Talking Points Memo:
"To understand Cruz's role in 2016, one must recognize
that the Tea Party in Washington today is a not an insurgency from
below. It is a realignment within the Republican establishment that has
committed the party to a position of extreme non-compromise. As Megyn Kelly pointed out yesterday,
Ted Cruz has put himself at the vanguard of that strategy. The
willingness to naysay, more than any policy position or connection to
the conservative grassroots, is what distinguishes him from other
Republican presidential hopefuls.
Let's remember: The Tea Party, more than an organization or even a
movement, was a political moment. In early 2009, the person and the
policy proposals of President Barack Obama galvanized grassroots
conservatives. But, after the exceptionally unpopular President Bush
left office, the Republican brand was toxic and the party leadership was
in disarray. Encouraged by conservative media, rank-and-file
Republicans built ad hoc local "Tea Party" groups to oppose the new
president's agenda. There was plenty of room at the top for any
Republican who could seize the "Tea Party" momentum.
At the national level, those who profited were rarely actual
newcomers. Instead, longtime conservative insiders like Dick Armey and
Jim DeMint became "Tea Party" leaders. Although the adoption of the Tea
Party name and symbolism gave a sense of novelty to this intra-party
realignment, there is nothing new about the rightmost wing of the
Republican Party except its ever-increasing authority.
Today, we are reaping the candidates the Tea Party has sown. One of
these is Ted Cruz, whose 2012 campaign received support from several
major players in the Tea Party field, including Jim DeMint's Senate
Conservatives Fund and Dick Armey's Freedom Works, as well as other
longtime funders of the far right, like the Club for Growth. These
players aren't new, but their degree of power is; the Republican Party
has been growing more conservative for decades, and the Tea Party was
only the latest step in that direction."
The full story at Talking Points Memo:
Monday, March 30, 2015
Sunday, March 29, 2015
The Conversation
NYTimes.com
For generations, parents of black boys across the United States have rehearsed, dreaded and postponed “The Conversation.” But when their boys become teenagers, parents must choose whether or not to expose their sons to what it means to be a black man here.
To keep him safe, they may have to tell the child they love that he risks being targeted by the police, simply because of the color of his skin. How should parents impart this information, while maintaining their child’s pride and sense of self? How does one teach a child to face dangerous racism and ask him to emerge unscathed?
This Op-Doc video is the NYT's attempt to explore this quandary, by listening to a variety of parents and the different ways they handle these sensitive discussions. In bringing about more public awareness that these conversations exist, we hope that someday they won’t be necessary.
For generations, parents of black boys across the United States have rehearsed, dreaded and postponed “The Conversation.” But when their boys become teenagers, parents must choose whether or not to expose their sons to what it means to be a black man here.
To keep him safe, they may have to tell the child they love that he risks being targeted by the police, simply because of the color of his skin. How should parents impart this information, while maintaining their child’s pride and sense of self? How does one teach a child to face dangerous racism and ask him to emerge unscathed?
This Op-Doc video is the NYT's attempt to explore this quandary, by listening to a variety of parents and the different ways they handle these sensitive discussions. In bringing about more public awareness that these conversations exist, we hope that someday they won’t be necessary.
Saturday, March 28, 2015
Activism Spurs Change on Campuses
Millennials are sometimes called the "Me" generation, but they are the "We" generation when issues of racism and police brutality captured national attention, young college students across the nation answered the call for a new wave of activists.
College students all across the nation used social media platforms to collectively call for justice in the name of unarmed teen Michael Brown when he was gunned down by Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson.
Medical students launched #WhiteCoats4BlackLives following the death of unarmed Staten Island father Eric Garner, which sparked nationwide die-ins at universities like Duke and Yale. More recently, students at the University of Virginia became a united front after fellow student Martese Johnson became the latest Black victim of police brutality.
Despite claims that social media would rot their brains or lead to their demise, college students of all races have utilized the tools they have today and the power of their collective voices to create tangible changes and widespread movements and spark national discussions.
more...
College students all across the nation used social media platforms to collectively call for justice in the name of unarmed teen Michael Brown when he was gunned down by Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson.
Medical students launched #WhiteCoats4BlackLives following the death of unarmed Staten Island father Eric Garner, which sparked nationwide die-ins at universities like Duke and Yale. More recently, students at the University of Virginia became a united front after fellow student Martese Johnson became the latest Black victim of police brutality.
Despite claims that social media would rot their brains or lead to their demise, college students of all races have utilized the tools they have today and the power of their collective voices to create tangible changes and widespread movements and spark national discussions.
more...
State Preempts Municipal Control Over Gas Drilling
On March 24, the Texas House of Representatives’ Energy Resources Committee passed a bill that would rescind the fracking ban in Denton and other efforts by local Texas municipalities to protect themselves from the oil and gas industry. Once language in the bill is finalized, the legislation will make its way to the full Texas Senate for a vote.
On March 23, hundreds turned up to speak out against State Rep. Drew Darby‘s (R - San Angelo) proposed House Bill 40 at a hearing in Austin that lasted more than eight hours. The committee has yet to vote on HB 40. The Texas Senate Natural Resources Economic Development Committee voted unanimously on March 24 to approve Senate Bill 1165. SB 1165 is a bill with legislative language similar to HB 40 that also asserts the state’s preemptive right over local city control to regulate oil and gas development.
For over a decade, more than 300 cities have come up with their own ordinances to do things how they see fit within their city limits, a right the Texas constitution grants to cities. The bill would be retroactive making it impossible to enforce all local ordinances created in the last decade in more than 300 cities, according to the Texas Municipal League.
Read the full story at Desmogblog.com
On March 23, hundreds turned up to speak out against State Rep. Drew Darby‘s (R - San Angelo) proposed House Bill 40 at a hearing in Austin that lasted more than eight hours. The committee has yet to vote on HB 40. The Texas Senate Natural Resources Economic Development Committee voted unanimously on March 24 to approve Senate Bill 1165. SB 1165 is a bill with legislative language similar to HB 40 that also asserts the state’s preemptive right over local city control to regulate oil and gas development.
For over a decade, more than 300 cities have come up with their own ordinances to do things how they see fit within their city limits, a right the Texas constitution grants to cities. The bill would be retroactive making it impossible to enforce all local ordinances created in the last decade in more than 300 cities, according to the Texas Municipal League.
Read the full story at Desmogblog.com
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