Newly leaked documents from the Hubei CDC show how the Chinese government suppressed evidence of COVID-19 and mishandled the early stages of the pandemic. — By Bailey Steen This story originally appeared on TrigTent.com The COVID pandemic didn’t need to happen. Since the beginning, the Chinese government has outright rejected accusations of having deliberately concealed information related to the growth of the virus, decrying their critics as being dishonest obfuscators on the international stage.

Their arguments for doing so might be as good or better than those on the political left. — By Sean Culleton This story originally appeared on TrigTent.com Outside of the mainstream debate surrounding the recent murder of George Floyd and the ensuing weeks of protests, a minority of conservatives have vocalized sincere support for the Black Lives Matter movement’s call to defund, deconstruct, and ultimately abolish the police…

COVID-19 should not be wielded as a political club on Americans’ rights to peaceably assemble. — By D.A. Kirk This story originally appeared on TrigTent.com. When states started locking down during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, I was mostly in favor of it. But I also believed that there were serious questions — questions about how long the lockdowns would last, how restrictive they…

If we embrace the idea that the value of human life is permanently diminished by every mistake we make, we must necessarily concede that many of us are just as deserving. — By D.A. Kirk This article originally appeared on TrigTent.com As a smart man once told me, there is no such thing as a law-abiding citizen. There are criminals who get caught, and there are those who don’t. But the mythical law-abiding citizen is a rare creature indeed. …

Only in our all-encompassing political moment could Billie Eilish be criticized as both a nihilistic radical and the embodiment of traditionalist whiteness. — By: Samuel Kronen This article originally appeared on TrigTent.com Among the many casualties of cultural and political polarization is our collective relationship to art. It is a truism that artistic expression and political analysis are not meant to be coupled together — the warm glow of one moving against the…

Bloomberg’s ego-driven paternalism is both indistinguishable from President Trump’s authoritarian style and antithetical to the very notion of political moderation. — By D.A. Kirk This piece originally appeared on TrigTent.com Democratic presidential contender and former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg is banking on moderates and centrists to tip the scales in his favor. He’s marketing himself as an anti-ideologue and bridge-building pragmatist who can rally disaffected Republicans and Independent voters…

Rogan talks a big game about the need to reform the debates, but when given the opportunity to make a change, he failed to seize the moment. — By Sean Culleton This story originally appeared on TrigTent.com Last week, while interviewing comedian Jimmy Dore on the Joe Rogan Experience podcast, Jimmy and Joe had the following exchange: “My show was never about guests, my show was all about my opinion, and calling out bullsh*t,” Dore said.

The recent drama with Bernie Sanders is yet another example of Warren’s penchant for political misfires when going on the offense. — By Sean Culleton This story was originally published on TrigTent.com January’s debate, the first in a long year of debating, ended on a sad and ominous note for many progressives. “I think you called me a liar on national TV,” Ms. Warren told Mr. Sanders after the presidential debate in…

Neither party seems to have much respect for rules, rights, or traditions these days — except, of course, when they’re not the party in power. — By D.A. Kirk This story originally appeared on TrigTent.com This wasn’t the future I envisioned when I joined with liberals, progressives, and libertarians in resisting the post-9/11 authoritarianism that gave birth to warrantless wiretapping, indefinite detention, and the rapid militarization of law enforcement. It would take time for the nation…