Category Archives: Progress

Over the past few weeks, U.S. Senate leaders have twice gone before the Senate parliamentarian with proposals to include a pathway to citizenship in the budget reconciliation process. But even with solid precedents, evidence of strong budgetary effects, and the potential for large impacts on the U.S. economy as a wholeand on ordinary Americans across the countrythe parliamentarian twice ruled it inappropriate to provide access to green cards in the reconciliation bill. While immensely disappointing, the fight is not over. Among the alternative avenues that congressional leaders are discussing is immigration parolea temporary status that could offer undocumented immigrants protection from deportation and grants them the ability to obtain a work permit.

Parole is not a pathway to citizenship, which immigration advocates have long championed. Nonetheless, as this column explains, parole has a long and bipartisan history, and it potentially satisfies the parliamentarians biggest concerns. If a parole provision were written to include anyone who entered the United States before January 1, 2011, it would benefit up to 7.1 million undocumented immigrants across the country.

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Congress first legislated the use of parole with the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952 in order to allow the government to temporarily bring people into the United States for emergent reasons or for reasons deemed strictly in the public interest. Over the past 70 years, parole has been used repeatedly by presidents of both partieswith bipartisan supportto bring a range of groups and individuals into the country. It was first used in 1956, when President Dwight D. Eisenhower paroled in tens of thousands of Hungarians after the countrys failed revolution. Past presidents similarly used parole authority in 1962 to bring in Chinese refugees who had fled to Hong Kong; for Cuban refugees in the 1960s and beyond, reaching a high-water mark with the Mariel boatlift in 1980; and for Vietnamese, Cambodians, and Laotians in the 1970s following the Vietnam War.

More recently, parole has generally fallen into individual and categorical grants. On the individual end, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) details the process for humanitarian parole to allow people into the United States, something being used right now for Afghan nationals. USCIS also allows people on temporary statuses such as Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) to apply for advance parole so they can travel outside the country and be allowed back in once they return.

Administrations have also created programmatic grants of parole through efforts such as the military parole in place program, started in 2013; the Haitian Family Reunification Parole program and the Central American Minors Refugee and Parole program, started in 2014; and the Filipino World War II Veterans Parole program, started in 2016.

Once paroled into the country, individuals can apply for a work permit on a case-by-case basis. And while parole itself would not offer an independent pathway to a green card or citizenship, it would allow some people who should otherwise already be able to adjust to permanent status and get a green card to do so. Section 245(a) of the Immigration and Nationality Act requires that a person be either admittedthat is, enter the country lawfullyor paroled to be able to adjust to status. For undocumented immigrants living in the United States who entered without inspection and have an immediate relative who is a citizen, parole would satisfy that existing prerequisite so they can apply for and receive a green card, rather than create a new pathway to permanent status. And if Congress were to make an additional change to parole, such as reinstating Section 245(i), an even wider category of people who should already be eligible for green cardseither because of family relationships or employmentwould be able to adjust to permanent residency. The Center for American Progress estimates that 1.5 million undocumented immigrants who would be eligible for a January 1, 2011, parole could benefit from this wider change out of an estimated 2.3 million people who would benefit from reinstating Section 245(i).

And while parole has historically not been granted to people already in the United States who overstayed their visas since they were technically already admitted lawfully into the country, it is within Congress purview to allow the usage of parole regardless of whether a person entered without status or overstayed a visa, and so this analysis includes all those who might be eligible for parole.

The Senates Byrd rule governs what can and cannot be included in a budget reconciliation bill. To pass this rule, any provision must have 1) an impact on federal budget revenues or outlays and 2) budgetary impacts that outweigh the policy impactsa rule known as the merely incidental test.

At a cost of roughly $140 billion, both of the pathway to citizenship options previously put before the parliamentarian passed the first part of the Byrd rule test. But the merely incidental test is subject to the parliamentarians interpretation. In both her recent opinions on immigration, she raised three main concerns in arguing broadly that a pathway to citizenship violated the merely incidental test: It would create a new pathway to status; a pathway to citizenship contains life-changing benefits; and a future Congress could revoke the protections through reconciliation. Parole addresses each of these concerns.

First, unlike bills such as the American Dream and Promise Act or measures to update the registry date, parole does not create a pathway to permanent status. And because parole has been part of immigration law since 1952, it is not in any sense a new process.

