Attention to the Unseen

BBC News reports: Germany is wrestling with a potentially explosive debate over whether to ban the far-right party Alternative for Germany, or AfD. Germans have been shocked by revelations that senior figures attended a meeting where mass deportations were allegedly discussed. A growing backlash has sparked large protests and public condemnation. The AfD, which continues to poll second nationally, says it’s being scandalously smeared by opponents. “Panic is spreading. We can smell your fear,” AfD MP Bernd Baumann declared this…

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Alexander Hurst writes: Musk’s new obsessions (beyond the validation and human affection that he mistakenly believes he will find on social media) are attacking public servants, slashing social spending and going after the most vulnerable. “In most cases, the word ‘homeless’ is a lie,” Musk tweeted recently. “It’s usually a propaganda word for violent drug addicts with severe mental illness.” The most charitable interpretation is that Musk exists at various points along the Dunning Kruger scale. He’s a fantastic venture…

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Timothy Snyder writes: Trump is staffing his cabinet with billionaires, who will break the government out of incompetence, spite, or avarice. So why not just go for class politics, and forget about everything else? As the country reaches unprecedented levels of inequality, why not just tear off the oligarchs’ masks? Why not present them as merchants of death? We should all know who they are, how wealthy they are, from what sources, and how they profit from holding power. And,…

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National Parks Traveler reports: The National Park System could close this weekend if Congress can’t move past its budget impasse and fund the federal government. While Congress appeared on track this week to adopt a bipartisan proposal to fund the government through March under what’s known as a Continuing Resolution, hard conservative members in the House of Representatives were balking against it, and then President-elect Donald Trump urged Congress to reject the agreement. Along with forcing a government shutdown, rejection…

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Stephen Collinson writes: Donald Trump is stoking political mayhem in Canada by intensifying a crisis that threatens to oust Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. The president-elect’s bullying of an embattled political foe, whom he mocks as the governor of the 51st state in an insult to America’s loyal northern neighbor, is a preview of a belligerent strategy as he scours the globe for big second-term wins before even taking office. And his willingness to plunge into an ally’s domestic politics ought…

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The Guardian reports: Donald Trump and his Republican allies are planning to target progressive groups they perceive as political enemies in a sign of deepening “authoritarianism”, a US watchdog has warned. The president-elect could potentially use the justice department and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to target non-profits and researchers, launch politically motivated investigations and pass legislation to restrict their activities. “Trump has made it clear that he plans to use his second term to attack the progressive ecosystem and his…

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Jamelle Bouie writes: Democrats may be in the minority, but they are not yet an opposition. What’s the difference? An opposition would use every opportunity it had to demonstrate its resolute stance against the incoming administration. It would do everything in its power to try to seize the public’s attention and make hay of the president-elect’s efforts to put lawlessness at the center of American government. An opposition would highlight the extent to which Donald Trump has no intention of…

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