September 10, 2024 ❧ Kamala finally has policies, Louisiana's prison rodeo, and Macron puts the French far-right in power

Plus: The GOP spreads malicious anti-migrant lies, Jill Stein kicked off the ballot in Nevada, an anti-landlord activist runs for office in Australia, and Burmese communists protect elephants

As we say in News York City, “Ayy, we’re readin’ the news over here!”

CROOKS vs. SICKOS  (Or, “What’s going on with our politicians and oligarchs?”)

❧ Kamala Harris finally has policies on her website. After facing weeks of criticism—including from your humble editors—for running a campaign based mostly in parasocial nonsense and “vibes,” the Vice President’s team has presented voters with a concrete list of her political positions. KamalaHarris.com now has an “Issues” page, which has 19 different subsections, plus a handful of scary-looking red tabs comparing the Democratic platform to the GOP’s “Project 2025.” The update came late on Sunday night, just two days before the scheduled debate between Harris and Donald Trump. This is likely a strategic move, giving Trump’s camp minimal time to prepare criticisms.

Still, that hasn’t stopped J.D. Vance from writing an extremely long thread on Twitter/X picking Harris’ policies apart. Because he’s J.D. Vance, a lot of his criticisms are silly—for instance, he mentions Harris’s “climate hysteria,” meaning her acknowledgement that climate change is real, as a point against her. But there’s plenty to criticize on Harris’s agenda, along with a scattering of good stuff. Here’s our breakdown. 

She’s speaking, we know that much.

(Image: Gage Skidmore via Flickr)

The Actual Good Ideas

Credit where it’s due: some of Harris’s policies, mostly the ones she’s borrowed from the progressive and socialist wing of the Democratic Party, would genuinely improve people’s lives. 

• Harris promises to “end sub-minimum wages for tipped workers and people with disabilities” and “eliminate taxes on tips for service and hospitality workers.” This stands in contrast to Trump, who has promised to cut taxes on tips, but not to eliminate the abusive “sub-minimum” system. Funnily enough, Current Affairs has published multiple articles arguing for Harris’s exact position!
  
  
• She also touts her role in “the most pro-labor administration in history” (FDR would like a word), and says she’ll pass the PRO Act to make it easier for workers to unionize. Yes please!
  
  
• Harris doubles down on her proposal for the “first-ever federal ban on corporate price gouging on food and groceries,” saying she’ll “crack down on anti-competitive practices that let big corporations jack up prices.” Details are still a little scarce, but once again, we’ve published a whole article on why this is a good idea. 

The Half-Measures

Other policies address real issues, but either don’t do nearly enough to solve them, or are so vague it’s difficult to tell what they mean. 

• Harris says she “knows rent is too high” (no kidding), but her only proposal is to “sign legislation to outlaw new forms of price fixing by corporate landlords.” This does nothing to address existing forms of price-fixing, only “new” ones, and does nothing to bring down rent prices that aren’t deemed to be the result of “fixing.” The definition of “corporate landlords” is also extremely vague, allowing for loopholes a mile wide. Notably, Harris does not replicate President Biden’s proposal for a 5 percent cap on rent increases. 
  
  
• She also wants to address medical debt… but only by getting it “removed from credit reports” and “work[ing] with states” to cancel an unspecified amount of it. This is better than nothing, but compare it to Bernie Sanders’ recent proposal to cancel all medical debt via a federal grant program, and Harris falls short. 
  
  
• Harris promises to “raise the minimum wage,” but she still won’t state an actual dollar amount or a timetable for when the increase would happen. These are important points!

The Garbage

Meanwhile, some policies just plain stink. 

• Harris accepts the Republican framing of immigrants as a problem and a threat, promising to “sign the bipartisan border bill” in order to “tackle the opioid and fentanyl crisis.” But the core assumption here—that immigrants are bringing fentanyl and other dangerous drugs into the country—is false. As journalist Joel Rose has pointed out for NPR, “nearly all of [it] is smuggled by people who are legally authorized to cross the border,” and “virtually none is seized from migrants seeking asylum.” The “bipartisan border bill” is a terrible idea, which would simply give ICE billions of dollars to brutalize desperate poor people, and Harris has no business supporting it. 