Second, parole comes with a number of benefit limitations that distinguish it from green cards. For one, no one automatically receives a work permit with parole; they have to apply for it on a case-by-case basis. Similarly, recipients cannot simply travel abroad as green card holders can, but rather would have to apply for advance paroleat the governments discretioneach time they want to leave the country. Additionally, unlike green card holders, parolees cannot sponsor their family members for permanent residence nor can they make campaign contributionsother factors that the parliamentarian cited in her opinion.

Finally, the parliamentarian expressed concerns that green cards and permanent legalization are so life-changing that allowing a future Congress to revoke that status via reconciliation would set a dangerous precedent. Yet parole is a temporary statusand one, given its temporary nature, that a future Congress could revoke anyway, either through reconciliation or by regular order.

On its face, granting parole falls far short of giving people permanent residency and a new pathway to citizenship. Nonetheless, for the up to 7.1 million undocumented immigrants who could qualifythe vast majority of whom have never had status in the pasthaving a durable, long-term protection would be a positive change. And for people with DACA or TPS who have had to live their lives 18 months to two years at a time, having a longer status could bring additional relief. Nonetheless, the fight will continue to achieve a full pathway to citizenship for all undocumented immigrants. As senators pursue all avenues to grant relief to undocumented immigrants, parole is an important policy consideration that should pass parliamentary muster.

Philip E. Wolgin is the managing director for Immigration Policy at the Center for American Progress. Nicole Prchal Svajlenka is the associate director of research on the Immigration Policy team at the Center. Claudia Flores is the associate director of policy and strategy on the Immigration Policy team at the Center.

The authors thank Josh Bernstein, Carlos Guevara, Lia Parada, and Kerri Talbot for their helpful suggestions.

These estimates are based on analysis of 2018 and 2019 1-year American Community Survey (ACS) microdata accessed through the University of Minnesotas IPUMS USA database. An estimated 7.1 million undocumented immigrants entered the United States before January 1, 2011.

However, for several reasons, it is difficult to estimate the subset of this population eligible to immediately adjust status and apply for a green card through immediate family relationships or their employment. First, the ACS does not ask individuals about their immigration status. Using a series of editsbased on characteristics such as year of arrival in the United States, country of birth, occupation, and certain family relationshipsthe authors identified records of people they believe are likely to be undocumented. Additionally, researchers using ACS data cannot identify how many undocumented immigrants overstayed a visa as opposed to entering the United States without inspection. Researchers also cannot identify who is eligible for employer sponsorship or whether a visa would be available to them immediately. In an effort to match USCIS guidance on typical requirements for employment-based visa categories, this analysis counts as eligible for employer sponsorship those undocumented immigrants who are employed but not self-employed and those who have received a bachelors or advanced degree. Lastly, because the data only show family relationships for individuals living in the same households, the analysis cannot capture people who may be eligiblefor example, parents of U.S. citizens who are themselves adultswho are not living with a family member who could sponsor them, nor does it attempt to estimate undocumented minor children of U.S. citizen parents.

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Including Immigration Parole in Reconciliation Will Help Millions - Center For American Progress

The Indianapolis Colts have been without starting right tackle Braden Smith since he suffered a foot injury during the Week 1 opener against the Seattle Seahawks, and it still isnt clear when hell return.

Smith hasnt even been able to practice since the injury came to light following the opener and despite this, hasnt made a trip to the injured reserve list.

Head coach Frank Reich told the media Wednesday that the foot injury is taking longer than initially expected to heal.

Its just not going as fast as we want it to go. Hes making progress. Like you said, were not practicing. Were going to try and do some stuff with the guys out on the field today, Reich said. Well have an extra period, kind of a development period where we test some of those guys out a little bit and get them working.

The right tackle spot has been a major detriment to the Colts offense since Smith was out. He didnt help all that much in Week 1 but theres a reason he got a massive extension right before the season. The combination of Julin Davenport and Matt Pryor hasnt been very good for the majority of the seasoneven if Pryor showed a lot of promise in getting his first start in Week 5.

There was some optimism and hope that Smith might be able to return against the Ravens in Week 5, but that was followed up by another week without practice. Smith was also an estimated DNP in Wednesdays walkthrough to begin Week 6.

The Colts offensive line hasnt played up to standard this season while also dealing with some injuries. The absence of Smith has been a crucial one for the entire offense, and it still remains to be seen when he will return.

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Braden Smith's injury progress 'not going as fast as we want' - Colts Wire

AUSTIN The Texas Military Department (TMD) and the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) held a media briefing today to provide an update on the progress of Operation Lone Star (OLS). The briefing was held at DPS regional headquarters in Weslaco.

