This should not have been a freedom of speech issue, this is, was, and should have been treated as a health issue. Women deserve to know the truth about where they are and what medical options they have. This is dangerous.https://t.co/bAYNxWv347
— Barbara Lee (@BLeeForCongress) June 30, 2018
Using Technology to Deepen Democracy, Using Democracy to Ensure Technology Benefits Us All
Saturday, June 30, 2018
Barbara Lee Speaks For Me Daily
Friday, June 29, 2018
Grading!
Today's Random Wilde
Barbara Lee Speaks For Me Daily
Republicans might be willing to accept Donald Trump and his regressive and racist policies, but Democrats and every day Americans do not. It's time for us to stand together as a party, take back the House, and continue the progress we’ve made under President Obama.
— Barbara Lee (@BLeeForCongress) June 29, 2018
Thursday, June 28, 2018
Lessons In Civility -- Supreme Court Edition
Barack Obama badly misplayed his hand with Merrick Garland... [A] bolder choice—like, say, a young, progressive, black woman—would have put enormous pressure on the GOP to hold a vote for fear of looking, well, racist. And even if Mitch McConnell held the line, the possibility of a SCOTUS seat going to someone like that might have gotten some more Democrats, particularly of the progressive stripe, to the polls to hold their noses and vote for Hillary Clinton. Possibly even enough to swing the election. After all, a net change of 77,000 votes in Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin (out of 13.3 million cast in those states) would have led to a second President Clinton. By contrast, very few people are going to get excited about getting another middle-aged white guy on the Court. In this case, Obama was demonstrating -- yet again -- his firm belief that if he acted reasonably, the GOP would meet him halfway and act reasonably in return. But that is, to be blunt, not the MO of the modern-day Republican Party. They are, and have been for at least a decade, an "ends justifies the means" kind of organization [worth noting, obvious tho' it is, the "ends" here are wealth concentration and white supremacy--d]. It may be that the Democrats are unwilling to respond in kind. On the other hand, maybe the blue team will decide that enough is enough, and that the time has come to fight fire with fire [worth noting, Republicans control all the branches of government making Democratic fire a lukewarm business, and the Democratic base has a tendency to fracture in ways that dilute the only firepower we have -- voting, to the extent that that has not already been diluted as well by disenfranchisement, gerrymandering, electoral-college skewage, and disinformation--d]. Particularly if McConnell moves forward with his plans, and brazenly applies a very different set of rules for voting on a nominee when a Republican is in office than he did when a Democrat was on office.
Barbara Lee Speaks For Me Daily
Justice Kennedy’s retirement puts our fundamental rights – to reproductive health care, to marry, to equality under the law – in jeopardy.
— Rep. Barbara Lee (@RepBarbaraLee) June 27, 2018
Trump, Pence, & McConnell will exploit this vacancy to impose their extreme, anti-choice vision on the US. The Senate must #SaveSCOTUS. https://t.co/EXNYfeN9sW
Wednesday, June 27, 2018
If We Have A Future, The Future Looks Like This
This is precisely the right way to think about the future. https://t.co/GVJBpuJ6Jg
— Bill McKibben (@billmckibben) June 27, 2018
Down Down Down We Go
A president under investigation for colluding with a foreign power that hacked our elections will get to make at least two SCOTUS appointments, one of them stolen. Not how democracy supposed to work
— Ari Berman (@AriBerman) June 27, 2018
Barbara Lee Speaks For Me Daily
The #Janus decision is disgraceful. SCOTUS has weakened workers’ rights and further rigged the system for greedy special interests.
— Rep. Barbara Lee (@RepBarbaraLee) June 27, 2018
Labor unions give workers a collective voice to gain higher wages, better health care, and a secure retirement. That why I’m #UnionProud. pic.twitter.com/jq1pC1I9BI
Tuesday, June 26, 2018
If you are voting for Democrats these days that is not enough to make you good.
Teaching In Trumpmerica
Shithole Civility
Barbara Lee Speaks For Me Daily
History does not reflect kindly on Supreme Courts that endorse bigotry. Korematsu and Dred Scott are some of the worst rulings in US history- I have no doubt that the decision in Trump v. Hawaii will also be a source of great shame for America. #NoMuslimBanEver #WeWillNotBeBanned pic.twitter.com/1kPcHBfMcO
— Rep. Barbara Lee (@RepBarbaraLee) June 26, 2018
The shameful #NIFLAvBecerra decision allows crisis pregnancy centers to deceive women. These centers are not healthcare providers. They often don’t have licensed medical professionals on staff. Their sole purpose is to deny women their constitutional rights. #EndTheLies pic.twitter.com/IfXFBDD53Z
— Rep. Barbara Lee (@RepBarbaraLee) June 26, 2018
Teaching
Monday, June 25, 2018
Trumpproval: Slip Sliding Away...
