Dispatches From the Culture Wars – September 10, 2024
- Student Protesters: The Heat is (Still) On
- Radical Municipalism in LA
- Black Women GOTV in Detroit
- FL Cops Put the Screws to Abortion Rights Petitioners
- Worker Co-ops Aid Immigrants in Brooklyn
- Big Oil Wields Influence on Universities
- TX Gov Spends $221M to Drive Migrants North
- Trump’s Real Base: The Locally Rich
- Mythologizing Reagan
- Portland ME Divests from Israel
Student Protesters: The Heat is (Still) On
By Jocelyn Gecker, Maryclaire Dale and Michael Casey
Associated Press
The stakes have gone up this fall for students protesting the war in Gaza, as U.S. colleges roll out new security measures and protest guidelines — all intended to avoid disruptions like last spring’s pro-Palestinian demonstrations. Activism has put their degrees and careers at risk, not to mention tuition payments, but many say they feel a moral responsibility to continue the movement.
By Justin A. Davis
Waging Nonviolence
Organizers are considering new frameworks for building political power in the LA region, including the Solidarity Research Center. Founded in 2014 as the “research arm” of the Industrial Workers of the World, SRC has been blending research with capacity-building for social movements as part of an ongoing experiment with radical municipalism.
By Malachi Barrett
BridgeDetroit
Black women have long been a loyal voting bloc for the Democratic Party, and the prospect of Harris becoming president is fueling a local movement to support her in the November election.
FL Cops Put the Screws to Abortion Rights Petitioners
By Romy Ellenbogen, Justin Garcia and Lawrence Mower
Tampa Bay Times
Gov. Ron DeSantis’s administration is inspecting thousands of already verified and validated petitions for Amendment 4 in the final two months before Election Day. The amendment would overturn Florida’s six-week abortion ban by proposing to protect abortion access in Florida until viability. Signers are being asked by police to verify their signatures.
By Tareq Saghie
Labor Notes
How can immigrants without work authorization avoid being hyper-exploited, and instead find work where they have some autonomy and collective power to raise standards? A co-op movement that has been incubating in Sunset Park, Brooklyn, guarantees all members standard and legal wages, a voice in their company’s governance, and control over their schedules.
Big Oil Wields Influence on Universities
By Edward Carver
Common Dreams
The fossil fuel industry seeks to obstruct climate action by using money to influence research and establish ties at Western universities, raising concerns about academic independence and the integrity of scientific inquiry. Many academics had drawn comparisons to tobacco and pharmaceutical meddling in academia.
TX Gov Spends $221M to Drive Migrants North
By Anna Giaritelli
Washington Examiner
The state of Texas has spent more than $221 million in taxpayer funds to transport nearly 120,000 migrants to six “sanctuary” cities far north of the southern border, the Washington Examiner has learned. The state made more than 750 payments totaling $221,705,637 to transportation companies.
Trump’s Real Base: The Locally Rich
By Zack Beauchamp
Vox
“Those most enthralled with Donald Trump were not at the very bottom — the illiterate, the hungry,” writes sociologist Arlie Russell Hochschild. Rather, Trump’s biggest fans could be found among “the elite of the left-behind,” meaning people “who were doing well within a region that was not.”
By Paul M. Renfro
Slate
Like Reagan the actor and Reagan the president, Reagan the new movie has a strained relationship with reality. In director Sean McNamara’s biopic, the Gipper, played by Dennis Quaid, can do no wrong. Suffice it to say, such a hagiographic treatment requires countless omissions, distortions, and outright fabrications.
Portland ME Divests from Israel
By Emma Davis
Maine Morning Star
Portland’s city council adopted a resolution Wednesday night urging the city to divest from companies doing business with Israel in response to the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Gaza. The city council unanimously approved the resolution — put forth by councilor April Fournier and sponsored by the Maine Coalition for Palestine and Maine’s chapter of Jewish Voice for Peace.