Category Archives: Abolition Of Work

The Sheffield Council has decided not to change the street names which commemorate historical figures who were involved in slavery in years gone by. There have been some changes elsewhere, however, and it seems logical that they be replaced by the names of those Jews who had played a major part in supporting British rulers. and their fellow citizens, to the benefit of the country in the past.

We should therefore have De Medina Street to remember Sir Solomon de Medina who helped win the War of the Spanish Succession and Suasso Avenue for Francisco Lopez Suasso, who financed William III when he invaded England in 1688. Lopez Crescent would be appropriate for the Jewish Banker, Menassah Lopez, who held up the pound during the invasion by the Old Pretender in 1715 and Gideon Road for Samson Gideon who did the same when Bonnie Prince Charlie invaded in 1745.

Rothschild Place would recognise the support the family gave the government, raising money to fight the Napoleonic Wars and for finding the money for Disraeli to buy the Suez Canal.

Admirable as was the abolition of slavery by William Wilberforce, the slave owners still had to be compensated and the Rothschilds raised the money for that as well. It cost more than anything before the recent financial crisis.

There is a strong case for Vane Village to remember Sir John Robert Vane, who won the Nobel prize for medicine in 1982 for, as you know, introducing angiotensin-converting-enzyme inhibitors which have helped people all over the world to reduce their blood pressure and avoid strokes.

We can also make a case for Herbert Brown Drive to mark the contribution to the development of pesticides for which Professor Brown gained the Nobel prize for chemistry in 1979.

There are Wolfson Colleges in Oxford and Cambridge but a Wolfson Close in the West End of London would be a fitting memorial to Sir Isaac whose charitable work was vast.

Goodman Terrace would also be a proper recognition of Lord Arnold Goodmans bill to provide methods of transportation for the disabled. Over three million people have benefited over the years.

In the City of London we obviously need Ricardo Buildings to recognise the important contribution that David Ricardo made to economics in the 18th century and as Christmas is a favourite festival, we need Tuck Cuttings to recall that it was the Tuck family who invented cheap Christmas cards, jigsaw puzzles and Valentine cards from their small shop in Whitechapel when the cost of postage was even less than emails.

Menuhin Lane would be a lasting memorial to Sir Yehudi Menuhim, the great violinist. We also need Silverman Cul de sac to remind us that it was Sydney Silverman MP whose private members bill led to its eventual abolition in 1967.

Well, thats enough to be going on with, but as Shakespeare said the evil that men do lives after them, The good is oft interred with their bones. But then there are Shakespeare Roads in Mill Hill, Brixton, Lambeth, Bedford, Herne Hill, Gillingham and Eastleigh, to name just a few. Weve got some way to go.

Derek is an author & former editor of the Jewish Year Book

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The road to immortality | Derek Taylor | The Blogs - Jewish News

I. S. JONES is a queer American/Nigerian poet, essayist and former music journalist. Her chapbook Spells of My Name is forthcoming with Newfound in 2021. In Spells of My Name, we come to find the musings of one whose path has already been laid out, who speaks to the unflinching power of naming, the act of reclamation to make peace with the past and open the window, allowing a bright future in. The poems here are confessional, just as theyre urgent and timely, experimental, and beautifully crafted, each fluid with grace, perhaps a pointer to the long and illustrious road ahead for this poet.

Ashanti Anderson is a Black Queer Disabled poet, playwright, and screenwriter whose debut short poetry collection, Black Under, was selected for publication as the winner of the Black River Chapbook Competition hosted by Black Lawrence Press. Black Under layers outward perception with internal truth to offer an almost-telescopic examination of the redundancies and incongruences of marginalization and hypervisibility. Torquing the contradictions of oppression, Anderson gives her poems speakers the breathing room to discover their own agency, fostering the realization that joy is not an aspiration but a birthright. Learn more at http://www.ashanticreates.com.

I. S. JONES: My teacher Jericho Brown once said something about how all poems exist to either disrupt or maintain the status quo, all poems might be running away from or toward something. And I think in a lot of ways my chapbook is a lot about reclaiming about reclaiming my name, about reclaiming a lineage, about survival after abuse, what survival looks like on the other side of that. Its about confronting history and its often fraught and violent past, as well as what I understand about a violent history with men, not only my father but also men Ive encountered in my life and men who exist in my family line and how Ive learned to make peace with all that. And also using language to navigate and negotiate those spaces.

ASHANTI ANDERSON: Our chapbooks are in conversation, in terms of reclamation. Personally, Im trying to reclaim my writing career. Im grappling a lot with what it means professionally to write and to be subject to certain expectations about what Im supposed to write as a Black writer or a Queer writer or a Disabled writer and just saying, Im going to write on my own terms. Ill be transparent: a worry of mine is that folks dont recognize the intention of reclamation behind the work.

I. S.: The poet Taylor Byas has talked about this sort of anxiety, how we have to constantly write about Blackness to kind of prove our Blackness so to speak, which seems to inadvertently be a by-product of racism. If were constantly having to prove our humanity, we never actualize as people.

The expectation that because were Black we have to write about these things, I find deeply exhausting. I just want, at least in my work, to be given the space to explore things as I so choose. I will move through the world with a Black lens, but sometimes I just want to write about standing in a meadow and being grateful for the air in my lungs

ASHANTI: And that poem is the poem. Between social media and just talking to other poets, so much of writing sounds like struggle. But I literally sit at my computer, cackling. Im having a great time, and thats what guides me; if I dont have that energy, then I dont need to be writing it.

I. S.: My [upcoming] full-length is pinned to the wall. When I first pinned this up, it took me two hours, and I remember being so excited. I handwrite most of my first drafts and I need physical paper to touch and to play with so the book feels real. And when I was pinning this to the wall, I needed to see how big the book was, and I was like, Wow, this book is big. This is good. I have been writing a literal breathing thing.

I mostly write poems at night, and I remember being up at 2:00 a.m. writing a new poem and I thought to myself, This is a part of the work that I love the most, when its dark and its quiet and nobody cares what Im doing and Im playing and Im exploring and Im reading poems and Im dreaming about what I want them to look like. I thought to myself, I dont ever want this good magic to end. I hope that when both our full-lengths come out we are able to preserve that good magic for ourselves.

ASHANTI: Toni Cade Bambara said, The role of the artist is to make the revolution irresistible. Writing is not supposed to be a struggle for me. If Im supposed to be doing anything, first of all, why not make it fun? Why not make it a party, something that invites others to participate?

I. S.: As Black artists, I dont think we talk often enough about pleasure for the creator of the work. I definitely have been guilty of contributing to this pervasive notion that artmaking has to come from pain and trauma as opposed to coming from pleasure and joy and wanting to share a vision that you have with other people. I think, if there is trauma, theres often this belief that an artist has to constantly traumatize or retraumatize themselves to create art, which is really, really scary and dangerous thinking. No one should ever do that to themselves to create art nor should that be the basis of what we define as good or genuine artmaking.

ASHANTI: I definitely also had that impression at first. I think it came from what I perceived as peoples response to my work. It just seemed so much easier to get a response out of people based on my suffering than my joy. Now Ive realized, thats the problem! The problem is that its more difficult for someone to be moved by my joy, which is in itself pretty radical and impressive. The fact that joy doesnt move a person as much as seeing us dead is their problem.

With Spells of My Name, when did you become aware that you were writing into a collection?

I. S.: I never said, Im going to write a chapbook. I was living in a space that was relatively unsafe, both physically and emotionally. In a lot of ways, the chapbook was a distraction from that, something to keep me focused. I knew the chapbook was going to be centered around self-portraits, and I knew it was going to be about snapshots of my parents life, from Nigeria coming to America. The other stuff I hadnt yet figured out.

