AdvertisementAdvertisementOne of the biggest stories leading into the virtual Democratic National Convention was that New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the party’s most popular leftist under the age of 78 depending on how you classify Elizabeth Warren, was to be allotted only 60 seconds of speaking time. Given the regular sass directed at AOC and “The Squad” by Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, the mini-slot was interpreted as another insult to the younger, more progressive, and less white cohort of Dems that the institutional party tends to take for granted when it’s not overtly...…AdvertisementAdvertisementOne of the biggest stories leading into the virtual Democratic National Convention was that New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the party’s most popular leftist under the age of 78 depending on how you classify Elizabeth Warren, was to be allotted only 60 seconds of speaking time. Given the regular sass directed at AOC and “The Squad” by Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, the mini-slot was interpreted as another insult to the younger, more progressive, and less white cohort of Dems that the institutional party tends to take for granted when it’s not overtly...WW…

Donald Trump has been clear, for months, that he does not support the expansion of mail-in voting to accommodate Americans who are apprehensive about voting at crowded indoor locations during a viral pandemic. There are a number of reasons for this:• In general, broader ballot access favors Democrats, who tend to disproportionately live and work in circumstances that make in-person Election Day voting logistically difficult.• Mail-in balloting is supported at the moment for epidemiological reasons by the kinds of public health experts whom Trump has been ignoring and belittling (and blaming...…Donald Trump has been clear, for months, that he does not support the expansion of mail-in voting to accommodate Americans who are apprehensive about voting at crowded indoor locations during a viral pandemic. There are a number of reasons for this:• In general, broader ballot access favors Democrats, who tend to disproportionately live and work in circumstances that make in-person Election Day voting logistically difficult.• Mail-in balloting is supported at the moment for epidemiological reasons by the kinds of public health experts whom Trump has been ignoring and belittling (and blaming...WW…

AdvertisementAdvertisementIn May, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio a group of protesters who’d been intentionally run over by police officers had “created” the situation in which they were injured by blocking the officers’ car. In June, the NYPD cited the general threat of looting to justify violent attacks against protesters who were charged with loitering-level “crimes” like . In the District of Columbia, federal park police argued that they were justified in tear-gassing protesters near the White House because the protesters had ignored orders to move so the president could take a...…AdvertisementAdvertisementIn May, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio a group of protesters who’d been intentionally run over by police officers had “created” the situation in which they were injured by blocking the officers’ car. In June, the NYPD cited the general threat of looting to justify violent attacks against protesters who were charged with loitering-level “crimes” like . In the District of Columbia, federal park police argued that they were justified in tear-gassing protesters near the White House because the protesters had ignored orders to move so the president could take a...WW…

AdvertisementAdvertisementThe tweet above was posted by a Republican “rapid response” spokesman named Steve Guest on Monday, apparently as a “rapid response” to the Washington NFL team’s that it will no longer use the “Redskins” nickname or logo. Joe Biden’s Facebook page had previously posted the photo attached to the tweet on .Like much MAGA political messaging, the exact meaning of Guest’s post is hard to parse even though its intended effect (insulting Biden) is not. The idea could be, perhaps, that Biden is a hypocrite for supporting the Washington NFL team despite being a member of...…AdvertisementAdvertisementThe tweet above was posted by a Republican “rapid response” spokesman named Steve Guest on Monday, apparently as a “rapid response” to the Washington NFL team’s that it will no longer use the “Redskins” nickname or logo. Joe Biden’s Facebook page had previously posted the photo attached to the tweet on .Like much MAGA political messaging, the exact meaning of Guest’s post is hard to parse even though its intended effect (insulting Biden) is not. The idea could be, perhaps, that Biden is a hypocrite for supporting the Washington NFL team despite being a member of...WW…

AdvertisementAdvertisement is a subjective and speculative estimate of the likelihood that Donald Trump actually loses the 2020 election, or in other words, that he suffers the consequences of his actions for the first time in his life rather than wriggling out of yet another jam (see: the Mueller investigation, the Ukraine scandal, the 2016 popular vote, his six bankruptcies, and everything else).Donald Trump got some bad polling news last week. No, correct that. He got a lot of last week, to the extent that he’s now trailing Joe Biden by 9.4 points in FiveThirtyEight’s polling...…AdvertisementAdvertisement is a subjective and speculative estimate of the likelihood that Donald Trump actually loses the 2020 election, or in other words, that he suffers the consequences of his actions for the first time in his life rather than wriggling out of yet another jam (see: the Mueller investigation, the Ukraine scandal, the 2016 popular vote, his six bankruptcies, and everything else).Donald Trump got some bad polling news last week. No, correct that. He got a lot of last week, to the extent that he’s now trailing Joe Biden by 9.4 points in FiveThirtyEight’s polling...WW…

