IF YOU ENJOY SR AND FIND IT USEFUL WOULD YOU PLEASE DONATE
When I began Schwartzreport my purpose was to produce an entirely fact-based daily publication in favor of the earth, the inter-connectedness and interdependence of all life, democracy, equality for all, liberty, and things that are life-affirming. Also, to warn my readers about actions, events, and trends that threaten those values. Our country now stands at a crossroads, indeed, the world stands at a crossroads where those values are very much at risk and it is up to each of us who care about wellbeing to do what we can to defend those principles. I want to thank all of you who have contributed to SR, particularly those of you who have scheduled an ongoing monthly contribution. It makes a big difference and is much appreciated. It is one thing to put in the hours each day and to do the work for free, but another to have to cover the rising out-of-pocket costs. For those of you who haven’t done so, but read SR regularly, I ask that you consider supporting it.
This is further evidence that a large percentage of Americans no longer care whether the country remains a democracy. They worship criminal Trump in a way that is unique in American history. It is my view he should as quickly as possible be convicted and imprisoned and cut off from media like any other felon. Will it happen? Probably not. I watched MSNBC, CNN, and Fox propaganda and it was all about Trump. He gets a level of media coverage that I have never seen before.
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Political independents continue to constitute the largest political bloc in the U.S., with an average of 43% of U.S. adults identifying this way in 2023, tying the record high from 2014. Independent identification has been 40% or higher each year since 2011, except for the 2016 (39%) and 2020 (39%) presidential election years. Equal 27% shares of U.S. adults identify as Republicans and Democrats, with the Democratic figure marking a new low for that party in Gallup’s trend.
Independents first outnumbered supporters of both major political parties in 1991 and have continued to do so since then, except in several years between 2004 and 2008. Over time, the increase in the percentage of independents has come more at the expense of Democrats than Republicans, which might be expected since Democrats were previously the largest political group.
Gallup asks respondents in each survey whether they identify politically as a Republican, a Democrat or an independent. The results reported here are based on combined data for each year, including interviews with more than 12,000 U.S. adults in 2023.
Independent identification was up two percentage points in 2023 compared with 2022, while […]
The corporate media has spent the entire day talking only about criminal Trump and the Iowa primary, with a little coverage about South Africa’s attempt to have the Israelis charged with genocide. Not a word about Ukraine, or climate change or anything else. Trump is the only story really being covered. What I find particularly interesting given the total obsession with Trump is that I had to go to a British newspaper to find a mention of what I think is a major factor in this election: The effect abortion may play with Republicans given the major effect it has already played in many Red state elections.
Members of the national Republican coalition for choice rally in Washington DC on 1 April 1992. Photograph: Viviane Moos/Corbis via Getty Images
The first time Carol Whitmore ever had sex, she got pregnant.
It was 1973, and Whitmore was a teenager. Whitmore’s parents were in and out of trouble with the police, Whitmore said. When they told Whitmore they would help her raise the child, she thought, nope.
Instead, Whitmore got an abortion. That same year, the US supreme court legalized abortion nationwide in Roe v Wade.
“I made that choice myself, and to this day, I don’t regret it,” Whitmore told the Guardian. A half-century later, Whitmore is still staunchly supportive of abortion rights. She’s recently taken to collecting petitions in support of a Florida ballot measure to enshrine abortion rights in the state constitution.
Whitmore is also a deeply committed Republican, who has held multiple positions in Florida local government. For her, abortion rights are part and parcel of her Republican worldview.
“Do you want more government overreach to tell us how to take care of ourselves?” Whitmore said. She’s not […]
Paul McClure, Staff Writer - New Atas / Columbia University Climate School
Stephan:
I have been warning my readers for some time about plastic bottles of water because of micro-plastic particles. Here is the latest report on this, and it is even worse than any of the earlier studies I had seen. This has become an issue you really should take notice of.
