Will Biden's Dog Whistles for Racism Catch Up with Him?
Norman Solomon | commondreams.org | 2019-05-23
"During pivotal moments in the history of race relations in this country, from the 1970s to the 1990s," writes Solomon, "Biden's hot air manifested as pitches to white racism." (Photo: REX/Shutterstock) | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/views-article/thumbs/biden_0.jpg…
commondreams.org/views/2019/05/23/will-bidens-dog-whistles-racism-catch-him?cd-origin=rss
Youth Politician Vows to Rid Finland of Dark-skinned Families
telesurenglish.net | 2019-05-23
A new campaign by Finnish Youth, the junior wing of Finland's largest right-wing party, is receiving widespread criticism over claims that dark-skinned families are not welcome in the country. | RELATED: | Senator Barred for Racist Letters Against Indigenous Community | The youth organization affiliated with the Finns Party made a public comment on a European Parliament ad portraying a happy black family. The group shared a screenshot of the ad, and in an attempt to secure thei…
telesurenglish.net/news/Youth-Politician-Underfire-After-Vowing-to-Rid-Finland-of-Dark-skinned-Families-20190523-0006.html
The EU Opens to Colonialism Reparations. "Fundamental rights of people of African descent"
Colonialism Reparation | globalresearch.ca | 2019-05-23
Colonialism Reparation welcomes that the European Parliament has approved by a large majority the resolution on the "Fundamental rights of people of African descent" recognising the current situation of structural racism and asks that the former colonising Member States follow …
globalresearch.ca/the-eu-opens-to-colonialism-reparations-fundamental-rights-of-people-of-african-descent/5678299
Will Biden's Dog Whistles for Racism Catch Up with Him?
Norman Solomon | indybay.org | 2019-05-23
Inconvenient facts for the former vice president…
indybay.org/newsitems/2019/05/23/18823571.php
Joe Biden's Racist Dog Whistles Will Haunt Him
Norman Solomon | truthdig.com | 2019-05-23
In a party that officially condemns dog-whistle appeals to racism, Joe Biden is running on Orwellian eggshells. Whether he can win the Democratic presidential nomination may largely depend on the extent of "doublethink" that George Orwell described in 1984 as the willingness "to forget any fact that has become inconvenient." | It is an inconvenient fact that Biden has a political history of blowing into dog whistles for racism. More than ever, the Democratic electorate is repelled by that kind of pitch. If his dog-whistling past becomes a major issue, the former vice president and his defenders will face the chal…
truthdig.com/articles/joe-bidens-racist-dog-whistles-will-haunt-him/
Celebrity Busy Philipps Joins Forces with ACLU in Ad as Part of Ongoing Campaign to Fight Abortion Bans
commondreams.org | 2019-05-23
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commondreams.org/newswire/2019/05/23/celebrity-busy-philipps-joins-forces-aclu-ad-part-ongoing-campaign-fight?cd-origin=rss
New York City's early voting plan will favor white, affluent voters, advocacy groups say
Jessica Huseman | nationofchange.org | 2019-05-23
In a letter, the New York Civil Liberties Union, Common Cause New York and the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law said the plan "will impose a severe burden on many of the City's low-income voters."
nationofchange.org/2019/05/23/new-york-citys-early-voting-plan-will-favor-white-affluent-voters-advocacy-groups-say/
Despite Lawsuit, TBSC Leader Calls for Hosing Down a Sleeping Homeless Man
Peter Green | indybay.org | 2019-05-23
Samantha Olden, a leader of the "public safety" group Take Back Santa Cruz (TBSC), recently made a comment on social media suggesting a homeless man be hosed down with water to discourage him from trespassing in the area in which he was sleeping. The comment from Olden comes just over a month after homeless residents in Santa Cruz named Take Back Santa Cruz in a federal civil rights lawsuit, which calls for TBSC to, "be enjoined from dangerous inflammatory hate speech and ordered to publicly alert its members and followers to refrain from performing or inciting acts of physical violence against homeless persons."
