In the US, Violence Has Always Been the Answer ROBERT C. KOEHLER in Common Dreams Every bullet fired into a crowd penetrates the national soul—or so it seems to me, as I continue to grapple emotionally with the Trump rally shooting in Butler, Pennsylvania on July 13, which left one attendee murdered, several others wounded, and the shooter himself dead. As with all such shootings, this goes beyond “motive” into a collective nethersphere of uncertainty. For God’s sake, what is life? Why is it so, shall we say, cheap? Why are we organized—politically, socially—primarily around its eli ..read more

URI researchers would like to see the monarch get its due Kristen Curry Despite weighing half a gram each, between August and October, monarch butterflies will travel up to 3,000 miles from the U.S. and Canada to the mountains of Mexico, sipping flower nectar as fuel for their journey. (URI Photos / Casey Johnson) As summer progresses and travelers embark on trips to destinations near and far, Steven Alm and Casey Johnson in the University of Rhode Island plant sciences and entomology department would like to remind New Englanders of another late summer a ..read more

Trump's Big Lie on abortion By Kelcie Moseley-Morris, Rhode Island Current Planned Parenthood It’s an oft-repeated talking point of anti-abortion rights groups and Republican politicians, before and after the June 2022 Dobbs decision — that those who are supportive of abortion rights also must be in favor of abortions that happen during the last weeks of pregnancy, or even “after birth.” Former President Donald Trump brought it up in the June debate against President Joe Biden, saying Biden’s position on restoring abortion access would lead to doctors being able to “take the life of t ..read more

And then death camps? EDWARD CARVER The ACLU on Friday issued a memo warning that a second term for former President Donald Trump would "exacerbate inequalities" in the criminal justice system and laying out plans to push against a potential Republican administration's efforts to do so. The 14-page memo argues that Trump's agenda would be to expand incarceration, abusive policing practices, and the use of the death penalty, all of which the ACLU, a nonprofit human rights organization, opposes. "We know from this country's history that these extreme and immoral policies har ..read more

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BARK ON THE BEACH REGISTRATION IS NOW OPEN!   The 13th Annual Bark on the Beach, September 28th Early Bird sign-up is going on NOW!  Funds raised will help ALL the pets at ARRI. How to join us at BARK on the BEACH: Register: By clicking the button below Form a Team: Put together a TEAM and raise vital funds for ARRI Fundraise: Set up your own Fundraising page Celebrate: Join us at the Beach on September 28th! Sign up b ..read more

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No friend to working families BRETT WILKINS The U.S.' largest labor union federation on Thursday launched a comprehensive new online guide detailing how Project 2025—the far-right initiative to boost the power of the presidency and purge the federal civil service—would threaten worker rights and well-being under a second administration of former Republican President Donald Trump. "We are deeply concerned about pro-corporate policies that would drive up costs, put people out of work, endanger people's lives, and make it harder for working people to get ahead," the AFL-CIO—which ..read more

Pass the Kool-Aid WILL BUNCH for the The Philadelphia Inquirer By Mike Luckovich I came to the American Heartland to cover a political convention, but all I found was a tent revival, Brother Trump’s Traveling Salvation Show. The Republican National Convention took just minutes after Monday’s opening gavel to officially nominate its Dear Leader for the third and probably not the last time. The roll call, once the highlight of past conventions, is now an empty ritual. A party platform that was probably written on a Mar-a-Lago cocktail napkin was rammed thou ..read more

By Rob Rogers ..read more