politics

There are 113 posts filed in politics (this is page 9 of 15).

Troubling

The above video of the UC Davis protests has been making its way around the internet. It is incredibly troubling in its depiction of police brutality against non-violent college-aged protesters. Brian Stelter at the NYTimes has a solid overall summary of the impact of this video in the media, and the current situation at UC Davis. James Fallows’ words at The Atlantic ring true to me:

Let’s stipulate that there are legitimate questions of how to balance the rights of peaceful protest against other people’s rights to go about their normal lives, and the rights of institutions to have some control over their property and public spaces. Without knowing the whole background, I’ll even assume for purposes of argument that the UC Davis authorities had legitimate reason to clear protestors from an area of campus — and that if protestors wanted to stage a civil-disobedience resistance to that effort, they should have been prepared for the consequence of civil disobedience, which is arrest.

I can’t see any legitimate basis for police action like what is shown here.

Finally, be sure to read Alexis Madrigal’s analysis, as well as Digby’s piece on the historical antecedents.

Using God’s Name in Vain

Frederick Clarkson, on the increasingly prevalent phenomenon of politicians invoking God’s name during political races:

While it is hard to top an endorsement from God, what if God has, as seems to be the case this time, several candidates in the same race? Maybe they were mistaken. Or perhaps God was up to something else.

Perhaps God wanted people to see the shameless way that pols invoke his name. Perhaps God wanted treat us to some spectacular displays of political sleazebaggery in the way pols will use and abuse God to achieve vainglorious ends.

Americans Now Owe More on Student Loans Than Credit Cards

USA Today has a sobering report on student loan debt in the U.S.:

The amount of student loans taken out last year crossed the $100 billion mark for the first time and total loans outstanding will exceed $1 trillion for the first time this year. Americans now owe more on student loans than on credit cards, reports the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.

Students are borrowing twice what they did a decade ago after adjusting for inflation, the College Board reports. Total outstanding debt has doubled in the past five years — a sharp contrast to consumers reducing what’s owed on home loans and credit cards.

Alex Pareene has some further perspective on it. In short: our generation is doomed.

The GOP Horse Race

Slate has a wonderful visualization of the race for the GOP presidential nomination, created using polling data over time. The most interesting thing from my perspective: Romney’s remarkable stability over time. It shows that he’s not going away, but that Republicans still, after many, many months, haven’t mustered the ability to fully embrace the guy yet. Poor Mitt.

Also, I appreciated Matt Bai’s in-depth look at the current state of the GOP establishment. Illuminating.

Student Loan Debt Has Grown Beyond Our Control

According to The Atlantic, student loans have grown 511% since 1999. That is a staggering amount (well above inflation, obviously, as well as the growth in number of students), but it’s also striking because it outpaces the growth in household debt by a longshot: 

This chart looks like a mistake, but it’s correct. Student loan debt has grown by 511% over this period. In the first quarter of 1999, just $90 billion in student loans were outstanding. As of the second quarter of 2011, that balance had ballooned to $550 billion.

The chart above is striking for another reason. See that blue line for all other debt but student loans? This wasn’t just any average period in history for household debt. This period included the inflation of a housing bubble so gigantic that it caused the financial sector to collapse and led to the worst recession since the Great Depression. But that other debt growth? It’s dwarfed by student loan growth.

The Offensiveness of ‘The Help’

Martha Southgate has a pretty articulate takedown detailing what’s wrong with The Help, whether in movie or book form (via Alexander):

[T]hese stories are more likely to get the green light and have more popular appeal (and often acclaim) if they have white characters up front. That’s a shame. The continued impulse to reduce the black women and men of the civil rights movement to bit players in the most extraordinary step towards justice that this nation has ever known is infuriating, to say the least.

That Ridiculous Michele Bachmann Newsweek Cover

Michelle Bachmann appeared on the cover of Newsweek recently, with an extremely unflattering photograph and headline. Adam Clark Estes has a nice rundown of reactions, most of which I agree with. In particular, I appreciate Jessica Grose’s begrudging defense of Bachmann:

The Newsweek cover was unnecessarily unflattering. I doubt Newsweek would portray a male candidate with such a lunatic expression on his face. As much as it pains me to admit it Bachmann is a legitimate candidate and major magazines should treat her like one.