There is a dying art which is the enjoyment of going outside. To be completely honest, I blame tech companies for creating devices that are so attention-grabbing that people would rather stare down at a screen than look up and around at the world. National parks, community gardens, public playgrounds, all are incredible and, you guessed it, outside. Not only that, but the maintenance of these places are paid for by taxpayer dollars so, in essence, we all have vested ownership.
Screens have taken over our lives, and it is terribly disconcerting. I’ve seen people walk through beautiful botanical gardens while using their phones to share their journey on Instagram only to realize at the end that they’ve missed out on everything in front of them. I am not perfect, and I’ve used my phone at times when it wasn’t the best idea, but all in all, my recommendation is that we look up just a little bit more.
Having said all of that, here’s what you missed in the news yesterday.
The United States Vs. The President
In an interesting turn of events, California and more than twelve other states will be banding together to file a mass lawsuit against President Donald Trump and his national emergency declaration. To get you up to snuff, President Trump last week agreed to sign a spending bill proposed by bipartisan members of Congress in order to avoid another government shutdown. While that may seem all well and good, the President then informed Congress that he would still declare a national emergency to controversially allocate funding to construct his wall along the US-Mexico border.
“The only emergency here is Trump’s assault on the Constitution. Separation of powers is at the heart of our democracy and the power of the purse is a critical check on the president. TRump’s authoritarian attempt to build his destructive border wall is a flagrant abuse of that constitutional structure. If he gets his way, it’ll be a disaster for communities and wildlife along the broader, including some of our country’s most endangered species…”
–Brian Segee, Senior Attorney, Center For Biological Diversity
This Country Is Complicated
Sen. Kamala Harris, one of several democratic presidential candidates, caught heat on Monday when a reporter called her out a tweet in reference to the current case surrounding “Empire” actor Jussie Smollett. In her tweet, Harris referred to the hate crime committed against Smollett as a modern day lynching.
“OK, so, I will say this about that case. I think that the facts are still unfolding, and, um, I’m very, um, concerned about obviously, the initial, um, allegation that he made about what might have happened. And it’s something we should all take seriously whenever anyone, um, alleges that kind of behavior, but there should be an investigation. And I think that once the investigation has concluded then we can all comment, but I’m not going to comment until I know the outcome of the investigation.”
–Sen Kamala Harris
For those unaware of the situation, Smollett, who is black and openly gay, is currently awaiting judgement in a cause where he claims he was assaulted by two men yelling racist and anti-gay slurs — including “This is MAGA country!”
