Politics

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Roughly 1,264,000 US soldiers have died in all the wars this country has ever fought. A new simulation by the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School predicts that if all the states completely reopened today and all Americans ceased all social distancing measures, a million people would die in this country […]

Donald Trump

How the Tiny ‘Reopen’ protest movement was Astroturfed and boosted by Fake Grassroots Tactics

The Conversation

By Marc Ambinder | – Many Americans have been under strict stay-at-home orders, or at least advisories, for more than a month. People are frustrated and depressed, but have complied with what they’ve been asked to endure because they trust that state and local public health officials are telling the truth about the coronavirus pandemic. […]

Donald Trump

“Unhinged” Trump Calls on his Mussolini-Style Black Shirts to Attack Michigan, Minnesota, Virginia

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Trump’s tweets on Friday, “Liberate Michigan,” and “Liberate Minnesota,” and “Liberate Virginia” were clearly intended to incite his armed, conspiracy-minded, militant followers on the far right against those elected state governments, which intend to buck him on reopening the economy on May 1. The possibility of Trump-inspired violence against Governor […]

Donald Trump

Trumpism was Always the Tyrannical Tantrum of a Stubborn 5-Year-Old, but Now it will Kill People; Lots of People

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Trumpism is a form of fascism, of course, but at its core is a whiny rebellion against the achievements of human and civil rights since the 1960s. Do the new norms after the Civil Rights Movement stop people from saying in public that African-Americans, Hispanics, Native Americans, Asians and women […]

Epidemics

Coronavirus and Medicare for All: Our Crisis comes from Gov’t Putting Profit over Public Health

F. Douglas Stephenson

Gainesville, Florida (Special to Informed Comment) – Big business dominates our government and public health takes a back seat to the need for private profit. Many government leaders from both political parties share the same ‘profits over public health’ ideology, even though the Covid-19 pandemic clearly shows how our economic system has failed to serve […]

Donald Trump

Coronavirus and Georgia’s Kemp: How the GOP Stupidocracy will Kill us All

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp, whose only advantage in life appears to be being a white male who has failed upward all his life, announced on Thursday that he was finally implementing a shelter-in-place order for his state of 10.5 million people. He said the reason for his about-face after two […]

Donald Trump

Trump trying to Bolster his Far Right Agenda with the Pandemic, but will it Expose his Utter Incompetence?

John Feffer

The Politics of the Coronavirus

Far Right

Israel’s Democracy at a Crossroads: Can Benny Gantz halt the Slide into Illiberalism?

The Conversation

By Eitan Tzelgov | – After Israel’s third election in a year in early March, parties opposing Benjamin Netanyahu – the Israeli prime minister known as Bibi – secured a small majority in parliament. In a blow to Netanyahu, on March 15 these parties informed the Israeli president, Reuven Rivlin, that his rival Benny Gantz […]

Bernie Sanders

Can Bernie Sanders yet make Socialism Cool Again?

The Conversation

By Jason Hannan | – Love him or hate him, Bernie Sanders … has inspired a massive, energetic, hardworking and fiercely loyal following, determined to carry him to victory at the Democratic National Convention in July. To the great agitation of his rivals and critics, Sanders has demonstrated a stunning popularity among a diverse cross-section […]