1. Dred Scott v. Sandford (1857) I explained elsewhere, “Although we all learn about the 1857 Dred Scott decision in school, we aren’t usually told that it actually should be called the Harriet and Dred Scott decision, since Scott’s wife was also a plaintiff in the suit. History.com explains that Dred Scott had been enslaved […]
56% of Muslim Americans support Women’s Right to choose, and More Muslim-Majority Nations offer Abortion on Demand than do U.S. States
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – With the striking down of Roe, the Federalist Society’s bought-and-paid-for Supreme Court has allowed states to dictate as they will to women over the disposition of their own bodies. Judge Samuel Alito alleged that it was “rational” to protect a blastocyte, a just-fertilized human egg. No one in history ever […]
How Clarence Thomas gets the History of Gun Regulation Wrong: And a Modest Proposal to Make Gunmen put up Surety Bonds
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Originalists on the Supreme Court such as the late Antonin Scalia and current Justice Clarence Thomas claim to seek guidance to the meaning of the constitution in history, but most historians believe that their arguments are singularly ahistorical. These two thinkers find an English common law and American eighteenth- and […]
There may not be a Bottom: The Fall and Fall of Rudy Giuliani and his Targeting of Moss and Lady Ruby
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Rudy Giuliani joined in the pillorying of Georgia election worker Wandrea “Shaye” Moss, falsely accusing her of bringing a suitcase full of Biden ballots into the polling station. Ms. Moss had actually just put valid ballots in a storage container and sealed it because the election workers were led to […]
Climate Emergency: Iran’s Abadan hits unprecedented 126° F., as Gov’t Offices are forced to Close
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Iran International reports that a temperature of 126 degrees F. (52.2C) has been recorded in Abadan. It is the highest temperature officially recorded in that city in the 70 years official records have been kept. Globally, it is one of the the higher temperatures observed before the summer solstice since […]
Israel’s Apartheid Law Causes Bennett Government to Fall, on Eve of Biden’s Visit
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The Israeli newspaper Arab 48 reports that Prime Minister Naftali Bennett will dissolve parliament and go to new elections. His government has lacked a majority in parliament for some time and recently lost an embarrassing vote on applying Israeli law to squatter-settlers in the Palestinian West Bank. Theirs will be […]
Greens return to French Parliament in Left Coalition, as Neoliberal Macron loses Majority
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – France’s parliamentary elections witnessed an upset, with centrist President Emmanuel Macron’s party, La République En Marche and its Ensemble coalition losing its absolute parliamentary majority. A majority requires 289 seats, and Macron’s party gained 245 seats. Among the beneficiaries are the Left and the Greens, who joined together in the […]
Lutheran Church Denounces Killing of Abu Akleh, Calls for end of Israeli Occupation of Palestinian Territories
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The Lutheran World Federation Council has called for an end to the Israeli military occupation of the Palestinian Territories (Gaza and the West Bank). The statement said that “The Council is deeply concerned by the continued Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories and the recent escalation of violence, including the killing […]
Al Jazeera: Image of Bullet that killed American Journalist Shireen Abu Akleh Proves it came from an Israeli M4
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The Al Jazeera news network, based in Qatar, has received from the Palestine Authority an image of the bullet that killed American journalist Shireen Abu Akleh and has concluded that it was certainly fired from an Israeli M4 rifle. The green-tipped, 5.56mm caliber bullet is deadly when fired at a […]