Tag Archives: jones

Are We Still Yammering About Whether the Civil War Was About Slavery? Really?

by SondraYuill Posted on June 26, 2015

Mother Jones

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Are we still arguing about whether the Civil War was really fought over slavery? Seriously? What’s next? The Holocaust was really about Jews overstaying their tourist visas? The Inquisition was a scientific exploration of the limits of the human body? The Romans were genuinely curious about whether a man could kill a hungry lion? The Bataan death march was a controlled trial of different brands of army boots?

WTF?

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Are We Still Yammering About Whether the Civil War Was About Slavery? Really?

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A Federal Appeals Court Just Denied Birthright Citizenship to American Samoans Using Racist Caselaw

by Janie22Bmqhb Posted on June 5, 2015

Mother Jones

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American Samoans are the only people born on United States soil but denied birthright citizenship. And so it will remain—at least for now.

On Friday, the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia ruled that the Fourteenth Amendment’s guarantee of birthright citizenship does not apply to island territories including American Samoa. Agreeing with the Obama administration’s lawyers, the DC Circuit relied on and even expanded the scope of a set of racially-charged, Colonial-era cases that refer to “savages” and “alien races” to reach their decision.

(Mother Jones covered this case back in February; on his HBO show Last Week Tonight, John Oliver subsequently included the issue in a segment on rights in US territories.)

Opposing a group of American Samoans seeking birthright citizenship, the US government based its argument on a set of cases legal scholars have denounced as racist and imperialist. Known as the Insular Cases, the Supreme Court in the early years of the 20th century created a distinction between the rights of newly acquired island territories such as American Samoa and Puerto Rico and territories such as Arizona that they assumed would one day become states—and which were increasingly populated by white people. As Mother Jones reported back in February:

Justice Henry Brown—famous as the author of Plessy v. Ferguson, which gave the court’s blessing to segregation—refers to the inhabitants of the new territories as “savage” and “alien races” in the Insular Cases. Brown contended that Congress would treat the territories well because it was guided by “certain principles of natural justice inherent in the Anglo-Saxon character.” His colleague, Justice Edward White, hypothesized in one case that granting citizenship to an “uncivilized race” in a new territory would “inflict grave detriment on the United States” from “the immediate bestowal of citizenship on those absolutely unfit to receive it.”

The DC Circuit’s unanimous opinion attempts to distance itself from this controversial history before ultimately relying on the Insular Cases to rule against the American Samoans. Writing for a unanimous three-judge panel of the court—comprised of the three most conservative justices on the DC Circuit—Judge Janice Rogers Brown first denounced the Insular Cases as “without parallel in our judicial history” for the “manner in which the results were reached, the incongruity of the results, and the variety of inconsistent views expressed by the different members of the court.” Brown also acknowledged, in the politest way possible, that “some aspects of the Insular Cases’ analysis may now be deemed politically incorrect.”

Nevertheless, the DC Circuit found them “both applicable and of pragmatic use in assessing the applicability of rights to unincorporated territories.” In fact, the court expanded the scope of the Insular Cases, becoming the first court to explicitly apply the Insular Cases to the Citizenship Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. That wasn’t the only way the DC Circuit’s opinion broke ground in this case. As Neil Weare, the civil rights lawyer who argued the case in February on behalf of a group of American Samoans, noted in a statement Friday, “Today marks the first time a federal court of appeals has ruled that citizenship by birth on US soil is not a fundamental right.”

Though the group of American Samoans lost on Friday, their chances of winning an appeal to the entire DC Circuit—which is more liberal than the three conservative judges randomly selected to hear this case—could be higher.

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A Federal Appeals Court Just Denied Birthright Citizenship to American Samoans Using Racist Caselaw

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Rand Paul Didn’t Kill the Patriot Act

by KatheriPohlman Posted on June 1, 2015

Mother Jones

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I was down with a stomach bug this weekend, so I didn’t follow events in the Senate as closely as I usually would have. But Rand Paul sure seems to be getting a lot more credit than he deserves for how things went down. As near as I can tell:

Mitch McConnell just flat screwed up. He figured he could panic everyone into extending the Patriot Act by waiting until Sunday to reconvene the Senate, and he figured wrong.
Rand Paul did indeed delay things by refusing unanimous consent to take up a compromise bill.
But events went the way they did because a majority of the Senate opposed McConnell and wanted a compromise bill, not because of anything Rand Paul did.
The upshot of Paul’s actions is that the compromise bill has to wait until Tuesday for a vote, which means the Patriot Act will be expired for a couple of days. This is not really a big deal in anything other than symbolic terms. The compromise bill is going to be passed one way or another, and that would have been the case regardless of anything Paul did.

Am I missing something big here? I don’t begrudge Paul getting some good press for what he did. Politics is theater, and Paul has worked hard to make this a front-page issue. Still, there just wasn’t a majority in favor of extending the Patriot Act, and that’s what made the difference.

