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Democracy

A Year After the Capitol Riot, Nothing Useful Has…

After the January 6 violence at the Capitol, Americans got a bigger national security state. What they didn’t get was solutions to any of the underlying forces that helped bolster right-wing extremism. It’s been a year since the Capitol riot, when Donald Trump supporters, whipped into a frenzy, ransacked governmental buildings, led directly to several

Media

Fox News goes off the rails on US Capitol…

Rightwing network presented a carnival of conspiracy theories casting blame anywhere other than on Trump and his supporters. Joe Biden marked the first anniversary of 6 January with a powerful, ideological speech about the choice between democracy and autocracy. It began a day of reflection in which Democratic Congress members and police officers spoke of

Democracy

When American democracy crumbles, it won’t be televised

Don’t expect a dramatic fascist storming of the Capitol building or a military takeover when our crisis comes to a head. Americans are not exactly known for nuance. Maybe it shouldn’t surprise us then that the rightwing protests that turned into a riot at the US Capitol building on 6 January 2021 were immediately described

Climate

Joe Biden needs to stand up and fight Manchin…

If we are to stand any chance in avoiding climate breakdown, Biden needs to act decisively – and now. Afew days before Christmas, Joe Manchin appeared on Fox News to publicly retract his support for the Build Back Better Act. Even by the pathologically callous standards of Washington, it felt surreal to watch a politician

Democracy

One-party rule is now the credo of Trump and…

An illiberal democracy, similar to Viktor Orbán’s Hungary, is increasingly the model for Republicans. The first anniversary of the invasion of the Capitol approaches, our cold civil war grows hotter by the day, and the numbers tell the story. A majority of Republicans view the attack as a defense of freedom (56%) and just under half (47%)