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Today’s comic by Jen Sorensen is Pros and cons of the new Supreme Court:
• Vox narrowed down Trump’s Hannity interview to its six most bizarre moments.
• Flaunting his treason:
Whatever Trump is or isn't guilty of behind the scenes, as Greg Sargent of the Washington Post argued, he "is currently in the process of repaying Putin for helping to deliver him the presidency," and the collusion is happening right out in public. Trump is parading around his allegiance to Putin, relishing the fact that he can commit what looks quite a bit like treason right in front of people's faces, all without paying any price for it.
This may seem nuts — typically, we expect people to make some sort of effort to conceal their unethical and criminal behavior — but it fits the larger pattern of Trump's life. He really likes doing bad things and getting away with it, and he especially likes bragging about it.
• More Muslim candidates this year than since before 9/11 attacks: Whether it’s Congress, or state legislatures, city councils, or school boards, Muslim Americans—goaded into action by the anti-Muslim rhetoric of Donald Trump and many of his supporters—are running for office this year. In addition to all the other pressures that can cause the fizzling of the campaigns of candidates from many backgrounds, these candidates also face anti-Muslim backlash. For instance, Abdul El-Sayed, the Democratic candidate for governor, has been accused GOP rival that he has ties to the controversial Muslim Brotherhood, even though Republican and Democratic politicians alike have denouncedthe accusations as “conspiracy theories.”
MIDDAY TWEET
• Researchers show real estate agents steer people of color to more polluted neighborhoods: In a study titled “Sorting or Steering: Experimental Evidence on the Economic Effects of Housing Discrimination,” economists Peter Christensen and Christopher Timmins found that people of color looking to buy homes are systematically directed to areas where there are higher concentrations of toxic contamination and pollution than in the areas real estate agents send white buyers. Housing segregation has long been an element of racist discrimination in the United States. It happened at all levels of government, and every region of the nation, not merely the South. For more than 30 years, the New Deal-established Federal Housing Administration would not lend money to black homebuyers. In 1968, the Fair Housing Act ended some of the more blatant forms of this discrimination, but where there is a way to get around anti-discrimination laws, count on people to do so.
• Fifty years ago the Whole Earth Catalog made its debut, and sparked changes in thinking:
In the fall of 1968 a Stanford-trained biologist, organizer of the legendary Trips Festival and Merry Prankster named Stewart Brand published the first Whole Earth Catalog. Between 1968 and 1972, the Catalog reached millions of readers and won the National Book Award.
The title and iconic cover image of this counterculture classic celebrated the first publicly released NASA photographs showing the whole planet Earth from space. These images profoundly changed the way humans thought about the environment. And the Catalog played an important role in that change.
• American Council on Renewable Energy (ACORE) seeks $1 trillion in U.S. investment in renewable energy by 2030: Since 2007, according to Ethical Markets' Green Transition Scoreboard, we’ve seen $5.9 trillion invested globally in renewable energy and energy efficiency. In 2017 global investment reached $333.5 billion with U.S. investment that year at $57 billion. These investments have lowered the cost of utility-scale solar by 77 percent, the cost of wind by 38 percent and the cost of battery storage by 79 percent since 2009. Solar and wind will continue to see lower costs, but not a quite the steep trajectory of the past few years. Battery prices are forecast to fall 67% more by 2030, experts predict. But to get to ACORE’s $1 trillion in total U.S. renewables investment within a dozen years means changes in policies. Among them: a long-term federal policy commitment providing support for carbon free electricity generation; federal, state and regional policies to promote modernization of the nation’s electrical grid; continued expansion of state renewable portfolio standards; reforms to facilitate siting and permitting processes.
On today’s Kagro in the Morning show: The morning after treason is always so awkward! Should we be saying that aloud? The arguments cut both ways. And then there are the arguments about the definitions of everything we’re arguing about. Legal realism is tough without an objective reality!
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