Friday, March 31, 2023
'Enough Is Enough': Democrats Propose Plan to Combat GOP's Anti-Trans Onslaught
Amid a growing wave of Republican attacks on transgender rights—including a recently passed U.S. House bill targeting trans youth—a pair of progressive congressional lawmakers on Thursday prepared to reintroduce a resolution codifying protections for transgender Americans...
House Passes Republican Energy Agenda (HR1) to Prop Up Fossil Fuel Corporations Instead of Protecting the Planet and Its People
In contrast to the Republican energy plan, Progressives have a path forward for our country that would reduce the cost of energy for everyday people, create new, local jobs for working families, and mitigate the climate crisis at the scale of action needed, all while reducing the national deficit by $252 billion...
Federal Judge Strikes Down Obamacare Requirement for Free Preventive Care - The New York Times
The lead plaintiff in the case is Braidwood Management; the company's owner, Dr. Steven F. Hotze, is a well-known Republican donor and Houston doctor who has previously challenged the Affordable Care Act. The plaintiffs argued that a volunteer panel of experts that issues binding recommendations on what preventive care must be covered under the law violated the Constitution because its members are not appointed by the president or confirmed by the Senate.
The plaintiffs also singled out drugs that prevent H.I.V./AIDS, arguing that the mandate to cover those medicines violated the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, a 1993 law that prevents the government from imposing a burden on a person's religious freedom...
‘I see this as a global fascist moment’: author Jeff Sharlet on interviewing far-right Americans | Books | The Guardian
Near Eau Claire, Wisconsin, I met a nice-looking family, dad, mom, son. You would never tag them for who they were. I see a little "Let's go Brandon" sticker – a meme that rose among the right which means "Fuck Joe Biden". And I get to talking to them. We talked for a long time. [The father said] he had a "Let's go Brandon" sticker because he didn't want to swear around his son. They're a middle-class dad and mom. They were always gun people, but not a lot of guns. Now they're up to 36, now they are arming up. The father had always been anti-abortion. But now it was like a dream had moved into his and his wife's mind. He described, in incredibly violent detail, the process of abortion. Then he described, in incredibly violent detail, the punishment he thought he and others were going to give to abortion doctors. They were ready for executions...
Thursday, March 30, 2023
Opinion | The Rule of Law Being Eviscerated by Republican Judges | Common Dreams
So-called "Textualist" Antoni Scalia's 5-4 majority opinion in Heller dismissed the clear text about a "well regulated Militia" as merely prefatory and disingenuously claimed that the only operative language was "the right of the people to keep and bear arms" outside the parameters of a militia. It overthrew the precedent of U.S. v Miller (1939) where SCOTUS had ruled that since ownership of a short-barreled shotgun does not have "some reasonable relationship to the preservation or efficiency of a well regulated militia, we cannot say that the Second Amendment guarantees the right to keep and bear such an instrument."
But even Scalia's opinion held that "Like most rights, the right secured by the Second Amendment is not unlimited. [It is] not a right to keep and carry any weapon whatsoever in any manner whatsoever and for whatever purpose." According to Scalia's opinion, examples of rights the 2nd Amendment does not protect include firearm possession by dangerous people, firearm possession in sensitive places such as schools and government buildings and conditions on the commercial sale of firearms...
Why Republicans are so intent on destroying ERIC.
A better understanding for the sudden about-face is cynical: less accurate, siloed voter registration lists make it easier to promote the specter of fraud…
A 'Landmark Victory' for Consumers and Climate as California Passes Big Oil Price Gouging Law
The California Assembly voted 52-19 on Monday in favor of S.B. X1-2—authored by state Sen. Nancy Skinner (D-9)—which will empower the California Energy Commission (CEC) to impose profit caps and penalties on refiners and create an intra-agency watchdog tasked with conducting greater oversight of fossil fuel companies to minimize profiteering...
