newrepublic--2020-04-20--Public Health Depends on a Healthy Planet

Minimizing the risk of another pandemic or other such unforeseen consequence of all these changes first means doing everything possible to protect at-risk people , speed the development of new medicines and vaccines , and care for one another by coordinated advance planning .
The One Health program of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention offers promise as a multisectoral approach to zoonotic disease prevention .
The program works from the local to the global level , “ achieving optimal health outcomes that recognize the interconnection between people , animals , plants , and their shared environments.
” It @ @ @ @ @ @ @ sustainability efforts that reduce pressures on the planet ’ s life-giving ecosystems through culturally appropriate social , urban , and environmental policy .
Veterinarians working with ecologists and medical doctors also need rapid-response capabilities to locate and quickly contain emerging infectious disease hot spots .
Overhunting , butchering , “ wet markets ” where animals are highly concentrated and stressed , and transport of wild species that have elevated risks of zoonotic disease transmission should be strictly curbed without blaming any particular culture or wild animal : Notably , the United States represents @ @ @ @ @ @ @ species trade , including for the pet industry , so we are all in this together .
And American habits have also been responsible for outbreaks : In 2003 , a shipment of 800 small mammals from Ghana to Texas led to the first-ever outbreak of human monkeypox outside Africa , after they were housed near prairie dogs that were then sold as pets .
Conserving at least 30 to 50 percent of Earth ’ s fast-dwindling wild areas , in collaboration with indigenous peoples , can begin healing the planet .
Unfortunately @ @ @ @ @ @ @ statement as unrealistic , even though such a conservation scheme would cost nations an estimated $ 100 billion annually compared to $ 7 trillion already spent on the Covid-19 pandemic .
It would slow climate chaos by reducing the emissions from cutting down rain forests , which release most of the carbon stored for centuries in soils and foliage to the atmosphere .
Importantly , one in four of today ’ s medicines originally came from tropical rain forests—climate control centers of the world—that are quickly being decimated .
Taxol , a drug @ @ @ @ @ @ @ was derived from temperate rain forests in the Pacific Northwest .
At its peak , Taxol was worth over $ 1 billion annually .
Had we liquidated these forests , the drug may never have been developed and those lives never saved .
New cures to diseases will be found in the natural world and perhaps derived from the immunity of healthy bat populations that have coexisted in natural areas with various coronaviruses for millennia .
But this can only happen if we care for each other and the planet in times of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ pandemic , it would be dangerous to lose sight of the climate and biodiversity emergencies that not just scientists but also religious leaders like Pope Francis and the Dalai Lama are increasingly warning us about .

Overhunting, butchering, “wet markets” where animals are highly concentrated and stressed, and transport of wild species that have elevated risks of zoonotic disease transmission should be strictly curbed without blaming any particular culture or wild animal: Notably, the United States represents 20 percent of the market in wild species trade, including for the pet industry, so we are all in this together. And American habits have also been responsible for outbreaks: In 2003, a shipment of 800 small mammals from Ghana to Texas led to the first-ever outbreak of human monkeypox outside Africa, after they were housed near prairie dogs that were then sold as pets.
Conserving at least 30 to 50 percent of Earth’s fast-dwindling wild areas, in collaboration with indigenous peoples, can begin healing the planet. Unfortunately, many still view this kind of statement as unrealistic, even though such a conservation scheme would cost nations an estimated $100 billion annually compared to $7 trillion already spent on the Covid-19 pandemic. It would slow climate chaos by reducing the emissions from cutting down rain forests, which release most of the carbon stored for centuries in soils and foliage to the atmosphere. Importantly, one in four of today’s medicines originally came from tropical rain forests—climate control centers of the world—that are quickly being decimated. Taxol, a drug widely used to treat ovarian cancer, was derived from temperate rain forests in the Pacific Northwest. At its peak, Taxol was worth over $1 billion annually. Had we liquidated these forests, the drug may never have been developed and those lives never saved.
New cures to diseases will be found in the natural world and perhaps derived from the immunity of healthy bat populations that have coexisted in natural areas with various coronaviruses for millennia. But this can only happen if we care for each other and the planet in times of crisis. As we recover from this pandemic, it would be dangerous to lose sight of the climate and biodiversity emergencies that not just scientists but also religious leaders like Pope Francis and the Dalai Lama are increasingly warning us about.


newrepublic--2020-04-20--The Problem With Heroizing Health Care Workers Like Me

The Covid-19 crisis also reveals how health care workers are closer to workers in the food , delivery , and agricultural industries than we are to CEOs and business owners .
The struggle for safe work environments , hazard pay , and health care coverage by Amazon , Whole Foods , and Instacart employees are shared by health care workers who are denied these provisions by our hospital administrations .
Nurses in New York City who have held protests share much in common with postal service workers , teachers , Detroit bus drivers , and Verizon employees , all of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ better safety .
By investing in these causes , we can change the material conditions that have caused us to be labeled heroes .
Public empathy is important and valued at a time like this .
Without it , our suffering would be ignored even more , and we ’ d feel more burned out and demoralized .
Health care workers , however , need the type of solidarity that grounds itself in labor struggles , that appreciates the connectivity between us and other workers across the country , and that understands that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ much as by our political systems .
When Chris Smalls , an Amazon warehouse worker , led an organized strike for better worker safety at the facility on Staten Island , he was fired .
When Travis Watkins , a mechanic at General Motors , reported to his co-workers that management was not informing employees of a possible Covid-19 outbreak , he was fired .
When Dr. Ming Lin , an emergency medicine physician , advocated on social media for better protections at a Seattle hospital he worked in , he was fired @ @ @ @ @ @ @ not only in abstract political spheres ; they are more imminently within our workplaces .
Public energy should then refocus on worker struggles and collective action .
In Philadelphia , health care workers and activists are demanding the reopening of Hahnemann Hospital , a facility that was shut down late last year by its multimillionaire owner , Joel Freedman , to make room for lavish condominiums .
When an overwhelming number of patients began to strain surrounding hospitals because of Covid-19 , he began negotiations with city officials for its reopening but then @ @ @ @ @ @ @ per month that the city could not afford .
Similarly , nurses and staff at Provident Hospital in South Side Chicago are protesting a sudden shutdown of its Emergency Department at a time when poor black Americans are disproportionately impacted by the pandemic .
In other parts of the country , workers at General Electric are protesting to urge the company to make ventilators , employees at an American Axle plant in Michigan walked out after the company failed to disclose that one of its workers tested positive for the coronavirus , and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ rent strikes and mutual aid programs in hard-hit communities .
Engels ’ s assertions could not be truer today than they were more than a century ago : The death of health care workers on the front lines of this crisis is a kind of murder , one that demands sweeping change .
As our government and employers fail us , community activists are organizing grassroots movements to advocate for workers ’ needs .
The ideological challenge is to move away from pedestalized martyrdom and toward action that ensures protected and healthy lives @ @ @ @ @ @ @ nobody wants to be a hero .
We just want to be safe .

The Covid-19 crisis also reveals how health care workers are closer to workers in the food, delivery, and agricultural industries than we are to CEOs and business owners. The struggle for safe work environments, hazard pay, and health care coverage by Amazon, Whole Foods, and Instacart employees are shared by health care workers who are denied these provisions by our hospital administrations. Nurses in New York City who have held protests share much in common with postal service workers, teachers, Detroit bus drivers, and Verizon employees, all of whom are organizing for economic justice and better safety. By investing in these causes, we can change the material conditions that have caused us to be labeled heroes.
Public empathy is important and valued at a time like this. Without it, our suffering would be ignored even more, and we’d feel more burned out and demoralized. Health care workers, however, need the type of solidarity that grounds itself in labor struggles, that appreciates the connectivity between us and other workers across the country, and that understands that we are paralyzed by our employers as much as by our political systems. When Chris Smalls, an Amazon warehouse worker, led an organized strike for better worker safety at the facility on Staten Island, he was fired. When Travis Watkins, a mechanic at General Motors, reported to his co-workers that management was not informing employees of a possible Covid-19 outbreak, he was fired. When Dr. Ming Lin, an emergency medicine physician, advocated on social media for better protections at a Seattle hospital he worked in, he was fired. The threats to worker safety are not only in abstract political spheres; they are more imminently within our workplaces.
Public energy should then refocus on worker struggles and collective action. In Philadelphia, health care workers and activists are demanding the reopening of Hahnemann Hospital, a facility that was shut down late last year by its multimillionaire owner, Joel Freedman, to make room for lavish condominiums. When an overwhelming number of patients began to strain surrounding hospitals because of Covid-19, he began negotiations with city officials for its reopening but then walked out after demanding $1 million per month that the city could not afford. Similarly, nurses and staff at Provident Hospital in South Side Chicago are protesting a sudden shutdown of its Emergency Department at a time when poor black Americans are disproportionately impacted by the pandemic. In other parts of the country, workers at General Electric protested to urge the company to make more ventilators, employees at an American Axle plant in Michigan walked out after the company failed to disclose that one of its workers tested positive for the coronavirus, and activists in New York are organizing tenant rent strikes and mutual aid programs in hard-hit communities.


