Eric Piper

It’s not just big cities! No King’s Protest in Pepperell, Mass

I’m no lawyer, but “originalism” seems like trying to learn a new language with just a dictionary - and no understanding of grammar. How would the current Supreme Court decide Dred Scott or “separate but equal”? Its appeal to the past and narrow technicality seems to repeat the same conclusions.

Most state constitutions also have a "plural executive" with independent attorneys general, etc. This makes it much more difficult for a governor to quash an investigation or direct one against their opponents. In contrast, the Roberts court explicitly allows presidents to direct prosecutions.

Corporate America's biggest complaints against the Biden admin seemed to center on Lina Khan. Her aggressive anti-trust activities outraged Silicon Valley, in particular. For Axios to pretend these complaints were about 'overregulation' rather than old-fashioned monopoly power is absurd.

Wilbur and Penny, two unrepentant escape artists caught looting our hay garage on a quiet Sunday morning

A climate-skeptical left is already being tried out in Germany through the Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance. My understanding is that it’s underperformed expectations, so not likely to lead to a renaissance of left politics.

If Trump's express intent is to harm Democratic political power, would this aim violate the equal protection clause? Directing ICE raids in blue state cities (CA, IL, NY) vs. red (FL, TX).

This review was almost completely bewildering until I realized it's actually a scene from Percival Everett's novel American Fiction. "What I'm finna do, bruh, is fuck up this torta!"

In a remarkable turn of events, all the major players - defendant, victim, lawyers, and even trial judge - are related as cousins of a family that first immigrated in the 1940s to operate a chain of roast beef stands on the north shore but later fell apart, each side refusing to speak to the others.

This is a relief! Pope Francis was a breath of fresh air. I hope his legacy continues.

Our ponies (in central Mass) are going crazy from the spring now that they’re free to run and play.

Wilbur and crew in a spring fling

The best (and, to be fair, only) piece on AI I've read! My workplace is encouraging AI. So far, it seems like a calculator: this can save time on tasks, but it doesn't render math obsolete. Similarly, AI can summarize research, but you still need to read it yourself. It doesn't replace judgment.

Food banks and schools still need to buy food. All these funding cuts will do is shift money from highly nutritious, locally produced foods to low-cost processed goods.

My amazing wife is hosting a right-to-farm fundraiser 5/17 - purchasing signs for our town from the proceeds of an arts event that the planning board illegally tried to shut down for two years:

www.facebook.com/share/p/12Kv...

‘Cut Hay, Not USDA’: Mass farmers rally in Hadley against agriculture program cuts Hundreds gathered outside Hadley Town Hall Sunday protesting a deluge of changes to the USDA by the Trump administration, including frozen grant money, program cuts, staff layoffs, and the slated clos...

commonwealthbeacon.org/government/c...

What the hell is an unlawful challenge?

For some reason, it reminds me of the style in Twin Peaks!

Is the counter-argument that the U.S. constitution guarantees states a republican form of govt - in the strongest sense of the term? That environmental, labor, and civil rights protections are key to that realization?

Massachusetts Healthy Incentives Program helps families with Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits purchase fresh foods from local farmers. 285 farms sell food through the program, assisting more than 206,000 households and strengthening the local economy.

The Healthy Incentives Program in Massachusetts helps families with SNAP benefits purchase fresh, nutritious food from local farms. 285 farms participate, serving 206k households and strengthening the local economy. Mass. voters, please urge your legislators to support this program!

Conservatives reject universalism, focusing instead on in-group/out-groups. Look at Vance opining on who belongs in Europe. That might explain why Trump voters are surprised when bad policies harm people they love and care for - and not 'those other people who don't belong.'

Trump’s policies seem like unreconstructed mercantilism - pursuing a positive balance of trade through tariffs against external markets and imperial expansionism to create a larger internal market. A 17th century vision of political economy - I’m just not sure how crypto fits in.

Bezos's decisions aren't just alienating left-leaning people but centrists such as Ruth Marcus. Her resignation underscores just how extreme the paper's pivot is.

I, for one, eagerly await the new age of crypto-mercantilism being ushered in by Trump's speech tonight

It’s such a subtle work, but the main threat to Athens seems to be internal. Empire corrupts the city from the inside, as the realism that tempered its judgment in the Mytilenean debate gradually gives way to the brutality of the Melian dialog and finally the arrogance of the Sicilian expedition.

100% support from this American! Europe came to our defense without hesitation after 9/11. Many, possibly most of us will never forget and are outraged by our president!

Like this kind of response from the EU:

Trump tried to extort Ukraine twice, most recently through a mineral rights treaty. Zelensky may feel he has more to gain by appealing to Europe & Canada now than by kowtowing to Trump. The event was planned to humiliate Zelensky, and no one sticks up for someone who won’t stick up for themselves.