Friday, December 27, 2024

Panel discusses ongoing impact of fines and fees on marginalized Alabamians

By Ralph Chapoco

Criminal justice reform advocates discussed  the impact of fines and fees on marginalized Alabamians, as well as possible solutions, at a panel discussion this month.

Alabama lawmakers in recent years have enacted dozens of fines and fees, many through local bills, that increase the cost of going through the criminal justice system or in getting a license plate for a motor vehicle. While some fees go to victim restitution, others are levied to pay for basic operations of the court system. Most fall disproportionately on those least able to pay.

Biden Commutes 37 Death Penalty Sentences — Critics Call for More

By Chris Walker, Truthout


President Joe Biden has granted commutations to most of the people currently facing a federal death penalty sentence, granting the largest number of single-day death row clemencies in U.S. history

“This historic clemency action builds on the President’s record of criminal justice reform,” a fact sheet from the White House read, adding that Biden “has issued more commutations at this point in his presidency than any of his recent predecessors at the same point in their first terms.”

Saturday, December 21, 2024

'No Contract, No Coffee': Starbucks Workers Launch Five Days of Strikes

By Jake Johnson

Starbucks Workers United accused the company of "backtracking on our promised path forward" and failing to present a "serious economic proposal" to unionized baristas.

Starbucks workers launched five days of escalating strikes across the United States on Friday, accusing the coffee giant of reneging on its commitment to engage in productive bargaining talks with the union that now represents more than 11,000 baristas at over 500 stores nationwide.

The walkouts will start in Los Angeles, Chicago, and Seattle on Friday before expanding "coast to coast" amid the holiday rush, Starbucks Workers United (SBWU) said in a statement announcing the strikes.

Workers launch largest strike against Amazon in US history

By Natalia Marques

Amazon workers across the country hit the picket line in an Unfair Labor Practice (ULP) strike to demand union recognition and contract negotiations

Before the sun rose at 6 am on Thursday, December 19, thousands of Amazon workers in facilities across the United States launched the largest strike against the multi-billion dollar corporation in US history. Workers, organized with the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, are continuing to hold down the picket line well into the afternoon (at the time of publication), in some cases braving arrests and police repression of their labor activity.  

Friday, December 20, 2024

Report: Florida imposed seven new death sentences in 2024, most in the nation

By Christine Sexton

An annual report put together by a national group that tracks the death penalty says Florida led the nation this year in imposing death sentences, a situation that appears to be linked to Gov. Ron DeSantis’ successful push to eliminate the requirement of a unanimous jury recommendation.

The Death Penalty Information Center, a group that says it has no position on the death penalty but is critical of how it carried out, reported that 26 people were sentenced to death in the United States in 2024. 

Ten states sentenced people to death this year but just four — Alabama, California, Florida, and Texas — accounted for the majority. Florida led with seven death sentences, followed by six in Texas, four in Alabama, and three in California.

About one-third of the 26 new death sentences were imposed without a unanimous recommendation from a jury, including six in Florida and three in Alabama.

Syria Is Free, Say Media—But That Shouldn’t Mean Free of US Occupation

 By Gregory Shupak 

Washington Post depiction of opposition fighters celebrating after the collapse of the Syrian government.
WaPo: Why the U.S. needs to help build a new Syria

The Washington Post (12/8/24) calls for “engaged diplomacy” from the incoming Trump administration to “help write a brighter next chapter for this strategically located, and long-suffering, country.”

Washington Post editorial (12/8/24), headlined “Why the US Needs to Help Build a New Syria,” said:

Syria might seem far removed from US interests. Before Mr. Assad’s fall, President-elect Donald Trump posted: “DO NOT GET INVOLVED!” But America is involved. Some 900 US troops and an undisclosed number of military contractors are operating in northeastern Syria near Iraq, battling the Islamic State and backing Kurdish forces fighting the Assad regime.

Teamsters Union Launches 'Largest Strike Against Amazon in US History'

 By Jake Johnson and Eloise Goldsmith

"We are fighting against a vicious union-busting campaign, and we are going to win," said one Amazon warehouse worker.

