Month: June 2018

MORNING MESSAGE

Jessica Juarez-Scruggs

SCOTUS Just Took Away Your Right to Vote. Did You Notice?

The Supreme Court just gave a green light to racist voter purges. Their 5-4 decision to allow Ohio to take any voter off the rolls who hasn’t voted in two years and doesn’t return a postcard mailed to their house hands a dangerous new tool to the enemies of democracy in America.

No matter what the Supreme Court rules, we can – and must – turn back this latest wave of voter suppression by registering voters, knocking on doors, driving our neighbors to the polls and by showing every politician who resorts to racist trickery to keep people from the polls that we are prepared to use our right to vote before we lose it.

DC Civil Disobedience To Protest DHS Child Arrests

Democrats shut down Pennsylvania Ave to protest Trump’s child separation policy. ThinkProgress: “Several members of Congress risked arrest Wednesday as they protested the Trump administration’s new “zero tolerance” policy, which separates migrant children from their parents in the event that parents are taken into custody by immigration officials. The members of Congress — as well as dozens of people including actor John Cusack who joined them — marched to the U.S. Customs and Border Protection building in Washington, D.C., chanting, among other things, “Bring our babies back” before seating themselves on the steps of the CBP building. Among those protesting the separation policy were civil rights icon and longtime Georgia Rep. John Lewis (D), Rep. Judy Chu (D-CA) Rep. Joe Crowley (D-NY), Rep. Al Green (D-TX), and Rep. Luis Gutiérrez (D-IL), Rep. Jimmy Gomez (D-CA), and Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-WA). According to Splinter, Rep. Adriano Espaillat (D-NY), the first former undocumented immigrant to serve in Congress, was also present in several photos from the protest. ‘DHS will arrest children, but when Members of Congress commit civil disobedience they watched silently. Shame! So we are taking our protest directly to Donald Trump. Next stop the White House,’ Chu tweeted Wednesday afternoon.”

Progressives Speak Out at #WeThePeople

‘We Must Do More Than Resist’: progressive agenda championed at #WeThePeople summit. Common Dreams: “Speaking to hundreds of grassroots organizers at the We the People Summit in Washington, D.C. on Wednesday, Democratic lawmakers displayed their shift to the left on a number of causes that progressives say politicians must embrace and fight for, in order to win enthusiastic support in upcoming elections. Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Kamala Harris (D-Calif.), and Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) all spoke at the gathering, as well as Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.). Sanders’ steadfast and outspoken support for popular proposals like Medicare for All, a fair federal minimum wage, and an end to income inequality has been credited with encouraging Democrats to move left—and letting party candidates and lawmakers know that a growing number of Americans will no longer support them if they continue to align themselves with Wall Street and other powerful corporate interests. At the summit, hosted by a number of progressive groups including Indivisible, People’s Action, MoveOn.org, Planned Parenthood, 350 Action, and the Working Families Party, public officials and advocates alike spoke in favor of a forward-thinking agenda.”

Trump Wants ‘Citizenship-Fraud’ Investigation

Trump admin creates new office to investigate citizenship fraud. CNN: “The Trump administration is creating an office within the agency that grants US citizenship to root out fraudsters and have their citizenship taken away. According to US Citizenship and Immigration Services, the effort involves a new office in Southern California that will review cases and then refer them to the Justice Department, which is able to pursue denaturalization proceedings against citizens. The physical office is the culmination of an effort to stand up the unit that began in January 2017. The targets are people who have already been rejected from the US, but who create a new identity to gain citizenship afterward. In an interview with The Associated Press, USCIS Director L. Francis Cissna said the number of cases could possibly reach up to a few thousand. ‘We finally have a process in place to get to the bottom of all these bad cases and start denaturalizing people who should not have been naturalized in the first place,’ Cissna said. ‘What we’re looking at, when you boil it all down, is potentially a few thousand cases.’”

DNC Votes To Refuse Fossil-Fuel Contributions

DNC votes unanimously to no longer accept money from fossil fuel companies. ThinkProgress:“The Democratic National Committee (DNC) has voted unanimously to ban contributions from fossil fuel companies, in a victory for activists and environmental advocates. Following a vote over the weekend, the DNC will no longer accept donations from corporate political action committees (PAC) associated with oil, gas, and coal companies, HuffPost first reported Tuesday. The political organization reportedly adopted a resolution put forward by Christine Pelosi, the daughter of Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi. The resolution calls for banning all ‘corporate PAC contributions from the fossil fuel industry that conflict with our DNC Platform’ in the name of encouraging Democrats ‘to walk our talk in harmony with our stated beliefs and convictions.’ According to HuffPost, the DNC will also consider banning contributions of over $200 from donors employed by the fossil fuel industry. That vote will take place in August during a board meeting in Chicago.”

Tent Cities Spread From Seattle To San Diego

Why there are so many unsheltered homeless people on the West Coast. The Conversation:“One-quarter of homeless people in the U.S. live in California, despite Californians making up only 12 percent of the population. Not only is homelessness more common on the West Coast but it is also more visible, because a higher proportion of homeless people are unsheltered. In the U.S., 24 percent of homeless people sleep outside, in vehicles or somewhere else not meant for human habitation. But that varies greatly from place to place: In California, 68 percent of homeless people are unsheltered, compared to just 5 percent in New York. Visitors to the West Coast may be shocked to find the tents that line cities from San Diego to Seattle. Like a modern-day ‘Grapes of Wrath,’ the tents are a stark reminder of the suffering of the thousands living outside, homeless.”

More from OurFuture.org:

Why We Should Want Trump’s Hail Mary Pass on Korea to Succeed. Miles Mogulescu: “Listen – I despise our corrupt, narcissistic, lying, ignorant, racist, woman-groping excuse for a President as much as anyone, and I support Tom Steyer’s calls for impeachment. But hopes for a more peaceful world, with a reduced threat of nuclear war, is one area where party politics should be put aside. If Trump’s attempt to negotiate peace terms with North Korea fail, there will be plenty of time for retroactive criticism. In the meantime, liberals and progressives should support a realistic approach to Korean peace negotiations, not hoping they tank in the hope that Trump will look worse than he already does.”

Progressive Breakfast is a daily morning email highlighting news stories of interest to activists. Progressive Breakfast and OurFuture.org are projects of People’s Action.

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Join People’s Action for ‘We The People’ in DC: WATCH LIVE

WATCH LIVE as People’s Action joins Senators Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders, Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal and many others in Washington, DC on June 13th from 8:30 – 12 for ‘We The People,’ a gathering of more than 1,000 grassroots organizers from across the country. Join us to imagine, set the terms of the public debate and lift up the issues we believe are at stake. We will challenge. We will fuse our energy and take action. And the America we build together will be a true land of opportunity for all people.
Click HERE to watch ‘We The People’ LIVE now!

