Yep. A lot of people don't even know what bail is, especially that it's not punitive, and opportunistic politicians and media like the Post capitalize on that. You'll hear the same talking points - 'no consequences for criminals', 'they'll be out in a few hours', 'no consequences for crimes', 'soft on crime' etc but if you ask the people parroting those lines they're fed, how many of them could tell you what bail is, what its function is, what charges qualify, (and importantly under bail reform, the MANY charges that don't qualify for no bail)?

As well as the facts that arraigned suspects need to be tried, that they are legally innocent until proven guilty, that punishment comes after a conviction (or plea deal, because that's where 90%+ of convictions happen).

Too many people think that an arrest means guilty, when that's not how the legal system works, and also, the wrong people are sometimes arrested. The cops are among those saying this misinformation loudly, saying their hands are tied, can't do their jobs, etc when they often slack off and refuse to do their job (a local chain that has had theft can't rely on the cops coming to take their reports), and part of their job is working to provide the DA with enough evidence to prove their cases.

My boyfriend's grandfather died back in early 2020 at around 100. He was a camp survivor and lost much of his family there. We met briefly, before he retired and moved, but it really does drive home how things are still within living history. At some point, his grandfather recorded his story for the Shoah Foundation.

With all of the antivax stuff in the news, it made me think of my teacher disabled by polio, and out of sight, out of mind, because no one under 40, basically, remembers what that looked like. So they are more susceptible to anti-science.

When I saw the headline, I presumed it would be the Ali Forney Center and I'm glad to have been right.

They're so very needed, as your story shows. We need to support them and others in working to find an appropriate solution.

>If the argument is that charter schools are better because they aren't government run then let them play the same rules as government run schools do.

Yep, this is the only way to get a fair comparison between regular public schools and charter schools. No discrimination against disabled kids/kids with IEPs, poor kids, kids that need remedial resources and additional classes, kids who aren't scoring at grade level. It's not a legitimate better chance unless it's operating under the same rules. It's just discriminating and lining business pockets. All while treating teachers worse without unions.

That six deaths referred specifically to the battery fires. Cars are, at least, required to have license plates and drivers to be licensed and insured. You can identify someone, you can claim against their insurance for damage or injury. If ebike riders hit someone or cause damage somewhere, you're out of luck when they zoom off. Death stats you may be able to find, but accident stats, no.

One change could be to require license plates and insurance, with deliberate consideration and planning to make sure it happens in a way that minimizes cost and harm. Maybe inspections for the batteries if they don't ban the unapproved ones. But banning the non certified batteries would work fine with license plates and insurance.

There's a lawsuit holding many of them up. https://www.syracuse.com/marijuana/2023/02/court-strikes-another-major-blow-to-new-yorks-cannabis-rollout.html

Because the GOP refuses to adequately fund the system/migration courts. They want to keep their 'border crisis' strategy.

Not that underfunding of the courts is a one party problem. Getting a trial in NYC takes years at this point. Yet if the courts work as they need to, then certain people who love to prey upon those who don't know what bail reform actually is won't be able to use these things as wedge issues. At least not as effectively.

Yep, it couldn't be more transparent. The push to take away mail and books from inmates and provide electronic versions for a fee is worth a ton to vendors because, well, they have a literally captive audience. (Similarly, extortion type rates are in place at prisons that charge to have phone calls with loved ones, and is why there's an effort to end charges for these calls. )

Prison labor pays almost nothing (and it is basically slave labor) so this is to squeeze the families, mostly. And exert control.

>(burlesque houses and gay bars are not kid friendly spaces)

They're not going to burlesque houses or gay bars, and nor are they getting an adult-oriented performance. They're getting silly, colorful performers reading age-appropriate material, and performing for children, with their audience in mind.

Exactly. These are people playing characters but they know they are performing those characters for children. All performers know the audience that will be there that day. Children generally love larger than life, colorful, silly characters. They're not getting a history of drag or an adult performance. They are getting colorful, over the top characters reading to them. Making the normal story time into a show. Extra.

