Thoughts on “The Radical Center” and the Defense of Democracy
Jeffrey C. Isaac suggests that this "paradoxical idea" (paradoxical, for: how can “radicalism” be “centrist?”) is best defended by Goldfarb himself, but... Read more.
Small Acts of Legal Resistance
May 15, 2025 While the Trump administration has initiated dangerous Executive Orders and policy changes at a dizzying pace, it has been countered at every... Read more.
The Constitution of Freedom: A Reply to Micah Beckwith’s Misreading of the 3/5 Compromise
Lt. Governor Micah Beckwith recently took to X to post a short video denouncing the “DEI radical revisionist history” taught by “professors at woke schools.”... Read more.
Letter to a Ukrainian Friend
Photo: “President Trump clashes with Ukrainian President Zelenskyy Meeting in the Oval Office on Feb. 28, 2025.” Source: The White House. From Wikimedia... Read more.
Introduction: South Korean Students Respond to the Crisis of Their Democracy
Photo: ‘Speaker of the National Assembly of South Korea signing resolution approving the Impeachment of Yoon Suk Yeol,’ 14 December 2024. 대한민국 국회,... Read more.
Why Tim Walz Is the Right Pick for Vice President
The few weeks of speculation are over. Kamala Harris has selected Minnesota Governor Tim Walz as her VP running mate. All six of the leading candidates had strengths... Read more.
Kamala Harris and the Future of American Democracy
The prospects for American democracy seemed dimmer than at any time since Donald Trump won the 2016 Presidential election. Harris’s ascendancy has changed everything.... Read more.
Joe Biden Is Now Democracy’s Greatest Liability
Joe Biden’s performance last night in CNN’s so-called “debate” with Donald Trump was a monumental disaster, for his campaign and for everyone who cares about... Read more.
Understanding the Difference Between Anti-Semitism and Pro-Palestinian Activism
We must be as clear as possible about what is anti-Semitism and what it is not, so that real political differences are not transformed into existential confrontations.... Read more.
Reflections on the War between Israel and Hamas
Voices of sanity are in danger of being drowned out by the rhetoricians of all-out war When violence answers violence in a growing frenzy that makes the simple language... Read more.
Why Liz Cheney Matters and Her Defeat Matters Too
By opposing Trump, she is opposing Trumpism, an authoritarian, xenophobic, and racist movement that has taken over the Republican party. It’s now official.... Read more.
The Supreme Court’s Attack on Reproductive Freedom is an Attack on Liberal Democracy
Roe v. Wade is now history, and with it the U.S. constitutional protection of a woman’s right to choose whether or not to carry a pregnancy to term. A half century... Read more.
The Important Evidence from the January 6 Hearings Must Be Better Communicated If Constitutional Democracy Is to Be Saved
The House Select Committee to Investigate the January 6 Attack on the United States Capitol has now completed its second two-hour hearing, with its third hearing... Read more.
Staring Into the Abyss
Reflections on the value of alliances for supporters of democracy and their enemies Abyss: The great deep or bottomless gulf believed in old cosmogonies to lie beneath... Read more.
Putin’s War on Ukraine Is a War on Academic Freedom and an Occasion for Solidarity in its Defense
As I observed in a recent commentary, Russian teachers are at the center of whatever debate is still possible in Russia about Putin’s bloody war on Ukraine. The... Read more.
Further Thoughts on Ukrainian Heroism and its Tragic Limits
From the moment that Russian troops first attacked his country on February 24, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelinskyy has bravely rallied his country, and much... Read more.
Why We in the U.S. Should Care About Putin’s Invasion of Ukraine
Note: What follows is a talk that I presented on Tuesday, March 1, at a Teach-In organized by Indiana University’s Russian and East European Institute and held... Read more.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy, The Hero We Now Need
Volodymyr Zelenskyy is a 44-year-old man who until a few years ago was a professional actor and comedian. In 2019 he was catapulted to the Presidency of Ukraine,... Read more.
Putin’s Attack on Ukrainian Freedom Must Be Opposed
On November 4, 1956, Soviet tanks entered Budapest to perform the “fraternal task” of suppressing a short-lived popular revolt against the Soviet-installed Communist... Read more.
Academic Freedom Under Pressure
The Case of Andrea Pető Andrea Pető is a Professor in the Department of Gender Studies at Central European University. She is an extremely well-published scholar... Read more.