A compendium of the best reporting and commentary surrounding the pivotal 2024 elections in the United States. You won't find horse race coverage here, or the standard "both sides" BS that passes so often for political journalism. What you will find are links, with brief commentary, to work that I believe advances the conversation we should be having about America's – and the world's – future. Remember: Everything is at stake this year. (Unfortunately, some of the work I point to is behind paywalls.)
While North Carolina was once a national leader in renewable energy and climate change resiliency policies, that changed in the early 2010s when Republicans secured control of both chambers of the state’s legislature and a former utility company executive moved into the governor’s mansion. Since then, GOP politicians and their big-business allies have sabotaged climate resiliency projects, delayed plans to embrace renewable energy, and stonewalled efforts to prepare the state for stronger storms and a rising sea.
This reminds me of Florida politicians' indifference to enacting home-building codes that would protect property against hurricane damage in the years before Hurricane Andrew wiped out swaths of the Miami area. As we learn again and again, the bad policies that come home to roost can be traced back, at least in part, to voters' decisions. If you install people into high office who are hostile to environmental protection, renewable energy, and dealing with climate change, they are going to pass laws that reflect their preferences, and damn the consequences. North Carolina is today's exemplar. Would Hurricane Helene have been a mega-disaster under the best of policies? No doubt it still would have been bad, bad news – in part because the world's governments have done far too little to stem the worst effects of climate change. But this event might not have been as catastrophic for the people of North Carolina – and the rest of the nation – as it is proving to be. Get ready for more of this under the best circumstances, and infinitely worse problems if Trump, who denies the existence of climate change, retakes the presidency.
Earlier in the year, during the primary elections, activists urged Democrats to check the box for “Uncommitted,” as a rebuke to Biden. But now, just weeks away from the general election, these disaffected Democrats could cost Harris the election.
It would be tragic in every possible way if these "disaffected Democrats" denied Harris Michigan's electoral votes. The anger is completely understandable. But acting on it in this way, if the consequences meant returning Trump to the White House, would ultimately make America, and the world, a lot worse – and these voters are among Trump's least favorite people in the best of circumstances. Whatever anyone thinks of Biden's policy toward Netanyahu – in my opinion Israel's prime minister is a war criminal – it is essential to keep the larger stakes in mind. The big picture also includes the escalating insanity of our election system, which invites a small number of voters in one "swing state" to decide a national election. But here we are.
h/t Bill Mitchell
Will Netanyahu and Khamenei set the world on fire?
The game consisted of three moves. After receiving a war brief and instructions from the Israeli prime minister, teams representing the Israeli Ministry of Defense, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and intelligence community formulated their preferred options for launching nuclear strikes against Iran. The prime minister selected one. Move two begins after the Israeli military carries out this strike. In move two, the teams were reconstituted to represent Israel, friendly Arab nations, and the United States and its European allies. Control played Iran, Russia, and China. Each team responded diplomatically and militarily to Israel’s initial nuclear strike against Iran. The game’s third and final move was a “hot wash” where participants discussed their insights.
I urge you to read this article, first published in February after a carefully prepared wargame – involving staffers from Congress, the executive branch, military experts and others – ended with a horrifying but, it seems, predictable outcome. Iran is an extremely nasty regime and, the report says, could make a nuclear weapon "in weeks" of making a decision to do so. Israel has a large number of nuclear weapons, and the current government is nothing if not assertive (to put it mildly). And never mind Putin's musings about launching nukes into Ukraine. The world is getting more dangerous at the fastest rate in my memory.
Purdue students aren’t alone. The removal of campus polling places has long been a concern for voting-access advocates. On top of the fact that it creates a barrier for student voters, it also makes it harder for colleges and universities to develop consistent strategies for on-campus voting year over year.
Republicans have a national policy: Do whatever it takes to prevent likely Democrats from voting. This is part of a broad assault on voting rights before, during, and after elections – an attack on democracy – being waged by one of our two major political parties. It is brazen, and it's working. Every election cycle brings new restrictions. Then add the party's broadening campaign to muck with vote counting and election certification. It's all of a piece. I hope the Purdue students will do whatever it takes to leap over these barriers – and that a Democratic congress and president next year will re-enact a tough, broad voting rights law to shred the cynical restrictions that get worse and worse, and more and more effective.
Voting is just part of democracy, but it's the essential place to start. Make sure you're registered. Doublecheck in the fall, well before Election Day, because in some states Republican officials are removing people, mostly those who tend to vote for Democrats, from voting rolls.
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Lucy Dean Stockton
Gabriella Rudy
Max Balton
François Diaz-Maurin
Johanna Alonso
