USA News and Discussions

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caltrek
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weatheriscool wrote: Sun May 08, 2022 12:19 am Mitch McConnell says a national abortion ban is 'possible' as GOP candidates dodge topic
Source: USA Today
WASHINGTON — Republicans are on the verge of a long-sought legal victory — striking down Roe v. Wade — but their political candidates are in no rush to talk about it on the campaign trail.

GOP campaign officials are advising candidates to downplay and soft-pedal the prospects of anti-abortion legislation as they battle pro-choice Democrats for control of Congress and various statehouses across the country.

Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell told USA Today that a national abortion ban is possible if the Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade.

Said McConnell: “With regard to the abortion issue, I think it’s pretty clear where Senate Republicans stand.”
Read more: https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/pol ... ?gnt-cfr=1
I think this promise is along the same lines as the promises made by many of the justices in their confirmation hearings - that they would accept Roe v. Wade as settled law, etc. Clearly, if the leaked memo does reflect their thinking, they do not intend to keep that promise. If McConnel is willing to codify Roe v. Wade he can do that by cooperating with the Democrats in the current session. Otherwise it is just a meaningless promise to be responsible if they are put in power. If they cannot act responsibly out of power, when bipartisan cooperation is still required, why should they be trusted with more power?

McConnel comes across as blackmailing women. There should be no cooperation with such bullying tactics.

As one Democratic senator pointed out:
(Common Dreams) "No one should be surprised at what the leak of Alito's opinion taking away abortion rights revealed. There is a plan, and this is just one part of it," Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) said Saturday. "This is why Mitch McConnell refused to let the Senate consider Judge Merrick Garland."

"This is why they eliminated the filibuster for Gorsuch," Whitehouse added. "This is why they pressured the FBI to tank the Kavanaugh investigation. This is why they broke the 'Garland rule' to stuff Barrett on the court mid-election. This is why $580 million was spent to capture the court. This is why the Federalist Society was the turnstile for Supreme Court nominees."
Source of citation: https://www.commondreams.org/news/2022/ ... rturns-roe
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caltrek
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Sanders: GOP Ended Filibuster to Pack Supreme Court, So Dems Must End It to Save Abortion Rights
by Jake Johnson
May 11, 2022

https://www.commondreams.org/news/2022/ ... e-abortion
(Common Dreams)"If Republicans can end the filibuster to install right-wing justices nominated by presidents who lost the popular vote in order to overturn Roe v. Wade, Democrats can and must end the filibuster to make abortion legal and safe."

On the eve of a key procedural vote on the Women's Health Protection Act, Sen. Bernie Sanders said in a floor speech Tuesday that the Senate's Democratic majority must use its power to end the legislative filibuster and codify abortion rights into federal law.

Sanders (I-Vt.), the chair of the Senate Budget Committee, acknowledged that Senate Democrats don't currently have the 60 votes needed to overcome the filibuster, an archaic rule that has enabled the Republican minority to stonewall much of the majority party's agenda over the past year.

"It is not good enough to just talk about passing this bill," Sanders said of the WHPA, legislation that would cement the right to abortion care free from medically unnecessary restrictions as the U.S. Supreme Court's right-wing majority gears up to overturn Roe v. Wade.

"We must end the filibuster and pass it with 50 votes," said the Vermont senator. "You know, I hear a lot of talk from my Democratic colleagues about the need for unity. Well, if there was ever a time for unity, now is that time."
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Is Leak of a Draft Supreme Court Opinion a Federal Crime?
by Michael A. Foster
May 13, 2022

Introduction:
(Eurasia Review) On May 2, 2022, it was first reported that a news organization had obtained a draft Supreme Court majority opinion in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization and received confirmation from “a person familiar with the court’s proceedings” in the case. The Court subsequently authenticated the draft opinion, and Chief Justice Roberts ordered an internal investigation.

Beyond discussion of the substance of the draft opinion and its implications for the constitutional right recognized in Roe v. Wade—and setting aside potential employment or professional consequences for the person or persons who shared the draft—a number of commentators have questioned whether the act of providing the draft opinion to a media organization was a federal crime. Several Members of the House Oversight Committee wrote a letter to the Attorney General on May 3, 2022, calling for, among other things, a Department of Justice investigation and a briefing on “whether criminal charges are being considered against the individual or individuals responsible for this breach.”

