Celebrate the Victories
This is hard work. And its going to take effort and time. We need to celebrate the victories!
WINS! WINS! WINS!
Helping to make political actions happen!
WINS FOR OCTOBER 2020
Government Accountability
Keep watching the polls…
A Federal Judge halted the activities of a “Law Enforcement Commission” ordered by trump, determining that it violated federal rules on open meetings (the Federal Advosory Committee Act); the Judge also noted that it violated the rule that committees must be “fairly balanced” in the viewpoints it represents (the commission is made up of only law-enforcement personnel).
A Federal Judge in Montana ousted trump’s top public lands official (William Perry Pendley)- he was never confirmed by the Senate.
Puerto Rico (finally) receives $13 billion in additional disaster funding to rebuild its energy grid and repair schools ravaged by Hurricane Maria.
Court blocks the administration’s attempt to cut the Census short; it will now continue until the end of October.
Trump nonsense and shenanigans
Eric Trump deposed in New York Attorney General investigation into trump organization business shenanigans.
White House called out for false claim that Amy Coney Barrett was a “Rhodes Scholar” (she received a bachelor’s degree from Rhodes College in Tennessee…sort of like England….)
Federal Appeals Court ruled that trump cannot block the NY state grand jury subpoena for his tax returns.
Facebook removes ads from the president’s reelection campaign spreading false claims regarding coronavirus and individuals from abroad (ads from the Trump campaign that claimed without evidence that accepting refugees from abroad would increase risks related to the coronavirus pandemic).
National Security
HR McMaster (previously trump’s National Security Advisor) publicly stated that trump is “aiding and abetting” Putin.
Voting/Elections
In-person early voting began in Minnesota, South Dakota, Virginia and Wyoming.
A Federal Judge blocked the Texas governor’s attempt to limit ballot drop boxes to one per county (a blatant attempt to interfere with unencumbered voting).
AZ: Court extends voter registration deadline to Oct. 23.
MT: All Montana Counties allowed to vote by mail.
AK: Court grants preliminary injunction against onerous and unsafe requirement for witness signature on absentee ballots
Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms issues an executive order allowing city employees to take paid leave to volunteer as poll workers.
Police Reform
Denver institutes the Support Team Assistance Response Program, which sends a mental health professional and a paramedic to respond to 911 calls in lieu of police.
Seattle City Council overrides mayor’s veto of cuts to police budget in response to protests over police violence.
Human Rights/Social Justice
LGBTQ people reclaim the “Proud Boys” hashtag, posting pictures of “very gay things”! Thanks George Takei…
The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday rebuffed a bid for an appeal by Kim Davis, who no longer serves as Rowan County, Kentucky Clerk, who briefly jailed in 2015 for refusing to issue marriage licenses to two same-sex couples to avoid lawsuits they filed that accuse her of violating their constitutional rights.
Defense Secretary Mark Esper bans Confederate flags and other divisive symbols from military bases.
NJ: Justice Fabiana Pierre-Louis is sworn in to the New Jersey Supreme Court, becoming the first Black woman to serve as a state justice.
California became the first state to adopt a law paving the way for Black residents and descendants of slaves to receive reparation payments. The legislation does not commit to any specific payment. Instead, it establishes a nine-person task force that will study the impact of slavery on Black people in California and recommend to the Legislature what kind of compensation should be provided, who should receive it and what form it will take.
NASA Astronaut Jeanette Epps joins the International Space Station crew, becoming the first Black woman to do so.
Health
Savanna’s Act, which mandates reporting on missing and murdered Native Americans, passes the House and heads to the president’s desk for signature.
Congress unanimously passes the National Suicide Hotline Designation Act, which adopts 9-8-8 as the National Suicide & Mental Health Crisis Hotline phone number.
Return to Sanity (baby steps)
Facebook flat-out bans all accounts related to a prominent conspiracy theory group, QAnon, from its platforms, reflecting a significant escalation over its previous actions and one of the broadest rules the social media giant has put in place in its history.
WINS for August 2020
Kamala Harris is The Vice Presidential Candidate on the ticket with Biden!
