2Q23

April Four - Apr 5

This past Tuesday marked the 55th anniversary of the assassination of the great civil rights leader and voting rights champion, the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.  This past Tuesday was also the occasion of two events that simultaneously symbolized the dangers MLK's legacy of voting rights now faces and provided some hope for the future of a multi-racial American democracy with universal suffrage.  In a Manhattan courtroom, an ex-President, who incited a violent attempt to overturn the results of a presidential election, was indicted on 34 felony counts of "white-collar" crime.  A thousand miles away, the people of the state of Wisconsin, which had become a case study in how to upend democracy, gave liberals a majority on the state's supreme court - they"took back their democracy."

Junta airstrike against civilians in Myanmar draws global condemnation - Apr 12

A deadly airstrike by Myanmar’s military on a civilian crowd has sparked global condemnation, as witnesses recounted the horror of the attack that could be the junta’s deadliest since a coup two years ago.  The initial death toll stood at 53 from Tuesday’s attacks on a village ceremony in Sagaing region at which women and children were present, but later tallies reported by independent media raised it to about 100.

Irony - Apr 21

On the 24th anniversary of the Columbine High School massacre, GOP lawmakers in the House unanimously voted to protect our nation's schoolchildren...from transgender athletes!  The so-called Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act, a ban on trans and intersex women and girls playing school sports that align with their gender identity, passed in a 219-203 vote along party lines.  Meanwhile, at least 74 people have been killed or injured by guns at American schools this year.  As of today there have been 12801 gun deaths, including 166 mass shootings.  We know what we need to do to prevent this uniquely American violence, and we know the forces that are preventing those necessary steps.

World News Update - May 12

Calls for a ceasefire in Ukraine, the civil war in Sudan, and, one year later, still no justice or accountability for the Israeli killing of a Palestinian-American journalist

Debt ceilings, war budgets, and poverty in America - May 23

The politics of the 2023 debt ceiling crisis can be simply stated: By refusing to raise the debt ceiling unless Democrats join them in shredding America's social safety net, Republicans are threatening to default on the US debt for the first time in history...the potential consequences of a default, how the debt ceiling became political, the defense budget impact on the rest of society and what we could do with the monies wasted there

Poverty, By America (Part II) - May 30

The United States, the richest country on earth, has more poverty than any other advanced democracy.  Sociologist Matthew Desmond's Poverty, By America attempts to answer the question: "Why?"  After Desmond destroys other myths for the persistence of poverty - most notably, "the poor are lazy and just looking for a handout" and "welfare leads to a decline in self-sufficiency" - he proceeds to examine more likely causes...what he found and how the rest of us benefit from poverty...tax structure and the enduring myth that the middle class is carrying the poor on their backs. 

Poverty, By America (Part III) - June 4

In this final post on Matthew Desmond's Poverty, By America, we look at possible solutions to the United States' persistent poverty, a crisis unique among advanced democracies and one in which we have all played a role in creating.  Looking at the persistence of poverty from 30,000 feet, we see that we make the poor in America poor in three ways: by constraining their choice and power, by prioritizing the subsidization of affluence over the alleviation of poverty, and by creating exclusive communities. Any ultimate solution needs to address these underlying causes.

Before we get too excited... - June 13, 2023

Five point to consider before we get too excited about Trump's indictment on federal charges...the GOP as an autocratic party led by a cult leader, the right response to threats of political violence