DPS Regional Director Victor Escalon and TMD Maj. Octavian Griego addressed the ongoing efforts at the border by the two agencies.

I am a firm believer in the actions that we are currently taking to protect Texans, said Brig. Gen. Monie Ulis, Deputy Adjutant General of the Texas Army National Guard. Not only are we prepared now, but we are growing the force with personnel, equipment and capabilities.

TMD intercepted a group of men on Oct. 10 who attempted to escape between security posts along the border in Roma. One of the men in the group was smuggling cocaine. The narcotics were seized and the group was apprehended and referred to law enforcement.

DPS also remains focused on the mission of OLS. We continue our work to secure the border and arrest people who have entered our country illegally and trespassed on private land, said DPS Director Steven McCraw. Governor Abbott has made it clear that if the federal government refuses to secure the border, Texas will.

As of Oct. 7, DPS made 6,799 criminal arrests, 1,195 criminal trespass arrests and 71,585 migrant apprehensions and referrals through OLS. In addition, there have been nearly 800 vehicle pursuits.

Recent OLS activities of note:

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TMD, DPS Provide Update on Progress of OLS at Weekly Briefing | Department of Public Safety - the Texas Department of Public Safety

By Steve Holland

WASHINGTON, Oct 13 (Reuters) - President Joe Biden will host a meeting on Wednesday to hail progress in addressing supply chain problems weighing on the economy and threatening the holiday season, while he challenges business and union leaders to do more to ease shipping backlogs.

The Port of Los Angeles is going to 24/7 operations as a step toward helping ease the shipping snarl there and at the Port of Long Beach, a senior administration official told reporters ahead of the meeting.

In addition, the three largest carriers of goods - Wal-Mart , FedEx and UPS - plan to move toward round-the-clock operations to help speed the shipment of goods across the country, the official said.

Samsung, Home Depot and Target are also increasing their work in off-peak hours to accelerate the movement of goods, the official said.

"By taking these steps, they're saying to the rest of the supply chain, you need to move too," the official said. "Let's step it up."

White House officials, scrambling to relieve global supply bottlenecks choking U.S. ports, highways and railways, are warning that Americans may face higher prices and some empty shelves this Christmas season. They are urging patience.

The supply crisis is driven in part by the global COVID-19 pandemic. It not only threatens to dampen U.S. spending at a critical time, it also poses a political risk for Biden.

The latest Reuters/Ipsos poll shows the economy continues to be the most important issue for Democrats and Republicans alike.

Biden will meet at 1:45 p.m. (1745 GMT) at the White House with executives from the two ports as well as from the International Longshore and Warehouse Union, the Teamsters, the AFL-CIO, Wal-Mart, FedEx, UPS, Target, the National Retail Federation, the American Trucking Association, the Pacific Maritime Association, and more.

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He will speak on these efforts at 2:20 p.m. (1820 GMT).

The White House has been trying to tackle inflation-inducing supply bottlenecks of everything from meat to semiconductors, and formed a task force in June that meets weekly and named a "bottleneck" czar, John Porcari, to push private-sector companies to find ways to get goods flowing.

Thousands of shipping containers are on cargo ships offshore waiting to be offloaded at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach. Similar backlogs exist at ports in New York and Savannah, Georgia. A shortage of warehouse workers and truck drivers to pick up goods is partly to blame. (Reporting By Steve Holland; Editing by Tim Ahmann and Richard Pullin)

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Biden to cite progress unsnarling supply chain in meeting with labor, industry - Yahoo Finance

U.S. President Joe Biden delivers remarks on the economy and the Labor Department's September jobs report in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building's South Court Auditorium at the White House in Washington, U.S., October 8, 2021.

Evelyn Hockstein | Reuters

WASHINGTON President Joe Biden said the September jobs report reflects "great progress" in getting the U.S. economy back on track after a year and a half of Covid-19 pandemic disruption, even as the overall jobs number came in lower than expected.

"Today, for the first time since March of 2020, the American unemployment rate is below 5%," Biden said Friday in remarks at the White House following the Labor Department's release of monthly jobs numbers earlier in the day.

The unemployment rate in September fell to 4.8%, better than the expected 5.1%.

The president largely dismissed what was, for markets, arguably the biggest takeaway from the September report: the fact that nonfarm payrolls rose by just 194,000, compared with the Dow Jones estimate of 500,000.

"The monthly totals bounce around," Biden said, "but if you take a look at the trend, it's solid."

