The U.S. has always had a tempestuous relationship with the idea of due process. Obviously, some process requirement is necessary. You can’t actually have a “nation of laws” if the operation of those laws is left entirely up to the…
Look Outward And Up: Some New Role Models For Americans
It has been quite a year already, and it’s only March. We’ve got even more quite-a-year ahead of us. But these problems aren’t limited to the U.S.; most of the globe is seeing similar autocratic movements and uprisings these days.…
No Delegation: The State Should Do Its Own Work
I’m not optimistic on anything being fixable at this point, but we should still think about how to do better next time. Because there will (eventually) be a next time. And when it comes time to write the constitution for…
Big Sister: Forecast Is Cloudy For Alexa
I’m kind of at a loss today for not-climbing-a-clock-tower style approaches to our current political situation. So let’s talk tech instead. I’ve written before about the privacy issues with voice assistant systems; they’re … not good. I mean, they’re basically…
Authoritarians United: Most Courts Will Be Too Slow To Matter
If the police are mostly on the wrong side, then it shouldn’t be surprising that most courts will be too. It’s where their class affinities lie, after all. Judges are wealthy and, for the most part, they grew up that…
Left Authoritarianism: Stop Asking For Leaders
Yeah, I agree: Chuck Schumer sux0rs and he totally screwed over the last chance congressional Democrats had to put the brakes on Trump Coup.0’s stripping the federal government for parts. But calling for new leadership is not the way to…
Authoritarians United: Most Police Will Be On The Wrong Side
Police organization in the U.S. are no more democratic than the military. Which is to say: not democratic at all. Officers are trained to obey, and to have no role in choosing their leaders (and no role in interpreting the…
School Yourself: The Means Of Academic Production
I mentioned yesterday that I had some thoughts on folks with PhDs setting up new universities. I do indeed. I’ve been contemplating this for a long time, since U.S. universities started reducing traditional tenure-track positions and replacing them with short-term…
Parallel Organizing: Build Your Own Society
Coming up with a title got that song stuck in my head, so now it can be in yours too. You’re welcome. Now is probably a good time for us all to take a long, hard look at our communities…
Hey, Chuck: Know When To Walk Away
So, reporting at the moment is that several Democratic senators (including Schumer and Fetterman, at least) are planning on voting for the House’s free-money-for-fascism bill. That would be a … mistake. I’ve said this several times in the past few…