By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – The sudden resignation of Trump National Security Adviser Mike Flynn on Monday evening clearly was actually a firing. Flynn was given a pink slip for embarrassing Vice President Mike Pence by assuring him that he had not discussed sanctions with the Russian ambassador, Sergey Kislyak, in […]
After Miller’s Mega-Lies, time to rev back up the Reality Based Community
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – Stephen Miller, a snot-nosed kid with a bad attitude, advertised as White House senior policy adviser, delivered himself of some stern jeremiads on Sunday on Meet the Press, along with many Big Lies of which Josef Goebbels would be jealous. It is dreary to see a […]
Can Peak Gerrymandering by GOP be Challenged by Progressives?
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – In a dramatic outcome that could well change national politics, a Federal court last November found Wisconsin’s highly gerrymandered electoral districts to be unconstitutional, since they were clearly designed to deprive Democrats of the vote. As WaPo points out, if other states with extreme gerrymandering are […]
Could NSA Flynn face Criminal Charges over Russia Ties?
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – Lt. Gen. Mike Flynn (Ret.) is the National Security Adviser of President Trump. Very serious questions continue to swirl around his relationship with the government of the Russian Federation. These questions take on special significance given the alleged Russian role in interfering in the 2016 presidential […]
The real Victors in Judges’ ban on Trump’s Ban: US Universities
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – A three-judge panel from the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals on Thursday denied the Trump administration’s request that the Executive Order banning Muslims from 7 countries from coming to the US be reinstated. It was set aside by a Temporary Restraining Order issued by a Federal […]
Spicer: Trump can Criticize Iraq War but no one can Slam Trump’s Yemen Raid
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) – – One-man fake news channel Sean Spicer, Trump’s spokesman, said Wednesday that anyone who criticized the botched raid on Yakla in Yemen that killed innocent children and other noncombatants and left a Navy Seal dead “owes an apology” to the deceased sailor. This assertion is perhaps the most […]
Syrian refugees ‘detrimental’ to Americans? The numbers tell a different story
By Jeffrey H. Cohen | (The Conversation) | – – President Donald Trump wants to close the door on Syrian refugees, barring them indefinitely from settling in the U.S. In an executive order signed on Jan. 27, the president wrote: “I hereby proclaim that the entry of nationals of Syria as refugees is detrimental to […]
Yemen withdraws blanket approval for US action after Trump’s botched Raid
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – The the Arab press, reports that that government has withdrawn blanket permission from the Trump administration to conduct raids and drone strikes on al-Qaeda and other targets. It is sourcing one of the two Yemeni governments (that of Abdrabbuh Mansour Hadi). Mansour Hadi’s diplomat expressed to […]
“This Land:” The pro-Immigrant Radicalism of Lady Gaga and Guthrie at Half-Time
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – By beginning with Irving Berlin’s “God Bless America” and then switching to Woody Guthrie’s “This Land is your Land,” Lady Gaga (Stefani Germanotta, 30) engaged in a subtle but very radical critique of the immigration and other policies of Donald J. Trump. Her switch at the […]
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