“Fired up. Ready to go!” Edith Childs understands the power of a single voice, and she used those words to light up a room during my campaign stop in Greenwood, SC back in 2007.
I recently caught up with Edith, who just retired after 24 years in public service. Take a look: pic.twitter.com/IhW6pqnAQR
UN Secretary-General António Guterres’s message for 2023
Nowruz marks new beginnings.
A “new day”.
A new year.
The arrival of spring and rebirth of nature.
For more than 300 million people around the world, it is a time for family and friends to come together, reflect on the past and look forward to a brighter future.
Nowruz is also a celebration of humanity’s rich cultural heritage and diversity. And a chance – for all of us – to be guided by its values of peace, dialogue and solidarity:
To reaffirm our commitment to human rights and dignity;
To promote mutual respect and reconciliation;
To protect the planet and live in harmony with nature.
As we celebrate Nowruz, let us choose hope and compassion, embrace the opportunities that lie ahead, and work together to building a more peaceful, more sustainable and more inclusive world for all.
May this Nowruz bring you joy, good health and prosperity.
Like fragrant hyacinths, tulip blooms mark the arrival of Spring in Iran and are ubiquitous during the celebrations of Nowruz, the Persian New Year festival. 🌷🎉 The tulips and hyacinths are on view now in the @natasianart Museum. pic.twitter.com/NcN7yt2cE0
For more than 300 million people across the world, Nowruz marks the beginning of spring, the renewal of nature, and the welcoming of a positive and healthy new year. The Biden-Harris Administration wishes everyone celebrating a happy Nowruz! pic.twitter.com/51yRs6qbHr
Two new criminal abortion bans are now law in Wyoming. This is yet another assault on safe and effective medication the FDA approved over 20 years ago, and will put women’s health and lives at risk.
Three Stooges' "Disorder in the Court" (1936) starred Suzanne Kaaren. In real life, in 1998, Kaaren defeated Donald Trump in court after he tried to throw her out at age eighty-six from her rent-controlled apartment on Central Park South: pic.twitter.com/TiPBTtinSV
“I am returning herewith without my approval H.J. Res. 30, a resolution that would disapprove of the Department of Labor’s final rule titled “Prudence and Loyalty in Selecting Plan Investments and Exercising Shareholder Rights.”
The Department of Labor’s final rule protects the hard‑earned life savings and pensions of tens of millions of workers and retirees across the country. It allows retirement plan fiduciaries to make fully informed investment decisions by considering all relevant factors that might impact a prospective investment, while ensuring that investment decisions made by retirement plan fiduciaries maximize financial returns for retirees.
There is extensive evidence showing that environmental, social, and governance factors can have a material impact on markets, industries, and businesses. But the Republican-led resolution would force retirement managers to ignore these relevant risk factors, disregarding the principles of free markets and jeopardizing the life savings of working families and retirees. In fact, this resolution would prevent retirement plan fiduciaries from taking into account factors, such as the physical risks of climate change and poor corporate governance, that could affect investment returns. “ (politicus.usa)
More than four decades later, a secret revealed: How a prominent Texas politician says he unwittingly joined a mission to sabotage Jimmy Carter's 1980 campaign by urging the Iranians to hold 52 American hostages until after the election. https://t.co/VHhYt0iD0A
Today, @GovWhitmer signed legislation expanding Michigan’s Civil Rights Act to include protections for LGBTQ+ Michiganders. As our community faces threats to liberty and safety nearly every day, I’m thrilled Michigan is taking this important step to defend the LGBTQ+ community. https://t.co/YnyX1dh1ED
Meidas Touch
We don’t want Donald Trump to go to prison because we disagree with him politically.
We want Donald Trump to go to prison because he is a criminal.
TRUMP: “The State Department, the defense bureaucracy, the intelligence services, and all of the rest need to be completely overhauled and reconstituted to fire the Deep Staters and put America first.”
More important though, after the purge of the “Deep Staters,”
he would “reconstitute” the country’s destroyed defenses, presumably by stacking the agencies with his own loyalists.
