Graham: Still a long way to go

"Derek Chauvin's conviction is an important instance of accountability, and will come as a relief to the millions of people outraged by George Floyd's death, but it doesn't make for much of a model. Police leaders don't usually feel such a need to make an example of an officer, and they don't typically testify so bluntly against a former officer. There isn't always video evidence so clear and compelling. Despite all of these factors, prosecutors still felt the need to portray their case as pro-law enforcement. If all of this is necessary to convict a former officer, convictions will remain rare—and reform will have to take place outside the courts." —David Graham in The Atlantic

David Graham is a staff writer at The Atlantic.

MORE: Andrew Brown Jr. was unarmed and fleeing when fatally shot by North Carolina police, family attorney says —USA Today

Tharoor: Climate challenge vs global power competition

"Climate is seen as perhaps the sole arena for substantive U.S.-Chinese cooperation, given the wider animosities that now define the relationship between the two powers. But even there, numerous challenges abound. ... Pang Zhongying, an international affairs specialist at the Ocean University of China, told the South China Morning Post: 'With both China and the U.S. hardening their stance towards each other, it's getting harder by the day for them to still cooperate on climate in the middle of deepening, across-the-board competition.'" —Ishaan Tharoor in The Washington Post

Ishaan Tharoor is a columnist on the foreign desk of The Washington Post, where he authors the Today's WorldView newsletter.

MORE: Biden calls for climate action as Xi renews carbon neutral pledge —Al Jazeera

Altschuler: Biden must convince Dems on infrastructure too

"Popular with voters (if not politicians) across the ideological spectrum, the infrastructure bill would provide billions of dollars to upgrade and modernize roads, mass transit, bridges, airports, schools, hospitals, reservoirs and water pipes, federal buildings, manufacturing plants, the electric grid, and broadband access; facilitate a shift from fossil fuels to greener sources of energy; and expand funding on research and development. Nonetheless, passage is by no means certain. ... Although the Senate parliamentarian has kept the legislation alive by ruling that it fits the criteria for 'budget reconciliation,' which excludes filibusters, not all Democrats are on board." —Glenn Altschuler on The Hill

Glenn Altschuler is the Thomas and Dorothy Litwin Professor of American Studies at Cornell University. He is the co-author of "Rude Republic: Americans and Their Politics in the Nineteenth Century."

MORE: Republicans unveil $568 billion infrastructure package to counter Biden —Reuters

Bush: Immigration is our defining asset. It must be reformed

"We should never forget that the desire to live in the United States—a worldwide and as powerful an aspiration as ever—is an affirmation of our country and what we stand for. Over the years, our instincts have always tended toward fairness and generosity. The reward has been generations of grateful, hard-working, self-reliant, patriotic Americans who came here by choice. If we trust those instincts in the current debate, then bipartisan reform is possible. And we will again see immigration for what it is: not a problem and source of discord, but a great and defining asset of the United States." —George W. Bush in The Washington Post

George W. Bush was the 43rd President of the United States.

MORE: Cornyn, Sinema unveil bill aimed at confronting border surge —The Hill

Waldman: How far will the anti-democracy movement go?

"Everywhere you look, Republicans are defining democracy as a threat to be defeated. They're attempting not only to suppress Democratic votes but to seize control from local election officials who can't be relied on to favor the GOP. The most popular Fox News host tells viewers night after night that there's a nefarious plot afoot to 'replace' true (i.e., White) Americans with 'Third World' immigrants who after becoming citizens will prove their unworthiness by voting for Democrats." —Paul Waldman in The Washington Post

Paul Waldman is a political columnist at The Washington Post.

MORE: GOP Arizona state senator rejects controversial voting bill pending election audit —NPR

NYT Ed Board: Putin's national address leaves much unsaid

"[Russian President Vladimir] Putin's address did touch, relatively briefly, on international affairs, but it was largely a familiar plaint about Russia being picked upon 'without any reason,' along with chest-thumping about an 'asymmetric, fast, and tough' response should anybody think to cross a 'red line' against Russia. That flourish raised eyebrows in the West, even though Putin never said where the red line was. But there was no mention of the current situation around Ukraine—nor of Alexei Navalny, the dissident said to be in serious condition in a prison clinic..." —The New York Times

MORE: Russia pulls back troops after massive buildup near Ukraine border —CNN

Georgescu: An unholy attack on democracy

"[I]n my life I saw up close and very personally the alternatives to democracy. Those regimes are ugly, exploitive, winner-takes-all, Darwinian forms of government. That's where the vast majority of the people suffer and the few cling to power and thrive by exploiting others. These other forms of government always end up in an authoritarian totalitarianism, to protect the elites in power. In those alternate visions, voting is a sham by institutional design." —Peter Georgescu in Forbes

Peter Georgescu is a marketing executive, author, and chairman emeritus of Young & Rubicam, Inc. An inductee of the Advertising Hall of Fame, he emigrated from Romania to the U.S. in 1954.

MORE: Support for voting access plunges among Republicans: poll —The Hill

Washington, D.C., pays the highest federal taxes in the U.S. and has no say on how it's spent. It's time for statehood. —Brian G. via Facebook

I am in favor of the residents of Washington, D.C., gaining representation, but I think that statehood is the wrong call. Return the residential portions of the city to Maryland and Virginia for representation. It is a city, not a state. —Kimberly D., Georgia

The views expressed in "What's Your Take?" are submitted by readers and do not necessarily reflect the views of the editorial staff or the Stand Up Republic Foundation.