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Opinion: The jury sent a powerful message


Those words, famously repeated by Father Martin Luther King Jr and former President Barack Obama, come to mind as the juries deliver their verdict, as they did twice last week in the cases. are closely monitored.

In Georgia, a jury found three men guilty of murdering Ahmaud Arbery, a 25-year-old black man, who was chased and shot to death on a suburban street in 2020. In Virginia, the jury found ordered extremists, including organizers of the 2017 Unite Right-wing rally in Charlottesville, to pay more than $26 million in damages for the riot that followed.

The Georgia rulings “represent a veritable strike against white supremacy and systemic racism in our criminal justice system,” wrote Isaac Bailey. “The quasi-white jury has defended it, believing that racism against blacks will help secure acquittal. That’s the kind of decision we should want to be replicated across the country. our set of systems, the kind that we should publish and celebrate, the kind that we must hope to set a precedent. If so, Black juries would not be subjected to ongoing discrimination in the jury selection process. If that were to happen, racist white men would think twice before trying to solve problems their own way, as the racist white mob did during the height of the war. secessionist era. If that were the case, I would feel less compelled to arm myself for a solo run, even in nearly all white neighborhoods. ”

Legal Analyst Areva Martin noted “strong video evidence and outstanding work by prosecutor Linda Dunikoski” for “cutting up” the unjustified self-defence/citizen arrest content raised by the defendants”. and Travis McMichael’s conflicting testimony, along with video evidence, demonstrate that he was never afraid of impending harm and never even told Arbery that he was holding him to the police. ”

“Rational fear did not drive this murder. The prosecution only referred to the defendant’s words during the 911 call he made. What emergency did he invoke? “There was a black man running in the street.”

In Virginia, jurors also dismissed the defense’s case. Charlottesville rally, Frida Ghitis wrote, is “engraved in the minds of many Americans… The march through the campus of the University of Virginia looks and sounds like something Nazi in the 1930s, with tiki torches and shouts of ‘Jews will not replace us.’ ‘Blood and earth’ and hard-armed Nazi salutes.”

“That moment seemed to confirm our worst fears. The day after that chilling march, violent clashes between racist and anti-racist people became more of a turning point. became fatal when one of the defendants rammed his car into a crowd of protesters, leaving one person dead and several injured now the people have become plaintiffs in this lawsuit.”

People all over the world “need to hear the accountability message that the jury sent” Ghitis observed.

For more:

Omicron is worried

Omicron is the 15th letter of the Greek alphabet. It is also now the name of a new coronavirus variant with many mutations that has scientists rushing to figure out its possible impact. Will it compete with or exceed the transmission capacity of the Delta variant? Does it evade any of the protections provided by vaccines?

“After South Africa sounded the alarm about a new Covid-19 variant, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 900 points on Black Friday, marking a disastrous start to what was forecast. was a record holiday spending season,” wrote Julian Zelizer. It’s too soon to say how much of a threat Omicron poses, but it has clearly complicated the recovery efforts of President Joe Biden’s administration.

“Under more normal circumstances, we would expect the President to enjoy some of the political benefits of an economic recovery and strong legislative victory, including the passage of a political infrastructure package.” bipartisan $1 trillion price tag.” But Biden’s approval rating is much lower than it was at the start of his presidency, Zelizer wrote.

“The pandemic is far from over, after nearly two years and more than 775,000 deaths, Many Americans are traumatized and on the verge of death. “
Writing for Bloomberg Opinions, David Fickling notes that “rarely than half of the world’s population has received a dose of the Covid vaccine. That means there are still more than 3.4 billion people out there whose bodies the virus can treat as a laboratory.” to develop new mutations until we reduce the numbers further, the odds are not in our favor as much as we would like to think. ”

Thanksgiving 2021

Thanksgiving weekend 2021 represents a step closer to the pre-pandemic world, with more people traveling, congregating in person and venturing out to shop, even as parts of the US and Europe saw an increase in Covid-19 infections.

Target made headlines this week when chief executive Brian Cornell announced it would never open stores on Thanksgiving again. As Kara Alaimo Written, “[He] said he made the decision after staff members told him they wanted to spend the holiday with their family – exactly where they should be, of course. “

“The move to prioritize the well-being of Target employees sends a powerful message about the company’s values ​​at a time when Americans are rethinking our approach to work. And, despite Whether the customer realizes it or not, this benefits them too.” Other companies would be smart to follow suit.

