Arc Digital

Arc Digital The internet’s best opinion page. Fiercely committed to intellectual pluralism. Commentary on what matters.

"This is the nature of modern democratic backsliding. Stasi agents and 'papers please' are the fringe cases. Not only do...
27/02/2025

"This is the nature of modern democratic backsliding. Stasi agents and 'papers please' are the fringe cases. Not only do the lights turn on, but so does Netflix."

A lot of you are probably feeling "the unbearable normality of creeping authoritarianism" too.

The U.S. government is under attack from within, the Constitution isn't really in effect, but if you don't follow politics and aren't directly targeted, you might not notice

"The Founders knew popular election could install an authoritarian-minded criminal in the White House, and built multipl...
07/02/2025

"The Founders knew popular election could install an authoritarian-minded criminal in the White House, and built multiple checks against it, including power of the purse. What they didn’t expect was Congress to weakly give it away."

The Trump administration is illegally blocking authorized spending. If Congress lets them, the U.S. doesn't have Constitutional government.

Kash Patel stands for one thing: The purpose of federal law enforcement is not to impartially enforce the law, but to ad...
29/01/2025

Kash Patel stands for one thing: The purpose of federal law enforcement is not to impartially enforce the law, but to advance the president’s personal interests — harass his critics into silence and help him abuse power, breaking the law as needed. That is why Trump nominated him for FBI Director.

Every Senator knows this, though some will pretend not to.

Trump picked Patel to end impartial law enforcement—his record isn't subtle—and if Senators have any respect for rule-of-law, they'll reject his nomination

Marking the four year anniversary of the Jan. 6 attacks by facing the dark reality that the insurrectionists failed at f...
06/01/2025

Marking the four year anniversary of the Jan. 6 attacks by facing the dark reality that the insurrectionists failed at first, but ultimately succeeded.

The fourth anniversary of the Capitol attack marks a dark day in American history

Elon Musk denounced Wikipedia (again), lying about its budget.Of course he and other post-truth reactionaries hate it. I...
27/12/2024

Elon Musk denounced Wikipedia (again), lying about its budget.

Of course he and other post-truth reactionaries hate it. It's a bastion of truth they haven't been able to buy or bully.

Wikipedia isn't perfect—what is?—but it's a valuable resource, sometimes called "the last good website," one that we should, and can, protect.

Elon Musk and other reactionary liars hate the "last good website" because it won't go along with their distortions

Evangelical leaders telling followers to back Trump fits "any reasonably Christian sense of what constitutes idolatry," ...
21/12/2024

Evangelical leaders telling followers to back Trump fits "any reasonably Christian sense of what constitutes idolatry," writes Alan Elrod in Arc Digital.

"It is perverse, if not now uncommon, to conflate spiritual rectitude with adoration for the US or support for particular politicians."

Jonathan Skrmetti, Ryan Walters and the weapons of this world

With the coming assault on freedom of the press, we must defend the New York Times.If you're mad at them, you probably h...
19/11/2024

With the coming assault on freedom of the press, we must defend the New York Times.

If you're mad at them, you probably have a point, but hear me out:

If you're mad at the Times, you probably have a point, but hear me out. With the coming threat of Trump Term II, we need them.

Do not accept that it’s over. It isn’t. Politics is a competition for power, and while it may have changed, it never end...
12/11/2024

Do not accept that it’s over. It isn’t. Politics is a competition for power, and while it may have changed, it never ends. More authoritarian governments than Trump Term II have fallen.

But do accept that this is bigger than you.

Don't withdraw entirely, but it's OK to partially disengage. The future will be tough, and you're in better position to fight if you stay sane. Here's how I'm adjusting.

"It’s rare to see a trio in greater need of a giant L than Donald Trump, Vladimir Putin, and Elon Musk, and rarer still ...
04/11/2024

"It’s rare to see a trio in greater need of a giant L than Donald Trump, Vladimir Putin, and Elon Musk, and rarer still that all three can get one at the same time."

Some pre-election🔥🔥🔥from Nicholas Grossman.

It's finally time to pass through this historical inflection point

Voters rejecting Trump's authoritarism will preserve US democracy for now, but the societal and institutional changes of...
27/10/2024

Voters rejecting Trump's authoritarism will preserve US democracy for now, but the societal and institutional changes of the last decade are deep. Even with a Harris win, restoring American democracy will take time and effort.

The election won’t offer an escape from our democratic nightmare

Israel-Hezbollah—and the broader conflict, including Hamas, the Gaza war, and the Houthis—is beyond the limits of intern...
23/09/2024

Israel-Hezbollah—and the broader conflict, including Hamas, the Gaza war, and the Houthis—is beyond the limits of international law. It's being governed by power.

My latest in Arc Digital, on the exploding pagers and walkie-talkies attack, escalation across the Lebanese border, and more:

Everyone is violating international law in various ways, and no one will enforce it

Israel-Hezbollah—and the broader conflict, including Hamas, the Gaza war, and the Houthis—is beyond the limits of intern...
23/09/2024

Israel-Hezbollah—and the broader conflict, including Hamas, the Gaza war, and the Houthis—is beyond the limits of international law. It's being governed by power.

On the exploding pagers and walkie-talkies attack, escalation across the Lebanese border, and more:

Everyone is violating international law in various ways, and no one will enforce it

By the normal standards of presidential debates, Harris beat Trump, and it wasn't close. She was more coherent, more in ...
11/09/2024

By the normal standards of presidential debates, Harris beat Trump, and it wasn't close. She was more coherent, more in command of policy, less rattled, more poised, and didn't push wacky conspiracy theories.

But after almost a decade of upside-down standards, it's an open question (until November) if normal still applies.

My debate reaction in Arc Digital:

She was more presidential—and more based in reality—but we won't know if that matters until November

Address


Website

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Arc Digital posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The Business

Send a message to Arc Digital:

Shortcuts

  • Address
  • Alerts
  • Contact The Business
  • Claim ownership or report listing

  • Want your business to be the top-listed Media Company?

Share