Beware Sinclair

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Recently, a video of news anchors in dozens in different cities all across the nation reading an identical script warning about the dangers of “fake news” went viral. The one thing those anchors had in common? Their stations were owned by the Sinclair Broadcast Group, which determined this promo and other conservative editorials were “must-run” segments. Today’s workout is going to make you more informed about this change in the media landscape and help you evaluate what you hear accordingly.

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Sex Positive, Not SESTA

Wikimedia Commons, London SlutWalk 2011, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Sex_Worker_Rights_-_London_SlutWalk_2011.jpg

Earlier this week, President Trump signed the controversial FOSTA-SESTA (“Fight Online Sex Trafficking Act and Stop Enabling Sex Traffickers Act) bill, making it law. While the law has been promoted as a means of combating online sex trafficking, the law has been criticized by civil liberties groups, sex worker advocates, and even law enforcement as being too broad, too restrictive in its actions, and an unnecessary or even counterproductive for law enforcement. The Department of Justice went to far as to write to Congress calling the law “a serious constitutional concern”. There are grave concerns that the law will increase the risk and harm done to consensual sex workers: “SESTA is putting people on the streets, where we face more violence and harassment and arrest and brutality by the police. SESTA is killing us.”

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No More Torturers

Photo by Rahul from Pexels

After firing former ExxonMobil CEO Rex Tillerson from the post of Secretary of State, Trump nominated Mike Pompeo, currently head of the CIA, to take his post. He also nominated current CIA deputy director Gina Haspel to take over for Pompeo. Indivisible has a summary of all the reasons the Islamophobic, climate-change-denying, pro-torture Pompeo is bad news, while the New York Times explains Gina Haspel’s oversight of a CIA black site where at least one detainee was tortured. Today, let’s push back on appointing them to high posts in our government. Fortunately, we have leverage: the upcoming Senate confirmation hearings.

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