indybay.org/newsitems/2019/05/20/18823516.php
Abortion Bans Are Backfiring Spectacularly Across the U.S
Staff | truthdig.com | 2019-05-23
In Texas, if state Rep. Tony Tinderholt had his way, women who have an abortion could get the death penalty. Fortunately, his bill didn't make it out of committee. But in Alabama, a bill that sentences doctors who perform abortions to life in prison did pass and was signed into law by the governor. If it stands, it goes into effect in six months. | Dr. Yashica Robinson, the medical director of the Alabama Women's Center for Reproductive Alternatives, responded to the draconian law on the "Democracy Now!" news hour, saying, "I will have to choose between my freedom and staying out of jail and doing what is best fo…
truthdig.com/articles/abortion-bans-are-backfiring-spectacularly-all-across-the-u-s/
Chilean Prosecutors Request 15 Years For Catrillanca Murder
telesurenglish.net | 2019-05-23
On Tuesday, Chile's district attorney's office requested for Carlos Alarcon, the police officer who murdered Mapuche community leader Camilo Catrillanca in November of last year, to serve 15 years in prison. | RELATED: | Waorani, Other Indigenous Groups March Against Conservatism | According to judicial sources, the Public Prosecutor's Office will bring…
telesurenglish.net/news/Chilean-Prosecutors-Request-15-Years-For-Catrillanca-Murder-20190523-0005.html
The Indian elections and the fight to free the Maruti Suzuki class war prisoners
wsws.org | 2019-05-23
Completely blacked out from the election campaign has been any discussion of the plight of the 13 Maruti Suzuki workers who have been jailed for life on frame-up murder charges.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2019/05/23/msel-m23.html
Connecticut's Democratic Governor Is Stonewalling a Bill That Would Make Phone Calls From Prison Free
Rachel M. Cohen | theintercept.com | 2019-05-23
With two weeks left in the legislative session, Gov. Ned Lamont has yet to express support for the bill, which is the first of its kind in the country.
theintercept.com/2019/05/23/connecticut-prison-inmate-calls/
Inmate Dies at Rountree Rehabilitation and Re-Entry Facility in Watsonville
Santa Cruz Police News | indybay.org | 2019-05-23
According to the Santa Cruz County Sheriff's Office, 35-year-old inmate Carlos Bolanos was found dead at 5: 30 am today in the Rehabilitation and Re-entry Facility located at the Rountree Lane Sheriff's Detention Facilities in Watsonville. Carlos was in custody at the Rehabilitation and Re-Entry facility since December of 2018.
indybay.org/newsitems/2019/05/20/18823528.php
Flu outbreak leads to quarantine at Texas immigrant detention center
wsws.org | 2019-05-23
The death of a migrant teenager on Monday has highlighted the inhumane conditions at one of the largest immigration detention centers in the US.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2019/05/23/immi-m23.html
'Vague, Overly Broad, and Sweeping in Scope': Lawsuits Take Aim at Efforts to Criminalize Anti-Pipeline Protests
Eoin Higgins, staff writer | commondreams.org | 2019-05-23
"It's hard to convince or even ask people with children to organize against pipelines if a mother will risk a felony." | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/headline/thumbs/dapl_dc.jpg…
commondreams.org/news/2019/05/23/vague-overly-broad-and-sweeping-scope-lawsuits-take-aim-efforts-criminalize-anti?cd-origin=rss
SpaceX sues US Air Force for awarding lucrative contracts to 'paper rocket' builders like Bezos
rt.com | 2019-05-23
Elon Musk's SpaceX is taking the US government to court over what it claims was an "arbitrary and capricious" move to favor its rivals, including Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin, with multimillion contracts and turn down SpaceX's bid. | …
rt.com/usa/460041-musk-spacex-lawsuit-pentagon/
HUD Moves to Allow Anti-Trans Discrimination in Federally Funded Homeless Shelters
commondreams.org | 2019-05-22
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commondreams.org/newswire/2019/05/22/hud-moves-allow-anti-trans-discrimination-federally-funded-homeless-shelters?cd-origin=rss
Germany: Tens of thousands demonstrate against nationalism
wsws.org | 2019-05-22
While many came to demonstrate against nationalism and racism, the organisers sought to mobilise support for pro-EU parties–the SPD, Greens and Left Party–a week before the European elections.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2019/05/22/natl-m22.html