Before the chapbook got picked up, I wrote what was at the time the last poem, The Therapist Asks, Is the Hunter in Your Dreams Your Father? not realizing that, without meaning to, I kept writing about this deer and this hunter that keep moving throughout the poems. Then it occurred to me, thats the larger framework. The self-portraits and the interview cycle are important aspects, but at the heart of the collection theres a dramatic mask where Im this black fawn that keeps moving through the chapbook and my father is the hunter. I kept, without meaning to, coming back to that dichotomy because I could negotiate my fraught relationship with my father and that violence is something I had to work through to make it to the other side of the chapbook. Once I knew that, I was able to revise the book with that movement in mind and the ending became the ending the chapbook really deserved.

Im always interested in hearing someones [chapbook] origin stories.

ASHANTI: Black Under started as my final thesis for my MFA so it was basically just a bunch of poems that I had written over the course of two years. Then for a year after getting the MFA, I didnt write anything and I didnt even try to get the book published because I felt a lot of the poems were reactionary and responsive to violence and I wasnt comfortable with that being the first collection I put out into the world. So I had to sit with the collection and find the poems that were saying the things that I wanted to say and ones that were written in moments of power and not in moments of weakness. The collection I was left with was chapbook size. Folks who have read both versions agree that the chapbook is definitely way more concise for one, but also more powerful in that its very, very clear in its message, no longer being weighed down by other things that I was feeling at the time. My politics have changed a lot too, and Im glad to have a book that reflects what I want my career to look like.

I. S.: Im of the opinion that a good manuscript demands growth from its writer, demands some sort of transformation from beginning to end. Otherwise, why did you write it? If the first version of my chapbook got published the way it was, I would pretend that book was not written by me. Rejections are very good teachers, they show you yourself.

ASHANTI: Yeah, once you get past the initial discouragement. You gotta be like, What am I really supposed to take from this? Its definitely helpful, but Im not going to act like I wasnt salty at the time (I got rejected).

I. S.: I did get rejected from a bunch of dream presses, too, and at the time I was like, Hold up, wait a minute, this is bomb, I know it is.

ASHANTI: But then, you start working on the poems again. And I read a poem I wrote that I already thought was good, then I revise it, and then Im like, Oh, now you look good.

I. S.: Just had to sprinkle a little salt on it.

ASHANTI: Right. Off the elbow!

Do you consider your fathers presence in Spells a muse or an omen?

I. S.: Definitely an omen. Definitely. I knew my dad was going to be mentioned in the chapbook, but I didnt know at the time he was going to be such a central figure. But my father also is a larger image system for all of the men who appear throughout the chapbook. Much of the chapbook deals with sexual assault and me naming my own sexual assault that happened to me, and me making parallels between my relationship with my father and the violent relationships with men that Ive survived throughout my life. In a lot of ways, I want to name the violences my father enacted on me, but I dont want to strip him of his humanity which I think would be a profound disservice to us both.

I think a large part of the reason I dont have a lot of animosity toward my father is because I try to be sympathetic to all of the things that hurt him and how in a lot of ways he lacks the language to negotiate his wounds and also negotiate his own healing. I want the poems to address that, to make peace with the things I have no control over.

ASHANTI: I wonder, if your father were to read those poems, would he say, Hmm, you got a point. I didnt think about it that way.

I. S.: Theres a poem in my chapbook called On Transatlantic Shame about a lot of my fathers pains, essentially the poem condenses 20-plus years of my fathers life immigrating from Nigeria to America and basically everything that happened for him to become an American, and what he lost on the way. It took me a long time to write that poem because my parents would never talk about home. Its really just too painful for them so I dont press them the way I used to when I was younger and I didnt know any better. My worry is that if he ever read it, it might open up another wound for him. A lot of the poem is based on what I know, what Ive been told throughout my life.

I think the hardest parts of that poem are him, over time, not seeing his mother ever again. As I got older, I began to understand that my father just stopped calling her and stopped talking to her altogether. To this day he still doesnt know if shes still alive. I was trying to find a way to talk about that, without necessarily placing blame but getting at the center of what happens to the Immigrant body when it crosses the ocean. What happens when you are so eager and hungry for that American Dream? What do you have to sacrifice to make that dream possible? My father did achieve his version of the American Dream, but I do wonder if the cost was too high. I think, or rather my hope is that the poem highlights and contextualizes what he went through for conditions to eventually become that way.

ASHANTI: How does physical positioning or movement appear in your work? Not just thematically do you feel like it influences form or your use of language as well?

I. S.: Most of the chapbook takes place in Madison, Wisconsin. I never explicitly say Madison, Wisconsin; I say a snowy landscape. Some of it takes place on the West Coast, in California. A little bit of it takes place in Brooklyn, which is also another home for me, and then parts of it are set in Nigeria. Basically, it takes place at home, but home has four different faces. Thinking of how it informs form, I think of the duplex. What I love about the duplex form is that it constantly forces you to turn the line and the line transforms and turns, which I associate with Nigeria just by definition.

A lot of the prose poems I associate both with California and Nigeria for how long they are physically and how wide the geography is, and also because I have a lot to say. Some of the poems remind me of Brooklyn because of the jagged line breaks and spaces which remind me of the geography of Brooklyn. The idea of home is constantly transformed throughout the manuscript. Home is an ever-shifting landscape for me.

ASHANTI: I love that the poems also represent a location. Thats never expressly stated. Was this conscious?

I. S.: It was never really intentional, much like the deer and the hunter that move through the chapbook. Even writing about my father was not a conscious move. In terms of poems that are indicative of their prospective geography, that didnt become apparent to me until I wrote On Transatlantic Shame because the poem is very long and very wide, much like the ocean itself. When I wrote it, I wasnt thinking that. But what I love about poems, a good poem shows you yourself.

ASHANTI: Can we talk about bodies as a source of knowledge?

I. S.: Im deeply, deeply invested in queer pleasure. Im deeply invested in what queer femme pleasure looks like divorced from a cisgender heterosexual gaze, which is something Im still trying to find my own lexicon for and create my own language around. But, like, I write poems about sex. Poems about enjoying the body without shame or without having to justify it to a mainstream culture that is determined to misunderstand me.

I also talk about my mothers body. My mother was left for dead during the Civil War, and she has a long scar that goes down the side of her mouth. I write about that scar as a map so to speak for who she was before that moment of trauma and who she became after, how that moment inexplicably changed her relationship to her country of origin, and how I have been affected by that lineage. I write about my grandmothers body: theres a poem in which she turns into a horse and shes galloping through the night and she becomes the night herself. And also my body, I become a black fawn that moves through the chapbook. So theres a lot of ways in which I talk about the Black femme body, theres a sort of transformation as means of survival. We have to become these different things in order to survive what chases after us.

Ashanti, in your poems, geography and history are bodies themselves. Also, though I dont have any connection to the South, Im deeply fascinated and interested in the South as a place of reclamation, of history, and of tradition as well.

ASHANTI: I definitely do reckon a lot with history, or rather the Souths legacy, in that it really is the history of the United States. I do see a lot of things that arent literally bodies as bodies and use those as sources of knowledge because it gives a better understanding, in terms of empathy, to call upon the physicality of even nonhuman things.

I. S.: I also really appreciate the ways in which you document history in your work, especially about persons who have disabilities. I learned from you that Harriet Tubman was Disabled. Theres a very intentional way in which the gatekeepers of history intentionally ignored this discourse around disability and slavery and slavery abolition, so I wanted to talk about how your work both confronts and reclaims those at the forefront of abolition who were Disabled.

