Journalism • Press Freedom
Robert McChesney, the Great Champion of Journalism and Democracy, Has Died
John Nichols
The Nation
Bob, with his remarkable intellect and even more remarkable capacity for communicating his vision of a media that served citizens rather than corporations, was always the driving force. His research and his insatiable curiosity helped him to see the future more clearly than any scholar of his generation...
Published On: 03/27/2025
Democracy • Legal
Trump’s New Executive Order Is an “Astonishing and Unprecedented Voter Suppression” Effort
Ari Berman
Mother Jones
On Tuesday afternoon, President Donald Trump signed a far-reaching executive order that Eliza Sweren-Becker, senior counsel for the Brennan Center for Justice’s voting rights and elections program, described as “an astonishing and unprecedented voter suppression” effort. It would upend how Americans register to vote, how they cast their ballots, and how their votes are counted.
Published On: 03/26/2025
Journalism • Press Freedom
The Trump administration axed Voice of America, and China’s state media are delighted
Peter Guo and Mithil Aggarwal
NBC News
Chinese state media are celebrating President Donald Trump’s move to gut Voice of America and other U.S. government-funded news outlets that push back against authoritarian regimes.
Published On: 03/17/2025
Canada • Safety
American family seeks asylum in Canada, citing Trump
Dalson Chen and Jacob Barker
CBC News
A family from Illinois is anxiously awaiting a decision from a Canadian tribunal as they seek asylum north of the border, claiming that America's politics have made them feel unsafe. Kaitlyn and Ted Berg say they made the recent decision to uproot their children as they witnessed the fallout of November's presidential election.
Published On: 03/11/2025
Technology • Threat Management
Hegseth halts cyber operations against Russia, adding to an ugly pattern
Steve Benen
Maddow Blog
Late last week, a publication called The Record, which focuses on news related to cybersecurity, published a report that seemed hard to believe. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, the outlet reported, “ordered U.S. Cyber Command to stand down from all planning against Russia, including offensive digital actions.”
Published On: 03/10/2025
Safety • Threat Management
Taking Heart
Robert Reich
Robert Reich Substack
A few people I know are coping by remaining in denial. They continue to normalize what’s happening in the familiar terms of Republican versus Democrat, right versus left, conservative versus liberal or progressive.
Published On: 03/09/2025
Democracy • Technology
‘Startup Nation’ Groups Say They’re Meeting Trump Officials to Push for Deregulated ‘Freedom Cities’
CAROLINE HASKINS AND VITTORIA ELLIOTT
Wired
Trey Goff, the chief of staff of the startup nation known as Próspera, tells WIRED that he and other Próspera representatives working under an advocacy group called the Freedom Cities Coalition have been meeting with the Trump administration about the idea in recent weeks. He claims the administration has been very receptive. In 2023, Trump floated the idea of creating 10 freedom cities. Now, Goff says that Próspera’s vision is to create “not just 10, but as many as the market can handle.”
Published On: 03/07/2025
Journalism • Press Freedom
Shattered by a perfect storm: How Trump’s cuts are crippling journalism beyond the United States
Gretel Kahn, Marina Adami, Eduardo Suárez
Reuters Institute
Before Trump’s inauguration, the US government supported independent journalism in more than 30 countries. Most of this funding was channelled through USAID. According to a USAID factsheet recently mentioned by Reporters Without Borders (RSF) and now taken offline, the agency funded training and support for 6,200 journalists and assisted 707 outlets.
Published On: 03/07/2025
Democracy
Is Trump preparing to invoke the Insurrection Act? Signs are pointing that way
Brett Wagner
San Francisco Chronicle
The clock is ticking down on a crucial but little-noticed part of President Donald Trump’s first round of executive orders — the one tasking the secretaries of the Department of Defense and Department of Homeland Security to submit a joint report, within 90 days, recommending “whether to invoke the Insurrection Act.”
Published On: 03/05/2025
Democracy
Insurrection Act of 1807
Wikipedia
Wikipedia
The Insurrection Act of 1807 is a United States federal law[1] that empowers the president of the United States to deploy the U.S. military and federalized National Guard troops within the United States in particular circumstances, such as to suppress civil disorder, insurrection, or rebellion.
Published On: 03/04/2025