July 7, 2023

Friday,July 7, 2023. Annette’s News Roundup.

I think the Roundup makes people feel not so alone.

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Joe is always busy.

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"As part of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, President Biden and Vice President Harris worked with Democrats, Republicans, and Independents to create the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP), which provides eligible households $30 per month off their internet bills.

ACP-eligible households can also receive a one-time discount of up to $100 to purchase a laptop, desktop computer, or tablet from participating providers."

We can find out if we are eligible and how to apply, here. (Rogan’s List)

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Kamala is always busy.

Touch 👇 to watch the Vice President.

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Last week, another Supreme Court verdict made women’s lives more challenging.

Supreme Court Decision on Reckless Speech Will Cost Victims of Stalking and Harassment.

The Supreme Court ruling in Counterman v. Colorado will reduce protections for victims of stalking, verbal abuse and online harassment and have a chilling effect on prosecutors.

The Supreme Court issued a ruling on June 27 in Counterman v. Colorado, holding that a speaker’s subjective intention must be considered when determining whether speech is a “true threat” and thus punishable notwithstanding the First Amendment. The decision requires that a speaker must have been aware of the “threatening character” of the speech but delivered it anyway, and was thus reckless in their actions. The holding will limit protections for victims of stalking, verbal abuse and online harassment and increase the burden on prosecutors who must now provide evidence of the speaker’s state of mind.

After a surprise holding earlier this month in a voting rights case, Allen v. Milligan, where Chief Justice Roberts and Justice Kavanaugh sided with the three liberal justices to find that Alabama’s voting map was racially gerrymandered, another interesting alignment found Justice Kagan writing the Counterman opinion, joined by Chief Justice Roberts and Justices Alito, Kavanaugh and Jackson. Justice Sotomayor filed a separate concurring opinion, in which Justice Gorsuch joined, and Justices Barrett and Thomas joined in a dissenting opinion.

The majority opinion held that the First Amendment protects speech unless the speaker has “some subjective understanding of his statements’ threatening nature.” To secure a criminal conviction, prosecutors must “show that the defendant consciously disregarded a substantial risk that his communications would be viewed as threatening violence.”

The case was an appeal from Billy Raymond Counterman, a Colorado man who sent thousands of unsolicited messages to a local female musician over a period of two years. Though she repeatedly blocked him on social media, he opened new accounts to send messages that she found threatening in their cumulative effect. A jury sentenced Counterman to more than four years in prison for stalking.

In his appeal, Counterman argued that determining whether speech constitutes a true threat must take into account the mental state of the speaker rather than only considering whether a reasonable person would find the speech threatening. Since he never intended his messages to be threatening, he argued that they should be protected by the First Amendment. The Court agreed that Colorado prosecutors should be required to prove that Counterman consciously accepted a substantial risk of inflicting serious harm when he sent his messages.

Lynn Hecht Schafran, senior vice president of Legal Momentum, a legal advocacy organization dedicated to advancing the rights of women and girls, expressed disappointment at the ruling.

“We are disappointed that the Court did not affirm the objective standard for proving true threat and concerned, as both the United States and Colorado warned at oral argument, that any heightened standard would discourage prosecution of true threat stalking cases,” she said. “We are also relieved that the subjective standard the Court adopted was a lower recklessness standard, which will allow victims to educate the court about the context of the stalker’s behavior, explaining why the victim understands as true threat behavior which, to an onlooker, seems harmless.”

The decision was considered a win for civil liberties organizations, including the American Civil Liberties Union, which argued that the First Amendment precludes convicting defendants for speech they did not intend to be threatening. 

While consideration of a defendant’s state of mind—or mens rea—is a hallmark of criminal law, centering the subjective intent of the speaker in cases of stalking and verbal and online harassment, as the Court has done by adopting this recklessness standard, will reduce protections for victims and have a chilling effect on prosecutors wary of this heightened requirement.

Women are four times more likely to experience stalking than men, which means that the Court’s decision will have a disproportionate impact on the mostly female victims of stalking and verbal abuse who turn to the legal system for protection. And the Court’s ruling doesn’t just raise the bar for Colorado prosecutions: Twenty-five states with similar laws, who supported Counterman’s conviction, will now have to apply this recklessness standard.  