Teachers Union Leader Calls for Defending Public Education From 'Dangerous' GOP Attacks
American Federation of Teachers president Randi Weingarten on Tuesday defended the egalitarian legacy and goals of public education and outlined a participatory plan to strengthen it nationwide as right-wing lawmakers intensify their long-standing assault on the institution.
"Attacks on public education are not new," the leader of the 1.7 million-member union said in an address to the National Press Club. "The difference today is that the attacks are intended to destroy it. To make it a battlefield, a political cudgel."…
Nashville shooting: Conservatives are using tragedy to push an anti-trans agenda - Vox
"Rather than honestly addressing the epidemic of gun-related violence, the loss of innocent lives, and mental health issues, these people do whatever they can to change the subject," says Republican strategist Chip Felkel, an adviser for the Lincoln Project, of conservatives' anti-trans statements...
House GOP's Energy Package Slammed as Harmful 'Giveaway to Big Oil'
H.R. 1, misleadingly titled the "Lower Energy Costs Act" and dubbed the "Polluters Over People Act" by opponents, consists of 15 separate bills and a pair of resolutions. As GOP lawmakers made clear at a legislative hearing held last month and through recent amendments, they're seeking to dismantle a wide range of regulations to boost fossil fuel production and exports despite scientists' unequivocal warnings about the need to prohibit new coal, oil, and gas projects to avert the worst effects of the climate crisis...
Senate Defeats Cruz Amendment That Would Have Authorized War With Iran
The U.S. Senate on Tuesday voted 55-41 to reject an amendment from Sen. Ted Cruz, a Texas Republican, that would have empowered the president to wage war against Iran...
Republicans Face Setbacks in Push to Tighten Voting Laws on College Campuses - The New York Times
Alarmed over young people increasingly proving to be a force for Democrats at the ballot box, Republican lawmakers in a number of states have been trying to enact new obstacles to voting for college students...
Biden Urged to Crack Down on 'Terrifying' Use of AI by Medicare Advantage Insurers
Sen. Elizabeth Warren joined healthcare campaigner Ady Barkan and others on Monday in sounding alarm over a recent investigation showing that Medicare Advantage insurers are using unregulated artificial intelligence systems to determine when to end payments for patients' treatments, a practice that has prematurely terminated coverage for vulnerable seniors.
STAT reported earlier this month that while "health insurance companies have rejected medical claims for as long as they've been around," AI is "driving their denials to new heights in Medicare Advantage," a privately run program funded by the federal government…
‘Not going to let our military be politicised,’ says Republican delaying nominees over abortion
"… I can't think of a worse time for a [pro-Trump] Republican to pull a stunt like this, as threats against American security and against democracy are growing all around the world...
Xi Jinping Says He Is Preparing China for War | Foreign Affairs
And in recent months, Beijing has unveiled new military readiness laws, new air-raid shelters in cities across the strait from Taiwan, and new "National Defense Mobilization" offices countrywide...
Gender-affirming care has a long history in the US – and not just for transgender people
When politicians today refer to gender-affirming care as new, "untested" or "experimental," they ignore the long history of transgender medicine in the United States…
It's been nearly 60 years since the first transgender medical clinic opened in the U.S., and 47 years since Rhoda started her hormone therapy. Understanding the history of these treatments in the U.S. can be a helpful guide for citizens and legislators in a year when a record number of bills in statehouses target the rights of transgender people…
I also learned that gender-affirming hormone therapies have been prescribed to cisgender youths for generations – despite what contemporary politicians may think. Disability scholar Eli Clare has written of the history and continued practice of prescribing hormones to boys who are too short and girls who are too tall for what is considered a "normal" range for their gender. Because of binary gender norms that celebrate height in men and smallness in women, doctors, parents and ethicists have approved the use of hormonal therapies to make children conform to these gender stereotypes since at least the 1940s…
Sanders Unveils Report Debunking Starbucks' Claim to Be a 'Progressive' Company
"Though the coffee giant claims they are a 'progressive' company, there is mounting evidence that the $113 billion-dollar company's anti-union efforts include a pattern of flagrant violations of federal labor law," the report continues.