ASHANTI: Yes Harriet Tubman, Denmark Vesey, these folks were Disabled and not only did they also do amazing things, we must consider the conditions of their disability. Harriet Tubman got hit upside the head and developed epilepsy. A lot of people develop a disability that they arent born with and may think of it in terms of loss, but I think Harriet Tubman said, Nah, now we all finna get free, and how powerful is that? Another example is Sojourner Truth. She was Disabled and was looking at people like, Im doing just as much work as everybody else but yall aint giving me my rights? Ability or disability literally informs activism. How does the body literally beget other experiences, making way for people to become more radical and powerful?

I. S.: As an able-bodied person, it recontextualizes my understanding of how people with disabilities move through the world and how they have to renegotiate the languages often pressed against their body, often against their will.

There are a lot of ways in which bodies transform in your chapbook. Another parallel between our books is that we both use self-portraits to reshape or shift a narrative that is often fraught with a legacy or a history that came before it.

ASHANTI: Self-portraiture is my way of time traveling. Im not particularly religious, but I do know quite a bit of the Bible, and one thing that really speaks to me is this idea that theres nothing new under the sun. I use that as an anchor for my self-portraiture, as a person who does not have documented ties to my ancestry. Literally looking at myself as an extended metaphor in order to consider the ways in which those who came before me lived and how they felt. A lot of my collection is imagining my ancestors and reclaiming that history. I have to use me, I have to use location, in the absence of knowing.

I. S.: Thats another binding thread throughout both of our chapbooks. There are a lot of gaps within our respective histories, and we use poetry as a vehicle to reimagine what we believe or rather what we hope happened in the absence of our knowledge, and to make peace with the fact that we may never know and that is not necessarily a referendum on ourselves but rather the conditions and circumstances of things.

ASHANTI: In the absence of knowledge, you can create a story. And so many times that story has been bullshit. But Im going to create a story that I like. Youre not going to keep telling me a story that literally diminishes me. Thats the attitude that I started taking to it. I moved out of the mindset of look at this struggle to look at this very complex mess they had to deal with. And its so much more empowering to my life and my writing practice to write stories like that. So I definitely exploit not only those gaps in knowledge but also the contradictions in what history has tried to suggest.

I. S.: Theres always this assumption that when we talk about Black history it always has to be about pain and suffering. But there is also curiosity, there is also joy, theres also love. I appreciate that were making more complicated narratives for what our respective histories look like.

ASHANTI: I think of your poem, Self-Portrait as Itolia, the line, memory & history sit on opposite ends of my dinner table and it feels like memory is a thing that we have and history is a thing that other folks impart on us. I feel like a lot of my othering as a Black American woman with no known ties to the Continent is like being groomed into the expectation of being othered, that includes by non-Blacks, American Black folks, as well as from folks who identify as African. We get the impression, its very forthcoming, that we wont be accepted.

I. S. I really resent this narrative, which I do think is a by-product of racism, pitting Black Americans against Africans as if Black Americans dont have the right to have a claim on their respective counties of origin, if they know which country that is. To be clear, I only speak for myself when I say this: I believe that Black Americans should have the right to build a connection to the country they are tied to in terms of lineage. I think, if Im allowed to, why cant other Black Americans? I identify as a Black American, I identify as a Western-born African, and I often interchangeably call myself both. I can pinpoint exactly on the map where my lineage comes from, and if I can do that why cant other Black Americans?

Imagine if we brought together our collective knowledge. Imagine if Africans coming from the Continent came and helped Black Americans find pockets of their lineage, how powerful that would be. Imagine if Black Americans helped Africans who were coming here with their citizenship, helped them get their Social Security card, helped them with housing. That cultural exchange could be so powerful and so healing and so incredible. I wish that my mother had had that kind of system when she first immigrated from Nigeria to Chicago.

I do know that that animosity exists but I think it only exists in part because Black Americans are told to have a resentment toward Africans and Africans are told they have something over Black Americans for no other reason than they have a very specific claim to the continent. I think both of those narratives should be squashed. Theres a lot of healing to be had if we just shared our respective resources. I really hope that someday Black people, collectively, can get to a point where we stop doing the colonizers work for them and instead help each other. What would that look like? It would be beautiful and very scary scary for them, not for us.

ASHANTI: I totally agree and honestly I think that thats a thing that a lot of people want deep down, to have the ability to come together. I wonder how much of it is just fear of animosity from the other side. If we could all somehow approach one another knowing theres no animosity, I think thats something a lot of people would run toward. I think a lot of Black existence is being on the defense and thats why circling back to the work I think its so important that we seem to be taking the initiative to not write defensively but to write from a place where were taking that step forward. If we can get to a place where collectively we feel comfortable moving forward as opposed to moving defensively, that connection will be something we can see in our lifetime.

I. S. Jones is an American / Nigerian poet, essayist, and former music journalist. Her honors include fellowships from Callaloo, BOAAT Brooklyn Poets, and elsewhere. Her works have appeared in Guernica, Washington Square Review, Haydens Ferry Review, Frontier Poetry, and elsewhere. She is one-third of The Luminaries, an online space which provides free poetry programming and reading events. She is the founder and facilitator of The Singing Bullet: A month-long online poetry workshop.

Ashanti Anderson (she/her) is a Black Queer Disabled poet, screenwriter, and playwright. Her debut short poetry collection,Black Under, is the winner of the Spring 2020 Black River Chapbook Competition at Black Lawrence Press. Her poems have appeared inWorld Literature Today,POETRY magazine, and elsewhere in print and on the web. Learn more about Ashantis previous & latest shenanigans atashanticreates.com.

Originally posted here:

This Good Magic: A Conversation Between Poets Ashanti Anderson and IS Jones - lareviewofbooks

Private property is the foundation of a free economy. From a moral standpoint, the commandment "thou shall not steal" is the clearest Biblical recognition that private property should be regarded as a human right. Not only economists but many moral philosophers have addressed property rights. Aristotle and Aquinas were some of the most prominent of these. In Catholic doctrine, the encyclical Rerum novarum, released in 1891, stressed the importance of this human right, so essential for a prosperous and virtuous economy. One can only do charitable acts with what he owns, not with what belongs to others. Rerum novarum resulted from the efforts of many people, but one of the driving forces behind its publication was the Jesuit priest and philosopher Matteo Liberatore (1810-1892).

(Photo by VINCENZO PINTO / AFP) (Photo by VINCENZO PINTO/AFP via Getty Images)

Liberatore, born in Salerno, Italy, played an important role in the drafting of Rerum novarum. One of his many accomplishments was the founding of the journal La Civilt Cattolica in 1850. Liberatore embarked on a program to revive the study of St. Thomas Aquinas and wrote many books and papers on ecclesiastical and social matters. In his later years, he began to focus more on economics. Several of his views had a great influence on the economic aspects of Rerum novarum. This papal document was the point of reference for Quadragesimo anno (1931), and Centesimus annus (1991), encyclicals written to celebrate the fortieth and one hundredth anniversary of Rerum novarums publication.