The president also drew attention to the sharp increase in wages. "Working Americans are seeing their paychecks go up as well. In September, we saw one of the largest increases in average wages paid to working Americans on record," said Biden.

The monthly wage gain of 0.6% pushed the year-over-year rise to 4.6%, as companies use wage increases to combat the persistent labor shortage.

Biden touted the recent drop in long-term unemployment, as well. This was driven in part by the post-pandemic return of workers in especially hard-hit industries, such as hospitality and leisure.

"In the past three months, we've seen a drop of 1.3 million long-term unemployed. That's the largest three-month fall in long-term unemployment since we started keeping records in 1948," he said. "More to do, but great progress."

The jobs report comes as Biden is facing the most challenging stretch of his presidency so far. He is attempting to push through Congress an ambitious economic agenda, while his approval ratings have fallen sharply on issues ranging from foreign policy to the economy to immigration.

The September jobs report offered good news for Biden and the White House on two economic metrics that are especially important to them: higher wages and lower unemployment.

While employers and business groups say the workforce-wide labor shortage that is forcing them to offer higher wages poses a threat to the nation's medium-term economic outlook, Biden doesn't see it that way.

Instead, he sees the higher wages as the fulfillment of promises he made to voters in 2020.

"When it comes to the economy we're building, rising wages aren't a bug, they're a feature," he said in a speech on the economy in May of this year.

Yet despite Biden's optimism about the jobs numbers, the White House faces several major economic hurdles between now and the end of the year.

One is inflation, which continues to rise and which, studies show, is eating up most of workers' wage gains.

Supply chain disruptions are another problem, as they help drive inflation and pose a threat to the nation's long-term economic recovery.

Coming off the heels of this week's high-stakes negotiations over the debt ceiling, which ended with a short-term hike that passed the Senate on Thursday night, Congress will again face the prospect of default on or around Dec. 3.

Democrats hope that by then, they will have passed their two-track domestic agenda bills, one to shore up the nation's infrastructure and another to expand the social safety net and tailor it better to serve working families.

CNBC's Jeff Cox contributed to this report.

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The September jobs number was a big miss, but Biden sees 'great progress' in rising wages, lower unemployment rate - CNBC

The Los Angeles Lakers fell to 0-3 in the preseason after a 121-114 loss to the Golden State Warriors but they are far from concerned.

LeBron James and Russell Westbrook made their preseason debut against the Warriors, each logging 17 minutes in a somewhat rusty return for the superstar duo.

Westbrook scored just two points on 1-for-7 shooting while recording six turnovers.

"Everything is not going to be figured out in the next week or two," said Westbrook. "We've got a long year ahead of us. It's the preseason.We'll figure it out."

James was more direct with his feelings about preseason basketball, chuckling at the idea of the scratchy start being a concern.

"I care more about the practice court than I care about the preseason games," said James."I'm not gonna learn anything from the preseason at this point in my career. Nothing. Zero."

Anthony Davis, the third member of the Lakers big three took the night off, with head coach Frank Vogel non-committal about who would play in their next matchup against the Phoenix Suns.

James pointed to not only the change in personnel but the change in offensive system, believing it will be a "process" to discover the best ways to function with the new group.

Elsewhere on the roster, Dwight Howard stuffed the stat sheet to finish with 23 points, 12rebounds and a block, while Talen Horton-Tucker chipped in with 17 points.

The Lakers will get one more look at the Warriors in preseason action, before the two teams meet on opening night at Staples Center.

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LeBron James and Russell Westbrook admit chemistry is a work in progress after preseason debut - Sporting News

Commercial satellite imagery shows construction of the Kwangchon Chicken Farma large chicken farm south of Pyongyangremains incomplete, more than a year after Kim Jong Un visited the site. However, the project continues to attract senior leadership visits and state media reports have hinted that completion is on the horizon.

The farm is situated about 20 kilometers south of Pyongyang just off the Pyongyang to Kaesong Motorway, next door to the large Korean Peoples Army (KPA) Tree Nursery 122.

Figure 1. Aerial image of the Kwangchon Chicken Farm broadcast on Korean Central Television on July 23, 2020.

First signs of construction appeared at the site in May 2019 when farmland was leveled for the project. However, the nature and progress of the work was not revealed by state media until July 2020 when Kim Jong Un visited the site.

Figure 2. Kim Jong Un is shown visiting the Kwangchon Chicken Farm in images broadcast on Korean Central Television on July 23, 2020.

During his visit, Kim said other modernized chicken farms in the country were actually 20 years out of date and the new Kwangchon farm would be a new model farm for the country.

