Source: Association of Mature American Citizens
by Shane Harris
“On Tuesday, Virginia voters approved a constitutional amendment that will allow Democrats to draw new maps, handing them control of 10 of 11 U.S. House seats in a state that Kamala Harris won by just five points in 2024. The result should be a shock to the senses for Republicans nationwide that it’s time to get serious about redistricting – starting with a push in Florida next week. What Americans witnessed over the past three months in Virginia was one of the most corrupt, dishonest – and well-funded – campaigns in American history.” [editor’s note: “Playing hardball” with gerrymandering was what got the GOP into this mess in the first placce – TLK] (04/22/26)
“Pope Leo has criticised the treatment of prisoners in Equatorial Guinea, ahead of a visit to a jail known for its dire conditions. He addressed the Central African nation on Wednesday at a Mass that drew some 100,000 people, including Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, the country’s leader and the world’s long-serving president. Pope Leo said: ‘My thoughts go to the poorest, to families experiencing difficulty and to prisoners who are often forced to live in troubling hygienic and sanitary conditions.’ Oil-rich Equatorial Guinea, a country with a poor human rights record and vast income inequalities, is the Pope’s final stop on a four-nation tour of Africa. In the evening on Wednesday, his last full day of the tour, Pope Leo is scheduled to visit an infamous prison in the economic capital, Bata.” (04/22/26)
“An appeals court has blocked a California law passed in 2025 requiring federal immigration agents to wear a badge or some form of identification. The Trump administration filed a lawsuit in November challenging the law, arguing that it would threaten the safety of officers who are facing harassment, doxing, and violence and that it violated the constitution because the state is directly regulating the federal government. A three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals issued an injunction pending appeal Wednesday. It had already granted a temporary administrative injunction to block the implementation of the law. At a hearing March 3, Justice Department lawyers argued that the California law sought to regulate the federal government, violating the Supremacy Clause of the Constitution.” (04/22/26)
“In 2020, news of the murder of George Floyd at the hands of police officer Derek Chauvin swept the nation. The Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement, which had been formed seven years earlier in response to the police killings of Eric Garner and Michael Brown, saw a massive re-emergence. Protests were held across the country, including in conservative and rural areas. Governments were faced with calls to “defund the police,” re-evaluate policing strategies, and hold police officers and departments accountable. That year, the Boston Police Department (BPD) saw $12 million of its funding reallocated to community programs and police reforms. This of course was a drop in the bucket of the department’s $404 million (now over $430 million) in overall funding at the time. In addition, Boston officials created the Office of Police Accountability and Transparency, which was supposed to receive and investigate reports of police misconduct. But this project has seen little success.” (04/22/26)
“Democratic Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick of Florida resigned on Tuesday moments before a hearing was to begin to consider what punishment to recommend after a House ethics panel found she had committed numerous campaign finance and reporting violations. The congresswoman was facing the possible threat of expulsion, something that has only occurred six times in the history of the House. Support from her own party was increasingly in doubt. In a statement, Chefilus-McCormick said her resignation was ‘effective immediately.’ ‘But let me say this plainly: we should be very careful about the precedent we are setting in this country, we do not punish people before due process is complete,’ she said. ‘We do not allow allegations alone to override the will of the people. …’ The committee had previously determined she committed 25 violations of House rules and ethical standards, including breaking campaign finance laws.” (04/21/26)
“For at least a decade, Americans have wrestled with growing questions and doubts about their institutions of higher education and the value of a traditional four-year degree. The declining confidence has been driven by concerns over escalating costs and growing student indebtedness, uneven job prospects, and on-campus political polarization. These concerns have fed into calls by the current administration for changes to accreditation procedures and transparency in admissions processes, especially among elite institutions. There are indications, however, that the downward trend in Americans’ trust in higher education and its outcomes is not irreversible.” (04/20/26)
“When he’s on full blast, Donald Trump (not so long ago the ‘drill, baby, drill’ candidate for president) is distinctly a furnace. And he seems intent on turning this planet, our only world, into a version of the same. But here’s the strange thing, when it comes to almost anything — from Iran to suddenly firing two key women, Pam Bondi and Kristi Noem, in his government (but certainly not the no-less-chaotic men) — there’s no minute, it seems, when he’s not flipping himself on his head and then spinning or stumbling or catapulting off in a new direction. There’s only one exception I’ve noticed and, all too sadly, that’s climate change, where everything he does — every single thing — is guaranteed to be a disaster for our children and grandchildren.” (04/21/26)
“Just days before the US Supreme Court is set to hear arguments related to glyphosate’s health risks, the Environmental Working Group on Tuesday sued the Trump administration for unlawfully delaying its response to an EWG petition seeking stronger restrictions on ‘the most widely used herbicide in the United States and globally.’ The filing at the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit calls out the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for failing to act on evidence that glyphosate, the active ingredient in Monsanto’s Roundup, ‘is exposing infants and young children to harmful levels through everyday foods.’ EWG and its co-petitioners filed a formal administrative petition under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act in 2018 …. They want the EPA to revoke or modify the glyphosate policy for oats, so it’s stricter, and restrict its use as a pre-harvest drying agent.” (04/21/26)
“Remember when the leftist [sic] media was upset about Benjamin Netanyahu being in the Situation Room with President Trump? ‘How dare he?’ they cried as they clutched their pearls. Well, at least Israel is an ally [sic] of the United States, whereas the media is not, and the media, as horrifying as it is, is only made worse by the President talking to them. Please, Mr. President, stop giving access to these people.” (04/21/26)
“NASA shut down one of Voyager 1’s science instruments to conserve dwindling power and keep the nearly 49-year-old spacecraft operating as it continues its journey through interstellar space more than 15 billion miles from Earth. Engineers at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Southern California sent commands Friday to turn off Voyager 1’s Low-Energy Charged Particles (LECP) experiment, a long-running instrument that has operated almost continuously since the spacecraft launched in 1977. The move comes as the nuclear-powered probe loses about 4 watts of power each year, and mission managers work to stretch its remaining lifespan. ‘While shutting down a science instrument is not anybody’s preference, it is the best option available,’ Kareem Badaruddin, Voyager mission manager at JPL, said in a statement.” (04/21/26)
