Columbia University became the latest huge academic institution to kowtow to Donald Trump’s shakedown, agreeing to pay him hundreds of millions of dollars so they can get their research funding back. But Trump still hasn’t restored their accreditation. And there’s no assurance that Trump, like any mafia shakedown artist running a protection racket, won’t keep coming back for more.
Every day brings a new executive order by Donald Trump, many of which attempt to effect radical changes like abolishing the constitutional right to birthright citizenship. Many are also highly personal. How long before everyone gets their own personal executive order from the president telling them if and when they can go to the bathroom and whether it’s number one or number two?
Supporters and critics of Israel’s war against the civilians of Gaza keep arguing over whether the mass killings, famine, and ethnic cleansing amount to genocide. No doubt it does. But why are we arguing about semantics? Israel doesn’t dispute what it’s doing; they’re using the debate over the G-word as a distraction.
Americans are told to be proud of the First Amendment and the right to free speech. However, upon closer examination, there is little free speech that can actually be exercised. If you say something your boss dislikes, they have every right to fire you, and you spend most of your life at work. In schools or colleges, you can be suspended, expelled, or even lose your diploma for protesting issues administrators care about. If you post something online that violates copyright, offends a privileged group, or breaches unknown rules, you can be blocked by social media companies. Protesting on the street requires a permit—though maybe not on the sidewalk, depending on the circumstances. At political conventions and other political events, special free-speech zones are often placed so far from the event that attendees remain unaware of your protest. Free speech? It barely exists in this country.
New York City Democratic mayoral nominee Zohran Mamdani, 33, is the latest young politician to be criticized for being too young and inexperienced for a complex job that requires knowledge of how government works. Perhaps, given the institutional corruption seen with the current incumbent mayor, Eric Adams, someone who does not know how to engage in graft and sell out the people might be an improvement.
By definition, terrorism is violence aimed at effecting political change. The only way to defeat terrorism, therefore, is to remain unchanged. Wallowing in revenge and exploiting the opportunities it presents reveals you as the monster the terrorists claim you are, and it changes you, so you lose.
People who would never tolerate being repeatedly lied to by close friends and relatives keep returning to vote for “their” political party because they believe the other party is evil and must be stopped at all costs.
After massive floods killed more than 100 people in Texas Hill Country, some coastal progressives blamed the victims, assuming most were Trump-supporting Republicans who voted against climate change legislation and warning systems that might have reduced the death toll. Similarly, when Californians die in mudslides or earthquakes, victims are often blamed for choosing to live in such areas. Aside from being insensitive and cruel, this rhetoric is inaccurate; surely some of the flood victims in Texas were Democrats.
The Democratic Party is divided into two factions: left-wing progressives, such as Bernie Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, and right-wing corporatists, such as Joe Biden and Chuck Schumer. Corporatists control the party, so most nominees are corporatists. They urge progressives to remain loyal and “vote blue no matter who” to defeat Republicans. However, when a progressive secures the nomination, corporatists often refuse to support them and may even align with Republicans to undermine them. This happened to Bernie Sanders and is now happening to Zohran Mamdani in New York City. The Democratic Party is only unified in one direction.
The Republicans’ Big Beautiful Bill Act will cause at least 10 million Americans to lose their healthcare coverage due to sweeping budget cuts to slash taxes for corporations and wealthy individuals. That’s very close to the number of 2020 Biden voters who refused to turn out for Kamala Harris in 2024. Would they turn out for a Democrat in 2028 to express their displeasure? Not if the loss of healthcare has the desired effect.
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