US politics

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The odious Trump once smugly observed that “I could stand in the middle of 5th Avenue and shoot somebody and I wouldn’t lose voters.” When it comes to the Republican base, he was clearly correct. The opinion polling shows that registered Republicans still overwhelmingly support Trump even after he unleashed […]

Corruption

Trump’s acquittal is a sign of ‘constitutional rot’ – partisanship overriding principles

The Conversation

By John E. Finn | – The Senate’s decision to acquit former President Donald Trump in his second impeachment trial may have been a victory for Trump, but it is a clear sign that democracy in the U.S. is in poor health. As a constitutional scholar, I believe the United States – the world’s first […]

Featured

Federal Court strikes down Arkansas’ attempt to Punish proponents of Boycotting Israel over its treatment of Palestinians

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Andrew DeMillo at the Associated Press reports that a 3-judge panel of the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in St. Louis has struck down an Arkansas law requiring contractors with the state to sign a pledge not to boycott Israel. The alternative print monthly the Arkansas Times carried advertising […]

Immigration

Undocumented Americans need a Pathway to Citizenship; Biden’s Plan is promising but needs swift implementation by Congress

OtherWords

By Vanessa Meraz ” – ( Otherwords.org) – Years of advocacy have made DACA the floor of what’s possible, not the ceiling. By Vanessa Meraz | February 10, 2021 My father’s tired eyes lit up in a way that I had not seen since my sister was born. “Esto nos podría cambiar la vida,” he […]

Arab World

Targeting Iran, Trump added Israel to the US Mideast Military Command; How will the Arab World Respond?

Middle East Monitor

By Nasim Ahmed | – ( Middle East Monitor) – A major reorganisation of US military operation in the Middle East was announced last month in a momentous decision reflecting the seismic geo-political shifts underway in the region. The move, the last of many gifts granted by Washington to Tel-Aviv under former President Donald Trump, […]

Donald Trump

Auditor says Trump admin. knew ‘zero-tolerance’ would separate children from parents at border

Cronkite News Arizona PBS

By Ryan Knappenberger | – ( Cronkite News) – WASHINGTON – Then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions knew the Trump administration’s “zero-tolerance” immigration policy would separate families at the border but moved ahead with it anyway, a Justice Department official told lawmakers this week. Justice Department Inspector General Michael Horowitz told the House Oversight and Reform Committee […]

Democracy

America’s Transition Away from Democracy and the World’s Wave of De-Democratization

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The twentieth century was in the eyes of some observers an uneven but steady march to democracy. Those who study transitions from authoritarian governments to democracy have defined a successful transition as characterized by two elections in a row, where all parties agree on the rules of the game, and […]

Nonviolence

America after Trump must Confront MLK’s ‘Giant Triplets of Racism, Extreme Materialism, and Militarism’

Andrew J. Bacevich

By Andrew Bacevich | – ( Tomdispatch.com) – When Martin Luther King preached his famous sermon “Beyond Vietnam” at Riverside Church in New York City in April 1967, I don’t recall giving his words a second thought. Although at the time I was just up the Hudson River attending West Point, his call for a […]