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Articles by Tim Libretti
July 4 Reflection on GOP Megabill: Is Attacking Fellow Americans’ Lives and Well-Being Patriotic?
On this July 4 weekend, a moment of the year that inspires reflection on our nation’s history and founding and that is designed to stoke our patriotic sensibilities, it is worth reflecting on the meaning of patriotism, on what constitutes patriotism. Most simply, of course, patriotism refers to a love or devotion to one’s country. But what does it mean to love one’s country, to be devoted to it?
Paige Bueckers and the Spirit of Democracy . . . and Dependence
Tim Libretti, PhD · Follow 7 min read · -- wikimedia commons In this moment, recognizing and highlighting the spirit of democracy alive and at work in the United States strikes me as a vital exercise. We need to recognize its beauty, understand what it affords us and how it benefits us or can benefit us if fully extended and realized, and how more democracy–not less–can solve issues and improve our lives.
Part I: Is Trump Putting America First-or in Danger?: The Question of Trade
Tim Libretti, PhD · Follow 5 min read · -- Free Malaysia Today Is peace preferable to war? Is cooperation preferable to antagonism and hostile (as opposed to healthy) competition? Would you rather cultivate friends or multiply your enemies in the world?
Consumer Confidence Declines: Why Trump’s Plan May be to Tank the Economy
Anxiety over the economy is brewing among Americans given the chaos Trump has unleashed in his first month in office, seeking to fire hundreds of thousands federal employees, threatening and implementing tariffs, and proposing huge tax increases for the wealthy that promise to balloon the nation’s deficit debt and bring inflationary pressures to bear on American households.
Having trouble understanding Trump’s tariffs?
Member-only story Tim Libretti, PhD · Follow 4 min read · -- flickr If you read at all or make any effort to pay attention to politics and the most salient debates around policy positions that bear directly on the economic welfare and overall well-being of every American, you’ve likely heard near unanimity among the voices of expert economists, trumpeting until their blue in the face, how horrible the tariffs Trump proposed during his presidential campaign will be for the economy.
Empathy and Egalitarianism: What’s the State of Worker Solidarity Now that Americans Elected the Worst Boss Ever?
Member-only story Tim Libretti, PhD · Follow 6 min read · -- flickr.com While a well-documented failure as businessman, Donald Trump found a savior in Mark Burnett who transformed his image from king of cons and bankruptcies into the illusion of a successful businessman with his NBC show The Apprentice, which first aired in 2004. Trump’s trademark line in the show, of course, was, “You’re fired.” The line became something of a meme.
Revisiting American History X to pose a potentially transformative question: Does White Supremacy Make White Americans’ Lives Better?
Tim Libretti, PhD · Follow 5 min read · -- flickr More than revealing a problem with the Democratic Party, the election of Donald Trump to the presidency last November affirmed the fact that a significant portion of the American population maintains a deep commitment to white supremacy, in addition to misogyny and hatred of LGBTQ people.
The Ethical Context for President Biden’s Pardon of His Son
Tim Libretti, PhD · Follow 6 min read · -- Blue Diamond Gallery Anyone paying attention the past week has noticed the bi-partisan barrage of criticism to which President Joe Biden has been subjected for exercising the powers of his office to pardon his son. He has, of course, been lambasted as a hypocrite and liar, especially by Republicans, having previously claimed that he would not pardon his son and would respect the judicial process.
Revisiting Richard Wright’s NATIVE SON to Understand Why Americans Choose Fascism
Tim Libretti, PhD · Follow 8 min read · -- flickr Is there really a compelling rationale for Americans choosing fascism this election season? This question is one we really need to explore. And beyond looking for a good reason, we simply need to ask in a serious way why they did in a way that likely brings us to considerations outside the realm of rationality and which instead reside within a more fundamental emotional dynamic motivating Americans.