We're Suing Maricopa County Attorney Bill Montgomery to Release the Records He's Hiding From Arizonans
aclu.org | 2019-05-22
Prosecutorial transparency serves everyone. But in Maricopa County, Arizona, secrecy trumps transparency, and the people suffer for it. | Maricopa County Attorney Bill Montgomery claims to be a big believer in data. As reported last year, Montgomery has blocked effective, commonsense criminal justice reform proposals from becoming law in part by criticizing them as having "no data to support" them, and as being "pet projects" "base…
aclu.org/blog/smart-justice/prosecutorial-reform/were-suing-maricopa-county-attorney-bill-montgomery-release
Watch: Interview With Brazil's Ex-President Lula From Prison, Discussing Global Threats, Neoliberalism, Bolsonaro, and More
Glenn Greenwald | theintercept.com | 2019-05-22
Among the planet's significant political figures, no one is quite like Lula. Born into extreme poverty, illiterate until the age of 10, forced to quit school at the age of 12 to work as a shoe shiner, losing a finger at his factory job at 19, and then becoming a labor activist, union leader, and founder of a political party devoted to a defense of laborers (the Workers' Party, or PT), Lula has always been, in all respects, the exact opposite of the rich, dynastic, oligarch-loyal, aristocratic prototype that has traditionally wielded power in Brazil. | That's precisely what makes Lula's rise to power, and his i…
theintercept.com/2019/05/22/lula-brazil-ex-president-prison-interview/
In a World of Legal Weed, Michael Thompson Languishes in Prison for Selling It in 1994
Tana Ganeva | theintercept.com | 2019-05-22
The criminal justice reform movement's focus on "nonviolent" offenders has hurt people like Michael Thompson: "Where's the violence coming in at?"
theintercept.com/2019/05/22/marijuana-legalization-drug-sentencing-prison/
Paraguay Prosecutes Campesinos who Protested Soy, Agrochemicals
telesurenglish.net | 2019-05-22
Four Paraguayan Campesinos are in danger of being sentenced to preventative detention in a case where they, along with 30 other Campesinos, protested the planting of soy crops in their area of eastern Paraguay. | RELATED | Paraguay's Campesino's Join Indigenous People in Deman for Right to Land | The Coordinator of Human Rights of Paraguay (Codehupy), which is on the four women's defense, asserts that the Prosecutor's Office is "criminalizing people for defending a hea…
telesurenglish.net/news/Paraguay-Prosecutes-Campesinos-who-Protested-Soy-Agrochemicals-20190522-0019.html
How ICE Is Using Solitary Confinement to Punish Asylum Seekers, Including LGBT & Disabled Immigrants
Democracy Now! | democracynow.org | 2019-05-22
Since 2012, ICE has used solitary confinement as a routine punishment for thousands of immigrants and asylum seekers locked up in immigration jails across the country. We look at a new, damning investigation by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists that has revealed this widespread abusive use of solitary confinement in immigration jails overseen by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The United Nations special rapporteur on torture says solitary confinement should only be used in exceptional circumstances, and defines extended use of solitary as "inhuman and degrading treatment." Despit…
www.democracynow.org/2019/5/22/solitary_voices_ice_is_using_solitary
Federal Judge Refuses to Block Trump Bank Subpoenas
Staff | truthdig.com | 2019-05-22
NEW YORK — The Latest on President Donald Trump's efforts to block congressional subpoenas seeking records from his banks (all times local): | 4 p.m. | A federal judge in New York is refusing to block congressional subpoenas seeking financial records from two banks that did business with President Donald Trump. | U.S. District Judge Edgardo Ramos said during a hearing Wednesday that Trump and his company were unlikely to succeed in a lawsuit arguing that the subpoenas were unlawful and unconstitutional. | Democrats in Congress have sought the information from Deutsche Bank and Capital One. | Deutsche Bank h…
truthdig.com/articles/federal-judge-refuses-to-block-trump-bank-subpoenas/
CONTACT YOUR HOUSE MEMBER TO "VOTE YEA" FOR H.R. 1500, THE "CONSUMERS FIRST ACT" TODAY!
