by People's Action | Jul 23, 2018 | Breakfast
Rulings Weaken Fed's Independence A Trump-appointed judge just gave him a scary new power. ThinkProgress: "Two Republican judges, including one who was just recently appointed by Donald Trump, held on Monday that Trump has the power to fire the head of an obscure...
by People's Action | Jul 20, 2018 | Breakfast
GOP Withdraws Judge Nominee For Views On Race White House withdraws Appeals Court nominee who deplored multiculturalism. NYT: "The sprint by President Trump and Senate Republicans to install conservative judges to the nation’s courts hit an unexpected speed bump on...
by Miles Mogulescu | Jul 20, 2018 | Blog
A nation can survive its fools, and even the ambitious. But it cannot survive treason from within. An enemy at the gates is less formidable, for he is known and carries his banner openly. But the traitor moves amongst those within the gate freely, his sly whispers...
by Richard Eskow | Jul 20, 2018 | Blog
What does it mean when Timothy Geithner, Barack Obama’s bro-ish and apparently self-satisfied former Secretary of the Treasury, becomes president of a company that hoodwinks the victims of the financial system he helped rescue? If you care about economic justice, or...
by People's Action | Jul 19, 2018 | Breakfast
IRS Moves To Empower "Dark Money" Donations IRS drops “dark money” rule, will no longer require disclosure of donors to political nonprofits. Salon: "The IRS has just made it easier for politically powerful nonprofits to conceal who donates to them. President Donald...
by Jeff Bryant | Jul 19, 2018 | Blog
Conservatives may believe they accomplished what they've endeavored to do for decades with the U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Janus v AFSCME, which undermined the ability of public-sector unions to raise funds from workers, but they may have also unintentionally unified...
by People's Action | Jul 18, 2018 | Breakfast
Trump's Russia Flips Flop Trump attempts to walk back Russia comments. Politico: "The White House climb-down from President Donald Trump’s disastrous news conference with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin began Monday night, just hours after Trump said he saw 'no...
by George Goehl | Jul 18, 2018 | Blog
Donald Trump’s choice to separate migrant children from their parents unleashed a flood of outrage across the political spectrum. While he has been forced to step back from separating families at the border, the administration's solution is to imprison...
by People's Action | Jul 17, 2018 | Breakfast
Trump Appeases Putin In Helsinki Trump caved spectacularly to Putin. Here's what might happen next. CNN: "For as long as history remembers Donald Trump, it will be a day that will live in infamy. The President's summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Helsinki...
by Robert Borosage | Jul 17, 2018 | Blog
American elites have reinforced a global order in which the “winners” are protected, and the “losers” are ignored. Donald Trump’s election stunned the national-security establishment, which the precocious Ben Rhodes, Obama’s deputy national-security adviser, once...
by Miles Mogulescu | Jul 17, 2018 | Blog
As former CIA Director John Brennan just stated, "Donald Trump's press conference performance in Helsinki rises to & exceeds the threshold of 'high crimes & misdemeanors.' It was nothing short of treasonous." And as the editors of The Washington Post wrote,...
by People's Action | Jul 16, 2018 | Breakfast
Trump Meets Putin, Snubs Europe Trump sees the European Union as a 'Foe' of U.S.. CNN: "Trump named the European Union, Russia and China as foes to the United States during an interview at his golf club in Scotland. 'I think we have a lot of foes... I think the...
by Sam Pizzigati | Jul 16, 2018 | Blog
The United States ended the 20th century on a roll — for the rich. Between 1973 and 2000, the nation’s most prosperous 1 percent tripled their incomes, after taking inflation into account. The even more prosperous top tenth of that 1 percent did quite a bit better....
by People's Action | Jul 13, 2018 | Breakfast
WH Claims Migrant Families "Ineligible" For Reunification Trump officials: Nearly half of young migrants ineligible to reunite with parents. WaPo: "The Trump administration has released more than half of the youngest children separated from their parents at the...
by Jeff Bryant | Jul 13, 2018 | Blog
Immediately after Betsy DeVos took over as U.S. Secretary of Education, numerous education policy experts expressed doubts she'd have much success in enacting her well-documented agenda to impose her brand of Christian religion on public schools and direct more public...
by Sam Pizzigati | Jul 13, 2018 | Blog
The U.S. Supreme Court’s decision against workers in the Janus vs. AFSCME case surprised no one who pays attention to America’s highest judicial panel. Every analyst following the case expected the Supremes to rule against America’s public sector unions. And that’s...
by People's Action | Jul 12, 2018 | Breakfast
Trump Trade War Rolls Out Unchecked Why nothing seems to be stopping Trump’s trade war. WaPo: "President Trump is remaking the global trade order without significant political resistance or penalty, unchecked by a largely compliant Congress and bolstered by the...
by Tobita Chow | Jul 12, 2018 | Blog
In early March, President Trump announced steel tariffs as part of a protectionist, anti-China economic strategy. Since then, he's put tariffs on $34 billion of Chinese products, and threatens to sanction $200 billion more. Some progressives support these tariffs on...
by People's Action | Jul 11, 2018 | Breakfast
Trump Insults NATO Allies Trump calls alliance ‘delinquent’ on military spending. NYT: "President Trump met NATO’s secretary general and criticized alliance members on defense and energy policy. President Trump is in Brussels for the start of a seven-day, three-nation...
by Jeff Bryant | Jul 11, 2018 | Blog
For Progressives, the stunning upset victory by first-time congressional candidate Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez over a prominent incumbent candidate in New York seems to be a sign that a wave of change coming in the midterm elections. But a perhaps bigger, clearer sign of...