His former national security director, John Bolton, has said that Trump would have pulled the United States out of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization if he been re-elected in 2020. Via the Wapo:
During his presidency, Trump frequently sought to undermine the alliance,
accusing its members of being “delinquents” and repeatedly telling aides he wanted to leave it. According to the New York Times, Trump told his top national security officials that he did not understand why the military alliance existed, and often described it as a drain on the U.S.
Retired Marine Gen. John F. Kelly, one of Trump’s former chiefs of staff, has also been described as saying that “one of the most difficult tasks he faced with Trump was trying to stop him from pulling out of NATO.”
Tomorrow, SCOTUS is going to release decisions in argued cases. We’re keeping a close eye to see the Court will issue opinions in either of the two major voting rights cases: Merrill v. Milligan and Moore v. Harper.👀
Just spotted this, posted by one of the Ted Lasso cast members at the White House today to talk with the President and First Lady about mental health …
Truthfully, I haven’t seen the show (may have to check it out!), but this is priceless!
📸: “Never in my wildest dreams did I think I would stand under this picture @WhiteHouse Humbled beyond belief. #armwrestlemrsO?! 🥰❤️💙”
South Carolina Republicans float the death penalty for abortion
GOP lawmakers in South Carolina have proposed giving personhood to fertilized eggs, meaning people who obtain abortions could be charged with homicide.
Ja’han Jones
“As with a nationwide abortion ban, implementing cruel and unusual punishment for abortion — the right to which was federally protected until mere months ago — is an idea that has moved from the fringes of the conservative movement into actual policy. (Even some anti-abortion groups are against criminalizing abortion seekers.)
Nonetheless, right-wing depravity on this issue is quite evident in South Carolina, where more than a dozen lawmakers have signed on to a bill that could result in a death sentence for anyone who has an abortion.”
Despite the challenges they face and despite what the naysayers say — Baltimore students succeed every day! We are celebrating their wins daily, so make sure to follow for more. Congratulations to @ConneXionsBalti senior, Kanye' Saxon who found out that he's been accepted to the… https://t.co/RIls52nmSopic.twitter.com/7Nv3FDZ2tf
— Baltimore City Public Schools (@BaltCitySchools) March 20, 2023
Anyone who tells you that violent protest is the certain consequence of Donald Trump being potentially indicted, that person may be wishing for that, but there's no reason that something like that is inevitable. pic.twitter.com/A2TaivGDRU
“It is run of the mill public law enforcement in this country and we do it all the time.
And there is no reason why a former president should be magically immune from the same legal system that just in the past 3 years has put handcuffs on 13 state senators, 17 state represenatives, one serving congressman, one former congressman, the Delaware State Auditor, the NC Republican Party Chair, the Insurance Commissioner of Georgia and too many city councilors, alderman county executives and mayors to count.
It happens all the time.
It really does not have to be the end of the world. And anybody telling you that if there is there an indictment of this particular former public official, there will be a protest like you’ve never seen before, there will be civil war, there will be unstoppable uprising among his supporters, and violence and all the rest. Anyone is telling you that this is the consequence of him being potentially indicted – well that person may be wishing for that. But there’s no reason that something like that is inevitable. This is not something coming up that is extraneous to our system and we need to invent something new to contend with it.
The bottom line here is that prosecuting public officials and former public officials, it happens all the time in the United States of Americas.
And it never engenders violence.
And it never endangers the country.
And it doesn’t require our legal system to be fundamentally rethought or dismantled.
Unless someone wants to try to gin that up.
And that is what we are contending with now with this particular former public official.”
U.S. takes politician indictments in stride; Trump case should be no different:
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lKToGAKYgzs)
Rachel Maddow reviews how regularly politicians at all levels of government in the United States are indicted without the overall system of government and the lives of Americans suffering any particular disruption, and argues that a potential indictment of Donald Trump should be no different.
