Photo by James Gathany, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention What should we think about President Trump’s relentless attacks on the government institutions responsible for keeping us safe and telling us the truth?The FBI, the Center for Disease Control and…
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Is This Our Second Civil War?
Photo by Tech. Sgt. Andrew Enriquez, Public domain, via Wikimedia CommonsSeveral years ago, Fintan O’Toole penned an insightful piece in The Atlantic warning against the use of the term “civil war.” O’Toole grew up during “the troubles” in Ireland. He…
Courageous Act of the Week
More than 50 Texas House Democrats fled the state earlier this month to avoid a quorum after Texas Governor Abbott called for a special session to redistrict the state’s congressional districts to add up to 5 GOP seats. In response,…
Madison, Political Equality and Redistricting
In 1775, recognizing that the Articles of Confederation were severely flawed and that the United States needed a stronger national government if it was to survive and thrive, James Madison, then 35, took it upon himself to research what such…
DC Press Corps Failing the Public on Redistricting
Pack journalism has always been a problem for the nation’s political reporters, especially those based in Washington, D.C. and on the campaign trail. Timothy Crouse’s The Boys on the Bus remains the classic study of the phenomenon. Under pressure to…
The Semi-Loyal
Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=158226686In my book, Madison’s Sorrow: Today’s War on the Founders and America’s Liberal Ideal, I tell the story of the stunning moral collapse of the post-Gingrich Republican Party. If American democracy is replaced by autocracy, a key reason…
Being Undocumented From Mexico is a Right (Part 1)
Metropolitan Detention Center, Downtown Los Angeles, Photo by Richard VasquezWe are finding out that the “undocumented” are not invisible, are not in hiding, and live among us in plain sight. They live, work, study and play like anyone else. We…