washingtonmonthly--2020-08-31--Will Regional Universities Pass or Fail?

In Washington , D.C. , debates around higher education tend to focus on the Harvards and Yales of the world , forgetting that the vast majority of students don ’ t attend elite schools .
Too often absent from these conversations are higher education ’ s true workhorses : so-called regional public universities .
While the Department of Education offers no official definition of these institutions , they basically occupy the middle space between community colleges and flagship research universities .
One analysis by Inside Higher Education tallies more than 500 schools nationwide that fit this category .
Generally , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ policies and lack prestige , but they fulfill an essential role in helping millions of Americans advance their lives and careers .
These schools—think Eastern Michigan University instead of the University of Michigan—confer nearly 40 percent of all bachelor ’ s degrees in the country each year and as many as one-fifth of degrees overall .
They are particularly important in providing students of color access to higher education—and they play an enormous role in supporting their local economies .
The problem is , they are also struggling to survive .
Even before @ @ @ @ @ @ @ were facing stark financial challenges .
Enrollment numbers and state funding had been in decline for years .
Now , their revenue may shrink further , as some students shift to cheaper community colleges for online classes and others are unable to afford college altogether .
But if the schools pull through this period , they could be pivotal to a robust and equitable post-pandemic recovery , as a recent Brookings Institution report found .
A case study of regional public colleges in the Great Lakes region , it highlights three significant ways @ @ @ @ @ @ @ post-COVID-19 recovery .
First , regional public universities are typically the economic anchor of the towns or cities where they ’ re located , and are often the town ’ s biggest employer .
They also often spur economic development through research and development activities and partner with local employers to help commercialize new technologies or share best practices .
In past downturns , according to Brookings , this support has cushioned localities from the most severe impacts of the crisis .
In the Great Lakes region , for instance , communities with @ @ @ @ @ @ @ during the Great Recession and recovered more quickly , the study ’ s authors , Rob Maxim and Mark Muro , found .
Second , these universities ’ close ties with their communities mean they can be responsive to local employers ’ needs for skilled workers .
One of the biggest challenges currently facing the higher ed community is the frequent mismatch between the skills employers want and the ones newly minted graduates have cultivated .
But Brookings found that in the Great Lakes region , the most common majors at regional schools @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , indicating that graduates are likely filling high-demand local jobs , such as in nursing .
Dan Hurley , CEO of the Michigan Association of State Universities , said this function of filling local workforce gaps is bound to become more important as the economy shifts after the pandemic subsides .
“ Michigan already has an exceptionally high proportion of adults that have some college and no degree , and now we have pandemic-induced unemployment and underemployment , ” he told me .
“ These populations are poised to reenter higher education either @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
There ’ s huge pent-up demand there.
” Third , regional public institutions offer broad access to higher education , which can make them engines of equity and economic inclusion .
Of course , no school is perfect , but these universities have a significantly better track record than elite schools in enrolling and graduating minority and low-income students in terms of sheer numbers .
In the Great Lakes region , as many as 71 percent of Black students enrolled in a public university attend a regional public institution , as do @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 59 percent of Hispanic students , and 61 percent of students who identify as two or more races , Maxim and Muro found .
These schools also award a greater share of bachelor ’ s degrees to Black students than flagships and major research universities .
In terms of absolute numbers , they grant more than twice as many bachelor ’ s degrees to Black students as their elite counterparts .
“ Regional public universities help close racial attendance gaps , ” Maxim and Muro concluded .
Research by Raj Chetty , a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , and his colleagues at Opportunity Insights likewise finds that regional public colleges are among the most successful in recruiting and graduating low-income students .
Among the schools Chetty cites as best facilitating economic mobility are institutions like the State University of New York at Stony Brook and many campuses of the City University of New York .
( This dedication to equity is also one reason why so many regional schools populate the top slots of the Washington Monthly ’ s college rankings , see page 62 . )
By comparison , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ elite colleges are still largely preserves of the rich , with essentially no gains in the share of low-income students enrolled ( despite much-ballyhooed initiatives to increase economic diversity ) .
Nor have these top-tier schools become more racially inclusive .
A 2017 New York Times analysis found that Black and Hispanic students are actually more underrepresented at top colleges today than they were 35 years ago .
Black students make up just 6 percent of the freshman class at elite schools—a share that hasn ’ t changed since 1980 , though their @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to 15 percent .
While regional public universities have been doing great work for decades , they may not be doing any work if the pandemic wreaks havoc on their budgets .
The vast majority of these schools do not have the cushion of fat endowments .
Instead , they rely on student tuitions and state appropriations to keep their doors open .
While state funding was declining even before the coronavirus outbreak , higher education spending now faces much deeper cuts .
“ It ’ s a pretty tough period right now @ @ @ @ @ @ @ an interview .
“ States are seeing double-digit revenue declines , and unfortunately higher education tends to be a balance wheel for state budgets.
” State legislators , in other words , know that they have more flexibility when it comes to funding public universities in comparison to other priorities , such as K–12 education or prisons , where funding levels are fixed or mandated by statute .
“ A lot of these schools had just gotten to 2007 pre-crisis funding levels , ” Maxim continued , “ and we ’ re looking @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , many schools will face steep drops in enrollment numbers as students rethink their fall plans—meaning more revenue losses on top of state budget cuts .
While analysis from McKinsey finds that more college-going students are now opting for in-state schools closer to home , it ’ s flagships and major research universities that are benefiting from the shift .
Hurley said that Michigan State University , for instance , is likely to see its largest freshman class ever , while enrollment is likewise reportedly increasing at the University of Michigan .
“ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” Hurley said .
At the same time , students more likely to head off to regional schools are now less able to afford it , even despite tuition freezes and other changes schools have made to stave off enrollment declines .
As of this writing , it ’ s still too soon to tell what impacts the pandemic will have on attendance this fall , but it ’ s clear that regional public universities could suffer enormous economic fallout .
The consequences could be dire for the students and communities that rely @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for whom regional schools may be the only lifeline to greater opportunity .
“ If there ’ s anything that ’ s been laid bare by the past few weeks , it ’ s systemic racism and the continuing inequality of access that people of color have in the U.S. , ” Maxim said .
“ If these schools are defunded , it ’ s only going to deepen those inequalities.
” Given the vital role that regional public universities play , the nation can ’ t afford to let these institutions become @ @ @ @ @ @ @

In Washington, D.C., debates around higher education tend to focus on the Harvards and Yales of the world, forgetting that the vast majority of students don’t attend elite schools. Too often absent from these conversations are higher education’s true workhorses: so-called regional public universities.
While the Department of Education offers no official definition of these institutions, they basically occupy the middle space between community colleges and flagship research universities. One analysis by Inside Higher Education tallies more than 500 schools nationwide that fit this category. Generally, they are less selective in their admissions policies and lack prestige, but they fulfill an essential role in helping millions of Americans advance their lives and careers.
These schools—think Eastern Michigan University instead of the University of Michigan—confer nearly 40 percent of all bachelor’s degrees in the country each year and as many as one-fifth of degrees overall. They are particularly important in providing students of color access to higher education—and they play an enormous role in supporting their local economies.
The problem is, they are also struggling to survive.
Even before the pandemic, many regional public universities were facing stark financial challenges. Enrollment numbers and state funding had been in decline for years. Now, their revenue may shrink further, as some students shift to cheaper community colleges for online classes and others are unable to afford college altogether.
But if the schools pull through this period, they could be pivotal to a robust and equitable post-pandemic recovery, as a recent Brookings Institution report found. A case study of regional public colleges in the Great Lakes region, it highlights three significant ways in which these schools could bolster a post-COVID-19 recovery.
First, regional public universities are typically the economic anchor of the towns or cities where they’re located, and are often the town’s biggest employer. They also often spur economic development through research and development activities and partner with local employers to help commercialize new technologies or share best practices. In past downturns, according to Brookings, this support has cushioned localities from the most severe impacts of the crisis. In the Great Lakes region, for instance, communities with a public four-year school lost fewer jobs during the Great Recession and recovered more quickly, the study’s authors, Rob Maxim and Mark Muro, found.
Second, these universities’ close ties with their communities mean they can be responsive to local employers’ needs for skilled workers. One of the biggest challenges currently facing the higher ed community is the frequent mismatch between the skills employers want and the ones newly minted graduates have cultivated. But Brookings found that in the Great Lakes region, the most common majors at regional schools were business, health, and education, indicating that graduates are likely filling high-demand local jobs, such as in nursing.
Dan Hurley, CEO of the Michigan Association of State Universities, said this function of filling local workforce gaps is bound to become more important as the economy shifts after the pandemic subsides. “Michigan already has an exceptionally high proportion of adults that have some college and no degree, and now we have pandemic-induced unemployment and underemployment,” he told me. “These populations are poised to reenter higher education either for upskilling or to earn longer-term credentials. There’s huge pent-up demand there.”
Third, regional public institutions offer broad access to higher education, which can make them engines of equity and economic inclusion. Of course, no school is perfect, but these universities have a significantly better track record than elite schools in enrolling and graduating minority and low-income students in terms of sheer numbers. In the Great Lakes region, as many as 71 percent of Black students enrolled in a public university attend a regional public institution, as do nearly three-quarters of Native American students, 59 percent of Hispanic students, and 61 percent of students who identify as two or more races, Maxim and Muro found.
These schools also award a greater share of bachelor’s degrees to Black students than flagships and major research universities. In terms of absolute numbers, they grant more than twice as many bachelor’s degrees to Black students as their elite counterparts. “Regional public universities help close racial attendance gaps,” Maxim and Muro concluded.
Research by Raj Chetty, a Harvard economist who focuses on social mobility, and his colleagues at Opportunity Insights likewise finds that regional public colleges are among the most successful in recruiting and graduating low-income students. Among the schools Chetty cites as best facilitating economic mobility are institutions like the State University of New York at Stony Brook and many campuses of the City University of New York. (This dedication to equity is also one reason why so many regional schools populate the top slots of the Washington Monthly’s college rankings, see page 62.)
By comparison, Chetty finds that state flagship schools and elite colleges are still largely preserves of the rich, with essentially no gains in the share of low-income students enrolled (despite much-ballyhooed initiatives to increase economic diversity). Nor have these top-tier schools become more racially inclusive. A 2017 New York Times analysis found that Black and Hispanic students are actually more underrepresented at top colleges today than they were 35 years ago. Black students make up just 6 percent of the freshman class at elite schools—a share that hasn’t changed since 1980, though their share of the college-age population has grown to 15 percent.
While regional public universities have been doing great work for decades, they may not be doing any work if the pandemic wreaks havoc on their budgets.
The vast majority of regional universities lack the cushion of fat endowments. Instead, they rely on student tuitions and state appropriations to keep their doors open.
The vast majority of these schools do not have the cushion of fat endowments. Instead, they rely on student tuitions and state appropriations to keep their doors open. While state funding was declining even before the coronavirus outbreak, higher education spending now faces much deeper cuts. “It’s a pretty tough period right now,” Rob Maxim told me in an interview. “States are seeing double-digit revenue declines, and unfortunately higher education tends to be a balance wheel for state budgets.” State legislators, in other words, know that they have more flexibility when it comes to funding public universities in comparison to other priorities, such as K–12 education or prisons, where funding levels are fixed or mandated by statute. “A lot of these schools had just gotten to 2007 pre-crisis funding levels,” Maxim continued, “and we’re looking at potentially slashing appropriations again.”
Moreover, many schools will face steep drops in enrollment numbers as students rethink their fall plans—meaning more revenue losses on top of state budget cuts. While analysis from McKinsey finds that more college-going students are now opting for in-state schools closer to home, it’s flagships and major research universities that are benefiting from the shift. Hurley said that Michigan State University, for instance, is likely to see its largest freshman class ever, while enrollment is likewise reportedly increasing at the University of Michigan. “State flagships have global brand pull,” Hurley said. At the same time, students more likely to head off to regional schools are now less able to afford it, even despite tuition freezes and other changes schools have made to stave off enrollment declines.
As of this writing, it’s still too soon to tell what impacts the pandemic will have on attendance this fall, but it’s clear that regional public universities could suffer enormous economic fallout. The consequences could be dire for the students and communities that rely on them—especially low-income and minority students, for whom regional schools may be the only lifeline to greater opportunity.
“If there’s anything that’s been laid bare by the past few weeks, it’s systemic racism and the continuing inequality of access that people of color have in the U.S.,” Maxim said. “If these schools are defunded, it’s only going to deepen those inequalities.” Given the vital role that regional public universities play, the nation can’t afford to let these institutions become yet another casualty of the pandemic.


