Concern grows that proposed changes to Wisconsin’s election laws will damage public confidence
Election officials and some community groups raised concerns about several proposed changes to Wisconsin election laws on April 8 as others argued the measures would increase public confidence in elections. The bills are part of a Republican-backed package of proposed...
Derek Chauvin’s trial stirs questions about the legal, moral, and political legitimacy of any verdict
By Lewis R. Gordon, Professor of Philosophy, University of Connecticut There is a difference between enforcing the law and being the law. The world is now witnessing another in a long history of struggles for racial justice in which this distinction may be ignored....
The 1848 Capital Riots: An unsuccessful mass escape by enslaved Blacks that entangled a nation
By Michael David Cohen, Research Professor of Government, American University The summer of 2020 was not the first time America saw protests and violence over the treatment of African Americans. Long before the demonstrations over Black Lives Matter, long before the...
None Dare Call It Treason: Why there has been so little public discussion on the events of January 6
During Donald Trump’s presidency, the UC Davis law professor Carlton Larson spent a lot of time on the phone telling journalists: “It’s not treason.” Trump’s behavior towards Russia: not treason. All the FBI investigations Trump labeled as treason: also not treason....
Biting the hand that feeds: Republicans declare war on corporations that mildly defend voting rights
After spending much of his decades-long career raking in corporate cash and combating efforts to limit money in politics, Republican Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell on April 5 suddenly claimed to be deeply concerned by the political influence of “powerful...
A fog over future elections: How the Big Lie of “Stop the Steal” is being used to obstruct voting
At campaign rallies, Donald Trump specialized in crafting political slogans whose catchiness obscured the lack of actual policy behind them: “lock her up, America First, build the wall, drain the swamp.” But there was one Trump slogan that turned out to...
Nobody is safe until everyone is safe: World leaders propose global treaty for pandemic cooperation
National leaders from around the world Tuesday released a joint statement — also signed by the head of the World Health Organization — calling for the creation of a new international treaty that would better equip human society for future pandemics by forging lasting...
Recycled rhetoric from smallpox epidemics: Anti-vaccination fear campaigns are nothing new
Anti-vaccination sentiment is on repeat in this era of COVID-19, as misinformation about unsafe vaccines and mutated DNA is recycled from vaccination and inoculation campaigns that date back to smallpox. Smallpox was eradicated from the population in 1979. But prior...
Local advocates work to narrow racial disparities for those not given the option to get vaccinated
Community groups have found success through partnerships, deep listening, and meeting people where they are. They are lessons that transcend vaccination campaigns. Barbara felt ecstatic in January when a Wisconsin Department of Health Services letter confirmed that...
Paying a Price: People also gave up on pandemic safety measures a century ago when they got tired of them
By J. Alexander Navarro, Assistant Director of the Center for the History of Medicine, University of Michigan Picture the United States struggling to deal with a deadly pandemic. State and local officials enact a slate of social-distancing measures, gathering bans,...
Wisconsin sends mixed messages to undocumented immigrants who qualify for rent relief
Some regional nonprofits administering the $322 million emergency rental assistance program created by Governor Tony Evers may be unintentionally discouraging non-U.S. citizens from applying, even though immigration status holds no bearing on eligibility for the...
Data shows that Asian Americans were the top target of coronavirus-related discriminatory behavior
By Ying Liu, Research Scientist, Center for Economic and Social Research, USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences Since the very beginning of the pandemic, hate crimes toward Asians and Asian Americans have gotten increased media attention. Our data, from...
