Posts by James Joyner

James Joyner
About James Joyner
James Joyner is a Professor of Security Studies. He's a former Army officer and Desert Storm veteran. Views expressed here are his own. Follow James on Twitter @DrJJoyner.

1970s and 1980s Yearbooks Featured Blatant Racism—And Not Just in the South

Ku Klux Klan jokes, fake lynchings, and the like were routinely depicted even at places like Cornell.

Time to Reconsider New York Times v Sullivan?

Justice Clarence Thomas argues that a 55-year-old precedent should be overturned.

Family of Covington Teen Sues WaPo

While I’m sympathetic to his plight, he has no case.

Alabama Editor Calls for Ku Klux Klan to Clean out DC

The end of racism may have been prematurely declared.

Can Coverage of Women Candidates Be Non-Sexist?

Gender bias is real. Most examples cited, though, aren’t.

NFL Settles Colin Kaepernick Collusion Suit

A confidential agreement has ended a collusion suit filed against the National Football League in 2017.

McCabe Claims DOJ Discussed Ousting Trump

The former #2 official at the FBI is trying to sell a book.

newspaper newspaper

Apple Launching Controversial News and Video Service

Is 50 percent too high a take? Or the best deal in town?

Eric Holder 2020?!

The former Attorney General is seriously pondering a presidential bid. Seriously.

The ‘Trope’ Trope

You keep using that word, I do not think it means what you think it means.

Alabama Executes Domineque Ray Under Questionable Circumstances

Critics on both the Left and the Right rightly see an injustice here but the US Supreme Court allowed it to happen.

1968 Wasn’t 1984 (Which Wasn’t 2019)

It’s reasonable and just to adjust our outrage based on the context of the time when incidents occurred.

Explaining Ralph Northam’s Weird Response to the Blackface Scandal

A man somehow got elected governor without being very good at politics.

Virginia Attorney General Admits He, Too, Wore Blackface

All three of the Commonwealth’s statewide elected officers are the subject of scandal.

Ralph Northam’s Forgivable Sin

Virgnia’s governor has to resign. But not because of some 35-year-old photos.

Streaming Killed the Video Star

AT&T’s acquisition of DirecTV and TimeWarner is forcing price hikes that are driving customers away at a rapid clip.

Proving You’re Not a Robot is Really Hard

They’ve gotten better at solving CAPTCHAs than we are.

Scaling Down Inequality

Gender bias in student evaluations of college professors diminishes considerably by changing the scale.

No, Trump is Not ‘Authoritarian’

The President is an ignoramus and a blowhard and a petulant child but he’s operating within the Constitutional limits of his office.

Are Female Politicians’ Sex Lives Off Limits?

Is benefitting politically from romantic liaisons different than other relationships?

Retirement is Killing Our Infrastructure

Pensions and health care costs for the elderly are crowding out other vital spending.

Is ‘Electability’ Measurable?

A WaPo data analyst gives it a shot.

Pelosi Getting Too Much Credit for Shutdown ‘Win’

The Speaker was dealt a winning hand and played it with the skill of a seasoned pro. But the outcome was all but inevitable.

MAGA Hats the New White Hood?

Wearing Donald Trump’s famous campaign symbol creates a presumption of ill intent. Is that fair?

Ocasio-Cortez, Like Trump, is Immune to Fact Checks

In both cases, appeals to emotion are not diminished by disregard for accuracy.

Dad’s Stuff is Junk, Grandma’s Stuff is Treasure?

Does trash become treasure with time?

Death Cleaning

Your treasures are your kids’ junk.

MAGA Student Confronting Native American Veteran Story Fake News?

The longer video and deeper investigation of the incident reveals a very different story.

Trump Exceedingly Unlikely to be Removed from Office, No Matter What

A leading conservative makes a truly bizarre defense of the President.

Did Trump Really Want to Be President? Who Cares?

A new report raises an old question that’s now irrelevant.

Political Temper Tantrums and the Constitution

The efforts by Speaker Pelosi and President Trump to leverage their institutional powers raise interesting questions.

US Capitol Rotunda US Capitol Rotunda

SOTU and the ‘Security’ Pretext

The Speaker is well within her rights to make Trump’s invitation conditional on ending the shutdown. But let’s not pretend we can’t keep him safe.

Trump Shutdown Longest Ever and Violates Law

Federal employees deemed “essential” missed a paycheck yesterday in violation of US labor law.

Waltraud Raule Joyner, 1943-2018

My mother has passed, aged 75 years.

After 20-Year Delay, Works from 1923 Lose Copyright Protection

The damage done for Mickey Mouse in the name of Sony Bono is finally coming to an end.

DC Government Passes Sweeping Emissions Standards

One of the strongest climate regulations in the country is almost certainly unconstitutional.

Federal Judge Rules Affordable Care Act Unconstitutional

U.S. District Judge Reed O’Connor contends that a recent change in tax law unravels the basis for the Supreme Court’s upholding of Obamacare.

Female-Led Films Perform Better at the Box Office

While most Hollywood blockbusters have male leads, films starring women actually do better on the aggregate.

NPR Run by Army of Temps

While often portrayed as left-leaning, the public broadcaster is ruthlessly capitalistic in its labor practices.

Russia Helping Stoke French Protests

Moscow continues using information warfare to sow division in Western society.

France’s Yellow Vest Riots Enter Fifth Week

Protests that have killed four and injured hundreds have been rewarded and show no sign of ending.

Bush Funeral Inevitably About Trump

Honoring the 41st President cast a poor light on the 45th.

Is Twitter a Breeding Ground for Thoughtlessness and Contempt?

Glenn Reynolds announced via his USA Today column that he has deleted his Twitter account.

GM Cutting Workers, Cars

A decade after being bailed out by the Federal government, the giant automaker is slashing jobs.

RV Fires?

Apparently, this is a thing.

Migrants Storm U.S. Border, Repelled by Tear Gas

A bad look for all concerned.

Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski Married

The morning show co-hosts tied the knot at a secret ceremony at the National Archives.

Classic WKRP Thanksgiving Episode Turns 40

As God is my witness, I thought turkeys could fly.

Alice’s Restaurant Massacree

Now it all started fifty-three Thanksgivings ago . . .

Federal Female Genital Mutilation Law Ruled Unconstitutional

A federal judge has found the practice outside the scope of Congress’ authority.