“Once you are a former anything, you are just a citizen again.” (Maddow)
These photos are lifting my whole soul. If you think libraries are not worth fighting for, remind yourself of the sacrifice Black parents made to get access for our children in places like Grenada, MS. #WeFightOnhttps://t.co/RWozmJCMr6
Trump’s Georgia Lawyers Seek to Quash Special Grand Jury Report
In a new motion, the lawyers asked that the Fulton County district attorney’s office be disqualified from the investigation into election interference in the state in 2020.
(https://www.nytimes.com/2023/03/20/us/trumps-georgia-special-grand-jury.html)
I see #TherapistTwitter is trending. I've spent the last few days looking for a Black female psychologist or psychiatrist for my mother who I believe has dementia. I've learned that there is a shortage of Black doctors, so I hope to see more of yall in the near future. We need u pic.twitter.com/wPvm3PMQjH
— Unapologetically Black & Positive (@KimWrites4U) March 22, 2023
Two days until the first installment of #TheFutureofDemocracy series with leading civil rights activist, @SIfill_ , for a timely conversation of the future of Civil Rights with Dr. @heathwcarter on March 22 at 5:30 PM in the Wright Library. https://t.co/jhdpExaaC2
.@BChesky, @MichelleObama, and I created The Voyager Scholarship to support the next generation of leaders looking to pursue careers in public service.
After serving as a health worker in rural Zambia, @Ireen_Chikatula was inspired to launch a non-profit focused on empowering the women who are often left behind.
This #WomensHistoryMonth, learn more about the Obama Leader and how she's creating change:
— The Obama Foundation (@ObamaFoundation) March 22, 2023
Dr. Crystal Moten
This #WomensHistoryMonth, we caught up with Dr. Crystal Moten, Curator of Collections and Exhibitions at the Obama Presidential Center Museum, to discuss how it feels to be a native Chicagoan returning to the South Side for this special project.
🔽 Get to know the groundbreaker:
— The Obama Foundation (@ObamaFoundation) March 21, 2023
LA schools closed as workers strike for better wages and conditions
A massive strike shut down schools in the Los Angeles Unified School District and it’s focused on higher wages and better working conditions. This school strike was not initiated by the teachers, who are still under contract, but by some of the district’s lowest-paid employees. Geoff Bennett spoke with Sequoia Carrillo of NPR to discuss the latest on the strike and its impact.
I’m issuing a Presidential Memorandum directing the Secretary of Commerce to consider designating about 777,000 miles in the Pacific Ocean as a new national marine sanctuary.
That would make it the largest ocean area on the planet with the highest level of protection.
MAGA House Republicans put out extreme budget proposals that would eliminate funding for over 2,000 border patrol agents – undermining our ability to combat drug trafficking.
My budget keeps our borders secure while expanding legal pathways for migrants seeking asylum.
Over the last two years, 10.5 million new small business applications have been filed – strengthening the backbones of communities across the country. pic.twitter.com/lrdFUDehR1
@SenBillCassidy. & I are re-introducing the Coast Guard Combat-Injured Tax Fairness Act, which will ensure Coast Guard veterans receive the full benefits they earned through their service.
Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle & Capitol should be eager to get this done!
🌸 Ok, bloomer: Spring is here. The March equinox marks the first day of spring in the Northern Hemisphere and autumn in the Southern Hemisphere. During equinox, the Sun shines on the equator with nearly equal amounts of day & night: https://t.co/WC28LsQzbLpic.twitter.com/acSLOpNklY
–around these parts after intrepid ice, worn-out yaktraks and sub temps for so long, finally the melt and 3 days of Sun !! Best wishes to all for Spring 2023.
Biden-Harris Administration Celebrates the Affordable Care Act’s 13th Anniversary and Highlights Record-Breaking Coverage
During 2023 open enrollment a record high 16.4 million people signed up, with 4.4 million more people enrolled for health insurance under the Biden-Harris Administration since 2021
New HHS report shows more than 40 million people are currently enrolled in Marketplace or Medicaid expansion coverage related to provisions of the Affordable Care Act — the highest total on record.