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MORNING MESSAGE

Robert Suarez

Our Liberty Is Bound Together

My name is Robert Suarez, and I’m a leader of VOCAL New York. I’ve come to Washington, D.C. to represent People’s Action with critical questions on healthcare and our nation’s overdose crisis. I lost my mother to the AIDS epidemic. She died in my arms. The reason? She contracted HIV through injecting drug use before syringe exchange was legal. Then she died due to inadequate healthcare. My story is a painful one, but it is one shared by people across this country. If you are one of the millions across this nation – whether you are white, black or brown; gay, straight or trans – who have been denied the human right to quality healthcare, then I believe my liberation is bound up with yours! We are at the cusp of taking back our power: and we know that the change we need is coming – indeed, change is here. Why? Because the change we need is us.

Women Win Big in VA Primaries

Democratic women win big in key Virginia House primaries. CNN: “In the four Virginia competitive US House races in November, female candidates have all won the Democratic nominations, the latest example of the party turning to women to unseat vulnerable Republicans in the President Donald Trump era. On Tuesday, three women — Elaine Luria, Abigail Spanberger and Jennifer Wexton — won Democratic primaries. Earlier this year at the party convention, journalist Leslie Cockburn won the nomination in Virginia’s 5th Congressional District. There are currently no Democratic women in Virginia’s 11-seat congressional delegation. Luria, a veteran, won the primary in Virginia’s 2nd Congressional District, setting up a match with Republican Scott Taylor, and Spanberger, a former CIA operative, won her primary in Virginia’s 7th Congressional District. State Sen. Wexton bested five other Democrats to win her primary in Virginia’s 10th Congressional District, setting up a face-off with vulnerable Republican Rep. Barbara Comstock.”

WI Voters Rebuke GOP Gov. Walker In Special Vote Win

Democrats just won a Wisconsin special election Scott Walker didn’t want to have. Vox: “Wisconsin Democrats just picked up a Republican-held state legislature seats in a duo of special elections on Tuesday, serving yet another wake-up call to Republicans in the state. Democrat Caleb Frostman, the former head of the Door County Economic Development Corp, won northeastern Wisconsin’s First Senate District, which voted for President Donald Trump by a whopping 17 points in 2016. Frostman’s seat will be up for reelection again in November. This is undoubtedly a victory for the state’s Democratic Party, in the third Wisconsin state election this year that has left Republicans sounding alarm bells. In January, Democrats flipped a rural Trump +17 state district with a comfortable 10-point margin of victory — a loss Wisconsin’s Republican Gov. Scott Walker, who is also up for reelection this year, called ‘a wake-up call for Republicans in Wisconsin.’ Liberals also won a seat on the Wisconsin Supreme Court by a huge margin in April.”

Dems Challenge Trump Health Plan

Democrats sharpen attacks on Trump administration on drug prices and preexisting conditions. WaPo: “When the president announced his blueprint for addressing rising drug costs on May 30 he declared that within two weeks companies would willingly drop prices. That would be today. Cutting the nation’s rising drug costs is a bipartisan goal, and for a time Democrats shared President Trump’s campaign vision for cracking down on pharmaceutical companies and giving the government more power to negotiate deals. But Trump has walked back some of those positions, and at a Senate hearing Tuesday morning, the Democrats on the panel let Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar know they were not impressed with the White House plan.”

More from OurFuture.org:

Wisconsin Progressives Score Special Election Upset Victory. Matt Brusky: ” Wisconsin progressives won an important state legislative special election last night in Senate District 1, with the victory of Democrat Caleb Frostman. Frostman was endorsed by Citizen Action of Wisconsin, a People’s Action affiliate. Not only does Frostman’s victory flip the seat from Republican to Democrat, it is a rebuke from voters to Wisconsin’s GOP Governor Scott Walker, who refused to hold an election to fill the vacancy before May, as required by state law.”

All MPA-Endorsed Candidates Win or Lead in Maine Primary. Mike Tipping: “The Maine People’s Alliance endorsed five progressive women in contested legislative primaries and Rep. Jared Golden in the Second District congressional race. According to initial results from the Associated Press, all of these candidates have won or are significantly ahead in their races, with votes from some towns still trickling in.”

Progressive Breakfast is a daily morning email highlighting news stories of interest to activists. Progressive Breakfast and OurFuture.org are projects of People’s Action.

Please consider a donation of any size to support our work: DONATE NOW

Join People’s Action in DC for ‘We The People’ on 6/13

People’s Action will join Senators Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders, Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal and many others in Washington, DC on June 13th for ‘We The People,’ a gathering of more than 1,000 grassroots organizers from across the country. Join us to imagine, set the terms of the public debate and lift up the issues we believe are at stake. We will challenge. We will fuse our energy and take action. And the America we build together will be a true land of opportunity for all people.
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MORNING MESSAGE

Tiara Moore

Voting For Justice In Las Vegas

My name is Tiara Moore. I’m a mother of five, and a voter. I’m also a felon. But that’s not going to stop me from using my vote to help others get what I never got: a second chance. District Attorneys have the power to push a red button which determines if someone can continue their life. We have the power to elect them, so we should make sure we have good DAs, who don’t just sit back and convict people, but play a positive role in our communities.

Sessions Blocks Domestic, Gang Violence Survivors From Asylum

Sessions moves to block victims of gang violence and domestic abuse from claiming asylum. LA Times: “Atty. Gen. Jeff Sessions has ordered immigration judges to stop granting asylum to most victims of domestic abuse and gang violence, a move that could block tens of thousands of people, especially women, from seeking refuge in America. The decision, which immigration advocates are sure to aggressively fight, comes as Sessions seeks to use the authority of his office to sharply change U.S. immigration law to make it less friendly to asylum seekers. The attorney general has the power to issue decisions that serve as binding precedents for immigration judges. In this instance, he used a case involving a victim of domestic violence from El Salvador to rule that survivors of such “private” crimes are not eligible for asylum under U.S. law. The woman, referred to in immigration court as A.B., for her initials, said she was fleeing years of physical and emotional abuse by an ex-husband who had raped her. An immigration judge had denied her asylum claim, but the Board of Immigration Appeals ruled in her favor in 2016, saying the Salvadoran government had shown it was incapable of protecting her, even after she moved to another part of the country.”

SCOTUS Allows OH Voter Roll Purges

SCOTUS is helping Republicans kill a key voting rights law. Mother Jones: “Monday, the Supreme Court ruled that the state of Ohio could remove infrequent voters from the rolls, severely weakening the power of the NVRA and opening the door to wider voter purging. Ohio purged more than 2 million registered voters between 2011 and 2016, more than any other state. Black voters in the state’s largest counties were twice as likely as white voters to be removed from the rolls. In a dissent to Monday’s ruling, Justice Sonia Sotomayor wrote that the court’s opinion ‘entirely ignores the history of voter suppression against which the NVRA was enacted and upholds a program that appears to further the very disenfranchisement of minority and low-income voters that Congress set out to eradicate.’”

