“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…

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

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 “ →

One letter – 3 recipients. Tell them why single-payer health care reform is important to you.

Local, state and federal legislators need the strength of your voices!

Whether you like John Oliver or not, he covers the basic arguments the health care industry lobbyists and their pet legislators use against a single-payer health care , or Medicare-for-All.

Cost, choice and waiting times.

Although the US spends the most on health care, we have worst health outcomes, the least access, the highest cost and a medical bankruptcy rate unheard of among high-income countries. The average wait time to see a doctor is 26 days. (Report here and here) And this is with leaving 30 million of us out of the equation altogether. Thanks Remote Area Medical, for realizing that Americans need your free clinics as much as third world nations do!

Speaking of millions, while Secretary Becerra of the Dept. of Health and Human Services makes $221,400 a year, six private healthcare CEOS together make over $114 million!

#1 – LOCAL –

Monday – 09/11/2023 –VENTURA – DEADLINE EXTENDED – Sept 11, 4:00 pm – Tell your HEALTH CARE STORY and ask our councilmembers to vote “YES” on a resolution in support of AB 1690 and SB 770: Universal Single Payer Healthcare 

Continue reading “One letter – 3 recipients. Tell them why single-payer health care reform is important to you.” →

19 Republican state AGs demand out-of-state private medical records to hunt their residents down.

Call your legislators!

You thought your medical records were private? That HIPAA protected everything? That the privacy of women with the funds and ability to travel outside their state for needed care would be protected?

No, not if 19 state attorneys general get their way. They are infuriated by a proposed rule by the Department of Health and Human Services to tighten access to Protected Health Information (PHI), both in their own states and across state borders. They will undoubtedly sue if it remains as written.

We have some 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!  

Continue reading “19 Republican state AGs demand out-of-state private medical records to hunt their residents down.” →

The far-right is turning the National Defense bill into a trojan horse of regressive policies!

Contact your senators and Biden!

(Quote above) Go, Rep. Julia Brownley!

Last week, the far right/Christian Nationalist wing of the GOP House hijacked the usually bipartisan National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) by cramming in all the regressive social baggage they could never hope to pass on their own. Their wishlist includes denying access to abortion and gender affirming care for service members marooned in regressive states, destroying diversity initiatives, rejecting climate change directives and a really sneaky one that violates of First Amendment rights to not be subjected to religious indoctrination. All these amendments go against the advice of the military.

Email or call – Tell our Senators that under no circumstance do we support using the NDAA to push a far-right agenda. 

Continue reading “The far-right is turning the National Defense bill into a trojan horse of regressive policies!” →

Do you know what your food REALLY costs?

See full article here: https://nfwm.org/farm-workers/farm-worker-issues/children-in-the-fields/

The Biden administration is trying to curb children working in construction and meat packing facilities, but the use of child labor, often by unaccompanied immigrants or the children of undocumented farmworkers, is completely legal on commercial farms and has lower minimum age limits.

More US child workers die in agriculture than in any other industry, according to a 2018 US government study. Every day, 33 children are injured while working on US farms. “Despite these dangerous conditions, agriculture is the only industry with little to no protections for the 400,000 young children who work in this industry every day.” (Check out the statistics here.)

In addition to raising the minimum working ages in agriculture, the Children’s Act for Responsible Employment and Farm Safety, or CARE Act would limit the number of hours 14 and 15-year-old children can work on school days and prohibit working before 7 a.m. or after 7 p.m. and raise the hazardous work age to 18. The legislation would exempt children working on their own families’ farms or participating in educational programs like the 4-H club.

Action: Call and email your legislators!

Continue reading “Do you know what your food REALLY costs?” →

Today is National Gun Violence Awareness Day!

ACTION #1: Wear ORANGE this today and this weekend!

  • Wear Orange: On June 2, 2023 and all this weekend, wear or hold anything Orange (a pin, a scarf, an orange, or be creative and hold up any Orange item in your home that strikes your fancy), take a selfie and share it via social media with the hashtag #WearOrange.
  • Create a “Wear Orange” image!
  • Post to your social media!
    • Make a dedication: One of the most powerful parts of the campaign are the online dedications users post to share why they’re taking part. Examples include: “Today, I will #WearOrange…”
      • “in honor of my beloved child, [XXX].”
      • “because I’m a hunter, and I know gun safety saves lives.”
      • “because organizations like [xxx] continue to make a difference and reduce gun violence in my community every day”
  • Download a video background!
  • Print a poster!
  • Color some pages!

ACTION #2: Help remove Rep. Mike Garcia (CA-27) – one of the largest recipients of NRA funds in the House of Representatives.

Continue reading “Today is National Gun Violence Awareness Day!” →

The GOP is openly calling the US economy their “hostage.”

Headline from Common Dreams

Republican National Committee Chair Ronna McDaniel said the U.S. potentially defaulting on its debt would be a boon for Republicans in 2024.

Action #1: Call your legislators!

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A serious campaign finance violation…or just an unbelievable deal on rent?

For those just catching up with this story…

On March 14 and 28, with no previous notice and against overwhelming public opposition, our two newest county supervisors, Jeff Gorell and Janice Parvin, armed with a shoddy letter of nonsense, and the vote of their willing accomplice – fellow conservative Supervisor Kelly Long – proceeded to kill off our 20-year-old local election campaign finance and ethics ordinance. It has been replaced with the +600% higher contribution limits and dysfunctional violations enforcement offered by the state.

This team would consider no compromises, no delays, no citizen-led study committee nor a public vote. Needless to say, county residents smelled a rat…(remember the rat!)

Continue reading “A serious campaign finance violation…or just an unbelievable deal on rent?” →