On this day in 2010, @BarackObama signed into law the Patient Protection & Affordable Care Act: a shining achievement that presidents had strived toward for more than a century.
Today, and every day, Democrats are working to ensure that health care is a right – not a privilege. pic.twitter.com/vBbA3dRIZc
The Biden-Harris Administration wishes Muslim communities across the country and around the world a blessed and peaceful Ramadan. Ramadan Kareem! pic.twitter.com/4mlWhoUEiw
Our United States Ocean Climate Action Plan will allow us to harness the tremendous power of the ocean to help in our fight against the climate crisis.
I know we can reduce emissions with offshore wind farms – and protect our coast and fishing communities at the same time. https://t.co/PKtXMQpGI7
Bill creates strict definition for ‘sex’ legally sidelining intersex, transgender people
HELENA, Mont. — A bill to create a rigid definition of “sex,” boxing out legal recognition of intersex, nonbinary and transgender people in far-flung references across state law, passed a Senate public health committee late Monday after more than an hour of testimony from opposing sides.
“It targets us from cradle to grave,” said Rep. Zooey Zephyr, D-Missoula,
one of the Legislature’s first openly transgender members.
“This runs counter to the truth of mine, which is I live my life as a woman.
I live it when I go to bars, when I call on the phone and when I am in this body and this bill runs counter to that. It is rash, it is ill thought out, it is untimely and it is not right for Montana.”
This may be the worst most offensive anti trans bill in the country. MT really has pulled out all the stops – gets rid of gender distinctions, classifies every human being into basic sex at birth.
The implication is that enforced to its full extent, it will mandate the state to abolish gender distinctions and replace with attributed sex at birth on state IDs and legal documents. It would enforce bathroom laws, make discrimination against gender diverse people legal (hiring etc), and make same sex marriage illegal (unless married in another state).
This bill is 60+ pages long and impacts dozens of pieces of MT law. For trans people it is catastrophic. Meanwhile, the bill’s definition of sex flies in the face of all scientific research. If passed by the Senate, signed by the GIanforte and survives court scrutiny, it would damage the University system and economy massively.
A trans woman friend and longtime prominent professional who has done great things for Montana, said the horror of being forced to put ‘M’ on her driving license and the sole option of a male bathroom, means she’ll leave MT. Says it could be a death sentence for a trans woman to use a male bathroom or be placed in a male prison cell.
So far SB485 has passed the Montana Senate and on to the House, where it will need to survive a committee vote and three votes on the House floor.
Heartstopping words…
At one point my friend told me: “It would be illegal to be me.”
Dems say some foreign gifts to Trump remain unaccounted for
“Today’s preliminary findings suggest again the Trump Administration’s brazen disregard for the rule of law and its systematic mishandling of large gifts from foreign governments, including many lavish personalized gifts that vastly exceed the statutory limit in value but were never reported — some that are still missing today,” Rep. Jamie Raskin of Maryland, top Democrat on the Oversight Committee, said in a statement.
Sign our petition demanding the immediate release of 5 children who were taken from their parents during a traffic stop in Manchester, TN! Babies and young children belong with their parents, and it is the state's responsibility to support reunification! https://t.co/hl0Iiuebyu
— Southern Christian Coalition (@FaithAdvocates) March 22, 2023
“Exactly 13 years after Joe Biden whispered to Barack Obama that the Affordable Care Act was a big bleeping deal, there’s little doubt that he was right.” https://t.co/cUllnQSTPD
The Obama Diary 
Still miss him and the spark he brought to life every day!
Hi Judith! Happy Nowruz and to all, good health !!
💜💜
I feel exactly the same. Miss both of them.
Happy Nowruz 2023 !!
UN Secretary-General António Guterres’s message for 2023
Nowruz marks new beginnings.
A “new day”.
A new year.
The arrival of spring and rebirth of nature.
For more than 300 million people around the world, it is a time for family and friends to come together, reflect on the past and look forward to a brighter future.
