Tag: separation of powers

Wisconsin supreme court appears poised to strike down legislative maps and end Republican dominance

Ms. Cat

Wisconsin supreme court appears poised to strike down legislative maps and end Republican dominance

Taylor Meehan, an attorney for legislative Republicans, argued that districts had long been considered to be contiguous as long as they kept towns, counties and wards whole. In Wisconsin, localities have annexed disconnected parts of land that have resulted in strange shapes. “You can define contiguity as strictly or as loosely as you want,” she said.

They look like Swiss cheese!

Related:

Advocates rally to protest Wisconsin’s ‘etch-a-sketch gerrymandered maps’

What Israel’s Controversial Judicial Overhaul Means for Palestinians

Ms. Cat

What Israel’s Controversial Judicial Overhaul Means for Palestinians (archived)

For Palestinians, many of whom will have watched yesterday’s events from the sidelines, the judicial overhaul only stands to accelerate what has already been a worsening situation. The last couple of years have seen a major uptick in violence in the occupied territories, marked by deadly military raids and settler rampages. 2022 was the deadliest year for Palestinians in nearly two decades, and this year appears on course to beat that record. “The trends that we’re seeing have become much worse,” says Zonszein. “The reality on the ground for Palestinians was bad before [the judicial overhaul], and it’s bad now.”

House Armed Services Committee Passes Amendment to Make it ILLEGAL to Communicate with Military Religious Freedom Foundation!

Ms. Cat

In an almost inconceivable action, a Christian nationalist GOP congressman, Rep. Mike Turner of Ohio, has introduced legislation to shut MRFF down — to make it ILLEGAL for Department of Defense personnel to even communicate with MRFF!

GOP Congress Disgrace! House Armed Services Committee Passes Amendment to Make it ILLEGAL to Communicate with MRFF!

New Thai Government’s Vows Obedience to US Foreign Policy: Myanmar is First Victim

Ms. Cat

Following recent general elections in Thailand, influenced heavily by years of US interference, a pro-US proxy regime is poised to take power.

Even before officially taking office, the leadership of the victorious Move Forward Party has vowed to help pursue US foreign policy objectives both in regards to “rebalancing” Thailand away from China and back toward the West, as well as regarding US interference elsewhere in Southeast Asia, and more specifically, Myanmar.

New Thai Government’s Vows Obedience to US Foreign Policy: Myanmar is First Victim

Previously:

Anti-junta parties dominate Thai elections but may struggle to form government

The Messed Up Truth About The Louisiana Purchase

Ms. Cat
American Progress, 1872.

The Louisiana Purchase is usually presented as an incredible, inspiring moment in American history in which President Thomas Jefferson, wise, benevolent eyes twinkling under his powdery white wig, made an incredibly shrewd real estate deal with notorious, disgraced French emperor Napoleon Bonaparte and, with one stroke of his giant quill pen, doubled the size of the United States of America for the bargain price of $15 million, or just three cents an acre. What we don’t usually learn about is the negative domino effect this treaty had in terms of inspiring the concept of manifest destiny or the belief that white colonists had a God-given duty to expand across North America and redeem and remake the land in their own image.

The Messed Up Truth About The Louisiana Purchase

Israeli far-right think tank Kohelet is ‘shaping US policy’, experts say + coup d’état of the Straussians in Israel

Ms. Cat

While much attention has been given to Kohelet Policy Forum in Israel, experts say think tank has played major role in crafting US policy on Israel-Palestine.

Israeli far-right think tank Kohelet is ‘shaping US policy’, experts say

Related:

Kohelet Policy Forum: How a Far-Right, US-Funded Israeli Think Tank Shapes Policy & Law in US & Israel (Webinar)

The coup d’état of the Straussians in Israel