The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly

 

The good:

Dozens of Texas Democrats plan to flee the state amid a special session Sunday afternoon, making a last-ditch effort to disrupt a mid-decade redistricting attempt forced by President Donald Trump, according to two people briefed on the matter.

It marks their second act of breaking quorum — when the state House will lack the minimum number of lawmakers needed to conduct business — since 2021. And it comes as the party scrambles to counter the aggressive action in Texas, intended to keep Republicans in power in Congress next year by creating five GOP-friendly seats in the state.

Four years ago, Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott called for the arrest of fleeing lawmakers upon their return to their state.

Sunday’s move will almost certainly set off a nationwide redistricting arms race that threatens to upend the 2026 midterm election map.  [snip]

“Breaking quorum is an extreme step. It should be a last resort,” State Rep. James Talarico told POLITICO in an interview last Tuesday. He was among the 50 Democratic lawmakers who fled the state in 2021 over an election bill. Democrats are said to be headed to Illinois, a blue state with a governor who has accused Texas Republicans of cheating by trying to finagle redistricting ahead of the 2026 elections.

They are expected to touch down in Illinois on Sunday, setting off a standoff with Abbott in the high-stakes redistricting battle.

The move to deny quorum follows Texas Republicans unveiling a new congressional map that would provide their party with five new red-leaning districts — part of an effort to boost the GOP’s chances of hanging onto the House after the 2026 election. The Democrats need fewer than a handful of seats next year to seize control of the lower chamber after losing power at every level in Washington last year.

According to DNC Chair Ken Martin, “We’re going to fight fire with fire... If Texas wants a showdown, which they clearly do, we’re going to give them the showdown.”  Are Democrats learning?  As voting rights champion Marc Elias recently put it, "When people say to me 'don't bring a knife to a gunfight,' I don't even want to bring a gun to a gunfight. I want to bring missiles to the gunfight."  Let's not have a failure to launch, Democrats.

The bad:

The Corporation for Public Broadcasting, a cornerstone of American culture for three generations, announced Friday it would take steps toward its own closure after being defunded by Congress — marking the end of a nearly six-decade era in which it fueled the production of renowned educational programming, cultural content and even emergency alerts.

The demise of the corporation, known as CPB, is a direct result of President Donald Trump’s targeting of public media, which he has repeatedly said is spreading political and cultural views antithetical to those the United States should be espousing. The closure is expected to have a profound impact on the journalistic and cultural landscape — in particular, public radio and TV stations in small communities across the United States.

CPB helps fund both PBS and NPR, but most of its funding is distributed to more than 1,500 local public radio and television stations around the country.

The corporation also has deep ties to much of the nation’s most familiar programming, from NPR’s “All Things Considered” to, historically, “Sesame Street,” “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood” and the documentaries of Ken Burns.  [snip]

NPR stations use millions of dollars in federal money to pay music licensing fees. Now, many will have to renegotiate these deals. That could impact, in particular, outlets that build their programming around music discovery. NPR President and CEO Katherine Maher estimated recently, for example, that some 96% of all classical music broadcast in the United States is on public radio stations.

Federal money for public radio and television has traditionally been appropriated to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which distributes it to NPR and PBS. Roughly 70% of the money goes directly to the 330 PBS and 246 NPR stations across the country, although that’s only a shorthand way to describe its potential impact.

The fascist barbarians are determined to tear down the America we've all grown up with to remake it in the image of their Golden Calf.  Sic transit gloria, America.

The ugly:

The Trump administration is using rules, policies and formal agreements to compel and discourage U.S. universities from enrolling international students. A controversial immigration clause in the administration’s agreement with Columbia University represents the latest move to decrease international student enrollment. Settlements with other schools could soon follow. Despite what economists and educators view as the benefits of international students, Trump officials, led by White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller, appear determined to reduce the number of international students who enter and remain in the United States to work.  [snip]

“It makes no economic sense for U.S. universities or the American economy to admit fewer international students,” said Mark Regets, an economist and senior fellow at the National Foundation for American Policy. “The United States benefits economically in several ways from international students and the same is true for the universities where they enroll.”  [snip]

According to NAFSA: Association of International Educators, “International students studying at U.S. colleges and universities contributed $43.8 billion and supported 378,175 jobs to the U.S. economy during the 2023-2024 academic year.” NAFSA expects the travel ban, visa interview suspension and limited appointment availability to result in a potential decline of 30% to 40% in new international student enrollment in the fall of 2025.

International students also contribute as employees and entrepreneurs. At U.S. universities, 71% of the full-time graduate students in computer and information sciences and 73% of the full-time graduate students in electrical and computer engineering are international students. Regets notes that even students who leave the country help connect America to the three-quarters of research and development that is performed outside the United States. “One-quarter (143 of 582, or 25%) of billion-dollar startup companies in the U.S. have a founder who first came to America as an international student,” according to an NFAP analysis...

More of the work of fascist white nationalist Miller, whose pathological hatred of non-Americans knows no bounds.  Europe and China will be taking advantage of the brain drain these backward, xenophobic policies will encourage.  And Putin looks on, smiling.