Skip to main content

Why we need to defund, not defend, the police

Nikki Jones, professor of African American Studies | July 1, 2020

Calls to defund the police ask us to imagine safety from the perspective of those who are the frequent targets of policing and understand that it is the world that is built from that perspective that will be a better world for us all.

Thoughts from your Black colleague

Marco Lindsey, Associate Director of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion at the Haas School of Business | June 3, 2020

If you read no further, understand this: Black Lives Matter = if anyone kills a Black person, their punishment should be the same as if they killed someone from any other race.

Trump’s acquittal strips impeachment of all meaning

Erwin Chemerinsky, Berkeley Law dean | February 6, 2020

The impeachment process in the House and the Senate has come to a totally predictable conclusion and President Trump has not been removed from office. My great fear is that the wrong lessons will be drawn from this and will have dire consequences for the future: Trump did nothing wrong. Trump continues to claim that … Continue reading »

Didn’t vote? You’re in the majority

Robert Reich, professor of public policy | January 30, 2020

If I asked you to name the biggest political party in the United States, what would be your answer? You probably have two guesses that come to mind: the Democratic party or the Republican party. Well, it’s neither. It’s the party of Non-Voters. Let’s look at the last presidential election: 100 million Americans who were … Continue reading »

And the award for ‘most dangerous politician in my lifetime’ goes to …

Robert Reich, professor of public policy | December 3, 2019

He’s maybe the most dangerous politician of my lifetime. He’s helped transform the Republican Party into a cult, worshiping at the altar of authoritarianism. He’s damaged our country in ways that may take a generation to undo. The politician I’m talking about, of course, is Mitch McConnell. Two goals for November 3, 2020: The first … Continue reading »

The bizarre smear against impeachment witness Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman

Robin Lakoff, professor emerita of linguistics | November 25, 2019

Now that the impeachment hearings are over, at least for the foreseeable future, I have been reflecting on the curious behaviors of the minority members of the House Intelligence Committee. Two stand out in my mind: the repeated argument that most of the witnesses were unreliable because all of their knowledge was second-hand; and the … Continue reading »

The Supreme Court is about to determine the fate of 800,000 ‘Dreamers’

Erwin Chemerinsky, Berkeley Law dean | November 4, 2019

On Nov. 12, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in a trio of cases involving whether President Donald Trump acted impermissibly in rescinding the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program. The cases—Department of Homeland Security v. Regents of the University of California, McAleenan v. Vidal (previously Batalla Vidal v. Nielsen) and Trump v. NAACP—likely will determine the … Continue reading »

Impeaching Trump could hurt the presidency and national security

John Yoo, law professor | September 25, 2019

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi authorized the opening of an impeachment inquiry over accusations that President Trump abused his foreign-relations powers to target political rivals. Realizing the gravity of the affair, the president had announced that the White House would release an unclassified and unredacted transcript of a phone call at the center of the whistle-blower complaint. Mr. … Continue reading »

Lies about migrants, and the rise of the extreme right

Beverly Crawford, Professor emerita, Political Science and International and Area Studies | August 24, 2019

The ascendance of the far right has jolted both American and European politics. It has undermined liberal democracy in Hungary and Poland, and threatens it in the United States and throughout Europe. That ascendance depends on virulent opposition to immigration and immigrants. Opposition to  immigration is Donald Trump’s lodestar. Anti-immigrant rhetoric defines his central political … Continue reading »

Chris Collins and honest graft

Henry Brady, dean of the Goldman School of Public Policy | August 15, 2018

By: Henry E. Brady and Kay L. Schlozman Representative Chris Collins, who represents a district between Rochester and Buffalo in upper New York State, has been indicted by federal prosecutors on charges of insider trading. He has already decided not to seek re-election this November, although he will finish out his current term. If he … Continue reading »