Month: August 2018

MORNING MESSAGE

Tim Wilkins

Hometowns Rise Up To Support Separated Families

All across America, residents of rural communities and small towns are standing with immigrant families to refuse the intimidation and fear the Trump administration wants to use to keep them apart. From Bar Harbor, Maine to Eldora, Iowa, Wausau, Wisconsin, and San Rafael, California, families gathered for Community Cookouts this weekend to express their solidarity and find ways they can work together to end family separations.

Five States Head To Polls

GOP Fears Ohio upset; Trump And Ocasio-Cortez back challengers. NPR: “A critical House special election on Tuesday could provide some of the biggest clues yet about how much trouble Republicans could be in this November. In Ohio, the last Republican vs. Democrat matchup before November has become the latest proxy fight for whether Democrats can harness the energy, activism and over-performance in past special elections to pull off an upset in a GOP-held district. Republicans, meanwhile, have brought in President Trump himself and millions of dollars to stop that from happening, which would further trigger alarm bells about a possible blue wave in the fall midterms. Four other states are holding their regular primaries — Kansas, Michigan, Missouri and Washington — where there are important House, Senate and gubernatorial contests on the ballot. Several races feature some of the progressive vs. establishment battles that have divided the Democratic Party so far this year, and there are also more women running who could add to historic numbers.

Federal Judge Says Poverty Is Not A Crime

Federal judge stops New Orleans from jailing those who fail to pay fines, rules that they must have a chance to plead poverty. The Root: “A federal judge has ruled that anyone who owes money from criminal convictions in New Orleans must have a chance to plead poverty in a ‘neutral forum,’ before being put behind bars for failure to pay. According to the New Orleans Advocate, the ruling handed down by U.S. District Judge Sarah Vance on Friday, Aug. 3 brings an end to the three-year legal battle over the “debtors’ prison” lawsuit that was brought forward by convicts who were jailed for days and even longer in the parish, without being given a chance to prove that they could not afford to pay the fees or fines associated with their convictions. Vance cited ‘undisputed evidence’ that shows that 13 judges of Orleans Parish Criminal District Court have ‘a policy or practice of not inquiring into criminal defendants’ ability to pay before those individuals are imprisoned for nonpayment of court debts.’ Vance also declared that judges have an ‘institutional conflict of interest’ in making the determinations of poverty themselves as proceeds from fines and fees go straight into the court’s Judicial Expense Fund, which is controlled by judges and can be used for several judicial expenses. According to the Advocate, these fines and fees add about $1 million a year to the court’s finances. The federal judge slammed the court’s failure to ‘provide a neutral forum for determination of such persons’ ability to pay is unconstitutional.”

DOJ Suspends Judge To Force Deportation

Immigrant ordered deported after Justice Department replaces judge. CNN: “Judge Steven Morley has overseen the immigration case of Reynaldo Castro-Tum for years. But last month when Castro-Tum was officially ordered deported, it wasn’t Morley at the bench. Instead, the Justice Department sent an assistant chief immigration judge from Washington to replace Morley for exactly one hearing: the one that ended Castro-Tum’s bid to stay in the US. The unusual use of a chief immigration judge from headquarters has raised concerns from retired immigration judges, lawyers and the union for active immigration judges. They say the move seems to jeopardize the right to a fair process in immigration courts. It also highlights the unique structure of the immigration courts, which are entirely run by the Justice Department, and the ways that Attorney General Jeff Sessions — who serves as a one-man Supreme Court in these cases — has sought to test the limits of his authority over them.”

DOJ Intervenes In Antitrust Case Trump Opposes

Why the DOJ keeps going after the AT&T-Time Warner deal. CNBC: “The Department of Justice filed a brief Monday in its appeal of the June decision allowing AT&T to acquire Time Warner, arguing that the lower court’s ruling showed ‘fundamental errors of economic logic.’ However, when the DOJ first filed its appeal in July, the move raised suspicions that the department’s aims were political rather than legal. ‘That’s a question that’s been asked from day 1 of this transaction,’ Randall Stephenson told CNBC during Allen & Co.’s conference in Sun Valley, ID. ‘The rumors, the suggestions going around Sun Valley right now, it’s all very interesting. People were speculating what’s really going on.’ The political factor in question is President Donald Trump, who has made his disdain for Time Warner’s CNN known on many (many) occasions.”

