Rule No. 1 in Timothy Snyder’s On Tyranny is “Do not obey in advance.” The subtitle of the Yale historian’s handbook on dictatorship is, “Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century.” And they are as relevant today as they were in…
Beware the billionaires who promise to make America great
The growing number of billionaires joining the Trump administration seemed humorous at first. “How many billionaires does it take to change a light bulb at the White House?” None. Billionaires don’t change light bulbs. Thirteen billionaires — a baker’s dozen…
Trump says Biden’s Death Row commutations ‘make no sense’
President-elect Donald Trump spent Christmas wishing ill to his enemies and wondering why President Joe Biden wouldn’t want to execute inmates. On Christmas Eve, Trump responded to Biden’s commutation of death sentences for 37 of the 40 inmates on federal…
What will it take for you to care about transgender people?
Of all the people justifiably living in fear of the incoming Trump administration, there is one group that stands out for its vulnerability and, to quote the late Tony Campolo, you don’t give a damn. Campolo was famous for the…
Trump’s new ICE policy attacks the church
Last week, the incoming Trump administration announced it will rescind a 2011 ICE policy that keeps government officials from entering sensitive locations such as schools, churches and hospitals to carry out immigration raids and deportations. The mere thought of this…
American views on illegal immigrants aren’t as clear cut as MAGA thinks
Attitudes toward unauthorized immigrants and the specter of mass deportation by the Trump administration are complicated, according to recent surveys. Recent polling by Pew Research Center finds majorities of Americans expressing concern about the number of undocumented immigrants in the…
Looking for America
Here it is, five weeks since the election, and I’m still looking for America. The new administration isn’t shaping up like any America I recognize. Principles of governance thousands of American soldiers fought and died for have been set aside…
Civil rights advocates already planning to challenge mass deportations
Civil rights advocates are formulating legal strategies against Donald Trump’s anticipated mass deportation campaign, including his plan to use U.S. military forces to round up and detain unauthorized immigrants. Trump confirmed on social media recently his administration’s plan to declare…
Mass deportations will harm some of Trump’s most ardent supporters
Some of Donald Trump’s most ardent supporters will suffer the most if the president-elect keeps his promise to deport millions of undocumented immigrants upon returning to office, according to economist Robert Lynch. White men without a college education will struggle…