Nowruz is also a celebration of humanity’s rich cultural heritage and diversity. And a chance – for all of us – to be guided by its values of peace, dialogue and solidarity:
To reaffirm our commitment to human rights and dignity;
To promote mutual respect and reconciliation;
To protect the planet and live in harmony with nature.
As we celebrate Nowruz, let us choose hope and compassion, embrace the opportunities that lie ahead, and work together to building a more peaceful, more sustainable and more inclusive world for all.
May this Nowruz bring you joy, good health and prosperity.
Karine Jean-Pierre
Two new criminal abortion bans are now law in Wyoming. This is yet another assault on safe and effective medication the FDA approved over 20 years ago, and will put women’s health and lives at risk.
Michael Beschloss
Looks as if there will be a lot of ketchup on the wall this weekend.
Biden Drops The Veto Hammer On Marjorie Taylor Greene
Biden said in his veto message to the House:
“I am returning herewith without my approval H.J. Res. 30, a resolution that would disapprove of the Department of Labor’s final rule titled “Prudence and Loyalty in Selecting Plan Investments and Exercising Shareholder Rights.”
The Department of Labor’s final rule protects the hard‑earned life savings and pensions of tens of millions of workers and retirees across the country. It allows retirement plan fiduciaries to make fully informed investment decisions by considering all relevant factors that might impact a prospective investment, while ensuring that investment decisions made by retirement plan fiduciaries maximize financial returns for retirees.
There is extensive evidence showing that environmental, social, and governance factors can have a material impact on markets, industries, and businesses. But the Republican-led resolution would force retirement managers to ignore these relevant risk factors, disregarding the principles of free markets and jeopardizing the life savings of working families and retirees. In fact, this resolution would prevent retirement plan fiduciaries from taking into account factors, such as the physical risks of climate change and poor corporate governance, that could affect investment returns. “ (politicus.usa)
A Four-Decade Secret: One Man’s Story of Sabotaging Carter’s Re-election
A prominent Texas politician said he unwittingly took part in a 1980 tour of the Middle East with a clandestine agenda.
by Peter Baker
(https://www.nytimes.com/2023/03/18/us/politics/jimmy-carter-october-surprise-iran-hostages.html)
Peter Baker
Meidas Touch
We don’t want Donald Trump to go to prison because we disagree with him politically.
We want Donald Trump to go to prison because he is a criminal.
TRUMP: “The State Department, the defense bureaucracy, the intelligence services, and all of the rest need to be completely overhauled and reconstituted to fire the Deep Staters and put America first.”
More important though, after the purge of the “Deep Staters,”
he would “reconstitute” the country’s destroyed defenses, presumably by stacking the agencies with his own loyalists.
His former national security director, John Bolton, has said that Trump would have pulled the United States out of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization if he been re-elected in 2020. Via the Wapo:
During his presidency, Trump frequently sought to undermine the alliance,
accusing its members of being “delinquents” and repeatedly telling aides he wanted to leave it. According to the New York Times, Trump told his top national security officials that he did not understand why the military alliance existed, and often described it as a drain on the U.S.
Retired Marine Gen. John F. Kelly, one of Trump’s former chiefs of staff, has also been described as saying that “one of the most difficult tasks he faced with Trump was trying to stop him from pulling out of NATO.”
much more: (https://morningshots.thebulwark.com/p/trump-picks-an-enemy-us?utm_source=direct&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web)
BTW–
Idaho: passes execution by firing squad
—has he got the full shilling?
–guessing you could hand all the executions to mister flushed-at-the-thought.
If the governor does not sign it I might take this back.
Ohmygod. Saw this response to her tweet.
Democracy Docket
Tomorrow, SCOTUS is going to release decisions in argued cases. We’re keeping a close eye to see the Court will issue opinions in either of the two major voting rights cases: Merrill v. Milligan and Moore v. Harper.👀
Just spotted this, posted by one of the Ted Lasso cast members at the White House today to talk with the President and First Lady about mental health …
Truthfully, I haven’t seen the show (may have to check it out!), but this is priceless!