"The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has filed over 80 complaints against Starbucks for violating federal labor law and there have been over 500 unfair labor practice charges lodged against this company. These violations include the illegal firing of more than a dozen Starbucks workers for 'the crime' of exercising their right to form a union and collectively bargain for better wages, benefits, and working conditions."…
Opinion | A new book-ban fiasco in Florida reveals the monster DeSantis created - The Washington Post
"It grants enormous power to a single bigoted individual to dictate and control what books other parents' kids have access to," Gross told me...
Sanders serves strong cup of joe to Starbucks bigwig - POLITICO
Former CEO Howard Schultz pushed back against allegations that the company illegally interfered in unionization efforts, but Bernie Sanders was having none of it...
Swedes will be 'sent to their deaths' if they join NATO, warns Moscow | Euronews
Finland and Sweden will become "targets" for Moscow if they join NATO, warned the Russian ambassador in Stockholm…
Two Black Men, One Shot in the Mouth, Plan to Sue Mississippi Deputies - The New York Times
"The gun was placed inside of his mouth" during a house raid in January, Malik Shabazz, a lawyer for the men, said...
Dirty Dozen 2023: 12 fruits and vegetables with the most pesticides
To reduce your chances of pesticide exposure from the produce you eat, the FDA suggests…
After shooting, Josh Hawley has a new perspective on hate crimes
Josh Hawley was the only senator to vote against a federal hate crimes bill in 2021. After this week's shooting, the Republican's perspective is different...
East Cleveland: 11 current and former East Cleveland police officers indicted after 'appalling' behavior caught on video, prosecutor says | CNN
The new indictments raise the number of former or current East Cleveland police officers who have been indicted in the past seven months to 16, Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Michael C. O'Malley said in early March.
"Make no mistake, there has been a cancer growing in the East Cleveland Police Department," O'Malley said. "We are doing our best to remove every tentacle of that cancer so that this department can rebuild and grow to put itself in a position to hire officers who enforce the law as well as follow the law."…
High egg prices send profits at largest US producer soaring more than 700% | CNN Business
Cal-Maine Foods, the largest egg producer in the United States, reported revenue doubled and profit surged 718% last quarter because of sharply higher egg prices...
Wednesday, March 29, 2023
Alvin Bragg didn’t say he would drop charges against Donald Trump; this video’s a deepfake - PolitiFact
A Google reverse-image search shows that the video was manipulated from footage of Bragg taken during a Jan. 20, 2022, question-and-answer forum at the New York University School of Law. At the time, Bragg had just been sworn in as district attorney. He did not mention Trump during his remarks…
LGBTQ people have 'been around for forever,' historians say - ABC News
Many of the terms used to describe gender diversity today would have been completely foreign to people decades or centuries ago. However, Andrew Shaffer, Director of Development & Communications of the GLBT Historical Society, says the LGBTQ community has "been around for forever."…
Opinion | Michigan Democrats repeal 'right to work' law to counter GOP frenzy - The Washington Post
"We have this vision of the working class as socially conservative," labor historian Erik Loomis told me. "This is largely not true." The new working class, he said, represents "the broad diversity of the United States," so choosing between economic and cultural issues is a "sucker's game."…
McCarthy warns of ‘dire ramifications’ over Biden debt limit negotiation position
"It's time for Republicans to stop playing games, agree to a pass a clean debt ceiling bill, and quit threatening to wreak havoc on our economy," White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said overnight before the letter was sent. "And if they want to have a conversation about our nation's economic and fiscal future, it's time for them to put out a Budget – as the President has done with his detailed plan to grow the economy, lower costs, and reduce the deficit by nearly $3 trillion."
