Monday News You Should Read

My 95 year mother’s impending death is what I’m focusing on this week. After being hospitalized for a variety of ailments totaling up to being unable to walk, she had a series of strokes on Sunday evening. Now, the path forward is hospice and presumably the end of her life.

Close family are coming to town to say their goodbyes and support each other. The grandkids all got phone calls to share their despair and tell an unconscious Grammy how much they loved her. An amazing community of her friends, many of whom are associated with St. Dunstan Episcopal Church, have expressed their love and continue to pray for her.

Three of us “kids” are working shifts at the hospital, taking turns sitting with mom, holding her hand, singing carols to her, and watching over her.

The wheels of time and life continue to roll. I’ll be back at my trusty keyboard as soon as it makes sense. In the meantime, I’ll post a few guest articles. And Jim Miller will continue on with his Monday messages.

Below are a smattering of writings on topics we all should know more about.

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The coming storm by Charlie Stross at Charlie’s Daily

Ed’s Note: While we’re all starting to get focused on upcoming US elections, nearly half the planet will also be choosing leaders this year. And way-too-many of those countries are facing the same sorts of choices we are. You should read this and realize that we are not alone in fighting for our freedom in 2024.

• Here's the thing: this looks like a pivotal year for democracy around the world. Half the planet is voting in elections with various fascists and fundamentalists—there's often no discernable difference: clerico-fascism is resurgent in multiple religions—seeking control.

• Some of the potential outcomes are disastrous. A return to the White House by the tangerine shitgibbon would inevitably cut off all US assistance to Ukraine, and probably lead to a US withdrawal from NATO ... just as Russia is attempting to invade and conquer a nation in the process of trying to join both the EU and NATO. This would encourage Russia to follow through with attacks on the Baltic States (Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia), Finland, and finally Poland, all of which were part of the Russian empire either prior to 1917 or under Stalin and which Putinists see as their property. Having militarized the Russian economy, it's not clear what else Putin could do after occupying Ukraine: global demand for fossil fuels (his main export) is going to fall off a cliff over the next decade and the Russian economy is broken.

• Hitler's expansion after 1938 was driven by the essential failure of the German economy, leading him to embark on an asset-stripping spree: stealing Eastern Europe probably looks attractive from where the Russian dictator is sitting.

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Child Labor is Bad, Actually by Jill Filipovic. 

The pro-life people really aren’t; they’re pro corporate profit.

• In Iowa, 16-year-olds can now work as brick-makers and roofers. They can operate metal-sheering machines, bandsaws, and guillotine shears. They can do “Light assembly work in or about facilities manufacturing or storing explosives or articles containing explosive elements.”

• An initial version of the bill would have allowed 14- and 15-year-olds to work in mining, logging, meatpacking, and other dangerous jobs.

• And Iowa isn’t alone. Nineteen states are currently working to dismantle child labor laws — to allow children to work longer hours and in more dangerous conditions. Letting a 14-year-old work for hours on end in an industrial laundry? Hiring a 16-year-old to operate a power machine for demolition work? This isn’t Dickensian England; it’s the American that Republicans are trying to create.

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America's fractured reality is fueling political violence By Caroline Orr Bueno at Weaponized. Her insights and analysis are always worth a read.

• As someone who has studied domestic extremist movements and ideologies, including accelerationism, for a number of years, the recent spate of political violence and accompanying justifications from political officials and members of the public alike send a chill down my spine, particularly when these incidents are put in proper context. It’s easy sometimes to lose track of the various incidents of political violence and politically-motivated terrorism that take place in the U.S., but keeping tabs on these seemingly disparate incidents is the only way to see the full picture. That picture includes other sprees like the series of attacks on power substations in America in 2022-2023, during which the rate of attacks on the power grid reached the highest level in more than a decade.

• People tend to engage in acts of political violence like this when they lose faith in democratic processes and believe they can no longer rely on actions like voting and protesting to achieve social and political change. This belief is at the core of accelerationism, which seeks to advance the idea that “there is no political solution” — a motto that justifies embracing violence and terrorism as a means to achieve political goals. This idea has become increasingly widespread and mainstream over the past several years, resulting in a heightened threat of political violence and increasing paranoia among some subgroups of the population, who view violence and terrorism as the only means to incite the revolution they believe is necessary to stop the “Deep State” from stealing another election.

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FL Republicans backtracking on book ban frenzy they created Davidkc at Daily Kos

• In a move that should surprise absolutely nobody, Republicans in the Un-Free State of Florida are now realizing that they “may have gone too far” by trying to tell people what they can and can’t read, according to an article in Politico.

• This led to a frenzy of book banning in the state, more than any other state, with more than 1,400 books banned in the state so far, including well-known titles like  Ernest Hemingway’s “For Whom the Bell Tolls” and “And Tango Makes Three,” a popular children’s book about a penguin family with two dads. Books with LGBTQ+ characters and content are the top books being banned, which is ironic since the state’s book-banning craze is being fueled by Moms for Liberty, a group co-founded by a Florida woman, Bridget Ziegler, who likes to engage in bisexual threesomes (not that there’s anything wrong with doing that, but the hypocrisy burns).

• Anyhoo, Florida Republicans’ fascist book-banning craze has led to a national backlash. Even wingnut Bill O’Reilly has criticized the state’s book-banning law after school officials in Escambia County (that’s in the conservative Panhandle region) removed two of his books — Killing Jesus: A History” and “Killing Reagan: The Violent Assault That Changed a Presidency” — pending a review for possible sexual conduct. LOL, gotta love that karma.

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A lawyer exposes the inconvenient truth. The numbers say the perverts are the ones pointing fingers. By Egberto Willies at Daily Kos

• In an era where political divisions are starkly etched into the social fabric, a critical narrative has emerged, challenging the long-held stereotypes and accusations predominantly propagated by conservative factions. A TikTok video featuring lawyer Kristen Browde illuminates a disturbing reality: those who vociferously label progressives as ‘perverts’ are often the ones guilty of heinous acts against children.

• Browde, through meticulous research, has compiled a comprehensive database spanning all fifty states in the United States. Her objective was clear: to identify which demographic poses the most significant threat to children in terms of sexual offenses. The results are startling and upend the conventional narrative peddled by right-wing voices. These conservative groups have relentlessly cast aspersions on liberals and progressives, accusing them of moral corruption and endangering children through education and inclusive policies.

• However, Browde’s findings paint a vastly different picture. The database reveals a disproportionate number of sexual crimes against children committed by individuals often associated with conservative and religious groups.