This week at progressive state blogs is designed specifically to focus attention on the writing and analysis of people focused on their home turf. Here is the November 10 edition. Inclusion of a blog post does not necessarily indicate my agreement with—or endorsement of—its contents.
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At ProgressNow New Mexico, Rachael Lorenzo writes—New Mexico Elections Show the Rest of the Country How It’s Done:
Barry Blitt’s New Yorker cover, “Welcome To Congress”, has gone viral and it’s no surprise why- the cover shows Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (NY-14), Ilhan Omar (MN-5), and Sharice Davids (Ho-Chunk Nation) (KS-3) with a crowd of brown people behind them at a door, about to walk into a room full of white men. This is a bittersweet moment for people of color across the country- until the late 1960s, ALL American citizens were not able to vote. The legal and physical battles fought to vote were (and are) hard, bloody, and racist. In New Mexico, we have taken Blitt’s concept to the max—the Roundhouse will see a lot of newcomers, mostly women of color and including the first ever Muslim to serve in the legislature, taking their seat on the House Floor.
New Mexico has a long history of racism and sexism, especially during the time New Mexico was vying for statehood. Many people in New Mexico spoke Spanish or a Native language and any time the United States sent someone to New Mexico, it was a must that an interpreter be present. Senator Davis (Minnesota) said in 1892 that it would be in the country’s best interest to wait until the territory’s population spoke English and was Protestant (read: white and Christian). Some politicians in New Mexico suggested limiting the ability of Native Americans and Hispanic people to vote. Racism also encompasses sexism and it is important to remember that, especially in politics. While New Mexico gained statehood in 1912, it was not until 1923 that the first woman was elected to the State House and 1925 in the State Senate.
Fast forward ninety-five years, forty-two Emerge New Mexico graduates were on the ballot this year and all but 5 won—that’s an 88% win rate for 2018. The 2018 legislative session had 34 women in the House and Senate (30% of the legislative body). Women are now the majority in the second highest ranking court in the state, the Court of Appeals. For the first time in the country’s history, the entire Congressional delegation of a state, OUR state, will send all people of color. This is the beginning of fruition for Emerge New Mexico, which has grown so much in over the last decade to set up women to get into public offices.
New Mexico has set a precedent though in electing women through programs like Emerge AND seeing them hold positions of power. [...]
New Mexico is setting the standard of what it means to be intersectional in our politics and that politics does not need to be a zero-sum game to be successful. We can show the country how we can do better and you can count on ProgressNow New Mexico to be there to hold these new electeds accountable to the families that entrusted them with their vote.
At The Orange Juice Blog of California, Vern Nelson writes—His Name Was Justin Perkins:
And once again it happens, in 2018 style. 2009-16 was all about the Anaheim Police shooting fleeing young Latino men they later claim they thought might have been armed. This year it’s always the brutal arrest of a homeless and/or mentally ill man gone horribly wrong, and the victim dying days later in the hospital. Justin Perkins is the 5th (almost the 6th if Yamashita hadn’t pulled through) APD fatality this year – the third or fourth who was mentally ill, and the second or third where the cause was accidental asphyxiation while being arrested.
A lot of people will miss Justin. A lot of people knew him as the fun-loving roadie for Agent Orange bass player Perry Giordano. Bipolar and equipped with the mind of a 12-year old, he was said to light up the room with his smile, laugh and silly jokes when he’d walk in. His funeral is tomorrow – Saturday the 10th – at 10am, at West Anaheim’s St. Justin Martyr Catholic Church.
It’s still in dispute, what started things off badly the morning of Wednesday October 27th. Police were called to intervene in some dispute, reportedly an altercation between Justin and an employee of the apartment complex where he lived with his uncle, but it’s not even certain at this point that it was Justin that was involved. But the police apparently knew of Justin, and he was afraid of police, so when he saw them approaching – according to witnesses – he ran into his apartment, and the police followed, tasered him and dragged him out.
The first thing Justin’s uncle saw when he came out was the police repeatedly hitting his head and body with their fists and batons – bodycam footage when released may presumably tell what led to that point. As Justin began to fall to the ground, one officer began to apply a chokehold to him while the other continued beating him on his body and legs with his baton. [...]
At FortBoise of Idaho, Tom von Alten writes—Hey, what happened to our deal?
