thenation--2020-11-13--Joe Biden’s Presidency Depends on Georgia

As he prepared to claim the presidential victory he secured by more than 4 million votes , Joe Biden said , “ What is becoming clearer each hour is that record numbers of Americans—from all races , faiths , regions—chose change over more of the same.
” But his ability to deliver that change is still to be determined by the voters of Georgia .
Because the Democrats did not gain control of the US Senate on November 3 , the defining moment for Biden ’ s presidency will come January 5 , when a pair of runoff elections in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Vice President–elect Kamala Harris to end Republican Mitch McConnell ’ s destructive tenure as Senate majority leader .
The Georgia runoffs give the Democrats a rare opportunity to finish the essential work of elections in which they fell short .
The 2020 fight was always about more than defeating Donald Trump .
McConnell had to be displaced , or Biden would serve as a virtual lame duck struggling to achieve incremental change with executive orders , tepid appointments , and a constrained agenda .
While Biden prevailed , the bid for Senate control @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of four seats that they needed , Democrats beat Republican incumbents only in Arizona and Colorado , while Democratic Senator Doug Jones lost in Alabama .
So many vulnerable Republican incumbents survived that it looked as if McConnell and the GOP could hang on to power with a 52-48 advantage .
Good Riddance to Trump : A Political Obituary I Have Waited 5 Years to Write There was plenty of blame to go around for what was clearly a disappointing result .
Progressives complained that Biden ran a campaign so narrowly focused on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ urgent issue agenda that could inspire full-ticket Democratic voting .
But it was not just that .
Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee put their thumbs on the scales for uninspired centrists who then disappointed .
The most frustrating example was in the race against McConnell in Kentucky , where DC insiders favored Amy McGrath in the primary over Charles Booker , a legislator who had a far better plan for building an urban-rural Hood to the Holler movement in the state .
Nearly $ 90 million was @ @ @ @ @ @ @ yet she won just over 38 percent of the vote—not even 3 percentage points better than Tennessee progressive Marquita Bradshaw , whose insurgent Senate bid got little attention from DC Democrats .
Democratic strategists must get better at mounting coherent national campaigns that develop an issue-driven identity for the party .
They must also learn to respect the wisdom of grassroots Democrats in the states rather than impose candidates from above .
But political blame laying is of value only if it provides lessons for getting it right the next time .
Luckily @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is now .
Georgia can prevent McConnell from becoming the grim reaper of Biden ’ s presidency .
That ’ s because , unlike most states , Georgia holds runoff elections when no candidate receives a majority of the votes in the initial balloting .
The state held two Senate contests this year : a regular race for the seat held by Republican incumbent David Perdue and a special election for the seat held by Kelly Loeffler , an extreme right-wing Republican who was appointed in 2019 .
It was immediately clear that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ahead of Loeffler in a multicandidate contest and would face her again in a runoff .
In Perdue ’ s race , the initial count had him finishing above the 50 percent mark needed to avoid a runoff with Democrat Jon Ossoff .
But things turned Ossoff ’ s way in the same tabulation of absentee ballots that put Biden ahead in the state .
Perdue dropped to 49.7 percent , and the Democrat declared , “ We have all the momentum.
” There are still hurdles for Ossoff .
Perdue is likely @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of clawing his way over the 50 percent threshold .
But recounts rarely work .
So this is the time for everyone who wants to see a successful Biden presidency to go all in for Warnock and Ossoff .
Georgia is deep into a process of political transformation , thanks to demographic shifts and the remarkable voter mobilization work of Stacey Abrams and a new generation of multiracial , multiethnic grassroots activists .
Warnock and Ossoff are different candidates who have run distinct campaigns .
Yet it ’ s likely they will rise @ @ @ @ @ @ @ be the most expensive Senate competition in American history .
Loeffler is reputedly the richest politician on Capitol Hill , Perdue is a multimillionaire , and McConnell will steer every special-interest dollar he can find into Georgia .
That money will fund vicious campaigning .
In the run-up to the November elections , Perdue mounted attacks on Ossoff , who is Jewish , that were widely condemned as anti-Semitic .
Loeffler is already signaling that she ’ ll attack Warnock , who is running to become Georgia ’ s first Black senator , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ policies and his agenda.
” But these Democrats bring strengths to the competition .
Ossoff , who built name recognition and fundraising prowess with a high-profile 2017 bid in suburban Atlanta ’ s Sixth Congressional District , shredded Perdue in a late-October debate .
Ossoff still has high support in the Sixth , where he narrowly lost in 2017 but African-American gun-control activist Lucy McBath won in 2018 and 2020 .
Warnock , the senior pastor of the historic Ebenezer Baptist Church , the spiritual home of the Rev .
Martin Luther King @ @ @ @ @ @ @ thanks to an urban-rural coalition with a proven capacity to mobilize voters .
Former president Barack Obama has already campaigned for the Georgia Democrats , reminding an Atlanta crowd just before the November 3 elections , “ You ’ ve got the chance to flip two Senate seats.
” Abrams agrees .
She dismisses the notion that runoffs disadvantage Democrats just because the big top-of-the-ticket races are settled .
“ We will have the investment and the resources that have never followed our runoffs in Georgia for Democrats , ” she told CNN @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Warnock “ are going to make certain that Joe Biden has the leadership , the support , and the congressional mandate that he needs to move this country forward.
” Ossoff told The Nation recently that his mentor Representative John Lewis , who died in July , urged him to work to revive the Black-Jewish electoral coalition that made major gains in Georgia in the 1960s and ’ 70s .
Ossoff and Warnock , running as a ticket , could be precisely the team the Democrats need in 2021—working to win two races @ @ @ @ @ @ @ another Democratic presidency .
n

