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2020 has been a challenging year. For some challenges, such as the coronavirus, a light is appearing at the end of the tunnel. But for others, the true consequences may be only beginning to appear.

This is perhaps no more true than in the assault on political legitimacy. In 2020, this was threatened by forces on opposite sides of politics: cancel culture on the left and conspiracy theories on the right.

Each poses a serious threat, as a collapse in political legitimacy means people think the normal rules dont apply anymore, making the world a more difficult and even dangerous place for all of us.

What exactly is political legitimacy and why is it important?

Lets start with a definition of legitimacy. Legitimacy, in this context, refers to whether we should accept a decision, rule or institution.

It doesnt require wholehearted agreement. For example, we might think a workplace decision is misguided, but decide that as an employee we should go along with it anyway.

Political legitimacy refers to the legitimacy of laws and authorities in the eyes of the people. It allows rules and public institutions to function effectively.

We will never all agree on exactly what the law should be particularly in pluralistic societies. However, we can all agree that democratic decision-making is an appropriate way to make laws.

Of course, legitimacy has limits. If a democracy votes to enslave an ethnic minority, this wouldnt be acceptable. Legitimacy only works when the outcomes are tolerable.

Read more: To combat conspiracy theories teach critical thinking and community values

The terms cancel culture and call-out culture which became ubiquitous in 2020, particularly on the political left refer to practices of shutting down, shaming or deterring those who are perceived to speak in offensive or harmful ways.

Examples abound, but one notable case occurred during the Black Lives Matter protests against police brutality in the US in May.

Political analyst David Shor tweeted a summary of a Black Princeton professors research about the historical impact of violent protests on Democratic voting. When called out for perceived anti-Blackness, Shor apologised, but was nevertheless fired.

Read more: Is cancel culture silencing open debate? There are risks to shutting down opinions we disagree with

More recently, employees at Penguin Random House in Canada lodged an official protest at the news that a sequel to Jordan Petersons bestseller, 12 Rules for Life, would be published. It echoed an earlier employee-led revolt against the publication of J.K. Rowlings new childrens book.

Stifling and shutting down controversial voices, such as Peterson and Rowling, presents two challenges to political legitimacy.

First, it prevents inclusive dialogue. Those in the minority on any issue can no longer console themselves with the fact that at least they had the opportunity to say their piece and have their views considered. Instead, they are silenced and excluded.

Second, the idea that voters on the right have not just wrong, but harmful views poses a further threat to legitimacy.

Why should progressives respect democratic outcomes such as the victories of Republican legislators in the 2020 US elections, or Trumps win in 2016 if these outcomes simply reflect what they perceive as the manifestly intolerable views of millions of conservative voters?

From the opposite side of politics comes another threat: conspiracy theories.

To be sure, conspiracies do occur, but they are usually confined to close-knit groups at single organisations that excel at secrecy (for example, intelligence agencies).

Many currently popular conspiracy theories require strikingly poor reasoning practices.

Even setting aside QAnons wacky beliefs, the idea peddled by outgoing President Donald Trump that the US election was stolen is far-fetched. No tangible evidence has been presented for this claim.

In fact, many of the institutions certifying the result were run by Republican officials, while Republican-appointed judges have thrown out many Trump campaign cases brought to court. And though Joe Biden won the presidential contest, Democrats had an unexpectedly poor showing in other races.

If Trumps claim was true, such a conspiracy would have to be far-reaching (including both Republicans and Democrats) and powerful (leaving no evidence), while at the same time being stunningly incompetent (having forgotten to ensure Democratic victories in Congress).

Yet, this theory is extraordinarily popular, with the vast majority of the presidents 74 million voters believing fraud changed the election outcome.

Read more: Conspiracy theories may seem irrational but they fulfill a basic human need

This impacts political legitimacy because a stubborn lack of respect for evidence undermines public deliberative practices. It is impossible to find points of agreement when large-scale conspiracies throw so much into question.

Conspiracies about election results also threaten democratic legitimacy. If everything is controlled by a sinister cabal, then elections are a farce.

Worse, if ones political opponents are seen as utterly evil for example, cannibalistic Satanic child traffickers then not even authentic elections could legitimise their rule.

So, both conspiracy thinking and cancel culture can challenge the legitimacy of democratic decision-making.

But this is not all they have in common. Both are longstanding practices whose recent rise has been fuelled by social media. Both are personally rewarding, as they allow believers to position themselves as manifestly superior to others (the deplorables or sheeple).

Both views are also self-sealing insofar as adherents shield themselves from contrary ideas and evidence (allowing groupthink to flourish).

