'The proudly backward were validated by self-loathing Western intellectuals'

'Iran's war on women must be stopped'

Mariam Memarsadeghi at Newsweek

Never in "history have the women of a nation suffered so profound a reversal of their rights and status as the women of Iran did in 1979," says Mariam Memarsadeghi. This "became symbolic of the Islamic Republic's power and control. In 46 years, nothing has changed." Any "telling of modern Iranian history that does not begin with how the 1979 revolution decimated the dignity of Iranian women and girls is not rooted in truth."

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'We must move fast to avert a national electricity crisis'

Mario Loyola at The Hill

Years of "misguided climate policy have pushed America to the brink of an electricity crisis," says Mario Loyola. The "new administration will have to move fast to avert what could be years of soaring prices and dangerous blackouts." America "will need hundreds of new gas and nuclear plants. Yet investment in such plants has virtually vanished." Regulators "should also require grid operators to prioritize reliability, for example by requiring renewable plants to provide for dispatchable backup."

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'The gratitude we owe to Joseph R. Biden'

Jonathan Capehart at The Washington Post

President Joe Biden "isn't perfect," but "as the nation evolved, so did he," says Jonathan Capehart. Low expectations "caught up with Biden," but he is a "good man who brought his entire imperfect self to the world's most unforgiving job, and his faith in the American people was unshakable." He was "determined to defy the low expectations that hounded him his entire political life." Biden "loves the job because of the power it gives him to solve problems."

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'Just the facts? Facebook, Instagram throw in the towel on fact-checking.'

The Boston Globe editorial board

The "much ballyhooed fact-checking system on a global scale was designed to save face for Facebook and restore some of its credibility," says The Boston Globe editorial board. But it's "back to a virtually unfettered 'town square,' where propaganda, whether about candidates or Covid-19, will go largely unchecked." Gone are the "days like after the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection when Trump was at least temporarily banned from Facebook for inciting violence," which is a "win-win-win for Zuckerberg."

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