Monthly Archives: July 2022

Jacob Grumbach LABORATORIES AGAINST DEMOCRACY: How National Parties Transformed State Politics

Assistant Professor of Political Science at the University of Washington, Jacob M. Grumbach, is a Faculty Associate with the Harry Bridges Center for Labor Studies. His research focuses on the political economy of the United States, with an emphasis on public policy, racial and economic inequality, American Federalism, health policy, climate change and statistical methods.

His book, LABORATORIES AGAINST DEMOCRACY: HOW NATIONAL PARTIES TRANSFORMED STATE POLITICS, which investigates the causes and consequences of the nationalization of state politics since the 1970s, is published by Princeton U. Press.

You can access Professor Grumbach’s State Democracy Index here: https://www.dropbox.com/s/qe9pkneyt93i6cs/grumbach_state_democracy_index.csv?dl=0

Thanks to Mother Jones for Ari Berman & Nick Surgey’s article: Leaked Video: Dark Money Group Brags About Writing GOP Voter Suppression Bills Across the Country – “We did it quickly and we did it quietly,” said the executive director of Heritage Action. https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2021/05/heritage-foundation-dark-money-voter-suppression-laws/

Articles pertinent to this interview:

Inside the Secret Working Group That Pushed Anti-Trans Laws Across the Country https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2023/03/anti-trans-transgender-health-care-ban-legislation-bill-minors-children-lgbtq/

Just 27 billionaires spent $90 million to buy GOP Congress: report https://www.commondreams.org/news/2022/07/18/just-27-billionaires-have-spent-90-million-buy-gop-congress-report

The Supreme Court Just Rolled Democracy Back. You Can Measure How Much. https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2022/06/30/court-made-america-less-democratic-00043549

How Ohio Republicans dodged court rulings to keep gerrymandered maps https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/jul/21/ohio-republicans-gerrymandered-maps

Federal judge blocks Biden’s directives to protect LGBTQ people from discrimination – The temporary block coincides with a lawsuit claiming that the directives infringe upon states’ rights https://www.salon.com/2022/07/17/blocks-bidens-directives-to-protect-lgbtq-people-from-discrimination/

The Supreme Court’s Role in the Degradation of U.S. Democracy https://campaignlegal.org/sites/default/files/2022-07/CLC%202022%20SCOTUS%20Report_final.pdf

Could the US supreme court give state legislatures unchecked election powers? https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/jul/07/us-supreme-court-state-legislature-power

Our Fourth of July nightmare: A republic in the tightening grip of minority rule https://www.salon.com/2022/07/01/our-fourth-of-july-nightmare-a-republic-in-the-tightening-grip-of-minority-rule/

‘We don’t have to pretend anymore’: Greens ready to bail on D.C. https://www.politico.com/news/2022/06/30/greens-readying-to-bail-on-d-c-00043591

Political Violence Is The New American Normal https://www.huffpost.com/entry/political-violence-the-new-american-normal_n_62c07c37e4b0ffe00a1260a6

Children Should Not Have to Suffer the State’s Injustice https://www.nytimes.com/2022/07/11/opinion/tennessee-schools-transgender-bathroom-laws.html

ALEC Focuses on “Woke Capitalism,” Bodily Autonomy and More at Annual Meeting https://truthout.org/articles/alec-focuses-on-woke-capitalism-bodily-autonomy-and-more-at-annual-meeting/?eType=EmailBlastContent&eId=b8da5b6e-f3cd-4b2b-9187-bb4382560860

Conservative push to recruit election deniers as poll workers causes alarm https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/jun/30/republican-recruit-poll-workers-election-integrity

Wisconsin Court Validates a Republican Strategy to Preserve Power https://www.nytimes.com/2022/06/29/us/wisconsin-supreme-court-natural-resources-board.html

Voting is significant determinant of health, US medical association declares https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/jul/14/voting-health-us-medical-association

The Israel Lobby’s New Campaign Playbook https://jewishcurrents.org/the-israel-lobbys-new-campaign-playbook

Richard Gray MURDER AT YELLOWSTONE CITY

Richard Gray has directed movies such as Robert the Bruce, Broken Ghost and Sugar Mountain. His latest film, MURDER AT YELLOWSTONE CITY, is the first feature length film to have been shot at the new Yellowstone Film Ranch outside of Pray, MT.

In this interview, we discuss the challenges of filming during Covid; his partnership with Livingston’s Carter Boehm and Chico Hot Spring proprietor, Colin Davis, in building the Yellowstone Film Ranch; their efforts to help pass The Montana Economic Development Industry Advancement (MEDIA) Act; and prospects for the Montana Film Industry after its passage.