Why Asking What the Democrats Did Wrong Is the Wrong Question
Tim Libretti, PhD · Follow 5 min read · -- flickr In the wake of last week’s election, a good deal of Wednesday-morning quarterbacking has critiqued the Harris campaign and Democratic Party overall for everything from their messaging, to their strategy, to even the party’s performance and platform over time. What did Harris and Democrats do wrong? Just about everything apparently. Take your pick. They weren’t left enough. They weren’t centrist enough. Historically they’ve spent too much. And on and on.
On the “Conscience Vote” and the Role of Electoral Politics for the Revolutionary-Minded
Tim Libretti, PhD · Follow 10 min read · -- Flickr It’s long been a truism among many on the left that electoral politics is essentially a bankrupt avenue for seeking meaningful social change, much less for achieving a just and equitable society. And often this rejection of electoral politics encompasses as well the belief that there is little to no consequential difference between the Democratic and Republican parties in terms of the outcomes of their policies for the majority of Americans.
“All I Asking for Is My Body”: The Common Politics of Reproductive and Worker Rights
Tim Libretti, PhD · Follow 4 min read · -- flickr Some years ago I was teaching Milton Murayama’s wiry and wonderful 1975 novel All I Asking Is My Body in a working-class literature course I had designed for the university where I teach. When we started reading the novel together as a class, I recall a student expressing her surprise at the content of the novel.
Puerto Ricans Discovered Trump’s Hangman? Will the Rest of America?
Tim Libretti, PhD · Follow 4 min read · -- Last Sunday night Donald Trump held what has been understood as his “closing argument” rally at Madison Square Garden. Not surprisingly for a rally that many commentators have pointed out self-consciously evokes the infamous 1939 Nazi rally at Madison Square Garden (see here and here), the featured speakers presented a closing argument that can neatly be summarized as, “We’re haters. Haters gonna hate.
Does Trump Care What You Want? No. Does that Make Him a Fascist? Yes.
Tim Libretti, PhD · Follow 4 min read · -- flickr Let’s boil this presidential election to its basics with this simple question: Should American presidents care about what the people want and work to realize their will? The answer to this question is as simple as the question itself. Of course, American presidents need to care about what the people want and listen to them. This expectation is a condition our representative democracy itself.
Beware White People: Trump and Vance Hate You, Too
Tim Libretti, PhD · Follow 4 min read · -- The white supremacy of Trump and Vance does not elevate white people but hurts them and undermines their economic interests too. Wikimedia Commons Donald Trump’s bona fides as a white supremacist are, of course, well-documented.
GOP Peddles Anti-Socialist Politics, but Is America's For-Profit Economy Serving Americans and...
While Americans struggle to meet their basic needs and make ends meet in the face of inflationary headwinds, albeit moderating ones, House Republicans have suddenly found it urgent to ramp up their attacks on America's working families.
House Resolution Denouncing Socialism Distracts from GOP's Real Authoritarian Agenda
By Tim Libretti, PhD Recently House Republicans introduced a resolution that "denounces socialism in all its forms, and opposes the implementation of socialist policies in the United States of America." The bill passed on a bipartisan basis by a vote of 328-86-14. 109 Democrats voted in favor of the resolution.
Oil Companies' Record Profits Reveal How Capitalism Undermines Democracy
By Tim Libretti, PhD "There you go again." These are the famous words Ronald Reagan spoke in responding to, indeed chastising, Jimmy Carter during a presidential debate in 1980. This earnings season, we could say the same to big oil companies who did go there again by reporting record profits when Americans are struggling to make ends...
McConnell Supports Slashing Medicare and Social Security
By Tim Libretti, PhD Mitch McConnell in recent days has sought to distance himself from the Republican Senator from Florida Rick Scott, whose plan to "Rescue America" involves "sunsetting" entitlement programs like Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid every five years, meaning it would be at the discretion - indeed political whims - of Congress every five...
A White Christian Nationalist Speaks at Notre Dame Law School, Sparking No Controversy
By Tim Libretti, PhD Remember last November when white supremacist Nick Fuentes and increasingly vocal anti-Semite Kanye West paid a visit to Donald Trump at his Mar-a-Lago resort? Of course you do - because it sparked a huge controversy and media frenzy to have a former president and potential presidential candidate in the next election...
