There are no institutions, including the press, an electoral system, the imperial presidency, the courts or the penal system, that can be defined as democratic. Only the fiction of democracy remains.
Governmental bodies in the U.S. aren’t meant to be owned by those who lead them. They aren’t possessions to be disposed of according to the will and inclination of the governors, writes Michael Brenner.
Rupert Murdoch certainly believed that he had played a major part in the 1972 Australian election result and that something was due to him, writes John Menadue.
PEN America notes that while fewer gag order measures have become law this year compared to 2021, this year’s spike in bills has included proposals that are far more punitive.
The proposal by Rishi Sunak, the former chancellor, is another attempt to stage a culture-war spectacle, writes Sita Balani. But these rhetorical games have real consequences.
Biden’s unwillingness to clearly head off such a visit reflects the insidious style of his own confrontational approach to China, writes Norman Solomon.
Climate Power’s analysis of fossil-fuel lobbying and the Schumer-Manchin deal arrives as fossil fuel companies begin reporting a surge in profits for the second quarter of 2022.