Sandra Raponi
@sraponi.bsky.social
Philosophy professor, Honors faculty.
JD, PhD. Political & legal philosophy, global justice, international human rights law.
Human rights-based climate litigation, refugees, free speech.
Zen Buddhism.
From Toronto 🇨🇦, now in MA.
JD, PhD. Political & legal philosophy, global justice, international human rights law.
Human rights-based climate litigation, refugees, free speech.
Zen Buddhism.
From Toronto 🇨🇦, now in MA.
Reposted by Sandra Raponi
The ICJ's opinion suggests the US "is very likely in breach of its international obligations—including under customary international law & human rights law—to prevent significant climate harm" said @sabincenter.bsky.social's Maria Antonia Tigre
More here on what the AO means for the US
More here on what the AO means for the US
A historic climate change advisory opinion from the International Court of Justice suggests the United States is violating international law on climate, legal experts say.
A Landmark Court Ruling Looms Over U.S. Absence at COP30 - Inside Climate News
The historic climate change advisory opinion from the International Court of Justice suggests the United States is violating international law on climate, legal experts say.
insideclimatenews.org
November 21, 2025 at 3:39 PM
The ICJ's opinion suggests the US "is very likely in breach of its international obligations—including under customary international law & human rights law—to prevent significant climate harm" said @sabincenter.bsky.social's Maria Antonia Tigre
More here on what the AO means for the US
More here on what the AO means for the US
Reposted by Sandra Raponi
Look around. The case for more, not less, liberal arts education - actual, real education in reading, writing, thinking, arguing, analyzing, & synthesizing by doing the actual hard work for which there is no substitute - is stronger than it’s ever been at any point in human history.
November 30, 2025 at 12:07 AM
Look around. The case for more, not less, liberal arts education - actual, real education in reading, writing, thinking, arguing, analyzing, & synthesizing by doing the actual hard work for which there is no substitute - is stronger than it’s ever been at any point in human history.
Reposted by Sandra Raponi
The former JAGs are right. But it's not just the decision to give no quarter that is unlawful. As a whole, these strikes are unlawful, and orders to carry out the strikes are unlawful. Following orders is not a defense to such war crimes.
For more, listen here:
www.ejil.org/podcast.php?...
For more, listen here:
www.ejil.org/podcast.php?...
EJIL: The Podcast! - EJIL
www.ejil.org
November 29, 2025 at 10:34 PM
The former JAGs are right. But it's not just the decision to give no quarter that is unlawful. As a whole, these strikes are unlawful, and orders to carry out the strikes are unlawful. Following orders is not a defense to such war crimes.
For more, listen here:
www.ejil.org/podcast.php?...
For more, listen here:
www.ejil.org/podcast.php?...
Reposted by Sandra Raponi
Former US military lawyers speak out:
"The Former JAGs Working Group unanimously considers both the giving and the execution of these orders, if true, to constitute war crimes, murder, or both."
Statement on Media Reports of Pentagon “No Quarter” Orders in Caribbean Boat Strikes
1/2
"The Former JAGs Working Group unanimously considers both the giving and the execution of these orders, if true, to constitute war crimes, murder, or both."
Statement on Media Reports of Pentagon “No Quarter” Orders in Caribbean Boat Strikes
1/2
November 29, 2025 at 8:10 PM
Former US military lawyers speak out:
"The Former JAGs Working Group unanimously considers both the giving and the execution of these orders, if true, to constitute war crimes, murder, or both."
Statement on Media Reports of Pentagon “No Quarter” Orders in Caribbean Boat Strikes
1/2
"The Former JAGs Working Group unanimously considers both the giving and the execution of these orders, if true, to constitute war crimes, murder, or both."
Statement on Media Reports of Pentagon “No Quarter” Orders in Caribbean Boat Strikes
1/2
Reposted by Sandra Raponi
Jack Goldsmith was head of the Office of Legal Counsel under George W Bush.
November 29, 2025 at 12:47 PM
Jack Goldsmith was head of the Office of Legal Counsel under George W Bush.
Reposted by Sandra Raponi
Home Depot wanted holiday cheer, got a whole-ass choir calling out their partnership with ICE instead…
November 29, 2025 at 6:18 AM
Home Depot wanted holiday cheer, got a whole-ass choir calling out their partnership with ICE instead…
Reposted by Sandra Raponi
Reposted by Sandra Raponi
Watch the #NationalDayOfMourning livestream here on Nov. 27 at 12 noon EST.
