Once in a while, you need some John Lewis wisdom. I need it today. Will you join me?
"Ours is not the struggle of one day, one week, or one year. Ours is not the struggle of one judicial appointment or presidential term. Ours is the struggle of a lifetime, or maybe even many lifetimes, and each one of us in every generation must do our part."
“Get in good trouble, necessary trouble, and help redeem the soul of America.”
"Nothing can stop the power of a committed and determined people to make a difference in our society."
"Take a long, hard look down the road you will have to travel once you have made a commitment to work for change. Know that this transformation will not happen right away. Change often takes time. It rarely happens all at once. In the movement, we didn't know how history would play itself out. When we were getting arrested and waiting in jail or standing in unmovable lines on the courthouse steps, we didn’t know what would happen, but we knew it had to happen."
"You are a light. You are the light. Never let anyone — any person or any force — dampen, dim or diminish your light … Release the need to hate, to harbor division, and the enticement of revenge. Release all bitterness. Hold only love, only peace in your heart, knowing that the battle of good to overcome evil is already won."
"When you see something that is not right, not fair, not just, you have to speak up. You have to say something; you have to do something."
"Freedom is not a state; it is an act. It is not some enchanted garden perched high on a distant plateau where we can finally sit down and rest. Freedom is the continuous action we all must take, and each generation must do its part to create an even more fair, more just society."
aahhhhh….. Just what I needed ❤️
Now let’s move on to the good news!
Biden and the Democrats are Doing Great Things
sooooo many great things done this week by our team. Here are just a few:
Landmark #MeToo Bill Makes Its Way to President Biden
A landmark #MeToo bill to end forced arbitration in cases involving sexual harassment or assault is now headed to President Joe Biden’s desk, and he is expected to sign it into law.
The Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment Act was first introduced by Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) in 2017
The House passed the legislation, sponsored by Rep. Cheri Bustos (D-IL), on a 335-97 vote earlier this week and the Senate on Thursday did the same on a voice vote.
“This bill is one of the most significant workplace reforms in the last 50 years and is a major step forward toward changing a system that uses secrecy to protect perpetrators and silence survivors,” Gillibrand said in a statement on Thursday.
“It will give survivors their day in court, allow them to discuss their cases publicly and end the days of institutional protection for harassers.”
White House offers blueprint for union growth
The White House released a detailed blueprint Monday for how the federal government can work to increase union participation and strengthen workers’ right to organize in the absence of legislative actions, another sign of the Biden administration’s historic support for organized labor.
The 43-page report, produced by the White House’s Task Force on Worker Organizing and Empowerment, is a strikingly pro-union document, seeking to connect the history of union organizing in the United States to its importance for the country’s economic well-being.
“The Biden-Harris Administration believes that increasing worker organizing and empowerment is critical to growing the middle class, building an economy that puts workers first, and strengthening our democracy,” it begins.
Biden Picks Replacements for Purged Naval Academy Board -- Including 2 Trailblazing Women
President Joe Biden has nominated six new members, including some notable names, to the U.S. Naval Academy's Board of Visitors, possibly closing the book on another leftover controversy from the Trump era.
Notable names in the new batch of six appointees include Lt. Cmdr. John S. McCain IV, son of the late senator from Arizona; retired Lt. Col. Amy McGrath, a former Marine fighter pilot who was the first woman to fly a combat mission for the branch and would later unsuccessfully challenge Mitch McConnell for his Senate seat in 2020; and retired Adm. Michelle Janine Howard, a trailblazing African American female officer who rose to become the highest-ranking woman in U.S. naval history.
Biden highlights decision of Australian vehicle charging company to build plant in Tenn.
President Biden on Tuesday highlighted the decision of an Australian electric vehicle charging company to build its first U.S. manufacturing facility in Tennessee as he held a White House event focused on his vision for “electrifying” transportation and supporting manufacturing jobs.