Cancel culture advocates never need face uncomfortable critique because opponents can simply be cancelled or called out, derailing further discussion.

And conspiracy theorists can simply dismiss critique as part of the conspiracy, or based on falsities spread by the conspiracy.

Even in Australia, commentators have observed the woeful state of political deliberation and its impact on trust in institutions. In the wake of the Banking Royal Commission, for example, Commissioner Kenneth Haynes lamented

political rhetoric now resorts to the language of war, seeking to portray opposing views as presenting existential threats to society as we now know it.

Unfortunately, because these views are self-sealing, and because they attach to peoples chosen identities, there are no easy responses to them.

Still, these movements are not monolithic. Many from the left have spoken out against political intolerance, and some Republican officials in the US have stood up against Trumps conspiracy theories.

Perhaps the best message as we enter a new year is to remain respectful and empathetic to others.

At a base level, keep in mind that others may have legitimate concerns: conspiracies do happen and everyone has limits to what they will tolerate.

Rather than reacting with anger or mockery, or directly challenging someones position, its often best to enquire carefully into their views.

And if you disagree with them, rather than aiming to change their mind, instead try to sow a few seeds of doubt that may lead to reasonable discussion and encourage later reflection.

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Conspiracy theories on the right, cancel culture on the left: how political legitimacy came under threat in 2020 - The Conversation AU

January

4 Winners of five Costa category awards announced.8 The Father released Florian Zeller directs an adaptation of his own play, starring Anthony Hopkins.11 TS Eliot prize for poetry.19 Centenary of the birth of Patricia Highsmith, queen of psychological suspense.22 Netflix adaptation of Aravind Adigas Booker winner The White Tiger.Release of film Chaos Walking, based on first book of Patrick Nesss eponymous trilogy.26 Costa awards ceremony, with book of the year announced.

Fiction

Luster by Raven Leilani (Picador)In the years buzziest debut, a black American millennial tackles the difficulties of work, love, sex and being seen for who you really are.

The Living Sea of Waking Dreams by Richard Flanagan (Chatto & Windus)A family grapples with mortality while Australia burns, in a magical realist fable about extinction and Anthropocene despair from the Booker-winning author of The Narrow Road to the Deep North.

Memorial by Bryan Washington (Atlantic)His story collection Lot won last years Dylan Thomas prize; this deft debut novel explores the complications of family and a gay relationship on the rocks.

A Burning by Megha Majumdar (Scribner)Three lives entangle in contemporary India, in a debut about class and aspiration that has been a sensation in the US.

The Art of Falling by Danielle McLaughlin (John Murray)Debut novel about a woman rebuilding her marriage, from the celebrated Irish short story writer.

A River Called Time by Courttia Newland (Canongate)Ambitious speculative epic set in an alternate London where slavery and colonialism never happened.

People Like Her by Ellery Lloyd (Mantle)Smart, gobble-at-a-sitting thriller about life as a yummy mummy influencer and the dark side of Instagram.

Girl A by Abigail Dean (HarperCollins)Incendiary, beautifully written thriller debut about siblings living with the emotional legacy of childhood abuse in a House of Horrors.

The Stranger Times by CK McDonnell (Bantam)Pratchettesque romp set around a Manchester newspaper dedicated to the paranormal whose reporters get sucked into a battle between good and evil.

Childrens and teen

Amari and the Night Brothers by BB Alston (Egmont)Film rights have been snapped up for the first in a new supernatural adventure series with a black heroine.

Concrete Rose by Angie Thomas (Walker)From the US YA sensation, this hard-hitting prequel to the award-winning The Hate U Give focuses on Starrs father as a young man.

Poetry

Living Weapon by Rowan Ricardo Phillips (Faber)The award-winning American essayist and poets first collection to be published in the UK combines civic awareness with an interrogation of language and self.

Nonfiction

A Swim in a Pond in the Rain by George Saunders (Bloomsbury)The Booker-winning author of Lincoln in the Bardo considers the art of fiction through seven classic Russian short stories by Chekhov, Turgenev, Tolstoy and Gogol.

Francis Bacon: Revelations by Mark Stevens and Annalyn Swan (William Collins)A definitive biography, written with the full cooperation of the Bacon estate and with unrivalled access to the artists personal papers.

Begin Again: James Baldwins America by Eddie S Glaude Jr (Chatto & Windus)Exemplifying the resurgence of interest in Baldwin, this blend of biography, criticism and memoir with the novelist at its heart is an indictment of racial injustice in Trumps America.

