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The U.S. lacks what every democracy needs

The U.S. lacks what every democracy needs

Richard L. Hasen writes: The history of voting in the United States shows the high cost of living with an old Constitution, unevenly enforced by a reluctant Supreme Court. Unlike the constitutions of many other advanced democracies, the U.S. Constitution contains no affirmative right to vote. We have nothing like Section 3 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, providing that “every citizen of Canada has the right to vote in an election of members of the House of…

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The Biden problem: A populist message won’t do much to elevate a deeply unpopular candidate

The Biden problem: A populist message won’t do much to elevate a deeply unpopular candidate

The Washington Post reports: In private conversations over the past several weeks, aides to President Biden have discussed proposing new taxes on the wealthy this year to help fund Social Security benefits as the presidential election looms, according to two people familiar with the matter, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe internal deliberations. With former president Donald Trump again vowing to protect Social Security if elected, some advisers to Biden’s team believe pushing to bolster the program’s…

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Van Hollen and other Democratic senators say Biden needs to abandon ‘quiet diplomacy’ with Netanyahu

Van Hollen and other Democratic senators say Biden needs to abandon ‘quiet diplomacy’ with Netanyahu

Politico reports: Democratic lawmakers are furious with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for rejecting the idea of creating an independent Palestinian nation after fighting in the Gaza Strip ends. Netanyahu was blunt about his intentions during a news conference on Thursday, saying that Israel “needs security control over all territory” west of Jordan after the war, he said. “This collides with the idea of sovereignty.” A two-state solution has been a key goal of the Biden administration as it plans…

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Gaza’s indirect casualties mount as health service decimated

Gaza’s indirect casualties mount as health service decimated

The Guardian reports: Health services in Gaza are “decimated”, with medical staff exhausted after three months of war forced to extract shrapnel without adequate pain relief, conduct amputations without anaesthetics and watch children die of cancers because of a lack of facilities and medicine. Dozens of interviews with doctors and medical administrators in Gaza reveal a catastrophic and deteriorating situation as health services struggle to cope with tens of thousands of casualties of the continuing Israeli offensive in the territory…

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King Bibi, false messiah

King Bibi, false messiah

David Stromberg writes: Watching Bibi speak ever since October 7, one senses that, for far too long, he has been told that he is King Bibi—and that he truly believes in the prophetic claims of his role as Israel’s unrivaled and divinely installed leader. Even though Bibi is not religious, he presides over the most religiously extreme and messianic coalition in Israel’s history, a throwback to the kind of ideologically tainted mysticism invoked by Nathan of Gaza to elevate Sabbatai…

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Palestinian journalists are being imprisoned by Israel in record numbers

Palestinian journalists are being imprisoned by Israel in record numbers

🔴 CPJ’s 2023 prison census shows that Israel is among top jailers of journalists worldwide, as imprisonments globally continue unabated. Read the report: https://t.co/GTeGIRhA6K#FreeThePress #JournalismIsNotACrime #PressFreedom pic.twitter.com/Nje3ABoLb6 — Committee to Protect Journalists (@pressfreedom) January 18, 2024 Committee to Protect Journalists reports: In October, when the Israel-Gaza war began, Alaa al-Rimawi snapped into action, covering developments on J-Media, the West Bank-based news agency he directs, as well as on TikTok and Facebook. But his conflict coverage would be short-lived. Less than…

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‘Please guys, wake up’: European leaders push Biden, Congress on Ukraine

‘Please guys, wake up’: European leaders push Biden, Congress on Ukraine

Politico reports: A group of European parliamentarians who are in Washington to drum up more support for Ukraine have a message for lawmakers and the White House: Get your act together. The group is wrapping up a frustrating week spent meeting with policymakers and lawmakers, and is ready to leave town unsure of America’s place in European security after finding their U.S. counterparts unable, or unwilling, to act on important issues. The parliamentarians spent the week “pleading with Americans to…

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Hakeem Jeffries bucks AIPAC, endorses Squad member Summer Lee

Hakeem Jeffries bucks AIPAC, endorses Squad member Summer Lee

The Intercept reports: Bucking pro-Israel lobby groups, the top three members of House Democratic leadership endorsed Rep. Summer Lee, D-Pa., on Wednesday. Like other progressive members of the Squad, pro-Israel groups are seeking to oust Lee in 2024. Members of the House Democratic leadership have mostly remained close to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee even as it sought to unseat Democratic incumbents. On Wednesday, though, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., bucked AIPAC, a major donor, and endorsed Lee….

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Jamie Dimon joins the Trump normalizers

Jamie Dimon joins the Trump normalizers

Dennis Aftergut and Walter H. White, Jr. write: Jamie Dimon issued what CNN characterized as a “warning to Democrats” this week. During a CNBC interview on Wednesday at the World Economic Forum at Davos, the JPMorgan Chase CEO said that “Donald Trump was right about some critical issues,” so Democrats should not too quickly dismiss Trump’s base as a cult of personality. The danger in Dimon’s remark lies as much in what he did not say as in what he…

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Netanyahu: ‘Israel has to control the entire area from the river to the sea’

Netanyahu: ‘Israel has to control the entire area from the river to the sea’

BREAKING: Netanyahu just declared “Israel has to control the entire area from the river to the sea.” Ruling Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza forever, until they’re killed or driven out. Endless occupation, apartheid, and genocide. Will this be your legacy @JoeBiden? pic.twitter.com/e2DcSaIhTK — IfNotNow🔥✡️ (@IfNotNowOrg) January 18, 2024 The New Republic reports: Invoking a phrase that has recently touched off moral panics whenever it’s been uttered by a college sophomore, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday promised…

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Democratic lawmakers plan push to get controversial Biden adviser, Brett McGurk, out of office

Democratic lawmakers plan push to get controversial Biden adviser, Brett McGurk, out of office

HuffPost reports: Democrats in the House of Representatives are discussing asking President Joe Biden for the resignation of Brett McGurk, his deeply controversial Middle East adviser, according to a Democratic lawmaker and a senior congressional aide. Led by progressives who see McGurk as driving a counterproductive Middle East policy with an unacceptable human rights toll, the effort would take the form of a letter to Biden from a group of House Democrats, they said. A draft has already been written…

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Iran strikes conciliatory tone amid escalating tensions with Pakistan

Iran strikes conciliatory tone amid escalating tensions with Pakistan

RFE/RL reports: Iran has condemned what it called a “disproportionate and unacceptable” attack by Pakistan on its territory, which came in response to an Iranian strike, raising fears of escalating military exchanges between the two neighbors. While criticizing Islamabad for the scale of the attack, Iran’s Foreign Ministry also appeared to try and allay concerns of rising tensions, striking a conciliatory tone in its statement on January 18 by referring to Pakistan as a “friend and brother.” Pakistani warplanes launched…

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