• An American Tragedy, Act III: The indictment begins a perilous new phase in the Trump saga
by David Remmick | The New Yorker | March 30 | tinyurl.com/Iguana1593
Former President Donald Trump, twice impeached, yet impervious to shame, was indicted on criminal charges related to the payment of hush money to a porn star. Now we have entered a new act in the saga, one in which Trump contemplates turning a potential perp walk into a campaign opportunity. Who else could envison fingerprints, a mugshot, and cuffs as tools in an effort to “consolidate the base?”
• CPNN – Culture of Peace News Network
The Culture of Peace News Network website at cpnn-world.org/new/ provides reports, mostly from NGOs (as you’d expect from a project begun in UNESCO), about efforts and successes in pro-peace programs from around the world. Readers exchange information about events, experiences, books, music, and web news that promote a culture of peace.
• DeSantis lets electric companies hide their dirty work
by Matthew Cunningham-Cook | The Lever | March 6 | tinyurl.com/Iguana1580
As more than $9 million in utility and utility-connected cash flooded the coffers of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ campaign and the state Republican party he controls, his appointees to a little-known body allowed utility companies to stop disclosing information about how they are shutting off the power for thousands of struggling Florida residents.
• FBI bookstore spying in Chicago eyes abortion rights, cop city, anti-development activists
by Ryan Fatica, Dan Feidt | Unicorn Riot | March 14 | tinyurl.com/Iguana1572
The owner-workers of Pilsen Community Books – a bookstore in Chicago – acknowledge that their store is “very cute” with vintage items and Tarot decks with wood-cut illustrations on display. But the FBI, reminiscent of the Red Scare, calls them “anarchist violent extremists.” They disagree.
• Florida abortion clinics hit with thousands of dollars in fines over GOP-backed 24-hour law
by Maya Boddie | AlterNet | March 27 | tinyurl.com/Iguana1582
More than a dozen Florida abortion providers are facing fines under an eight year old law making “pregnant patients wait 24 hours before getting the procedure.” Abortion-rights advocates say providers were given little chance to prepare for the law. In some cases, clinics were not in compliance with the law because of paperwork or computer issues.
• Hear GOP lawmakers speak on gun laws after Nashville shooting (video)
CNN | March 28 | tinyurl.com/Iguana1591 (Click icon on lower right of screen to skip ads)
GOP lawmakers talk about gun reform following the school shooting in Nashville that killed six people. Republican lawmakers still resist gun reform, despite 130 mass shootings in the US during the first three months of this year. They say it infringes on American’s constitutional rights, that the real problem is mental health, and that it is President Biden’s fault.
• It’s not just Stormy Daniels. Here are ongoing criminal investigations Trump faces
by Becky Sullivan | NPR | March 30 | tinyurl.com/Iguana1589
Never before has a former president been charged with a crime. A New York grand jury has indicted former President Donald Trump on charges related to hush money payments he made to the adult film star Stormy Daniels to cover up an alleged affair he denies. But that’s not the only investigation he’s facing.
• Margaret Atwood on the rise of real world authoritarians (video)
Offline with Jon Favreau | March 12 | tinyurl.com/Iguana1571 (Click icon on lower right of screen to skip ads)
Margaret Atwood, famed author, poet and “dystopia prophet,” talks about fighting tyranny and finding hope. Favreau and Atwood discuss censorship, religion, parenting and how to listen for what you can’t hear.
• Russian war crimes in Ukraine 20 years after US criminal invasion of Iraq
by Phyllis Bennis | Common Dreams | March 23 | tinyurl.com/Iguana1588
How can there be real accountability for war crimes when international law is replaced by an undefined “rules-based order”? Accountability doesn’t happen on its own, it must be fought for – in all cases.
• The invasion of Iraq wasn’t a ‘mistake.’ It was a a crime
by Ben Burgis | Jacobin | March 20 | tinyurl.com/Iguana1579
On the 20th anniversary of the invasion of Iraq, we should never forget and never forgive the architects of that evil war. It was a calculated, premeditated crime perpetrated on a massive scale. Thousands of Americans and hundreds of thousands of Iraqis died in a war premised on transparently nonsensical lies.
• The silence of Florida’s [public college] presidents
by Josh Moody | Inside Higher Ed | March 31 | http://tinyurl.com/Iguana1593
Forty public college presidents in Florida were asked to weigh in on state higher education reforms. None were willing to speak, even when offered anonymity. None have publicly challenged DeSantis as he has gone after diversity, equity and inclusion efforts; sought data on health care for transgender students; and pushed HB999, legislation to remake Florida higher education.