Empireland: How Imperialism Has Shaped Modern Britain by Sathnam Sanghera (Viking)One of a new wave of books on British imperialism, this study, from the likable journalist and author of The Boy With the Topknot, looks at the legacy of empire from the NHS to Brexit and Covid.

Breathtaking: Inside the NHS in a Time of Pandemic by Rachel Clarke (Little, Brown)The palliative care doctor who scored a hit with her book Dear Life gives an insider account of hospital life as Covid-19 changed everything.

Saving Justice by James Comey (Macmillan)The former FBI director and author of A Higher Loyalty looks into how institutions of justice in the US were eroded during the Trump presidency.

The Unusual Suspect by Ben Machell (Canongate)The remarkable story of how a British student with Aspergers became obsessed with Robin Hood following the global financial crash, and began to rob banks.

4 Centenary of the birth of Betty Friedan, author of The Feminine Mystique.23 Bicentenary of the death of John Keats in Rome.

Fiction

Light Perpetual by Francis Spufford (Faber)The author of Golden Hill imagines the lost futures of children killed in the blitz, in a sparkling, humane panorama of miraculous everyday life.

No One Is Talking About This by Patricia Lockwood (Bloomsbury)Following her acclaimed comic memoir Priestdaddy, a fast and furious debut novel about being embedded deep in the digital world.

Mother for Dinner by Shalom Auslander (Picador)Outrageous comedy about identity politics and family ties centred on the Cannibal-American Seltzer clan.

We Are Not in the World by Conor OCallaghan (Transworld)Delayed from 2020, the examination of a father-daughter relationship by a rising Irish star.

Maxwells Demon by Steven Hall (Canongate)Long-awaited follow-up to ultra-inventive cult hit The Raw Shark Texts features a man being stalked by a fictional character.

Open Water by Caleb Azumah Nelson (Viking)Black British artists fall in love in an intense, elegant debut.

Voices of the Lost by Hoda Barakat, translated by Marilyn Booth (Oneworld)In a war-torn country, six characters share their secrets, in this international prize for Arabic fiction winner.

Childrens and teen

How to Change Everything by Naomi Klein with Rebecca Stefoff (Penguin)A guide to climate change billed as the young humans guide to protecting the planet and each other.

Nonfiction

Fall by John Preston (Viking)The author of A Very English Scandal turns his attention to the last days of disgraced media tycoon Robert Maxwell.

What Does Jeremy Think? by Suzanne Heywood (William Collins)A set of revealing insider political accounts, written up by the author after conversations with her husband, the former cabinet secretary Lord Heywood, who died of cancer aged 56 in 2018.

Consent: A Memoir by Vanessa Springora, translated by Natasha Lehrer (HarperCollins)The memoir, by the director of one of Frances leading publishing houses, of her sexual relationship as a teenager with a leading writer.

Bessie Smith by Jackie Kay (Faber)The national poet of Scotland has written a new introduction to her study of the American blues singer, whom she idolised as a young black girl growing up in Glasgow.

Keats by Lucasta Miller (Cape)A new biography in nine poems and an epitaph by the author of The Bront Myth, to coincide with the bicentenary of the poets death.

Brown Baby by Nikesh Shukla (Bluebird) A memoir from the Bristol-based editor of The Good Immigrant, which is also an exploration of how to raise a brown baby in an increasingly horrible world.

Karachi Vice by Samira Shackle (Granta) An impressive account of the inner workings of the Pakistani city, as exposed by the stories of five individuals.

The Code Breaker by Walter Isaacson (Simon & Schuster)The biographer of Leonardo da Vinci and Steve Jobs returns with a book about Crispr, the revolutionary tool that can edit DNA.

How to Avoid a Climate Disaster by Bill Gates (Allen Lane)The co-founder of Microsoft discusses the tools needed to reach net-zero greenhouse gas emissions.

Raceless by Georgina Lawton (Sphere)Reflections on identity along with recollections of growing up as a mixed-race girl raised by two white parents who pursued the untruth that the authors darker skin was the product of a so-called throwback gene.

Aftershocks by Nadia Owusu (Sceptre)A descendant of Ashanti royalty recounts growing up without a mother, travelling from country to country and feeling an absence of home her experience told through the metaphor of earthquakes.

19 Bicentenary of the birth of the explorer, linguist and author Richard Burton, who translated The One Thousand and One Nights and the Kama Sutra into English.

Fiction

Klara and the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro (Faber)An Artificial Friend considers humanity and the meaning of love in Ishiguros first novel since winning the Nobel literature prize.

Double Blind by Edward St Aubyn (Harvill Secker)The author of the Patrick Melrose books investigates themes of inheritance, knowledge and freedom through the connections between three friends over one tumultuous year.

