United States | News & Politics

https://archive.is/YHgCK

Bernie Sanders caused a stir last week, when the independent senator from Vermont and two-time contender for the Democratic presidential nomination sent a post-election email to his progressive supporters across the country. In it, he argued that the Democrats suffered politically in 2024 at least in part because they ran a campaign that focused on “protecting the status quo and tinkering around the edges.”

In contrast, said Sanders, “Trump and the Republicans campaigned on change and on smashing the existing order.” Yes, he explained, “the ‘change’ that Republicans will bring about will make a bad situation worse, and a society of gross inequality even more unequal, more unjust and more bigoted.”

Despite that the reality of the threat they posed, Trump and the Republicans still won a narrow popular-vote victory for the presidency, along with control of the US House. That result has inspired an intense debate over the future direction not just of the Democratic Party but of the country. And the senator from Vermont is in the thick of it.

In his email, Sanders, a member of the Senate Democratic Caucus who campaigned in states across the country this fall for Vice President Kamala Harris and the Democratic ticket, asked a blunt question: “Will the Democratic leadership learn the lessons of their defeat and create a party that stands with the working class and is prepared to take on the enormously powerful special interests that dominate our economy, our media and our political life?”

His answer: “Highly unlikely. They are much too wedded to the billionaires and corporate interests that fund their campaigns.”

Pre-trial hearings for students who participated in a Gaza solidarity encampment in central Illinois last spring are being held on November 20 and December 4, 2024. The outcome of the four students’ trials will determine whether they will risk up to three years of incarceration on felony “mob action” charges for having exercised their free speech rights on campus.

It blows my mind that there are no legal blocks in place to prevent this (yeah, I know it's because this shit was so unthinkable that nobody prepared for it). This yahoo is on a mission to destroy EVERYTHING America was supposed to stand for. SOMETHING has to be done to stop this shit!

A Dallas man says he feared for his life when a stranger approached him on a running trail and shot him multiple times. He says the man shot him in his hip and shoulder. But he says the man was aiming for his head. The Brief

The victim says this was a morning exercise routine turned into a random shooting.

35-year-old Terrance Williams says he was exercising on a trail in between Singing Hills and Glendale Parks in Oak Cliff last Monday when a stranger who asked him for directions on the trail the day before approached him again.

"He looked at me, and he said, ‘This is going to be the last day that you see me.’ And it was confusing, and I didn’t know what it meant," he recalled. "So I just said okay, and I kept walking.

Williams says it quickly turned even more bizarre.

"He kind of went behind the bushes, came out, went behind the bushes, came out again," he said. "And when he came out the second time, he had a mask pulled up over his face, covering half of his face, with his hand in his left pocket. And that’s when he was like really briskly approaching me. But then he pulled out the gun, and I screamed and ran."

Williams was shot in his right hip. And while lying wounded on the ground, Williams thought his life was about to end.

"He stood over me. He put the gun out over my face. It was pointed in my face, and I was just looking up at him, and he said, ‘You’re not dead. Don’t pretend to be dead. But you’re going to be dead now,’" he recalled. "And like a headshot, just fired two shots. And I don’t know if it was the grace of God who curved the bullets, my guardian angel, I don’t know if it was bad aim. I don’t know what it was, but he had that gun pointed at my head. One bullet hit my shoulder, and the other bullet hit the pavement."

Williams says the shooter left.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.ml/post/22911717

By Isabelle Taft Nov. 25, 2024 Updated 8:53 p.m. ET

[gift article - link can be shared. Expires in 30 days.]

cross-posted from: https://hcommons.social/users/adachika192/statuses/113526086159705673

Fresh protest in White House on Biden’s Israel policy (Politico, 2024-11-18)

[https://www.politico.com/newsletters/national-security-daily/2024/11/18/fresh-protest-in-white-house-on-bidens-israel-policy-00183727] ———

Fresh, latest and perhaps the last? Anyway, I’d like to remember there have been a number of conscientious White House staffers throughout…

“… a group of at least 20 White House staffers call out the Biden administration for failing to follow through on demands issued … on Oct. 13, which required Israel to take ‘concrete measures’ within 30 days to improve the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.”

“‘You are running out of time to do the right thing, but decisive action could save precious lives in the next two months,’ the staffers write.”

“This marks the latest in a flurry of letters from U.S. government officials urging Biden to cut or condition U.S. support for Israel…”

“… An open letter in July signed by more than 500 appointees and staffers condemned the deep humanitarian impact of U.S. policy while funding the war in Gaza.”

@[email protected]
@[email protected]
@israel

https://archive.ph/4QkRB

A coalition of more than 40 civil rights organizations have penned an open letter raising the alarm about the growing trend of anti-mask legislation and urging lawmakers to oppose mask bans.

Since 2020, states and municipalities across the country have amassed a portfolio of $1.7 billion in Israel Bonds—securities sold by the state of Israel to “strengthen every aspect of Israel's economy, enabling national infrastructure development.” Since October 7th, 2023, $580 million of state and municipal investments have been invested in Israeli bonds.

In some cases, the state treasurers and comptrollers that purchased Israeli bonds are the very same officials who pushed for laws in their states against investing in firms that embrace environmental social governance (ESG), or investments based, at least superficially, on diversity, climate change, or any other criteria they deem “woke.” Their argument: If a firm makes politically motivated investment decisions in accordance with ESG, then the firm has compromised its fiduciary duty to be a good steward of dollars and maximize returns for investors.

https://archive.ph/Jo0WC

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/22383492

Summary

Donald Trump and congressional Republicans are preparing to crack down on pro-Palestinian protesters.

Measures could include deporting foreign students advocating for Hamas, prosecuting protest leaders for failing to register as foreign agents, and applying anti-terrorism or hate speech laws.

Critics, including civil rights groups like the ACLU and CCR, warn this could criminalize protected speech.

Legal battles are expected, especially as groups like the Heritage Foundation push initiatives like Project Esther to target alleged Hamas supporters.

Campus protests and student visa revocations are likely focal points for enforcement.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.ml/post/22836856

Interview with Vincent Bevins by Aaron Gell