16 votes

Weekly US politics news and updates thread - week of July 17

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Tags: usa, politics, recurring.weekly

This thread is posted weekly - please try to post all relevant US political content in here, such as news, updates, opinion articles, etc. Extremely significant events may warrant a separate topic, but almost all should be posted in here.

This is an inherently political thread; please try to avoid antagonistic arguments and bickering matches. Comment threads that devolve into unproductive arguments may be removed so that the overall topic is able to continue.

14 comments

  1. boxer_dogs_dance
    Link
    https://www.cnn.com/2023/07/17/politics/georgia-supreme-court-trump-fulton-county/index.html Good news for the Georgia investigation/ likely prosecution of Trump for election interference. Of all...

    https://www.cnn.com/2023/07/17/politics/georgia-supreme-court-trump-fulton-county/index.html

    Good news for the Georgia investigation/ likely prosecution of Trump for election interference. Of all the cases, this is the one I have the highest hope for, partly because in Georgia, governors do not have any power to pardon criminal convictions and presidents can't pardon for state crimes.

    16 votes
  2. [3]
    Axelia
    Link
    House Republicans propose planting a trillion trees as they move away from climate change denial (AP News)

    House Republicans propose planting a trillion trees as they move away from climate change denial (AP News)

    The idea — simple yet massively ambitious — revealed recent Republican thinking on how to address climate change. The party is no longer denying that global warming exists, yet is searching for a response to sweltering summers, weather disasters and rising sea levels that doesn’t involve abandoning their enthusiastic support for American-produced energy from burning oil, coal and gas.

    11 votes
    1. [2]
      rayban_yoda
      Link Parent
      This feels like a distraction, but boy do we need it. The core issue would be where do you plant these trees. Most of the forests of America where demolished and now home millions and millions of...

      This feels like a distraction, but boy do we need it. The core issue would be where do you plant these trees.

      Most of the forests of America where demolished and now home millions and millions of Americans, not to mention there are currently 3 trillion trees on the planet. You would likely need the geographic space that equates to north America to plant that many trees. Not to mention needing them in the Northern Hemisphere to handle the excess CO2.

      Feels like you need to increase tree planting, but also increase conservation of current undeveloped land mass AND decrease emissions.

      12 votes
      1. CosmicDefect
        (edited )
        Link Parent
        This isn't quite true, or at least is more nuanced. The US is actually more forested now around 0.76 billion acres than it was 100 years ago at around 0.72 billion acres. The forestation of the US...

        Most of the forests of America where demolished

        This isn't quite true, or at least is more nuanced. The US is actually more forested now around 0.76 billion acres than it was 100 years ago at around 0.72 billion acres. The forestation of the US has been relatively constant over the 20th century, even increasing slightly, as the majority of the destruction occurred in the 18th century and earlier from a maximum of a billion acres in the 1620s.

        Most of the old growth forest in the US is gone though.

        9 votes
  3. [4]
    hachyderm
    Link
    https://www.huffpost.com/entry/trump-target-jan-6-probe-jack-smith_n_64b694c2e4b0ad7b75f536d4?1es=

    https://www.huffpost.com/entry/trump-target-jan-6-probe-jack-smith_n_64b694c2e4b0ad7b75f536d4?1es=

    Trump wrote in a Truth Social post that “Deranged Jack Smith,” the special prosecutor appointed by Attorney General Merrick Garland, sent his attorneys a letter saying he is “a TARGET” of the investigation and has “a very short 4 days to report to the Grand Jury, which almost always means an Arrest and Indictment.”

    10 votes
    1. [3]
      Wolf_359
      Link Parent
      I have to say, it's brutal reading his social media communications. I can still hear his voice when I read those all caps words of his. I honestly don't know how we all mentally coped with it for...

      I have to say, it's brutal reading his social media communications. I can still hear his voice when I read those all caps words of his. I honestly don't know how we all mentally coped with it for 4+ years. It's exhausting.

      Glad to see he might actually face consequences.

      12 votes
      1. [2]
        DefinitelyNotAFae
        Link Parent
        There was a moment somewhere between his banning on Twitter and the inauguration where I realized I didn't have to hear his voice or hear the constant news cycle around his 4am tweets. It was a...

        I have to say, it's brutal reading his social media communications. I can still hear his voice when I read those all caps words of his. I honestly don't know how we all mentally coped with it for 4+ years. It's exhausting.

        There was a moment somewhere between his banning on Twitter and the inauguration where I realized I didn't have to hear his voice or hear the constant news cycle around his 4am tweets. It was a literal sense of internal relaxation.

        5 votes
        1. Wolf_359
          (edited )
          Link Parent
          Agreed. I'm not aware of the internal relaxation day to day, but when I have to read or hear something he says, that old knot in my stomach comes roaring back and I realize how nice the last few...

          Agreed. I'm not aware of the internal relaxation day to day, but when I have to read or hear something he says, that old knot in my stomach comes roaring back and I realize how nice the last few years have been.

          I think we use hyperbole a lot in today's society but if you really take a moment to think about the word "disgust" in its purest meaning, that is as close as you can get to how I feel about Donald J. Trump. Nevermind the fact that I think he's a raging, nazi-enabling narcissist. It's also his voice, his demeanor, his word choice, his appearance, his history, and the whining. My god, the whining. He is just repulsive by every metric.