Opinion: House Resolution Denouncing Socialism Distracts from GOP’s Real Authoritarian Agenda
Last week House Republicans introduced a resolution that “denounces socialism in all its forms, and opposes the implementation of socialist policies in the United States of America.” The bill passed on a bipartisan basis by a vote of 328-86-14. 109 Democrats voted in favor of the resolution.
Opinion: House resolution denouncing socialism distracts from GOP's genuine authoritarian agenda
Last week, House Republicans introduced a resolution that “denounces socialism in all its forms and opposes the implementation of socialist policies in the United States of America.” The bill passed on a bipartisan basis by a vote of 328-86-14. 109 Democrats voted for the resolution.
Opinion: Amid GOP Drama Democrats Need To Flip The Script On Inflation
Amidst all the drama and scandal driven these days by Republican skullduggery, from Kevin McCarthy’s allying with and empowering fascist and white supremacist factions in the House of Representatives to newly-elected Representative George Santos’ shameless deception of American voters (and his and the GOP’s shoulder-shrugging about it), the key political issue of inflation tends to get lost in the mix—maybe intentionally so.
Opinion: Amid GOP drama, Democrats need to flip the script on inflation
In the midst of all the drama and scandal caused by Republican deceit today, from Kevin McCarthy’s alliance with and empowerment of fascist and white supremacist factions in the House of Representatives to the blatant deception of President-elect George Santos of American voters (and his and the GOP’s shoulder-shrugging), the main political issue of inflation often gets lost in the mix – perhaps intentionally.
What the House Drama Reveals about the State of Extremism in America
It may very telling that the extremist Republican representatives in the U.S. House of Representatives orchestrated their election of Kevin McCarthy to the role of Speaker of the House on the two-year anniversary of violent insurrectionists storming the Capitol in deadly fashion to interrupt the peaceful transition of power after the 2020 presidential election.
“A League Of Their Own” Joins Biden In Fight For America’s Soul Original
Last Thursday President Joe Biden graced Independence Hall in Philadelphia, the sacred ground upon which the nation’s founders signed the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution, where he delivered a speech billed as a battle cry in the fight for the soul of the nation.
The Dangerous Distortion Of “Fairness” In The Student Loan Forgiveness Debate Original
One of the more prevalent and strident criticisms leveled at President Joe Biden’s landmark order on student loan forgiveness is that it simply isn’t “fair.” It isn’t fair to those who worked hard to diligently pay off their student loans, and it isn’t fair to those workers who never attended college or borrowed money but whose taxes will nevertheless fund Biden’s initiative.
Opinion: How to Deal with Christian Nationalists? Let them Secede and Tyrannize Over Themselves
Back in the 1960s, various racial minority groups, including African Americans, Chicanos, and Native Americans, featured constituencies that espoused a nationalist politics. While one will find these politics expressed in different ways with different concrete goals, most generally the goal of a Chicano nationalism, Black nationalism, or a Native American nationalism was to achieve the rights to self-determination.
Opinion: Republicans Aren’t Changing Their Authoritarian Minds or Lying Ways Original
Anyone paying attention to the ongoing January 6 hearings has to be wondering what impact this ultra-compelling story of Trump’s murderous and seditious behavior, buttressed by mountains of evidence and testimony, is having on the American electorate.
Opinion: “Anti-Government” GOP Actually Wants Big Government Against The People
The Republican Party has long and proudly figured itself as the proponent of limited, even small or non-existent, government. It has pledged time and time again to get the government out of people’s lives, particularly the big, bloated, and intrusive bureaucracies that Democrats supposedly favor, according to Republicans.
Opinion: "Anti-government" GOP actually wants a big government against the people
The Republican Party has long and proudly seen itself as the proponent of limited, even small or nonexistent government. It has promised time and again to remove government from people’s lives, especially the large, bloated and intrusive bureaucracies that Democrats supposedly prefer, Republicans say.
