Not long ago, Americans used to worry — constantly and loudly — about what their country’s main cultural export was and what it said about them. In the 1990s, after the Iron Curtain came down, many Americans wondered whether the appealing lifestyles the world saw on U.S. sitcoms and blockbusters deserved some credit for energizing global resistance to communism. Then, as the optimism of the ’90s gave way to the shock and horror of 9/11, Americans asked, with palpable chagrin, whether the materialism and vulgarity of their TV shows and movies were contributing to the virulent...…Not long ago, Americans used to worry — constantly and loudly — about what their country’s main cultural export was and what it said about them. In the 1990s, after the Iron Curtain came down, many Americans wondered whether the appealing lifestyles the world saw on U.S. sitcoms and blockbusters deserved some credit for energizing global resistance to communism. Then, as the optimism of the ’90s gave way to the shock and horror of 9/11, Americans asked, with palpable chagrin, whether the materialism and vulgarity of their TV shows and movies were contributing to the virulent...WW…

Donald Trump has been having a rough go of it in the nation’s highest court. A year ago, he lost the biggest case of last year’s Supreme Court term—a challenge to his addition of a citizenship question to the census. This week, Trump lost what is so far the biggest case of this Court term—a challenge to his termination of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, which allows Dreamers to remain, study, and work in America on renewable permits. Both rulings found that the president had violated a law called the Administrative Procedure Act.This sounds technical, and Trump’s...…Donald Trump has been having a rough go of it in the nation’s highest court. A year ago, he lost the biggest case of last year’s Supreme Court term—a challenge to his addition of a citizenship question to the census. This week, Trump lost what is so far the biggest case of this Court term—a challenge to his termination of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, which allows Dreamers to remain, study, and work in America on renewable permits. Both rulings found that the president had violated a law called the Administrative Procedure Act.This sounds technical, and Trump’s...WW…

This article was published more than 2 years agoCommentGift ShareEven as President Trump early Wednesday morning, he implicitly acknowledged that the election results are not, in fact, decided yet by pledging to go to court to obtain the result he wants — reelection. But going to court requires making actual legal arguments. And, for all of the complex election-related legal questions that might still arise as the votes are counted, none of the claims Trump made on Wednesday morning qualifies as a legal argument, let alone a winning one.Most outrageous was Trump’s claim that he’d sue...…This article was published more than 2 years agoCommentGift ShareEven as President Trump early Wednesday morning, he implicitly acknowledged that the election results are not, in fact, decided yet by pledging to go to court to obtain the result he wants — reelection. But going to court requires making actual legal arguments. And, for all of the complex election-related legal questions that might still arise as the votes are counted, none of the claims Trump made on Wednesday morning qualifies as a legal argument, let alone a winning one.Most outrageous was Trump’s claim that he’d sue...WW…

This article was published more than 2 years agoCommentGift ShareThe coronavirus pandemic is surfacing a distinctively Trumpian form of federalism. Call it “corona-federalism.” All three of its key features run counter to key traditions of the U.S. political system: Corona-federalism involves blaming the states for the federal government’s failures; playing favorites among states when it comes to spending federal resources; and indulging states that privilege their own citizens over those of other states to the point of excluding the latter. It’s an unprecedented vision of federalism...…This article was published more than 2 years agoCommentGift ShareThe coronavirus pandemic is surfacing a distinctively Trumpian form of federalism. Call it “corona-federalism.” All three of its key features run counter to key traditions of the U.S. political system: Corona-federalism involves blaming the states for the federal government’s failures; playing favorites among states when it comes to spending federal resources; and indulging states that privilege their own citizens over those of other states to the point of excluding the latter. It’s an unprecedented vision of federalism...WW…

Jennifer Taub is a professor at Western New England University School of Law. Joshua A. Geltzer is a professor at Georgetown University Law Center. Follow them on Twitter at and . The views expressed in this commentary are their own. Read at CNN. (CNN)By ruling on Thursday against President Donald Trump's effort to prevent a New York grand jury from getting its hands on his financial documents, emphatically told Trump that no one -- not even the President of the United States -- is above the law. with one aspect of the ruling, that a president does not enjoy absolute immunity from state...…Jennifer Taub is a professor at Western New England University School of Law. Joshua A. Geltzer is a professor at Georgetown University Law Center. Follow them on Twitter at and . The views expressed in this commentary are their own. Read at CNN. (CNN)By ruling on Thursday against President Donald Trump's effort to prevent a New York grand jury from getting its hands on his financial documents, emphatically told Trump that no one -- not even the President of the United States -- is above the law. with one aspect of the ruling, that a president does not enjoy absolute immunity from state...WW…

AdvertisementAdvertisementOn Tuesday morning, Donald Trump, whose unsurprising character defects still never fail to surprise, tweeted a conspiracy theory claiming that the 75-year-old peace activist who remains hospitalized after his head was smashed open by Buffalo, New York, law enforcement officers ” who “fell harder than was pushed.” The president also linked to a report from a conservative cable news outlet, One America News Network, for support. That report claimed, with no supporting evidence, that the man “was attempting to capture the radio communications signature of Buffalo...…AdvertisementAdvertisementOn Tuesday morning, Donald Trump, whose unsurprising character defects still never fail to surprise, tweeted a conspiracy theory claiming that the 75-year-old peace activist who remains hospitalized after his head was smashed open by Buffalo, New York, law enforcement officers ” who “fell harder than was pushed.” The president also linked to a report from a conservative cable news outlet, One America News Network, for support. That report claimed, with no supporting evidence, that the man “was attempting to capture the radio communications signature of Buffalo...WW…

Donald Trump’s reelection campaign is launching a legal war against the free press. In the past two weeks, while Americans worried about the coronavirus, the Trump campaign has sued , , and . These suits are, legally speaking, frivolous. They pose no danger in court, where they’re all but certain to fizzle and fail. But don’t let that disguise their import. Outside of court, these lawsuits are a real danger to democracy. They abuse the American justice system to attack and intimidate America’s journalists.Each lawsuit alleges that a particular article defamed the Trump campaign by...…Donald Trump’s reelection campaign is launching a legal war against the free press. In the past two weeks, while Americans worried about the coronavirus, the Trump campaign has sued , , and . These suits are, legally speaking, frivolous. They pose no danger in court, where they’re all but certain to fizzle and fail. But don’t let that disguise their import. Outside of court, these lawsuits are a real danger to democracy. They abuse the American justice system to attack and intimidate America’s journalists.Each lawsuit alleges that a particular article defamed the Trump campaign by...WW…