This article appears in the November 30/December 7, 2020 issue.
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As he prepared to claim the presidential victory he secured by more than 4 million votes, Joe Biden said, “What is becoming clearer each hour is that record numbers of Americans—from all races, faiths, regions—chose change over more of the same.” But his ability to deliver that change is still to be determined by the voters of Georgia.
Because the Democrats did not gain control of the US Senate on November 3, the defining moment for Biden’s presidency will come January 5, when a pair of runoff elections in Georgia could displace GOP incumbents and position Vice President–elect Kamala Harris to end Republican Mitch McConnell’s destructive tenure as Senate majority leader.
The Georgia runoffs give the Democrats a rare opportunity to finish the essential work of elections in which they fell short. The 2020 fight was always about more than defeating Donald Trump. McConnell had to be displaced, or Biden would serve as a virtual lame duck struggling to achieve incremental change with executive orders, tepid appointments, and a constrained agenda.
While Biden prevailed, the bid for Senate control stumbled. Instead of the net gain of four seats that they needed, Democrats beat Republican incumbents only in Arizona and Colorado, while Democratic Senator Doug Jones lost in Alabama. So many vulnerable Republican incumbents survived that it looked as if McConnell and the GOP could hang on to power with a 52-48 advantage. Related Article Good Riddance to Trump: A Political Obituary I Have Waited 5 Years to Write Sasha Abramsky
There was plenty of blame to go around for what was clearly a disappointing result. Progressives complained that Biden ran a campaign so narrowly focused on upending Trump that it never developed the urgent issue agenda that could inspire full-ticket Democratic voting. But it was not just that. Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee put their thumbs on the scales for uninspired centrists who then disappointed. The most frustrating example was in the race against McConnell in Kentucky, where DC insiders favored Amy McGrath in the primary over Charles Booker, a legislator who had a far better plan for building an urban-rural Hood to the Holler movement in the state. Nearly $90 million was poured into McGrath’s campaign, yet she won just over 38 percent of the vote—not even 3 percentage points better than Tennessee progressive Marquita Bradshaw, whose insurgent Senate bid got little attention from DC Democrats. Popular "swipe left below to view more authors"Swipe → The Evisceration of a Public University The Evisceration of a Public University Lisa M. Corrigan The Patronizing Moralism of David Brooks The Patronizing Moralism of David Brooks Chris Lehmann “The Blind Side” Was Always Trash “The Blind Side” Was Always Trash Dave Zirin How the “Brooks Brothers Riot” Set the Stage for Insurrection How the “Brooks Brothers Riot” Set the Stage for Insurrection Chris Lehmann Popular "swipe left below to view more authors"Swipe → The Evisceration of a Public University The Evisceration of a Public University Lisa M. Corrigan The Patronizing Moralism of David Brooks The Patronizing Moralism of David Brooks Chris Lehmann “The Blind Side” Was Always Trash “The Blind Side” Was Always Trash Dave Zirin How the “Brooks Brothers Riot” Set the Stage for Insurrection How the “Brooks Brothers Riot” Set the Stage for Insurrection Chris Lehmann
Democratic strategists must get better at mounting coherent national campaigns that develop an issue-driven identity for the party. They must also learn to respect the wisdom of grassroots Democrats in the states rather than impose candidates from above. But political blame laying is of value only if it provides lessons for getting it right the next time. Luckily for the Democrats, the next time is now.
Georgia can prevent McConnell from becoming the grim reaper of Biden’s presidency. That’s because, unlike most states, Georgia holds runoff elections when no candidate receives a majority of the votes in the initial balloting. The state held two Senate contests this year: a regular race for the seat held by Republican incumbent David Perdue and a special election for the seat held by Kelly Loeffler, an extreme right-wing Republican who was appointed in 2019. It was immediately clear that the Rev. Raphael Warnock had finished ahead of Loeffler in a multicandidate contest and would face her again in a runoff. In Perdue’s race, the initial count had him finishing above the 50 percent mark needed to avoid a runoff with Democrat Jon Ossoff. But things turned Ossoff’s way in the same tabulation of absentee ballots that put Biden ahead in the state. Perdue dropped to 49.7 percent, and the Democrat declared, “We have all the momentum.” There are still hurdles for Ossoff. Perdue is likely to demand a recount in the hope of clawing his way over the 50 percent threshold. But recounts rarely work. Current Issue View our current issue
So this is the time for everyone who wants to see a successful Biden presidency to go all in for Warnock and Ossoff. Georgia is deep into a process of political transformation, thanks to demographic shifts and the remarkable voter mobilization work of Stacey Abrams and a new generation of multiracial, multiethnic grassroots activists.
Warnock and Ossoff are different candidates who have run distinct campaigns. Yet it’s likely they will rise or fall together in what could well be the most expensive Senate competition in American history. Loeffler is reputedly the richest politician on Capitol Hill, Perdue is a multimillionaire, and McConnell will steer every special-interest dollar he can find into Georgia. That money will fund vicious campaigning. In the run-up to the November elections, Perdue mounted attacks on Ossoff, who is Jewish, that were widely condemned as anti-Semitic. Loeffler is already signaling that she’ll attack Warnock, who is running to become Georgia’s first Black senator, for what she labels “his radical policies and his agenda.”
But these Democrats bring strengths to the competition. Ossoff, who built name recognition and fundraising prowess with a high-profile 2017 bid in suburban Atlanta’s Sixth Congressional District, shredded Perdue in a late-October debate. Ossoff still has high support in the Sixth, where he narrowly lost in 2017 but African-American gun-control activist Lucy McBath won in 2018 and 2020. Warnock, the senior pastor of the historic Ebenezer Baptist Church, the spiritual home of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., finished ahead of Loeffler, thanks to an urban-rural coalition with a proven capacity to mobilize voters. Former president Barack Obama has already campaigned for the Georgia Democrats, reminding an Atlanta crowd just before the November 3 elections, “You’ve got the chance to flip two Senate seats.”
Abrams agrees. She dismisses the notion that runoffs disadvantage Democrats just because the big top-of-the-ticket races are settled. “We will have the investment and the resources that have never followed our runoffs in Georgia for Democrats,” she told CNN’s Jake Tapper. Ossoff and Warnock “are going to make certain that Joe Biden has the leadership, the support, and the congressional mandate that he needs to move this country forward.”
Ossoff told The Nation recently that his mentor Representative John Lewis, who died in July, urged him to work to revive the Black-Jewish electoral coalition that made major gains in Georgia in the 1960s and ’70s. Ossoff and Warnock, running as a ticket, could be precisely the team the Democrats need in 2021—working to win two races in Georgia and prevent McConnell from obstructing another Democratic presidency. n


thenation--2020-11-13--The Trump-Shaped Stain on American Life

The Trump-Shaped Stain on American Life

My Uncle Harry has seen it all , and he has the years to prove it : He turned 100 on November 1 .
( In case you were wondering , he attributes his longevity to family , love , curiosity , and ice cream every day . )
When Donald Trump was elected , Uncle Harry predicted that the next four years would be awful but there would be only two things that couldn ’ t be undone even if the Democrats won in 2020 : the destruction Trump would wreak on the environment and the justices he would @ @ @ @ @ @ @ has more than fulfilled Uncle Harry ’ s predictions .
On the environment , Trump has taken the United States out of the Paris climate accord—it seems so long ago !
—which he called a “ disaster.
” He scrapped Obama-era carbon emissions cuts , relaxed regulations for clean air , weakened protections for marine life and endangered species , opened public lands to mining and logging ( including two national monuments , Utah ’ s Bears Ears and Grand Staircase–Escalante , designated by Barack Obama and Bill Clinton , respectively ) , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , Trump has shown contempt for nature , from the humble sage grouse , whose habitat is no longer protected from mining and drilling , to our rapidly heating planet .
Fortunately , some of Trump ’ s plans have been tied up in court , but that ’ s no guarantee .
As Uncle Harry warned and the whole world knows , the courts have been Trumpified .
Trump ’ s three Supreme Court appointments ( Neil Gorsuch , Brett Kavanaugh , and Amy Coney Barrett ) are so far to the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ now a centrist .
And in a court with six conservatives , Roberts ’ s vote may not be needed to inflict grave damage on women ’ s rights , workers ’ rights , civil rights and civil liberties , LGBTQ rights , and of course , voting rights .
Can it be that what we naively considered our way of life—that long arc of the moral universe that slowly bends toward justice—could be so easily bent back by simply anointing three young , energetic reactionaries ?
Gorsuch is a sprightly youth of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ aficionado , and Barrett is only 48 .
This trio will be dancing on the graves of many of you reading this , to say nothing of myself , assuming Barrett ’ s male-supremacist tongues-speaking Christian cult permits women to dance .
That Ruth Bader Ginsburg , an architect of women ’ s legal equality , should be replaced by a Federalist Society fembot who thinks abortion is barbaric and wives should obey their husbands is surely no accident .
As House Judiciary Committee Republicans tweeted when Barrett was confirmed , “ Happy @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Harry didn ’ t mention the lower courts , but let ’ s not forget that Trump has nominated and the Senate has confirmed 218 federal judges to lifetime appointments ; that ’ s a quarter of the federal judge total .
A large majority of them are white men ; fewer than 5 percent are African American .
Of the nine nominees rated “ not qualified ” by the American Bar Association , seven were confirmed .
Needless to say , they veer hard conservative .
Regardless of who wins the White @ @ @ @ @ @ @ their judgments for a long , long time .
The Trauma of Trump ’ s Presidency Will Haunt Us There are surely many other doings of the Trump administration that can ’ t be put right .
The trauma migrant children have suffered at the border will be with them for life , especially the 545 whose parents the government has admitted it can ’ t find and has thus effectively orphaned .
In The Washington Post , Catherine Rampell has a long piece detailing the legal and bureaucratic measures by which Trump @ @ @ @ @ @ @ will be hard to roll back .
For me , though , the hardest thing to reverse is something more nebulous and disturbing : the way Trump has corrupted our understanding of truth and facts and simple human decency .
He has turned the most ordinary commonsensical aspects of life into battlefronts in a ridiculous culture war—even wearing a mask to protect yourself from a potentially fatal disease .
And no matter what Trump said or did , around four in 10 Americans stood right there with him .
Nothing seemed to dent @ @ @ @ @ @ @ bullying , not the disgusting insults against women , not the shout-outs to xenophobes and white supremacists and neofascists , not the crude belittling of anyone who disagreed with him , from journalists to Dr. Anthony Fauci .
No matter what preposterous charges he throws out at his rallies ( recently he claimed that doctors have inflated the number of Covid-19 deaths because they get more money if they attribute a death to the coronavirus ) , he manages to top them in short order .
But his followers remain steadfast , even @ @ @ @ @ @ @ new Stanford University study linking his rallies to some 30,000 Covid cases and 700 deaths .
They may not believe or like everything he says , but they don ’ t care ; that ’ s just Donald being Donald , or as evangelicals have described him , King Cyrus being King Cyrus .
Trump has turned us into a nation of braying bullies and conspiracy theorists and mean people proud of their indifference to the suffering of others .
Maybe that ’ s what too many Americans always were , but they @ @ @ @ @ @ @ social disapproval .
That ’ s what “ locker room talk ” means , after all : Boasting about pussy grabbing is fine ; just don ’ t do it where women can hear you .
Still , I can ’ t remember a time when batshit paranoid fantasies like QAnon could infect the minds of so many people , including a newly elected member of Congress .
Or when far-right militiamen took guns to state capitols and planned to kidnap and murder a governor .
Or when cars and trucks bearing the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the campaign bus of the other candidate off the road , as Trump ’ s minions recently did in Texas , only to be given a thumbs-up by the man in the White House .
Maybe I ’ ve led a sheltered life .
Joe Biden and Kamala Harris have carried the day , but those four in 10 aren ’ t cheerfully bounding up to the net for a hearty handshake over a game well played .
We may rid ourselves of Trump .
But Trumpism ?
That will be with us @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s life and mine and maybe yours as well .

