Things you buy through our links may earn New York a commission.The District of Columbia spent years struggling to get out from under the thumb of Congress and achieve some measure of political autonomy for its residents. The first step in this process was wresting control of the city’s budget from Congress and turning it over to its mayor and city council in the 1990s. The current struggle is to give its citizens statehood. The through-line of this is that conservative white Southerners in Congress insist that the city’s heavily Black population is unfit for self-governance.The most recent...…Things you buy through our links may earn New York a commission.The District of Columbia spent years struggling to get out from under the thumb of Congress and achieve some measure of political autonomy for its residents. The first step in this process was wresting control of the city’s budget from Congress and turning it over to its mayor and city council in the 1990s. The current struggle is to give its citizens statehood. The through-line of this is that conservative white Southerners in Congress insist that the city’s heavily Black population is unfit for self-governance.The most recent...WW…

Things you buy through our links may earn New York a commission.When Nazis marched in in 2017, they chanted “You will not replace us!” and, somewhat more clarifying, “Jews will not replace us!” The terrorist who gunned down 51 people in Christchurch, New Zealand, used this slogan (“The Great Replacement”) in his . Last night, appeared on a prime-time Fox News show to defend this theory, not only in substance but also by name.“Replacement theory” imagines that an elite cabal, frequently described as Jewish, is plotting to “replace” the native white population with non-white immigrants, who...…Things you buy through our links may earn New York a commission.When Nazis marched in in 2017, they chanted “You will not replace us!” and, somewhat more clarifying, “Jews will not replace us!” The terrorist who gunned down 51 people in Christchurch, New Zealand, used this slogan (“The Great Replacement”) in his . Last night, appeared on a prime-time Fox News show to defend this theory, not only in substance but also by name.“Replacement theory” imagines that an elite cabal, frequently described as Jewish, is plotting to “replace” the native white population with non-white immigrants, who...WW…

Things you buy through our links may earn New York a commission.Republican Senators say they would love to pass a big bill. They are publicly begging Joe Biden to stop his partisan strategy and sit down with them to negotiate a bill both parties can support. The trouble is that their demands for how to produce this bipartisan agreement go around in circles.The loop begins with an earnest plea for bipartisanship. “My advice to the White House has been: ‘Take that bipartisan win, do this in a more traditional infrastructure way,’” suggested Senator during his Fox News Sunday interview. “I...…Things you buy through our links may earn New York a commission.Republican Senators say they would love to pass a big bill. They are publicly begging Joe Biden to stop his partisan strategy and sit down with them to negotiate a bill both parties can support. The trouble is that their demands for how to produce this bipartisan agreement go around in circles.The loop begins with an earnest plea for bipartisanship. “My advice to the White House has been: ‘Take that bipartisan win, do this in a more traditional infrastructure way,’” suggested Senator during his Fox News Sunday interview. “I...WW…

Things you buy through our links may earn New York a commission.Donald Trump may be a man with a very limited set of talents, but he has learned to apply those talents to masterful effect. His talent is to employ shameless lies to create an image of himself in the media, and then use that media to bilk people.Typically, a grifter runs up against the limits of public knowledge: Once he is exposed, it becomes progressively more difficult to find new marks. But here is where Trump’s particular genius exceeds all who came before him, and allowed him to operate his scam on a world-historical...…Things you buy through our links may earn New York a commission.Donald Trump may be a man with a very limited set of talents, but he has learned to apply those talents to masterful effect. His talent is to employ shameless lies to create an image of himself in the media, and then use that media to bilk people.Typically, a grifter runs up against the limits of public knowledge: Once he is exposed, it becomes progressively more difficult to find new marks. But here is where Trump’s particular genius exceeds all who came before him, and allowed him to operate his scam on a world-historical...WW…

Things you buy through our links may earn New York a commission.Before Donald Trump came along, Republican states frequently passed laws to restrict ballot access. Reporters didn’t always pay these laws much attention, and corporations never even considered anything like the retaliatory step announced by Major League Baseball, which has moved the All-Star Game from vote-suppression ground zero in Georgia.But Trump’s crass, frequently euphemism-free style stripped away a lot of illusions. The corporate backlash against Georgia is a template for a broader response to the party’s ongoing...…Things you buy through our links may earn New York a commission.Before Donald Trump came along, Republican states frequently passed laws to restrict ballot access. Reporters didn’t always pay these laws much attention, and corporations never even considered anything like the retaliatory step announced by Major League Baseball, which has moved the All-Star Game from vote-suppression ground zero in Georgia.But Trump’s crass, frequently euphemism-free style stripped away a lot of illusions. The corporate backlash against Georgia is a template for a broader response to the party’s ongoing...WW…

