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Daily Archive: 24/02/2019

Sunday

24

February 2019

1

COMMENTS

What I’m Reading – February 24, 2019

Written by , Posted in What I'm Reading

Politics

“But Feinstein was, in fact, demonstrating why climate change exemplifies an issue on which older people should listen to the young. Because—to put it bluntly—older generations will be dead before the worst of it hits. The kids whom Feinstein was talking to are going to be dealing with climate chaos for the rest of their lives, as any Californian who has lived through the past few years of drought, flood, and fire must recognize.” The Hard Lessons of Diane Feinstein’s Encounter With the Young Green New Deal Activists (By Bill McKibben for The New Yorker)

“According to some who have worked closely with Sanders over the years, “grumpy grandpa” doesn’t even begin to describe it. They characterize the senator as rude, short-tempered and, occasionally, downright hostile. Though Sanders has spent much of his life fighting for working Vermonters, they say he mistreats the people working for him. “As a supervisor, he was unbelievably abusive,” says one former campaign staffer, who claims to have endured frequent verbal assaults. The double standard was clear: “He did things that, if he found out that another supervisor was doing in a workplace, he would go after them. You can’t treat employees that way.”” Anger Management: Sanders Fights for Employees, Except His Own (by Paul Heintz for Seven Days)

“As three Conservative MPs quit their party to join the new Independent Group of MPs, I wondered if, among the reasons for their departure, any would make reference to the Islamophobia that has become so rampant within their party. Many of those who joined the new group from the Labour party had made reference to antisemitism as one of the reasons for choosing to leave, so I wondered if anti Muslim bigotry would also be treated as an equally abhorrent form of hatred, meaning none of the MPs could bare remaining in the party. Antisemitism and Islamophobia are both equally reprehensible forms of hatred and both must be treated equally and tackled. It appears however that bigotry towards Muslims in the Conservative party doesn’t seem to be of much concern to many of its MPs, let alone a reason for wanting to leave.” Why doesn’t the media portray Islamophobia in the Conservative Party as a scandal? (Media Diversified)

Sexual Assault and Harassment

“Despite mountains of reporting — not nearly enough, mind you — and evidence, people found ways to disregard allegations as rumors, and cited his 2008 acquittal on child pornography charges as a reason to leave the matter be. The same community that knows how unfair and inadequate the criminal justice system can be will lean on it when someone they love has been legally exonerated. But now, finally, it feels like there is a sea change happening.” R. Kelly’s Time Is Finally Up (by Jamilah Lemieux for Huffington Post)

“In her op-ed, Watson points out the failure of the Virginia General Assembly to allow her the chance to testify. “Despite the professed belief of numerous elected officials in Virginia and elsewhere that Vanessa Tyson, who says that Fairfax sexually assaulted her in 2004, and I have brought forward credible allegations,” Watson wrote, “the Virginia General Assembly has not taken the simple and responsible step of arranging the thorough public hearing that we have sought.”” Justin Fairfax’s Second Accuser Reaffirms Offer to Testify in Public (by Ibn Safir for The Root)

“Last month, Skydance announced their hiring of John Lasseter to head their animation wing, a story that disappointed many, given Lasseter’s exit from Disney-Pixar over inappropriate behaviour towards female employees. Lasseter had also been accused of helping to foster a climate of sexism, intimidation and harassment, with women being shut out of meetings because Lasseter apparently couldn’t control himself around women. Any who questioned this hostile environment were branded ‘difficult’, demoted or even let go from the company, and the root of that toxicity goes all the way to up Lasseter’s management.” Emma Thompson Departs Skydance Animated Film After Hiring of John Lasseter (by Kayleigh Donaldson for Pajiba)

Health Care

“This could be devastating for many marginalized people in the country seeking health care. But it could be especially dangerous for LGBTQ people, who have fought hard to establish legal protections that would guard them against exactly these kinds of denials. When your very body and existence are considered objectionable, seeking health care at the best of times can be dangerous. “Trans and gender nonconforming people already face really severe discrimination in health-care settings,” said Bridget Schaaff, If/When/How’s reproductive justice federal policy fellow at the National LGBTQ Task Force. Rules like these “are going to make this even harder.”” The Trump Administration Is Trying to Make It Easier for Doctors to Deny Care to LGBTQ People (by s.e. smith for Rewire)

