Opinion: Happy Mother’s Day

Also: Readers and writers react to the "Intellectual Dark Web." View in [Browser]( | Add nytdirect@nytimes.com to your address book. [The New York Times]( [The New York Times]( Friday, May 11, 2018 [NYTimes.com/Opinion »]( [David Leonhardt] David Leonhardt Op-Ed Columnist First: In honor of Mother’s Day, which is this Sunday, my colleague Kathleen O’Brien has collected [some of the best Times columns and op-eds]( about motherhood over the years. I’ll take this chance to recognize my own mom, Joan Alexander Leonhardt, who — among many, many other things — taught me how to write a clear sentence and how to listen to people. Thanks again, mom. I hope all of the other mothers reading this also enjoy the weekend. One person, one vote. Yesterday brought some good news on voting rights. The Louisiana House of Representatives — which is controlled by Republicans — passed a bill that would restore the voting rights of tens of thousands of people who are on parole or probation and have been free from prison for at least five years. The bill now heads to the State Senate. “If this were to pass, it would make Louisiana the only Southern state to enfranchise people on probation or on parole,” [Daniel Nichanian of the University of Chicago wrote](. African-Americans make up more than half of Louisiana residents whose rights would be restored, according to Nichanian. By comparison, only 31 percent of the state’s voting-age population is African-American. Most Americans support the restoration of voting rights for people with criminal convictions, [notes Karina Schroeder of the Vera Institute of Justice](. The Times editorial board has made the case for restoration in [a couple]( of [pieces](. Voting rights continue to be under attack in some states, [as I’ve written before]( but there are also [signs of progress]( — in Virginia, Florida, New York [and elsewhere](. Adding Louisiana to the list would be a big deal. The I.D.W. The most-read Times Opinion piece this week was by my colleague Bari Weiss, on the so-called “[Intellectual Dark Web]( composed of mostly right-wing writers who focus on topics they feel lie outside of mainstream discourse. Among the many reactions to the essay: “You can doubt whether they needed to leave academia or the mainstream media to defend their views,” [Slate’s Will Saletan wrote](. “But the fact is, they left. That’s a problem. It’s a sign that something is wrong in our public square.” In National Review, [Jonah Goldberg wrote]( “This I.D.W. thing isn’t actually an intellectual movement. It’s just a coalition of thinkers and journalists who happen to share a disdain for the keepers of the liberal orthodoxy.” [Susan Fowler]( the engineer who exposed sexual harassment at Uber, writes in The Times that “the ‘dangerous’ ideas put forth by the people in Bari Weiss’s article are no longer discussed because we have collectively agreed that they are wrong.” And my colleague [Michelle Goldberg argues]( that liberals should be strategic about confronting the I.D.W. and its ilk: “Progressives should think about how to counter dynamics that can make banal right wing beliefs seem like seductive secret knowledge. Attempts at simply repressing bad ideas don’t seem to be working.” The full Opinion report from The Times follows. From Our Columnists Op-Ed Columnist [Let Them Eat Trump Steaks]( By PAUL KRUGMAN When petty cruelty becomes a principle of government. Op-Ed Columnist [How the Online Left Fuels the Right]( By MICHELLE GOLDBERG Trying to silence conservatives just makes them louder. Op-Ed Columnist [Left Bank Street Fight]( By ROGER COHEN Everything changes. Something in France does not. Op-Ed Columnist [Donald Trump’s Lizard Wisdom]( By DAVID BROOKS A shady business history pays foreign policy dividends. Contributing Op-Ed Writer [As He Lay Dying]( By TIMOTHY EGAN John McCain is not just plotting the details of his own funeral, but living it. And he’s giving us a very public tutorial in dignity and defiance. [Trump Is Wrong About Energy Jobs]( By JACQUES LESLIE Pipelines are not an economic panacea, and that’s before you factor in the social cost of carbon. [Trump’s G.O.P. vs. the Rule of Law]( By GARRETT M. GRAFF Prosecutors have dug in and make up what might be a vision of America’s true Republican Party. [Is Trump’s Tax Incoherence Just a Way to Hurt Amazon?]