It would, state media reported, produce thousands of tons of delicious and quality meat and tens of millions of tasty and quality eggs every year.

In the United States, the average farm chicken lays about 300 eggs per year thanks to modern feed and disease prevention, according to the Egg Farmers of America. Should North Korea be able to match that production level, it would require several tens of thousands of chickens to reach the stated egg production goals.

Figure 3. A chicken shed under construction is shown on Korean Central Television on July 23, 2020.

The walls of the chicken sheds that will house these animals were already far along in their construction when Kim visited. State media images showed him walking alongside the roofless sheds as he inspected the farm.

Today, all the sheds have roofs and much of the construction appears to have been completed at the site, although the interior state of each building is unknown.

Figure 4. Overview of Kwangchon Chicken Farm.

While we cannot see inside the buildings, images from other chicken farms in North Korea indicate the country uses battery farmingrows of cages used to house egg-laying hens.

Figure 5. Close up of the 927 Chicken Farm using battery farming broadcast on Korean Central Television on September 6, 2021.

Choe Ryong Hae made his second reported visit of 2021 to the farm in late June and state media reported that construction had yet to be completed.

Like other recent North Korean construction projects, state media revealed challenges have arisen. Choe reviewed deviations in the supply of equipment and material for the farm, a report given without going into further details.

However, the report also mentioned preparations for afforestation and greening and inauguration of the farm being discussed at the meeting. The planting of trees and other shrubbery is usually one of the final steps seen before projects are finished in North Korea, so the farm could be near completion.

In addition to the farm itself, the project has also involved the construction of nearby houses and apartments for workers at the farm and those that supply it with animal feed. State media reported that the houses were for around 1,000-2,000 families. Move-in ceremonies were held in late December 2020.

The new homes replaced many older homes that were already in the area before construction began.

Figure 6. Overview of Kwangchon Chicken Farm and housing.

North Korea has almost 30 chicken farms across the country. Their size varies but the new Kwangchon farm will be one of the largest.

State media has also recently reported on work at both the Kusong and Sinuiju chicken farms. In both cases, the work is focused on improving the feed supplied to the farms.

The Sinuiju Chicken Farm remodeled its combined feed processing ground and newly established a fermented feed production line and a feed additive production line, state media reported on August 25. The Kusong Chicken Farm also set up fermented feed and feed additive production lines and built a ground for breeding Hermetia illucens to be used as feed for chickens.

Satellite imagery of both locations does not reveal any major construction work.

Figure 7. Overview of Sinuiju Chicken Farm.

Figure 8. Overview of Kusong Chicken Farm.

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North Korea's Progress on Poultry Farms - 38 North

We cannot slash climate funding in this package, Sen. Edward J. Markey said Thursday morning at an event outside the Capitol on Thursday.

The Massachusetts Democrat called forthe final packageto include a Civilian Climate Corps intended to put Americans to work fighting climate change;a clean electricity standard to push utilities toward renewable energy sources; and a tax code overhaul to promote clean energy while eliminating outdated, unnecessary fossil fuel incentives.

Markey made clear that he opposes energy programs that continue to incentivize natural gas, even as one of the key Senate holdouts, West Virginia Democrat Joe Manchin III, has opposed penalties for production of coal and natural gas and has demanded climate change initiatives be fuel neutral.

Manchin also reiterated Wednesday that hes not budged from his $1.5 trillion ceiling for the package, which progressives have rejected as too low. Manchin met with Biden at the White House on Thursday and told reporters afterwardit was a good meeting but declined to comment further.

Biden held virtual meetings earlier in the week with House lawmakers who were not in legislative session this week. He talked to a group of progressives Monday and a group oflawmakersconsidered vulnerable for reelection on Tuesday. After meeting with the latter, the president suggested a compromise would likely involve funding some programs now and holding off on others for future legislation.

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Slow progress on budget package with deadline weeks away - Roll Call

Im just back from the ninth Women En Mass conference in Aspen. Each year, WEM brings together the best and brightest female mass tort attorneys to discuss issues that affect women from the boardroom to the courtroom. My company, Milestone, is a longtime supporter of WEM and its mission to elevate women attorneys. I always come home from WEM energized and excited to have learned about the latest in the mass tort arena and my friends and colleagues progress.

WEM is also a reminder of the importance for those of us in the civil justice community not just female trial lawyers to echo the need for equality in leadership, employment opportunities, promotions, and pay in law.