The Exclusivity Economy

If you can make it in New York , the cliché goes , you can make it anywhere .
But there ’ s making and then there ’ s making it .
A recent feature in Eater identified a trend in the habits of a sliver of New Yorkers : the increasing use of “ private dining ” venues accessible only to the wealthiest and most networked people in the city .
These sanctums for the hungry elite often sit steps away from the watering holes of the mere bourgeoisie ; above the cavernous Tavern restaurant in Hudson Yards , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ upholstered in leather and designed to conjure the atmosphere of a country club .
Anyone can eat downstairs at Tavern , but access to the private rooms costs $ 7,500 a year in dues and a $ 15,000 initiation fee .
Meanwhile , new restaurants with big-name chefs are opening as amenities in luxury condo buildings throughout the city , with reservations available only to residents and their guests .
“ People who have resources , ” a restaurant consultant sagely explained to Eater , “ would like to spend more time together @ @ @ @ @ @ @ blunt truism—that the very wealthy would rather be around the very wealthy , thank you very much—rises to the pitch of cataclysmic moral failure in the work of the New York Times business reporter Nelson D. Schwartz .
In The Velvet Rope Economy : How Inequality Became Big Business , Schwartz catalogs the many ways the U.S. economy has grown more segmented , with the rich leading lives increasingly remote from the rest of society .
For the wealthy , “ everyday existence is a smooth glide , in which life ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ by unparalleled access and attention.
” For those on the other side of what Schwartz calls the “ velvet rope ” —the proliferating barriers that separate the rich from middle-class , working-class , and poor Americans— “ there are fewer and fewer shock absorbers to offset life ’ s inevitable blows.
” Schwartz explores the dizzying number of areas in which growing inequality defines the day-to-day functioning of the U.S. economy , from cruise ships to hospitals , amusement parks to college education , Little League soccer to firefighting .
What these changes @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the crystallization of a caste system in the United States and the birth of a new aristocracy .
He ’ s hardly the first to discern this .
At least since the brief eruption of the Occupy Wall Street movement in 2011 , economic inequality has loomed large in many American political conversations .
The presidential campaigns of Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren routinely inveighed against “ the one percent ” and lamented the long stagnation of working-class wages .
The statistics are familiar .
The top one percent owns more wealth than @ @ @ @ @ @ @ five Americans can ’ t scrape together $ 400 in the event of an emergency .
Schwartz ’ s book has the virtue of making inequality less the measure of income disparity and hypothetical figures , and more the matter of lived outcomes .
In his reporting , he brings to bear everything from the byzantine hierarchies of airline boarding groups to the vagaries of ticket pricing at new sports stadiums to reflect a single reality : Free-market forces are restructuring the economy to provide more services and perks for those who can @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for everybody else .
On a recent American Airlines flight between New York and the Caribbean , I discovered that the airline divided passengers into no fewer than nine boarding groups—an intricate taxonomy that doesn ’ t even include the most exclusive ranks of elite fliers .
Regular travelers don ’ t get summoned till about zone five or six .
Occupying too low a rung on the ladder has consequences ( being forced to check your hand luggage , for instance , and delayed boarding ) and makes the often unpleasant trial @ @ @ @ @ @

The changing shape of things in Yankee Stadium and Disney World finds more damning echoes in other areas of American life. Following the guidance of a prominent libertarian foundation, more than 40 U.S. cities have imposed the logic of the free market on highways; in Houston and Dallas, for instance, individual drivers can pay to enter faster car pool lanes, buying speed and time as those who can’t afford the additional tolls creep through traffic. In a similar vein, Schwartz bristles at the “pay to play” schemes that increasingly govern youth sports. Cash-strapped school districts demand that families pay thousands of dollars to keep their children on school teams. As a result, participation in youth sports is increasingly determined not by enthusiasm or ability, but by the relative wealth of one’s parents. Just as obscene as pay to play is “pay to stay”; for $110 per night, wealthier convicted criminals can reside in more comfortable, safer jails, separate from the general body of inmates, guarded by gentler wardens who don’t resort to shouting or worse.
One of the more disconcerting developments that Schwartz details is the growth of concierge medicine. He profiles a private medical practice in San Francisco imaginatively called Private Medical. It charges its clients—many from the city’s tech sector—up to six-figure yearly fees to manage the health care of their families, with services from routine checkups to referrals to top doctors. Concierge practices like Private Medical help the superrich circumvent the habitual—and sometimes fatal—frustrations and inconveniences of the U.S. health care system. Between 2009 and 2017, average wait times to see primary care physicians went up from 20 days to 29 days; in the case of certain types of specialists, that wait time has doubled in the last decade. Jordan Shlain, the founder of Private Medical, describes American health care to Schwartz as “a broken system”; as a memento from an earlier time in his career, Shlain keeps a reimbursement check from an insurance company that he billed $350 but from which he only received 70 cents. Exhausted by having to deal with the bureaucracy of insurance companies and by the grueling pace of work (cycling through patients in 15-minute appointments), Shlain set up his more exclusive practice. For a substantial fee, he can get his clients immediate access to the most sought-after doctors in the country and to the most promising clinical trials. While standards of care deteriorate for the general public, a parallel system emerges for the richest. In concierge medicine—and in other areas like college education, where elite coaching immensely improves the odds of admission into the Ivy League—Schwartz sees the stark ramifications of an economy skewed toward wealthy Americans, who “can essentially live a different life in the same country.”
The Velvet Rope Economy is unrelenting in its assault on the facade of the country’s meritocratic order. But the book has a harder time showing what is new about much of this. The wealthy were perfectly capable of separating themselves from the masses throughout the nineteenth century and for much of the twentieth. Schwartz acknowledges, in a section exploring segmentation on cruise ships, that the Titanic was far more rigidly hierarchical than any ship today. He accepts that the wealthy have long had access to better medical care, to private rooms in hospitals, and to the most admired doctors. But a note of nostalgia seeps through his analysis, as he harks back to an ill-defined age when American life was not as stratified, when the private sector worked in greater harmony with the public interest.


newrepublic--2020-04-21--The Right Way to Push Biden to the Left

The Right Way to Push Biden to the Left

Most presidential nominees leave the primary season behind with a sprint to the political center .
It ’ s a testament to the power progressives have built within the Democratic Party since 2016 that Joe Biden is instead being urged to make a showy detour to the left .
There is no chance whatsoever that Biden will campaign on Medicare for All or many of the other policies that were cornerstones of Bernie Sanders ’ s campaign .
And for all progressives know , his commitment even to the proposals his camp has billed as overtures to the left , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ lowering the Medicare age to 60 , may not last through November .
But left-leaning activists and policy minds are trying to catch Biden ’ s ear on everything from climate policy to the veepstakes anyway , hoping to leverage the Democratic establishment ’ s anxieties about uniting the party into sustained influence on the Biden campaign and the potential administration to come .
But even if they makes these gains , all of that influence will be useless unless Biden commits himself to a set of structural reforms : four pillars upon @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the security of any policy gains he makes , and the political future of the Democratic Party may depend .
This is where the conversations about Biden winning over progressives should begin .
If he refuses to make these commitments , this is also where those conversations should end .
The Electoral College : At this point , everyone should be roughly familiar with the relevant facts .
Hillary Clinton won nearly 3 million more votes than Donald Trump .
Al Gore won over half a million more votes than George W. Bush @ @ @ @ @ @ @ University of Texas found that “ Republicans should be expected to win 65 % of Presidential contests in which they narrowly lose the popular vote.
” A vote cast in Wyoming in 2016 mathematically counted nearly three times more towards the Electoral College result than the average American ’ s vote .
Et cetera .
Everyone should also know that Joe Biden opposes eliminating the Electoral College , a position that puts him to the right of Clinton , many other prominent Democrats , and the vast majority of Democratic voters .
In @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Editorial Board , Biden suggested that moving to a popular vote would require a constitutional amendment .
This is incorrect .
Since 2007 , 14 states and the District of Columbia have moved to award their Electoral College votes to the national popular vote winner as part of an effort called the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact ( NPVIC ) .
Once the electoral votes of the states signing on reach 270 , the compact will take effect and the Electoral College will be functionally eliminated .
Eighty-three more votes are needed , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to getting NPVIC legislation passed in the remaining states .
The Filibuster : Even if Democrats take the presidency , keep the House , and win a Senate majority in November , Biden will be unable to pass his legislative agenda without a 60 seat Senate supermajority or a significant amount of Republican support .
He will have neither .
A Democratic Senate could solve this problem with the nuclear option—eliminating the legislative filibuster and moving to a simple majority vote .
Biden opposes this .
In fairness , Bernie Sanders also did @ @ @ @ @ @ @ having the Vice President , who is constitutionally the president of the Senate , approve the passage of major bills by reconciliation ’ s simple majority rule .
Biden hasn ’ t given any indication he supports either this idea or any other proposal that would make it possible for him to pass legislation without getting members of the Republican minority on board .
In fact , Biden spent much of the primary campaign promising Democratic voters that Republicans will be awakened by an epiphany after Trump ’ s defeat , at which @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on his administration ’ s priorities .
Again , this will not happen .
Barack Obama offered a more sober preview of what ’ s to come in 2018 .
“ The filibuster , ” he said in an interview , “ has made it almost impossible for us to effectively govern at a time when you have at least one party that is not willing to compromise on issues.
” Biden should publicly agree and support either the nuclear option or giving Sanders ’ s idea a try .