“Twenty-one states cover abortion under Medicaid in the cases allowed and use state funds to cover abortion in other cases, and 15 states cover abortion only in the circumstances allowed by Hyde, according to the GAO. The remaining 15 states violate federal law and do not cover some abortions in the cases allowed. The report found that states aren’t reporting when they’re using federal funding to cover abortions.” States Are Violating Medicaid Requirements by Refusing to Fund Some Abortions, Government Report Finds (by Josephine Yurcaba for Rewire)

Racism

“Some residents in the area have looked on the store as a stain on the community that should be razed and forgotten. Others have said it should be restored as a tribute to Emmett and a reminder of the hate that took his life. As the debate has played out over the decades, the store has continued to deteriorate and collapse, even amid frequent cultural and racial reckonings across the nation on the fate of Confederate monuments. At stake in Money and other communities across the country is the question of how Americans choose to acknowledge the country’s past.” Emmett Till’s Murder, and How America Remembers Its Darkest Moments (by Audra D. S. Burch, Veda Shastri, and Tim Chafee for The New York Times)

“In practice, the guidelines give legal recourse to individuals who have been harassed, threatened, punished, demoted or fired because of the texture or style of their hair. The city commission can levy penalties up to $250,000 on defendants that are found in violation of the guidelines and there is no cap on damages. The commission can also force internal policy changes and rehirings at offending institutions. The move was prompted in part by investigations after complaints from workers at two Bronx businesses — a medical facility in Morris Park and a nonprofit in Morrisania — as well as workers at an Upper East Side hair salon and a restaurant in the Howard Beach section of Queens. (The new guidelines do not interfere with health and safety reasons for wearing hair up or in a net, as long as the rules apply to everyone.)” New York City to Ban Discrimination Based on Hair (by Stacey Stowe for The New York Times)

“In it, Sutton argues the KKK could put Washington, D.C., on the right track through heinous, violent acts. “They do not understand how to eliminate expenses when money is needed in other areas,” he wrote. “This socialist-communist ideology sounds good to the ignorant, the uneducated, and the simple-minded people.” Sutton doesn’t back down from his garish criticism. Instead, he doubles down calling socialists/communists un-American. “If we could get the Klan to go up there and clean out D.C., we’d all been better off,” Sutton told the Advertiser.” Alabama Newspaper Editor Calls For The Return Of The KKK To ‘Clean Up’ Washington D.C. (by Ricky Riley for Blavity)

Criminal Punishment System

“In one sense, Ginsburg’s opinion is sweeping—it finally opens the federal courthouse door to victims of civil asset forfeiture, like Timbs, who believe they’ve been wronged. But Wednesday’s decision leaves some questions unanswered. The court has already ruled that when the federal government seizes money or property, the fine must not be “grossly disproportional to the gravity of [the] offense.” Presumably, this same standard now applies to the states. But when is a forfeiture grossly disproportionate? Does Indiana’s seizure of Timbs’ Land Rover meet this standard? Ginsburg didn’t say, instead directing the Indiana Supreme Court to evaluate the question. Prepare for a flood of litigation urging federal courts to determine when civil asset forfeiture crosses this constitutional line.” The Supreme Court Just Struck a Huge, Unanimous Blow Against Policing for Profit (by Mark Joseph Stern for Slate)

Parenting

“But it’s not just overzealous mommy bloggers who construct a child’s online identity; plenty of average parents do the same. There’s even a portmanteau for it: sharenting. Almost a quarter of children begin their digital lives when parents upload their prenatal sonogram scans to the internet, according to a study conducted by the internet-security firm AVG. The study also found that 92 percent of toddlers under the age of 2 already have their own unique digital identity. “Parents now shape their children’s digital identity long before these young people open their first email. The disclosures parents make online are sure to follow their children into adulthood,” declares a report by the University of Florida Levin College of Law. “These parents act as both gatekeepers of their children’s personal information and as narrators of their children’s personal stories.”” When Kids Realize Their Whole Life Is Already Online (by Taylor Lorenz for The Atlantic)

Something Excellent

“Three decades since William S Preston Esquire (Winter) and Ted “Theodore” Logan (Keanu Reeves) first hatched their scheme to ace their history exam by bringing Napoleon and company to class, Bill and Ted remains a joyous anomaly. The humour is pathologically silly, the performances broader than one of the surf boards Reeves would subsequently pose beside in Point Break. And scenes in which Bill and Ted travel by phone-booth along the time-lines – rendered as CGI phone cables – are creaky even for a low-budget action-comedy in 1989.” ill and Ted’s Excellent Anniversary: How two guitar-wielding airheads conquered comedy 30 years ago (by Ed Power for The Independent)