Trump’s War on Democracy Is a War on All of Us

Democracy is the mechanism by which we translate the will of the people into law and policy. If you have trouble reading this message, view it in a browser.       The President's War on Democracy Is a War on the American People   Our system only functions if there is some shared set of observations about the world around us that we can agree on. The country can only be governed in a competent way if leaders grapple with and react to the world as it is, and accept that their constituents—as represented, if sometimes poorly, by the news media—will evaluate how well they respond. Without some anchor in objective reality, the public square begins to crumble. It is a return to the darkness, where power is its own justification and the people who hold it are accountable to no one. This is the world as Donald Trump sees it, says Politics Editor Jack Holmes. It is what undergirds his and his party's attempts to use the remaining mechanisms of democracy to maintain their grip on power in defiance of the popular will. Since democracy is our mechanism for communicating the will of the people into the laws and policies that govern our lives, this does not merely make the president an enemy of democracy. It makes him an enemy of the people. He ought to recognize the phrase. Read More           The Best Stuff for Your Home to Grab from Nordstrom's Anniversary Sale   The Nordstrom Anniversary Sale is a capital-e Event. It comes every summer, and every summer, people go HAM for a barrage of discounts on clothing, accessories, grooming, and wellness. Today, we are here to discuss the realm of the home. You know, the place we've been holed up in for months on months. As we stare at the same old sheets, the rapidly fraying towels, the scratched pans, and the barren walls, we can take some pleasure in knowing Nordstrom's Anniversary Sale includes quite a few worthy discounts on home goods. Here, you'll find just a sample of the 10 sales we consider to be the best. Right now, Nordstrom is only handing out the discounts to those folks in the Nordy Club (i.e. those with a Nordstrom credit card). But on August 19—that's Wednesday, for anyone keeping tabs at home—the sale is open to the general public. That's when you can take advantage of the price cuts. Keep in mind that what we have here is just a sampling off the top. You could go crazy on home upgrades, from stemware to art prints to throw pillows. Winter will be long and very much spent indoors. Plan accordingly. Read More           Trump's Assault on the USPS Is Only a Preview of the Destruction to Come   An American president garroting the nation's most fundamental lifeline, and the one on which most of his own prospective voters depend? Nope. Didn't see that one coming. The administration* continues to do everything that it can to monkey-wrench the postal system, and then it has the sheer brass audacity to tell Pennsylvania that, nope, that state's deadlines are too tight for the USPS to do its job as regards mail-in ballots. The country—and, god knows, its political media—should start preparing itself for weeks of vandalism and poo-flinging from this administration*. There should be none of that 2000-vintage "the country needs closure" reporting that contributed so much to weight the scales on behalf of the Bush campaign. "Whatever it takes for as long as it takes is not a bad principle on which to run a democracy," says Charles P. Pierce. Read More           The 15 Best Summer-Ready, Lightweight Sweaters to Buy Right Now   A lightweight sweater will save you the effort of trying to climate-control the fuck out of every room in your apartment after listlessly shuffling around the place for hours in a desperate bid to find your new work nook. (Listen, man. It's not the apartment. It's you. You're the problem. Stop blaming everything on your living room's "lack of positive energy" and get a grip. There are people with real issues out there.) And that's not even getting into the time you waste swapping out, like, shorts/socks for sweatpants/no socks every few hours or so in your endless search for some happy medium between sweltering Saharan heat and crisp Arctic chill. Spoiler alert: There is no in-between. There never will be. There is only suffering. Read More           Star Wars Fans Actually Agree On One Thing: This Was the Dumbest Moment Of the Entire Series   Since one Reddit user, DaTruestEva, pointed poked a hole in a particular Rise of Skywalker scene two weeks ago in the Star Wars subreddit, the post has nearly 78,000 upvotes, with virtually unanimously approving comments. "If they had done something cooler with the dagger, then great, but it literally relied upon the death star ruins existing in the shape of its little tape measure," reads the top comment. "The Goonies did this part better" reads another. Sure, fans have complained about this clunky story device—along with the unimaginative, lazy writing—before. But with nothing much better to do right now than ruminate on the latest movie, fans seem to have found common ground on this one, baffling scene. Read More           The Only Moscow Mule Recipe You'll Ever Need   The Moscow Mule practically crackles from its chill. In the dead of winter, it'll cut into the haze of your groggy, tired mind like the edge of a Siberian glacier. In the last humid dregs of summer, the frosty, copper mug will bite at your fingertips. It is a worthy use of vodka. And for all the pomp and circumstance surrounding it—the copper mug, the stirring rod—it's about as simple as a cocktail can be: spirit, mixer, and citrus. Vodka for the bitter bite, ginger beer for a sweet snap, and lime to round out the ensemble. Note that ginger ale is not equal to ginger beer, but what the hell, use in case of emergency. Then, drink your Moscow Mule while debating the extent of geopolitical meddling by our Russian comrades, or while ruminating on anything but politics. Na zdarovje. Read More         Read More on Esquire.com       Follow Us     Unsubscribe  Privacy Notice   esquire.com ©2020 Hearst Communications Inc. All Rights Reserved. Hearst Email Privacy, 300 W 57th St., Fl. 19 (sta 1-1), New York, NY 10019