Adam Lee | naacp.org | 2019-05-22
The NAACP worked with friends, colleagues, the Obama Administration and coalition partners on Capitol Hill, to create The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) as part of the 2010 Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. It was crafted to help consumers navigate the often-complicated world of finances; to ensure that high-cost, unsustainable loans of …
naacp.org/latest/contact-house-member-vote-yea-h-r-1500-consumers-first-act-today/
How the 'war on gangs' feeds mass incarceration
Terrence Myers | liberationnews.org | 2019-05-21
Why gang databases and raids are not a solution.
liberationnews.org/how-the-war-on-gangs-feeds-mass-incarceration/
A Homeland Security Whistleblower Goes Public About ICE Abuse of Solitary Confinement
Maryam Saleh | theintercept.com | 2019-05-21
Ellen Gallagher was stunned when she first learned that immigrants detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement were sometimes placed in isolation with no human contact for 22 hours a day. It was February 2014, only a few months into her stint as a policy adviser at the Department of Homeland Security's Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties, where she thought she'd be empowered to ensure that the department did not violate the rights of those who came into its crosshairs. | For the next several months, Gallagher educated herself on solitary confinement, a controversial practice used frequently in penal i…
theintercept.com/2019/05/21/ice-solitary-confinement-whistleblower/
Family of Jailed Saudi Feminist Loujain Al-Hathloul: She Was Waterboarded, Flogged & Electrocuted
Democracy Now! | democracynow.org | 2019-05-21
It's been a year since women's right activist Loujain Al-Hathloul was detained and jailed in Saudi Arabia for leading a movement to lift the kingdom's ban on female drivers and overhaul its male "guardianship" system. Despite international outcry, she's been imprisoned ever since. During that time, her family says, she's been held in solitary confinement and faced abuse, including electric shocks, flogging and threats of sexual violence. The Saudi government has resisted calls from human rights groups and lawmakers from around the world to release Loujain and the other jailed activists. We speak with two of Louja…
www.democracynow.org/2019/5/21/family_of_jailed_saudi_feminist_loujain
Thousands of Immigrants Suffer in Solitary Confinement in ICE Detention
Spencer Woodman | theintercept.com | 2019-05-21
Dulce Rivera lived for the one hour a day she was allowed outside, to pace alone on a patch of concrete encased in metal fencing. | They called it "the yard," but it was really a metal cage. Still, it was far better than the misery she endured the other 23 hours a day, locked alone in a cell with no one to talk to and nothing to distract her from her increasingly dark thoughts. | Rivera, a 36-year-old transgender woman from Honduras and a longtime U.S. resident, was detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in 2017. She was placed in the Cibola County Correctional Center in New Mexico, and moved into s…
theintercept.com/2019/05/21/ice-solitary-confinement-immigration-detention/
Children of ISIL terrorists likely held in 'secret detention facilities', UN human rights office warns
United Nations | un.org | 2019-05-21
In Syria, it is suspected that children whose fathers fought for terrorist group ISIL are being held in unidentified "settlements" and "secret detention facilities" away from their mothers, the UN human rights office (OHCHR) said on Tuesday.
