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Category: Politics

What we can learn from an ancient egalitarian civilization in the Indus Valley

What we can learn from an ancient egalitarian civilization in the Indus Valley

Adam S. Green writes: The most tantalizing feature of the ancient Indus Valley remains is what they appear to lack: any trace of a ruling class or managerial elite. This defies the longtime theoretical assumption that any complex society must have stratified social relations: that collective action, urbanization, and economic specialization only develop in a very unequal culture that takes direction from the top, and that all social trajectories evolve toward a common and universal outcome, the state. Yet, here…

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Turmoil in the White House and growing revolt from Democrats in Congress over Biden

Turmoil in the White House and growing revolt from Democrats in Congress over Biden

Axios reports: Officials on President Biden‘s White House and campaign staffs say they’re feeling rage, sadness, frustration and resolve over his debate performance and his team’s response to it, more than a dozen White House and campaign aides told Axios. Why it matters: Biden’s performance at the debate has left many of his own aides worried about his mental fitness, and angry about what they see as a lack of candor from Biden’s senior aides. “It’s the first topic of every conversation,” one White…

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Is Biden the worst option for Democrats to beat Trump?

Is Biden the worst option for Democrats to beat Trump?

The Intercept reports: President Joe Biden has an electability problem. To counter that reality — evident for months but put on the spotlight by a dismal debate performance last week — his campaign on Monday touted a poll finding that eight other Democrats would lose to former President Donald Trump at similar margins as the incumbent. Team Biden would have you believe that the poll shows that he has the best chance at beating Trump. Yet if the poll is…

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Trump’s imperial presidency in waiting

Trump’s imperial presidency in waiting

Axios reports: Former President Trump, if re-elected, plans to immediately test the boundaries of presidential and governing power, knowing the restraints of Congress and the courts are dramatically looser than during his first term, his advisers tell us. Why it matters: It’s not just the Supreme Court ruling on Monday that presidents enjoy substantial legal immunity for actions in office. Trump would come to office with a Cabinet and staff pre-vetted for loyalty, and a fully compliant Republican coalition in Congress — devoid of critics…

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Trump may face a fact-finding hearing — a mini-trial of sorts — shortly before the election

Trump may face a fact-finding hearing — a mini-trial of sorts — shortly before the election

The New York Times reports: The Supreme Court’s decision on Monday about executive immunity makes it all but certain that former President Donald J. Trump will not stand trial on charges of seeking to overturn the last election before voters decide whether to send him back to the White House in the next one. But the ruling also opened the door for prosecutors to detail much of their evidence against Mr. Trump in front of a federal judge — and…

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How the Supreme Court’s Chevron decision benefits the fossil fuel industry

How the Supreme Court’s Chevron decision benefits the fossil fuel industry

L. Delta Merner writes: Last Friday, the Supreme Court overruled the 40-year-old Chevron doctrine, fundamentally changing the landscape of federal regulatory power. This decision, reached with a 6-3 majority led by Chief Justice John Roberts, marks a significant shift in administrative law and has profound implications for environmental regulations and climate accountability. Ironically, the downfall of the Chevron doctrine will give Chevron and other major oil and gas corporations more latitude to slow down and block regulations, allowing them to…

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Israeli generals, low on munitions, want a cease-fire in Gaza

Israeli generals, low on munitions, want a cease-fire in Gaza

The New York Times reports: Israel’s top generals want to begin a cease-fire in Gaza even if it keeps Hamas in power for the time being, widening a rift between the military and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has opposed a truce that would allow Hamas to survive the war. The generals think that a truce would be the best way of freeing the roughly 120 Israelis still held, both dead and alive, in Gaza, according to interviews with six…

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Israel’s next headache: who will run post-war Gaza?

Israel’s next headache: who will run post-war Gaza?