Same old story, everybody who deals with Lord Orange takes it in the shorts sooner or later. Here's news that upset by Trump's Iran waivers, Saudis push for deep oil output cut.
"The Saudis feel they were completely snookered by Trump. They did everything to raise supplies assuming Washington would push for very harsh Iranian sanctions. And they didn't get any heads up from the U.S. that Iran will get softer sanctions," said a second source briefed on Saudi oil thinking.blockquo
And we thought they were such shrewd businessmen! But wait, what? Softer sanctions, you say?
"Trump had wanted lower oil prices before the U.S. midterm elections earlier this month. Washington gave waivers in November to eight buyers to purchase Iranian oil for 180 days. This was more waivers than were initially expected."
Nothing quite like international geopolitical herky-jerky for a campaign stunt. Is that more, or less craven then the parade of some military down to the border? [...]
A U.S. source with knowledge of the matter said: "The Saudis were going to be angry either way with the waivers, pre-briefed or even after the announcement.
[...]
At Blog for Arizona, JD Goode writes—Eight Reasons McSally Lost:
I have been a Republican my entire adult life, I was an active duty military officer and am a combat veteran and I, like many were fooled into believing that the GOP cared about veterans, fiscal stewardship of our military and, yes, I was even fooled into thinking they cared about women and minorities. Fox News and Right-Wing Talk Radio is quite the strong narcotic. But on the night Trump was nominated by the GOP, I had enough, I left the Republican Party the next day, and I never looked back, and I never will. I am a Democrat now, and while this political party is not perfect, it is not the toxic brew of hate bigotry and misogyny that the GOP has morphed into – with zero pushback from virtually all of its members.
When Democrat, Kyrsten Sinema announced she was going to run for Jeff Flake’s Senate seat, I was all in. I immediately volunteered in any way I could. I texted thousands of Arizonans, wrote articles, and helped tell her story to Arizona veterans. As a Tucson native, combat veteran and the spouse of an active duty military member – I wanted the voice of vets like me to be heard. I wanted to help Sinema win this seat and make sure that Martha McSally and her Trumpist rhetoric lost not only her Congressional seat in Tucson, but this coveted Arizona Senate seat as well.
I will admit that there were times when I thought Sinema was not going to pull it off. I thought McSally is more aggressive, fighting harder, and Sinema won’t fight back…not really. I mean I got what Sinema’s campaign was doing – staying disciplined, sticking to her message and choosing optimism. But I really thought she lost on election night – I went to bed thinking it was over. And even in the days that followed, I thought she just wouldn’t pull it off. The wait to count the vote, which by the way was handled with the utmost transparency, calm, and professionalism by our governor and County Recorders, was excruciating. I finally just put the phone down and would only hit refresh on the vote count twice a day.
I was wrong…thankfully so wrong. We did it, she did it – she won outright, and for the first time since 1976, Arizona has a Democratic Senator, and that Senator is a woman. I sincerely have a glimmer of hope for the first time since Trump was elected. How did Senator-Elect Kyrsten Sinema win? What did Martha McSally, a strong candidate by any measure, and decorated fighter pilot with a Harvard education, do wrong? Here are 8 darn good reasons I believe Martha McSally lost. [...]
At Better Texas Blog, Ashley Williams writes—Even a Perfect Score on the GED® Doesn’t Count as College-Ready in Texas:
[...] Money matters in education. With the largest population of people without high school credentials coupled with the near-least amount of investment in adult education, Texas has to make significant changes if we expect to reach our 60x30TX goals.
If we want the 3.5 million Texan adults without a high school credential to have postsecondary opportunities, it’s important to consider realistic methods for helping more people secure high school credentials, especially in ways that incentivize continued education.
One realistic way to bridge those without a high school credential to post-secondary education is to allow earning a high score on the state’s high school equivalency exam to count toward the college readiness standard.
Currently, Texans must take and pass a Texas Success Initiative Assessment (TSIA) before enrolling in credit-bearing college courses. Students who take and score well on the SAT, ACT, and/or STAAR exams are exempted from the TSIA, automatically qualifying them as “college ready.” However, the state does not offer TSIA exemptions to students who do exceptionally well on any of the three approved high school equivalency exams. That means that currently, even if a Texan gets a perfect score on the high school equivalency exam, they do not immediately qualify as “ready” for college and would still have to take either the TSIA or the other expensive tests before enrolling in college-level classes.
