Tuesday, June 24, 2014
Alternate Realities Roundup 6/24
Posted By Eric S. Peterson on June 24, 2014, 10:25 AM
A class-action lawsuit that could end solitary confinement in California prisons provides encouragement to other critics of the punishment.---
Top of the Alty World
“Are We Approaching the End of Solitary Confinement?”--Pacific Standard
Nonpartisan group Rock the Vote hopes to register 1.5 million new voters for the 2014 midterm elections.--Rolling Stone
Sales of the most dangerous guns may be on the decline in the U.S but the reason for the decline isn't a cause of celebration for gun-control advocates.--Quartz
Democracy Now! Looks at how a “grand bargain” with Iran could help the crisis in Iraq.--Democracy Now!
Top of Alty Utah
Following the excommunication of Ordain Women founder leader Kate Kelly, the group worries there will be an even greater divide among LDS women.--Salt Lake City Weekly
Utah Politico Hub runs down some of the top primary races to follow tonight.--Utah Politico Hub
Law enforcement officials took on the controversial subjects of rape kits and search warrants at a recent legislative committee.--Utah Political Capitol
Utah's unemployment rates is quite impressive, especially compared to other locations in the west.—Utah Policy
Rantosphere
Karen Peterson asks who should the Utah School Board serve—the student or the parent?
“Over the last decade there has been a general cry that public education should serve business. Businesses, after all, are the consumers of public education. Schools, both public and higher ed, should prepare students for the workplace. This drive to make students more competitive in the workplace was a key reason core standards were revised to become more rigorous.
Utahns wanted students to be competitive internationally. The tide has shifted. Now some parents are arguing that the school board should serve parents.”--Utah Politico Hub
The Long View
The Nation takes a look at federal judge Jed Rakoff and his crusade against slap-on-the-wrist settlements between major banks and the United States Securities and Exchange Commission.
“The SEC had agreed to a settlement in which Bank of America would pay a token fine of $33 million as a consequence of the shady deal. The penalty would essentially be paid by the bank’s shareholders, even though they were the ones who had taken the hit. When Rakoff first read the settlement, he recalls, “it looked totally unreasonable on every level.” By putting a kibosh on the deal, Rakoff embarrassed the SEC into taking another look at Bank of America’s actions.
When the parties returned to Rakoff after a full discovery process that laid bare the facts of the case, the terms of the deal had changed. Now Bank of America was going to pay a $150 million penalty; the money would come from Merrill shareholders rather than the bank’s; and the merged institution agreed to implement a series of prophylactic measures to prevent such actions from occurring again.”--The Nation
Alternate Realities roundup is off this Friday, June 27th. Stay tuned next week for more altyness.
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