Reuters reports: The plan for post-war Gaza that Israel pitched to U.S. allies is to run the strip in cooperation with powerful local families. But there’s a problem: in a place where Hamas still wields ruthless influence, none want to be seen talking to the enemy. Israel is under pressure from Washington to end the loss of human life and wind down its military offensive after nearly nine months, but does not want Hamas in charge after the war. Israeli…

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The Supreme Court just made the president a king

The Supreme Court just made the president a king

Mark Joseph Stern writes: The Supreme Court’s conservative supermajority fundamentally altered American democracy on Monday, awarding the president a sweeping and novel immunity when he weaponizes the power of his office for corrupt, violent, or treasonous purposes. This near-insurmountable shield against prosecution for crimes committed while in office upends the structure of the federal government, elevating the presidency to a king-like status high above the other branches. The immediate impact of the court’s sweeping decision will be devastating enough, allowing…

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Trump’s election subversion case heads back to Judge Chutkan. But it may never reach a jury

Trump’s election subversion case heads back to Judge Chutkan. But it may never reach a jury

Politico reports: Donald Trump may never see the inside of a criminal courtroom again. The Supreme Court’s sweeping ruling that Trump — and all presidents — are immune from prosecution for their “official” actions immediately gutted some of the central allegations that special counsel Jack Smith leveled against Trump a year ago, when he charged the former president with conspiring to subvert the 2020 election. And it may eventually sink the rest of them, too. Constitutional experts digesting the breathtaking…

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Democrats vow to get ‘aggressive’ with Supreme Court after Trump ruling

Democrats vow to get ‘aggressive’ with Supreme Court after Trump ruling

Axios reports: House Democrats are previewing plans for a forceful legislative and investigative push against the Supreme Court’s ruling that presidents have legal immunity for “official acts.” Why it matters: It is part of House Democrats’ effort to frame themselves in the 2024 election as a potential bulwark against unified conservative control of a federal government led by former President Trump. “Everyone is making that argument with donors” after President Biden’s poor debate performance last week, one House Democrat told Axios. “The only thing more…

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Whitmer disavows ‘draft Gretch’ movement — and delivers a warning to Biden

Whitmer disavows ‘draft Gretch’ movement — and delivers a warning to Biden

Jonathan Martin writes: When Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer telephoned a senior official with President Biden’s campaign on Friday night, she wanted to convey a clear message: She hated the way her name was being floated as a replacement for Biden and she wasn’t behind the chatter. Whitmer’s conversation with the official, campaign chair Jennifer O’Malley Dillon, was cordial but awkward by its very nature. In the aftermath of the president’s disastrous debate performance last Thursday, no would-be replacement has been…

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Democratic-leaning voters less likely to choose Biden after debate, survey finds

Democratic-leaning voters less likely to choose Biden after debate, survey finds

Politico reports: “Confused.” “Frail.” “Dementia.” Those were a few of the words used to describe Biden’s lackluster performance and appearance at Thursday’s presidential debate by Democratic-leaning voters, who were less likely to say they’d vote for him after it was over, according to a new survey and virtual focus group. The president’s cognitive and physical fitness left more of an impression on respondents than anything else, according to the survey, which was spearheaded by former Bill Clinton pollster Stan Greenberg…

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Biden’s core Democratic support takes big hit after debate, poll shows

Biden’s core Democratic support takes big hit after debate, poll shows

USA Today reports: President Joe Biden’s core support has been shaken by his stumbling performance in last week’s debate, an exclusive USA TODAY/Suffolk University Poll finds, fueling a furor over whether he should continue his candidacy. More than four in ten Democrats, 41%, said the Democratic Party should replace Biden as its presidential nominee. That included 37% of those who say they plan to vote for him. The survey found broad discontent with both major-party candidates, but Republican Donald Trump’s…

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Macron sought clarity – and has brought his centrist project tumbling down

Macron sought clarity – and has brought his centrist project tumbling down

Angelique Chrisafis writes: When Emmanuel Macron strolled through the seaside resort of Le Touquet on Sunday afternoon, near his holiday home, dressed in a leather jacket with his collar up and aviator shades, smiling and asking passersby how they were doing, he seemed a world away from the fact that his gamble of a snap election was about to dramatically backfire. Macron had said he needed “clarity” three weeks ago, when he shocked even his own government ministers by calling…

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Leading Democrats need to ‘have the guts’ to urge Biden to drop out, says ex-DNC vice chair

Leading Democrats need to ‘have the guts’ to urge Biden to drop out, says ex-DNC vice chair

Politico reports: A former Democratic National Committee vice chair wrote Sunday that leading Democrats must be pushed to urge President Joe Biden to withdraw from the 2024 presidential race or history will judge them harshly. “Our elected officials,” wrote former Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak on Facebook, “are staying shockingly silent in public, especially considering how many of them acknowledge privately that this has to happen.” “They fear political retribution but they should really fear that if we lose this election…

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