washingtonmonthly--2020-08-31--Our 2020 College Rankings Are Out: See How Your School Did

The Washington Monthly magazine today released its 2020 College Guide and Rankings , the socially conscious alternative to U.S. News & World Report .
While U.S. News rewards colleges and universities for their wealth , exclusivity , and prestige , the Monthly ranks them on how well they serve the country as a whole—by recruiting and graduating non-wealthy students , encouraging student activism , and producing research and technologies that create high-paying jobs and address threats like climate change .
These new rankings are especially important now , with mass unemployment , the inequalities exposed by COVID-19 , and the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ year , the Monthly is also listing the schools that make sure majors popular with Black students lead to well-paying jobs , the first time any publication has done so .
While 19 of U.S. News and World Report ’ s top 20 national universities are elite private institutions , more than half of the Washington Monthly ’ s top 20 are public institutions .
For instance , Texas A & M , ranked 70th by U.S. News , is 12th on the Washington Monthly list because it enrolls and graduates enormous numbers @ @ @ @ @ @ @ well as science and engineering PhDs .
Last year , the school graduated more Pell Grant recipients than Stanford , Harvard , Yale , and Princeton combined .
Other elite private national universities that score in U.S.News ’ s top 20 do less well on ours—including Northwestern ( 30th on our list ) , Brown ( 37th ) , and Johns Hopkins ( 54th ) .
Meanwhile , Utah State University , 254th on U.S. News ’ s list , is 10thon the Monthly ’ s because it charges lower-income students so little @ @ @ @ @ @ @ In the liberal arts category , Berea College , 3rd on our list for its extraordinary record of recruiting and graduating lower-income students , is 46th on U.S. News ’ s .
Mary ’ s College of Maryland , 29th on our list for the same reason , is 92nd on theirs The colleges that score well on the Monthly ’ s rankings are swimming against the tide of a higher education system that forces non-affluent students to pay ever-higher tuition , take on ever-growing amounts of debt , and mortgage their futures @ @ @ @ @ @ @ admirable small schools , including Beloit College ( 30th on our liberal arts college list ) and Hiram College ( the 3rd best bachelors college ) under severe financial stress—made worse by the pandemic .
That ’ s why , as part of this year ’ s college guide , Monthly guest editor and education expert Kevin Carey has detailed a plan that could save these schools by binding them together in a federally supported , affordable financial network .
“ Today ’ s college students are the most socially active in decades @ @ @ @ @ @ @ higher education system is screwing them , ” says Paul Glastris , Washington Monthly ’ s editor-in-chief .
“ This issue of the magazine gives them metrics they can use to hold their own schools accountable , and ideas we can all use to turn the system around.
” Despite the increased focus on racial justice in higher education , there ’ s little information about which schools do the best job of helping Black students .
That ’ s why the Monthly used newly released Department of Education data to create a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ popular with Black students—social work , criminal justice , and sociology—lead to well-paying jobs .
At the top of the resulting indexes are the University of Alabama ( social work ) , Columbia University ( sociology ) , and Texas Christian University ( criminal justice ) .
Half of all the listed schools are public .
In this critical year for civic engagement , the College Guide also highlights the institutions that take demonstrative steps to increase student voting .
One hundred and fifty-seven schools earned that honor for 2020 , mostly two- @ @ @ @ @ @ @ rankings also include the Best Bachelor ’ s Colleges and Best Bang for the Buck .
The issue contains in-depth feature stories on : • Why STEM fields need to focus on social justice • Why we need to pay attention to a reform that ’ s proven to boost community college graduation rates

The Washington Monthly magazine today released its 2020 College Guide and Rankings, the socially conscious alternative to U.S. News & World Report. While U.S. News rewards colleges and universities for their wealth, exclusivity, and prestige, the Monthly ranks them on how well they serve the country as a whole—by recruiting and graduating non-wealthy students, encouraging student activism, and producing research and technologies that create high-paying jobs and address threats like climate change.
Check out the complete 2020 Washington Monthly rankings here.
These new rankings are especially important now, with mass unemployment, the inequalities exposed by COVID-19, and the nationwide protests against racial injustice. This year, the Monthly is also listing the schools that make sure majors popular with Black students lead to well-paying jobs, the first time any publication has done so.
The Washington Monthly’s unique methodology yields multiple fascinating results:
While 19 of U.S. News and World Report’s top 20 national universities are elite private institutions, more than half of the Washington Monthly’s top 20 are public institutions. For instance, Texas A&M, ranked 70th by U.S. News, is 12th on the Washington Monthly list because it enrolls and graduates enormous numbers of first-generation and Pell grant students as well as science and engineering PhDs. Last year, the school graduated more Pell Grant recipients than Stanford, Harvard, Yale, and Princeton combined. Other elite private national universities that score in U.S.News’s top 20 do less well on ours—including Northwestern (30th on our list), Brown (37th), and Johns Hopkins (54th). Meanwhile, Utah State University, 254th on U.S. News’s list, is 10thon the Monthly’s because it charges lower-income students so little in tuition and graduates so many. In the liberal arts category, Berea College, 3rd on our list for its extraordinary record of recruiting and graduating lower-income students, is 46th on U.S. News’s. St. Mary’s College of Maryland, 29th on our list for the same reason, is 92nd on theirs
The colleges that score well on the Monthly’s rankings are swimming against the tide of a higher education system that forces non-affluent students to pay ever-higher tuition, take on ever-growing amounts of debt, and mortgage their futures. This same system has put many admirable small schools, including Beloit College (30th on our liberal arts college list) and Hiram College (the 3rd best bachelors college) under severe financial stress—made worse by the pandemic. That’s why, as part of this year’s college guide, Monthly guest editor and education expert Kevin Carey has detailed a plan that could save these schools by binding them together in a federally supported, affordable financial network.
“Today’s college students are the most socially active in decades, and keenly aware of how the higher education system is screwing them,” says Paul Glastris, Washington Monthly’s editor-in-chief. “This issue of the magazine gives them metrics they can use to hold their own schools accountable, and ideas we can all use to turn the system around.”
Despite the increased focus on racial justice in higher education, there’s little information about which schools do the best job of helping Black students. That’s why the Monthly used newly released Department of Education data to create a first-of-its-kind list: the schools where majors popular with Black students—social work, criminal justice, and sociology—lead to well-paying jobs. At the top of the resulting indexes are the University of Alabama (social work), Columbia University (sociology), and Texas Christian University (criminal justice). Half of all the listed schools are public.
In this critical year for civic engagement, the College Guide also highlights the institutions that take demonstrative steps to increase student voting. One hundred and fifty-seven schools earned that honor for 2020, mostly two- and four-year public institutions.
The Monthly rankings also include the Best Bachelor’s Colleges and Best Bang for the Buck.
The issue contains in-depth feature stories on:


washingtonmonthly--2020-08-31--Why We Still Don’t Know If Trump Is a Russian Asset

