Resistance to Trump: Abolition as a Powerful Weapon

[ckaihatsu]

If the federal budget were a pie...


...Trump would try to give us the burnt crust.


Dear Chris,

After seeing the Trump administration's leaked education budget, we can't help but imagine how Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos plans to answer for these attacks on America's most vulnerable students.



Budget Breakdown

The Trump administration is about to formally release its full budget proposal. Based on what we’ve seen in his “Skinny Budget," especially when considered side by side with his tax principles, we’re pretty sure it’s going to be yet another opportunity for him to promote deep cuts to essential programs for working families to make room for giant tax cuts for corporations and the uber-wealthy.

Fortunately, presidential budget frameworks are just a suggestion, not the final word on our nation’s spending. But if we’re going to keep Trump’s allies in Congress from enacting the worst of his budget, we’ve got to spread the word and make his proposals as politically toxic as possible.

• Want to tell President Trump & House Speaker Paul Ryan how these budget cuts would affect you? Share your story at HandsOff.org.
• We’ve already seen a glimpse of his education budget, and it’s a direct attack on vulnerable students, teachers, and schools.
• On the flip side, the Congressional Progressive Caucus’ People’s Budget is much more in line with our principles for a budget that works for women and families.

Moms’ Equal Pay Day

Tomorrow is also Moms’ Equal Pay Day, the date that represents how much further into the current year working moms must work in order to be paid the same amount working dads were paid by the end of last year. Like the other Equal Pay Days we observe throughout the year, it’s an important opportunity to raise awareness about the combination of factors that make economic justice elusive for too many women and families—and to promote policy solutions that advance equality.

• Learn more about motherhood and the wage gap.
• Join us, MomsRising, and a host of other advocates for a #MomsEqualPay Twitter storm on Tuesday, May 23, at 2:00 p.m. Eastern Time.
• If you find yourself debating the existence of the wage gap, we’ve got you covered for all the rebuttals you need. (Pro-tip: pay special attention to the “Mommy Tracker” for tomorrow.)

Resistance Must-Do's

• Keep telling Congress: support the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act.
• While you’re at it, tell them to support the Paycheck Fairness Act, too.
• It’s Mental Health Awareness Month. Remember to keep self-care on your to-do list, too.

Resistance Must-Reads

• Walmart isn't doing right by pregnant employees, so we're suing them.
• Take note, Betsy DeVos: when it comes to helping student survivors of sexual assault, voters overwhelmingly support ensuring that schools follow their obligations under Title IX.
• Check out how some low-income moms are breaking into the tech industry.
• When it comes to politics and work, what rights do employees have?


We the Resistance is our fight to protect our rights and freedoms and to defend the most vulnerable among us through powerful collective action. Every conversation you have with a loved one about the issues important to you, every call you make to Congress, every rally you attend is a part of that resistance. Join us — sign on to the We The Resistance manifesto.

DONATE

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[ckaihatsu]

Republicans just committed political suicide


A new poll shows that voters are ready to kick the GOP to the curb because of Trumpcare -- and California alone could flip enough seats to make the difference. Will you chip in $5 to help take back Congress in 2018?

I'll chip in


Dear Chris,

Trumpcare would never have passed without the support of the 14 California Republicans who voted for it.

Now, a new poll shows that voters are so furious about Trumpcare that it could be a career-ending vote for dozens of Republicans all over the country.(1)

And since seven of the California Republicans who voted for Trumpcare come from districts that Trump lost, we can go a long way toward taking control of Congress just in California alone.

Nancy Pelosi told the Republicans after the Trumpcare vote that "you will have every provision of this bill tattooed on your forehead ... you will glow in the dark on this one."(2)

Courage Campaign is going to make that prediction come true. Will you chip in $5?

Yes, I'll chip in $5 to help hold Republicans accountable for Trumpcare and win back Congress.

This new poll shows that voters prefer a Democrat who voted against Trumpcare to a Republican who voted for it by 14 points. That's a HUGE margin that could put dozens of Republican held seats in play -- including those in districts that would otherwise be considered out of reach.

That's why Courage Campaign will be reminding voters that every single one of our GOP congress members -- the California 14 -- voted for Trumpcare.(3)

For instance, in the 49th and 45th districts -- which include the Camp Pendleton Marine Base and tens of thousands of military veterans -- we won't let voters forget that Darrell Issa and Mimi Walters voted to allow insurers to deny coverage to people with post-traumatic stress disorder.

And in the 25th district, north of Los Angeles, where a majority voted for Hillary Clinton, we'll make certain everyone knows that Steve Knight voted to defund Planned Parenthood and allow insurers to treat sexual assault as a pre-existing condition.

But to translate that voter anger into votes, we need to make sure voters actually know how their representatives voted. That's why Courage Campaign is building a war chest for a creative, sustained voter education effort in key districts that will take us all the way to 2018.

We're organizing "retirement parties" outside the offices of key congressional members. We're organizing "adopt a town hall" actions to give GOP members an earful when they're home for recess. We'll run ads and organize protests. And we won't stop until, as Rep. Pelosi said, they "glow in the dark."

We're playing the short game to defeat the American Health Care Act. And we're playing the long game to win back Congress in 2018. Will you chip in $5 to Courage Campaign PAC?

Yours in the fight for health care for all,

Susannah, along with Annie, Brenna, Caitlin, Cassie, Cheyenne, Eddie, Emma, Kelsey, Lindsay, Mahdi, Mary, Molly, Raquel, Scottie, Tim, and William (the Courage team)

1. http://time.com/4780046/health-care-vote-polling/
2. http://www.cnn.com/2017/05/04/politi...lth-care-bill/
3. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/...b00ccaae9ea2fe



Like what we do? Chip in to help fund the fight for a more progressive nation. Or find us on Facebook or Twitter.

Donate Today


Courage Campaign fights for a more progressive California and country. We are an online community powered by more than 1.3 million members.

http://act.couragecampaign.org/go/58...2053337.uvRYF6

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[ckaihatsu]

RiseUp! eNewsletter May 23-24


Chris --

RiseUp! Stop Mass Incarceration Network eNewsletter



In the Name of Humanity,
We REFUSE to Accept a Fascist America!
Drive Out the Trump/Pence Regime!

In this issue...

▪ Carl Dix: Mandatory Minimum Sentencing Revived as Part of a Renewed 'War on Drugs'
▪ Killer Cop Who Murdered Terence Crutcher Walks Free - Enough Is Enough!
▪ Ten Days of Vicious Moves Against Black People, Immigrants, and Protesters
▪ Political Prisoner Oscar Lopez Rivera Freed!
▪ Welcome the Release of Whistle-blower Chelsea Manning!
▪ Stonewall 4 Case Adjourned to June 20
▪ Watch the Video: Fascism in America?

***

Mandatory Minimum Sentencing Revived as Part of a Renewed 'War on Drugs'



by Carl Dix, Co-Founder, Stop Mass Incarceration Network

On May 10, Attorney General Jeff Sessions issued a memo instructing federal prosecutors to “... charge and pursue the most serious, readily provable offense.” To make sure the meaning of this policy change was clear, the memo goes on to say: “the most serious offenses are those that carry the most substantial guidelines sentence, including mandatory minimums.” In other words, hit people with the most serious charge you can and give them the longest sentence possible.

This will mean intensifying the mass incarceration in this country, which imprisons more people than any other country in the world. And this will hit Black and Latino people hardest. Mass incarceration of Black and Latino youth is itself a notorious crime that calls into question the whole legitimacy of the system. It came about in the first place because this capitalist-imperialist system had no future for the masses of Black youth. Beginning with Nixon and going through decades of both Democratic and Republican administrations, the capitalist-imperialist rulers penned Black people up, locked them down by millions, and even killed them off. All this was justified thru criminalizing Black people and drawing on and reinforcing white supremacy and racism.

This was met with resistance all along. With the publication of The New Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander and the outpourings that began after the murder of Trayvon Martin and intensified after the murders of Michael Brown and Eric Garner, things took off. People came into the streets against this terror and incarceration in a major way, exposing the injustice of this setup to the eyes of the world and calling into question the legitimacy of the whole system. The rulers were forced to make a show of backing up. In his second term, Obama pushed reforms like body cameras for police and policies that led to a slight decline in the prison population overall and a slightly more significant one in the federal system. Read more here.

***



Killer Cop Who Murdered Terence Crutcher Walks Free

Why Do Police Keep Murdering Unarmed Black People…And Getting Away With It?

May 18, 2017 | Revolution Newspaper | revcom.us

Last night another murdering pig walked free, video evidence be damned. This time it was the cop who murdered Terence Crutcher, a 40-year-old unarmed Black man, last September in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Righteous protests broke out in Tulsa right away—and more are needed.

On September 16, Terence was driving in north Tulsa Oklahoma when his car stalled. He got out, apparently to get help. Then the police came.