The Filibuster: Even if Democrats take the presidency, keep the House, and win a Senate majority in November, Biden will be unable to pass his legislative agenda without a 60-seat Senate supermajority or a significant amount of Republican support. He will have neither. A Democratic Senate could solve this problem with the nuclear option—eliminating the legislative filibuster and moving to a simple majority vote. Biden opposes this. In fairness, Bernie Sanders also did. But Sanders proposed an alternative: having the Vice President, who is constitutionally the president of the Senate, approve the passage of major bills by reconciliation’s simple majority rule. Biden hasn’t given any indication he supports either this idea or any other proposal that would make it possible for him to pass legislation without getting members of the Republican minority on board. In fact, Biden spent much of the primary campaign promising Democratic voters that Republicans will be awakened by an epiphany after Trump’s defeat, at which point they will be open to working on his administration’s priorities. Again, this will not happen. Barack Obama offered a more sober preview of what’s to come in 2018. “The filibuster,” he said in an interview, “has made it almost impossible for us to effectively govern at a time when you have at least one party that is not willing to compromise on issues.” Biden should publicly agree and support either the nuclear option or giving Sanders’s idea a try.
Expansion of Statehood: Another step that would both make the Senate more representative and make passing legislation easier, would be granting statehood to the millions of Americans being governed by a Congress in which they have no real vote. It should start with the District of Columbia. Like the last two Democratic presidents, Biden supports D.C. statehood. But unlike those presidents, Biden should also commit to making statehood a priority for the first few weeks of his administration, given the boost two Senate seats for D.C. would grant his legislative efforts. He should also support new, fully representative statehood referendums in Puerto Rico and the other American territories.


newrepublic--2020-04-21--A Brief Criminal History of the Mask

A Brief Criminal History of the Mask

Last week , Jennvine Wong , staff attorney for the Cop Accountability Project at the Legal Aid Society , told me there were cops walking around outside of her Brooklyn apartment who weren ’ t wearing masks .
It was notable , since it was just a day after New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio announced a mandate around mask-wearing inside stores and New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo issued a separate order requiring everyone over the age of two to wear a face covering in public if they couldn ’ t keep six feet of distance from others @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to be in public , and you can not maintain social distancing , then have a mask , ” he said .
Police would apparently be enforcing these orders after they went into effect the following day .
The maskless cops stood out for another reason .
“ There ’ s also an anti-mask law on the books , ” Wong explained , meaning that once the governor ’ s order went into effect , mask-wearing was now officially mandated and prohibited .
“ How are individual officers going to be enforcing this @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
“ And how is that going to play out with the existing anti-mask law ?
” Another question follows : Will they be enforcing it equally in every New York neighborhood , among all New Yorkers ?
Laws prohibiting mask wearing , on the books across the United States , passed in some states a response to the Ku Klux Klan .
New York ’ s law was different .
Sam Feld , an appellate public defender , noted this history on Twitter : Prohibitions on mask-wearing in New York were a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ anti-rent riots , “ a widespread resistance to farming rents assessed by large estate owners , ” as constitutional law scholar and professor of law at City University of New York Ruthann Robson writes in her book , Dressing Constitutionally .
From broken windows to the war on drugs , the New York Police Department has a long record of racist enforcement .
Now , with the competing mask mandates , “ How is that going to play out specifically in communities of color ?
” Wong asked .
“ You may have @ @ @ @ @ @ @ who are already concerned about wearing a face covering that isn ’ t immediately obvious as a surgical mask , because they are worried about being targeted by police .
People have been hassled in other places for just that thing .
”

Last week, Jennvine Wong, staff attorney for the Cop Accountability Project at the Legal Aid Society, told me there were cops walking around outside of her Brooklyn apartment who weren’t wearing masks. It was notable, since it was just a day after New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio announced a mandate around mask-wearing inside stores to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, and New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo issued a separate order requiring everyone over the age of two to wear a face covering in public if they couldn’t keep six feet of distance from others. “If you’re going to be in public, and you cannot maintain social distancing, then have a mask,” he said. Police would apparently be enforcing these orders after they went into effect the following day.
The maskless cops stood out for another reason. “There’s also an anti-mask law on the books,” Wong explained, meaning that once the governor’s order went into effect, mask-wearing was now officially mandated and prohibited. “How are individual officers going to be enforcing this new executive order?” she asked. “And how is that going to play out with the existing anti-mask law?” Another question follows: Will they be enforcing it equally in every New York neighborhood, among all New Yorkers?


newrepublic--2020-04-21--Why the U.S. Buys Too Many Missiles and Not Enough Masks

A foundational insight of gender analysis in political science is that roles and actions coded as feminine are valued less in our society than those that are coded as masculine .
The easiest way to see this is to think about occupations that have long been considered “ women ’ s work ” : Roles like teacher , nurse , or daycare worker are traditionally lower-paid .
Fascinatingly , we can see this operating in real time now , as well : When women recently made up a majority of gynecological surgeons for the first time , a rapid devaluing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ followed .
One could hardly design a more stereotypical gendered dichotomy than “ missiles versus medical masks.
” Beyond their unsubtle phallic symbolism , missiles are engineered to protect through aggression : lock onto a target , penetrate its defenses , and subdue it in an explosive climax .
Strong militaries for mighty nations lob missiles ; their soldiers may occasionally bear weighty , intimidating medical gear to brave a chemical or biological attack , but they don ’ t cower in the passive protection of medical masks : Those are the province @ @ @ @ @ @ @ professions .
Interestingly , a few social media critics have noted the similarities between medical providers ’ DIY protective gear—like soda-bottle masks and garbage bags-turned-medical gowns—and the improvised “ hillbilly armor ” that U.S. soldiers in Iraq once rigged onto their thin-skinned Humvees to protect them from explosive attacks on patrol .
Back then , when some of those soldiers asked Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld about having to scrounge protective coverings for their vehicles , he famously shrugged them off .
“ You go to war with the Army you have , ” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ even within the military , leaders devalue “ passive ” force-protection measures when compared with aggressive capabilities .
“ When you come out of the Academy , ” a junior Army officer and U.S. Military Academy alumnus once wrote , “ you want to make an impact , but you have some blinders .
One of those is gender.
” This was the insight the soldier took away from a training evolution at West Point in which he ’ d been paired with a woman from my institute ’ s Women Waging Peace @ @ @ @ @ @ @ over 1,000 women leaders from 56 countries working to build peace and reduce violence .
Part of the network ’ s practical value lies in teaching privileged men like that Army officer—and me—where our cultural blinders are .
They have taught us to see how gender dynamics structure every aspect of the world we live in .

One could hardly design a more stereotypical gendered dichotomy than “missiles versus medical masks.” Beyond their unsubtle phallic symbolism, missiles are engineered to protect through aggression: lock onto a target, penetrate its defenses, and subdue it in an explosive climax. Strong militaries for mighty nations lob missiles; their soldiers may occasionally bear weighty, intimidating medical gear to brave a chemical or biological attack, but they don’t cower in the passive protection of medical masks: Those are the province of caregivers and health providers, feminine-coded professions.
Interestingly, a few social media critics have noted the similarities between medical providers’ DIY protective gear—like soda-bottle masks and garbage bags-turned-medical gowns—and the improvised “hillbilly armor” that U.S. soldiers in Iraq once rigged onto their thin-skinned Humvees to protect them from explosive attacks on patrol. Back then, when some of those soldiers asked Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld about having to scrounge protective coverings for their vehicles, he famously shrugged them off. “You go to war with the Army you have,” he said. Then as now, even within the military, leaders devalue “passive” force-protection measures when compared with aggressive capabilities.
“When you come out of the Academy,” a junior Army officer and U.S. Military Academy alumnus once wrote, “you want to make an impact, but you have some blinders. One of those is gender.” This was the insight the soldier took away from a training evolution at West Point in which he’d been paired with a woman from my institute’s Women Waging Peace network in Nepal; the network includes over 1,000 women leaders from 56 countries working to build peace and reduce violence. Part of the network’s practical value lies in teaching privileged men like that Army officer—and me—where our cultural blinders are. They have taught us to see how gender dynamics structure every aspect of the world we live in.


newrepublic--2020-04-21--The Supreme Court’s War Over Jury Trials Could Change Everything

Unanimous jury verdicts are the norm in the Anglo-American legal tradition , and any deviations from them are a bewildering exception .
So why did these two states choose a different path ?
Louisiana first incorporated the practice into its state constitution at a 1898 constitutional convention .
“ According to one committee chairman , the avowed purpose of that convention was to ‘ establish the supremacy of the white race , ’ ” Gorsuch wrote , “ and the resulting document included many of the trappings of the Jim Crow era : a poll tax , a combined literacy @ @ @ @ @ @ @ grandfather clause that in practice exempted white residents from the most onerous of these requirements.
” Gorsuch noted that Oregon ’ s provision could be “ similarly traced ” to the rise of the Ku Klux Klan and fears of immigrant influence in the criminal-justice process in the 1920s and 1930s .
None of this history is particularly controversial or groundbreaking ; Gorsuch noted that even local courts in both states had acknowledged it .
But its mere acknowledgement still drew criticism from Justice Samuel Alito .
“ Some years ago the British @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , ” he wrote in a dissent joined by Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Elena Kagan .
“ Was Parliament under the sway of the Klan ?
The Constitution of Puerto Rico permits non-unanimous verdicts .
Were the framers of that Constitution racists ?
Non-unanimous verdicts were once advocated by the American Law Institute and the American Bar Association .
Was their aim to promote white supremacy ?
And how about the prominent scholars who have taken the same position ?
Racists all ?
Of course not .
So all the talk @ @ @ @ @ @ @ entirely out of place.
” The majority also thoroughly documented how non-unanimous verdicts were incompatible with the Sixth Amendment .
Gorsuch cited a wealth of commentary from jurists before the Bill of Rights ’ drafting and shortly afterward , many of whom saw the requirement for unanimity as so plainly obvious that it need not be declared in the amendment ’ s actual text .
The challenge for the justices on Monday wasn ’ t in interpreting the Sixth Amendment : its meaning and history was already clear .
The problem lay with @ @ @ @ @ @ @ flawed reading of that amendment into constitutional law .
For Alito and the other dissenters , the status quo is preferable .
They took refuge in the doctrine of stare decisis , which binds courts to their earlier rulings except in rare circumstances .
The justices have deliberated about the scope and limits of stare decisis at length in recent years , and for good reason : Anthony Kennedy ’ s retirement in 2018 produced a reliably conservative majority on the court that is poised to shape—and perhaps reshape—how the Constitution affects Americans @ @ @ @ @ @ @ liberals fear , and many conservatives hope , that past rulings on abortion rights and LGBT rights could be on the chopping block .

