#Trump’s attack on a #ThinkTank is an affront to the #FirstAmendment
#Republicans would be rightly irate if a Democratic president threatened to sue a conservative think tank & punish its corporate #donors over #research the White House didn’t like, but Trump’s attack this week on the Center for American Progress [ #CAP ] & its funders has been met with shrugs & silence.
#law #Constitution #ThoughtPolice #authoritarianism #autocracy #dictatorship #fascism #tyranny
washingtonpost.com/opinions/20…
This entry was edited (2 days ago)
Nonilex
in reply to Nonilex • • •Think tanks are as American as baseball, jazz & apple pie. They perform an unsung role in holding governments accountable at all levels. They incubate ideas & employ people, especially from whichever party is out of power, who will staff future White Houses.
Such organizations & their supporters should not fear legal harassment when elected officials dislike their work. Freedom of speech & association are foundational pillars of the #FirstAmendment.
#law #Constitution #Trump #fascism
HistoPol (#HP) 🏴 🇺🇸 🏴
in reply to Nonilex • • •#USpol
"Think tanks are as American as baseball, jazz & apple pie. They perform an unsung role in holding governments accountable at all levels."
*Many* probably are perfoming that useful function.
And then, there are the rotton apples like the #HeritageFoundation and the #FederalistSociety (less think tank), that have been working on what I call the #CounterReconstruction since their founding.
Also, there is the institutionalized "initial economic sin:"
mastodon.social/@HistoPol/1125…
HistoPol (#HP) 🏴 🇺🇸 🏴 (@HistoPol@mastodon.social)
MastodonNonilex
in reply to Nonilex • • •What set #Trump off was a #CAP report that found #NationalGuard deployments in DC have not contributed to the decline of violent crime. Trump said on social media that he’s drawing up a lawsuit against the liberal #ThinkTank & suggested that he might include some of its contributors. Trump named Google, Apple, Visa, Goldman Sachs, Citigroup, Wells Fargo, Bank of America, Walmart, Toyota, T-Mobile & NBC Universal.
#law #Constitution #FirstAmendment #authoritarianism #autocracy #fascism #tyranny
Nonilex
in reply to Nonilex • • •#CAP is led by #NeeraTanden [💕], one of the Democratic Party’s most influential power players & a veteran of the past three Democratic admins. But a less partisan #ThinkTank, the #NiskanenCenter, published its own report in May that also found no effect on violent crime in DC attributable to the #NationalGuard deployment. (It did find a reduction in property crime, which CAP did not analyze.)
#law #Constitution #FirstAmendment #Trump #authoritarianism #autocracy #dictatorship #fascism #tyranny
Nonilex
in reply to Nonilex • • •If a more #Trump - friendly #ThinkTank … wants to publish research showing the deployment has reduced violent crime, it’s free to do so. The America First Policy Institute published a fact sheet last year touting a positive economic impact from the Guard’s presence. The Center for Renewing America, in an article defending the legality of Trump’s actions last year, noted a decline in violent crime. Neither attempted to demonstrate a causal link between the deployment & the reduction.
#law
Nonilex
in reply to Nonilex • • •Observers can compare the quality & depth of the research & come to their own conclusions. That’s the beauty of America’s large & diverse community of think tanks.
According to the University of Pennsylvania’s last count, in 2020, the #US had 2,203 think tanks, nearly 800 more than any other country—about 4% of the world’s people but about 20% of its think tanks. More than 90% were headquartered outside DC. Massachusetts was the leader with 168 think tanks. That’s more than Italy or Japan.
#law
HistoPol (#HP) 🏴 🇺🇸 🏴
in reply to Nonilex • • •#Econometrics /#Statistics /#CountryComparisons
Comparing figures across countries is problematic per se (e. g. different jurisdictions/definitions).
It is even more problematic, when comparing entirely different countries, in particular population sizes.
I had therefore the figures recalculated per 1m inhabitants, a much more objective figure than mere nationality.
The whole bottom line changes:
Despite all its billionaires, the US ranks 👉a mere 7th👈, behind even Belgium :
HistoPol (#HP) 🏴 🇺🇸 🏴
in reply to HistoPol (#HP) 🏴 🇺🇸 🏴 • • •Sorry, there is no way I can zoom into this table on my Smartphone, so first column with rank is missing, last column is truncated.
Dodo
in reply to Nonilex • • •If you look at the donors he's just calculating they will pay something to stop him. His new daily parole when he doesn't like sth is "sue them". He doesn't pay for it, it's taxpayers money.