When this is over, U.S. rights abusers must be tried for crimes against humanity by Will Bunch

When the miscreants currently occupying the White House did immense amounts of damage the last time they were given keys the federal government. Amazingly, the cruelty and proud ineptitude are so much worse this time around. Writing for The Philadelphia Inquirer, Will Bunch convincingly argues that many of the actions that have perpetrated by the those in power rise to the level of crimes against humanity and that individuals responsible should be prosecuted. I’m not sure how any decent, fair-minded person can see images of the El Salvadoran prison where innocent people have been sent and reach any other conclusion.

Can Kat Abughazaleh Help Democrats Grow a Spine? by Elly Fishman

These first few miserable months of 2025 have been all the more frustrating by the irresponsible tepid response of the overall Democratic party to the active dismantling of the federal government and foolish diminishment of the nation’s standing on the global stage. I’m heartened by the emerging possibility that younger activists who are fed up with the Democrats’ fecklessness are going to respond by running for office. I truly believe their idealism could result in meaningful change if they start winning elections. The candidacy of Kat Abughazaleh, who’s made her name studying and exposing the media rhetoric of the right, is one of the most prominent examples of the trend. We’ll all be better off if she and others like her are in the U.S. Congress two years from now. Elly Fishman writes this profile of Abughazaleh for GQ.

David Thomas, anarchic Pere Ubu bandleader, dies aged 71 by Ben Beaumont-Thomas

I considered writing about David Thomas and his work with Pere Ubu after news broke that he died this week. I didn’t think I could do justice to Thomas’s offbeat brilliance. I was especially convinced of my inadequacy after reading Bean Beaumont-Thomas’s obituary, remembrance, and celebration of Thomas, published by The Guardian. Describing Thomas’s music as having “a post-punk spirit even before punk had properly got going” is succinct and perfect. It’s a sign of Thomas’s fearlessly forward thinking that Pere Ubu albums released decades ago still sound sharply modern in a way that few other college rock acts can truly claim.