Our View: Grand Rapids police shooting shows why US still needs reform
Happy Friday! Here's what we have for today:
Our View: Grand Rapids police shooting shows why US still needs reform
By The Editorial Board
No one should expect a traffic stop for a minor infraction to turn deadly. But if you are Black, you know the horrific history of such stops. And there’s always another tragic reminder.
A year ago, Daunte Wright, 20, was stopped outside Minneapolis for an expired license plate. Wright twisted away from an officer trying to handcuff him and slipped back into the driver’s seat.
It was an unwise move, but not one that deserved the death penalty. Seconds later, Wright was shot and killed by another officer, Kim Potter, who thought she was firing her Taser, not her handgun. Potter was sentenced in February to two years in prison for manslaughter.
GOP attacks on diversity and elections cost taxpayers millions
By Jill Lawrence
Whether you love their goals or hate them, Republicans are wasting your money and mine by constantly filing or provoking lawsuits that are often impossible to win.
From president on down, conservative culture wars, voting wars and election wars are costing untold millions – maybe even billions. And for what? Scoring political points?
Republicans in Texas and 17 other states lost their bid to overturn Joe Biden’s 2020 victory and keep former President Donald Trump in power. He and his allies pursued dozens of baseless voter fraud claims and sought useless audits and reaudits of the secure and legitimate 2020 election.
Jackson's arrival leaves just one military veteran on Supreme Court
By Matthew N. Preston II
Although there is no doubt that Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson is a worthy and long-overdue addition to the Supreme Court, her tenure brings the court one step closer to completely losing an important perspective.
Once she takes the oath to step into her new role, Jackson will replace retiring Justice Stephen Breyer, who was a corporal in the U.S. Army. That will leave one and only one military veteran, Justice Samuel Alito, a former Army captain, on the nation's highest court.
Historically, the Supreme Court has been well staffed with veterans of the U.S. armed forces. Roughly a quarter of the 165 justices who have served on the court have been military veterans. In 1965, all nine sitting justices were veterans. And from 1972 to 2006, half of the justices appointed were veterans, with two more (Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Sandra Day O’Connor) being military spouses.
Other columns to read today
- Help Ukraine defeat Russia by seizing oligarchs' yachts and Picassos
- One year since FedEx shooting: How we can help prevent another
- NFL can learn from NBA as it addresses race and diversity
- I won't watch Patrick Lyoya's struggle with police. What's the point?
This newsletter was compiled by Jaden Amos.