The path to American autocracy runs through the Justice Department. As Conor Friedersdorf and Ben Wittes detail in a frightening article in The Atlantic, while we are rightly concerned with the erosion of our civil liberties by our national security apparatus, the investigatory and criminal justice powers wielded by the Justice Department pose a far greater threat to the majority of Americans. Continue reading “The path to American autocracy runs through the Justice Department”
100 Days In
April 27, 2017
As we reach the 100th day of Trump’s presidency, we awake each morning feeling like strangers in a strange land. Efforts to analyze Trump’s tenure thought the conventional lens applied to the 44 preceding presidents are futile. Although political commentators delighted in their takedown of The White House press release riddled with inaccuracies, laughing at the absurdity of a comparison between Trump and FDR; viewed another way, Trump’s impact has indeed been consequential. In 100 days, Trump has radically altered our country’s place in the world and shattered its compact with its citizens. Trump has derided decades’ long alliances with Western Europe, casting grave doubt on our commitment to NATO and emboldening Putin’s dream of reasserting Russia’s place as a global superpower. Trump has cozied up to authoritarians like Erdogan and el-Sisi, played footsie with wannabe Nazis like LePen, while shunning centrist democratic leaders like Angela Merkel. Continue reading “100 Days In”