'Although we can't eliminate political violence, we can minimize it'

'Donald Trump's shooting wasn't a complete surprise'

Garen Wintemute at the Los Angeles Times

Political figures "have engaged in rhetoric that seems to endorse and promote violence" for years, says Garen Wintemute, like noting the "possibility of a 'bloodbath' if election results are not to their liking." In a large survey conducted by UC Davis in 2023, 25% of American adults said political violence was justified, but 70% would not commit it themselves. Thus, the "great majority of us who reject violence must become agents for change," says Wintemute, "telling our elected officials" that their "pro-violence rhetoric is unacceptable."

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'Vance … had no business speaking for the people of Appalachia'

Cassie Chambers Armstrong at The Atlantic

Donald Trump's VP pick and the author of "Hillbilly Elegy," J.D. Vance, capitalized on Americans' interest in Appalachia, says Cassie Chambers Armstrong. He turned a "tenuous family connection to the mountains into a lucrative and powerful platform. He then abandoned Appalachia when he ran for Senate." The Appalachian people have been impacted by Vance's policies — particularly his advice to remain in bad or abusive marriages and his support of "an extreme abortion ban with no exceptions for rape or incest," which "particularly harms women in rural communities."

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'This class gap in professional success is about as big as those found by race and gender'

Soumaya Keynes at The Financial Times

A new MIT paper considering the class gap among U.S. PhD holders found that while "one might hope that having 'Dr.' in front of one's name would be enough to wash away any childhood disadvantage," says Soumaya Keynes, "it seems not." Academics "whose parents did not have a college degree are 13% less likely to end up with tenure at a top university than those with more educated parents," and "they also tend to end up at lower-ranked institutions."

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'Individual Americans pay a price, Big Tech firms pay little or nothing at all'

Adonis Hoffman at The Hill

Big Tech, comprised of companies like Facebook, Amazon and Google, "have changed the world," says Adonis Hoffman, "but their business practices, sheer size and market dominance are a very big problem for society." That's because Big Tech firms "have untold access to our most sensitive health, financial and personal data," and we give it to them willingly in exchange for their goods. "When consumers blithely accept those freebies, we consent to relinquishing our personal information and privacy as conditions of free and continued use," says Hoffman.

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