Linda Belans: The mirror doesn’t lie
Do I look fat
in this outrage?
puffed up?
Abby Zimet: Untethered to the Facts
Two months ago, the United States made the Human Rights Watch list for the first time; rights advocates cited a nation “sliding deeper into the quicksands of authoritarianism” with peaceful protests met with military force, critics treated as criminals, journalists targeted, and support slashed for civil society.
George Yancy: Trump’s Education Plan Seeks to Make Cruel Domination Into “Common Sense”
Control the curriculum and you control the range of ideas that people are exposed to. This is why schooling is inherently political.
Abby Zimet: Weird Drivel and Loser Shit | This Looks Like Terrible
“A drunk and a rapist walk into a bar…” noted one online sage. Another: “Hegseth: No fatties in the chain of command! Trump: Waddles onto stage.”
Rebecca Gordon: Going Backwards on Rights with Trump
Centuries of Struggle Undone
Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg: Federal Agents Are Abducting Any DC Resident Who Appears Latino, ACLU Lawsuit Claims
Agents abducted one resident when he was on his way to dialysis treatment, according to the groups’ press release announcing the lawsuit. He was detained for over eight hours, without food or his medication.
Joan E. Bauer: Brown Skin | Probable Cause
My niece says they’ve raided the carwash.
Her former nanny, a longtime citizen,
afraid to leave home.
H.G. Reza: Living While Brown in America
Walking through a Home Depot parking lot while being brown raises enough reasonable suspicion in an immigration agent’s mind to cause my detention for a citizenship check…
George Yancy: I Am on Kirk’s “Professor Watchlist.” I Know How It Destroys Civil Debate.
I deeply value free speech and debate. The watchlist created by Charlie Kirk’s Turning Point USA is anathema to both.
Abby Zimet: Optuse Sexual Predator Approved
In honor of his speech at the UN, wherein he raved, bloviated and browbeat world leaders, patriots have erected a new statue in D.C. of Trump and his “closest friend” Jeffrey Epstein
Kenneth A. Carlson: Does Character Still Matter in the Age of Trump?
Democracies with high levels of corruption and low trust in leaders’ integrity are significantly more prone to backsliding toward authoritarianism.
George Yancy: Authoritarian Wave in US Shows Democracy’s Fragility, South African Scholar Says
Trump’s attacks are buttressed by his commitment to an authoritarian playbook that wallows in weaponizing differences against the backdrop of creating historical myths — in this case about the supremacy of whiteness.
Chris Hedges: The Martyrdom of Charlie Kirk
The assassination of Charlie Kirk presages a new, deadly stage in the disintegration of a fractious and highly polarized United States.
Christine Rhein: The Art of the Deal
Three men sit playing a game, clutching
the cards they hold, the need they feel
to cheat. The biggest man—Elon Musk—
sports a dark, draping cloak, appears proud
of his deep, hidden pockets.
