Accountability problem: When news broke alleging that Democratic Rep. Eric Swalwell had sexually assaulted several women, the backlash was swift. His political allies were quick to denounce him and he withdrew from the California governor’s race and resigned from Congress, even as he denied the accusations. Republicans reveled in his downfall. But where were they before the news broke, asks political strategist Naomi Seligman. Swalwell’s troubling behavior around young women has been an open secret in Washington for years, further exposing a troubling culture within Congress. To change that, Democrats and Republicans must start holding abusers accountable long before extraordinary circumstances force their hands. Read more.
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No turning back: Although the U.S. and Iran dispute who exactly controls the Strait of Hormuz, a shaky ceasefire seems to be holding for now. Trump’s broader objectives, meanwhile, have at times appeared inconsistent, sometimes emphasizing regime change and at other times focusing on preventing Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon. Retired Vice Admiral Robert S. Harward argues Trump cannot afford to lose sight of the threat posed by Iran’s current leadership. Without a change in regime, the former deputy commander of U.S. Central Command writes, there can be no pathway to lasting peace. Read more.
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Bad faith: Trump’s feud with Pope Leo has only escalated since the president posted — then deleted — an artificial intelligence-generated image of himself dressed like a Christlike healer. But this is not just another political spat, writes Michael Steele, a former Augustinian seminarian at Villanova, the same seminary Leo attended. On one side is a president who treats faith like a loyalty test. On the other is the spiritual leader of a 2,000-year-old moral tradition. And to Trump’s apparent dismay, the Catholic Church does not exist to flatter political leaders; it exists to challenge them. Read more.
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Take a bow: A federal jury in New York ruled that Live Nation, the corporate parent of Ticketmaster, maintained an illegal monopoly over entertainment-venue ticket sales. The verdict is a major victory for concertgoers, artists, independent venues and the coalition of more than 30 states that pursued the case. It’s also a huge face-plant for the Trump administration, writes personal finance journalist Helaine Olen. After the Justice Department reached a surprise settlement with Live Nation, some pundits predicted the case would end with a whimper. But it appears these naysayers failed to consider the egregious facts of the case — and how tired Americans are of being beaten up by big business. Read more.
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Outrageous outrage: In an interview with NPR this week, comedian Dave Chappelle expressed frustration with what he calls the Republican Party’s “weaponization” of jokes he has told about the trans community over the years. Even as transgender people and trans rights groups have described his routines as hurtful, he insists that the outrage over his jokes is unwarranted. He says he sees himself as a “filthy nightclub comic,” rather than an international superstar with a bigger responsibility. But that excuse is a cop-out, writes Jarvis DeBerry: Being true to the work of comedy should mean being true to its rules, which include limits on who can say what. As brilliant as he is, Chappelle has long played dumb about how that rule works. Read more.
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Six weeks ago, award-winning independent journalist Ahmed Shihab-Eldin was detained in Kuwait, where he currently remains. Little is known about the conditions in which Shihab-Eldin is being held, or even the official reasoning for his detention. However, just before he was arrested he had apparently commented on a CNN-verified geolocated video showing a U.S. fighter jet crash near a U.S. air base in Kuwait. The news of his detention is shocking and should be deeply troubling for anyone who cares about democracy, writes Caroline Modarressy-Tehrani, a journalist and former colleague of Shihab-Eldin. Press freedom, and the ability of journalists to report without fear of censure, is a cornerstone of a society’s capacity to ensure all citizens can thrive independently. Read the article here.
— Ryan Teague Beckwith, newsletter editor |
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