(Graphic: Alyson Hurt, NPR, Data: U.S. Customs and Border Protection)

• Harris also promises to “stand up to dictators” around the world, but only mentions China, Russia, North Korea, and Iran. Presumably Saudi Arabia—a hereditary monarchy which assassinates journalists, has de facto slavery, and routinely executes people for minor offenses—will continue to be a valued U.S. ally, even as the stench of blood rises from its dungeons. 
  
  
• Speaking of nasty Middle Eastern regimes, Harris also promises to “always ensure Israel has the ability to defend itself”—that is, to provide it with bombs and missiles—in the same paragraph where she claims to be “working to end the war in Gaza.” If she truly wanted to end the “war,” which is really a one-sided massacre, removing the supply of weapons (the majority of which come from America) would be the appropriate move.

In other news…

• Former Vice President Dick Cheney—who, along with George W. Bush, has killed as many as 600,000 Iraqis—says he plans to vote for Harris in November. Now all she’s missing is the coveted Freddy Kreuger endorsement. (New York Times)

When this guy agrees with you, something has gone badly wrong.

(Photo: AP)

PAST AFFAIRS

On its 20-year anniversary last year, Nathan J. Robinson and Noam Chomsky recounted the horrors of the Iraq War, the “Worst Crime of the 21st Century.”

Read it here!

• Donald Trump has said he will use the police and military to carry out the “mass deportation” of 15 million undocumented immigrants living in the United States. His immigration advisor Stephen Miller has said they plan to detain millions of people in camps while they await deportations. And on Saturday, during a speech, President Trump told the crowd that this planned ethnic cleansing “will be a bloody story.” As if that wasn’t bone-chilling enough, former Trump administration officials told Rolling Stone that the former president wanted to see the “mass executions” of gang members and drug dealers: 

He wanted to see their bodies piled up in the streets. Specifically, he sought a series of mass executions — with firing squads and gallows, and certainly without the quaintness of an appeals process — to send a chilling message about the scope of his power.

Trump, who’d taken office inveighing against “American carnage,” wanted to create some of his own. 

This violent fantasy became an obsession, according to former Trump administration officials. The 45th president brought up the topic so often during the early years of his presidency that one former White House official tells Rolling Stone they lost count. “Fucking kill them all,” Trump would say. “An eye for an eye.” Other times he’d snap at his staff: “You just got to kill these people.” Invoking the brutality of dictatorial regimes that Trump wanted to emulate, he’d add, “Other countries do it all the time.” 

• Meanwhile, the entire Republican Party is spreading malicious, dehumanizing lies about Haitian immigrants eating people’s pets and Venezuelan gangs “taking over” an apartment complex. For his newsletter New Means, Joshua P. Hill debunks these and other myths and discusses their destructive effects:

In all seriousness, while stories of gangs taking over buildings with no push-back from police or claims about immigrants eating your pets are all racist nonsense, the ramifications are unfortunately very real. In some cases the result is violent attacks against individual migrants. In other cases it’s a broader shift of the Overton window that enables, for example, real vigilante gangs of white men at the US-Mexico border to steal water left out for immigrants and perform some version of ‘citizens arrests’ and kidnap people seeking a better life.

PAST AFFAIRS

Last month on the Current Affairs podcast, Current Affairs editor-in-chief Nathan J. Robinson interviewed David Livingstone Smith, one of the world's leading scholars on dehumanization. Smith explains what it is, why we're so prone to it, and how to resist it.

• In Nevada, Green Party candidate Jill Stein got enough signatures to be placed on the general election ballot. But the state’s Supreme Court has denied her ballot access based on a technicality: Her campaign used the form for ballot initiatives rather than minor candidates. Stein is outraged, saying that her party used the forms they were “directed” to use by the Nevada Secretary of State, which told her campaign that they had achieved an adequate number of signatures as early as June. “This is a slap in the face to democracy, to the rule of law, and to millions of voters in NV who are now denied a real choice by the machinations of the corrupt political elite,” she posted to Twitter. (NBC 3 Las Vegas)

If we can’t actually get Stein on the presidential ballot, can we at least get a referendum that looks like this?

