In case you were caught up in the debate over NSA surveillance and Edward Snowden’s motives, Sunday’s Up with Steve Kornacki guests highlighted some important stories that might have slipped through the cracks.
Michelle Bernard of the Bernard Center wanted everyone to know that it’s the 50th anniversary of the founding of the Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, a group that played a critical role in defending the rights of African Americans throughout the South.
Rick Perlstein, author of Nixonland, pointed out that NFL commissioner Roger Goodell is the son of liberal Republican Senator Charles Goodell, and that the younger’s comments this week in favor of keeping Washington’s football team named the Redskins despite its blatant racism.
Food benefits for low-income people and families are in danger, as George Zornick said. Farm bills passed by both the House and Senate make cuts to SNAP benefits, and the House bill would cut off aid to millions of people, many of them children, and would slash $20 billion from the program over 10 years. The House is set to take up the bill this week.
The Department of Justice has gotten a lot of well-warranted criticism for prosecuting leaks and targeting journalists during investigations, but Josh Benson of CapitalNewYork.com brought up something good that Eric Holder did. On Wednesday, Holder came out in favor of appointing an independent monitor for the NYPD if a federal judge rules against the force in a lawsuit over its controversial stop and frisk policy.
Meredith Clark
Meredith Clark is a freelance writer and editor. She was previously a senior news producer for "Patriot Act with Hasan Minhaj," a reporter with MSNBC.com, the digital politics and culture editor at Glamour and a senior news and politics editor at Refinery29. She has written for Vulture, Rolling Stone, Self, Marie Claire, Cosmopolitan, The Daily Beast and Bustle.