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Rand Paul Didn’t Kill the Patriot Act

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Kansas Republicans Have Come Up with a Disgraceful New Way to Screw the Poor

by ClaudioFitzGibb Posted on May 22, 2015

Mother Jones

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Starting in July, a new law in Kansas will restrict the amount of cash a welfare recipient can take out of ATM’s to just $25 a day—a move that critics say introduces a whole new host of financial burdens—including high ATM fees and travel costs—when they access cash.

Max Ehrenfreund at the Washington Post explains:

Since most banking machines are stocked only with $20 bills, the $25 limit is effectively a $20 limit. A family seeking to withdraw even $200 in cash would have to visit an ATM 10 times a month, a real burden for a parent who might not have a car and might not live in a neighborhood where ATMs are easy to find.

The law, backed by a GOP-dominated Kansas legislature and Republican Gov. Sam Brownback, will benefit the pockets of large banks while taking money from poor families who rely on food stamps.

In Kansas’s system, every withdrawal incurs a $1 fee, and if the beneficiary doesn’t have a bank account, they will have to pay the ATM fee, too. Those fees might be worth it for some families, though, because the card issued by the state of Kansas isn’t like a debit card from an ordinary bank. Ordinary debit cards allow their holders to make purchases for free in stores. In Kansas, beneficiaries get two free purchases a month. After that, they pay 40 cents every time they use the card to buy something.

The ostensible rationale for this redistribution of wealth is to minimize waste and prevent low income residents from spending their money on non-essentials like alcohol and the much-feared lobster feast. This is the demonizing-the-poor trope that Republican lawmakers frequently deploy to justify punitive control over how low income people spend their money. In addition to the limit on withdrawals, the state’s new law carries restrictions to ludicrous levels by prohibiting spending on items such as swimming pools and fortune telling sessions.

As Mother Jones has written in the past, such concerns are wildly misplaced and seriously hurt the poor. President Obama recently addressed this conservative characterization, calling out Fox News for portraying the poor as lazy “leeches” eager to waste government funds.

Fortunately, Kansas’ controversial new provision may actually turn out to be illegal, violating federal law that mandates welfare recipients “have adequate access to their cash assistance” without enduring high fees.

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Kansas Republicans Have Come Up with a Disgraceful New Way to Screw the Poor

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Eight Good Lessons About Health Care — Plus a Ninth

by FreyaGoheen Posted on May 20, 2015

Mother Jones

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Over at Vox today, Sarah Kliff and Julia Belluz have a list of eight things they now do differently after reporting on health care for a combined decade between them. It’s a great list, and unless I missed something I think I agree with every word on it. Even item #3, which has been, um, a bit of a challenge for me over the past six months.

Of course, as with all collections of advice, even good ones, this one has an underlying ninth item: don’t be an idiot. Sometimes guidelines need to be broken. But they’re still good to keep in mind.

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Eight Good Lessons About Health Care — Plus a Ninth

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Apparently Jeb Bush Needs a Hearing Aid, Stat

by CedricBoyland Posted on May 12, 2015

Mother Jones

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Yesterday’s quote of the day:

Megyn Kelly: Knowing what we know now, would you have authorized the Iraq invasion?

Jeb Bush: I would have.

Really? As Byron York points out, even George W. Bush himself has some qualms about the war knowing what we know now—namely that the intel about Saddam’s WMD was all 100 percent fiction derived from phony sources and wishful thinking. So how is ol’ Jeb going to clean up this steaming pile of gaffe-osity? Like this, according to former Bush aide Ana Navarro:

I emailed him this morning and I said to him, ‘Hey, I’m a little confused by this answer so I’m genuinely wondering did you mishear the question?'” Navarro said. “And he said, ‘Yes, I misheard the question.'”

….On Tuesday morning, Navarro she wasn’t sure whether he would clarify the answer.

Hoo boy. That’s his story? Good luck with that.

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Apparently Jeb Bush Needs a Hearing Aid, Stat

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Bonus Friday Cat Blogging – 8 May 2015

by IssacG42rrwyqu Posted on May 8, 2015

Mother Jones

Well, I’m home. I slept in my own bed last night for the first time in two weeks. No cats to greet me, though, since we first have to wait for all my shiny new cells to mature a bit—enough to handle a couple of cats, anyway. The furballs will be back home in three weeks, but in the meantime here are Hilbert and Hopper lounging on my sister’s magazine pile. Sadly, the New York magazine on the far left met with a gory death a few days after this picture was taken. It is the price of cuteness.

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Bonus Friday Cat Blogging – 8 May 2015

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Friday Cat Blogging – May 1 2015

by CristinBKY Posted on May 1, 2015

Mother Jones

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With Kevin concentrating on his cancer treatment, we’ve rounded up some big writers to keep things rolling on the blog by contributing posts in his honor. But let’s be honest: nothing’s bigger on the internet than cats. So in addition to appearances from Hopper and Hilbert, we’re taking this chance to introduce you to some other cats behind the people at Mother Jones.

