Ever since James Alex Fields Jr. drove his car through a sea of anti-fascist protesters in Charlottesville and after he injured 19 people and killed activist Heather Heyer, the US has not been quite the same. In the immediate aftermath, pundits sought explanations – they sought some way of understanding this atrocious act of violence, motivated in … [Read more...]
High School Football Player in California May Kneel in Protest
Ever since professional football player Colin Kaepernick took a knee during the national anthem, the entire country has been knee deep in a debate about the meaning of such a gesture. Some have decried it as unpatriotic and disrespectful of soldiers; others have applauded the quarterback, who follows in the footsteps of Muhammed Ali, another … [Read more...]
Supreme Court Refuses to Hear Challenge to Mississippi’s anti-LGBT Law
The Constitution, we have come to find, is subject to interminable readings and re-readings; to contradictory impulses; to opportunisms of all persuasions (both liberal and conservative); and finally, to seemingly overt attempts to radically redefine the document’s intent. In our so-called “post-truth” age, this all seems par for the course. … [Read more...]
Pennsylvania Supreme Court Gerrymander Victory May Supersede High Court’s Jurisdiction, Legal Analysts Say
On Monday, The U.S. Supreme Court succeeded in blocking a panel of North Carolina Federal judges from striking down 13 congressional districts as Republican partisan gerrymanders until an appeal can be prepared. However, the Pennsylvania’s Supreme Court’s decision this week to redraw all of the state’s 18 congressional districts in a major … [Read more...]
Oregon Files Suit Against Monsanto Over PCBs
The State of Oregon has added its name to a growing list of lawsuits against the agrichemical empire, Monsanto, alleging that the company knew about the toxic effects of polychlorinated biphenyls (or PCBs) for decades but did nothing about it. Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum, who filed the suit in the Multnomah County Circuit Court, accused the … [Read more...]
US Attorney Wages War on Future Massachusetts Pot Sales
Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren is scrambling to rescue her state’s recreational pot industry — set to launch in July — from the clutches of Attorney General Jeff Sessions' US Attorney for Massachusetts, Andrew E. Lelling. Lelling threw the future of Massachusetts’ cannabis legalization into doubt last week when he said he “cannot provide … [Read more...]
Kentucky Governor Threatens End of Health Coverage for 400,000
Kentucky’s Governor Matt Bevin Threatens to End Expanded Medicaid if Courts Block Trump’s Work Requirement Mandate Kentucky is the first state to test a work requirement for its Medicaid recipients following a November, 2017 Centers for Medicare & Medicaid directive, and Republican Kentucky Governor Matt Bevin isn’t about to see his prize … [Read more...]
Native Americans Fight for the Right to Vote
Throughout the country, Native Americans have been fighting for basic rights that allow them to fully participate in the US democratic process. In a lot of cases, Native Americans are fighting over voting rights, as many states that are home to large Native populations have taken it upon themselves to actively exclude those same populations through … [Read more...]
New Tax Law Amounts to Major Obstacle for US Cities
Just before Christmas, President Trump signed into law the highly controversial tax bill touted by Republicans as a win for the middle class and criticized by Democrats as an overzealous gift to large corporations and the very wealthy. Of the various provisions, perhaps the most contentious is one limiting the state and local tax (SALT) deduction … [Read more...]
Zinke Stops Florida Off-Shore Drilling: a Gift to Support Rick Scott’s Senate Bid?
In what critics say is a Trump Administration stunt to boost Florida’s two-term Governor Rick Scott’s chances for a Senate win next year, Trump’s Interior Department Secretary Ryan Zinke scratched Florida from the off-shore drilling list that coastal states have fallen victim to, potentially facing oil spills and intrusion of oil rig infrastructure … [Read more...]
NLRB Limits the Scope of the Joint Employer Doctrine
In mid-December, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) reversed an Obama-era ruling that permitted workers to file complaints against large corporations (like fast-food conglomerates) that reap profits from franchises but don’t oversee day-to-day operations. According to the NLRB of yesteryear, such corporations would count as “joint-employers” … [Read more...]
Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf Vetoes Stringent “Anti-Choice” Bill
In a major blow to Pennsylvanian Republicans, Governor Tom Wolf vetoed an anti-abortion bill last month that passed with a sweeping majority in both the House and the Senate. If it had received the governor’s signature, the bill would have changed the deadline for abortions from 24 to 20 weeks. What’s more, it would have banned a common abortion … [Read more...]
Anti-environmentalist Pruitt Hit by Ninth Circuit; NY AG Schneiderman Suit in the Works
EPA Chief Scott Pruitt, who appears to be in bed with the fossil fuel industry as well as an admitted climate denier, is facing a scrupulous and progressive judiciary and state attorneys general, who are willing to fight him and the Trump Administration to protect our clean air and water supply. Ninth Circuit Win: More Stringent Lead Paint … [Read more...]
Republicans Remain Inconsistent on States’ Rights Issues
Just prior to Christmas, Republicans banded together in the house to pass a bill that would allow people with concealed carry permits to travel across state-lines with their weapons. Under this bill, a person who receives their permit in a gun-haven like Texas would be able to bring his gun into a stricter state, like California, without being … [Read more...]
Independent Truckers Chafe at New Logging Requirements
In 2012, Congressional Republicans wrote a rule requiring truckers to install electronic logging devices (ELDs) in their vehicles. That rule went into effect on December 18th after protests from independent truckers like Dick Pingel, who supported Trump but now feels neglected by the administration. Whereas before truckers were expected to use … [Read more...]
Trump Administration Greatly Diminishes Federally Protected Land
After Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke announced plans to alter a “handful” of national monuments, an unlikely combination of groups joined together in August to contest the administration’s move. Companies like Patagonia banded together with environmental activists and Native American leaders to resist the first major change to national monuments … [Read more...]
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