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1. “Today,” writes Rebecca Traister in her cover story on the voting power of single women, “only around 20 percent of Americans are wed by age 29, compared to the nearly 60 percent in 1960. It is a radical upheaval, a national reckoning with massive social and political implications” (“The Single American Woman,” February 22–March 6). Jezebel’s Madeleine Davies wondered whether Bernie Sanders was actually the candidate who best represented single women’s interests. “Though Clinton has long championed causes that are important to unmarried women (like early childhood education and healthcare reform), Sander’s aggressive progressiveness and economic stances have become increasingly more appealing … But regardless of who gets the Democratic nomination, Traister reminds us, it’s assumed that single women — regardless of race or class — will overwhelmingly vote left and not right.” Commenter KeyLimePie agreed: “It’s to the point where I cringe every time the Republican candidates mention … what they’re going to do for middle class families. The tacit message being that single voters don’t matter, or don’t share their values … Just over 50 percent of American adults are now single—not just women! … All of these singletons deserve acknowledgment and should be courted by candidates!” Many commenters responded to the cover image. “I love the hand graphic,” commented clippityclop. “If it isn’t already a symbol of empowerment, then it might become one.”
2. In the last issue, Robert Kolker detailed one monumentally bad day on the subway that revealed the fragility of the entire system (“One Day, 625 Delays,” February 22–March 6). Second Ave. Saga’s Benjamin Kabak was frustrated by the lack of real solutions. “Is the answer a city-run network that starts with a questionably motivated streetcar that won’t see service for eight more years? Is the answer sighing in frustration while Paris and London engage in massive transit expansion projects? … It’s hard to be optimistic when the answers seem frustratingly insufficient … but it’s hard to see where else we are right now other than stuck in a rut too deep to escape.” One commenter felt there was a clear answer, at least for the wealthy. “Hard to see how Uber isn’t near-future of mass transit for anyone above a certain class,” tweeted @mattbuchanan. Many agreed that the story was alarming. “The only horror story scarier than The Babadook,” tweeted Mashable’s Hillary Busis. “Still can’t believe [the Rail Control Center] has no idea where trains are,” tweeted @berntiesanders. “Madness!” Some commenters felt that passengers should take more blame for the breakdown. “Many times my train is held up for 30 seconds–1 minute at every station by riders trying to cram onto the train,” wrote cencetti12. “Everyone would be a LOT better off if people would just behave a little less selfishly.” Many found the story all too relatable: “I read it last night on a subway trip from UES to Park Slope,” tweeted The Fader’s Myles Tanzer. “[I]� had to switch trains three times because I was panicking so much.”�
3. The death of Supreme Court justice Antonin Scalia, wrote Jonathan Chait, sounded “the demise not only of a towering justice, or even of his slender majority, but of the institution’s ancient and inviolable standing in political life” (“Will the Supreme Court Just Disappear?,” February 22–March 6). Twitter user @jaypinho thought Chait missed “a key point. Dems control 9/13 appeals courts. GOP doesn’t win with vacancy.” But many readers found Chait’s observations deeply troubling. “This is a very scary outline of the very real constitutional crisis we are living through,” tweeted @kentuckyjohnson. “Once the newer generation of hard-core conservative Republican legislators decided that political victory for their side was more important than honoring the traditions and norms that made the system work,” wrote commenter DRF55, “the system ground to a halt and will remain frozen.” “I wonder if this is what the death spiral for a functioning democracy looks like,” added @jcfay.