Transcendent Kingdom by Yaa Gyasi (Viking)This follow-up to her debut Homegoing, focusing on an immigrant Ghanaian family in the American South, has been a huge hit in the US.

Painting Time by Maylis de Kerangal, translated by Jessica Moore (MacLehose)The French author took the Wellcome science prize for her bravura novel about a heart transplant, Mend the Living; this new book is set in the world of trompe lil painting.

Hot Stew by Fiona Mozley (John Murray)Her debut Elmet made the Booker shortlist; this followup tackles money and class through the inhabitants of Londons Soho.

Kitchenly 434 by Alan Warner (White Rabbit)The Sopranos authors tale of a rock stars butler at the fag end of the 1970s promises to be Remains of the Day with cocaine and amplifiers.

The Committed by Viet Thanh Nguyen (Corsair)In the sequel to Pulitzer winner The Sympathizer, that novels conflicted spy finds himself in the underworld of 80s Paris.

The Absolute Book by Elizabeth Knox (Michael Joseph)From the New Zealand writer, a propulsive parallel-worlds fantasy epic about the power of stories and storytelling.

The Mysterious Correspondent by Marcel Proust, translated by Charlotte Mandell (Oneworld)Nine previously unseen stories illuminate a young writers development.

Names of the Women by Jeet Thayil (Cape)From Mary of Magdala to Susanna the Barren, women whose stories were suppressed in the New Testament.

Redder Days by Sue Rainsford (Doubleday)Twins in an abandoned commune prepare for apocalypse, in the follow-up to her standout debut Follow Me to Ground.

The Last House on Needless Street by Catriona Ward (Viper)A woman believes she has found the monster who snatched her younger sister as a child Full of twists and turns, this high-concept gothic horror is going to be huge.

Childrens and teen

The Wild Before by Piers Torday (Quercus)Can one hare change the world? A prequel to the Guardian prize-winning The Last Wild.

Poetry

Too Young, Too Loud, Too Different, edited by Maisie Lawrence and Rishi Dastidar (Corsair)An anthology celebrating 20 years of writers collective Malikas Poetry Kitchen, featuring work by now well-known alumni including Warsan Shire, Inua Ellams, Roger Robinson and Malika Booker herself.

Nonfiction

Beyond Order: 12 More Rules for Life by Jordan Peterson (Allen Lane)Having spent a year in rehab, the controversial Canadian psychologist, self-styled professor against political correctness follows up his global bestseller 12 Rules for Life.

Under a White Sky by Elizabeth Kolbert (Bodley Head)The Pulitzer prize-winning writer of The Sixth Extinction meets scientists and researchers and asks: can we change nature, this time to save it?

The Soul of a Woman: Rebel Girls, Impatient Love, and Long Life by Isabel Allende (Bloomsbury)An autobiographical meditation from the bestselling novelist on feminism and what women want.

New Yorkers by Craig Taylor (John Murray) The sequel to Taylors bestselling Londoners is another work of oral history, 10 years in the writing and drawing on hundreds of interviews.

The Diaries of Chips Channon, Volume 1: 1918-1938 edited by Simon Heffer (Hutchinson)The unexpurgated version of the often-quoted diaries of Henry Channon, social climber and Tory MP, who liked to gossip about politics and London society.

A Little Devil in America by Hanif Abdurraqib (Allen Lane)From Josephine Baker to Beyonc reflections on black performance from the author of a superb book on A Tribe Called Quest.

Inventory of a Life Mislaid by Marina Warner (William Collins)A memoir from the writer known for her books on feminism, myth and fairytales, which is structured around objects, from her mothers wedding ring to a 1952 film cylinder.

Friends by Robin Dunbar (Little, Brown)An exploration of friendship by the anthropologist and evolutionary psychologist known for the Dunbar Number, his theory that we can have meaningful relationships with only 150 people.

The Gun, the Ship and the Pen by Linda Colley (Profile) The historian best known for Britons retells modern history by considering the spread of written constitutions.

Failures of State by Jonathan Calvert and George Arbuthnot (Mudlark) Investigative journalists explore all the things the British government got wrong over Covid.

9 Bicentenary of the birth of the influential French poet, translator and critic Charles Baudelaire, author of Les Fleurs du Mal.

Fiction

Lean Fall Stand by Jon McGregor (4th Estate)An inquiry into the meaning of courage in the aftermath of a disastrous Antarctic research expedition, following the Costa-winning Reservoir 13.