Expert On Hitler’s Rise Draws Chilling Parallel

Expert explains how ‘average’ citizens enabled Hitler — just like Trump. Alternet:“President Donald Trump is a symptom of a much larger problem. New research suggests that Trump’s supporters are so motivated by racism and bigotry that they may willing to overturn American democracy so that white Christians like themselves can maintain continued power over our society. Ultimately, history teaches many lessons. The question then becomes whether we are willing to learn them. How is Donald Trump similar to, or different from, authoritarians and fascists such as Adolf Hitler? In what ways are ‘regular people’ and Trump’s ‘average’ supporters implicated and responsible for his assault on democracy and campaign of cruelty? To what extend does the cruelty of Trump and his enablers toward immigrant children and other groups channel the evils of the Nazi regime? Do individuals working together have a chance to slow down Donald Trump and the Republican Party’s assault on American democracy? In an effort to answer these questions I recently spoke with Richard Frankel, a professor of history at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette and the author of ‘Bismarck’s Shadow: The Cult of Leadership and the Transformation of the German Right, 1898-1945.’

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MORNING MESSAGE

Jeff Bryant

We Must Resist the Push to Privatize Public Schools

Remember when Democrats, at the urging of their progressive base, defeated an attempt to privatize Social Security by President George W. Bush in 2005? Now, there’s new scheme to privatize a valuable public asset all across the country, using Wall Street as an analogy to explain how the scheme works. The “portfolio model” is nothing more than a new push to take schools out of public hands and accountablity, and merits the same skeptical opposition that Democrats mustered when Bush tried to privatize Social Security.

Federal Judge Orders WH To Restart DACA

Federal judge orders Trump sdministration to restart DACA in full. NYM: “A federal judge has ordered the Trump administration to fully restart the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, the fourth district court ruling against the White House’s efforts to eliminate the program. On Friday, Washington-based district judge John Bates — who was appointed by President George W. Bush — dismissed the Trump administration’s rationale for shutting down DACA as inadequate. The order doesn’t take effect immediately. Bates gave the administration until August 23 to appeal the ruling or restart the Obama-era program, which protects from deportation more than 700,000 undocumented immigrants who were brought into the U.S. as children. The judge had given the administration 90 days to restart the program back in April, but stayed his own ruling in order to give the administration another chance at presenting a legally sound reason for why DACA is unlawful. It couldn’t.”

Reuniting Migrant Families is “Sole Burden” Of Government

Judge says reuniting families is government’s sole burden. AP: “A federal judge on Friday said the Trump administration was solely responsible for reuniting hundreds of children who remain separated from the parents after being split at the U.S.-Mexico border, puncturing a government plan that put the onus on the American Civil Liberties Union. ‘The reality is that for every parent that is not located, there will be a permanently orphaned child and that is 100 percent the responsibility of the administration,’ U.S. District Judge Dana Sabraw said. His remarks in a conference call came a day after the administration and the American Civil Liberties Union submitted widely divergent plans on how to reunify more than 500 still-separated children, including 410 with parents outside the United States. The government proposed Thursday that the ACLU, which represents parents, use its ‘considerable resources’ to find parents in their home countries, predominantly Guatemala and Honduras. The Justice Department said in a court filing that the State Department has begun talks with foreign governments on how the administration may be able to aid the effort. Sabraw said he was disappointed with the court filing ‘in the respect that there’s not a plan that has been proposed.’ He said he would order the government to name someone to lead the effort.”

Tuesday Primaries In KS, MI, MO, WA, Ohio Special Vote

4 primaries, Ohio special election promise key midterm clues. ABC: “Voters in five states head to the polls Tuesday, and both parties are looking for signs of strength and unity in their ranks less than three months until the first major U.S. election since the inauguration of President Donald Trump. Kansas, Michigan, Missouri and Washington State all hold primaries Tuesday, but the special election in Ohio’s 12th Congressional District is taking on particular significance because it’s the last time Democrats and Republicans will face off directly until November. Thirty-six U.S. House seats and three U.S. Senate seats are at stake in November in the four states holding primaries Tuesday, many of which will be in races key to determining control of both chambers of Congress… the district north of Columbus is suddenly primed to play a key role as Democrats aim to recapture a majority in the House of Representatives. Much like Rep. Conor Lamb did on his path to an upset victory in Pennsylvania’s 18th Congressional District in March, Franklin County Recorder Danny O’Connor has combined a moderate platform with criticism of both Democratic and Republican leadership to gain a foothold in the race. His opponent’s support of President Trump is further likely to boost turnout among Democrats in the district.”