As chair of the House Intelligence Committee , Representative Adam Schiff is attempting to meet the Supreme Court ’ s guidelines for gaining access to Donald Trump ’ s financial records .
In a memorandum to committee members on counterintelligence risks posed by the president ’ s financial ties , he included this footnote : That points to a question Schiff has been asking since the Mueller probe was completed in March , 2019 .
Here ’ s how he explained it to the Washington Post ‘ s Philip Bump a few weeks after Mueller wrapped up his work : @ @ @ @ @ @ @ James Comey was fired in May 2017 , intelligence briefings on this matter ended and he had not been able to determine if the counterintelligence investigation had been closed .
Apparently it had , which is what Michael Schmidt just reported in the New York Times .
The Justice Department secretly took steps in 2017 to narrow the investigation into Russian election interference and any links to the Trump campaign , according to former law enforcement officials , keeping investigators from completing an examination of President Trump ’ s decades-long personal and business @ @ @ @ @ @ @ enforcement officials never fully investigated Mr. Trump ’ s own relationship with Russia , even though some career F.B.I .
counterintelligence investigators thought his ties posed such a national security threat that they took the extraordinary step of opening an inquiry into them .
Within days , the former deputy attorney general Rod J. Rosenstein curtailed the investigation without telling the bureau , all but ensuring it would go nowhere .
Former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe said that Rosenstein led him to believe that such a counterintelligence investigation would be handled by @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ privately , Mr. Rosenstein instructed Mr. Mueller to conduct only a criminal investigation into whether anyone broke the law in connection with Russia ’ s 2016 election interference.
” So when Mueller appeared before congress , he told them that a counterintelligence probe would be under the purview of the FBI .
This should raise even more flags about Rosenstein ’ s time as acting Attorney General .
Not only did he facilitate the firing of James Comey , but it also appears that he did everything he could to ensure the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s financial ties to Russia .
Just to review , it has been well documented that by the 1990s , Trump had run through his inheritance and , due to his business failures , U.S. banks refused to loan him any money .
But then all of a sudden , the self-proclaimed “ king of debt ” went on a buying spree with cash .
Both Don , Jr. and Eric made public statements that the Trump Organization was flush with capital from Russia .
As Trump biographer , Gwenda Blair , put @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Titanic heading down .
Everyone ’ s drowning around him .
… Suddenly he gets saved .
It ’ s almost like a spaceship landed right next to where he was in the water.
” Here ’ s why that is important : In addition to the above , we know that : • The Russian government interfered in the 2016 presidential election to support Trump .
• The president has not only refused to release his financial records , he has consistently lied about why he hasn ’ t done so .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ , the three FBI officials at the center of the probe—Comey , McCabe , and Strzok—were all fired and smeared .
• While in office , Trump has consistently supported Putin ’ s foreign policy goals .
All of that evidence demands a counterintelligence investigation into whether the president is acting as a Russian asset and poses threat to this country ’ s national security .
But one way or another , he ’ s managed to shut down that possibility .
That is not how an innocent man behaves .

As chair of the House Intelligence Committee, Representative Adam Schiff is attempting to meet the Supreme Court’s guidelines for gaining access to Donald Trump’s financial records. In a memorandum to committee members on counterintelligence risks posed by the president’s financial ties, he included this footnote:
Based on the Committee’s review, it does not appear that Special Counsel Mueller issued any grand jury subpoenas to obtain the President’s financial records. The Committee also has reason to believe, based on its oversight work, that the FBI Counterintelligence Division has not investigated counterintelligence risks arising from President Trump’s foreign financial ties.
That points to a question Schiff has been asking since the Mueller probe was completed in March, 2019. Here’s how he explained it to the Washington Post‘s Philip Bump a few weeks after Mueller wrapped up his work :
Just as a reminder, this all began as an FBI counterintelligence investigation into whether people around then-candidate Trump were acting as witting or unwitting agents of a foreign power. So it began as a counterintelligence investigation, not as a criminal investigation. Now obviously a criminal case — many criminal cases — were spun off of this but we don’t know what happened to the counterintelligence investigation that James Comey opened.
Schiff told Bump that once FBI Director James Comey was fired in May 2017, intelligence briefings on this matter ended and he had not been able to determine if the counterintelligence investigation had been closed. Apparently it had, which is what Michael Schmidt just reported in the New York Times.
The Justice Department secretly took steps in 2017 to narrow the investigation into Russian election interference and any links to the Trump campaign, according to former law enforcement officials, keeping investigators from completing an examination of President Trump’s decades-long personal and business ties to Russia… [L]aw enforcement officials never fully investigated Mr. Trump’s own relationship with Russia, even though some career F.B.I. counterintelligence investigators thought his ties posed such a national security threat that they took the extraordinary step of opening an inquiry into them. Within days, the former deputy attorney general Rod J. Rosenstein curtailed the investigation without telling the bureau, all but ensuring it would go nowhere.
Former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe said that Rosenstein led him to believe that such a counterintelligence investigation would be handled by Mueller. But sources told Schmidt that “privately, Mr. Rosenstein instructed Mr. Mueller to conduct only a criminal investigation into whether anyone broke the law in connection with Russia’s 2016 election interference.” So when Mueller appeared before congress, he told them that a counterintelligence probe would be under the purview of the FBI.
This should raise even more flags about Rosenstein’s time as acting Attorney General. Not only did he facilitate the firing of James Comey, but it also appears that he did everything he could to ensure the short-circuiting of an investigation into Trump’s financial ties to Russia.
Just to review, it has been well documented that by the 1990s, Trump had run through his inheritance and, due to his business failures, U.S. banks refused to loan him any money. But then all of a sudden, the self-proclaimed “king of debt” went on a buying spree with cash. Both Don, Jr. and Eric made public statements that the Trump Organization was flush with capital from Russia. As Trump biographer, Gwenda Blair, put it: “Trump was on the Titanic heading down. Everyone’s drowning around him. … Suddenly he gets saved. It’s almost like a spaceship landed right next to where he was in the water.” Here’s why that is important:
“Russian efforts either to recruit somebody as an asset or effectively coerce them into becoming an asset historically typically rely on compromise of either a financial nature or a sexual nature,” said David Kris, a former assistant attorney general in charge of the Justice Department’s National Security Division. “Or some other nature by which they can gain leverage. Either induce somebody voluntarily to cooperate or blackmail them.”
In addition to the above, we know that:
The Russian government interfered in the 2016 presidential election to support Trump.
The president has not only refused to release his financial records, he has consistently lied about why he hasn’t done so.
As a counterintelligence investigation was launched, the three FBI officials at the center of the probe—Comey, McCabe, and Strzok—were all fired and smeared.
While in office, Trump has consistently supported Putin’s foreign policy goals.
All of that evidence demands a counterintelligence investigation into whether the president is acting as a Russian asset and poses threat to this country’s national security. But one way or another, he’s managed to shut down that possibility. That is not how an innocent man behaves.


washingtonmonthly--2020-08-31--Trump’s Visit to Wisconsin is Not Welcomed by State and Local Officials

President Trump plans to visit Kenosha , Wis. on Tuesday , even though he isn ’ t welcome .
The Hill reports that both the governor and the mayor have asked him not to come at this time , as the town is still reeling from the police shooting of Jacob Blake and the arrest of a rifle-toting 17-year-old Trump supporter Kyle Rittenhouse who is facing homicide and other charges in the deaths of two persons last week .
“ I , along with other community leaders who have reached out , are concerned about what your presence will mean @ @ @ @ @ @ @ am concerned your presence will only hinder our healing .
I am concerned your presence will only delay our work to overcome division and move forward together , ” Wisconsin Gov .
Tony Evers wrote .
… ” Realistically , from our perspective , our preference would have been for him not to be coming at this point in time , ” Kenosha Mayor John Antaramian ( D ) said on NPR ’ s “ Weekend Edition.
” “ All presidents are always welcome and campaign issues are always going on .
But @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , better had he waited to have for another time to come , ” Mayor Antaramian added .
Their concern is well-founded , as Trump is not on a national healing tour .
The New York Times described his weekend tweetstorm as “ an especially intense barrage…embracing fringe conspiracy theories claiming that the coronavirus death toll has been exaggerated and that street protests are actually an organized coup d ’ état against him.
” In a concentrated predawn burst , the president posted or reposted 89 messages between 5:49 a.m. and 8:04 a.m. @ @ @ @ @ @ @ night before , many of them inflammatory comments or assertions about violent clashes in Portland , Ore. , where a man wearing the hat of a far-right , pro-Trump group was shot and killed Saturday after a large group of Mr. Trump ’ s supporters traveled through the streets .
He resumed on Sunday night .
In the blast of social media messages , Mr. Trump also embraced a call to imprison Gov .
Andrew M. Cuomo of New York , threatened to send federal forces against demonstrators outside the White House , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ supporter charged with murder , mocked his challenger , former Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. , and repeatedly assailed the mayor of Portland , even posting the mayor ’ s office telephone number so that supporters could call demanding his resignation .
The mayor of Portland responded appropriately by saying that Trump “ has been perpetrating divisive and hateful language for four years — for him to now stand here and say that it ’ s unexpected and act as though he is shocked , is appalling to me.
” He added @ @ @ @ @ @ @ either the president support us or stay the hell out of the way.
” With Trump , we ’ re never quite sure where the line is drawn between cynicism and insanity , so it ’ s not possible to know if he believes that “ the real death toll from the coronavirus is only around 9,000 — not nearly 183,000 , ” or that “ a well-funded network of anarchists ” are trying to take him down by causing disturbances in the streets .
What we do know is that Trump sent @ @ @ @ @ @ @ his 86.5 million Twitter followers .
There ’ s no reason to believe that he ’ s headed to Kenosha to calm the place down .
That ’ s clear from the fact that he “ liked ” a Tweet stating that “ Kyle Rittenhouse is a good example of why I decided to vote for Trump.
” As a reminder , Rittenhouse traveled 30 miles from his home in Antioch , Illinois .
He then confronted Black Lives Matter protesters with “ a Smith & Wesson AR-15 style .223 rifle.
” As @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of Wisconsin law for him to brandish such a weapon in public .
Following a confrontation in a parking lot , he ’ s charged with shooting and killing an unarmed Joseph Rosenbaum , who reportedly had thrown a plastic bag at him .
When a group gathered in an effort to disarm and detain him , he fired more shots , wounding Gaige Grosskreutz and killing Anthony Huber .
Apparently , Trump considers this boy a model supporter .
It ’ s no wonder that elected officials think Trump ’ s presence @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to contain .
As the New York Times reported on Thursday , increasing tensions is quite obviously a key component of his reelection strategy .
Kellyanne Conway , President Trump ’ s departing counselor , said on Thursday that Mr. Trump stood to benefit politically from the kind of unrest that erupted this week in Kenosha , Wis. , after the police shooting of an unarmed Black man , Jacob Blake .
“ The more chaos and anarchy and vandalism and violence reigns , the better it is for the very clear choice @ @ @ @ @ @ @ safety and law and order , ” Ms. Conway said on “ Fox & Friends.
” If someone was coming to your community to boost chaos and anarchy and vandalism , would you welcome them ?