Net Neutrality Repealed By FCC

Net neutrality is officially repealed. Here’s what happens next. Vox: “You might think that individual states could have the right to legislate their own net neutrality protections, but you’d be wrong. The FCC repeal included language that explicitly excluded individual states from enacting consumer protection laws because it’s easier on ISPs not to have to deal with different regulations from state to state. That means that as of today, the rights of states to govern themselves won’t apply to protecting net neutrality. That said, both Washington and Oregon have already passed legislation in defiance of the FCC order, with California not far behind. So this issue, too, will likely be headed to the courts. In essence, with all the legal complications at play, we just don’t have any way of knowing what the final court decision could be. What the final version of a net neutrality repeal might look like, and when it might take effect, are both unknown at this point. Which leaves with the immediate reality that net neutrality is now officially over.”

More from OurFuture.org:

The Fight for Real Solutions In San Francisco. Emily Lee: “To outsiders, San Francisco may look like a glittering city on a hill: an ethnically diverse metropolis, where tech dollars fuel a vibrant cultural scene and support progressive policies the rest of the nation can only dream about. Yet we who live here know our city’s progressive glitter is not gold. That’s why the San Francisco Rising Action Fund joined an unprecedented coalition of progressive labor, community, tenant, and democratic clubs to pull off what may be the most hotly contested race for Mayor San Francisco has ever seen.”

Is the State Takeover of Jackson Schools a Step Forward or Back? Jeff Bryant: “America’s ongoing saga to ‘reform’ public schools is filled with stories of state officials taking over “underperforming” school districts. In nearly every instance — New Orleans, Detroit, Newark — takeovers are carried out by white state officials accusing black and brown communities of being unable to care for their children. In its takeover of Jackson’s schools, is Mississippi plowing new ground for genuine partnerships between white political rule and black communities in the Deep South, or is the state merely continuing centuries-old oppression of black governance under a different guise?”

Progressive Breakfast is a daily morning email highlighting news stories of interest to activists. Progressive Breakfast and OurFuture.org are projects of People’s Action.

Please consider a donation of any size to support our work: DONATE NOW

Join People’s Action in DC for ‘We The People’ on 6/13

People’s Action will join Senators Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders, Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal and many others in Washington, DC on June 13th for ‘We The People,’ a gathering of more than 1,000 grassroots organizers from across the country. Join us to imagine, set the terms of the public debate and lift up the issues we believe are at stake. We will challenge. We will fuse our energy and take action. And the America we build together will be a true land of opportunity for all people.
Register for ‘We The People’ now!

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MORNING MESSAGE

Richard Eskow

“Establishment Wins” Are Bad for Democrats – and the Country

Millions are being spent to defeat the progressive movement. Despite that, the left is experiencing an extraordinary ascendance. Will it rise quickly enough to change the party’s trajectory in 2018? That remains to be seen. But if establishment victories for Democrats discourage base turnout in November because voters are convinced the party stands for nothing, the result could be victory for Trump’s Republicans.

Trump Alienates G7 Allies

Trump refuses to sign G-7 statement and calls Trudeau ‘weak’ NYT: “President Trump upended two days of global economic diplomacy late Saturday, refusing to sign a joint statement with America’s allies, threatening to escalate his trade war on the country’s neighbors and deriding Canada’s prime minister as ‘very dishonest and weak.’… Literally moments after Mr. Trudeau’s government proudly released the joint statement, noting it had been agreed to by all seven countries, Mr. Trump blew apart the veneer of cordiality that had prevailed throughout the two days of meetings in a resort town on the banks of the St. Lawrence River… the gathering apparently served to further inflame Mr. Trump’s belief that the United States is being treated unfairly by countries with which prior presidents had long ago negotiated trade agreements for the flow of goods and services. The result was a slow-rolling collapse of the fragile alliances that officials at the summit — and even Mr. Tump’s own White House advisers — insisted throughout the day could be maintained in the face of fundamental disagreements.”

Judge Temporarily Blocks Pizza Man’s Deportation

Immigrant delivery man can stay in U.S. for six weeks. WaPo: “A federal judge has given a last-minute reprieve to a New York restaurant worker who was fast-tracked for deportation this month after he showed up at an Army base with a delivery of pasta and the wrong type of ID. Pablo Villavicencio, along with his wife and two young American daughters, has become a live chip in the political fight over deportations since he was arrested on a years-old immigration warrant less than two weeks ago. Saturday’s court order temporarily halting Villavicencio’s immediate removal to Ecuador means his allies, including New York Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo and Democratic lawmakers, will have at least another month to try to free him from federal custody… The judge ordered the federal government to submit reasons Villavicencio should be immediately deported and scheduled a hearing for July 20, buying the jailed Ecuadoran and his supporters a few more weeks to look for a way to keep him in the country. The ruling is ‘a reminder that the judiciary can still serve as a powerful check when other branches of government make hasty, cruel and reckless decisions,’ Legal Aid’s supervising immigration attorney told the Associated Press.”

Judge Quashes IN Voter Suppression

Federal judge stops Indiana from implementing controversial voter purge law. The Hill: “A federal judge in Indiana blocked the state on Friday from implementing a law that would purge Indiana voters from the state’s voter rolls if they appeared on a controversial voter tracking system. Reuters reported that U.S. District Judge Tanya Walton Pratt ruled in favor of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) on Friday, finding that the law violated the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA). The law relies on the Kansas Secretary of State’s Crosscheck system that matches voters by name and date of birth and flags potential duplicate voters. Critics of the Crosscheck system say it reports a majority of false positives — particularly among minority voters — and leads to the disenfranchisement of eligible voters. ‘While the defendants have a strong public interest in protecting the integrity of voter registration rolls and the electoral process, they have other procedures in place that can protect that public interest that do not violate the NVRA,’ Pratt wrote in granting a preliminary injunction. With Pratt’s injunction, the state is not allowed to enforce the law while the lawsuit makes its way through the court. The ACLU lauded the court victory in a statement to Reuters, condemning officials who administer the Crosscheck system of trying to ‘suppress the vote.’”

Judge Wants Evidence For Pruitt’s Climate Denial

Judge rules Pruitt must provide evidence for his climate denial. DailyKOS: “On Friday, US District Court judge Beryl Howell ordered the EPA to produce the evidence upon which Pruitt based his comments. This could be a tall order, because, of course, there is no good evidence to suggest humans aren’t driving climate change. At least none solid enough to hold up in court… And let’s not forget that deniers have already tried, and failed, to prove their denial in court. Perhaps, then, the courtroom will house the Red Team attack on climate science Pruitt has long tried to get going. But instead of being used to attack regulations, Pruitt will be playing defense. Looks like Pruitt might get a chance to go to the (used) mattresses after all.”