Applying a recklessness standard will make it impossible to hold speakers accountable for objectively threatening speech if prosecutors cannot prove that the speaker knowingly disregarded a substantial risk that the speech would be considered threatening.

The Court’s concern about chilling non-threatening speech will come at a cost, as prosecutors will be discouraged from bringing cases where it would be difficult to prove recklessness, even if the victim was significantly harmed. The cost, therefore, will be paid by the mostly female victims of stalking and online and verbal harassment who won’t be given the protections they deserve. (Ms Magazine).

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One more thing. On Wimbledon.

White is out. Wimbledon is relaxing its famous all-white dress code this year to ease female tennis players’ period anxiety. “Being on your period on the tour is hard enough, but to wear whites as well isn’t easy,” British player Alicia Barnett said last year. Players can now wear “solid, mid/dark-colored undershorts, provided they are no longer than their shorts or skirt.” The Athletic

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“The evil that men do . . .” A summary of mass shootings over the Fourth.

Fourth of July garners deadly reputation as mass shootings erupt.

At least 20 people died in mass shootings over the July Fourth holiday weekend.

• What to know: There have been at least 21 shootings — in which four or more people were killed or injured — since the start of July, according to the nonprofit Gun Violence Archive.

• The bigger picture: The latest incidents continued an uptick of violence over the holiday weekend that began in 2020. Large gatherings and alcohol are part of the problem, experts said.

Bullet casings left on the ground Wednesday, following a Tuesday shooting in Shreveport, La.

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The annual Fourth of July picnic in a Louisiana neighborhood named after Martin Luther King Jr. had been a festive family event until the gunfire rang out.

For 15 minutes, several gunmen fired indiscriminately into the large crowd as men, women and children dove for cover in the grass or scurried into nearby woods in search of safety. Some huddled among the trees until dawn, scared that what sounded like fireworks going off elsewhere in the city might actually be more shooting.

“How can you come to an event, that is a family event, and decide in your heart that you want to ... unleash a hail of gunfire?” asked Tabatha Taylor, a City Council member in Shreveport, La. “You have turned the Fourth of July, Independence Day, into bondage day, where it will now be remembered for tragedy and massacre.”

Across the country, local elected officials, community activists and grieving families are asking similar questions as the nation’s most patriotic holiday steadily earns a reputation for being one of the deadliest when it comes to mass shootings.

There have been at least 21 mass shootings — which the Gun Violence Archive defines as incidents in which four or more people are killed or injured by gunfire — since the start of the month, according to the group. In all, 20 people died and 127 were injured, the group found, continuing a sharp uptick in mass shootings over the holiday that began in 2020.

Experts say the killings over the Fourth of July holiday can be traced to large gatherings, hot weather, the consumption of alcohol and a troubling trend of armed individuals having less regard for who they shoot when conflict arises. Overall violent crime nationwide has fallen to its lowest levels since 2020, but the ongoing spate of mass shootings shows the country’s struggles with gun violence continue to show no bounds.

“When I was growing up during gang violence there were things that were off limits,” said Taylor, who grew up in the Shreveport neighborhood where Tuesday’s shooting took place. “But today, it’s like there are no limits. You shoot everybody. You don’t care where you shoot. You don’t care what time you shoot. Everything is a target.”

The number killed or injured in mass shootings during the first five days of July was comparable to the same time period in 2022, according to data from the Gun Violence Archive. Last year, 21 people were killed and another 105 wounded in 23 mass shootings. That toll includes the seven people killed and 30 others wounded when a gunman opened fire at an Independence Day parade in Highland Park, Ill.

But this year’s toll is notably higher than in 2019, when there were 11 mass shootings over the Independence Day festivities. Since that year, the number of mass shootings over what is typically celebrated as an extended holiday weekend has jumped. There were 31 mass shootings over the initial July days in 2020 and 25 in 2021.

“It’s anger, there is just too much anger going on,” said Mark Bryant, the director of the Gun Violence Archive, which is an independent group.

