Sun, 07 Aug 22 12:30:44 +0000

Opinion: What Started in Kansas Is Upending American Politics

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(CNN)In "The Wizard of Oz," a tornado turns Dorothy and her Kansas home into the "Merry Old of Oz." Blow to the ground. "Last weekwhat Politico called a 'political earthquake' in Kansas sent the national debate over abortion into a new phase with many unknowns.

For decades, the anti-abortion movement was dominated by the 1973 Supreme Court decision Roe v. I have worked to overturn the Wade case. But their longtime goal, finally met in June, might be a case of "be careful what you want." Kansas voted 59% to 41% in favor of rejecting an amendment to the state constitution that would eliminate abortion rights.

"This is a big win for abortion rights," writes Jill Filipovic. Most Americans believe that abortion is best left to a woman and her doctor.

But she added that this was a vote that should never have happened. "Fundamental rights -- and they cannot be more fundamental than sovereignty over one's own body -- should not be put to the vote, even if the side of justice is more likely to win. No,”argued Filipovic.

Contributing to Politico John F. Harris suggested that the Kansas vote, like other votes that may follow, could upset the legacy of Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito, who wrote the majority opinion. Flip the row over. He may go down in history as "justice who promoted a national consensus for abortion rights."

Tuesday's vote in Kansas "reflected polls showing a majority of people in favor of leaving Roe v. If the outlook is hypothetical, advocates of legal abortion suggest that they will do better,whereas abortion rights advocates are more likely to,” writes Harris.

Former Rep. It could energize college-educated suburban women: Imagine the hardships Republicans face in battleground states like Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin, if they can't win the abortion war in Kansas.

"The unpopularity of Lowe's decision, combined with Trump's stolen election obsession, mass shootings, and the rise of extreme candidates in the highly competitive Republican Party, has many other facets. (i.e., the economy), despite vulnerabilities in He accused Democrats of running ads in favor of radical, election-denying candidates in the Republican primary, hoping they could defeat the Republican primary. In Michigan, “brave freshman Rep. Peter Meyer voted to impeach Trump just days after taking office, but lost to John Gibbs, the candidate who refuses to vote. John Gibbs was a former employee of the Trump administration who was endorsed by the former president," Dent said. he wrote

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee spent more than $300,000 of Gibbs on ads promoting his "conservatism and loyalty to Trump," Dent wrote. "Many Democratic operatives must be laughing off their successful intervention in the Republican primary, but if Gibbs wins in November, self-righteousness may turn to deep regret.} " 51}

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Nancy Pelosi drops on

China launches missiles, jets fly into Taiwan's air defense identification zone, cancels talks with the United States on issues such as climate change and military relations. The reason is that US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited Taiwan, which China considers her home territory.

Pelosi's visit sparked apocalyptic warnings and enthusiastic headlines, but Taiwanese-American journalist Clarissa Wei said that the people of Taiwan were mostly upset. It says no. "The most frustrating thing about the reaction to Pelosi's visit is not the prophetic proclamation of impending doom, but the anticipation of fear and when people realize that not all of us are panicking in Taiwan. The light of unprecedented threat is a symptom of our ignorance of the facts before us."

"The threat from China is nothing new. For as long as anyone in my family can remember, they have been a part of my life, my parents' lives, and theirs' lives.In fact, Taiwan has been a threat to the People's Republic of China for nearly 70 years. The three Taiwan Strait crises are evidence of that."

Alex Jones

It ordered host Alex Jones to pay $49.3 million in compensation and penalties. Ten years ago Sandy paid damages to the parents of the children killed in the Hook School shooting. Jones' legal troubles are far from over: he's also facing two similar trials of his.

One of the parents, Scarlett Lewis, said her son said, ``Jessie was real. is inconceivable,” wrote Nicole Hemmer. that his son, who was murdered while he was in school, was actually alive, and that she was the woman who gave birth to him and raised him for the years he was alive. But here was Scarlett Lewis' testimony this week at a hearing to determine damages against conspiracy theorist and media personality Alex Jones. The conspiracy triggered years of harassment, with conspiracy theorists targeting his mourning parents, who had to hire security guards to protect themselves. From his interview with soon-to-be president Donald Trump to his role as organizer of the Jan. 6 riots, he is part of the right-wing power structure." Much of the party and the conservative movement sound more and more like Jones, with talk of false flags, crisis managers, and pedophile rings becoming mainstays of right-wing rhetoric, and President Trump calling Jones' Whileopened the door to mainstreaming, it is important to understand how ripe the Republican Party was for Alex Jonesification."