AdvertisementAdvertisementThe three most populous states in the U.S. their highest daily totals of new coronavirus cases on Wednesday. California announced more than 7,000, while Florida and Texas announced about 5,500 each. The “positivity rate” of tests in those states is increasing, which means the rise in cases discovered is not explained by increased test availability; in Florida and Texas, positivity rates have roughly doubled in the past week and tripled in the past month. Both of those states’ governors have been outspoken about keeping as many businesses and public spaces open as...…AdvertisementAdvertisementThe three most populous states in the U.S. their highest daily totals of new coronavirus cases on Wednesday. California announced more than 7,000, while Florida and Texas announced about 5,500 each. The “positivity rate” of tests in those states is increasing, which means the rise in cases discovered is not explained by increased test availability; in Florida and Texas, positivity rates have roughly doubled in the past week and tripled in the past month. Both of those states’ governors have been outspoken about keeping as many businesses and public spaces open as...WW…

AdvertisementAdvertisementThe news about the coronavirus in the United States is not good: 22 states have seen recent increases in cases. The curve is not only not flattening, it’s actively curving in the wrong direction. There were 1,233 new cases reported Sunday in Arizona, 1,422 in Texas, and 2,016 in Florida, which are “New York in mid-March” kinds of numbers.Nevertheless, those states continue to press toward “reopening,” in the name of liberating a broke and restive population to get outside and get back to doing the things everybody used to do, like eating in restaurants and going to...…AdvertisementAdvertisementThe news about the coronavirus in the United States is not good: 22 states have seen recent increases in cases. The curve is not only not flattening, it’s actively curving in the wrong direction. There were 1,233 new cases reported Sunday in Arizona, 1,422 in Texas, and 2,016 in Florida, which are “New York in mid-March” kinds of numbers.Nevertheless, those states continue to press toward “reopening,” in the name of liberating a broke and restive population to get outside and get back to doing the things everybody used to do, like eating in restaurants and going to...WW…

AdvertisementAdvertisementNationwide protests over police brutality and racism … an active pandemic … the highest unemployment rate in 80 years … let’s check in on what the president of the country is doing about this stuff!Needless to say, he’s just tweeting. (There were 12 posted messages between 10:15 p.m. Wednesday night and 2:30 p.m. Thursday, including one at 11:38 p.m. and one at 8:49 a.m. Rise and grind!) But what is he tweeting about, and what bearing do his tweets have on potential executive action? Let’s look at four from Thursday morning, which cover the topics the president is...…AdvertisementAdvertisementNationwide protests over police brutality and racism … an active pandemic … the highest unemployment rate in 80 years … let’s check in on what the president of the country is doing about this stuff!Needless to say, he’s just tweeting. (There were 12 posted messages between 10:15 p.m. Wednesday night and 2:30 p.m. Thursday, including one at 11:38 p.m. and one at 8:49 a.m. Rise and grind!) But what is he tweeting about, and what bearing do his tweets have on potential executive action? Let’s look at four from Thursday morning, which cover the topics the president is...WW…

AdvertisementAdvertisementOn Wednesday morning Joe Biden published an in USA Today about police violence that reiterated the relatively modest proposals that were already part of his platform before George Floyd was killed, like reinstating Obama-era Department of Justice supervision of rogue departments and spending $300 million (a very small amount, by federal government standards) on “community policing.” Advocates of reform were .This is not necessarily a problem for Biden, who leads Donald Trump by an average of 8 points in recent polls and doesn’t yet have any incentive to jeopardize...…AdvertisementAdvertisementOn Wednesday morning Joe Biden published an in USA Today about police violence that reiterated the relatively modest proposals that were already part of his platform before George Floyd was killed, like reinstating Obama-era Department of Justice supervision of rogue departments and spending $300 million (a very small amount, by federal government standards) on “community policing.” Advocates of reform were .This is not necessarily a problem for Biden, who leads Donald Trump by an average of 8 points in recent polls and doesn’t yet have any incentive to jeopardize...WW…

AdvertisementAdvertisementDoing nothing keeps working for the Democratic Party. It worked in early 2017, when women’s marches led by activists and local grassroots groups prefigured a 2018 wave election highlighted by first-time female candidates. It worked for Joe Biden during the most intense weeks of the coronavirus crisis, when he made limited, online-only public appearances but gained in polls against Donald Trump anyway as the president demonstrated daily that he couldn’t understand or manage the threat of COVID-19 and speculated about the merits of injecting oneself with...…AdvertisementAdvertisementDoing nothing keeps working for the Democratic Party. It worked in early 2017, when women’s marches led by activists and local grassroots groups prefigured a 2018 wave election highlighted by first-time female candidates. It worked for Joe Biden during the most intense weeks of the coronavirus crisis, when he made limited, online-only public appearances but gained in polls against Donald Trump anyway as the president demonstrated daily that he couldn’t understand or manage the threat of COVID-19 and speculated about the merits of injecting oneself with...WW…