Researchers have used single-particle imaging to determine the number of nanoplastics in a liter of bottled water Credit: Deposit Photos
Using advanced imaging technology, researchers have ascertained the number of nanoplastics – bits of plastic smaller than a micrometer – in bottled water, finding that, on average, a liter contains 240,000 detectable fragments. The study provides invaluable information to address rising concerns about micro- and nanoplastic toxicity.
Microplastics – ranging from less than a quarter inch (5 mm) down to a micrometer – are formed when plastics break down into progressively smaller bits. And, in recent years, concerns have been raised that microplastics are showing up literally everywhere on Earth – from the bottom of oceans to the top of mountains.
These plastic particles are consumed by humans and other creatures, with research now looking into the potentially harmful effects of this consumption. However, these studies are predominantly concerned with microplastics. Now, researchers from the Columbia Climate School, New York, have used advances in imaging technology to investigate the ‘spawn’ of microplastics – nanoplastics, less than a micrometer […]
I have found the failure to hold criminal Trump responsible for what he has done perhaps the most important political trend in today’s United States. How is it possible that a convicted rapist, guilty of scam after scam — university and steaks, for example — and indicted on over 90 felonies still be considered a politician millions of people want to vote for. My conclusion: the problem with America is Americans. Criminal Trump is just the leader of this pack. What is needed is a weekly string of convictions so that even the MAGAts are forced to see Trump for what he is. Can the courts do it? We are going to see.
Criminal Trump finally found responsible for something. Credit: David Dee Delgado / Getty
Former President Donald Trump has been ordered to pay nearly half a million dollars to The New York Times to cover legal fees involved in a lawsuit he filed against them, Times reporter Susanne Craig revealed Friday.
The lawsuit, which was filed against The Times, Craig and her fellow reporters David Barstow and Russ Buettner, along with the ex-president’s niece Mary Trump, alleged that the paper conspired in an “insidious plot” to obtain Trump’s tax returns.
That suit was thrown out last year, with New York State Justice Robert Reed saying the allegations “fail as a matter of constitutional law.”
In the latest decision, Reed ordered Trump to pay the newspaper $392,638.
All of this comes as Trump faces a barrage of other legal problems, including four criminal cases against him and multiple civil trials.
The Times released a bombshell report about Trump’s tax returns, which he had promised to release as a candidate but never did, in late 2020. That report revealed that […]
The second trend I see shaping the American culture in a profoundly negative way is the transformation of Christianity into a political White supremacy cult that uses the language of Jesus but reflects none of his beliefs. The movement’s real savior is not Jesus but Trump. Here is a description of what I mean.
Photo Illustration: Natalie Peeples/Axios. Photo: Mark Wilson, Paras Griffin, Ida Mae Astute, Al Drago, Dustin Franz, William DeShazer, Suzanne Cordeiro / Getty
DAVENPORT, IOWA —Donald Trump doesn’t have the support of Iowa’s most prominent evangelical leader in Monday’s caucuses. But in Iowa and across the country, MAGA pastors are among Trump’s most loyal backers.
Why it matters: It’s not just that they like the former president for appointing three Supreme Court justices who helped overturn abortion rights.
Some of Trump’s most enthusiastic believers are pastors who share his dark view of U.S. politics — or who’ve touted him as they’ve risen to prominence on social media.
Zoom in: Faith leaders who’ve endorsed Trump include hundreds of traditional conservatives a lot like Bob Vander Plaats — the influential Iowa evangelical leader who’s backing Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.
They also includeMAGA pastors who, in speeches and podcasts, offer an apocalyptic view of U.S. politics — casting Democrats as demonic, promoting Christian nationalism and touting Trump as chosen by God to save Christianity.
Many also echo Trump’s claim that the 2020 election was stolen.
David Badash, Staff Writer - The New Civil Rights Movement
Stephan:
I find it quite interesting that a true spiritual leader Pope Francis is moving the Roman Catholic Church into acceptance of same sex partnerships, while christofascists like Ron DeSantis, who have no spiritual qualities that I can see, are moving the christofascist transformation of Christianity in the United States in the opposite direction. What I am waiting to see now is LGBTQ folk moving out of Red states to more tolerant Blue states.