• The Federalist Society’s Leonard Leo is trying to make political dark money contributions tax-deductible. (The Lever)

AROUND THE STATES

❧ The Angola prison rodeo is starting up again. For the unfamiliar, the Rodeo is one of the most brutal and perverse traditions at the Louisiana State Penitentiary (better known as “Angola,” after the slave plantation that used to occupy the site.) Angola is one of the worst prisons in the United States, and probably the world. From the “abhorrent” medical care to the forced agricultural labor in extreme heat, there’s a lot to hate—but the Rodeo is unique, and it’ll be taking place every Saturday this October. 

Essentially, prisoners—who are not given any special training or, often, any protective equipment—are thrown into a rodeo ring to perform tricks with bulls, horses, and other dangerous animals, all as a spectacle for a rabidly cheering crowd. The nature of the acts varies, but one of the most common is “convict poker,” in which a group of prisoners sits around a table playing cards, and an angry bull is released in their direction. (The last one sitting “wins.”)

[CONTENT WARNING: DISTURBING FOOTAGE]

There’s also an event called “Guts and Glory,” in which a poker chip is placed between a bull’s horns, and prisoners are rewarded with a cash prize if they can retrieve it: 

Supposedly, all of this is voluntary. But as Marina Manoukian writes for Grunge, participating in the Rodeo is one of the only ways for Louisiana prisoners to make real money, since they only get paid between 2 and 40 cents an hour for their labor, and essential services like visiting the prison doctor can cost as much as $3. Manoukian notes that “because the imprisoned people interacting with the animals are inexperienced, injuries occur more often than not,” and compares the event to the gladiatorial games of Ancient Rome, where enslaved people were often forced to fight lions and other animals for the entertainment of the elite:

Imprisoned people are frequently tossed over 20 feet into the air by the animals and frequently end up with broken bones, gouged limbs, and concussions. And in addition to injuries sustained during the prison rodeo itself, many also continue to suffer from ongoing chronic conditions as a result of competing in the rodeo. Some are even missing muscles in their body after having them gored out by one of the bulls. 

Believe it or not, things get worse. In 2017, Manoukian writes, Louisiana state auditors looked into the Rodeo’s financial records and found that $27,520 in ticket sales—which are ostensibly supposed to be used for programs to benefit prisoners—were instead spent on appliances for Warden Burl Cain’s house at the prison complex. A further $27,918 simply went missing between 2010 and 2015, having never been deposited in the appropriate account. So not only is the whole event a violent abuse of humans and animals, but it’s riddled with corruption too. 

There’s no way to defend this. There used to be a Texas Prison Rodeo as well, but that was thankfully shut down in the 1980s; now, it’s long past time for the Louisiana version to follow it. As one of the horrified Google reviews for the event puts it, “There is a lot of innocent blood on them grounds for sure.” It needs to end. 

In other news…

• In southern California, the Line Fire—a wildfire so big it has its own name—has burned more than 26,000 acres and forced thousands of people to evacuate from their homes. (KTLA 5)
  
  
• The Miami-Dade police have released the body camera footage of cops arresting Dolphins receiver Tyreek Hill just hours before kickoff on Sunday after being pulled over for speeding. This is a classic example of cops needlessly escalating what should have been a simple traffic stop. They are shown forcibly dragging Hill—who’d complied with requests for his ID before rolling his windows up to avoid photos being taken—out of his car immediately after telling him to roll his window back down. (CNN)

[CONTENT WARNING: Police violence]

• Nebraska governor Jim Pillen has appointed Terri Cunningham-Swanson—a conservative activist who was voted off the Plattsmouth school board after she reportedly wasted thousands of dollars on legal fees trying to ban books—to the state library board. The appointment has prompted a wave of public outcry, including from Cunningham-Swanson’s own son D’Shawn, who calls her “massively unqualified” and says that “the appointment of my mother reeks of corruption.” (KOLN)
  