Regarding private property specifically, Liberatore defined it in in the tradition of great philosophers and jurists. In his book Principles of Political Economy (1891) he writes, "Property means exclusive possession of a thing with power to dispose of it at will." He was writing at a time when socialist theorists and activists were becoming popular, so he focused on this threat. He viewed socialist criticisms of private property as against "nature's commands." Similar to late medieval religious scholars, he regarded private property as necessary to secure peace and provide for one's future and that of one's children: "He who has the right to own a tract of land has the right to its fruits." Following traditional Christian doctrine, Liberatore pointed out that property owners are obliged in conscience to give their superfluous wealth to the poor. He recognized that on certain occasions the state has the right to regulate, but not abolish, private property. According to Liberatore, not even the consent of all nations could justify the abolition of private property. Common ownership could be imposed only by the unanimous consent of individuals (e.g. shipwrecked people on an island) but, according to him, the children and grandchildren would not be obliged to obey because they "receive the right of having property from nature" and not from their progenitors.

Liberatore went further in his criticism of socialism, saying that such a system is "evidently absurd; for it means that all the individual rights and powers of the subjects ought to be absorbed by the State. No man of common sense can seriously entertain such a notion, and therefore to speak of it further would only be a waste of time." For Liberatore, the biggest problem in all human-rights issues is the granting of excessive power to the state. He also added that the views of some late medieval scholars - such as those of the School of Salamanca in the sixteenth century, who argued that private property belonged to positive and human law - could create misunderstandings.

Matteo Liberatore's views on economics had great influence on Roman Catholic Doctrine on private ... [+] property

In Liberatores words, "the old Doctors said that the right of property is not a natural right, but a right of nations, because they distinguished the jus naturale from the jus gentium as being an absolute and primary dictate of nature, while the jus gentium is a relative and secondary one [emphasis mine], and therefore proceeds from discourse of reason. Closely connected with the right of having property is the right of inheritance...."

I italicize "secondary" to highlight the term recently used by Pope Francis when addressing private property in his encyclical Fratelli tutti. The Pope writes, "The right to private property can only be considered a secondary natural right, derived from the principle of the universal destination of created goods. This has concrete consequences that ought to be reflected in the workings of society. Yet it often happens that secondary rights displace primary and overriding rights, in practice making them irrelevant."

Liberatore, unlike Pope Francis, studied economics and wrote extensively about the dangers of socialism. He played an important role in changing the language of the Church in favor of property rights. In his time, human positive law was understood as that which depended solely on the will of legislators. For Liberatore, to continue with the old terminology would be imprudent and dangerous and favor the socialists, who would "play tricks of sophistry and confuse the question, by maintaining that because in modern language the right of having property is not given by nature, but by man, therefore private property may be abolished." Despite the long tradition of the Catholic Church and the clear statements in the Catechism of the Catholic Church (numbers 2401-2406), when Pope Francis again used the old terminology, referring to private property as a "secondary" right, many argued that he was saying that private property can be put aside as "secondary." That would be a grave mistake, however.

Liberatore's regard for private property and his references to it as a natural right were partly due to language, since it is "better to use phrases not liable to false interpretation but easily understood....." He concludes: "Nowadays the question of property has left the School for the streets, and writers, therefore, should take the greatest care to avoid words that may be misused...." Liberatore does not disagree with the Scholastic notion that ownership, although consistent with natural law, is ultimately decided by positive law, mostly contract law; he rather adapted it to the language of his times in order not to weaken the importance of property rights. The Vatican in our day should also be careful with words that can be misconstrued.

The influence of Liberatore's views on Rerum novarum prompted Jacob Viner (1892-1970), a superb economist and historian of thought, to write: "The skeptical attitudes at the end of the Middle Ages towards the doctrine of a natural-law foundation of the institution of private property indicate that St. Thomas's use of even a quasi natural-law justification of private property was by no means universally accepted. It seemed to some, therefore, that Pope Leo XIII broke sharply with traditional doctrine when he went beyond St. Thomas in his campaign against nineteenth-century socialist doctrine, by proclaiming as an integral part of natural law the right of private property."

Average Per Capita Income by IPRI Quintiles

The recently released International Property Rights Index 2021 IPRI, provides ample evidence that Fr. Liberatore was right. His work deserves to be better known by moralists, especially in the Vatican. The IPRI shows that stronger property rights lead to better living environments. When respected for all, they make possible a healthy gender equality. Societies with high respect for private property also achieve higher degrees of prosperity, religious liberty, and opportunities for the poor. They are also more peaceful. Neglecting respect for private property is an option for poverty and not an option for the poor.

Read more from the original source:

The Vatican Would Profit From The Views Of This Jesuit - Forbes

Content warning: This article contains mention of sexual assault, police brutality and racist violence

Our campus has a safety issue.

This safety issue has nothing to do with a lack of campus security forces Boston University Police and BU security staff are distributed throughout our campus.

Rather, our safety issue has more to do with the fact that these campus security forces both explicitly and implicitly are not designed, or willing, to protect the safety of all BU students.

Recently, Students for Justice in Palestine, Divest BU and Action BU demanded more transparency from the BUPD, with the latter two saying they support its abolition.

This is not the first time Boston University security personnel have been called out for its racism.

BU Security guards have a history of harassing students of color and blocking students of color from entering shared spaces.

In 1972, BU security guards allegedly assaulted a Black high school student named George Stone. Stone, who worked at the West Campus cafeteria, tried to enter his place of work but was stopped by two BU Officers who beat and pushed him. Stone was then arrested for trespassing.

In 1997, 42 students of color created a petition detailing how they were repeatedly harassed, or even escorted out of the building, by BU security guards when they tried to enter their dorms.

The BUPD also has a storied history of violence and racism.

In 1984, BU Police Sergeant Kevin Bourque shot and killed an unarmed 19-year-old named Christopher Dignan as Dignan was in a car.

In 2005, BUPD records were made public in a court case which found that out of 10 people stopped by the BUPD, 7 of them were Black, despite Black students making up less than 3% of BUs student population at the time.

The court case involved two former BUPD officers who sued BUPD for wrongful termination. The officers claimed that they had been fired because they confronted then-BUPD Chief Robert Shea for the departments alleged widespread practice of racial profiling, gender discrimination and nepotism.

In the proceedings of the court case, it was revealed that Shea kept a photograph of a Black man being choked by white hands inside of his car. He allegedly stated he kept it because his wife, who was the then vice president of enrollment at BU, gets a kick out of it.

Shea was never fired and was allowed to retire peacefully.

The BUPDs racist actions continue to this day. Last April, the BUPD wrestled a Black man to the ground who they suspected had assaulted a student. Multiple students recorded the incident and felt uncomfortable with the BUPDs use of force.

BUPD has also been utilized to intimidate student protests. On Oct. 15, Divest BU held a small protest, and students were questioned by plainclothes BUPD officers. Students claimed the officers never introduced themselves and created a hostile environment.

Student groups also called for increased transparency from the BUPD given that BUPD Chief Kelly Nee went to Israel along with other local police chiefs for a training led by the Israeli military and police officials in 2017.

The BUPD, as a campus police force, is not held to the same public reporting requirements as state police. Moreover, most legal courts have agreed that campus police are not necessarily held to constitutional protections.

To be fair, there are some accountability measures in place regulating the BUPD.

When asked about student criticism against the BUPD, President Brown referred students to the Community Safety Advisory Board, formed last year in order to, as stated by Brown in a community-wide letter, help foster physical and psychological safety and security for all members of the Boston University community, including students and employees of color, and other underrepresented, nontraditional, and marginalized communities on campus.

One student stated that she contacted the advisory board to bring up valid concerns, but felt disheartened after their conversation with the Advisory Boards officials.

Even if we were to ignore all of BUPDs past and present bad actions, one would not need to look beyond the BUPDs and the administrations statements to determine their seeming lack of regard for student safety.

