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Category Archives: Columns
How John Avlon, A Speechwriter-Turned-Author-Turned-Editor-in-Chief, Gets It All Done – Writing Routines
Who: John Avlon, Editor-in-chief, The Daily Beast; Author of, most recently, Washington’s Farewell Claim to fame: Many, but among them, wrote several of Mayor Giuliani’s speeches and eulogies after 9/11 Why’d we pick him, in ten words: John’s done it … Continue reading
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Biden’s smart political move angers progressives – CNN
President Joe Biden gets it. Being seen as “soft on crime” is the Achilles’ heel for Democrats — and he’s not going to let them deepen that negative association, even if it angers some progressives. At issue is a local … Continue reading
The biggest lesson from the debt ceiling fight – CNN
The vital center has saved America from default – and Congress from itself. Again. On Wednesday night, the House of Representatives passed the debt limit bill, with 149 Republicans and 165 Democrats voting for it. On Thursday night, the Senate … Continue reading
It’s time to go beyond destroying statues to building new ones – CNN
The righteous fury to tear down Confederate monuments has begun to stray in recent days toward a more arguably indiscriminate toppling of statues, ranging from President Ulysses S. Grant to St. Junipero Serra to George Washington and the removal of … Continue reading
Eight in Ten Americans are Concerned About Partisanship. Here’s How ‘The Unum Test’ Can Reunite America – Time Magazine
Healing our divided nation is the defining challenge of our time. Nothing less than the success of the American experiment is at stake. Our problems won’t be solved with a single election or a new president. Hyper-partisanship has poisoned our … Continue reading
The Resilient City – from Empire City: New York Through the Centuries
From “Empire City: New York Through the Centuries” Three hundred and forty-one New York City firefighters. Twenty-three New York City police officers. Thirty-seven Port Authority police officers. Three court officers. Two EMS workers. Thousands of innocent civilians. Numbers alone, of … Continue reading
How to Stop a Second Insurrection
One year after the US Capitol attack on January 6, the chief plotters of the attempted coup still have not been brought to justice. And just as truth must proceed reconciliation, legal accountability and legislative remedies must be imposed to … Continue reading
The Ballad of Lester Maddox
As we’ve been reminded by the fight in Indiana, supporters of discrimination have always cloaked their views in appeals to personal liberty. Once upon a time, a restaurant owner refused to serve people who were different. He said he did … Continue reading
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George Clooney: A 21st-Century Statesman – Newsweek
In the age of Twitter-shortened attention spans, fame is an increasingly powerful weapon of diplomacy. John Avlon on how George Clooney is helping to bring change—and a hefty dose of hope—to Sudan. George Clooney hates the paparazzi. But he also … Continue reading
The Westboro Defectors Speak: Phelps Granddaughters Embrace Tolerance – The Daily Beast
On Thursday afternoon Megan and Grace Phelps-Roper visited the Museum of Tolerance in Los Angeles. They’d been inside only a few minutes when they saw a photo of their family. There, as part of the permanent exhibit, was an image … Continue reading
In Defense of U2 and The War on Apathy
Drill down on all the hipster conventional wisdom and the core complaint is earnestness. With number one albums across four decades, their very success undercuts the rebellious edge that’s at the heart of rock n roll. To their critics, they … Continue reading
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Why Trump Can’t Afford to Lose This Election – CNN
President Donald Trump is desperate to get reelected — so desperate that he’s refusing to commit to the peaceful transfer of power. But the New York Times’ report revealing insights from two decades of tax returns might shed some light … Continue reading
Where’s your health care plan, Mr. President? – CNN
Pandemics don’t care about partisan politics. So when Robert Redfield — President Donald Trump’s director of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and a lifelong conservative — testified to Congress Wednesday that a Covid-19 vaccine wouldn’t be ready … Continue reading
GOP’s Supreme Court hypocrisy in their own words – CNN
In March 2016, Sen. Lindsey Graham brushed off accusations of partisanship and invited critics to hold his feet to the fire after he opposed President Barack Obama’s Supreme Court pick to replace Justice Antonin Scalia. His reasoning? It was an … Continue reading
Poliwood: The Ups and Downs of Combining Celebrities and Politics – CNN
Poliwood — the intersection of politics and Hollywood — can be a powerful combination, capable of elevating policy debates and inspiring broad audiences. Unfortunately, it can also dumb us down to a nation of slack-jawed spectators. This past week, we … Continue reading
Trump’s McCarthyism Charge is Deeply Ironic – CNN
“Study the late Joseph McCarthy, because we are now in period with Mueller and his gang that make Joseph McCarthy look like a baby!” President Donald Trump tweeted from the final days of his golfing vacation at Bedminster, New Jersey. … Continue reading
Trump, the Saudis, and America’s Disastrous ‘Enemy of My Enemy is My Friend’ Strategy – CNN
“He’s a son of a bitch, but he’s our son of a bitch.” President Franklin Delano Roosevelt is said to have been talking about Nicaraguan dictator Anastasio Somoza. It was 1939, and you can imagine him, cigarette and martini in … Continue reading
Independent Voters are Trump’s Judge and Jury – CNN
It’s the best of times and the worst of times for independent voters and candidates. With Washington bitterly polarized, the need to break out of the divisive duopoly of Republican and Democrat has never been clearer — especially for those … Continue reading
Cab driver. Harvard dad. Covid-19 victim.
The streets of New York are filled with ghosts these days. It is spring outside, but the sidewalks are empty and the streets feel haunted. Only sirens pierce the silence. Some of the familiar faces will come back when this … Continue reading
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The Best Columns of the Year – The Daily Beast
I’m a fan of the American art form once known as the newspaper column. That’s why I co-edited two Deadline Artists anthologies with my friends Errol Louis and Jesse Angelo—to honor and archive the best of the past. But the … Continue reading