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Articles by Ted Ralljust now
Supreme Court to Progressives: Wake Up
The Supreme Court just sent us a wake-up call. Pro-reality Americans, i.e. the 40% of voters to the left of the Democratic Party, should be grateful. A freedom essential to half the population never should have hinged upon a flimsy and poorly-reasoned legal opinion. Congress should have followed the example of other countries where abortion is legal, and passed a federal law decades ago. Instead, neither party acted on behalf of women.
Should Transgender, Cis People Compete in Sports?
A new Washington Post poll about Americans’ views of transgender athletes offers a lot to think about. I found the margins more interesting than the headline. Like, who are these 2% of people who think that transgender girls are at a physical disadvantage when they compete against cis girls in youth sports? Why would they think that? Another takeaway is that 16% of respondents have a close friend or family member who is transgender.
Democrats Can Win if Biden-Harris Say They Won’t Run
For the foreseeable future, the Democratic Party is in trouble. In today’s essay I will describe just how bleak the situation is – spoiler alert, very — and how I would advise party leaders to respond if they asked my advice. First, they’re probable going to lose big in the upcoming midterms. Prediction is fraught, things change, you never know, blah blah blah. Polls are mixed. That said, Republicans will almost certainly take back the House of Representatives and probably the Senate as well.
Did LA Mayoral Candidate Kevin de León Snub Black Immigrants?
For years I have talked about the exclusion of Black immigrants and migrants in the immigrant rights movement. For far too long, immigrants and migrants — especially in Los Angeles — have been synonymous with Mexico and Central America, even though this city has the largest population of Belizeans outside of Belize and enough Ethiopians to warrant the creation of a “Little Ethiopia.” 1 in 5 Blacks in Los Angeles are immigrants or are the descendants of immigrants.
Does Cultural Violence Comes from White House?
Reactions to mass shootings follow a predictable pattern. Liberal politicians call for gun control, and they have a point. Countries with gun control have less gun violence. The old assault weapons ban did some good. You have to pass a test to get licensed to drive a car or, in most states, to operate a boat—surely the same could be required of those who want to possess firearms. Conservative politicians call attention to America’s worsening epidemic of mental illness. They have a point too.
First They Came for the Foreigners’ Bank Accounts
Adam Smith wrote that the efficiency of markets relies on the free movement of goods. What happens when governments seize property in order to exert political pressure—or out of greed? A major, arguably the primary, incentive of the capitalist system is that it offers the potential of accruing wealth.
Better a Pretend Fight Than None at All
A friend and I were at a bar when someone opined that France didn’t resist the German invasion in 1940. “It’s true, France lost fast,” my friend replied. “But they fought hard. They lost 90,000 troops in six weeks. It was a bloodbath. We lost 58,000 over a decade in Vietnam but we’re still whining about it.” Every conflict ends with a winner and a loser. There is no shame in losing—only in not trying. Democrats need to learn this lesson. Voters want their elected representatives to fight for them.
In Defense of Defamation Lawsuits
He that filches from me my good name robs me of that which not enriches him, and makes me poor indeed,” Iago tells Othello in Shakespeare’s play. The belief that defamation is serious, and that the perpetrator of libel or slander deserves to be punished, is a standard trope in popular culture. The Hollywood screenwriter falsely accused of communist sympathies struggles to clear his name in the 1950s.
Virtue Signaling for Peace
Team Politics has gone international! Who cares if you can’t find Ukraine on a map? Festoon your home with Ukrainian flags! Change your Twitter avatar to a heart-shaped Ukrainian flag! Tattoo your entire body blue and yellow! It’s all about Ukraine — until the next war or the Azov Battalion gets caught doing something awful, whichever comes first. But why limit yourself to the yellow-and-blue bicolor you never heard of before two months ago?
Is Biden Making Fools of Progressive Democrats?
Like a lepidopteran Charlie Brown drawn to Lucy van Pelt’s flaming football, Congressional progressives keep falling for corporate Democrats’ pathetically predictable, and transparently self-serving, pleas for unity. Support our priorities, the centrists keep urging, and we’ll get around to your stuff later. How much later? We’ll tell you later.
United States War Entanglements
Find a way to be against the war in Ukraine, please.” That was the subject line of one of my recent hate emails. “If you look through Mr. Rall’s cartoons for the past month, there isn’t a single one condemning Russia’s invasion of Ukraine,” an anonymous online commentor chided.
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