There is no need to be "civil" to the fascist racist dead-enders who voted for this and clearly love this disgusting criminal catastrophe, we just need to educate, agitate, organize majorities to overcome the lies, misinformation, disenfranchisement, gerrymandering, rural minorty-empowering electoral college, ongoing threats and push back against the bully-authoritarian cisheteronormative-patriarchal white-supremacist greedhead-kleptocratic GOP in time to reflect the rising diversifying secularizing coalition and its priorities: sustainable equity-in-diversity for all.
Barbara Lee Speaks For Me Daily
Millions of Americans lack health care, housing or regular meals. This poverty crisis is worsening under President Trump, whose policies rig our economy for the wealthy while gouging the poor.@USUN-it is both appropriate & necessary for the UN to investigate poverty in America. https://t.co/aJj31l2XhS
— Rep. Barbara Lee (@RepBarbaraLee) June 22, 2018
Ayep
Some folks say “civility” and what they mean is docility and compliance
— Audrey Watters (@audreywatters) June 25, 2018
Sunday, June 24, 2018
Barbara Lee Speaks For Me Daily
"I’ve seen it with my eyes, and I’m telling you, I am furious, I am heartbroken, and we’ve got to get this administration to stop this zero tolerance policy,” said @RepBarbaraLee after touring detention facilities along the U.S.-Mexico border.https://t.co/hjbOmApDg2
— KQED (@KQED) June 24, 2018
Saturday, June 23, 2018
Barbara Lee Speaks For Me Daily
I’ve asked the @UN to send observers to investigate President Trump’s zero tolerance policy. These practices are a blatant violation of human rights and a stain on America.https://t.co/ejSKgLbgMo
— Rep. Barbara Lee (@RepBarbaraLee) June 21, 2018
Every State Should Do This
The Rhode Island State Senate has passed a bill that would require candidates on a presidential ticket to release tax returns going back five years in order to appear on the ballot. https://t.co/ZnJkRTpA5a
— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) June 22, 2018
Friday, June 22, 2018
(Now) Daily Barbara Lee Speaks For Me
This proposal is the first step – then they cut student loan funding, civil rights enforcement budgets, and job training programs.
— Rep. Barbara Lee (@RepBarbaraLee) June 21, 2018
It’s all part of their agenda – make the rich even richer, while everyone else pays the price.https://t.co/CZ2VrbaT3y
Thursday, June 21, 2018
Barbara Lee Speaks For Me (Part Millionth)
This Executive Order is a sham. By not ending zero tolerance, President Trump is keeping families in jail. Children in jail.
— Rep. Barbara Lee (@RepBarbaraLee) June 20, 2018
All he’s done is trade one form of child abuse for another. https://t.co/sjobgbP9V4
Wednesday, June 20, 2018
Barbara Lee Speaks For Me
The Trump admin is committing human rights abuses in our own country. I sent a letter asking the UN to send observers to investigate the unconscionable separation of families at the border. These detentions are a violation of everything we should stand for. Read my letter ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/zkewC5fSkX
— Rep. Barbara Lee (@RepBarbaraLee) June 20, 2018
Tuesday, June 19, 2018
The Future Is Now
The crisis on the border is a small vision of the future. Climate change could displace 1 billion people by 2050. Many or most of those people will be greeted by violence and evil
— ActivistLab (@ActivistLab) June 19, 2018
Monday, June 18, 2018
Upcoming Teaching
Sunday, June 17, 2018
Yes, This Is Who We Are. Yes, It Has Always Been Who We Are. No, It Doesn't Have To Be Who We Are. Yes, Let's Be Much Better Than We Have Been
Why can't people just say "this is America but it doesn't have to be."
— #Prisonculture (@prisonculture) June 17, 2018
When I see that sort of pearl clutching I’ve been sharing this. Time to start changing who we actually are as a nation. pic.twitter.com/XmFnJKHN9b
— Sharyn Morrow (@massdistraction) June 17, 2018
“Concentration camp” is a top dictionary lookup on Father’s Day 2018. https://t.co/NqoDda98ZQ
— Sarah Lerner (@SarahLerner) June 17, 2018
Saturday, June 16, 2018
Blogging In Trumpmerica
What does it mean to cry in the ocean? Oh, well, you know, to add something where nothing's needed, or where so much is needed that it's no use even trying so you just sit down and cry.... -- Ursula Le Guin, Always Coming Home
Friday, June 15, 2018
Quite
Am I surprised that Jefferson Beauregard Sessions went right to the one Scripture passage that was the go-to passage for antebellum advocates of the slave power?
— Charles P. Pierce (@CharlesPPierce) June 15, 2018
No.
Thursday, June 14, 2018
To Be Fair, Hatch Says Nice Things About (Trumpublican) Nazis Now, Too
“I wouldn’t want to see homosexuals teaching school anymore than I’d want to see members of the American Nazi Party teaching school.” -- Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT), quoted by the Salt Lake Tribune in 1977.
