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Recent Posts: Transformational Citizenship
Author Archives: Bennett Minton
The twilight of LGBT discrimination
The June 15 Supreme Court decision in Bostock v. Clayton County (Georgia) has a sweeping logic that, if applied to other areas of law, will mean the end of legal discrimination against people who identify as LGBTQ. Justice Neil Gorsuch, … Continue reading
Posted in civil rights, LGBT rights, Supreme Court, Uncategorized
Tagged Howard W. Smith, LGBT, Neil Gorsuch, Robert Kennedy
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Will Florida end this battle against voting?
The saga of the restoration of the voting rights of Florida ex-felons continues, but it may be nearing an end. The crux of Federal District Judge Robert Hinkle’s May 24 opinion in Jones v. DeSantis, about the legislature’s attempts to … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized, voter suppression, Voting
Tagged Amendment 4, Due Process, Equal Protection, Jones v. DeSantis, Judge Robert Hinkle, Rick Scott, Ron DeSantis, SB7066
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‘That government is best which is most indifferent’
In their book, Deaths of Despair and the Future of Capitalism, Ann Case and Angus Deaton study the rising premature death rate from suicide, drug overdose and alcohol liver disease. Four findings: The rate has steadily fallen over 30 years … Continue reading
Posted in Obamacare, Supreme Court, Uncategorized
1 Comment
An opportunity to enrich the opportunistic
Published March 30, 2020, in Tax Notes Federal, weekly magazine of Tax Analysts Inc., where I was a reporter and editor in the early 1990s. This is a story about billionaires, how Congress makes laws, how city development officials work … Continue reading
Posted in Congress, Tax, Uncategorized
Tagged Cory Booker, Economic Innovation Group, Enterprise Zones, Opportunity Zones, Sean Parker, Tax Fairness Oregon
1 Comment
The revolution will not be televised
I hear the frustration of Bernie supporters. I too am frustrated at the cultural and institutional conservatism that has created a country where the accident of birth determines economic fate. In 240 years we’ve had a few shifts of the … Continue reading
Posted in Congress, Uncategorized, Virginia legislature
Tagged Bernie Sanders, Donald Trump, Joe Biden, Ralph Nader
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As a sunflower bending toward the light
As horrific as is this moment of our political derangement, I participated in two lectures on Sunday that left me feeling that we will survive, thanks to the example set by two individuals I learned about. In the afternoon, at … Continue reading
Posted in civil rights, Uncategorized
Tagged Kent Ford, Lissa Yellow Bird, Portland Black Panthers, Sierra Crane Murdoch
1 Comment
Woke is not enough
The Reverend Dr. William Barber was in my neighborhood last night. For those who would like an introduction: Dr. Barber is the pastor of a North Carolina church and former head of the state NAACP. In 2014 he founded Repairers … Continue reading
Blue Virginia expels the Confederacy
A link here to my column in The Washington Post, the day after Democrats captured both chambers of the Virginia General Assembly for the first time since 1992. And the text for those who don’t pony up for a subscription: … Continue reading
Posted in election campaign, Uncategorized, Virginia legislature, Voting
Tagged gun control, taxes
2 Comments
Desmond Meade: Restoring the franchise – and justice
Last November Florida voters amended the state constitution, automatically restoring voting rights to ex-felons who had completed “all terms of sentence including parole or probation.” The amendment was expected to affect more than 1.4 million Floridians, but the newly elected … Continue reading
The American Way of agriculture — and an alternative
I went to eastern Oregon last weekend to tour a version of the American Way of Agriculture with a couple dozen Portland citizens. I was impressed – and at a loss how to convey what I had seen about the … Continue reading
Posted in climate change, Uncategorized
Tagged rewilding
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