‘The Secret Service’s dual mission is its key strength’
Matt O’Neill at The Hill
Some “former Secret Service agents have recently claimed that the agency’s dual mission of protection and investigation overburdens its operations,” but this “fundamentally misrepresents how the Secret Service operates,” says Matt O’Neill. The Secret Service’s “investigative mission is a core strength that directly enhances the agency’s ability to fulfill its protective duties, enabling it to address increasingly complex and evolving threats.” Eliminating this “would not only weaken the Secret Service but destabilize its broader law enforcement partnerships.”
‘Voluntary carbon market has failed the human rights test’
Tirana Hassan and Audrey Gaughran at Al Jazeera
One of the “most salient decisions of last month’s climate summit in Baku was to create a new international carbon market,” say Tirana Hassan and Audrey Gaughran, and there is a “risk that increased carbon trades may harm people further.” Carbon credits are “supposed to stand for greenhouse gas emissions that were avoided,” but “carbon projects can badly harm the communities they claim to benefit,” and have been “unable to ensure redress or a remedy for victims.”
‘Violence against judges is on the rise. Proposed protections are needed now’
Mark Martin and Julian Mann at The Charlotte Observer
Violence “toward judges and court personnel has skyrocketed,” and “we all benefit when society understands and allocates sufficient resources for judicial security,” say Mark Martin and Julian Mann. Judges are “on the front lines. When they are not adequately protected, the rule of law is diminished.” If “measures are not taken to stem the violence against judges and court personnel, it will certainly diminish the rule of law.” The “time to increase judicial security is now.”
‘The ugly smears of Tulsi Gabbard’s faith are un-American — and dangerous’
Suhag Shukla at Newsweek
Tulsi Gabbard’s “Hinduness is said to render her vulnerable to manipulation by the Indian government — even though Gabbard is not of Indian origin,” says Suhag Shukla. What “concerns Hindu Americans like me is the re-emergence of criticism rooted in a particular theme: Gabbard’s religious identity.” To “imply that Gabbard’s Hindu beliefs are rooted in a ‘cult’ is to try and marginalize her spiritual beliefs and invoke the same Hinduphobic bigotry that we have long faced.”