“In August, New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) stated, ’Woke 1 was crazy!’ on ABC’s ’This Week’ news show. She borrowed the phrase from her New York colleague City Councilman Chi Ossé, who had used it in a May post on X (formerly Twitter). Soon after, New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani said this about AOC’s statement: ’What you believe can change, it can develop, it can grow. … I’ve made very clear that I do not believe in defunding the police, that I will not be defunding the police’. Woke 1 was not ‘crazy’. It was an important moment in a longer legacy of struggle. Woke 1 (which, according to the Internets, refers to cultural and social activism in and around 2020) was not crazy. These statements by progressive elected officials sparked criticism. Some labeled AOC an opportunist. Others gave Mamdani a bit more grace, arguing he was being strategically cautious.” (11/10/26)
“Students often come to my office for advice about political extremism. Their internet feeds are awash with political binaries: ‘You’re either for us or against us,’ everyone is saying. There is no middle ground, and refusal to join appears tantamount to helping the enemy. Conservative students especially feel this pressure. ‘Is moderation synonymous with cowardice?’ they ask me. ‘Does refusing to join the fight really undermine America?’ It occurs to me that few of these young people have ever heard a forceful critique of binary thinking. When I tell them that this kind of thinking is a sign of political naiveté and immaturity, they stare at me blankly, as if they have no idea what I’m saying. But in fact binary thinking in politics is demonstrably foolish. The reasons are theological, epistemological, and anthropological.” (11/11/26)
“Donald Trump’s decision last week to name Stephen Miller as his new White House chief of staff gives the impression that instead of learning from and correcting the policy mistakes of the past two years, the president intends to double down on them. Miller has been unapologetically racist, and his prejudices and hatreds have fueled much of the Trump administration’s nativist agenda, especially in the area of immigration enforcement. He will now hold even more power over the administration’s policy direction. Naturally I wanted to ask Republican senators, newly returned to Capitol Hill on their first day back in session, for their thoughts on Miller’s promotion.” (11/11/26)
“Donald Trump was presented with several war options last Friday but rejected them all, at least for the moment. Neither did he accept the negotiated package on the table. Instead, he opted to continue his economic warfare against Iran. Given the expectation that Trump would restart the war after the midterms, optimism has grown that Trump may finally have abandoned the fantasy of a military victory. I suspect that optimism is premature. Instead, I see possible scenarios: War, peace, and a Swiss cheese status quo.” (11/11/26)
“Today, House Republicans managed to block the impeachment of Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, by voting 211-204 to send it to a committee for further “study.” But this fight is likely to be far from over. The Republicans may be able to effectively bottle up the impeachment in committee for the rest of the current Congress (which ends on January 3, 2027). But it will almost certainly come back in the new Democratic-controlled Congress. … And, though it’s a steep hill to climb, it is by no means impossible he might actually get convicted, as he is very unpopular on Capitol Hill (and elsewhere), and the evidence against him is strong. It is notable that House Republicans chose to use this procedural maneuver rather than just vote down the impeachment directly. It suggests they might not have had the votes to do the latter.” (11/10/26)
“[Stephen] Miller is the epitome of everything that is petty, cruel, illiberal, and anti-democratic in the Trump administration. To elevate him to chief of staff after the enormous rejection of the administration by voters last week says everything we need to know about how it will comport itself for the next two years. Members of the personality cult wasted no time rallying behind Miller. … Absolute loyalty, unwavering commitment, total devotion. The personality cult will survive the midterms defeat, and Miller will use every tool available to him to ensure it does so.” (11/11/26)
“Some words have a force all of their own, a power that precedes them and makes even uttering them a risk; these words elicit great anticipation and the most powerful emotions—anxiety, fear, anger, and jubilation. Their use is often hedged around with elaborate rituals and taboos. A well-known example: The ancestors of modern Europeans refused to call bears by their actual name. Instead, they invented a series of gentle circumlocutions like ‘the brown one’ and ‘the honey eater’. … Today, ‘amnesty’ is such a word, at least on the American right. Its specter is so great, so terrifying, that the mere suggestion of its utterance is enough to send right-wingers into paroxysms of rage, with much wailing and gnashing of teeth.” [editor’s note: The column, and its author, seem as pure a distillation of evil as I’ve seen lately – TLK] (11/11/26)
“The latest round of global climate talks started this week with a new type of mental focus. Rather than simply seeking more agreements among the 190-plus countries, the 12-day conference in Turkey stresses action, especially on a worrisome climate-related hazard – rising sea levels hitting low-level land. Attendees can easily find an example of practical action on that front, one anchored in a concept of caring for those most vulnerable. Australia is now in its second year of providing visas to hundreds of residents of Tuvalu who want to be prepared to flee their South Pacific country someday. With an average elevation of 6.5 feet, Tuvalu’s residents are already experiencing damage to underground water supplies from a sea-level rise of about 15 centimeters (5.9 inches) in recent decades. No one knows for sure how many people worldwide will be forced to flee submergence due to rising seas. Estimates range from 2 million to 20 million by 2100.” (11/10/26)
“I regret to inform you that we are now one week into the 2028 presidential election cycle. This is the stage where various factions try to shape the conventional wisdom to support their particular agenda. For Democrats, that’s a difficult process, because they so wildly overperformed in the midterms that every faction has a favorable story to tell. For Republicans, it’s tougher and uglier. Enter Vice President JD Vance. In a lengthy social media post the day after the election, Vance offered an explanation for the carnage that was gobsmacking in its intellectual dishonesty, brazenness and rhetorical restraint. The tone was corporate PowerPoint presentation, the content was balderdash, but the intent was deeply cynical.” (11/10/26)