Opinion: Criticizing Saudi Visit, Media Ignores Biden’s Difficult Bind of Saving Democracy
President Joe Biden has faced fierce criticism for his visit to Saudi Arabia where met with Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman, often referred to as MBS. Biden, as is well known, had pledged to make Saudi Arabia a “pariah” nation because of MBS’s role in approving the brutal murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
Opinion: How The GOP Used Trump, And Why They Can Dump Him And Still Harm America Original
The emerging trend in right-wing politics, which is quickly gaining steam, is, in a quick phrase, to dump Donald Trump. Maybe the right wing isn’t going full-on Liz Cheney in equaling her outright denunciation and prosecution of Trump for his misdeeds, but they are distancing themselves from him, for sure, in more polite and politically strategic ways, hoping to keep Trump’s supporters in the fold while discarding Trump as unobtrusively as possible. Let’s be clear, though.
Opinion: Alito, Thomas Think Reality of Gun Violence Shouldn’t Concern SCOTUS
While the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) has come under increasing scrutiny–and earned mounting disapproval and mistrust–because of a host of recent rulings, the July 4th mass shooting in Highland Park, Illinois should, sadly but hopefully, call into question not just any one of these specific rulings, but their approach and method to Constitutional law itself.
Opinion: Chicago Sky Celebrate 50 years of Women’s Equality Under Title IX as Alito, SCOTUS Do the Opposite
After defeating the Minnesota Lynx, the 2021 Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) champion team the Chicago Sky celebrated 50 years of educational equality for women and girls and 50 years of having opportunities opened for them that allow them to participate more fully in U.S. society and develop their talents and abilities so they can contribute their gifts to the benefit of the nation as a whole.
Opinion: SCOTUS Unleashes Reign of Terror on Americans
Sitting down to write this week after days of the Supreme Court’s intense right-wing assault on our constitutional rights and, really, on our right to live free from fear, I had to ask myself, “Why bother?” Reading cases in which Justice Clarence Thomas struck down a New York conceal carry gun law and Justice Samuel Alito reversed Roe v.
Opinion: Media’s Inflation Coverage Obscures Promise of Biden’s Policies to Promote Real Economic Democracy
FacebookTwitterWhatsappPinterestRedditPrintMailFlipboard Let me start by acknowledging that the surge in inflation over the past few months is real and absolutely exacerbates Americans’ struggles to pay their bills, feed their families, fuel their cars to get to and from work, and overall to afford the basic needs of their daily lives. This is a fact, and it needs to be addressed. How to address them, or how they can be addressed, is a significant question, and one I’ll address below.
Opinion: Jan. 6 And Uvalde Massacre Highlight How Violent Gun Culture Undermines Democracy Original
FacebookTwitterWhatsappPinterestRedditPrintMailFlipboard The January 6 hearings, designed to shed light for Americans on an orchestrated armed and violent attempt to overthrow the U.S. government, coming on the heels of the Uvalde massacre, draws into relief a cultural and political dynamic in America we need to recognize: the relationship between a violent and even obsessive gun culture in America and a penchant for an authoritarian politics that is seemingly hacking away at our democracy...
Opinion: January 6 and the Uvalde massacre underscore how violent gun culture undermines democracy
The January 6 hearings, designed to shed light for Americans on an orchestrated armed and violent attempt to overthrow the U.S. government following the Uvalde massacre, highlight a cultural and political dynamic in America that we must acknowledge: the relationship between a violent and even obsessive gun culture in America and a penchant for authoritarian politics that seems to be hacking into our democracy and democratic culture day in and day out, even as I write.
Opinion: If Americans Really Want to Address Gun Violence, It’s Democracy, Stupid Original
FacebookTwitterWhatsappPinterestRedditPrintMailFlipboard The déjà vu massacre of school children in Uvalde, Texas seems to have heated Americans’ frustrations with the inaction of their political leaders to a raging boil. Turn on the news, and one hears outrage over the out-sized influence of the NRA and gun lobbyists over the Republican Party.
