‘No, Senator Manchin, the filibuster is not the ‘holy grail of democracy’
Jonathan Chait at New York
There have been “some strained and ahistorical defenses of the filibuster,” but Joe Manchin’s “holy grail of democracy is a new level,” says Jonathan Chait. There is “no serious definition of the term that would define it as an essential feature of democracy.” Some senators “have convinced themselves that the modern version of the filibuster was decreed by the Founders and etched into the foundations of the Republic.” It is a “totally irrational form of government.”
‘Why Janet Jackson’s comments about Kamala Harris are especially disappointing’
Robyn Autry at MSNBC
Janet Jackson is “rightly receiving backlash for mischaracterizing Vice President Kamala Harris’ race,” says Robin Autry. Jackson “seemed disturbingly unaware that she was spouting misinformation.” It is a “moment that should cause us to rethink what it means to have celebrities expressing their political views” when they “live radically different lives than the rest of us.” It is “difficult to view any questioning of Harris’ race as anything other than an unwarranted personal attack.”
‘Who cares about RFK Jr. and New York magazine’s Olivia Nuzzi? You should.’
Bill Goodykoontz at USA Today
RFK Jr. and Olivia Nuzzi are “consenting adults, if relatively high-profile ones,” says Bill Goodykoontz. Does their alleged relationship “really matter? Here’s a reasonable answer: It does.” Journalists “don’t need one more thing to be used against them, no matter what the nature of the relationship was.” As a result of Nuzzi’s “stature in the business and because of Kennedy’s high-profile history of bizarre antics,” the “story is now everywhere,” and “journalism is all the worse for it.”
‘The UN charter needs rewriting’
Heba Aly, Brenda Mofya and Andreas Bummel at Al Jazeera
The world “faces a ‘moment of historic danger,’ with increasingly imminent risks,” say Heba Aly, Brenda Mofya and Andreas Bummel. There are “global challenges that cannot be solved purely at the national level: The people of the world need — and deserve — better coordinated global action.” A new U.N. charter “could not only redistribute power in a more equitable way and treat threats like climate change and artificial intelligence seriously, it could also make the U.N. more effective.”