Biden still holds a strong steady lead in the polls (nationally and in key swing states)
Michelle Obama’s SPEECH!!!
Miles Taylor, former DHS Chief of Staff declares his support for Biden and says Trump presidency is “actively doing damage to our security.”
Government Accountability:
Senate Intelligence report released yesterday details how the Trump Campaign worked with Russia to interfere in the 2016 election
20 States filed lawsuits against USPS postmaster DeJoy seeking to reverse the changes to the USPS.
DeJoy says in a statement “to avoid even the appearance of any impact on election mail, I am suspending these initiatives until after the election is concluded.
The Second Circuit court decision stays in place and therefore the case against Trump brought by CREW and some competitors can move forward.
WINS for July 2020
Voting Rights
MA Ranked Choice Voting initiative is officially on the ballot for November
Gov. Baker signed new law allowing mail-in voting in MA with no reason needed.
Alabama win- appellate court upheld decision that permits probate judges’ order to implement curbside voting, and to bypass burdensome requirements for absentee balloting in the state, without interference by the secretary of state (suit filed by Southern Poverty Law Center).
US Supreme Court unanimous decision: states can compel electors to vote as each state wants, or have their vote voided (might be step toward eliminating the electoral college)
And, the National Popular Vote Compact continues to gain support- currently 16 states have signed on, with a total of 196 electoral votes at play; only 74 more votes are needed to activate and give the compact legal force.
Elections
Former South Carolina State Dem Committee Chair Jaime Harrison is closing in on Lindsay Graham; recently broke records raising $14 mil for his campaign.
Amy McGrath continues to mount a strong challenge to Mitch McConnell in Kentucky (diverting $ and attention from the Republican party).
“43 Alumni for Biden” continues to produce kick-ass campaign ads against trump, pledging to “engage and mobilize disenchanted GOP voters” through a new super PAC formed to elect Joe Biden.
Government Accountability
US Supreme Court ruling: in trump v. Vance (NY district attorney), Court rules in favor of NY- trump’s accounting firm will eventually hand over financial records and tax returns to the grand jury in the criminal investigation. The opinion, written by Chief Justice Roberts, reflected a 7-2 vote; however, the opinion was 9-0 on the holding that absolute immunity is not necessary or appropriate under Article II (the Supremacy Clause). The Supreme Court attempts to hold “separation of powers” issues in terms of Congress’ more limited ability to subpoena personal records from the President, but as stated by Rep. Maxine Waters, the Court provides a “road map” for Congress to proceed in requesting defined subpoenas.
In a historic decision (6-3 with Gorsuch and Roberts joining), the US Supreme Court rules that the 1964 Civil Rights Act protects gay, lesbian, and transgender employees from workplace discrimination based on sex. (Thomas, Alito, and Kavanagh are still not our friends.) *
Congress united to demand answers from trump administration, including Defense Department and intelligence community, on information that Russia paid bounties to Afghan insurgents for American soldier deaths. Senior retired military, a few republicans, and other officials have been speaking out… (story unfolding).
Mueller speaks out via Washington Post Op-Ed defending his investigation after trump commutes Roger Stone’s sentence (note, Stone is still a convicted felon).
The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals rules that trump can’t divert funds from military defense to finance construction of the border wall.
MA Attorney General Maura Healey wins federal case resulting an order that the Department of Education (Betsy DeVos) cancel millions of dollars of debt for students defrauded by Corinthian Colleges (many of the students are Black and Latinx).
Statehood (and representation) moves forward for Washington, DC.
Social Justice
Gallop poll- 19%of Americans cite race relations as nation’s #1 problem- highest since 1968.
Gallop poll- most Americans support measures to curb police violence:
• 95% support that police be required to intervene when seeing another cop use excessive force
• 89% support requiring police to give verbal warnings before shooting
• 76% support requiring states to release police disciplinary records
• 75% support permitting citizens to sue police for use of excessive force
Race re-branding: Quaker Oats (owned by PepsiCo) will remove racist image Aunt Jemima from pancake mix and syrups; Uncle Ben and Mrs. Butterworth are also to be retired.