Videos show what happened next. Terence is slowly walking to his car with his hands up, away from the police. A cop in a helicopter above can be heard saying, “He’s got his hands up there for her now” and “this guy’s still walking and following commands.” In other words, Terence is clearly not threatening anyone. Terence reaches his car, puts his raised hands on the side of his SUV. By then four cops are about 10 feet away, guns drawn. Terence barely moved, if at all, yet within seconds one cop tased him, and then another—Betty Jo Shelby—shot him dead.

Terence Crutcher didn’t do a goddamn thing to justify being shot down. He was murdered. But the system only charged the murdering pig, Shelby, with manslaughter. She claimed she feared for her life, that she was afraid Terence was moving like he was reaching for a gun inside his car.

But there was no gun and no evidence of threatening moves. (According to the New York Times, “Prosecutors also argued that Officer Shelby fired several seconds before the gesture the defense cited as the basis for her fear.”)

The truth behind the murder was blurted out by another pig in the helicopter above seconds before Terence was murdered. He didn’t know anything about Terence other than he was Black, but he said, “That looks like a bad dude.” Bad dude!? In other words, to the police every Black person is a suspected criminal and a danger, and someone the police “had a license to murder,” as Carl Dix put it at the time.

Continue reading here...

***

Ten Days of Vicious Moves Against the Rights and Lives of Black People, Immigrants, and Protesters

May 15, 2017 | Revolution Newspaper | revcom.us

Trump/Pence Clampdown Intensifies

This past week, Trump and his administration have been embroiled in the controversy that has erupted in the wake of the firing of FBI Director James Comey. But the Trump/Pence regime is forging ahead with fascist moves—in particular, measures to surround and suppress Black and Latino people, immigrants, and other oppressed people. Among the moves in just the last 10 days under the fascist Trump/Pence regime:

▪ Enforcing Draconian War on Drugs Policies On May 11, Attorney General Jeff Sessions issued a memo to U.S. attorneys across the country—directing them to pursue the most serious charges possible against people arrested for drug crimes and to reinstall the practice of mandatory minimum sentences. This means more people will go to prison and get much longer sentences. Sessions’ memo explicitly reverses a 2013 memo issued by Obama’s attorney general, Eric Holder, which told prosecutors to omit, in some cases, information about drug quantities, in order to not trigger long mandatory sentences and encourage shorter sentences for nonviolent drug offenders. The Holder memo also said defendants not part of large-scale drug trafficking organizations qualified for lesser charges and less prison time. Sessions’ memo will now trigger mandatory minimum sentences, typically tied to the quantity of drugs involved. It will implement the most draconian policies of the war on drugs—which have subjected people convicted of nonviolent, lower-level drug crimes to unfairly harsh sentences. For decades, such policies have been a huge factor feeding mass incarceration, disproportionately affecting Black and Latino people.

Now even more Black and Latino people, especially the youth condemned to America’s dungeons, will have their lives ruined and thrown away—spending years or decades behind bars, even for very minor drug offenses like possessing small amounts of weed. And this will continue to reverberate throughout Black and Latino communities—with families losing fathers, mothers, sons, and daughters. This is a genocidal program.

* Moving to Take Away Voting Rights From Black and Brown People
Trump created a new commission on May 11 to investigate supposed voter fraud. Its real purpose: to promote voter suppression and validate Trump’s lie that three million people voted illegally in the 2016 election. Trump appointed Mike Pence, his Christian fascist vice president, and Kris Kobach, a notorious voting rights suppressor, to head the commission.

Efforts to suppress voting rights have historically targeted poor people and Black and other minority nationalities. Studies show that voter ID laws, requiring proof of citizenship, disproportionately affect Black and Latino people, who are more likely to be unable to get officially approved IDs or face other difficulties acquiring such documents. One study found that strict ID laws doubled the turnout gap between whites and Latinos in the general elections, and almost doubled the white-Black turnout gap in primary elections. State laws denying voting rights to those with criminal convictions have also disenfranchised millions of people and led to a situation where 13 percent of Black men have lost their right to vote.

Kobach is now poised as point man for the Trump/Pence regime’s move to suppress voting rights even more vigorously. Last year, a circuit court of appeals found Kobach had engaged in “mass denial of a fundamental constitutional right” by blocking 18,000 voter applicants from registering in Kansas, where he is secretary of state. Kobach is a big proponent of voter ID laws. In Kansas, African-Americans, who are six percent of the voting pool, are 18 percent of those lacking documents like birth certificates or passports. In 2010, when Kobach was a law professor, he drafted Arizona’s notoriously racist “show me your papers” law (since overturned in part as unconstitutional by the U.S. Supreme Court). This measure, targeting immigrants and Latinos, gave cops the power to demand proof of citizenship from anyone cops suspected of being in the U.S. illegally.

The whole electoral process serves to draw people into the killing confines of this capitalist-imperialist system, and allows the rulers to claim they represent the “will of the people” as they carry out brutal exploitation and oppression here and around the world. But everybody should have the democratic right to vote, and it is an outrage that this right, which Black people and others fought and died for, is being denied.

* Clamping Down on Immigrants
On May 7, the Christian fascist governor of Texas, Greg Abbott, signed SB4, a viciously anti-immigrant law banning sanctuary cities, cities that do not cooperate with federal immigration enforcement. Trump had issued an executive order, now in the courts, threatening to cut federal funds from sanctuary cities. SB4 is the first law to make it mandatory for state police agencies to obey demands by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) that a person jailed or detained for any reason be held until federal authorities check the person’s immigration status. The Texas law will mean more parents suddenly picked up and deported, their children not even knowing what happened to their mothers and fathers. Around the country, immigrants live with constant fear that they could be picked up at any time or place and be deported. In Towson, Maryland, ICE agents detained people coming out of the courthouse, including one immigrant who had just gone to pay a ticket for driving on a suspended license and was taken into custody.

* Criminalizing Peaceful Protest
Oklahoma took repressive measures against political protest to a new level, imposing draconian punishments on protesters convicted of minor infractions of the law. This is part of a wave of state laws criminalizing peaceful protest like marches, sit-ins, and encampments. Two new Oklahoma laws are in large part a vicious response to protests by Native Americans and others at Standing Rock and elsewhere for Native rights and around the environment. Nonpolitical trespass in Oklahoma had been a misdemeanor with a maximum penalty of a $250 fine; damaging or stealing property during trespass was punishable by a maximum of six months in jail. A new law makes trespassing while protesting at a so-called “critical infrastructure facility” (like a gas or oil facility) a felony, carrying up to a year in prison and a $10,000 fine. If property is damaged or facility operations are “impeded,” protesters can get up to 10 years in jail and a $100,000 fine. Organizations “found to be a conspirator” with protesters—a group calling a protest where civil disobedience or trespassing occurs—now face fines up to $1,000,000! A second bill (not yet a law) would subject anyone who “compensates” a protester (perhaps even by providing housing for someone later arrested) with civil liability (i.e., they could be sued for recovery of any damage the protester allegedly caused).

* Putting a Stamp of Approval on Police Murder of Alton Sterling
Last July, Baton Rouge cops murdered Alton Sterling, a 37-year-old Black man, for the “crime” of selling DVDs outside a store. On May 3, the Department of Justice announced they will bring no federal charges against the killer cops, because the “law requires that the reasonableness of an officer’s use of force on an arrestee be judged from the perspective of a reasonable officer on the scene, rather than with added perspective of hindsight.” In other words, this wanton murder meets the standard of legal action by “reasonable” police. Hundreds of unarmed people, disproportionately Black and Brown, are killed by the cops every year, and the murdering police are almost always let off free. Now, the U.S. is led by a fascist regime that has declared 100 percent backing for cops and made clear they will not put even minimal limits on local police.

* Attacking Black Colleges and Universities
In a spending bill signed on May 5, Trump raised the possibility that federal funding will be blocked for Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and other programs such as Native American housing block grants. Trump suggested such funding is unconstitutional because it allocates benefits “on the basis of race, ethnicity, or gender.” Tucked away in the last paragraph of the bill, the White House announced it would treat a program that helps HBCUs get low-cost construction loans “in a manner consistent with the [constitutional] requirement to afford equal protection of the laws.” One reflection of discrimination and inequalities in education today is the fact that HBCUs have, on average, one-eighth of the endowment that white schools do. The U.S. Department of Education currently provides federally backed loans to HBCUs for the construction of buildings and other facilities. Now Trump has issued an open threat to deny such funding on the totally bullshit argument that these programs “discriminate” against white people.

***

Political Prisoner Oscar Lopez Rivera Freed!


Oscar Lopez Rivera

This week, Oscar López Rivera, Puerto Rican nationalist and one of the leaders of the FALN (Fuerzas Armadas de Liberación Nacional), an organization dedicated to fighting for independence of Puerto Rico from U.S. imperialism, was released from prison after more than 35 years as a political prisoner.

