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​Images of the day a president's mob sought to defeat democracy

rioters at Capitol
Samuel Corum/Getty Images

American democracy has been pushed to the precipice: A mob urged on by a defeated president rampaged through the Capitol as the whole world watched, before the unparalleled insurgency was put down and Congress reconvened to affirm early Thursday that a different president had without question been elected.

That summary hardly does justice to the shocking, heart-stopping images of the vandalism and violence fueling what amounted to an attempted coup — sedition incited by the most powerful person in the nation, the one most responsible for preserving and protecting the Constitution. Four years after an inaugural address in which he vowed that "American carnage stops right here," the very spot where President Trump stood was overwhelmed Wednesday with rioters wreaking carnage in his name.

There is no shortage of dogged reporting and smart analysis available elsewhere; the news is moving fast and our team is small. And pictures tell the story in ways words cannot convey. For those paying attention to Trump's steadily intensifying assault on the norms of our republic, his encouragement of the climatic occupation of the Capitol is little surprise. But for those worried about the lasting depth of our democracy's challenges, the memories captured in these photographs must never be forgotten.


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Photo by Kelly Sikkema on Unsplash

Floods Are Getting Stronger – but so Are the People

Melissa Otey’s holistic wellness studio, Issa Lifestyle STL, was more than a business: it was a decade-long labor of love and a sanctuary she built for her Florissant community. From yoga, meditation, breathwork, sound and art therapy, and lifestyle coaching, the studio embodied her vision. It even included her own art gallery and a learning space for her children. It was truly everything she had ever hoped to create.

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In recent philosophical and political discourse, the concept of “deep disagreement” has gained traction as a diagnostic for the dysfunction of contemporary public debate.

Getty Images, Jena Ardell

Manufacturing Dissent: How ‘Deep Disagreement’ Serves the Anti-Democratic Elite

In recent philosophical and political discourse, the concept of “deep disagreement” has gained traction as a diagnostic for the dysfunction of contemporary public debate. The premise is simple yet highly seductive: Some disagreements we are told are so fundamental, so rooted in incompatible worldviews or paradigmatically incommensurable epistemologies, that no meaningful argumentation is possible between the disagreeing parties. The implication is stark: Reason and Dialogue cannot bridge the gulf. But this diagnosis, while sounding sobering and serious, is in fact a dangerous illusion. It is an intellectual sleight of hand that masks both the manufactured nature of such disagreements and the vested interests that thrive on perpetuating them.

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Getty Images, Rafa Fernandez Torres

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What is Trump’s administration doing to eliminate achievement gaps between minorities, English learners, socioeconomically disadvantaged students, and children with learning disabilities? Arguably, the administration is promoting policies that worsen these issues. The Department of Education (DOE) has expressed concerns about data representing the declining academic outcomes of these subgroups, but it continues to pursue policies that have proven ineffective and detrimental.

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