Things you buy through our links may earn New York a commission.Earlier this week, sagely explained that Joe Biden’s plans to raise taxes on corporations would have to rely solely on Democratic votes, because “Republicans are unlikely to raise taxes in the middle of a pandemic.”If you had read that passage and taken it at face value, it might have seemed like a hopeful omen. After all, we’re not “in the middle of a pandemic.” We’re at the end of a pandemic. Any Republicans who might be confused or pessimistic about this will surely see within a month or two that their grounds for objection...…Things you buy through our links may earn New York a commission.Earlier this week, sagely explained that Joe Biden’s plans to raise taxes on corporations would have to rely solely on Democratic votes, because “Republicans are unlikely to raise taxes in the middle of a pandemic.”If you had read that passage and taken it at face value, it might have seemed like a hopeful omen. After all, we’re not “in the middle of a pandemic.” We’re at the end of a pandemic. Any Republicans who might be confused or pessimistic about this will surely see within a month or two that their grounds for objection...WW…

Things you buy through our links may earn New York a commission.After Georgia Republicans experienced the shocking setback of losing the state’s presidential election, the party descended into bitter internal recriminations. President Trump blamed Republican officials for allowing massive voter fraud to steal the state; many state Republicans blamed Trump’s rhetoric for losing a winnable race.But both Republican factions heartily agree on the proper corrective steps: a sweeping bill curtailing voting and handing new powers to Republican legislators to prevent the unfortunate events of...…Things you buy through our links may earn New York a commission.After Georgia Republicans experienced the shocking setback of losing the state’s presidential election, the party descended into bitter internal recriminations. President Trump blamed Republican officials for allowing massive voter fraud to steal the state; many state Republicans blamed Trump’s rhetoric for losing a winnable race.But both Republican factions heartily agree on the proper corrective steps: a sweeping bill curtailing voting and handing new powers to Republican legislators to prevent the unfortunate events of...WW…

Things you buy through our links may earn New York a commission.One of the most dangerous, long-lasting changes effected by Donald Trump is the rightward extension of the Republican coalition. A wide array of far-right militias and cults was either created or inspired to join the Republican Party by Trump’s racist, paranoid, and authoritarian rhetoric. Now those groups are the subject of regular apologias in party-aligned media.The new reality was driven home in Trump’s interview with Thursday night. At one point, the Fox News host, whose “interview” was more like an exchange of talking...…Things you buy through our links may earn New York a commission.One of the most dangerous, long-lasting changes effected by Donald Trump is the rightward extension of the Republican coalition. A wide array of far-right militias and cults was either created or inspired to join the Republican Party by Trump’s racist, paranoid, and authoritarian rhetoric. Now those groups are the subject of regular apologias in party-aligned media.The new reality was driven home in Trump’s interview with Thursday night. At one point, the Fox News host, whose “interview” was more like an exchange of talking...WW…

Things you buy through our links may earn New York a commission.Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell is palpably desperate to preserve the Senate’s legislative filibuster. Last week, he warned that a majority-rule Senate would permit such as the enactment of his own party’s platform. On Tuesday, he returned to the Senate to denounce what he called “a new, coordinated, and very obvious campaign to get liberals repeating the claim that the Senate rules are a relic of racism and bigotry.”In response to this “coordinated and very obvious campaign” to associate the filibuster with racism,...…Things you buy through our links may earn New York a commission.Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell is palpably desperate to preserve the Senate’s legislative filibuster. Last week, he warned that a majority-rule Senate would permit such as the enactment of his own party’s platform. On Tuesday, he returned to the Senate to denounce what he called “a new, coordinated, and very obvious campaign to get liberals repeating the claim that the Senate rules are a relic of racism and bigotry.”In response to this “coordinated and very obvious campaign” to associate the filibuster with racism,...WW…

Things you buy through our links may earn New York a commission.During the first hundred days of Joe Biden’s presidency, it has dawned on Republicans that the man their standard-bearer is a formidable adversary. And the quality that has made him so effective up to this point is, well, his sleepiness. “I think Biden is a disaster for the country, and his ideas are an atrocity. But he’s boring. He’s just boring,” complained alt-media personality Dan Bongino. This frustration is not confined to the party’s entertainment wing. “It’s always harder to fight against a nice person because usually...…Things you buy through our links may earn New York a commission.During the first hundred days of Joe Biden’s presidency, it has dawned on Republicans that the man their standard-bearer is a formidable adversary. And the quality that has made him so effective up to this point is, well, his sleepiness. “I think Biden is a disaster for the country, and his ideas are an atrocity. But he’s boring. He’s just boring,” complained alt-media personality Dan Bongino. This frustration is not confined to the party’s entertainment wing. “It’s always harder to fight against a nice person because usually...WW…