A three-judge panel blocked Alabama from using the state’s newly drawn congressional map in next year’s elections. Federal judges said that they’ll draft new congressional lines for the state after lawmakers continued to refuse to create a second district where Black voters at least come close to comprising a majority. To absolutely nobody’s surprise, Alabama is expected to appeal the decision to the Supreme Court. I wonder how that might shake out…
The republican-controlled legislature in Alabama drew up this new congressional map this summer after the Supreme Court decided last year to uphold the panel’s finding that the map, which features exactly one (1) majority-Black district out of seven (7) in a state where 27% of residents are Black, likely violated the US Voting Rights Act.
The three-judge panel, in striking down Alabama’s map in 2022, said the state should have two (2) districts where Black voters have an opportunity to elect their preferred candidates. Because of racially polarized voting in the state, that map would need to include a second district where Black voters are the majority or “something quite close,” according to these judges.
Side Items
Sometimes Assassination Works: Japan’s government is apparently considering dissolving the controversial Unification church following the assassination last year of the former prime minister Shinzo Abe. The church, whose members are known as Moonies, could be subject to a court order to disband as early as next month, pending the completion of an inquiry into the church’s exploitative fundraising activities. Sources say the government has concluded that dissolution would be appropriate given that the church has engaged in “vicious, organized and continued” activities that outweigh any considerations of religious freedoms enshrined in their constitution
The Other Side of Labor Day: This article goes into detail about the complicated history of Labor Day and how a holiday intended to celebrate and honor workers has been co-opted by commercial sales and needless consumption. The article also mentions how May Day in most other countries is celebrated as International Workers Day, and its history is intimately connected with US workers’ fight for the eight-hour workday that we take for granted
All That Glitters: Steve Harwell, cofounder and frontman of the iconic band Smashmouth, passed away over the weekend at the age of 56. Smashmouth and their timeless hit “All Star” were deeply embedded into my psyche as a child, and the song still knocks to this day