Until recently, progressives have largely embraced the involvement of the billionaire industrialists Charles and David Koch in the push for criminal justice reform, including changes in mandatory minimum sentencing laws. Before conservative activists embraced the issue, the crisis of mass incarceration had largely languished on the back burner. But the involvement of the Kochs and […]
Nathalie Baptiste
Nathalie Baptiste is a writing fellow at The American Prospect. Follow @nhbaptiste
Posted inLaw and Justice
Oregon Surveillance of Black Lives Matter Spotlights Racial Profiling Challenge
Allegations against the Oregon office tasked with combating racially targeted surveillance are reminiscent of the illegal monitoring of activists during the civil-rights movement.
Posted inAmerica and the World
Republicans Call Bernie Sanders Absurd for Agreeing with the Pentagon
During last Saturday’s Democratic debate on CBS, the moderator asked Bernie Sanders if he still believed that climate change is the greatest threat to national security-and he said yes. Republican senators scoffed at his claim that climate change could lead to destabilization and more terrorism, calling it “unrelated,” “disingenuous,” and even “absurd.” But what the […]
Posted inCivil Rights in America
Campus Cops: Authority Without Accountability
Private campus police departments often have less transparency but just as much power as city police.
Posted inMoney, Politics, and Power
The Crazier Ben Carson’s Statements Are, the Higher His Poll Numbers Go
Yesterday on Meet the Press, GOP presidential candidate Ben Carson told host Chuck Todd that women who have abortions are like slave owners. As delusional as that comparison is, it’s unlikely that it’ll derail his candidacy-in fact, it’ll probably just push him even further into the lead. With every bizarre, racist, or sexist Donald Trump […]
Posted inMoney, Politics, and Power
The Democratic Debate Was Proof That Protests Work
Last night, five Democratic presidential candidates took to the stage for their first debate hosted by CNN. The candidates-Hillary Clinton, Bernie Sanders, Martin O’Malley, Jim Webb, and Lincoln Chafee-fielded questions from Anderson Cooper about a wide range of topics, including economic inequality and national security. However, one of the most telling moments during the two-hour […]
Posted inCivil Rights in America
Tamir Rice’s Killing Is Called “Reasonable” Because He Was Black
Last November, 12-year-old Tamir Rice was playing with a toy gun at a park in Cleveland. A person in the park called the police to report that a black male was pointing a gun at people. Cleveland police officers Timothy Loehmann and Frank Garmback responded to the call and, within two seconds-two seconds-Loehmann shot Rice. […]
Posted inMoney, Politics, and Power
Your Constitutional Right to Privacy (Unless You Want an Abortion in Ohio)
The Ohio General Assembly is expected to vote soon on a bill that seeks to let the state government decide whether a woman’s reason for terminating a pregnancy is acceptable. Introduced in August, H.B. 135 would prohibit women from seeking an abortion because of a fetal diagnosis of Down syndrome; a doctor who knowingly performs […]
Posted inHealth and Social Policy
What a 20-Week Abortion Ban Would Mean
Mitch McConnell isn’t willing to shut down the government over funding for Planned Parenthood-but only because it would be political suicide, not because he’s suddenly become pro-choice. In an op-ed for Cincinnati.com, the Senate Majority Leader championed the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act, a national 20-week abortion ban that the Senate will take up on […]
Posted inHealth and Social Policy
Three Ways the Planned Parenthood Hearing Was a Ridiculous Show Trial
Yesterday, a mostly male group of GOP lawmakers on the House Judiciary Committee made good on their promise to “investigate” Planned Parenthood, by holding a hearing on the heavily edited and widely debunked “sting” videos released by the Center for Medical Progress, which, despite its misleading name, is not a medical organization. But the hearing […]