BUPDs official mission statement states that the BUPD aims to, among other tasks, improve the perception of safety as well as the quality of life within the University community. It is interesting that they chose to highlight the police forces aims at improving the perception of safety rather than actual safety. Why did they take the pains to make this distinction?

This distinction is reinforced by the administration. In 2015, a BU student was sexually assaulted in her dorm room. She later sued BU, and the Universitys legal team responded with a court filing section titled The University Made No Definite Or Certain Promise To Keep Students Safe.

From their own public statements to their racist history and present, it is clear the BUPD is not designed, nor does it seem willing, to protect all students on campus. Defunding this institution or outright abolishing it and creating new services in its wake that better address student and community needs may actually improve student safety.

You may feel hesitant to defund or abolish the police, as you may worry youll have no one to call if you were ever in a dangerous situation.

But as many activists have pointed out, abolition requires that we create more community services that would address peoples needs and community safety. To put it simply, you would always have someone to call the number would just be different.

For instance, BU could increase funding for Scarlet SafeWalk, a program in which students escort anyone feeling unsafe to their home. BU could create a mental health task force specifically designed to deal with mental health crises and expand funding and resources for BUs Sexual Assault Response and Prevention Center.

The BUPD has an egregious history and present of violence and racism. If we are to ever truly approach a safe campus, we cannot continue to rely on these racist police institutions.

UPDATE: This article was changed to more clearly reflect that Officer Kevin Bourque was never charged for his actions. A past version of this article stated that Kevin Bourque murdered Christopher Dignan. It was changed to shot and killed because Bourque was never charged.

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EDITORIAL: The BUPD promised us the perception of safety not its reality The Daily Free Press - Daily Free Press

To deny people their basic rights is to challenge their very humanity Nelson Mandela, 1990.

Observing Human Rights Day every year on December 10 may pass people by without a moment's thought another unnecessary day which no one is aware of and which goes by unnoticed.

Yet, Human Rights Day marks the day the United Nations General Assembly adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights In 1948. An inspiration for the evolution of human rights instruments across the globe over the years, the date is more than symbolic; it is a time to celebrate the progress made and identify what still needs to be addressed.

Retrospectively, 2021 has brought its fair share of victories for human rights. First for Mexican and South Korean women who no longer face criminal charges for having abortions. For free speech, then, with Saudi womens rights activist Loujain al-Hathloul and Egyptian journalist Solafa Magdy being released from prison after having been unjustly incarcerated. For the abolition of the death penalty finally with Sierra Leone, Kazakhstan, and the U.S. state of Virginia putting an end to capital punishments.

All of these events are cause for celebration. Yet, an appalling number of individuals around the world continue to suffer daily from violations of their basic fundamental rights. A single look at Iran suffices to realize all that remains to be done.

Despite having signed the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which requires signatories, Iran brutally and routinely denies its citizens the rights enshrined in the treaty. As of today, Iran has carried out 246 executions this year. Demonstrations are violently repressed and often end in a bloodshed, women are harassed and discriminated against on a daily basis, prosecuted Iranians do not receive fair trials and minority communities such as the LGBTQI+ are persecuted. Simply put, the Iranian regime disregards its commitment to its people based on gender, sexuality, religion, and much more.

In 2007, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, during a speech at Columbia University, claimed homosexuality did not exist in Iran. Homosexuality is a deviancy for the Iranian government, a moral degeneration. As a result, the government engages in a brutal state-sanctioned persecution and oppression of the LGBTQI+ community.

In addition to facing unjust discrimination in the workplace and in public, members of the LGBTQI+ community live under the constant fear of incarceration or death. While the regime has received criticism and attention, it has managed to escape the rightful international indignation for its actions by covering up its motivation and listing internally recognized crimes such as rape and non-consensual sexual relations.

The living conditions of thousands of Iranians self-identifying as members of the LGBTQI+ community are perilous, to say the least. What is more, the regime does not stop at its own borders in its oppression of the community. Only last week, in response to Israels hack of its fuel distribution system, the regime published online personal data of thousands of gay Israelis who had subscribed to the gay dating website, Atraf. In addition to outing some of the subscribers, Iranian hackers also posted extremely sensitive information such as the potential seropositivity of subscribers.

Despite these dreadful violations of basic human rights, persecuted and oppressed Iranians have not given up. Some have the courage to demonstrate despite the threats of imprisonment and brutality. Others, who have been forced to flee their country to escape this nightmare, continue the combat overseas by raising awareness of the situation in Iran.

In an attempt to make these peoples voices heard, a newly created nonprofit organization, PaykanArtCar, commissions artists to use the car as a canvas to depict human rights violations occurring in Iran. The inaugural piece has been designed and painted by a young Iranian artist Alireza Shojaian, now based in France. In what is truly a beautiful work of art, Alireza depicts the persecution of the LGBTQI+ community in Iran.

Like the PaykanArtCar, December 10 gives us the opportunity to shed light on human rights violations and inform people of the great courage and determination of those who fight for their very humanity. The situation in Iran is unacceptable. The international community must hold Iran accountable for the treaty it signed and continues to flout. Artists like Alireza and the organisation PaykanArtCar must be supported in their ambition to raise awareness and provide a platform for the atrocities (and violations of human rights) performed by the regime in hope to drive action for change.

Dr.Hiva Feizi isa public diplomacy and international affairs expert focused on Irans soft power and cultural diplomacy in the Middle East and North Africa, as well as theexecutive director and co-founderof Paykan Art Car.

See the article here:

LGBTQ+ Iranians Are Suffering and Dying While the World Yawns - Advocate.com

To increase respect and understanding for their profession, the national association for physician assistants formally replaced "assistant" with "associate," transforming the group into the American Academy of Physician Associates (AAPA), Jordan Rau writes for Kaiser Health News.

Why you should treat your APPs more like physicians

In 1967, four former Navy medics graduated from the Duke University School of Medicine as the nation's first class of "physician assistants" (PAs). Since then, physician assistants, as they are still legally called, have steadily gained more autonomy. In fact, according to Rau, they can now perform many of the same day-to-day tasks as doctorsand in most states, they do so without immediate supervision from a physician.

Typically, it takes 27 months and roughly 2,000 hours of clinical work to earn a PA master's degree. Conversely, family doctors are required to attend four years of medical school followed by a three-year residency where they gain around 10,000 hours of experienceand specialists often must attend even longer residencies.

As of 2020, almost150,000PAs were practicing in the United States, with a median annual pay of$115,390just slightly above the $111,680 median pay for nurse practitioners, who perform similar jobs, Rau writes. In comparison, the median annual pay for a family physician was$207,380.

According to Rau, many PAs believe patients and the public harbor widespread misconceptions surrounding the responsibilities and privileges of a PA. They believe the term "physician assistant" often causes confusion, Rau writes, and many people believe PAs perform only minimal tasks to assist doctors.

For instance, since she began her career as a physician assistant 23 years ago, Leslie Clayton said she has been especially bothered by one thingthe word "assistant." Even her family was confused by her profession; Clayton said it took her parents years understand that her responsibilities extended beyond taking blood pressure and performing basic tasks.

"There is an assumption that there has to be some sort of direct, hands-on oversight for us to do our work, and that's not been accurate for decades," said Clayton, who practices at a clinic in Golden Valley, Minn. "We don't assist. We provide care as part of a team."

In fact, many PAs argue that the term "assistant" confuses not just patients, but also state lawmakers and the people who hire medical professionals, Rau writes.

Clayton, who recently testified before state legislators regarding a scope-of-practice bill, said that lawmakers "just couldn't get their heads around" the idea of "an assistant who doesn't have a direct supervisor." The response she said lawmakers gave her: "You guys really need to do something about your title."

