One of my most ironclad rules for maintaining stable mental health is, “Don’t feed the trolls.” I went ahead and violated it, and got what I deserved.The rule comes down to this: When the cold-hearted, thick-headed rightwingers spew venom on social media, you should resist the burning urge to respond with logic and/or sarcasm. It’s giving them the raw meat they crave. It’s also a waste of precious time and energy. You’re not going to learn anything new about them or their point of view. They’ll just spew harder, and you’ll come away thinking the same thing you thought when you went in:...…One of my most ironclad rules for maintaining stable mental health is, “Don’t feed the trolls.” I went ahead and violated it, and got what I deserved.The rule comes down to this: When the cold-hearted, thick-headed rightwingers spew venom on social media, you should resist the burning urge to respond with logic and/or sarcasm. It’s giving them the raw meat they crave. It’s also a waste of precious time and energy. You’re not going to learn anything new about them or their point of view. They’ll just spew harder, and you’ll come away thinking the same thing you thought when you went in:...WW…

At a on July 28, representatives of several United States’ island territories demanded that Congress take action to correct the racist and colonial policies that have kept the nearly four million inhabitants of these territories locked in a , unable to participate fully in their government.Several Supreme Court justices made , claiming that the people of the territories are members of “alien races” who were not ready for democracy.The representatives of the U.S. territories of Guam, Puerto Rico, the Northern Mariana Islands, and the U.S. Virgin Islands presented a united front as they...…At a on July 28, representatives of several United States’ island territories demanded that Congress take action to correct the racist and colonial policies that have kept the nearly four million inhabitants of these territories locked in a , unable to participate fully in their government.Several Supreme Court justices made , claiming that the people of the territories are members of “alien races” who were not ready for democracy.The representatives of the U.S. territories of Guam, Puerto Rico, the Northern Mariana Islands, and the U.S. Virgin Islands presented a united front as they...WW…

President Trump just can’t help himself. If a thought , it must be the most tremendous and correct thought imaginable and he must . No need for research or relying on experts; watching Fox News is enough.Trump is clearly the worst possible person to be leading our country in a time like this. The idiotic/narcissistic combination is deadly. The president is because of his bravado and lies—not the best skill set for getting us through one of the deadliest pandemics and worst economic calamity of our time.I wish we could just laugh Trump off and focus on getting out of this pandemic, but the...…President Trump just can’t help himself. If a thought , it must be the most tremendous and correct thought imaginable and he must . No need for research or relying on experts; watching Fox News is enough.Trump is clearly the worst possible person to be leading our country in a time like this. The idiotic/narcissistic combination is deadly. The president is because of his bravado and lies—not the best skill set for getting us through one of the deadliest pandemics and worst economic calamity of our time.I wish we could just laugh Trump off and focus on getting out of this pandemic, but the...WW…

Despite a mountain of irrefutable evidence that Donald Trump was guilty of inciting an insurrection, the U.S. Senate acquitted him.History will record this vote as a shameful abdication on the part of Republican Senators. Only seven of them had the decency and the respect for our democracy to vote to convict: Richard Burr of North Carolina, Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, Susan Collins of Maine, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, Mitt Romney of Utah, Ben Sasse of Nebraska, and Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania.Convicting Trump would have dealt a blow to this fascist movement in the United States. But now that...…Despite a mountain of irrefutable evidence that Donald Trump was guilty of inciting an insurrection, the U.S. Senate acquitted him.History will record this vote as a shameful abdication on the part of Republican Senators. Only seven of them had the decency and the respect for our democracy to vote to convict: Richard Burr of North Carolina, Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, Susan Collins of Maine, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, Mitt Romney of Utah, Ben Sasse of Nebraska, and Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania.Convicting Trump would have dealt a blow to this fascist movement in the United States. But now that...WW…

I grew up among the Wisconsinites who fought Joseph McCarthy’s dishonest and destructive politics. During the American inquisition of the 1950s, those who to the red-baiting Senator took enormous political, economic, and personal risks.Years later, as a child hanging out in the Racine County courthouse, where my dad worked, I heard stories from aging judges and lawyers who recalled signing “” petitions. And as a young political reporter collecting stories of veterans of the fight against “Tailgunner Joe,” like former Senator Gaylord Nelson and journalist John Patrick Hunter, I recognized...…I grew up among the Wisconsinites who fought Joseph McCarthy’s dishonest and destructive politics. During the American inquisition of the 1950s, those who to the red-baiting Senator took enormous political, economic, and personal risks.Years later, as a child hanging out in the Racine County courthouse, where my dad worked, I heard stories from aging judges and lawyers who recalled signing “” petitions. And as a young political reporter collecting stories of veterans of the fight against “Tailgunner Joe,” like former Senator Gaylord Nelson and journalist John Patrick Hunter, I recognized...WW…