The Teamsters launched what the union described as "the largest strike against Amazon in U.S. history" on Thursday morning to protest the e-commerce behemoth's unlawful refusal to bargain with organized drivers and warehouse workers across the country.

Workers in New York City, Atlanta, San Francisco, and other locations are expected to participate in Thursday's strike, with more facilities prepared to join if Amazon's management doesn't agree to negotiate contracts with unionized employees.

The union said Wednesday that Teamsters locals are also "putting up primary picket lines at hundreds of Amazon Fulfillment Centers nationwide."

Tuesday, December 17, 2024

Ohio Senate bill would automatically close low-performing public schools

 By Megan Henry

A Republican bill in the state Senate would automatically shut down low-performing Ohio public schools. 

State Sen. Andrew Brenner, R-Delaware, introduced Senate Bill 295 over the summer, which would revise the state’s automatic school closure language. The bill has a fourth hearing scheduled Tuesday in the Senate Education Committee. 

Democrats' Working-Class Failures, Analysis Finds, Are 'Why Trump Beat Harris'

 By Jessica Corbett

"By branding itself as an active party of economic populism that fights for needed changes for the working class, the Democratic Party can put itself in a position to regain the support of the voters it lost in 2024."

Further bolstering the post-election argument that U.S. working-class voters have ditched the Democratic Party because they feel abandoned by Democrats, a Tuesday analysis details why Vice President Kamala Harris lost to Republican President-elect Donald Trump.

The report by Data for Progress, a left-leaning think tank, uses dozens of national surveys of likely voters conducted throughout 2024 to back up assertions that the party needs to improve its messaging and policies targeting working people if Democrats want to win future U.S. elections, after losing the White House and both chambers of Congress last month.

California’s jail population will rise thanks to Prop. 36. So will inmate deaths, advocates say

By Nigel Duara

In summary

California recorded historically high numbers of deaths in county jails for the past six years. Now, counties expect to house more prisoners as Prop. 36 takes effect.

According to Orange County Sheriff Don Barnes, California doesn’t have a crisis in its jails, where record numbers of people have died even as the state’s jail population shrank. 

“Saying people died in jails is a little bit of a misnomer,” said Barnes, who is also the president of the California State Sheriffs’ Association. “People who are dying in our care, and I can’t say this any other way, they’re not dying because they’re in jail. They are dying from things that are life choices, narcotics issues, poor health, cancer, other things. 

Appeals court turns down ACLU’s request to interview SC inmates

 By Skylar Laird

COLUMBIA — The state’s prison system does not have to allow interviews with inmates, a federal appeals court decided, echoing a decision from a lower court.

Three federal judges dismissed a lawsuit by the state’s American Civil Liberties Union, upholding a Department of Corrections policy prohibiting in-person and phone interviews with inmates.

Friday, December 13, 2024

The Faircloth Amendment Blocks the Construction of Affordable Housing: It Should be Repealed

 By Algernon Austin & Jordan Billngs

Randall Irvin has been waiting for public housing in Chicago for six years, and his situation is not that unusual. For example, there are over 100,000 families on San Antonio’s waitlist for public housing. In Chicago, there were more than 200,000 families on the waitlist in 2023. Public housing waiting lists are extremely long because there is an inadequate supply – and a 1998 amendment to federal housing law is a significant barrier to building new housing.

Murdoch Outlets and Bezos’ WaPo Demand More Sympathy for Health Insurance Execs

By Ari Paul

The early morning murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson was met on social media with a “torrent of hate” for health insurance executives (New York Times12/5/24). Memes mocking the insurance companies and their callous disregard for human life abound on various platforms (AFP12/6/24).

Internet users are declaring that the man police believe to be the shooter, 26-year-old Luigi Mangione, is certifiably hot (Rolling Stone12/9/24KFOX12/10/24). A lookalike contest for the shooter was held in lower Manhattan (New York Times12/7/24).

‘Don’t have the votes to stop anything’: No plan yet to tackle Jackson water next session

By Alex Rozier

Jackson lawmakers are discussing the future of the city’s water system among other focuses for the next legislative session, but it’s unclear what they might propose, if anything, to counter recent attempts at a state takeover. 