news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2019/05/1038901
Detained, Abused & Denied Medical Care: How Trump Immigration Policies Led to Child Deaths at Border
Democracy Now! | democracynow.org | 2019-05-21
A 16-year-old Guatemalan boy died in U.S. custody Monday after spending a week in immigration jail. Carlos Gregorio Hernandez Vasquez was found dead at a Border Patrol station at Weslaco, Texas, just one day after being diagnosed with the flu. He was not hospitalized. This marks the fifth death of a Guatemalan child apprehended by Border Patrol since December. Before last year, it had been more than a decade since a child died in the custody of U.S. immigration officials. We speak with Fernando Garcia, the founding director of the Border Network for Human Rights, an advocacy organization based in El Paso, and Jen…
www.democracynow.org/2019/5/21/detained_abused_denied_medical_care_how
U.S. HOUSE PASSES THE NAACP-SUPPORTED EQUALITY ACT
Adam Lee | naacp.org | 2019-05-21
On May 17, 2019, by a bipartisan vote of 236 yeas to 173 nays the U.S. House voted to approve and send to the Senate H.R. 5, the NAACP-supported Equality Act. We must now do all we can to ensure the U.S. Senate takes up and passes the Equality Act as soon as possible, so …
naacp.org/latest/u-s-house-passes-naacp-supported-equality-act/
Alabama's Abortion Ban Is a Political Stunt That Will Cost Its Taxpayers
aclu.org | 2019-05-20
The draconian law is a flagrantly unconstitutional attack on more than 40 years of established Supreme Court precedent. | This piece originally appeared at the Alabama Political Reporter. | For years, the Alabama legislature has been passing laws that push abortion out of reach. Now politicians have finally shown their true colors and are trying to ban abortion outright. | On Wednesday, Governor Ivey signed H.B. 314 — one of the most extreme attacks on the ri…
aclu.org/blog/reproductive-freedom/abortion/alabamas-abortion-ban-political-stunt-will-cost-its-taxpayers
What's Trending: Black News Recap
Vanessa Mbonu@naacpnet | naacp.org | 2019-05-20
Washington Post: Billionaire Robert F. Smith pledges to pay off Morehouse College Class of 2019‚Ä≤s student loans Smith told the graduates how he launched his lucrative career. He gave them wise words on grit and success. Then he deviated from his prepared remarks. "My family is going to create a grant to …
naacp.org/latest/whats-trending-black-news-recap-2/
Muslim Brotherhood Terrorist Designation Is Being Pushed By 'Islamophobia Industry'
Staff | therealnews.com | 2019-05-19
Civil rights lawyer and activist Arjun Singh Sethi says,…
therealnews.com/stories/muslim-brotherhood-terrorist-designation-is-being-pushed-by-islamophobia-industry
Far right winning the social media war
pip.hinman | greenleft.org.au | 2019-05-17
A decade ago the left believed that it could use social media to outflank the established mass media. But it is the far right that now dominates social media. | Two recent events have focused attention on extreme right social media. The shooter in the Christchurch massacre was an addict of white supremacist message boards on platforms like Reddit and 4Chan. Like the alt-right platform Gab, these noticeboards are filled with overt racism, homophobia, misogyny and Hitler worship. | A very different sort of hard-right social media fuels Vox, the Spanish neo-fascist party that won 13% of the vote in the April general…
greenleft.org.au/content/far-right-winning-social-media-war
New York Passes a Bill to Ensure No One Loses Their Home for Calling the Police
aclu.org | 2019-05-17
Americans shouldn't be threatened with losing housing because they called for help. | In cities and towns across New York state — and around the country — you can be evicted just for calling for police or emergency assistance. Fortunately, that's about to change in New York. The State Legislature recently passed a bill — unanimously in the Assembly and 58 to 1 in the Senate — to prote…
aclu.org/blog/womens-rights/violence-against-women/new-york-passes-bill-ensure-no-one-loses-their-home
Ohio Lawmakers Ignored Us When They Banned Abortion. They Can't Ignore Us in the Courtroom
aclu.org | 2019-05-17
When Ohio legislators decided to sign the bill into law, we knew we had to both continue to provide care and defend access to that care in the courts. | Last month, Gov. Mike DeWine signed the Ohio Legislature's abortion ban into law. The law recklessly prohibits abortions starting around six weeks. As an abortion provider, I can tell you this is, in fact, a ban on all abortions in Ohio. Approximately 90% of abortions in Ohio take place at or after six weeks. Before six weeks, most people do not even know they are pregnant. | In defense of people across Ohio, I knew that our clinic couldn't stand by and do nothin…
aclu.org/blog/reproductive-freedom/abortion/ohio-lawmakers-ignored-us-when-they-banned-abortion-they-cant
