Cuba moves to legalize same-sex marriage

In a long overdue move, the government of Cuba is seeking to change many elements of its constitution, one article of which currently declares marriage to be between a man and a woman.

The proposed new Constitution, drafted by a special commission within Cuba’s National Assembly, was unveiled in July. If the National Assembly and President Miguel Díaz-Canel approve the document after a Feb. 24, 2019 public referendum, marriage would be defined as a “union between two people.”
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Beyond legalizing gay marriage, the new Constitution would protect private property, limit the presidential term to five years and introduce the role of prime minister.

Intense debate has surrounded the possibility of marriage equality in Cuba, and not just within the government’s official public meetings. Cubans are also discussing and debating gay marriage with neighbors and friends, in the streets and online – a departure from Cuba’s traditionally more top-down style of government.

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Expect the Trump mob to descend on Kavanaugh accuser

Older people may remember how Anita Hill was vilified and her name dragged through the mud when she came forward with allegations of odious behavior by then US Supreme Court nominee Clarence Thomas. He was finally confirmed after he cowed craven Democrats, including then judiciary chair Joe Biden, by alleging racism when it was nothing of the sort. And that was before the days of the internet. Now new allegations have emerged about even worse behavior, this time an attempted rape of a 15-year old, by current nominee Brett Kavanaugh. (The full interview can be read here but may have a paywall restriction.)
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Squeezing prisoners for profit

I have written before about how US prison systems are being used to squeeze prisoners and their families for money, by forcing them to use services provided by private for-profit companies for things that could be done far more cheaply using standard methods. One system is to force families to send letters and cards and photographs to prisoners only through dedicated electronic means that are far more expensive than the postal service. Another is forcing prisoners to buy music only through their expensive dedicated systems and players. The prisons get a cut of the revenues.
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‘All politics is local’ comes to Amish country

The Amish people are known for having a lifestyle that is simple without many modern amenities, such as shunning electricity and using horse-drawn carriages instead of cars, though that is slowly changing as the pressure of modernity presses in on them and draws young people away. They are also known for having a strong sense of community, valuing personal relationships and trust. I recall how a long time ago, we went for the first time to an Amish furniture store in rural Ohio (the Amish produce extremely well-crafted wood furniture) and bought several items. When it came time to paying for them, we discovered that they did not take credit cards. But the owner said that that was not a problem, just to take all the stuff and send him a check later.
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The ugliness of New York politics

Both the state and city of New York, despite being seen as ‘liberal’ and dominated by the Democratic party, have long had a reputation for ugly politics, where backroom deals are cut between powerful politicians and business and other interests at the expense of the welfare of the people in general. The current governor Andrew Cuomo is emblematic of this kind of machine politics and it was hoped that the current insurgent uprising within the Democratic party would result in both him and other statewide office-holders being replaced by more progressive voices.
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The myth of scientific manipulation of data

America has this curious strain of anti-intellectualism that sees expert opinion on any topic as somehow suspect. While skepticism is a good quality when practiced in moderation, what Bertrand Russell referred to as ‘heroic skepticism’ that takes a stance in direct opposition to expert opinion, such as that human-caused global warming is not happening and that hence climate change is a fiction, is foolish.
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To engage or not to engage with racists?

If you blinked, you might have missed the media flutter about the New Yorker magazine reversing its decision to invite Stephen Bannon, one-time Svengali to Donald Trump, to be interviewed at its festival. The reversal was caused because editor David Remnick received a lot of criticism and pressure, with other invited celebrities such as Judd Apatow and Jim Carrey saying they would not attend if Bannon was there. Of course, this has resulted in the usual right-wing whining about the ‘intolerant left’, that they are being ‘de-platformed’ and denied the chance to voice their views.
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The mystery of the purloined letters

One of the strange stories to come out of the new Bob Woodward book about the Donald Trump administration is the story of how advisors to Trump would swipe documents from his desk that they thought he should not see or sign. A specific case that was cited was former economic advisor Gary Cohn seeing a letter on Trump’s desk that was awaiting his signature calling for an end to a long standing trade agreement with South Korea. Cohn took the letter away and apparently that was the end of the story. Cohn apparently did something similar with a letter about NAFTA.
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