None of this history is particularly controversial or groundbreaking; Gorsuch noted that even local courts in both states had acknowledged it. But its mere acknowledgement still drew criticism from Justice Samuel Alito. “Some years ago the British Parliament enacted a law allowing non-unanimous verdicts,” he wrote in a dissent joined by Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Elena Kagan. “Was Parliament under the sway of the Klan? The Constitution of Puerto Rico permits non-unanimous verdicts. Were the framers of that Constitution racists? Non-unanimous verdicts were once advocated by the American Law Institute and the American Bar Association. Was their aim to promote white supremacy? And how about the prominent scholars who have taken the same position? Racists all? Of course not. So all the talk about the Klan, etc., is entirely out of place.”
The majority also thoroughly documented how non-unanimous verdicts were incompatible with the Sixth Amendment. Gorsuch cited a wealth of commentary from jurists before the Bill of Rights’ drafting and shortly afterward, many of whom saw the requirement for unanimity as so plainly obvious that it need not be declared in the amendment’s actual text. The challenge for the justices on Monday wasn’t in interpreting the Sixth Amendment: its meaning and history was already clear. The problem lay with Apodaca, which had already inscribed a flawed reading of that amendment into constitutional law.
For Alito and the other dissenters, the status quo is preferable. They took refuge in the doctrine of stare decisis, which binds courts to their earlier rulings except in rare circumstances. The justices have deliberated about the scope and limits of stare decisis at length in recent years, and for good reason: Anthony Kennedy’s retirement in 2018 produced a reliably conservative majority on the court that is poised to shape—and perhaps reshape—how the Constitution affects Americans for at least a generation. Many liberals fear, and many conservatives hope, that past rulings on abortion rights and LGBT rights could be on the chopping block.


newrepublic--2020-04-21--Biden’s Incoherent, China-Bashing Attack on Trump

By the start of March , it was already apparent that Trump ’ s claim that the number of cases would be “ close to zero ” was among the most ridiculously untrue things any president has ever said .
In the middle of March came the president ’ s nationally broadcast promise that widespread testing would be available in big box store parking lots .
This , again , has turned out to be not just untrue but entirely unfounded ; there is no evidence the administration or its supposed private sector partners ever even tried to make it @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that is helpfully recorded on TV daily—of the administration making announcements and promises that never become reality .
Two minutes is plenty of time to show Trump making this widely seen promise and then show the reality .
If social distancing measures preclude sending Democratic politicians to empty parking lots to hold press conferences asking where the tests are , the magic of cinema allows an image to tell the story .
The liberal dark money group Protect Our Care has made what I think is the first Democratic-aligned campaign video demanding to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , though it ’ s unclear if it will actually air anywhere besides their YouTube channel .
While the testing fiasco is the administration ’ s most egregious failure so far , there is really no shortage of fertile material for political messaging .
You could point out that other countries have had more effective responses , without blowing up their economies , and ask why our own government was incapable of following their lead .
You could point out—or enlist the people experiencing the worst of this crisis firsthand to point out—that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ stealing essential supplies from the hardest-hit states and no one can seem to explain why .
But instead of telling a simple story of how Trump ’ s incompetence ( combined with his administration ’ s rapaciousness and corruption ) completely sabotaged the nation ’ s response to the virus , the Joe Biden campaign—seemingly determined to play the election on Hard Mode—has decided to run with a much more complicated explanation .
Ah , but it is not only more complicated ; it also lacks any sort of connection to the negative @ @ @ @ @ @ @ with in the minds of most voters .
Biden has chosen to level an accusation that doesn ’ t track at all with anyone ’ s understanding of Trump ’ s character and motivations .
That ’ s right : It ’ s time to get serious about China .
The Biden campaign , after telegraphing a plan to accuse Donald Trump of having “ rolled over for the Chinese , ” released an ad this week accusing Trump of doing just that , mainly by tweeting complimentary things about the Chinese government @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on our own country ’ s handling of the coronavirus ) .

The timeline is easy to follow; we all watched it happen in real time. Trump has provided more grist for attack ads during this ongoing crisis than almost any other politician in history. He downplayed the threat of the virus seemingly based entirely on magical thinking as the federal government did effectively nothing to prepare the country for an epidemic and the Centers for Disease Control botched the rollout of the testing regime that would have been our best hope of stopping the spread of a virus that had already reached our country.
By the start of March, it was already apparent that Trump’s claim that the number of cases would be “close to zero” was among the most ridiculously untrue things any president has ever said. In the middle of March came the president’s nationally broadcast promise that widespread testing would be available in big box store parking lots. This, again, has turned out to be not just untrue but entirely unfounded; there is no evidence the administration or its supposed private sector partners ever even tried to make it true. It follows a pattern—a pattern that is helpfully recorded on TV daily—of the administration making announcements and promises that never become reality. Two minutes is plenty of time to show Trump making this widely seen promise and then show the reality. If social distancing measures preclude sending Democratic politicians to empty parking lots to hold press conferences asking where the tests are, the magic of cinema allows an image to tell the story. The liberal dark-money group Protect Our Care has made what I think is the first Democratic-aligned campaign video demanding to know where the tests Trump promised are, though it’s unclear if it will actually air anywhere besides its YouTube channel.


newrepublic--2020-04-21--Fiona Apple Gets Free

Fiona Apple Gets Free

There are some records that sound as if their creators were hit over the head , forgot how to put together a song , then had to rebuild the whole thing from scratch .
Think of Van Morrison ’ s mad originality on Astral Weeks , for example—the way he mixes styles like a person ’ s mind mixes memories , jazz and classical and Irish forms intertwining .
It sounds like something half-remembered from a dream : familiar , although utterly new .
Fiona Apple ’ s fourth album , Fetch the Bolt Cutters , is one of those @ @ @ @ @ @ @ been identified with a very specific celebrity type—filed by Wikipedia under “ female American alternative singer-songwriter.
” We hear her name and imagine a pale , beautiful woman scowling into a piano , because that image was seared on the television during the heyday of Apple ’ s celebrity in the late 1990s .
The stereotype of “ woman who is sensitive and plays the piano ” associates Apple most obviously with Tori Amos and Regina Spektor but also with Nina Simone and Joni Mitchell .
It ’ s a legacy of luminous @ @ @ @ @ @ @ slightly depressing one .
Apple first rose to fame as a troubadour of sad songs gilded with rage , her voice burning with emotion .
Songs like “ Criminal ” and “ Paper Bag ” were hard to forget once heard .
That initial burst of success took place during the adolescence of people who are now in their thirties .
For many young girls , Apple ’ s music was a catalyst to self-actualization , and her albums are cornerstones for a micro-generational group identity .
That kind of legacy can crush @ @ @ @ @ @ @ as Apple , who was 19 when her first album , Tidal , came out in 1996 .
For a while , it seemed as though it may have : Apple is reclusive , and she has been out of the spotlight since 2012 ’ s The Idler Wheel .
But in preparation for her new album , she has crept back into the public eye via carefully handpicked media appearances , including multiple interviews to Vulture and a long and intimate portrait by Emily Nussbaum in a March issue of The New @ @

Although there is plenty of piano on Fetch the Bolt Cutters, the record is much more wide-ranging musically than Apple’s previous work. On the track “For Her,” complicated rhythms layer with vocal harmonies to create an avant-garde sound reminiscent of Animal Collective (their album Merryweather Post Pavilion falls into that “blow to the head” category, too). That just makes it the more delicious when the old Fiona roars back with a white-hot lyric. To the tune, at first, of the Singin’ in the Rain song: “Good mornin’, good mornin’! / You raped me in the same bed your daughter was born in.”
All the tension hisses out on the fun song “Ladies.” Apple sing-speaks the word over and over again like a compère trying to get people to sit down for dinner at a wedding, but with the louche confidence of Lou Reed singing “Goodnight Ladies” to a room full of groupies. More thrills await inside the track “Under the Table,” about a blowhard boyfriend and his annoying friends, which recalls a certain immortal sentence from Nussbaum’s March profile: “Every addict should just get locked in a private movie theatre with [Quentin Tarantino] and [Apple’s ex, Paul Thomas Anderson] on coke, and they’ll never want to do it again.” It’s a broadening of emotional range.
For better or worse, according to your taste, elements of the old Apple remain. Plenty of fans go wild for it, but if you’ve never enjoyed the vaudevillian side of her music, then skip the songs “Shameika” and “Rack of His.” They’re not bad, not at all; it’s just that Apple’s tendency to decorate her verses with what I can only call theatrical circus piano recalls indie music’s regrettable cabaret phase, typified by the Dresden Dolls. None of that is Apple’s fault—call it the Amanda Palmer traumatic effect—but some of us will never get past it.