Judge Rejects Anonymous Dark Money In Elections

Judge’s ruling invalidates FEC regulation allowing anonymous donations to ‘dark money’ groups. Politico: “A U.S. District Court judge on Friday issued a ruling invalidating a Federal Election Commission regulation that has allowed donors to so-called dark-money groups to remain anonymous, the latest development in a years-long legal battle that could have major implications for campaign finance. Judge Beryl A. Howell ruled the FEC’s current regulation of such groups, including 501(c) 4 non-profits, fails to uphold the standard Congress intended when it required the disclosure of politically related spending. ‘The challenged regulation facilitates such financial ‘routing,’ blatantly undercuts the congressional goal of fully disclosing the sources of money flowing into federal political campaigns, and thereby suppresses the benefits intended to accrue from disclosure … ,’ wrote Howell, an Obama appointee to the D.C district court. The decision is likely to be appealed. The decision paves the way for new requirements that could force nonprofits to disclose donors who give least $200 toward influencing federal elections. (Social-welfare nonprofits such as Crossroads GPS are allowed to spend money on elections so long as it’s not their ‘major purpose.’) In the post Citizens United era, spending by these groups has ballooned, but they have largely avoided having to report individual donors as a result of the FEC’s belief that their names only need to be disclosed in limited circumstances.”

Progressives’ Roadmap To Victory In November

The Progressives’ plan to win in 2018. The Atlantic: “The first Netroots Nation conference in a Trump-era election year opened with not one, not two, but five keynote speakers of color, all of whom underlined the potential of a ‘multiracial coalition’ of voters made up of African Americans, Latinos, Asian Americans, and progressive whites. Their prescription for taking back the House in the November mid-terms was not winning back Trump voters, but expanding the electorate. ‘Our swing voter is not red to blue,’ Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the 28-year-old Bronx Democrat who upset Democratic Caucus Chair Joe Crowley in a June primary, told an audience of progressive activists on Saturday. ‘It’s non-voter to voter.’ The line was met with huge applause from the audience at Netroots Nation, the annual gathering for progressive candidates, activists, and organizers. Where as last year’s conference attendees saw a gubernatorial candidate’s speech interrupted with shouts of ‘trust black women,’ this year’s felt like a very intentional tribute to people of color, especially women. The conference offered more than 20 training sessions and panels specifically addressing how to reach those voters, as well as the millions of eligible Americans who aren’t registered to vote. The majority of panelists and presenters, according to Netroots organizers, were people of color.”

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Host or Attend a #FamiliesBelongTogether Cookout in Your Hometown

Join us to help reunify families separated at the border by holding a Community Cookout on the weekend of August 4-5. We are asking you to bring together friends, family and neighbors to raise money and help migrant families reunite with their children. Some will gather in their own backyards. Others are cooking out for justice in parks or congregation parking lots. Some will be big, others more intimate. All are important. We are building community and liberating families at the same time!
Register to host or attend a #FamiliesBelongTogether Cookout now!

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MORNING MESSAGE

Richard Eskow

Pandering to Deficit Hawks Is a Losing Strategy

Democratic leadership’s obsession with asserting a “centrist” – that is, fiscally conservative – ideology threatens to put the party at odds with its base. It endangers the party’s chances of retaking the House, and will make it difficult for Democrats to offer a credible alternative to the failed conservatism of Trump and his party should they win in November.

Big Oil Loves EPA Move To Relax Fuel Standards

Big Oil cheers Trump moves to ease auto standards. Bloomberg: “The Trump administration’s plan to relax fuel-economy and vehicle pollution standards could be a boon to U.S. oil producers who’ve quietly lobbied for the measure. The proposal, released Thursday, would translate into an additional 500,000 barrels of U.S. oil demand per day by the early 2030s, about 2 to 3 percent of projected consumption, according to government calculations. ‘It’s a meaningful increase in U.S. oil consumption’ and one of the biggest steps the Trump administration could take to boost crude demand, said Trevor Houser, a partner with the Rhodium Group, a research firm that’s analyzed the proposal. ‘In terms of policy interventions that the U.S. government has taken or could take, this is certainly the most significant.’ The Environmental Protection Agency and National Highway Traffic Safety Administration proposed locking in U.S. fuel-economy and tailpipe greenhouse gas emissions requirements at 2020 levels of 37 miles per gallon. The existing standards the Trump administration wants to replace call for a steady increase to roughly 47 mpg by 2025.”

