Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). | |
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The comprehensive review of human knowledge of the climate crisis took hundreds of scientists eight years to compile and runs to thousands of pages, but boiled down to one message: act now, or it will be too late.
The UN secretary general, António Guterres, said: “This report is a clarion call to massively fast-track climate efforts by every country and every sector and on every timeframe. Our world needs climate action on all fronts: everything, everywhere, all at once.”
In sober language, the IPCC set out the devastation that has already been inflicted on swathes of the world. Extreme weather caused by climate breakdown has led to increased deaths from intensifying heatwaves in all regions, millions of lives and homes destroyed in droughts and floods, millions of people facing hunger, and “increasingly irreversible losses” in vital ecosystems.
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3.21.23 was the National Day of Action to Stop Dirty Banks that are investing in fossil fuel projects. Heather joined the street theater skit playing Jane Fraser, head of Citi Bank, and Jamie Diamond, CEO of JP Morgan. Click here to read more about the National Day of Action.
The fossil fuel industry polluting our atmosphere can’t exist without money from banks and investors. If we stop the Big Four Banks—Bank of America, Chase, Citibank, and Wells Fargo—from investing, we help shut down the industry. We don’t want our money and savings to be used to bankroll the climate crisis.
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Third Act demonstrations around the country on 3.21.23 to stop Dirty Banks | |
The Affordable Care Act is here to stay! | |
March 23 was the Anniversary of the passage of the Affordable Care Act. New HHS report shows more than 40 million people have currently enrolled in Marketplace or Medicaid expansion coverage related to provisions of the Affordable Care Act — the highest total on record. During 2023 open enrollment a record high 16.4 million people signed up, with 4.4 million more people enrolled for health insurance under the Biden-Harris Administration since 2021. | |
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Extreme MAGA House Republicans from the Freedom Caucus have shown us what they value through their budget proposals: tax breaks for the super-wealthy and wasteful spending for special interests. President Biden has laid out his budget – one that lowers costs for families, protects Medicare and Social Security, invests in America and manufacturing, and more. This is what he values – and poll after poll shows Americans agree.
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Enough is Enough. TOO MANY GUNS!
Assault Weapons Ban NOW!
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Three children and three adults were killed in Nashville elementary school shooting. The shooting was just the latest horrific event. Last May, in Uvalde, Texas, 19 children and two teachers were killed at an elementary school. More recently, a six-year-old shot his teacher in Virginia and a high-school student in Colorado shot two administrators.
According to the K-12 School Shooting Database resource, there have been at least 89 instances of gun violence at kindergarten through 12th-grade schools or during school activities in the U.S. this year. The Nashville shooting was the 128th US mass shooting this year, according to the Gun Violence Archive, which defines a mass shooting as one where at least four people are wounded or killed, not counting the attacker.
We have to do more to stop gun violence ripping our communities apart,” the president said at the White House. “It’s ripping the soul from this nation.”
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U.S. Gun Facts
America has 17x more guns per capita than any other country.
Gun violence is the leading cause of death in children and teens in the U.S.
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Trump Indictment.
Protect Our Democracy From MAGA Extremism.
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A Manhattan grand jury has voted to indict former president Donald Trump. He has repeatedly denied all wrongdoing and maintained that those investigating him were making politically motivated accusations — a posture that energizes the most loyal segments of his base.
Donald Trump’s history of suggestive allusions to endorsing violence by his supporters is well chronicled. But rarely have his comments been this unvarnished at such a fraught time.
“EVERYBODY KNOWS I’M 100% INNOCENT, INCLUDING BRAGG,” Trump said on Truth Social, referring to Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg. “BUT HE DOESN’T CARE. HE IS JUST CARRYING OUT THE PLANS OF THE RADICAL LEFT LUNATICS. OUR COUNTRY IS BEING DESTROYED, AS THEY TELL US TO BE PEACEFUL!”
Trump later posted an article featuring a picture of himself with a baseball bat next to a picture of Bragg. He explicitly mentioned the prospect of violence: He questioned why Bragg would charge him while knowing “that potential death & destruction in such a false charge could be catastrophic for our Country.”
While not openly urging his supporters to get violent, the seeming message here is that a peaceful response might be insufficient and he is warning of the unrest that his supporters could unleash if he’s charged. To label it a dog whistle would be an understatement. Trump is standing next to a tinderbox and casually lighting a match.
Full Article Here.
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Defend Our Bodies and Our Freedom. | |
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A group of anti-abortion activists and organizations have sued the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) over its approval of mifepristone, one of two medications most commonly used in medication abortion in the United States. In the Texas case, Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine et al v. U.S. Food and Drug Administration et al, the plaintiffs asked the court to order the FDA to rescind its approval of mifepristone from more than 20 years ago, in order to remove it from the market. This case was deliberately filed in the Amarillo division of the Northern District of Texas, a single-judge division where the cases are automatically assigned to Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk.
The case could result in a devastating nationwide ban on mifepristone — even in states where abortion is protected — as soon as late February, and compromise access to medication abortion across the country.
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We Need Humane Immigration Policies. | |
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On Monday evening a fire broke out in a detention center for migrants in Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua, resulting in the death of at least 39 people, mostly Central and South Americans who apparently, according to press reports, were waiting to be deported. But that is not the only cruelty, as a video has come to light in which security guards are seen locking the doors of this detention center, despite the fact that the fire was raging. Regardless of the fire’s origin, no one in their right mind would leave human beings who are in imminent danger locked up.
This tragedy is indicative of a broken immigration system, where order and common sense should prevail. After all, seeking asylum is a human right. Trying to preserve one’s life, liberty, and safety is also a human right.
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Tribal sovereignty and Indigenous ways of life are under a constant threat from short-sighted government representatives and their policies. Without swift and effective organizing, change will happen slow or not at all. As the original people to this land, Indigenous priorities should be at the forefront of political activism. Native Organizers Alliance, along with our donors and partners, are driven to impact change and empower Indigenous leaders, people, and communities. | |
White House Women’s History Month Celebration! | Video of Women Throughout History (start at 45 seconds). | |
Steve Phillips and Sharlene Change interview Heather on their podcast Democracy in Color as she talks about working with Fannie Lou Hamer during Mississippi’s 1964 Freedom Summer; being a working mom and organizer while helping women secure safe abortions in the ‘60s; and lessons she’s learned through her years of advocacy. | | Shar Moore interviews Heather who talks about the importance of integrity, taking action, and community collaboration in this episode. | |
If we organize, we can change the world. | |
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Iris DeMent “Workin’ on a World (I May Never See)”
“I’m workin’ on a world I may never see.
I’m joining the forces of the warriors of love
Who came before and will follow you and me”
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We Remember Randall Robinson, Human Rights Activist. | |
Randall Robinson, a human rights activist and lawyer known for his advocacy against South African apartheid and for Haitian democracy, died Friday at age 81. More here. | |
When we organize, we can change the world. | | |
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We are so glad to be your partner in this movement for democracy and justice for all.
– Heather Booth and the Team
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Newsletter Designed by Cara Homick | | | | |