NAACP and Civil Rights Groups Hold Rally on the 65th Anniversary of Brown v. Board
Austyn Ross | naacp.org | 2019-05-17
On May 16, NAACP along with civil rights organizations and members of Congress held a rally on Capitol Hill to make the promise of Brown v. Board of Education a reality for all. In honor of the 65th anniversary of Brown v. Board of Education, speakers addressed the still urgent struggle for education equity as well …
naacp.org/latest/naacp-civil-rights-groups-hold-rally-65th-anniversary-brown-v-board/
Meet The Alabama Doctor Who Could Face 99 Years In Prison For Providing Abortions Under New Law
Democracy Now! | democracynow.org | 2019-05-17
Alabama Governor Kay Ivey signed the nation's most restrictive abortion ban into law on Wednesday, effectively banning the procedure except in cases where a pregnant person's life is at serious risk. The law does not make exceptions in cases of rape or incest and doctors could face 99 years in prison for performing abortions. We speak with Dr. Yashica Robinson, the medical director of the Alabama Women's Center for Reproductive Alternatives, one of only three clinics left in the state that offer patients abortion services. She is one of only two abortion providers living and working in Alabama. Under the new Alab…
www.democracynow.org/2019/5/17/meet_the_alabama_doctor_who_could
Our Government Has Failed to Defend the Sixth Amendment
aclu.org | 2019-05-16
There is a crisis in our nation of disregard for protecting the right to counsel for people accused of crimes. | On May 8, Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA) elevated the crisis of federal and state governments' disregard for protecting the right to counsel for people charged with crimes. She did so by introducing the Ensuring Quality Access to Legal Defense Act (EQUAL Defense Act) a bill that uses federal money — $250 million dollars annually for five years — to incentivize pay parity between public defenders and prosecutors, ensure manageable defender caseloads, and reauthorize the student loan repayment pro…
aclu.org/blog/criminal-law-reform/effective-counsel/our-government-has-failed-defend-sixth-amendment
Arizona Officials Say It's Unsafe for Prisoners to Read About Race and Criminal Justice. They're Wrong
aclu.org | 2019-05-16
The ban is not only unnecessary and inhumane, it's unconstitutional. | For many people behind bars, books can be a lifeline to the outside world. In the words of poet, attorney, and former prisoner Reginald Dwayne Betts, "Books weren't really magic when I was a child, they were just something that I [enjoyed] reading. I thought it was important, but when I got locked up it became magic,…
aclu.org/blog/prisoners-rights/civil-liberties-prison/arizona-officials-say-its-unsafe-prisoners-read-about
"Inside Syria's Secret Prisons": A Harrowing Account of How Assad's Torture Machine Crushed Dissent
Democracy Now! | democracynow.org | 2019-05-16
A shocking exposé by the New York Times looks at how Bashar al-Assad's government has jailed and tortured tens of thousands of Syrians since the uprising began in 2011. According to the Syrian Network for Human Rights, nearly 128,000 people have disappeared. They are presumed to be either dead or still in custody. The group estimates almost 14,000 individuals have died under torture. The detentions are continuing even as the fighting winds down. More than 5,600 Syrians were reportedly arbitrarily detained last year in a 25 percent jump from the previous year. While the Syrian government has denied running a secre…
www.democracynow.org/2019/5/16/inside_syria_s_secret_prisons_a
Chelsea Manning Faces More Jail And Steep Fines To Force Compliance With Grand Jury Subpoena
Kevin Gosztola | shadowproof.com | 2019-05-16
*Listen to the story by clicking the above player. Unable to break Chelsea Manning's spirit by jailing her, the United States escalated efforts to force her to testify before a grand jury investigating WikiLeaks by imposing steep financial penalties. Judge Anthony Trenga held Manning in civil contempt and ordered her…
shadowproof.com/2019/05/16/chelsea-manning-prosecutors-fines-contempt-jail-debt/
As EPA Insists Weed Killer Roundup is Safe, a Jury Orders Monsanto to Pay $2B to Couple With Cancer
Democracy Now! | democracynow.org | 2019-05-16
U.S. agribusiness giant Monsanto has been ordered to pay its highest damages yet in a massive lawsuit over the popular weedkiller Roundup. A jury ordered Monsanto to pay more than $2 billion in punitive damages to Alva and Alberta Pilliod, a couple who were both diagnosed with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma cancer after using Roundup on their properties for decades. Monsanto is owned by German pharmaceutical giant Bayer. The main ingredient in the weed killer Roundup, glyphosate, is said to cause the cancer. Attorneys estimate that there are thousands of similar cases against Roundup pending in courts around the country.
