Illiberalism
Gilead
Abortion, reproductive freedom and health
Fig. 1. Sign at demonstration in front of the U.S. Supreme Court, May 3, 2022. Janni Rye, via Wikimedia Commons, Creative Commons CC0 1.0 Universal Public Domain Dedication.
Understand that I am highly disinclined to credit Donald Trump with any intelligence whatsoever. His time in the presidency was marked not only by the black hole of sheer hatred he perhaps still has us spiraling into, but in which it is impossible to conceive of a human intelligence saying the things he says and therefore, that anyone saying them must somehow be deficient in humanity or intelligence, perhaps both. But even he seems to have figured out that the abortion issue has fairly reliably been kicking Republican ass.[1]
So with that “No shit, Sherlock” revelation, we do still have to ask about much of the rest of the Republican Party, which has apparently decided the sky is red.
Tara Palmeri, “Midnight at Mar-a-Lago,” Puck, April 11, 2024, https://puck.news/trump-choice-for-vp-could-come-down-to-abortion/
Imperialism
Israel
Fig. 2. John Bolton and Binyamin Netanyahu at a press conference. Office of U.S. National Security Advisor, August 20, 2018, via Wikimedia Commons, public domain.
Andrew England and James Shotter, “Is time starting to run out for Benjamin Netanyahu?” Financial Times, April 12, 2024, https://www.ft.com/content/ce0de70e-461a-4279-9a15-df45be1c0785
Palestine
Fig. 3. The ruins of a terminal at the Gaza airport. Image by Said Khatib (Agence France-Presse) on September 9, 2018, via the Times of Israel,[2] fair use.
A promised surge in aid into Gaza that Benjamin Netanyahu promised Joe Biden a week ago has so far failed to materialise, aid workers say, as the US aid chief confirmed that famine is beginning to take hold in parts of the besieged coastal strip.
The increase in the number of truck crossing into Gaza claimed by Israel conflicts with UN records and already appears to be faltering.[3]
Dov Lieber, Rory Jones, and Margherita Stancati, “Israel Says Troops Lacked Grounds for Strike That Killed Aid Workers in Gaza,” Wall Street Journal, April 5, 2024, https://www.wsj.com/world/middle-east/israel-to-allow-more-aid-into-gaza-after-biden-warning-over-u-s-support-49bc42e4
Michael Tomasky, “Is Biden Really Going to Let Netanyahu Lose Him the Election?” New Republic, April 5, 2024, https://newrepublic.com/post/180481/biden-israel-netanyahu-lose-election
Lazar Berman, “Israel’s begrudging approach to humanitarian aid could cost it the war in Gaza,” Times of Israel, April 6, 2024, https://www.timesofisrael.com/israels-begrudging-approach-to-humanitarian-aid-could-cost-it-the-war-in-gaza/
Karen DeYoung, “Six months into Gaza war, Biden confronts the limits of U.S. leverage,” Washington Post, April 6, 2024, https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2024/04/06/gaza-israel-biden-war/
Emanuel Fabian, “IDF chief says withdrawal of troops from Gaza doesn’t mean war is close to end,” Times of Israel, April 7, 2024, https://www.timesofisrael.com/idf-chief-says-withdrawal-of-troops-from-gaza-doesnt-mean-war-is-close-to-end/
M. J. Lee, “Inside President Biden’s pointed phone call with Benjamin Netanyahu,” CNN, April 7, 2024, https://www.cnn.com/2024/04/06/politics/biden-netanyahu-israel-gaza-war-phone-call-details/index.html
David Horovitz, “Israel’s major ground war in Gaza is over; the state of war inflicted by Hamas is not,” Times of Israel, April 8, 2024, https://www.timesofisrael.com/israels-major-ground-war-in-gaza-is-over-the-state-of-war-inflicted-by-hamas-is-not/
Katie Polglase et al., “Dying for a bag of flour: Videos and eyewitness accounts cast doubt on Israel’s timeline of deadly Gaza aid delivery,” CNN, April 9, 2024, https://edition.cnn.com/2024/04/09/middleeast/gaza-food-aid-convoy-deaths-eyewitness-intl-investigation-cmd/index.html
Times of Israel, “US Sen. Warren: World Court has ‘ample evidence’ to find Israel guilty of genocide,” April 9, 2024, https://www.timesofisrael.com/us-sen-warren-world-court-has-ample-evidence-to-find-israel-guilty-of-genocide/
Guardian, “Netanyahu making a ‘mistake’ on Gaza, says Biden, as he urges Israel to push for ceasefire,” April 9, 2024, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/apr/10/benjamin-netanyahu-joe-biden-gaza-mistake-ceasefire-israel-war-palestine
Asaf Elia-Shalev, “Israeli academics face backlash after signing letter accusing Israel of ‘plausible genocide’ in Gaza,” Jewish Telegraphic Agency, April 10, 2024, https://www.jta.org/2024/04/10/israel/israeli-academics-face-backlash-after-signing-letter-accusing-israel-of-plausible-genocide-in-gaza
Matt Lebovic, “Has the term ‘antisemitism’ been overused – or overblown – beyond usefulness?” Times of Israel, April 10, 2024, https://www.timesofisrael.com/has-the-term-antisemitism-been-overused-or-overblown-beyond-usefulness/
Jacob Magid, “Biden urges Israel ‘to just call for’ 6-8 week ceasefire, slams PM’s handling of Gaza war,” Times of Israel, April 10, 2024, https://www.timesofisrael.com/biden-urges-israel-to-just-call-for-6-8-week-ceasefire-slams-pms-handling-of-gaza-war/
Julian Borger, “Aid ‘still not reaching Gaza’, as top US official warns famine has started,” Guardian, April 11, 2024, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/apr/11/aid-still-not-reaching-gaza-as-top-us-official-warns-famine-has-started
Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh
Fig. 4. The confluence of the Allegheny and Monongahela Rivers, with the “Golden Triangle” and downtown Pittsburgh. Photograph by author, October 15, 2023.
It’s a real mess out there.
Jeff Himler and Renatta Signorini, “Much of Western Pa. remains under flood warning,” Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, April 11, 2024, https://triblive.com/local/valley-news-dispatch/flash-flooding-closes-allegheny-county-roads-triggers-warnings-throughout-region/
Laura Esposito and Benjamin B. Braun, “Torrential rain triggers dangerous flash flooding in Allegheny County,” Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, April 12, 2024, https://www.post-gazette.com/news/weather-news/2024/04/11/tornado-watch-pittsburgh-region-1/stories/202404110126
- [1]Tara Palmeri, “Midnight at Mar-a-Lago,” Puck, April 11, 2024, https://puck.news/trump-choice-for-vp-could-come-down-to-abortion/↩
- [2]Times of Israel, “20 years after its opening, destroyed Gaza airport embodies grounded peace hopes,” September 12, 2018, https://www.timesofisrael.com/20-years-after-its-opening-destroyed-gaza-airport-embodies-grounded-peace-hopes/↩
- [3]Julian Borger, “Aid ‘still not reaching Gaza’, as top US official warns famine has started,” Guardian, April 11, 2024, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/apr/11/aid-still-not-reaching-gaza-as-top-us-official-warns-famine-has-started↩