Why, America? with Leeja Miller

Fact Checking Is Bad For Business

Mark Zuckerberg announced that Meta and all of its platforms, Facebook, Instagram, and Threads, would no longer be fact checking or moderating its content, instead opting for a community notes system like X/Twitter. This change comes as Zuckerberg makes clear his willingness to do whatever it takes to get on Trump's good side, and signals a continued rightward turn as billionaires everywhere bend the knee.
 
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🖇️Sources: https://leejamiller.com/episodes/2025/1/8/fact-checking-is-bad-for-business 
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MAGA Is Splitting Apart

Who would have guessed that the H1B immigrant visa would be the thing splitting MAGA apart at the seams? From unhinged tweets by Elon Musk and Laura Loomer, to alleged censorship and arguments over lazy Americans, to discovering that we might actually have more in common than we think??? The infighting indicates a rocky road to come as Trump enters the White House.
 
🖇️Sources: https://leejamiller.com/episodes/2025/1/6/maga-is-splintering 
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How Billionaires Avoid Taxes

Buy, borrow, die. Donor-advised funds. Tax loopholes have been created specifically so that billionaires can legally avoid paying their fair share of taxes. Since so many billionaires will soon be running our government, let's discuss how billionaires avoid taxes.
🖇️Sources: https://www.leejamiller.com/episodes/2024/12/30/how-billionaires-avoid-taxes
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"President Musk" And The Dangers Of Plutocracy

Thanks to Lumen for sponsoring. Go to http://lumen.me/leeja to get 15% off and stay on top of your health goals this holiday season! | Elon Musk sent a few tweets and managed to get rid of a spending bill and nearly shut down the federal government. His newfound political power despite not being elected, and his close relationship to president-elect and alleged fellow billionaire Donald Trump, are pushing the bounds of what our government will allow in terms of unelected oligarchs and plutocrats influencing our politics. When will the madness end? Campaign finance reform now!
🖇️Sources & Transcript: https://www.leejamiller.com/episodes/2024/12/23/president-musk-and-the-dangers-of-plutocracy 
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When Does Murder Amount To Terrorism?

Luigi Mangione has been indicted on murder as a terrorist act in New York state. Doesn't all murder and gun violence create terror? What does it take to get charged with terrorism in this case? Who gets to decide the definition of terrorism? And how could the "terrorist" label be weaponized to take away the rights of activists and others trying to express political ideologies?
 
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S O U R C E S:
18 USC 2331 https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?path=/prelim@title18/part1/chapter113B&edition=prelim
 
NY Penal Code 490.05 “Act of Terrorism” https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/laws/PEN/490.05
 
NY Penal code 125.27 Murder in the first degree https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/laws/PEN/125.27
 
Death Penalty Information Center (New York) https://deathpenaltyinfo.org/state-and-federal-info/state-by-state/new-york  
 
Luigi Mangione Indictment: https://manhattanda.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Mangione-Indictment-FINAL-as-filed.pdf 
 
D.A. Bragg Announces Murder Indictment Of Luigi Mangione https://manhattanda.org/d-a-bragg-announces-murder-indictment-of-luigi-mangione/
 
FBI: Terrorism https://www.fbi.gov/investigate/terrorism 
 
Hate crime vs. Terrorism (SPLC) https://www.splcenter.org/hate-crimes-explained#crime-v-terrorism 
 
Terrorism (Britannica) https://www.britannica.com/topic/terrorism 
 
Luigi Mangione Manifesto (Ken Klippenstein substack) https://www.kenklippenstein.com/p/luigis-manifesto 
 
Towards a Unified Definition of Terrorism (Modern Diplomacy) https://moderndiplomacy.eu/2024/10/29/towards-a-unified-definition-of-terrorism/ 
 
Luigi Mangione Charged With Murder As An Act Of Terrorism—Here’s What That Means (Forbes) https://www.forbes.com/sites/mollybohannon/2024/12/17/luigi-mangione-charged-with-murder-as-an-act-of-terrorism-heres-what-that-means/ 
 
Will Luigi Mangione be extradited to New York? Hearing in CEO shooting set for Thursday (USA Today) https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2024/12/18/luigi-mangione-extradition-hearing-ceo-shooting/77063682007/ 
 
Luigi Mangione's mother said she could 'see him doing' shooting of insurance CEO: police (USA Today) https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2024/12/17/luigi-mangione-mother-police-ceo-shooting/77055817007/ 
 
‘Cop City’ Prosecutions Hinge on a New Definition of Domestic Terrorism (NY Times) https://www.nytimes.com/2024/02/26/us/cop-city-domestic-terrorism.html 
 
The Rising Threat of Domestic Terrorism in the U.S. and Federal Efforts to Combat It (GAO) https://www.gao.gov/blog/rising-threat-domestic-terrorism-u.s.-and-federal-efforts-combat-it [GOOD GRAPH]
 
Assassination attempt or domestic terrorism? Why Trump’s shooting poses a problem for the FBI (The Independent) https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/trump-shooting-assassination-terrorism-motive-b2582048.html 
 