Opinion: Advocating For Student Loan Forgiveness, AOC Highlights Key Obstacle To American Progress And Democracy
FacebookTwitterWhatsappPinterestRedditPrintMailFlipboard New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has been one of the most vociferous and articulate advocates for student loan forgiveness, repeatedly pushing the Biden administration to make a big and bold move when it comes to its campaign promise to address the $1.7 trillion student debt crisis financially crippling many Americans and stifling the economy.
Student Loan Forgiveness Is A Key Step In Promoting A Democratic Culture Of Mutual Aid
By Tim Libretti, PhD commons.wikimedia.org Reports for the past month have indicated that President Joe Biden's decision on whether to forgive student loan debt - and how much to forgive and for whom - is imminent. In the midst of another mass shooting of school children, revealing again the deep illness and trauma of murderous violence the nation has failed to...
Opinion: Student Loan Forgiveness Is A Key Step In Promoting A Democratic Culture Of Mutual Aid
FacebookTwitterWhatsappPinterestRedditPrintMailFlipboard Reports for the past month have indicated that President Joe Biden’s decision on whether to forgive student loan debt—and how much to forgive and for whom—is imminent.
Analysis: The Missing Person in Alito’s Draft Opinion Overturning Roe v. Wade
FacebookTwitterWhatsappPinterestRedditPrintMailFlipboard The leaked opinion penned by Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito in the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization has, needless to say, generated substantial controversy. Alito’s draft of the majority opinion signals, we all know, the court’s prospective reversal of the landmark 1973 decision in the case of Roe v.
Opinion: The Global Tortoise And The Genocidal Hare: A Parable Of How (Not) To Create Global Democracy Original
FacebookTwitterWhatsappPinterestRedditPrintMailFlipboard Since the early days of Putin’s brutal and unprovoked invasion of Ukraine, we have heard the reporters, pundits, world leaders, and other members of the global community decry Putin’s war crimes and the need to hold him accountable for the unabashed murder and brutality Russian soldiers have inflicted on the Ukrainian civilian population and the country itself.
Opinion: Will Inflation Worries Push Americans Toward Authoritarianism to Economic Detriment? Original
FacebookTwitterWhatsappPinterestRedditPrintMailFlipboard Watch the news each day, or each hour of the day in our cable news surveillance culture, and you’ll see constant reporting on two key stories that would seem to be at odds with one another, raising puzzling questions as to the state and content of American voters’ mentalities when it comes to assessing their interests and determining their priorities heading into the 2022 midterms this November.
Opinion: Obama’s White House Visit Underlines Story Democrats Need To Tell About Themselves And GOP
FacebookTwitterWhatsappPinterestRedditPrintMailFlipboard Last week, for the first time in five years, former President Barack Obama returned to the home he occupied for eight years, from 2008 to 2016, to tout what will likely go down in history as the signature achievement of his time in the White House, the passage of the Affordable Care Act, popularly known as Obamacare.
Opinion: Amazon, Starbucks, and Other U.S. Workers Fight the Putins at Home, While Ukraine’s Fight for Democracy Rages On Original
FacebookTwitterWhatsappPinterestRedditPrintMailFlipboard While Americans’ chief worries these days are surging inflation and the fate of global democracy at stake in the Ukraine’s struggle to repel Putin’s barbaric invasion, Americans—and certainly the mainstream media—pay much less attention to recent rumblings in the American labor movement that represent sources of hope on both these fronts, offering at once greater financial stability and also more robust economic and political democracy...
Opinion: Putin Shows Us Where GOP’s Hateful Rule Will Take Us If We Don’t Defend LGBTQ Rights
FacebookTwitterWhatsappPinterestRedditPrintMailFlipboard In a recent rant, Russian President and brutal dictator Vladimir Putin railed against those oligarchs who NATO is targeting with economic sanctions in an attempt to weaken their support for Putin, referring to them as those “who can’t get by without oysters or foie gras or so-called ‘gender freedoms’” and who are not really with Russia, living in villas in Miami or the French Riviera.
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