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Wednesday, June 29, 2016
July 4th weekend at the Mystic Aquarium
How the Trump campaign scam works
The
release of campaign financial filings revealed a curious fact about Donald
Trump. He may end up enriching
himself, his family, and his
far-flung enterprises by running for president.
The New York Times reported the
story with an air of amazement at Trump’s brazen self-dealing. This is no
ordinary campaign.
“Donald J. Trump regularly boasts that he is self-funding his presidential bid, but new campaign finance filings show that he is also shifting plenty of money back to himself in the process.
According to documents submitted to the Federal Election Commission, Mr. Trump, whose campaign has just $1.3 million cash on hand, paid at least $1.1 million to his businesses and family members in May for expenses associated with events and travel costs. The total represents nearly a fifth of the $6 million that his campaign spent in the month.
Game Changer
The Best Analysis of the Supreme Court's Abortion Decision
by Nina Martin for ProPublica
The Supreme Court decision in Whole Woman's Health v. Hellerstedt was an unexpectedly sweeping victory for reproductive rights advocates — a "game changer," said Nancy Northrop of the Center for Reproductive Rights that "leaves the right to an abortion on much stronger footing than it stood on before this decision was handed down," long-time court-watcher Ian Millhiser wrote.
Abortion foes had hoped the court would use the Texas abortion case as an opportunity to gut not just Roe v. Wade, but also 1992's seminal Planned Parenthood v. Casey, which held that abortion laws creating an "undue burden" on women were unconstitutional.
Instead, the court clarified and strengthened Casey while striking down two of Texas law H.B. 2's key provisions — strict building rules for abortion clinics and a requirement that abortion doctors have admitting privileges at local hospitals. This could invalidate anti-abortion laws in another 25 states.
The ruling is expected to have a monumental ripple effect, invalidating strict clinic laws in about half the states. Read the story.
Here's some of the best analysis so far about the Whole Women's Health ruling, what it portends for reproductive rights in the U.S., and the future direction of the Supreme Court.
by Nina Martin for ProPublica
The Supreme Court decision in Whole Woman's Health v. Hellerstedt was an unexpectedly sweeping victory for reproductive rights advocates — a "game changer," said Nancy Northrop of the Center for Reproductive Rights that "leaves the right to an abortion on much stronger footing than it stood on before this decision was handed down," long-time court-watcher Ian Millhiser wrote. Abortion foes had hoped the court would use the Texas abortion case as an opportunity to gut not just Roe v. Wade, but also 1992's seminal Planned Parenthood v. Casey, which held that abortion laws creating an "undue burden" on women were unconstitutional.
Instead, the court clarified and strengthened Casey while striking down two of Texas law H.B. 2's key provisions — strict building rules for abortion clinics and a requirement that abortion doctors have admitting privileges at local hospitals. This could invalidate anti-abortion laws in another 25 states.
The ruling is expected to have a monumental ripple effect, invalidating strict clinic laws in about half the states. Read the story.
Here's some of the best analysis so far about the Whole Women's Health ruling, what it portends for reproductive rights in the U.S., and the future direction of the Supreme Court.
Tuesday, June 28, 2016
Landmark Survey Finds Special Interests are Pouring Money into Local Elections
Secret
spending on the local level rose from 24 percent in 2006 to 71 percent in 2014
EDITOR’S
NOTE: Outside money is the dominant factor in Charlestown’s politics because it
provides the majority of the funding for the Charlestown Citizens Alliance (CCA
Party). The CCA Party now holds every elected office in Charlestown gaining the
power to protect the interests of non-residents at the expense of year-round
residents.
This
outside money gives the CCA publicity machine the means to be able to market
this sell-out of the public interest to Charlestown voters as if it was
something good for them.
While the outsized influence that Big Money is having on federal
elections is well-documented,
the local impact of the Supreme Court's 2011 Citizens United ruling
has not been fully realized—until now.
The Brennan Center for Justice at New York University School of
Law on Sunday published a landmark report (pdf)
documenting how secret donations have corroded democracy at the state level,
where it is "arguably most damaging."
Artists - Sign up by July 15
Charlestown's first ever art tour will take place this September 3rd
Artists need to sign up by July 15
Tomorrow, check out all the EXISTING bike trails in Ninigret Park
Charlestown Parks & Rec sponsor Bike Safety Day, June 29
Charlestown Ninigret Park already has a one mile bike course that can be rented for special events or when not rented, used daily as a public multi-use path.
Prepared well, it’s actually very tasty
University of Illinois College of Agricultural, Consumer and
Environmental Sciences
Love it or hate it, broccoli is touted as a superfood, offering
an array of health benefits. And it's about to get even more super.
University of Illinois researchers have identified candidate
genes controlling the accumulation of phenolic compounds in broccoli.
Consumption of phenolic compounds, including certain flavonoids, is associated
with a lower risk of coronary heart disease, type II diabetes, asthma, and
several types of cancer.
Double standard
The Lax Prosecution of Corporate
Crime
By Phil Mattera in Dirt Diggers Digest
When an individual commits a serious
offense, chances are that he or she is going to face a criminal charge. When a
corporation breaks the law in a significant way, in most cases it faces a civil
penalty.
This disparity between the treatment
of human persons and corporate ones became increasingly apparent to me as I
finished processing the data for the expansion of the Violation
Tracker database my colleagues and I at the Corporate Research
Project of Good Jobs First are releasing today.
Violation Tracker 2.0 adds data on
some 700 cases involving banks and other financial services companies brought
by the Justice Department and ten federal regulatory agencies as well as 600
involving non-financial firms in areas such as price-fixing and foreign
bribery. These 1,300 cases account for well over $100 billion in fines and
settlements.
Monday, June 27, 2016
There’s No More Denying It: Trump Is Openly Racist
The
GOP candidate's brouhaha with a Mexican-American judge exposes him as a manic
threat to anyone he dislikes.
By
This year’s freakish presidential election has now devolved into
an ethnic brouhaha between two foreigners: A Mexican and a German.
The “Mexican” is Gonzalo Curiel, a U.S. federal judge who was
born, raised, and educated in Indiana.
The “German” is Donald Drumpf — also known as Donald Trump, the Republican nominee for president.
The “German” is Donald Drumpf — also known as Donald Trump, the Republican nominee for president.
Drumpf has two fraud cases against him in Judge Curiel’s court,
leading the GOP standard bearer to become unhinged over the idea that a
“foreigner” would be allowed to pass judgment on an upstanding American citizen
like him.
“He’s a Mexican,” The
Donald has complained about the jurist — who happens to be a full-blooded
American citizen.
By Drumpf’s standards, though, not even he himself can claim
pure-blooded Americano heritage
— only Native Americans can claim that, and even they immigrated from afar
centuries ago.
In fact, The Donald’s grandfather, Friedrich Drumpf, immigrated to the United States from Kallstadt, Germany about 120
years ago — and Anglicized his name from Drumpf to Trump.
At the Mystic Aquarium...
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