WATCH: Why is Google sponsoring Trump’s hate?

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Thursday May 05, 2016 · 10:37 AM PDT

2016/05/05 · 10:37

Google just announced that its YouTube division will be the official livestream provider of the Donald Trump-led Republican convention, despite massive pressure from activists demanding the company stand up for its alleged values of diversity and inclusion in the face of Trump’s racism, xenophobia and misogyny.

Google’s planned sponsorship of the Republican convention will help legitimize and normalize Trump’s platform of hate. It’s appalling that access to political power is more important to Google than standing up for its stated values.

It’s not too late for Google to reverse course. That’s why we put together this short video to show Google exactly what it’s getting with its sponsorship of Trump.

Will you watch the video and share it with your friends?

YouTube Video

Help make sure Google gets the message by sharing the video:

Now that Donald Trump is the presumptive Republican nominee, it’s more important than ever to stand up against his fascist platform. Keeping the pressure on Google, and on other corporations considering whether or not to sponsor the Republican convention, is an important step in helping to marginalize Trump’s message and his values. The more we can share this video, the stronger that message will be.

10 things President Obama must say in his last State of the Union

Josh Nelson

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Monday January 11, 2016 · 11:22 AM PST

2016/01/11 · 11:22

Tomorrow, President Obama will deliver his final State of the Union Address.

The last of his presidency, this speech will define his agenda for the next year. There is no upcoming reelection campaign or midterm to use as an excuse for inaction. The time for half measures is over. This is the President’s final opportunity to put forward a progressive vision and make desperately needed reforms before he leaves office.

The president can use executive orders to push forward a progressive agenda and bypass the sabotage of Republicans in Congress. Join me below for ten top areas President Obama should prioritize in his final State of the Union, along with ways you can help build pressure on President Obama to make the most of this last chance to be bold.

Ending the wars in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Syria. The American soldiers on the ground in Syria represent the latest in a series of broken promises on war and peace — in Iraq, Afghanistan, and now Syria. President Obama was elected and re-elected on promises to end George W. Bush’s failed wars, but now he’s poised to leave a legacy of broken promises and endless war. We need to speak out now against these dangerous military escalations. Sign the petition.

Cracking down on Wall Street. It is long past time for Obama to replace Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Mary Jo White, end golden parachutes from Wall Street banks for new administration employees, and demand his attorney general end “too big to jail.” The place to start is with a strong endorsement of Sen. Elizabeth Warren’s tough, specific, no-nonsense Wall Street reform agenda to end too-big-to-fail and hold criminal banks accountable. Sign the petition.

Keeping fossil fuels in the ground. President Obama rejected the Keystone XL pipeline saying that if we want to stop the worst impacts of climate change, “we’re going to have to keep some fossil fuels in the ground.” Yet President Obama has yet to put any checks on the biggest pool of carbon under his control — fossil fuels on public lands, which account for nearly one quarter of all US carbon emissions. It’s long past time for the president stop issuing new leases to extract fossil fuels on public lands. Sign the petition.

Standing up for abortion rights. Abortion funding restrictions like the Hyde and Helms Amendments keep low-income women and women of color, as well as women in crisis zones around the globe, from accessing abortions. They also perpetuate the false and dangerous idea that having an abortion is behavior that should be stigmatized and defunded. President Obama has two opportunities to push back on those restrictions. He should remove any restrictions on abortion funding from his 2016/2017 federal budget proposal, and he should clarify that the Helms Amendment does not bar U.S. foreign aid from funding abortions in the cases of rape or incest, or when a woman’s life is in danger. Sign the petition.

Filling vacancies on the federal bench. There are currently 66 federal judicial vacancies, including 32 judicial emergencies, but only 25 nominations are pending. That’s because President Obama has been respecting a tradition of nominating only judges who have the approval of their home-state senators. Under that policy, Republican senators can stall the process by failing to make recommendations. It’s time for the president to move forward and nominate judges for every vacancy. Sign the petition.

Leading the way on criminal justice reform and ending police violence. Our broken, bloated, racist criminal justice system has continued to grow under President Obama. He should end any executive branch programs to militarize local police departments, direct his Department of Justice to investigate the murder of black people, and pledge to sign bipartisan, comprehensive criminal justice reform in the next 100 days. Sign the petition.

Stopping breaking up families by ending the deportations. The Obama administration has just launched a series of raids against undocumented families who came to the US seeking refuge from violence in their home countries. These deportation raids stand in stark contrast to the executive action President Obama issued in 2014 that provided widespread relief to nearly 5 million children, young adults, and their parents under constant fear of deportation. Continuing these massive raids will tarnish his legacy. President Obama must halt his administration’s raids against immigrant families. Sign the petition.

Saving our democracy by fixing the Voting Rights Act and fighting money in politics. President Obama should call on Congress to fix the Voting Rights Act, while announcing that his justice department will aggressively investigate new instances of Republican voter suppression. President Obama must also call on Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Mary Jo White to release the commission’s long-delayed rule mandating transparency in political spending or be replaced. Sign the petition.