As a result, the newly renamed AAPAin addition to eradicating the term "assistants" from its titleis advocating for the abolition of the state mandates that require formal supervision from a physician or written agreements with a physician specifying their role. According to Rau, the association estimated that the total cost of revising the profession's title would reach nearly $22 million.

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Physician 'assistant' or 'associate'? For PAs, the distinction is critical. - The Daily Briefing

Summary

It consists of several closely associated institutions, among which :

1. The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD, 189 members in 2017), which provides loans in productive sectors such as farming or energy ;

2. The International Development Association (IDA, 159 members in 1997), which provides less advanced countries with long-term loans (35-40 years) at very low interest (1%) ;

3. The International Finance Corporation (IFC), which provides both loan and equity finance for business ventures in developing countries.

As Third World Debt gets worse, the World Bank (along with the IMF) tends to adopt a macro-economic perspective. For instance, it enforces adjustment policies that are intended to balance heavily indebted countries payments. The World Bank advises those countries that have to undergo the IMFs therapy on such matters as how to reduce budget deficits, round up savings, enduce foreign investors to settle within their borders, or free prices and exchange rates.

These findings gave rise to intense discussions among World Bank and IMFIMFInternational Monetary FundAlong with the World Bank, the IMF was founded on the day the Bretton Woods Agreements were signed. Its first mission was to support the new system of standard exchange rates.

When the Bretton Wood fixed rates system came to an end in 1971, the main function of the IMF became that of being both policeman and fireman for global capital: it acts as policeman when it enforces its Structural Adjustment Policies and as fireman when it steps in to help out governments in risk of defaulting on debt repayments.

As for the World Bank, a weighted voting system operates: depending on the amount paid as contribution by each member state. 85% of the votes is required to modify the IMF Charter (which means that the USA with 17,68%% of the votes has a de facto veto on any change).

The institution is dominated by five countries: the United States (16,74%), Japan (6,23%), Germany (5,81%), France (4,29%) and the UK (4,29%). The other 183 member countries are divided into groups led by one country. The most important one (6,57% of the votes) is led by Belgium. The least important group of countries (1,55% of the votes) is led by Gabon and brings together African countries.

http://imf.org shareholders and within the media. It also brought to the fore the degree to which the Bank and Fund are impacted by deepening tensions between the US and the Global North more generally and China. After a period of ardent speculation about the implications of the investigation for the legitimacy of the Bank and Fund, and the fate of Georgievas tenure, the IMF executive board issued a statement affirming its support of the managing director on 11 October.

Much media coverage focused on the personal responsibility of former Bank President Kim and Georgieva, and the allegedly strained relations between Georgieva and current Bank President, David Malpass. Some presented the episode as evidence of Chinese efforts to expand its influence within international organisations. Disappointingly, very few media outlets in the Global North while lamenting or warning of the inherent dangers of increased Chinese weight at the World Bank took time to reference the work of Eric Toussaint of the Committee for the Abolition of Illegitimate Debt, and other academics, who have critically documented historical US hegemony within the multilateral system.

Recognising that the DBR scandal was just the tip of the iceberg and arguing for a comprehensive response, a 12 October open letter signed by 143 civil society organisations and individuals, called for the Bank to urgently address the structural issues revealed by the DBR scandal. The letter demanded reform of both institutions governance structures, including the gentlemans agreement. It called for steps to address the internal accountability deficit and widespread perceived conflict of interestInterestAn amount paid in remuneration of an investment or received by a lender. Interest is calculated on the amount of the capital invested or borrowed, the duration of the operation and the rate that has been set. in policy lending and technical assistance, the ideological bias in policy advice and conditionality, and the unwillingness of the World Bank to engage meaningfully with the international human rights framework.

Hopes that the World Bank and IMF would use the DBR scandal as an opportunity to address the structural shortcomings outlined in the CSO letter were short-lived. On 10 November Reuters reported that, the World Bank plans to unveil in about two years a replacement for its flagship Doing Business report. The development of the new DBR will be informed by the results of an external panel review of the report commissioned by the World Banks Chief Economist Carmen Reinhart, and released on 20 September. The panel made several recommendations that relate to long-standing civil society criticisms of the DBR, including adopting indicators that measure the positive functions of government in promoting a good business environment; removing the country rankings; ending the potential conflict of interest created by selling consulting services to governments aimed at improving their countrys score; establishing a firewall between the DBR unit and other Bank operations; and creating a permanent external review board.

According to Reuters, Reinhart noted that, key concepts for the new product [include] a mandate for more transparency about the underlying methodology and less focus on ranking countries. Reinhart emphasised that the Bank had instituted a lot of safeguards over the past year, noting that, the underlying nuts and bolts will be in the public domain. She hoped that credibility will follow. Regarding credibility, a 26 October Al Jazeera article noted that a second WilmerHale report investigating potential wrongdoing by current and former bank staff, including Georgieva, will be released in about two months to the Banks human resources department and not its board.

The announcement of DBRs rehabilitation confirmed the fears of economic justice groups and labour unions, many of whom had anticipated that the report would be refashioned without engaging with the structural concerns raised by civil society. Despite the expert panels sensible recommendations, the Bank has failed to address critical questions about its undemocratic governance or the DBRs private sector-led development bias.

The Banks unwillingness to critically engage with the reports premise that what is beneficial for business is good for development, or to assess the negative impact of DBR-driven reforms, has long been critised (see Observer Winter 2019). Unsurprisingly, the DBR cancellation announcement stressed, the World Bank Group remains firmly committed to advancing the role of the private sector in development and providing support to governments to design the regulatory environment that supports this.

Further evidence of the Banks direction was seen in Malpasss comments during the 2021 Annual Meetings Town Hall with civil society, where he stressed that the Bank would continue to analyse and advise on country-level business reforms through its Systematic Country Diagnostic. Likewise, the Banks 2021 Development Policy Financing (DPF) retrospective notes, By fostering an environment more conducive to private sector development, DPFs play an essential role in mobilizing private capital and supporting private sector led growth in client countries, especially critical in a context of tight fiscal space.

Civil society, labour unions and social movements fear that the focus on tightening fiscal space and related allusions to the expected austerity wave (see Observer Winter 2021), will lead to a further push for the privatisation of social services and development more generally even as the global impacts of the pandemic persist. Continued IMF-mandated austerity was strongly opposed by over 500 organisations and individuals who signed an open letter to Georgieva in advance of the 2020 Annual Meetings (see Dispatch Annuals 2020).

The Banks planned revival of the DBR is consistent with a wider trend: Rather than critically engaging with fundamental structural criticisms about its market-solutions approach, it is merely redeploying it under a more financialised incarnation (see Observer Spring 2020). This was also the case with the Banks cascade approach (see Observer Summer 2017), since renamed Maximizing Finance for Development (see Observer Spring 2020), and now integrated into the institutions Green, Resilient and Inclusive Development (GRID) approach (see Dispatch Annuals 2021).

The DBR and other World Bank-devised frameworks can be linked to a phenomenon identified by Brazilian political economist Lena Lavinas as the collaterateralisation of social policy. She observed that credit and debt, along with new financial devices, are becoming the cornerstones of what used to be social protection systems. These erode state capacity, relegating its function to a what Bristol-based economist Daniela Gabor calls the de-risking state (see Observer Winter 2017-2018). According to Ohio State Universitys Professor Linda Labaos 2018 article, the shrinking of the state has resulted in the restructuring of the social contract between governments, citizens and the private sector, which has, led to shifts in state capacity and policy orientation that leave populations bereft of needed public services, increased inequality across geographic areas and sociodemographic groups, and political effects such as the growth of right-wing populism.