The facility, to be built by Tritium, is expected to eventually produce as many as 30,000 electric vehicle chargers a year and create 500 local jobs, Biden said, appearing alongside the company’s chief executive, Jane Hunter.
The administration released a federal strategy in December to build 500,000 charging stations for electric vehicles across the country and bring down the cost of electric cars. He has also announced as a target that half of the vehicles sold in the United States by 2030 be battery electric, fuel-cell electric or plug-in hybrid.
House Strikes Back At Louis DeJoy By Passing Bill To Strengthen USPS
The House passed legislation with a bipartisan vote that will strengthen and protect the Postal Service from insolvency.
The legislation had strong bipartisan support in the House, and the companion bill in the Senate has a dozen Republican co-sponsors.
There are two important components to this legislation. It will get rid of the requirement that the USPS has to prefund retirement benefits, and importantly, it blocks Postmaster General Louis DeJoy from gutting the Postal Service.
Biden’s Hidden Health Care Triumph
Obamacare, which was enacted in 2010 but didn’t go fully into effect until 2014, was and is a bit of a Rube Goldberg device. Instead of simply paying Americans’ medical bills, it expanded Medicaid while using regulations and subsidies to encourage an expansion of private insurance. It fell far short of universally guaranteed coverage, but it nonetheless led to a large decline in the percentage of nonelderly Americans without health coverage.
Trump, as I said, tried but failed to undo this achievement. He did, however, preside over a gradual erosion of health coverage, probably reflecting a lower-profile strategy of sabotage on multiple fronts.
Despite this erosion, the core of the Affordable Care Act remained intact; in 2020 the AC.A. really proved its worth, helping (with an assist from emergency federal programs) to sustain health coverage despite huge job losses.
And the Biden administration has moved to strengthen the program. It increased outreach to potential enrollees, which Trump’s officials had drastically scaled back, while the American Rescue Plan substantially expanded subsidies for Americans buying insurance on health care exchanges. According to the National Health Insurance Survey, the percentage of nonelderly Americans without health insurance fell significantly between the fourth quarter of 2020 and the third quarter of 2021, bringing it almost back to its pre-Trump low.
The months ahead look set to be better still. Enrollment in the A.C.A.’s exchanges is limited to a few months a year, to deter people from waiting until they get sick to buy insurance. The enrollment season for 2022 coverage is just winding down now, and we’re seeing blockbuster numbers: More Americans are signing up for coverage than ever before.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Russia, Ukraine, and NATO’s Rebirth
Putin may have counted on a divided NATO and weakened U.S. leadership, he has not only encountered the opposite during this crisis, he has, in Blinken’s mind, “miscalculated.”
NATO has come together in a way it has seldom done since the end of the Cold War. What’s remarkable is the extent to which President Putin has precipitated what he seeks to prevent: growing antipathy in Ukraine for Russia, increasing support in Ukraine for joining NATO, the alliance’s reinforcement of its eastern flank, and more defense spending from previously reluctant allies. Throughout, the U.S. has played a central leadership role.
“What you are seeing now,” stated the Secretary of State, “is the product of a very deliberate and sustained effort. We have had, I believe, more meetings, calls, and video engagements with our allies on this than anything I can think of in recent memory.” European diplomats confirmed this, calling the level and depth of internal NATO consultations, “unprecedented.”
Blinken emphasized that everything that has been undertaken by the allies in terms of the engagement with the Russians, including the recent one-on-one call and subsequent meeting between French President Macron and Putin, has been done in a carefully coordinated way. This has included close coordination with President Zelensky and the leaders in Ukraine. U.S. officials with whom I spoke postulated that Zelensky’s rationale for downplaying the crisis was a desire to avoid panic, not just among the population of Ukraine but in the markets. Recognizing these concerns is why, says Blinken, both the EU and the U.S. have been actively working to prepare economic as well as military aid packages for Kyiv.
