Category: Politics
Modern-Day Gulag In the Golden State
by Barbara Koeppel | Jun 4, 2019 | Health, PoliticsBack in 1997, the Supreme Court ruled that the practice known as civil commitment was legal. This meant that 20 states—which had passed laws permitting the ongoing incarceration of sex offenders—could continue to keep the men confined even after they completed their prison terms. (See “Sex Crimes and Criminal Justice,” from the May 2018 issue […]
Trump Tinkers With Formula That Sets Poverty Threshold
by Steven Pressman | Jun 2, 2019 | Economy, PoliticsIf President Trump has his way, things are about to go from bad to worse for America’s poor. On May 7, the Office of Management and Budget proposed changing the way that poverty gets measured in the U.S. The public has 45 days to respond to this proposal (June 21); then the government will decide […]
Anti-Abortion Rhetoric Mislabeled “Pro-Life”
by Richard Cherwitz | May 24, 2019 | Health, PoliticsScholars of communication for decades have studied how rhetoric matters—how language choices are strategic and can substantially affect the outcome of debates and policy on important public issues. Recent intense and emotionally-charged abortion arguments in several states offer powerful illustrations of the way language makes a difference. From a rhetorical perspective, the recent Alabama law […]
Kavanaugh and Gorsuch Cast Deciding Votes to Overrule Precedent and Further Endanger Roe v. Wade
by Elliot Mincberg | May 23, 2019 | Legal Affairs, PoliticsIn our May issue we published Confirmed Judges, Confirmed Fears by Elliot Mincberg, a senior fellow at the indispensable People for the American Way (PFAW), on the alarming impact Trump appointees are already having on the federal courts. Analysts at PFAW have continued to monitor the decisions of these judges, and The Spectator is presenting […]
The New Generation of Climate Activists Are Media-Savvy Teens
by WS Editors | May 23, 2019 | Culture, EnvironmentGreta Thunberg was 15 when she initiated a school strike for the climate last fall outside the Swedish Parliament. Her protest, known as Fridays for Future, has since spread across the globe and has now arrived in the United States. Greta posted this call to action on YouTube. We are on a school strike for […]