In Dallas, Conservative political action The conference warmly welcomed Hungary's autocratic Prime Minister Viktor Orban.

LGBTQ rights, etc.” Julian Zelizer observed.

"The illiberal and anti-democratic elements of Republican politics flared up during the Trump presidency, but they persist. Instead of weakening, it continues to grow stronger."

Rebellion on January 6, wins primary election. Attacking the 2020 election continues to be a unifying theme for the Republican Party. Even if some Republican voters are fed up with Trump, his rallying cry energizes many of them."

Terrorist leader killed

Then-President Barack Obama raided terrorist leader Osama bin Laden in US raid Eleven years after announcing that he had killed in a Some of the claims were exaggerated: when he turned bin Laden against regimes in the Middle East, he made one of bin Laden's most important strategic decisions: turning him against the United States and planning 9/11. and Zawahiri proved to be an incompetent leader when he took over al Qaeda more than a decade ago.''

He was not a charismatic al-Qaeda leader like bin Laden," he added. Instead, he had all the charisma of his boring uncle. Avoid sitting next to them at Thanksgiving dinner. ''

Guy Reffitt named it the longest sentence ever issued for riotists who participated in the attack on the US Capitol on January 6, 2021. He was sentenced to over seven years in prison. His FBI on Christmas Eve 2020.

"The Reffitts story is tragic, but not uncommon," said SE Cupp. Trumpism, as Guy was.

"Maybe it's the idiot who posted on Facebook about election fraud, spreading Trump's lie that the election was stolen.

“Maybe it is a father, mother, or brother who has fallen down the QAnon conspiracy rabbit hole and is no longer attached to reality.”

“Trump’s divisive The carnage of rhetoric, lies and conspiracy theories is immense.Trumpism is a powerful drug that even causes fathers to threaten their own children.

''{128By the way, this is all by design Thing. In order to keep his supporters frenzied, angry, and willing to do whatever he does, Trump has stoked fear and frustration in his base, stoking Americans. They pitted each other against each other, spread lies and conspiracy theories, and undermined our trust in our democratic institutions. I asked. Sadly, many of them did.

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Bill Russell and Nichelle Nichols

On and off the field, Bill Russell is the leader.On and off screen, Nichelle Nichols was an inspirational role model. Both died last weekend.

Peniel Joseph recalled Russell's contributions as an athlete and campaigner against racism. "Russell's defensive prowess, rebounding skills, and all-around leadership helped the Celtics win 11 titles in his 13 years," Joseph wrote. From his march on Washington in 1963 to his visit to Mississippi the same year civil rights leader Medgar Evers was assassinated, he was present at key moments of the movement.

Over the years, he has neither lost his willingness to speak out nor perceived racism as indifferent. In recent years, in the aftermath of the murder of George Floyd and the racial and political scrutiny that followed, he accused white Americans of not believing in the existence of systemic racism.

When "Star Trek" premiered in 1966, one of the cast members was "the cold, sultry, supremely self-centered Lieutenant Nyota Uhura, played by Nichelle Nichols." , was still a relative newcomer to television," recalls Gene Seymour. At a time when the civil rights movement was at its most successful, Nichols' role was symbolic. However, she was disheartened by her dialogue being cut from several episodes and was ready to move on to the Broadway stage. And if she hadn't met a die-hard "Trek" fan at her NAACP fundraiser in Hollywood, she would have left: Martin her Luther King enjoying watching her Junior Reverend "Trek", I cheered her on for playing a non-stereotypical black character. She thanked him, but she said she was leaving.

"'You can't and shouldn't. Presence, your character. Can't you see? This is not a black role, it is not a female role. For the first time, the world sees us as equals, as intelligent people, as we should be."

Nichols remained on the show for the remaining two seasons, then also accepted. "Dreams of space science and travel were emboldened by her character's futuristic adventureto young blackher importance as an inspiration and role model."

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Lizzo and Beyoncé heard her

It's not easy - her two of the world's biggest music superstars It caught people's attention. Even more impressive is the change they have made in their work.

However, Australian disability activistHannah Divinysaid

that she slammed Lizzo and Beyoncé on her Twitter account, and on her recent album I included offensive language referring to her disability. Both artists were quick to respond and share the song's lyrics.

"Words matter," Diviny wrote. “They have always had and will continue to do. Language is one of the few tools in the world that most people can easily use, and even more so with social media. It's worth paying attention to how you use it, which is what my mother always taught me that the pen is mightier than the sword. Taught us that we have access to the most powerful pens thanks to the power of tweets, use this global interest to have a bigger conversation about the inequalities facing people with disabilities. From small things big things grow."