State legislators told Mississippi Today late last month that there wasn’t a plan to tackle the water system’s future, but were planning to meet with Jackson officials this month. 

Federal judge hears arguments on Louisiana’s 25-foot police buffer law

 By Drew Costley

A federal judge in Baton Rouge heard arguments from news organizations and the state of Louisiana on Wednesday (Dec. 11) on whether a new state law, creating a 25-foot buffer zone around police officers, illegally infringes on First Amendment rights. 

The measure, Act 259, which passed the Louisiana State Legislature in the spring and was signed into law by Gov. Jeff Landry in May, makes it a criminal offense to knowingly or intentionally come within 25 feet of a working police officer after being ordered or asked to step back. 

Monday, December 9, 2024

To Thwart Trump Killing Spree, Biden Urged to Commute Death Penalty Cases

The former president, warned a broad rights coalition, "executed more people than the previous ten administrations combined."

A large and diverse coalition of broad coalition of rights organizations on Monday sent a letter to U.S. President Biden Monday, urging him to commute the sentences of all 40 individuals who are on federal death row.

The letter adds to a chorus of voices—including prosecutors and law enforcement officials—advocating for Biden to use his clemency powers to issue such commutations before he departs office.

Disappearing bills: More than 2,300 bills died without a vote in the last two years

By Sameea Kamal

In summary

Few bills fail in the Legislature because lawmakers publicly vote “no.” Instead, most bills die when they are shelved, without lawmakers having to take tough votes.

We know how legislatures work: lawmakers introduce bills, debate on them and vote yes or no. 

Right?

Not exactly. Of the 2,403 bills that died in the recent two-year session, CalMatters’ Digital Democracy data found just 25 failed because a majority of lawmakers voted “no.” 

Most of the remaining bills disappeared through procedural tactics that leave little trace of responsibility for the policy decisions. Rather than vote no, lawmakers typically find ways to sideline bills they don’t want, causing them to fail when they don’t meet procedural deadlines. 

‘Critical race theory’ takes heat from GOP lawmakers on House education panel

 By Shauneen Miranda

WASHINGTON — Republican lawmakers railed against what they called “woke” curriculum in schools during a Wednesday hearing in a U.S. House education panel, the latest example of culture wars rocking public education policy.

The hearing brought “critical race theory” to the forefront. The academic framework focuses on the social construction of race and has drawn strong Republican opposition in states across the country.

Though critical race theory is used in college and graduate-level programs, GOP members on the U.S. House Subcommittee on Early Childhood, Elementary and Secondary Education said the framework is also being taught in K-12 schools.

CBO Provides 'Stark Preview of Healthcare Under Donald Trump'

By Jessica Corbett 

As Congress negotiates the extension of Affordable Care Act tax credits, a nonpartisan government analysis warned this week that letting the ACA subsidies expire next year would cause millions of Americans to lose health coverage in the years ahead.

10 points on the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s Syria

By Vijay Prashad 

Vijay Prashad reflects on the latest developments in Syria and what they mean for the West Asia region

The development happens 14 months into Israel’s genocide in Gaza, and weeks after signing a ceasefire agreement with Hezbollah. Below are reflections from Vijay Prashad regarding the takeover and key elements to understand it.

1. The Syrian state had been devastated by the war which began 2011, and then by the sanctions placed on the country by the United States and its allies. The Syrian Arab Army (the official state army) had never fully recovered in the aftermath of the major fighting and was incapable of taking back the main cities of Hama, Homs, and Aleppo.

2. The Israeli bombardment of Syrian military facilities had weakened the Syrian armed forces’ logistical and ordinance capabilities. These attacks had been sustained and painful for the Syrian armed forces.

3. Israeli invasion of Lebanon and the assassination of Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah had weakened the ability of Hezbollah to operate even within Lebanon’s south, which forced the recent ‘ceasefire’ agreement with Israel. This demonstrated that Hezbollah was not in any position to enter Syria again to defend the Syrian government against any armed incursion on the Hama to Damascus road (highway M5).

