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Tuesday, February 18, 2025

"Blow it up anyway"

Trump echoes his heroes

Surprising Science Behind What We Really Recall

False Memories Under Fire

By University College London

False memories are much harder to implant than previously believed, according to a new study by researchers at UCL and Royal Holloway, University of London.

The 1995 “Lost in the Mall” study has been widely referenced in criminal trials, especially in cases of historical sexual abuse — most notably by Harvey Weinstein’s defense team — to question the reliability of accusers’ memories.

This well-known study suggested that implanting false memories of events that never happened is relatively easy. In the original study, 25% of the 24 participants falsely remembered being lost in a supermarket at the age of five.

In 2023, psychologists from University College Cork and University College Dublin replicated the study using the same methods but with a larger sample of 123 participants. They reported a higher rate of false memories, claiming that 35% of participants recalled the fabricated event.

Clinical trials for nasal COVID vaccine to begin

Nasal COVID-19 vaccine based on WashU technology to enter U.S. clinical trials

by Tamara Schneider

A nasal vaccine for COVID-19 – based on technology developed at Washington University in St. Louis – is poised to enter a phase 1 clinical trial in the U.S.

A nasal vaccine for COVID-19 – based on technology developed at Washington University in St. Louis – is poised to enter a phase 1 clinical trial in the U.S. after an investigational new drug application from Ocugen, Inc. was approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Ocugen, a U.S.-based biotechnology company, licensed the innovative technology from WashU in 2022.

The trial will be sponsored and conducted by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The FDA’s action is a critical first step toward initiation of the phase 1 trial, planned for this spring.

While cases of COVID-19 have fallen dramatically since the early years of the pandemic, the virus continues to circulate and still causes significant illnesses and deaths. The nasal vaccine technology is designed to induce strong immunity in the nose and upper respiratory tract, right where the virus enters the body, thereby potentially stopping transmission of the virus in addition to reducing serious illness and death. Most COVID-19 vaccines are injected into the arm or leg, and while they are effective at reducing illness and death, they do not halt transmission. The new trial will evaluate the safety and efficacy of the vaccine administered via two routes: inhaled into the lungs and sprayed into the nose.

Gun safety advocates set sights again on passing an assault weapons ban

Rhode Island tries again to ban military-style weapons

By Alexander Castro, Rhode Island Current

Mia Tretta cared more about her Spanish grade and who was going to ask her to the school dance than advocacy as a 15-year-old growing up in California. That changed on Nov. 14, 2019.

“An older student I had never met before entered my school with a gun in his backpack,” the Brown University sophomore told dozens of people gathered Tuesday afternoon in the State Room of the Rhode Island State House.

That was the day Tretta was airlifted to a hospital where doctors removed a bullet from her stomach. She was one of six students shot with a Colt 1911, which the perpetrator had assembled at home. The shooting lasted 16 seconds, killing two students and injuring three others before the perpetrator shot himself in the head.

Tretta was surprised to learn Rhode Island did not have a ban on semiautomatic weapons like the one used in the school shooting in which she was injured. Now a student leader for Brown University Students Demand Action and Everytown for Gun Safety, she joined Gov. Dan McKee, Rhode Island’s general officers, a slate of lawmakers and a crowd of gun legislation advocates — many wearing orange and red shirts —  for a press conference ahead of legislation that seeks to ban what the state calls assault weapons.  

Monday, February 17, 2025

Trump's Old-School Brand of Imperialism

MAGA-Fest Destiny

William Astore for the TomDispatch

A few years ago, I came across an old book at an estate sale. Its title caught my eye: “Our New Possessions.” Its cover featured the Statue of Liberty against stylized stars and stripes. 

What were those “new possessions”? The cover made it quite clear: Cuba, Hawaii, the Philippines, and Puerto Rico. The subtitle made it even clearer: “A graphic account, descriptive and historical, of the tropic islands of the sea which have fallen under our sway, their cities, peoples, and commerce, natural resources and the opportunities they offer to Americans.” 

What a mouthful! I’m still impressed with the notion that “tropical” peoples falling “under our sway” offered real Americans amazing opportunities, as did our (whoops — I meant their) lands. Consider that Manifest Destiny at its boldest, imperialism unapologetically being celebrated as a new basis for burgeoning American greatness.

The year that imperial celebration was published — 1898 — won’t surprise students of U.S. history. America had just won its splendid little imperial war with Spain, an old empire very much in the “decline and fall” stage of a rich, long, and rapacious history. And just then red-blooded Americans like “Rough Rider” Teddy Roosevelt were emerging as the inheritors of the conquistador tradition of an often murderously swashbuckling Spanish Empire.

