USA News and Discussions

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More on that by The American Prospect:

https://prospect.org/politics/2024-04-1 ... -junk-fee/

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The Supreme Court effectively abolishes the right to mass protest in three US states
https://www.vox.com/scotus/24080080/sup ... ves-matter

The Supreme Court announced on Monday that it will not hear Mckesson v. Doe. The decision not to hear Mckesson leaves in place a lower court decision that effectively eliminated the right to organize a mass protest in the states of Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas.

Under that lower court decision, a protest organizer faces potentially ruinous financial consequences if a single attendee at a mass protest commits an illegal act.

It is possible that this outcome will be temporary. The Court did not embrace the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit’s decision attacking the First Amendment right to protest, but it did not reverse it either. That means that, at least for now, the Fifth Circuit’s decision is the law in much of the American South.

For the past several years, the Fifth Circuit has engaged in a crusade against DeRay Mckesson, a prominent figure within the Black Lives Matter movement who organized a protest near a Baton Rouge police station in 2016.

The facts of the Mckesson case are, unfortunately, quite tragic. Mckesson helped organize the Baton Rouge protest following the fatal police shooting of Alton Sterling. During that protest, an unknown individual threw a rock or similar object at a police officer, the plaintiff in the Mckesson case who is identified only as “Officer John Doe.” Sadly, the officer was struck in the face and, according to one court, suffered “injuries to his teeth, jaw, brain, and head.”

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/about ... r-AA1ngukK

Snopes and even the ACLU disagreed with that assertion.

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First They Came for My Appliances
by Abby Zimet
April 14, 2024

Introduction:

(Common Dream) Okay all you naysayers whining shambolic House GOPers aren't doing their job just 'cause they're blocking border solutions, ignoring infrastructure, enabling Ukrainian deaths and barely keeping the government afloat: Listen up. Boldly showcasing their astute priorities, they will fight Monday to liberate your dishwashers, dryers, fridges and other home gizmos from a Marxist "avalanche" of new "Libby Boogyman" rules aimed at keeping the planet from vaporizing into air, and c'mon who cares about that?!

Ever-steadfast in upholding their tradition of chasing fictional ills - Mike 'Election Chicanery' Johnson is now vowing to require proof of citizenship to prevent (brown-skinned) non-citizens from voting even though it's already illegal, also "not a thing" - the GOP-led House Rules Committee meets Monday to discuss six bills to prep them for final votes on the House floor.

The six bills are the Stop Unaffordable Dishwasher Standards Act, the Liberty in Laundry Act, the Affordable Air Conditioning Act, the Clothes Dryer Reliability Act, the Hands Off Our Home Appliances Act and the Refrigerator Freedom Act[/i]. Yes. They are real. They're in response to a number of Biden regulations or proposals aimed at addressing climate change, part of a $369 billion Inflation Reduction Act that seeks to lower costs, reduce energy use, cut pollutants and move to more green-energy practices.

Conclusion:

"First they came for my appliances," one intoned. "I was not an appliance, so I said nothing." Another suggested a key addition to the GOP agenda: a "Stop Wasting Our Time on Meaningless Legislation Act." There were also triumphant stories of deliverance born of the GOP's hard and noble work. "In honor of the Refrigerator Freedom Act, I just opened my front door and set my newly liberated Frigidaire free," one reported. "Needless to say, it's running."

Read more here: https://www.commondreams.org/further/f ... eedom-act

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Students Sue Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders for Silencing Black History

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/stude ... r-AA1nsI3N

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Federal judge finds ‘strong evidence’ prosecutors for California's Alameda County deliberately kept Black and Jewish people off juries

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/crime/fe ... r-AA1ntpGi

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Biden Signs Foreign Aid Bill Providing Crucial Military Assistance to Ukraine
by Michael Williams, Arlette Saenz and Kevin Liptak
April 24, 2024

Introduction:

Washington (CNN) — President Joe Biden on Wednesday signed into law an aid package providing crucial military assistance to Ukraine, capping months of negotiations and debate.

The aid package, passed by the Senate late Tuesday evening and worth $95 billion in total, includes nearly $61 billion in aid to Ukraine, $26 billion for Israel and $8 billion for the Indo-Pacific. The package also includes a bill that could eventually lead to the banning of TikTok in the United States - giving Chinese parent company ByteDance roughly nine months to sell it or else it will be banned from app stores in the United States.

Wearing a US-Ukrainian flag pin and speaking from the White House after signing the bill on Wednesday, Biden said it was a “good day for America, a good day for Ukraine and a good day for world peace.”

The aid package, Biden said, is “going to make America safer. It’s going to make the world safer. And it continues America’s leadership in the world.”

Read more here: https://www.cnn.com/2024/04/24/politic ... dex.html