4. The attacks on Iranian supply depots and military facilities in Syria as well as the attacks by Israel on Iran had prevented any build up of Iranian forces to defend the Syrian government. The weakening of Hezbollah also weakened Iran’s role in the region.

5. The nearly three years of conflict in Ukraine had certainly denied Syria the ability to call upon further Russian assistance for the protection of Damascus or for the Russian naval base in Latakia.

6. Therefore, Syria’s government no longer had its Iranian and Russian military allies for assistance against the reinforced rebels.

7. The Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, formed in 2017 out of the al-Qaeda formations, drew together various military forces from Turkey to the Uyghurs – with a large number of other al-Qaeda influenced fighters – and built up its forces in Idlib over the past decade. HTS has received aid and support from Turkey, but also covertly from Israel (this information came to me from a highly placed intelligence official in Turkey).

8. What will the new HTS-led government do regarding the many social minorities in Syria? What will the new HTS-led government do regarding the Golan Heights and Israel? How will the new HTS-government regard the Israeli military incursion in Quneitra?

9. This story is not over yet. There will be much further unrest in the country led by ISIS as well as the Kurdish groups in the north; already Turkish-backed groups are in combat against the Kurdish YPG (People’s Defense Units) and PKK (Kurdistan Workers’ Party) forces in Manbij; US forces are already in eastern Syria, where they say that they will remain as a buffer against ISIS (and will therefore retain control of the oil); Israel also announced that it took over the Golan buffer zone. There will be tension between the governments of Turkey and the US regarding what the new HTS-led government must, and must not do.

10. I hope very much that the statements made by Abu Mohammed al-Jolani, that retribution must not be the new culture, will come true. The real fear is regarding the treatment of the minority populations. There is no word yet if the militia groups in Iraq will enter Syria. Much of this depends on what happens to places such as the Sayyida Zaynab shrine in Damascus.

This article originally appeared in People's Dispatch on December 8th, 2024

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Friday, December 6, 2024

9 States Poised To End Coverage for Millions if Trump Cuts Medicaid Funding


With Donald Trump’s return to the White House and Republicans taking full control of Congress in 2025, the Affordable Care Act’s Medicaid expansion is back on the chopping block.

More than 3 million adults in nine states would be at immediate risk of losing their health coverage should the GOP reduce the extra federal Medicaid funding that’s enabled states to widen eligibility, according to KFF, a health information nonprofit that includes KFF Health News, and the Georgetown University Center for Children and Families. That’s because the states have trigger laws that would swiftly end their Medicaid expansions if federal funding falls.

The states are Arizona, Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana, Montana, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Utah, and Virginia.

Thursday, December 5, 2024

DC Station Rewrites Gas Exposé After a Word From Its Sponsor

 By Pete Tucker

It was the sort of feel-good, David-vs.-Goliath story that’s perfect ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday.

A coalition of DC-area faith, tenant and environmental groups spent two years studying the health impacts of gas stoves. Just ahead of the holiday, when countless families would be spending hours in their kitchens cooking turkey and fixings, the coalition released their report, and it was a shocker.

After running the gas oven and two burners for 30 minutes, nearly two-thirds of homes studied registered higher levels of nitrogen dioxide than the EPA health-protective standard.

Nitrogen dioxide, or NO2, is a gas linked to wide-ranging health problems, from asthma to heart issues, and possibly “tied to increased risk of developing Type 2 diabetes, as well as cognitive development and behavioral issues in children,” the report noted.

Wednesday, December 4, 2024

U.S. House Dem quartet calls for Biden to spare lives of federal death row inmates

 By Ariana Figueroa 

WASHINGTON — House Democrats and anti-death penalty advocates pressed Wednesday for President Joe Biden to save the lives of federal death row inmates before his term expires in January.

The push comes as President-elect Donald Trump is set to return to the White House. The former president expedited 13 executions of people on federal death row in the last six months of his first term, which advocates said increased the urgency for Biden to spare prisoners now facing death sentences.

'Heartbreakingly Devastating': US Reportedly Plans to Approve $680 Million in Arms to Israel

By Jessica Corbett

"The Biden administration seems to be ready and willing to keep piling more and more, despite Gaza descending into what President Biden just yesterday described as 'hell,'" said Amnesty International USA.


