You know what activists think. They tell you. Often and loudly. That’s what makes them activists. Those active for good causes play a vital role. Without them, the pace of positive change would slow to a crawl. But activists’ attitudes don’t always reflect the views of the majority, or even […] Read more »
Building on anti-mask activism, far-right groups pivot from mandates to midterms
… Extremism trackers say the past two years of fighting pandemic restrictions have given far-right groups a new generation of recruits and a blueprint for taking the lead in conservative organizing. The midterm season, they warn, brings a heightened risk of political violence, as armed groups build on those gains […] Read more »
Want to Understand the Red-State Onslaught? Look at Florida.
The red-state drive to roll back civil rights is entering a new phase, perhaps best symbolized by Florida’s passage this week of the “Don’t Say ‘Gay’” bill censoring how schools discuss sexual orientation. President Joe Biden’s administration is leaning more heavily into the fight, even as business leaders are retreating […] Read more »
Red states are remaking the civil liberties landscape
From Florida, Georgia and Tennessee through Texas, South Dakota and Montana, Republican-controlled states are approving a torrent of culturally conservative hot-button legislation at a pace unmatched in recent times, and probably ever. States where the GOP controls both the governorship and state legislature are moving in unprecedented numbers to restrict […] Read more »
Canadian trucker protests show how the loudest voices in the room distort democracy
What happens when the voices of a few drown out the views of the many? Ed Jones/AFP via Getty Images Matthew Jordan, Penn State and Sydney Forde, Penn State After Canadian truckers upset with vaccination mandates made their way to Ottawa, they parked their vehicles near Parliament and started making […] Read more »
There’s a Reason Trump Loves the Truckers
The truckers’ protest in Ottawa is the latest barrage from the world’s disaffected in the revolt that found expression in the 2016 election of Donald Trump; the 2017 Unite the Right march on Charlottesville, Va.; the rise of QAnon; and the Jan. 6 insurrection in the halls of Congress. One […] Read more »