Of course, freedom-loving Americans were supposed to know better than to follow in the tradition of “old world” imperial exploitation. Nevertheless, cheerleaders and mentors like storyteller Rudyard Kipling were then urging Americans to embrace Europe’s civilizing mission, to take up “the white man’s burden,” to spread enlightenment and civilization to the benighted darker-skinned peoples of the tropics. 

Yet to cite just one example, U.S. troops dispatched to the Philippines on their “civilizing” mission quickly resorted to widespread murder and torture, methods of “pacification” that might even have made Spanish inquisitors blush. That grim reality wasn’t lost on Mark Twain and other critics who spoke out against imperialism, American-style, with its murderous suppression of Filipino “guerrillas” and bottomless hypocrisy about its “civilizing” motives.

After his exposure to “enlightened” all-American empire-building, retired Major General Smedley Butler, twice awarded the Medal of Honor, would bluntly write in the 1930s of war as a “racket” and insist his long career as a Marine had been spent largely in the service of “gangster” capitalism. Now there was a plain-speaking American hero.

And speaking of plain-speaking, or perhaps plain-boasting, I suggest that we think of Donald Trump as America’s retro president from 1898. Isn’t it time, America, to reach for our destiny once again? Isn’t it time for more tropical (and Arctic) peoples to be put “under our sway”? Greenland! Canada! The Panama Canal! 

These and other regions of the globe offer Donald Trump’s America so many “opportunities.” And if we can’t occupy an area like the Gulf of Mexico, the least we can do is rebrand it the Gulf of America! A lexigraphic “mission accomplished” moment bought with no casualties, which sure beats the calamitous wars of George W. Bush and Barack Obama in this century!

Now, here’s what I appreciate about Trump: the transparent nature of his greed. He doesn’t shroud American imperialism in happy talk. He says it just like they did in 1898. It’s about resources and profits. 

As the dedication page to that old book from 1898 put it: “To all Americans who go a-pioneering in our new possessions and to the people who are there before them.” Oh, and pay no attention to that “before” caveat. 

We Americans clearly came first then and, at least to Donald Trump, come first now, and — yes! — we come to rule. The world is our possession and our beneficence will certainly serve the peoples who were there before us in Greenland or anywhere else (the “hellhole” of Gaza included), even if we have to torture or kill them in the process of winning their hearts and minds.

Move fast and break things

The Washington Post refused to run this ad from Common Cause

We need more bonobos in Washington

Great apes know when you're full of crap

Johns Hopkins University

To get treats, apes eagerly pointed them out to humans who didn't know where they were, a seemingly simple experiment that demonstrated for the first time that apes will communicate unknown information in the name of teamwork. 

The study also provides the clearest evidence to date that apes can intuit another's ignorance, an ability thought to be uniquely human.

The work by researchers with Johns Hopkins University's Social and Cognitive Origins Group published today in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

"The ability to sense gaps in one another's knowledge is at the heart of our most sophisticated social behaviors, central to the ways we cooperate, communicate and work together strategically," said co-author Chris Krupenye a Johns Hopkins assistant professor of psychological and brain sciences who studies how animals think. 

"Because this so-called theory of mind supports many of the capacities that make humans unique, like teaching and language, many believe it is absent from animals. But this work demonstrates the rich mental foundations that humans and other apes share -- and suggests that these abilities evolved millions of years ago in our common ancestors."

Is Your Drinking Water Safe?

Common Chemicals Linked to Rising Cancer Risk

By Keck School of Medicine of USC

New research from the Keck School of Medicine at USC reveals that communities with drinking water contaminated by manufactured chemicals called per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) face up to a 33% higher risk of developing certain cancers.

Published in the Journal of Exposure Science and Environmental Epidemiology and funded by the National Institutes of Health, this is the first U.S.-based study to directly examine the link between PFAS contamination in drinking water and cancer.

PFAS are widely used in consumer products like furniture and food packaging and have been detected in approximately 45% of drinking water supplies across the United States. These chemicals are slow to degrade and accumulate in the body over time. Previous studies have connected PFAS exposure to several health issues, including kidney, breast, and testicular cancers.

To paint a more comprehensive picture of PFAS and cancer risk, Keck School of Medicine researchers conducted an ecological study, which uses large population-level datasets to identify patterns of exposure and associated risk. 

They found that between 2016 and 2021, counties across the U.S. with PFAS-contaminated drinking water had a higher incidence of certain types of cancer, which differed by sex. Overall, PFAS in drinking water are estimated to contribute to more than 6,800 cancer cases each year, based on the most recent data from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

OF NOTE: you should read this article on Trump's decision to rescind proposed regulations on PFAS - "Amid series of rapid-fire policy reversals, Trump quietly withdraws proposed limits on PFAS"

Try to imagine a Category Four hurricane hitting Rhode Island

If FEMA didn’t exist, could states handle the disaster response alone?