Although women are incrementally achieving better representation in leadership and at U.S. law firms in general, there is still work to be done. A recent report noted that the percentage of associates grew from 46.8% in 2019 to 47.5% in 2020. Women are still disproportionately represented in partnership, reaching just over 25% in 2020.

In the mass tort legal arena, the push for diversity is gaining momentum. In the Elmiron MDL, 15 women of varying ethnic backgrounds were chosen to plaintiffs leadership. In the Zantac litigation, Judge Robin L. Rosenberg appointed 26 attorneys to leadership positions, nearly half of whom are women. She drew from smaller and newer firms when making her appointments and sought to appoint a diverse leadership team that is representative of the inevitable diversity of the Plaintiffs in this case, and a team that would collectively bring to bear both wisdom and judgment, and also new approaches and ideas.

Its what we should expect across the board in job opportunities for those who have just passed the bar, to promotions to higher tier firm positions, to MDL leadership, judge roles, and so on.

But the pandemic hasnt help matters. The American Bar Association (ABA) pointed outissues women lawyers have increasingly faced in the past year and a half: stress, income loss, more caregiving responsibilities, and isolation. And across all industries, 865,000 women four times the number of men dropped out of the workforce last September after schools didnt reopen fully.

As these challenges are still very much present, is there anything that can help keep women practicing law? Eight current and former women ABA presidents recently warned legal employers that they risk losing more talented female lawyers if they do not better support them and recognize their added responsibilities posed by the pandemic. Judy Perry Martinez, the ABAs immediate past president, put it this way: Its right now and right here that we have to take the action necessary in order to make sure that these valued individuals within our profession know that we are listening to them and what they need to be at their best.

As everyone is still figuring it all out, it remains to be seen what that support will (and should) look like in law. For now, no matter the industry youre in, I encourage you to support your local minority trial lawyer groups and/or national groups like Women En Mass and the American Association for Justices Women Trial Lawyers Caucus and Minority Caucus, which act as a platform for underrepresented attorneys to help one another rise and thrive in law.

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Could the Pandemic Ruin Progress Toward Equality in Law? - Legal Examiner

Its felt like an oversight for the Nobel Prize committee to have not yet honored whoever created the technology that allows us to skip ads. Its not world peace or penicillin, but pressing that number below a curved arrow or condensing five commercials into a 7-second flipbook grants millions an ephemeral self-determination, the tiniest reclamation of their time and impulses.

YouTube recently recommended I watch a vintage college football game, one tied to intense memories even though I had never seen it. All of the disparate emotions that arose when I clicked the video were dampened by the disappointment of it being longer than three hours, meaning the idiot who uploaded it didnt edit out commercials.

The grainy recording immediately transported me to September 1998, the Saturday I arrived at Auburn University for my freshman year. It was the same afternoon we hosted the LSU Tigers, and I was so physically and emotionally exhausted from my last night in Chicago that I went to my dorm as soon as I got to campus and slept through the game.

Watching the hysterical crowd inside Jordan-Hare Stadium on YouTube, I thought of the 18-year-old who was a few blocks away hoping sleep would suppress his fears. Twenty-three years later, I could still feel the doubts and loneliness that made me cry myself into a nap.

The first commercial break the idiot didnt edit out featured a trailer for Rush Hour, which I saw with my best friend a few hours before departing for college. I still have the ticket stub along with other mementos from that transitional weekend, but seeing the ad in its original setting sparked a different type of sentimentality: the stub reminds me we saw it on opening night; seeing Chris Tucker in the preview reminded me why.

I recognized campaigns for AT&T calling cards and Bowflex that aired when I was in high school, and soon I was enjoying the retro commercials as much as the football game. Everything old ferments into nostalgia, and I was so drunk off memories I wondered if modern children were damaging their development each time they skipped an ad.

A commercial for a McDonalds peel-off game highlighted the dangers of idealizing the past. Only in recent years have we learned every iteration of the fast-food sweepstakes was rigged, evidence that although most people consider themselves experts of the eras through which theyve lived, we were as naive then as we remain today.

None of the commercials featured LGBTQ characters or referenced queer themes, and it was five years before the U.S. Supreme Court decriminalized homosexuality. About the only gay person on TV during that time period was Matthew Shepard, a college student recently tortured to death because of his sexual orientation.

The speed with which LGBTQ Americans have gone from that reality to our current one feels like we have been tapping the Skip Ads button for the past two decades. However, the time in between was filled with coming out stories that turned into one of the most successful marketing campaigns in history.

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Queer Progress Fueled by the Best Ads Ever - Georgia Voice