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Politics
Every article tagged Politics across the Atmosphere.
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A Flower Traveled in My Blood
Historical nonfiction like A Flower Traveled in My Blood can feel uncomfortably voyeuristic. I wasn't aware of the military dictatorship in Argentina — Chile under Pinochet, yes, but Argentina no. For as much human kindness and empathy as there is, humanity can demonstrate a near limitless appetite for violence and cruelty. Both cruelty and violence were in ample supply in Argentina during the late 70s and early 80s. The Grandmothers of Plaza de Mayo were formed in 1977 to locate missing children kidnapped during the reign of the military junta running from approximately 1976 to 1983. The reign of the junta was, of course, tacitly approved and materially supported by the government of the United States. This was a pattern of behavior on the part of the United States that was claimed to target the expansion of communism and left wing ideology. The practical impact was pain, suffering and trauma on a massive scale across South America. Up to 30,000 people were disappeared during the reign of the Argentine military dictatorship. The abuelas, with the help of American geneticist Mary-Claire King, have located about 140 children kidnapped or born in detention centers during this period. They also helped establish genetic and investigative infrastructure in Argentina, leaving this and those they located as an enduring legacy. A Flower Traveled in My Blood is a deeply personal, traumatic and, often, hopeful tale. The drive and focus necessary to pursue the truth under threat, as the abuelas did, is nothing short of incredible. They shared their struggle, their blood, their disappointments and their joys. That their struggle coincided with advancements in technology to enable the identification of victims both living and dead is serendipitous. The entire country had been plunged into darkness and the abuelas methodically put lives back together for themselves and everyone else that suffered through it.politicshistory
How The Supreme Court Is Tightening Early Prison Release
In recent decisions, the justices restricted the bipartisan First Step Act that President Donald Trump signed in his first term.Washington, D.C.Federal Bureau of Prisons
All Politics is Gamergate
How righteous grievance made us all follow Steve Bannon and Vivian James down the rabbit hole.politicsgamergate
Nice Politics vs. Asshole Politics
The rise of the Age of Assholes doesn’t mean we should give up on niceness.3
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Six Flags White House
Kevin D. Williamson writes for The Dispatch about the spectacle of setting up a UFC match on the White House lawn. It does not matter whether you live in a trailer park or a brick ranch house or something more grand and getting grander, it is all the same: Tornado bait is tornado bait. When...PoliticsStandard
American History as Fandom Lore
On MAGA canon and cosplay.1
2
Emergency Brake
weekly-updatepolitics
New at Religion Dispatches: Another Mass Shooting. More Dead Muslims. This is America.
The night before the 101st birthday of Malcolm X, the night before the 105th birthday of Yuri Kochiyama, as I go to a reading group at the Jewish Cultural Center of Harlem to discuss the song “Strange Fruit,” I get the news. Another mass shooting. More dead Muslims. Portrait Billie Holiday, Downbeat, New by libraryofcongress...anti-Muslim biasantisemitism
BRIDGES ARE SOCIALISM
The great MetLife Stadium walking debate, why a bridge is not about crossing a road, but because bridges are socialism.AMERICACAPITALISM
Out Now: Liberalism's Inner Life
The first episode of The Inner Life of Liberalism podcast.1
Don't Harm Your Enemies. Make Them Less Harmful.
Speaking with intent to harm trains the speaker in habits of hatred. The cost of online cruelty isn't only to the target.2
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A Show of Respect
Whether marching for a Sikh holiday, visiting a Jewish children”s center or attending Divine Liturgy, I’ve never seen a politician put so much effort into respecting the faith traditions of others as Zohran Mamdani. New York is such a diverse city and you truly get the impression that the mayor sees the strength of this....FaithPolitics
Merrick Garland Was Awful and Let You Down
Anyone who says differently is lying to youusamerrickgarland
Manufacturing Consent
The mass media serve as a system for communicating messages and symbols to the general populace. It is their function to amuse, entertain, and inform, and to inculcate individuals with the values, beliefs, and codes of behavior that will integrate them into the institutional structures of the larger society. In a world of concentrated wealth and major conflicts of class interest, to fulfill this role requires systematic propaganda. That Manufacturing Consent is nearly as old as I am and introduces a concept as enduring as the propaganda model of communication is both depressing and a testament to the fact that Herman and Chomsky were and remain correct in their thinking. If anything, it's a model that has become increasingly relevant as mass media has been hollowed out by technology companies and subjected to ongoing attacks by both the politically powerful and the wealthy (of which there is an ever increasing overlap). Ownership: mainstream media has remained in the hands of large corporations or bought up by conglomerates. This is also true in cases where tech and social media platforms have replaced traditional outlets. Advertising: media outlets remain dependent on advertising for revenue, but this revenue continues to shrink as more and more advertising spend is directed to social media platforms. The reach promised in exchange for outlets embracing these platforms has never