Jan. 6 and Beyond: Why the U.S. Should Pass Domestic Terrorism Legislation (Lawfare) https://www.lawfaremedia.org/article/jan.-6-and-beyond-why-the-u.s.-should-pass-domestic-terrorism-legislation 
 
The Meaning of ‘Terrorism,’ According to the United States (Current Affairs) https://www.currentaffairs.org/news/2024/05/the-meaning-of-terrorism-according-to-the-united-states 
 
New York prosecutors may have trouble proving first-degree murder charge against Luigi Mangione, legal experts say (CNN) https://www.cnn.com/2024/12/18/us/luigi-mangione-murder-indictment-new-york/index.html 
 
First Amendment or threat? Florida woman's arrest after CEO shooting sparks online uproar (Tallahassee Democrat) https://www.tallahassee.com/story/news/local/state/2024/12/13/first-amendment-or-threat-florida-womans-arrest-sparks-online-uproar/76957946007/ 
James Baldwin and the FBI (JSTOR) https://daily.jstor.org/james-baldwin-and-the-fbi/

Freedom Of The Press Is Under Attack

ABC and George Stephanopoulos have settled with Trump for $15 million in a defamation lawsuit that is an example of how Trump will operate as President. Our freedom of speech requires that we are able to criticize our elected officials. And freedom of the press is essential to keep tabs on political corruption. Trump knows this, and he and his allies are going to do everything they can to create a chilling effect on our press and our ability to criticize the government. 
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S O U R C E S:
ABC agrees to settle Trump defamation lawsuit for $15 million (Salon) https://www.salon.com/2024/12/15/abc-agrees-to-settle-defamation-for-15-million/
 
Why the ABC News Settlement With Trump Is Complicated (Mother Jones) https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2024/12/why-the-abc-news-settlement-with-trump-is-complicated/ 
 
Judge clarifies: Yes, Trump was found to have raped E. Jean Carroll (WashPo) https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2023/07/19/trump-carroll-judge-rape/ 
 
Why ABC News settled with Donald Trump for $15 million (CNN) https://www.cnn.com/2024/12/16/media/george-stephanopoulos-trump-settlement-abc/index.html 
 
New York expands the legal definition of rape to include many forms of nonconsensual sexual contact (AP) https://apnews.com/article/new-york-rape-law-governor-hochul-50e5f9d35b1a7e26881db616a787b45a 
 
Trump v. ABC Ruling on the Motion to Dismiss https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.flsd.664183/gov.uscourts.flsd.664183.34.0_1.pdf 
 
Trump v. ABC Settlement Order https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/24990103-abc-trump-dismissal-ruling/ 
 
Florida statutes Ch 770 Defamation, http://www.leg.state.fl.us/statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&URL=0700-0799/0770/0770.html 
 
New York Times v. Sullivan https://www.oyez.org/cases/1963/39 
 
How Morning Joe plans to cover a second Trump term https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ndkgprDLKjw&t=330s 
 
Trump and His Picks Threaten More Lawsuits Over Critical Coverage (NY Times) https://www.nytimes.com/2024/12/15/business/media/trump-defamation-lawsuit-abc-hegseth-cnn.html 
 
Bill to protect journalists from revealing sources is ‘on life support’ (WashPo) https://www.washingtonpost.com/style/media/2024/12/11/senate-bill-protect-journalists-sources/ 
 
Freedom of the Press (ACLU) https://www.aclu.org/issues/free-speech/freedom-press 
 
Most Americans say a free press is highly important to society (Pew) https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2024/04/23/most-americans-say-a-free-press-is-highly-important-to-society/ 
 
Obeying in Advance: Media billionaires ask for tyranny (Timothy Snyder) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w3nJYpx9K5w 
Free Speech for People https://freespeechforpeople.org/

Is Vigilante Justice The Answer To America's Problems?

Luigi Mangione faces charges in the death of CEO Brian Thompson. Daniel Penny was acquitted in the death of Jordan Neely. Both are 26 year old white men who are likely to face very different fates. But are being applauded for being vigilantes. Is vigilante justice the answer to America's problems, or just a symptom of them?
 
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Are We Allowed to Laugh When A CEO Dies?

UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson was gunned down in Manhattan on Wednesday and the response online has been... jubilant? What does this reaction have to say about the state of the US healthcare system and about inequality generally in the country that's supposed to be the wealthiest on earth? Turns out this might just be the beginning of some class consciousness here in these United States of America and, frankly, I'm here for it.
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Trans Kids Are On The Chopping Block

The outlook is not great for US v. Skrmetti, the Supreme Court case that had oral arguments today about the Tennessee ban on gender-affirming care for minors. The outcome of this case could either get rid of trans bans across the country or provide precedent for even more bans to come. And with Trump entering the White House, the future of the case is uncertain.
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How Trump Will Weaponize The Justice Department

President Joe Biden just gave a sweeping pardon to his son Hunter Biden and Republicans are losing their minds. To them, the DOJ should do their bidding and anything that holds them accountable or goes against their wishes is a "miscarriage of justice." With Pam Bondi named Attorney General, Tulsi Gabbard named Director of National Intelligence, and Kash Patel named FBI Director, we're starting to get a clearer picture of how Trump will go after his "enemies from within" and what the DOJ and "justice" generally will look like under Trump's second term.
 
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