“Most political differences in America today aren’t a result of moral differences, or even policy opinions. Rather, they are generated by divergent media consumption. There’s a huge difference between those whose news comes primarily from the corporate Big Five (CBS-Viacom, ABC-Disney, NBC-Universal, Fox-NewsCorp, and CNN-TimeWarner) and that handful of midsize legacy publications like PBS, The New York Times and Washington Post, than from those who get their news from independent media. While the independent media can be inaccurate, it’s often when they contradict themselves. On the other hand, when the Big Five and its satellites are inaccurate, it’s typically in union, as a bloc, and always in defense of the Washington establishment.” (12/19/24)
“The speed with which the right has, in just a few short years, entirely abandoned its supposedly principled commitment to curbing the power of the state in general and presidential Caesarism in particular is remarkable. During the Obama years, Republicans insisted that they had a constitutional obligation to oppose the White House’s dictatorial overreach. The Tea Party craze saw Republicans casting themselves as defenders of the Founders’ vision of small, responsible, unobtrusive government. The animating conservative concern — rhetorically if not often substantively — was government restraint to guarantee individual liberty: keeping the Nanny State out of people’s lives and insisting on government non-interference in business. Now, the same movement that derided Obama as a lawless tyrant every time he considered exerting power via a presidential executive order is urging President-elect Donald Trump to upend the system with precisely that instrument.” (12/19/24)
“Post-election America finds itself in a panic. Voices from across a wide political spectrum warn that the country stands on the precipice of a potentially unprecedented and chaotic disregard for the laws, norms, and policies upon which its stability and security have traditionally relied. Some fear that the ‘new’ president, Donald Trump, is likely to declare a national emergency and invoke the Insurrection Act, unleashing the U.S. military for mass deportations of undocumented immigrants and for ‘retribution against’ the ‘enemy from within’ as well as ‘radical left lunatics’. As the New Republic‘s editor Michael Tomasky notes, writing about the nomination of Kash Patel for the post of director of the FBI, ‘We’re entering a world where the rule of law is turned inside out.’ ” (12/19/24)
“It’s impossible to build a search engine that isn’t biased and doesn’t manipulate results. But it is possible to convince conservatives you can.” (12/19/24)
“Secretary Caryn Ann Harlos was investigated and unjustly ousted from her position by Libertarian National Committee board members, including a chair, who are embroiled in undisclosed conflicts of interest. This brief will demonstrate why the judicial committee should restore Harlos to her elected position post haste. This brief examines three conflicts of interest board members who held a role in the investigation and suspension of Harlos and why the judicial committee must not allow the board to continue to retaliate against Secretary Harlos for doing the job the delegates elected her to do.” (12/19/24)
“The Biden administration’s policy in Gaza has been a cautionary tale of what not to do in response to a conflict. Biden threw his full support behind a military campaign that was sure to be brutal and atrocious, he refused to use U.S. influence to bring it to an end, he rushed to shield the perpetrators from the consequences of their aggressive actions, and he ignored the laws that required him to cut off arms transfers. In the process, he put U.S. forces in harm’s way and even launched an illegal bombing campaign in Yemen rather than apply any pressure on Netanyahu. Throughout all of it, the Biden administration has shown a ghoulish contempt for Palestinian lives.” (12/19/24)
“The white whale of government privatization in Missouri is Springfield’s City Utilities, a municipal utility behemoth that should be broken up and privatized to make a fortune for Springfield taxpayers now and result in better utility services in the long run for residents. But at the national level, the privatization white whale has long been the U.S. Post Office. So, it is exciting to hear President Trump declare that he is open to the privatization of the post office.” (12/19/24)
“This fall, shortly after the election, the U.S. House passed a dangerous piece of legislation that many are calling the ‘nonprofit killer’ bill. The bill has an incongruous title: the ‘Terror-Financing and Tax Penalties on American Hostages Act’. Among other things, it would give the Treasury Department the authority to unilaterally accuse nonprofit organizations of supporting ‘terrorism’, and revoke their nonprofit status. Critics like the ACLU say it’s a blank check for presidents to shut down organizations that criticize them. When the bill was introduced in the spring, it was largely viewed as an effort to silence pro-Palestinian activism. At the time, dozens of House Democrats supported it alongside most Republicans. But after Donald Trump’s White House win, amid fears that the incoming president would use it as a tool to bludgeon his perceived enemies, it passed with significantly less Democratic support.” (12/19/24)
“Earlier this week, Steve Bannon — the former Trump aide and podcaster — told the New York Young Republican Club falsely that the president-elect could run for a third term in 2028, citing a claim from Trump’s legal adviser Mike Davis that the Constitution’s two-term limit, ‘doesn’t actually say consecutive.’ A flood of headlines followed, suggesting Trump is preparing to trample the Constitution and cling to power. Bannon, of course, is wrong. The 22nd Amendment is plain: ‘No person shall be elected to the office of the President more than twice.’ There is no exception for non-consecutive terms. Twice means twice. … Why would Bannon make such a ludicrous claim? … Bannon and other MAGA loyalists don’t want congressional Republicans treating Trump like a lame-duck president because lame-ducks are more readily disobeyed.” (12/19/24)