materialized in a way that makes up for that loss of revenue. Sourcing: outlets still depend on access journalism and reporting. This shapes their coverage as access to sources is contingent on concessions they make to maintain said access. Flak: this facet of the model is perhaps the most important at the moment. Reporting is attacked, news organizations are attacked, journalists are attacked, sources are deliberately unmasked, free speech is attacked. There's an unceasing assault on any news and reporting that does not align with the prescribed narrative. Independent journalists and outlets are the only ones taking risks in the face of these threats to deliver well-informed and important work to the public and their subscribers. Fear ideology: this has been relevant since Manufacturing Consent (when it was identified as anti-communism) with no sign of diminishing. Any reporting that runs counter to the government narrative is attacked using national security and fear of external threats as a basis to delegitimize or suppress said reporting. What we've lived with and continue to live with is an information environment that does a disservice to the public by relaying only what this model allows for. How do you hold power to account when you're beholden to it?journalismpolitics
Murder the Truth
Murder the Truth is another entry in a line of books illustrating the ways in which immense wealth has warped the foundations of American society. We all watch in horror as things bend, fold in and wonder when, just when, it all snaps. The influence that wealth provides manifests itself in myriad different ways but, in this case, it's used in the pursuit of attacking journalists and burying the truth. David Enrich has not only done his research, he's lived through exactly what this book covers. He presents case after case, tracing a thread through them, of powerful interests focused in on upsetting the precedent set in New York Times Co. v. Sullivan . We, as a society, have benefitted from journalists holding power to account and are now living through a period in which they are under attack whenever they attract the attention of anyone with the money to weaponize the legal system against them. Enrich doesn't have a solution here, but he does raise the alarm. Journalists should be paid more but have seen the enterprises that employ them robbed of revenue by tech platforms. In many cases, tech founders then turn around and attack the journalistic institutions they impoverished for having the temerity to report on any number of misdeeds. Journalists shouldn't need exorbitantly expensive libel insurance. We should be championing a free press but, instead, it's under attack from all sides.journalismpolitics
China’s Parallel Web Behind the Wall
The unique web and internet of China, largely cut off from the rest of the world by the Great Firewall, yet not completely isolated. The climate and history that shaped the censorship and regulations which formed China's domestic internet, which operates largely independently of the interconnected global network known by many. Looking at topics subject to censorship, different services used, culture, and the growing impact of artificial intelligence.politics
Beyond the Square and Under the Rug
The Tiananmen Square protests and massacre that occurred on June 4th, 1989, with emphasis on the context surrounding the event and the Chinese government's aggressive censorship. Also clearing of misconceptions surrounding Tank Man.politics
Persia
This Persian rug hangs on our wall. As far was we know it is a family
heirloom possibly from Baku, Azerbaijan where my grandmother was born. I
don't know the family history beyond that but with the Jewish name Rosenberg
they had most likely emigrated there from Germany and some point. Azerbaijan
was part of Persia for most of it's history. Persia began it's long decline
after the Arab conquest of 633, but it wasn't until 1935 that it became known
as Iran.
In the Bible the Persian kings Cyrus and Darius where kind of our heroes,
freeing the Jews from Babylonian captivity and contributing to the rebuilding
of the temple in Jerusalem. Even in modern times, up to the 1979 revolution,
Iran had a thriving Jewish community. I had a colleague who, along with her
family and thousands of other Iranian Jews, fled after the 1979 revolution.
There is a huge community of them in L.A. now, keeping the culture alive.
As I write this late in the afternoon on April 7, 2026, I think most of us
expect that Trump will do what he always does and back down, change the
deadline, claim victory, and obfuscate the situation with some other BS.
Still there is a chance that the mad king is going to do something really
terrible. If it comes to that the very best case scenario it that our
military leaders come to their senses and refuse to take part in war crimes.
Of course this would infuriate Trump who would promptly fire them all and
attempt to find some soulless individual willing to do his dirty work. But if
the military were to take a stand it's possible that congress would then also
grow a backbone and invoke the 25th amendment, which was written expressly
for a time like this. One can only hope.
So tonight we sit on a tightrope with the future of humanity in the balance.
If Trump is allowed to follow through with his threat that "a whole
civilization will die tonight", it will not just be Persia, but it will be
the death of the United States as well. Persia has existed for thousands of
years, the U.S. a mere 250. Already the world is reorganizing into new
alliances of which the U.S. is not a part. Unless Trump is removed from power
very soon we will be seen as a rogue nation and an enemy to the peace and
prosperity of the citizens of planet earth. Could any of us ever foresee that
when world war three breaks out it would be the free world against the United
States of American?
