Legislatures

In case you forgot, government officials love to get cringey over Taylor Swift. Remember when the FBI encouraged narcing through her lyrics? We now have a new low: Pennsylvania House Legislators arguing over whether to recognize 2023 as the “Taylor Swift Era.” House Resolution 282 passed with 103 yes votes and 100 nays. It was introduced by Rep. Danielle Friel Otten — who excitedly tweeted after it passed — as well as Robert Freeman, Jennifer O’Mara, Arvind Venkat, Johanny Cepeda-Freytiz, Benjamin V. Sanchez, Jose…

Civility index scores by state. Note: Higher scores reflect higher rates of perceived civility among legislators. Source: Values from the Kettler, Fowler, and Witt (Reference Kettler, Fowler and Witt2021) and National Survey of State Legislative Lobbyists (2022). Credit: State Politics & Policy Quarterly (2023). DOI: 10.1017/spq.2023.23 Bill Schreckhise and Eric Button, professors of political science at the University of…

At least three US senators think TikTok’s CEO may have violated federal law. In recent letters, the lawmakers say Shou Zi Chew lied about the company’s data storage practices during a combative Congressional hearing earlier this year. The renewed focus on Chew’s wishy-washy answers follows a series of news reports which suggest Chinese TikTok and ByteDance employees, and even Chinese Community Party officials, hadgreater access to US user data than previously known.On Wednesday, Democratic Sen. Richard Blumenthal of…

Joe Manchin won’t give up on his pro-gas stove, anti-regulation crusade. The barely blue West Virginia senator single-handedly stymied a vote to confirm a key Biden Department of Energy nominee on Wednesday—all because of his personal opposition to reining in fossil fuel-powered appliances.Republicans Create Culture War Over… Stoves Manchin, who is chairman of the Senate’s Energy and Natural Resources Committee, used his position to cancel what should’ve been a routine vote. Jeff Marootian, currently a senior advisor to…

Last year, I wrote about how West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin was acting like a bad boyfriend to the Democratic party. The man was stringing his colleagues along for months and holding climate legislation in limbo. I ate my words just a couple of weeks later when Manchin worked with Democratic leadership to revive the corpse of the Build Back Better Act. In helping to pass the U.S.’s most aggressive (and only) climate legislation to date, the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), Manchin helped make climate history. Now, it…

Last year, Warner Bros. was acquired by the Discovery Channel, and the resulting merger has been more than a little chaotic. Things got off to a rough start with the sudden cancellation of Batgirl, and has since spiraled into multiple shows getting canceled (some of them not even getting to air) and series getting pulled off HBO Max and sent elsewhere, in addition to the standard post-merger layoffs.Who Wants DC’s Canceled Batgirl Movie? | New York Comic Con 2022According to Deadline, Senator Liz Warren (D-CA), along with…

Photo: Drew Angerer (Getty Images)During a combative Senate Judiciary Committee hearing Wednesday, Senate lawmakers from both sides of the political aisle doubled down on calls to gut major provisions of the internet’s most important legal liability shield. The senators slammed tech companies for allegedly putting profits over user safety and criticized members of the Supreme Court who appeared hesitant to upend Section 230 protections during oral arguments last month. Supporters of Section 230 say its provisions are…

Four unidentified flying objects have made their way across North American airspace since the end of January, and were subsequently shot down. While the first object was identified as a Chinese-owned surveillance balloon, U.S. lawmakers say they are no closer to discovering the truth behind the other three.Read more... Four unidentified flying objects have made their way across North American airspace since the end of January, and were subsequently shot down. While the first object was identified as a Chinese-owned…

Ohio Rep. Jim Jordan has taken the lead in attacking big tech over supposed “collusion” with the government.Photo: Drew Angerer (Getty Images)The House Judiciary Committee announced Wednesday that it had subpoenaed several of the biggest tech CEOs in the U.S., from Microsoft, Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, and Meta, for documents and communications related to more vague and so-far unfounded hints of government “collusion.”According to a release, Ohio Republican Jim Jordan, the House Judiciary Chairman, said they called on…

Screenshot: Federal Communications CommissionA pair of Nevada senators say the Federal Communications Commission’s recently released broadband coverage map—intended to provide transparency on the nation’s internet access—is “deeply flawed,” and presents an inaccurate reading of rural America’s internet access. Those inaccuracies, they say, could cost them and other rural states millions in federal broadband infrastructure funds.In a letter addressed to the FCC’s five commissioners, Democratic senators Jacky Rosen and…