ARTICLES
“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.”
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.”
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.”
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 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…
“The Assange ruling.”
This will not end well, regrettably. There is relief and surprise in London today, and everywhere else the world over where those of humane and principled sentiment have gathered in behalf of Julian Assange these past many months. There is…
“A yearend conversation.”
The Scrum’s founding editors gather to look back and forward. This afternoon, our last of the year, we convened via Zoom to take a (not so fond) look back at the year that was. We spoke from Washington, Toronto, and…
PATRICK LAWRENCE: Trump’s Foreign Policy Explained
Trump arrived in Washington as a New York property man unfamiliar with the permanent DC establishment, but determined to make deals where others dare not go. Chaos was the result. “Some friendly health advice to Iran,” President Donald Trump tweeted last Wednesday….
“The Russia question.”
The Scrum’s James W. Carden converses with Thaddeus Russell. Shortly before Christmas I conversed for nearly two hours with Thaddeus Russell, the historian, podcaster, and author (A Renegade History of the United States, Free Press, 2011). The YouTube recording of…
PATRICK LAWRENCE: US Meddling in Hong Kong
An honorable democracy movement that held its head high for many decades now falls to Beijing’s heavy hand after U.S. meddling. Midway in a week of shocking news, I awakened last Wednesday to a piece in Asia Sentinel that made my heart…