  
• Florida voters who signed a petition for a ballot measure on abortion now say they’re getting intimidating visits from the cops, as Governor Ron DeSantis continues to crack down on supposed “fraud” in the electoral process (something he hasn’t proven actually happens.) (Salon)
  
  
• In West Virginia, a 33-year-old coal miner named Gary Chapman has died in a workplace accident at the Mountaineer II mine near the town of Sharples. He’s the eighth coal miner to die on the job in the United States this year, four of whom have been in West Virginia. (CBS)
  
  
• Protesters against the ongoing Israeli war crimes in Gaza have dropped a huge Palestinian flag from the Williamsburg bridge in New York City to show their solidarity.  (WNBC New York)

(Image: WNBC)

9/11 QUOTE OF THE YEAR

Mayor Eric Adams on New York City: 

“This is a place where every day you wake up, you could experience everything from a plane crashing into our Trade Center to a person who is celebrating a new business that’s open. This is a very, very complicated city and that’s why it’s the greatest city on the globe.”

AROUND THE WORLD

❧ Even after the left won the greatest number of seats in France’s July elections, President Emmanuel Macron has nominated a conservative, Michel Barnier, as prime minister. With this, Macron has thrown aside the alliance he made with New Popular Front leader Jean-Luc Mélenchon to keep Marine Le Pen’s far-right National Rally Party out of power. 

The incoming PM, Barnier—who negotiated Brexit on the E.U. side—is a member of the center-right Les Républicains party, which came in fourth place with just 8.3 percent of the vote. Though he’s not a member of the more overtly anti-immigrant National Rally (NR), Barnier has swung hard to the right on immigration in recent years. He campaigned in 2021 on “putting a stop to non-European immigration for three to five years” and has more recently called for France to stop complying with the European Courts of Justice and Human Rights. As Marine Le Pen put it in an interview with La Tribune, “It’s undeniable that Michel Barnier seems to have the same position as we do on migration.” But regardless of his own personal feelings, Barnier has no support from the left, meaning that the survival of his coalition will depend on the indulgence of the NR, which has the ability to topple his coalition in an instant should he step out of line.

The left coalition (NFP) got almost 5 percent more votes nationwide than any other…

But they are being kept out of power… democracy in action! (Graphics: Politico)

The left has erupted in protest at this result, with Mélenchon’s France Unbowed Party demanding that Macron “respect the choice of the people.” More than 100,000 people poured into the streets over the weekend, according to France’s Interior Ministry. As one protester said, “Expressing one’s vote will be useless as long as Macron is in power.” And his view seems representative of the majority of French people, 74 percent of whom said in a poll that Macron had disregarded the results of the elections. 

The protesters are right to be furious. The position of prime minister has historically been given to the party that wins the most seats in parliament. But the left has not only been robbed of its preferred pick, economist Lucie Castets, but will be kept out of government entirely. This was not for lack of trying: Castets was willing to compromise on many aspects of the New Popular Front’s platform if it meant she’d be allowed to govern—holding off on increasing taxes on the ultra wealthy and on reversing Macron’s widely hated increase of the pension age from 62 to 64. Despite this, Macron refused to allow her into office, citing so-called “institutional stability.”

Ultimately, any left-wing premiership would have been tumultuous and necessitated compromise in a legislature that was more-or-less split into thirds. It is unlikely that the left would have seen much of its agenda—increasing the minimum wage, lowering the retirement age, and committing France to a ceasefire in Gaza—achieved. Macron has expressed equal fear of both the left and the right, saying it’d be a “civil war” if either side took control. But between the two options of a hamstrung left and an emboldened right, he’s chosen to embolden the right. And so, control of policy in France has been delivered into the hands of barely-disguised fascists.

In other news…

• In Senegal, a conservative-controlled parliament is obstructing President Bassirou Diomaye Faye and his “leftist, anti-establishment and pan-African agenda.” In response, Faye is expected to dissolve parliament on September 12, triggering a new round of elections. (The Guardian)

At 44 years old, Faye is currently the youngest leader in Africa.

