Portside

Most pundits are careful about not advocating for direct U.S. military intervention in Syria (that is left to the Republican politicians who appear on the Sunday shows). But their message boils down to a concern over the credibility of the president's threats of violence more important than the credibility of his evidence. The White House has been saying their reticence is informed by the Iraq debacle; many pundits don't seem to have learned a similar lesson.

Detention was sold as both a law-and-order necessity and an economic opportunity, welding together the rac­ist politics of the drug war with the rise of private prisons.

This week the state party welcomed the Vermont senator along with former President Barack Obama—a major public shift on two politicians once considered too liberal to be seen with.

Secret memos obtained by The New York Times illuminate the origins of the court’s now-routine “shadow docket” rulings on presidential power.

How Democrats learned to tell the plain truth and like it

For 15 years, the Israeli prime minister has proven his ability to scuttle political agreements — while never losing the United States’ backing.