Criminologists have long observed upticks in violence during the hot summer months. Thomas Abt, founding director of the Center for the Study and Practice of Violence Reduction at the University of Maryland, likened it to a “practical question” of how many opportunities there are for people to interact with each other. But he said there is something more.

“We are still suffering from the hangover of the pandemic, social unrest in the aftermath of police use of force on civilians and surge in gun sales,” he said.

James Densley, the co-founder of the Violence Project, which also tracks gun violence, said the frequency of mass shootings over the holiday is also the result of more individuals having access to high-powered tactical rifles and high-capacity magazines, as well as a general trend of some people having a “lower threshold” for when they plan to use their weapons.

“It just seems the rules on the streets no longer apply,” Densley said. “So, the threshold is lower, and the availability and accessibility of firearms, and the firepower available to these people is just a lot greater than they used to be.”

The violence over the past five days occurred in both large cities and small agricultural towns.

In Salisbury, Md., seven people were shot, one fatally, at a block party Tuesday night. In Lansing, Mich., five people were shot early Wednesday after a dispute erupted at a party. Five people were also shot early Wednesday in Boston.

In Shreveport, it took first responders hours to fully assess what had occurred. Taylor, the councilwoman, said one person who was shot stayed in the woods all night before he emerged and was taken to the hospital. The body of another victim was not discovered until Wednesday morning because it was located in tall grass, Taylor said.

The shootings — which garnered nationwide headlines — add to a complex picture when it comes to measuring violence. Nationwide, data collected from more than 80 police departments by The Washington Post shows violent crime across urban areas has fallen to its lowest point since the 2020. From January to May, the rates for aggravated assault and homicide have fallen below four-year averages.

The data shows summer is a clear marker for changes in the homicide rate: June, July and August have the highest averages of any month from 2018 through 2022.

But mass shootings have been rising. So far this year, there have been 356 mass shootings, according to the Gun Violence Archive. By comparison, there were 415 mass shootings in all 2019, before the country was hit by the pandemic, the riots that followed the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis, and national fissures that emerged during the 2020 election.

The leaders of many U.S. communities say they’ve come to fear what could transpire over the Fourth of July, and have started to become more proactive to head off problems.

In Detroit, a city that has made an economic and cultural comeback in some areas, police, anti-violence community groups and experts say an uptick in summer violence can be seen when there are large gatherings and people drinking booze in the stifling heat. Frustration over jobs and easy access to guns have added to the risk of violence.

Quincy Smith, who works with the anti-violence group CeaseFire, said he and other community leaders had made a concerted effort to urge people “to leave the guns at home” over the holiday.

Detroit police also asked the public to help them by calling 911 if they notice that arguments at gatherings and July Fourth events are getting heated, “before tempers flare to the point of shooting.”

“It’s okay to walk away. It’s okay to say, ‘I’m walking away for a few minutes’,” Smith said community leaders have stressed.

Former Detroit deputy mayor Isaiah “Ike” McKinnon, who also previously served as the city’s police chief, said he’s been talking to teens and young adults for years about why they get involved in gun violence. He said there is a lack of hope for a good future that leads to a feeling of, “Let’s live for today, because we don’t know if tomorrow is coming.”

“This became the prevailing attitude,” said McKinnon, 80. “They don’t see this as the birthday of this country. They see it as ‘maybe I go to a function and get something to eat.’ They can’t think about the meaning of a holiday when they are in dire straits and trying to survive.”

The Rev. Earle J. Fisher, a community activist in Memphis, a city that is gripped by a spate of homicides, nonetheless cautioned against making too broad of connection between mass shootings and the Fourth of July. To many parts of the country, Fisher said, the issue of gun violence is a permanent fixture that has nothing to do with the calendar.

“These things happen every day somewhere,” he said. “From my vantage point, I cannot identify the uniqueness of what happened this weekend, or happened July 4, to what seems to happen somewhere in this country, every day.” (Washington Post).

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The mis-named ‘Moms for Liberty’ makes it clear that “the evil that men do… “ is a generic charge. It doesn’t exempt women.

