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The stars come out for voting, thanks to Michelle Obama

Shonda Rimes, Kerry Washington, Tracee Ellis Ross

Michelle Obama has added a half-dozen celebrities to her voter participation efforts, including (from left) Shonda Rimes, Kerry Washington and Tracee Ellis Ross.

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Michelle Obama is stepping up the celebrity power of her effort to promote voting.

The former first lady announced last week that she is adding singer Selena Gomez, actress Liza Koshy, television producer Shonda Rhimes, soccer star Megan Rapinoe, actress Tracee Ellis Ross and actress Kerry Washington as co-chairwomen of When We All Vote.

The national organization was created before the 2018 midterms as a nonpartisan, nonprofit group aiming to increasing voter participation.


Obama is a co-chairwoman, along with composer Lin-Manual Miranda, singer Faith Hill, actor Tom Hanks, actress Rita Wilson, and basketball star Chris Paul. Before the election a year ago, the group organized 2,500 local voter registration events across the country and texted nearly 4 million voters the resources needed to register and vote.

The effort was given some credit for a dramatic reversal in participation. Turnout in 2018 was the highest for a midterm in a century, after 2014 saw the smallest turnout for a midterm since World War II.




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Large Bipartisan Majorities Oppose Deep Cuts to Foreign Aid

The Program for Public Consultation at the University of Maryland releases a new survey, fielded February 6-7, 2025, with a representative sample of 1,160 adults nationwide.

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Large Bipartisan Majorities Oppose Deep Cuts to Foreign Aid

An overwhelming majority of 89% of Americans say the U.S. should spend at least one percent of the federal budget on foreign aid—the current amount the U.S. spends on aid. This includes 84% of Republicans and 94% of Democrats.

Fifty-eight percent oppose abolishing the U.S. Agency for International Development and folding its functions into the State Department, including 77% of Democrats and 62% of independents. But 60% of Republicans favor the move.

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A Super Bowl of Unity

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A Super Bowl of Unity

Philadelphia is known as the City of Brotherly Love, and perhaps it is fitting that the Philadelphia Eagles won Sunday night's Super Bowl 59, given the number of messages of unity, resilience, and coming together that aired throughout the evening.

The unity messaging started early as the pre-game kicked off with movie star Brad Pitt narrating a moving ad that champions residence and togetherness in honor of those who suffered from the Los Angeles fires and Hurricane Helen:

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The Paradox for Independents

A handheld American Flag.

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The Paradox for Independents

Political independents in the United States are not chiefly moderates. In The Independent Voter, Thomas Reilly, Jacqueline Salit, and Omar Ali make it clear that independents are basically anti-establishment. They have a "mindset" that aims to dismantle the duopoly in our national politics.

I have previously written about different ways that independents can obtain power in Washington. First, they can get elected or converted in Washington and advocate with their own independent voices. Second, they can seek a revolution in which they would be the most dominant voice in Washington. And third, a middle position, they can seek a critical mass in the Senate especially, namely five to six seats, which would give them leverage to help the majority party get to 60 votes on policy bills.

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The Bureaucrat’s Dilemma When Dealing with a Charismatic Autocrat

A single pawn separated from a group of pawns.

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The Bureaucrat’s Dilemma When Dealing with a Charismatic Autocrat

Excerpt from To Stop a Tyrant by Ira Chaleff

In my book To Stop a Tyrant, I identify five types of a political leader’s followers. Given the importance of access in politics, I range these from the more distant to the closest. In the middle are bureaucrats. No political leader can accomplish anything without a cadre of bureaucrats to implement their vision and policies. Custom, culture and law establish boundaries for a bureaucrat’s freedom of action. At times, these constraints must be balanced with moral considerations. The following excerpt discusses ways in which bureaucrats need to thread this needle.

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