As someone that occasionally volunteered with organizations that involved reading to kids and helping them to find books to go home with, I'm a warm, soft, and playful woman, but I know some kids would've been much more engaged with a drag performer doing the reading.

As well as carrying packages or luggage, and sometimes it's easier or even necessary to use the gate if you're disabled (which might be invisible), rather than have to trek back across the platform to get to the turnstiles.

I use both turnstiles and gates to exit when I ride, depending on the day and my circumstances. I'm invisibly disabled. I'm sure these security people would never consider that.

Would be simple enough to back up their claims with that data if they did.

There has never been any sort of citation or source for this, but it, predictably, keeps getting repeated.

That’s informative. So a huge pay raise and we also pay for their stays.

Especially because they have to have residency in their districts as well. One of my state reps lives a couple of blocks away, but this is only the district residence. Some (most?) might also have another in Albany.

Where are the lawsuits intended to stop this from happening? These people are likely not being moved voluntarily, potentially being misled, some of these may not be legal to send them, and they're being sent far from the immigration courts handling their cases. How will they report to their hearings if they are thousands of miles away? etc

Using people as pawns in stunts like this needs to be halted.

>but to change animal husbandry practices occurring on farms outside its jurisdiction

No, the law wasn't trying to change how those people run their farms, it was simply saying we don't want what you produce, but they're free to sell it elsewhere.

Overreach by the state here.

My comment was essentially that you've undercounted the homeless on the whole. Takes nothing away from the discussion at hand.

There are also a number of people who are technically homeless but staying with people on a kind of transient and unstable basis. These are also among the parents of the over 100k homeless students in public school.

There were definitely reports of disparities in gender from the early days of the pandemic and up through now. Several different concerns throughout.

But even in this article, they point out that women are more likely to have autoimmune diseases and be responsible for more household work, reducing available rest time. This isn't necessarily women just underreporting a few symptoms, because the rates of autoimmunity, for instance may be a little off but it's like 75% women / 25% men, give or take, generally speaking.

As a Latina with an autoimmune disease and who is on an immune suppressant, there are reasons why I'm still masking constantly in public and taking other precautions to avoid infection. I fear Long Covid making me more disabled.

Interesting. I forget which place gave me the paper straw that basically started flattening and getting weird in my iced tea, but it was annoying. Clearly there are some better ones than what I got.

When they start disintegrating before you finish half your drink, it's kind of a bummer.

The new Starbucks ones are fine to me. It's better to have some options, including plastic for those who need them. Sometimes, for me, I need to use straws when my anxiety is really bad. But some of the alternatives work just fine (not the paper ones). I also have nerve damage impacting my hand so I'm not someone who is going to be able to clean reusable straws well enough.

For most people, they won't bother. For those who need a plastic straw, like people with some disabilities, one is available for them. This is a real issue of accessibility for some, and thus there is a way to get one with some additional effort to request it.

No, this is legitimately a disability issue. Plenty of folks in the disability community have shared their experiences when these bans started passing all over.

This site that hosts this chart is for and by disabled/chronically ill folks: http://creakyjoints.org//wp-content/uploads/1019_Straw_Chart_Logo.jpg

From one of their pieces on this topic:

"These materials can also create unintended consequences. Plastic straw alternatives can be made with ingredients that contain corn, gluten, and other major allergens. This includes the glue used on paper straws. Despite assurances of safety from organizations such as Starbucks that have switched to compostable options, people are having to go to the ER in anaphylaxis because of these allergens. There are currently no regulations stating that allergens in these straws must be shared and there is little research about how many people with allergies have reactions to these straws."

>provide our citizens with a proper education and policies that create a steady stream of good paying jobs?

​

How does that address this? https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-07-29/job-applicants-with-black-names-still-less-likely-to-get-the-interview

Other studies show when names on resumes and applications are made to sound 'whiter' by Black and Asian applicants, or vaguer/use initials to not give away that the applicant is a woman, their interview numbers go up.

There are other examples, but "good paying jobs" only work if you're able to get interviewed for and hired for them.

Discrimination is real. Systemic racism is real. Here's an idea: give a good education and good paying jobs AND tackle inherent biases and documented discrimination.