Laying Down the Law

“The rule-of-law casualties of these presidentially provoked national crises are mounting by the day. America cannot withstand three-and-a-half more years of this president if his first few months are a harbinger of what lies ahead.” J. Michael Luttig with a very clear (if depressing) overview of what’s gone down so far in The Atlantic (Gift Article): The End of Rule of Law in America. “After these first three tyrannical, lawless months of this presidency, surely Americans can understand now that Donald Trump is going to continue to decimate America for the next three-plus years. He will continue his assault on America, its democracy, and rule of law until the American people finally rise up and say, ‘No more.'”

+ The big question is whether people will rise up and say “No more.” What really bothers me is people who are encouraging Americans to rise up while leaving America. Did Paul Revere warn that “the British are coming!” while riding his horse into Canada? NYT (Gift Article): “Marci Shore, Timothy Snyder and Jason Stanley, all professors at Yale and experts in authoritarianism, explain why America is especially vulnerable to a democratic backsliding — and why they are leaving the United States to take up positions at the University of Toronto.” (There have been many stories about these departures. These folks may be willing to abandon America, but there definitely standing steadfastly behind their determination to make headlines.)