“Every noncitizen in the US now has to watch what they say about foreign policy — or else. You may have just arrived from Putin’s Russia, and are now being told by Trump: don’t think you now have free speech just because you’re in America. The US government is monitoring your every word and can deport you if you say the wrong thing. You have to wait until you’re a citizen to be free. If the law seems McCarthyite, that’s because it was passed in 1952 and aimed specifically at Holocaust survivors from Eastern Europe suspected of communist sympathies.” (03/14/25)
“After multiple territorial wars over more than 35 years, Armenia and Azerbaijan, two small countries ringed by big powers, announced March 13 that they had agreed on a draft peace agreement. That alone prompted praise across a conflict-riddled Eurasian continent. Yet a portion of praise went to only Armenia, population 3 million, for something else. Following the country’s latest military defeat in 2023, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan not only offered concessions to Azerbaijan but also launched a campaign at home to lift the national identity beyond ethnicity, a trait that exudes exclusivity and lies at the heart of many wars. The ‘Real Armenia,’ he said in a February speech, resides in all citizens living within the country’s recognized borders – ethnic minorities included – as ‘the source of the legal order,’ along with spiritual values that bring harmony and happiness.” (03/14/25)
“At the moment, everyone worried about what the Trump administration is doing to America is focused on constraining executive power. This is absolutely the right emphasis now: Trump is an authoritarian who aspires to be a king who can run the United States through executive orders. Our checks and balances need to be preserved and strengthened. But there is a good chance that the Trump project will ultimately fail, and opportunities to rebuild the American government will emerge. Indeed, the only way that Trumpism can be displaced is for his opponents to offer something better.” (03/14/25)
“I’ve spent my career as a center-left thinker and writer, working with people like former New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio to help promote school integration and Keith Ellison and the late John Lewis to strengthen organized labor. So why did I agree to join a conservative group, Students for Fair Admissions, in its lawsuits against Harvard and the University of North Carolina in cases that enabled the Supreme Court to bring an end to racial preferences in 2023? As I outline in my new book, Class Matters: The Fight to Get Beyond Race Preferences, Reduce Inequality, and Build Real Diversity at America’s Colleges, I testified as an expert witness that racial and economic diversity benefits students, but there is a much better way to accomplish these goals than through racial preferences.” (03/15/25)
“Trump supporters have made no secret that they welcome a debate over Khalil. They’ve argued that the administration had lawful powers to initiate his deportation while playing up his alleged sympathy for Hamas. They’ve taunted Democrats who’ve come to his defense, arguing that they’re taking the wrong side of a 70-30 issue for the public. But for those defending Khalil, the issue is not just about political debates in the present but precedents set for the future. Immigration groups are seizing on the Khalil case to plead with Americans to recognize the threat in an administration that can target someone undocumented one week, a green card holder the next, and U.S. citizens in the future — on everything from birthright citizenship to accidental detention to racial profiling.” (03/14/25)
“There are reasons why influential or knowledgeable Americans are staying silent as the worsening fascist dictatorship of the Trumpsters and Musketeers gets more entrenched by the day. Most of these reasons are simple cover for cowardice. Start with the once-powerful Bush family dynasty. They despise President Donald Trump as he does them. Rich and comfortable former President George W. Bush is very proud of his administration’s funding of AIDS medicines saving lives in Africa and elsewhere. Trump, driven by vengeance and megalomania, moved immediately to dismantle this program. Immediate harm commenced to millions of victims in Africa and elsewhere who are reliant on this U.S. assistance (including programs to lessen the health toll on people afflicted by tuberculosis and malaria).” [editor’s note: Ralph seems have gone over senility edge at last – SAT] (03/15/25)