( By VERONIQUE DE RUGY His administration has come down on opposite sides of arguments about whether to enact internet sales taxes. [When Jurors Are Silenced]( By THE EDITORIAL BOARD Louisiana has a chance to get rid of a racist 19th-century rule that allows nonunanimous juries to convict. [Napping While Black (and Other Transgressions)]( By TARIRO MZEZEWA A Yale graduate student is told she doesn’t belong. I know how she feels. [Eric Schneiderman and the Meaning of Strangulation]( By KATE MANNE What the former New York attorney general is accused of isn’t “choking.” It’s a specific act of domination and control over women. LIKE THIS EMAIL? Forward it to your friends, and let them know they can sign up [here](. ADVERTISEMENT [The Hand That Rocks and Rules]( By KATHLEEN O’BRIEN Moms can be so annoying. But where would we be without them? [I Am Not a Mother. But I Am Something.]( By PAULA CARTER The ways we create families, and the roles we play in them, are growing. But the language to describe them isn’t. Contributing Op-Ed Writer [Churches Can No Longer Hide Domestic Violence]( By JULIA BAIRD The point is not whether church communities are more prone to domestic violence. It’s that they are not immune from it. [Can a Shiite Cleric Pull Iraq Out of the Sectarian Trap?]( By THANASSIS CAMBANIS Moktada al-Sadr is leading an encouraging transformation, which could jar Iraq’s politicians out of the sectarian rut. [What It Would Mean to End the Korean War]( By ELIZABETH A. STANLEY North and South Korea were pawns in their own war. Let them be the main actors in finally making peace. [What Just Happened in Malaysia?]( By TASH AW The opposition’s surprise election victory is the greatest show of democracy in this country’s history. [Half a Cheer for Democracy in Lebanon]( By MOHAMAD BAZZI A majority of voters in Lebanon stayed home during the elections after few candidates offered solutions to the systemic problems of the country. [Europe Doesn’t Have to Be Trump’s Doormat]( By STEVEN SIMON AND JONATHAN STEVENSON Here’s how the E.U. can stand up to the American president and save the Iran deal. [Out of Good Options for Venezuela]( By ROGER F. NORIEGA We should encourage all Venezuelans — including soldiers — to restore their country’s democracy. The Stone [How to Be a Prophet of Doom]( By ALISON MCQUEEN We could use a new graphic reminder of what nuclear war would mean for humanity. In Case You Missed It [Meet the Renegades of the Intellectual Dark Web]( By BARI WEISS AND DAMON WINTER An alliance of heretics is making an end run around the mainstream conversation. Should we be listening? HOW ARE WE DOING? We’d love your feedback on this newsletter. Please email thoughts and suggestions to [leonhardt@nytimes.com](mailto:leonhardt@nytimes.com?subject=Opinion%20Today%20Newsletter%20Feedback). ADVERTISEMENT Letters [Gina Haspel’s Testimony on Torture]( Readers say her oversight of a secret prison disqualifies her from heading the C.I.A. SIGN UP FOR THE OP-DOCS NEWSLETTER Find out about new [Op-Docs]( read discussions with filmmakers and learn more about upcoming events. FOLLOW OPINION [Facebook] [FACEBOOK]( [Twitter] [@nytopinion]( [Pinterest] [Pinterest]( Get more [NYTimes.com newsletters »](  | Get unlimited access to NYTimes.com and our NYTimes apps. [Subscribe »]( ABOUT THIS EMAIL You received this message because you signed up for NYTimes.com's Opinion Today newsletter. [Unsubscribe]( | [Manage Subscriptions]( | [Change Your Email]( | [Privacy Policy]( | [Contact]( | [Advertise]( Copyright 2018 The New York Times Company 620 Eighth Avenue New York, NY 10018