Kobach, Bannon Demanded Census Citizenship Test

Documents shed light on decision to add census citizenship question. NPR: “In a Jan. 19 internal memo prepared for Ross, the Census Bureau’s chief scientist, John Abowd, wrote that adding a citizenship question to the 2020 census “is very costly, harms the quality of the census count, and would use substantially less accurate citizenship status data than are available” from existing government records at other federal agencies. Ross has said that he believes the cost of this last-minute change to the 2020 census would not be significant and has been factored into updated cost estimates… In a July 2017 email to Ross’s chief of staff, Wendy Teramoto, Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach says Steve Bannon — the former White House strategist — directed Kobach to speak on the phone with Ross in 2017 during the early months of the Trump administration about the then lack of a citizenship question on the census. Kobach had once helped lead Trump’s now-dissolved voter fraud commission.”

More from OurFuture.org:

Will South Korean Doves or Washington Hawks Prevail at Summit? Miles Mogulescu: “Donald Trump’s narcisissm leads him to thirst for a Nobel Prize as a peacemaker in Korea. Meanwhile his top advisor, John Bolton, seeks the overthrow of the North Korean regime. Let’s hope Trump’s Nobel dreams control his actions, and the Summit is the beginning of a peace process and not a catastrophe that leads the world closer to war.”

Progressive Breakfast is a daily morning email highlighting news stories of interest to activists. Progressive Breakfast and OurFuture.org are projects of People’s Action.

Please consider a donation of any size to support our work: DONATE NOW

Join People’s Action in DC for ‘We The People’ on 6/13

People’s Action will join Senators Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders, Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal and many others in Washington, DC on June 13th for ‘We The People,’ a gathering of more than 1,000 grassroots organizers from across the country. Join us to imagine, set the terms of the public debate and lift up the issues we believe are at stake. We will challenge. We will fuse our energy and take action. And the America we build together will be a true land of opportunity for all people.
Register for ‘We The People’ now!

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MORNING MESSAGE

Richard Eskow

For Captured Regulators, Repealing Volcker Rule Is Child’s Play

Our country’s economic condition is fragile, and the next recession could be catastrophic. Why, under these conditions, would the people entrusted with our economy decide to make things more dangerous? Given Wall Street’s fraudulent behavior and self-proclaimed incompetence, why would regulators or politicians place more trust in it?

G7 May Exclude U.S. At Summit

Macron threatens rare rebuke of U.S. at G-7. WaPo: “French President Emmanuel Macron on Thursday threatened to join with other world leaders to issue a rare rebuke of the United States at a global summit here this weekend, drawing immediate and sharp replies from President Trump. Macron said Trump could be excluded from joining with other leaders in a joint declaration of unity at the end of a global summit here, a very unusual move that was meant to isolate Trump’s recent burst of trade threats aimed at numerous U.S. allies. ‘The American President may not mind being isolated, but neither do we mind signing a 6 country agreement if need be,’ Macron wrote on Twitter. ‘Because these 6 countries represent values, they represent an economic market which has the weight of history behind it and which is now a true international force.’ Trump appeared unmoved, accusing Macron and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of hurting the United States with unfair trade practices. Trump also said Trudeau is “being so indignant,” an unusually personal attack aimed at one of the United States’ closest allies.”

DOJ Refuses To Defend ACA Law

Sessions explains to Congress rationale for not defending ObamaCare. The Hill: “Attorney General Jeff Sessions sent a letter to House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) on Thursday defending the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) rationale for not defending the Affordable Care Act, also known as ObamaCare. ‘As you know, the Executive Branch has a longstanding tradition of defending the constitutionality of duly enacted statutes if reasonable arguments can be made in their defense,’ Sessions wrote. ‘But not every professionally responsible argument is necessarily reasonable in this context,’ he continued, adding this is ‘a rare case where the proper course is to forgo defense’ of the law. The department argued in court on Thursday that key components of the Obama-era law are unconstitutional, siding in large part with a challenge to the law from 20 GOP-led states.”

Carson’s HUD May Raise Rents On Poor

Carson tempers HUD plan that would raise rents. Detroit News: “U.S. Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson on Thursday backed off aspects of a controversial proposal this spring that would have led to higher rents for low-income households in the United States… Carson said he’s told the media that the consideration to raise rents was tied to HUD’s budget restrictions. At that time, he said, it had been ‘the only option.’ The ‘Make Affordable Housing Work Act,’ announced on April 25, would allow housing authorities to impose work requirements, would increase the percentage of income poor tenants are required to pay from 30 percent to 35 percent, and would raise the minimum rent from $50 to $150 per month. For Metro Detroit, the move would boost housing costs by 21 percent on average, according to the new analysis. ‘As far as the rents are concerned, they’re going to be simplified,’ Carson said Thursday, adding the numbers used for gross, rather than adjusted income, will depend on negotiations with Congress. ‘But again bear in mind: We would only raise rents if we have to raise rents. If we don’t have to raise them, that’s not part of the proposal. That has nothing to do with self-sufficiency, raising the rents.”

U.S. Army Ambushes Pizza Delivery Man

Immigrant delivery driver who brought pizza to Brooklyn military base faces deportation. WNYC: “When an Ecuadorian pizza delivery man with an outstanding order of deportation showed up to deliver pies at the Fort Hamilton military base in South Brooklyn on Friday, he showed his New York City-issued municipal ID and entered the base, just as he had done before, according to his wife. But a military police officer ordered Pablo Villavicencio-Calderon to provide more documentation. He didn’t have any, and was detained by the officer, who then called Immigration and Customs Enforcement. ICE agents showed up and took him to a detention center in New Jersey, where he remains and is expected to be deported, according to the agency. The case captured the attention of immigration advocates and local politicians Wednesday. They staged a press conference and march, arguing that soldiers should not be deputized to carry out deportation functions. Villavicencio-Calderon, who did not have a criminal record but was living in the country without documentation, has two daughters, ages 2 and 3, who are American citizens. His wife, Sandra Chica, is also an American.”

Iowa Student Killed After Deportation

Iowa student killed after being deported to Mexico. Des Moines Register: “Manuel Antonio Cano Pacheco should have graduated high school in Des Moines last month. The oldest of four siblings should have walked across a stage in a cap and gown to become a proud symbol to his sister and brothers of the rewards of hard work and education. Instead, Manuel died a brutal death alone in a foreign land, a symbol of gang supremacy in a country plagued by violent drug cartels. It happened three weeks after U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement returned him to Mexico, a country he had left at age 3 when his parents brought him here without a visa. The fact that America was the only home he has known made Manuel eligible to apply for and be granted DACA status under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program initiated by former President Barack Obama. It exempted from deportation certain young people, referred to as DREAMERS, who were brought to the U.S. without papers as children.”

Progressive Breakfast is a daily morning email highlighting news stories of interest to activists. Progressive Breakfast and OurFuture.org are projects of People’s Action.