Photo by another Trump-Musk endangered agency,
the National Weather Service
Imagine a world in which a hurricane devastates the Gulf Coast, and the U.S. has no federal agency prepared to quickly send supplies, financial aid and temporary housing assistance.

Could the states manage this catastrophic event on their own?

Normally, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, known as FEMA, is prepared to marshal supplies within hours of a disaster and begin distributing financial aid to residents who need help.

However, with Donald Trump questioning FEMA’s future and suggesting states take over recovery instead, and climate change causing more frequent and severe disasters, it’s worth asking how prepared states are to face these growing challenges without help.

What FEMA does

FEMA was created in 1979 with the job of coordinating national responses to disasters, but the federal government has played important roles in disaster relief since the 1800s.

During a disaster, FEMA’s assistance can begin only after a state requests an emergency declaration and the U.S. president approves it. The request has to show that the disaster is so severe that the state can’t handle the response on its own.

FEMA’s role is to support state and local governments by coordinating federal agencies and providing financial aid and recovery assistance that states would otherwise struggle to supply on their own. FEMA doesn’t “take over,” as a misinformation campaign launched during Hurricane Helene claimed. Instead, it pools federal resources to allow states to recover faster from expensive disasters.

During a disaster, FEMA:

  • Coordinates federal resources. For example, during Hurricane Ian in 2022, FEMA coordinated with the U.S. Coast Guard, the Department of Defense and search-and-rescue teams to conduct rescue operations, organized utility crews to begin restoring power and also delivered water and millions of meals.

  • Provides financial assistance. FEMA distributes billions of dollars in disaster relief funds to help individuals, businesses and local governments recover. As of Feb. 3, 2025, FEMA aid from 2024 storms included US$1.04 billion related to Hurricane Milton, $416.1 million for Hurricane Helene and $112.6 million for Hurricane Debby.

  • Provides logistical support. FEMA coordinates with state and local governments, nonprofits such as the American Red Cross and federal agencies to supply cots, blankets and hygiene supplies for emergency shelters. It also works with state and local partners to distribute critical supplies such as food, water and medical aid.

The agency also manages the National Flood Insurance Program, offers disaster preparedness training and helps states develop response plans to improve their overall responses systems.

Sunday, February 16, 2025

Yes, Trump is a malignant narcissist and sadist with an insatiable lust for power who gets pleasure out of making others squirm. But there’s something else.

Trump's Trade War, Authoritarian Power, and the Oligarchs

Robert Reich in Inequality Media

Understand this: The reason Trump has raised tariffs on Canada and Mexico is not to have more bargaining leverage to get better deals for the United States from Canada or from Mexico.

Hours before the Canadian tariffs went into effect, Trump was asked if there was anything Canada could do to stop them. “We’re not looking for a concession,” Trump said, speaking to reporters in the Oval Office on Friday afternoon. “We’ll just see what happens, we’ll see what happens.”

The real reason Trump has raised tariffs on Canada and Mexico is to show the world that he’s willing to harm (smaller) economies even at the cost of harming America’s (very large) economy.

The point is the show — so the world knows it’s dealing with someone who’s willing to mete out big punishments. Trump increases his power by demonstrating he has the power and is willing to use it.

The same with deporting, say, Colombians or Brazilians in military planes, handcuffed and shackled. If, say, Colombia or Brazil complains about their treatment, so much the better. Trump says, without any basis in fact, that they’re criminals. Then he threatens tariffs. If Colombia backs down, Trump has once again demonstrated his power.

Why did Trump stop foreign aid? Not because it’s wasteful. In fact, it helps stabilize the world and reduces the spread of communicable diseases. The real reason Trump stopped foreign aid is he wants to show he can.

Why is he disregarding (or threatening to tear up) treaties and agreements (the Paris Agreement, NATO, whatever)? Not because such treaties and agreements are bad for America. To the contrary, they’re in America’s best interest.

The real reason Trump is tearing up treaties is they tie Trump’s hands and thereby limit his discretion to mete out punishments and rewards.

Thoughts and prayers

This is how it works

Rhode Island progressive legislators call for action on the challenges ahead

RI lawmakers introduce the Working Families Agenda to tackle issues impacting working families, including threats from the White House

Steve Ahlquist

From a press release:

A diverse group of over 20 legislators came together Wednesday to announce their Working Families Agenda, a list of top priorities for the 2025 legislative session. The group, which included representatives from across Rhode Island, presented a list of policies that will address the major issues affecting working people and that lawmakers agree should be prioritized to protect Rhode Islanders from the chaos and cruelty of the White House.