A major controversy has erupted after organizers of the annual Puerto Rican Day Parade in New York City, scheduled to be held on June 11, announced they were honoring him as a “National Freedom Hero” and having him march at the head of the parade.

A colonial possession of the U.S., an enormous economic and social crisis has seized upon Puerto Rico (background here). The official poverty rate is about 45%. People are being hit with deadly cuts in health care—with hospitals and other facilities closing and crucial care denied. At the end of April, Puerto Rico officially filed for bankruptcy because of its staggering debt of over $120 billion, and this is going to lead to more cuts that will further devastate the lives of the people. One of the immediate measures taken was the closing of 179 schools affecting 25,000 children.

***

Celebrate the Release of Chelsea Manning!

In January when Chelsea's 35 year sentence was commuted after 7 years of imprisonment, revcom.us noted that "This was, by far, the longest sentence ever given to anyone for leaking documents to the media. Even people who leaked actual military secrets—including General Petraeus—have received sentences of no more than one-to-three years." See: Welcome Manning’s Scheduled Release from Prison Condemn Her Outrageous Seven-Year Imprisonment.

To mark Chelsea's release, The World Can't Wait, one of our affiliated organizations, will send FREE copies of a fully notated DVD of "Collateral Murder". You can use it in classes, or donate to libraries. Donations welcomed.

***

Stonewall 4 Trial Adjourned to June 20


Next appearance June 20, 2017 9:00 am to Part A courtroom 4th Floor

A full report about developments will be forthcoming. But remember:

We Demand: Drop the Charges on the Stonewall 4
Sign the Petition here

***

Watch the Video: "Fascism In America?"


Could It Happen Here?
Is It Happening Here?
What Is the Danger That the Trump/Pence Government Poses?

From the Emergency National Teach-In on April 27

Speakers:
* George Prochnik, author, New Yorker contributor
* Rita Dentino, Exec. Dir., Casa Freehold of National Day Laborers Organizing Network
* Kierán Suckling, a founder and Executive Director of Center for Biological Diversity
* Andy Zee, Refuse Fascism co-initiator, Revolution Books NYC spokesperson
* Moderator: Sunsara Taylor, Refuse Fascism co-initiator

Humanity faces an extreme emergency with Trump’s rise to power. This nationally live-streamed Teach-In aims to deeply explore, from different perspectives, the essential nature of the Trump/Pence Government, the relevance of the history of fascism, the threat it poses to humanity and the planet itself, and the dangers of normalization.

This event is being made into a quality video for distribution, donate and learn more at RefuseFascism.org

[email protected] / 917-407-1286
Twitter: @refusefascism / Facebook, Instagram: refusefascism
Media Sponsor: WBAI Radio, New York



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[ckaihatsu]

This week: Resist!


Chris:

We hope you had a restful and family-filled holiday weekend.

We also hope that you will now resist and persist with us by contacting your members of Congress, who are in their home districts this week.

There’s so much at stake … from the Senate scheming to sabotage and repeal the Affordable Care Act to President Trump’s cruel and immoral budget proposal.

Millions of people stand to LOSE health coverage. Trump also wants to gut Medicaid, defund Planned Parenthood, end Meals on Wheels and make devastating cuts to our nation’s safety net programs.

And we aren’t fooled by Trump’s phony, dangerous and completely disingenuous paid leave proposal. You don’t help working families if you propose a grossly inadequate parental leave (only) benefit on one hand and take away health coverage and erode unemployment insurance on the other.

That’s why, at the National Partnership, we plan to stand strong and continue resisting.

Here are a few ways you can get involved to protect our care, fight back for reproductive rights, advocate for paid leave and fair pay, and speak out about other issues that matter to you:

1. Visit ResistanceNearMe.org to find a town hall or public event near you.




2. Find an Indivisible group in your area and take action.




3. Watch and share our new paid leave “Time to Care” video, which sets out what real paid leave must include.




4. Use WeTweet.org to tell your elected officials that you strongly support the Affordable Care Act and women’s health.




Chris, I am so thankful to have you standing by our side.

Together, we’re in this for the long haul.

Thanks for all that you do.

Sincerely,

Debra Ness
Debra Ness Signature
Debra Ness
President




1875 Connecticut Avenue NW
Suite 650
Washington, DC 20009
202.986.2600
[email protected]
www.NationalPartnership.org

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[ckaihatsu]

Sign now: Stop Trump’s “major elimination” of rules reining in Wall Street


Chris Kaihatsu,

Wall Street's hoping you’re too busy looking at Trump's scandals to see them slip a wishlist of deregulations through Congress.

They're really banking on you not paying attention. Every year Wall Street’s pet Republicans introduce a bill to eliminate the financial protections that could prevent another economic crash like the one in 2008.

But now Trump’s in the White House. He’s itching to sign Wall Street deregulation into law and give his banker friends everything they’re asking for.

SIGN THE PETITION: Tell Congress not to give Wall Street its wishlist. They need to oppose the Wrong CHOICE Act.

Trump has been promising bank executives for months that he would kill the Dodd-Frank Wall Street reform reining in the big banks.

Trump told a room full of CEOs that after he does “a major elimination” of Dodd-Frank, “the bankers in the room, they'll be very happy.”1

The Wrong CHOICE Act is exactly the type of Christmas present for big banks that Trump was talking about. Here's a quick tour of why it’s an unbelievably bad idea:

• It would gut Elizabeth Warren’s CFPB. After returning $12 billion over the past 6 years from banks and financial companies to the customers they’ve cheated, the Wrong CHOICE Act would ban the Consumer Bureau from getting that kind of money back to cheated consumers.2

• It would effectively kill Dodd-Frank by eliminating key parts of the law's ability to rein in Too Big To Fail banks.3

• It would give free rein to predatory lenders, and block the Consumer Bureau from working to stop subprime mortgage lenders and payday loan centers from sucking borrowers into a debt trap.4

It's as if Wall Street is fine risking another 2008-style crash -- as long as they can make some extra money in the meantime.

Tell Congress to oppose the CHOICE Act and protect consumers and the economy from Wall Street's greed.

Thanks,

Reuben and the Rootstrikers Project at Demand Progress


DONATE


Sources

1. Reuters "Trump's Message to Bankers: Wall Street Reform Rules May Be Eliminated" April 12, 2017
2. NJ.com, “Bamboozled: 3 Ways Lawmakers Are Gutting Consumer Protections” May 11, 2017
3. San Francisco Chronicle, “The House of Representatives Takes Aim at Dodd-Frank” May 6, 2017
4. Consumerist, “‘Financial CHOICE Act 2.0’ Would Eliminate Government’s Ability To Go After Shady Payday Loan Operations” May 9, 2017


Rootstrikers is a new generation of activists taking a stand against the corrupting influence of money in politics and Wall Street’s attempts to rig the game against everyday Americans. We are a project of Demand Progress.

Be a part of our online community: join us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter!

You can unsubscribe from this list at any time.

[ckaihatsu]

Local Stage, National Wins


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In the past few weeks, FREEAMERICA founder John Legend traveled to Louisiana and New York to advocate for criminal justice reform.

Beginning in Baton Rouge, Legend testified before the Louisiana House Judiciary Committee. There, he urged the Committee to pass legislation that would help the state to reduce incarceration rates overall, and also save $78 million over the next decade.

In New York City, Legend joined JustLeadershipUSA founder Glenn E. Martin and other advocates on a panel to discuss the success of #CLOSErikers, a grassroots activism campaign, that urged NYC Mayor Bill De Blasio to pursue a plan to shutter the infamous Rikers Island jail facility.

But Baton Rouge and New York City are not the only local jurisdictions making progress in the criminal justice space. Local and state-based efforts in Alabama, Pennsylvania, Florida, and Ohio are also working to move the needle on ending mass incarceration.

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Regaining the Right to Vote

Alabama Governor Kay Ivey has signed a bill that restores voting rights to thousands of formerly and currently incarcerated individuals. "For thousands and thousands of people who did not have the right to vote, it gives them the opportunity to vote," said FREEAMERICA friend Pastor Kenneth Glasgow, who has fought for decades to re-enfranchise those with criminal records through his nonprofit, the Ordinary People Society.

Go to article



Progress in Philadelphia

In a stunning victory, ultra-progressive Larry Krasner secured the nomination as the Democratic candidate for district attorney in the Philadelphia primaries. This win could signal a major shift for the criminal justice system in a city known for its tough-on-crime policies, as prosecutors are arguably the most powerful actors in the system.

Go to article



Florida's Prison Overhaul

Florida has a notorious reputation for its juvenile arrest practices and high rate of transferring children into the adult criminal justice system. But change may be on the horizon, as the Florida Department of Corrections has put forward legislation to divert youth who are first-time offenders to community-based rehabilitation programs and counseling.