University of Johannesburg sociologist Patrick BondBondA bond is a stake in a debt issued by a company or governmental body. The holder of the bond, the creditor, is entitled to interest and reimbursement of the principal. If the company is listed, the holder can also sell the bond on a stock-exchange. remarks, Whats ultimately most important is that again and again, the Bank not only sets the stage for neoliberal coddling of corporations at policy level, in Doing Business. Just as important is the actual practice of the Bank and International Finance Corporation when doing biz here in South Africa that includes catastrophic investments such as the Banks biggest-ever loan: $3.75 billion for the bribery-riddled Medupi coal-fired power plant, as well as the Marikana platinum mine and Net1. These have amounted to unpunished victim-filled crimes, egged on by a mentality fostered by Doing Business: deregulatory, profitProfitThe positive gain yielded from a companys activity. Net profit is profit after tax. Distributable profit is the part of the net profit which can be distributed to the shareholders.-centric, high-carbon, extractivist and eco-catastrophic, Ponzi-scheming and profoundly anti-poor (see Observer Spring 2019).

The over 360 organisations, trade unions and individuals who signed a March open letter calling on the Bank to discontinue the DBR (see Observer Autumn 2020, Winter 2019; Update Autumn 2013) must redouble efforts during the next two years to drive the Bank to address the iceberg concealed by the DBR scandal. As Frederic Mousseau of US-based Oakland Institute stressed, reflecting on the 2014 joint statement from 280 organisations of the Our Land Our Business Campaign, global civil society is determined to make the Bank keep the DBR in its grave, where it can no longer do harm.

The rest is here:

Death of Doing Business Report greatly exaggerated as World Bank announces rebranding plans - CADTM.org

With the upcoming celebration of the abolition of the Army of Costa Rica, its a good time to give some historical context on what this day is all about and why it is celebrated.

The abolition of the Army is usually recognized on December 1, however due to it falling on a Wednesday this year, and to allow everyone in Costa Rica the opportunity to celebrate, the Legislative Assembly has moved the holiday to Monday, November 29th

On Dec. l, 1948, then head of the provisional government Jos Pepe Figueres transferred the building to the Ministry of Education with a symbolic thrust of a sledgehammer against one of the turrets and passing of the keys to the building to Minister of Education Uladislao Gmez.

Although don Pepe is credited with abolishing the army after a brief civil war in March 1948, Costa Rica was never a military force. In the years following the Spanish conquest, private armies were used to subdue the indigenous populations and to fend off pirates active in the Caribbean.

In the years before and after the countrys independence from Spain in 1821, urban centers had their own militias, which sometimes resulted in civil skirmishes.The year after independence, war broke out between Cartago and Heredia and San Jos and Alajuela all Central Valley cities over whether Costa Rica should join the Mexican empire of Agustn Iturbide or form a confederation with the other newly independent nations of Central America.San Jos came out the winner and snatched the capital from Cartago as its prize.

In the 1840s, President Braulio Carrillo consolidated the defense forces into a national army and police force.Even as a new republic, Costa Rica, with its small, scattered population and lack of roads through the mountains and jungles, remained free of attacks and land grabbing until the 1850s opened up a new era. International commerce made Central America an appealing place for a transit between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans.

The British and North Americans were eager to control the area.In 1856, Costa Rica fought its first and only foreign war in the campaign against U.S. filibuster William Walker and his army in Nicaragua; however, more than 100 revolts, rebellions and attempted coups were put down by force. Then, in March1948, a civil war broke out following a year of strikes and general discontent, a disputed election, burned ballots and assassinations.

The six-week war saw the national army fighting a liberation army led by Figueres, a popular figure and proponent of democracy throughout the region. Following a truce, don Pepe was asked to head a provisional government to work out much needed reforms, including in the army.

Which of the two fighting forces would become the national army, and would it be loyal to the new government? Would it commit to fighting in other countries under the Caribbean League, a regional force designed to end dictatorships? Who was going to pay for the needed new equipment and training when the schools and hospitals were always short of money? The solution to do away with the army shocked other countries deeply engaged or aligned in the Cold War.

But it made sense for Costa Rica. In 1955, Costa Rica was attacked by exiled Ticos living in Nicaragua, with the support of then dictator Anastasio Somoza. The attack was repelled by civilian national guard forces. The Constitution of 1948 abolished the army as a permanent institution.

In the interest of national defense, an army can be formed, but only under civilian control and without interference in national affairs. Historical information from El Estado y La Abolicin del Ejrcito, by Mercedes Muoz Guilln.

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The Abolition of the Army in Costa Rica Holiday : - The Tico Times

The Jan. 6 insurrection in Washington, D.C., leaving five dead and more than 140 injured, was an attack not only on a building, but on the United States. It was an assault on American democracy, a rejection of the rule of law, when its perpetrators attempted to halt the final electoral count of the 2020 presidential election.

Some observers argue that President Trumps supporters stormed the Capitol at his behest, and now a bipartisan congressional select committee is investigating how the event was planned, who was involved, and whether new legislation should be enacted to forestall a future attack.

Select committee members need to hear testimony and review documents preceding the event to properly do their work. They have asked several former Trump administration officials to supply information about what they knew before and during the attack. They have requested presidential material from the National Archives to learn whether and how the former president played a role in provoking the attack that was designed to keep him in office.

Courts have made clear that congressional committees may obtain information if it furthers a legislative purpose. A nation like ours, based on the rule of law, requires its legislative branch to fulfill its duty for the good of all so, as in this case, it never happens again.

Trump and former administration officials have stonewalled, declining to supply needed evidence of their role in the insurrection by claiming executive privilege. This principle appears nowhere in the Constitution or in law. It is a matter of practice that allows presidents to receive confidential information and advice as they contemplate policy decisions.

But no policy was contemplated on Jan. 6. The goal was to overturn the rule of law, and an election that more than 60 judges and many state officials found to be fair and honest.

While the Supreme Court has recognized executive privilege, the justices have noted that it is neither absolute nor unqualified. The select committee argues that executive privilege does not cover individuals potentially involved in the planning and provoking of the Jan. 6 assault, especially because many were no longer in the administration. The committee has issued subpoenas to at least 20 former members of the Trump administration, demanding they come forward with testimony and documents. Trump himself may soon be on the list.

Congress, like the courts, possesses subpoena power, meaning those who refuse are under penalty of the rule of law. A grand jury indicted one former Trump advisor, Steve Bannon, of criminal contempt for ignoring a subpoena requiring him to appear. He faces felony charges that may lead to imprisonment and/or a hefty fine. Others who refuse to appear, including Trumps former chief of staff, Mark Meadows, may also face prosecution and imprisonment.

The requested information is important in light of a Zogby poll undertaken several weeks after the Capitol riot that concluded 46 percent of those responding believed that the U.S. might be on the verge of a civil war. The respondents included Republicans, Democrats, and independents.

Neoconservative Robert Kagan darkly argued in the Washington Post that we are already in a constitutional crisis. We may experience a reasonable chance over the next three to four years of incidents of mass violence, a breakdown of federal authority, and the division of the country into warring red and blue enclaves.

A September CNN poll found that 78 percent of Republicans do not believe Joe Biden was elected president, and 54 percent believe there is solid evidence of that, despite the fact that no such evidence exists. That view is also deeply connected to support for Trump.

Does this forecast a further breakdown of the rule of law? I used to argue in class that with the glaring exception of the Civil War, Americans are not a revolutionary people. Americans do not change their government through violence and bloodshed. Yet, increasingly, pockets of our fellow citizens decline to accept the integrity of the vote, the outcome of elections, and the peaceful transfer of power as the underpinnings of change.