"It’s well-known—no matter your party or politics—that this State is staring down a crisis: President Trump looks hell-bent on cutting hundreds of million dollars or more to Rhode Island in particular,” said Representative David Morales, who spoke at the press conference. “So our Working Families agenda is about protecting families. But it’s also a call to action: For every Democrat in the Rhode Island State House, fighting Trump and Musk’s agenda starts in this building."

The Working Families Agenda includes proposals to raise wages, ensure Rhode Islanders don’t lose their healthcare, protect against Medicaid and federal funding cuts, eliminate barriers to life-saving emergency medication, expand access to quality affordable childcare, protect tenants from eviction and rising rents, and generate more revenue through fair taxation to be re-invested into working people’s priorities.

During the press conference, lawmakers emphasized the importance of a State government that stands firmly on the side of working people, calling attention to the State House’s role in fighting for ‘local solutions to national crises.’

Get toxic plastics out of our food

FDA must set limits on PFAS in food, lawsuit says

Shannon Kelleher 

US regulators are failing to address concerns about toxic PFAS chemicals in foods despite having the scientific tools to do so, according to a lawsuit filed by an environmental group in Tucson, Arizona.

The lawsuit, filed on Jan. 24 in the US District Court of Arizona, follows the submission of a legal petition filed in November 2023 by the Tucson Environmental Justice Task Force that asked the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to establish limits for certain per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) the agency has found in blueberries, lettuce, milk, salmon and other foods. The group wants the FDA to take action to remove products from grocery store shelves if PFAS residues are found at the minimum level of detection.

“We’re asking [the FDA] to do something that they are required to do under the law, that they failed to do under the law,” said Sandra Daussin, attorney for the plaintiffs and a plaintiff herself who worked for over 25 years as a regulatory chemist for agricultural products and environmental protection.

Rage is the driving force behind Trump's early actions

Why Trump’s rage defies historical and literary comparisons

The Greek divinity Nemesis, rarely depicted in art, has no place in the Olympian pantheon of a dozen gods and goddesses. But she’s an omnipresent force of retribution, an implacable force of punishment that arrives, if not sooner, then later.

Nemesis can bide her time for generations, but there’s no escaping her.

So too, it seems, with President Donald Trump, who is “clearly not a man who discards his grudges easily,” William Galston of the Brookings Institution said recently. This observation is an understatement.

Trump’s resentment has been steaming since the 2020 presidential election. Now that he is again president, he’s far from appeased; his ire is boiling over.

Flooding the zone,” a term borrowed from football, was former Trump adviser Steve Bannon’s way of describing the Trumpian tactic of issuing a barrage of statements whose sheer pace and multiplicity, not to mention contents, are intended to stymie any impulse at rational response.

As he has gained fame and power, Trump’s contemptuous rage at his opponents and his appetite for vengeance appear to have sharpened.

Like Nemesis, Trump is now pursuing his perceived enemies, using the power of the presidency. Among his recent retribution: He has fired Department of Justice officials and staff who worked on criminal investigations and prosecutions of him; he has revoked security clearances for intelligence officials to “punish his perceived opponents,” as one news story put it. 

And he has removed the portrait of Gen. Mark Milley from the Pentagon wall that traditionally features portraits of the retired chairmen of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, as Milley was. In 2024, journalist Bob Woodward reported that Milley had told him, “No one has ever been as dangerous to this country as Donald Trump. Now I realize he’s a total fascist. He is the most dangerous person to this country” – clearly sparking Trump’s ire.

As a poet and student of the classics, my impulse is to find analogs for this behavior, this temperament – precedents that might help provide some perspective.

Saturday, February 15, 2025

Soften the blow by stocking up on these tariff-sensitive items

Stockpile but don't go nuts

By Will Collette

You’ve heard a lot lately about Donald Trump’s plan to impose “tariffs” (also called “duties”) on imported goods. We still don’t know if he will impose these tariffs across the board as he said he would during his campaign. Or whether he will target them to gain bargaining power, punish countries for some real or imagined offense or just pressure them, as he threatened to do against Canada to force it to become the US’s 51st state.

Tariffs are paid for by you, not the targeted country.

US importers of foreign goods pay the actual tariff and then pass that cost onto you. Trump’s tariff blitz on Canada and Mexico, now postponed, will have a huge impact on food and construction materials. Because of low margins in those industries, the tariffs will be passed on almost entirely on YOU.