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The Wounds Doctors Can't Fix

Ohio is working to battle the idea that “hurt people hurt people” by investing in services and rehabilitation programs to help victims of street violence overcome physical and emotional trauma. This statewide initiative stems from the criminal justice system but will rely on a holistic approach for success: drawing upon the services of health care providers, social workers, and mental health professionals to break the cycle of violence that results from untreated psychological wounds.

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[ckaihatsu]

Jeff Sessions wants to keep private prisons ALIVE


GEO Group is cashing in on Trump's presidency.



It is time for the FEC to expose the private prison industry's scheme to make profits off of people.

TAKE ACTION!



Chris,

GEO Group -- one of the country’s largest and most profitable private prison companies -- had a big plan this election season. Step 1: Pay big money to get Trump elected. Step 2: Make private prisons rich again. It all started during the 2016 presidential campaign when GEO Group illegally donated more than $225,000 to a Trump PAC, Rebuild America NOW.1 Then as soon as he was sworn in, Jeff Sessions lifted the ban on the federal use of private prisons. And just last week, Sessions ordered 94 U.S. Attorneys to seek the harshest punishment for drug offenses. This is all music to GEO Group’s ears. The company knew by bankrolling Trump’s move into the White House, they would see their profits rise with each prison bed.

This all happened right in front of the eyes of the Federal Election Commission (FEC) -- the group that is responsible for overseeing campaign finance laws and ensuring electoral and democratic integrity. It is against the law for companies that receive government contracts to donate to political campaigns. The Campaign Legal Center has led the fight in exposing the profiteers and filed a complaint against GEO Group with the FEC but the FEC has failed to do its job. It is time for the Commission to step up immediately and hold GEO Group accountable.

GEO Group and the Trump administration’s cozy relationship is dangerous and threatens our communities. Demand FEC holds GEO Group accountable for illegally scheming to make money off the presidential election.

There is no reason for private prisons to exists -- these institutions do not serve the public’s best interest nor does it increase public safety. For decades, the cruel and money-hungry system has contributed to mass incarceration and the U.S. having the world’s largest prison population. After years of activism and community mobilization, The Obama administration was finally making the effort and took action to create prison reform. In August 2016, former Deputy Attorney General Sally Yates announced that the Obama administration would begin phasing out private prisons.2 After the announcement, GEO Group’s stock took a deep nosedive. But they kept banking on Trump to crawl their way back into big profits.

There is clear, research-based evidence that private prisons do not work. Jeff Sessions still reversed the ban on federal private prisons. Sessions said the ban on private prisons hurt the prison system’s ability to meet the future needs for housing.”3 This, of course, is all code for increasing the imprisonment of people for profit. And it’s time to connect the dots. As soon as Sessions ended the Obama administration’s ban on federal private prisons, GEO Group became the first for-profit company to receive contracts to operate private detention centers under the Trump era.4 The payoff is HUGE. Two former aides of Jeff Sessions now work as lobbyists at GEO Group to help drive their influence. They even lobbied for and wrote legislation in Texas that would increase jail time for immigrant children and end safety regulations at the detention centers where these children are locked up.5 Since 1989, companies like GEO Group have spent over $35 MILLION lobbying and supporting political campaigns to keep Black people in jail. They’ve lobbied for longer sentences, “three-strikes” rules, and anti-immigration legislation like Arizona’s notorious racial profiling law. And they will keep giving the most money to any politician who will boost their agenda.

The private prison system isn’t meant to reduce crime. It is just an excuse to keep GEO Group’s bottom line intact. Demand an investigation.

For decades, the private prison industry has fueled mass incarceration, disproportionately affecting Black people. Over the years, too many neighborhoods and communities of color have been demolished and decimated by the “War on Drugs,” over policing and militarizing streets. We’ve seen these devastating effects in cities like New York, where the “Rockefeller” drug laws which set an automatic life in prison sentence for drug addicts and even those carrying just small amounts drugs. And even in Los Angeles, where in the 1980’s and 1990’s under the leadership of Reagan, Bush, and Clinton, homes were raided, and people were rounded up and shot and killed by police. The War on Drugs ruined lives all because of some “tough on crime” stance by greedy politicians to help the prison industrial complex grow and remain strong.

The private prison industry’s stronghold on profits takes away real funding and investment in safe, affordable housing, education, jobs, and community defense for Black people. Harsh and extreme drug and sentencing policies benefit the pockets of private prison companies. As of 2014, Black and Brown people made up roughly 60% of the prison population.6 This is what GEO Group wants. The more Black people who are jailed in their unsafe and poorly operated facilities, the more money they will have in their bank accounts.

Tell FEC: Investigate GEO Group’s “pay to play” arrangement with the Trump administration.

The Federal Elections Commissions has the opportunity to hold this private prison company accountable. By stepping up to investigate the wrongdoing of the GEO Group it will be a major force in exposing the corrupt nature of an industry that locks up Black people and stalls Jeff Sessions new "War on Drugs" effort and other racist policies. The FEC should not turn a blind eye to this pay to play scheme that is fundamentally hurting the lives of Black people and other vulnerable communities. A real investigation needs to happen NOW.

Sign the petition.

Until justice is real,

Rashad, Arisha, Scott, Anay, Clarise, Enchanta, Malaya, Katrese, and the rest of the Color Of Change team


References:

1. "Pay to Play: The giant private prison operator GEO Group may have illegally funded a Donald Trump super PAC," VICE, 12-20-2016 https://act.colorofchange.org/go/797....872082.eWl3WV

2. "PRIVATE PRISON COMPANY GEO GROUP GAVE GENEROUSLY TO TRUMP AND NOW HAS LUCRATIVE CONTRACT," Newsweek, 05-11-2017 http://act.colorofchange.org/go/7972....872082.eWl3WV

3. "Justice Department Keeps For-Profit Prisons, Scrapping an Obama Plan," New York Times, 02-23-2016 https://act.colorofchange.org/go/797....872082.eWl3WV

4. "FOLLOWING SUPER PAC SUPPORT, PRIVATE PRISON COMPANY WINS TRUMP ADMIN CONTRACT," Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, 04-11-2017 https://act.colorofchange.org/go/797....872082.eWl3WV

5. "PRIVATE PRISON CORPORATION WROTE TEXAS BILL EXTENDING HOW LONG IMMIGRANT CHILDREN CAN BE DETAINED," The Intercept, 05-02-2017 https://act.colorofchange.org/go/797....872082.eWl3WV

6. "Study: More People of Color Sentenced to Private Prisons Than Whites," Huffington Post, 04-23-2014 http://act.colorofchange.org/go/7976....872082.eWl3WV


Color Of Change is building a movement to elevate the voices of Black folks and our allies, and win real social and political change. Help keep our movement strong.

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Support Prisoners on Hunger Strike!


Stand with Folsom Prisoners, Take Action!
View this email in your browser

Last Thursday, May 25, prisoners held in isolation at California's Folsom State Prison began an indefinite hunger strike to protest against inhumane conditions and demand dignity. The prisoners, who are held in Administrative Segregation (Ad Seg), have released a list of demands, including an end to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation’s (CDCR) practice of depriving prisoners of sleep, access to legal assistance, and to be provided adequate clothing.



To support the strikers, their loved ones and anti-prison organizers with Sacramento Solidarity Network and the Prisoner Hunger Strike Solidarity Coalition are holding a rally on Sunday at Folsom prison, from 12pm to 2pm. There will also be a rally in Los Angeles at the same time in front of Twin Towers Jail. The prison administration has recently claimed that the strike has ended, but until we hear from the prisoners directly that their demands have been met, we will continue to support them from the outside. At least two prisoners on strike have been transferred to other prisons, and CDCR will continue to retaliate unless we organize on the outside.
The prisoners’ demands are direct, clear, and powerful, as they illustrate the centrally repressive function of imprisonment, and particularly of solitary confinement like Ad Seg. The state uses imprisonment for broad social control as well as targeted attack on individuals. Within the prison system, Ad Seg and locking people in solitary confinement are additional tools to repress those who do not comply with the prison regime's rules of domination. Strikes are a powerful tool to combat this repression. When prisoners are going on a hunger strike simply to demand adequate clothing and educational programs, they delegitimize all myths that imprisonment is meant to “rehabilitate,” and expose it for the racist, violent, and dehumanizing system that it is.

Take Action

To support the strikers, please contact the following people. You can use a sample script below. Sent to a secretary or voicemail? Leave a message for the official you are contacting.

