On May 10, Georgetown Law’s Center on Privacy & Technology released a report — “American Dragnet: Data-Driven Deportation in the 21st Century” — which you should find disturbing but shouldn’t find surprising.
The part you should find disturbing: “ICE [Immigration and Customs Enforcement] has created a surveillance infrastructure that enables it to pull detailed dossiers on nearly anyone, seemingly at any time.… Read more ...
On May 9, The Hill reports, the US Senate passed — with unanimous consent! — a bill to “formally allow the Supreme Court of the United States Police to provide around-the-clock protection to [the justices’] family members, in line with the security some executive and congressional officials get.”
While sponsor John Cornyn (R-TX) justified the action on alleged “threats to the physical safety of Supreme Court Justices and their families,” the real reason for the bill is no secret.… Read more ...
In the wake of a leaked draft Supreme Court opinion which, if it represents a final vote, would overturn Roe v. Wade, pro-choice advocates are marshaling their best — and worst — arguments against removing that ruling’s protections for abortion.
As always, I’ll refrain from sharing my own opinions on abortion as such.… Read more ...
The Green Party of the United States has expressed alarm and calls to organize for the right to safe, legal and confidential access to abortions, following reports of a leaked draft Supreme Court majority opinion that would overturn Roe v. Wade.
“This is an extremely disturbing decision from the Supreme Court,” said Green Party National Women’s Caucus Spokesperson Holly Hart.… Read more ...
Whether or not Roe v. Wade is overturned, it will be headed the way of the Kansas-Nebraska Act.
The Supreme Court decision establishing a broad decriminalization of abortion throughout the United States has been unusually resilient for such a contentious subject. For nearly half a century, the verdict seemed as settled as any could be in American politics, with those favoring greater restrictions content to limit access de facto, rather than risk pushback against drastic changes to what is allowed de jure.… Read more ...
A year ago, the Washington Post reported that the Biden administration was poised to propose a ban on menthol cigarettes.
On April 28 the US Food and Drug Administration (supposedly an independent agency, but clearly operating per Joe Biden’s “suggestions”) finally announced its plan to move forward with the ban, which also includes cigars.… Read more ...
On April 22, Florida governor Ron DeSantis signed a bill dissolving the Reedy Creek Improvement District. Put that way, it sounds rather routine, but it isn’t. DeSantis called a special session of the legislature just to get this done. The only thing routine about it is that it’s an example of Rule Number One in Florida politics since 2018: Don’t publicly disagree with Ron DeSantis, or he’ll throw a tantrum and try to punish you.… Read more ...
On April 14, the Republican National Committee announced its withdrawal from the Commission on Presidential Debates, which has monopolized “major party” debates since 1988. The RNC, claiming bias on the CPD’s part in selecting moderators, pledged to “find newer, better debate platforms.”
While the RNC’s reasons are self-serving, this may be the most encouraging development in presidential election politics in decades.… Read more ...
“Genocide.” That’s the announced verdict of Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy as images of hundreds of civilian dead — some with their hands bound, apparently executed — emerged from the city of Bucha following a withdrawal of Russian troops.
“You may remember I got criticized for calling Putin a war criminal,” says US president Joe Biden.… Read more ...
On March 28, US president Joe Biden unveiled his 2023 budget proposal. It totals $5.8 trillion, which would bring federal spending and deficits back below their pandemic-era heights (although not back to 2019 levels). Biden’s ask comes to nearly $18,000 for every man, woman, and child in America.
Oddly, The Hill reports, the White House’s big brag on the proposal is that it would reduce the deficit by more than $1 trillion over the next ten years.… Read more ...
What if $10 billion were raised over ten years for civic action to transform Congress and make it do what it should be doing for the people (See: Think Big to Overcome Losing Big to Corporatism 1/7/22)?
In a more recent column, Facilitating Civic and Political Energies for the Common Good 2/2/22, I started a series of columns to outline how $1 billion per year could be spent lobbying Congress for a people’s agenda.… Read more ...
On March 28, Florida governor Ron DeSantis signed HB 1557 — the “Parental Rights in Education Bill” — into law.
Supporters say it is indeed about parental rights: The right to know what their kids are being taught, and the right to be informed about matters pertaining to their kids’ “mental, emotional, or physical well-being.”… Read more ...