Attention to the Unseen

Politico reports: Trump has driven sitting GOP lawmakers and political aspirants into early retirements ever since he burst onto the scene. But there was hope that things would change after his election loss. Instead, his influence on the GOP appears to be as solid as ever and the impact of those early shockwaves remain visible. When asked, for instance, if he feared the 45th president was causing a talent drain from the GOP ranks, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush —…

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Hayes Brown writes: Former President Donald Trump has lost access to some of the biggest guns in his political arsenal. He can no longer tweet directly to the masses; nor can his Facebook page gin up excitement and ardor among his fans. But starting this week, Trump is firing up his most powerful remaining weapon. The good news is there are ways to blunt its effects. NBC News’ Jonathan Allen reported Tuesday: “Trump returns to the electoral battlefield Saturday as…

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By Paul Woodward, June 1, 2021 As often as Trump and his QAnon acolytes might bleat about “cancel culture,” they must also delight in the fact that even after getting kicked off the leading social media platforms, the mainstream media still provides them with a megaphone. It makes little difference how many times the words “lies” and “false” get inserted into the reporting, the message still gets telegraphed both in terms of its seditious content and just as importantly as…

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Sam Klug writes: “Bassem was one of us. He showed up ready.” That is how Rep. Cori Bush (D-Mo.) described the late Bassem Masri, a Palestinian-American activist from St. Louis, on the House floor on May 13. On a day when the headlines called attention to Israel’s escalating airstrikes on Gaza, which ultimately killed over 200 Palestinians in an 11-day period, Bush’s speech linked the Palestinian cause with events closer to home. Masri, who died in 2018, was one of…

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Charlotte Alter writes: Once upon a time, a shiny new trio of young conservatives — Ryan Costello, Carlos Curbelo and Elise Stefanik — wanted to help build a modern, millennial Republican Party. The 30-somethings, all sworn into Congress in 2015, understood that millennials often agreed on many of the nation’s core problems, and believed it was up to them to offer conservative solutions. They were out to create a new G.O.P. for the 21st century. “Whether it’s environmental policy or…

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Borzou Daragahi writes: Just five years ago, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei exhorted Iranians to turn up at the polls, even calling on those citizens who despised him to vote for the sake of Iran. “Everyone should participate in the elections,” he said ahead of the 2016 parliament and assembly of experts elections. “Even those who do not accept the ruling system should participate for the sake of the country.” But his pleas for turnout ahead of the looming June…

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The Guardian reports: The far-right Israeli politician Naftali Bennett and opposition leader Yair Lapid have agreed to forge a coalition government that would oust Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu from his 12 straight years in power. “It’s my intention to do my utmost in order to form a national unity government along with my friend Yair Lapid, so that, God willing, together we can save the country from a tailspin and return Israel to its course,” said Bennett, a former settler…

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Jacobin interviews Nathan Thrall: We’ve seen much of Israel’s political spectrum follow Netanyahu further rightward over the past decade. What was the response of other political leaders in Israel to this latest conflict? Were there notable voices of dissent, and how significant were they? Although there has been a steady weakening of the Zionist left and strengthening of the Zionist right, these terms are rather misleading when used in a US publication. The Zionist left is ethno-nationalist and not progressive…

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The Guardian reports: The state of Arizona is preparing to kill death row inmates using hydrogen cyanide, the same lethal gas that was deployed at Auschwitz. Documents obtained by the Guardian reveal that Arizona’s department of corrections has spent more than $2,000 in procuring the ingredients to make cyanide gas. The department bought a solid brick of potassium cyanide in December for $1,530. It also purchased sodium hydroxide pellets and sulfuric acid which are intended to be used to generate…

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