Higher education’s market reckoning

  Want to buy a college campus? Maybe you’d like to commission the services of a psychology department. Perhaps you’re hoping to hire an associate provost for diversity initiatives.

  If so, you’re in luck! It’s a buyer’s market.

Mail-in voting does not cause fraud, but judges are buying the GOP’s argument that it does

  The Trump campaign and the Republican National Committee filed lawsuits recently against New Jersey and Nevada to prevent expansive vote-by-mail efforts in those states.

  These high-profile lawsuits make the same argument that Republicans have made in many lesser-known lawsuits that were filed around the country during the primary season. In all of these lawsuits, Republicans argue that voting by mail perpetuates fraud – an argument President Donald Trump makes daily on various media platforms.

Trump’s dictatorial tendencies

  We have seen President Trump’s dictatorial tendencies in the past, such as when he diverted Pentagon slush money to build his Berlin Wall along the border, or when he launched his vicious and destructive trade war against China, or when he raised taxes (i.e., tariffs) on the American people. All of these actions were done without congressional authorization, which is what dictatorship is all about.

4 science-based strategies to tame angry political debate and encourage tolerance

  “Climate change is a hoax,” my cousin said during a family birthday party. “I saw on Twitter it’s just a way to get people to buy expensive electric cars.” I sighed while thinking, “How can he be so misinformed?” Indeed, what I wanted to say was, “Good grief, social media lies are all you read.”

  No doubt my cousin thought the same of me, when I said Republican senators are too afraid of the president to do what’s right. Not wanting to create a scene, we let each other’s statements slide by in icy silence.

It’s past time to grant D.C. statehood

  For more than 200 years, the residents of Washington, D.C. have been subjected to systemic inequality and denied the full rights of citizenship that the residents of states enjoy—including voting representation in Congress.

  The U.S. House of Representatives recently passed H.R. 51 to remedy this imbalance and make Washington the 51st state. This column explores the history underlying D.C. residents’ fight for their full rights as Americans, including efforts to both advance and suppress statehood. The district’s more than 700,000 residents deserve not only to have a vote in Congress but also to enjoy the full benefits of citizenship without being subjected to the uneven and punitive oversight of the federal government and Congress in particular.

Steve Flowers: Inside the Statehouse - Legendary U.S. Supreme Court Justice Hugo Black was from Alabama

  The most enduring legacy a president will have is an appointment to the United States Supreme Court. A lifetime appointment to the high tribunal is the ultimate power. The nine Justices of the Supreme Court have omnipotent, everlasting power over most major decisions affecting issues and public policy in our nation. President Trump has had two SCOTUS appointments and confirmations. This is monumental. These appointments may be his lasting legacy.

9 reasons you can be optimistic that a vaccine for COVID-19 will be widely available in 2021

  As fall approaches rapidly, many are wondering if the race for a vaccine will bear fruit as early as January 2021.

  I am a physician-scientist and infectious diseases specialist at the University of Virginia, where I care for patients and conduct research into COVID-19. I am occasionally asked how I can be sure that researchers will develop a successful vaccine to prevent COVID-19. After all, we still don’t have one for HIV, the virus that causes AIDS.

  Here is where the current research stands, where I think we will be in five months, and why you can be optimistic about the delivery of a COVID-19 vaccine.

Trump’s war on the Postal Service hurts all Americans

  Donald Trump has declared war on the U.S. Postal Service in order to make it harder for people to vote by mail. The pandemic has placed financial strains on the post office—and when coupled with a 2006 law requiring the Postal Service to pre-fund retirees’ health care benefits, a requirement that exists for no other public or private entity, it is no surprise that the Postal Service is facing significant economic burdens. Yet Trump has repeatedly refused to provide it with the necessary funding to continue effective operations, noting that “they need that money in order to make the Postal Service work so it can take all of these millions and millions of ballots.”

The state of women’s suffrage – 100 years later

  The 19th Amendment gave women the right to vote, but systemic sexism and disenfranchisement of Black women still block equitable access to the ballot.

  Like other disenfranchised people in the United States, women have employed many strategies over the years in their fight for the right to vote.

  In the late 19th century, some women pushed for equal suffrage laws in individual states. Others turned to the courts. Still others made their voices heard through public protests, silent vigils, and hunger strikes.

Here’s why some people are willing to challenge bullying, corruption and bad behavior, even at personal risk

  Utah Senator Mitt Romney voted in February to convict President Donald Trump on the charge of abuse of power, becoming the first senator ever to vote against his own party’s president in an impeachment trial.

  Two Theranos employees – Erika Cheung and Tyler Shultz – spoke out about their concerns regarding the company’s practices even though they knew they could face lasting personal and professional repercussions.