• Folsom Prison Warden Ron Rackley: 916-985-2561 / [email protected]

• Chief Deputy Inspector General Roy Wesley: 916-255-1102

• Ombudsman Sara L. Smith: 916-324-5458 / [email protected]

• CDCR Secretary Scott Kernan: [email protected]

• CDCR Undersecretary Ralph M. Diaz: [email protected]

• Governor Jerry Brown: 916-445-2481

• Chief Officer of the Ombudsman Sara Malone: 916-327-8467 / [email protected]

• Folsom Prison Information Officer Jack Huey: 916-985-2561 / [email protected]


Sample Script:

“Hello, my name is ____________and I’m a resident of _______(name your state). I am calling in support of the hunger strike that began May 25th at Folsom State Prison. I am deeply concerned about the cruel and inhumane conditions of confinement that have brought this on. I strongly urge you to meet the Hunger Strikers’ reasonable human rights demands, and do not retaliate against them.”

The Folsom prison strikers also see that their struggle today is part of past and broader struggles against the prison industrial complex. In a statement they released, they connect their strike with the 2011 and 2013 strikes led by solitary prisoners in Pelican Bay, a fight that CR supported through dedicated media and grassroots organizing:

“Some might assume the impact of the struggle men endured within the SHU to gain fair, dignified living conditions would have a long-lasting effect, yet, men stand again, just as unified, ready to sacrifice their bodies, health, and life to achieve what has already been hard fought for and accomplished. Why must California prisoners continue to sacrifice health and life, involve lawyers and courts, in order to be treated like human beings? We will continue to remind CDCR officials they will be held accountable for this type of treatment."

The Prisoners' Demands

1. PROVIDE ADEQUATE ACCESS TO COURTS AND LEGAL ASSISTANCE

2. PROVIDE MEANINGFUL EDUCATION, SELF-HELP COURSES AND REHABILITATIVE PROGRAMS

3. ALLOW POSSESSION OF TELEVISIONS

4. PROVIDE EXERCISE EQUIPMENT, INCLUDING PULL-UP BARS, FOR MEANINGFUL EXERCISE IN YARD

5. END CRUELTY, NOISE AND SLEEP DEPRIVATION OF WELFARE CHECKS

6. KEEP ORIGINAL PROPER PACKAGING FOR COMMISSARY AND CANTEEN

7. GIVE NON-DISCIPLINARY STATUS TO QUALIFYING PRISONERS

8. PROVIDE ADEQUATE AND APPROPRIATE CLOTHING AND SHOES

9. PROVIDE FOOD BOWL AND CUP

Visit this page for a more in-depth elaboration of the demands and grievances.

As we continue to build on resistance past and present, we stand in deep solidarity with the struggles of those that the PIC attempts to keep most repressed. Please follow the Prisoner Hunger Strike Solidarity Coalition website for updates and to learn more.

In Struggle,

Critical Resistance

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RiseUp! June 2-3 National eNewsletter


Chris --


RiseUp! Stop Mass Incarceration Network eNewsletter



In the Name of Humanity,
We REFUSE to Accept a Fascist America!
Drive Out the Trump/Pence Regime!

In this issue...

▪ Alert! Fascist Bill in Congress Aims to Drastically Enhance Police Powers—This Must Be Defeated!
▪ Support the Hunger Strike of California Folsom Prisoners
▪ This Must Be Stopped: Trump/Pence Regime’s Fascist Terror Against Immigrants
▪ Trump Green Lights Escalating Police Violence and Targets Protest Against Police Murder and Terror
▪ Book Event: LOCKING UP OUR OWN: Crime and Punishment in Black America
▪ Stonewall 4 Case Adjourned to June 20
▪ Watch the Video: Fascism in America?


***


Alert! Fascist Bill in Congress Aims to Drastically Enhance Police Powers—This Must Be Defeated!

May 29, 2017 | Revolution Newspaper | revcom.us

For decades, under both Democrats and Republicans, America’s police have profiled, harassed, beaten, tortured, and murdered millions of people, especially Black, Latino, and Native American people. In recent years, there has been an upsurge in protest against this terror carried out by the officially sanctioned murderers in blue, from Ferguson to many other cities big and small across the country. And there has been other righteous resistance, like the thousands fighting against the Dakota Access oil pipeline and in defense of Native Peoples’ rights and in defiance of repression by heavily armed law enforcement, and the millions who have come into the streets in the Women’s March and other protests against Trump.

In the face of this, the Trump/Pence regime from the beginning has made clear its fascist determination to “restore law and order”—to give a full green light to the pigs in blue and an escalation of police brutality and murder to a whole new level. Trump, Pence, and the rest of the regime have been turning reality upside down by accusing people protesting murder by police of fomenting violence, and they have all but openly threatened to criminalize those who condemn, or even criticize, the police or refuse to cooperate with them. And now, the regime’s Republican forces in the Senate and House have introduced a toxic bill called “Back the Blue Act of 2017” that aims to dramatically increase police powers.

Revcom.us will continue to cover this, but here are some key things about this bill:

The Trump/Pence regime would be empowered to override local prosecutors who the regime deems not aggressive or draconian enough in going after opponents of the police, including victims of and protesters against police brutality, and other protesters against the regime and the whole system. The bill would create new federal crimes for assaulting or killing a state or local cop. This applies to any law enforcement agency receiving federal aid—and since almost all police agencies receive some federal funding, the bill would cover nearly all local cops. What this means, for example, is that federal prosecutors under the Trump/Pence regime could step in and take over local cases to charge a victim of police brutality with a serious federal crime that carries possible years in prison. This would not be difficult to do, since it’s already the case that people who are brutalized by police, including while protesting police violence as well as in other kinds of protests, are often falsely arrested and charged with “assaulting” the pig who beat them.

Victims of police brutality and families of people murdered by police would find it almost impossible to file civil suits against cops. Continue reading here...


***


Support the Hunger Strike of California Folsom Prisoners



May 27, 2017 | Revolution Newspaper | revcom.us

Courageous prisoners of B4 Administrative Segregation Unit (ASU) at the Folsom State Prison in California began a hunger strike on May 25. A Statement from Prisoners released through their relatives said this protest is “in response to ongoing mistreatment, dehumanization and unbearable living conditions.” These conditions include not being given bowls so prisoners are forced to eat food out of ziplock bags instead, not being given cups so prisoners have to drink water out of old milk cartons, no cleaning supplies for toilets or cells, no rehab or education programs, no TVs or any property, and mail withheld up to a month or longer with no reason provided.

The statement calling for support said in part:

Hunger strikes are a last resort, a measure taken by those who truly have no other way out. They often come with high risks and heavy costs to prisoners. Incarcerated people commonly face disciplinary actions, retaliation by prison officials, abuse and further denial of their basic human rights during hunger strikes—simply for exercising their free will and resisting their mistreatment.

California prisoners had braved several hunger strikes before. The authorities had promised some improvements in conditions in exchange for an end to the struggle. The first hunger strike began in July 2011 and demanded an end to long term solitary confinement. It was initiated and led by prisoners in California’s notorious Pelican Bay Segregated Housing Unit (SHU). During that first strike, there were reportedly at one point 6,600 prisoners participating; the second later in 2011 was said to have drawn in 12,000; and the third in 2013 reportedly drew in 30,000—each strike grew statewide.

The statement asks the painful yet indicting question:

Why must California prisoners continue to sacrifice health and life, involve lawyers and courts, in order to be treated like human beings?

This question hits at the deep injustices and outrages faced by prisoners in California and elsewhere: prisoners brutalized, dehumanized, and caged up in this country of mass incarceration—and it demands an answer. Support the Folsom prison hunger strikers--info here.


***




This Must Be Stopped: Trump/Pence Regime’s Fascist Terror Against Immigrants

May 21, 2017 | Revolution Newspaper | revcom.us

Today, in this country—over 400 people will be ripped away from their lives, families, and jobs by agents of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). People getting ready for work. People taking their kids to school. People relaxing at home. People “doing the right thing” and reporting to authorities like they’re supposed to. The Trump/Pence regime was inaugurated on January 20—and this is what has been happening every day under their rule.

A few of the many incidents since the inauguration: Five men arrested in Lawrence, Massachusetts, when they reported for routine immigration hearings... A young woman in Mississippi arrested after she spoke at a press conference to denounce the unjust arrests of her parents... an ICE raid in Portland, Oregon, that swept away a youth at his home after he showed agents his work permit... 26 men in Ft. Worth, Texas, busted by ICE when they reported for community service. Continue reading here...


***


Trump Green Lights Escalating Police Violence and Targets Protest Against Police Murder and Terror



May 21, 2017 | Revolution Newspaper | revcom.us

On May 15, Donald Trump spoke at the annual gathering of police to commemorate those killed in the line of duty (Annual National Peace Officers’ memorial service) in Washington, DC. Trump gave a chilling, fascist green light to an escalation of police terror and murder to a whole new level.

For decades, under both Republicans and Democrats, police have dogged, insulted, harassed, beaten, even tortured or murdered millions of people—mainly Black, Brown and Native people. This has been one of this system’s most outrageous crimes.