Trump has NOT postponed the 10% tariff on China and, given how so much of what Americans use comes from China, that means we will be seeing what is basically a 10% National Sales Tax on all those goods. China is a major supplier of medications so there may be a big spike in the cost of prescriptions and over-the-counter meds.

But food is probably the most sensitive item to tariff-driven price hikes because of very low mark-ups at markets and Canada and Mexico supply much of what we eat. Canada is a huge source of America’s grains and cereals. We get the majority of our fresh produce from Mexico. You WILL pay a 25% Trump Sales Tax on food if he decides to go ahead with his tariffs.

Economists are already saying that Trump's tariffs, if imposed as he promised, would amount to the largest tax increase in US history with the brunt of it falling on low income and middle-class families.

A couple of rarely discussed effects will also hit you in the pocketbook. One is supply-chain disruption as these dramatic tax hikes create chaos in the marketplace. Expect shortages, especially for meats, that will also crank up prices. Further, since the price of Canadian and Mexican food products will go up drastically, US food producers will see these tariffs as an invitation to boost their prices and profits.

Further, Trump’s deportation binge will remove many of the workers who grow and harvest American fields and also work in the packing and processing plants that prepare the food to go into the food chain. This will cause food rotting in the fields, shortages and price hikes.

You can do some stocking up to perhaps cushion some of the blow.

Using a freezer and dry storage, you can stock up on meats and seafood, nuts, coffee, chocolate, fruits and vegetables.

More than half of our red meats come from Canada. Vietnam and Mexico supply most of our nuts. Latin America and Canada supply most of our beans. We have virtually no domestic production of coffee or the cacao beans that make chocolate, although climate change may make it possible to grow coffee and cacao on the US mainland. 

A small amount of our coffee comes from Hawaii (Kona coffee) and a small growing region in Puerto Rico, but that’s only a tiny fraction of what Americans need. Cafe Bustelo is partly comprised of Puerto Rico beans but mostly coffee from Columbia and Guatemala. 

I’ve been accumulating a personal stockpile of coffee in the freezer for added freshness.

Dietitians say that canned or frozen fruits and vegetables are almost as nutritious as fresh, although there’s nothing like fresh for taste. And say goodbye to salads.

During the pandemic, we saw shortages and the beginning of the on-going food cost inflation. Some people bought a lot of flour but many lost their investment because of improper storage and deterioration when flour is stored at room temperature.

I wish there was a way to address the out-of-control prices of eggs, other than use substitutes. 

In addition to being subject to Trump's ill-advised economic practices, chicken and egg prices are sky-rocketing due to widespread bird (or avian) flu. If you are thinking of raising your own chickens, be aware that they are as susceptible to getting bird flu from wild birds as commercially grown chickens. 

There is no treatment or vaccine for bird flu. Standard practice has been to destroy entire flocks even if only one bird is infected. I don't expect the Trump regime to be any more effective at dealing with avian flu than they were in dealing with COVID. Heaven forbid they should launch a drive to find a vaccine. 

I do expect Trump to follow his COVID gameplan of denying there is a problem, promoting phony remedies, making up some conspiracy theories, covering up the science and statistics on the outbreak and generally let the disease take its toll. He is already gutting and censoring our country's tools to fight this and other diseases.

On that cheerful note, here’s a handy list of egg substitutes to get you started.

You should look at your household’s needs and do the research to see the best way to safely store the food.

Of course you can consider growing your own, though climate conditions limit the practical effect of an anticipated new wave of Victory Gardens.

This is what 49.9% of the voters voted for, despite very specific warnings. If you're angry about inflation, blame MAGA.

Yeah, great choice

Another reason why the separation of church and state is in the Constitution

Magaziner Co-Leads New Bill to Prevent Human Trafficking

Trump's best friend Jeffrey Epstein went to prison for sex trafficking and died 

Representative Seth Magaziner (RI-02) introduced the Ensuring Accountability and Dignity in Government Contracting Act of 2025, along with Representatives David Valadao (CA-22),  Mike Turner (OH-10), Raja Krishnamoorthi (IL-08), and Senators James Lankford (R-OK), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Maggie Hassan (D-NH).

 This bipartisan, bicameral legislation closes gaps in federal rules that allow human trafficking by organizations that have a relationship with the federal government to persist,  while strengthening agency oversight, accountability, and reporting requirements. 

“The United States must never rest in combating human trafficking – especially when that trafficking is enabled by taxpayer dollars,” said Congressman Seth Magaziner. “This bipartisan, bicameral bill will increase anti-trafficking efforts by improving oversight of government contracts, accountability for contractors, and strengthening enforcement of standards.” 