Does this presage the demise of the American republic, as some have predicted? No, we dont face a civil war. The one lasting from 1860 to 1865 was a sectional conflict between North and South over the abolition of slavery. Todays extremism permeates every state, and does not match the circumstances of the 19th century. Our republic will prevail, but if and only if we still believe in the rule of law.

Jack Fruchtman, who lives in Aquinnah, is updating his history of the U.S. Constitution.

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Jan. 6, executive privilege, and the rule of law - Martha's Vineyard Times

The Grammy Awards aren't fair. Neither is life. Chaos rules. Snubs will happen, and who's to say where to lay blame? With the Recording Academy's 11,000-plus voters, a mysterious lot whose membership lacks transparency? Failed PR campaigns? God? All of the above?

Sound conspiratorial? Two words: The Weeknd. His glaring omission from last year's nominations rankled both the artist and nearly everyone who pays attention to the Grammys, leading to the abolition of the so-called "secret committees" that could overrule the voting bloc. For better or worse, this year, no Weeknd-sized whiffs disrupted the proceedings. Shoe-in artists and major pop figures including Olivia Rodrigo, Billie Eilish and H.E.R. landed multiple nods. Ditto Doja Cat, Lil Nas X and Brandi Carlile.

But this year's nominations did come with the inevitable left-field surprises and snubs. Below, some of the most notable.

Jon Batiste scores 11 nominations. Batiste is best known as the affable bandleader for CBS's "The Late Show With Stephen Colbert." The New Orleans-born pianist's big laugh is instantly recognizable during the comedian's monologue, and in jazz circles he's a respected player. But straight talk: He's hardly torn up the pop charts or the critics' lists. The versatile album for which he's nominated, "We Are," peaked at No. 86 on the Billboard 200 and dropped off the next week. "Freedom," which is nominated for record of the year, has a paltry 5 million spins on Spotify. (By comparison, Rodrigo's "Drivers License" recently surpassed 1 billion.)

Something about Batiste's skills and approach, however, resonated with Grammy voters. In addition to the above, Batiste's work is nominated for traditional R&B performance, R&B album, improvised jazz solo, jazz instrumental album, American roots song and performance, score soundtrack for visual media, music video and contemporary classical composition.

Arooj Aftab nabs a best new artist nomination. Among the 10 best new artist nominations are pop star Olivia Rodrigo, rapper Saweetie and producer-songwriter Finneas (who has won eight Grammys with sister Billie Eilish), each of whom were expected to earn academy kudos. Few were blindsided by seeing rappers the Kid Laroi or Baby Keem among the 10 nominees, and rising country singer Jimmie Allen's nomination made sense. Which is to say, though varied in instrumentation, nine of the 10 acts released albums full of pop-structured songs in 2021 Glass Animals, Arlo Parks and Japanese Breakfast included.

And then there's Aftab. Until Tuesday morning, the 36-year-old Brooklyn, New York-based singer and composer's most prominent appearance was on Barack Obama's summer playlist. She's never performed on network television and issued her 2021 album "Vulture Prince" not through a major label but on the New York experimental label New Amsterdam.

Born and raised in Saudi Arabia and Pakistan, Aftab has earned attention with "Vulture Prince" for its seven meditative, minimal works that draw inspiration from a free-flowing South Asian lyric poetry form known as the ghazal. Singing mostly in Urdu, the Berklee College of Music-trained Aftab combines stringed instruments, synthesizers and the occasional percussive accent with multi-tracked layers of her pitch-perfect voice. Oddly, the work isn't even nominated in the global music album category; rather, its song "Mohabbat" earned a global music performance nomination.

ABBA's long game paid off. Those who measure musical success through Grammy trophies might stop to ponder the plight of ABBA. Bereft of a single Grammy nomination despite its multi-decade run of worldwide smashes, the Eurovision-winning Swedish quartet somehow managed to survive the Recording Academy's indifference and eke out a career. Earlier this month, the band released a new album, "Voyager," preceded by September's lead single, "I Still Have Faith in You," just before the voting deadline. The strategy, if they had one, paid off with their first-ever Grammy nomination: "I Still Have Faith in You" landed a record of the year nomination.

Justin Bieber's did too. Bieber is many things, but he's seldom been accepted by the Recording Academy's old guard as an Artist Worthy of Consideration. This year, though, Bieber's eight nominations establish just that. His work appears in three of the four major categories: record of the year and song of the year for "Peaches," and album of the year for "Justice (Triple Chucks Deluxe)." Bieber also landed pop solo performance for "Anyone," pop duo/group performance (with Benny Blanco) for "Lonely," as well as pop vocal album, R&B performance and music video.

Country music? Maybe next year. With each of the four major categories generating 10 nominees, 40 slots were in play this year. Of them, only one true-blue country artist, Jimmie Allen, earned a major nod. Voters slammed the stable doors on established stars including Kacey Musgraves, Chris Stapleton, Mickey Guyton, Maren Morris and Sturgill Simpson. (Whether Brandi Carlile makes country music in 2021 remains unresolved.) That left Allen, a Delawarean by birth, to represent the genre via his best new artist nomination. He did so through the work on "Bettie James Gold Edition," a beefed-up version of his "Bettie James" EP that features collaborations with artists including Nelly, Tim McGraw, Pitbull, Mickey Guyton and Monica.

Did somebody say Kacey Musgraves? The belle of the ball in 2019, when her sublime "Golden Hour" earned album of the year and country album Grammy Awards, Musgraves seemed a lock for a major nomination. Alas, her post-divorce album "Star-Crossed" was mostly ignored by the academy, save two nominations for "Camera Roll," in the country song and country solo performance categories. (The pop-leaning "Star-Crossed" was deemed ineligible for country album.)

BTS comes up short again. Apparently 50 billion BTS fans can be wrong, or at least more of them need to infiltrate the Recording Academy. Despite the group's worldwide dominance, the K-pop phenoms earned just one nomination, in pop duo/group performance category, for their song "Butter."

Swifties are not gonna be happy. It's hard to feel sorry for Taylor Swift right now given her very good year (and decade and career). Last year she won album of the year for "Folklore" and her rerecorded "Red (Taylor's Version)" is the No. 1 album in the country. Still, a tiny violin doesn't take up much space so let's bust it out to acknowledge that, despite all the acclaim, Swift received only one nomination this year: Her soft pandemic comforter "Evermore" is among the album of the year contenders, but that's it. Still, she can rest easily knowing that, like perhaps only Beyonce, her very absence is a kind of presence.

Black voices run the table for spoken word album. Among Grammy watchers, who gets nominated for spoken word album has long been fodder for wonderment. The only category to honor non-music recordings, it's been part of the ceremony since its 1959 inception and has celebrated a banquet's worth of boldfaced names: Dorothy Parker, the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., Jim Morrison, John F. Kennedy, William Shatner, Flea, Tiffany Haddish and Neil deGrasse Tyson among them. But this year for the first time, all the nominees are Black. They include LeVar Burton's reading of his sci-fi book "Aftermath"; Don Cheadle's reading of the late Congressman John Lewis' "Carry On: Reflections for a New Generation"; poet and spoken word artist J. Ivy's "Catching Dreams: Live at Fort Knox Chicago"; Dave Chappelle and Amir Sulaiman's "8:46"; and Barack Obama's reading of his memoir, "A Promised Land."

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Sorry, Swifties: The 2022 Grammy nominations are filled with snubs, surprises - theday.com