The article argues that recent executive overreach and politicization have severely undermined established norms of U.S. civil-military relations. To restore professional standards, the incoming Congress must actively exercise its oversight powers, moving beyond mere criticism to demanding transparency in defense policy and personnel decisions. Key reforms include enforcing meritocratic promotion processes, requiring documented justification for senior officer removals, and preventing the partisan use of the military. These actions are crucial for bolstering public trust and ensuring the military remains a nonpartisan instrument of civilian control.
Recent SCOTUS decisions threaten to uproot communities’ voting power
English Summary
The Brookings report argues that recent Supreme Court decisions, particularly the weakening of the Voting Rights Act (VRA), threaten to dismantle the political power and representation of minority communities through new redistricting tactics and census changes. Key evidence includes the establishment of precedents that diminish the need for a "compelling interest" in using race for district mapping, alongside efforts to restrict mail-in voting and collect demographic data. Strategically, the report advises that civil society must engage in robust voter mobilization, targeted outreach to counter misinformation, and focus political efforts on state and local elections to minimize the impact of federal disenfranchisement efforts.
中文摘要
布魯金斯報告指出，近期最高法院的裁決，特別是削弱《投票權法案》（VRA）的趨勢，正威脅透過新的重劃選區戰術和人口普查變動，瓦解少數族裔群體的政治權力和代表性。關鍵證據包括確立了降低使用種族作為選區繪製「令人信服的利益」必要性的先例，以及限制郵寄投票和收集人口統計資料的努力。從策略上講，該報告建議公民社會必須進行強力的選民動員，進行有針對性的外展活動以反擊錯誤資訊，並將政治努力集中於州和地方選舉，以最小化聯邦層面剝奪投票權的影響。
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