Opinion: Bannon, gone but not eclipsed

View in [Browser]( | Add nytdirect@nytimes.com to your address book. [The New York Times]( [The New York Times]( Monday, August 21, 2017 [NYTimes.com/Opinion »]( The guest writer of today’s newsletter is Ian Prasad Philbrick, an editorial assistant at The Times. On the news. Steve Bannon’s [departure]( from the Trump administration and return to Breitbart News [probably won’t change]( his enthusiasm for the president’s agenda, but it may threaten Bannon’s establishment enemies in the West Wing, argues Bloomberg Businessweek’s Joshua Green. “Bannon will do the same outside the White House that he was trying to do from the inside, and that’s to lead a nationalist movement,” Green [told]( Politico Playbook. Over the weekend, tens of thousands of people gathered for a mostly peaceful [counterprotest]( to a small gathering of [far-right]( “free speech” advocates in Boston, showing that exercising our right to speak in opposition remains a better antidote than trying to restrict speech we loathe, [writes]( The Washington Post’s Margaret Sullivan. “‘Off with their heads’ seems to be the prevailing response when we hear something that strikes us as vile. That’s not what America stands for,” she argues. In The Times. Columnist Maureen Dowd contrasts the story of her father, an Irish immigrant who confronted the Ku Klux Klan in 1947, with the president’s hedged response to white supremacist violence in Charlottesville. “Every day, President Trump teaches us what values we cherish — and they’re the opposite of his,” she [writes](. “The most effective tactics for white nationalists are to associate American history with themselves and to suggest that the collective efforts to turn away from our white supremacist past are the same as abandoning American culture,” [argues]( R. Derek Black, a former white nationalist. Black renounced those beliefs years ago, a decision he [explained]( in a Times op-ed last November. Ahead of today’s solar eclipse, the writer Dava Sobel [describes]( the magic and joy of witnessing nine eclipses around the world. “The air chills. The mind reels. Part of me wants the eerie eclipse twilight to last forever, while another part of me fears that it will,” she writes. [Today’s]( eclipse will be visible in some form to stargazers across the United States. The full Opinion report from The Times follows, including [Eric Foner]( on what Trump means by “our” history and [Laura Bates]( on Taylor Swift. David Leonhardt, the regular author of this newsletter, will return Aug. 28. Editorial [After the Terror in Barcelona]( By THE EDITORIAL BOARD We know there will be more attacks. But how do societies that celebrate openness live with that? Op-Ed Columnist [Failing All Tests of the Presidency]( By CHARLES M. BLOW There are no good Nazis. Op-Ed Columnist [What Will Trump Do to American Workers?]( By PAUL KRUGMAN Pay less attention to taxing and spending, more to power. ADVERTISEMENT Op-Ed Contributor [Confederate Statues and ‘Our’ History]( By ERIC FONER They do not simply commemorate American history, as the president declared. They honor just one part of that past. Editorial [Gov. Cuomo’s Wise Move on Congestion Pricing]( By THE EDITORIAL BOARD Support has been hard to come by, but it’s an efficient way to raise money for mass transit, cut down on traffic and limit pollution. Editorial Notebook [The City That Ought to Sleep]( By CLYDE HABERMAN Napping isn’t a character flaw, and politicians shouldn’t pretend that it is. Joan Wong [Op-Ed Contributor]( [Why Waiters Drink. And Why It Matters.]( By BRITTANY BRONSON The food service industry is a growing part of our economy, and it has a big substance abuse problem. The Stone [College Football Is Here. But What Are We Really Cheering?]( By ERIN C. TARVER A “heritage” of racism still taints the sport’s fandom. Op-Ed Contributor [A Thank-You to Taylor Swift]( By LAURA BATES The pop singer’s sexual harassment suit showed how dangerously gendered politeness is. Op-Ed Contributor [The Test of Nazism That Trump Failed]( By TIMOTHY SNYDER There are no “two sides.” If the president is not against Hitlerism, he is for it. Red Century [When the Harlem Renaissance Went to Communist Moscow]( By JENNIFER WILSON For a while, African-American writers and artists thought that Soviet communism might allow them to make work beyond the color line. Op-Ed Contributor [Watching Charlottesville From Jerusalem]( By DANIEL GORDIS We always assumed America would protect the Jews. Luckily, we can protect ourselves. Op-Ed Contributor [Sierra Leone’s Disaster Was Caused by Neglect, Not Nature]( By LANSANA GBERIE A deadly mudslide in the West African country’s capital is a result of poor planning and unenforced regulations. HOW ARE WE DOING? We’d love your feedback on this newsletter. Please email thoughts and suggestions to [opinionnewsletter@nytimes.com](mailto:opinionnewsletter@nytimes.com?subject=Opinion%20Today%20Newsletter%20Feedback). ADVERTISEMENT Sunday Review [Trump, Neo-Nazis and the Klan]( By MAUREEN DOWD Sirens are blaring as President Trump follows the siren song of the basest of his base and crashes against the shoals. Sunday Review [What White Nationalism Gets Right About American History]( By R. DEREK BLACK Growing up in this community, I learned about a past that’s more present than most will admit. Sunday Review [9 Eclipses, 4 Continents, Never Tired of the Spectacle]( By DAVA SOBEL The bizarre and beautiful effects of totality combine to produce euphoria, and I feel about as happy as I know how to be. Letters [Fight Fanaticism With Modesty?]( How to respond to the alt-right and neo-Nazis? David Brooks suggests “assertive modesty” rather than “anger and moral posturing.” Our readers react. Letters [The Rise in Economic Inequality in the U.S.]( Readers discuss a chart that shows how the very rich have benefited from rising incomes at the expense of everyone else. SIGN UP FOR THE VIETNAM ’67 NEWSLETTER Examining America’s long war in Southeast Asia [through the course]( of a single year. FOLLOW OPINION [Facebook] [FACEBOOK]( [Twitter] [@nytopinion]( [Pinterest] [Pinterest]( Get more [NYTimes.com newsletters »](  | Get unlimited access to NYTimes.com and our NYTimes apps for just $0.99. [Subscribe »]( ABOUT THIS EMAIL You received this message because you signed up for NYTimes.com's Opinion Today newsletter. [Unsubscribe]( | [Manage Subscriptions]( | [Change Your Email]( | [Privacy Policy]( | [Contact]( | [Advertise]( Copyright 2017 The New York Times Company 620 Eighth Avenue New York, NY 10018