This article appears in the November 30/December 7, 2020 issue.
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My Uncle Harry has seen it all, and he has the years to prove it: He turned 100 on November 1. (In case you were wondering, he attributes his longevity to family, love, curiosity, and ice cream every day.) When Donald Trump was elected, Uncle Harry predicted that the next four years would be awful but there would be only two things that couldn’t be undone even if the Democrats won in 2020: the destruction Trump would wreak on the environment and the justices he would put on the Supreme Court.
Trump has more than fulfilled Uncle Harry’s predictions. On the environment, Trump has taken the United States out of the Paris climate accord—it seems so long ago!—which he called a “disaster.” He scrapped Obama-era carbon emissions cuts, relaxed regulations for clean air, weakened protections for marine life and endangered species, opened public lands to mining and logging (including two national monuments, Utah’s Bears Ears and Grand Staircase–Escalante, designated by Barack Obama and Bill Clinton, respectively), and much more. At every step, Trump has shown contempt for nature, from the humble sage grouse, whose habitat is no longer protected from mining and drilling, to our rapidly heating planet.
Fortunately, some of Trump’s plans have been tied up in court, but that’s no guarantee. As Uncle Harry warned and the whole world knows, the courts have been Trumpified. Trump’s three Supreme Court appointments (Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh, and Amy Coney Barrett) are so far to the right that Chief Justice John Roberts is now a centrist. And in a court with six conservatives, Roberts’s vote may not be needed to inflict grave damage on women’s rights, workers’ rights, civil rights and civil liberties, LGBTQ rights, and of course, voting rights. Can it be that what we naively considered our way of life—that long arc of the moral universe that slowly bends toward justice—could be so easily bent back by simply anointing three young, energetic reactionaries? Gorsuch is a sprightly youth of 53, Kavanaugh is a 55-year-old beer aficionado, and Barrett is only 48. This trio will be dancing on the graves of many of you reading this, to say nothing of myself, assuming Barrett’s male-supremacist tongues-speaking Christian cult permits women to dance. That Ruth Bader Ginsburg, an architect of women’s legal equality, should be replaced by a Federalist Society fembot who thinks abortion is barbaric and wives should obey their husbands is surely no accident. As House Judiciary Committee Republicans tweeted when Barrett was confirmed, “Happy Birthday, @HillaryClinton!” Popular "swipe left below to view more authors"Swipe → The Evisceration of a Public University The Evisceration of a Public University Lisa M. Corrigan The Patronizing Moralism of David Brooks The Patronizing Moralism of David Brooks Chris Lehmann “The Blind Side” Was Always Trash “The Blind Side” Was Always Trash Dave Zirin How the “Brooks Brothers Riot” Set the Stage for Insurrection How the “Brooks Brothers Riot” Set the Stage for Insurrection Chris Lehmann Popular "swipe left below to view more authors"Swipe → The Evisceration of a Public University The Evisceration of a Public University Lisa M. Corrigan The Patronizing Moralism of David Brooks The Patronizing Moralism of David Brooks Chris Lehmann “The Blind Side” Was Always Trash “The Blind Side” Was Always Trash Dave Zirin How the “Brooks Brothers Riot” Set the Stage for Insurrection How the “Brooks Brothers Riot” Set the Stage for Insurrection Chris Lehmann
Uncle Harry didn’t mention the lower courts, but let’s not forget that Trump has nominated and the Senate has confirmed 218 federal judges to lifetime appointments; that’s a quarter of the federal judge total. A large majority of them are white men; fewer than 5 percent are African American. Of the nine nominees rated “not qualified” by the American Bar Association, seven were confirmed. Needless to say, they veer hard conservative. Regardless of who wins the White House, we will be living with their judgments for a long, long time. The hangover The Trauma of Trump’s Presidency Will Haunt Us Kali Holloway
There are surely many other doings of the Trump administration that can’t be put right. The trauma migrant children have suffered at the border will be with them for life, especially the 545 whose parents the government has admitted it can’t find and has thus effectively orphaned. In The Washington Post, Catherine Rampell has a long piece detailing the legal and bureaucratic measures by which Trump has halved legal immigration in ways that will be hard to roll back.
For me, though, the hardest thing to reverse is something more nebulous and disturbing: the way Trump has corrupted our understanding of truth and facts and simple human decency. He has turned the most ordinary commonsensical aspects of life into battlefronts in a ridiculous culture war—even wearing a mask to protect yourself from a potentially fatal disease. And no matter what Trump said or did, around four in 10 Americans stood right there with him. Nothing seemed to dent their support: not the boasts and bullying, not the disgusting insults against women, not the shout-outs to xenophobes and white supremacists and neofascists, not the crude belittling of anyone who disagreed with him, from journalists to Dr. Anthony Fauci. No matter what preposterous charges he throws out at his rallies (recently he claimed that doctors have inflated the number of Covid-19 deaths because they get more money if they attribute a death to the coronavirus), he manages to top them in short order. But his followers remain steadfast, even apparently unto death, according to a new Stanford University study linking his rallies to some 30,000 Covid cases and 700 deaths. They may not believe or like everything he says, but they don’t care; that’s just Donald being Donald, or as evangelicals have described him, King Cyrus being King Cyrus.
Trump has turned us into a nation of braying bullies and conspiracy theorists and mean people proud of their indifference to the suffering of others. Maybe that’s what too many Americans always were, but they kept it under wraps for fear of social disapproval. That’s what “locker room talk” means, after all: Boasting about pussy grabbing is fine; just don’t do it where women can hear you. Still, I can’t remember a time when batshit paranoid fantasies like QAnon could infect the minds of so many people, including a newly elected member of Congress. Or when far-right militiamen took guns to state capitols and planned to kidnap and murder a governor. Or when cars and trucks bearing the flags of one candidate tried to push the campaign bus of the other candidate off the road, as Trump’s minions recently did in Texas, only to be given a thumbs-up by the man in the White House. Maybe I’ve led a sheltered life.
Joe Biden and Kamala Harris have carried the day, but those four in 10 aren’t cheerfully bounding up to the net for a hearty handshake over a game well played. We may rid ourselves of Trump. But Trumpism? That will be with us for the rest of Uncle Harry’s life and mine and maybe yours as well.