www.democracynow.org/2019/5/16/as_epa_insists_weed_killer_roundup
New Homeland Security Secretary, Same Anti-Immigrant Agenda
aclu.org | 2019-05-15
Beware of walls, money grabs, and other sham solutions as DHS leadership shifts. | Kevin McAleenan, the new acting secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, abruptly assumed office in April because his predecessor reportedly wasn't tough enough for President Trump. Ironically, McAleenan claims that "you can be tough and compassionate at the same time." But actions speak louder than words., , Don't be fooled, McAleenan does not represent a new leaf. He is d…
aclu.org/blog/immigrants-rights/ice-and-border-patrol-abuses/new-homeland-security-secretary-same-anti
We're Suing to Block Ohio's Abortion Ban
aclu.org | 2019-05-15
Abortion is a constitutional right. | Today we filed a lawsuit challenging Ohio's ban on abortion starting at six weeks of pregnancy. Our lawsuit comes a day after Alabama passed a similar law and weeks after Georgia, Kentucky, and Mississippi passed similar measures. | A ban on abortion starting at six weeks is a ban on almost all abortions. Before six weeks, most people do not even know that they are pregnant. | Legally, this case is…
aclu.org/blog/reproductive-freedom/abortion/were-suing-block-ohios-abortion-ban
Police Unions Should Never Undermine Constitutional Policing
aclu.org | 2019-05-15
Seattle's consent decree was meant to bolster accountability and transparency by law enforcement; it needs to have teeth to be effectuated properly. | In 2017, the Seattle City Council adopted an ordinance establishing a number of progressive police reforms aimed at strengthening community trust in police and ensuring police accountability. Fast forward to today and these reforms are under fire by a familiar opponent: Police unions. | The comprehensive reforms in Seattle…
aclu.org/blog/criminal-law-reform/reforming-police-practices/police-unions-should-never-undermine
Justice Department: If FDA Regulated Execution Drugs, They Would Ban Them
Kevin Gosztola | shadowproof.com | 2019-05-15
The Justice Department's Office of Legal Counsel drafted an opinion that definitively argues the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) may not ban or regulate drugs used to execute prisoners. | As state governments that have yet to abolish the death penalty struggle to obtain drugs for lethal injections, a key issue is whether certain lethal injection protocols violate the Constitution's prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment. | Texas sued the FDA in 2017 after the agency blocked [ PDF] a shipment of lethal in…
shadowproof.com/2019/05/15/justice-department-if-fda-regulated-execution-drugs-they-would-ban-them/
Pesticide Lawsuits and the Threat Hiding in the Perfect Lawn
Lauren Sandford | progressive.org | 2019-05-14
More than 13,400 consumer lawsuits against Monsanto and Bayer AG, which manufacture the weed-killer Roundup, allege it is the cause of various cancers. Now, a new judgment has awarded one couple $2 billion in damages.
progressive.org/op-eds/pesticide-lawsuits-highlight-hidden-threat-Sandford-191405/