Nov 26 2020 — William Cooper — National Newswatch — Donald Trump’s presidency has been a four-year stress test of America’s constitutional system. Trump’s belligerent governance has weakened the bipartisan fabric – rooted in prudence, decency and comity – that ties our multi-branch system of government together. At the same time, however, the fundamental pillars of our constitutional order have survived intact – revealing their […]
Oct 29 2020 — William Cooper — National Newswatch — American politics have become criminalized. A steady drum beat of words and deeds — from “lock her up” chants, to prosecutions of President Trump’s associates, to Trump pushing for Joe Biden’s indictment — has eroded the bright line between politics and the criminal law. This is deeply troubling for several reasons. First, criminalizing politics conflicts […]
Sep 22 2020 — William Cooper — National Newswatch — Ruth Bader Ginsburg was perhaps the most consequential attorney in American history. As an advocate, she transformed the landscape for womens’ rights. And, as a Justice on the Supreme Court, she authored numerous groundbreaking opinions. Her death on Friday may also be immensely consequential: Her departure from the Supreme Court might change the winner of […]
Sep 18 2020 — William Cooper — National Newswatch — People have a tendency to interpret new facts as being consistent with their strongly held beliefs. This propensity, known as confirmation bias, is well known. What is not generally appreciated, however, is that confirmation bias is not just a mild affliction. It is a dominating factor in human thinking — especially with matters distant from […]
Aug 26 2020 — William Cooper — National Newswatch — Is America’s democracy — the most successful political experiment in history — hanging on by a thread? Many commentators think so. Thomas Friedman, a three-time Pulitzer Prize winner, warned that “the 2020 election may be the end of our democracy” and we may have “another Civil War.” Columnist Robin Abcarian asserted that only one thing […]
Aug 15 2020 — William Cooper — National Newswatch — The root cause of the American government’s second-rate coronavirus response is not the elected officials in office. It is the people who put them there. In our representative democracy, America’s elected officials reflect the American people’s preferences and priorities. Data from Google Trends — the search giant’s tool for tracking and analyzing Google’s search statistics […]