On Thursday, federal prosecutors in Washington, D.C. dropped charges against 129 of the remaining 188 people facing rioting charges during the DisruptJ20 protests on Donald Trump’s inauguration last January. The decision comes after a jury found all six of the defendants in the first round of trials not guilty on all charges on Dec. 21. […]
national politics
Democracy in Crisis: The state of protest in 2018

Donald Trump’s second year in office begins like every new Star Wars movie: with the Resistance in tatters, trying to rebuild. There is plenty of internet #Resistance, ranging from insane conspiracy theories to serious commentary and organizing — but this online profusion has resulted in IRL confusion. […]
Letter to the Editor: Legislative session opens today; call now
Democracy in Crisis: How Screwed Are We in 2018?

At the beginning of 2017, we were in purgatory. Remember the interregnum, after we elected Trump but before he took office? We knew it would be bad, but we also had no idea how bad or what to expect. Then Trump took office. Hundreds of people were arrested on Inauguration Day. Tens of thousands came out for the Women’s March. People spontaneously stormed airports when Trump’s first travel ban went into effect.
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Democracy in Crisis: 10 of Trump’s insane tweets
Letter to the Editor: Paul Ryan promoting a higher birth rate? “Misogyny in its finest hour!”

I frequently have the TV on when I’m doing work in my kitchen and the other day was no exception. CNN happened to be on and I caught the last few minutes of Paul Ryan’s news conference. I wasn’t paying much attention until I heard him advocating for the overhaul of entitlements and increasing the birth rate in this country. […]
Letter to the Editor: Take a Minute to Help Save Net Neutrality
Democracy in Crisis: Jackson Mayor on Trump’s visit to the Mississippi Civil Rights Museum
Democracy in Crisis: In the struggle to reclaim the U.S. from Trump, impeachment is an unlikely solution
Iowa City will likely keep City of Literature designation despite U.S. withdrawal from UNESCO

The U.S. plans to withdraw from UNESCO, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, but Iowa City UNESCO City of Literature Executive Director John Kenyon said he doesn’t believe the decision will have much of an impact on the local designation or the activities of the local organization. […]
Democracy in Crisis: What ‘War and Peace,’ umbrellas and anti-fascists tell us about the way we understand the world

Last week, a few moments before Senators Richard Burr and Mark Warner, chair and co-chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee respectively, came out to present an update on their investigation into Russian attempts to interfere with the 2016 election, a man walked out carrying a large cardboard sign — not a protest sign, but the clip-arty press-conference explainers that are always terrible but expensive looking. […]