My Phantoms by Gwendoline Riley (Granta)Fearless, darkly witty novel anatomising a toxic mother-daughter relationship.

Civilisations by Laurent Binet, translated by Sam Taylor (Harvill Secker)A counterfactual history of the modern world from the author of HHhH, examining the urge for power across time and space.

The High House by Jessie Greengrass (Swift)Sight was shortlisted for the Womens prize in 2018; in Greengrasss second novel, an ordinary family prepares for climate catastrophe.

This One Sky Day by Leone Ross (Faber)Set on a magical archipelago, a big, carnivalesque novel that takes on desire, addiction and postcolonialism, but is also a celebration of food, love and joy.

First Person Singular by Haruki Murakami, translated by Philip Gabriel (Harvill Secker)A new collection of eight stories that play with the boundary between memoir and fiction.

Hummingbird Salamander by Jeff VanderMeer (4th Estate)A climate change conspiracy thriller about ecoterrorism and extinction.

The Republic of False Truths by Alaa Al Aswany (Faber)A polyphonic novel about the 2011 Egyptian revolution.

Male Tears by Benjamin Myers (Bloomsbury)Farmers, boxers, ex-cons Short stories about men and masculinity.

Monsters by Barry Windsor-Smith (Cape)The US army runs a secret genetics programme in this epic graphic novel from the Marvel and Conan artist, 35 years in the making.

You Love Me by Caroline Kepnes (Simon & Schuster) The latest in the thriller series behind Netflix stalker blockbuster You.

Childrens and teen

Weirdo by Zadie Smith and Nick Laird, illustrated by Magenta Fox (Puffin)This first picture book from the husband and wife writers celebrates the quiet power of being different through the story of a guinea pig in a judo suit.

Bone Music by David Almond (Hodder)The Skellig authors new novel focuses on a young girl who moves from Newcastle to rural Northumberland and finds herself rewilded.

Poetry

A God at the Door by Tishani Doshi (Bloodaxe)The witty, wise and clear-eyed novelist, dancer and poet deploys both rage and sharp analysis covering issues from the precarious state of the environment to the treatment of women.

A Blood Condition by Kayo Chingonyi (Chatto & Windus)The second collection from the Dylan Thomas prize-winner explores both the personal and cultural influences of inheritance.

Nonfiction

Philip Roth: The Biography by Blake Bailey (Jonathan Cape)Renowned biographer Bailey was appointed by the American novelist, who died in 2018, and granted independence and complete access to the archive.

Go Big: How To Fix Our World by Ed Miliband (Bodley Head)Inspired by his Reasons to be Cheerful podcast, the shadow cabinet member investigates 20 transformative solutions to problems as intractable as inequality and the climate crisis.

How to Love Animals in a Human-Shaped World by Henry Mance (Jonathan Cape)Tapping into new thinking about animals and our changing perception of them, the FT journalist works in an abattoir, talks to chefs and philosophers and looks to a better future.

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2021 in books: what to look forward to this year - The Guardian