US Senate unanimously approves the final version of the Hong Kong Autonomy Act- imposing sanctions on businesses and individual that help China restrict freedom in autonomous Hong Kong.
Facebook market value plummets $5.6 billion as advertisers flee the platform in response to FB’s unwillingness to manage misinformation on its site.
NASA names DC headquarters after its first Black female engineer, Mary W. Jackson.
Georgia passes its first hate crimes bill (joining 46 other states).
Reddit removes thousands of community message boards for violating hate speech policies; YouTube terminates multiple channels run by high profile white supremacists and supremacist groups.
Merriam Webster dictionary updates its definition of Racism to include systemic oppression.
Immigration
US Supreme Court, in a 5-4 decision, blocks trump’s attempts to rescind DACA (the Act protecting people brought to the US as children, with lack of permanent lawful residency), calling the attempt “arbitrary and capricious”, and without consideration of impact on over 700,000 Dreamers.
Fed judge determined that trump administration’s rule that asylum seekers need to request asylum in another country that they passed through before requesting asylum in the US (“third country asylum rule”) skipped necessary steps, and reversed the rule for now.
Environment
US Supreme Court excluded the Keystone XL pipeline project from the “fast-track” process, requiring full review of its environmental impact.
Family Values
Jimmy and Rosalyn Carter celebrate 74 years of marriage.
Malala Yousafzai (who survived an assassination attempt after advocating for girls’ education in Pakistan, and went on to win a Nobel Peace Prize for her work in Human Rights at age 17), has graduated from Oxford University with a degree in philosophy, politics, and economics.
Health Care
US Supreme Court 5-4 decision struck down Louisiana law that would severely limit abortion access by requiring doctors performing abortions to have admitting privileges to a hospital within a 30-mile radius of the clinic.
Oklahoma voters approve Medicaid expansion.
In response to recent US Supreme Court ruling allowing a “religious exemption” to health care services, Lambda Legal, joined with other groups, files a lawsuit challenging the Department of Health & Human Service. HHSs’ rule allows health care discrimination on the basis of sex, with carve out of services to LGBTQ people. *
*Note: if you’ve never had a Supreme Court case decide IF you have the same rights as others, you have privilege.
“Do not be dismayed by the brokenness of the world. All things break. And all things can be mended. Not with time, as they say, but with intention. So go. Love intentionally, extravagantly, unconditionally. The broken world waits in darkness for the light that is you.” –L.R. Knost
WINS for June 2020
While the challenges feel overwhelming (pandemic, racism, trump, etc.), it is inspiring to see the actions of so many Americans, and our impact…This is just a sampling-
The latest killing of an African American man has led to Two+ weeks of protest across the country (all 50 states) and the world (Africa: Ghana, Kenya, Liberia, Nigeria, Lagos, Senegal, South Africa, Tunisia; Asia: Armenia, China, Cyprus, Georgia, India, Iran, Israel, Japan, Pakistan, Palestine, Philippines, Thailand, South Korea, Turkey, Europe: Austria, Andorra, Belgium, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Kosovo, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom; South America: Brazil, Argentina; Oceania: Australia, New Zealand; North America: Canada, Mexico; and the Caribbean: Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, and Bermuda) in response to the latest killing of an African American man by police officers, supporting Black Lives Matter. Over 200 thousand peaceful protesters show up in Washington, DC last Saturday, protests continue in cities and small towns.
Police Officers join protesters in Norfolk, VA; Flint, MI; Santa Cruz, CA; Camden, NJ, and elsewhere.
Sen. Mitt Romney (R-UT) joins BLM march.
DC Episcopal Bishop rebukes trump’s use of the St John’s church as a prop. A multitude of leaders, including US Generals (Powell, Mattis, Kelly, speak out against the administration’s threats and use of military force against American citizens. A group of former GW Bush admin officials form “43 Alumni for Biden” a Super Pac supporting Biden’s election. Pat Robertson calls out trump for his threats to use the military against citizens.
