Dr Jackie Turvey Tait
@jaxtait.bsky.social
3.2K followers 8.2K following 2.1K posts
PhD in Natural Law Theory, not a medical doctor. #SSCE Green Party (views are my own & don't necessarily represent GPEW policy) #CRPS Aka Jax
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jaxtait.bsky.social
This exactly how fascism always works. They make you feel threatened. They tell you the solution is to stop caring about a particular group of people. They strip those people of their rights. They manufacture another crisis to make you feel threatened. Rinse & repeat. In the end they come for you.
njbbari3.bsky.social
Well the slope from “let the elderly and disabled die of COVID” to “let’s trash all the rest of our ethics, morals and laws” was basically a short walk on a flat path wasn’t it?
jaxtait.bsky.social
They spelled "Fascists" wrong.
And yes, the Greens are the answer to the rise of vicious, unaccountable billionaires who want to overthrow democracy. Join us! 💚
#GreenSurge #Zacktivism
zackpolanski.bsky.social
I'm never actually going to need to write another comment piece again am I?

The right wing shit rags are just going to keep recruiting for us.

Folks - want a better country?

Join.greenparty.org.uk
The party even more dangerous than Starmers labour - UK's answer to Putin's communists
Reposted by Dr Jackie Turvey Tait
michaelmackay.bsky.social
Nigel Farage is owned by Russia. Vote Leave was illegally financed by Russia. Brexit was and is a Russian active measure to harm Britain and its home in Europe.
jaxtait.bsky.social
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.
Critiquing the "Warrior Ethos"
St. Augustine Speaks to His Own Day, and Ours
open.substack.com
jaxtait.bsky.social
"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
Unjust Military Strikes in the Caribbean
A Christian Just-War Analysis
open.substack.com
jaxtait.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.
kyledcheney.bsky.social
Judge IMMERGUT, a Trump appointee to the bench, ruled that Trump's call-up was based on false claims about unrest in Portland and that Trump's own statements were "simply untethered to the facts." storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...
Reposted by Dr Jackie Turvey Tait
reichlinmelnick.bsky.social
Things that it is permissible to deadname:

- The Department of Defense
- Twitter
klasfeldreports.com
This footnote to Illinois and Chicago's lawsuit against Trump is an important reminder:

* There is no Department of War or Secretary of War, which are make-believe names for the actual agencies created by Congress.

Doc storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...
jaxtait.bsky.social
Make America Hungry Again?
jandrewsinclair.bsky.social
Heard on the radio that the administration is working hard to… make pasta more expensive.
jaxtait.bsky.social
📢 🎓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. 👇
fishkin.bsky.social
@talkingpointsmemo.com picked up my blog post about the Trump administration's "compact" with higher ed.

This is a post I'm highly motivated to get out to more readers because everyone connected with any university—as an alum, faculty, student, staff, etc—can help persuade their school not to sign.
The Trump Administration’s New Protection Racket for Higher Ed
This article is part of TPM Cafe, TPM’s home for opinion and news...
talkingpointsmemo.com
jaxtait.bsky.social
Entirely untethered from the facts.
jessicatarlov.bsky.social
Totally divorced from reality.
jaxtait.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
profstevegriffin.bsky.social
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 👍💪😇
Reposted by Dr Jackie Turvey Tait
profstevegriffin.bsky.social
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 👍💪😇
Reposted by Dr Jackie Turvey Tait
profstevegriffin.bsky.social
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
jaxtait.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.
jaxtait.bsky.social
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.
Reposted by Dr Jackie Turvey Tait
nytopinion.nytimes.com
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.”
Opinion | How to Beat an Autocrat at the Ballot Box
Authoritarians have lost elections before, and they will again.
nyti.ms
jaxtait.bsky.social
"History can offer both guidance and hope: Authoritarians have lost elections before, and they will again."
jaxtait.bsky.social
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
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
share.google
jaxtait.bsky.social
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"?
jaxtait.bsky.social
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.
Reposted by Dr Jackie Turvey Tait
jameeljaffer.bsky.social
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.
jaxtait.bsky.social
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.
Reposted by Dr Jackie Turvey Tait
greenparty.org.uk
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.”
Reposted by Dr Jackie Turvey Tait
cwebbonline.com
More guns than people…

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