“Our health care mess: Now what?”

“Our health care mess: Now what?”

The argument for an all-payer system. Among the numerous other disasters the Covid–19 pandemic has wrought, it has proven to be an existential threat to America’s largely employer-based health care provision. This long-established system has indisputably added greater weight to…

“Inauguration ruminations: A podcast.”

Where will Biden take us? Earlier today Jospeh R. Biden Jr. was sworn in as the 46th president of the United States. Expectations, in some quarters, seem quite high, and nowhere is this truer than among the establishment media, where Donald Trump’s (no doubt…

“The Last Pragmatist.”

“The Last Pragmatist.”

After Jim Baker, the triumphalists. Peter Baker and Susan Glasser. The Man Who Ran Washington: The Life and Times of James A. Baker III. Doubleday. 720 pages.  It did seem for a while that James Addison Baker III was in some danger…

"On social media: A podcast."

“On social media: A podcast.”

The censorship regime and its discontents. In an exchange this evening, Scrum founding editors Marshall Auerback, Patrick Lawrence, and James W. Carden discuss Marshall’s latest piece, “Social media’s reckoning,” written in response to Silicon Valley’s extraordinary speech crackdown after the events on Capitol Hill…

“Social media’s reckoning.”

“Social media’s reckoning.”

Power in the wrong hands. Tech companies, such as Twitter, Apple, and Facebook have been de-platforming President Donald Trump and his supporters at a rapid pace since the January 6th attack on the Capitol Building, much to the approval of…

“Capitol Offense.”

“Capitol Offense.”

The “domestic war on terror.” Let me begin with a modest prediction: Wednesday January 6, 2021, will not live in infamy. The storming of the Capitol by a mob of deluded Trump-worshipers will not rank with December 7, 1941, or November 22,…

“Congress, tear down that nomination.”

“Congress, tear down that nomination.”

Nuland and the failure of our coup culture. President-elect Biden announced a number of new additions to his national security team this week. As with his earlier choices, these names are worth considering for what they tell us about the…

“The Queen’s Gambit: a review.”

“The Queen’s Gambit: a review.”

The essential place of compassion. The Queen’s Gambit has been out now for a couple of months on Netflix. In a word, it is brilliant in every way—plot, acting, contextual relevance, and historical accuracy. It is a challenge to attempt to review…