Please consider a donation of any size to support our work: DONATE NOW

Join People’s Action in DC for ‘We The People’ on 6/13

People’s Action will join Senators Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders, Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal and many others on June 13th for ‘We The People,’ a gathering of more than 1,000 grassroots organizers from across the country in Washington DC. Join us to imagine, set the terms of the public debate and lift up the issues we believe are at stake. We will challenge. We will fuse our energy and take action. And the America we build together will be a true land of opportunity for all people.
Register for ‘We The People’ now!

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MORNING MESSAGE

Jeff Bryant

Charter School Industry’s Stunning Loss in CA Primaries

The charter school industry took a drubbing in the California governor’s race, where its preferred candidate Antonio Villaraigosa drew only 13 percent of the vote. The charter school industry created an advocacy to take in huge sums of money from wealthy contributors for Villaraigosa. But the former mayor of Los Angeles’ statewide prospects only sank, even as the millions rolled in.

Mulvaney Disbands CFPB Advisory Council

Mulvaney effectively fires CFPB advisory council. NPR: “The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau continues to come under fire by the man running the watchdog agency — Mick Mulvaney, the interim director appointed by President Trump. In his latest action, Mulvaney moved on Wednesday to effectively dismantle the agency’s consumer advisory council. “It’s quite clear that we’ve been fired,” said Kathleen Engel, a law professor at Suffolk University and a member of the CFPB’s Consumer Advisory Board. The board is designed to help consumer groups work with the CFPB to identify problems facing Americans who are treated unfairly by financial firms. Previously, when he was in Congress, Mulvaney sponsored legislation to abolish the bureau. In April, he said he wanted to shut down public access to a popular government database at the CFPB. In February, he indicated he wanted to scale back the CFPB’s role as a watchdog. And under Mulvaney, the CFPB delayed a new payday lending regulation and dropped an investigation into one payday lender that contributed to his campaign.”

ICE Arrests 144 OH Landscapers

ICE arrests 114 workers in immigration raid at Ohio. WaPo: “A swarm of immigration agents arrested more than 100 workers at an Ohio gardening and landscaping company Tuesday morning, one of the largest of several recent workplace raids carried out as part of the Trump administration’s crackdown on immigration enforcement. About 200 federal officers blitzed two locations of Corso’s Flower and Garden Center — one in Sandusky, on the shoreline of Lake Erie, and another in nearby Castalia, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement told the Associated Press. Agents surrounded the perimeter of the Castalia location, blocking off nearby streets as helicopters flew overhead, AP and local television stations reported. They arrested 114 workers suspected of being in the country illegally and loaded many onto buses bound for ICE detention facilities. Dozens of the workers’ children were left stranded at day-care centers and with babysitters, local activists wrote on social media.”

GOP Introduces Bill To Curb Trump’s Tariffs

Trump finally did the one thing that will drive powerful Republicans away. Quartz: “On May 31, in the name of national security, the president passed steel and aluminum tariffs that threaten trade with the US’s closest allies. The announcement drew furious criticism from members of his party, because it goes against their pro-business agenda. Now some of the biggest Republican donors have launched a war against Trump’s tariffs, and once-loyal senators are trying to curb Trump’s powers as the country’s 45th president. This afternoon, a bipartisan group of senators introduced a new bill that takes away Trump’s right to pass tariffs on products that the Department of Commerce deem important to national security. The bill would require any intended tariffs to be approved by Congress. It would also be retroactive for the past two years—meaning it could rescind last month’s controversial steel and aluminum tariffs. The bill is sponsored by Republicans and frequent Trump critics Jeff Flake of Arizona and Bob Corker of Tennessee. It also includes four other GOP senators (and four Democrats). The tariffs will be bad for US business, and US jobs, they say, echoing recent analysis by economists.”

DeVos Refuses To Answer Senate On Guns, Drugs, Immigrants

Five things Betsy DeVos seemed to be unaware of — or wouldn’t address — during Senate hearing. WaPo: ” It may well be that the question Education Secretary Betsy DeVos heard the most from senators at Tuesday’s hearing before a Senate subcommittee was this: Why aren’t you directly answering my question? DeVos was there to talk about the Education Department’s 2019 budget request, and she found herself peppered with tough questions about a range of topics from senators, most of them Democrats. On some of the key questions, DeVos seemed unaware of the answer, or if she did know, she didn’t choose to share it in any definitive way. Those included why the department had eliminated some funding West Virginia uses to combat opioid addiction affecting students. She was asked whether school officials can report undocumented students to federal authorities, and whether her Federal Commission on School Safety will look at the role of guns. She also was asked why the Trump administration should not help local communities and states improve decrepit public schools.”

Judge Upholds Philadelphia’s Sanctuary Status

‘Tremendous Defeat’ for Trump’s DOJ as judge rules in favor of Philadelphia’s sanctuary city status. Common Dreams: “A federal judge ruled on Wednesday that the Trump administration’s policy of withholding law enforcement funding from Philadelphia over its status as a sanctuary city ‘violates statutory and constitutional law.’ Contrasting with the Justice Department’s policy, Philadelphia’s refusal to cooperate fully with federal immigration authorities was based in ‘reasonable, rational,’ and ‘equitable’ logic, ruled U.S. District Judge Michael Baylson. Baylson’s decision came 10 months after Philadelphia sued the DOJ for attempting to withhold $1.5 million in law enforcement grant money from the city as punishment for not assisting in federal immigration arrests. Attorney General Jeff Sessions threatened to keep the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant from the city if it refused to allow ICE agents into city prisons, notify the agency when undocumented immigrants leave prisons, and share information with the federal government about any individual’s immigration status. Philadelphia’s police force is not an arm of federal immigration agencies, argued the city, and acting as such would damage community relations. A similar ruling in favor of Philadelphia last November found that withholding the funds would significantly damage the city’s ability to maintain its police force. The DOJ appealed that decision in January.”

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MORNING MESSAGE

Hugh Espey

Making Movement Politics Real in Iowa and Beyond

We know the change we need starts and stops with us – the people. And we build power from the ground up, with movement candidates like Cathy Glasson who dare to step up and demand our seat at the table. We know, too, that this fight has just begun. So we’ll continue to marry our political strength with community organizing power so we can put the people front and center, where they belong.

