What Else Is News?

We've got some interesting items to cover.

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Supreme Decisions. Supreme Disappointments?

The U.S. Supreme Court made three very big decisions, and each came with its own backlash. First, the court struck down Affirmative Action, which means that colleges and universities cannot consider race or ethnicity as primary factors in admissions. Next, the court ruled that a Christian graphic designer was not legally bound to design wedding announcements for same-sex couples. Finally, the court struck down President Biden’s plan to forgive $10,000 of student debt for single borrowers earning up to $125,000, plus an additional $10,000 for Pell Grant recipients.

The majority-conservative court landed on these decisions much to the chagrin of the three liberal-leaning judges. Interestingly, the Washington Post points out that while these decisions “alienate the left,” they are nevertheless popular with many Americans. The Post article cites several recent polls to show that, despite the rancor and calls for expanding the Supreme Court to make it more balanced, there is nevertheless support for each of the three decisions.

Ben & Jerry’s Wants Mount Rushmore Returned to the Lakota Sioux; The Abenaki Politely Ask for Ben & Jerry’s to Give Back Land in Vermont

While many Americans attended parades on the 4th of July, Ben & Jerry’s was raining on them. The politically active ice cream maker pointed out on its website that the land on which Mount Rushmore was built originally belonged to the Lakota Sioux and was known as “Tunkasila Sakpe, the Six Grandfathers, to the Lakota Sioux—a holy mountain that rises up from the Black Hills, land they consider sacred.”

The Ben & Jerry’s website mentions the Land Back Movement, which seeks to restore rights and freedoms to indigenous people, including relinquishing land rights in the Black Hills of South Dakota to the Lakota Sioux. (Read about the history of the Black Hills, including the land on which Mount Rushmore stands, and the Land Back Movement’s efforts to restore ownership here. Learn more about Mount Rushmore National Memorial and its collaboration with tribal nations here.)

Ben & Jerry’s is promoting a noble cause but in doing so it has brought up a sticky point. Apparently, the company’s headquarters sits on land in South Burlington, Vermont that originally belonged to the Abenaki Nation. The Abenaki, like so many Native American tribes, suffered as a result of colonization and endured injustices for many years. Newsweek reports that in the early 20th century, some members of the Abenaki were forced into a state-sponsored program that included sterilization.

"We are always interested in reclaiming the stewardship of our lands throughout our traditional territories and providing opportunities to uplift our communities," said Don Stevens, chief of the Nulhegan Band of The Coosuk Abenaki Nation. To date, the Abenaki “has not been approached in regards to any land back opportunities from Ben & Jerry's.”

What say you, Ben & Jerry’s?

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White Lines in the White House.

A white powdery substance found in the White House on July 2 tested positive for cocaine. The “small amount” of cocaine was found by Secret Service agents; it has yet to be determined to whom the cocaine belonged.

Information on where the substance was found changed over the course of several days. At first, the White House announced that the dime-size bag was located in a locker in the West Wing lobby, where guests of the White House are greeted. Later, it was revealed that the cocaine was actually found in a cubby near the West Executive entrance. That is on the same floor as the situation room (where White House staffers gather for intelligence briefings). Also, the Vice President’s limo is parked outside the West Executive entrance.

Speculation grew over the origins of the cocaine. Unsubstantiated stories claimed that the cocaine belonged to Hunter Biden, the President’s son who has battled drug addiction for years. The White House was quick to say that none of the Biden family was at the White House the weekend the cocaine was found; however, no one knows how long the powder had been there.

A Secret Service congressional briefing will be held Thursday, July 13, at which point more information on the situation will possibly be revealed.

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The End of Water Breaks in Texas?

Construction workers in Texas can still enjoy water breaks this summer. Come September 1, that may not be the case.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott signed into law a bill that supersedes local policies that differ from state codes. That includes, according to those who oppose the bill, offering mandatory rest and water breaks for construction workers in Austin and Houston. Current laws in those cities allow construction workers to take a 10-minute break every four hours. Despite the blistering summers it often endures, Texas does not have such a rule in place statewide.

Republican supporters claim that the bill will in the end help the state’s economy. Texas State Representative Dustin Burrows, a cosponsor of the bill, said that “by providing consistency of regulations affecting businesses across the state, our Texas economy will continue to grow, along with higher-paying, higher-skilled jobs.”

Photo by Adem AY on Unsplash

Copy That: Meta Creates a Twitter-like Rival.

The launch of Meta’s Threads was greeted with excitement by social media aficionados who a.) feel that Twitter has become a “toxic” environment, b.) have breathlessly anticipated Elon Musk’s downfall, c.) are always looking for a new platform to take them down a rabbit hole or d.) a combination of all three.

Some in the media were positively giddy over the launch of Threads on July 5.

“Threads has rapidly notched up a huge user base, becoming the fastest-growing social app ever by surging to 100 million registered users within just five days of its release,” gushed Quartz magazine.

Others were less impressed.

“Twitter was for thoughts, and Instagram is for vibes — and Threads is trying to pull your Instagram feed into a Twitter format. And I’m here to tell you: THE VIBES ARE OFF,” opined Anne Helen Petersen on her Substack Newsletter, Culture Study.

The Thread Vibes Are Off

Threads’ meteoric rise in the social media stratosphere likely has to do with it being connected to Instagram. If you have an Instagram account, you can automatically sign into Threads and even follow the same accounts you do on Instagram.

Whether it can maintain users’ interests while somehow avoiding the political and ideological divisions described by disgruntled Tweeters remains to be seen. Right now, Threads looks and reads like a sanitized version of Twitter, and one wonders who might be the first users to spice things up.

Have you tried Threads? Take the poll below.