Trump Wants To Push 1m Off Food Aid

Trump urges lawmakers to push one million Americans off food stamp program. Common Dreams “With both houses of Congress preparing to merge their two versions of the farm bill, President Donald Trump announced his hope on Thursday that lawmakers will reach an agreement that kicks one million Americans off the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), also known as food stamps. In the House’s version of the farm bill, adults between the ages of 19 and 59 would be required to either work or be enrolled in a job training program 20 hours per week to qualify for assistance. The Senate did not include work requirements in its bill. Trump’s declaration that the Senate “should go to 51 votes” signaled the White House’s hope that Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) will abandon the filibuster, making it easier for Republicans to pass a farm bill that would cut down on food stamp recipients. Work requirements for SNAP benefits are expected to reduce government spending by $20 billion over the next decade. Trump is pushing Congress to pass the measure seven months after passing the GOP tax law, which the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) projects will add nearly $2 trillion to the federal deficit within 10 years.”

WH Wants To Cut Refugees To All-Time-Low

Top immigration aide pushing cuts in refugee numbers. Politico: “President Donald Trump last year advocated dropping the refugee cap as low as 5,000 people, down from 50,000, according to a former administration official – a cut far more drastic than even his most hawkish adviser, Stephen Miller, proposed at the time. Ultimately, the administration restricted to 45,000 the flow of refugees into the U.S. this fiscal year – the lowest since the program began in 1980, and less than half the target of 110,000 that President Barack Obama set in his last planning cycle. But the discussion set the terms of the administration’s refugee policymaking. Now Miller and a group of like-minded aides are pressing to reduce drastically the number of people entering the U.S., both legally and illegally. The immigration hawks are moving forward despite the blowback they got over their imposition of a “zero tolerance” prosecution policy at the southern border that resulted in the separation of thousands of migrant children from their parents, according to interviews with more than a dozen current and former administration officials and outside White House advisers.”

Lobbyists Push Dems To Reject Medicare For All

How health care lobbyists secretly persuade Democrats to oppose Medicare For All. The Intercept: “The Healthcare Leadership Council has closely tracked what its lobbyists have described as the “leftward movement” within the Democratic Party. In Hawaii and other states, the lobby group wanted to know if ideas popularized by Sen., Bernie Sanders, I-Vt. — such as aggressive proposals to reduce the cost of pharmaceuticals and institute a single-payer health care system modeled on Medicare — were taking hold. The council, which spends over $5 million a year on industry advocacy and brings together chief executives of major health corporations, represents an array of health industries, including insurers, hospitals, drugmakers, medical device manufacturers, pharmacies, health product distributors, and information technology companies. The group’s focus on competitive open seats around the country — like Hawaii’s 1st Congressional District — is aimed at shaping the next generation of lawmakers’ views on health care policy.”

How The DSA Learned To Love Elections

How the DSA learned to love Cynthia Nixon and electoral politics. New Yorker: “Since Sanders won millions of Democratic primary votes on a platform he described as socialist, the nature of the democratic socialists’ relationship to Democrats has remained unresolved. The D.S.A. now has chapters in all fifty states, which send delegates to a biennial convention. The first since Trump’s election was held in Chicago last summer, and the group decided on three national priorities. Two of them, promoting Medicare For All and supporting organized labor, were familiar, but a third, electing socialists, set a new course of the organization. ‘Most of the young members, which is now most of the organization, came to us through electoral work,’ Chris Riddiough, a founding member who sits on the national steering committee, told me. But the leadership, too, recognized that they had momentum. ‘We wanted to press our advantage,’ Svart said. By the fall, the D.S.A. had a national electoral committee, which made clear that they were not interested in protest campaigns or symbolic victories. In November, 2017, one of its officers told Politico, ‘We’re in this to win elections.’”

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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