thenation--2020-11-13--Tweaking the NFL’s Rooney Rule Is Not Enough

The Rooney Rule has always been a case study in the NFL “ telling on itself.
” In a league that is made up of roughly 75 percent Black Americans , this multibillion-dollar operation has needed to have a special rule just to get its almost entirely all-white franchise owners to interview candidates of color for head coaching positions .
( Shahid Khan of the Jacksonville Jaguars is the only majority NFL owner who is not white .
Given that the Jaguars are barely an NFL team , this almost doesn ’ t count . )
The Rooney Rule requires @ @ @ @ @ @ @ head coach positions in the league .
Without the Rooney Rule , eminently qualified coaches of color would not even get into the room .
Yet even with the Rooney Rule , we have not seen measurable progress .
It has led to more interviews , but they come across like an impatient billionaire checking a box on a to-do list , rather than a serious evaluation .
Currently there are only three full-time Black head coaches in the league : Pittsburgh ’ s Mike Tomlin , Miami ’ s Brian Flores , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Lynn , with Romeo Crennel of the Houston Texans currently playing that role in an interim capacity .
Ron Rivera , who is of Mexican and Puerto Rican descent , coaches the Washington Football Team .
These are similar to the numbers when the Rooney Rule was first initiated two decades ago .
( There are only two Black general managers , further compounding the problem . )
Despite a crew of topflight assistants , Black head coaches don ’ t get the opportunities at the big job , and it ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ still reckoning with how to look more “ woke ” in the aftermath of the summer ’ s protests following the police murder of George Floyd .
Yet while the league ’ s commissioner , Roger Goodell , has issued a flurry of statements about the NFL ’ s commitment to “ fighting racism ” ( whatever that means ) , and even stated his regrets about the way it handled exiled quarterback Colin Kaepernick , we have not seen change where it matters .
Slogans written on a field are thin gruel @ @ @ @ @ @ @ color .
Who Will Be the Marcus Rashford of the USA ?
Athletes Are No Substitute for a Functioning Government Instead , we have a chronic system of nepotism that rewards the sons of established coaches at the expense not only of qualified candidates but also of teams winning games .
How else to explain the firing of Jim Caldwell of the Detroit Lions because of management impatience over a 9-7 record , when his replacement , Matt Patricia , gets years to prove his ineptitude , with the mere thought of going @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to explain why Eric Bieniemy , the offensive coordinator for the high-powered Kansas City Chiefs , is still toiling as an assistant ?
It ’ s an embarrassment .
The latest effort to confront this is a new proposal approved by the franchise owners during the past week .
In this tinkering with the Rooney Rule , teams would be compensated with draft picks if a “ minority ” assistant coach is hired by another team .
Teams could receive two third-round draft picks , should they lose one of these assistant hires @ @ @ @ @ @ @ finally be the step that encourages the building of a pipeline of assistants and potential head coaching hires .
In a statement to reporters , NFL Commissioner Goodell said , I think that ’ s how we ’ ve made progress over the past several years .
It ’ s continually keeping a focus on this , adapting , looking to see what areas we can improve on , and that constant evolution of improvement , to try to make sure we ’ re doing everything appropriate to give minorities an opportunity to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the coaching ranks in general , in personnel and other football areas , to well beyond that .
To the people at the league office here , to club levels , this is an important initiative of the NFL .
The problem is that there already are qualified assistants who aren ’ t getting hired , so why would this new incentivized scenario necessarily change anything ?
It ’ s far more likely that it will result in more assistant coaches of color—a positive—but no real change in terms of who gets the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ are still looking at this like they have a hiring problem or a personnel problem , when the reality is that they have a racism problem .
That is not going to end with changes to the rules .
It will end when players are more vocal about the absence of opportunities available to them upon retirement .
It will end when fans rebel against inferior white coaches that keep their teams consigned to mediocrity .
It will end—hopefully—with this generation of owners who see whiteness as an unspoken part of what makes @ @ @ @ @ @ @ words , struggle will end the racist hiring practices , not new rules written by the same people who will inevitably flout them .

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The Rooney Rule has always been a case study in the NFL “telling on itself.” In a league that is made up of roughly 75 percent Black Americans, this multibillion-dollar operation has needed to have a special rule just to get its almost entirely all-white franchise owners to interview candidates of color for head coaching positions. (Shahid Khan of the Jacksonville Jaguars is the only majority NFL owner who is not white. Given that the Jaguars are barely an NFL team, this almost doesn’t count.)
The Rooney Rule requires NFL teams to interview nonwhite candidates for head coach positions in the league. Without the Rooney Rule, eminently qualified coaches of color would not even get into the room. Yet even with the Rooney Rule, we have not seen measurable progress. It has led to more interviews, but they come across like an impatient billionaire checking a box on a to-do list, rather than a serious evaluation.
Currently there are only three full-time Black head coaches in the league: Pittsburgh’s Mike Tomlin, Miami’s Brian Flores, and the Los Angeles Chargers’ Anthony Lynn, with Romeo Crennel of the Houston Texans currently playing that role in an interim capacity. Ron Rivera, who is of Mexican and Puerto Rican descent, coaches the Washington Football Team. These are similar to the numbers when the Rooney Rule was first initiated two decades ago. (There are only two Black general managers, further compounding the problem.) Despite a crew of topflight assistants, Black head coaches don’t get the opportunities at the big job, and it’s a stain on a league that is still reckoning with how to look more “woke” in the aftermath of the summer’s protests following the police murder of George Floyd.
Yet while the league’s commissioner, Roger Goodell, has issued a flurry of statements about the NFL’s commitment to “fighting racism” (whatever that means), and even stated his regrets about the way it handled exiled quarterback Colin Kaepernick, we have not seen change where it matters. Slogans written on a field are thin gruel compared to actually hiring qualified people of color. More From Dave Zirin “The Blind Side” Was Always Trash August 15, 2023 Why the Right Wanted the USWNT to Lose August 10, 2023 Carli Lloyd’s Attacks on the USWNT Are Personal—and Political August 1, 2023
Instead, we have a chronic system of nepotism that rewards the sons of established coaches at the expense not only of qualified candidates but also of teams winning games. How else to explain the firing of Jim Caldwell of the Detroit Lions because of management impatience over a 9-7 record, when his replacement, Matt Patricia, gets years to prove his ineptitude, with the mere thought of going 9-7 a pipe dream? How else to explain why Eric Bieniemy, the offensive coordinator for the high-powered Kansas City Chiefs, is still toiling as an assistant? It’s an embarrassment.
The latest effort to confront this is a new proposal approved by the franchise owners during the past week. In this tinkering with the Rooney Rule, teams would be compensated with draft picks if a “minority” assistant coach is hired by another team. Teams could receive two third-round draft picks, should they lose one of these assistant hires. The owners think that this could finally be the step that encourages the building of a pipeline of assistants and potential head coaching hires.
In a statement to reporters, NFL Commissioner Goodell said,
I think that’s how we’ve made progress over the past several years. It’s continually keeping a focus on this, adapting, looking to see what areas we can improve on, and that constant evolution of improvement, to try to make sure we’re doing everything appropriate to give minorities an opportunity to advance in the head coaching ranks or the coaching ranks in general, in personnel and other football areas, to well beyond that. To the people at the league office here, to club levels, this is an important initiative of the NFL. Current Issue View our current issue
The problem is that there already are qualified assistants who aren’t getting hired, so why would this new incentivized scenario necessarily change anything? It’s far more likely that it will result in more assistant coaches of color—a positive—but no real change in terms of who gets the top jobs. The NFL and Goodell are still looking at this like they have a hiring problem or a personnel problem, when the reality is that they have a racism problem. That is not going to end with changes to the rules. It will end when players are more vocal about the absence of opportunities available to them upon retirement. It will end when fans rebel against inferior white coaches that keep their teams consigned to mediocrity. It will end—hopefully—with this generation of owners who see whiteness as an unspoken part of what makes a successful head coach.
In other words, struggle will end the racist hiring practices, not new rules written by the same people who will inevitably flout them.