Defense chief slams Tuberville's hold on Pentagon nominees over abortion policy
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin on Tuesday said there will be "powerful effects" on military readiness if Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.) continues to hold up more than 150 Pentagon nominees over an abortion policy in the Defense Department…
"Not approving the recommendations for promotions actually creates a ripple effect in the force that makes us far less ready than we need to be," the defense secretary said. "The effects are cumulative and it will affect families, it will affect kids going to schools ... it's a powerful effect and it will impact our readiness."…
Why House Republicans’ investigations are flopping - Vox
"The American public is already tired of these," Brad Woodhouse, a senior adviser to the Congressional Integrity Project, a group of Democratic operatives, told me. "I understand there's some support within the Republican base, but the American public writ large are already tired of these extreme tactics."
There are also real questions about productivity: The committees simply haven't held that many meetings, and none have featured people who have enough of a high profile to garner attention beyond niche conservative spaces. "I haven't seen a single guy sweating under the bright lights," Fox News host Jesse Watters complained in early March. "Are we gonna drill down on anything? Are we going to see anybody squirm and cough up the truth or at least plead the Fifth or something, so that we can start showering these goons with subpoenas? Where are the bombshells? Have the investigations even started?"…
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Florida district reviewing film 'Ruby Bridges' after parent complaint - The Washington Post
In the complaint, the parent said the film isn't appropriate for second-graders because it might teach them that "white people hate black people."…
GOP lawmaker decries state bill that could execute a woman over an abortion | The Hill
… they were going to give more rights to a rapist than the woman who had been raped. They were going to put women up to the death penalty who had abortions for any reason," Mace said…
Tuesday, March 28, 2023
PolitiFact | Did Trump release a ‘bombshell’? No, Stormy Daniels quickly recanted this 2018 letter
In the open letter, dated Jan. 30, 2018, Daniels denied having an affair with Trump...
The letter was publicly released and widely reported on the day it was released.
But soon after, Daniels recanted, saying an affair had in fact occurred. She said her denials were because of a nondisclosure agreement and that she signed the letter because parties involved "made it sound like I had no choice."…
Big oil on campus: how US universities are ‘colonized’ by the fossil fuel industry
"A standard strategy that industries under threat try is to influence what gets studied and what doesn't get studied, and how the problem is framed. The tobacco industry did the same thing. For Exxon to have someone with an office at Princeton, and for that person to teach a class, is a shocking example of this."…
‘It’s all about trolling’: how far-right influencers are shaping Republican narrative
But at what cost? Walsh added: "It has nothing to do with ideas. It has nothing to do with intellect. It's all about trolling people, getting clicks and being outrageous. There's a whole cast of characters that has sprung up over the last five to six years and they have great influence now. The Jack Posobiecs and all the rest of these guys are not fringe; they speak for a big chunk of the base."…
Bannon's War Room podcast was named the number one spreader of misinformation among political talkshows in a recent study by the Brookings Institution thinktank in Washington. Yet its guests have included prominent Republicans in Congress such as Elise Stefanik and Marjorie Taylor Greene…
New Mexico is training civilians to answer mental health calls. Will it reduce tragedies?
"God forbid you have a mental health crisis in New Mexico," said Loren Gomez, an organizer with the social justice nonprofit Southwest Organizing Project. "Because you're going to get shot."…
Monday, March 27, 2023
Washington Post Economics Columnist Catherine Rampell (Al Franken Podcast)
Discusses the SVB banking meltdown and the economy writ large.
Interview:
Preparing for War: The Extremist History of White Christian Nationalism—and What Comes Next (Dan Barker and Annie Laurie Gaylor, Freethought Radio podcast)
FFRF's "Equal Justice Works Fellow" Kat Grant describes the letter they wrote to the president of West Texas A&M University protesting his cancellation, for religious reasons, of a student-hosted drag show. Then we speak with former minister and religion scholar Bradley Onishi about his new book Preparing for War: The Extremist History of White Christian Nationalism—and What Comes Next.
