Rural districts are fair again, but can Democrats win them over? by Christina Lieffring

Acknowledging upfront that I have tremendous respect for the work of Ben Wikler, chair of the Democratic party of Wisconsin, and his team in my native state, this Christina Lieffring piece is an important wakeup call for the left-leaning folks who’ve erroneously attributed the previous rigging of legislative district maps to all their political woes. Make no mistake: The gerrymandered districts were laughably bad, and the Republicans were shamelessly transparent about drawing those lines solely to claim and maintain power. Even so, the Democrats — in Wisconsin and nationwide — have been far too tentative about being present in rural areas and other spaces that they’ve decided are electorally hostile to them. Ballot initiatives and public polling show that Democrats have a winning argument, but they too often don’t bother to make it. The new maps in Wisconsin don’t call for a victory lap; it’s time for Democrats to step up to the starting line. This piece was originally published in Lieffring’s newsletter, Capitol Punishments, and I found it when it was republished by Tone Madison.

Marjory Stoneman Douglas Shooting Survivor Delaney Tarr on Kansas City and the Trauma of Gun Violence by Delaney Tarr

Writing for Teen Vogue, Delaney Tarr reflects on the uniquely American experience of seeing your own traumatic anniversary be joined by people who subsequently endured their own version of the same tragedy. Tarr is a survivor of the murderous rampage that took place at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High on Valentine’s Day, 2018. This year, at least two more mass shootings took place on February 14th. Tarr uses the skills she’s honed as a professional journalist to share the unending what it’s like to be in the endlessly expanding club of people who lived through unspeakable acts of gun violence in a nation that is shockingly indifferent — sometimes even hostile — to fixing the problem.

Are We Taking Robert De Niro for Granted? by Sam Adams

It’s been ages since I wrote a Greatish Performances post, so let me share this Sam Adams piece that stands a superlative example of the form. Because Robert Downey Jr. winning in the category for supporting males is the surest of sure bets at this year’s Oscars, the impeccable efforts of Robert De Niro in Martin Scorsese’s Killers of the Flower Moon have gone a little under-celebrated, even as the veteran actor has collected a slew of award nominations. I agree completely with Adams’s premise, and he effectively identifies exactly why De Niro is so compelling in the film. This article is published by Slate.