President Trump plans to visit Kenosha, Wis. on Tuesday, even though he isn’t welcome. The Hill reports that both the governor and the mayor have asked him not to come at this time, as the town is still reeling from the police shooting of Jacob Blake and the arrest of a rifle-toting 17-year-old Trump supporter Kyle Rittenhouse who is facing homicide and other charges in the deaths of two persons last week.
“I, along with other community leaders who have reached out, are concerned about what your presence will mean for Kenosha and our state. I am concerned your presence will only hinder our healing. I am concerned your presence will only delay our work to overcome division and move forward together,” Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers wrote. …”Realistically, from our perspective, our preference would have been for him not to be coming at this point in time,” Kenosha Mayor John Antaramian (D) said on NPR’s “Weekend Edition.” “All presidents are always welcome and campaign issues are always going on. But it would have been, I think, better had he waited to have for another time to come,” Mayor Antaramian added.
Their concern is well-founded, as Trump is not on a national healing tour. The New York Times described his weekend tweetstorm as “an especially intense barrage…embracing fringe conspiracy theories claiming that the coronavirus death toll has been exaggerated and that street protests are actually an organized coup d’état against him.”
In a concentrated predawn burst, the president posted or reposted 89 messages between 5:49 a.m. and 8:04 a.m. on Sunday on top of 18 the night before, many of them inflammatory comments or assertions about violent clashes in Portland, Ore., where a man wearing the hat of a far-right, pro-Trump group was shot and killed Saturday after a large group of Mr. Trump’s supporters traveled through the streets. He resumed on Sunday night. In the blast of social media messages, Mr. Trump also embraced a call to imprison Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo of New York, threatened to send federal forces against demonstrators outside the White House, attacked CNN and NPR, embraced a supporter charged with murder, mocked his challenger, former Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr., and repeatedly assailed the mayor of Portland, even posting the mayor’s office telephone number so that supporters could call demanding his resignation.
The mayor of Portland responded appropriately by saying that Trump “has been perpetrating divisive and hateful language for four years — for him to now stand here and say that it’s unexpected and act as though he is shocked, is appalling to me.” He added, “I’d appreciate that either the president support us or stay the hell out of the way.”
With Trump, we’re never quite sure where the line is drawn between cynicism and insanity, so it’s not possible to know if he believes that “the real death toll from the coronavirus is only around 9,000 — not nearly 183,000,” or that “a well-funded network of anarchists” are trying to take him down by causing disturbances in the streets. What we do know is that Trump sent those messages out this past weekend to his 86.5 million Twitter followers. There’s no reason to believe that he’s headed to Kenosha to calm the place down. That’s clear from the fact that he “liked” a Tweet stating that “Kyle Rittenhouse is a good example of why I decided to vote for Trump.”
As a reminder, Rittenhouse traveled 30 miles from his home in Antioch, Illinois. He then confronted Black Lives Matter protesters with “a Smith & Wesson AR-15 style .223 rifle.” As a minor, it was a violation of Wisconsin law for him to brandish such a weapon in public. Following a confrontation in a parking lot, he’s charged with shooting and killing an unarmed Joseph Rosenbaum, who reportedly had thrown a plastic bag at him. When a group gathered in an effort to disarm and detain him, he fired more shots, wounding Gaige Grosskreutz and killing Anthony Huber.
Apparently, Trump considers this boy a model supporter. It’s no wonder that elected officials think Trump’s presence will exacerbate the fallout they are trying to contain. As the New York Times reported on Thursday, increasing tensions is quite obviously a key component of his reelection strategy.
Kellyanne Conway, President Trump’s departing counselor, said on Thursday that Mr. Trump stood to benefit politically from the kind of unrest that erupted this week in Kenosha, Wis., after the police shooting of an unarmed Black man, Jacob Blake. “The more chaos and anarchy and vandalism and violence reigns, the better it is for the very clear choice on who’s best on public safety and law and order,” Ms. Conway said on “Fox & Friends.”
If someone was coming to your community to boost chaos and anarchy and vandalism, would you welcome them?


washingtonmonthly--2020-09-01--Trump’s Fear and Loathing Isn’t Playing Well in the Heartland

In the 2016 presidential election , Trump ’ s margin against Clinton in Iowa ( 9.4 ) was slightly larger than it was in Texas ( 8.9 ) .
But according to the polling average at FiveThirtyEight , the 2020 Iowa presidential race is basically a toss-up , with Trump ’ s lead only 1.4 percent .
Similarly , incumbent Republican Sen. Joni Ernst , who won her seat in 2014 by over eight points , is tied against her Democratic challenger Theresa Greenfield .
Iowa is one of those quintessentially “ heartland ” states that is predominantly rural .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ to the people who make up Trump ’ s strongest base of support .
So what has happened there over the last four years ?
According to Art Cullen , editor of The Storm Lake Times in Northwest Iowa , “ An ill wind blows for incumbents ” in his home state .
That ’ s not simply because Iowa is a COVID-19 hot spot or that the president ’ s trade wars triggered layoffs at John Deere plants in Davenport and Waterloo .
It ’ s also owing to the climate crisis @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
The state had been hit by drought and a hurricane-like derecho wind , which flattened 14 million acres in August .
Corn prices are at their lowest point in a decade .
As Cullen points out , Trump ’ s convention speech was tone-deaf to voters in Iowa .
Trump simply must win Iowa and Wisconsin .
So he cast a convention against this backdrop of anxiety and fear – godless looters are coming for yours – and roped in our governor [ Kim Reynolds ] , former Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to play in the tragedy .
Few were inclined to listen .
When the corn calls , you are too busy removing fallen trees from your machine shed .
So what ’ s the mood in Iowa ?
Farmers are anxious .
Latinos are afraid .
Unemployed machinists are frustrated .
That prized demographic , suburban women in Urbandale next to Des Moines , are encouraging the school board to sue the governor over her in-person school orders… Even some of those farmers are wondering about Trump as they dig into a harvest @ @ @ @ @ @ @ vote .
What has changed in Iowa is that Trump ’ s narcissism and incompetence are landing hard on its citizens .
If Cullen is right , they don ’ t need this president ’ s trumped-up fears about “ those people.
” They ’ ve got enough real-life worries .

In the 2016 presidential election, Trump’s margin against Clinton in Iowa (9.4) was slightly larger than it was in Texas (8.9). But according to the polling average at FiveThirtyEight, the 2020 Iowa presidential race is basically a toss-up, with Trump’s lead only 1.4 percent. Similarly, incumbent Republican Sen. Joni Ernst, who won her seat in 2014 by over eight points, is tied against her Democratic challenger Theresa Greenfield.
Iowa is one of those quintessentially “heartland” states that is predominantly rural. In other words, it is home to the people who make up Trump’s strongest base of support. So what has happened there over the last four years? According to Art Cullen, editor of The Storm Lake Times in Northwest Iowa, “An ill wind blows for incumbents” in his home state.
That’s not simply because Iowa is a COVID-19 hot spot or that the president’s trade wars triggered layoffs at John Deere plants in Davenport and Waterloo. It’s also owing to the climate crisis which Trump calls “a hoax”. The state had been hit by drought and a hurricane-like derecho wind, which flattened 14 million acres in August. Corn prices are at their lowest point in a decade.
As Cullen points out, Trump’s convention speech was tone-deaf to voters in Iowa.
Trump simply must win Iowa and Wisconsin. So he cast a convention against this backdrop of anxiety and fear – godless looters are coming for yours – and roped in our governor [Kim Reynolds], former Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker, and Senator Joni Ernst of Iowa to play in the tragedy. Few were inclined to listen. When the corn calls, you are too busy removing fallen trees from your machine shed.
So what’s the mood in Iowa?
Farmers are anxious. Latinos are afraid. Unemployed machinists are frustrated. That prized demographic, suburban women in Urbandale next to Des Moines, are encouraging the school board to sue the governor over her in-person school orders… Even some of those farmers are wondering about Trump as they dig into a harvest so meager that wraps up as they vote.
What has changed in Iowa is that Trump’s narcissism and incompetence are landing hard on its citizens. If Cullen is right, they don’t need this president’s trumped-up fears about “those people.” They’ve got enough real-life worries.


washingtonmonthly--2020-09-01--Trump’s Attack on Booker Would Be Laughable If it Wasn’t So Racist

