Constitution

By Kurt Braddock | – Senators, acting in the impeachment trial of former President Donald Trump that begins on Feb. 9, will soon have to decide whether to convict the former president for inciting a deadly, violent insurrection at the Capitol building on Jan. 6. A majority of House members, including 10 Republicans, took the […]

Constitution

Conservatives worked for Decades to build an Imperial Presidency, and it Gave them Trump and now Biden

Juan Cole

By Tom Engelhardt | – ( Tomdispatch.com) – Joe Biden’s got a problem — and so do I. And so, in fact, do we. At 76 years old, you’d think I’d experienced it all when it comes to this country and its presidencies. Or most of it, anyway. I’ve been around since Franklin D. Roosevelt […]

Constitution

How Trump’s language shifted in the weeks leading up to the Capitol riot: Linguists can Tell

The Conversation

By Roger J. Kreuz and Leah Cathryn Windsor | – On Jan. 6, the world witnessed how language can incite violence. One after another, a series of speakers at the “Save America” rally at the Ellipse in Washington redoubled the messages of anger and outrage. This rhetoric culminated with a directive by the president to […]

Constitution

Is impeaching President Trump ‘pointless revenge’? Not if it sends a message to future presidents

The Conversation

By Michael Blake | – A House majority, including 10 Republicans, voted on Jan. 13 to impeach President Trump for “incitement of insurrection.” The vote will initiate a trial in the Senate – but that trial will likely not be finished before Trump’s term of office comes to an end on Jan. 20. There is […]

Congress

McConnell Cynically used the Trump-Monster to get Tax Cuts and SCOTUS, Now Dropping him like a Squeezed Orange

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – In Chapter 7 of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby, the enormously wealthy Jay Gatsby becomes concerned about word getting out that he is having an affair with Daisy, who is married to Tom, and abruptly stops having the big parties he had been throwing, to which assorted society flotsam […]

Congress

Yes, it Was a Coup Attempt, but one Just as Looney as Trump and his Wingnuts

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Wednesday 1/6 was clearly an attempted coup on Trump’s part. There is some controversy about this, depending on how analysts define a “coup.” It was of course not a successful coup d’état inasmuch as it failed to overturn the government or even to permanently install an elected president as an […]

Authoritarianism

How does the 25th Amendment work, and can it be used to remove Trump from office after US Capitol attack?

The Conversation

By Stephanie Newbold | – A day after President Donald Trump incited supporters to attack the U.S. Capitol, Democratic Sen. Chuck Schumer called on Vice President Mike Pence to invoke the 25th Amendment and remove Trump from office, saying “This president should not hold office one day longer.” The 25th Amendment, ratified by the states […]

Bill of Rights

The Trump Administration’s Final Push to Make It Easier for Religious Employers to Discriminate

ProPublica

By Lydia DePillis | – ( ProPublica ) – It was the hectic week before Thanksgiving, and Amrith Kaur — the legal director of an advocacy group called the Sikh Coalition — was not prepared for a surprise update from the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission that could have dramatic consequences for her clients. With little […]

Authoritarianism

How Trump’s Authoritarian Playbook will Turn America into a Banana Republic

The Conversation

By Lena Surzhko Harned and Luis Jimenez | – Six weeks after the U.S. election, President Donald Trump had still not accepted defeat. This behavior is not typical in mature democracies. And it’s reminiscent of countries with what political scientists call “hybrid regimes” – nations that have elements of democracy but in practice are not […]