PoliticsFamily
El Paso
El Paso is a heartfelt, beautifully written tale that manages to connect the city's history to that of her family's, other migrant families and the dynamics of immigration woven deeply into the fabric of the United States. I knew so little of this history and it was refreshing to learn about it — I knew El Paso in the abstract. The name, Beto O'Rourke, At the Drive-In , the shooting at the Walmart, I knew these things, but I didn't know what made the city what it is. Jazmine Ulloa manages to weave the micro in with the macro as she touches on the lives of historical figures, her relatives and the broader story of immigration. It's a narrative woven such that its elements are inseparable because they are, in fact, that — it's simply a question of the story being properly told. The United States is a country of immigrants, within it El Paso is a city of immigrants. It's deeply beautiful, often tragic and a history that's still being written. Ulloa centers people and through them tells a story rooted in struggle, politics, journalism and shared humanity.journalismpolitics
I went down to the demonstration - 3
The biggest yet. Social media is saying the biggest single day protest in US
history. It was good to see so many people, but once again it felt more like
a party in the park than a demonstration. This time it literally was, as they
had a band setup in the park. People first gathered on campus and then
marched to the park, and then on to the courthouse where we once again lined
both sides of the street and were cheered on by drivers honking in support.
The event was well staffed with crossing guards at every corner. Well planned
and well executed.
I'm sure these events are important. I'm not sure why I come away so
unfulfilled. There is no sense of urgency, no anger. You'd never guess that
we're witnessing the utter fall of civilization. The signs people are
carrying speak to it, but the smiles on everyones face say everything is all
right. In the 60's we had demonstrations, and we had love ins. They were very
different. Now they are pretty much the same.
But maybe that is our real strength. It's the MAGAts who are angry all the
time, blaming everyone else for their troubles. We're not like that. We can
protest peacefully and have a good time, while still making an undeniable
statement. The world heard us today. No doubt Trump is pissed and will
probably lash out in some new drama. Let's hope more people don't have to die
because of it. And let's hope that we can build on the momentum from today
and remove the republicans from power in November.
Politics
My chat with Claude this morning
Are you aware of Asimov's laws of robotics?
Yes! Asimov's Three Laws of Robotics are a set of rules introduced by science
fiction author Isaac Asimov, first appearing in his 1942 short story
"Runaround." They are:
1) *First Law:* A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction,
allow a human being to come to harm.
2) *Second Law:* A robot must obey orders given to it by human beings,
except where such orders would conflict with the First Law.
3) *Third Law:* A robot must protect its own existence as long as such
protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law.
Asimov later added a *Zeroth Law* (in his 1985 novel /Foundation and Earth/),
which supersedes the others:
1) *Zeroth Law:* A robot may not harm humanity, or, through inaction, allow
humanity to come to harm.
Much of Asimov's fiction actually explored how these seemingly airtight rules
could lead to unexpected, paradoxical, or even dangerous outcomes — robots
finding loopholes, edge cases creating conflicts between the laws, and so on.
It was his way of pushing back against the naive "killer robot" trope common
in earlier sci-fi, while also showing that even well-intentioned rules are
hard to get right.
They've had a lasting influence on discussions about AI ethics and robot
design, even if real-world AI safety is far more complex than three tidy
rules can capture. Is there something specific about them you wanted to
explore?
.... How AI is being used by the US Military in Iran
PoliticsTechnology
No more looking for a leader
In the waning years of the G.W. Bush presidency, Neil Young released a song called "Looking for a Leader" on his 2006 "Living with War" album. It pretty much summed up the mood of the county as people began to realize what a quagmire Bush had led us into in Iraq and Afghanistan. Obama stepped up and we got lucky as he was about as good a leader as one could hope for. Now comes the heartbreaking news that Cesar Chavez was a sexual predator who's victims included teenage girls in his organization. In 1969 a bunch of us white anti-war hippies went to one of his rallies in Indio, CA. We wanted to show common cause with the work they were doing. I can only imagine how devastating this news is to those who devoted their lives to the farm workers union. Having your heroes exposed as flawed human beings is one thing. Having them exposed as vile criminals is quite another. Power corrupts, there can be no doubt about it. In the end those we elevate to positions of leadership will always fail us. Human's have not evolved beyond that point yet. Once we start believing in our own importance our ego takes over and inhibits our sense of right and wrong. I don't care who you are or how moral a base you start from, once you get taste for power it's all over. As a society we need to stop looking for leaders and learn to start solving our problems cooperatively. I too have been guilty of bemoaning the dearth of the kind of leaders we had in my youth. Somehow I thought if we only had another Martin Luther King, or Robert Kennedy, or even John Lennon. If we only had a great leader we could solve all our problems. I hereby renounce that thinking as delusional. No leader is going to solve the world's problems. We've got to do it ourselves. We've got to do it by working together, by collaborating and cooperating. We've got to find a way forward that does not pin our hopes on leaders who, in the end, will always fail us.PoliticsPhilosophy