While Barack Obama overall and overwhelmingly supported America’s murdering pigs, he also sometimes talked of “mistakes” or “problems” with some police practices that needed attention and reform. Trump, however, made no mention of any wrongdoing—let alone the enormous crimes—by police. Instead, he portrayed these armed enforcers of an oppressive, enslaving system as “brave, but gentle souls.”

According to Trump, pigs who wantonly murdered Philando Castile, Alton Sterling, Terence Crutcher, and hundreds more in 2016 alone are “heroes” who became cops “because they cared so deeply for the innocent and helpless and forgotten.” He condemned “attacks on our police” as “a stain on the very fabric of our society.”

Going further, Trump claimed that police were under increasing violent assault, which he blamed on the protests and denunciations of their wanton murders. “We are living through an era in which our police have been subject to unfair defamation and vilification ... and even worse, hostility and violence.... We must also end the reckless words of incitement that give rise to danger and give rise to violence.”

This is Trump’s “alternative fact” reality at its most racist and murderous. To begin with, it’s a lie that violence against police is escalating—the number of police killed in the line of duty in 2016 was lower than the average of the previous 10 years. The number of cops killed by gunfire—63—pales in comparison with the number of people killed by police the same year: 1,092.[*] Of those, 169 were unarmed, many others were non-threatening, and those killed were disproportionately Black, Brown, or Native American. So who’s waging war on whom?

Trump in effect threatened to criminalize those who condemn, or even criticize, the police or who refuse to collaborate with them. Later in the speech to the police gathering, he demanded: “The attacks on our police must end, and they must end right now”—implying he meant both direct physical attacks and any form of protest, resistance, or criticism.

Trump made clear he was determined to strengthen the police while attacking their opponents, promising he’d always stand with them, give them more “resources,” and enact new measures and laws to “prosecute violent crimes against law enforcement.” And he targeted Baltimore and Chicago in particular, in the name of stopping the killing among the oppressed, threatening, “My administration is determined—totally determined—to restore law and order and justice for all Americans, and we’re going to do it quickly.”

Such glorification of the police, and the demonization of any who oppose them, is a core ideological and political part of the Trump/Pence fascist program. It’s a part of radically reshaping laws and social norms to give even more free rein to the system’s armed enforcers while condemning, repressing, and even outlawing protest against them.

This is extremely dangerous, and the beginning steps in a much larger, potentially genocidal, fascist program. This must be stopped!
[*] According to “The Counted” feature at theguardian.com


***




June 14, Wednesday, 7pm

Author event with James Forman, Jr.

LOCKING UP OUR OWN: Crime and Punishment in Black America

Revolution Books NYC
437 Malcolm X Blvd./Lenox Avenue @ 132nd Street, New York City, NY 10037.

Email: [email protected]
(212) 691-3345

It's 1995-- James Forman Jr. is a public defender in Washington DC. He is trying to keep a 15-year-old out of a juvenile detention center with a grim reputation. He is failing...

Looking around the courtroom, Forman realized that everyone associated with the case was African-American: the judge, the prosecutor, the bailiff. The arresting officer was black, as was the city's police chief, its mayor and the majority of the city council that had written the stringent gun and drug laws his client had violated.

"What was going on?" Forman asks. "How did a majority-black jurisdiction end up incarcerating so many of its own?"

This is the question that James Forman, Jr. addresses in his important new book, Locking Up Our Own.

A New York Times Book Review Editors' Choice

James Forman Jr. is professor of law at Yale Law School. He has written for The New York Times, The Atlantic, numerous law reviews, and other publications. A former clerk for Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, he spent six years as a public defender in Washington, D.C., where he co-founded the Maya Angelou Public Charter School.


***


Stonewall 4 Trial Adjourned to June 20



Next appearance June 20, 2017 9:00 am to Part A courtroom 4th Floor

A full report about developments will be forthcoming. But remember:

We Demand: Drop the Charges on the Stonewall 4
Sign the Petition here


***


Watch the Video: "Fascism In America?"



Could It Happen Here?
Is It Happening Here?
What Is the Danger That the Trump/Pence Government Poses?

From the Emergency National Teach-In on April 27
Speakers:
* George Prochnik, author, New Yorker contributor
* Rita Dentino, Exec. Dir., Casa Freehold of National Day Laborers Organizing Network
* Kierán Suckling, a founder and Executive Director of Center for Biological Diversity
* Andy Zee, Refuse Fascism co-initiator, Revolution Books NYC spokesperson
* Moderator: Sunsara Taylor, Refuse Fascism co-initiator

Humanity faces an extreme emergency with Trump’s rise to power. This nationally live-streamed Teach-In aims to deeply explore, from different perspectives, the essential nature of the Trump/Pence Government, the relevance of the history of fascism, the threat it poses to humanity and the planet itself, and the dangers of normalization.

This event is being made into a quality video for distribution, donate and learn more at RefuseFascism.org

[email protected] / 917-407-1286
Twitter: @refusefascism / Facebook, Instagram: refusefascism
Media Sponsor: WBAI Radio, New York




Stop Mass Incarceration Network
http://www.stoppoliceterror.org/

Stop Mass Incarceration Network · Box 941 Knickerbocker Station, New York , NY 10002, United States
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Channeling Wonder Woman...


... because we are the heroes we're waiting for.


Dear Chris,

Got your shield handy? We’ll need it to fight these nonstop attacks on women’s health.





Defending Our Health on All Fronts
The Trump administration and its allies in Congress seem to think that making America “great” means making life harder for everyone who isn’t an affluent, able-bodied, cisgender man. From their ongoing attempts to repeal the Affordable Care Act, to their sneak attack on protections against sex discrimination in health care, to their budget proposal that would slash Medicaid to the bone, to their leaked draft rule that would allow employers to block their employees’ access to birth control coverage, their attacks on our health, bodily autonomy, and economic stability have been relentless.

We at the Center have been at the forefront of policy advocacy and legal efforts to end sex and gender discrimination in health care for many years. That's why we’re doing everything we can today, from arming activists and lawmakers with vital information, to preparing to do battle in court, to educating the public, to fight these renewed assaults on our health and economic well-being.

• Join us in telling the Trump administration to stop attacking birth control coverage.

• Watch NWLC’s Janel George talk to NewsOne’s Roland Martin about how Trump’s latest attacks on birth control fit into his administration’s overall assault on women’s health.

• Join members of the disability rights community and allies for a #SaveMedicaid Day of Action this Tuesday, June 6.

#RaiseTheWage
Recently, members of both houses of Congress introduced the Raise the Wage Act, which would raise the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour by 2024 and ensure the minimum wage keeps pace with wages overall thereafter. The bill would also ensure tipped workers are entitled to the same minimum wage as other working people; as a result, restaurant servers and other employees whose pay is partially determined by customer tips would finally have more predictable income (and potentially be less vulnerable to customer harassment on the job). If passed, the bill would be especially important for women’s economic security, as two-thirds of people working in minimum wage jobs are women.

• Tell Congress it's time to Raise the Wage.

• Learn more about how raising the minimum wage would not only give a third of working women a raise, it would also help close the gender wage gap.

• Learn more about how the Raise the Wage Act would also boost women's health.

Resistance Must-Do's

• This Wednesday, June 7, is the 52nd anniversary of Griswold v. Connecticut, the Supreme Court decision that established our right to make our own decisions about birth control by establishing a constitutional right to privacy. Sign up for this Thunderclap to join the reproductive justice community in saying #ThanksGriswold!

• Congress is back in session. Keep telling your members of Congress to reject the Trump budget and keep their #HandsOff the programs and services working families deserve.

• Let’s keep pushing Congress to support the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act, too.

Resistance Must-Reads

• Remember that Massachusetts charter school that was punishing Black girls for wearing braids? They’ve backed off of their discriminatory dress code policy—for now, at least.

• Looking for more ways to protest Trump’s attacks on birth control? Bustle has a few ideas.

• A recent article claimed that women aren’t advancing at work because we don’t really want promotions. Plenty of women aren’t buying it (not that we could afford to with this pay gap and all).


We the Resistance is our fight to protect our rights and freedoms and to defend the most vulnerable among us through powerful collective action. Every conversation you have with a loved one about the issues important to you, every call you make to Congress, every rally you attend is a part of that resistance. Join us — sign on to the We The Resistance manifesto.

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California Prisoners Bear the Brunt of Statewide Water Shortage


California Prisoners Bear the Brunt of Statewide Water Shortage.



GRAPHIC: Sign here button
Share on Facebook
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Please sign this petition to California Governor Jerry Brown created by Jamani Montague:

End all water conservation methods that violate the human rights of people in prison.

In the wake of the state’s most severe drought in memory, California Governor Jerry Brown issued mandatory statewide water restrictions that require all public agencies to reduce their water consumption by 25 percent. Officials at the 34 prisons operated by the California Department of Corrections have responded by restricting inmates' showers, ability to flush their cells' toilets, and access to laundry services and clean clothes, according to interviews with inmates.