The Guardian

Will Aaron Rodgers depart Green Bay after an MVP-caliber season? Will Bill Belichick leave New England before it turns ugly? Theres no shortage of meaty NFL plotlines in 2021The NFLs general attitude towards 2020 can be summed up succinctly: What pandemic?Whereas other leagues ground to a halt, considered voiding their seasons, entered into complex bubbles or faced existential crises, the NFL thundered along, with the kind of bravado that is afforded only to the biggest and baddest and most-watched on the block.Some precautions were taken. Preseason was out. Mask mandates were in. But the bottom line was this: No matter the lineup, no matter the ridiculousness of the spectacle, no matter the health consequences, football will be played. And, in general, it was a success. Covid has the potential to embarrass the league in Week 17, the final week of the season, and we still do not know the extent of the health consequences, but for the most part the league got its wish: The season will be completed on time. As the calendar flips from 2020 to 2021, here are some subplots to keep an eye on. Aaron Rodgers futureAs of now, Rodgers likely has his name etched on the MVP trophy. Voters love a narrative, and the Rodgers Revenge Tour is a better narrative than isnt Patrick Mahomes droningly excellent? Its the Michael Jordan syndrome. (Voters actually gave Karl Malone an MVP award during Jordans prime. Thats a real thing that happened.)But its not that long ago that the Packers selected Jordan Love in the first round of the draft, that Rodgers future was up in the air, that the team had obviously selected his replacement, that it was just a matter of when not if Rodgers would leave.Rodgers has been terrific this season. His game has evolved. The improvisational off-script, jazz artist is still there, but hes married that with the on-script rhythm that defined his early years as a starter. Its a deadly combination.The power to decide his future now sits with Rodgers. Hes performing at an MVP level and could guide the Packers to another Super Bowl title. Green Bay will want to keep the 38-year-old around until he truly starts to decline. But will Rodgers take matters into his own hands this offseason? How upset was he really by the love selection? With possible quarterback openings in such hot spots as New England, Los Angeles, and San Francisco, could Rodgers look to push his way out of title town as the final act of this years tour? A franchise saleThe NFL as a whole has done a decent job of inoculating itself from the financial losses that have hit the majority of sports leagues during the pandemic. Rather than push games or add weeks, the NFL stripped back its preseason and steam-rolled ahead whenever there was a sign of a health scare. We are playing football! Whos ready to play? Whos watching? Well play them on Monday nights and Tuesday nights and Wednesday afternoons and Saturday mornings, the quality of the games or the health of the players be damned.That was a lucrative strategy for the league, as much as any league is making money in the Covid age. But the league is still made up of old-school owners who made the bulk of their money in an old-school manner. While several owners have stomached the financial hit to their sporting institution, plenty have taken significant losses in their non-sporting ventures.You only have to look over to the NBA to see how even the tech-savvy, self-dubbed smart sport owners have been hit by the pandemic: Tilman Fertitta, the NBAs latest owner, who paid a record $2.2bn for the Houston Rockets franchise in 2017, makes his money in casinos and restaurants. His operation has been reduced to 4% during the pandemic and he has been forced to take his company public, as well as accepting an operating loan from the league.There are similar issues in the NFLs upper chamber. Some owners are feeling the financial costs much more than others, particularly those whose wealth is based on owning an NFL franchise. (The NFL remains the sports league with the most legacy ownership families.)Nobody will be shedding a tear for the fattest of fat cats, but NFL franchises are notoriously hard to prize away from owners because they print money. The pandemic has changed that. The year 2021 could usher in a band of new owners as those current owners whove been most severely impacted by the pandemic try to recover funds. Will there be any Cam Newton takers?Newtons one-year plan in New England was clear: Get himself to the smartest, most creative and consistent organization in the sport; show that he still had plenty of juice left, that he just needed a break; and then sign a mega-deal this coming offseason, be it re-upping with New England or elsewhere.But for as much as Bill Belichick has tried to sell the Patriots-Cam Newton experience to the media and fans this season as a success, it hasnt worked. The Patriots offensive staff has been creative and mailable, working around Newtons idiosyncrasies and lack of accuracy. But all too often when Newton has dropped back and attempted to play with some kind of rhythm, its looked like hes trying to throw a medicine ballNewtons health is the question here. He no longer has the same kind of zip on his fastball, and his throwing accuracy that was so-so even during the best of times has now completely fallen off a cliff.Perhaps the Patriots talk themselves into Newton for another season as a bridge to whatever the teams quarterback future looks like. Perhaps they tell themselves he looked OK prior to his Covid diagnosis. Perhaps Belichick believes Newton, even with his flaws, will be fine once the Patriots are able to bring back the chunks of their roster that missed this season due to COVID. But that seems unlikely. It seems like Newton, the great pioneer, the paradigm-shifter, is ultimately shot. And if Belichick isnt willing to indulge another season, will any other team? And if not, what does Newton do? Retire? Sit out another year and hope to heal? Its hard to imagine Newton doing the rounds as a one-year hired gun on a ready-to-tank, rebuilding team. Is this it for Bill Belichick?It doesnt feel like Belichick is slowing down. But, at some point, Belichick is going to walk away from the Patriots job. Belichick tried rolling things back for one more push this season, band-aiding together a roster that was missing the core of its defense due to Covid defections and which lacked a quarterback given Tom Bradys move to Florida.Is Belichick, at his advanced age, post-Covid, ready and willing after a par year to start another rebuild? He has no quarterback, and the backbone of the roster that delivered the last Super Bowl is starting to creak a majority have already or are expected to exit this offseason. Plus: Belichicks staff is expected to be picked apart again during the offseason, both on the coaching side and in the Patriots front office. Is it possible he opts to walk away before things get ugly? The Justin Fields surgeThe Jaguars have locked up the number one pick in the upcoming draft. The selection is expected to be Trevor Lawrence, Clemsons once-in-a-lifetime-type quarterback prospect. But as always in a draft cycle, expect there to be a run on Justin Fields, the Ohio State quarterback who would be the sure-fire top selection in a traditional year.And if former Ohio State head coach Urban Meyer winds up as the head honcho in Jacksonville, look out. The chatter will increase. Leaks will flow. Trade offers will arrive.Lawrence should be the top pick, but there is a chance that Jacksonville switch spots with the Jets (for a significant haul). A JJ Watt tradeJJ Watt and the Houston Texans are synonymous with one another. But if Houston is looking to generate some kind of assets to be able to improve its roster this offseason, moving Watt is one of the only ways.The Texans have little to no draft capital and have one of the worst cap sheets in the league. They also have a jumbled roster that is the walking embodiment of the fractured front office that oversaw its construction over the past five seasons. Yet there, in the middle of it all, is Deshaun Watson, one of the most gifted quarterbacks in the league. Having a great quarterback fixes a lot. So for the Texans to leap back into contention, even with the roster holes and lack of flexibility in the market, could take as few as five to six smart moves. One way to open up some sort of flexibility, to increase the margin of error when trying to make such moves, would be to move on from Watt while he still holds value.It would be a difficult move financially and culturally, but it would also be a savvy one. And it would allow Watt to get a shot with a different organization, where he may get a shot over the next 24 months to advance beyond the divisional round. New TV dealsAs noted in the Guardians 2021 bold predictions piece, the NFLs current round of TV rights deals are set to expire in 2022. As sports continue to be the sole place that networks can bank on to produce a large, live audience, and as the NFL continues to reign supreme as the biggest provider of live content (eight of 2020s 10 most-watched single telecasts were football games or post games) the bidding is expected to be intense and expensive.The league could look to re-up with its traditional broadcast partners. Or it could hand a more favorable deal to ESPN/Disney, with the possibility of Disney snagging itself a coveted Super Bowl and moving its broadcasts to ABC. Or it could offer larger packages to a streaming client, like Amazon Prime, in the hopes of getting ahead of the live sports streaming curve or to try to make up for some of the revenue the league and its owners lost in 2020.