(Image: Wikimedia Commons)

• Elections are also coming to Kashmir, where roughly 8.8 million people are expected to vote for regional assembly seats starting on September 18. It’s the first Kashmiri election in 10 years, and will determine the future of the region’s separatist movement as it continues to clash with the Indian government. (The Diplomat)
  
  
• A Pride march was held outside the national assembly in Belgrade, Serbia this weekend under heavy police presence. The marchers hoped to pressure the government of the conservative nation to pass legislation allowing same-sex partnerships. (Associated Press)
  
  
• In Moldova, government authorities have forbidden the pro-Russian separatist region of Transnistria from referring to itself by that name in public speeches and the press, insisting on the name “Tiraspol” instead. (Euractiv)
  
  
• Nearly 200 people were killed worldwide trying to defend the environment last year, according to a new report from the environmental NGO Global Witness. 70 percent of the killings happened in just four South American countries, Colombia, Brazil, Mexico and Honduras. Many of those killed were Indigenous acitivists opposing mining activities and deforestation in critical forest areas. 
  
  
• Australian housing activist Jordie van den Lamb—who created the “Shit Rentals” database to expose landlords who don’t repair their apartments and went viral for posting the addresses of vacant investment properties on TikTok—is now running for the Australian Senate. (Jacobin)
  
  
• Moving on from “shit rentals” to literal shit: A strange, yet compelling new public relations campaign by the Health Department of Queensland, Australia is using psychedelic memes to remind people that “It’s ok to poo at work.” (The Guardian)

Even this rainbow-colored dolphin poops at work!

(Image from Queensland Health’s Instagram, via the Guardian)

ELEPHANT FACT OF THE WEEK

The rebels fighting Myanmar’s dictatorship have taken in 138 elephants to protect them from trafficking!

"Timber elephants," a common sight in Myanmar (Photo: Wikimedia Commons)

Since the military junta overthrew Aung San Suu Kyi’s government in 2021, the People’s Liberation Army—the armed wing of the Burmese Communist Party—has been making in-roads with other pro-democracy factions and repressed minority groups, to wage an anti-government insurgency that has captured significant swathes of territory.

At one of the camps they’ve established outside Mandalay, Myanmar’s second largest city, AFP News reports that elephants “have been coming into the rebel camp in twos and threes since July, many led by handlers fleeing the junta-controlled timber camps that employ them.” It is estimated that as many as 3,000 elephants are used by the junta, “the majority dragging freshly cut trees through the dense jungle to transport hubs and mills.” At one of these camps, an ultra-rare pair of twin elephants was born last week: 

Myanmar is home to the world’s second-largest population of Asian elephants, behind only India. According to the World Wildlife Federation, they are endangered—more so than their African cousins—having lost more than half their population over the last century due to poaching and habitat loss. 

The insurgents say their goal is to protect them from harm: “We were worried that if no one took control of them, these elephants would fall into the hands of traffickers,” Ni Ni Kway, the leader of the PLA, told AFP. “If these elephants reach the black market or are taken by traffickers, they will have a huge problem.” But they also haven’t ruled out using them in their battle against the government—the use of elephants in warfare has a long history in Southeast Asia. Hopefully this will not end up being the case. 

Ni Ni Kway has said that once the war is over, the rebels will turn the elephants over to the government forest department. “We are worried that we are going to lose this treasure of our country, therefore, we will take care of them as best as we can,” she said.

(Photo: AFP via the People's Liberation Army of the Communist Party of Burma)

Writing and research by Stephen Prager and Alex Skopic. Editing and additional material by Nathan J. Robinson and Lily Sánchez. Header graphic by Cali Traina Blume. This news briefing is a product of Current Affairs Magazine. Subscribe to our gorgeous and informative print edition here, and our delightful podcast here.

Current Affairs is an independent leftist media organization supported entirely by its readers and listeners. We offer a beautiful bimonthly print and digital magazine, a weekly podcast, and a regular news briefing service. We are registered with the Internal Revenue Service as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization with EIN 83-1675720. Your gift is tax-deductible to the extent allowed by law. Donations may be made through our website, via wire transfer, or by sending us a check. Email help@currentaffairs.org with any questions.