          I will give him credit on one single thing: If our country does recover from Trumpism and he doesn't end up being the spark that ignites more permanent wave of fascism, then he will go down in history as the funniest president we have ever had (and probably will ever have). I've never laughed with him, but I have laughed at him a ton.

          4 votes
  4. purpleyuan
    Link
    New Florida teaching standards say African Americans received some ‘personal benefit’ from slavery / archive link Yikes on bikes. There's really no additional context that makes it better. From...

    New Florida teaching standards say African Americans received some ‘personal benefit’ from slavery / archive link

    Some of the issues raised surrounded standards that include instruction on “how slaves developed skills which, in some instances, could be applied for their personal benefit” and lessons that touch on acts of violence perpetrated “against and by” African Americans.

    Yikes on bikes. There's really no additional context that makes it better. From the official standards themselves:

    Examine the various duties and trades performed by slaves (e.g., agricultural work, painting, carpentry, tailoring, domestic service, blacksmithing, transportation).

    Benchmark Clarifications:
    Clarification 1: Instruction includes how slaves developed skills which, in some instances, could be applied for their personal benefit.

    I'm not even sure how to word how deceitful this is. I can imagine plenty of people playing dumb, saying things like, "are you saying these skills (carpentry, blacksmithing, etc) aren't useful?" But obviously it carries with it the implication that slavery wasn't an unalloyed evil!

    5 votes
  5. [2]
    CosmicDefect
    Link
    Phoenix Breaks Record With 19 Consecutive Days 110 Degrees or Higher https://www.nytimes.com/live/2023/07/18/world/heat-wave-us-europe-weather/heres-what-to-know-about-the-heat-around-the-world

    Phoenix Breaks Record With 19 Consecutive Days 110 Degrees or Higher

    Much of the Northern Hemisphere is experiencing withering high temperatures, which scientists warn are increasingly likely.

    Less than two weeks after the Earth recorded what scientists said were likely its hottest days in modern history, Phoenix broke a 49-year-old record on Tuesday with the city’s 19th consecutive day of temperatures 110 degrees (43.3 Celsius) or higher, part of a punishing heat wave that spanned much of the Northern Hemisphere.

    The record-breaking temperatures are being driven by emissions of heat-trapping gases, mainly caused by the burning of fossil fuels and by the return of El Niño, a cyclical weather pattern.

    https://www.nytimes.com/live/2023/07/18/world/heat-wave-us-europe-weather/heres-what-to-know-about-the-heat-around-the-world

    4 votes
    1. Omnicrola
      Link Parent
      As someone who lived in Phoenix for 10 years, the fact that the city continues to not only exist but grow (and fast!) is an ongoing testament to the hubris of humankind.

      As someone who lived in Phoenix for 10 years, the fact that the city continues to not only exist but grow (and fast!) is an ongoing testament to the hubris of humankind.

      7 votes
  6. [2]
    Comment deleted by author
    Link
    1. purpleyuan
      Link Parent
      The thing I maybe don't understand is that I feel like you don't have to be empathetic or kind-hearted or compassionate to be moved by these testimonies. Surely any person who has the potential to...

      Amy Pletscher, an attorney for the state, said the lawsuit was brought by women and doctors who “simply do not like Texas’ restrictions on abortion.“

      The thing I maybe don't understand is that I feel like you don't have to be empathetic or kind-hearted or compassionate to be moved by these testimonies. Surely any person who has the potential to get pregnant would think, 'wow that could happen to me!'

      1 vote
  7. purpleyuan
    Link
    (Crosscut) Why Washington State's gas prices are the nation’s highest / (archive link) (Seattle Times) WA gas prices now highest in U.S.; some experts point to new climate legislation / (archive...

    (Crosscut) Why Washington State's gas prices are the nation’s highest / (archive link)
    (Seattle Times) WA gas prices now highest in U.S.; some experts point to new climate legislation / (archive link).

    West coast states are experiencing the highest gas prices in the nation, with WA leading the pack. Conservatives are pointing fingers at the new carbon pricing program. My personal bias is that this is not necessarily a bad thing (and I'm not alone; Seattle Times had an op-ed that was basically 'yeah, gas prices are up, and yeah Democrats probably undersold how much their policies were going to increase prices, but the bill probably would never have passed otherwise, and it's good the bill passed, even though gas prices are up')

    Gas prices are still lower than the inflation-plagued summer months last year, but the spike has bolstered the arguments of conservative think tanks and trade organizations representing fuel companies that are running public-messaging campaigns calling the compliance fees a tax. Some are calling for the repeal of the climate legislation altogether.

    It sucks if you drive a lot, especially for small businesses that need to drive for commercial reasons. There's apparently currently a bill (that didn't pass out of committee this past legislative session, but will almost certainly be reintroduced next year) that will provide fuel cost rebates for farmers.

    Environmental policy groups point out that oil and gas companies are making bank:

    In January, Reuters wrote that the oil industry had posted record profits in 2022. In February, Seattle-based liberal think tank Climate Solutions wrote that oil corporations posted in the Seattle area their second-highest profit margin in the nation — $1.09 per gallon.

    WA earned about $300 million from the first auction, which will be added to the total budget of about $2 billion to cut greenhouse emissions.

    3 votes