newrepublic--2020-04-21--The Urgent Message of Negative Oil Prices

For the first time ever , oil is trading at negative prices after plummeting sharply yesterday .
In other words , because it costs money to store and transport oil , drillers—and , specifically in this case , those of West Texas Intermediate Crude—are now having to pay pipeline and storage companies to take product off their hands , as space for storing excess oil runs out fast .
This might be the greatest crisis to face the oil industry since there ’ s been an oil industry , and no one in power seems to have a plan for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ didn ’ t come out of nowhere .
American shale drillers had been gorging on debt since just after the last crash , which landed them low interest rates and cheap , free-flowing credit .
Most , though , have never turned a profit .
Much of the oil extracted in the United States and that allayed fears of Peak Oil more than a decade ago is far more costly than what ’ s produced in the Middle East , requiring big up-front investments of capital on wells—in the case of shale—that dry @ @ @ @ @ @ @ exploration and production companies went bankrupt in 2019 , representing a total debt load double that of firms that went bust the year before .
The famously unprofitable sector was already looking at $ 24 billion worth of bonds maturing by 2024 and had , for the most part , lost access to Wall Street creditors .
Energy markets were already faltering back in January as coronavirus shutdowns ate into usually heavy demand in China , and it hasn ’ t been a secret that the energy sector carries a corporate debt load @ @ @ @ @ @ @ For all the primary-season talk about the big , ambitious climate policy that ’ s needed—namely the Green New Deal—discussion of the festering situation in oil markets has been pretty muted .
That ’ s thanks in part to the mountains of fossil fuel and private utility funding that flows through university climate and energy centers , which constrains the kind of conversations happening in think tanks and academia .
The types of experts who end up shaping the climate conversation in Washington and advising Democratic presidential candidates aren ’ t necessarily shills @ @ @ @ @ @ @ tend to focus far more on building the stuff we want ( clean energy ) rather than figuring out how to get rid of what we don ’ t ( fossil fuels ) .
We need to do both .
So-called supply-side policy—how to keep fossil fuels in the ground—has been mostly off the table , with the loudest and most persistent calls coming from largely indigenous-led movements to stop fossil fuel infrastructure like the Keystone XL pipeline .
It ’ s worth remembering , too , that the Obama administration—the status quo @ @ @ @ @ @ @ return to—pursued an “ all of the above ” energy approach , which actively supported shale drilling as an alternative to coal .
The Obama administration gave fracking a market-changing boost in 2015 by lifting the crude oil export ban .
Many of Joe Biden ’ s top energy advisers , who were involved in that work , have since either collected checks from or worked directly for the industry .
Progressive groups , including the Sunrise Movement , have called for him to change course and pledge not to hire anyone back @ @ @ @ @ @ @ industry employee .
Still , it ’ d be hard to argue that progressives are well prepared for this moment .
Many have spoken out against an oil and gas industry bailout as part of a Covid-19 response , but when discussing recovery packages for the coronavirus-driven recession largely haven ’ t addressed the just transition already needed for workers in the shale sector and the diffuse array of people and communities bound up in it .
Data from the oilfield service company Baker Hughes released last week finds that the number of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ by a third in the last month , and Rystad Energy predicted late last month that one million oil workers could lose their jobs this year .

There’s plenty of schadenfreude to be had watching some of history’s worst monsters—fossil fuel CEOs, especially—squirm, but there’s also nothing inherently good for people or the planet about negative oil prices, which could easily give way to some shambolic White House bailout that keeps the sector limping along as it continues to hemorrhage cash, and as oil and gas executives sew their golden parachutes and leave workers out to dry. Indeed, Trump hinted at a blank check to the oil and gas industry on Twitter on Tuesday morning, pledging that the administration “will make funds available so that these very important companies and jobs will be secured long into the future!”
There are a few progressive ideas lying around for what to do about all this. The Green Stimulus proposal put out recently by a group of progressive climate and energy experts, building on Bernie Sanders’s Green New Deal platform, lays out several policy options to navigate a world of negative oil prices: five years of wage parity for affected workers, along with housing assistance, job training, and early retirement options; tax revenue replacement; ample funding for economic diversification. Investing in the social and clean energy infrastructure we need at the same time can help destroy demand for fossil fuels while it’s down, all the while creating millions of jobs for extractive sector workers and the millions of others now unemployed. There’s also a case to be made for buying up cheaper-than-ever fossil fuel companies and taking them into public ownership, with a clear plan to wind them down and protect workers—an admittedly tricky political calculation with Republicans controlling the Senate and White House. Ironically, the lowest-tech fix is the same for oil producers eager to regain some modicum of at least short-term stability and for a planet whose stability is incompatible with their business model: keep the oil in the ground. How that happens, though—whether it’s to extend fossil fuels’ life indefinitely or transition away from them—matters a lot.
This period of negative prices probably won’t be the end of oil: Demand will bounce back, albeit maybe not to pre-crash levels. But the end is nigh. Without a plan, it’ll be chaos.


newrepublic--2020-04-21--Coronavirus Emergency Aid Has Become Its Own Disaster in Indian Country

In Indian Country right now , like so much of the country , the Covid-19 pandemic has revealed itself as a series of overlapping and compounding crises : Tribal leaders have rushed to secure personal protective equipment for essential workers ; organized to ensure vulnerable community members have access to food , water , and safe housing ; and lobbied for desperately needed federal relief .
But as the number of positive cases in Indian Country continues to outpace the American average—from the pueblos of New Mexico to Navajo Nation and the Mandan , Hidatsa , and Arikara Nation—a new @ @ @ @ @ @ @ announced earlier this month that it would be opening the $ 8 billion set aside for tribal governments in the federal relief package to include what are called Alaska Native Corporations , which are for-profit corporations created by the United States government to hold and maintain Alaska Native land .
Some of these corporations count themselves among the largest businesses in the state .
And as Politico reported last week , Bureau of Indian Affairs Assistant Secretary Tara Sweeney , a Trump appointee and former external affairs director for the most profitable ANC @ @ @ @ @ @ @ force in the decision .
“ Sweeney ’ s role has since come under intense scrutiny , ” Politico noted , “ with Democrats and several tribal organizations seizing on the financial interest she retains as a shareholder of her former employer , Arctic Slope Regional Corporation , according to financial disclosure forms.
” On one hand , this is a story about congressional appropriations and tribal governments safeguarding sovereignty .
But it ’ s also about desperately needed resources in the midst of a pandemic .
Right now , Native people in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ decision between opening their fisheries or financial disaster .
Communities are facing down a once-in-a-generation public health threat with the nearest hospital 45 minutes away by ambulance helicopter .
In a letter to the House Natural Resources Committee , Andrew Jimmie , an Alaska Native Public Health Board representative and the elected leader of the village of Minto , laid out the case as he saw it .
“ It is crucial to understand that many rural Alaska villages do not have running water , reliable internet access , and easy access to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ With a lack of adequate housing , it is difficult for village residents to remain at a distance from ill people who are sick.
” This is the need .
These are the people now trapped in what has turned into a political battle .
The ANC system is complex , but the basics aren ’ t impossible to grasp .
To start : ANCs are state-chartered corporations that were created by the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act , or ANCSA , in 1971 .
The act was designed under pressure from the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and build pipelines , and Alaska Native leaders , who wanted to put a stop to the incessant land theft that defined Alaska ’ s first 12 years of statehood .
As a result of ANCSA , Alaska Native tribes , or villages , do not own the land—the ANCs do .

Within the 12 regional corporations are 12 nonprofit corporations, who are tasked with administering social programs that were previously handled by the Bureau of Indian Affairs. But as stated on the website of the 12 regional ANCs, “Alaska Native regional corporations do not possess a government-to-government relationship with the federal government.” So to ensure that ANCs would be included in the CARES Act funding, the Treasury found its justification in the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act, which defines the village and regional ANCs as “Indian tribes.”
This decision resulted in a great deal of frustration as tribal governments found themselves responding to what they saw as two emergencies—one of the government-to-government precedent being broken, and one of Sweeney’s conflict of interest. In response, on Friday, six tribes, including three in Alaska, filed a legal complaint against Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin, asking a D.C. judge to halt the payments to the ANCs.
Complicating matters further, on top of those two issues, there was also a data leak on Friday, first reported by Indian Country Today, that resulted in the spread of sensitive tribal government information that had been submitted to the Treasury to secure the coronavirus relief funds. Using the leaked submitted data, Indianz.com, an outlet owned by Ho-Chunk, Inc., a corporation operated by Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska, reported on Friday that dozens of ANCs, including Sweeney’s former employer, all requested funding relief through the Treasury’s portal, which closed submissions at midnight on Friday. In total, Indianz.com reported that 294 tribes from the Lower 48 put in requests, compared to 358 entities from Alaska. (For reference, the National Congress of American Indians’ latest count records 229 Alaska Native nations compared to 345 in the Lower 48.) They tagged these findings “#CorporateCashGrab” and “#RobberyInBroadDaylight.”


newrepublic--2020-04-22--He Was Wrongly Imprisoned for 25 Years. It Wasn’t DNA Evidence That Got Him Out.