Interview:
Sunday, March 26, 2023
Trump describes 2024 election as ‘the final battle’ from podium in Waco
He said: "You will be vindicated and proud. The thugs and criminals who are corrupting our justice system will be defeated, discredited and totally disgraced."
He declared that his "enemies are desperate to stop us", and "our opponents have done everything they can to crush our spirit and to break our will. But they failed. They've only made us stronger. And 2024 is the final battle, it's going to be the big one. You put me back in the White House, their reign will be over and America will be a free nation once again."…
Kansas City Police targeted minority neighborhoods to meet illegal ticket quotas, lawsuit says | KCUR 89.3 - NPR in Kansas City
The lawsuit says that officers were told to go to minority neighborhoods to write tickets because it would be "easier to write multiple citations on every stop." At the same time, command staff advised officers that they should "approach every car with the mindset to be ready to kill everybody in the car," the suit says...
In Blow to Koch and Exxon, Federal Judges Say Minnesota Climate Suit Belongs in State Court
"Big Oil companies have fought relentlessly to avoid facing the evidence of their climate fraud in state court, but once again judges have unanimously rejected their arguments," said Wiles. "After years of Big Oil's delay tactics, it's time for the people of Minnesota to have their day in court."…
Senate Dems Blast Medicare Advantage Giants Over 'Exorbitant' CEO Pay
Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Jeff Merkley are calling attention to the massive profits and "exorbitant" executive salaries of top Medicare Advantage insurers such as UnitedHealthcare and Humana, which are leading a lobbying blitz against efforts to combat widespread fraud in the privately run healthcare program…
In Florida, parents are always right – even when they think a Michelangelo is porn | Arwa Mahdawi | The Guardian
Bishop, by the way, denies that Carrasquilla was solely forced out because she showed the kids Michelangelo's David. He wasn't able to fully explain why she was forced out, however, but in his interview with Slate he reiterated his idea that the parents are always right. "The rights of parents, that trumps the rights of kids," he told Slate. "Teachers are the experts? Teachers have all the knowledge? Are you kidding me? I know lots of teachers that are very good, but to suggest they are the authorities, you're on better drugs than me." …
'Extremely Dangerous Escalation': Putin to Station Russian Nukes in Belarus
Russian President Vladimir Putin announced on state television Saturday plans to station tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus—an escalation anti-war campaigners had been warning about and that alarmed disarmament advocates and experts...
Lawsuit: Alabama man was denied water in jail for 70 hours before dying - The Washington Post
"What we're trying to do is get these institutions to treat these people like humans as opposed to animals," Goldfarb told The Washington Post...
Opinion: Trump's visit to Waco is a provocation of historic significance | CNN
Trump clearly knows the power of place. In the case of Waco, it is not just a provocation but a signal, likely to be read by those who have used force on Trump's behalf as an invitation. For the past three decades, this incident has been a key element of far-right mythology: a rallying cry for armed resistance to the federal government and its representatives. For Trump, whose first term ended with an assault on the US Capitol, the choice to rally in Waco sends a clear message that will energize proponents of far-right extremism among his base…
Power move: Stacey Abrams’ next act is the electrification of the US
The Georgia activist on why she is leaving campaign politics behind to focus on weaning Americans off fossil fuels…
Officers in ‘Cop City’ raid shot pepperball gun into activist’s tent first | US policing | The Guardian
The incident reports reveal that officers were first to discharge a weapon – they fired a pepperball gun into Terán's tent, which was followed by gunshots they believed were coming from inside the tent, leading officers to fire a barrage of shots blindly into the tent, killing Terán inside. It also reveals that, while they rendered medical assistance to an injured officer, they did not immediately do the same for Terán.
The Internet Archive has lost its first fight to scan and lend e-books like a library - The Verge
The Internet Archive says it will continue acting as a library in other ways, despite the decision. "This case does not challenge many of the services we provide with digitized books including interlibrary loan, citation linking, access for the print-disabled, text and data mining, purchasing ebooks, and ongoing donation and preservation of books," writes Freeland...
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