thenation--2020-11-13--Trump’s Final Dereliction of Duty

Trump’s Final Dereliction of Duty

Many liberals are afraid Donald Trump is planning a coup .
The reality is much stranger .
Trump is daydreaming about a coup .
All the bizarre machinations since Election Day , the repeated airing of conspiracy theories about vote rigging , and the spate of poorly supported lawsuits spring not from a mastermind plotting to destroy democracy but rather a delusional and self-obsessed man who can not come to grips with the reality of rejection .
As The New York Times reports , Trump , while conversing with his advisers , has been “ floating one improbable scenario after @ @ @ @ @ @ @ contemplates his uncertain post-presidency future.
” The newspaper described one such flight of fancy that occurred on Wednesday as Trump asked advisers “ whether Republican legislatures could pick pro-Trump electors in a handful of key states and deliver him the electoral votes he needs to change the math and give him a second term.
” The report adds , “ It was not a detailed conversation , or really a serious one , the people briefed on it said .
Nor was it reflective of any obsessive desire of Mr. Trump ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ It would be terrifying if Trump had the competence , energy , and drive to push for a coup .
It ’ s somewhat less scary but still disturbing that he is half-heartedly wishing for a coup .
It suggests that the twilight days of Trump ’ s presidency will be characterized by a chief executive who is almost entirely disengaged from reality .
Trump ’ s presidency has always had a performative aspect to it .
He ’ s played being president more than he has been president .
Still , before @ @ @ @ @ @ @ an effort to show interest in events , to give speeches , and to occasionally even sign a useful piece of legislation , as he did with the CARES Act , offering more than $ 2 trillion in stimulus spending in March .
Not a Coup but a Cover-Up and a Con Game The Trump who is shell-shocked by the election is no longer able to even fake an interest in issues like Covid-19 or the continued need for economic stimulus .
As Ronald Brownstein , a senior editor at The Atlantic , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
He has abandoned his post at a moment when the nation is under fire to nurse grievances & spin fantasies .
And no Congressional Republican will call him out for a self-absorbed dereliction of duty that threatens massive death & suffering.
” Trump ’ s unwillingness to acknowledge defeat and start the process of transition to the next presidency is perhaps the chief proof of this retreat into fantasy .
As he disengages from the real world , Trump is leaving a bigger and bigger mess for his successor .
The Washington @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s recent non-responsiveness to events that confirms this indictment of an AWOL president : On Thursday , six American service members were killed in a helicopter crash during a peacekeeping mission in Egypt .
Tropical Storm Eta made landfall in North Florida , contributing to severe flooding .
The number of Americans infected with the novel coronavirus continued at a record-setting pace , sending the stock market tumbling .
At the White House , President Trump spent the day as he has most others this week—sequestered from public view , tweeting grievances , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and about Fox News ’ s coverage of him .
Neither he nor his aides briefed reporters on the news of the day or reacted to Democratic leaders who accused Republicans of imperiling the pandemic response by “ refusing to accept reality ” over the election results .
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has been pushing the White House on the need for another stimulus .
But Trump will almost certainly do nothing in the waning days of his presidency .
Trump ’ s disengagement from reality comes at the very moment when the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ cresting .
According to the Covid Tracking Project , “ One in 378 US residents tested positive for COVID-19 this week , and hospitalizations have nearly doubled in the past two weeks .
The United States is posting new records for cases and hospitalizations nearly every day , and healthcare systems are reaching capacity in many areas where cases have spiked.
” New Covid cases have exceeded 150,000 per day .
Trump is going to be president until January 20 , 2021 .
He ’ s likely to continue with his current delusional @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a do-nothing president or a lame-duck president but something worse : a wounded president intent on taking everyone down with him .
He ’ ll continue firing senior appointees and trying to seed the government with ultra-loyalists .
He ’ ll persist in spreading conspiracy theories about the election .
Joe Biden will inherit a mess : a country where Covid-19 is raging out of control and the economy continues to splutter .
Even the revival of economic activity that began during the fall might end , and a new and more severe @ @ @ @ @ @ @ he takes office , Biden would be well-advised to draw as quick a contrast between himself and Trump as possible .
The model to emulate is Franklin Roosevelt , who did everything in his early days as president to distinguish himself from his predecessor .
Of course , Biden might not have , as Roosevelt did , control of Congress .
If the Democrats don ’ t win the two outstanding Senate races in Georgia , Biden will have to work with a Republican Senate .
Still , even without a Democratic Senate @ @ @ @ @ @ @ can do as an activist president .
He can lean on the Federal Reserve to continue with an easy-money policy as a response to the recession .
He will be able to fill out the civil service ravaged by Trump .
Biden ’ s Covid-19 task force can push for much more activist policies than Trump was willing to contemplate .
Biden will be able to use executive orders on a host of issues .
Given the economic conditions , an executive order ending federally held debt by college students could easily be @ @ @ @ @ @ @ right .
Biden will have to be creative .
But if he is energetic , he ’ ll benefit simply by the stark difference with Trump .
After the spectacle of a president who ignored the pandemic as it got worse , a president who throws himself into the thick of a problem will itself come as a great relief .