Ward grinned at his final hearing that month in a downtown courtroom , blocks away from 1300 Beaubien .
Now 44 years old , his hair was largely gray ; he laughingly vowed later to dye it , saying that at least his appearance could get some years back .
Ward ’ s sisters , brother , and niece sat together on a wooden bench that looked like a church pew .
Willie Ward , who had been 10 years old when his brother was arrested , had a white plastic bag by his side with new clothes inside : @ @ @ @ @ @ @ sport coat .
Later , when the family gathered for lunch at a pizza place in Detroit ’ s Greektown , Ward ’ s niece would snip off the tags from the sleeve of his jewel-toned jacket .
In court , Valerie Newman , the CIU director , said that prosecutors felt confident about the identity of the true perpetrator of the crimes , but that he had died in 2004 .
Ward had a chance to speak to the court , too .
“ I can truly say the scales of justice @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , ” Ward said , reading from a handwritten statement .
“ So thank you.
” “ So many people are innocent.… I hope their pleas are heard as well , ” he added .
More than 700 requests are before the Wayne County CIU , according to prosecutor Kym Worthy .
She said she is working toward doubling the size of the CIU ’ s staff .
Meanwhile , Ward has dreams .
He wants to open a restaurant called Ramon ’ s Grill & Steak , with “ everything organic.
” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ : He heard it ’ s good .
He ’ s entertained the idea of a Netflix miniseries about his life and has opened a GoFundMe page to help him get on his feet .
He also wants to set up a nonprofit dog rescue that helps pit bulls , which he loves because “ they ’ re loyal , they protect us.
” When it comes to making amends for the worst excesses of the era of peak mass incarceration , Ward ’ s exoneration is just the beginning .
Fifty-nine percent @ @ @ @ @ @ @ or false accusations , according to the National Registry of Exonerations .
These were mostly murder cases , mostly accusing black men .
Fifty-four percent involved official misconduct .
The illegal tactics of Detroit ’ s police department put it under federal oversight from 2003 to 2016 .
Monica Childs , the Squad 7 officer who questioned Ward at 1300 Beaubien , became a whistleblower on the use of informants .
One of the officers who approached a judge to advocate for Joe Twilley ’ s reduced sentence later went to prison for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ teenager who was exonerated in 2016 for a quadruple murder he did not commit .
Twilley himself got caught on drug charges .
He absconded from probation in 2007 .
When asked if Ward ’ s exoneration will have an impact on the 20 or so convictions that relied on his testimony , Valerie Newman , the CIU director , said that each case is considered on its own terms .
Smietanka said that his next steps for Ward are to apply for Michigan ’ s compensation fund for exonerees ( $ 50,000 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ file a 1983 action arguing that Ward ’ s civil rights were violated—a “ vehicle to get to the root of the problem ” that put him in prison in the first place .
As for Ward himself , “ I would like an apology , ” he said , as he waited for his deep-dish pizza , his first meal outside prison in a quarter-century .
“ If not—I ’ m free .
”

The illegal tactics of Detroit’s police department put it under federal oversight from 2003 to 2016. Monica Childs, the Squad 7 officer who questioned Ward at 1300 Beaubien, became a whistleblower on the use of informants.
One of the officers who approached a judge to advocate for Joe Twilley’s reduced sentence later went to prison for perjury in the case of a Detroit teenager who was exonerated in 2016 for a quadruple murder he did not commit.
Twilley himself got caught on drug charges. He absconded from probation in 2007. When asked if Ward’s exoneration will have an impact on the 20 or so convictions that relied on his testimony, Valerie Newman, the CIU director, said that each case is considered on its own terms.
Smietanka said that his next steps for Ward are to apply for Michigan’s compensation fund for exonerees ($50,000 for each year in prison) and file a 1983 action arguing that Ward’s civil rights were violated—a “vehicle to get to the root of the problem” that put him in prison in the first place.
As for Ward himself, “I would like an apology,” he said, as he waited for his deep-dish pizza, his first meal outside prison in a quarter-century. “If not—I’m free.”


newrepublic--2020-04-22--The Media’s Coronavirus Coverage Has Exposed its Working-Class Ignorance

I ’ m not sick , nor is anyone in my household sick .
I do not have children or care for someone who can not care for themselves .
However , I ’ m afraid of getting coronavirus from customers coming to the store , so I quit and filed for unemployment .
[ ... ] Under the CARES Act , you may be eligible for benefits if you meet one of the circumstances listed in the Act , but none include the scenario described .
This is the exact scenario described by the NPR piece , but the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ outline these rules .
In general , the DOL says , workers are eligible for unemployment insurance “ due to concerns about exposure to the coronavirus only if you have been advised by a healthcare provider to self-quarantine as a result of such concerns.
” ( It is very hard to square the general guidance from the government that we should avoid going out unnecessarily , even to the grocery store , with the law stating that those stores ’ employees can ’ t consider themselves at risk until a doctor has told @ @ @ @ @ @ @ be an interesting story if workers were able to make more money by quitting their poorly-paying jobs , but you could not reasonably frame that piece as a sad tale of a business closing , an upset boss wishing she could keep her employees , and an implied workforce of lazy , greedy baristas .
If you wanted to cover the story fairly , you would have to give equal weight to how utterly incredible it is to be able to sit at home and get paid to do nothing—unless you take it @ @ @ @ @ @ @ principle that it is better for people to work than not .
Besides this , the article did not interview any of the former employees to ask them about their boss ’ s telling of the situation—whether they were actually able to quit their jobs and still receive unemployment benefits , and whether they ’ re making more now than they were before .
The piece not only repeated the boss ’ unvetted claims about her employees , but framed the entire article around them .
It ’ s quite possible the real @ @ @ @ @ @ @ been underpaying her workers for quite some time .
An article in The New York Times on Trump ’ s late-night declaration that he would sign an executive order to “ temporarily suspend immigration into the United States ” —immigration that , The Wall Street Journal noted , has already been dramatically limited by the coronavirus pandemic—also missed the mark in a similar way .
The article reported , as an assertion of fact with no particular supporting details or evidence , that Trump ’ s “ primary focus appears to be on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that this is a man who barely has the capacity to “ focus ” on anything , let alone maintain both a primary and secondary area of attention . )
The notion that Trump ’ s declaration was about “ protecting American workers ” is not a factual statement , borne out by evidence .
Elsewhere , in fact , it was reported that the Department of Homeland Security was “ still drafting the executive order ” and allowing for the possibility that it would include “ an exemption for temporary guest workers @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” The Times would eventually catch up and report that the president had “ backed off plans to also halt guest worker programs that bring farm laborers , high-tech employees and others to the United States using special visas.
” This would be an odd thing to do if you really sought to “ protect ” American jobs from immigrant labor , or even if that was what you wanted to signal , in terms of political optics .
But The Times will have it both ways : Trump ’ s order will @ @ @ @ @ @ @ unless it doesn ’ t .

It would be an interesting story if workers were able to make more money by quitting their poorly paying jobs, but you could not reasonably frame that piece as a sad tale of a business closing, an upset boss wishing she could keep her employees, and an implied workforce of lazy, greedy baristas. If you wanted to cover the story fairly, you would have to give equal weight to how utterly incredible it is to be able to sit at home and get paid to do nothing—unless you take it as a matter of objective, self-evident principle that it is better for people to work than not. Besides this, the article did not interview any of the former employees to ask them about their boss’s telling of the situation—whether they were actually able to quit their jobs and still receive unemployment benefits, and whether they’re making more now than they were before. The piece not only repeated the boss’s unvetted claims about her employees but framed the entire article around them. It’s quite possible the real story here is that Sky Marietta has been underpaying her workers for quite some time.
An article in The New York Times on Trump’s late-night declaration that he would sign an executive order to “temporarily suspend immigration into the United States”—immigration that, The Wall Street Journal noted, has already been dramatically limited by the coronavirus pandemic—also missed the mark in a similar way. The article reported, as an assertion of fact with no particular supporting details or evidence, that Trump’s “primary focus appears to be on protecting American workers.” (Never mind that this is a man who barely has the capacity to “focus” on anything, let alone maintain both a primary and secondary area of attention.) The notion that Trump’s declaration was about “protecting American workers” is not a factual statement, borne out by evidence.
The Times will have it both ways: Trump’s order will definitely “protect American workers,” unless it doesn’t.
Elsewhere, in fact, it was reported that the Department of Homeland Security was “still drafting the executive order” and allowing for the possibility that it would include “an exemption for temporary guest workers, including those who work on farms.” The Times would eventually catch up and report that the president had “backed off plans to also halt guest worker programs that bring farm laborers, high-tech employees and others to the United States using special visas.” This would be an odd thing to do if you really sought to “protect” American jobs from immigrant labor, or even if that was what you wanted to signal, in terms of political optics. But the Times will have it both ways: Trump’s order will definitely “protect American workers,” unless it doesn’t.


newrepublic--2020-04-22--Keep Calm and Carry On—Right Into a
Pandemic

For the past few weeks , it has sometimes felt as if Britain is being governed less by a team of politicians than by a slogan : “ Stay home .
Protect the NHS .
Save Lives.
” This mantra , adopted with the nationwide lockdown on March 23 to combat the spread of the coronavirus , is now everywhere—online , on the streets , in the papers .
It is repeated by politicians like an incantation , the behavior of an entire society brought under its spell .
Like Prime Minister Boris Johnson ’ s winning “ Get Brexit @ @ @ @ @ @ @ election , these words are now imprinted upon society ’ s subconscious .
Now , as then , the message discipline from Conservatives—in stark contrast to the initial , bumbling response to the outbreak—is overseen by Isaac Levido and Ben Guerin , the same strategists who pioneered Johnson ’ s election win .
Their return to Johnson ’ s team on March 23 was proof that the Conservatives were , once again , in campaign mode .
But as the fatal costs of the government ’ s early response are laid bare , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ saving lives or saving face isn ’ t always clear .
The criticism aimed at the Conservatives crystallizes in a single question : Britain had a head start on its European neighbors to cope with the crisis—the outbreak arrived on its shores later than in Italy , Spain , Germany , or France—so why is it forecast to be one of the worst-affected countries of the continent ?
As of April 21 , over 16,000 people have officially died of the coronavirus in the U.K. , although new figures released by the Office @ @ @ @ @ @ @ figure could be as much as 40 percent higher .
Even the lower figure is at twice the rate per 100,000 people , for example , as that in Britain ’ s island companion , Ireland .
Critics of that comparison point out that Britain is much more densely populated than Ireland .
But that is all the more reason why the British should have acted more quickly .
Instead , while large-scale events were being called off by the Irish government in early March , in the U.K. they were going ahead @ @ @ @ @ @ @