“No one should ever feel less because of their gender identity or sexual orientation. LGBT youth deserve our unwavering love and support. They deserve our validation and the assurance that not only is there a place for them in this society, but that it is far better off because of them. These young people need us—and we desperately need them. We need their light to illuminate the richness and diversity of God’s creations. We need the grace, beauty and brilliance they bring to the world.” -- Hatch, quoted by the Washington Post, in a speech yesterday honoring Pride Month.
Wednesday, June 13, 2018
So, Collusion
This is it right here everyone. This right here. This morning. In Canada's great Parliament. It's finally out there! #CambridgeAnalytica https://t.co/hEV1eKWNrR
— David Carroll 🦅 (@profcarroll) June 12, 2018
Tuesday, June 12, 2018
Offline As Self-Care
Monday, June 11, 2018
This Week's Teaching
Friday, June 08, 2018
Carbon-Capture Tech Getting More Feasible?
Scientists at the Canadian company Carbon Engineering have moved carbon-capture technology one step closer from pipe dream to viable solution. The company has developed technology at its plant in British Columbia that can both remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and convert it into carbon-neutral fuels, suggesting such technology could be a meaningful part of the fight against climate change. In a paper published Thursday in Joule, they estimated the costs of scaling up their operation to be $94 to $232 per ton of carbon dioxide captured. This is much cheaper, and more feasible, than some theoretical estimates that have put the costs of scaling up carbon capture technology at $1,000 per ton of carbon dioxide... The paper claims to be the first to provide a cost estimate for a carbon-capture system that is both based on technology commonly used in commercial engineering and described in enough detail that readers can adequately assess the results for themselves... The technology works by sucking air into cooling tower-like structures with fans. The acidic carbon dioxide is attracted to an alkaline liquid within the towers that is then taken into the factory where acid and base are separated. The carbon-dioxide containing liquid is frozen and then reheated into a slurry that is combined with hydrogen to make liquid fuels... [T]he technology could help the transportation sector, responsible for around 20 percent of carbon dioxide emissions, transfer over to renewable energy and fuel.
Thursday, June 07, 2018
Keep It Simple, Dems
Keep it simple, folks.
— Greg Sargent (@ThePlumLineGS) June 7, 2018
Let's not get lost in endless rabbit warrens about what Dems should and should not say about Trump.
Let's not overreact to the poll fluctuations.
Trump is deeply unpopular and corrupt, and voters want a check on that:https://t.co/HoOmCJCQUg pic.twitter.com/7Jk4OyoCz9
Wednesday, June 06, 2018
Trumpproval
New Quinnipiac poll:
— Greg Sargent (@ThePlumLineGS) June 6, 2018
Dems lead by seven in generic House ballot matchup, 47-40.
Among independents: 44-35.
Trump approval: 40.
Strong disapproval: 44
Strong approval: 29.
Intensity of disapproval is still there.https://t.co/T3UEEh7o8u
Teaching
Sunday, June 03, 2018
Sunday to Sunday
Saturday, June 02, 2018
Brown for VP?
A new poll of the Ohio Senate race has Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) leading Rep. Jim Renacci (R-OH) 48% to 34%. One poll in March had Brown up 41% to 29%. Another March poll had Brown ahead 52% to 38%. These leads of 14, 12, and 14 points, respectively, are all consistent with the fact that Renacci raised only $257,000 in the first quarter of 2018. He doesn't seem to be catching fire with either the donors or the voters and the recent poll is going to make it unlikely that big donors come to his rescue since there are other Senate races that look more promising for the GOP. In short, it looks like the GOP internal poll last week that had it "even" was not worth the paper it was written on, and that Brown is getting another term. This race could end up being important in 2020. Imagine that Brown wins by 12-14 points. Now imagine that the Democrats need a presidential candidate who can unify the Hillary and Bernie wings of the party. This unicorn would need to be a middle aged white man from the Midwest with progressive positions on almost everything and who gets along very well with the unions. Where would they find such a beast? Maybe by checking out the Ohio Senate delegation, especially if they could find a member who just won a smashing victory in a state Trump took by 8 points.I don't agree with analyses that declare so very "needed" a "middle aged white man from the Midwest" but I don't deny that such thinking will probably be loud and insistent before year's end and I certainly don't mind Sherrod Brown's comparatively "progressive positions on almost everything" and especially his union companionability, such as it is. It's looking like Harris/Brown or Booker/Brown for 2020, maybe, but it's early early early days. I daresay such a ticket would yield the fauxvolutionary cosplay left to reprise their divisive GOP-enabling 2016 howling and I would go in full of fear about the prospects for this ticket in the age of white-supremacy's desperate and dangerous last throes, but you better believe I'll fight like hell to stop Trump Republicanism and support all Dems everywhere and better Dems everywhere possible as long as possible.