Ruth Ben-Ghiat grappling with a situation many people have been through. Ben-Ghiat notes: “Most people I know worry about fractured or strained relationships with friends or family members who get caught up in a spiral of misinformation and indulgence. in alternative versions of reality, including the popular conspiracy theory QAnon”.

“I know what it feels like to watch a loved one drift away until they are inaccessible through logic, reason or evidence. For what?

“Let’s keep them close and find common ground on other issues, no matter how difficult. This does not mean we accept or endorse their racist or unscientific beliefs, but rather their racist or unscientific beliefs. is for strategic purposes, after all, if we cut them off or scold them, We are simply exaggerating the chances that they will stay among like-minded people. “

2024

In Washington, some Democrats have worried about the possibility of losing control of Congress in the 2022 midterm elections and about the question of who will lead their party in 2024 if President Joe Biden decides to take the lead. decided not to run for office. (The White House says he is planning to run for re-election.)

“If Biden runs, as incumbent he has the edge,” wrote Lincoln Mitchell. “But if he chooses not to, that doesn’t mean the Democrats will perish.”

Two of the party’s most prominent figures, Vice President Kamala Harris and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg could go head-to-head in a post-Biden primary. But that doesn’t have to happen, Mitchell commented. They could “run together in 2024, with Harris as the candidate for president and Buttigieg for the vice president. This could end any feud that exists between them now, while giving the Democratic Party a very strong ticket to 2024 that seemed like a natural continuation to Biden’s first term. A Harris-Buttigieg ticket will feature two politicians who are dynamic and represent the breadth and diversity of the Democratic Party, as well as truly of the country, while not being too far off and alienating. key voters that Biden won in 2020″.

Biden’s troubles are partly a matter of messaging, wrote Molly Jong-Fast in the Atlantic Ocean. “To improve Biden’s popularity, serious consultants might ask him to work on fundamentals,” she commented. “But the fundamentals are really good: The economy is getting better. Americans have both cash and jobs… The disconnect between facts and polls shows that the real problem is Biden’s story is a concrete story, he has no enemies, a punching bag to absorb American anger (rational or irrational)…”

“Biden needs to remind Americans of what he’s trying to achieve – rescue democracy from the threat of authoritarianism, both at home and abroad – and ask them to join the army with him because Voters rallied after Biden when he made the case that campaign trail in 2020 and with the right message, they will do the same again today“, Jong-Fast argued.

“For much of 2021, we engaged in a national conversation about why the January 6 uprising happened and who was responsible,” it wrote. Jennifer Rodgers. In recent days, she noted, judges have been vocal about the question.

For example, “Judge Amit Mehta of federal district court in Washington, D.C., said in sentencing on January 6 that defendant was a ‘pawn,’ who ‘said the election was aborted. steal when it’s not done’, and that” who created the conditions that led to [the defendant’s] None of the measures are meant to be held accountable. “” More judges will give their opinion as hundreds of similar cases are resolved.

The judge’s fact-based and measured descriptions of relevant facts are persuasive in places where hyperpartisan rhetoric from elected officials may not, “Rodgers observe.” Indeed, the public Candlestick place greater weight on what the judges are saying because of their unique role as neutral arbitrators and their mastery of the relevant evidence. Let’s just hope people are listening. “

Do not miss

AND…

Robert Redford’s plea

Robert Redford 11 years old when he left Los Angeles for the first time. He recovered from a mild case of polio and his mother drove him to Yosemite National Park. Seeing the famous view from Inspiration Point, “I knew right away that I was somewhere special,” the actor wrote.

So began a lifelong fascination for the national parks of the United States. Redford takes the children to places like Chaco Canyon, where they “can explore what remains of what was once the center of the bustling and sophisticated Puebloan civilization that existed hundreds of years before the first Europeans. first set foot on this continent.”

“Unfortunately, the sacred and unprotected landscapes around Chaco have long been a target for oil and gas drilling. Redford welcomes the Biden administration’s announcement of a new oil and gas drilling moratorium. on federal lands within a 10-mile radius around Chaco Cultural National Historical Park in New Mexico.

Redford observed that many other parks and sites were threatened by development, including the Grand Canyon. “America is not yet 250 years old,” he wrote. “These are places that preserve the totality of history, culture and stories worth thousands of years. We must preserve these lands. “

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