For the past few weeks, it has sometimes felt as if Britain is being governed less by a team of politicians than by a slogan: “Stay home. Protect the NHS. Save Lives.” This mantra, adopted with the nationwide lockdown on March 23 to combat the spread of the coronavirus, is now everywhere—online, on the streets, in the papers. It is repeated by politicians like an incantation, the behavior of an entire society brought under its spell.
Like Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s winning “Get Brexit Done” slogan in the December 2019 election, these words are now imprinted upon society’s subconscious. Now, as then, the message discipline from Conservatives—in stark contrast to the initial, bumbling response to the outbreak—is overseen by Isaac Levido and Ben Guerin, the same strategists who pioneered Johnson’s election win. Their return to Johnson’s team on March 23 was proof that the Conservatives were, once again, in campaign mode. But as the fatal costs of the government’s early response are laid bare, whether the priority of this campaign is saving lives or saving face isn’t always clear.


newrepublic--2020-04-22--Generational Warfare in a Pandemic

Generational Warfare in a Pandemic

If you graduated college or high school at the nadir of the Great Recession and then had to cobble together a living in a decimated job market with ruinous amounts of student debt , odds are good that you ’ ve been objectively screwed yet again by a fresh economic crisis brought on by the coronavirus pandemic .
“ Millennials now are facing the second once-in-a-lifetime downturn of their short careers , ” The Atlantic ’ s Annie Lowrey wrote last week .
“ The first one put them on a worse lifetime-earnings trajectory and blocked them out of the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ their paychecks just as they enter their peak-earnings years.
” So far , it ’ s been a massive hit to take : A recent report from Data for Progress found that 52 percent of voters under the age of 45 had “ lost their job , been placed on leave , or had hours cut ” because of the pandemic , compared to only 26 percent of people over 45 .
It was another reminder that despite the universalist rhetoric being used in some circles to describe the pandemic , it is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Yet , despite the mounting evidence that millennials are in for another major life setback , politicians and commentators made this same group a target for contempt in the early days of the outbreak .
“ Time for millennials on spring break to grow up , ” Republican congressman Pete King scolded in March .
“ Stop swarming beaches and bars and spreading Coronavirus .
Forget your selfishness .
Show some responsibility like previous generations made America greatest nation on earth [ sic ] .
” Beyond the fact that the youngest @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and the oldest fast approaching 40 ) , King ’ s attack was a generation-war distraction from the more pressing problem of governors like Florida ’ s Ron DeSantis refusing to close beaches as the virus rapidly spread .
Others , too , latched onto the idea of millennials ( and not , say , federal and state governments ) as somehow uniquely indifferent to the pandemic .
“ One of the things that terrifies me now is , as this is spread in the west is , there ’ s this sense @ @ @ @ @ @ @ World Health Organization official told Time .
The irony , at least according to a few accounts , is that Baby Boomers around the country have been actively flouting social distancing guidelines .
They ’ re also , on the whole , better equipped financially to face a new downturn : Boomers are the generation that currently owns the bulk of the country ’ s wealth , and they count among their members most of the policymakers that set the stage for the current disaster through decades of free-market policies and various austerity @ @ @ @ @ @ @ has thrown into sharp relief so many of our society ’ s existing fault lines , it ’ s also exposed the limits of generational warfare .
In the face of a pandemic and looming recession , it ’ s basically become a one-sided , though mutually assured , death pact .
Shutdown orders across the nation prompted a flurry of half-joking speculation that Generation X , a cluster of former latchkey kids raised on pop culture that plumbed social alienation , was uniquely prepared to weather quarantining at home .
But , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Monday , members of Generation X—the last generation for whom a college degree paid off as an investment—are also now members of a “ sandwich generation ” squeezed from multiple sides .
In a pandemic , and particularly for women , that means caring for both children and aging parents , the former of which are still required to keep up with classes , and latter of which are at heightened risk for contracting the virus .
“ It ’ s now on Gen X women to keep their parents from dying while @ @ @ @ @ @ @ working from home or dealing with a job loss and profound financial insecurity , and no social network aside from what we can cobble together online , ” Calhoun said .
“ It ’ s a perfect storm of pressure .
”

If you graduated college or high school at the nadir of the Great Recession and then had to cobble together a living in a decimated job market with ruinous amounts of student debt, odds are good that you’ve been objectively screwed yet again by a fresh economic crisis brought on by the coronavirus pandemic. “Millennials now are facing the second once-in-a-lifetime downturn of their short careers,” The Atlantic’s Annie Lowrey wrote last week. “The first one put them on a worse lifetime-earnings trajectory and blocked them out of the asset market. The second is sapping their paychecks just as they enter their peak-earnings years.” So far, it’s been a massive hit to take: A recent report from Data for Progress found that 52 percent of voters under the age of 45 had “lost their job, been placed on leave, or had hours cut” because of the pandemic, compared to only 26 percent of people over 45. It was another reminder that despite the universalist rhetoric being used in some circles to describe the pandemic, it is a highly political and unevenly distributed crisis.
Yet, despite the mounting evidence that millennials are in for another major life setback, politicians and commentators made this same group a target for contempt in the early days of the outbreak. “Time for millennials on spring break to grow up,” Republican Congressman Pete King scolded in March. “Stop swarming beaches and bars and spreading Coronavirus. Forget your selfishness. Show some responsibility like previous generations made America greatest nation on earth [sic].” Beyond the fact that the youngest millennials are now in their mid-20s (and the oldest fast approaching 40), King’s attack was a generation-war distraction from the more pressing problem of governors like Florida’s Ron DeSantis refusing to close beaches as the virus rapidly spread. Others, too, latched on to the idea of millennials (and not, say, federal and state governments) as somehow uniquely indifferent to the pandemic. “One of the things that terrifies me now is, as this is spread in the west is, there’s this sense of invulnerability among millennials,” a World Health Organization official told Time.


newrepublic--2020-04-22--The World Order Is Broken. The Coronavirus Proves It.

Some initial steps have been taken to stop the bleeding .
The G20 nations last week committed to a temporary moratorium on $ 20 billion worth of private and bilateral debt .
With the group ’ s backing , the IMF and World Bank then announced that 77 of the world ’ s poorest countries would be eligible for a debt suspension from May 1 through the end of the year , with no clear next steps yet for the larger group of indebted nations .
The IMF pledged around $ 215 million in grants to cover an initial list @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the next six months and potentially up to two years ; it has also encouraged countries to spend as much as is needed to deal with the crisis .
And the IMF and World Bank have begun dispatching aid , with the former announcing it will issue $ 132 million worth of “ pandemic bonds ” over the weekend .
These policies , however , are operating on the assumption that things will bounce back to normal after this pandemic passes—a mythical “ v-shaped ” recovery , about which there are plenty of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ our warming climate , we can expect more destructive shocks to the system coming in the not-too-distant future ; if normal was bad for low-income countries before , it won ’ t get better as seas rise .
The current IMF and World Bank coronavirus response amounts to kicking the can of unsustainable debt burdens down a road filled with ever-more-expensive crises .
The international financial system was due for a reckoning before the coronavirus hit .
Its job now is to ensure there ’ s one capable of being salvaged on the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ shutdowns .
As poor countries know all too well , not all debts are created equal .
In the name of keeping the financial system afloat , the Federal Reserve has extended a gigantic helping hand to overleveraged corporations that have lived large on cheap debt furnished by low interest rates and quantitative easing enacted after the last crash .
Indebted economies in the global south , meanwhile , have so far received only temporary relief that could lead to more suffering down the line .
Because of the superabundance of dollar-dominated debt @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s the world ’ s reserve currency ) , the Fed holds powerful sway over the functioning of the global economy .
In dollarized economies like Ecuador , it has virtually total control over monetary policy .
Elsewhere , however , the Fed chooses when to extend so-called “ swap lines ” to other central banks , exchanging lines of credit in respective currencies with the goal of making dollars less scarce ; while the list of central banks who enjoy a credit line with the Fed has been expanded of late , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Mexico and Brazil—still haven ’ t made the cut .
Critics say much bolder action is needed to prevent outright economic catastrophe in the so-called developing world , especially from multilateral institutions .
This crisis in particular highlights the need to develop an international financial system that ’ s fit for the twenty-first century .
The kind of World Bank and IMF structural adjustment packages imposed since the 1970s have pushed lean public budgets , encouraging states to privatize key public services like health care in the name of servicing their debts .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ high , from institutions largely controlled by the world ’ s wealthiest nations , also stand at cross-purposes with tackling public health crises .
A World Bank–negotiated public-private partnership in Lesotho ( GDP $ 2.7 billion ) in 2011 to modernize the tiny country ’ s health care system committed its Ministry of Health to a $ 32.6 million-a-year , 18-year contract with Netcare , the largest private hospital operator in the U.K. and South Africa .
It cost $ 100 million just to build .
Just 4 percent of costs for the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the rest falling on the Lesotho government and the Government Development Bank of South Africa .
“ The cost of the new hospital is depriving the entire health system , ” one local administrator complained .
Of 121 low- and middle-income countries whose finances were analyzed by the Jubilee Debt Campaign , 64 spent public money servicing debts rather than on their health care systems .