During his interview with Laura Ingraham on Monday night , Donald Trump revived his racist meme about how Joe Biden and Democrats would destroy life for women in the suburbs .
So you have this beautiful community in the suburbs , including women , right ?
Women , they want security .
I ended where they build low income housing projects right in the middle of your neighborhood .
I ended it .
If Biden gets in , he already said it ’ s going to go at a much higher rate than ever before .
And you know who @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of it ?
Cory Booker .
That ’ s going to be nice , OK ?
Just to be clear , Trump is referring to the Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing rule , which was an Obama-era attempt to continue the implementation of the 1968 Fair Housing Act .
The rule , which was finalized in July 2015 and has been in limbo since Obama left office , is designed to push “ meaningful actions , in addition to combating discrimination , that overcome patterns of segregation and foster inclusive communities free from barriers @ @ @ @ @ @ @ protected characteristics.
” Put simply , it was designed to help state and local officials provide better access to opportunity , following the original 1968 guideline .
So why has Trump repeatedly said that Cory Booker would be the one to implement that rule ?
( Senators don ’ t implement rules , of course . )
It could be because some conservatives are apoplectic over the HOME Act that the New Jersey Democrat is championing in the Senate .
The Housing Opportunity Mobility and Equity Act would create incentives and use some @ @ @ @ @ @ @ least make plans for how to open up more housing for renters .
It ’ s a modest measure and it ’ s also sponsored by plenty of other Democratic senators who aren ’ t African-American .
But of course , Trump has no idea what the HOME Act is .
What makes Booker stand out in Trump ’ s mind is that he is a Black Democratic man .
If Trump had looked beyond Booker ’ s skin , he would have found what Rebecca Buck reported about the senator when he @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Sen. Cory Booker has promised to run a relentlessly positive and unifying campaign , …Whether Democratic voters think a candidate wrapped in a message of love has the mettle to beat Trump might be one the fundamental questions around Booker ’ s campaign .
As Booker conceded himself following his campaign launch , “ Love ain ’ t easy.
” But it ’ s a theme that has underpinned his political identity for many years , dating back to his time in Newark .
Or perhaps the president would have heard snippets @ @ @ @ @ @ @ presidential debates .
Whether you agree with Booker ’ s approach on fair housing and a love-based campaign , the last thing you can accuse him of is being the racist stereotype of a scary Black man out to destroy the white suburbs .
But Booker isn ’ t always focused on love and unity .
The former mayor of Newark is heartbroken over our response to what is happening to African Americans in this country .
Martin Luther King , Jr. once dreamed of a country where we would all be judged @ @ @ @ @ @ @ The President of the United States judges people by the color of their skin , ignoring the content of their character .
That is the definition of racist .

During his interview with Laura Ingraham on Monday night, Donald Trump revived his racist meme about how Joe Biden and Democrats would destroy life for women in the suburbs.
So you have this beautiful community in the suburbs, including women, right? Women, they want security. I ended where they build low income housing projects right in the middle of your neighborhood. I ended it. If Biden gets in, he already said it’s going to go at a much higher rate than ever before. And you know who’s going to be in charge of it? Cory Booker. That’s going to be nice, OK?
Just to be clear, Trump is referring to the Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing rule, which was an Obama-era attempt to continue the implementation of the 1968 Fair Housing Act.
The rule, which was finalized in July 2015 and has been in limbo since Obama left office, is designed to push “meaningful actions, in addition to combating discrimination, that overcome patterns of segregation and foster inclusive communities free from barriers that restrict access to opportunity based on protected characteristics.” Put simply, it was designed to help state and local officials provide better access to opportunity, following the original 1968 guideline.
So why has Trump repeatedly said that Cory Booker would be the one to implement that rule? (Senators don’t implement rules, of course.) It could be because some conservatives are apoplectic over the HOME Act that the New Jersey Democrat is championing in the Senate. The Housing Opportunity Mobility and Equity Act would create incentives and use some sticks to get suburban communities to at least make plans for how to open up more housing for renters. It’s a modest measure and it’s also sponsored by plenty of other Democratic senators who aren’t African-American. But of course, Trump has no idea what the HOME Act is. What makes Booker stand out in Trump’s mind is that he is a Black Democratic man.
If Trump had looked beyond Booker’s skin, he would have found what Rebecca Buck reported about the senator when he first entered the presidential race in Iowa.
Sen. Cory Booker has promised to run a relentlessly positive and unifying campaign,…Whether Democratic voters think a candidate wrapped in a message of love has the mettle to beat Trump might be one the fundamental questions around Booker’s campaign. As Booker conceded himself following his campaign launch, “Love ain’t easy.” But it’s a theme that has underpinned his political identity for many years, dating back to his time in Newark.
Or perhaps the president would have heard snippets like this from Booker during the Democratic presidential debates.
Whether you agree with Booker’s approach on fair housing and a love-based campaign, the last thing you can accuse him of is being the racist stereotype of a scary Black man out to destroy the white suburbs. But Booker isn’t always focused on love and unity.
The former mayor of Newark is heartbroken over our response to what is happening to African Americans in this country.
Martin Luther King, Jr. once dreamed of a country where we would all be judged by the content of our character. The President of the United States judges people by the color of their skin, ignoring the content of their character. That is the definition of racist.


washingtonmonthly--2020-09-01--How Ratcliffe and Barr Are Aiding Trump’s Collusion with Putin

After reviewing classified intelligence reports about Vladimir Putin ’ s attempts to interfere in the 2020 election over three weeks ago , Senator Richard Blumenthal tried to sound the alarm .
The warning lights are flashing red .
America ’ s elections are under attack .
This week , I reviewed classified materials in the Senate ’ s Sensitive Compartmented Information Facility and received a similarly classified briefing on malign foreign threats to U.S. elections .
I was shocked by what I learned — and appalled that , by swearing Congress to secrecy , the Trump administration is keeping the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to democracy hidden from the American people .
On Friday , the Office of the Director of National Intelligence issued a statement that only hints at the threats .
The facts are chilling .
I believe the American public needs and deserves to know them .
The information should be declassified immediately .
Blumenthal went on to say that what he learned makes “ Moscow ’ s past interference and nefarious actions look like child ’ s play.
” We still , however , have no idea of what shocked him enough to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
What we do know is how the Trump administration reacted .
Last Friday , the Director of National Intelligence , John Ratcliffe , told Congress that his office would no longer brief them in person about foreign election interference , but would submit written reports .
Clearly they don ’ t want to face probing questions from Congress .
In defending his actions , however , Ratcliffe admitted that it goes beyond that .
Ratcliffe ’ s initial argument doesn ’ t make any sense .
He said that he is going @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Congress leaked classified information to the press .
What he didn ’ t explain is how that would stop leaks .
Classified information provided in writing is even easier to share with reporters .
In a scathing rebuke of Ratcliffe ’ s announcement , the Washington Post editorial board pointed out that the only so-called “ leaks ” came from the kind issued by Senator Blumenthal .
After the intelligence community briefed members of Congress in late July about threats to the upcoming election , Democrats expressed alarm about what they had learned @ @ @ @ @ @ @ information had not been shared with the American public .
“ The warning lights are flashing red .
America ’ s elections are under attack , ” wrote Sen. Richard Blumenthal ( D-Conn. ) in a Post op-ed , without disclosing any specifics… [ T ] he only “ leak ” was the simple fact that the administration was withholding critical information about Russia ’ s interference — which , of course , is intended to help President Trump win reelection .
In that clip of Ratcliffe ’ s Fox News appearance , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ saying that Democrats leaked information that “ simply wasn ’ t true , that somehow Russia is a greater security threat than China.
” In a case of obvious projection , Ratcliffe is telling us that the Trump administration doesn ’ t want Congress or the public to know what Moscow is doing to interfere in the election , but instead wants to change the narrative to focus on the distraction they ’ re offering about the threat posed by China .
In other words , Ratcliffe is suggesting that he will now @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to provide cover for what Moscow is up to .
Added to that is a troubling story about yet another purge in the Justice Department by Attorney General Barr .
Barr has reassigned 23-year career professional Brad Wiegmann , who had been serving as Deputy Assistant Attorney General in charge of the Office of Law and Policy .
As ABC News reports , “ The office shapes government efforts by ensuring that new policies and executive actions don ’ t violate federal law.
” We ’ ve heard stories from former Trump administration @ @ @ @ @ @ @ found themselves having to tell the president that the actions he wanted to take were not legal .
As former DHS Chief of Staff Miles Taylor said , Trump would claim to have “ magical authorities ” to break the law .
Now Barr has removed the person whose job it is to tell the administration when they are breaking the law and replaced him with a partisan loyalist .
While it might not be unprecedented to do that , the fact that it comes a couple of months before an election makes @ @ @ @ @ @ @ most telling part about Wiegmann ’ s replacement , Kellen Dwyer : The Leonine Forum was created by the Catholic Information Center ( CIC ) , an extremist group founded by Father John McCloskey , who eventually left the organization over allegations of sexual assault .
Several members of the Trump administration have close ties to the CIC , including Attorney General Barr , White House counsel Pat Cipollone , and economic adviser Larry Kudlow .
What appears to be happening is that both Ratcliffe and Barr are paving the way for Putin @ @ @ @ @ @ @ phone , to illegally collude in their efforts to influence the election—this time from the Oval Office with the entire federal bureaucracy at their disposal .

