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We “rethink the week” with Stephen Pimpare, professor of public policy at UNH Manchester and Fellow at the Carsey Institute of Public Policy; and Glenn Smith, senior advisor to Progress Texas and former campaign manager for Gov. Ann Richards. We discuss the perversion of our justice system in favor of the very rich and privileged – like Jeffrey Epstein – and we see that within the context of the way the disparaties among American people’s outcomes in life are driven by their social/economic class. Our system presumes that, if you have money, you are moral. If not, not.
We also discuss the American people, by and large, don’t see their government as relevant to their real lives. And the politicians think the world revolves around them and fail to see what life is like for ordinary people throughout the country. Elizabeth Warren may be on the verge of changing that narrative, by helping Americans recognize how well-intentioned government policies can actually improve their lives, as well as rebalancing power between corporate self-interest and ordinary people’s family and community interests.
We go on to talk about the threats to freedom of speech in the US and the world. PM Netanyahu follows Trump’s suggestion and refuses to allow two US Congressmembers to enter Israel/Palestine, solely based on the *content* of their political ideas and speech. The Israeli government and conservative American Jewish groups falsely conflate the entire BDS movement with the anti-Israel views of a small minority of individual BDS supporters. Christian businesses have convinced the Supreme Court to relieve them of their responsibility to obey American laws in order to apply the owners’ personal bigoted views to the business’s public customers.
Finally, Glenn Smith enlightens us on a growing crisis in Texas politics which has national implications: the abuse of power and manipulation of legislative procedures by the Texas Majority Leader, betraying even members from his own Republican party.
