‘Russia was a cautionary tale. Now US risks becoming it.’
Tim Richardson and Anna Nemzer at USA Today
In the U.S., Russia’s “descent into autocracy has long been cited as a cautionary tale by those warning of democratic backsliding,” say Tim Richardson and Anna Nemzer. Now “we risk parts of that history becoming our own.” Russia “hollowed out the country’s once-diverse media landscape, leaving behind only state media.” Similar “dynamics are taking hold here in the United States: the exclusion and punishment of those who scrutinize power, the rewarding of compliant media and the consolidation of influence over government narratives.”
‘California’s rape kit audit deadline is fast approaching. There’s reason to worry.’
Ilse Knecht and Kate Karpilow at the San Francisco Chronicle
When a “sexual assault survivor undergoes an invasive and time-consuming forensic examination to compile a rape kit, there’s an implicit promise that law enforcement will test any discovered DNA to identify a perpetrator,” say Ilse Knecht and Kate Karpilow. But “too often, those rape kits don’t get tested and languish in storage.” Getting a “thorough and accurate count of untested rape kits isn’t an exercise in bean counting or a bothersome bureaucratic demand.” It’s an “important crime-fighting tool.”
‘Platner, Fetterman and the myth of the working-class politician’
Jonathan Zimmerman at The Philadelphia Inquirer
Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.) and Maine’s Democratic Senate nominee Graham Platner are “pretending to be rough-hewn, working-class guys,” says Jonathan Zimmerman. But both “were born into significant family wealth. And so were almost all of America’s political leaders, past and present.” Americans “just don’t want to admit it.” People “want to believe that every American can become anything they wish — a senator, or even a president.” That’s “why we’re attracted to figures like Fetterman and Platner, who enact this dream for us.”
‘My parents’ homeland might have a bright future — if its neighbors allow it’
Jordan Bitove at the Toronto Star
“My brothers, sister and I are proud of our Macedonian roots,” says Jordan Bitove. But North Macedonia “continues to be targeted by neighboring states, keen to frustrate its ambitions to take its rightful place on the global stage.” The country “has already changed its name, its flag and its Constitution under pressure from neighboring states.” North Macedonia “can’t stand still. While progress has been made, its living standard still significantly lags other European countries” and “brain drain is a threat.”
Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
