March 2012,

I heard that Alameda County California voted to implement their “ban” on single use bags not regulate them sometime around January 2013.  It just so happens that at or around the same time things were being finalized in different parts of our beautiful state of Washington. It has been a long struggle for Washington State to move towards an ordinance that would “ban” bags at retail outlets due to big MONEY in the plastics industry.

However, in late December, word was that the City Councils Zero Waste Initiative to “ban” plastic bags in limited and in graduated way realized after four years. In 2008, the Council banned Styrofoam and though they tried to regulate plastic bags they got serious push back from the industry, which spent about $1.4 million, collected signatures with rumors of leaving out some info … then had the ordinance repealed. It was nice to read about Council Bill 117345, a bill to protect Puget Sound, our marine wildlife and our Environment in general joining about twelve states and up to twenty nations. The Seattle City Council voted 9-0 to implement the ban on plastic carry out bags.

Finally, after years of pulling out my recycled bags for the checker to shove my groceries into, Washington State is joining the global movement to protect marine wildlife; the ordinance will take effect on July 1, 2012. It may be a cliché, but this ordinance is a change we can all believe in. I have to say, at first; in my experiences; checkers seemed a little annoyed at having to fight with the reusable bags. The word from most Checkers back in the day was, that plastic is just easier. Yes, the first reusable bags were too small, the dye ran the material was unforgiving, but as folks found better ways to make them; the cost came down and more people bought them including me.

Now, the bags not only cost a little bit more, they are bigger more stylish, last forever are definitely more flexible, and a highly recommended investment. The move to switch from plastic to” bring your own bag” will be difficult for some at first; I intend to carry a few extra to give away or sell; on my website. Studies show that birds, sea turtles and other wildlife eat the bags and some made with toxic chemicals that could be harmful. The time for a behavior change is now. We all know change is tough, but here we are in the 21st Century and that floating garbage circle discovered in the 50′s is only getting bigger. There will always be push back from the plastics industry, their supporters as well as environmental activists who all feel the government does not go far enough and they may be right, but we have to start somewhere.

It baffles me at how complicated people have made the effort to clean up our environment; we all know the need to reduce TRASH as a whole starts at home, although Seattle is the 15th largest metropolitan area in the nation, only 13% of plastic bags used are recycled.

We owe it to our next generation…

Grocery stores, as well as food service outlets owe it to consumers and the environment.

The HEARTH Act is a law that allows federally recognized Tribes to opt out of the secretarial approval requirement when leasing their own lands for various purposes. The Act was passed in 2012 and amended the Indian Long-Term Leasing Act of 1955. To take advantage of the HEARTH Act, Tribes must submit and obtain approval for their own leasing regulations that are consistent with the Department of the Interior’s leasing regulations and provide for an environmental review process.

The HEARTH Act gives Tribes more flexibility and self-determination in managing their trust lands. The Act only applies to surface leases, not mineral leases, and only to Tribal lands, not individually owned Indian lands¹.

The HEARTH Act promotes greater tribal self-determination and will help create jobs in Indian Country. Under the Act, federally recognized tribes can develop and implement their own regulations governing certain leasing on Indian lands. Upon Secretarial approval of these tribal regulations, tribes will have the authority to process land leases without Bureau of Indian Affairs approval. This new authority has the potential to significantly reduce the time it takes to approve leases for homes and small businesses in Indian Country.

By allowing tribes to more quickly and easily lease their lands, the bill promotes investment in tribal communities and more broadly facilitates economic development.

In Memory of the obamawhitehouse

Civil Rights Act of 1964 Facts The Civil Rights Act of 1964 was a far-ranging law that was passed by Congress and signed into law by President Lyndon Johnson. The Act essentially outlawed racial and gender discrimination in the workplace and outlawed most forms of racial segregation. The bill was originally the idea of President John F. Kennedy, who was viewed by many in the Civil Rights movement as apathetic at best to their plight. Kennedy said he was influenced by sights of civil rights marchers being beaten by the police in Alabama, so he put forward the legislation in June 1963. The bill probably had the votes to pass, but was stopped in committee by Representative Howard Smith of Virginia, who was a segregationist. After Kennedy was assassinated on November 22, 1963, the Congress and the general public were much more sympathetic to the bill. The bill was passed 289-126 in the House of Representatives and a modified compromise version by the Senate 73-27 on June 19, 1964. President Johnson signed the bill into law on July 2, 1964.

