No Hope or Change1

Re “Biden’s Picks: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly,” by Robert L. Borosage [Dec. 28, 2020/Jan. 4, 2021]: Joe Biden made it clear from the very beginning of his campaign that his intent was to return the country to its pre-Trump status quo, not move the needle forward one iota. Of course, the pandemic has forced him to make some alterations to his program, but no one should be so naive as to expect any substantive or fundamental change to the root causes of the problems baked into our capitalist system—problems that Trump et al. simply exploited, as the article points out so well. Lin Kaatz Chary 2

An Open Question3

I very much enjoyed Peter E. Gordon’s article about Theodor Adorno, “The Scars of Democracy” [Dec. 28, 2020/Jan. 4, 2021], especially his discussion of the concept of fascism arising within liberal democracy. But I was very surprised that once the word “commodity” entered into the discussion, there wasn’t a larger spotlight on capitalism, rather than liberal democracy, as the “base metal” of fascism. Is it possible to have liberal democracy without capitalism, or are the two intertwined? Gregory Arnold4

It’s Time5

Re “The Center Didn’t Hold,” by Elie Mystal [Dec. 28, 2020/Jan. 4, 2021]: For a few hundred years, Americans were taught that the Electoral College was intended to save us from demagoguery. Whatever the original intent, the last four years have shown us the folly of that belief. It’s time to do away with it before the next would-be Trump gets his act together well enough to succeed at what Trump attempted. He didn’t even have a rudimentary level of competence, but look at what he did. The Electoral College can now be seen as a ticking time bomb. Richard Bagby6

Fly High, Comrade 7

Kudos to Dave Zirin for capturing, in very few words, the essence of a complicated and complex character, defiant and contradictory, as large in charisma as he was diminutive in stature [“Diego Maradona (1960–2020),” Dec. 28, 2020/Jan. 4, 2021]. Maradona lived, in spite of the obstacles life threw at him. His unpredictable and oft-unedited charm will be missed, and so will the man for the icon that he was. Antony Esuk8

Thank you for your kind and warm words that do justice to a person who used his skills as the best athlete ever to advocate for political sovereignty, economic independence, and social justice. Vuela alto Diego! Pablo Sadler9

Higher Math 10

Brandon Hasbrouck suggests that Black votes be counted twice [“The Argument: Double-Count All Black Votes,” Dec. 28, 2020/Jan. 4, 2021]. This proposal would violate the “one person, one vote” rule and is accordingly unconstitutional. Edmund Rosner11