Saturday, May 4

Tag: government

How Individual Rights And Government Regulation Are Both Necessary For A Free Society – Masks And Mandates
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SOCIETY

How Individual Rights And Government Regulation Are Both Necessary For A Free Society – Masks And Mandates

I’ve been thinking a lot, recently, about the tension between demanding “individual rights” – in the sense of deciding whether or not to wear a mask – and calling for more action on the part of our government to protect us from the coronavirus pandemic. I’m a political theorist, which means I study how communities are organized, how power is exercised and how people relate to one another in and between communities. I’ve realized – through talking to friends, and thinking about the protests against COVID-19-related restrictions that have taken place around the country – that many people do not understand that individual rights and state power are not really opposites. The laws and policies that governments enact set the framework for the exercise of our rights. So, inaction on the part of...
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In Early 20th Century Segregation Policies In Federal Government Harmed Blacks For Decades To Come
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SOCIAL JUSTICE

In Early 20th Century Segregation Policies In Federal Government Harmed Blacks For Decades To Come

Economic disparities in earnings, health and wealth between Black and white Americans are staggeringly large. Historical government practices and institutions – such as segregated schools, redlined neighborhoods and discrimination in medical care – have contributed to these wide disparities. While these causes may not always be overt, they can have lasting negative effects on the prosperity of minority communities. Abhay Aneja and I are researchers at University of California, Berkeley, who specialize in examining the causes of social inequality. Our new research examines the U.S. federal government’s role in creating conditions of racial inequality more than a century ago. Specifically, we researched the harmful impact of government discrimination against Black civil service employees. W...
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Farmers Are Being Paid By The Government To Deplete The Ogallala Aquifer
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ENVIRONMENT, VIDEO REELS

Farmers Are Being Paid By The Government To Deplete The Ogallala Aquifer

A slow-moving crisis threatens the U.S. Central Plains, which grow a quarter of the nation’s crops. Underground, the region’s lifeblood – water – is disappearing, placing one of the world’s major food-producing regions at risk. A center-pivot sprinkler with precision application drop nozzles irrigates cotton in Texas. USDA NRCS/Wikipedia The Ogallala-High Plains Aquifer is one of the world’s largest groundwater sources, extending from South Dakota down through the Texas Panhandle across portions of eight states. Its water supports US$35 billion in crop production each year. But farmers are pulling water out of the Ogallala faster than rain and snow can recharge it. Between 1900 and 2008 they drained some 89 trillion gallons from the aquifer – equivalent to two-thirds of Lake Erie. Deplet...
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New Clean-Energy Technologies Could Be Helped By A Government-Linked Foundation
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TECHNOLOGY

New Clean-Energy Technologies Could Be Helped By A Government-Linked Foundation

To address climate change over the coming decades, all nations will need to transition to energy resources that emit less carbon. This transformation, already underway, will require many new technologies. The United States is a world leader in scientific research and technological development. But new inventions have to be brought to market and then widely adopted to have a deep impact. And in the clean energy field, the United States doesn’t do as well at making that happen as one might be expect, given its strength in basic research. The energy transition might stall if the U.S. doesn’t overcome this problem, endangering human health and the environment. Research I carried out with Jetta L. Wong, the founding director of the Office of Technology Transitions at the U.S. Department of En...
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Cyberspace is critical infrastructure – it will take effective government oversight to make it safe
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TECHNOLOGY

Cyberspace is critical infrastructure – it will take effective government oversight to make it safe

A famous 1990s New Yorker cartoon showed two dogs at a computer and a caption that read “On the Internet, nobody knows you’re a dog.” The cartoon represents a digital past when people required few safeguards on the internet. People could explore a world of information without having every click tracked or their personal data treated as a commodity. The New Yorker cartoon doesn’t apply today. Not only do your browser, service provider and apps know you’re a dog, they know what breed you are, what kind of dog food you eat, who your owner is and where your doghouse is. Companies are parlaying that information into profit. Legal and regulatory protections in cyberspace have not kept up with the times. They are better suited to the internet of the past than the present. Today’s dependence on ...
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There’s a history of white supremacists interpreting government leaders’ words as encouragement
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SOCIAL JUSTICE