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Many liberals are afraid Donald Trump is planning a coup. The reality is much stranger. Trump is daydreaming about a coup. All the bizarre machinations since Election Day, the repeated airing of conspiracy theories about vote rigging, and the spate of poorly supported lawsuits spring not from a mastermind plotting to destroy democracy but rather a delusional and self-obsessed man who cannot come to grips with the reality of rejection. As The New York Times reports, Trump, while conversing with his advisers, has been “floating one improbable scenario after another for staying in office while he contemplates his uncertain post-presidency future.”
The newspaper described one such flight of fancy that occurred on Wednesday as Trump asked advisers “whether Republican legislatures could pick pro-Trump electors in a handful of key states and deliver him the electoral votes he needs to change the math and give him a second term.” The report adds, “It was not a detailed conversation, or really a serious one, the people briefed on it said. Nor was it reflective of any obsessive desire of Mr. Trump’s to remain in the White House.”
It would be terrifying if Trump had the competence, energy, and drive to push for a coup. It’s somewhat less scary but still disturbing that he is half-heartedly wishing for a coup. It suggests that the twilight days of Trump’s presidency will be characterized by a chief executive who is almost entirely disengaged from reality.
Trump’s presidency has always had a performative aspect to it. He’s played being president more than he has been president. Still, before losing the election, he would make an effort to show interest in events, to give speeches, and to occasionally even sign a useful piece of legislation, as he did with the CARES Act, offering more than $2 trillion in stimulus spending in March. More From Jeet Heer The Indigenous Roots of Robbie Robertson’s Rock and Roll Revolution August 14, 2023 Why Does This Racist Keep Getting Silicon Valley Money? August 11, 2023 When Phallocrats Go Limp August 4, 2023
The Trump who is shell-shocked by the election is no longer able to even fake an interest in issues like Covid-19 or the continued need for economic stimulus. As Ronald Brownstein, a senior editor at The Atlantic, notes, “The president is AWOL. He has abandoned his post at a moment when the nation is under fire to nurse grievances & spin fantasies. And no Congressional Republican will call him out for a self-absorbed dereliction of duty that threatens massive death & suffering.”
Trump’s unwillingness to acknowledge defeat and start the process of transition to the next presidency is perhaps the chief proof of this retreat into fantasy. As he disengages from the real world, Trump is leaving a bigger and bigger mess for his successor.
The Washington Post offers a report on Trump’s recent non-responsiveness to events that confirms this indictment of an AWOL president: Current Issue View our current issue
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has been pushing the White House on the need for another stimulus. But Trump will almost certainly do nothing in the waning days of his presidency.
Trump’s disengagement from reality comes at the very moment when the second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic is cresting. According to the Covid Tracking Project, “One in 378 US residents tested positive for COVID-19 this week, and hospitalizations have nearly doubled in the past two weeks. The United States is posting new records for cases and hospitalizations nearly every day, and healthcare systems are reaching capacity in many areas where cases have spiked.” New Covid cases have exceeded 150,000 per day.
Trump is going to be president until January 20, 2021. He’s likely to continue with his current delusional behavior. He won’t be a do-nothing president or a lame-duck president but something worse: a wounded president intent on taking everyone down with him. He’ll continue firing senior appointees and trying to seed the government with ultra-loyalists. He’ll persist in spreading conspiracy theories about the election.
Joe Biden will inherit a mess: a country where Covid-19 is raging out of control and the economy continues to splutter. Even the revival of economic activity that began during the fall might end, and a new and more severe recession could start.
As soon as he takes office, Biden would be well-advised to draw as quick a contrast between himself and Trump as possible. The model to emulate is Franklin Roosevelt, who did everything in his early days as president to distinguish himself from his predecessor. Of course, Biden might not have, as Roosevelt did, control of Congress. If the Democrats don’t win the two outstanding Senate races in Georgia, Biden will have to work with a Republican Senate.
Still, even without a Democratic Senate, there’s much that Biden can do as an activist president. He can lean on the Federal Reserve to continue with an easy-money policy as a response to the recession. He will be able to fill out the civil service ravaged by Trump.
Biden’s Covid-19 task force can push for much more activist policies than Trump was willing to contemplate. Biden will be able to use executive orders on a host of issues. Given the economic conditions, an executive order ending federally held debt by college students could easily be promoted as a stimulus in its own right.
Biden will have to be creative. But if he is energetic, he’ll benefit simply by the stark difference with Trump. After the spectacle of a president who ignored the pandemic as it got worse, a president who throws himself into the thick of a problem will itself come as a great relief.


thenation--2020-11-12--A Plea From Federal Death Row: ‘We Need You to Raise Your Voices’

None of us is promised another day , hour , or even minute .
Here on federal death row , that reality bears down on us harshly .
But Christopher Vialva ’ s execution on September 24 weighs especially heavy on me .
Chris was the seventh prisoner on federal death row whom the administration executed in the last three months , after a 17-year lapse in federal executions .
There are vast differences in my situation and Chris ’ s : I am fighting to prove my innocence , whereas Chris , in the end , told people his @ @ @ @ @ @ @ this video : “ I ’ m not making this plea as an innocent man , but I am a changed and redeemed man.
” Despite those differences , from the moment we met , I saw in Chris something I recognized in myself .
Like Chris , I had been arrested at the age of 19 and sentenced to death at the age of 20 .
At the time of his conviction , Chris was still trying to figure out where he belonged , what he could do , and who he @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for a re-trial for Billie Allen was recently signed by authors , activists , athletes and academics , including Danny Glover , Dave Eggers , Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor , Wallace Shawn , Marc Lamont Hill , Yusef Salaam ( from the Exonerated 5 ) , and Michael Bennett .
For more information : www.FreeBillieAllen.com '' I had struggled similarly upon my arrival on death row only a few years prior .
I had been taken from my family for something that I didn ’ t do ; I harbored a lot of anger and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ cautioned me not to allow myself to turn into “ the worst of the worst ” —who society thought I was .
He urged me to use every opportunity to do better , to be better .
I taught myself law , worked on my writing skills and , with my family ’ s support , grew into a responsible man , all the while struggling to prove my innocence , battling depression , and later cancer .
I tried to take every opportunity to become a better version of myself than the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ through those doors .
I saw the way Chris asked questions and gravitated towards the guys who were a little older than he was , who had been in his shoes and who had gained some wisdom .
I saw someone who was looking for a better way—a reason to be better .
One day , we were with a group of guys on the range , laughing and joking .
The laughter came at the expense of other prisoners .
I didn ’ t want to be part of that , and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ well .
I took him aside .
“ Some people need people to laugh at , because it helps them to do their time .
But we have to look at what we do and say , and ask ourselves if we can and should do better.
” Whenever that dynamic repeated itself , Chris would just step back and reflect .
A lot of guys in here see asking for help as a sign of weakness .
That wasn ’ t Chris .
Chris asked me to explain many aspects of the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ books about all walks of life .
Chris seemed to soak up knowledge and information , and used it to better himself .
He taught himself Arabic , Hebrew , and how to play guitar .
He practiced his new skills until they became second nature .
And as Chris began to grow , I saw the joy it gave him to help others grow as well , and the reciprocal relationships he developed .
He shared books with me and the other guys .
He taught me Arabic , and I helped @ @ @ @ @ @ @ communicate with French pen pals .
I helped him with his sketching , and he taught me his own unique style of drawing .
Chris helped both older and younger guys—anyone and everyone he could .
He made us want to be better .
I was already pushing myself , but the example Chris set made me want to work even harder .
We held each other accountable by pointing out mistakes the other one was making .
It was always about taking more steps forward than we took steps back .
In @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , he said , “ I committed a great wrong when I was a lost kid and took two precious lives from this world… .
every day I wish I could right this wrong.
” Though Chris and I never spoke about the details of our cases , this desire he expressed to right his wrongs was so clear in his actions—clearer than any words could have been .
Chris was eventually able to see himself , not how the jury who convicted him to death saw him , but as his higher @ @ @ @ @ @ @ grown into .
The unit changed and as time passed , Chris and I only saw each other in passing .
We spoke when we could , but it was infrequent , especially these last few years with my illness .
Each time I returned from the hospital , though , I received a message from Chris , asking me how I was doing and letting me know that he was praying for me .
I saw Chris briefly the day before they took him .
I was in the law library with @ @ @ @ @ @ @ innocence as I am .
Chris told us that he loved us .
We said that we loved him too .
In a place like this , where trust and friendship is hard to find , we didn ’ t need a lot of words .
We know each other .
We ’ ve demonstrated that we have one another ’ s back .
And now , Chris is gone .
Another close friend—Orlando Hall—is scheduled to be killed on November 19 , despite the fact that Orlando was never indicted by a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ And then , a few weeks back , as I was typing an appeal for my own case , the rattling of keys , chains , and a lot of movement let me know they were here .
They had just taken another friend , Chris ’ s codefendant , Brandon Bernard , as well as Lisa Montgomery to the death-watch range .
And despite DNA , other forensic evidence and an alibi that support my innocence claims , I could be next .
Each morning I wake up with a growing pit @ @ @ @ @ @ @ will be the day they call my name , and I think about Chris .
Doesn ’ t the transformation he underwent count ?
Does who we become matter in the eyes of the world ?
Does innocence ?
I believe innocence does matter , and that redemption is always possible—and I have to hold onto hope that others in our country believe it does as well .
It may be too late for Chris , but it ’ s not yet too late for Orlando , for Lisa , Brandon , for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for me .
We need parents , teachers , students , workers , lawyers , nurses , clergy , everybody and we need you urgently .
We need you to raise your voices against the death penalty—whether implemented by states or the federal government—before we lose another Chris .
Before they come for me .

