Latest posts
-
Charlie Kirk: The First Time the GOP Has Cared About a School Shooting
They say tragedy unites. They also say power corrupts. In America right now, we’re seeing how the former becomes the latter—fast. Because in the days following Charlie Kirk’s assassination, Republicans escalated their post-martyr politics from solemn resolutions in Congress all the way into statehouses, into speech bills, statues, free speech holidays, and threats of passport…
-
The President as Prosecutor-in-Chief: A Republic If You Can Keep It
If you thought American democracy was fragile before, buckle up. On September 20, 2025, President Donald Trump took to his beloved sandbox, Truth Social, and delivered what can only be described as a digital tantrum dressed up as a presidential directive. “JUSTICE MUST BE SERVED, NOW!!!” he thundered, typing like a Red Bull–fueled intern at…
-
When Congress Governs by Split Screen
Democracy has always been a little theatrical. The marble halls, the pomp, the roll calls delivered like Broadway overtures—it’s part politics, part melodrama, part daytime soap. But lately the Capitol has taken the metaphor too literally. On one screen: a government funding bill collapsing in the Senate. On the other: a resolution sanctifying Charlie Kirk,…
-
America’s H-1B Visa Paywall: $100,000 to Enter, Please Remove Your Shoes
The United States has many traditions: fireworks on the Fourth, pumpkin spice in the fall, and quietly re-engineering its immigration system with the grace of a demolition derby. This week’s entry comes courtesy of President Donald Trump, who signed a proclamation adding a $100,000 fee to accompany—or maybe supplement, or maybe just vaguely menace—every H-1B…
-
The American Love Affair With ARs: From Domestic Disputes to Funeral Processions
A Familiar Script Another day, another “isolated incident” that looks exactly like every other one. A young man, a domestic violence record, a weapon designed for war, and a police force walking into a house in North Codorus Township. The ending, like all the others, is a chalk outline in triplicate. Three detectives dead, two…
-
Trump Declares War on Anti-Fascism: Guess Which Side That Puts Him On
The Big Announcement Donald Trump took to Truth Social and, in his usual slurry of caps lock and grievance, announced he would designate Antifa as a “major terrorist organization.” He tied it to the assassination of Charlie Kirk, because everything in MAGA world must be shoehorned into a neat morality play. And what better villain…
-
The Return of Red Scares: Trump and Vance Turn Grief Into Witch Hunt
From Mourning to McCarthyism The assassination of Charlie Kirk should have been a tragedy contained by grief, accountability, and legal process. Instead, it became fuel. Within days, the White House pivoted from mourning to manufacturing a new Red Scare. President Donald Trump, flanked by Vice President JD Vance and professional apocalypse salesman Stephen Miller, decided…
-
The Death of Charlie Kirk and the Politics of Selective Grief
Violence Is Not the Answer Let’s start with the obvious: I condemn political violence. All of it. Every bullet, every act dressed up as “justice,” every attempt to turn disagreement into bloodshed. No cause, no grievance, no ideology makes murder acceptable. And yet here we are, talking about another assassination carried out on a public…
-
The Half-Mast Presidency: Selective Empathy as a National Ritual
Flags for Some, Not for Others There is nothing quite as American as fighting about flags. We argue about who can kneel before them, who can burn them, whether rainbows belong on them, and now—who gets the honor of lowering them. President Donald Trump ordered U.S. flags lowered nationwide for Charlie Kirk. A right-wing commentator…
-
Shutdown Theater: Now With More Subsidies and Security Funds!
Welcome back to Washington, America’s longest-running soap opera, where every September the same plotline airs: Will the government shut down? Will Speaker [insert name here, they rotate faster than NFL quarterbacks] hold the caucus together? Will Chuck Schumer furrow his brows meaningfully? And will anyone, at any point, think about the millions of actual humans…