The Supreme Court’s toothless code of ethics is a joke. Tell your legislators to pass a real one.

See ProPublica’s report on Clarence Thomas’ corruption here (Harlan Crow) and here (Koch Network). The video report is here.

Act now: Call/email your legislators to call out SCOTUS corruption!

Minimal email/call script for representatives: I’m calling from [zip code] and I want Rep. [___] to know that we are not falling for the Supreme Court’s new enforcement-free “code of conduct” that continues to privilege wealthy conservative billlionaires over the interests of the rest of us. It also gives a free pass to misconduct that could have affected earlier decisions and discourages recusals in future ones. I want to thank Rep. [Brownley/Carbajal] for co-sponsoring H.R. 926 the Supreme Court Ethics, Recusal, and Transparency Act, which creates a way to investigate and disqualify corrupted justices.

Continue reading “The Supreme Court’s toothless code of ethics is a joke. Tell your legislators to pass a real one.” →

“GOP, obey your earthly masters!” Call them out for their corrupt emergency funding bill.

The party of “Grifters, Oligarchs and Polluters” is up to their old tricks – inserting a rotten core into an emergency bill to serve their masters – the wealthiest 1% and large corporations.

In 2020, they snuck a completely unrelated $170 billion tax break into the pandemic relief CARES Act for the benefit of then-President Trump and 43,000 similar wealthy real estate speculators and hedge fund managers, gifting each of them an average of $1.6 million for that year alone. 

Continue reading ““GOP, obey your earthly masters!” Call them out for their corrupt emergency funding bill.” →

Join MICOP’s Collective Call to Action – Tell Governor Newsom to Sign SB 435 and SB 831! 

In CA, we understand that our immigrant community is vital to our economy and essential services. Over 20,000 indigenous Mexicans live in Ventura County alone, and of these, 17,000 work in agriculture, doing the backbreaking labor that puts food on our tables and keeps our local agricultural economy strong.

During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, these farmworkers were logically classified as essential workers by Gov. Newsom because FOOD!!!, but could not access timely and reliable information in their language to access vaccines in California and suffered disproportionately higher death rates as a result. (44.5% of cases and 42.1% of deaths in California). And even if information were available, fear of consequences due to their immigration status kept many from accessing life-saving vaccines and treatment they needed.

There are two bills that would BEGIN the process of fixing this inhumane situation.

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GOP is taking their “War on Women” on the road!

FIRST, Republican state AGs demand out-of-state private medical records to hunt their residents down. NOW, over 50 cities in Texas have made it illegal to use public roads to help someone exit the state to get an abortion. And that’s just the beginning, folks!

On July 19, we published a post warning that HIPAA was not as protective as we thought against the actions of force-birther state attorneys general hunting medical records of those suspected of accessing abortion health care in another state. Now, piling on, over 50 counties in Texas are using their S.B.8 abortion ban’s threat of private civil suits to eliminate travel outside their state for needed care. And other GOP states are looking to copy their model. Just in – Alabama, which has banned almost all abortion, even in cases of rape and incest,  is now prepared to prosecute those who help a woman travel to another state to obtain a legal abortion for criminal conspiracy.

The right to travel freely in America is a right guaranteed to all citizens by the Constitution, with the obvious and odious exception of the 1793 and 1850 Fugitive Slave Acts, which also utilized lawsuits as enforcement. No wonder the GOP wants to destroy the teaching of accurate American history! We have data privacy, “right-to-travel” and abortion rights bills to call your legislators about, and a letter to Joe, but the biggest win will be from kicking every GOP legislator out of their offices!

Action #1 – Call your legislators!  

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Reclaim MLK, Jr.’s speech – “We’ve come to cash this check.”  

“…as a first step toward the journey to full equality, we will have to engage in a radical reordering of national priorities.” The check from the “bank of justice” to our Black citizens is 60 years overdue.