Dems Score Primary Wins

Dems, women score gains at polls. The Hill: “Voters in seven states cast their ballots Tuesday in what amounts to the most significant primary election of the 2018 season, a Super Tuesday for partisans battling for control of Congress. In critical races across the country, Democrats had a good night.. Democratic success in November increasingly lies on the shoulders of women candidates, after another primary night in which women rolled to party nominations — in some cases by surprisingly large margins. In New Jersey, Navy veteran and former prosecutor Mikie Sherill (D) won the Democratic nomination for retiring Rep. Rodney Frelinghuysen’s (R) seat. In Iowa, Democrats Abby Finkenauer and Cindy Axne will challenge Reps. Rod Blum (R) and David Young (R). And in New Mexico, Democrats Xochitl Torres Small and Debra Haaland won nominations for seats being vacated by Reps. Michelle Lujan Grisham (D) and Steve Pearce (R). Both Lujan Grisham and Pearce are running to replace retiring Gov. Susana Martinez (R), the only woman of color running a state today. Lujan Grisham, the favorite in November, would take over that title if she wins. Democrats notched another surprising win in a state legislative special election earlier Tuesday, when state Rep. Lauren Arthur (D) claimed an open state Senate district north of Kansas City. President Trump won that district by five percentage points in 2016.”

NJ Holds Key To House Control

Yes, Jersey can now make Trump very unhappy in November House races. NJ.com: “If House Democrats win a majority in President Donald Trump’s midterm test this fall, it will be because they were able to turn key New Jersey districts from red to blue. And Tuesday’s primary results gave Jersey Democrats more hope that they can make the Republican president very unhappy. At least four of the five GOP-held districts are considered competitive, and political observers say the Democrats can’t take over the House without help from the Garden State in a midterm election seen as a referendum on Trump. ‘Whether Trump continues to control Congress is up to the voters in New Jersey’s suburbs,’ said Jesse Ferguson, a former top Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee official.”

Missing Votes Stall CA Key Votes

Key House races in California still undecided — and may be for days. CNN: “Democratic hopes of wresting control of the House of Representatives were hanging in the balance early Wednesday morning, as many votes remained uncounted in California’s most competitive congressional races. It may, in fact, be days, if not more than a week, before all the votes are tallied in three of the mostly closely watched races in the country: California-39, California-48 and California-49. Those districts, which are held by Republicans but were won by Hillary Clinton in 2016, are key to Democratic hopes of notching the 23 seats that they need to win back the House. Because of California’s complex ‘top-two’ primary system, where the top two vote getters advance to the November ballot, regardless of party, Democrats feared that the large number of Democratic candidates in those three districts would splinter the vote — allowing two Republicans to advance. As of early Wednesday morning, CNN projected that in California’s 49th District, where Rep. Darrell Issa is retiring, one Democrat will advance to the general election, avoiding a shutout for the party.”

McConnell Cancels Senate Recess

Mitch McConnell cancels Senate’s August recess. NPR: “Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., announced Tuesday he is canceling the annual August recess to deal with a legislative backlog he blamed on the chamber’s Democratic minority. ‘Due to the historic obstruction by Senate Democrats of the president’s nominees, and the goal of passing appropriations bills prior to the end of the fiscal year, the August recess has been canceled,’ McConnell said in a statement that made official a decision that had been anticipated for weeks. The House and Senate are working to pass as many of the annual twelve spending bills as possible ahead of the Sept. 30 fiscal-year deadline, and McConnell said those bills will now be a priority in August. McConnell has also made it a top priority to confirm as many of President Trump’s lifetime judicial appointments as possible this year.”

Dems Pledge August Healthcare Showdown

Schumer to McConnell: Let’s spend August on health care. Politico: “Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s move to scrap most of the chamber’s August recess promises to rob politically imperiled Democratic incumbents of campaigning time, but Minority Leader Chuck Schumer is embracing the change with a pitch for how to spend it: health care. Schumer (D-N.Y.) plans to send McConnell (R-Ky.) a letter on Wednesday asking him to set aside August time for votes on five Democratic-backed proposals aimed at expanding and lowering the cost of health care, which he previewed Tuesday after the Kentucky Republican announced plans to ax three of the Senate’s four planned recess weeks during that month. ‘We believe this previously unscheduled session time can be put to good use to finally help Americans secure the affordable health care the President and Congressional Republicans have thus far failed to deliver,’ Schumer wrote to McConnell in his letter, a copy of which was obtained by POLITICO.”

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MORNING MESSAGE

Richard Eskow

50 Years After 1968, Can the Young Change Politics? A Striking New Poll Says Yes

Fifty years ago, in the dust and fire of global youth activism, everything seemed possible. The young were a powerful force, even a world-changing one. Could they become that force again? As many Millennials vote for the first time, a new poll offers intriguing glimpses of their views. A majority believe strong government is needed to address today’s complex economic problems, and a majority – even one-quarter of those who identify as Republicans – say they are favorable toward socialism. This new generation may be poised to rediscover the words of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.: “When people get caught up with that which is right and they are willing to sacrifice for it, there is no stopping point short of victory.”

Primary Votes In Eight States

What you need to know about Tuesday’s primaries. CBS: “There are eight states holding primaries on Tuesday, June 5: Alabama, California, Iowa, Mississippi, Montana, New Jersey, New Mexico and South Dakota. That makes Tuesday one of the most anticipated days in politics before November’s midterm elections. The Democrats need to flip 23 Republican-held districts to take control of the House of Representatives this fall, and CBS News rates 13 of the House districts facing primary elections on Tuesday as “very likely” or “probably” competitive in November (seven in California, four in New Jersey, and two in Iowa). California is of particular importance to the Democrats in their quest to take back the House — in 2016, Hillary Clinton won seven of the districts held by House Republicans. The Democrats have their sights set on turning as many of these seats blue as possible.”

GOP Tax-Cut Authors Cash In As Lobbyists

GOP staffers who wrote the tax bill cash in with lobbying gigs. Politico: “Top-level GOP aides who helped write the new tax law are now leaving the Hill in droves to cash in as lobbyists on K Street and other marquee private-sector destinations. Powerhouse accounting firm PwC landed one of the biggest prizes, announcing Monday that Mark Prater, the Senate Finance Committee’s longtime GOP chief tax counsel, is the new managing director of its tax policy services group. Others who have made the switch include a top aide to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), Brendan Dunn, who joined Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld in May as a partner in its public law and policy practice. Some less visible tax aides from both chambers have also gone through the revolving door to companies hoping to rake in new business and more profits from the package of tax cuts and legal changes.”

Judge Orders ME To Implement Medicaid Expansion

Judge orders Maine to implement voter-approved Medicaid expansion. The Hill: “A Maine court has ordered the state to move ahead with Medicaid expansion, which was approved by voters last year but blocked by Republican Gov. Paul LePage. Michaela Murphy, a Maine Superior Court justice, ruled Monday afternoon that the state must submit a plan to the federal government by June 11 detailing how it plans to expand Medicaid. Maine voters approved expansion in November through a citizen-led ballot measure, but LePage has fought back at every turn… Maine became the first state to expand Medicaid through a voter referendum. Medicaid expansion would make eligible an additional 70,000 Maine residents with incomes between 101 percent and 138 percent of the federal poverty level.”