Pearson, the administrator of the General Education Development (GED®) test, has an existing framework for college readiness based on scores. Out of 200 possible points, a 145 is a passing GED® score. Those who score in the 165-174 range are considered by Pearson to be “college ready.” Scores between 175 and 200 are considered “college ready plus credit”, meaning students exhibit mastery of certain skills taught in college. [...]
Texas could establish a similar framework allowing strong scores on high school equivalency exams to qualify students as college ready, and it wouldn’t be the first in the nation to adopt this practice.
At The Bayou Brief of Louisiana, Sue Lincoln writes—Why Worry? It’s 25 New Jobs!
A new industry is coming to Vidalia in Concordia Parish – graphite processing.
Australia-based Syrah Resources selected the port site across the Mississippi River from Natchez for the first-ever U.S.-based plant to turn naturally occurring flake graphite from mines in Mozambique into the spherical form in high demand for electrodes in lithium-ion batteries, which power our cell phones, laptops, and electric vehicles.
It means 25 new full-time jobs, at an average salary of $60,000 per year, in the fifth-poorest parish in the state.
That’s the sanitized version, as touted by the state Department of Economic Development this past April 30, when they announced the project .
The reality is far less clean. [...]
Graphite is carbon in its most stable mineral form, and is closely related to coal. Once upon a time, it was called plumbago, from the Latin plumbum, or lead. We still refer to it as ‘lead” when it’s in our pencils.
And like coal and lead, graphite poses environmental hazards to air, water, soil, and to people’s health. [...]
Flake graphite is processed into spherical graphite by grinding the natural material into fine powder, then “purifying” it with either hydrofluoric or hydrochloric acid. Hydrofluoric acid is a highly corrosive contact poison, which can cause respiratory failure and cardiac arrest. Hydrochloric acid forms acidic mists that can cause irreversible respiratory, eye, skin, and intestinal damage. And the graphite powder, when inhaled? Respiratory distress, asthma, black lung.
China is the only place – other than Louisiana, now – permitting graphite anode production. There used to be a graphite processing plant in Bangalore, India. The government there forced it to close down in 2012, finding the plant guilty of criminal “life-threatening” pollution.
Residents of the northeastern China provinces where the majority of graphite processing is currently done are suffering with lung diseases, while they also see their crops stunted, their trees dying, and the film of graphite dust floating on their rice fields and waterways.
At Blue Oklahoma, Rena writes—It’s (past) time for Oklahoma to raise its minimum wage:
Last week, Missouri and our next door neighbor, Arkansas, passed minimum wage initiatives. Arkansas voters approved $11 by 2021, while those in Missouri went with $12 by 2023. It’s time (past time!) for Oklahoma to join the many states that have exceeded the federal rate. BTW, AR’s minimum wage was ALREADY higher than OK’s. (OK has $7.25, which is the federal rate.) There is no longer a rational excuse about regional differences.
Let’s not let this economic justice bandwagon rush along without us! [...]
At least two groups are actively talking about getting the issue on the ballot for voters to decide, but the clock is ticking for a 2020 initiative to happen. Time to stop talking and start organizing!
Our Revolution Oklahoma has been studying the matter for about a year, researching how other states have handled increases through a phased in approach, resulting in up to a $15 minimum over time. Consulting with business owners who would be impacted by the change has been part of the process.
“We are forced to look at a single statewide figure, since our legislature, in its wisdom, in 2014 passed a bill that prevents municipalities from raising local minimums that are more appropriate for the economics of the area,” said Susan McCann, chair of OROK’s Ballot Initiative Committee.
This preventative action was in response to efforts by labor organizations to increase the Oklahoma City rate to $10.10. It may come back to bite the conservatives who backed the bill. Across the nation, when presented with the question, voters have overwhelmingly approved wage increases in both blue and red states.
At Blue Virginia, Ali Symons writes—When It Comes to Understanding Energy and Environmental Issues, Jennifer Boysko Says She’s “Doing the Best She Can.” That’s Not Sufficient:
Back in May of this year, Delegate Jennifer Boysko (HD-86) was a guest at a very well attended meeting hosted by a local grassroots climate action group. In attendance were some of the most informed and active climate advocates in Northern Virginia. [...]