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Steve Wyche breaks down Patrick Peterson's future with the Cardinals - Yahoo Sports

Ken McMillan|Times Herald-Record

A little knowledge can be a bad thing.

Thats how Army mens basketball coach Jimmy Allen is feeling after Colgate used a bit of scouting of his team to throw off his ball club while torching the Black Knights on the offensive end. The Raiders shot lights out in the early going, stormed to a 23-point halftime lead and rolled to a 101-57 victory in Hamilton in the Patriot League opener for both teams on Saturday.

I give them a lot of credit, said Allen, whose team fell to 4-2. They didnt play any games first semester and they looked like a bunch of guys that were starving to play, and we did not respond.

Colgate (1-0) blazed the way with 65.1 percent shooting (41-for-63) and sank 12 3-pointers. The Raiders outscored Army 52-22 in the paint.

Nelly Cummings lit up Army with 24 points, Jordan Burns had 20, Tucker Richardson 13, Keegan Records 12 and Jack Ferguson 10.

Not a single Army player out of 15 who saw action scored in double figures. Lonnie Grayson scored nine, Charlie Peterson and Tucker Blackwell netted seven and Jalen Rucker and Alex King each had six.

They were prepared for some of the things that we do on offense and defense and there were some things that they did differently that we were we weren't prepared for, Allen said. We knew that coming into the basketball game. We knew we would have to respond much, much better than we did and that's the frustrating part.

Army shot just 35 percent (21-for-60), and hit only six of 22 attempts beyond the arc. The silver lining is the Black Knights only had 11 turnovers.

We were poor at both ends of the floor, Allen said. I thought offensively one of the things we do well is we share the ball really well. I thought today we were poor at sharing the ball. I thought we took some shots that we don't count as very good shots.

The teams meet again at 3 p.m. Sunday in Hamilton.

kmcmillan@th-record.com

Twitter, Parler: @KenMcMillanTHR

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Army men struggle in all facets of game, drop Patriot opener at Colgate - Times Herald-Record

As Ive chronicled the minutiae of the literary world online this year, Ive seen a lot of cancellations. Ive collected the biggest hits below, and updated some stories to see how the authors fared after facing the Internets fury. The experience has left me a little confused; Im wondering just what cancel culture really means anymore.

The now-infamous letter in Harpers Bazaar decried a new set of moral attitudes and political commitments that tend to weaken our norms of open debate and toleration of differences in favor of ideological conformity and called for argument over criticism. Many critics, especially in reaction to a hot story, have legitimate concerns about censorship, and may conflate that with cancellation.

As well see below, calling out a racist book or an unsavory author online doesnt always hurt sales; if anything, it probably helps them. All press is good press, as they say. At best, some folks argue, the cancellation opens up some space for conversations around the very white publishing industry.

