Articles by Michael Taylor

So-called free speech under Trump’s gaze The First Amendment stands as a cornerstone of American democracy. It safeguards freedom of speech, of the press, the right to assemble and protest, to practice religion (or abstain), […]

In the wake of conservative activist Charlie Kirk’s assassination on September 10, 2025, a firestorm of calls for action against those expressing negative or celebratory remarks about his death has swept across the United States. […]

When Donald Trump lashed out at the ABC this week, accusing a journalist of “hurting Australia,” it was hard not to think of another famous American who found himself in hot water here: Frank Sinatra. […]

The misframing of Tyler Robinson It’s baffling how quickly narratives solidify in polarised media landscapes, especially when the facts don’t neatly align with preconceived ideologies. In the case of Tyler Robinson, the 22-year-old suspect in […]

In the wake of the Liberal Party’s bruising defeat in the May 2025 federal election, where Anthony Albanese’s Labor secured a decisive second term amid a Liberal collapse, the party desperately sought fresh blood to […]

Trump is not yet a dictator. But he is rehearsing the role – and the hand-picked audience, disturbingly, seems to be warming to the performance. The word “dictator” carries heavy weight. It conjures images of […]

In the playhouse of Australian politics, Senators Pauline Hanson and Jacinta Nampijinpa Price stand out as influential conservative voices. While their backgrounds and personal journeys differ significantly, their political alignment, voting records, and public stances […]

President Trump entered his second term promising to “make America respected again.” Yet nearly nine months in, the opposite has happened. Far from restoring U.S. influence, his confrontational diplomacy and transactional worldview have pushed the […]

Not North Korea, not Russia, not Nazi Germany – but troubling all the same While listening to an American podcast this morning, I was struck by a reporter’s provocative remark: he said he’s unsure whether […]

Pauline Hanson, one of Australia’s most polarising politicians, recently declared that Australia is “not the country I grew up in.” On that point, I agree – Australia has changed profoundly over the past 25 years. […]

The United States – once celebrated as the standard-bearer of democracy – now finds itself teetering on the edge of authoritarianism. With authoritarian regimes already ruling 39.2% of the world’s population (per the Economist Intelligence […]