Dr Jackie Turvey Tait

Critiquing the "Warrior Ethos" St. Augustine Speaks to His Own Day, and Ours

An unjust war is fought with “love of violence, revengeful cruelty, fierce & implacable enmity, wild resistance, & the lust of power”

The just-war criteria were intended to restrain these unruly passions so war is focused on just aims & a lasting peace.

Hegseth's "warrior ethos" is not Christian.

Unjust Military Strikes in the Caribbean A Christian Just-War Analysis

"In terms of the just-war theory, these recent military strikes violate the principles of proportionality, last resort, & noncombatant immunity...it’s also important to place them in the context of the Trump administration’s permissive attitude toward war crimes."
@matthewshadle.bsky.social

"Simply untethered to the facts" is a pretty accurate description of Trumpspeak generally: the propaganda narratives, bogus legal arguments, unhinged scientific assertions & incoherent, inflammatory rhetoric of his entire administration.

Things that it is permissible to deadname:

- The Department of Defense
- Twitter

Make America Hungry Again?

📢 🎓Higher ed. folks: This is the Art of the Shakedown!

"Under law, the president’s friends and his enemies are equal; not so under “the deal"

To control institutions they move the interaction out of the realm of the law & into the realm of “the deal,” where normal rules do not apply. 👇

Entirely untethered from the facts.

Good and bad news for Zack Polanski: the Green conference was a joy, but now hopes are stratospheric | Adam Ramsay Members loved hearing from a leader who boldly reflects their views and isn’t afraid of the rightwing press. How far can he take the party?, says journalist and Green party member Adam Ramsay

Our hopes for a free, fair society that delivers social & ecological justice have always been stratospheric. Now we have a realistic chance of putting our vision into practice. In what possible world is this bad news, @adamramsay.bsky.social?

Providing no public health protections is a political choice. Deliberately spreading disinformation to harm the vulnerable & allow the powerful to escape accountability is an outrage. Denial & learned helplessness are understandable but maladaptive trauma responses. We demand action! #Zacktivism

If we can't learn from a pandemic, then will we ever? SARS2 is devastating, but H5N1 and others are lining up to have a go next...
Clean the air, monitor, test, and vaccinate. Before it's too late.

Oh, and ignore any US/MAHA/Reform party conference 💩. #vaccineswork 👍💪😇

I feel like a broken record, and not one many folks want to hear nowadays.
But, ignoring resp viruses and the ongoing added burden of COVID is utter stupidity & short termism.
The virus still has cards to play, including the mysterious 3rd omicron family...H/T
@solidevidence.bsky.social

If they cared about the price of eggs, which they don't, they still wouldn't be able to address the cost of living crisis, hammer out rational policy solutions to real problems, engage constructively with other nations, or make America either healthy or great at all in any way.

In a real democracy even unprincipled politicians want a thriving economy because they will be held accountable at the ballot box. Authoritarians do not intend to face democratic accountability. Also, a toxic leadership culture promotes loyalists over experts & is not conducive to group success.

Opinion | How to Beat an Autocrat at the Ballot Box Authoritarians have lost elections before, and they will again.

Autocrats in places like Russia, Hungary and Venezuela manipulate elections to their advantage, writes David Shimer, an expert on electoral interference. “But in other countries, the democratic opposition has overcome authoritarian rule and prevailed at the ballot box.”

"History can offer both guidance and hope: Authoritarians have lost elections before, and they will again."

Study challenges notion that Covid is ‘mild’ for children More than 6 million American children suffer from long Covid which can lead to life-threatening complications

The government should listen to expert advice & mandate sensible air quality standards in schools. In the US, where a lot of schools already have air conditioning, you can mitigate risks fairly cheaply: you just need the right filters to trap aerosol-borne viruses.
#Covid

The problem is political strategists think "we the people" are too dumb to get that liberty is freedom from oppression for everyone-including the least among us-not freedom from restraint & accountability for the rich & powerful. How did the idea ever take root in our hearts if it's "too abstract"?

"The Spirit of Liberty" Speech by Judge Learned Hand, 1944 "The Spirit of Liberty." A speech given by Judge Learned Hand in 1944 in celebration of I am an American Day.

Liberty dies as soon as we the people decide a sparrow's fall is unworthy of our tears.

Worth reading in full but TL:DR
Great constitutional design is not enough to secure the rule of law in perpetuity. Defending democracy from rising fascist populism is a political & cultural problem. It needs leadership & organisation in politics & civil society. The courts can't do this work alone.

Don’t believe anyone who tells you that intelligence shows anything “without a doubt,” but even if the intelligence was water-tight, this strike was still murder. No law permits the deliberate, premeditated killing of civilians.

Rewatching The West Wing. Amazing how relevant it still is! S6 E14 has Toby Ziegler ranting to a con law Prof that the US system is a terrible model for democracy in post-authoritarian states: it vests too much power in the Executive, making it vulnerable to an anti-democratic rogue President.

We stand with the Jewish community and everyone affected by the horrific attack at the synagogue in Manchester today.

Zack Polanski: “We've seen rising antisemitism for years, as well as rising hate crime more generally. This is about civil society, democracy, and bringing people together.”

More guns than people…

Is it freedom or a national death cult that keeps growing?

Children & staff are at risk again this winter in unventilated, unsafe schools. #LongCovid can be extremely serious & there is currently no cure.
✅ Demand #CleanAir in schools!

Firm linked to Baroness Michelle Mone must pay £122m after breaching Covid PPE contract, judge rules The government wins its case against PPE Medpro - part of a consortium led by Baroness Mone's husband - after it supplied non-compliant gowns in 2020.

Firm linked to Baroness Michelle Mone must pay £122m after breaching Covid PPE contract, judge rules.

No-one is currently facing criminal charges in connection with this scandal & Baroness Mone still has her seat in the House of Lords.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/cy...

Some accountability at last! But NHS staff are STILL being fobbed off with inadequate PPE, unsafe workplaces & constant exposure to Long-Covid risks.
✅ Demand #CleanAir in all healthcare settings!
✅ Demand effective #PPE!
✅ Demand compensation for #LongCovid victims!
NHS workers deserve better!

👇🏅

The liberation of America's warriors ... from honor, virtue, international law & the Constitution?
Heartening to see how completely this unhinged rant failed to resonate with the assembled military commanders.

“We unleash overwhelming & punishing violence on the enemy. We also don’t fight with stupid rules of engagement...We untie the hands of our warfighters to intimidate, demoralize, hunt & kill the enemies of our country” Hegseth explains his unhinged strategy for toxic leadership, racism & war crimes.

42 former federal & state judges warned that the “rights & liberties of every American are in grave danger today, as DJT continues to corruptly abuse the power of his office by directing the DOJ & FBI to target his critics & his perceived political enemies for investigation & criminal prosecution.”