Search Results for: BID

Embracing Tyranny: Why White people support autocrats in order to protect their privilege

Male White Supremacy is real and white suppression of minorities, particularly Black and Brown people along with gender minorities and women, absolutely permeates every aspect of our society, from business to culture to governance. Without setting aside that reality, it’s useful to examine why so many white people, with their built-in white privilege, would stand shoulder-to-shoulder with wannabe dictators like Trump, Abbott, and DeSantis. All over social media people are asking, “Why would anybody embrace fascism? Why would they be willing to overthrow a functioning democratic republic?” And why now, instead of forty or more years ago? The answer...

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Underage Exploitation: Federal government urges U.S. meat companies to comply with child labor laws

The Biden administration is urging U.S. meat processors to make sure children are not being illegally hired to perform dangerous jobs at their plants. The call comes after an investigation found more than 100 kids working overnight for a company that cleans slaughterhouses, handling dangerous equipment like skull splitters and razor-sharp bone saws. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack sent a letter in mid-April to the 18 largest meat and poultry producers urging them to examine the hiring practices at their companies and suppliers. The letter is part of a broader effort by the administration to crack down on the use...

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Foreign policy for the middle class: Jake Sullivan outlines a different vision of economic leadership

“And that is the core of our economic approach. To build. To build capacity, to build resilience, to build inclusiveness, at home and with partners abroad. The capacity to produce and innovate, and to deliver public goods like strong physical and digital infrastructure and clean energy at scale. The resilience to withstand natural disasters and geopolitical shocks. And the inclusiveness to ensure a strong, vibrant American middle class and greater opportunity for working people around the world. All of that is part of what we have called a foreign policy for the middle class.” – Jake Sullivan, National Security...

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A Big Grift: The emblematic schemes at the core of the Republican strategy for governance

Nobody ever accused Republicans of not knowing how to make a buck or BS-ing somebody into voting for them. Lying to people for economic or political gain is the very definition of a grift. Whenever there is another mass-shooting or school-shooting, Republican politicians hustle out fundraising emails about how “Democrats are coming to take your guns!” The result is a measurable and profitable spike in gun sales after every new slaughter of our families and children, followed by a fresh burst of campaign cash to GOP lawmakers. But the GOP’s ability to exploit any opportunity that comes along, regardless...

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Mass killings in 2023: Replay of the near-weekly horror loop this year blamed on gun proliferation

The U.S. is setting a record pace for mass killings in 2023, replaying the horror on a loop roughly once a week so far this year. The carnage has taken 88 lives in 17 mass killings over 111 days. Each time, the killers wielded firearms. Only 2009 was marked by as many such tragedies in the same period of time. Children at a Nashville grade school, gunned down on an ordinary Monday. Farmworkers in Northern California, sprayed with bullets over a workplace grudge. Dancers at a ballroom outside Los Angeles, massacred as they celebrated the Lunar New Year. In...

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A radicalized Castle Doctrine: Ringing a doorbell should not justify a “stand your ground” shooting

Andrew Lester had already gone to bed when the doorbell rang a little before 10:00 p.m. He got up, grabbed a gun and went to check it out. Seeing a Black male appearing to pull the handle of the front door, police say the 84-year-old White man opened fire. No questions asked. Lester told police he believed someone was attempting to break into his house. That belief, though wrong, could become a defense as Lester faces charges of first-degree assault and armed criminal action for shooting 16-year-old Ralph Yarl, an honor student who went to the wrong Kansas City...

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