Failing College
Re “The Loser President” by John Nichols [February 3]: Opponents of the Electoral College should take on the common myth that the institution was set up to protect states with small populations from the tyranny of bigger ones. I do not find any such assertion in documents from the nation’s founders. What I do find is a passage by Alexander Hamilton (in The Federalist Papers, No. 68) demonstrating that the Electoral College was instituted precisely to fix the problems we encountered in 2016. The founders anticipated that the public might be persuaded to choose a corrupt candidate and, in particular, that the electoral process could be captured by a foreign power. For the Electoral College to face the exact situation it was designed to address and then blow its chance removes any shred of justification to continue that process.
Andrew Oram arlington, mass.
East Coast Vibes
I am dismayed by Robert L. Borosage’s description of Donald Trump’s behavior in “The Way Out” [February 3] as that of a “spoiled, delinquent teenager.” Sociopathic behavior has no particular age limit, and it would have been equally possible (and equally undesirable) to find an illustration from Trump’s age group. In an era in which young people—and frequently those even younger than teens—are speaking out clearly about the failures of the established powers to deal with the climate crisis and social issues, it is painful to see such a stereotype.
In the same issue, Rebecca Zweig’s “Organize and They Will Come” also manages to convey an attitude of condescension toward Iowa and the Midwest more broadly through the inclusion of words and descriptions like “Iowa nice” “steak fries,” and the “outsize” importance of the Iowa caucuses.
If The Nation is looking only for East Coast readers above the age of 50, keep it up. You’re doing great.
Amrita Burdick kansas city, mo.
The Beginning of Understanding
Re Arundhati Roy’s “India: Portents of an Ending” [January 13/20]: This is an amazing overview of India’s recent history. Thanks for the crash course in what could become another global disaster area, if it hasn’t already. Most of us in the West are pretty ignorant about what is happening, culturally and politically, on the other side of the world. That’s certainly true for India’s history. Joanne Simson
I do not believe [President Trump and others] are ignorant of what Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has done. Trump and Modi are both empowering and enabling each other. Modi adapted his own reelection slogan in Houston, calling for his Indian audience to support the reelection of “Trump sarkar!”
Even before February 28, the reasons for Donald Trump’s imploding approval rating were abundantly clear: untrammeled corruption and personal enrichment to the tune of billions of dollars during an affordability crisis, a foreign policy guided only by his own derelict sense of morality, and the deployment of a murderous campaign of occupation, detention, and deportation on American streets.
Now an undeclared, unauthorized, unpopular, and unconstitutional war of aggression against Iran has spread like wildfire through the region and into Europe. A new “forever war”—with an ever-increasing likelihood of American troops on the ground—may very well be upon us.
As we’ve seen over and over, this administration uses lies, misdirection, and attempts to flood the zone to justify its abuses of power at home and abroad. Just as Trump, Marco Rubio, and Pete Hegseth offer erratic and contradictory rationales for the attacks on Iran, the administration is also spreading the lie that the upcoming midterm elections are under threat from noncitizens on voter rolls. When these lies go unchecked, they become the basis for further authoritarian encroachment and war.
In these dark times, independent journalism is uniquely able to uncover the falsehoods that threaten our republic—and civilians around the world—and shine a bright light on the truth.
The Nation’s experienced team of writers, editors, and fact-checkers understands the scale of what we’re up against and the urgency with which we have to act. That’s why we’re publishing critical reporting and analysis of the war on Iran, ICE violence at home, new forms of voter suppression emerging in the courts, and much more.
But this journalism is possible only with your support.
This March, The Nation needs to raise $50,000 to ensure that we have the resources for reporting and analysis that sets the record straight and empowers people of conscience to organize. Will you donate today?
Yezdyar Kaoosji
More Than Words
I know the letters that The Nation receives comment mostly on the articles, but I wanted instead to compliment the unnamed artist who created the picture that accompanied Michael T. Klare’s article “Twin Threats” in the January 27 issue. The polar bear on the bomb looking like the tip of an iceberg was perfect in capturing the concept of the twin threats—climate change and nuclear arms—facing the world. Well done!
Carl Nye cottonwood, ariz.
Editor’s note: The unnamed artist was none other than The Nation’s own multitalented creative director, Robert Best.
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