Gilead
Donald Trump
Coup attempt
Fig. 1. “Jake Angeli (Qanon Shaman), seen holding a Qanon sign at the intersection of Bell Rd and 75th Ave in Peoria, Arizona, on 2020 October 15.” Photography by TheUnseen011101 [pseud.], October 15, 2020, via Wikimedia Commons, public domain.
Yet again, Donald Trump benefits from a double standard.
[Donald] Trump’s broadsides on social media against the Justice Department, the [Federal Bureau of Investigation], and [Jack] Smith in particular have not gone unnoticed. The government spent $1.9 million for U.S. Marshals to provide security to Smith and other officials between November 2022 and March, according to officials. Experts and government officials have said individual prosecutors are facing harassment and threats online from members of right-wing extremist groups.
The government doesn’t have to look far for examples in which Trump’s vitriol has led to security problems — the Jan. 6, 2021 riot at the U.S. Capitol is one example, as is the recent arrest of an armed man near former president Barack Obama’s home after Trump posted an address he claimed was Obama’s on social media.
“In some ways, these comments are much more serious than if, say, a typical bank fraud defendant made them, because that person may have 500 followers and it won’t have much of an impact. But Jan. 6 shows his followers can see his posts as a call to action,” said Randall Eliason, a former federal prosecutor who now teaches law at George Washington University. “I think it’s complicated for free speech reasons, but this is getting pretty close to the line.”[1]
Yeah, all the lawyers offer rationalizations. But strip all the bullshit away and it comes down to Trump being permitted to do things that ordinary defendants would not.[2]
Devlin Barrett, “Trump’s outbursts met with silence so far by prosecutor, judge,” Washington Post, July 16, 2023, https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2023/07/16/trump-attacks-special-counsel-cannon-smith/
Neoliberalism
Academic repression
Student loans
Fig. 1. Unattributed and undated image via James G. Martin Center for Academic Renewal,[3] fair use.
Every honest, unfortunate debtor has the constitutional right to a fresh start. That is, the right to discharge their debts, if overwhelming, through bankruptcy proceedings. But student loan borrowers were condemned to “involuntary servitude” when Joe Biden, while still a senator, led Congress to enact the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act (BAPCPA) in 2005.
BAPCPA prohibits education loans from being discharged through bankruptcy, unless the borrower can show “undue hardship” in paying them back. But “undue hardship” is an arbitrary standard that violates the 13th Amendment.[4]
Supposedly, the Joe Biden administration was going to make it easier to discharge student loans through bankruptcy.[5] I haven’t heard what became of this.
Sally Bronston, “Education Department announces student loan forgiveness for 800,000 borrowers,” NBC News, July 14, 2023, https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/politics-news/education-department-announces-student-loan-forgiveness-800k-borrowers-rcna94213
Taru Taylor, “Biden’s Unconstitutional ‘Bankruptcy Abuse’ Act Makes Peons of Student Debtors,” Truthout, July 15, 2023, https://truthout.org/articles/bidens-unconstitutional-bankruptcy-abuse-act-makes-peons-of-student-debtors/
- [1]Devlin Barrett, “Trump’s outbursts met with silence so far by prosecutor, judge,” Washington Post, July 16, 2023, https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2023/07/16/trump-attacks-special-counsel-cannon-smith/↩
- [2]Devlin Barrett, “Trump’s outbursts met with silence so far by prosecutor, judge,” Washington Post, July 16, 2023, https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2023/07/16/trump-attacks-special-counsel-cannon-smith/↩
- [3]Richard K. Vedder, “Eliminate or Radically Restructure Federal Student Loans,” James G. Martin Center for Academic Renewal, September 16, 2020, https://www.jamesgmartin.center/2020/09/eliminate-or-radically-restructure-federal-student-loans/↩
- [4]Taru Taylor, “Biden’s Unconstitutional ‘Bankruptcy Abuse’ Act Makes Peons of Student Debtors,” Truthout, July 15, 2023, https://truthout.org/articles/bidens-unconstitutional-bankruptcy-abuse-act-makes-peons-of-student-debtors/↩
- [5]Gabriel T. Rubin, “Biden Administration to Make It Easier to Dismiss Student Loans in Bankruptcy,” Wall Street Journal, November 17, 2022, https://www.wsj.com/articles/biden-administration-to-make-it-easier-to-dismiss-student-loans-in-bankruptcy-11668706819; Gabriel T. Rubin, “Student-Loan Holders See New Path for Wiping Out Debt Through Bankruptcy,” Wall Street Journal, November 21, 2022, https://www.wsj.com/articles/student-loan-holders-see-new-path-for-wiping-out-debt-through-bankruptcy-11669034068↩