I appreciate this, but the "public defenders" announced as judicial nominees today were:
-Kentaji Jackson Brown, district court judge getting a new position
-Deborah Boardman, magistrate judge getting a new position
-Margaret Strickland, partner in a NM law firm
There's also Rupa Ranga Puttagunta, an administrative judge with the DC rental housing commission.
In general it's good, but it's also people already on a judge track becoming other judges, sprinkled among BigLaw types. I think the shift can be overstated.
There's a WilmerHale expat, a Riker Danzig expat (in white collar criminal defense), a Zuckerman Spaeder expat (in white collar criminal defense), a bunch of federal prosecutors. This isn't that big a sea change.
Tiffany Cunningham, a Perkins Coie partner, "serves as trial and appellate counsel for large multinational companies."
What am I missing?
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Up at @TheProspect: besides cancellation there are many simple steps that would help millions of student debtors. But Biden's Education Department hasn't moved on it and is even still enforcing Betsy DeVos directives against borrowers. Advocates are upset. prospect.org/education/educ…
ED could:
-approve loan forgiveness applications for more victims of for-profit fraud
-settle lawsuits on borrower relief
-expand closed school discharges
-fix PSLF & IDR
-stop blocking AGs & CFPB from data on student loan servicers prospect.org/education/educ…
As I was writing this piece, ED announced it would give people "totally and permanently disabled," who are entitled to full student loan discharges, some assistance. Advocates say even this doesn't go as far as it should. prospect.org/education/educ…
Here's @oliverdarcy of @CNN calling @theprospect "misinfo" after not responding to any of our questions for a week, and misstating the nature of our report.
Also he botched my quote! I said 100%. Let's break this down...
Starts with "a progressive website": check. Obviously anything partisan is untruthful.
We've been around 32 years FWIW.
Next, notice the jump. Starts by saying our story suggested that "CNN aired a 'staged' migrant crossing," and then says "Obviously, CNN did not stage the crossing."
Nobody said they staged it themselves, just that they got duped. Something @CNN never answered. All assertions.
How did this historic shift of focus to inequality, full employment and labor economics happen? Part of the answer is the economics department at the University of California, Berkeley. @HaroldMeyerson has this great profile, from our next issue: prospect.org/economy/berkel…
"Over the past two decades, Berkeley’s economics department and associated institutes have been at the forefront of two critical changes in the practice of economics: a heightened emphasis on empirical research, and an increasing focus on inequality." prospect.org/economy/berkel…
It's water day at @TheProspect!
First, @gurleygg looks at water privatization in Chester, PA, as a city with troubled finances is goaded into selling off its public assets to for-profit interests. prospect.org/environment/cl…
The PA legislature recently allowed municipalities in distress to sell assets like water systems at market value rather than depreciated value, a powerful spur for communities like Chester. But what will happen to rates, quality, and maintenance? prospect.org/environment/cl…
We also have a success story: a new book about an unlikely victory in El Salavador by grassroots activists over mining interests that threatened the country's water supply. The book is The Water Defenders, it's out today, and Sasha Chavkin has a review: prospect.org/culture/books/…
Really excited to show you my latest for the print edition of @TheProspect. It's about musicians, beset on all sides by giant corporations that have robbed all but the biggest stars of the ability to make a living. prospect.org/power/islands-…
Radio is mostly in the hands of Liberty Media. Live Nation & AEG control venues & artist management services, with Live Nation dominating ticketing. The major labels have been whittled down to 3. Bedrocks that nurtured local music scenes are largely gone. prospect.org/power/islands-…
And none of that matters as much as streaming, responsible for 83% of music industry revenues, going mostly to Spotify & YouTube, for whom music is really a loss leader, incidental to data collection for ads & the promise of audience growth for investors prospect.org/power/islands-…
Now that the political media's decided to rediscover the border, I want to highlight @Marcia_Brown9's story from last week, because the dominant narrative is missing some critical context. prospect.org/justice/year-o…
First of all, the border really is closed unless you're an unaccompanied minor or you had an asylum claim prior to last March. The Biden administration has maintained Title 42, a CDC public health order used to deport anyone crossing on sight.
This includes sending asylum seekers back to home countries whee they could be persecuted or killed, an illegal action.
More commonly, Mexican and Central American migrants are sent back to Mexico, where they promptly try to cross again.