We’ve got a good one for you this week.
For starters, my colleague Domenica Ghanem offers a lovely personal story about growing up Muslim in a small, mostly Catholic town in New Jersey (which had an actual Red, White, and Blueberry festival every year). But after 9/11 — and again today — it’s gotten harder for many Muslim Americans to feel at home in the communities they grew up in. Give it a read.
Also this week, my colleagues Miriam Pemberton and Josh Hoxie take a closer look at some of the Trump administration’s “populist” moves on military spending and trade policy. At first glance, they explain, these publicity stunts may look good for workers and taxpayers, but they actually conceal a corporate-friendly agenda that’s only going to hurt ordinary Americans.
Speaking of corporate-friendly agendas, Donald Trump has nominated a Supreme Court justice that appears to have a doozy of one. This week in OtherWords, Michael Keegan takes a look at Neil Gorsuch’s record and pronounces it a threat to all of us.
Rounding out our package, Jill Richardson marvels at the incompetence of Trump’s chosen insiders, Jim Hightower says it’s no surprise that 1984 is a best-seller again, and Khalil Bendib riffs on Trump’s rejection of the “so-called judge” who ruled against his Muslim and refugee ban.
Khalil Bendib/ OtherWords.org
- Get to Know Your Muslim Neighbors / Domenica Ghanem
If we take the time to get to know one another, we’ll find that we don’t have to live in fear. - Trump’s Phony Populism on Military Spending / Miriam Pemberton
The president says he’ll protect our interests against the boondoggle weapons makers. Don’t believe him. - Trump’s Bad Deal on Trade / Josh Hoxie
Trump says he’ll spike bad trade deals, but he’s still letting the big corporations that write them make the rules. - Trump’s Supreme Court Pick Would Leave All of Us Vulnerable / Michael B. Keegan
The courts are meant to protect all Americans, but Neil Gorsuch thinks otherwise. - Authoritarian Bumbling / Jill Richardson
Trump’s approach to government involves a small group of insiders throwing their weight around — and incompetently at that. - It’s 1984 in Trumplandia / Jim Hightower
Thanks to our bellicose commander in chief, Orwell’s 70-year-old classic is a bestseller again. - Constitutional Government. Sad! / Khalil Bendib