After reviewing classified intelligence reports about Vladimir Putin’s attempts to interfere in the 2020 election over three weeks ago, Senator Richard Blumenthal tried to sound the alarm.
The warning lights are flashing red. America’s elections are under attack. This week, I reviewed classified materials in the Senate’s Sensitive Compartmented Information Facility and received a similarly classified briefing on malign foreign threats to U.S. elections. I was shocked by what I learned — and appalled that, by swearing Congress to secrecy, the Trump administration is keeping the truth about a grave, looming threat to democracy hidden from the American people. On Friday, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence issued a statement that only hints at the threats. The facts are chilling. I believe the American public needs and deserves to know them. The information should be declassified immediately.
Blumenthal went on to say that what he learned makes “Moscow’s past interference and nefarious actions look like child’s play.” We still, however, have no idea of what shocked him enough to write that op-ed in the Washington Post.
What we do know is how the Trump administration reacted. Last Friday, the Director of National Intelligence, John Ratcliffe, told Congress that his office would no longer brief them in person about foreign election interference, but would submit written reports. Clearly they don’t want to face probing questions from Congress. In defending his actions, however, Ratcliffe admitted that it goes beyond that.
Ratcliffe’s initial argument doesn’t make any sense. He said that he is going to stop in-person briefings because members of Congress leaked classified information to the press. What he didn’t explain is how that would stop leaks. Classified information provided in writing is even easier to share with reporters.
In a scathing rebuke of Ratcliffe’s announcement, the Washington Post editorial board pointed out that the only so-called “leaks” came from the kind issued by Senator Blumenthal.
After the intelligence community briefed members of Congress in late July about threats to the upcoming election, Democrats expressed alarm about what they had learned — and about the fact that the information had not been shared with the American public. “The warning lights are flashing red. America’s elections are under attack,” wrote Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) in a Post op-ed, without disclosing any specifics… [T]he only “leak” was the simple fact that the administration was withholding critical information about Russia’s interference — which, of course, is intended to help President Trump win reelection.
In that clip of Ratcliffe’s Fox News appearance, he eventually got to the point by saying that Democrats leaked information that “simply wasn’t true, that somehow Russia is a greater security threat than China.” In a case of obvious projection, Ratcliffe is telling us that the Trump administration doesn’t want Congress or the public to know what Moscow is doing to interfere in the election, but instead wants to change the narrative to focus on the distraction they’re offering about the threat posed by China. In other words, Ratcliffe is suggesting that he will now cherry-pick what intelligence is shared with Congress to provide cover for what Moscow is up to.
Added to that is a troubling story about yet another purge in the Justice Department by Attorney General Barr.
Current and former national security officials are raising concerns over Attorney General William Barr’s recent decision to remove the head of a Justice Department office that helps ensure federal counterterrorism and counterintelligence activities are legal – and replace him with a political appointee with relatively limited experience.
Barr has reassigned 23-year career professional Brad Wiegmann, who had been serving as Deputy Assistant Attorney General in charge of the Office of Law and Policy. As ABC News reports, “The office shapes government efforts by ensuring that new policies and executive actions don’t violate federal law.”
We’ve heard stories from former Trump administration officials who have said that they often found themselves having to tell the president that the actions he wanted to take were not legal. As former DHS Chief of Staff Miles Taylor said, Trump would claim to have “magical authorities” to break the law.
Now Barr has removed the person whose job it is to tell the administration when they are breaking the law and replaced him with a partisan loyalist. While it might not be unprecedented to do that, the fact that it comes a couple of months before an election makes this one troubling. Here is the most telling part about Wiegmann’s replacement, Kellen Dwyer:
From 2018 to 2019, he served as a fellow at the conservative-leaning Leonine Forum, a non-profit organization that says its alumni are “committed to the cause of reintroducing the tenets of [the Catholic church] into the political, policy, legal, business, and cultural activities of society.”
The Leonine Forum was created by the Catholic Information Center (CIC), an extremist group founded by Father John McCloskey, who eventually left the organization over allegations of sexual assault. Several members of the Trump administration have close ties to the CIC, including Attorney General Barr, White House counsel Pat Cipollone, and economic adviser Larry Kudlow.
What appears to be happening is that both Ratcliffe and Barr are paving the way for Putin and Trump, who speak regularly by phone, to illegally collude in their efforts to influence the election—this time from the Oval Office with the entire federal bureaucracy at their disposal.


washingtonmonthly--2020-09-01--Why Did Trump Suddenly Visit Walter Reed Medical Center Last November?

November 16 , 2019 was sunny and warm in Washington DC–perfect for golf .
But President Trump didn ’ t hit the links that Saturday .
Instead , at around 2 pm , he was abruptly hustled into an armored Chevrolet SUV and driven to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda , Maryland .
The White House portrayed this as normal , with then press secretary Stephanie Grisham issuing a statement that Trump was simply being proactive about his health in anticipation of a very demanding election ahead .
This was met with widespread skepticism for a plethora @ @ @ @ @ @ @ well-established distaste for doctors , its absence on the president ’ s schedule , and the press being forbidden to report on his movements prior to arrival at the hospital , that the medical staff at Walter Reed wasn ’ t notified of his visit in advance , and that it was a break with Trump ’ s normal weekend activities .
Additionally , Trump had used his Marine-One helicopter for prior visits to Walter Reed .
One possible advantage of traveling by car was that the presidential motorcade comes equipped with an @ @ @ @ @ @ @ president ’ s doctor , Sean Conley , released a memorandum claiming that “ scheduling uncertainties ” explained why the trip seemed to be spur of the moment , it had in fact been “ part of the regular , primary preventative care he receives throughout the year.
” He called it an “ interim checkup , ” which would be followed up with a “ more comprehensive examination ” in 2020 .
This made no sense at all , which many doctors were quick to point out .
Several medical experts have @ @ @ @ @ @ @ physical in November , just nine months after his last exam , and not complete it until 2020 .
Leaving a months-long gap between beginning and completing the exam is unusual and potentially counterproductive , said [ cardiologist John ] Sotos , who has served as a physician for the Air National Guard .
“ When they complete the physical in six months , the information they got on Saturday would be six months old , ” he said .
“ I haven ’ t seen such a thing by presidents in the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ made much more sense if Trump had been experiencing a medical scare , like chest pains or symptoms of a stroke .
It had to be something that the White House medical staff ’ s facilities were ill-equipped to handle , and that could only be something rather serious .
But Dr. Conley ’ s memo assured the public that this was not the case : As Aaron Rupar of Vox reported at the time , “ there would likely be fewer questions surrounding Trump ’ s health if the White House hadn @ @ @ @ @ @ @ lying about everything , ” but I ’ m not sure that ’ s true .
I don ’ t believe any president would have been believed when presenting the public with such a nonsensical explanation .
There are additional things we ’ ve learned about this hospital visit since last November .
For example , we knew it wasn ’ t on Trump ’ s public schedule , but now we know it wasn ’ t on his private , internal schedule either .
What ’ s more , a forthcoming book @ @ @ @ @ @ @ claims that Vice President Mike Pence was notified that afternoon that he should be prepared to assume the powers of the presidency on a temporary basis if Trump required general anesthesia .
That ’ s not consistent with Trump getting routine preventative care .
It might seem that there are more important concerns about Trump ’ s fitness to be president than the status of his physical health .
But it ’ s important to know if any candidate for the presidency has medical concerns that could affect their ability to do the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Trump applied this standard to Hillary Clinton in 2016 when she fell ill and had difficulty walking after attending a 9/11 memorial service in Manhattan .
Trump and his surrogates have obsessively raised questions about Joe Biden ’ s health and stamina .
On Sunday , Donald Trump Jr. continued in his vein while appearing on Mark Levin ’ s show , “ Life , Liberty & Levin.
” The mainstream media has largely avoided coverage of Joe Biden ’ s health and fitness for office , but the question remains whether he @ @ @ @ @ @ @ hold the most powerful office in the land , Donald Trump Jr. said Sunday .
“ You see how draining this job is on people .
I mean , Joe Biden refuses to campaign .
He ’ s not even doing Zoom calls .
He ’ s staying in his basement.
” …Trump wondered , “ Is it that he can ’ t do it or is it that he ’ s just not physically able ?
” This could be a case of “ the best defense is a good offense , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ are covered over by focusing on Biden .
Videos show Trump seeming to have trouble drinking water , and his impaired coordination was on full display when he had trouble walking down a slight incline in June following his commencement address at West Point It ’ s only fair for the press to focus on the Walter Reed visit as they repeat Trump ’ s unfounded accusations about Biden ’ s health .
We don ’ t know why Trump was whisked off that day , but we know Mike Pence was ready @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
If there ’ s a next time , perhaps Pence actually will assume those powers , and that ’ s a prospect voters should consider .

