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Dear Progressive Reader,

In Kenosha, Wisconsin, a jury has acquitted Kyle Rittenhouse, the teenage vigilante who travelled across state lines and killed two men and wounded a third using an assault-style rifle that he had purchased illegally using a “straw purchaser.” As Ruth Conniff wrote ([link removed]) just after the verdict was announced, “Jurors were instructed by the judge to set aside the social and political upheaval surrounding the case and consider only whether Rittenhouse believed his life was in danger when he shot the three men.” As journalist Jonathan Capeheart told ([link removed]) PBS News Hour’s Judy Woodruff last night, “I am not surprised by the verdict, because of the instructions from the judge . . . but that requires you to live in a silo and not take into account why on earth was he there in the first place?”

U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin said in a statement ([link removed]) released just after the verdict, “In Wisconsin, this judge has now ruled that it’s legal for a minor to walk the streets in Wisconsin with an assault weapon. If that is true, then our state legislature should take action now in a bipartisan way to change the law and make it illegal.” And, she continued, “The fact that some people are cheering a ruling that has allowed someone to take the law into his own hands and walk free from any accountability after shooting and killing two people is disrespectful to the lives that were lost, and I am deeply concerned that it will encourage more tragic gun violence from those like Kyle Rittenhouse who think they have a license to take the law into their own hands in a violent way.” Meanwhile, the U.S. Supreme Court, earlier this month, heard arguments in a case that could, as
op-ed writer Griffin Dix notes ([link removed]) , “extend the supposed Second Amendment individual right far beyond the home, and forbid the states from requiring gun owners to obtain a license to carry a gun in public places.” And, he argues, “prohibiting state and local legislatures from passing laws that regulate gun carrying in public would threaten the safety of all Americans.”

This week, President Biden signed into law his long-awaited infrastructure bill, and the Build Back Better Act has passed the House and heads next to the Senate (where its future remains uncertain). Together, these two bills, although much reduced from their earliest forms, represent a historic investment in rebuilding many aspects of our society. A key component is investment in green energy and a more sustainable world. This comes at a time when the somewhat mixed results from the recent United Nations climate conference, COP26, leave activists wondering if the necessary changes can be made in time. As Tina Gerhardt reports ([link removed]) from Glasgow, Scotland, “In sum, COP26 brought some movement but not enough. Activists and allied organizations are sure to keep pushing for substantial change. This decade is key.” As one delegate said at the conference, “We have exactly ninety-eight months to halve global emissions.” And as
Michael Tubbs and Deborah Gore-Mann point out ([link removed]) in an op-ed this week, “We don’t have to choose between protecting our climate and building prosperity in communities too often neglected by the government. We know how to do both.”

On Friday, Indian prime minister Narendra Modi announced ([link removed]) that he would repeal three farm laws that had led to nationwide protests for the past fourteen months ([link removed]) . Reporting on this story for The Progressive last February Indian journalist Sanket Jain, noted ([link removed]) , “India’s protesting farmers are wary of unfettered free markets and the government’s promises of doubling farmers’ income by 2022.” The protests in India sparked international solidarity, as Minreet Kaur described ([link removed]) last March: “Thousands of miles away, across the diaspora, protesters in Canada and the United States are showing
their support through car rallies, sleep outs, and on social media.” As one activist told her, “No matter where across the globe, if human rights are being violated, it is our duty to spread awareness and put an end to it.” Elsewhere in the world, Jeff Abbott reports ([link removed]) from Guatemala on anti-mining efforts that are receiving harsh response from the government and mining companies. And Edward Hunt looks at ([link removed]) the growing conflict in Ethiopia and how the United States is responding.

Please keep reading, and we will keep bringing you important articles on these and other issues of our time.

Sincerely,
Norman Stockwell
Publisher

P.S. – If you missed our Armistice Day live broadcast, co-produced with the Madison, Wisconsin, chapter of Veterans for Peace, you can still view it archived on YouTube at The Progressive’s YouTube channel ([link removed]) .

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