Closing Our Borders, Permanently?
Trump crafting plan to slash legal immigration. Politico: "Donald Trump and his aides are quietly working with two conservative senators to dramatically scale back legal immigration — a move that would mark a fulfillment of one of the president's biggest campaign promises. Trump plans to get behind a bill being introduced later this summer by GOP Sens. Tom Cotton of Arkansas and David Perdue of Georgia that, if signed into law, would, 2027, slash in half the number of legal immigrants entering the country each year, according to four people familiar with the conversations. Currently, about 1 million legal immigrants enter the country annually; that number would fall to 500,000 over the next decade."
Refugee screeners criticize bill to allow states to keep refugees out, favor religious claimants. CPI: "Homeland Security employees who screen refugee applicants are objecting to proposed legislation that could narrow refugee eligibility and empower state or local officials to bar refugees from their jurisdictions. The Republican-sponsored 'Refugee Program Integrity Restoration Act of 2017'... was approved June 28 by the House of Representatives Judiciary Committee in a 15-11 vote split along party lines. The measure would also give priority to those claiming persecution over minority religion status as compared to those asserting they faced persecution for some other reason."
Fight to Save Net Neutrality
Net neutrality supporters say online rally is just the start of the fight to keep tough FCC rules. LA Times: "Some of the Web’s biggest names — Amazon, Google, Netflix and Twitter — joined thousands of smaller websites Wednesday in urging users to tell Washington to leave the Internet the way it is... Net neutrality supporters said the “day of action” was the first major salvo of what they promised would be a long battle involving the Federal Communications Commission, the courts and possible congressional legislation over the fate of the controversial rules."
Everyone Can Stand Up for Net Neutrality. BillMoyers.com: "Imagine a world without internet freedom. This week, a major protest on the web will show what it would be like. Just over two years after the Federal Communications Commission, under President Obama, approved rules protecting a free and open internet accessible to all, net neutrality is once again under fire. And once again, the public is being called upon to stand up and fight for freedom of speech. Wednesday, July 12, is an internet-wide day of action to save net neutrality — and you can get involved."
Are We Winning Yet?
Don't look now, but Democrats just flipped two more seats from red to blue Tuesday night. DailyKOS: "Turns out Donald Trump was right about one thing during his campaign — “We’re going to win so much'... except he probably didn’t mean Democrats winning and overperforming in a ton of special elections since his election. Tuesday night Democrats flipped two historically Republican legislative districts in Oklahoma — House District 75 and Senate District 44. Both seats had been in GOP hands since before they were both redrawn in the last round of redistricting in a state that Trump won last fall with 65 percent of the vote."
More from OurFuture.org:
Worried Sick About Prescription Costs. LeeAnn Hall: "Drug corporations are bleeding Americans dry. Too many families have to choose between buying medications or putting food on the table, and the proposed health care repeal will only make things worse."
Keep the Internet Open and Fair for Small Businesses. Josh Crandell: "Small businesses can’t compete without an open Internet, so activists and businesses, big and small are coming together for a Net Neutrality Day of Action. Why does this matter? Because freedom, and fairness, matter to everyone."