November 16, 2019 was sunny and warm in Washington DC–perfect for golf. But President Trump didn’t hit the links that Saturday. Instead, at around 2 pm, he was abruptly hustled into an armored Chevrolet SUV and driven to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland.
The White House portrayed this as normal, with then press secretary Stephanie Grisham issuing a statement that Trump was simply being proactive about his health in anticipation of a very demanding election ahead. This was met with widespread skepticism for a plethora of reasons, including Trump’s well-established distaste for doctors, its absence on the president’s schedule, and the press being forbidden to report on his movements prior to arrival at the hospital, that the medical staff at Walter Reed wasn’t notified of his visit in advance, and that it was a break with Trump’s normal weekend activities. Additionally, Trump had used his Marine-One helicopter for prior visits to Walter Reed. One possible advantage of traveling by car was that the presidential motorcade comes equipped with an ambulance.
The following Monday, the president’s doctor, Sean Conley, released a memorandum claiming that “scheduling uncertainties” explained why the trip seemed to be spur of the moment, it had in fact been “part of the regular, primary preventative care he receives throughout the year.” He called it an “interim checkup,” which would be followed up with a “more comprehensive examination” in 2020.
This made no sense at all, which many doctors were quick to point out.
Several medical experts have questioned why Trump would begin his annual physical in November, just nine months after his last exam, and not complete it until 2020. Leaving a months-long gap between beginning and completing the exam is unusual and potentially counterproductive, said [cardiologist John] Sotos, who has served as a physician for the Air National Guard. “When they complete the physical in six months, the information they got on Saturday would be six months old,” he said. “I haven’t seen such a thing by presidents in the recent past.”
The trip to Bethesda made much more sense if Trump had been experiencing a medical scare, like chest pains or symptoms of a stroke. It had to be something that the White House medical staff’s facilities were ill-equipped to handle, and that could only be something rather serious.
But Dr. Conley’s memo assured the public that this was not the case:
“Despite some speculation, the President has not had any chest pain, nor was he evaluated or treated for any urgent or acute issues,” Conley wrote in the memo. “Specifically, he did not undergo any specialized cardiac or neurologic evaluations.”
As Aaron Rupar of Vox reported at the time, “there would likely be fewer questions surrounding Trump’s health if the White House hadn’t long established a reputation for lying about everything,” but I’m not sure that’s true. I don’t believe any president would have been believed when presenting the public with such a nonsensical explanation.
There are additional things we’ve learned about this hospital visit since last November. For example, we knew it wasn’t on Trump’s public schedule, but now we know it wasn’t on his private, internal schedule either. What’s more, a forthcoming book by New York Times reporter Michael Schmidt claims that Vice President Mike Pence was notified that afternoon that he should be prepared to assume the powers of the presidency on a temporary basis if Trump required general anesthesia. That’s not consistent with Trump getting routine preventative care.
It might seem that there are more important concerns about Trump’s fitness to be president than the status of his physical health. But it’s important to know if any candidate for the presidency has medical concerns that could affect their ability to do the job. What’s more, Trump applied this standard to Hillary Clinton in 2016 when she fell ill and had difficulty walking after attending a 9/11 memorial service in Manhattan. Trump and his surrogates have obsessively raised questions about Joe Biden’s health and stamina. On Sunday, Donald Trump Jr. continued in his vein while appearing on Mark Levin’s show, “Life, Liberty & Levin.”
The mainstream media has largely avoided coverage of Joe Biden’s health and fitness for office, but the question remains whether he possesses the physical and mental capacity to hold the most powerful office in the land, Donald Trump Jr. said Sunday. “You see how draining this job is on people. I mean, Joe Biden refuses to campaign. He’s not even doing Zoom calls. He’s staying in his basement.” …Trump wondered, “Is it that he can’t do it or is it that he’s just not physically able?”
This could be a case of “the best defense is a good offense,” where the president’s infirmities are covered over by focusing on Biden. Videos show Trump seeming to have trouble drinking water, and his impaired coordination was on full display when he had trouble walking down a slight incline in June following his commencement address at West Point
It’s only fair for the press to focus on the Walter Reed visit as they repeat Trump’s unfounded accusations about Biden’s health. We don’t know why Trump was whisked off that day, but we know Mike Pence was ready to assume the powers of the presidency. If there’s a next time, perhaps Pence actually will assume those powers, and that’s a prospect voters should consider.


washingtonmonthly--2020-08-31--A Different Kind of College Ranking

A Different Kind of College Ranking

It ’ s safe to say that the current generation of college students is getting an education unlike any other in American history .
They spent the spring and summer in pandemic-induced disruption , isolation , and stress , with vanished jobs and internships , taking hastily arranged online classes , and , in most cases , paying the same tuition that they would have if they had been on campus .
Now , as students are beginning their fall semester , the virus is still not under control .
Most have been offered the option of continuing to take @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in some cases all but forced , to move back on campus and attend in-person classes by colleges that need the dorm revenue—a vast socio-epidemiological experiment that will likely be abandoned amid sickness and unnecessary death .
Those attending poorly resourced state schools—disproportionately minority and low-income students—probably aren ’ t even getting the benefit of the weekly or daily virus testing that elite private schools are providing .
Current college students have also gotten a real-world education in the power of political activism .
This summer , in the wake of George Floyd @ @ @ @ @ @ @ them took to the streets in support of Black Lives Matter .
In November , these same students will have a chance to vote in a national election , many for the first time .
It will , to say the least , be no ordinary election—especially for young people , who , by definition , will have to live with the consequences longer than older Americans .
These searing generational experiences are likely to have long-term consequences none of us can predict .
But it is a good bet that in the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s college students to demand fundamental change from the institutions they experience most directly : the colleges and universities they attend .
What might they demand ?
Well , for starters , they are going to want to see schools make a greater effort to do right by students who are Black , Latino , and Native American , or who come from low-income backgrounds .
They are going to want to see colleges double down on their efforts to produce the research and technologies that will create the new high-paying jobs they @ @ @ @ @ @ @ well as the solutions to climate change and other existential threats .
And they are going to want their institutions not just to tolerate their civic activism but to sincerely encourage it .
What today ’ s students could use is a reliable tool to gauge how well their colleges measure up on these demands .
As it happens , there is one .
The Washington Monthly ’ s annual college guide ranks individual schools based on how well they promote upward mobility , research , and civic engagement .
These criteria are @ @ @ @ @ @ @ News & World Report , which ranks schools based on their wealth , exclusivity , and prestige .
The resulting lists of best colleges are , naturally , quite different too , and those differences reveal a great deal about what is right and wrong with the American higher education system .
The first thing to note about our top 20 national universities is that 11 of them are state schools .
By contrast , in the U.S. News rankings , 19 of the top 20 national universities are elite private ones .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ from prestigious flagships like UCLA—the only public university in U.S. News ’ s top 20—to institutions that don ’ t even crack U.S. News ’ s top 50—including the University of Washington , Texas A & M , and Utah State University .
In fact , Utah State , number 10 on our list , ranks number 254 on U.S. News ’ s .
You might also notice that a number of the elite private national universities that score in U.S. News ’ s top 20 do less well on ours—including Northwestern ( @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Brown ( 37 ) , and Johns Hopkins ( 54 ) .
There are differences , too , in the liberal arts category .
Berea College , ranked third on our list , is 46th on U.S. News ’ s .
St. Mary ’ s College of Maryland , number 29 on our list , is number 92 on theirs .
There ’ s a simple explanation for these divergences : The two magazines are , in many ways , not measuring the same things .
U.S. News relies on such metrics as @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and the results of a survey it conducts of academics and administrators , asking them to gauge the reputations of their peer institutions .
These aren ’ t bad measures if you ’ re an upper-income family trying to get your kid into a fancy school .
None of this data , however , factors into the Washington Monthly ’ s rankings , because we don ’ t think it ’ s relevant to the question we ’ re asking , which is this : Which colleges deliver the best results for taxpayers—who @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in student financial aid—and for typical students , especially those who are minorities , the first in their family to attend college , or of modest means ?
Instead , the Washington Monthly ’ s rankings are based on data U.S. News incorporates barely or not at all .
These include the net price a school charges lower-income families ( part of our social mobility category ) , how many of its students go on to get PhDs ( part of our research category ) , and the degree to which it encourages @ @ @ @ @ @ @ our service category ) .
The most noteworthy overlap between our lists and U.S. News ’ s is at the tippy top—the Stanfords , Harvards , and Yales of the country .
These universities are not only prestigious and selective .
They also provide generous financial aid to the lower-income students they admit .
The operative phrase , however , is “ lower-income students they admit ” —because they don ’ t admit many .
For purposes of comparison , consider the University of Florida , ranked 15th on the Monthly ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ low-income students receiving Pell Grants than did Stanford , Harvard , MIT , Yale , Princeton , and Duke combined .
( It is also the seventh-biggest producer of science and engineering PhDs in the country and gets a near-perfect score for its support of student voting . )
And it manages this extraordinary feat without the kind of huge endowments that the Ivy League schools use to fund their student aid packages—endowments larger than the GDP of many countries .
So while the elite schools deserve kudos for generosity toward their lower-income @ @ @ @ @ @ @ who go on to insanely lucrative careers in investment banking and then kick back a portion of their outsized gains to the university—isn ’ t exactly admirable , or remotely replicable .
This gets at a larger point : The system in which colleges are forced to operate—and that the U.S. News rankings both reflect and enable—is rigged in favor of the wealthy and well connected , and that system has to change , for the good of the country .
You can see this most clearly in the fate of many small @ @ @ @ @ @ @ t havens for wealthy students .
Hiram College of Ohio , for instance , has a proud history—President James Garfield was an alum—and performs well on our rankings .
It ranks third on our bachelor ’ s colleges list , in part for enrolling large numbers of first-generation college students and sending them off to PhD programs and the Peace Corps .
But Hiram has also struggled financially .
In 2014 , deep in debt , it dropped several majors , including art history , and added more in-demand ones , like sports @ @ @ @ @ @ @ tuition in an effort to attract more students .
While these tough but necessary moves helped , the pandemic again throws its future into question .
Another worthy but financially stressed institution is Canisius College , a private Jesuit school in Buffalo , New York .
Canisius ranks in the top fifth of our list of master ’ s universities because its graduation rate is far higher than student demographics would predict , and its students go on to get PhDs at high rates .
But COVID-19 has forced the college , which @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and eliminate several majors .
The pandemic may be hastening what some have long predicted : the eventual demise of many private nonprofit colleges .
The vulnerable ones are those that serve ordinary rather than elite students .
Open-access public colleges and universities are also at risk , not of extinction so much as of being further hollowed out by cuts to their funding from state governments whose tax revenues are plummeting .
An influx of federal money may stave off immediate disaster .
But it won ’ t slow the overall trend @ @ @ @ @ @ @ schools that attract the well-off grow richer while those that serve everyone else grow poorer—forcing non-affluent students to pay ever-higher tuition , take on ever-growing amounts of debt , and mortgage their futures .
What America needs is a New Deal for higher education—one that will reverse this trend while maintaining the institutional diversity and autonomy that has long made this country ’ s higher education system the envy of the world .
In this issue , the longtime Washington Monthly writer and guest editor Kevin Carey proposes such a plan .
We @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , and we hope you will , too .
Change can ’ t come quickly enough , especially for students of color , who are hurt the most by the inequities baked into the current system .
We know , for instance , that Black students disproportionately attend under-resourced community and four-year colleges ; have to take on higher levels of debt than white students to pay for it , on average ; graduate at far lower rates ; and , even when they do graduate , earn less in the workforce .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ how individual colleges contribute , for better or worse , to these outcomes .
That ’ s because little of the federal data that researchers—and this magazine—use to assess college performance is broken down by race .
Until that changes , imperfect workarounds are the best we can do .
We gave it a shot in this issue by tapping a new data set from the U.S. Department of Education to create a first-ever list of colleges where majors popular with Black students lead to decent-paying jobs .
Elsewhere in this issue , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Black academics about how to help more students of color enter and succeed in STEM fields .
Jamaal Abdul-Alim looks at a program that was wildly successful at boosting completion rates at two-year schools , and why policymakers let it wither away .
And Anne Kim reports on a technical training program that employers are actually willing to pay for—one that focuses on soft skills .
Since we began publishing our annual college rankings in 2005 , we ’ ve been warning that America ’ s higher education system is an inequitable , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of the students it is meant to help .
Now , with that system teetering on the brink , we may be at an opportune moment to fundamentally change it .
And the current generation of students , the most screwed yet , may be the ones to push us to finally act .