“Our current efforts,” said Blinken, “are producing immediate and lasting benefits. We are leaving no diplomatic stone unturned. We are producing a unified response. And the results are greater solidarity. That will lead to NATO having a clearer sense of purpose for years to come. At our next NATO summit, we hope to complete the update of our strategic concept. The last time it was updated was 2010. Russia was, at that time, considered a strategic partner. No longer—not because of anything NATO has done. Exclusively because of steps Putin has taken in the interim.”
Louder please, Joe, for the folks in the back:
We Can win in November if We Work Hard
November is going to be tough. But with hard work, we can win. here are some things giving me hope and the motivation to fight hard!
Biden greenlights $15 million infusion to Democratic campaign committees
With his party facing stiff political headwinds, President Joe Biden has authorized a transfer of $15 million from the Democratic National Committee to bolster his party’s House and Senate campaign committees, part of what Democratic officials say is the largest cross-party mobilization ever for a midterm election.
Top Georgia Democrats build financial edge over Republicans
In just two months, Democrat Stacey Abrams amassed $9.2 million, outdoing both Gov. Brian Kemp and his Republican rival, former U.S. Sen. David Perdue. She collected nearly $2 million more in that span than Kemp did over a six-month period. Perdue has tallied only about $1 million since entering the race in December.
And Democratic U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock raised $9.8 million in the final three months of 2021, making him the nation’s top Senate fundraiser for the second quarter in a row. He easily outdid Herschel Walker, his top Republican rival, whose $5.4 million haul was the most of any GOP Senate challenger in the nation.
How Democrats Already Won an Unexpected Election Battle
When states started the all-important process of drawing the next decade’s congressional districts last year, Democratic officials were caught on the horns of a dilemma: Should they take the moral high road, or the road to a House majority?
There was no question about what Republicans would do. They’ve made no secret of their decades-long effort to draw the most lopsided maps wherever they had the power to do so.
Months later, it’s clear what path Democrats chose; the maps don’t lie. In New York, they wiped three Republican seats off the map with a stroke of Gov. Kathy Hochul’s pen. In Illinois, Democrats eliminated two GOP seats, dissecting the state into a burst of ribbons extending from the Chicago area.
With the redistricting process coming to a close nationwide, Democrats are expected to at least break even with Republicans—maybe even come out slightly ahead.
Biden turns his focus to governors ahead of midterm elections
President Joe Biden on Wednesday is turning his focus to making new commitments to elect more Democratic governors, a Biden adviser told CNN, following on his pledge to be deeply involved in this year's midterm elections.
Democrats are defending 16 governors' seats and Republicans are defending 20. Not all of these races will be competitive, but many Democrats are in difficult positions heading into campaign season because the President's approval rating has taken a significant hit in recent months.
Biden will provide funding through the Democratic National Committee for communications staff for gubernatorial races in Connecticut, Maryland, Kansas and New Mexico. All these states have
Democratic governors up for reelection except Maryland, which is led by Republican Gov. Larry Hogan. The President is also pledging to headline a fundraising event for the Democratic Governors Association and have his signature appear on quarterly email and text messages to supporters.
Much of the focus in midterm election years tends to be on the congressional races and which party will control Congress. But with 36 states electing governors this year, these state-level races could have enormous implications for Americans in their day-to-day lives.
Mark Elias is Amazing
Just had to give this hero a shoutout! Here is some great news/reason for hope from him this week, as he fights for the right to vote!
Justice is Coming
I know people want justice to happen fast — like yesterday — but a fair system (done well) takes time. it is coming. Here are some reasons to be confident of that:
Willis has been investigating whether Trump or his allies committed any crimes in their campaign to convince Georgia officials to find fraud and hand Trump a victory in the Peach State in 2020. The probe was launched last year following Trump's call with Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger in which he pushed the Republican to "find" votes to overturn the election results.
"You and I have listened to that phone call. But also I have the benefit of also having talked to a lot of witnesses and probably having read more on this than most people would like to," she said.