“The United States has a zero-tolerance policy for human trafficking, yet recent reports make it clear that federal agencies are failing to take meaningful action to prevent trafficking in government contracts,” said Congressman Valadao“I’m proud to introduce this bill which will ensure contractors have anti-trafficking compliance plans in place and guarantee that when violations occur, there are consequences. American taxpayers should never be complicit in human trafficking, and this legislation takes critical steps to prevent that from happening.” 

“We must do everything we can to prevent human trafficking,” said Senator Klobuchar. “This bipartisan legislation is another step in the fight to end trafficking, by ensuring federal contractors have a plan to prevent human trafficking and to look into further contracting reform to stop trafficking.” 

“It is unthinkable that taxpayer dollars would fund human and labor trafficking,” said Senator Lankford. “Lax standards and procedures have enabled traffickers to continue their abuse of vulnerable people. This bill puts proactive measures in place to make sure that no taxpayer funds are spent on federal contracts that don’t safeguard against trafficking.” 

The Ensuring Accountability and Dignity in Government Contracting Act of 2025 would:

  1. Require contractors to provide anti-trafficking compliance plans for covered contracts to contracting officers.
  2. Provide federal contracting officials with relevant information they can use when developing plans to oversee contractors’ trafficking prevention efforts, by expanding and strengthening the current contractor certification requirements.
  3. Require the Inspector General to investigate all credible information about potential human trafficking violations, including when recipients report it and indicate they have taken actions to address it.
  4. Direct Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to assess and report on the feasibility of enhancing government anti-trafficking efforts by amending relevant laws for contractor compliance assessments, streamlining reporting processes, and mandating training for contracting personnel.
  5. Upon receipt of an Inspector General report of alleged noncompliance, suspend grant payments until the contractor has taken appropriate remedial action. 

The U.S. government has a zero-tolerance policy for human trafficking among U.S. government employees and contractors. Despite Congress increasing federal contracting reporting requirements as part of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) has recently published an alarming report that trafficking allegations within the federal contracting space continue. 

In 2022, the End Human Trafficking in Government Contracts Act was signed into law. This legislation enhanced the existing anti-human trafficking framework by requiring agencies to refer contractor reports of suspected human trafficking activity to an agency suspension and debarment official (SDO). 

Despite these efforts, in 2022 and 2023 the SDO offices at agencies, including the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Department of State, Department of Defense, and Agency for International Development, received no referrals of Inspector General-investigated trafficking allegations against contract recipients.

The Ensuring Accountability and Dignity in Government Contracting Act of 2025 would ensure that agencies adopt a systematic approach to prevent trafficking in federal contracts. 

Read the full bill here.

BPA exposure triggers dangerous pregnancy symptoms in mice, new study reports

Food packaging plastic can be a hazard to pregnant women

Pamela Ferdinand 

Recent research indicates that exposure to bisphenol A (BPA), a common product in plastic products, during pregnancy disrupts uterine development in mice—triggering preeclampsia, a serious and life-threatening condition.

Preeclampsia (PE) involves dangerously high blood pressure that develops during pregnancy. It accounts for approximately 15% of all premature deliveries in the U.S. and is one of the leading causes of maternal death worldwide. Women who have had hypertensive disorders of pregnancy like preeclampsia are also at higher risk of developing early coronary artery disease.

BPA, meanwhile, is an endocrine disruptor often found in products such as processed food and food packaging, beverage containers, baby bottles, and many other consumer products.

In a study published last month [December 2024] in the Journal of Hazardous Materials, researchers using mouse models found that BPA exposure impedes the uterine preparation process essential for pregnancy, known as decidualization. During this process, specialized cells from the outer layer of the developing embryo, called trophoblasts, infiltrate the uterine lining to assist in forming the placenta.

The study revealed that BPA exposure then triggers severe pregnancy symptoms linked to preeclampsia by increasing a protein known as CYP1B1. This protein speeds up the breakdown of estrogen and progesterone and reduces concentrations of these hormones, the researchers say. 

Furthermore, the researchers observed that BPA exposure reduced the expression of important hormone receptors (ERα and PGR) in uterine tissue and their associated genes. These receptors are vital for regulating growth, reproduction, and sustaining a pregnancy.

Putting Military Families at Risk

And the rest of us, too

by Philip Mattera, director of the Corporate Research Project for the Dirt Diggers Digest

 

I don’t recall Donald Trump saying during the presidential campaign that he planned to make his supporters helpless against predatory lenders and financial scam artists, but that is apparently what he is about to do at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Trump has ousted CFPB director Rohit Chopra, a zealous champion of consumer protection, and given control of the agency to Scott Bessent, the former hedge fund manager who is already serving as Treasury Secretary.