NJ To Implement ACA’s Individual Mandate

New Jersey will become second state to enact individual health insurance mandate. Politico:“Gov. Phil Murphy on Wednesday signed into law a bill that will require all New Jersey residents to have health coverage or pay a penalty, making the state the second in the country to enact an individual health insurance mandate. Democratic lawmakers drafted the bill, NJ A3380 (18R), in response to Congress’ decision to repeal the federal mandate established under the Affordable Care Act. The repeal, the New Jersey lawmakers feared, would drive healthier people out of the state’s Obamacare market and cause premiums to spike… New Jersey’s mandate is scheduled to take effect Jan. 1, 2019, which gives state officials seven months to get the word out to residents about the new requirement. Massachusetts was the first state to enact a mandate, which took effect in 2006 and served as a model for the federal provision included in the Affordable Care Act. With more than 97 percent of its residents insured in 2016, Massachusetts had the lowest percentage of people without health insurance in the country.”

U.S. Ambassador To Germany In Love With Europe’s Far Right

Germans Appalled by Threat From Trump’s Ambassador to Help Far-Right Nationalists Take Power Across Europe. The Intercept: “The German government demanded a formal explanation from the United States on Monday of what, exactly, the new U.S. ambassador in Berlin, Richard Grenell, meant when he promised to use his office to help far-right nationalists inspired by Donald Trump take power across Europe. In an interview with Breitbart News, published on Sunday, Grenell said he was ‘excited’ by the rise of far-right parties on the continent and wanted ‘to empower other conservatives throughout Europe, other leaders.’… Leaving aside that Trump was, in fact, elected by a hypervocal minority of American voters, his envoy’s apparent willingness to cast off diplomatic neutrality and meddle in the internal affairs of European countries caused an uproar. Sevim Dagdelen, a member of the left-wing German opposition party Die Linke, suggested that Grenell had revealed himself to be Trump’s ‘regime change envoy.’”

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MORNING MESSAGE

Abby Frerich

Iowans for Glasson: We Are What Democracy Looks Like

Iowans do things their own way – especially when it comes to politics. Together with fellow students, I’m taking Iowa back for progressives – one vote at a time, starting with my own. Working together, we can use community building to create and sustain a strong network of support for candidates with truly progressive values, like Cathy Glasson, who’s running for governor – on campus and beyond. So Washington, get ready! Progressive Iowa is back.

Trump Not Above The Law

Trump’s lawyer is dead wrong on obstruction of justice. Just Security: “The Declaration of Independence charged King George III with ‘obstruct[ing] the administration of justice, by refusing his assent to the laws for establishing judiciary powers.’ That alone is evidence that the founding generation did not believe that heads of state were immune from obstruction charges. And while Article II instructs the president to ‘take care that the laws be faithfully executed,’ that does not give him carte blanche to wield his law enforcement powers any way he chooses. Trump is not the first sitting president to face accusations of obstruction of justice. During the Watergate scandal, the first article of impeachment approved by the House Judiciary Committee charged Richard Nixon with obstructing justice by endeavoring to influence an FBI investigation into the break-in at the Democratic National Committee headquarters. That article passed the committee by a 27-11 vote, with six Republicans joining all the committee’s Democrats in the majority… a president commits criminal obstruction only when he abuses his power over law enforcement for personal, pecuniary, or purely partisan ends. But Dowd’s claim that the obstruction statutes never apply to the president is without merit.”

Trump Fractures Transatlantic Alliance

Trump blows up G7 agenda. Politico: “With days to go before leaders of the world’s seven largest advanced economies meet in Canada, organizers have a problem — Donald Trump is making it hard to agree on anything. The annual gathering of the so-called G7 countries is scheduled for June 8 in Quebec, but there remains unprecedented division over the agenda and what joint statements might be issued out of the summit, according to senior officials in Europe and the United States. And the disruptive force is Trump. From trade rules to climate change, to defense spending and the Iran nuclear deal, the U.S. president has torn up the global consensus that existed under his predecessor, Barack Obama, leaving diplomats scrambling to paper over the cracks in the Western alliance and find any common ground on which to build the event. Failure to come together would break with years of tradition at the G7 summit, which has historically served as an annual affirmation that the biggest Western powers are largely aligned.”

US-China Talks End Abruptly

U.S.-China Trade Talks End in an Impasse. NYT: “The United States and China ended trade talks in Beijing on Sunday without any announced deals and with Chinese officials refusing to commit to buying more American goods without a Trump administration agreement not to impose further tariffs on Chinese exports. ‘If the United States introduces trade measures, including an increase of tariffs, all the economic and trade outcomes negotiated by the two parties will not take effect,’ China said in a statement distributed by the state-controlled news media. The apparent impasse left the Trump administration with the issue of what to do about China’s industrial policies. It also left unresolved an awkward issue for both sides: the Chinese telecommunications company ZTE, which had violated sanctions against North Korea and Iran. President Trump had sent to the talks what was essentially an export promotion team led by Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross and including senior officials from the Treasury and from the Agriculture Department. Conspicuously absent were top officials from the Office of the United States Trade Representative, which has threatened to impose 25 percent tariffs on $50 billion a year in Chinese goods, in addition to the tariffs already imposed on $3 billion a year in Chinese steel and aluminum exports.”

Tariffs Threaten Iowa Farmers

Threats of retaliatory tariffs prompted by Trump have cost Iowa pork industry $560M. The Hill:“Concerns over retaliatory tariffs from Mexico have cost Iowa pork producers roughly $560 million, the Des Moines Register reported Friday. Concerns over retaliatory tariffs from Mexico have cost Iowa pork producers roughly $560 million, the Des Moines Register reported Friday. According to the newspaper, Iowa pork producers could take another hit if Mexico follows through on its threat to impose a 20 percent tariff on hams and pork shoulders from the U.S. Producers in the state already face a 25 percent tariff on pork exports to China. But duties from Mexico — the largest export market for American pork by volume — could put further strain on producers. Iowa is the largest pork producer in the U.S., according to Gregg Hora, the president of the Iowa Pork Producers Association. Hora told the Register that the threatened tariffs are ‘potentially devastating news for Iowa’s pig farmers and the rural Iowa economy.’ According to the newspaper, Iowa pork producers could take another hit if Mexico follows through on its threat to impose a 20 percent tariff on hams and pork shoulders from the U.S. Producers in the state already face a 25 percent tariff on pork exports to China. But duties from Mexico — the largest export market for American pork by volume — could put further strain on producers. Iowa is the largest pork producer in the U.S., according to Gregg Hora, the president of the Iowa Pork Producers Association. Hora told the Register that the threatened tariffs are “potentially devastating news for Iowa’s pig farmers and the rural Iowa economy.”

