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Weekend Picks: May Day, Biden's First 100 Days, and Anti-Trans Hysteria

Your weekly roundup of news from the independent OptOut network, plus updates on our app.
Weekend Picks: May Day, Biden's First 100 Days, and Anti-Trans Hysteria

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Happy Belated May Day, OptersOut!

Since yesterday was May Day, this week's roundup will get into labor news, as well as Biden's first 100 days as president, anti-trans bigotry, and other news from the OptOut network. But first, an OptOut update.

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And now, some great content as always from the news outlets in the OptOut network.


Labor

Meagan Day has a fascinating article in Jacobin about how Hitler coopted May Day in his effort to convert socialist workers to fascism.

The Nazis Stole May Day, But Socialists Took It Back
To win over German workers and replace their socialist loyalties with fascism, the Third Reich made a Nazi version of May Day a national holiday. But the real International Workers’ Day is the one that lives on today.

Also check out Day and economics professor emeritus Richard Wolff on Jacobin Weekends' celebration of May Day.

Viewpoint Magazine republished an article that explains why Amazon workers recently voted against unionization in Bessemer, Alabama.

The Bessemer Debacle: Why Did Amazon Workers Vote Against Unionization? - Viewpoint Magazine
Over the course of fifty days, Amazon mobilized dozens of consultants and influencers, created websites, sent dozens of anti-union messages to every employee on Twitter and WhatsApp, and called a hundred meetings with mandatory participation during working hours. On the other hand, the union avoided…

On his podcast, Behind the News, Doug Henwood interviews Rutgers history professor Donna Murch about why labor organizing is on the rise today in the U.S.

Listen to Behind the News.


Anti-trans hysteria

This year, Republican lawmakers decided to make attacking transgender people their central culture war issue. Bigots in several states have criminalized gender-affirming health care for trans youth and banned trans women and girls from sports. Here are a few articles that analyze this trend.

The Anti-Trans Lobby’s Real Agenda
A new wave of legislation seeks to enshrine an evangelical understanding of the gender binary and exclude transness from the public sphere.
Some more astute critics, meanwhile, have contended that the bills are in a sense not really about trans people at all, but are instead a cruel though also somewhat arbitrary effort to raise funds and appeal to the evangelical base of the Republican party in the run-up to the 2022 midterm elections.

"A recent wave of pseudoscholarship and pseudojournalism has encouraged people to fret about a Trans Trend that is supposedly luring vulnerable cisgender children into risky medical procedures," writes Nathan Robinson in Current Affairs.

Why the Panic Over Trans Kids? ❧ Current Affairs
<p>A recent wave of pseudoscholarship and pseudojournalism has encouraged people to fret about a Trans Trend that is supposedly luring vulnerable cisgender children into risky medical procedures.</p>

Jordan Zakarin breaks down Florida's attack on trans kids in Progressives Everywhere.

How the Florida GOP Rammed Through Its Zombie Attack on Trans Kids
Attack of the zombie bills

Biden's first 100 days

The American Prospect Executive Editor David Dayen has probably written more than any other journalist I know on the beginning of Biden's presidency in his series, First 100. Here's his analysis of that period.

First 100: Biden Has Been Pushed to Deliver by Progressives and Advocates
Upending the narrative of the first 100 days.

Eoin Higgins, creator of The Flashpoint, joined The District Sentinel to discuss Biden's first 100 days as president.

100 Days
Listen now (50 min) | I talk to the guys at District Sentinel about Biden’s first few months in office

The Daily Poster released a podcast in which David Sirota speaks with guests from The Revolving Door Project and Demand Progress about Biden's presidency and the corporate figures in his administration.

Podcast: Biden’s First 100 Days
Listen now (52 min) | Sirota talks to The Revolving Door Project and Demand Progress about corporate influence in the new Biden administration.

Another podcast for you: Jordan and Rob of The Insurgents talk with climate reporter Dharna Noor about Biden's performance on climate, fracking, pledges, Bill Gates, and an alleged "burger ban."

Ep. 65: Burger Ban ft. Dharna Noor
Listen now (57 min) | This week we’re joined by Dharna Noor from Gizmodo’s Earther where she focuses on climate and green initiatives reporting. She’s really great, can’t recommend her work enough, you should follow her & her work.We dig into Biden’s record on climate during the first 100 days, the …

Mike Figueredo of The Humanist Report offers his analysis of Biden's performance so far.


In other news

Check out Welcome to Hell World on Hawaii's experience dealing with Covid-19.

How did Hawaiʻi handle the pandemic?
The “safest place on Earth”

Also relevant to Hawaii, Who What Why interviews U.S. Sen Mazie Hirono about the rise in hate crimes against the Asian American and Pacific Islander community and how it relates to 18th and 19th century history in this podcast episode.

A Conversation With Hawaii Senator Mazie Hirono - WhoWhatWhy
Outspoken Sen. Mazie Hirono (D) opines on Asian American hate crimes, the corruption of Trump, her “usual suspect” colleagues, and how she came to find her authentic voice and became the most honest and plain spoken member of the staid US Senate.

In Counterpunch, CODEPINK national co-director Ariel Gold writes about extremism in Israel, which Human Rights Watch just determined is carrying out an apartheid system and persecuting Palestinians.

Extremism is on the Rise in Israel - CounterPunch.org
After neo-Nazis marched in Charlottesville, North Carolina, and then President Donald Trump responded by saying there were “good people on both sides,” people who abhor white supremacism stood up, took notice, and condemned the marchers. Anti-racists would be wise to do the same about the far-right …

Tim Black says that Black Republican Sen. Tim Scott's rebuttal of Biden's State of the Union address "was full of fallacies about a post-racial society."

David Moore of Sludge and Brick House has an interesting article about how New York City mayoral candidate Andrew Yang got in with corporate lobbying firm Tusk Strategies, which is managing his campaign.

How Michael Bloomberg’s Former Campaign Manager Became Andrew Yang’s Favorite Fixer - The Brick House Cooperative
Andrew Yang’s campaign chiefs are employees of Tusk Strategies, a consulting firm whose clients have included AT&T, Uber, and private equity giant Blackstone.

Watch Katie Halper talk with Reply Guys' Kate Willett about Kate's summer plans.


Have a good week, everyone, and thanks for checking in on OptOut.

Feature image via Johan Fantenberg/Flickr.