In response to the public outcry, increasing numbers of police officers are being held accountable for abusive tactics towards protesters (Buffalo, NY; Minneapolis, MN; Louisville, KY; Atlanta, GA, Denver, CO, and others).
In response to Protests, a number of cities and states (Minneapolis, NYC, Seattle, NJ, Richmond, VA, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Louisville, Tulsa, etc.) have begun to rethink policing, including: enacting police department reforms, funding changes, civilian review boards, creating public access to complaints and discipline issues, and discontinuing use of military weaponry. Cities are ending police department contracts with public parks and recreation, school systems, and museums.
The NFL reverses course on its prior condemnation of (mostly POC players) taking a knee to draw attention to racism in America.
DC Mayor Muriel Bowser!! (stood up to trump and the administration to reclaim the city; requested the DoD remove troops- they did; and painted a message to the haters across 16th Street all the way to Black Lives Matter Plaza!)
And, by the way, an almost missed report: The FBI found “no intelligence indicating that there was Antifa involvement in the violence” in Minneapolis protests.
This one is for VAG members Laurie and Sue: Walt Disney Corp. pledges $5 million to Social Justice non-profit organizations, including the NAACP.
And, in other good news:
Another confederate statue fell in Virginia; a statue of a slave trader in England was toppled; and a statue of a racist former Mayor in Philadelphia was removed.
US Appeals Court rules against trump’s attempts to withhold funds from Sanctuary cities.
Twitter imposes facts on trump’s tweets.
Facebook employees speak out against Zuckerberg’s decision to leave trump’s post encourage violence against protesters.
23 States and several cities file suit against the administration’s weakening of fuel efficiency standards for vehicles.
In election news:
National polls show that trump’s support has fallen about 10 percentage points behind Biden.
All 6 identified swing states for the 2020 election are already Vote-By-Mail (for any reason) states (FL, NC, AZ, MI, PA, and WI).
Ella Jones is the first African American and first Woman elected Mayor of Ferguson, MO (site of the Michael Brown murder and subsequent protests).
Steve King the racist, anti-gay, sexist rep lost his Republican primary.
Four Democrats elected to Courts (circuit and state supreme) in Wisconsin.
Federal Judge orders SSI survivor benefits paid to same-sex married partners (how was this not happening?).
**Local Win** Analee Wulfkuhle, a Valley Action member, is elected to the Deerfield Planning Board! She was inspired to act locally by her work with Valley Action!
WINS for May 2020
COVID News:
US House proposes next step in the COVID/stimulus relief package (providing funding for state, local, and tribal governments, increasing widespread testing, providing funding for healthcare workers and teachers, extending unemployment insurance and mortgage relief, proposing another stimulus check, providing additional oversight, and expanding vote-by-mail, among other proposals). The measure would also provide a $25 billion bailout for the Postal Service, and $3.6 billion to bolster election security. Even before Democrats presented their proposal on Tuesday, top Senate Republicans were voicing vehement opposition, urging restraint in doling out another substantial round of taxpayer dollars –so it must be good!
Indivisible stages protests at statehouses across the country that are planning to prematurely re-open their states, using body bags and Grim Reapers.
Anthony Fauci, the administration’s top infectious disease expert testifies before Congress truthfully about the dangers of prematurely opening up the country, without interference by 45.
Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA), agrees to distribute $500 checks to aspiring Americans ineligible for federal stimulus checks in response to financial concerns amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Houseless Americans will be able to access pandemic-related Economic Impact Payments with the IRS’s new online tool for individuals who don’t file tax returns.
CA creates a $125 million pandemic relief fund for aspiring Americans ineligible for federal stimulus checks.
“Events DC” gives $15 million disaster relief fund to help restaurant and hotel workers and tax-paying undocumented immigrants who are ineligible for unemployment benefits or government assistance during shutdowns.
CFG Healthcare Systems provides COVID-19 tests to all people in the Essex County Correctional Facility in Newark, NJ to curb its spread in close quarters.
The Four Seasons Hotel becomes a dorm to house hospital staff in NY.