Although federal law does prohibit the dissemination of certain kinds of government information—such as “classified” information related to national security—there does not appear to be a federal criminal statute expressly prohibiting unauthorized sharing of Supreme Court documents like draft opinions. Several laws that have been publicly referenced in connection with disclosure of non-public Supreme Court information could apply to particular disclosures depending on the underlying facts, which remain unclear in this instance, but there would be legal hurdles associated with seeking to use any of the referenced laws to prosecute the person or persons who shared the draft opinion in Dobbs. The provenance of the disclosure is unknown, so the laws addressed in this Legal Sidebar may or may not apply depending on the facts.

Further developments in the Supreme Court marshal’s investigation could also make additional laws relevant…As relevant to the disclosure itself, this Legal Sidebar will briefly describe three federal criminal provisions that have been cited by commentators in the context of apparently unauthorized Supreme Court information dissemination and identify some of the potential issues that application of each of those laws could raise.
Read more here: https://www.eurasiareview.com/13052022- ... -analysis/
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House panel launches investigation into baby formula shortage
Source: The Hill
The House Oversight and Reform Committee is launching an investigation into the ongoing baby formula shortage, pressing the four largest domestic manufacturers for documents and information about the steps they are taking to alleviate the crisis.

The four companies — Abbott, Reckitt Benckiser, Nestlé and Perrigo — control nearly 90 percent of the U.S. market for baby formula.

“The national formula shortage poses a threat to the health and economic security of infants and families in communities throughout the country—particularly those with less income who have historically experienced health inequities, including food insecurity,” committee Chairwoman Carolyn Maloney (D-N.Y.) and Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-Ill.) wrote to the companies.

The lawmakers asked if the companies have enough supply to meet current demand and what steps they are taking to lower prices, prevent price gouging and increase consumer access.


Read more: https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics ... ar-AAXeZ8C
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The Supreme Court just made it much easier to bribe a member of Congress

A case brought by Ted Cruz is a huge boon to rich candidates and moneyed lobbyists.

By Ian Millhiser on May 16, 2022 1:30 pm

The Supreme Court’s conservative majority has been at war with campaign finance laws for more than a dozen years, stretching at least as far back as its decision in Citizens United v. FEC (2010). On Monday, the Court’s six Republican appointees escalated this war.

The Court’s decision in FEC v. Ted Cruz for Senate is a boon to wealthy candidates. It strikes down an anti-bribery law that limited the amount of money candidates could raise after an election in order to repay loans they made to their own campaign.

https://www.vox.com/platform/amp/2022/5 ... lena-kagan
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I will put this article here as I believe the discussion of systemic racism in the U.S. has previously occurred in this thread.

Denial of Structural Racism Linked to Anti-Black Prejudice
May 23, 2022

Introduction:
(EurekAlert) People who deny the existence of structural racism are more likely to exhibit anti-Black prejudice and less likely to show racial empathy or openness to diversity, according to research published by the American Psychological Association.

However, there were no similar findings for people who claimed they ignore race, which was instead associated with greater openness to diversity, the study found.

Researchers analyzed 83 previous studies on racism that included more than 25,000 participants. Denying structural racism and ignoring race are often considered to be two different types of colorblind racial ideology, but researchers and educators need to delineate between them because they appear to have very different outcomes, said lead researcher Jacqueline Yi, MS, a clinical-community psychology doctoral student at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC). The research was published online in the Journal of Counseling Psychology.

“The denial of structural racism appears to be a big barrier to racial equity because it allows for more victim-blaming explanations of systemic inequality,” Yi said. “The more that BIPOC [Black, indigenous and people of color] individuals are blamed for racial disparities, the less likely it is for white people and institutions to take responsibility for the continued effects of systemic racism.”

