Fife’s “little ‘c’ crime”

One thing I’ve learned in a fairly long life is that there are certain people who refuse to play by the rules. Every human society seems to have stumbled across these common-sense strictures. They include things like “Contribute to your society or tribe.” “Learn how to do useful, constructive things.” “Work hard.” “Be nice.” “Don’t do bad stuff.” “Respect the ground you stake out for your home. Don’t pollute it with filth.”

Why are Black people switching to the Republican Party?

Dallas mayor Eric Johnson, a Democrat, caused shock waves in Texas and beyond when he announced he’s switching parties to become a Republican. “Next spring [2024], I will be voting in the Republican primary. When my career in elected office ends in 2027 on the inauguration of my successor as mayor, I will leave office as a Republican.” Johnson, who previously served in the Texas State Legislature, has been a lifelong Democrat. He’s also a Black man. Dallas, with 1.3 million people, is the nation’s ninth largest city. It is also, as the N.Y. Times notes, “a solidly Democratic city, and backed President Biden in the 2020 presidential election and the former congressman Beto O’Rourke in his failed bid for governor last year.”