Over 3,000 people who have recovered from COVID-19 donate plasma for an experiment developing a potential treatment to help others heal from the disease.
Shake Shack returns a $10 million government loan meant for small businesses…and Ruth’s Chris restaurant chain returns a $20 million loan allocated for small businesses. (really, the least they can do…)
One World: Together at Home charity concert raises $127.9 million for the World Health Organization’s COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund.
Nearly half of all states and many counties and cities have taken steps to reduce their jail populations in order to decrease the spread of COVID in these facilities—from early release for people nearing the end of their sentences to citation-and-release processes for people committing less serious crimes.
Government Accountability News:
US district court (federal) judge put on hold the Justice Department’s move to drop charges against Michael Flynn (disgraced national security advisor), opening the door for outside parties to oppose the Justice Department’s motion to drop the criminal case (via amicus briefs and filings) against the former national security adviser Michal Flynn.
45 is losing at the polls (the majority of Americans: 94% Democrats and 66% Independents, and 14%of Republicans do not believe that trump is being straightforward about the pandemic) …and to date, tracking shows he has made more than 18,000 false or misleading comments during his first 1,170 days in office (an average of 15 claims per day)
Asian-American journalist Weijia Jiang of CBS confronted trump’s fixation of competing with other countries in being “better” at the COVID response; his response including an attack insinuating China is responsible for the pandemic, “ask China”- The Journalist responded by confronting his comment with “why are you saying that to me, specifically?” (*note: a trump adm official previously referred to the COVID as the “Kung Flu” to her face).
Federal court blocks the administration’s rollback of school lunch nutrition guidelines.
The administration will not push for stricter work requirements for SNAP recipients during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Senators call for an investigation into the firing of Navy Capt. Brett Crozier after he raised concerns about a COVID-19 outbreak aboard the U.S.S. Theodore Roosevelt.
Bipartisan Senate Intelligence Committee validates the accuracy of the January 2017 intelligence report affirming that Russia interfered to help elect the current president in 2016.
Election News:
A new report by the UCLA Voting Rights Project addresses the lack of voter fraud in U.S. elections, especially in elections administered through vote-by-mail.
The United States Postal Service confirms it will deliver completed mail-in ballots that lack postage.
OR Secretary of State Bev Clarno certifies that the state’s mail ballot-only system is secure and popular with voters.
RI Secretary of State’s office mails absentee voter applications to every registered voter in the state in preparation for a primarily mail-in primary election June 2.
KY: Gov. Andy Beshear vetoes voter ID bill.
NH will implement mail-in voting in November’s general election for residents who choose the option as a safety precaution amidst the coronavirus outbreak.
NY: All eligible New York State voters can cast excuse-free absentee ballots in the state’s primary on June 23 in light of COVID-19.
VA establishes Election Day as a state holiday, removes a voter ID requirement, and expands early voting without a stated reason
MA vote by mail initiative is gaining traction.
Immigration News:
A federal court ordered ICE to consider releasing all detainees at risk for COVID-19 complications, regardless of their immigration status. At present, nearly 700 people have been released to their families (of the roughly 37,000 people in ICE detention).
On March 28, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) identified farm workers as essential to secure critical infrastructure. That this is finally being acknowledged by the federal government is a small but important move in the right direction.
Hartford, CT Public Library offers special programming on linguistics, civic integration, academics, and economic stability for new and aspiring Americans through their We Belong Here initiative.
Chicago mayor Lori Lightfoot signs an order ensuring that aspiring Americans and people seeking refuge have access to COVID-19 relief provided by city.
A Fund in Oakland provides financial assistance to aspiring Americans ineligible for federal coronavirus relief checks.
World Central Kitchen and RESCUE launch a new delivery program to get fresh meals directly to asylum seekers and refugees in their homes in NYC.
Rural Women’s Health Project creates a list of materials to inform community members who don’t speak English or Spanish of critical prevention/health information related to COVID-19.
The Esperanza Center in Anne Arundel Co., MD has set up a 500-language coronavirus hotline for immigrants.