Calling things by their accurate names is important. It’s been 60 years since the Rev. Martin Luther King gave his epic speech calling for civil and economic rights and an end to racism in the United States for a crowd of 250,000 at the Lincoln Memorial as part of the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. The only thing Republicans can remember, however, is one line about a dream. Renaming it may help them remember both the true nature of that speech and that the racial disparities that MLK, Jr. railed against have only gotten worse due to government policies. (see EPI report: tinyurl.com/60-years)

  • “We’ve come to cash this check” vs. “I Have a Dream.”

Action – Tell Congress it’s got 60 years of progress to make up for! YOU who have friends/family in RED states – have them call their legislators too!

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Tell Congress to support the Fossil Free Finance Act

It’s the weirdest thing…

  • On the one hand, banks profit by lending us money to buy homes. To build hospitals. To create communities.
  • On the other hand, banks profit by lending hundreds of billions to a fossil fuel industry that contributes to making those same homes uninsurable. That makes us sick or kills us. That destroys our communities.

You’d think that the banks would notice that one of their activities was actively destroying the other, but apparently government intervention is necessary to stop their endlessly expanding mobius loop of profit extraction.

Action #1 – Tell Congress to support the H.R.2443/S. 1138 – Fossil Free Finance Act

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“Fear and loathing” continues in Fillmore. Just say “NO!”

TLDR version: A drag performance at the June 16 Pride Resource Fair put on by teen organizers of One Step A La Vez surprised some people who apparently don’t go to PRIDE events very often. Not understanding the history or the art behind the performance, they made mean anti-drag remarks at public meetings on July 11 and July 18, and apparently, look forward to fear-mongering again in front of the school board on Aug. 15 (Tuesday).

Their postcard to alert their peeps to their “rally” is hard to read, so we copied it for you below in little blue boxes and took the liberty of annotating it. Join in and stand up for some of the most beautiful people on the planet! The meeting is at 6:30 at the 627 Sespe Avenue, Auditorium, Fillmore. Agenda is here. Also, you can email comments to your school board members.

The postcard mailer…

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YES – on broadcasting Trump’s trial. YES – on protections for witnesses and jurors.

(Referenced article: Washington Post – Opinion  Why the Trump trial should be televised, by Neal Katyal)

Although federal rule forbids “the taking of photographs in the courtroom during judicial proceedings or the broadcasting of judicial proceedings from the courtroom,” 37 congressional Democrats sent a letter asking the Judicial Conference to explicitly authorize the broadcasting the cases of United States of America v. Donald J. Trump. Legislators from both parties fear that if actual footage is difficult to access, “siloed” audiences relying only on information from extremist narrators could lead to post-trial violence. UPDATE 08/10/23: Or maybe PRE-trial violence: “Security bolstered for judge overseeing Trump election case.”

“If the public is to fully accept the outcome, it will be vitally important for it to witness, as directly as possible, how the trials are conducted, the strength of the evidence adduced and the credibility of witnesses.” – Rep. Adam Schiff

If the Judicial Conference refuses to change the rule, then a congressional bill is required.

Action: Email/Call your senators and ask them to support S.833 – Sunshine in the Courtroom Act.

Continue reading “YES – on broadcasting Trump’s trial. YES – on protections for witnesses and jurors.” →

Remembering Carmen – Oppose the 3-year extension of Ormond Beach Power Plant, AES Alamitos, and Huntington Beach 

“…Our coastline is cleaner, our air is healthier, our region a leader in climate action because of Carmen. To honor her legacy is to believe that change is possible and to redouble our efforts.”

Tell the California Energy Commission and California Department of Water Resources to keep their promises and REJECT the plan to extend the Once-Through-Cooling Power Plants (Ormond Beach, AES Alamitos, and Huntington Beach) and instead prioritize clean alternatives, plan for the original timeline of retirement by December 31, 2023, and shutdown all toxic, polluting gas plants in environmental justice communities.

FAST Action #1: Sign this petition and share the links with your friends!

Action #2: Make a comment!

Continue reading “Remembering Carmen – Oppose the 3-year extension of Ormond Beach Power Plant, AES Alamitos, and Huntington Beach “ →