Constitution

Trump wants to send Federal Troops to the States to Stop Dissent, but SCOTUS lets the South Suppress the Black Vote

Southwest Harbor, Me. (Special to Informed Comment) – The pandemic has exposed more than just the inequities and vulnerabilities of our political economy. It has also exposed the deceit and hypocrisy in conservatives‘ periodic invocation of one of our nation’s most sacred constitutional principle, states’ rights. As we all learned in civics class, the US […]

Authoritarianism

Esper and Mattis try to put the Genie of Trump Militarism back in the Bottle, Years too Late

Juan Cole

Former SecDef Mattis calls Trump a Danger to the Constitution

Bill of Rights

How American cities were Reduced to Esper’s “Battlespace”: From Fallujah to Minneapolis

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The Bush administration’s war of aggression on and military occupation of Iraq that began in 2003 shifted the United States to a militaristic society. Some 2.7 million Americans have served in Iraq and Afghanistan, an astonishing number. The Bush administration began the practice of sending to civilian police departments military […]

Constitution

Resisting Rotten Leadership: from Mencius to Robert Reich

Martin Powers

Ann Arbor (Special to Informed Comment) – Writing in The Guardian this past weekend Robert Reich spoke common sense: Trump’s nonfeasance goes far beyond an absence of leadership or inattention to traditional norms and roles. In a time of national trauma, [Trump] has relinquished the core duties and responsibilities of the presidency. He is no […]

Constitution

The Second Time as Farce: Donald Trump and James Madison and the Defense of the White House

Juan Cole

In 1848 a series of popular uprisings broke out in Europe, including in France. They largely failed, and authoritarian, right wing governments reasserted themselves until 1870. In 1851, France had the misfortune to fall victim to a coup by the nephew of Napoleon Bonaparte, Charles-Louis Napoléon Bonaparte, who styled himself Napoleon III. Karl Marx had […]

African-Americans

Police officers accused of brutal violence often have a history of complaints by citizens

The Conversation

By Jill McCorkel | – As protests against police violence and racism continue in cities throughout the U.S., the public is learning that several of the officers involved in the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis and Breonna Taylor in Louisville share a history of complaints by citizens of brutality or misconduct. Decades of research […]

African-Americans

The Revolution IS being Televised*

H. Scott Prosterman

Oakland, Ca. (Special to Informed Comment) – There is nothing like another outrageous tragedy to compound the initial tragedy. This is NOT to diminish the outrage that sparked these nationwide urban riots. George Floyd was not only murdered, but lynched and tortured for suspicion of passing a phony $20, and being black. We’ve all seen […]

African-Americans

Why cellphone videos of black people’s deaths should be considered sacred, like lynching photographs

The Conversation

By Allissa V. Richardson | – As Ahmaud Arbery fell to the ground, the sound of the gunshot that took his life echoed loudly throughout his Georgia neighborhood. I rewound the video of his killing. Each time I viewed it, I was drawn first to the young black jogger’s seemingly carefree stride, which was halted […]

African-Americans

Riot or resistance? How media frames unrest in Minneapolis will shape public’s view of protest

The Conversation

Danielle K. Kilgo | – A teenager held her phone steady enough to capture the final moments of George Perry Floyd’s life as he apparently suffocated under the weight of a Minneapolis police officer’s knee on his neck. The video went viral. What happened next has played out time and again in American cities after […]