#nothanksnogiving #thankstaking
www.youtube.com/live/6u-jF6p...
#nothanksnogiving #thankstaking
www.youtube.com/live/6u-jF6p...
[LIVE] National Day of Mourning 2025, (27 November 25 @ 12pm ET)
YouTube video by hate5six
www.youtube.com
November 27, 2025 at 3:25 AM
Watch the #NationalDayOfMourning livestream here on Nov. 27 at 12 noon EST.
#nothanksnogiving #thankstaking
www.youtube.com/live/6u-jF6p...
#nothanksnogiving #thankstaking
www.youtube.com/live/6u-jF6p...
Reposted by Sandra Raponi
November 25, 2025 at 12:20 AM
Reposted by Sandra Raponi
"We’re done waiting for Dems to find their spine. We can’t afford a weak & cowardly Democratic Party while the authoritarians invade our cities, terrorize our communities, & threaten our democracy. We get the party we demand, & we intend to demand a Democratic Party that fights.” — @indivisible.org
Indivisible Launches its Largest Primary Program in Response to Senate Democrats Surrendering on the Shutdown Vote
indivisible.org
November 10, 2025 at 11:08 PM
"We’re done waiting for Dems to find their spine. We can’t afford a weak & cowardly Democratic Party while the authoritarians invade our cities, terrorize our communities, & threaten our democracy. We get the party we demand, & we intend to demand a Democratic Party that fights.” — @indivisible.org
Reposted by Sandra Raponi
I'm hearing the same thing. Dems are nearing a surrender. I'm shocked. Largest protest in history + best election night in years + polling showing we're kicking their ass in public opinion. And now Dems may cave.
It ain't over til it's over, so please do call if you've got a Dem senator.
It ain't over til it's over, so please do call if you've got a Dem senator.
Sounds like the squishes in the senate caucus are ready to pull the plug with no ACA changes. This is real. If you want to register your opinion you shld call yr senator in the next hour. They not only want to reopen w/nothing. They want cover from their colleagues who still want to hold out.
November 9, 2025 at 9:04 PM
I'm hearing the same thing. Dems are nearing a surrender. I'm shocked. Largest protest in history + best election night in years + polling showing we're kicking their ass in public opinion. And now Dems may cave.
It ain't over til it's over, so please do call if you've got a Dem senator.
It ain't over til it's over, so please do call if you've got a Dem senator.
Reposted by Sandra Raponi
November 7, 2025 at 11:26 PM
Reposted by Sandra Raponi
MSNBC captured the crowd from the Boston "No Kings" rally:
October 18, 2025 at 6:49 PM
MSNBC captured the crowd from the Boston "No Kings" rally:
Reposted by Sandra Raponi
The first planned migration of an entire country due to climate change is happening! Tuvalu, a Pacific island nation, is at risk of being submerged under rising sea level, so it has signed an agreement with Australia to allow 280 Tuvaluans to settle in Australia as permanent residents each year.
The First Planned Migration of an Entire Country Is Underway
The Pacific island nation of Tuvalu could be submerged in 25 years due to rising sea levels, so a plan is being implemented to relocate its population to Australia.
www.wired.com
July 26, 2025 at 10:20 AM
The first planned migration of an entire country due to climate change is happening! Tuvalu, a Pacific island nation, is at risk of being submerged under rising sea level, so it has signed an agreement with Australia to allow 280 Tuvaluans to settle in Australia as permanent residents each year.
Reposted by Sandra Raponi
BREAKING: Trump’s new Executive Order directs states to treat homelessness and mental illness as crimes. Criminalization doesn’t help anyone – we need housing and healthcare, not handcuffs and budget cuts. #HousingNotHandcuffs
Our statement: buff.ly/JlcAsF4
Our statement: buff.ly/JlcAsF4
Trump’s new Executive Order directs states to treat homelessness and mental illness as crimes - National Homelessness Law Center
Trump’s new Executive Orders direct states to treat homelessness and mental illness as crimes (WASHINGTON, D.C - March 28th) Everybody needs a safe place to live. Across America, sky-high rents are…
buff.ly
July 24, 2025 at 9:37 PM
BREAKING: Trump’s new Executive Order directs states to treat homelessness and mental illness as crimes. Criminalization doesn’t help anyone – we need housing and healthcare, not handcuffs and budget cuts. #HousingNotHandcuffs
Our statement: buff.ly/JlcAsF4
Our statement: buff.ly/JlcAsF4
Reposted by Sandra Raponi
Some people don't feel as close to this as they ought to. Most of us are just a bad break or two away from winding up on the streets, and addiction & mental health crises can affect anyone. They're gutting services and rendering more of us disposable, and there's a carceral disposal system waiting.