Environmental News:
Pakistan has created more than 63,000 jobs for unemployed day laborers by relaunching the nation’s ambitious 10 Billion Tree Tsunami campaign.
Conservationists are celebrating yet another environmental milestone as the last polluting coal-fired power plants in Austria and Sweden closed their doors.
Sweden’s original commitment to stop using coal was goal realized two years early. Just one day later, on the other side of the Baltic Sea, Austria saw the last coal-fired facility in its country shuttered.
As the world continues to wait out the worst of the coronavirus outbreaks, this new report says that air pollution is falling to record new lows in some of the most polluted global cities. A COVID-19 Air Quality Report that shows that air pollution levels in 10 major global cities have dropped by as much as 60% during government-mandated lockdowns due to the global COVID-19 pandemic.
After several years of researching four coal-fired power plants, scientists have found that local residents experienced fewer asthma symptoms and related hospitalizations as the plants either retired coal as their energy source or installed stricter emissions controls. Not only that, emergency department (ED) visits dropped dramatically along with the decrease in coal usage. The research was conducted in Louisville, Kentucky by the Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health.
Workers’ Rights News:
MA passes a bill pausing evictions and foreclosures until after the pandemic abates.
Hundreds of thousands of grocery stores workers at Kroeger’s grocery chain received a wage increase and better benefits. There’s several bills in the works (Heroes Fund, other benefits incorporated in the COVID relief funding) to help all essential workers to bet a raise
Support for Medicare for All is increasing- over 55% of Americans support a single payer health insurance system.
Civil Rights:
Ahmaud Arbery’s murder gains national attention and outrage, forcing charges to be filed against the perpetrators.
Recent Pulitzer Prize winners for 2020 included the following African American writers: Colson Whitehead for Fiction for “The Nickel Boys”, Nikole Hannah-Jones for Commentary for “The 1619 Project,” Jericho Brown for Poetry for “The Tradition”, Michael R. Jackson for Drama for “A Strange Loop” and Anthony Davis for Music for “The Central Park Five.” And, posthumously, Ida B. Wells was awarded a special citation for her reporting on lynchings in the late-19th and early 20th century
AL: Court rules that Alabama cannot ban abortions as part of the state’s response to coronavirus.
AR: Court temporarily blocks an order limiting abortion access within the state during the COVID-19 outbreak.
TX: Appeals court rules that patients can access medication abortions in the state while the legal challenge attempting to block them is ongoing.
Trans activist Lorena Borjas has a New York City street renamed in her honor.
A new study shows that being able to have a gender-affirming ID is linked to lower rates of suicidal thoughts among transgender and nonbinary individuals.
CT Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities prohibits employers and insurers from denying healthcare coverage for patient needs relating to gender transition.
WINS - WINS -WINS for April 2020
COVID News:
CEO’s doing the right thing: Timothy Boyle, CEO of Columbia Sportswear Company, cut his salary while ensuring that employees, including those in currently closed retail locations, continue to receive regular pay. Texas Roadhouse founder and CEO Kent Taylor gave up his annual salary for 2020 in order to pay front-line workers during the coronavirus pandemic.
Congress passes and the president signs the CARES Act, which provides some economic aid to individuals, families, and businesses amid COVID-19 disruption.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, HUD suspends evictions and foreclosures through April for homeowners with Federal Housing Administration-insured mortgages
MA Public Health creates an Emergency Task Force on Coronavirus and Equity to develop policy recommendations to mitigate the impacts of COVID-19 on marginalized communities
Hertz provides free car rentals to New York City healthcare workers through April 30.
STAPLES Center donates 7,000 pounds of food that would have been wasted due to the recent suspension of events at the arena to local charitable organizations.
Netflix pledges $100 million in relief to out-of-work film and television production professionals as well as nonprofit emergency relief organizations.
Audible offers free children’s audiobooks for the duration of school closures.
Boston Alliance of LGBTQ Youth provides direct aid for LGBTQ+ people 25 years and under who face hardships due to COVID-19.
Sikh community cooks free meals for over 30,000 people in social isolation in New York City.
