UN Issues Warning on Rise of US Racism
U.N. issues warning on U.S. Racism. UN News Centre: "The United Nations body monitoring implementation of the global convention on prohibiting racial discrimination has called on high-level politicians and public officials of the United States to unequivocally and unconditionally reject and condemn racist hate speech and crimes in Charlottesville and throughout the country. 'We are alarmed by the racist demonstrations, with overtly racist slogans, chants and salutes by white nationalists, neo-Nazis, and the Ku Klux Klan, promoting white supremacy and inciting racial discrimination and hatred,' said Anastasia Crickley, Chairperson of UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD), in a news release. In a decision issued under its 'early warning and urgent action' procedure, the Committee, which monitors implementation of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, stated 'there should be no place in the world for racist white supremacist ideas or any similar ideologies that reject the core human rights principles of human dignity and equality.'"
Judges Weigh In On Travel Ban
Judges criticize travel ban weeks before it heads to Supreme Court. LA Times: "A panel of U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals judges heard arguments Monday in Seattle over how broadly President Trump’s travel ban can be enforced, and seemed inclined to uphold exemptions that let U.S. residents’ relatives continue to arrive from banned countries. The judges, Michael Hawkins, Ronald Gould and Richard Paez, who will issue their opinion later, will not decide whether the ban is legal. That question, one the same judges considered this year in a decision that suspended the ban, is left to the U.S. Supreme Court to take on when it hears arguments over the issue in about six weeks. Instead, the judges are looking at who falls under the ban. They prodded lawyers from the Trump administration and the state of Hawaii, which has sued, about how immigration law applies to Supreme Court orders on who is exempt from it."
Trump Eliminated Obama-era Flood Protections
Trump removed Obama's flood protection laws just days before Hurricane Harvey hit. The Independent: "Donald Trump signed an executive order just days before Hurricane Harvey that scrapped many of the flood protections introduced by Barack Obama. Harvey has caused huge damage in Texas as 30 inches of rain in less than 48 hours resulted in massive flooding. The current US President, however, has abolished a number of flood standards in an attempt to get infrastructure projects approved more quickly. The Federal Flood Risk Management Standard is among those to have been rolled back."
Climate Change and Hurricane Harvey
Harvey didn’t come out of the blue. Now is the time to talk about climate change. The Intercept: Now is exactly the time to talk about climate change, and all the other systemic injustices — from racial profiling to economic austerity — that turn disasters like Harvey into human catastrophes. Turn on the coverage of the Hurricane Harvey and the Houston flooding and you’ll hear lots of talk about how unprecedented this kind of rainfall is. How no one saw it coming so no one could adequately prepare. What you will hear very little about is why these kind of unprecedented, record-breaking weather events are happening with such regularity that “record-breaking” has become a meteorological cliché. In other words, you won’t hear much, if any, talk about climate change."
Hearings to Stabilize Health Care Scheduled
Bipartisan hearings on Obamacare stabilization scheduled for next week. DailyKOS: "There's the tiniest glimmer of a possibility that maybe, just maybe, something in our federal government will actually function the way it is intended, that the Senate could do something to actually fix a problem. The odds are against it, because it's just the Senate and who knows what the utterly broken House or the deranged White House might do. But one Senate committee is going to try, with hearings scheduled to figure out how to stabilize the Affordable Care Act."
Faith Leaders Protest Trump
Thousands of faith leaders descend on Washington to condemn racism and Trump. ThinkProgress: "Thousands of faith leaders rallied in opposition to racism on Monday, marching through the streets of the nation’s capital to commemorate the legacy of Martin Luther King, Jr. — and preach moral opposition to President Donald Trump. The protest was organized by Rev. Al Sharpton’s National Action Network, which called on 1,000 faith leaders to join him in pushing back against racism and Trump while celebrating the 54th anniversary of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King (MLK), Jr’s March on Washington, where the pastor and civil rights leader gave his famous 'I Have A Dream' Speech."
Regulatory Accountability Act Undermines Civil Rights
The Regulatory Accountability Act’s threat to civil rights. American Prospect: "A bill that would drastically change the way federal agencies design regulations is on its way to a Senate vote. The Trump administration has made clear its intention to 'deconstruct the regulatory state.' While they have lost no time in beginning to pick off specific regulations, the broader goal is to implement structural changes to bedrock administrative law and policies. What’s Trump’s endgame? Conservatives hope to get, if not a full “deconstruction,” at least a deep re-engineering of regulatory practices to align with corporate interests. In Congress, the proposed 'Regulatory Accountability Act'(RAA) would do exactly that, and it has gathered an alarming level of support."
OSHA Scrubs Mentions of Worker Deaths
OSHA scrubs worker deaths from home page. Politico: "The federal department charged with protecting workers erased data on workplace deaths from the home page of its website Friday — and changed its policy to disclose fewer fatal accidents in the future. For the past several years, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration had maintained a running list of workers killed on the job — including the date, name and cause of death — near the top of its home page. The list included every worker death reported to OSHA, regardless of whether the company was issued a citation. On Friday, the box on the home page disappeared and was replaced with information on how companies can voluntarily cooperate with OSHA to reduce safety risks."
More from OurFuture.org:
Wanted: Strong Candidates Who Believe in Public Schools. Jeff Bryant: "Many political leaders would rather impose ideological "solutions" from the bag of mirrors known as 'choice' – or more accurately 'privatization' – than provide the resources we know it takes to ensure high-quality schools."
