'America's conservative party has collapsed'

'America cannot sustain itself without a functional and sane center-right party'

Tom Nichols in The Atlantic

"Every nation needs parties of the left and the right," said Tom Nichols in The Atlantic. But the "carnival of abominable behavior" as Republicans steer the nation to a government shutdown nobody wants proves that America's conservative side has come undone. We no longer have a functioning "center-right party that represents traditional conservatism, or even respects basic constitutional principles such as the rule of law." We'll suffer the consequences long after "Donald Trump is gone."

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'The mere passage of time doesn't change the fact that Kaepernick was done wrong'

Andre Gee in Rolling Stone

It's great that Usher was named to headline the Super Bowl LVIII Halftime Show, said Andre Gee in Rolling Stone. The R&B icon is the latest Black performer honored with this "rite of passage for American music's top-tier stars." But spotlighting African American entertainers doesn’t make up for the NFL's "veritable blackballing of Colin Kaepernick," who has been denied a spot on a football roster since 2017 for his kneeling protests against police brutality. 

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'Why would a president take sides like that?'

Chicago Tribune editorial board

It's easy to understand why President Biden visited auto workers on the picket line, said the Chicago Tribune in an editorial. Michigan could be crucial in the 2024 election, "and Democrats need to shore up support." But if the strike drags on, it could threaten "the economic health of the country." It will be hard for Biden to act as an "honest broker" to settle the dispute "for the good of the nation" after "visibly" taking sides.

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'Keeping a student suspended for having long hair is a step too far'

The Dallas Morning News editorial board

The suspension of Texas high school student Darryl George is "testing the limits of a new state law" protecting Black students from discrimination on the basis of their hair, said The Dallas Morning News in an editorial. Administrators argue the 17-year-old's loc hairstyle "violates the district's dress code." Fine. Let the court decide how far protection of ethnic hairstyles goes. Meantime, "show some good faith" by putting education first and lifting the suspension.

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