Just hours after a cease-fire between the Israeli government and Lebanese group Hezbollah took effect, the Financial Times revealed that "U.S. President Joe Biden has provisionally approved a $680 million weapons sale to Israel," which has also spent the past nearly 14 months decimating the Hamas-governed Gaza Strip.

Tuesday, December 3, 2024

Landlords are using AI to raise rents — and California cities are leading the pushback

By Wendy Fry


California and federal prosecutors have accused software company RealPage of enriching itself ”at the expense of renters who pay inflated prices.”

If you’ve hunted for apartments recently and felt like all the rents were equally high, you’re not crazy: Many landlords now use a single company’s software — which uses an algorithm based on proprietary lease information — to help set rent prices.

Federal prosecutors say the practice amounts to “an unlawful information-sharing scheme” and some lawmakers throughout California are moving to curb it. San Diego’s city council president is the latest to do so, proposing to prevent local apartment owners from using the pricing software, which he maintains is driving up housing costs.

Tuesday, November 26, 2024

People of Sahel inspire global movement against imperialism

By the Peoples Dispatch

From November 19-21, hundreds gathered in Niamey for the Conference in Solidarity with the Peoples of the Sahel and heard first hand from people who have been on the frontlines of the struggle against French colonialism.

Shouts of “Free, Free Palestine” and “Down with Imperialism” rang through the streets of Niamey as anti-imperialists from Niger and around the world marched together against Israel’s genocide on Thursday, November 21. The march culminating in the landmark Thomas Sanakra Memorial came at the conclusion of the three-day Conference in Solidarity with the Peoples of the Sahel, organized by the Pan-Africanism Today Secretariat and the West African People’s Organization.

Unlikely Trump can actually eliminate Education Department, experts say

By Shauneen Miranda

The Trump administration could, however, manage to ‘shrink its footprint,’ says University of South Carolina law professor


WASHINGTON — President-elect Donald Trump’s pledge to get rid of the U.S. Department of Education will be far easier said than done.  As Trump seeks to redefine U.S. education policy, the complex logistics, bipartisan congressional approval and redirection of federal programs required make dismantling the department a challenging — not impossible — feat.

It’s an effort that experts say is unlikely to gain traction in Congress and, if enacted, would create roadblocks for how Trump seeks to implement the rest of his wide-ranging education agenda.

History Will Not Be Kind to Biden's Complicity in Gaza

By James Zogby

History will not be kind to the presidency of Joseph Biden when it evaluates his administration’s handling of Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza. At best, his response will be judged weak and feckless. At worst, he will be seen as enabling of or even complicitous in the crimes committed.

Monday, November 25, 2024

Trump's Nomination of Project 2025 Architect Means Social Security, Medicare 'Are At Risk'

By Jake Johnson

"Vought's nomination makes it crystal clear that Trump lied to the American people," said Rep. Rosa DeLauro. "Trump's agenda is the Project 2025 manifesto."

President-elect Donald Trump's choice of Russell Vought, a Project 2025 architect, to lead the White House budget office was seen as further evidence of the threat the incoming administration poses to Social Security, Medicare, and other critical government programs.

Vought, who currently heads the far-right think tank Center for Renewing America think tank, served as director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) during Trump's first term, and he's set to return to the post after playing a central role in crafting the Project 2025 agenda that the Republican president-elect attempted to disavow on the campaign trail.

Trump still has not signed critical transition agreements allowing access to agencies

By Ashley Murray


WASHINGTON — Less than two months before being sworn into office, President-elect Donald Trump has yet to sign the presidential transition paperwork that unlocks critical clearances, information and access to White House resources for his transition team.

Political experts say this is worrisome because history shows the period early in a presidency can be a vulnerable time for a new administration, and the point of easing the transition is so a new president’s staff can access government offices early and avoid problems.

Trump, who has rapidly announced senior staff and Cabinet picks over the last 15 days, has still not finalized multiple agreements that are foundational for his team to begin receiving confidential information and briefings across all federal agencies, as well as millions of dollars in transition resources, including office space and staff assistance.