Gastonia, North Carolina Correspondent On the morning of September 11 the North Carolina House took a vote to override the governor's budget veto while most of the Democratic members were at a memorial service, having been told, by their account, that no votes would be held that morning, and the override passed fifty-five to nine … Continue reading Do the Abrams-Kemp aftermath in Georgia and the restrictive abortion laws passed in Alabama, Georgia, and Missouri signal that state legislatures are now the main arena of American political conflict?
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With signs of a global economic slowdown, trade tensions, and Federal Reserve rate cuts, how resilient is the U.S. and world economy heading into 2020?
Orange County, California Correspondent The stock market set a record this week, the unemployment rate is at a fifty-year low, and the Federal Reserve has just cut interest rates three times in four months, and I want to begin by pointing out that those three facts do not belong in the same sentence. A central … Continue reading With signs of a global economic slowdown, trade tensions, and Federal Reserve rate cuts, how resilient is the U.S. and world economy heading into 2020?
What are the strategic consequences of the U.S. decision to reduce its presence in northeastern Syria and the subsequent Turkish offensive against Kurdish forces?
Cheyenne, Wyoming Correspondent My son is in the National Guard, and the Wyoming Guard has sent people to the Middle East on every rotation since 2003, so I will say at the start that I have wanted American soldiers out of Syria for as long as they have been there, that I was glad when … Continue reading What are the strategic consequences of the U.S. decision to reduce its presence in northeastern Syria and the subsequent Turkish offensive against Kurdish forces?
Can the protests in Sudan and Algeria produce durable democratic transitions, or are they more likely to result in elite bargains that preserve existing power structures?
Sheffield, Jamaica Correspondent The question offers two outcomes, a durable democratic transition or an elite bargain that preserves existing power, and I want to begin by saying that in my experience of how small states change governments the two are not alternatives. Every durable transition I know of was an elite bargain, and most elite … Continue reading Can the protests in Sudan and Algeria produce durable democratic transitions, or are they more likely to result in elite bargains that preserve existing power structures?
What does the election of Volodymyr Zelensky in Ukraine reveal about public dissatisfaction with established political elites, and how might it affect the country’s conflict with Russia?
Sheffield, Jamaica Correspondent I want to answer the question that was asked before I answer the question everyone is asking, because the two have become confused in the past ten days and the confusion is itself a lesson. The question asked is what Volodymyr Zelensky's election reveals about dissatisfaction with elites and what it means … Continue reading What does the election of Volodymyr Zelensky in Ukraine reveal about public dissatisfaction with established political elites, and how might it affect the country’s conflict with Russia?
With the Green New Deal, the Amazon fires, and youth climate strikes, has 2019 changed the politics of climate policy in the U.S., or only the volume?
Bismarck, North Dakota Correspondent I work in energy compliance in a state that produces more oil than any but Texas, mines lignite that fires the power plants that keep the upper Midwest warm, and ships both by rail through towns where the only other employer is the school, and I want to answer this question … Continue reading With the Green New Deal, the Amazon fires, and youth climate strikes, has 2019 changed the politics of climate policy in the U.S., or only the volume?
How has the college admissions scandal involving wealthy parents and coaches affected public trust in elite universities and the broader debate over merit and privilege?
Prescott Valley, Arizona Correspondent I spent two decades in public schools writing letters of recommendation for students whose parents could not afford a test-prep course, let alone a bribe, and I want to say at the outset that nothing in the indictments unsealed in March surprised a single teacher I know. The surprise, the thing … Continue reading How has the college admissions scandal involving wealthy parents and coaches affected public trust in elite universities and the broader debate over merit and privilege?
What does the Jeffrey Epstein case reveal about accountability for powerful individuals and the handling of sex-trafficking allegations?
Jacksonville, Florida Correspondent The deal that let Jeffrey Epstein walk was made in my state, by a federal prosecutor in Miami, with the knowledge of a state attorney in Palm Beach, and the girls he was walking away from were Florida girls, some of them from the trailer parks west of the interstate, recruited at … Continue reading What does the Jeffrey Epstein case reveal about accountability for powerful individuals and the handling of sex-trafficking allegations?
Can the Hong Kong protests sustain momentum, and what do they signal about the future of “one country, two systems”?
Sydney, Australia Correspondent There are about a hundred thousand Australians in Hong Kong and several hundred thousand Hong Kongers in Australia, a great many of them in the suburbs around me, and for the past eleven weeks the question in those households has not been whether the protests can sustain momentum but whether the people … Continue reading Can the Hong Kong protests sustain momentum, and what do they signal about the future of “one country, two systems”?
Should Congress reassert clearer statutory limits on the use of emergency economic powers by the executive branch?
Dayton, Ohio Correspondent — These authorities were written for genuine, time-limited crises. They've become a route for policy that would be harder to pass ordinarily. Tighter definitions, automatic sunsets, faster congressional review. That restores balance without stripping the ability to act when speed genuinely matters, which it sometimes does. The practical case from my side … Continue reading Should Congress reassert clearer statutory limits on the use of emergency economic powers by the executive branch?
