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Category Archives: Columns
A ‘New York Values’ Walking Tour for Ted Cruz
It’s easy to slag off big cities when you’re running for the red state nomination. It’s an urban vs. rural rivalry that goes back to Hamilton and Jefferson. But Ted Cruz misfired big time when he tried to get cheers … Continue reading
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Why We Stand With Charlie Hebdo – And You Should Too – The Daily Beast
The massacre of cartoonists at the French magazine Charlie Hebdo is a crystallizing moment. The shock brings clarity—a reminder that evil exists and free speech, no matter who might it offend, is a bedrock value of liberal democracy. An attack … Continue reading
Fidel Castro Finally Dies, But His Apologists Live On
Cuba’s communist dictator is finally dead. Good riddance. His apologists live on but they will look foolish in the rearview mirror of history. When a five-decades-long dictator dies, it is customary to hear analysts offer up the following kind of … Continue reading
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How The Daily Beast Will Stand Up to President Donald Trump
We will be the loyal opposition. We will not deny his legitimacy. But we will oppose his worst policies and hold him to account. In 1960, after John F. Kennedy narrowly defeated Richard Nixon, staunch Hollywood conservative John Wayne declared, … Continue reading
Jim Harrison Can Make You a Better Animal – The Daily Beast
Arguably America’s greatest living author—and certainly our earthiest—lives half the year in Livingston, Montana. It’s a town grounded in the early 20th-century West, with neon signs on brick buildings and mountains in the background, all crowned by a former train … Continue reading
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Tagged Book and Movie Reviews, Music, The Daily Beast
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Why Speaker Johnson says America is not a democracy – CNN
It might surprise you to learn that the new speaker of the House, Mike Johnson, has said ”we don’t live in a democracy.” Merriam-Webster’s definition of democracy is “government by the people; especially rule of the majority.” That’s the way … Continue reading
Moe Tucker Interview: Velvet Underground Drummer Embraces Tea Party
A few weeks ago, the British music press freaked out when they found a clip of one ‘Maureen Tucker’ being interviewed at a Tea Party rally in Georgia. Could this be the same Moe Tucker who played drums alongside Lou … Continue reading
Why evangelicals should care about Trump’s lies (and other sins) – CNN
In a season of campaign schwag, a baseball cap caught my eye. Beneath an American flag were the words “Make Lying Wrong Again.” It framed the stakes of the election in a simple way. Does lying matter anymore? Honesty has … Continue reading
Our Murrow Moment
The time for hand-wringing and hysteria is over. The Trump presidency promises a civic stress test. In a time of principled fights, citizens and journalists need to respond with fearlessness rooted in fairness. “We must not confuse dissent with disloyalty…We … Continue reading
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Is there room for a religious left? – CNN
President Joe Biden’s private audience with Pope Francis on Friday at the Vatican was a moment to reconsider the role that faith plays in American politics – and whether it can be depolarized going forward. For decades, faith has been … Continue reading
From Wall Street to the Street: A Cabdriver’s Tale – CNN.com
Jack Alvo drives the streets of the New York City six days a week — the 5 a.m. to 5 p.m. shift. He never imagined he’d be a cabdriver at his age. After all, a decade ago, he was pulling … Continue reading
Scenes From Cleveland’s Republican Trumpocalypse
The Daily Beast editor-in-chief reports from Cleveland, where Donald Trump’s coronation feels more like a funeral. As one seasoned operative said: “I’ve got to go on TV and defend the indefensible.” CLEVELAND — You have to remind yourself that none … Continue reading
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How an ‘insurance policy’ draft was transformed into the poetry of ‘I Have a Dream’
In the pantheon of the greatest American speeches, the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech stands alongside the best of Lincoln, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Kennedy and Reagan — the only non-president to reach such rarified air. … Continue reading
Shutdown Crisis: We Need a Hostage Negotiator
With Washington held hostage by the far-right, the shutdown crisis is stuck in stalemate. John Avlon talks to a former FBI hostage negotiator about how to break the deadlock. Yes, it’s come to this. With the government shutdown entering its … Continue reading
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What George Washington Knew About Vladimir Putin’s Political Hack – The Daily Beast
The Founding Fathers reflected on how foreign influences try to erode republican government. We should, too. The idea that a foreign power might try to impact an American election sounds like a chapter ripped from a dystopian novel. It’s not. … Continue reading
Forty-Five Foiled Terror Plots Since 9/11 – The Daily Beast
As counterterrorism officials investigate a new ‘credible’ terror threat, records show there have been at least 45 jihadist terrorist-attack plots against Americans since 9/11—thwarted by intelligence work, policing, and citizen involvement. John Avlon reports. As news of a new “credible” … Continue reading
The MLK Whitewash
As he is rightly honored every year, it’s easy to forget that Dr. King was once reviled as a Communist and a threat to America. John Avlon on why the old attacks are a warning for today’s politicians. This Martin … Continue reading
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David McCullough on Reading History as Resistance
We’ve had inexperienced and irresponsible presidents before. We’ve had populists and people who weren’t regarded as remotely the best and the brightest. We’ve been always saved by some combination of character and honesty and, above all, a respect for our … Continue reading
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American Way: What We Didn’t Learn After Newtown – The Telegraph
Here’s the thing about shock. It fades. Certainly not for the families of the 20 children who were gunned down at Sandy Hook Elementary School one year ago. But for the rest of us, who recoiled in horror at the … Continue reading
Vaclav Havel’s Heroic Politics of Truth and Responsibility – The Daily Beast
It is a small irony of history that playwright, prisoner, and Czech president Vaclav Havel died on the same day as North Korean dictator Kim Jung-il. But the world that Havel helped shape had reduced Kim Jung-il to a strange … Continue reading