Dispatches From the Culture Wars — October 20, 2026
- The Real Reason MAGA Fears Ilhan
- Preparing to Shield the Midterm Vote
- Donors Defend Nonprofits
- Sally Rooney and the Palestine Action Crackdown
- Cornell: A Breakthrough Moment for Men?
- Nobelists Back Billionaire Tax Bill
- Rallying to the Minneapolis 15
- Trans People in Red States
- How to View Protests Like an Organizer
- The History of the War on Voting Rights
The Real Reason MAGA Fears Ilhan
By Amanda Marcotte, Salon
The raid on the Minnesota congresswoman’s home must be understood more as a campaign stunt by a president desperate to distract from his economic failures and the disastrous war in Iran. No matter how many insults or threats Trump flings Omar’s way, he cannot hide that the congresswoman is exactly the opposite of the racist stereotypes he traffics in.
Preparing to Shield the Midterm Vote
Will Jan. 3 by the New Jan. 6? By Bill Blum, Truthdig
The Top Ten Election Threats All Voting is Local
In Authoritarian Times By Marcy Rein and Sandra Hinson, Convergence
The NAACP Steps Up By Amanda Becker, The 19th
Why Lawyers Are Needed By Cara Bayles, Law360
By Maximillian Alvarez, The Real News Network
Trump’s allies and his administration are waging war against the world of progressive philanthropy and on progressive philanthropists themselves and the many civil and human rights supporting movements, media organizations, and nonprofit institutions that depend on them. Philanthropic organizations like Women Donors Network are fighting back.
Sally Rooney and the Palestine Action Crackdown
By Cliff Buddle, South China Morning Post
Irish writer Sally Rooney is a publishing sensation, often described as the “voice of a generation.” But now, her beautifully written literary bestsellers are being withdrawn from sale in the United Kingdom. The issue has arisen as a result of the author’s publicly stated support for activist group Palestine Action, proscribed as a terrorist organisation by the British government last year.
Cornell: A Breakthrough Moment for Men?
By Jackson Katz, Ms.
The Cornell 7 case—in which a former student alleges she was gang-raped by seven fraternity members in 2024—has generated a noticeable uptick in the number of men online who are speaking out about gender violence. More men seem to be listening, and actually hearing, women’s stories of misogynistic abuse.
Nobelists Back Billionaire Tax Bill
By Stephen Prager, Common Dreams
As California voters head to the polls this November, their vote on whether to enact a first-of-its-kind billionaire wealth tax may mark “a turning point in the battle between democracy and oligarchy,” says a group of Nobel Prize-winning economists.
Rallying to the Minneapolis 15
By Matt Sledge, The Intercept
Supporters of the defendants, who have collectively come to be known as the Minneapolis 15, recently packed a bowling alley for a fundraiser. On October 3, hundreds of labor union members marched through downtown Minneapolis, demanding that the charges against the activists be dropped. The defendants have so far mounted a unified, joint defense; none of them have taken a plea deal.
By Kae Petrin, Prism
While exactly how many trans people have left red states remains unclear, the focus on those who move can obscure the people who want to move but can’t afford to, or those who choose to stay and fight for change within their communities.
How to View Protests Like an Organizer
By Tim Hjersted
I get the weariness. You’ve seen massive turnout before and then watched the thing everyone was protesting happen anyway. But the conclusion people draw from it — that mass protests don’t work — confuses one stage of a process for the whole strategy.
The History of the War on Voting Rights
By Ari Berman and Pema Levy, Mother Jones
The Supreme Court’s decision decimating Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act—which had required that racial minorities have an equal opportunity to meaningfully participate in elections—threatens to return the country to a pre-1965 America, when white supremacy was the law of the land and Congress contained no Black members from the South.