Today, that’s Olga, who lives in Oakland with Lynnea Wool, our senior staff accountant. Among many other things, Lynnea is responsible for (full disclosure) making sure I get my paycheck. So I’d better blog carefully.

Olga was the runt of a litter of Himalayan Persians when Lynnea adopted her one fine day seven years ago. Since then, they’ve had many happy moments. She just loves to have her armpits scratched:

For a special treat, her cat-mom will put a small piece of cheese—the stinkier the better—straight on her tongue.

This longhair needs regular trims, and I was very impressed to hear about Lynnea’s method. While Olga’s sleeping on her side, Lynnea will cut one half. Olga wakes up looking something like Two-Face, and roams around like that until Lynnea happens to catch her sleeping on her other side. Wish we had a picture of that! But you’ll have to agree this one’s a pretty good consolation prize:

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Friday Cat Blogging – May 1 2015

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Bonus Friday Cat Bloggging – 1 May 2014

by ReginalJobe Posted on May 1, 2015

Mother Jones

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For humans, May Day is a time to celebrate worker solidarity. For Hilbert, it’s time to show how jealous he is that Hopper fits under the desk and he doesn’t. As you can guess, however, he got bored quickly and headed over to the sofa for a snooze. Hopper, ever victorious, slithered out with no resistance and licked her paws in triumph.

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Bonus Friday Cat Bloggging – 1 May 2014

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White People Could Learn a Thing or Two About Talking About Race From the Orioles’ Manager

by BessieHatley Posted on April 30, 2015

Mother Jones

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On Wednesday, after the Baltimore Orioles trounced the Chicago White Sox in front of over 48,000 empty seats at Camden Yards, Orioles’ manager Buck Showalter offered a blunt assessment of the ongoing protests happening just beyond the stadium gates.

More coverage of the protests in Baltimore.


Eyewitnesses: The Baltimore Riots Didn’t Start the Way You Think


Obama: It’s About Decades of Inequality


Rand Paul: Blame Absentee Fathers


What MLK Really Thought About Riots


Photos: Residents Help Clean Up


Orioles Exec: It’s Inequality, Stupid


These Teens Aren’t Waiting Around for Someone Else to Fix Their City


Ray Lewis: “Violence Is Not the Answer”


Bloods and Crips Want “Nobody to Get Hurt”

When a Baltimore resident asked what advice Showalter would give to young black residents in the community, the manager explains emphasis added:

You hear people try to weigh in on things that they really don’t know anything about. … I’ve never been black, OK? So I don’t know, I can’t put myself there. I’ve never faced the challenges that they face, so I understand the emotion, but I can’t. … It’s a pet peeve of mine when somebody says, ‘Well, I know what they’re feeling. Why don’t they do this? Why doesn’t somebody do that?’ You have never been black, OK, so just slow down a little bit.

I try not to get involved in something that I don’t know about, but I do know that it’s something that’s very passionate, something that I am, with my upbringing, that it bothers me, and it bothers everybody else. We’ve made quite a statement as a city, some good and some bad. Now, let’s get on with taking the statements we’ve made and create a positive. We talk to players, and I want to be a rallying force for our city. It doesn’t mean necessarily playing good baseball. It just means doing everything we can do. There are some things I don’t want to be normal in Baltimore again. You know what I mean? I don’t. I want us to learn from some stuff that’s gone on on both sides of it. I could talk about it for hours, but that’s how I feel about it.

Fans watched from outside the stadium gates after demonstrations in response to the death of Freddie Gray forced the team to play the first game behind closed doors in Major League Baseball history. At Wednesday’s press conference, outfielder Adam Jones, who related to the struggles of Baltimore’s youth as a kid growing up in San Diego, called on the city to heal after the unrest.

Jones goes on to say:

The last 72 hours have been tumultuous to say the least. We’ve seen good, we’ve seen bad, we’ve seen ugly…It’s a city that’s hurting, a city that needs its heads of the city to stand up, step up and help the ones that are hurting. It’s not an easy time right now for anybody. It doesn’t matter what race you are. It’s a tough time for the city of Baltimore. My prayers have been out for all the families, all the kids out there.

They’re hurting. The big message is: Stay strong, Baltimore. Stay safe. Continue to be the great city that I’ve come to know and love over the eight years I’ve been here. Continue to be who you are. I know there’s been a lot of damage in the city. There’s also been a lot of good protesting, there’s been a lot of people standing up for the rights that they have in the Constitution, in the Bill of Rights, and I’m just trying to make sure everybody’s on the same page.

…

It’s not easy. This whole process is not easy. We need this game to be played, but we need this city to be healed first. That’s important to me, that the city is healed. Because this is an ongoing issue. I just hope that the community of Baltimore stays strong, the children of Baltimore stay strong and gets some guidance and heed the message of the city leaders.

Like team exec John Angelos, Showalter, Jones and the rest of the Orioles organization get it.

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White People Could Learn a Thing or Two About Talking About Race From the Orioles’ Manager

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