A review of Anne Applebaum, “Autocracy, Inc.”(Doubleday, 2024). Observers have sounded the alarm bell for a number of years now that democracy is under threat. Just as many democracies once thought to be resistant to erosion (such as the United States and India) are on the defensive, many autocracies (such as Russia and China) are both hardening...
Key points: Among more than 15,000 SNAP participants across 35 states, food insufficiency increased by 8.4% after pandemic-era Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) emergency allotments expired. Emergency allotments provided participants up to $250 additional support per month. Emergency allotment expiration also led to a 2.1% increase in use of food pantries and a 2% increase...
As the Democratic primary for mayor in New York approached in the spring of 2021, most of my friends and colleagues were supporting one of three candidates. My lefty friends were all rallying around progressive standard-bearer Maya Wiley. My more middle-of-the-road friends were supporting Kathryn Garcia, who ran on a platform that promised excellent management...
.jpg?sfvrsn=8588c21_5 "Two Visions of National Security at the Harris-Trump Debate")
A roundup of the candidates’ statements across seven national security themes In between former President Trump’s false claim of Haitian migrants eating cats in Springfield, Ohio and another false claim that Vice President Harris was promising to perform transgender operations on illegal aliens in prison, a Trumpian conception of national security did emerge from Tuesday...
.jpeg?sfvrsn=e13b9854_5 "Sex and Consent in the Military")
“No” means no, but what does “yes” look like? The U.S. military has been rocked by sexual assault and harassment scandals going back to Tailhook in the early 1990s. As a result, Congress has attempted to make the military a safer place for all by reforming military criminal law in piecemeal fashion while mandating a raft of prevention programs. The most significant...
The selection of Tim Walz as Kamala Harris’ running mate has sparked a wave of commentary suggesting that simply by elevating a former small-town football coach to the candidacy for vice president, Democrats will naturally secure the allegiance of rural voters nationwide. At first glance, such analysis – tinged with wishful thinking – seems self-evident....
Legal documents are notoriously difficult to understand, even for lawyers. This raises the question: Why are these documents written in a style that makes them so impenetrable? MIT cognitive scientists believe they have uncovered the answer to that question. Just as “magic spells” use special rhymes and archaic terms to signal their power, the convoluted...
Vance offers little experience and few connections to support Trump in a second term, but it doesn’t seem like Trump wants a vice president anyway. Editor’s Note: The role of the vice president varies by administration, but certain characteristics make them more influential. The University of Maryland’s Aaron Mannes details these characteristics and argues that, should...
Allies and adversaries will take note if U.S. foreign policy swings wildly from one administration to the next. A version of this piece originally appeared in the Substack “Blue Blaze.” The United States remains a superpower—indeed, the superpower. As such, its policies and preferences will shape every region of the world in the coming years and decades. The post-World...
-(1).jpg?sfvrsn=cd4b276e_5 "Throwing the Book at Foreign Influence: the Menendez Verdict and Going Beyond FARA")
Effectively countering foreign malign influence requires leveraging the full weight of the very institutions such efforts seek to undermine. July 16 was a busy day for the Southern District of New York. Around 12:30 p.m. ET, a New York jury informed the court that it had reached a verdict in the criminal prosecution of New Jersey’s senior...