Bessent’s first act was to order a halt to all activities at the CFPB, including rulemaking and enforcement. He issued a statement saying: “I look forward to working with the CFPB to advance President Trump’s agenda to lower costs for the American people and accelerate economic growth.” Translation: I will slash regulation and perpetuate the myth that reduced oversight works to the benefit of consumers.

The firing of Chopra and freezing of CFPB activities come as welcome news to major financial institutions and fly-by-night operators, both of which have sought to neutralize the agency ever since it began operation in 2011. 

Friday, February 14, 2025

Full-scale MAGA war on Chariho begins

Chariho School Committee's leadership prepares to go after libraries, face masks, Title IX, and trans kids

Steve Ahlquist

Steve’s editorial note: Chariho School Committee Member Donna Chambers [Charlestown—Charlestown Citizens Alliance] wrote to me:

“Although your latest reporting is accurate about the request for policy reviews by Polly Hopkins, it is not the Leadership of Chariho as your headlines suggest. I am on the policy review committee and when these policies come up to be reviewed, they will be looked at fairly, respectfully, and with the welfare and safety of all students in mind.”

At the February 11 meeting of the Chariho School Committee, right-wing Republicans aligned with Moms for Liberty announced their intention to go after seven policies, targeting face masks, libraries, Title IX, and the safety of trans and gender-diverse students.

Chariho is a regionalized school District with representatives from Charlestown, Richmond, and Hopkinton. The School Committee is made up of four persons from each town.

Richmond Republican Louise Dinsmore, who became Chair of the Committee after some legislative shenanigans, [See here and here] signed onto the Moms for Liberty Pledge while running for office. Dinsmore joins Hopkinton Republican and Moms for Liberty member Dianne Tefft, who was elected to the Committee last election. I wrote about the pledge ahead of the election here. Committee Member Polly Hopkins, a Hopkinton Republican, strongly supported Dinsmore becoming Chair. Committee Member Dianne Tefft [Hopkinton—R] also signed the Moms for Liberty Pledge.

Plan your next vacation

It's not too early to be thinking about summer jobs

DEM Seeking Lifeguards Park Rangers & Other Seasonal Positions

The Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management (DEM) is recruiting to fill critical summertime positions like lifeguards, park rangers, and other key staff to work at state beaches, parks, and campgrounds. 

If you like being outdoors, want to make a positive impact on visitor experiences and our environment, DEM has hundreds of seasonal employment opportunities across its divisions. Potential applicants are encouraged to visit DEM's seasonal employment webpage to apply for the position that interests them. 

"DEM relies on hiring a robust seasonal workforce each year to manage parks, beaches, and other facilities," said DEM Director Terry Gray. "Working outside at some of the state's premier travel destinations, gaining professional development experience for future degree programs and employment, and having the opportunity to meet and work with people from around the world are just a few of the many perks of joining DEM's team.” 

State lawmakers take on Rhode Island Energy as utility bills and frustrations soar

Cotter and Gu lead fight to curb electricity bills

By Nancy Lavin, Rhode Island Current

 Rep. Megan Cotter, an Exeter Democrat, greets constituent
Chris Callaci while canvassing on the day of the Nov. 5 election
outside Exeter Chapel. (Photo by Laura Paton/Rhode Island Current)
Fueled by constituent concerns over rapidly rising — and more unpredictable — gas and electric bills, Rhode Island lawmakers are cranking the heat up on the state’s primary utility operator.

Leading the charge is Rep. Megan Cotter, whose district abuts Charlestown, who introduced a pair of bills in January that, if approved, would cut Rhode Island Energy’s profit margins by more than half while potentially introducing a rival, publicly owned utility company

“When I was door-knocking, all people were talking about is that they can’t afford to pay for food, utilities, insulin,” Cotter said in an interview on Thursday, referring to her 2024 reelection campaign. “Something’s gotta give.”

The cyclical rise and fall of utility bills has trended higher in recent years, with supply-side electricity costs reaching record levels in 2022 and 2023. 

PPL Corp., Rhode Island Energy’s parent company, on Thursday reported $888 million in profits for 2024, including utility operations in Rhode Island, Kentucky and Pennsylvania. The earnings mark a 20% increase over the prior year, with a corresponding increase in earnings per share.

Its Rhode Island segment increased annual earnings per share from 13 to 15 cents per year over year, according to the earnings report. 

Rhode Island law authorizes the state’s utility regulators to cap the percentage of revenue its utility provider can earn off gas and electric operations. Since 2018, under a settlement with prior owner National Grid, revenue has been capped at 9.275% per year, with any excess on either gas or electric operations returned to ratepayers.