The Metropolitan Opera streams free opera performances nightly for worldwide audiences to enjoy
NBA players donate money to cover the salaries of arena employees who are out of work
Mike Birbiglia streams conversations with other comedians via Instagram to raise money for comedy club employees who are out of work due to closures
A coalition of artisans in Somerville is working to make personal protective equipment that hospitals are running out of during the global coronavirus outbreak. The professionals in fabrication, engineering, electronics and robotics, among other fields, are working on prototypes for the gear at Artisan's Asylum, a 40,000-square-foot work space shared by a coalition of creators.
Governors are forming regional coalitions to coordinate decisions and policies to address response to COVID crisis, essentially ignoring the lack of coordinated action from the trump administration
ACLU wins the release of over 9000 non-violent offenders from overcrowded prisons and jails in order to reduce the risk of the spread of COVID-19
Government Accountability News:
Sanders endorses Biden, important step in uniting the party.
Wisconsin ousts incumbent conservative judge and replaces him with a democrat in the state supreme court last week, in an election that the republicans insisted on holding during the pandemic
Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer expands absentee voting via executive order for the state’s May 5 primary election .
City officials in Sandusky, OH approved a measure that will switch Election Day to a paid holiday instead of Columbus Day.
Virginia voted to make election day a holiday by getting rid of a state holiday honoring Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson. Virginia also expands early voting (Go Democratic Majority!)
During Ohio’s primary election, voters chose progressive candidate Marie Newman over eight-term incumbent Dan Lipinski, who was one of the most conservative Democrats in Congress.
Stacey Abram’s PAC Fair Fight has raised $20 million since it launched at the end of 2018.
And, in social media news: Twitter rolled out a new tool that will let users report misleading election information and tweets that aim to suppress or intimidate people from voting. YouTube announced a new policy banning false or misleading election-related content for their platform…Facebook still annoying everyone.
Immigration News:
Federal court orders immigration officials to release detained children and families “without unnecessary delay,” citing unprecedented health threats posed by COVID-19.
Federal court presses USCIS to release families in detention and directs authorities to report within a week on release efforts.
Brooklyn Defender Services wins the release of 10 detained people after a Federal court finds ICE deliberately indifferent to basic needs.
Al Otro Lado launches COVID-19 Humanitarian Migrant Fund to provide emergency funds to aspiring American families, including those living in camps under the administration’s illegal “Remain in Mexico” policy.
763 NGOs call on ICE to immediately release all people from detention, cease enforcement operations, eliminate check-ins and court appearances in light of COVID-19 safety concerns.
And, an Action we have worked on: Ending warrantless immigration checks- Greyhound Lines has ceased permitting Border Patrol to conduct warrantless immigration checks on their buses.
Environmental News:
Federal court orders an environmental risk review of the Dakota Access Pipeline in a victory for the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe.
Since efforts began in 1987, new study shows that the ozone layer is healing. The ozone layer is continuing to heal and has the potential to fully recover, according to the study. A scientific paper, published in Nature, heralds a rare success in the reversal of environmental damage and shows that orchestrated global action can make a difference.
In Missouri, a steel plant that is set to open later this year will become the first in the country to run on wind energy.
Workers’ Rights News:
At the start of the new year, the minimum wage went up in 21 states, and 26 cities and counties—making it a record year for increases!
Condé Nast announced they will no longer implement non-disclosure agreements for cases involving discrimination or sexual harassment.
And, look for the Union label…
Kickstarter employees voted to unionize, becoming the first major tech company to do so.
Following a two-year campaign, over 2,000 Google cafeteria workers have unionized.
Employees at Beneficial State Bank became the first workers in the financial sector to unionize in over 40 years.
The WNBA and their union reached a deal that, for the first time, will provide fully-paid maternity leave to players and raise the average wage to six figures.
LGBTQ News:
Virginia passes comprehensive LGBTQ non-discrimination protections in employment, housing, and public accommodations, called The Values Act. It’s the 21st state to do so; and first southern state.