When critics on social media cancel a [] writer or book, its really about ongoing frustrations with an overwhelmingly white publishing industry, writes Molly Templeton about cancelled YA authors for Buzzfeed News. [A]nd if we step back and consider that the power to publish or cancel a book lies not with internet critics but with publishers and authorsthen theres another aspect of these stories thats often ignored in mainstream discussions: What if these critics, with their focus on representation and diversity, have a point? And what change might happen if more people listened to them?

Its been a transformational year for sure, in more ways than one. Im grateful for all the juicy literary gossip out there to keep me entertained mid-pandemic, and hopeful for where it may take the industry. Until then, lets take a look back at the year in cancel culture, and see how our authors are doing.

Though not the years first cancellation, American Dirt was probably the biggest. Cummins Oprah-stamped novel about the immigrant experience was problematic for a number of reasons: the writing was tropey and unoriginal; the writer is a white woman who dug up a Puerto Rican grandparent to sound more legit; and, largely, the novel raised the question of whose stories get big advances and publishing power and whose dont. American Dirt is currently #17 on Amazons list of most read books this week, and was a New York Times best seller. A film adaptation is in the works.

Allen made the cancel culture rounds once again in March after publisher Hachette pulled the filmmakers forthcoming memoir after publishing industry employees staged a protest amid continued allegations of Allens sexual abuse of his adopted daughter Dylan Farrow in the 1990s. The book landed at Arcade Publishing, which released it a few weeks later. Its first printing sold out almost immediately, and every major publication, including this one, reviewed it.

In response to a racist comment about the death of George Floyd, Marisa Corvisiero, founder and agent at Corvisiero Literary Agency, didnt just step down; she fired her whole staff. It was a confusing move that certainly escalated things for Corvisiero. I doubt Id be writing about her here if shed quietly left or apologized. At the time of this writing, the Corvisiero website is back up and running, and lists the founder as accepting new queries. The agencys staff page also reflects some new hires, leading me to wonder if Corvisiero or her staff were really the ones to suffer.

Tobias Literary Agency (TLA), a full-service agency that is explicitly looking for non-white and marginalized voices to publish, fired former assistant agent Sasha White for anti-trans comments on her personal Twitter. White is now an interview host at Plebity, a California-based free speech nonprofit. Her Twitter bio reads, Interested in giving a platform to people whove been punished for their speech, and her interviewees are mostly fellow victims of cancel culture.

The billionaire author rattled off some anti-trans tweets that drew her TERF-y opinions into the public view. Since then, she has definitely doubled down on those opinions. I think the Harry Potter series is so large as to be above cancellation at this pointAmazon lists them all as having spent the last 188 weeks on their most read books of the weekand her newest childrens book, The Ickabog, is currently #17 on Amazons list of most sold books this week.

Target pulled Shriers book on the trans epidemic from its shelves last month after a Twitter user accused the writer of transphobia. Since then, the Economist named it one of itsBooks of the Year, and The New York Times dubbed it one of theBest Books of 2021.

The world has cancelled Jordan Peterson since 2016 for decrying gender-neutral bathrooms, but most recently, publishing staff protested the release and support of his upcoming book, Beyond Order: 12 More Rules for Life. As of this writing, Simon & Schuster is still slating Petersons book for publication in March 2021.

Burchill is a last-minute entry into this consortium of cancellation. Publisher Little, Brown nixedher forthcoming book about, ahem, cancel cultureafter the author was accused of making Islamophobic comments toward journalist Ash Sarkar. I just wonder if theres somecode of conduct at the Sunday Telegraph which would mean that outright racismfor instance, falsely accusing me of worshipping a paedophilewas a bit of a no no, she tweeted in part. As is my duty, I will await Burchills response and see where her book lands. (Is Arcade currently taking new queries?)

Though Epstein earned the Internets ire for a misguided editorial about the First Lady-elect, I prefer his earlier work. About a week before, he published an essay in the National Review that decries the modern literary landscapes lack of literature.

[T]hat we are in a less-than-rich period for literature today, cannot be doubted. Ask yourself whose next novel among living novelists you are eagerly awaiting. Name your three favorite living poets. Which contemporary critics do you most rely upon? he writes. If you feel you need more time to answer these questionsa long, slow fiscal quarter, say not to worry, for I dont have any impressive answers to these questions either. Recent years have been lean pickings for literature.

He obviously doesnt read Book & Film Globe, where trenchant criticismof serious literature, from across a vast spectrum of genres and creators, abounds.

Read more here:
Cancel Culture: The Lit-World Year In Review - Book and Film Globe