Immigrants Revitalize Small-Town America

The Mexican revival of small-town America. NYT: “Amid all the anti-immigrant fervor, nativists have overlooked a fundamental fact: In recent years, Mexican immigrants and their Mexican-American offspring have been rescuing the most iconic places in America — its small towns. In the past 10 years, the number of Mexican immigrants living in the United States has declined by more than one million; some left by choice but tens of thousands more left through deportation. Americans who dream of an America without Mexicans should consider Kennett Square. A town of more than 6,000 people, about an hour outside Philadelphia, Kennett Square proudly calls itself the mushroom capital of the world. The $2.7 billion mushroom industry in southeastern Pennsylvania employs 10,000 people… ‘Mexicans are leaving, and that’s bad news for everyone,’ Chris Alonzo, president of Pietro Industries, one of the biggest mushroom companies, and a third-generation mushroom farmer, told me. ‘All the negativity, the fearmongering, the anti-immigrant feeling is hurting our small town. We’re seeing labor shortages, and that threatens the vibrancy of our community.’”

UN Denounces Trump’s Treatment Of Poor

The UN Just Published a Scathing Indictment of US Poverty. Common Dreams: “The United Nations has released a scathing report on poverty and inequality in the United States. The findings, which will be presented to the U.N. Human Rights Council on June 21, follow an official visit to the United States by Philip Alston, the U.N. special rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights, to investigate whether economic insecurity in the country undermines human rights. The conclusions are damning. ‘The United States already leads the developed world in income and wealth inequality, and it is now moving full steam ahead to make itself even more unequal,’ the report concludes. ‘High child and youth poverty rates perpetuate the intergenerational transmission of poverty very effectively, and ensure that the American dream is rapidly becoming the American illusion.’ The U.N. explicitly lays blame with the Trump administration for policies that actively increase poverty and inequality in the country. ‘The $1.5 trillion in tax cuts in December 2017 overwhelmingly benefited the wealthy and worsened inequality. The consequences of neglecting poverty and promoting inequality are clear,’ it concludes. ‘The policies pursued over the past year seem deliberately designed to remove basic protections from the poorest, punish those who are not in employment and make even basic health care into a privilege to be earned rather than a right of citizenship.’”

Progressive Breakfast is a daily morning email highlighting news stories of interest to activists. Progressive Breakfast and OurFuture.org are projects of People’s Action.

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MORNING MESSAGE

Luz Sosa

Join Us To Keep Families Together

Infants are being taken from their mothers. Families are being separated at the border, and parents charged as criminals for sheltering children from violence. As a mom, and the daughter of immigrants, I know in my bones this is not right. That’s why I’m standing up in Milwaukee and with thousands all across the country today to demand an end to this cruel and inhumane treatment. Because we all deserve better from our nation and its leaders.

U.S. Slaps Allies With Tariffs

Angry allies plan to retaliate over U.S. trade tariffs. MarketWatch: “The U.S. will impose tariffs on steel and aluminum imports from Canada, Mexico and the European Union starting on Friday, the Trump administration said, raising the specter of trade war with some of Washington’s closest allies, who said they would retaliate. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Thursday said Ottawa will impose billions of dollars of tariffs on steel, aluminum and a wide range of other U.S. goods, including some food and agricultural products. Canada said it would hold consultations for two weeks before imposing the tariffs on July 1, which would remain until the U.S. levies are removed. Trudeau said the fallout from its moves would be ‘more significant’ than it realizes. The EU said it is also planning to hit back with billions of dollars of levies on U.S. exports which could go into effect staring June 20 and launch a case against American measures at the World Trade Organization on Friday. ‘This is protectionism, pure and simple,’ the EU’s top executive, European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker, said Thursday.”

Trump Trade Disarray Drives Markets Down

War inside Trump trade team triggers global angst. Politico: “President Donald Trump’s abrupt decision Thursday to slap steel and aluminum tariffs on Canada, Mexico and the European Union capped a whipsaw week that reflected not just the deep divisions among his top economic advisers, but the changeable attitudes of the irascible and unpredictable president himself. Senior administration officials profess privately to not knowing exactly what Trump will ultimately decide to do on trade at any given moment. The uncertainty has led the president’s advisers to compete for his attention in a bid to sway him, leading to nasty behind-the-scenes fights that are increasingly bursting into public view… The result of the infighting is a trade policy that’s nearly impossible for anyone to understand or predict and which risks undermining Trump’s economic and stock market gains. Thursday’s action sent markets down, compounding losses earlier in the week after the China announcement.”

IL Ratifies Equal Rights For Women

One more to go: IL ratifies Equal Rights Amendment. NPR: “Illinois lawmakers have voted to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment, affirming equal rights for women and putting the legislation just one state away from potentially being adopted by the U.S. Constitution. The passage comes 36 years after the original deadline for ratification set by Congress. Opponents of the amendment said that voting on it now was merely a symbolic gesture; some also said the protections it outlined in 1972 already apply to women today. But supporters said it’s important — now more than ever — for the government to state clearly that women and men have equal rights under the law. The Illinois House approved the ERA on Wednesday night, just before the end of the chamber’s regular session. There were hugs and high-fives as Democratic legislators, including a number of female lawmakers, stood, cheered and hugged as the result was announced.”

Federal Workers Union Sues Trump

Workers sue Trump administration over organizing ban. Common Dreams: “The nation’s largest union of federal workers filed suit against the Trump administration on Wednesday over an executive order signed by President Donald Trump that seeks to deny workers the right to job site representation—an established guarantee in existing labor law. The lawsuit by the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE), a member of the AFL-CIO which represents approximately 700,000 federal employees, argues that among a slate of anti-worker orders signed by the president last Friday, one of them specifically exceeds the president’s constitutional authority and violates the First Amendment right of workers to freely associate. ‘This president seems to think he is above the law, and we are not going to stand by while he tries to shred workers’ rights,’ said AFGE national president J. David Cox Sr., in a statement announcing the lawsuit. ‘This is a democracy, not a dictatorship. No president should be able to undo a law he doesn’t like through administrative fiat.’”

Charges Dropped Against Inauguration Protestors

Prosecution drops charges against anti-Trump defendants after withholding evidence. ThinkProgress: “Prosecutors dropped charges on Thursday against a half-dozen people the government has sought to imprison for decades for their roles in planning a 2017 anti-Trump march. The judge in the case, visibly angry on the bench as prosecutors could not explain why their colleagues had lied to him about evidence in their possession months earlier, dismissed one of the charges with prejudice. Prosecutors can still pursue misdemeanor rioting and property damage charges if they wish, but are forbidden from charging a conspiracy to riot — the most serious felony among the several counts levied against the marchers. Government lawyers have pursued felony charges against everyone they could connect to the Inauguration Day march branded as #DisruptJ20, generating dozens of separate group trials that sprawled out over nearly a year and a half. Their case relied heavily on videos provided by the right-wing hoax group Project Veritas. Prosecutors now stand accused of hiding some 69 separate video and audio recordings provided by that group from defense counsel, including material the lawyers say would have helped their clients.”

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