July 25, 2025 at 12:20 AM
Some people don't feel as close to this as they ought to. Most of us are just a bad break or two away from winding up on the streets, and addiction & mental health crises can affect anyone. They're gutting services and rendering more of us disposable, and there's a carceral disposal system waiting.
Reposted by Sandra Raponi
This historic decision could pave the way for climate reparations and human rights protections that are long overdue, as well as build a stronger case for big polluters to pay up for the damage they have caused!
www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/7/...
www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/7/...
‘Historic’ ruling on climate change by World Court: What to expect
The ICJ is set to decide the future course of climate accountability in a landmark legal case brought by Vanuatu.
www.aljazeera.com
July 23, 2025 at 12:56 PM
This historic decision could pave the way for climate reparations and human rights protections that are long overdue, as well as build a stronger case for big polluters to pay up for the damage they have caused!
www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/7/...
www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/7/...
Reposted by Sandra Raponi
New, from me: until recently the big question was “what happens when Trump defies the courts?”
The answer, as it turns out, is that SCOTUS will support him.
The new question is what are the consequences for American democracy and governance?🧵
donmoynihan.substack.com/p/when-youre...
The answer, as it turns out, is that SCOTUS will support him.
The new question is what are the consequences for American democracy and governance?🧵
donmoynihan.substack.com/p/when-youre...
When you’re a star, the Supreme Court lets you do it
SCOTUS is enabling Trump's assault on American institutions
donmoynihan.substack.com
July 23, 2025 at 12:46 PM
New, from me: until recently the big question was “what happens when Trump defies the courts?”
The answer, as it turns out, is that SCOTUS will support him.
The new question is what are the consequences for American democracy and governance?🧵
donmoynihan.substack.com/p/when-youre...
The answer, as it turns out, is that SCOTUS will support him.
The new question is what are the consequences for American democracy and governance?🧵
donmoynihan.substack.com/p/when-youre...
Reposted by Sandra Raponi
🚨BREAKING🚨 ICJ ruling that a healthy environment is a human right could be a real turning point in setting out governments’ legal responsibility to tackle #climate crisis 👇
Healthy environment a human right, UN court says in landmark climate ruling
Court’s decision expected to be used in future litigation and to support political negotiations by vulnerable states
www.theguardian.com
July 23, 2025 at 3:54 PM
🚨BREAKING🚨 ICJ ruling that a healthy environment is a human right could be a real turning point in setting out governments’ legal responsibility to tackle #climate crisis 👇
Reposted by Sandra Raponi
Studying Philosophy Does Make People Better Thinkers
This study “offers the strongest evidence to date that studying philosophy does indeed make people better thinkers.” www.cambridge.org/core/journal... (h/t @greggdcaruso.bsky.social) #philosophy #PhilSky
This study “offers the strongest evidence to date that studying philosophy does indeed make people better thinkers.” www.cambridge.org/core/journal... (h/t @greggdcaruso.bsky.social) #philosophy #PhilSky
Studying Philosophy Does Make People Better Thinkers | Journal of the American Philosophical Association | Cambridge Core
Studying Philosophy Does Make People Better Thinkers
www.cambridge.org
July 13, 2025 at 8:53 PM
Studying Philosophy Does Make People Better Thinkers
This study “offers the strongest evidence to date that studying philosophy does indeed make people better thinkers.” www.cambridge.org/core/journal... (h/t @greggdcaruso.bsky.social) #philosophy #PhilSky
This study “offers the strongest evidence to date that studying philosophy does indeed make people better thinkers.” www.cambridge.org/core/journal... (h/t @greggdcaruso.bsky.social) #philosophy #PhilSky
Reposted by Sandra Raponi
All the conventional wisdom about a constitutional crisis only coming when Trump flat out defies SCOTUS rulings ignores the obvious fact that this Court is a constitutional crisis in itself. We’ve been in full blown CC since it sided in Trump v USA against the USA:
www.nytimes.com/2025/07/16/u...
www.nytimes.com/2025/07/16/u...