Tallahassee, Florida, bans conversion “therapy”.
Stonewall House, the first ever LGBT-welcoming senior housing development in New York City. It is the largest such development in the country, built in partnership with SAGE, the world’s largest and oldest organization dedicated to improving the lives of LGBT older people. Stonewall House will provide affordable housing for individuals over 62 years of age who earn 60 percent or less of the area median income, and is open to LGBTQ and straight seniors.
Wins for March 2020
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi bypasses trump to work with other administration officials to pass the Families First Coronavirus Response Act in the House.
Governors across the country take a leadership role and increasingly coordinate responses to the coronavirus in the face of the federal void of response and responsibility
School districts across the country are providing free lunch and breakfast to students during the school closings due to the coronavirus
Federal court rules that Ken Cuccinelli was unlawfully installed as the Acting Director of the USCIS; all policy changes he authorized must be undone
DC District Court rules that the DOJ must supple the House Judiciary Committee with grand jury materials from the Mueller investigation
Senate passes a binding resolution limiting the president’s ability to declare war on Iran without Congressional consent
Congressional leaders call for the immediate removal of Stephen Miller from jis role as senior white house advisor due to his racist and xenophobic policy proposals
Voter turnout in 2020’s primary elections is significantly higher compared to 2016 in at least 11 states so far…
Facebook will remove posts, photos, and other content that mislead users about the US Census
Eleventh Circuit Court rules that private contractors operating work programs in immigration detention facilities must adhere to federal law prohibiting forced labor
Federal Court rules that the administration’s “remain in Mexico” policy is “invalid in its entirety” and that people seeking asylum must be allowed into the US while their cases are decided (still a moving target)
Greyhound Bus Lines will no longer allow warrantless checks of immigration status of his passengers
Commander General of the US Marines David Berger orders that all confederate-related items be remove from Marines service bases worldwide
Congress passes the Emmett Till Anti-lynching Act, which designates lynching as a federal hate crime, with bipartisan support
Charlottesville, VA commemorates the end of slavery with a new holiday in place of Jefferson’s birthday
Open Door Health clinic opens in RI, becoming the state’s first health care clinic for the LGBTQ community
US Court of Appeals rules that employment discrimination against people living with HIV – including those in the US Armed Forces- is never permissible
VA bans the use of “conversion therapy” on minors; and requires the state Dept of Education to implement policies that treat transgender students fairly and respectfully
House passes the Protecting America’s Wilderness Act, designating 1.3 million acres of public land as wilderness, and adding 1000+ miles of rivers to the Wild and Scenic Rivers System
Utah enacts an environmental plan to reduce emissions affecting local air quality and the global climate
The UN Women’s Generation Equality Campaign marks the 25th anniversary of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, a visionary agenda for women’s rights and empowerment worldwide
Willie Mae Harris is granted clemency by Governor Asa Hutchinson three decades after acting in self-defense against her abusive husband
The New York Philharmonic commissioned compositions by 19 women in honor of the ratification of the 19th Amendment 100 years ago
Wins for February 2020
19 Republican governors support refugee settlements
Congress appropriates $$$$$$money$$$$$ for gun violence research – 1st time in 20 years!!!!!!!
Senate joins House in unanimously passing a resolution formally recognizing Armenian genocide
House approves $7.25 million increase for national endowment for the arts – largest increase since 2013
Federal Appeals Court upholds block of Trump administration trying to deny permanent resident status to people who have used public benefits
25 Jewish members of congress call on Trump to remove Steven Miller
Kentucky joins 29 states to return the right to vote to people with prior felony convictions
24 states will raise minimum wage in 2020
Pope Francis urges all nations to welcome and assist people seeking refugee
Danielle Outlaw became 1st black woman named Commissioner of Philadelphia Police Department
CEO’s from Accenture, CVS, Intel, Microsoft, Voya and Walmart urge other Fortune 1000’s to participate in the disabilities equality index
War powers Resolution has gained majority support (51 votes) in the Senate (4 republicans join the Dems – Young of IN; Collins of ME; Paul of KY; Lee of VT).
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