Opinion

I received this morning a message via Twitter from a very well-known television news host. It seemed to be regarding yesterday's column about what I think is the proper place of abortion in American politics. It isn't a fight for the sanctity of life or "life" or what have you, I said. It is a fight against democratic modernity itself. Here is their response:

Focus on this: when does a "person" begin? That is the question. We have no consensus. We evolved on the question of when life ends that fostered much of the law around demise … That's the real issue here. And Roe was never the best-reasoned decision.

This response suggests that this very well-known television news host did not get the gist of my piece. Or perhaps they did not want to. In any case, if I were to believe that the question of life's beginning is the "real question" and the "real issue," I'd be restricting myself from considering a whole range of knowledge, history and argument, including the fact that few but Catholics cared about abortion for most of American history. It did not become a political issue until Americans organized themselves to force it to become a political issue. Why would I or anyone ignore that in favor of a carefully designed and narrow question the answer to which privileges anti-abortionists?

The U.S. Supreme Court won't block a Texas law that allows private individuals to sue to enforce a ban on abortion after about six weeks of pregnancy – before many women are even aware they're pregnant. The law went into effect Wednesday, September 1.

It's the most restrictive abortion law in the country, imposing a huge burden on women without the means or money to travel to another state where later abortions are legal.

At the stroke of midnight on Wednesday, the Supreme Court suddenly overturned Roe v. Wade.

The move was quiet and it very well may be temporary (they could still issue a short decision any minute now, or not) but make no mistake, a Roe overturn is exactly what it is. But headlines across the country aren't coming right out and saying so, because the Supreme Court used a dastardly legal manipulation to let states ban abortion without actually issuing a straightforward decision to end abortion protections.

“The most transparent election audit in American history" — or so it was dubbed by the biased contractors running it — is fighting tooth and nail to keep its records hidden from the public.

Right now, the Arizona Senate is gearing up to release the findings of its so-called audit of Maricopa County's 2020 election. Based on the actions of the Senate and its contractors, Arizonans already have ample reason to dismiss the results.

A Sharpie-drawn mustache embellishes Trump's face on a poster. A Hitler caricature wears a MAGA hat. Satirists ridicule both of them. Academics ponder strong man analogies. A new Netflix documentary pairs the Donald and the Führer. The similarities between the flamboyant leaders in critics' crosshairs, however, blind us to a crucial contrast. Hitler, a charismatic leader, was also an astute politician. Trump channels his supporters' mood, but lacks even the rudimentary ability to govern.

The differences begin with the different messages by which each attracted masses of followers. Hitler muted his rabid racism and promised to combat the Great Depression with massive government investment in social welfare, rearmament, and infrastructure. The Trumpist GOP rejects big government and relies on white nationalism to sustain loyalists' allegiance.

Elected officials owe their constituents more than representation. They owe them the truth.

That's proven to be a challenge in the age of COVID-19, with reactions to a public health crisis polarized along partisan lines. One party has largely followed medical experts and their advice, while the other has created a disinformation caucus, putting Kansans' lives at risk with deceitful rhetoric and poisonous lies.

Right-wing commentator Ann Coulter unleashed a torrent of Tweets Tuesday night offering surprising air cover to embattled President Joe Biden over the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan.

Coulter also thrashed Donald Trump for his failure to pull out those same troops during his four years in office, despite having repeatedly promised to do so in his campaign. Coulter famously fell out with Trump last year and proclaimed she was happy he lost the election.

The wheels of the last U.S. military plane were barely off the ground in Afghanistan when Republicans trotted out their plot to impeach President Joe Biden over ending the war.

This article was originally published at Salon

Continuing in my new policy on my SiriusXM show, in which unvaccinated people may call in to argue their case if they first pledge not to be hospitalized if they get a bad case of Covid, I took a call from Jeff in Mississippi.

As I explained in a previous post:

I want to pick up on Friday's newsletter in which I said civil society, especially businesses, is now asserting itself in the fight against the covid. Among others, Delta, Apple, Microsoft and recently Duke University are telling employees to get vaccinated or get another job. The president ordered vaccines for federal workers. Governors like mine ordered them for state workers. Dr. Anthony Fauci said covid vaccines for public school kids are a good idea. It's a maddening patchwork, but it's moving in the right direction.

Given how resistant some have been to getting vaccinated — given how apocalyptic some of their rhetoric has been — you might be wondering if being forced to get vaccinated might trigger violent reactions. (After all, many of these same people are in the "good guys with guns" crowd.) This is a good question. It puts violence at the heart of the GOP project. In case you haven't noticed, there isn't much interest in policy these days. Instead, it's in power. But even that is a concern among Republican elites more than normie Republicans. As the journalist Jeff Sharlet said recently, they are not spoiling for policy victories. They don't care. Instead, they are spoiling for a fight. Being forced to get vaccinated might be the spark they've longed for.

It is an understatement to say there is a lot going on right now. The two biggest stories over the weekend were the winding up of the dangerous airlift out of Afghanistan and the arrival of an epic hurricane hitting the Gulf Coast on the anniversary of Hurricane Katrina.

Now is a dangerous time — but judging from the news coverage, I don't think we've fully grasped just how much danger Americans are actually in.