South Carolina Republicans float the death penalty for abortion
GOP lawmakers in South Carolina have proposed giving personhood to fertilized eggs, meaning people who obtain abortions could be charged with homicide.
Ja’han Jones
“As with a nationwide abortion ban, implementing cruel and unusual punishment for abortion — the right to which was federally protected until mere months ago — is an idea that has moved from the fringes of the conservative movement into actual policy. (Even some anti-abortion groups are against criminalizing abortion seekers.)
Nonetheless, right-wing depravity on this issue is quite evident in South Carolina, where more than a dozen lawmakers have signed on to a bill that could result in a death sentence for anyone who has an abortion.”
(https://www.msnbc.com/the-reidout/reidout-blog/abortion-death-penalty-south-carolina-rcna74957
—Death Penalty (see above) = firing squad preferably?
The GOP’s strategy for protecting Trump? Target the prosecutors
Republican Party leaders — and former VP Mike Pence — attacked Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg over rumors that a Trump indictment is looming. Note the trend.
By Ja’han Jones
(https://www.msnbc.com/the-reidout/reidout-blog/trump-indictment-republicans-prosecutors-rcna75766)
The Federalist Society Isn’t Quite Sure About Democracy Anymore
After recent Supreme Court wins, the society’s youth arm debates the next stage for the conservative legal movement.
(https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2023/03/17/federalist-society-democracy-opinion-00087270)
Fox … host struggles to define “woke”, says it doesn’t have a definition:
“Democrats want to get you in an argument where if you have to define ‘wokeism’ as if the Webster’s Dictionary is defining it. That’s not what it is.
It could be feeling, it could be a sense.”
(Kat Abu)
um the Answer is floating in the ether.
Give Ms. Ringold all her flowers.
Baltimore City Public Schools
“It is run of the mill public law enforcement in this country and we do it all the time.
And there is no reason why a former president should be magically immune from the same legal system that just in the past 3 years has put handcuffs on 13 state senators, 17 state represenatives, one serving congressman, one former congressman, the Delaware State Auditor, the NC Republican Party Chair, the Insurance Commissioner of Georgia and too many city councilors, alderman county executives and mayors to count.
It happens all the time.
It really does not have to be the end of the world. And anybody telling you that if there is there an indictment of this particular former public official, there will be a protest like you’ve never seen before, there will be civil war, there will be unstoppable uprising among his supporters, and violence and all the rest. Anyone is telling you that this is the consequence of him being potentially indicted – well that person may be wishing for that. But there’s no reason that something like that is inevitable. This is not something coming up that is extraneous to our system and we need to invent something new to contend with it.
The bottom line here is that prosecuting public officials and former public officials, it happens all the time in the United States of Americas.
And it never engenders violence.
And it never endangers the country.
And it doesn’t require our legal system to be fundamentally rethought or dismantled.
Unless someone wants to try to gin that up.
And that is what we are contending with now with this particular former public official.”
Rachel Maddow Obliterates The Right’s Trump Indictment Hysteria
Jason Easley: (https://www.politicususa.com/2023/03/21/rachel-maddow-obliterates-the-rights-trump-indictment-hysteria.html)
U.S. takes politician indictments in stride; Trump case should be no different:
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lKToGAKYgzs)
Rachel Maddow reviews how regularly politicians at all levels of government in the United States are indicted without the overall system of government and the lives of Americans suffering any particular disruption, and argues that a potential indictment of Donald Trump should be no different.
“Once you are a former anything, you are just a citizen again.” (Maddow)
Trump’s life-long record would make an indictment unsurprising
Maddow: (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0t_0qQ6aES8)
Iraq war veteran
Stop requiring college degrees for jobs that don’t need them
Employers are finally tearing down the “paper ceiling” in hiring.
Rachel M. Cohen: (https://www.vox.com/policy/23628627/degree-inflation-college-bacheors-stars-labor-worker-paper-ceiling)
Can Indian seaweed replace plastic
–plastic has to gooooo.
–before we suffocate our precious planet even more with it.