Ensuring tax fairness by closing tax loopholes and promising to veto any legislation that doesn’t force corporations to pay their fair share. President Obama should commit to veto any tax deal, like the one Senator Chuck Schumer has championed, that would reward corporations who dodged taxes with lower rates. He should also immediately direct the Internal Revenue Service and the Treasury Department to use their existing authority to close six major tax loopholes that allow hedge funds and the worst of the 1% to dodge taxes. Sign the petition.

Restoring America’s moral standing by closing Guantanamo Bay and prosecuting torturers and their bosses. President Obama has the authority to close Guantanamo Bay and transfer the remaining inmates to equally secure federal prison facilities. He has one last chance to keep his promise and do so. He must also direct his attorney general to prosecute CIA employees who tortured prisoners, their bosses, and the Bush administration appointees who enabled and led the torture program. Sign the petition.

Time is running out for President Obama to deliver on his campaign promises. But he still has power to deliver major progress in these ten areas. It's what we're hoping to hear, what you should be listening for, and how we'll be gauging the success of his speech.

What do you want President Obama to say in his last State of the Union?

LIVE from New York: It's Donald Trump's ... racism?!

HeidiHess for CREDO Action

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Friday October 30, 2015 · 11:28 AM PDT

2015/10/30 · 11:28

NBC recently announced that Donald Trump will host Saturday Night Live next weekend, on November 7.

That’s the same Donald Trump whose campaign rhetoric — rooted in racism, fear-mongering and hate — is demonizing and dehumanizing immigrants and people of color. The same Donald Trump whose platform advocates for the mass deportation of Latino immigrants.

Donald Trump is one of the leading presidential candidates in the Republican field. NBC’s news division should cover him as they would any other front-runner. But NBC and Saturday Night Live (SNL) should not be validating his hateful views by giving him an additional national platform to bolster his image and entertain the American people.

Josh Nelson for CREDO Action

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Thursday October 22, 2015 · 10:50 AM PDT

2015/10/22 · 10:50

For the 2.7 million children who have one or both parents incarcerated, a phone call from mom or dad means the world. But when those calls cost $20 or more for just a few minutes, it can jeopardize the finances of families already in peril.

In a perverse system of kickbacks, prisons contract to run their phone systems with private companies that charge prisoners "commission fees" on every minute of each call. Those commissions end up as kickbacks to the prisons, creating an incentive to pick companies that charge prisoners more.

HeidiHess for CREDO Action

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Friday October 02, 2015 · 2:06 PM PDT

2015/10/02 · 14:06

Another mass shooting happened yesterday, this time at Umpqua Community College in Oregon. And just like after every mass shooting, right-wing politicians who have no intention of doing anything to make people safer in the face of gun violence were quick to offer their prayers and condolences to the families and friends of the victims.

When staunch National Rifle Association supporters tweet that their “thoughts and prayers” are with the victims’ families, it doesn’t mean much because when they vote on gun laws, they are with the NRA.

Join me below the fold to see what pro-NRA politicians are saying in response to yesterday’s shooting, and to put pressure on them to do more.

HeidiHess for CREDO Action

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Wednesday September 23, 2015 · 12:08 PM PDT

2015/09/23 · 12:08

Yesterday, together with representatives from Daily Kos, MoveOn and Democracy for America, I delivered more than 1.2 million petition signatures, including more than 770,000 from CREDO activists, to Democratic Leader Harry Reid and Sen. Elizabeth Warren.

Leader Reid and Sen. Warren are fierce champions of women’s rights and strong defenders of Planned Parenthood. They made clear how grateful they are for your activism, and I made clear how grateful we are for their leadership. I also shared our commitment to doing everything we can to make sure that every Democrat in the Senate joins them in holding the line against any deals or compromises that result in cuts to Planned Parenthood, even if holding the line means risking a government shutdown.

Join me below the fold for photos from the petition delivery, some thoughts on where things stand, and what you can do to stop Republicans from defunding Planned Parenthood.

Murshed Z

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Tuesday September 22, 2015 · 10:16 AM PDT

2015/09/22 · 10:16

Tuesday marked the anniversary of the collapse of Lehman Brothers. While most of us are still living with the damage and haven’t forgotten the lessons, Mary Jo White, the chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), appears stuck in a “pre-Lehman mentality” that puts Wall Street first.

CREDO has massively escalated the pressure on Chair White this week, with a “Dump (Mary Jo) Truck” mobile billboard circling the SEC and the White House (pictures below the fold).

CREDO members have also been overwhelming the SEC and the White House with phone calls – leading to this INSANE exchange between an SEC staffer and a CREDO activist, which she recounted to progressive radio host Thom Hartmann (click on the image below to check out the video and transcript below the fold):

You heard that right. A taxpayer called to complain about the SEC granting “get out of jail free” waivers to criminal banks, and the response was a rant about funding of Planned Parenthood. We are getting under their skin – and that is very good news. Here’s why: Read More

Peace wins

Zack Malitz for CREDO Action

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Thursday September 10, 2015 · 3:24 PM PDT

2015/09/10 · 15:24

The peace movement won. Thanks to you.

