In the News

Here is some stuff in the news today!

Moving the Race Conversation Forward—"a report by Race Forward: The Center for Racial Justice Innovation that aims to reshape and reform the way we talk about race and racism in our country."

[Content Note: War on agency] On the 41st Anniversary of Roe v. Wade, the GOP Is Doubling Down on Its Anti-Abortion Strategy: "Over the past year, the Republican Party has attempted to re-brand itself to appeal more to female voters. But at least some members of the party aren't prepared to soften their rhetoric on women's issues. At the Republican National Committee's annual meeting, which begins on Wednesday in Washington, a coalition of conservatives plans to present a resolution urging the GOP to take a more forceful stance against abortion." A more forceful stance?! Zoinks.

[CN: War on agency] US District Court Judge Catherine C. Eagles has "permanently blocked a 2011 North Carolina law that required abortion providers to perform an ultrasound and describe the images to the patient, even if the woman objected." Good. Eagles "ruled that the 'speech-and-display' provision of the law violated the First Amendment. State lawmakers had acknowledged that the ultrasound law was designed to persuade women not to obtain abortions. 'Requiring a physician or other health care provider to deliver the state's content-based, non-medical message in his or her own voice as if the message was his or her own constitutes compelled ideological speech and warrants the highest degree of First Amendment protection,' wrote Judge Eagles." Amazing.

[CN: Fire; death. Video begins playing automatically at link.] This story is heartbreaking for every reason: An 8-year-old boy died in a fire that engulfed his grandfather's trailer home, but before he died, trying to rescue his uncle, who had a physical disability, he saved six other people. RIP tiny little hero. Blub. (Also: I loathe the way that there can be a whole thing about the number of people living in the trailer without any explicit mention of the fact that the reason so many people were living in one trailer is poverty.)

[CN: Class warfare] The US Supreme Court is considering a case that "could threaten the constitutionality of public employee unions and undermine a long line of precedent. Justice Elena Kagan remarked: 'This is…a radical argument. It would radically restructure the way workplaces across this country are—are run.'" Lyle Denniston has more details about the case and its likely outcome at SCOTUSblog.

Speaking of radical decisions by the Supreme Court: How Citizens United Changed Politics, in 6 Charts. And "politics" doesn't even really begin to cover it. Citizens United has fundamentally changed our democratic process. Which wasn't exactly a paragon of voter parity in the first place.

[CN: Anti-feminism; clergy abuse] The Polish Catholic Church leadership "has declared war on 'gender theory,' saying it undermines the traditional family. ...The theory explores sexual orientation and the roles assigned by society to individuals based on their gender, but the Polish Church has borrowed the English word 'gender' to refer to a range of issues including contraception, abortion, and homosexuality." A wide range of issues that affect women, trans men, and gay/bi men. Neat! "Critics say that is a tactic to shift attention away from a paedophile priest scandal." I never would have guessed. By which I mean: That is totally predictable and not at all surprising, and also very gross and terrible.

Trigger the Cat saved her guardian's life by running for help. Blub.