US politics

Oakland, Ca. (Special to Informed Comment) – At Christian Nationalist conferences , “ . . . resistance to Mr. Trump is tantamount to resistance to God,” according to New York Times writer Katherine Stewart. That accounts for the heavy presence of Christian symbols, crosses and Bibles, AND guns carried by rioters during the January 6 […]

Authoritarianism

How democracy gets eroded – lessons from a Nixon expert

The Conversation

By Ken Hughes | – Now that a full year has passed since the Jan. 6, 2021, assault on the Capitol, the 2020 election and the republic, it’s evident that the attack never really ended. Instead, it spread out to other, less visible, more vulnerable targets. Donald Trump had hoped to reverse his election loss […]

Epidemics

Is America a Nation Coming Apart?

Tom Engelhardt

By Tom Engelhardt | – ( Tomdispatch.com) – Let me start 2022 by heading back — way, way back — for a moment. It’s easy to forget just how long this world has been a dangerous place for human beings. I thought about this recently when I stumbled upon a little memoir my Aunt Hilda […]

Authoritarianism

In 1953, the Republican Party overthrew the Iranian Government; on 1/6/21 it used the Same Techniques against the elected President

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – On January 6, 2021, Trump attempted to make a coup and remain in power despite losing the election to Joe Biden. Although many American pundits speak of Trump’s action as unprecedented, actually the Washington elite has a long history of making or backing coups d’etat in other countries. One of […]

Donald Trump

One year after the January 6 insurrection, is the United States on the Verge of Break-up?

John Feffer

When does a country stop being a country? ( Foreign Policy in Focus) – This critical moment takes place before a civil war breaks out or an official ceremony of dissolution is held. At some point, the citizens of the country stop thinking of themselves as members of a common association. At some point, the […]

Democratic Party

1 Year after 1/6, Polls reveal Republican Party captured by Great Leader Syndrome just like North Koreans

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – You sometimes hear from right-wing pundits that the widespread Republican rejection of the legitimacy of President Biden is just mirroring the Democrats’ dismissal of Trump’s presidency. This piece of whataboutism is not even grounded in the facts. 76 percent of Clinton voters on November 9, 2016 accepted that Trump was […]

Donald Trump

The ‘Sore Loser Effect’: Rejecting election Results can destabilize Democracy and drive Terrorism<

The Conversation

By James Piazza | – An attendee at an October 2021 political rally hosted by right-wing activist Charlie Kirk asked: “How many elections are they going to steal before we kill these people?” The attendee was referring to the baseless allegation that Joe Biden stole the 2020 U.S. presidential election and that he unfairly denied […]

Donald Trump

American support for conspiracy theories and armed rebellion isn’t new – we just didn’t believe it before the Capitol insurrection

The Conversation

Amanda J. Crawford | – Americans had to confront a new reality when an angry mob attacked the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021: Some of their fellow citizens were in the grips of a false reality and had resorted to violence to support it. Conspiracy theories about the 2020 presidential election and the strange […]

Donald Trump

Iranian Hackers deface Jerusalem Post with missile threat on Anniversary of Trump-Netanyahu Assassination of Gen. Soleimani

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – On Monday morning, according to Iran International, Iranian hackers defaced the front page of the Israeli newspaper the Jerusalem Post and the Twitter feed of the Hebrew-language daily Maariv [Evening]. They posted an image, which stayed up a couple of hours, of a missile aimed at the Shimon Peres Negev […]