Denial of structural racism was more closely linked to anti-Black prejudice than prejudice against other people of color. People who denied structural racism were also more likely to endorse stronger beliefs that societal inequality is acceptable and reported fewer intentions to engage in social justice behaviors. There were no similar findings for people who said they ignore race.
Read more here: https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/953224
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Speaking of Structural Racism in the United States.

Structural Racism and the Imperative to Eliminate Mental Health Disparities
Ned H. Kalin. M.D.
May 23, 2022

Introduction:
(The American Journal of Psychiatry) There is no question that there are huge inequities in the delivery of mental health care that are related to systemic factors, and there is also no question that structural racism is a major determinant of these inequities. Individuals of color and other minoritized groups disproportionately face interpersonal, societal, and environmental stressors that increase their risk to develop psychiatric disorders, and these factors also impede access to mental health care. The impact of structural racism on mental well-being and mental illness cannot be overstated. As a field we need to commit to taking action to enforce changes at multiple levels, individual and societal, with the goal of eliminating mental health disparities.

As part of this effort, we are very pleased to present this special issue of the Journal that brings together papers that highlight the pervasive negative consequences of structural racism on mental health, the importance of community and system-wide interventions, and proposes mental health inequity research priorities. We also are very pleased to showcase the contributing authors and the concepts and strategies reviewed in their papers aimed at reducing mental health care inequities. It is our intention that this issue will motivate clinicians, educators, and researchers to take actions that will make a difference. Each one of us should be asking, “How can I use my skills, energy, and influence to help reduce the disproportionate mental suffering that is endured by minoritized individuals?”
Read more: https://ajp.psychiatryonline.org/doi/10 ... p.21100972

https://ajp.psychiatryonline.org/doi/10 ... p.21100970

https://ajp.psychiatryonline.org/doi/10 ... p.21100969

https://ajp.psychiatryonline.org/doi/10 ... p.21101001

https://ajp.psychiatryonline.org/doi/10 ... p.21101000
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Re: USA News and Discussions

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caltrek wrote: Mon May 23, 2022 4:18 pm Speaking of Structural Racism in the United States.

Structural Racism and the Imperative to Eliminate Mental Health Disparities
Ned H. Kalin. M.D.
May 23, 2022

Introduction:
(The American Journal of Psychiatry) There is no question that there are huge inequities in the delivery of mental health care that are related to systemic factors, and there is also no question that structural racism is a major determinant of these inequities. Individuals of color and other minoritized groups disproportionately face interpersonal, societal, and environmental stressors that increase their risk to develop psychiatric disorders, and these factors also impede access to mental health care. The impact of structural racism on mental well-being and mental illness cannot be overstated. As a field we need to commit to taking action to enforce changes at multiple levels, individual and societal, with the goal of eliminating mental health disparities.

As part of this effort, we are very pleased to present this special issue of the Journal that brings together papers that highlight the pervasive negative consequences of structural racism on mental health, the importance of community and system-wide interventions, and proposes mental health inequity research priorities. We also are very pleased to showcase the contributing authors and the concepts and strategies reviewed in their papers aimed at reducing mental health care inequities. It is our intention that this issue will motivate clinicians, educators, and researchers to take actions that will make a difference. Each one of us should be asking, “How can I use my skills, energy, and influence to help reduce the disproportionate mental suffering that is endured by minoritized individuals?”
Read more: https://ajp.psychiatryonline.org/doi/10 ... p.21100972

https://ajp.psychiatryonline.org/doi/10 ... p.21100970

https://ajp.psychiatryonline.org/doi/10 ... p.21100969

https://ajp.psychiatryonline.org/doi/10 ... p.21101001

https://ajp.psychiatryonline.org/doi/10 ... p.21101000

This is what happens when a people don't take any responsibility for their standards of living. Why expect other people to do everything for you? What I am saying is any area that is majority black needs to have sound and capable government, tax base and care about their infrastructure. This would do more to solve this. Expecting washington dc 2,000 miles away to do it all for you is dumb.

Blacks have 5 times the representation in the media, entertainment and in sports. Our society goes out of its way to support blacks and give them a voice. It is really quite impossible to do everything for them and them do nothing for their own betterment. Like the old saying goes,,you can drag a horse to water but you can't make them drink.
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