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Is Bill Maher Right About a “Slow-Moving Coup”? Trump’s Federal Moves Stir Alarm

Is Bill Maher Right About a “Slow-Moving Coup”? Trump’s Federal Moves Stir Alarm

The Political Non-Profit Sector Is Failing Us

The Political Non-Profit Sector Is Failing Us

Texas Democrats and Talarico Fight Back

Texas Democrats and Talarico Fight Back

Veterans’ Care at Risk Under Trump As Hundreds of Doctors and Nurses Reject Working at VA Hospitals

Veterans’ Care at Risk Under Trump As Hundreds of Doctors and Nurses Reject Working at VA Hospitals

Video: voting rights, the filibuster, and the state of the Senate

Video: voting rights, the filibuster, and the state of the Senateplay icon
Voting Rights, the Filibuster, and the State of the Senate
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The Fulcrum
By The FulcrumFeb 03, 2022
The Fulcrum
The Fulcrum staff.
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From social media to cable news, all the American public sees from our leaders are partisan attacks and hyperbolic rhetoric, but that's not the way it has to be. To prove it, Former Members of Congress (FMC) and the Fulcrum have joined forces to bring you Congress at a Crossroads.

The monthly video series brings together Former Members of both parties to discuss the structural issues in today's Congress, as well as the hottest political issues. They won't always agree, but they will always treat each other with respect and civility. This month, our host, FMC CEO Pete Weichlein sat down with Former Senators Blanche Lincoln (D-AR) and Norm Coleman (R-MN) to discuss voting rights, the legislative filibuster, and what the state of the Senate is like now given the recent battle over these issues.

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Rule of Law

Maybe I Will ‘Go Back to Where I Came From’

elections
Ethics & Leadership

The Trump Administration’s Efforts To Undermine Election Integrity

Is Trump the Wizard of Oz? Behind the Curtain of Power, Illusion, and a Constitutional Crisis
Ethics & Leadership

Is Trump the Wizard of Oz? Behind the Curtain of Power, Illusion, and a Constitutional Crisis

A Wealthy Congress Doesn’t Reflect American Constituents
Ethics & Leadership

A Wealthy Congress Doesn’t Reflect American Constituents

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Trump’s Imperial Presidency: Putting Local Democracy at Risk

U.S. President Donald Trump visits the U.S. Park Police Anacostia Operations Facility on August 21, 2025 in Washington, DC.

Getty Images, Anna Moneymaker

Trump’s Imperial Presidency: Putting Local Democracy at Risk

Trump says his deployment of federal law enforcement is about restoring order in Washington, D.C. But the real message isn’t about crime—it’s about power. By federalizing the District’s police, activating the National Guard, and bulldozing homeless encampments with just a day’s notice, Trump is flexing a new kind of presidential muscle: the authority to override local governments at will—a move that raises serious constitutional concerns.

And now, he promises that D.C. won’t be the last. New York, Chicago, Philadelphia—cities he derides as “crime-ridden”—could be next. Noticeably absent from his list are red-state cities with higher homicide rates, like New Orleans. The pattern is clear: Trump’s law-and-order agenda is less about public safety and more about partisan punishment.

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To Trump, ‘Truth’ Is Only What He Wants It Be

U.S. President Donald Trump gestures while answering questions from reporters as he tours the roof of the West Wing of the White House on Aug. 5, 2025, in Washington, D.C.

Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images

To Trump, ‘Truth’ Is Only What He Wants It Be

You know the old philosophical question: “If a tree falls in the forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?”

Well, in President Trump’s America, the answer would depend on whether or not he wanted it to.

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The Return of Loyalty Tests and the Decline of American Democracy

Faded American flag

The Return of Loyalty Tests and the Decline of American Democracy

Remember when loyalty oaths were used to ferret out and punish people suspected of being Communists? They were a potent and terrifying tool, designed to produce conformity and compliance at the height of the late 1940s, early 1950s Red Scare.

Today, they are back, but in more subtle, if no less coercive, forms. The Trump Administration is using them in hiring and retaining federal employees, in dispensing federal grants, and in passing out perks.

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Chaos Theory Meets Trump: Why America’s Institutions and Psyche Are Under Siege
File:Donald Trump (29496131773).jpg - Wikimedia Commons
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Chaos Theory Meets Trump: Why America’s Institutions and Psyche Are Under Siege

There’s a branch of mathematics and science known as chaos theory, which studies dynamical systems; systems that evolve according to specific rules, yet behave in ways that appear random or unpredictable. Despite being governed by deterministic laws, these systems can produce outcomes so sensitive to initial conditions that even the slightest change can dramatically alter their trajectory.

This concept, famously illustrated by the butterfly effect, suggests that a butterfly flapping its wings in Brazil might set off a tornado in Texas. In other words, minute actions can trigger cascading consequences across complex systems. Chaos theory has long influenced fields like meteorology and economics, helping explain why markets react wildly to rumors or why weather forecasts become unreliable beyond a few days.

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