But Cotter thinks that’s too high. One of her bills would cap annual revenue at 4% of gas and electric operations, beginning on July 1, 2025. A companion bill was introduced in the Rhode Island Senate by Victoria Gu, a Westerly Democrat.

Already, Rhode Island Energy has come out in opposition, even though its annual return on equity margin has come in far below the 9.275% cap in both gas and electric operations in 2022 and 2023, the most recent data available from the Rhode Island Division of Public Utilities and Carriers.

Why the price of your favorite chocolate will continue to rise

Another climate change effect

Narcisa PricopeMississippi State University

A man in a baseball cap reaches for a large pod on a tree.
A farmer in Colombia holds a cacao pod, which holds the
key ingredients for chocolate.
 ©2017CIAT/NeilPalmerCC BY-NC-SA
Valentine’s Day often conjures images of chocolates and romance. But the crop behind this indulgence faces an existential threat.

Regions like northeastern Brazil, one of the world’s notable cocoa-producing areas, are grappling with increasing aridity – a slow, yet unrelenting drying of the land. Cocoa is made from the beans of the cacao tree, which thrives in humid climates. The crop is struggling in these drying regions, and so are the farmers who grow it.

This is not just Brazil’s story. Across West Africa, where 70% of the world’s cacao is grown, and in the Americas and Southeast Asia, shifting moisture levels threaten the delicate balance required for production. These regions, home to vibrant ecosystems and global breadbaskets that feed the world, are on the frontlines of aridity’s slow but relentless advance.

Over the past 30 years, more than three-quarters of the Earth’s landmass has become drier. A recent report I helped coordinate for the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification found that drylands now cover 41% of global land, an area that expanded by nearly 1.7 million square miles (4.3 million square kilometers) over those three decades — about half the size of Australia.

This creeping dryness is not just a climate phenomenon. It’s a long-term transformation that may be irreversible and that carries devastating consequences for ecosystems, agriculture and livelihoods worldwide.

Pope Francis blasts Trump and Vance over immigration

Tells US Bishops to stand with immigrants

By Hannah Brockhaus, Catholic News Agency

Pope Francis and Trump have a history
Pope Francis addressed the bishops of the United States about the country’s ongoing mass deportation of unauthorized immigrants, urging Catholics to consider the justness of laws and policies in light of the dignity and rights of people.

In a letter published Feb. 11, the pope — while supporting a nation’s right to defend itself from people who have committed violent or serious crimes — said a “rightly formed conscience” would disagree with associating the illegal status of some migrants with criminality. 

“The act of deporting people who in many cases have left their own land for reasons of extreme poverty, insecurity, exploitation, persecution, or serious deterioration of the environment damages the dignity of many men and women, and of entire families, and places them in a state of particular vulnerability and defenselessness,” he said.

“All the Christian faithful and people of goodwill,” the pontiff continued, “are called upon to consider the legitimacy of norms and public policies in the light of the dignity of the person and his or her fundamental rights, not vice versa.”

‘Respectful of the dignity of all’

Pope Francis penned the letter to U.S. bishops amid changes to U.S. immigration policy under Donald Trump’s administration, including the increased deportation of migrants, which numerous bishops have criticized.

Thursday, February 13, 2025

Even Those Who Believe Tariffs Are Useful Think Trump's Trade War Makes 'Zero Sense'

The "largest tax increase... that has ever been imposed" on working-class families.

Jake Johnson

The trade war that U.S. President Donald Trump launched over the weekend by announcing sweeping new tariffs on imports from Canada, Mexico, and China drew intense criticism from experts and analysts across the ideological spectrum, including those who believe strategically deployed tariffs can help protect domestic jobs and workers.

"Tariffs are a powerful, effective tool to deliver certain goals. But Trump's Canada/China/Mexico tariffs make zero sense. And even undermine tariffs' legit uses," Lori Wallach, director of the Rethink Trade program at the American Economic Liberties Project, wrote on social media late Sunday, expressing agreement with United Auto Workers president Shawn Fain.

Fain said in a statement that the UAW "supports aggressive tariff action to protect American manufacturing jobs as a good first step to undoing decades of anti-worker trade policy," pointing specifically to the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and its successor agreement that Trump negotiated during his first White House term.

The union does not, however, "support using factory workers as pawns in a fight over immigration or drug policy," Fain continued. "The national emergency we face is not about drugs or immigration, but about a working class that has fallen behind for generations while corporate America exploits workers abroad and consumers at home for massive Wall Street paydays."

The officially stated purpose for Trump's 25% tariffs on Canadian and Mexican imports and 10% tariffs on Chinese imports is to confront what the White House described as the "extraordinary threat" posed by the movement of migrants and drugs across the southern and northern U.S. borders.

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