How Biden can revive Democrats as Senate considers voting rights bill
Today we're leading the newsletter with a column from Jill Lawrence on President Biden and how he can revive his party from here on out. Happy reading!
How Biden can revive Democrats as Senate considers voting rights bill
By Jill Lawrence
America’s political choices these days are not particularly appetizing.
There are the morose and seemingly hapless Democrats, who are trying to transcend last week’s setbacks by marching straight into the jaws of defeat: guaranteed failure of their big plan to protect voting and elections.
And there are the beyond-the-pale Republicans – in so many cases so cultishly devoted to Donald Trump, election lies and defending the indefensible, yet who could end up running our country. In fact, striking new Gallup data shows Republicans finished 2021 with a 5-point advantage over Democrats in party identification, compared with a 9-point disadvantage in the first quarter.
Trump’s 2020 election denialism, the Capitol attack on Jan. 6, 2021, and then-record COVID cases and deaths fueled the Democratic edge a year ago, according to Gallup analyst Jeffrey M. Jones. The Democratic decline began with President Joe Biden’s chaotic Afghanistan withdrawal and now reflects rising inflation and the new omicron variant.
Today's Editorial Cartoon
Start calling people by their preferred pronouns
By Steven Petrow
Today a good number of emails end with the sender’s name and contact info, with an additional line for pronouns. They come from work and personal emails alike. I’ve also noticed that younger folks are increasingly introducing themselves by saying, “Hi, My name is __ and my pronouns are they/them.”
The use of the singular “they” as a pronoun, what was once unfamiliar – and I thought grammatically incorrect – has become almost commonplace in my daily life. I laugh at myself because, when it comes to language, I had long considered myself a traditionalist, which is to say: No split infinitives. No series without the Oxford comma. That would have included not using a plural pronoun for a single person. At the same time, I’ve tried to respect people by referring to them using "they." When a friend gets married and changes their last name, I’ll start calling them by their new surname. When a colleague announces they’re transgender, I’m ready to do my level best and begin using their new name and pronouns. In each case, we’re talking about identity and respect, which trumps grammar.
Antisemitism in Texas synagogue hostage crisis downplayed yet again
By Zach Schapira
When I passed the armed guards posted outside my synagogue Saturday morning, I had almost become desensitized to their presence.
It had been nearly three years since the most recent synagogue shooting on U.S. soil, when a gunman killed one and injured three worshipers outside San Diego, and just a bit longer since 11 were murdered and six wounded at a Pittsburgh congregation in what became the bloodiest antisemitic attack in American history.
Now, following the hostage crisis in Colleyville, Texas, the vigilance is woefully, necessarily, renewed. And a profound despondence has also returned.
Other columns to read today
- Why was truck driver sentenced to 110 years? Waning trial system.
- You can't say that! Bullies are trying to shut down 'divisive' ideas.
- Changing US maternal deaths: No woman should die giving life
- The truth about COVID vaccines: Not perfect, but they're saving many lives.
Columns on qualified immunity
Currently, we are doing a series examining the issue of qualified immunity. For more on the series read here.
- How the KKK Act could help protect and enforce constitutional rights for all of us
- I was a victim of police brutality. It's why I became a cop.
- Police recruitment was already tough. Qualified immunity attacks make it worse.
- 'They took my life away': Teen girl jailed by untrustworthy cop must be allowed to sue
This newsletter was compiled by Jaden Amos.