Episode 581: Arnie Arnesen Attitude October 24 2024

Attitude with Arnie Arnesen

Part 1:
We talk with Michael Tomasky, editor of The New Republic.
We discuss the levels of cheating associated with the Republicans during elections. Apparently, Trump has outsourced a lot of his campaign to billionaires, who want to continue the flow of money to themselves. The media seems fascinated with Trump voters, as opposed to ordinary people. We talk about 'fast fascism'.
Part 2:
We talk with Prof. Jonathan Feingold of Boston University, as part of our continuing series of Race Class.
RaceClass Episode 35 | Project 2025s Fight to Save Cancer Alley
We discuss Cancer Alley, an 85-mile stretch between Baton Rouge and New Orleans that contains one of the largest concentrations of fossil fuel and petrochemical operations in theWestern Hemisphere. These facilities expose nearby residents, who disproportionately Black, to toxic pollutants and severe health harms including elevated burdens and risks of cancer, reproductive, maternal, and newborn health harms, respiratory ailments. Louisiana state agencies and the federal government have long failed to mitigate or remedy these harms. In 2022, multiple local community groups filed complaints with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) that alleged Louisiana's failure to address these harms violated Title VI by subjecting Black residents to ongoing disproportionate and adverse health and environmental impacts. These complaints prompted the EPA to investigate. In response, Louisiana sued the federal government. Specifically, the state argued that it was unlawful for the EPA or the Department of Justice to enforce Title VIs disparate impact regulations. Why? Because doing so forces the state to consider race. According to Louisiana, having to consider a policy's racial impact is just another form of racial discrimination. If that hostility to disparate impact sounds familiar, it might be because it also appears in Project 2025, the Heritage Foundations playbook for a possible Trump presidency. Earlier this year, a Trump-appointed district judge sided with Louisiana. To justify a ruling that deprives Cancer Alleys residents of any legal relief, Judge Cain stated the following: The public interest here is that governmental agencies abide by its laws, and treat all of its citizens equally, without considering race. To be sure, if a decision maker has to consider race, to decide, it has indeed participated in racism.
Jonathan Feingold
Associate Professor of Law
Boston University School of Law
[e-mail]|#RaceClass Podcast|research
WNHNFM.ORG production
Music: David Rovics, "Time to Act", for Will Von Sproson