The Bozeman Film Society will be premiering MURDER AT YELLOWSTONE RANCH on Friday, July 22 at the historic Ellen Theater. They post this at their website: The once peaceful and booming Yellowstone City has fallen on hard times, but when a local prospector strikes gold, things seem to be turning around. Any hope is soon shattered when the prospector is found dead and the Sheriff quickly arrests a mysterious newcomer. But nothing is so simple in this sleepy western town, and more than a few of the locals have secrets to keep and reasons to kill. As the brutal murders continue, pitting neighbor against neighbor, Yellowstone City goes down a bloody path to a final showdown that not all will survive. 123 minutes. NR. Starring: Gabriel Byrne, Thomas Jane, Isaiah Mustafa, Anna Camp, Aimee Garcia, Emma Kenney, with Nat Wolff, and Richard Dreyfuss.

We interviewed director/producer Richard Gray on July 11, 2022.

Articles pertinent to this interview:

https://bozemanfilmsociety.org/event/murder-at-yellowstone-city/

‘Murder at Yellowstone City’ Review: A Well-Crafted Mix of Traditional Western and Murder Mystery Elements https://variety.com/2022/film/reviews/murder-at-yellowstone-city-review-1235301280/

Yellowstone Film Ranch https://bigskyjournal.com/yellowstone-film-ranch/

Jamie Susskind THE DIGITAL REPUBLIC: On Freedom & Democracy in the 21st Century

Jamie Susskind is a British barrister and the author of the multiple awards winning bestseller, FUTURE POLITICS: LIVING TOGETHER IN A WORLD TRANSFORMED BY TECH.

His latest book is THE DIGITAL REPUBLIC: ON FREEDOM AND DEMOCRACY IN THE 21st CENTURY, published on July 5, 2022 by Pegasus Books.

In it he addresses questions like: Is it possible to “democratize” digital technology? What kinds of rules and standards should govern important algorithms? Should powerful figures in the tech industry be regulated, like doctors or lawyers, or even hair salon workers? Is anti-trust law fit for the purpose? What rules should govern the use and abuse of personal data? Can we regulate social media without stifling freedom of speech?

With more and more news reports of the damage that digital technology is doing to individuals as well as our democracy, Jamie Susskind’s insights into the problems and challenges to reforming this largely unregulated industry are helpful for citizens grappling with the many issues with which we are faced.

We spoke with him via Skype on July 6, 2022.

Articles pertinent to this interview:

Facebook gave police their private data. Now, this duo face abortion charges https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/aug/10/facebook-user-data-abortion-nebraska-police

Amazon Admits Giving Ring Camera Footage to Police Without a Warrant or Consent https://theintercept.com/2022/07/13/amazon-ring-camera-footage-police-ed-markey/?utm_medium=email&utm_source=The%20Intercept%20Newsletter

The Uber files tell a simple truth: democracy depends on curbing mercenary tech giants https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/jul/11/uber-files-democracy-silicon-valley

‘Frankly it blew my mind’: how Tron changed cinema – and predicted the future of tech https://www.theguardian.com/film/2022/jul/05/tron-steven-lisberger-interview

Police sweep Google searches to find suspects. The tactic is facing its first legal challenge. https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/police-google-reverse-keyword-searches-rcna35749?utm_source=pocket-newtab

Push to rein in social media sweeps the states https://www.politico.com/news/2022/07/01/social-media-sweeps-the-states-00043229

Parents Sue TikTok, Saying Children Died After Viewing ‘Blackout Challenge’ https://www.nytimes.com/2022/07/06/technology/tiktok-blackout-challenge-deaths.html

Families sue TikTok after girls died while trying ‘blackout challenge’ https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2022/jul/05/tiktok-girls-dead-blackout-challenge

‘Asleep at the Wheel’: Canada Police’s Spyware Admission Raises Alarm https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/jul/07/canada-police-spyware-admission-surveillance-experts

How long will Twitter stand by as ‘online violence’ curtails our right to know? https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/jul/01/twitter-online-violence-journalists-rana-ayyub

The future of privacy rights in a post-Roe world https://www.axios.com/2022/06/29/privacy-right-roe-v-wade-dobbs-v-jackson-online-data

Google says it will delete users’ location history at abortion clinics, other ‘personal’ data https://www.politico.com/news/2022/07/01/google-abortion-delete-history-00043841

Deleting Your Period Tracker Won’t Protect You https://www.nytimes.com/2022/06/30/technology/period-tracker-privacy-abortion.html

Fact Check-Does ‘2000 Mules’ provide evidence of voter fraud in the 2020 U.S. presidential election? https://www.reuters.com/article/factcheck-usa-mules-idUSL2N2XJ0OQ

Chatbots Are a Danger to Democracy https://www.nytimes.com/2018/12/04/opinion/chatbots-ai-democracy-free-speech.html?searchResultPosition=1