- Heather Cox Richardson explains why the right to vote, not the Second Amendment, is the key to maintaining our rights;
- Robert Reich wonders where the lawlessness of the Trump regime will end;
- Paul Krugman sees the end of Pax Americana;
- Connie Willis on the best cartoon of the day, and the funniest thing of the day (from the Borowitz Report);
- Short items;
- Katherine Stewart at NYT asks, Now Will You Believe What Is Happening Right in Front of Us?
- MSN’s Lindsay Beyerstein explores delusion as the key mental state of Trump’s supporters;
- And my thoughts about how all of this is about human nature, in the ancient world and in the modern world.
What are the pundits saying?
Heather Cox Richardson, February 9, 2025
On Friday, President Donald Trump issued an executive order “protecting Second Amendment rights.” The order calls for Attorney General Pam Bondi to examine all gun regulations in the U.S. to make sure they don’t infringe on any citizen’s right to bear arms. The executive order says that the Second Amendment “is foundational to maintaining all other rights held by Americans.”
In fact, it is the right to vote for the lawmakers who make up our government that is foundational to maintaining all other rights held by Americans.
The claim in the executive order implies that it is only at gunpoint that any other rights are maintained. A very primitive, frontier-justice notion; a concern for force, not principle. Heather counters at length.
