US Politics

Subterms

    More stories

    • 225 Shares62 Views

      in US Politics

      The Guardian view on the death penalty: Christa Pike’s execution was botched, but cruelty is inherent | Editorial

      by

      Three-quarters of nations have rightly abolished capital punishment in law or practice, but killing by the state has surged in the USWhat is the kindest way to kill? That’s the question being asked once more following Tennessee’s failed attempts to execute Christa Pike for the brutal murder of a classmate, Colleen Slemmer, when she was 18. The 50-year-old was taken to a medical facility, her condition unknown, with witnesses describing her snoring loudly around 40 minutes after receiving two injections of pentobarbital on Wednesday. It is the second botched killing in months, prompting Tennessee’s governor to order a halt to executions.Lethal injection was supposed to be the humane alternative to firing squads and electric chairs. They in turn were seen as an improvement on hanging, which looked much like lynching in a system disproportionately handing the death penalty to black men. The age and ill health of those executed, and the ethical refusal of most medical staff to be involved, may contribute to botched injections. But analysis of autopsy results has provided compelling evidence that suffering is inherent; injections – especially those involving paralytic drugs – have merely disguised it. What is described as safeguarding the dignity of prisoners is really about reducing the discomfort of witnesses who would otherwise see their suffering.Do you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here. Continue reading… More

    • 188 Shares54 Views

      in US Politics

      The horror of the Cornell rape case is how ordinary it is | Moira Donegan

      by

      Many men rape; many men giggle encouragingly, or shrug indifferently, when their friends rape. Many men rape, and few seem to think that it’s a very big dealMaybe more than anything else, sexual violence is repetitive. Men commit it in patterns: mostly against women who are close by and vulnerable, just below them on some social hierarchy: their assistant, their date, their friend, their daughter, their student, their kid’s babysitter.Men rape for opportunity – because they can – and for status – because it makes them feel good. They rape to impress other men, documenting it on phones for one another’s benefit. Men rape and do not always seem to register much of a difference between the sex they’ve had that was rape and the sex that they’ve had that wasn’t. They rape, often, without seeming to think about it, registering their victims’ unwillingness with vague contempt, if at all.Moira Donegan is a Guardian US columnistInformation and support for anyone affected by rape or sexual abuse issues is available from the following organizations. In the US, Rainn offers support on 800-656-4673. In the UK, Rape Crisis offers support on 0808 500 2222. In Australia, support is available at 1800Respect (1800 737 732). Other international helplines can be found at ibiblio.org/rcip/internl.html Continue reading… More

    • 175 Shares74 Views

      in US Politics

      Death row inmate Christa Pike survives two lethal injections in Tennessee – The Latest

      by

      A woman convicted of murdering a schoolmate 30 years ago has been taken to hospital after surviving two rounds of lethal injections in Tennessee. Christa Pike would have been the first woman to be executed in the state in 200 years. Pike, 50, has spent three decades on death row after she was convicted of the murder of 19-year-old Colleen Slemmer in 1995. A last-minute appeal to stop the lethal injection was overturned by the supreme court, but the state governor, Bill Lee, has suspended executions in Tennessee for the rest of the year. Lucy Hough speaks to the attorney and anti-capital punishment campaigner Clive Stafford Smith – watch on YouTube Continue reading… More

    • 150 Shares74 Views

      in US Politics

      Trump and his allies credit deportations with record low crime. Experts disagree

      by

      Administration says increased immigration enforcement led to fewer homicides, but they have been on the decline since Joe Biden’s termOver the last year and a half, the US has seen a historic drop in homicides. Researchers and reporters are still puzzling through the complex set of reasons why – from the easing of pandemic-era stressors and the Biden administration’s investments in community-based violence prevention to policing and other factors.But for the Trump administration, there’s one easy explanation: increased immigration enforcement. As the midterm elections approach, the White House has been doubling down on this message, saying its crackdown against immigrants is why US crime rates are now falling. Continue reading… More

    • 150 Shares92 Views

      in US Politics

      Is Trump to blame for Americans getting explosive diarrhea? | Arwa Mahdawi

      by

      As the midterms approach, Americans’ digestive health has become a bizarre talking pointDonald Trump seems to spend an unusual amount of time thinking about toilets.Back in 2019, he bizarrely claimed: “People are flushing toilets 10 times, 15 times as opposed to once.” He repeated this claim at a Michigan rally the following year. “Ten times, right, 10 times,” Trump complained. “Not me, of course not me, but you,” he added while pointing at an unfortunate audience member. Continue reading… More

    • 163 Shares74 Views

      in US Politics

      Trump the environmentalist? How his Iran war exposed the fragility of dirty energy

      by

      Gavin Newsom says Trump is a ‘gift’ to the climate cause for dispelling notions of fossil fuel energy securitySend us your questions about how the Iran war will affect US voters in the midtermsOf all the epithets hurled at Donald Trump since he became US president, perhaps the most unusual was delivered last week – that he is, in fact, some sort of environmentalist.Trump is the “greatest gift” to the environmental movement, argued Gavin Newsom, California’s governor, due to the fallout from the US-Israel war on Iran. Continue reading… More

    • 163 Shares92 Views

      in US Politics

      Americans are paying millions for a batch of pro-Trump ads | Margaret Sullivan

      by

      The spots, including a recycled campaign ad, are funded by taxpayers and present the president as a heroThe US government is spending millions of taxpayer dollars to get a blatantly partisan message in front of voters as the midterm elections loom.And while these TV ads aren’t explicitly campaign ads, they might as well be. Continue reading… More

    • 225 Shares69 Views

      in US Politics

      ICE got ‘quieter’ – then killed a father in Maine. Now watch groups are shifting their tactics too

      by

      ICE-watchers get creative after the killing of Johan Sebastián Durán Guerrero, as Trump’s immigration crackdown takes a more secretive approachMost of the time, the scene outside the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility in the small, coastal town of Scarborough, Maine, could be confused for a nature watch in “Vacationland”, the slogan on state license plates.People sitting in lawn chairs under a tent. Birds chirping. The sound of the breeze moving through the trees. Continue reading… More