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Dear friends of VTIPG and the Community Change Collaborative,
We share five articles each week that we find timely and meaningful that address concerns related to the state of our democracy and civil society. We aim to offer pieces that illuminate significant dimensions of our country's policy and governance challenges and the state of social norms that sustain the possibility of addressing those concerns. Please note, the views expressed in these essays do not necessarily reflect the perspectives of VTIPG faculty or staff or of Virginia Tech. We upload these articles and stories to our website. You may find that archive at News and Opportunities at http://ipg.vt.edu.
If you would like to suggest an article for consideration, please contact the editor at the address below.
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Our first piece this week comes from ABC News. It discussed Vice President and Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris's decision to argue that former President and Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump constitutes a threat to democracy during the final stretch of the current campaign.
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A second selection, from Vox, analyzed the state of the nation's presidential race with less than two weeks until Election Day.
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The Hill published our third story, an opinion essay addressing how a Trump win might affect billionaire Elon Musk and his businesses, as well as the ethical issues raised by his prominent support of the Trump campaign.
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A fourth article, from BBC News, explored what a potential Trump victory could mean for Russia.
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Last, we feature an NPR story that discussed the prospects for success of the ongoing Biodiversity Summit in Colombia and the importance of protecting the world's ecology it underscores.
Brief synopses of these articles appear below. We hope the perspectives they offer encourage reflection and conversation!
Best wishes,
Billy Parvatam
VTIPG Communications Coordinator
pbilly97@vt.edu.
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Photo: Vice President and 2024 Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris. Credit to Wikipedia. |
Harris revives message around democracy as Trump escalates rhetoric. Will it work?
In this piece, ABC News reporter Tal Axelrod analyzed Vice President and 2024 Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris's decision to describe former President Donald Trump as a threat to democracy during the final stretch of the current presidential campaign. This choice marked a shift in tone as Harris had sought to convey a more upbeat message at the start of her campaign, similar to that President Joe Biden had adopted before he withdrew from the race. The Harris campaign hopes that its decision to portray the Vice President as a steady leader while describing Trump as unstable will resonate with voters. Her decision comes at a time that Trump’s rhetoric has grown extremely dark and his claims ever more outlandish.
Axelrod, T. (2024, October 18). Harris revives message around democracy as Trump escalates rhetoric. Will it work? ABC News. https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/harris-revives-message-democracy-trump-escalates-rhetoric-work/story?id=114908724
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Photo: Former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris debate, September 10, 2024. Credit to Vox. | |
Has Trump gained ground? The latest 2024 polling, explained.
Vox Senior Politics Correspondent Andrew Prokop contended in this article that with less than two weeks until Election Day, the polls are as inconclusive as they have ever been. That is, polling averages have recently suggested that the race between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump is deadlocked. Meanwhile, the seven swing states that will likely decide the presidency are all also considered very close. Perhaps not surprisingly, therefore, Prokop concluded that no candidate has a clear edge and that the race is too close to call.
Prokop, A. (2024, October 21). "Has Trump gained ground? The latest 2024 polling, explained." Vox. https://www.vox.com/2024-elections/378909/election-2024-polls-harris-trump-winning-odds
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Photo: Businessman Elon Musk. Credit to The Hill. | |
What a Trump win could mean for Elon Musk's businesses
Miranda Nazzaro of The Hill analyzed Elon Musk's involvement in the 2024 presidential campaign in this story, and suggested that, as the owner of Tesla and SpaceX, Musk is likely to benefit materially from a Trump victory. More, Trump has suggested Musk may have an official role in his administration, or perhaps could lead a panel focused on cutting government costs. Musk has taken a major plunge into right-wing politics during this campaign and has endorsed Trump, even as federal government agencies have continued to regulate his businesses under existing law. Experts have suggested his involvement with the Trump campaign has raised troubling ethical questions, not only because he has embraced and sought to spread manifest lies in support of the former president, but he has done so as the CEO of businesses that have received millions in (current) government contracts.
Nazzaro, M. (2024, October 22). "What a Trump win could mean for Elon Musk’s businesses." The Hill. https://thehill.com/policy/technology/4947335-elon-musk-trump-government-contracts/
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Photo: The Kremlin, Moscow, Russia. Credit to Wikipedia. | |
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Moscow had high hopes for Trump in 2016. It's more cautious this time
Steve Rosenberg argued in this piece that contrary to public opinion, Russian officials are more cautious about a second Trump term than they were when he first ran for office in 2016. For example, Russia’s leaders had hoped then that the former president would scrap sanctions against their nation and potentially even recognize the Crimean Peninsula as part of the country. In fact, however, Trump introduced heavy sanctions against Russia during his first term. Regardless, Rosenberg argued not to view that fact as auguring current Kremlin opposition to Trump, given his criticism of U.S. military aid to Ukraine, his public unwillingness to assign responsibility for that war to Putin, and his refusal to state that he believes Ukraine should prevail in the conflict. These stands all suggest that Russia would benefit from major shifts in U.S. policy should Trump win.
Rosenberg, S. (2024, October 20). "Moscow had high hopes for Trump in 2016. It's more cautious this time." BBC News. https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c4g95r3lnr2o
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Photo: More than a million species are at risk of extinction in the coming decades because of human actions. This week, world leaders are meeting in Colombia to discuss how to preserve biodiversity and prevent habitat loss. Credit to NPR. | |
To save nature, world leaders aim to turn words into action at Biodiversity Summit
This NPR article by Nate Rott examined the prospects for meaningful progress at the 16th United Nations (UN) Convention on Biological Diversity taking place in Colombia this week. UN leaders convened the summit to bring national leaders together to consider the steps taken to date toward realizing the existing ambitious Paris Climate Agreement goals aimed at mitigating biodiversity loss. They did so aware that despite that initiative, it now appears likely that less than 10 percent of the world’s land and water will be protected from such losses by 2030.
Rott, N. (2024, October 21). "To save nature, world leaders aim to turn words into action at Biodiversity Summit." NPR. https://www.npr.org/2024/10/18/nx-s1-5147426/cop16-biodiversity-summit
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