Supreme Court Keeps Ruling in Trump’s Favor, but Doesn’t Say Why
www.nytimes.com
July 16, 2025 at 12:02 PM
All the conventional wisdom about a constitutional crisis only coming when Trump flat out defies SCOTUS rulings ignores the obvious fact that this Court is a constitutional crisis in itself. We’ve been in full blown CC since it sided in Trump v USA against the USA:
www.nytimes.com/2025/07/16/u...
www.nytimes.com/2025/07/16/u...
Reposted by Sandra Raponi
Rümeysa Öztürk was unlawfully detained by ICE for over six weeks in retaliation for writing an op-ed.
For the first time since her release, Rümeysa opens up about her experiences and advocates for dignity and justice for those still trapped in ICE detention.
For the first time since her release, Rümeysa opens up about her experiences and advocates for dignity and justice for those still trapped in ICE detention.
“Even God Cannot Hear Us Here”: What I Witnessed Inside an ICE Women’s Prison
Tufts University doctoral student Rümeysa Öztürk opens up about her 45 days in a South Louisiana processing facility—and the generous and compassionate women she met.
www.vanityfair.com
July 17, 2025 at 2:45 PM
Rümeysa Öztürk was unlawfully detained by ICE for over six weeks in retaliation for writing an op-ed.
For the first time since her release, Rümeysa opens up about her experiences and advocates for dignity and justice for those still trapped in ICE detention.
For the first time since her release, Rümeysa opens up about her experiences and advocates for dignity and justice for those still trapped in ICE detention.
Reposted by Sandra Raponi
The Supreme Court said it was unlawful for the Biden administration to forgive student loans because it lacked congressional authority but has no problem with the Trump administration gutting the entire Department of Education without congressional approval. This is a lawless court.
July 14, 2025 at 10:54 PM
The Supreme Court said it was unlawful for the Biden administration to forgive student loans because it lacked congressional authority but has no problem with the Trump administration gutting the entire Department of Education without congressional approval. This is a lawless court.
Reposted by Sandra Raponi
For more on why it is absolutely incumbent upon #SCOTUS to provide even a modicum of explanation when it intervenes to upset the status quo in cases like these, see this "One First" bonus post from June 26:
www.stevevladeck.com/p/bonus-161-...
www.stevevladeck.com/p/bonus-161-...
Bonus 161: Why the Court Needs to Explain Itself
The continuing fallout from Monday afternoon’s ruling in the third-country removals case is an object lesson for why the justices should be providing explanations when they grant emergency relief.
www.stevevladeck.com
July 14, 2025 at 7:47 PM
For more on why it is absolutely incumbent upon #SCOTUS to provide even a modicum of explanation when it intervenes to upset the status quo in cases like these, see this "One First" bonus post from June 26:
www.stevevladeck.com/p/bonus-161-...
www.stevevladeck.com/p/bonus-161-...
Reposted by Sandra Raponi
Since April 4, #SCOTUS has issued 15 rulings on 17 emergency applications filed by Trump (three birthright citizenship apps were consolidated).
It has granted relief to Trump ... in all 15 rulings.
It has written majority opinions in only 3.
Today's order is the 7th with no explanation *at all.*
It has granted relief to Trump ... in all 15 rulings.
It has written majority opinions in only 3.
Today's order is the 7th with no explanation *at all.*
Here we go again: Over an acerbic dissenting opinion by Justice Sotomayor (joined in full by Justices Kagan and Jackson), #SCOTUS, with no explanation, grants a stay in the Department of Education RIFs case—effectively clearing the way for the Trump administration to dismantle much of the agency:
www.supremecourt.gov
July 14, 2025 at 7:38 PM
Since April 4, #SCOTUS has issued 15 rulings on 17 emergency applications filed by Trump (three birthright citizenship apps were consolidated).
It has granted relief to Trump ... in all 15 rulings.
It has written majority opinions in only 3.
Today's order is the 7th with no explanation *at all.*
It has granted relief to Trump ... in all 15 rulings.
It has written majority opinions in only 3.
Today's order is the 7th with no explanation *at all.*