ActionAid and APMDD are two of more than 200 organizations from around the world to have signed onto a letter from the U.K.-based Jubilee Debt Campaign calling to cancel debt principals, interest, and charges through the rest of 2020. For many, massive write-downs and restructurings remain the ultimate goal. The letter also calls for all IMF and World Bank aid offered during that time to come in the form of grants—not loans that will only heap more debt onto countries’ plates. Several current and former heads of state in Latin America are urging a two-year moratorium on government debt owed to private creditors there with no interest. There are more tools at the IMF’s disposal, too. UNCTAD and economist Jayati Ghosh are among several experts and campaigners who have called for the IMF to issue trillions of special drawing rights, or SDRs—essentially an IMF reserve currency that was deployed in 2009 as a lifeline to low- and middle-income economies struggling through the last downturn. Centrist leaders Angela Merkel and Emmanuel Macron have also backed an SDR extension. It hasn’t happened, thanks partly to the Trump administration’s objections.
Larger structural changes are needed, though, especially as we progress through a climate crisis. The Bretton Woods institutions, including the IMF and World Bank, were initially designed as a means to start moving away from a gold standard whose built-in scarcity ethic was credited with fueling first deflation and then fascism in Europe. John Maynard Keynes, notably, proposed an International Currency Union to be run on a new currency called the bancor, meant to facilitate easy trading and price stability without handing inordinate power to a single country’s central bank. Instead, the U.S. steamrollered over the idea, and its dollar became the world’s reserve currency. Today some 60 percent of all central bank reserves are held in U.S. dollars, and the Federal Reserve can turn the spigot of dollars on and off. Reformers who want to remake Bretton Woods institutions have repeatedly called for rethinking the centrality of dollars in the financial system, crafted as it was around America’s desire to secure geopolitical supremacy over the Soviet Union. “De-dollarization” has been a key demand of reformers looking to democratize the global economy. Adding more SDRs into the mix to help handle Covid-19, David Adler and Andres Arauz argued last month in The Nation, “could make the international monetary system much more resilient. Emergency funds would depend less on an unjust unilateral mechanism such as Federal Reserve swaps.… And it would give the IMF a role of fostering pro-poor global economic growth rather than imposing austerity.”
Trump’s announcement last week that the U.S. would stop funding the World Health Organization sent shock waves through the U.S. press, but it’s not exactly unique. The president has also pulled funding from the Green Climate Fund, the body set up by the U.N. to collect and allocate payments for climate mitigation and adaptation. Even when it was a member, the U.S. under Obama committed just $3 billion to the GCF; adaptation alone should cost $180 billion per year between 2020 and 2030, according to the Global Commission on Adaptation. In the case of both the WHO and the GCF, the biggest losers from such cuts aren’t the U.S. or China—whose geopolitical feud was cited for Trump’s WHO withdrawal and frequently features in conservative talking points against international climate cooperation—but rather smaller and lower-income countries. But prior administrations’ business-as-usual approach to international relations—when sovereign debt was already mounting, with multilateral institutions as undemocratic and out of touch with climate reality as ever—haven’t been much of a salve to global inequality either. Power imbalances in the global financial architecture run deep and won’t be righted without a fight.


newrepublic--2020-04-22--The Media’s Coronavirus Coverage Exposes Its Ignorance About the Working Class

I ’ m not sick , nor is anyone in my household sick .
I do not have children or care for someone who can not care for themselves .
However , I ’ m afraid of getting coronavirus from customers coming to the store , so I quit and filed for unemployment.… Under the CARES Act , you may be eligible for benefits if you meet one of the circumstances listed in the Act , but none include the scenario described .
This is the exact scenario described by the NPR piece , but the segment made no effort @ @ @ @ @ @ @ In general , the Labor Department says , workers are eligible for unemployment insurance “ due to concerns about exposure to the coronavirus only if you have been advised by a healthcare provider to self-quarantine as a result of such concerns.
” ( It is very hard to square the general guidance from the government that we should avoid going out unnecessarily , even to the grocery store , with the law stating that those stores ’ employees can ’ t consider themselves at risk until a doctor has told them they are @ @ @ @ @ @ @ story if workers were able to make more money by quitting their poorly paying jobs , but you could not reasonably frame that piece as a sad tale of a business closing , an upset boss wishing she could keep her employees , and an implied workforce of lazy , greedy baristas .
If you wanted to cover the story fairly , you would have to give equal weight to how utterly incredible it is to be able to sit at home and get paid to do nothing—unless you take it as a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ it is better for people to work than not .
Besides this , the article did not interview any of the former employees to ask them about their boss ’ s telling of the situation—whether they were actually able to quit their jobs and still receive unemployment benefits , and whether they ’ re making more now than they were before .
The piece not only repeated the boss ’ s unvetted claims about her employees but framed the entire article around them .
It ’ s quite possible the real story here @ @ @ @ @ @ @ her workers for quite some time .
An article in The New York Times on Trump ’ s late-night declaration that he would sign an executive order to “ temporarily suspend immigration into the United States ” —immigration that , The Wall Street Journal noted , has already been dramatically limited by the coronavirus pandemic—also missed the mark in a similar way .
The article reported , as an assertion of fact with no particular supporting details or evidence , that Trump ’ s “ primary focus appears to be on protecting American @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is a man who barely has the capacity to “ focus ” on anything , let alone maintain both a primary and secondary area of attention . )
The notion that Trump ’ s declaration was about “ protecting American workers ” is not a factual statement , borne out by evidence .
Elsewhere , in fact , it was reported that the Department of Homeland Security was “ still drafting the executive order ” and allowing for the possibility that it would include “ an exemption for temporary guest workers , including @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Times would eventually catch up and report that the president had “ backed off plans to also halt guest worker programs that bring farm laborers , high-tech employees and others to the United States using special visas.
” This would be an odd thing to do if you really sought to “ protect ” American jobs from immigrant labor , or even if that was what you wanted to signal , in terms of political optics .
But the Times will have it both ways : Trump ’ s order will definitely “ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ doesn ’ t .


The Polarization Problem

Political polarization is something liberals have grown fond of naming as an obvious societal ill. And it is bad—but does it need to get worse before it can get better ?
On Episode 6 of The Politics of Everything , hosts Laura Marsh and Alex Pareene talk to Osita Nwanevu , a staff writer at The New Republic , about the history of polarization , its role in politics today , and what gets lost when you to try to find the sources of political division in evolutionary psychology , as Ezra Klein does in his recent book , Why @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the show , campaign reporter Walter Shapiro describes how newspapers buried or outright ignored the 1918 Spanish flu , and how , in an unnerving parallel to this moment , the shoddy media coverage encouraged state and local governments to do as little as possible about that long ago pandemic .
• “ Bipartisanship has become a both particularly sacred and particularly destructive part of the American civil religion , ” Osita Nwanevu argues in “ End the GOP.
” It is “ a hollow and superficial virtue promoted by political elites responsible @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the two parties have crafted together over the past 30 years .
”

Political polarization is something liberals have grown fond of naming as an obvious societal ill. And it is bad—but does it need to get worse before it can get better? On Episode 6 of The Politics of Everything, hosts Laura Marsh and Alex Pareene talk to Osita Nwanevu, a staff writer at The New Republic, about the history of polarization, its role in politics today, and what gets lost when you to try to find the sources of political division in evolutionary psychology, as Ezra Klein does in his recent book, Why We’re Polarized.
Later in the show, campaign reporter Walter Shapiro describes how newspapers buried or outright ignored the 1918 Spanish flu, and how, in an unnerving parallel to this moment, the shoddy media coverage encouraged state and local governments to do as little as possible about that long ago pandemic.


newrepublic--2020-04-23--Leaving No Others Behind This Ramadan

Leaving No Others Behind This Ramadan

In 1999 , speaking at a party for recently released political prisoners , community organizer and former Black Panther Safiya Bukhari reflected on the ambivalent nature of the occasion .
It was a celebration , but also a kind of mourning .
“ Every time a freedom fighter comes home , it ’ s like a part of us is out there again , it ’ s like a ray of hope for everybody else , ” she said .
“ But when you leave , and you leave those others behind , it ’ s like you leave part @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Bukhari told it , liberation was a project for the collective .
No one gets there alone .
Zakat , an annual tax on wealth that is one of the five pillars of Islam , is a foundation of that tradition .
There are eight uses for it , including helping the poor , and throughout the month of Ramadan Muslims contribute to zakat eligible charities and fundraisers .
But the Qur ’ an also specifies one use as to “ free the captives [ or slaves ] .
” Taking up this @ @ @ @ @ @ @ blog documenting and archiving the Black Muslim experience in the U.S. , launched Believers Bail Out ( BBO ) in partnership with MPower Change , Sirat Chicago , and the Chicago Community Bond Fund .
At the time , founder Dr. Su ’ ad Abdul Khabeer told The Chicago Tribune , “ Bail out is the tactic , it ’ s not the endgame .
The endgame is to get rid of money bonds and mass incarceration.
” During its first Ramadan , BBO raised $ 153,000 from Muslims worldwide and helped free @ @ @ @ @ @ @ years since , BBO has raised over $ 250,000 in zakat and sadaqah funds to bail Muslims out of jail or immigrant detention facilities .
Of those funds , $ 189,000 have been used to free twenty-one people .

In 1999, speaking at a party for recently released political prisoners, community organizer and former Black Panther Safiya Bukhari reflected on the ambivalent nature of the occasion. It was a celebration, but also a kind of mourning. “Every time a freedom fighter comes home, it’s like a part of us is out there again, it’s like a ray of hope for everybody else,” she said. “But when you leave, and you leave those others behind, it’s like you leave part of you inside the institution.” As Bukhari told it, liberation was a project for the collective. No one gets there alone.
Zakat, an annual tax on wealth that is one of the five pillars of Islam, is a foundation of that tradition. There are eight uses for it, including helping the poor, and throughout the month of Ramadan Muslims contribute to zakat-eligible charities and fundraisers. But the Quran also specifies one use as to “free the captives [or slaves].”