There’s a history of white supremacists interpreting government leaders’ words as encouragement

White supremacist and militia organizations are exploiting the government’s chaotic response to the coronavirus for recruitment efforts. Whatever his intention, these groups interpret President Donald Trump’s tweets to “LIBERATE” states and calling armed protesters “very good people” as support for their cause. Recent research by the Tech Transparency Project into social media accounts of white supremacists, a nonprofit that researches “the influence of the major technology platforms” on politics, policy and people’s lives, found that “some members of private … Facebook groups reacted to the president’s rhetoric (about lockdown protests) with memes of celebration.” The white supremacists’ response reflects the United States’ history of local, state and national political leaders encoura...
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Government cybersecurity commission calls for international cooperation, resilience and retaliation
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TECHNOLOGY

Government cybersecurity commission calls for international cooperation, resilience and retaliation

The global commons are under assault in cyberspace. Ransomware attacks, including North Korea’s WannaCry and Russia’s NotPetya, have disrupted vital medical services and global transportation systems, costing billions of dollars. Iran and China have engaged in similar actions. Real-time cyberattacks on a display at the 175th Cyberspace Operations Group of the Maryland Air National Guard. U.S. Air Force photo by J.M. Eddins Jr., CC BY-NC These cyberattacks are carried out by states and nonstate actors that seek to undermine global connectivity for their own interests. But like a pandemic, these attacks affect all of society. The world needs a new approach to combating how nations use cyberspace to advance their interests at the expense of people around the world. The U.S. Cyberspace Solar...
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US pharmacists can now test for coronavirus. They could do more if government allowed it
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COVID-19, IN OTHER NEWS

US pharmacists can now test for coronavirus. They could do more if government allowed it

As Italy’s death toll from the novel coronavirus climbed to one of the highest in the world, its doctors made a plea to other countries: Manage the pandemic in the community, not in hospitals and emergency rooms. When people with COVID-19 show up at hospitals, they can spread the virus to other patients and health care workers. Italian authorities believe that the instinct to go to the emergency room first, even when the symptoms aren’t severe, contributed to the country’s current disaster. Like Italy’s, the United States’ health system is hospital-centered. As a result, pandemics can quickly overwhelm the hospital system, limiting its capacity to deal with other urgent medical conditions. But an alternative exists that could help manage the pandemic among the majority of COVID-19 patie...
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I Understand Why Black People May Trust Their Intuition Over the Government On COVID-19
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COVID-19, HEALTH & WELLNESS

I Understand Why Black People May Trust Their Intuition Over the Government On COVID-19

I’m ashamed to admit it: I laughed when I saw the news story of the Black woman who wore plastic bags as she picked up a student from a Memphis school where an employee had contact with a patient who had tested positive for the new strain of coronavirus. As a Black woman and a practicing physician who works on Chicago’s South Side, I shouldn’t make light of the way a fellow Black woman attempts to protect herself in a country that often does little to protect her. (The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends frequent hand-washing, social distancing including avoiding crowds, keeping hands away from the face, and suggests wearing a mask only if you are sick.) Doctors are certainly not immune to panic or fear. But we are trained to remain calm in the face of uncertainty. We a...
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The Government Shutdown Put Thousands at Risk for Eviction
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IN OTHER NEWS

The Government Shutdown Put Thousands at Risk for Eviction

Officials worried about the loss of trust after the longest shutdown in U.S. history put 1.1 million low-income households at risk of eviction. The 35-day government shutdown wreaked havoc on millions of Americans lives and livelihoods as fewer food inspections took place, parks went uncleaned, museums shut their doors, airport lines grew longer, and whole agencies ground to a halt. The experience was especially distressing for those who depend on the federal government for their basic needs, including food and shelter. Thousands of furloughed employees—many living paycheck to paycheck—found themselves in line for free meals at pop-up kitchens and food pantries. Recipients of SNAP assistance worried whether their monthly benefits would end. And contractors with the D...
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