Showers are running only three days a week. Any prisoner caught in the showers for more than 5 minutes, washing clothes while showers are running, "bird bathing," or flushing the toilets in their assigned cell could face disciplinary action, including 30 days added to their prison sentence.

Prison officials have been instructed to shut off water fountains and outdoor showers, and to stop hosing down sidewalks. As a result, California prisoners are denied water-breaks throughout the day and are refused the hygienic practice of washing off sweat after a workout. Women's prisons in particular have struggled with sanitary upkeep since the implementation of CDCR’s water conservation program. Shower and toilet restrictions affect female prisoners on their menstrual cycles most directly.

CDCR’s water conservation program began in 2006 with a pilot project to install flush-restricting valves on toilets at nearly one-third of all California adult institutions, resulting in a host of unsanitary conditions ranging from foul odor to overflowing toilets.

Water conservation methods have only grown more aggressive within the recent decade, and California prisoners have borne the brunt of health and safety hazards associated with aggressive yet inadequate conservation planning. If California is serious about water conservation and water-use reduction in its prisons, state officials should consider developing policies that promote the depopulation of overcrowded state facilities -- starting with releasing disabled people, the elderly, and non-violent offenders.

Reducing the numbers of people incarcerated unnecessarily could result in significant water savings and help to make the prison environment more adaptable and suitable for rehabilitation. Other methods of reducing water waste, without violating the human rights of the imprisoned, can include updating sinks, toilets, showers, and appliances with advanced water-saving fixtures.

Sign this petition to California Governor Jerry Brown asking him to immediately end all water conservation methods that violate the human rights of people in prison.

After signing the petition, please use the tools on the next webpage to share it with your friends.

This work is only possible with your financial support. Please chip in $3 now.

-- The RootsAction.org Team

P.S. RootsAction is an independent online force endorsed by Jim Hightower, Barbara Ehrenreich, Cornel West, Daniel Ellsberg, Glenn Greenwald, Naomi Klein, Bill Fletcher Jr., Laura Flanders, former U.S. Senator James Abourezk, Frances Fox Piven, Lila Garrett, Phil Donahue, Sonali Kolhatkar, and many others.

Background:
> Los Angeles Times: Blame the Drought: Inmates Sweat Out the Ban on Prison Yard Showers
> Vice: In the Face of Drought, California Prisons Are Restricting Inmates' Shower and Toilet Use
> Inside CDCR: California Prisons Reduce Water Consumption
> Inmate.com: California Prisoners Affected by Drought



www.RootsAction.org

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Sign the petition: No Golden State Warriors at the White House


CREDO action


No Warriors at the White House: Golden State must reject Trump’s hate


The petition to the Golden State Warriors reads:

“I urge every member of the Golden State Warriors team to publicly reject Trump’s hate by refusing to set foot in his White House.”

Add your name:

Sign the petition ►


Dear Chris,



Last night, the Golden State Warriors won the NBA Finals and ended their season with an amazing 16-1 playoff run.1 Now, the Warriors have a chance to make history off the court.

When racist bigot Donald Trump invites the 2017 NBA champions to the White House, not one Golden State Warrior should be there.

Tens of thousands of CREDO members have pushed corporations, business leaders and politicians to refuse to normalize or legitimize Trump’s racist, xenophobic and sexist administration. Professional athletes also have the power to use their celebrity and influence to resist Trump, and as consumers and fans, we have the power to make sure they do.

Warriors head coach Steve Kerr and star point guard Stephen Curry have already spoken out against Trump’s hateful agenda. Help urge the entire Warriors squad to publicly reject Trump’s hate by refusing to set foot in his White House. Add your name now.

Tell the Golden State Warriors: Not one NBA champion at Trump’s White House. Click here to sign the petition.

The Warriors represent California, also known as the Golden State, which has been the epicenter of resistance to Trump’s hateful, xenophobic administration since day one. Their head coach Steve Kerr has publicly denounced Trump’s unconstitutional Muslim ban.2 He roasted White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer for lying about the size of Trump’s inauguration crowd and for promoting “alternative facts.”3 Kerr also called Trump out for being cruel and undignified.

It’s about leadership, it’s about compassion and dignity and character and treating people the right way. That’s leadership. It’s terrifying we have someone in office who espouses none of that.4

The team’s power forward David West said that Trump’s election win was “disheartening” and “disappointing.”5 And Warriors All-Star Stephen Curry called Trump an “ass” earlier this year.6 Now the Warriors can put their words into action.

Tell the Golden State Warriors: Not one NBA champion at Trump’s White House. Click here to sign the petition.

NBA players have made powerful statements against racism and injustice in the past few years. In 2014, players across the country wore “I Can’t Breathe” t-shirts during pre-game warmups in memory of Eric Garner, a Black man killed by police.7 That same year, many teams, including the Golden State Warriors, wore black socks and their warmup jerseys backwards in protest of former Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling’s anti-Black racism.8 Now is a time for athletes to step up even more.

A few months ago, 33 members of the 2017 Super Bowl championship team, the New England Patriots, refused to legitimize Trump’s presidency and boycotted the team’s visit to the White House.9 And not a single team member signed Trump’s honorary game helmet. That was a good first step. But Golden State can take it all the way by making sure that every coach and player on the team stands united against Trump’s bigotry and racism and stays away from the White House.

There is no doubt that Golden State’s Bay Area fan base will have their backs no matter what. Speak out now to show the Warriors that people across the country also have their backs, and are counting on them to send racist bigot Donald Trump a powerful message of resistance by rejecting his invitation to the White House. Click the link below to sign the petition.

https://act.credoaction.com/sign/war....247355.3U6phZ

Thank you for all you do,

Nicole Regalado, Campaign Manager
CREDO Action from Working Assets

Add your name:

Sign the petition ►


References:

CBS Sports, " NBA Finals Game 5 score, highlights: Warriors beat Cavs to win 2017 NBA title," June 12, 2017.
Kelly McCarthy, “Warriors Head Coach Steve Kerr Calls Travel Ban ‘Horrible Idea,'” ABC News, Jan. 30, 2017.
Des Bieler, “Steve Kerr trolls Sean Spicer with ‘alternative facts’ quip about NBA career,” The Washington Post, Jan. 22, 2017.
Anthony Slater, “Why Warriors coach Steve Kerr speaks out on social issues,” The Mercury News, Feb. 17, 2017.
Chris Haynes, “Warriors’ David West ‘disappointed’ at Donald Trump’s election,” ESPN, Nov. 9, 2016.
Jack Williams, “Stephen Curry Takes Issue With Under Armour Leader on Trump,” The New York Times, Feb. 8, 2017.
Scott Cacciola, “At Net’s Game, a Plan for a Simple Statement Is Carried Out to a T,” The New York Times, Dec. 9, 2014.
Ben Golliver, “Warriors planned Game 5 walkout if Clippers’ Donald Sterling wasn’t banned,” Sports Illustrated, April 30, 2014.
NowThis, “Over 30 New England Patriots refused to show up at the White House,” April 19, 2017.


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My Second Father's Day


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Friends –

A year ago, I became a father and my life hasn’t been the same since. I can’t imagine spending any day, let alone holidays, without my daughter Luna – I even brought her on tour with me!

On this Father’s Day though, I’m reminded of the millions of children whose fathers are behind bars, and for whom even regular communication is often not a reality.

This hits close to home for me. When I was growing up in Ohio, I had a picture-perfect family: A loving mother and father, a supportive church and school community, siblings and foster siblings. We even had a singing group called the “Stephens 5.” But when I was ten, my maternal grandmother passed away, and my mother fell into a deep depression that shattered our family as she disappeared into a cycle of addiction that kept her estranged from us for the better part of a decade. She spent some of that time in jail.

It was a decade where we barely saw each other. Missed holidays, missed birthdays, missed choir performances, missed school talent shows.

For some kids, a decade is just the beginning of years apart from their parents.

So this Father’s Day, please join me in supporting youth whose families have been torn apart by mass incarceration.

Happy Father’s Day, from my family to yours.


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Show Me Campaign · 6380 Wilshire Blvd · Los Angeles, CA 90048 · USA

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#FreeBlackDads


Bring a Black father home on Father's Day!



Help us tell the story!

CHIP IN $3!


Dear Chris,

With the support of Color Of Change members like you, we bailed out over 120 women for Mother’s Day. Now, we’re doing it again for Father’s Day because "we who believe in Freedom cannot rest until it comes.” Will you help us?

There are more Black men in prison than there were enslaved in 1850 and over the last three decades, the percentage of Black women incarcerated has increased by 700%.1 These statistics paint a picture of Black life in America. Behind these numbers are the faces of children growing up without their parents; elders not being able to retire because they are raising their grandchildren; and college students swimming in education debt because their family’s finances were demolished from bailing a loved one out of jail.

