Policy Archives - Flux

The US may tout itself as a great defender of human rights but the data tells a different story

Jamil Dakwar, — Thu, 23 Nov 2023 04:22:26 +0000

Earlier this month, the United Nations Human Rights Committee delivered a searing report highlighting the U.S. government’s failure to meet its human rights obligations under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR). This international treaty, ratified by the U.S. in 1992, is one of only three key human rights treaties that the U.S. has […]

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NPR gets it wrong, depleted uranium (DU) shells are absolutely radioactive

Dave Lindorf — Thu, 28 Sep 2023 02:44:04 +0000

In its fundraising promotions, NPR touts shows like Morning Edition as providing listeners a “deeper look” at complicated stories. Sometimes that is the case, but not this month, in its coverage of an announced decision by the Biden administration to further escalate the violence in Ukraine by supplying that country’s military with controversial depleted uranium (DU) anti-tank shells. Morning Edition (9/8/23) […]

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Censorship leader: More than 40 percent of U.S. book bans took place in Florida

Jake Johnson — Fri, 22 Sep 2023 10:09:46 +0000

A new report released Thursday by the free expression group PEN America warns that the Republican-led book banning movement is intensifying nationwide, with U.S. classrooms and libraries prohibiting more than 1,500 unique titles during the 2022-23 school year. PEN recorded 3,362 total instances of book bans across the U.S., a 33% increase compared to the previous school […]

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The Right now demands Supreme Court nominees have a ‘Biblical worldview’

Peter Montgomery — Thu, 21 Sep 2023 04:14:34 +0000

You might think religious-right leaders would be more than satisfied with the Trump Supreme Court justices who overturned Roe v Wade and invited the criminalization of abortion nationwide, but you would be wrong. Religious-right activists are delving deep into the religious views, church attendance, and families of conservative judges considered possible Supreme Court nominees under a future […]

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Report: Insurance companies may cancel up to 39 million homeowner policies due to climate risks

Tik Root — Wed, 20 Sep 2023 12:53:34 +0000

From California to Florida, homeowners have been facing a new climate reality: Insurance companies don’t want to cover their properties. According to a report released today, the problem will only get worse. The nonprofit climate research firm First Street Foundation found that, while about 6.8 million properties nationwide already rely on expensive public insurance programs, […]

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As more patients email doctors, health systems have started charging fees

Harris Meyer — Tue, 19 Sep 2023 10:58:16 +0000

Meg Bakewell, who has cancer and cancer-related heart disease, sometimes emails her primary care physician, oncologist, and cardiologist asking them for medical advice when she experiences urgent symptoms such as pain or shortness of breath. But she was a little surprised when, for the first time, she got a bill — a $13 copay — […]

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The radical makeover of Florida’s New College is demonstrating that extremists are also incompetent

Don Moynihan — Tue, 19 Sep 2023 03:34:32 +0000

Competence, the ability to perform organizational core tasks, is an underrated quality. In its presence, we take it for granted. We miss it only in its absence. It is an especially overlooked quality by people who value other things, like ideological goals, or people who believe that existing institutions are fundamentally corrupt, or people who […]

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Oddly enough, ‘blistering letters’ and ‘voluntary safety programs’ aren’t enough to make rail safe

Topher Sanders — Tue, 12 Sep 2023 06:10:08 +0000

On Friday, Union Pacific, the nation’s largest freight railroad carrier, received a blistering letter from federal regulators who criticized the company for poorly maintaining its fleet, furloughing workers who perform train maintenance and allowing its managers to pressure inspectors to stop their efforts in order to keep freight moving. The letter, signed by Federal Railroad Administration […]

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American healthcare is in shambles just look at at hospice

Ava Kofman — Wed, 26 Jul 2023 22:30:12 +0000

Last week, regulators rolled out enhanced oversight for new hospices in Arizona, California, Nevada and Texas. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, which pays for most of American hospice care, announced that this change was spurred by “numerous reports of hospice fraud, waste, and abuse” and “serious concerns about market oversaturation.” In November, ProPublica […]

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Texas judge hopes to leverage SCOTUS ruling for anti-gay web designer to avoid performing same-sex marriages

Rebecca Schneid — Fri, 21 Jul 2023 17:52:50 +0000

Since Waco, Texas-based judge Dianne Hensley received a public warning from the State Commission on Judicial Conduct for refusing to perform same-sex marriages in 2019, she’s waged a public battle against the state agency. She’s long claimed the governmental body violated state law by punishing her for actions taken in accordance with her religious faith. Now, […]

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