Headwaters: August 10

The weekly roundup of what we’ve done at Liberal Currents includes a frank assessment of the narratives, values, and goals behind fascism and an equally frank call for moral courage in facing down opposition to necessary court reforms.

Articles:

“Fascists Really Believe It,” Toby Buckle: Millions could die because of ideas intellectually and morally equivalent to the ‘lizard people’ conspiracy theory.
“Trump’s Desecration of Big Bend Reminds Us Nothing Is Sacred in His America,” Alan Elrod: Yet another example of how his nationalism prioritizes exclusion over veneration of what makes that nation great.
“Congress Needs Its Tech Experts Back,” Christopher Whitaker: If Congress is to tackle issues from DOGE sabotage to AI to social media, it needs to resurrect its Office of Technology Assessment.
“Clausewitz and the Supreme Court,” Kiran Pfitzner: To forgo any effort at protecting American democracy or the rights of its people in the name of norms is mere moral cowardice.
“Liberty Valance Goes to Washington,” Jessica Pishko: The "constitutional sheriffs" movement relies on the notion that "men of action" can and should determine how the Constitution is interpreted.

Podcasts:

“The Moral Case for Dynamism” (Neon Liberalism #86, with Sonja Trauss): Finding the space between articulating a radical liberal idealism and meeting people where they are.
“The Trump Administration's Struggle Summer” (Liberal Currents Live #2): The editors reflect on a season in which the U.S. president’s popularity has plumbed new depths.
“Was Cultural Marxism Responsible for the Beatles?” (Half the Answer #97, with A. J. A. Woods): Why does the right keep talking about a handful of critical theorists from the 1960s?

Editors’ Notes, and a republication:

“Los Desaparecidos de ICE”: Trump's mass deportation campaign will produce more atrocities than the Argentinian military junta did.
“Court Reform With the Appearance of Nonpartisanship”: Another possible long-term settlement.
“The Police Are Not Your Friends”: Civilian control of the police remains one of our country's most intractable challenges.
“Objections Considered: Objection I.—Such Cruelties Are Incredible” (taken from American Slavery As It Is, 1839): To deny that cruelty is the spontaneous and uniform product of arbitrary power is to set at nought the combined experience of the human race.

Videos and shorts:

“Congress Needs Its Tech Experts Back”: Christopher Whitaker on why Congress needs in-house expertise to help it deal with technological issues.
“Ibram X. Kendi’s Chain of Ideas”: Guillaume Attia on the influence of “great replacement” theory on American voters.
“Mr. Rogers With a Steel Spine”: Brad Lander says a lot of folks have turned out to be pretty tough.

What we’re reading and watching elsewhere:

Jamelle Bouie, on pundits who have lost the plot: “The current federal government is engaged in an effort to purge women and minorities from the armed services, to purge Black women from the federal civil service, but I don’t see an essay about that.”
Christopher Mathias, on how white supremacists work the media elite: “As the American right in 2026 continues to be so wholly enveloped by the absurdities of Trumpism, some centrists are increasingly desperate for conservatives who appear ‘reasonable.’”
David M. Perry, on whether we can fix our problems: “One of the peculiarities of this modern age is that although the scope of the threats we face is unprecedented, we generally understand those threats, and generally have solutions at hand.”