Interview:
Saturday, June 24, 2023
Andrew Seidel, Katherine Stewart, Rob Boston on Hope and Fear in 2024 – And Beyond. (Bradley Onishi and Daniel Miller; Straight White American Jesus podcast)
Brad shares the recording of a roundtable he hosted at Americans United’s Summit for Religious Freedom. He asked Andrew Seidel, Katherine Stewart, and Rob Boston what they are worried about in the year ahead – and what gives them surprising amounts of hope as we careen toward 2024. They expound on SCOTUS, public schools, LGBTQ+ rights, and more.
Opinion | Does Justice Alito Hear Himself? - The New York Times
For instance, Justice Alito defended his decision not to report Mr. Singer's freebie because it was "personal hospitality," which he believed, like his colleague Justice Thomas, did not need to be reported. And yet he also claimed he barely knew Mr. Singer. So which is it? "If you were good friends, what were you doing ruling on his case?" one legal-ethics expert said to ProPublica. "And if you weren't good friends, what were you doing accepting this?"
Harlan Crow on collision course with Senate over Clarence Thomas gifts
If the businessman had the payments categorized as business expenses, for example, it would contradict assertions by Crow and Thomas that the trips and other gifts were based merely on the pair's longstanding relationship. Instead, it would imply that Crow believed the expenses could boost his companies...
How pardoning extremists undermines the rule of law
" I am a scholar who studies the individuals, groups and movements that use political violence. Research shows that this use of the pardon power can damage the rule of law in the United States. It undermines one of the tools against violence that law enforcement can bring to bear - deterrence.
The American Bar Association describes the rule of law as a foundational principle for the U.S. justice system: "No one is above the law, everyone is treated equally under the law, everyone is held accountable to the same laws, there are clear and fair processes for enforcing laws, there is an independent judiciary, and human rights are guaranteed for all.""
Federal court halts Florida’s drag ban, calling it attempt to ‘suppress the speech’ rights of performers | The Independent
Far from a neutral attempt to protect children, as its backers have sometimes claimed, the law is an admitted attempt to "specifically suppress the speech of drag queen performers," Judge Presnell wrote...
Facing book bans and restrictions on lessons, teachers are scared and self-censoring (Dave Davies; Fresh Air podcast)
Washington Post reporter Hannah Natanson explains how new laws about teaching race, racism, gender identity and sexuality have created new fears and burdens in schools and classrooms.
School systems around the country are struggling to fill teaching positions as many choose to leave the profession due to burnout and low pay.
School systems around the country are struggling to fill teaching positions as many choose to leave the profession due to burnout and low pay.
But there's something else making life difficult for public school teachers these days - the culture wars that have flared in schools and school boards across the country as parents and political activists debate how to teach kids about race, racism, gender identity and sexuality.
At least 25 states have enacted laws that impose teaching restrictions on those topics or make it easier to remove books from school libraries. That means teachers are feeling pressure from parents and administrators and sometimes facing disciplinary action or the threat of criminal prosecution if they fail to conform to new state laws and regulations.
Interview:
Investigative journalist Dave Troy explains the psychological warfare pushing an anti-democracy agenda. (Anthony Davis; The Weekend Show podcast)
Investigative journalist Dave Troy explains to Anthony Davis the dangerous psychological games orchestrated by MAGA Republicans to push an anti-democracy agenda and confuse voters with false information overload.
Interview:
Friday, June 23, 2023
Ocean heat is off the charts – here's what that means for humans and ecosystems around the world
Ocean temperatures have been off the charts since mid-March 2023, with the highest average levels in 40 years of satellite monitoring, and the impact is breaking through in disruptive ways around the world.
Fascism lurks behind the dangerous conflation of the terms 'partisan' and 'political'
Whereas "the personal is the political" was originally meant to flag ways in which government decisions unfairly affect and define personal lives, the mindset that "everything is political" creates a situation of perpetual conflict between divergent groups.
That's the opposite of what politics is for and what a liberal democracy does: A liberal democracy specifically guards against using government power to further the agendas of distinctive groups. It seeks to prevent government encroachment into the private lives of individuals, and vice versa, in order to constrain the worst impulses of politicians and citizens alike.
Fascism, by contrast, seeks to make government power an aspect of every dimension of its citizens' lives. Nazi apologist Carl Schmitt conceptualized politics as an all-consuming and literal life and death struggle between friends and enemies...
Republicans’ vindictive censure of Adam Schiff, explained - Vox
The reasons the GOP is so eager for political revenge...
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10 surprises since Roe v. Wade fell - POLITICO
But several developments defied predictions: Conservative lawmakers at the state and federal levels have struggled to agree on the parameters of abortion bans, while progressive groups have clashed over how far to go in expanding access. Doctors in states with bans have reported hesitancy around providing even legal care because of vague new policies and the fear of prosecution. Voters in Kansas, Kentucky and Montana rejected attempts to curtail access, and Democrats held the Senate in part because of their promise to protect abortion rights...
The biggest surprise from John Durham's testimony to the House
That's not to say that the day was completely pointless. Durham confirmed under Democratic questioning that current Attorney General Merrick Garland didn't interfere with his investigation or tell him that any potential targets were off-limits. He admitted that the reason that former President Obama and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton still walk free, no matter how much Trumpworld wants them behind bars, is that there's simply no evidence of wrongdoing. Likewise, none of the three individuals he did prosecute, two of whom were acquitted, were accused of taking part in a supposed "deep state" plot to take down Trump. It's a far cry from when the former president was promising that Durham's probe would reveal "the crime of the century."…
FBI Analyst Who Hoarded Classified Docs Like Trump Gets Four Years
The judge in the case reportedly criticized the analyst for storing documents in the bathtub…
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