooked cultural divisions between urban and small-town America.
The courthouse was the site of the lynching of a Black teenager in 1927. It also served as a rallying spot for white vigilantes who assembled there during race riots in 1946. It is now the focus of a modern-day controversy over singer Jason Aldean’s “Try That in a Small Town.”
Colonists’ Violence Against West Bank Palestinians Denies Their Right to Exist
The proliferation of armed settlers in the West Bank, the expansion of illegal settler outposts and now the increasing violence and forced displacement all stem from the same underlying policy that led to the 16-year blockade of Gaza: an Israeli policy of ignoring Palestinian national claims altogether.
Homelessness as a Deprivation of Freedom
Some philosophers have argued that while homelessness is clearly a state of deprivation, it is also a condition in which a person’s freedom is profoundly compromised. These theorists insist a society that cherishes freedom – such as the U.S. – must implement anti-homelessness policy as a way of liberating people who lack housing.
Yes, the South Has a Poverty Crisis
By a range of economic indicators — personal income per capita and the proportion of the population living in poverty, for starters – large parts of the South, and particularly the rural South, are struggling. About 1 in 5 counties in the South is marked by “persistent poverty” — a poverty rate that has stayed above 20% for three decades running. Indeed, fully 80% of all persistently poor counties in the U.S. are in the South.
Florida Lawmakers Put Developers’ Interests Ahead of Residents’ Hurricane Safety
In a bill to supply aid to the victims of Hurricane Ian and Idalia, lawmakers told local governments in counties hammered by the storm that they were not allowed to make “burdensome” changes to their land-use or growth plan regulations for three years. No learning from their mistakes and trying to avoid repeating them.
‘From the River to the Sea’: A Historian Interprets the Palestinian Slogan
The majority of Palestinians who use this phrase do so because they believe that, in 10 short words, it sums up their personal ties, their national rights and their vision for the land they call Palestine. And while attempts to police the slogan’s use may come from a place of genuine concern, there is a risk that tarring the slogan as antisemitic – and therefore beyond the pale – taps into a longer history of attempts to silence Palestinian voices.
Unthanksgiving at Alcatraz: The Annual Celebration of Resistance to American Colonialism
The Indigenous People’s Thanksgiving Sunrise Ceremony is an annual celebration that spotlights 500 years of Native resistance to colonialism in what was dubbed the “New World.” Held on the traditional lands of the Ohlone people, the gathering is a call for remembrance and for future action for Indigenous people and their allies.
Fentanyl: An Explanation
Buying drugs on the street is a game of Russian roulette. From Xanax to cocaine, drugs or counterfeit pills purchased in nonmedical settings may contain life-threatening amounts of fentanyl. Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid that was originally developed as an analgesic – or painkiller – for surgery.
The Problem with Offshore Wind Farms
In a recent report, the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine examined whether and how constructing offshore wind farms in the Nantucket Shoals region, southeast of Massachusetts, could affect critically endangered North Atlantic right whales. Marine scientists weigh in.
Dolphins and Manatees Are Getting Poisoned in Miami’s Biscayne Bay
PFAS, the “forever chemicals” that have been raising health concerns across the country, are not just a problem in drinking water. As these chemicals leach out of failing septic systems and landfills and wash off airport runways and farm fields, they can end up in streams that ultimately discharge into ocean ecosystems where fish, dolphins, manatees, sharks and other marine species live.
What Jail Conditions and Deaths Tell us
Jails are locally managed, and the majority of their populations are being detained pretrial while unconvicted. Data on how many people die while incarcerated is notoriously inaccessible and often unreliable. Relatively high turnover rates, we found, were associated with higher death rates overall, as well as due to suicide, drugs and alcohol, and homicide.
Government Shutdown, Chapter DCCLXV*
Much of the news coverage of the discussions and negotiations aimed at averting a government shutdown on Nov. 17, 2023, relies on pundits and their unnamed sources, on leaks, speculation, wishful thinking and maybe even the reading of tea leaves. It’s not about to get better.
Condemn Palestinians’ Genocidal Rhetoric–and Israel’s Genocidal War
There’s unquestionably some river-to-the-sea anti-Semitism out there. It should be and is being denounced. But conflating all criticism of Israel with anti-Semitism is itself a form of bigotry that places Palestinian lives beneath contempt and Israeli policy above reproach, even as swaths of Gaza in November 2023 look like Dresden in February 1945 and anti-Palestinian rhetoric in media and government continues to be indistinguishable from the vilest racism.
2030 Clutter Odyssey: 1 Million Satellites in Space?
There are currently only about 8,000 active satellites in orbit. But In September 2021, Rwanda announced that it was planning to launch over 300,000 satellites. Three months later, a Canadian company, having previously launched two dozen CubeSats, said it would launch an additional 100,000. Then, a French company did likewise. And SpaceX, which has already launched around 5,000 satellites, now has plans for over 60,000 more. What’s going on?