Sunday Picks: Both-Sidesing Crises, Bessemer, and Actual Cancel Culture
Hey there, OptersOut!
We’ve got some Sunday content for you from our exclusively independent participating outlets.
First, some updates.
- The app is in “alpha” phase, the pre-beta phase when we share the app with select people outside of our development team to get feedback and improve things as we prepare to get on the app stores! You all will be the first to know about our beta release.
- Walker and I are working with pro bono lawyers on several things, including a privacy policy for the app and website.
- We’re preparing to leave Substack! We’ll be moving to a self-hosted website, and we’ve found a way to seamlessly transfer your subscriptions. You’ll hear more about this soon.
Here’s a screen from my (old) iPhone today. We can’t wait to share the app with you.
NEWS
FAIR: Media Manage to Both-Sides Georgia GOP’s Suppressing Democracy
Thank you for supporting independent media, folks!
Julie Hollar for FAIR:
In a later analysis, the New York Times‘ Nate Cohn (4/3/21) downplayed the impact of Georgia’s law on voting rights, arguing that both sides “misunderstand” the effect that making it harder to vote has on turnout. As voting rights expert Charlotte Hill quickly pointed out, Cohn’s argument is on very shaky ground for a number of reasons, not least of which is that it misses the disparate impact such restrictions can have on different groups—like minority or youth voters, who disproportionately vote Democratic.
Sludge: ‘Problem Solvers’ Threaten Biden’s Infrastructure Plan Over Rich Donor Tax Break
Donald Shaw for Sludge:
After raising millions from corporate executives through joint fundraising committees, Problem Solvers Caucus members are threatening to block Biden's infrastructure package unless a tax cut for the rich gets added.
TYT Investigates: Small Farmers Balk at Another Big Agriculture Appointment
Jonathan Larsen for TYT Investigates:
U.S. Dept. of Agriculture Director of Communications Matt Herrick, appointed by Vilsack on Jan. 21, was previously a senior vice president at a national trade group called the International Dairy Foods Association (IDFA). Herrick had worked for Vilsack before, during Vilsack’s USDA tenure under Pres. Obama.
Discourse Blog: Bessemer Was Not the Beginning or the End
Paul Blest for Discourse Blog.
In Bessemer, Amazon used all of the tools at its disposal to run a truly vicious union-busting campaign—going so far as to reportedly pressure the local post office to install a ballot dropbox on the grounds of the warehouse—and already the Retail, Wholesale, and Department Store Union (RWDSU) has said it would file objections to the result.
“This campaign has proven that the best way for working people to protect themselves and their families is to join together in a union,” RWDSU president Stuart Appelbaum said in a statement. “However, Amazon’s behavior during the election cannot be ignored and our union will seek remedy to each and every improper action Amazon took. We won’t rest until workers’ voices are heard fairly under the law.”
Bad News: Capitol Police sent cops to a guy's door for somebody else's tweet
Ryan Grim’s latest in Bad News.
The Capitol Police have since told me that somebody else tweeted something -- they won’t say what -- that has since been deleted, and “tagged” him in it.
PODCASTS and VIDEO
Foreign Exchanges: L'Affaire Jordan with Annelle Sheline
[Quincy Institute research fellow] Annelle [Sheline] is here to provide some context for the alleged coup attempt that Jordanian authorities claimed to have thwarted over the weekend, including an examination of the key question: has former crown prince Hamzah bin Hussein really been plotting with unnamed foreign governments to overthrow his half-brother, King Abdullah II (shown above)?
Africa Is a Country: Reconnecting Black Internationalism: New Directions in Historical Radicalism
Reconnecting Black Internationalism: New Directions in Historical Radicalism explores how scholarship is reframing black internationalism. Each panelist is conducting meticulous, empirical research on the spaces and peoples in and around Gold Coast-Ghana to challenge established categories of analysis. These historians are working with flexible concepts of mobility and placemaking to show the ways that radical actions and voicings have often been obscured or unrecognized. Their work pushes us to reconsider the methods and practices for conceptualizing Ghana not just as a nation-state but as a centering theoretical node for understanding globalization, political-economy, geography, race, gender, power, urban and domestic space, borders, the role of the intellectual, and various social practices usually understood as geographically bounded.
Katie Halper: The Israel Lobby Is Trampling On Free Speech
Here’s some actual cancel culture.
The right to boycott is protected free speech and yet nearly 30 states have passed laws requiring people to pledge they won't engage in or defend the BDS (Boycott, Divest, Sanction) movement to protest Israel's treatment of Palestinians and pressure Israel to comply with international law.
Current Affairs: Immigration Update: Biden's First 100 Days
Continuing our series of semi-regular immigration updates, Current Affairs' resident immigration lawyers Brianna Rennix and Oren Nimni explain the Biden administration's supposed changes in immigration policy, and what they've seen on the ground so far.
Status Coup: David Sirota and Jordan Chariton on Corporate Media Showboating vs. REAL Journalism
Status Coup's Jordan Chariton interviews David Sirota (https://www.dailyposter.com/) about the state of journalism today and the impact of his reporting on Governor Andrew Cuomo and other forgotten topics, such as Jordan's reporting on Flint.
Champagne Sharks: Is Star Trek White Supremacist?
Thanks as always for tuning into OptOut and our participating outlets! Have a great week.