The most urgent matter at the forefront of all our minds, coming into the meeting, was to figure out — with hopefully the help of Delegate Boysko as a representative of the Democratic caucus of the Virginia House of Delegates — how we might get through to our state legislators about the urgency for the need to transition our electrical grid to distributed renewable energy sources as fast as feasible. We also hoped that she could help us figure out how to persuade them to advocate against the building of the Atlantic Coast and Mountain Valley fracked gas pipelines, and any other future investments in fossil fuel infrastructure.
At the heart of all this, of course, is the malign, corrupting influence of Dominion Energy over the Virginia legislature and the executive branch. [...]
The special access Dominion’s lobbyists, etc., have to our state representatives has also, as you can see and hear discussed in the video, allowed them to brainwash our legislators with false and misleading information about the state of our electrical grid, what is possible (or not possible) to achieve, and the current status of the technology/cost of renewables and battery storage. In effect, our monopoly public utility has “monopoly” access to our legislators — again, the very people who are supposed to be regulating Dominion!
Unfortunately, what Delegate Boysko shared with us at this meeting, where it relates to her involvement in energy policy, Dominion’s influence, and addressing climate change, left us even more discouraged than ever. If even Democratic legislators like Boysko, who are supposed to be pro environment and recognize the imminent threat of climate change, are so unwilling to take action where they are free to do so, what hope do we have left?
At Blue Jersey, Rosi Efthim writes—Big Changes Coming at Democracy for America (DFA):
Today, some sad & happy news from the progressive org that in a roundabout way – not so roundabout, actually – is the reason Blue Jersey exists. Jim Dean, longtime Chair of Democracy for America, is stepping into an advisory role as new leaders are emerging. Yvette Simpson [below] is coming in as DFA’s new director.
Blue Jersey launched in September 2005 by our friend Juan Melli, as Matt Stoller, another friend, was running the first governer’s race blog in the country for Jon Corzine, and just after Howard Dean’s inspirational and game-changing 2004 presidential campaign, with the country’s first voter-driven national campaign blog. Juan & I wrote for both. DFA grew out of Howard Dean’s campaign, and it’s been run by Howard’s brother Jim for more than 10 years.
Juan was the leader of Democracy for America’s Mercer group, and I was the leader of Hunterdon’s. Jeff Gardner was Passaic’s. Another NJ DFA leader had to write anonymously because of his job. We were the key players in Juan’s writing experiment, to cover New Jersey from a progressive point of view. Blue Jersey wouldn’t have been the same without DFA. Jeff & I came to run DFA-NJ, and in Democracy for America’s early days we were both called in as advisory leaders to help set DFA’s national path.
With Jim Dean stepping down as Chair, Cincinnati City Council member and history-making 2017 mayoral candidate Yvette Simpson, 40, is its next Chief Executive, effective January 1. With her 2011 victory, Cincinnati had its first-ever African-American council majority. And last year she became the first Black woman in Cincinnati’s 200-year history to win a Mayoral primary. A lawyer, Simpson has been serving as DFA’s Federal Electoral Manager. Charlie Chamberlain, who like me started as a local DFA leader (Miami DFA) has been DFA’s Executive Director. He’ll be stepping into Jim Dean’s Chair role. I just got off the phone with Jim, one of my best friends in politics. Told him I’m wanting to meet Yvette.
At Plunderbund of Ohio, dirtgirl writes—Debate Over Stand Your Ground Halted When Lawmaker Brings Up Race:
Yesterday, Ohio lawmakers kicked off the first week of their Lame Duck legislative session with a bang, passing controversial “Stand Your Ground” gun legislation. Debate on the bill came to a dramatic end when Democratic Representative, Stephanie Howse was gaveled down for talking about race.
After several others had made speeches for and against the bill, Representative Howse spoke about what it’s like to have to fear you just for being who you are. The bill eliminates the “duty to retreat” in situations where a person may fear for their lives and shifts the burden of proof beyond a reasonable doubt to the prosecution, creating a situation which she summed up as:
“One person says the feared for their life and the other person’s dead. Who are you going to believe?”
But it’s when Howse began to list the racial composition of the districts represented by many of the bill sponsors (very, very white), Speaker Smith wasn’t taking it. He sharply brought down the gavel and asked her to stop “personalizing” her remarks. After a short argument, he cut off her mic and moved to call the roll, denying other lawmakers the opportunity to testify of the bill. [...]
In the end, the bill passed by a final margin of 65-32.