Before/Red Flags [As Trump propelled his supporters to Washington, law enforcement agencies failed to heed mounting warnings about violence on Jan. 6.”] – During [For 187 harrowing minutes, the president watched his supporters attack the Capitol — and resisted pleas to stop them] – After [Contagion – Threats and disinformation spread across the country in… Continue Reading
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Category Archives: Congress
Supreme Court set to hear arguments in two challenges to Texas law that bans most abortions
SCOTUS Blog – Supreme Court set to hear arguments in two challenges to Texas law that bans most abortions: “Two months ago, Texas put in place the most restrictive abortion law since the Supreme Court decided Roe v. Wade in 1973. The law, which prohibits almost all abortions in the state, has dramatically reduced access… Continue Reading
Merriam Webster Adds 455 new words from ‘dad bod’ to ‘deplatform’
Among the 455 new words and definitions: “Oobleck, air fryer, whataboutism, FTW, and fourth trimester. Just as the language never stops evolving, the dictionary never stops expanding. New terms and new uses for existing terms are the constant in a living language, and our latest list brings together both new and likely familiar words that… Continue Reading
Americans Don’t Trust Their Congressional Maps To Be Drawn Fairly. Can Anything Change That?
FiveThirtyEight: “The United States is in the middle of a once-in-a-decade process: redistricting. And although it’s early yet — 19 states aren’t expected to finalize their maps until next year — a number of states have proposed maps, and there are debates happening all across the country over which ones to pass. Six states have… Continue Reading
President Biden’s Build Back Better Framework
White House – Build Back Better Framework. October 28, 2021: ” The Build Back Better Act will create millions of good-paying jobs, enable more Americans to join and remain in the labor force, spur long-term growth, reduce price pressures and set the United States on course to meet its clean energy ambitions. Continue Reading
U.S. Climate Change Policy
CRS Report – U.S. Climate Change Policy. October 28, 2021: “The greenhouse gases (GHGs) in the atmosphere trap radiant energy, warming earth’s surface and oceans. Scientific assessments conclude that GHGs very likely have been the main driver of warming of the earth’s lower atmosphere since 1979. The most recent global assessment projected that surface temperature… Continue Reading
Questioning Questions in the Law of Democracy: What the Debate over Voter ID Laws’ Effects Teaches about Asking the Right Questions
Zhang, Emily, Questioning Questions in the Law of Democracy: What the Debate over Voter ID Laws’ Effects Teaches about Asking the Right Questions (October 14, 2021). UCLA Law Review, 2022, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3942940 – “Voter identification laws, laws that require voters to present identification when voting (“voter ID laws”), first launched the modern Voting… Continue Reading
The Supreme Court case that could gut America’s gun laws, explained
Vox: “For nearly all its history, the Supreme Court kept its distance from gun policy. Now it’s about to decide a case that could radically reduce the government’s power to regulate guns. The Second Amendment states explicitly that it exists to protect “a well regulated Militia,” and until fairly recently, the Court took these four… Continue Reading
A whistleblower’s power: Key takeaways from the Facebook Papers
Follow-up to previous posting – Whistleblower: Facebook is misleading the public on progress against hate speech, violence, misinformation – See Also the Washington Post – “Interviews with dozens of current and former employees and a trove of internal documents show how the social media company inflamed real-world harms.A trove of internal Facebook documents reveals that the… Continue Reading
Report – Plastics To Outpace Coal In Driving Climate Change
Beyond Plastics – Plastics are the New Coal: “Plastics are on track to contribute more climate change emissions than coal plants by 2030, a new report finds. As fossil fuel companies seek to recoup falling profits, they are increasing plastics production and cancelling out greenhouse gas reductions gained from the recent closures of 65 percent… Continue Reading
New Capitol Surveillance Footage Shows A Breach By Jan. 6 Rioters From Start To Finish
BuzzfeedNews: “Two 40-minute videos from Jan. 6 show how hundreds of rioters breached one Capitol entry point and how police eventually regained control…The videos don’t have sound, but they show tense verbal exchanges as the officers make several attempts to stop the mob from getting inside. The confrontations are mostly nonviolent, unlike clashes at other… Continue Reading
If 100 companies are responsible for 70% of emissions, what can you do?
Fast Company: “Corporations and governments have known about the risk of climate change for about half a century. It first appeared on Exxon’s radar in 1981. Two years prior, a group of scientists had created the Charney Report, which assessed the effects of rising amounts of carbon dioxide in our atmosphere (and correctly predicted how… Continue Reading