It’s safe to say that the current generation of college students is getting an education unlike any other in American history. They spent the spring and summer in pandemic-induced disruption, isolation, and stress, with vanished jobs and internships, taking hastily arranged online classes, and, in most cases, paying the same tuition that they would have if they had been on campus.
Check out the complete 2020 Washington Monthly rankings here.
Now, as students are beginning their fall semester, the virus is still not under control. Most have been offered the option of continuing to take online classes while being urged, and in some cases all but forced, to move back on campus and attend in-person classes by colleges that need the dorm revenue—a vast socio-epidemiological experiment that will likely be abandoned amid sickness and unnecessary death. Those attending poorly resourced state schools—disproportionately minority and low-income students—probably aren’t even getting the benefit of the weekly or daily virus testing that elite private schools are providing.
Current college students have also gotten a real-world education in the power of political activism. This summer, in the wake of George Floyd’s killing, large numbers of them took to the streets in support of Black Lives Matter. In November, these same students will have a chance to vote in a national election, many for the first time. It will, to say the least, be no ordinary election—especially for young people, who, by definition, will have to live with the consequences longer than older Americans.
These searing generational experiences are likely to have long-term consequences none of us can predict. But it is a good bet that in the short term they will lead today’s college students to demand fundamental change from the institutions they experience most directly: the colleges and universities they attend.
What might they demand? Well, for starters, they are going to want to see schools make a greater effort to do right by students who are Black, Latino, and Native American, or who come from low-income backgrounds. They are going to want to see colleges double down on their efforts to produce the research and technologies that will create the new high-paying jobs they will need to sustain themselves, as well as the solutions to climate change and other existential threats. And they are going to want their institutions not just to tolerate their civic activism but to sincerely encourage it.
What today’s students could use is a reliable tool to gauge how well their colleges measure up on these demands. As it happens, there is one. The Washington Monthly’s annual college guide ranks individual schools based on how well they promote upward mobility, research, and civic engagement. These criteria are quite different from those employed by U.S. News & World Report, which ranks schools based on their wealth, exclusivity, and prestige. The resulting lists of best colleges are, naturally, quite different too, and those differences reveal a great deal about what is right and wrong with the American higher education system.
The first thing to note about our top 20 national universities is that 11 of them are state schools. By contrast, in the U.S. News rankings, 19 of the top 20 national universities are elite private ones. The public universities on our list range from prestigious flagships like UCLA—the only public university in U.S. News’s top 20—to institutions that don’t even crack U.S. News’s top 50—including the University of Washington, Texas A&M, and Utah State University. In fact, Utah State, number 10 on our list, ranks number 254 on U.S. News’s.
You might also notice that a number of the elite private national universities that score in U.S. News’s top 20 do less well on ours—including Northwestern (number 30 on our list), Brown (37), and Johns Hopkins (54). There are differences, too, in the liberal arts category. Berea College, ranked third on our list, is 46th on U.S. News’s. St. Mary’s College of Maryland, number 29 on our list, is number 92 on theirs.
There’s a simple explanation for these divergences: The two magazines are, in many ways, not measuring the same things. U.S. News relies on such metrics as student SAT/ACT scores, alumni donations, and the results of a survey it conducts of academics and administrators, asking them to gauge the reputations of their peer institutions. These aren’t bad measures if you’re an upper-income family trying to get your kid into a fancy school. None of this data, however, factors into the Washington Monthly’s rankings, because we don’t think it’s relevant to the question we’re asking, which is this: Which colleges deliver the best results for taxpayers—who invest more than $150 billion annually in student financial aid—and for typical students, especially those who are minorities, the first in their family to attend college, or of modest means?
Instead, the Washington Monthly’s rankings are based on data U.S. News incorporates barely or not at all. These include the net price a school charges lower-income families (part of our social mobility category), how many of its students go on to get PhDs (part of our research category), and the degree to which it encourages its students to vote (part of our service category).
The most noteworthy overlap between our lists and U.S. News’s is at the tippy top—the Stanfords, Harvards, and Yales of the country. These universities are not only prestigious and selective. They also provide generous financial aid to the lower-income students they admit. The operative phrase, however, is “lower-income students they admit”—because they don’t admit many. For purposes of comparison, consider the University of Florida, ranked 15th on the Monthly’s rankings. Last year UF graduated more low-income students receiving Pell Grants than did Stanford, Harvard, MIT, Yale, Princeton, and Duke combined. (It is also the seventh-biggest producer of science and engineering PhDs in the country and gets a near-perfect score for its support of student voting.) And it manages this extraordinary feat without the kind of huge endowments that the Ivy League schools use to fund their student aid packages—endowments larger than the GDP of many countries. So while the elite schools deserve kudos for generosity toward their lower-income students, their model of financing—graduate students who go on to insanely lucrative careers in investment banking and then kick back a portion of their outsized gains to the university—isn’t exactly admirable, or remotely replicable.
This gets at a larger point: The system in which colleges are forced to operate—and that the U.S. News rankings both reflect and enable—is rigged in favor of the wealthy and well connected, and that system has to change, for the good of the country.
You can see this most clearly in the fate of many small, private nonprofit schools that aren’t havens for wealthy students. Hiram College of Ohio, for instance, has a proud history—President James Garfield was an alum—and performs well on our rankings. It ranks third on our bachelor’s colleges list, in part for enrolling large numbers of first-generation college students and sending them off to PhD programs and the Peace Corps. But Hiram has also struggled financially. In 2014, deep in debt, it dropped several majors, including art history, and added more in-demand ones, like sports medicine. It also recently cut its tuition in an effort to attract more students. While these tough but necessary moves helped, the pandemic again throws its future into question.
Another worthy but financially stressed institution is Canisius College, a private Jesuit school in Buffalo, New York. Canisius ranks in the top fifth of our list of master’s universities because its graduation rate is far higher than student demographics would predict, and its students go on to get PhDs at high rates. But COVID-19 has forced the college, which was already struggling, to announce layoffs and eliminate several majors.
The pandemic may be hastening what some have long predicted: the eventual demise of many private nonprofit colleges. The vulnerable ones are those that serve ordinary rather than elite students. Open-access public colleges and universities are also at risk, not of extinction so much as of being further hollowed out by cuts to their funding from state governments whose tax revenues are plummeting.
An influx of federal money may stave off immediate disaster. But it won’t slow the overall trend of a higher education system in which schools that attract the well-off grow richer while those that serve everyone else grow poorer—forcing non-affluent students to pay ever-higher tuition, take on ever-growing amounts of debt, and mortgage their futures.
What America needs is a New Deal for higher education—one that will reverse this trend while maintaining the institutional diversity and autonomy that has long made this country’s higher education system the envy of the world. In this issue, the longtime Washington Monthly writer and guest editor Kevin Carey proposes such a plan . We think it’s brilliant and pragmatic, and we hope you will, too.
Change can’t come quickly enough, especially for students of color, who are hurt the most by the inequities baked into the current system. We know, for instance, that Black students disproportionately attend under-resourced community and four-year colleges; have to take on higher levels of debt than white students to pay for it, on average; graduate at far lower rates; and, even when they do graduate, earn less in the workforce.
What we don’t know is how individual colleges contribute, for better or worse, to these outcomes. That’s because little of the federal data that researchers—and this magazine—use to assess college performance is broken down by race. Until that changes, imperfect workarounds are the best we can do. We gave it a shot in this issue by tapping a new data set from the U.S. Department of Education to create a first-ever list of colleges where majors popular with Black students lead to decent-paying jobs.
Elsewhere in this issue, Daniel Block examines some new thinking among Black academics about how to help more students of color enter and succeed in STEM fields. Jamaal Abdul-Alim looks at a program that was wildly successful at boosting completion rates at two-year schools, and why policymakers let it wither away. And Anne Kim reports on a technical training program that employers are actually willing to pay for—one that focuses on soft skills.
Since we began publishing our annual college rankings in 2005, we’ve been warning that America’s higher education system is an inequitable, unsustainable mess that rips off too many of the students it is meant to help. Now, with that system teetering on the brink, we may be at an opportune moment to fundamentally change it. And the current generation of students, the most screwed yet, may be the ones to push us to finally act.