Trump’s Georgia Lawyers Seek to Quash Special Grand Jury Report
In a new motion, the lawyers asked that the Fulton County district attorney’s office be disqualified from the investigation into election interference in the state in 2020.
(https://www.nytimes.com/2023/03/20/us/trumps-georgia-special-grand-jury.html)
Deep sigh at the insane lengths these folks go through to protect that creep. 🙄
Congressman Adam Schiff:
GOP targeting Manhattan DA is right from the autocratic playbook.
“I believe firmly that this generation will be judged by our success or our failure at standing up to a totalitarian impulse in the United States.”
(Presidential historian, Jon Meacham)
Wednesday, March 22
(https://www.nasa.gov/nasalive)
11 a.m. – Women’s History Month: Celebrating women who tell our stories
nasa.gov
Solitary Experiments – “Rise Up”
Dang! I almost missed Crystal’s birthday!
Enjoy! Goodnight!
Women’s History is worth celebrating!
NATIONAL COUNCIL FOR HISTORY EDUCATION
Which historical women inspire you?
How Black Freedom is Linked to Black Feminism
The Future of Civil Rights
MARC ELIAS:
My advice this week, follow @DemocracyDocket.
The Voyager Scholarship
Ireen Chikatula
Dr. Crystal Moten
LA schools closed as workers strike for better wages and conditions
A massive strike shut down schools in the Los Angeles Unified School District and it’s focused on higher wages and better working conditions. This school strike was not initiated by the teachers, who are still under contract, but by some of the district’s lowest-paid employees. Geoff Bennett spoke with Sequoia Carrillo of NPR to discuss the latest on the strike and its impact.
(https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/la-schools-closed-as-workers-strike-for-better-wages-and-conditions)
White House Conservation Action Summit
President Biden
Today, in addition to Nevada’s Avi Kwa Ame, I’m protecting Castner Range in Texas as a National Monument.
The people of El Paso have fought to protect it for 50 years.
Their work paid off.
Now, it’ll be preserved for future generations.
Today, I’m proud to use my authority to establish the Avi Kwa Ame National Monument – or “Spirit Mountain” – in Nevada.
It’s one of America’s most beautiful landscapes that’s rich in biodiversity and sacred to so many Tribes who have been there since time immemorial.
President Biden
I’m issuing a Presidential Memorandum directing the Secretary of Commerce to consider designating about 777,000 miles in the Pacific Ocean as a new national marine sanctuary.
That would make it the largest ocean area on the planet with the highest level of protection.
President Biden
MAGA House Republicans put out extreme budget proposals that would eliminate funding for over 2,000 border patrol agents – undermining our ability to combat drug trafficking.
My budget keeps our borders secure while expanding legal pathways for migrants seeking asylum.
President Biden
High-speed internet isn’t a luxury anymore – it’s a necessity.
For schoolwork, telemedicine, remote work, precision agriculture, and more.
We’ve brought affordable internet to over 16 million households – and we won’t stop
President Biden
Arts and Humanities Award Ceremony
Sen Rev Raphael Warnock
@SenBillCassidy. & I are re-introducing the Coast Guard Combat-Injured Tax Fairness Act, which will ensure Coast Guard veterans receive the full benefits they earned through their service.
Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle & Capitol should be eager to get this done!
Timothy Snyder
–around these parts after intrepid ice, worn-out yaktraks and sub temps for so long, finally the melt and 3 days of Sun !! Best wishes to all for Spring 2023.
This oughta be fun! 😃
Biden-Harris Administration Celebrates the Affordable Care Act’s 13th Anniversary and Highlights Record-Breaking Coverage
During 2023 open enrollment a record high 16.4 million people signed up, with 4.4 million more people enrolled for health insurance under the Biden-Harris Administration since 2021
New HHS report shows more than 40 million people are currently enrolled in Marketplace or Medicaid expansion coverage related to provisions of the Affordable Care Act — the highest total on record.