Isn’t this call for violence against the President 👇 a crime?

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Writer Katori Hall remembers the legendary Tina Turner.

The playwright responsible for the book of “Tina: The Tina Turner Musical” shares her memory of the Queen of Rock ’n‘ Roll.

That voice — cured in southern soil fertilized by the blood of a people well acquainted with the wails of loss. That story — a whisper turned into a roar. That hair — always one of one. And them legs, oh them legs, so long they could run their way into tomorrow. There is the musical genius we call the Queen of Rock and Roll Tina Turner, and there is the little Black girl born Anna Mae Bullock. I count myself blessed to have danced with both.

“You must be pregnant.” I don’t know if that was Tina Turner or Anna Mae talking to me. Methinks it was the latter, as I felt totally at home chatting with this sister-girl from the South. No subject matter was off limits during our interview-turned-kiki at her home in Switzerland. As a book-writer I had been tasked with the impossible — to help retell her triumphant comeback story in musical theater form while weaving in over 20 iconic songs. You see, five hours in, nausea was rising with the setting of the sun, but I promptly waved away the pregnancy possibility as jetlag and pressed on as we talked about it all. The music. The pain. The questions left unanswered. The prayers, too.

It was her candidness and fierce transparency that allowed us to work together with such ease.  The countless hours I spent talking to her reshaped “Tina: The Tina Turner Musical” into an emotional juggernaut of tears and triumph. There is something magical when our heroes are as relatable as they are untouchable, as human as they are immortal.

I was able to let Tina know a few weeks later that she was, indeed, right. “I knew it!” She was truly connected to the stars, a woman ahead of her time, a woman always walking towards a North Star led by the compass of her own intuition.

It was this ability to listen to the God inside herself that helped Tina pave the way for her own tomorrow and for every Black female artist who has walked behind her. We all know the story. After a turbulent 16-year-long abusive marriage, Tina left with only pennies to her name. Forced to start over, she cobbled together her next chapter, working as a maid while singing quite literally for her life. Buoyed by her Buddhist spirituality, this survivor remade herself from her own cloth, taking a chance to experiment with a new sound — a new Tina.

Despite being called the foulest of slurs by dismissive record executives, Tina slayed the dragons of sexism, racism and ageism, reclaiming the white male-dominated industry of rock and roll for her ancestors. Adam Levine should change “those moves like Jagger” to “those moves like Tina,” as her rapturous stage performances set the template for performers across the world. But none have danced so fearlessly with death in both life and performance. Just watch a 70-year-old Tina during her 50th anniversary concert in The Netherlands sprinting (in heels!)  across a steel platform with no harness stories above an adoring crowd.  Living in your truth requires a bravery most of us have never known, and Tina showed so many women they had a right to life, a right to freedom and a right to love. Her willingness to share her story from memoir to movie to theatrical form has freed so many of us survivors.

Her global impact will be felt for generations. Upon her passing, that distinct rasp roared out of speakers from Uganda to Australia. The flowers poured in from everywhere, from former President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama to Mick Jagger, himself. “If you’re a fan of mine, you’re a fan of Tina Turner,” Beyoncé said to her own adoring crowd of tens of thousands during her most recent Renaissance World Tour. With her music and with her story, Tina paved the way for so many women — from global superstars to survivors and everyone in between.

The last time I spoke to Tina was last year.  She and her beloved husband, Erwin Bach, called having heard that I had added yet another baby into my life’s rotation. “Congratulations! A baby girl?” she squealed with delight from across the ocean that divided us but couldn’t keep these two Tennessee girls apart. I will always remember this living legend, this icon, this North Star, for her commitment to always taking time to celebrate life.

May we remember her life tonight as we dim the lights, so that we can see those legs made of stardust and triumph, dancing amongst the heavens. (Broadwaynews).

Opening night of “Tina” on Broadway, Nov. 7, 2019

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Katori Hall is a Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright for her play “The Hot Wing King” and the Tony Award-nominated book writer of “Tina: The Tina Turner Musical.” Previously, her play “The Mountaintop” bowed on Broadway. She is the creator and current showrunner of the Starz series “P-Valley.”

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