Christofascist Florida Governor Ron DeSantis
Florida Republican Governor Ron DeSantis, struggling to retain his number-two ranking in the 2024 GOP presidential primary race, framed supporters of same-sex marriage as a threat to America’s religious institutions, and to the sacraments of Christian churches.
“You have previously said that the definition of marriage is exclusively between a man and a woman. I’m curious, is that still how you feel today?” CNN’s Kaitlan Collins asked Gov. DeSantis at the network’s town hall in Iowa Thursday night.
“So that’s just what marriage is with the church,” responded DeSantis, who is known for his anti-LGBTQ “Don’t Say Gay” legislation.
“And I respect the Supreme Court’s decision,” he continued, referring to the 2015 ruling that found the U.S. Constitution provides the same rights and responsibilities to marriage for same-sex couples as for different-sex couples. “We’ve abided by that in Florida even though our constitution defines it as between a man and a woman.”
But the Florida governor quickly pivoted to suggesting that somehow the […]
Here is some good news that is getting little or no coverage in media. Brittany Watts who went to the hospital four times because of complications with her pregnancy, was not helped and who, sitting on her toilet the next day had a spontaneous miscarriage and was subsequently arrested by MAGAt politicians and police for abuse of a corpse. She has just had all charges dropped and been freed by a grand jury.
Credit: Busra Ispir / Getty
On Thursday, a grand jury concluded that Brittany Watts, an Ohio woman accused of self-managing an abortion after experiencing a home miscarriage, will not face charges. If Watts had been indicted, she would have faced a year in prison and a $2,5000 fine.
“I am relieved that the grand jury has finally ended the wrongful and dehumanizing case against Brittany Watts. But this decision does not erase the harm that Brittany has experienced as the result of this case,” Yveka Pierre, senior litigation counsel at If/When/How, said in a statement. “Brittany should have been able to focus on taking care of herself after her pregnancy loss. She should have been able to process, and grieve with her family and community. Instead, she was arrested and charged with a felony.”
At a visit to a Catholic hospital after Watts miscarried in September, a nurse reported her to authorities, launching a police investigation and leading Watts to be prosecuted under Ohio’s vague abuse-of-corpse statute.
“From the start of this case, I have argued that the charge […]
Heidi Stevens, Staff Writer - Tribune News Service / Raw Story
Stephan:
Sexual hysteria is one of the most prominent characteristic of the MAGAt personality. The entire craziness about the LGBTQ portions of the American population is the most glaring example. But it has also become a major issue in schools and their libraries. How crazy has it gotten? Consider this story from Florida, one of the most poorly governed states in the country. When I read this, I thought this cannot be true, but when I checked other sources I found out it was. MAGAts want to ban dictionaries from school libraries, and another report said they also want to ban encyclopedias. Think about that for a second. They want to ban dictionaries and encyclopedias, two of the central sources of information when you are a school child. As I have published in SR and discussed on the SR podcast states governed by Republicans are already less literate than Blue states, and less capable at math. And now Red state children are going to get even less educated, if their MAGAt parents and the politicians they voted for have their way.
Credit: Dreamstime / Dreamstime / TNS
A school district in Florida has made the bold and bewildering decision to ban dictionaries (dictionaries!) from its libraries on the grounds that allowing children to read them violates a law aimed at protecting children from sexual content.
Under HB 1069, signed by Gov. Ron DeSantis last May, Florida residents have the right to demand the removal of any library book that “depicts or describes sexual conduct.”
“As the world goes mad,” Gov. DeSantis said in a statement announcing the new law, “Florida represents a refuge of sanity and a citadel of normalcy.”
The bill was part of a sweeping package of bills called Let Kids Be Kids. I remember it being a very big deal when we all got calculators in fifth grade because one kid showed the rest of us how to use boring old numbers to spell funny words for female anatomy.
Kids will, in fact, be kids.
Meanwhile …
“The American Heritage Children’s Dictionary, Webster’s Dictionary for Students and Merriam-Webster’s Elementary Dictionary are among more than 2,800 books that have […]