This article appears in the December 14/21, 2020 issue.
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None of us is promised another day, hour, or even minute. Here on federal death row, that reality bears down on us harshly. But Christopher Vialva’s execution on September 24 weighs especially heavy on me.
Chris was the seventh prisoner on federal death row whom the administration executed since July, after a 17-year lapse in federal executions.
There are vast differences in my situation and Chris’s: I am fighting to prove my innocence, whereas Chris, in the end, told people his story in his own words, in this video: “I’m not making this plea as an innocent man, but I am a changed and redeemed man.”
Despite those differences, from the moment we met, I saw in Chris something I recognized in myself. Like Chris, I had been arrested at the age of 19 and sentenced to death at the age of 20. At the time of his conviction, Chris was still trying to figure out where he belonged, what he could do, and who he could be. An open letter calling for a re-trial for Billie Allen was recently signed by authors, activists, athletes and academics, including Danny Glover, Dave Eggers, Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor, Wallace Shawn, Marc Lamont Hill, Yusef Salaam (from the Exonerated 5), and Michael Bennett. For more information: www.FreeBillieAllen.com"
I had struggled similarly upon my arrival on death row only a few years prior. I had been taken from my family for something that I didn’t do; I harbored a lot of anger and resentment. One of the older guys cautioned me not to allow myself to turn into “the worst of the worst”—who society thought I was. He urged me to use every opportunity to do better, to be better. I taught myself law, worked on my writing skills and, with my family’s support, grew into a responsible man, all the while struggling to prove my innocence, battling depression, and later cancer. I tried to take every opportunity to become a better version of myself than the young, frustrated man who first walked through those doors.
I saw the way Chris asked questions and gravitated towards the guys who were a little older than he was, who had been in his shoes and who had gained some wisdom. I saw someone who was looking for a better way—a reason to be better.
One day, we were with a group of guys on the range, laughing and joking. The laughter came at the expense of other prisoners. I didn’t want to be part of that, and I could tell Chris felt uncomfortable as well. I took him aside. “Some people need people to laugh at, because it helps them to do their time. But we have to look at what we do and say, and ask ourselves if we can and should do better.” Whenever that dynamic repeated itself, Chris would just step back and reflect.
A lot of guys in here see asking for help as a sign of weakness. That wasn’t Chris. Chris asked me to explain many aspects of the law. He asked to borrow my books about all walks of life. Chris seemed to soak up knowledge and information, and used it to better himself. He taught himself Arabic, Hebrew, and how to play guitar. He practiced his new skills until they became second nature. And as Chris began to grow, I saw the joy it gave him to help others grow as well, and the reciprocal relationships he developed. He shared books with me and the other guys. He taught me Arabic, and I helped him learn French, so he could communicate with French pen pals. I helped him with his sketching, and he taught me his own unique style of drawing. Popular "swipe left below to view more authors"Swipe → The Evisceration of a Public University The Evisceration of a Public University Lisa M. Corrigan The Patronizing Moralism of David Brooks The Patronizing Moralism of David Brooks Chris Lehmann “The Blind Side” Was Always Trash “The Blind Side” Was Always Trash Dave Zirin How the “Brooks Brothers Riot” Set the Stage for Insurrection How the “Brooks Brothers Riot” Set the Stage for Insurrection Chris Lehmann Popular "swipe left below to view more authors"Swipe → The Evisceration of a Public University The Evisceration of a Public University Lisa M. Corrigan The Patronizing Moralism of David Brooks The Patronizing Moralism of David Brooks Chris Lehmann “The Blind Side” Was Always Trash “The Blind Side” Was Always Trash Dave Zirin How the “Brooks Brothers Riot” Set the Stage for Insurrection How the “Brooks Brothers Riot” Set the Stage for Insurrection Chris Lehmann
Chris helped both older and younger guys—anyone and everyone he could. He made us want to be better. I was already pushing myself, but the example Chris set made me want to work even harder. We held each other accountable by pointing out mistakes the other one was making. It was always about taking more steps forward than we took steps back. Current Issue View our current issue
In the video Chris made before his execution, he said, “I committed a great wrong when I was a lost kid and took two precious lives from this world…. every day I wish I could right this wrong.” Though Chris and I never spoke about the details of our cases, this desire he expressed to right his wrongs was so clear in his actions—clearer than any words could have been. Chris was eventually able to see himself, not how the jury who convicted him to death saw him, but as his higher self. The true self he had grown into.
The unit changed and as time passed, Chris and I only saw each other in passing. We spoke when we could, but it was infrequent, especially these last few years with my illness. Each time I returned from the hospital, though, I received a message from Chris, asking me how I was doing and letting me know that he was praying for me.
I saw Chris briefly the day before they took him. I was in the law library with Dustin Higgs—who is fighting to prove his innocence as I am. Chris told us that he loved us. We said that we loved him too. In a place like this, where trust and friendship is hard to find, we didn’t need a lot of words. We know each other. We’ve demonstrated that we have one another’s back.
And now, Chris is gone. Another close friend—Orlando Hall—is scheduled to be killed on November 19, despite the fact that Orlando was never indicted by a grand jury for a capital offense. And then, a few weeks back, as I was typing an appeal for my own case, the rattling of keys, chains, and a lot of movement let me know they were here. They had just taken another friend, Chris’s codefendant, Brandon Bernard, as well as Lisa Montgomery to the death-watch range. And despite DNA, other forensic evidence and an alibi that support my innocence claims, I could be next.
“America,” a painting by Billie Allen. (Billie Allen)
Each morning I wake up with a growing pit in my stomach, wondering if today will be the day they call my name, and I think about Chris. Doesn’t the transformation he underwent count? Does who we become matter in the eyes of the world? Does innocence?
I believe innocence does matter, and that redemption is always possible—and I have to hold onto hope that others in our country believe it does as well. It may be too late for Chris, but it’s not yet too late for Orlando, for Lisa, Brandon, for the other guys on the row, for me. We need parents, teachers, students, workers, lawyers, nurses, clergy, everybody and we need you urgently. We need you to raise your voices against the death penalty—whether implemented by states or the federal government—before we lose another Chris. Before they come for me.


thenation--2020-11-14--Trump’s Response to Losing the Vote

Trump’s Response to Losing the Vote

Tradition in America relates That losing presidential candidates Speak graciously , in phrases meant to heal And serve to benefit @ @ @ @ @ of Trump ’ s will scholars be enshrining ?
Just lies , more lies , @ @ @ @

This article appears in the November 30/December 7, 2020 issue.
Tradition in America relates
That losing presidential candidates
Speak graciously, in phrases meant to heal
And serve to benefit our commonweal.
And what of Trump’s will scholars be enshrining?
Just lies, more lies, accompanied by whining.


