Dawn Allen, Author at Legal Reader

Dawn Allen is a freelance writer and editor who is passionate about sustainability, political economy, gardening, traditional craftwork, and simple living. She and her husband are currently renovating a rural homestead in southeastern Michigan.

Feral Hogs in Texas: Good Eatin’? Maybe

February 27, 2017

Texas has a problem with feral hogs. Pigs, originally imported by the Spanish, escaped from farms or allowed to roam freely by settlers, have now gone wild. This plague of swine causes considerable damage to property, including agricultural fields and domestic livestock. They breed quickly. Difficult to eradicate, invasive pigs cause headaches not only for farmers, but for state officials. Charged with controlling the feral hogs, Texas Agricultural Commissioner Sid Miller turned to a controversial remedy: warfarin. But is this really the best answer to an intractable problem?

What Will Become of the Children?

February 23, 2017

Conservatives have a knack for phrasing issues in a way that leaves the opposition appearing to hate families and children. Progressives must learn to defuse and reframe the issues in ways that expose the Republican agenda for what it is. What will become of the children if we fail?

Fairness in Class Action Bill, Isn’t.

February 20, 2017

Casual readers skimming the headline of a recent Washington Times opinion piece, “Protecting consumers from swindlers,” would be forgiven for assuming the author advocated cracking down on scammy businesses. After all, with the new administration taking aim at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and legislation like Dodd-Frank, consumers need all the protection they can get. Alas, the “swindlers” in the article aren’t businesses that cheat customers, but the lawyers who take them on. The Fairness in Class Action Litigation Act of 2017, sponsored by Bob Goodlatte (R-VA), would limit the scope of class action lawsuits to bring justice for vast numbers of injured consumers.

Consider Both Sides of the Balance Sheet

February 16, 2017

One of the problems with news and newslike coverage in the media these days is one-sidedness. Slant has been with us for a long time, but in an era of Fake News and Alternative Facts, it’s taken on a more important role in the way people perceive and interact with the world. People easily fall into echo chambers, populated entirely by peers and media outlets who share their worldview. A lack of dissent, coupled with reinforcement of existing beliefs, surely comforts, but comes at a cost. Not challenging yourself to consider new or opposing ideas means possibly missing out on important truths. Truths which, in a changing world, become ever more crucial for good decision-making and creation of policy. To step out of the echo chamber and think more critically, we should adopt the accounting concept of the balance sheet.

Toxic Spills: The Cost is Much Too High

February 13, 2017

As drillers (and veterans) reconverge at Standing Rock to build (and protest) the Dakota Access pipeline, toxic spills (and their costs) once again inspire public outcry. Native people rightfully worry about the integrity of their land and water. After all, on January 30th, another Enbridge pipeline burst in Texas (for the second time since it opened in 2016). This one spewed 600,000 gallons of crude; what will a similar spill do to the Missouri river? Pipelines fail, and it’s not a matter of if but when. Leaky pipelines, train derailments, and other accidents endanger all of our water on a regular basis.

America First! Make America Great Again!

February 9, 2017

Can we put America First while simultaneously Making America Great Again? I’m not so sure.

The REINS Act: The Bad Kind of Big Gov’t

February 7, 2017

Why do small government advocates love the REINS act, which forces Congress to micromanage? Perhaps because it allows business to externalize more costs. The “Regulations from the Executive in Need of Scrutiny” Act of 2017 would require Congress to individually approve any new regulations with “an annual effect on the economy of $100,000,000 or more.” Remember, Congress can’t regularly agree on much of anything, including passing a budget. Assigning them the task of micromanaging every agency’s regulatory interpretation is ridiculous. It seems set up to fail, but there’s a reason for that. Both chambers would have only 70 days to pass the rules in question, or the rules expire. Rather than a Congress that micromanages them, “freedom” advocates are hoping for a government that doesn’t govern at all.

Liberals Tried to Tell Us, Did We Hear?

February 3, 2017

Think back to 1999. That year, we saw the Senate open impeachment proceedings against President Clinton. Unemployment was 4.2%. And in Seattle, a motley collection of unions, consumer protection groups, labor rights advocates, environmentalists gathered in protest of the WTO. The World Trade Organization, remember, advocated for free trade and globalization. Protesters worried about unemployment, unsafe imports, pollution, and other traditionally liberal fears clashed with cops in riot gear. The police, so beloved by authoritarians, busily defended corporate interests. Corporations that, for their part, gutted the American heartland and sent the jobs overseas. Liberals tried to tell us. Middle America rolled their eyes. Did we listen? Not a chance. Free Trade would make goods cheaper at Wal*Mart. Those protesters were dirty hippies that needed a shower.

Government Should Act Like a Business?

February 2, 2017

It was one of the rallying cries of the recent election season, and so many others. Government, folks say, should act like a business. Businesses are inherently better and more efficient, and gosh darn it, people like them. That’s one reason Americans hired a “successful” businessman to turn government around. All of this sounds really reasonable, too, if you don’t think too much about the details. Unfortunately, those details are where the proverbial devil resides.

Leviticans and the Muslim Ban, Part 2

January 30, 2017

If you view the U.S. as blessed by God, yet falling into decline due to liberals, Pence is your guy. Leviticans support the GOP because the GOP throws them legislative bones often enough to secure their allegiance. Promises to repeal Roe v. Wade alone have bound the evangelical base to the Republican party long enough to push through legislation congenial to corporate interests. Is the Muslim ban another prize meant to keep the coalition together despite the decidedly unChristian behavior of President Trump? Or was it an invention of Steve Bannon, to further polarize the electorate? Either way, strange times are afoot. One can only hope that enough of the Leviticans remember Leviticus 19:33-34.

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