Photo by Johan Fantenberg, courtesy of Flickr. Photo by Johan Fantenberg, courtesy of Flickr. May Day has a of worker unrest behind it, even if the United States doesn’t technically celebrate International Workers’ Day. The day first became a working person’s holiday after the movement for an eight-hour workday, in 1886, set off a strike wave that roiled the country. May 1 was the day the strikes kicked off, though it was the subsequent violence at Chicago’s Haymarket Square on May 4 that led to a and an international outcry over the execution of several labor leaders. COVID-19...…Photo by Johan Fantenberg, courtesy of Flickr. Photo by Johan Fantenberg, courtesy of Flickr. May Day has a of worker unrest behind it, even if the United States doesn’t technically celebrate International Workers’ Day. The day first became a working person’s holiday after the movement for an eight-hour workday, in 1886, set off a strike wave that roiled the country. May 1 was the day the strikes kicked off, though it was the subsequent violence at Chicago’s Haymarket Square on May 4 that led to a and an international outcry over the execution of several labor leaders. COVID-19...WW…

President Trump and his cohorts are eager to throw everything they’ve got at the coronavirus pandemic short of actual science and logic. Just when you thought Trump was becoming slightly responsible and at last occasionally wearing a mask, he jumps on .The source of the latest sales pitch just happened to be and reptilian creatures run the government. (She almost had me at the reptilian creatures.) Besides the laughable and fantastical, latest miracle doctor happens to have some pretty horrible anti-LGBTQ views that don’t exactly fit the mold of sound science.But a wacko doctor isn’t the...…President Trump and his cohorts are eager to throw everything they’ve got at the coronavirus pandemic short of actual science and logic. Just when you thought Trump was becoming slightly responsible and at last occasionally wearing a mask, he jumps on .The source of the latest sales pitch just happened to be and reptilian creatures run the government. (She almost had me at the reptilian creatures.) Besides the laughable and fantastical, latest miracle doctor happens to have some pretty horrible anti-LGBTQ views that don’t exactly fit the mold of sound science.But a wacko doctor isn’t the...WW…

After scoring primary victories in Congressional races in , , and , progressives have their sights set on two other races in which entrenched, corporate-funded Democrats are facing challengers from their left. Cori Bush of Missouri and Alex Morse of Massachusetts could both make history, and send shockwaves through the Democratic political establishment, if they emerge victorious in their challenges to unseat William Lacy Clay Jr. and Richie Neal, respectively. Cori Bush, running for U.S. Congress in Missouri's 1st District “I am the people that I serve,” Cori Bush says. It’s not...…After scoring primary victories in Congressional races in , , and , progressives have their sights set on two other races in which entrenched, corporate-funded Democrats are facing challengers from their left. Cori Bush of Missouri and Alex Morse of Massachusetts could both make history, and send shockwaves through the Democratic political establishment, if they emerge victorious in their challenges to unseat William Lacy Clay Jr. and Richie Neal, respectively. Cori Bush, running for U.S. Congress in Missouri's 1st District “I am the people that I serve,” Cori Bush says. It’s not...WW…

President Donald Trump and U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos are determined to the nation’s schools for full-time, in-person learning, going so far as to threaten schools with defunding if they fail to do so.When Trump and DeVos threaten to suspend federal funds to schools, Black children, as well as all low-income students, have the most to lose.Sending students back to school every day, as Trump , is especially dangerous for Black children because Black people are by COVID-19.An analysis by APM Research Lab this month  that African Americans have died from COVID-19 at twice the...…President Donald Trump and U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos are determined to the nation’s schools for full-time, in-person learning, going so far as to threaten schools with defunding if they fail to do so.When Trump and DeVos threaten to suspend federal funds to schools, Black children, as well as all low-income students, have the most to lose.Sending students back to school every day, as Trump , is especially dangerous for Black children because Black people are by COVID-19.An analysis by APM Research Lab this month  that African Americans have died from COVID-19 at twice the...WW…

Over the past decade, the Republican leadership of Wisconsin’s legislature has engaged in an all-out assault on democracy. The ferocity of this assault, the scope of the damage inflicted, and the sheer number of fronts on which the legislature is attacking make the struggle in Wisconsin a formidable and vital one. Wisconsin stands as an example and a warning: If we continue to abandon our long-standing norms, the American experiment will look much different from what our forebears ever imagined.As attorneys who have played a role in a number of lawsuits concerning how democracy works...…Over the past decade, the Republican leadership of Wisconsin’s legislature has engaged in an all-out assault on democracy. The ferocity of this assault, the scope of the damage inflicted, and the sheer number of fronts on which the legislature is attacking make the struggle in Wisconsin a formidable and vital one. Wisconsin stands as an example and a warning: If we continue to abandon our long-standing norms, the American experiment will look much different from what our forebears ever imagined.As attorneys who have played a role in a number of lawsuits concerning how democracy works...WW…