Welcome to the weekend edition of the Editorial Board, where you will find a roundup of everything produced over the last week by our amazing stable of writers.

This weekender features Varsha Venkatasubramanian on how the 21st-century war over water has arrived; Rod Graham on repairing the damaged—and necessary—myth of meritocracy; Richard Sudan on how the Biden administration is getting the border wrong; Brandon Bradford on why the Democrats have a once-in-a-lifetime chance to united the (white) working class; Magdi Semrau on why there’s no place for Black people in George Packer’s Four Americas; Lindsay Beyerstein on a new front in the war on women; and Mia Brett on Britney Spears’ new place in disability history.

This week featured me, too. Here’s what you may have missed:

• Monday June 21, 2021
No, the Republicans aren’t hypocrites. Read more

• Tuesday June 22, 2021
Conservative Democrats keep telling stories about Republicans that Republicans keep blowing up Read more

• Wednesday June 23, 2021
The ‘Tea Party’ is long dead, but a new fake ‘protest movement’ is in the making. See Loudoun County Read more

• Thursday June 24, 2021
Republican-controlled state governments are in the early stages of forming their own thought police Read more

• Friday June 25, 2021
With infrastructure deals in sight, the Democrats might save democracy without gutting the filibuster Read more

Reminder: Subscribers who can’t wait for the weekend edition can visit the website or follow me on Twitter, where I post material fresh daily and talk politics and trash.

Follow me @johnastoehr.

This new material is for subscribers only. So … don’t miss out! Support the Editorial Board and its mission to rebuild civil society and restore the common good!

—JS

On that note, here’s the weekend edition …

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June 25, 2021

Britney Spears joins a long US history of eugenics and forced sterilization of those with disabilities

By Mia Brett

The fight over reproductive control must center the disability rights movement to ensure that the law respects the agency of all of us and can’t use a mental illness as justification to seize our rights, writes Editorial Board member Mia Brett.

READ MORE

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June 24, 2021

Alabama district attorney aims to prosecute a woman for taking prescribed drug while pregnant

By Lindsay Beyerstein

If Kim Blalock were to be convicted, her case could set a dire criminal precedent, not only for pregnant people but for anyone seeking a prescription for a controlled substance in the state, writes Editorial Board member Lindsay Beyerstein.

READ MORE

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June 24, 2021

Black Americans and Americans of color have limited space in George Packer’s ‘Four Americas’

By Magdi Semrau

Packer’s four Americas seem limited to, well, four white Americas, writes Editorial Board member Magdi Semrau.

READ MORE

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June 22, 2021

Joe Biden has a once-in-a-lifetime chance to unite the working class in a global race against China

By Brandon Bradford

An effective counter to the “culture war” nonsense is real-world benefits paired with societal respect, writes Editorial Board member Brandon Bradford. There is potential to organize around massive, restorative infrastructure bills.

READ MORE

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June 22, 2021

Biden and Harris are wrong on the border

By Richard Sudan

Ramping up border security, creating special units to go after people-traffickers—these and others will never get to the root cause of why people migrate any more than building a border wall will, writes Editorial Board member Richard Sudan.

READ MORE

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June 21, 2021

Meritocracy is the myth that binds us

By Rod Graham

We assume a meritocracy when there is none and then use that assumption to justify inequalities, writes Editorial Board member Rod Graham. To make meritocracy a future reality, we must first face up to meritocracy as a present-day myth.

READ MORE

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June 14, 2021

The 21st-century ‘water wars’ are here

By Varsha Venkatasubramanian

Underneath this story of development are the stories of conflict over water rights, the privatization of water resources, and the steady depletion of aquifers and rivers, writes Editorial Board member Varsha Venkatasubramanian.

READ MORE

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