Kerim's Triptych ❧ Trump's Lawsuits, KISS, Total Recall

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1️⃣ Trump's Lawsuits

Given how many news stories revolve around Trump's lawsuits, I was surprised that there is a dearth of articles analyzing this unprecedented political use of lawsuits by a sitting president. I finally was able to track down this piece by legal scholar Timothy Zick.

First, he points out that these lawsuits

are part of a campaign to entrench executive power by undermining or eliminating institutions — including the press, agencies, lawyers, and universities — that can check the administration’s political and other narratives.

This is not entirely new, as it was a common tactic used by southern officials at the local level during the Civil Rights Era: "Through frequent lawsuits, local and state officials sought to control the narrative about racial segregation." As a result, the Supreme Court, in in its 1964 decision New York Times Co. v. Sullivan, sought to limit such actions:

Under that precedent, public officials must show the statements were made with “actual malice,” i.e., that the defendant knew they were false when published or published them with reckless disregard for their truth. The Court later extended the actual malice standard to suits brought by public figures, including those like Trump who have gained extensive public notoriety.

Trump, of course, wants to undo Sullivan, but even if he continues to lose cases because of it (as he does most of the time), lawsuits remain an effective weapon: "even if a claim has no or little legal merit, it can be useful in terms of exhausting, intimidating, and silencing opponents." Many corporations facing Trump lawsuits seem to be all too willing to comply rather than spend money to fight the matter in court.

Especially concerning is the possibility that "companies may be settling meritless cases to grease the regulatory skids for pending mergers and other potential benefits from the Trump administration." For instance, Stephen Colbert, three days before his show was cancelled, accused Paramount of paying out a $16 Million settlement (over “60 Minutes”) in order to bribe the administration to approve an $8 billion merger with Skydance Media.

2️⃣ KISS

Even though India's Adivasis (still called "Tribals" in India) make up one fifth of the world's Indigenous population, they are often ignored in writings on Indigenous issues. That is especially true of work on Indigenous education. It is only thanks to journalists, like this in-depth report from Shubhangi Misra, that we get much reporting on Adivasi education.

With 30,000 students, the Kalinga Institute of Social Sciences (KISS) is certainly India's largest school for Adivasis, and one of the largest schools for Indigenous students in the world. So it is shocking to learn that it is run like a prison.

there have also been numerous allegations against the institute—from missing children and corporal punishments to crammed dormitories with fewer fans where students face breathing difficulties in summer.

A student interviewed for the article said he had "spent the better part of his academic life sharing a dormitory with almost 150 other students. The three-tier bunk beds are lined right up to the ceiling, with no breathing space between the beds."

“There are fans pinned to the wall, but only a handful, which are not enough for such big dormitories. Those in the second or the lowest bunk do not get air, it gets suffocating, especially in peak summers,” the student recalled. . .

In the cramped spaces of KISS, a student from Nabarangpur said, “he felt like he was in a jail.” Multiple reports by government bodies refer to KISS students as ‘inmates’. But many parents, despite being disgruntled by the state of affairs at the institute, continue to send their child back to school.

There are disturbing stories of students who have gone missing and others who have tried to run away. It is all rather reminiscent of residential schools in the US and Canada . . .

3️⃣ Total Recall

Even if the grassroots recall campaign to punish the KMT for legislative overreach failed, we will always have the memes. Check out Brian Hioe's overview of "The Aesthetics of the Great Recall Movement," including a song by the band 裝咖人 (Tsng-kha-lâng) whose guitarist is a former student of mine.

Endnote

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