thenation--2020-11-14--The Politics of Joy

The Politics of Joy

The news , when it finally arrived , didn ’ t come via cable , or network television , or even via Twitter .
It came up from the streets .
Last Saturday morning , I was taking a break from endlessly refreshing the New York Times home page—where the gap between Joe Biden ’ s electoral vote count and the 270 needed to secure the presidency was starting to seem like an abyss—making some coffee in my Brooklyn kitchen , when a wave of cheers and honking car horns drew me to the window .
Three floors down I @ @ @ @ @ @ @ one another while an elderly woman waved her arms above her head .
After checking my phone to confirm what just happened—CNN had declared Biden the winner at 11:40 am—I opened my window , got out an old saucepan and wooden spoon , and joined the cacerolazo .
My own vote for Biden-Harris had felt like a duty , not a pleasure—a far cry from the vote for Sanders I ’ d cast in the primary .
But the release of that moment was powerful .
As I put on my Count Every @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Stands Up ! )
and walked along the half-mile-long impromptu victory parade on Atlantic Avenue , I sensed that what I was seeing was not just a celebration but also a kind of coming-out party for the other America , the one that had spent much of the past four years crouching in fear .
I saw two women wearing hijabs lift their children up onto a mailbox so they could join in the dancing .
An African American fireman looked at the message on my hoodie and gave me a big smile @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in line outside of Sahadi ’ s grocery were clapping along with the beat from passing cars , as the soundtrack shifted from hip-hop to Springsteen to Ray Charles .
A young man in checked chef pants kept running in and out of a restaurant kitchen , waving and dancing for a minute and then dashing back inside .
For the day , at least , the endless war between gentrifiers and gentrified seemed to have paused for a truce .
Later that afternoon , the scene in Central Park was even more @ @ @ @ @ @ @ from Strawberry Fields , a young woman was accompanying herself on guitar .
At the Bethesda Fountain ( named , as Angels in America reminds us , after a fountain in Jerusalem that healed the sick ) , I saw couples—in many colors and gender configurations—literally dancing for joy .
It was as if that other America , the America that has spent the past four years on a psychic pendulum between fear and rage , all too aware of its own powerlessness , had come out from hiding .
Co-conspirators for a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ determined to celebrate .
The moment passed , as such moments always do .
But before we all lose ourselves in poring over the composition of Biden ’ s transition team , or struggling—not always successfully—to avoid getting sucked into the social media mirror maze over how Trump , having now clearly failed to steal the election , might still stage a coup to remain in power , I want to hold onto the profoundly political emotions of that morning and name them : joy , relief , compassion , solidarity .
Liberation @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Hold fast to dreams , ” urged Langston Hughes .
The same Hughes who also asked , “ What happens to a dream deferred ?
” and suggested the answer just might be an explosion .
An election is not a revolution .
And this election was a far cry from the “ political revolution ” some of us once dreamed of .
In a country as polarized as ours , in a society as profoundly unequal as ours , there are good reasons to remain wary .
Joy can ’ t be @ @ @ @ @ @ @ So much—nearly everything , except defeating Donald Trump—remains to be done .
As we ’ re already beginning to find out , some dreams—as simple as justice , as expansive as equality , and long , long overdue—will be deferred yet again .
Privilege will have its privileges if we allow the intoxication of the moment to blind us to the hard task of demanding justice .
“ You campaign in poetry ; you govern in prose , ” Mario Cuomo famously observed .
How much , then , can we expect from @ @ @ @ @ @ @ although occasionally given to quoting Seamus Heaney , often struggled even to campaign in coherent prose ?
Democrats Must Keep Their Eyes on the Supreme Court And yet , once experienced , that sense of release can ’ t be unremembered .
That fragile , improbable , and necessarily temporary coalition—stretching from Angela Davis and Noam Chomsky to Chuck Schumer—may have been built by submerging differences that can ’ t long be denied .
But it got the job done , and that simple fact is worth remembering too .
Trump can huff @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a mistake to forget how dangerous a wounded soon-to-be-ex-president can be .
The joy we felt in coming out and coming together last Saturday , the sense of agency and solidarity suddenly uncorked , won ’ t easily go back in the bottle .
If we hold on to it , the memory of that joy can be a source of power , not just against Trump ’ s increasingly desperate machinations , but against all the squalid compromises and accommodations with evil that so often pass for political sophistication .
Because now @ @ @ @ @ @ @ look like but also what it could feel like , and what it could sound like ( a party ! )
.
It should feel like dancing in the streets .
Let ’ s remember the power of that day—our power .
Let ’ s hold fast to dreams .

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The news, when it finally arrived, didn’t come via cable, or network television, or even via Twitter. It came up from the streets. Last Saturday morning, I was taking a break from endlessly refreshing the New York Times home page—where the gap between Joe Biden’s electoral vote count and the 270 needed to secure the presidency was starting to seem like an abyss—making some coffee in my Brooklyn kitchen, when a wave of cheers and honking car horns drew me to the window. Three floors down I could see young people in masks hugging one another while an elderly woman waved her arms above her head. After checking my phone to confirm what just happened—CNN had declared Biden the winner at 11:40 am—I opened my window, got out an old saucepan and wooden spoon, and joined the cacerolazo. My own vote for Biden-Harris had felt like a duty, not a pleasure—a far cry from the vote for Sanders I’d cast in the primary. But the release of that moment was powerful. Related Article Trump’s Final Dereliction of Duty Jeet Heer
As I put on my Count Every Vote hoodie (thank you, PA Stands Up!) and walked along the half-mile-long impromptu victory parade on Atlantic Avenue, I sensed that what I was seeing was not just a celebration but also a kind of coming-out party for the other America, the one that had spent much of the past four years crouching in fear. I saw two women wearing hijabs lift their children up onto a mailbox so they could join in the dancing. An African American fireman looked at the message on my hoodie and gave me a big smile and a thumbs-up. The crowd waiting in line outside of Sahadi’s grocery were clapping along with the beat from passing cars, as the soundtrack shifted from hip-hop to Springsteen to Ray Charles. A young man in checked chef pants kept running in and out of a restaurant kitchen, waving and dancing for a minute and then dashing back inside. For the day, at least, the endless war between gentrifiers and gentrified seemed to have paused for a truce.
Later that afternoon, the scene in Central Park was even more jubilant. Sitting on the bench across from Strawberry Fields, a young woman was accompanying herself on guitar. At the Bethesda Fountain (named, as Angels in America reminds us, after a fountain in Jerusalem that healed the sick), I saw couples—in many colors and gender configurations—literally dancing for joy. It was as if that other America, the America that has spent the past four years on a psychic pendulum between fear and rage, all too aware of its own powerlessness, had come out from hiding. Co-conspirators for a day, when even the weather seemed determined to celebrate.
The moment passed, as such moments always do. But before we all lose ourselves in poring over the composition of Biden’s transition team, or struggling—not always successfully—to avoid getting sucked into the social media mirror maze over how Trump, having now clearly failed to steal the election, might still stage a coup to remain in power, I want to hold onto the profoundly political emotions of that morning and name them: joy, relief, compassion, solidarity. Liberation. We had been released.
“Hold fast to dreams,” urged Langston Hughes. The same Hughes who also asked, “What happens to a dream deferred?” and suggested the answer just might be an explosion.
An election is not a revolution. And this election was a far cry from the “political revolution” some of us once dreamed of. In a country as polarized as ours, in a society as profoundly unequal as ours, there are good reasons to remain wary. Joy can’t be compelled, and or sustained artificially. So much—nearly everything, except defeating Donald Trump—remains to be done.
As we’re already beginning to find out, some dreams—as simple as justice, as expansive as equality, and long, long overdue—will be deferred yet again. Privilege will have its privileges if we allow the intoxication of the moment to blind us to the hard task of demanding justice. “You campaign in poetry; you govern in prose,” Mario Cuomo famously observed. How much, then, can we expect from Joe Biden, a candidate who, although occasionally given to quoting Seamus Heaney, often struggled even to campaign in coherent prose? Related Article The Promise of Justice in Fani Willis’s Indictment Joan Walsh
And yet, once experienced, that sense of release can’t be unremembered. That fragile, improbable, and necessarily temporary coalition—stretching from Angela Davis and Noam Chomsky to Chuck Schumer—may have been built by submerging differences that can’t long be denied. But it got the job done, and that simple fact is worth remembering too.
Trump can huff and puff, and it would be a mistake to forget how dangerous a wounded soon-to-be-ex-president can be. The joy we felt in coming out and coming together last Saturday, the sense of agency and solidarity suddenly uncorked, won’t easily go back in the bottle. If we hold on to it, the memory of that joy can be a source of power, not just against Trump’s increasingly desperate machinations, but against all the squalid compromises and accommodations with evil that so often pass for political sophistication. Because now we know not just what democracy could look like but also what it could feel like, and what it could sound like (a party!). It should feel like dancing in the streets. Let’s remember the power of that day—our power. Let’s hold fast to dreams.