Money bail drives the modern day slavery of mass incarceration. Forcing people to buy their freedom or remain caged behind bars, before they’re even convicted of a crime, is unconstitutional and inhumane. Luckily, the bail reform movement is gaining traction across the country. But it’s not coming fast enough. So, just like for Mother’s Day, where we bailed out over 120+ Black women across the country, we are taking Black matters into Black hands and bailing out the Black fathers.2

Will you pitch in $3 to help us as we continue to amplify the freeing of Black people from bondage in modern day slavery?

Under Trump’s reign, we are witnessing the rise of racist rhetoric, ideology, and laws that target and demonize Black people. The desires of inclusion and progression have been overshadowed with ‘Law and Order’ solutions that are known to only result in an uptick of overpolicing and incarceration of Black communities. Protecting our people means dismantling the criminal justice system that destroys our humanity, breaks up our families and profits off of forcing people to buy their freedom through money bail.

Just last month, over 2,600 members of Color Of Change and 11,000 others gifted a total of over $700,000 and gave 120 Mamas an opportunity to spend Mother’s Day with their families and communities, where they belong. Color Of Change was there every step of the way using a portion of the money donated to amplify the action and garner media attention from mainstream mediums such as MSNBC and The Nation to Black media outlets including The Root and NewsOne.

Father's Day is only two days away so we must act quickly. This year, we made Mother’s Day gifts count, now let's do it for the dads. Bring a father home for Father’s Day.

Sincerely,

Scott

PS - Visit www.nomoremoneybail.org to learn more about National Mama's Bail Out Day

References:

"National Mamas Bail Out Day" National Bail Out, May 2017
"Communities Bail Out Fathers To Raise Awareness of Unjust Bail System" Rewire, June 16, 2017


Color Of Change is building a movement to elevate the voices of Black folks and our allies, and win real social and political change. Help keep our movement strong.

If you're absolutely sure you don't want to hear from Color Of Change again, click here to unsubscribe.

[ckaihatsu]

via wsws.org

Forman’s account provides further evidence that the massive growth of the US prison population is rooted primarily in class oppression, not in racial divisions.

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[ckaihatsu]

Honoring Struggles - Four Years Since the CA Hunger Strikes


Fighting State Repression and Isolation
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Rose Braz's work for abolition was foundational in California and across the movement. Please save the date and join us in celebrating and honoring all Rose has given us at her memorial on July 30th in San Francisco. Visit the event page, Remembering Rose Braz, for more information.

Tomorrow, July 8, marks the four-year anniversary of prisoners in Pelican Bay’s solitary confinement units initiating what became the largest hunger strike in California’s history. Over 30,000 prisoners refused meals to protest against the use of solitary, rallying behind the strike's imprisoned leadership, known as the Short Corridor Collective, to achieve five core demands. The 2013 strike built on years of prisoner organizing, coming after an initial hunger strike in 2011, and followed the 2012 release of the Agreement to End Hostilities, a powerful document drafted by the Short Corridor Collective that called for an end to racial conflict among prisoners. The strike resulted in a victorious and historic legal settlement that sharply limited California’s ability to hold prisoners in isolation, and advanced the continuing struggle against the reach of the prison industrial complex (PIC).



Working alongside many tireless prisoners' family members, loved ones, and advocates in the Prisoner Hunger Strike Solidarity Coalition, Critical Resistance served as the strike's media house, and worked to attract global attention to the prisoners and their demands As we continue deepening our fight against the PIC, we understand that isolation is fundamentally a tool of state repression, particularly when used against imprisoned organizers who the prison regime labels “the worst of the worst.” We strive to fight such repressive moves – whether it be through supporting a recent hunger strike by solitary prisoners at Folsom in CA, amplifying prisoners’ voices against further isolation and cuts to family visits in NY’s maximum security prisons, or uplifting imprisoned organizers' analysis of resistance in the current moment.

Such efforts to fight and dismantle the PIC are deeply interwoven and our collective resistance cannot be repressed by the state's attempts to isolate these struggles or those who wage them. For that reason, it is important that we build with imprisoned people enduring isolation, connect our struggles both inside and outside prison walls, and uplift our work as deeply embedded in a long legacy of movements fighting for liberation. We take this time to honor the sacrifices of people across CA prisons whose actions in 2013, along with the organizing that came before and after, energized the fight against the PIC across the country and world.

In Struggle,
Critical Resistance

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[ckaihatsu]

via wsws.org

The order is a return to the ultra-reactionary eugenics policies of an earlier era, as a supposed solution to the immense poverty and ongoing opioid crisis in the US.

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[ckaihatsu]

Who Pays to Incarcerate America?


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“[Change] comes at a cost, a societal cost and a financial cost [...] you’ve got to decide what your priorities are and your values are — and your budget reflects what your values are.”
- John Legend, FREEAMERICA Founder
Our country’s practice of mass incarceration is an expensive habit, with a yearly cost estimated to be more than $70 billion - equal to the GDP of 133 nations combined. Who is paying that bill?

We are. From the taxpayers whose dollars are being directed to corrections instead of communities, to individuals who are too poor to post bail for petty offenses that keep them locked up, often losing their jobs and homes in the process.

But states are starting to realize that changing how taxpayer dollars are spent - and saved - is the key to unlocking potential. Take, for example, Louisiana, where John Legend traveled in May to speak in support of the package of reform bills that will save Louisiana an estimated $262 million over the next decade. Or California, which is starting to see the savings promised from Prop 47. As these states make strides toward change and see major savings as a result, others still have work to do.

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The Human Cost
The cost of incarceration goes beyond the financial - its emotional and human tolls are staggering as well. For family members who have incarcerated loved ones, regular visits - no matter the cost or distance - are the only real contact they’ll have for years or decades at a time. To make matters worse, buried in the New York state budget is a proposal to cut weekday visits for more than 20,000 inmates.

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The Financial Cost
It costs $72 per day to incarcerate an individual in the state of Ohio, which totals more than $2 billion a year of taxpayer dollars. Following the lead of several other states that have embraced similar criminal justice reforms, including Texas, Georgia, Utah and Louisiana, Ohio is now pushing for alternatives to incarceration in order to cut costs.

Go to article



The Savings
Back in 2014, Californians passed Prop. 47, a ballot measure that promised to lower the state’s prison population by reducing certain crimes to misdemeanors instead of felonies, resulting in big savings for the state. Three years later, the state is finally reaping the rewards of its criminal justice reform efforts. The $100 million in savings will go directly to reinvesting in cities and counties to treat, house and retrain individuals at high risk to commit crimes and to wind up in jail or prison.

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Show Me Campaign · 6380 Wilshire Blvd · Los Angeles, CA 90048 · USA

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In too many ways, our criminal justice system upholds the oppression of racialized communities, while fostering Islamophobia, anti-black racism, and violence towards Indigenous peoples.


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Black August and Amplifying Prisoner Struggles


Reflections and study across prison walls
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The month of August has long been marked by momentous acts of repression and resistance in Black history, acts that powerfully shifted the grounds of struggle. Such examples include the start of the Haitian Revolution resulting in the first victorious revolt against slavery, Nat Turner’s rebellion, the formation of the Underground Railroad, the murders of Jonathan and George Jackson, the Watts uprising, and more recently, the murder of Michael Brown in August 2014 that sparked a burgeoning movement against the violence of policing.



The foundation for commemorating Black August was laid from behind California prison walls by prisoners who sought to honor the sacrifice of those who struggled before them. Following the death of George Jackson by guards in San Quentin, prisoners began taking the month of August as a time of reflection, discipline, fasting, and political study. || Art by Kevin "Rashid" Johnson

In the spirit of shared political study and reflection, we would like to take August to share some of our recent collaborations across prison walls. This summer, Critical Resistance Oakland began an inside/outside reading group to engage imprisoned people and outside volunteers in joint political education. We continually strive to uplift prisoners’ voices and analysis in our work nationally, and most recently have begun soliciting responses from political prisoners on resisting state repression in our current moment. Our New York City chapter has also brought the abolitionist writings of imprisoned people to the recent International Conference on Penal Abolition, allowing participants to engage prisoners in conversation around abolitionist theory, strategy, and practice.



For all of us fighting the repression and violence of the prison industrial complex on the outside, we join those on the inside in commemorating the legacy of George Jackson and Black August, and in thinking critically on how to sharpen our resistance across prison walls. Importantly, we learn from, honor, and build on the struggles of those before us. As Mumia Abu-Jamal stated of past freedom fighters: “Their sacrifice, their despair, their determination and their blood has painted the month Black for all time.”

In Struggle,
Critical Resistance


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Copyright © 2017 Critical Resistance, All rights reserved.
You are receiving this email because you have provided your contact info to Critical Resistance.

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Suite 504
Oakland, CA 94612

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