The fight to defend the Iran deal in Congress is over – at least for now – and those of us who have been fighting for diplomacy over war won decisively.

We won despite a massive, coordinated effort to sabotage diplomacy and launch yet another war of choice in the Middle East.

Murshed Z for CREDO Action

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Friday September 04, 2015 · 9:38 AM PDT

2015/09/04 · 09:38

Right when Wall Street reformers led by progressive champions both inside and outside of Congress seemed to have gained some momentum, we got another sobering reminder of just how deeply the too-big-to-fail behemoths have sunk their talons into our democracy.

This time, it is Julian Castro, Secretary of Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) – who may be positioning himself for a nomination to be the next Democratic vice president – providing the massive assist to criminal bankers (emphasis mine):

Citigroup and JPMorgan Chase appeared to score a significant victory Tuesday after the Department of Housing and Urban Development suggested it won't punish lenders for major crimes committed by their corporate parents.
The announcement concerns a requirement that lenders in HUD's mortgage insurance program certify they haven't been convicted of violating federal antitrust laws or other serious crimes. Citi and JPMorgan in May pleaded guilty to felony charges that they broke federal antitrust laws for their traders’ participation in a years-long scheme to manipulate currency markets for profit. Both companies own banks that make mortgages that are later insured by the HUD-overseen Federal Housing Administration.

But on Tuesday, Secretary Julián Castro's housing agency proposed modifying the required certification in a way that would apply only to HUD-registered lenders. The lenders' parent companies wouldn't be on the hook, thus seemingly enabling Citi and JPMorgan's HUD-registered units to continue certifying that they haven't pleaded guilty to federal antitrust charges.

What makes this all the more mind-boggling is that the ambitious Secretary Castro is wading into a fight that pits the progressive wing of the Democratic party against increasingly defensive Wall Street elites: the issue of what do after banks get caught breaking the law. Read More

Clinton, Sanders & O’Malley: No war hawk on the ticket

Zack Malitz for CREDO Action

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Tuesday August 25, 2015 · 1:11 PM PDT

2015/08/25 · 13:11

With just weeks left until Congress returns to Washington, D.C. for a historic vote on the Iran nuclear deal, more and more Democrats are stepping up to publicly support it.

Among the Democrats who aren’t on record yet, however, are Sens. Cory Booker and Mark Warner who may emerge as top contenders to be picked to run for vice president on the Democratic ticket in 2016.

Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders support the Iran deal, and Martin O’Malley has offered cautious praise. Now it’s time for them to go further. That’s why CREDO just launched a campaign today urging the Democrats running for president to pledge not to pick a running mate who opposes it.

Becky Bond

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Tuesday August 18, 2015 · 2:19 PM PDT

2015/08/18 · 14:19

On Sunday, the New York Times ran a front page story about a special, decades-long partnership between the NSA and AT&T.

We think AT&T customers in particular need to read about their telecom's "extreme willingness to help" carry out unconstitutional surveillance programs for the U.S. government. Many of you have already taken note of the story in this wonderful community. But if you want to help get the word out please consider sharing it more widely through a special graphic we have put together. Check it out after the flip.

Becky Bond for CREDO Action

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Sunday August 16, 2015 · 7:40 AM PDT

2015/08/16 · 07:40

ProPublica dropped a blockbuster article in the New York Times on Saturday exposing details of AT&T’s decades long partnership with the NSA.

You can read the entire article and access supporting documents at ProPublica here. You can also read at the New York Times here.

A key paragraph:

While it has been long known that American telecommunications companies worked closely with the spy agency, newly disclosed N.S.A. documents show that the relationship with AT&T has been considered unique and especially productive. One document described it as “highly collaborative,” while another lauded the company’s “extreme willingness to help.

Also particularly damning is this:

One document reminds N.S.A. officials to be polite when visiting AT&T facilities, noting, “This is a partnership, not a contractual relationship.”

Newer
Older

RSS

WATCH: Why is Google sponsoring Trump’s hate?

10 things President Obama must say in his last State of the Union

LIVE from New York: It's Donald Trump's ... racism?!

Victory: FCC caps rates and fees on prison phone calls

“Thoughts and prayers” are not enough

1.2 million petitions to Congress: No cuts to Planned Parenthood

UNREAL: CREDO Activist Calls SEC About Criminal Banks; Staffer Rants About Planned Parenthood

Peace wins

Secretary Julian Castro: Wall Street's Veep?

Clinton, Sanders & O’Malley: No war hawk on the ticket

The New York Times article that every AT&T customer should read

ProPublica and New York Times on AT&T’s “extreme willingness to help” the NSA