Mueller Said What He Said…but He’ll Say It Again
As Congress continues their investigation into Trump and Russia (nope, it’s still not over), the elusive Robert Mueller has agreed to testify before officials on July 17. His testimony is a dream to some and a nightmare to others. A couple things that we can expect: Democrats trying to piece together more info from the already tight-lipped prosecutor and Trump’s allies working to pierce holes in his credibility and, ultimately, his investigation. New month, same political BS. It’s like a new season of your favorite reality TV show.
Did the Supreme Court Fail Us?
“Shorty swing my way,” said Republicans to the SCOTUS and boyyyy, did they swing. The highest court recently ruled that federal courts are not authorized to rule on issues of gerrymandering, the purposeful drawing of electoral districts to favor one party over another. This will now be a state-level issue—an obvious problem if one party rules the politics in any given state. While gerrymandering isn’t just a Republican thing, the party is known to be more strategic and more vocal about structuring districts in a way that keeps them in power and ultimately sends more of their representatives to the capitol. This ruling may seem bleaker than bleak, but it’s not all said and done. We can look to next year’s presidential and congressional elections to turn the tide—not to something that specifically benefits Democrats—but to something that’s more balance. Fingers crossed.
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Congress, You Did What??
Should Democrats be side-eyeing Nancy Pelosi? After Trump received massive amounts of backlash for the horrible conditions in which migrant children are detained, Nancy Pelosi and other moderate Democrats agreed to a Senate-led bill that gave the administration $4.6B in funding to improve the conditions at the border facilities. Sounds good, right? Not to progressive Democrats who didn’t feel the bill contained enough protections for migrants and have wasted no time calling out sister Nancy on her complicity. The division within the Democratic party on this issue is sure to worsen as elected officials are using this week’s recess to tour the centers themselves. The initial reactions are that they’re as bad...or worse as we’ve been told they are.
P.s. If you want to do your part to help migrants at the border, here are some organizations that you can donate to.
2020 Happenings: The #DemDebates Edition
After each of the major Democratic candidates got their chance to shine, the polls are showing some major shifts. Top contender Biden saw his lead drop and Harris and Warren surge to the 2nd and 3rd place respectively.
“Kamala Harris doesn’t have shit to prove.” This is Cory Booker’s response to conservative claims that Kamala isn’t Black enough since she descends from an Indian mother and a Jamaican father. This wave of criticism comes just after her stellar performance on the debate stage.
Julian Castro is learning Spanish, but it’s not because Beto O’Rourke and Cory Booker busted out with it at the debate. He’s learning Spanish to undo generations of what he calls oppression against Latinx people in the U.S.
Around the Diaspora
Despite brutal military crackdowns that attempted to silence them, Sudanese protesters march on with calls for civilian rule.
West African nations are rolling out a single currency in 2020 called the Eco. Is this a gamble or are they making a strong political statement?
Barbados Prime Minister Mia Mottley aims to get rid of a colonial-era school exam that she says denies equal opportunities for all schoolchildren.
Culture that Pops
Meek Mill is turning his Ls in Level Ups: the rapper now owns a stake in Lids.
Meet the 8-year old girl that’s giving out the freshest cuts in Philly. She got her skills through a local barber academy that teaches kids barbering skills early so that they’ll always have a hustle to turn to.
Kaepernick is still out here repping for the people. After he expressed his disapproval, Nike will no longer release new sneakers with an old version of the U.S. flag that stands as an alt-right symbol.