Full: (https://www.hhs.gov/about/news/2023/03/23/biden-harris-administration-celebrates-affordable-care-acts-13th-anniversary-highlights-record-breaking-coverage.html)
Nancy Pelosi
Today marks the beginning of the Holy Month of Ramadan, as millions of Muslim families around the world renew their faith.
May this month of self-reflection bring you peace and hope. Ramadan Mubarak!
Senate Bill 458
Bill creates strict definition for ‘sex’ legally sidelining intersex, transgender people
HELENA, Mont. — A bill to create a rigid definition of “sex,” boxing out legal recognition of intersex, nonbinary and transgender people in far-flung references across state law, passed a Senate public health committee late Monday after more than an hour of testimony from opposing sides.
“It targets us from cradle to grave,” said Rep. Zooey Zephyr, D-Missoula,
one of the Legislature’s first openly transgender members.
“This runs counter to the truth of mine, which is I live my life as a woman.
I live it when I go to bars, when I call on the phone and when I am in this body and this bill runs counter to that. It is rash, it is ill thought out, it is untimely and it is not right for Montana.”
March 1 2023: (https://nbcmontana.com/news/local/bill-creates-strict-definition-for-sex-legally-sidelining-intersex-and-transgender-peop)
IMHO,
This may be the worst most offensive anti trans bill in the country. MT really has pulled out all the stops – gets rid of gender distinctions, classifies every human being into basic sex at birth.
The implication is that enforced to its full extent, it will mandate the state to abolish gender distinctions and replace with attributed sex at birth on state IDs and legal documents. It would enforce bathroom laws, make discrimination against gender diverse people legal (hiring etc), and make same sex marriage illegal (unless married in another state).
This bill is 60+ pages long and impacts dozens of pieces of MT law. For trans people it is catastrophic. Meanwhile, the bill’s definition of sex flies in the face of all scientific research. If passed by the Senate, signed by the GIanforte and survives court scrutiny, it would damage the University system and economy massively.
A trans woman friend and longtime prominent professional who has done great things for Montana, said the horror of being forced to put ‘M’ on her driving license and the sole option of a male bathroom, means she’ll leave MT. Says it could be a death sentence for a trans woman to use a male bathroom or be placed in a male prison cell.
So far SB485 has passed the Montana Senate and on to the House, where it will need to survive a committee vote and three votes on the House floor.
Heartstopping words…
At one point my friend told me: “It would be illegal to be me.”
–Stop SB485 in its tracks–
Remarks by President Biden, Vice President Harris, First Lady Jill Biden, and Second Gentleman Douglas Emhoff at a Reception to Celebrate Women’s History Month
(https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/speeches-remarks/2023/03/22/remarks-by-president-biden-vice-president-harris-first-lady-jill-biden-and-second-gentleman-douglas-emhoff-at-a-reception-to-celebrate-womens-history-month/)
Statement from President Joe Biden on the Occasion of Ramadan
(https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2023/03/22/statement-from-president-joe-biden-on-the-occasion-of-ramadan/)
PBO w/BB King and Jaggar.
—remember every second plus exactly what rockstar President said.
Dems say some foreign gifts to Trump remain unaccounted for
“Today’s preliminary findings suggest again the Trump Administration’s brazen disregard for the rule of law and its systematic mishandling of large gifts from foreign governments, including many lavish personalized gifts that vastly exceed the statutory limit in value but were never reported — some that are still missing today,” Rep. Jamie Raskin of Maryland, top Democrat on the Oversight Committee, said in a statement.
Eric Tucker: (https://apnews.com/article/trump-foreign-gifts-saudi-oversight-japan-54ae698824250aeb5ff69e281967b515)
——Quelle surprise.
Charles Coleman: “There are two people you shouldn’t lie to. One is your Mother and the other is your attorney.”
Cruelty has infected us.
—um is that all? Epidemic of unthinkable cruelty across America, made possible by a compromised criminal elected to America’s highest office – trump.
indelibly etched into the mind, this day. Congrats to all involved and to President Obama for being a wonderful leader and president.
New post.