“Last year, a controversial pest control bill started making its way through the General Assembly. The legislation, which passed through the senate, would prevent civil ‘failure to warn’ liability lawsuits from being filed against pesticide manufacturers and sellers in Tennessee as long as they have an EPA-approved label. Toward the end of last session, the House Judiciary Committee voted to place the bill on 2026’s calendar. The legislation was on the committee’s agenda for this Wednesday, with rumors that a new amendment rewriting the bill would be introduced by Rep. Johnny Garrett (R-Goodlettsville). But when Wednesday rolled around, the bill was taken off notice, pausing its progress once again. The Lead Up Groups in favor of the GOP-sponsored legislation include the Tennessee Farm Bureau and the Modern Ag Alliance, which Bayer founded to protect, defend, and ensure continued farmer access to crop protection tools (specifically glyphosate) amidst mounting legal challenges.” (01/23/25)
“Trump’s bizarre threats to take Greenland by military force, now rescinded, added one more signal to America’s usual allies that the U.S. could no longer be trusted. One ironic result is closer economic relations between the rest of the world and China. This is far more consequential than whatever deterrent effect on China that might be achieved by more U.S. bases in Greenland. Europe, especially Germany, was already moving in the direction of closer economic ties with China. In the wake of the Greenland debacle, there will be more trade deals and more investment, both by Europe in China and by China in Europe, increasing Europe’s dependence on Beijing.” (01/23/25)
“Credit to the Department of Homeland Security and Vice President J.D. Vance for immediately nipping in the bud what was sure to be a hysterical weekend-long news cycle. And yet, the headlines remain: New York Times: ‘Detention of 5-Year-Old by Federal Agents Incenses Minneapolis’ … Washington Post: ‘ICE detains four children from Minnesota school district, including 5-year-old’ … CBS: ‘ICE takes 5-year-old boy and his father after using boy as ‘bait,’ school district says’ … Axios: ‘ICE’s detention of child puts new focus on Trump team’s tactics’ … They would have you believe that ICE snatched an adorable little boy out of preschool and marched him into the frigid air of a Minneapolis suburb.” (01/23/25)
“he Minnesota shutdown is well underway, kicked off with a large picket line by workers and an act of civil disobedience Friday morning by faith leaders outside of the Minneapolis/Saint Paul International Airport, where many protesters are decrying the abduction of five-year-old Liam Conejo Ramos. The preschooler, according to school officials, was used as ’bait’ when he arrived home from school in Columbia Heights on Tuesday, January 20. They say that agents led him to his door and instructed him to knock so that they could assess if anyone else was home.” [editor’s note: OR, as ICE alleges, the father ran and the agents took the child to warmer places so he did not freeze – SAT] [additional editor’s note: If you’ll believe the ICE gang, you’ll believe anyone and anything – TLK] (01/25/25)
Source: Caitlin Johnstone, Rogue Journalist
by Caitlin Johnstone
“I’ve seen some Australians expressing confusion as to whether or not they can still legally criticize Israel online after new ‘hate speech’ laws were passed on Tuesday under the pretense of combatting ‘antisemitism’. The answer is yes, and you definitely should keep opposing Israel and its genocidal atrocities. I am worried that these new laws may indirectly have a bit of a chilling effect on pro-Palestine activism due to Australians not understanding these new laws and what people are allowed to do without being jailed. … it is still legal for Australians to oppose Israel and to associate with pro-Palestine groups — and we should. What’s changed is that now those groups can be classified as ‘hate groups’ and banned, similarly to how Palestine Action has been banned in the UK. But this hasn’t happened yet, and hopefully never will.” (01/22/25)
“In the mid-1960s, I joined the freedom movement in the South as a member of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee in Georgia, Mississippi, and Arkansas. Those were heady years, and I am proud of my small role in the great achievements of that time. Our movement breathed new life into American democracy, inspiring and teaching people who led many of the other liberation movements of the 1960s and ‘70s. It opened up schools, education, jobs, public accommodations, voting power, electoral office, and judgeships to people of color in the South and throughout the country. But there is also a fight for history.” (01/22/25)
“No, the midterms will not turn on the issue of ‘affordability.’ If affordability truly were decisive, Republicans would easily retain the House and the Senate. Consider the economic backdrop. Gas prices are at a five-year low, with gas stations in several states selling a gallon of regular for under $2. Several times since Trump’s reelection, the stock market indexes have recorded all-time highs. GDP growth hit 4.3% in the third quarter of 2025. Wage growth is exceeding inflation, but as always, some benefit more than others. Inflation itself is under 3% and trending lower.” (01/22/25)
Source: Common Dreams
by Rev. Graylan Scott Hagler
“Every single moving mouth and face I see in the media seems to be obligated to stress the barbarity and illegitimacy of the Maduro government to establish some acceptable moral clarity even before they can carry on with any analysis of the current political situation, or the current political conditions in the world. Likewise, each personality seems obligated to make similar statements as a prerequisite to speak on the Iranian regime and the religionists controlling the country. Each is evil they must claim, and that they expressively disagree and denounce them in all shape and form. Each is beyond the specter of acceptable civilization, they must state. Each has no inkling of morality, but is simply obsessed with power and control. This was the same in any discussion of Hamas in Gaza.” (01/22/25)
“A Democratic lawmaker in Washington state introduced a bill this week called the ICE Out Act of 2026, which would prohibit state law enforcement agencies from hiring anyone that has taken a job as a sworn U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officer since the start of President Donald Trump’s second term. The legislation was introduced by state Rep. Tarra Simmons, who served time for three felony convictions for possession of controlled substances and retail theft in 2011 before having her criminal record cleared. ‘In this Washington, we have worked incredibly hard to build trust between law enforcement and community,’ Simmons said in a press release. ‘In most Washington agencies, the men and women who step up to serve have developed a culture of holding each other accountable to the highest professional standards. The last thing we need is infiltration of ICE agents trained during the Trump Administration to send us backwards.” (01/22/25)
“President Trump is making big moves the world over. From nabbing Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro to threatening the conquest of Greenland to pushing for a Ukraine-Russia cease-fire, Trump’s foreign policy plate is full. The World Economic Forum annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland, is still buzzing about it. Overshadowed by these bigger headlines but no less important is Trump’s newly minted Board of Peace. The board is designed to implement the president’s 20-point peace plan for the war-torn Gaza Strip, as endorsed verbatim by the UN Security Council in November. Notable critics, including French President Emmanuel Macron, assert that Trump … is trying to supplant the United Nations as part of a wider overhaul of the international system that, in the wake of World War II, produced the UN, NATO and many of the other organizations that are steadily losing relevance today.” (01/21/25)
