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Thursday, March 30, 2017
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Mark Lennihan/Associated Press
[Donald Trump vs. Big Bird](
President Trumpâs rise reflects an anti-intellectualism in American life, suggesting that books are irrelevant, that money trumps ideas, and that Big Bird neednât be funded. [Todayâs column]( is my attempt to fight back and defend the honor of intellectual life and the humanities â for it seems to me that in an age of demagoguery and nationalism, we need them more than ever. [Read!](
In reporting the column, I was staggered to see that Thomas Jefferson had endorsed the âexterminationâ of Native Americans, and that 15,000 people had turned out to watch the last public hanging in the United States in 1936. Isnât it a sign of moral progress that today weâre pushing for cage-free eggs rather than for, say, an end to child executions?
It hasnât gotten much attention, but two brave U.N. human rights investigators were just murdered in Congo along with their interpreter, and six aid workers were killed in South Sudan. Meanwhile, South Sudan has raised the fees it charges for each aid worker to enter the country to $10,000 â and the combination of danger and exorbitant fees will reduce the amount of foreign aid to starving South Sudanese people.
Perhaps the greatest risk of war in the coming years is with North Korea. All the choices to avoid war are awful, but Jeffrey Lewis has an [excellent essay]( noting that best way out is a deal to freeze the North Korean nuclear and missile program in exchange for the United States cutting back military exercises and taking some steps toward easing of sanctions.
Then thereâs the investigation into the Trump teamâs Russia ties. Itâs increasingly clear that the White House and Chairman Nunes are working together to obstruct an independent investigation by the House Intelligence Committee, and Iâm particularly concerned by the White House effort to bar former deputy attorney general Sally Yates from testifying meaningfully. I do worry that at some point Trump simply fires F.B.I. Director Jim Comey to try to derail the investigation.
Another thing to worry about: A government shutdown. House hardline conservatives are saying that theyâll refuse to fund government operations after the end of April unless Planned Parenthood is defunded. Democrats will never go for that, which means that Republicans may not be able to pay for government and we could have a government shutdown.
And [hereâs my column]( on we why we must not let President Trump decapitate Big Bird. [Read!](
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My blog, On the Ground, expands on my twice-weekly columns, sharing thoughts that shape the writing but donât always make it into the 800-word text. It also features contributions from other writers.
[Several hundred protesters outside the White House on Wednesday chanted, âNo hate, no fear, trans students are welcome here.â](
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