“For students uninterested in winning debates by the merits of their ideas, a popular tactic has been shouting down speakers — known as the ‘heckler’s veto’ — to prevent others from hearing. Some students have also physically blocked others from reaching speakers, and in extreme cases even used violence against speakers, though these are seemingly rarer. … Until recently, these vices primarily belonged to Democratic students, with a staggering 79% of students who identify as strong Democrats agreeing that shouting down a speaker is at least rarely acceptable. Republicans have finally, perhaps belatedly, arrived at the party, with over half of strong Republicans now saying it’s acceptable to shout down a speaker. And, in 2025, strong Republicans passed strong Democrats in support for using violence to shout down a speaker.” (09/05/25)
“After providing his red-carpeted welcome to Vladimir Putin in Alaska last month to discuss ending the Ukraine war, President Donald Trump oddly and approvingly quoted the Russian leader’s advice for the United States. The American Nobel Peace Prize-seeker didn’t seem too concerned about the fairness of any potential deal to carve up Ukraine at Russia’s behest. But Trump was fixated on the supposed lack of fairness of U.S. elections, even though he won two of them (and claims to have won three). In an interview with Fox News, Trump echoed Putin’s words: ‘He said: ‘Your election was rigged because you have mail-in voting. … It’s impossible to have mail-in voting and have honest elections.’ … Given that Russia stepped up its Ukraine attacks shortly after Trump boarded Air Force One, he might have realized that Putin might not be an honest broker — let alone a font of electoral wisdom.” (09/05/25)
“This column is a plea to our readers to help get responses from groups whose duties and rhetoric should cause them to become much more active in countering the fascistic, dictatorial actions of Tyrant Trump. All these groups have diminished themselves and their real potential to generate strong direct democratic pressures and arouse the citizenry. We can guess the answer as to why these groups are so meek, but what is needed is for these groups to answer for themselves: 1) Why aren’t the Democrats in Congress, just a few votes from a majority, much more aggressive vis-à-vis the controlling Republicans and President Donald Trump? Voters are vociferously demanding this at town meetings.” (09/06/25)
“It’s not the market; not the technology; not the Congress; not the courts; not the investment money; not the environment; not the lobbyists. There is, in fact, no consistent or coherent rationale — and everyone knows it. It’s because one man didn’t like one view and couldn’t get over it. That’s arbitrary power distilled like a fine Scottish whiskey. When Trump lost his battle with Salmond and the turbines were built (a whole documentary was made about the foofaraw), the psychic toll was just too much. In one of his own [golf] courses, Trump was compelled to see proof that he did not control everything, that he was a loser in a political battle, that other interests mattered other than his. The malignant narcissist is unable to let it go.” (09/05/25)
“When a New Mexico sheriff’s deputy was recently filmed grinning as he killed a rabbit by throwing it against a police vehicle, public outrage was swift. He was placed on leave and charged with extreme cruelty to animals, which is a felony. The incident was stomach-turning, yet perhaps even more shocking is how ordinary such violence used to be. For much of human history, killing small animals for fun wasn’t just tolerated, but celebrated.” (09/05/25)
“Tim Kaine needs to report to a remedial civics class as soon as possible. The Virginia senator and former vice-presidential candidate expressed outrage at a congressional hearing that a Trump nominee said our rights come from God, not government. Kaine suspected incipient theocracy, warning that the Iranian regime persecutes religious minorities on exactly this basis. ‘They do it,’ he explained, ‘because they believe that they understand what natural rights are from their creator.’ In searching for an example more relevant to the American experience, Kaine might cast his mind back to a fellow Virginian — a tall, sandy-haired, Charlottesville-area gentleman with an interest in architecture, a taste for fine wine and knack for writing. Ring any bells?” (09/05/25)
“Tanned, rested and ready, Congress has returned from the August recess. It is unclear why. The Democrats’ House and Senate minorities have no power — the ability to achieve intended effects. The Republican majorities have no power because they are not permitted intention independent of this president’s preferences. … Presidents are mistakenly accorded vast discretion in foreign policy, so Congress can do little when today’s president, for no discernible strategic reason, uses insults and economic coercion to propel the most populous nation, India, into closer collaboration with the second most populous, China. Congress could, however, inhibit this administration’s primary domestic policy.” (09/05/25)
“The U.S. Court of Appeals'[s] rejection last week of the Trump administration’s global ’emergency’ tariff program was a welcome affirmation of the separation-of-powers doctrine. Next stop: the U.S. Supreme Court. I’m keeping my fingers crossed for a 9-0 ruling that Trump grossly exceeded his constitutional powers. One can hope. Liberty is never secure. However, if we must have a state, the separation of powers may provide some measure of security.” (09/05/25)
“A new edition of Rousseau’s letters sheds light on the personality and thought of one of the Enlightenment’s greatest and strangest figures.” (09/05/25)