by Tim Wilkins | Jul 10, 2018 | Uncategorized
Trump SCOTUS Pick Kavanaugh Supports Shielding President Brett Kavanaugh opposed abortion rights, supports shielding president from scrutiny. NPR: "Over a dozen years as a judge on the federal appeals court in Washington, D.C., Brett Kavanaugh has weighed in on...
by Leo Gerard | Jul 10, 2018 | Blog
Multimillionaire Bruce Rauner, the Republican Governor of Illinois, just couldn’t wait to tell his state's workers the U.S. Supreme Court had given them what he considered a gift. Within hours of the court’s ruling in the Janus case, Rauner emailed Illinois state...
by People's Action | Jul 9, 2018 | Breakfast
Both Parties Face Leadership Struggles Both parties face leadership struggles as House returns. NYT: "The House returns from its July Fourth recess this week in a state of remarkable uncertainty, with both Democrats and Republicans facing open questions about their...
by George Goehl | Jul 9, 2018 | Blog
We should be skeptical of the motivation and messengers behind calls for civility. We hear people say that what is happening to migrants in the United States right now is un-American. I wish that were true. Sadly, American history is full of periods where children of...
by People's Action | Jul 2, 2018 | Breakfast
#FamiliesBelongTogether Protests in 50 States In 50 states, hundreds of thousands protest immigration policy, with focus on midterms. USA Today: "Hundreds of thousands of people turned out from coast-to-coast Saturday in "Families Belong Together" rallies to protest...
by Jeremiah Jaynes | Jul 2, 2018 | Blog
Jeremiah Jaynes, a leader with Down Home North Carolina, a People’s Action affiliate, delivered these comments before fifty thousand people at the #FamiliesBelongTogether march in Washington, DC on June 30, 2018. Click on the image below to hear the speech. My name is...
by Tim Wilkins | Jul 2, 2018 | Blog
Tens of thousands of protesters converged in Washington, DC on Saturday to demand an end to the separation and detention of migrant families. The action capped a week of protests which continue to grow nationwide. “I see myself in these migrants – I see their...
by Tim Wilkins | Jun 29, 2018 | Uncategorized
ACLU Hosts Texas Border Protests ACLU hosts hundreds at 'Keeping Families Together' immigration rally in Texas. USA Today: "On Thursday, the American Civil Liberties Union and the ACLU of Texas, along with several pro-immigrant organizations from around Texas,...
by Jeff Bryant | Jun 29, 2018 | Blog
Separating refugee and immigrant children from their parents at the border isn’t just a cruel injustice to the families affected; it's also good business, and the latest enterprise wanting in on the action is a Texas-based charter school chain connected to the...
by People's Action | Jun 28, 2018 | Breakfast
SCOTUS Swing Vote Kennedy Retires Kennedy's retirement could open the door to new attack on legal abortion. NBC: "President Donald Trump has long vowed to nominate Supreme Court justices who would work to overturn Roe v. Wade, the landmark 1973 ruling that legalized...
by Richard Eskow | Jun 28, 2018 | Blog
“RED ALERT,” read the New York Post’s headline after Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s victory over high-ranking Democratic incumbent Joe Crowley. They competed in the Democratic primary for New York's 14th congressional district, which covers parts of Queens and The Bronx....
by Sam Pizzigati | Jun 28, 2018 | Blog
The ultimate real-life test of “trickle down” — the notion that we all prosper when the rich get richer — may well be New York. The Big Apple, after all, certainly abounds in rich getting richer. No city in the world now hosts more of humanity’s super rich....
by People's Action | Jun 27, 2018 | Breakfast
SCOTUS Rules Against Workers In Janus Supreme Court rules non-union workers cannot be forced to pay fees to public sector unions. CNBC: "The Supreme Court ruled 5-4 Wednesday that non-union workers cannot be forced to pay fees to public sector unions. 'Compelling...
by Larry Stafford | Jun 27, 2018 | Blog
Last night, a Progressive earthquake shook Maryland’s establishment politics to their core. Ben Jealous’s primary victory puts Maryland within striking distance of the progressive governor we deserve and need. His victory marks the ascendance of a movement that’s...
by People's Action | Jun 26, 2018 | Breakfast
Border Officials Dial Back Migrant Prosecutions Border officials suspend handing over migrant families to prosecutors. NYT: "The nation’s top border security official said Monday that his agency has temporarily stopped handing over migrant adults who cross the Mexican...
by Richard Eskow | Jun 26, 2018 | Blog
There’s no “civil” way to say it: The Trump administration is torturing immigrant children. A liberal television personality wept openly for these children a few days ago, and I’m glad she did. But it's important to remember that these terrible events reflect more...
by Tim Wilkins | Jun 25, 2018 | Uncategorized
SCOTUS To Rule On Muslim Ban, Workers Supreme Court poised to rule on Trump travel ban, other cases. Reuters: "The U.S. Supreme Court, winding down its nine-month term, will issue rulings this week in its few remaining cases including a major one on the legality of...
by Jeff Bryant | Jun 25, 2018 | Blog
If the Supreme Court rules against workers in Janus vs. AFSCME, it will hurt children at a time when it's become shamefully commonplace for our government to abuse those of a tender age. Pushing the Janus case to a compliant Supreme Court is the conservative...
by People's Action | Jun 22, 2018 | Breakfast
20,000 Children To Be Housed On Military Bases Pentagon will make room for up to 20,000 migrant children on military bases. WaPo: "The Defense Department will house up to 20,000 unaccompanied migrant children on military bases in coming months, a Pentagon official...
by Jacqueline Bediako | Jun 22, 2018 | Blog
Arrive on the scene. Shoot. Bang. Dead child. Gone forever. Mother crying. Blood pressure, spiked. Doom, imminent. Siblings, distraught. Funeral. This predictable chain of events is what seems to happen when police officers arrive on the scene. Calling the police...