Willis told CNN on Monday that she's not worried that the former President will try to delay her investigation, saying she plans "to use the power of the law" as grand jury proceedings in the case begin this spring.
Phone, email records for lawyer of Bannon, Giuliani sought by Justice Dept.
The Justice Department has sought phone and email records of a defense attorney who represented Stephen K. Bannon, the former adviser to President Donald Trump, in his dealings with a House committee investigating the Jan. 6 Capitol riots and his subsequent indictment for contempt of Congress, his defense said.
National Archives asks Justice Dept. to investigate Trump’s handling of White House records
The National Archives and Records Administration has asked the Justice Department to examine Donald Trump’s handling of White House records, sparking discussions among federal law enforcement officials about whether they should investigate the former president for a possible crime, according to two people familiar with the matter.
Other Good News
And here is a bunch more good news that didn't fit neatly into a category:
‘Blue’ suburban moms are mobilizing to counter conservatives in fights over masks, book bans and diversity education
Dozens of suburban moms from around the country dialed into an Ohio-based Zoom training session last month with the same goal — to learn how to combat the increasingly vitriolic rhetoric from parents whose protests over mask mandates and diversity education have turned school board meeting rooms into battlegrounds.
The lessons: Show up at meetings with fact-based speeches ready and create text groups for real-time strategizing. Wave “jazz hands” if told not to clap at meetings. Avoid using the divisive language of their opponents, such as “CRT” for critical race theory, and instead replace it with alternatives like “culturally responsive instruction.”
Katie Paris, the founder of Red Wine and Blue — a national network of like-minded, mostly Democratic suburban women — believes the only way to fight back is to present a calm face to counter the angry groups that have dominated and disrupted board meetings and in some cases threatened officials. Her network of more than 300,000 women recently broadened its focus to fight the rising number of book bans across the country, launching a case tracker on Jan. 31, and is running training sessions to help women testify and manage highly charged government meetings.
This New Implant Reversed Paralysis Within a Single Day
For years now, researchers from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (EPFL) in Lausanne have been working on a groundbreaking approach to reverse paralysis in people with spinal cord injuries, by reactivating dormant neurons with electrical stimulation.
The treatment has now taken a massive leap forward, thanks to new findings published in Nature Medicine in which vertebrae implants restored the ability to walk and move around in three paralyzed patients—all in just a matter of hours.
“All three patients were able to stand, walk, pedal, swim and control their torso movements in just one day, after their implants were activated,” Grégoire Courtine, a neuroscientist at EPFL and senior author of the new study, said in a press release.
NM Senate Passes Ban On Life Sentences For Juvenile Offenders
The New Mexico Senate has passed a bill banning life sentences without parole for juvenile first-degree murder offenders.
Dubbed the Second Chance bill, the legislation was passed on a 23-15 party line vote but not after an emotional at-times two hour debate.
Half of the states in the U.S. ban lifetime sentences for juvenile offenders. The New Mexico law would make all juvenile offenders eligible for parole after 15 years.
Will This Stem Cell Breakthrough Spell the End of Parkinson’s? We’re About to Find Out.
A new Parkinson’s treatment that uses stem cells to artificially create new dopamine-producing nerve cells is expected to enter clinical trials on human patients later this year. Because of the long course of Parkinson’s, many patients who receive a diagnosis today may live long enough to be eligible for this kind of treatment and find their lives spared from the harsh advanced stages of the disease—and perhaps see their motor function restored.
That is, of course, if the treatment is successful.
On the Lighter Side
I thought this series of drawings was lovely so I wanted to share it. I tried to find the artist, but it appears to be a number of different artists. Three cheers to all of them for this beauty:
Before we say goodbye…..
What can you do to save democracy?
Most important: DON'T LOSE HOPE. This is a giant and important fight for us but, win or lose, we keep fighting and voting and organizing and spreading truth and light. We never give up.
I am lucky and proud to be in this with you ✊🏾✊🏻💙💚💛💜🧡✊🏽✊🏻