Interesting Civil Rights Act of 1964 Facts:
Opposition to the bill was more along geographic than political lines with a majority of both southern Democrats and Republicans voting “nay.”
Representative Emanuel Cellar (D-NY) was one of the bill’s early advocates. He was also instrumental in passing the Immigration Act of 1965.
Southern Democrats filibustered for fifty-four days to prevent the passage of the bill before a compromise bill was introduced that lessened the power of the government to regulate private business.
Civil rights organizations, such as the NAACP, and leaders, like Martin Luther King Jr., lobbied congressmen and both presidents to pass the bill.
Title VII of the Act expressly prohibits workplace discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, or national origin.
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), oversees enforcement of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
Among the more interesting of the congressmen who were opposed to the bill were Senators Robert Byrd (D-WV), who became a mentor to the next generation of Democrat politicians, and Albert Gore Sr. (D-TN), who was the father of former vice president and senator, Al Gore.
The legality of the Act has been upheld in several Supreme Court decisions, including: Heart of Atlanta Hotel v. United States, Philips v. Martin Marietta Corp., and Pittsburgh Press Co. v. Pittsburgh Commission on Human Relations.
Title IX of the Act made it easier for criminal cases involving civil rights violations to be tried in federal court. This was extremely important as many Klansmen who were acquitted in state courts for crimes ranging from assault and arson to murder were usually convicted for civil rights violations, although the convictions usually carried far less time.
The passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 paved the way for the Civil Rights Act of 1968, which barred racial discrimination in housing.
Although some aspects of voting problems were addressed in the Civil Rights Act of 1964, most of the barriers to black disenfranchisement in the southern states were dealt with in the Voting Rights Act of 1965. softschools.com

If you see any errors please feel free to comment… so many opinions on who actually came up with the idea of the Bill

“Baaj Nwaavjo I’tah Kukveni” means “where tribes roam” and “our footprints” in Havasupai and Hopi, respectively. Comprised of 1.1 million acres of federal public lands adjacent to Grand Canyon National Park, this Tribally proposed monument would protect ecologically critical habitat and watershed, safeguard Indigenous cultural sites and ensure access for traditional practices and the region’s famed recreational opportunities.

Tribes and local communities have long advocated for the region’s protection from uranium mining interests. Existing and shuttered mines have already poisoned local air and water while costing taxpayers millions to clean up. Despite this toxic history, industry interests continue to probe the region for mining opportunities.

It’s time to protect this region and its communities once and for all!

Sign The Wilderness Society Action Fund’s petition and tell President Biden to designate Baaj Nwaavjo I’tah Kukveni Grand Canyon National Monument!

By signing this petition with email you will receive periodic updates on offers and activism opportunities from Daily Kos, The Wilderness Society Action Fund and The Wilderness Society via email. Paid for by The Wilderness Society Action Fund. You may unsubscribe at any time.

PETITIONING

President Biden

SPONSORED BY

Daily Kos

Our Message to President Biden :

I stand with the Grand Canyon Tribal Coalition; federal, state and local elected leaders; business owners; recreationists; hunters/anglers; veterans; conservation advocates and community members in asking the President to designate the Baaj Nwaavjo I’tah Kukveni Grand Canyon National Monument.

The proposed 1.1-million-acre monument has cultural connections to at least 12 Tribes and Nations. This Tribally led proposal dates back decades to numerous efforts to permanently protect the Grand Canyon region from new uranium mining and other harmful developments.

The proposed monument would protect important cultural sites for Indigenous communities and habitat for endangered species like California condors, Mexican spotted owls and the Fickeisen plains cactus. A monument designation would also protect hundreds of seeps and springs within the watershed of the Colorado River in Grand Canyon, as well as the tributary streams they sustain, which in turn support flows in the river and habitat for highly endangered wildlife from the toxic impacts of uranium mining.

The Grand Canyon region provides opportunities for outdoor experiences and traditional uses of all types — from hiking, hunting, fishing and camping to grazing and Tribal uses like plant- and firewood- gathering. A national monument would maintain these existing uses while protecting the region’s clean air, land and water.

More than half of Arizonans participate in some kind of outdoor recreation. In 2022, outdoor activities in Arizona such as hiking, bicycling, boating, birdwatching and rafting in places like the Grand Canyon region generated $3.3 billion in wages and salaries and $787 million in state and local revenues while directly creating 104,000 jobs.

I urge you to seize upon this historic opportunity to permanently protect the cultural heritage, incredible biodiversity, precious waters and vital economic engine of the Grand Canyon region by designating the Baaj Nwaavjo I’tah Kukveni Grand Canyon National Monument now.

On July 30, 1866, during the turbulent Reconstruction era after the Civil War, white resistance to African American citizenship turned violent in New Orleans when a white mob killed dozens of African Americans gathering to support a political meeting.

The New Orleans Massacre, also called the New Orleans Riot, happened at the New Orleans Mechanic’s Institute, where 25 state delegates were reconvening the 1864 Louisiana Constitutional Convention. The state’s new constitution already abolished slavery, but the state legislature passed laws limiting the rights of people freed from slavery. The Radical Republicans wanted to redo the Constitution so that freedmen would gain voting rights. Another aim was to eliminate the Black Codes and disenfranchise former Confederates.

Two of New Orleans’ foremost leaders—Mayor John T. Monroe, a Confederate sympathizer, and Sheriff Harry T. Hays, a former Confederate general—strongly opposed the new constitutional convention. After a political rally on July 27, Hays gathered a posse of white officers, mostly ex-Confederates, to disrupt the convention, which began at noon on July 30.

As the delegates filed into the building, a crowd of protesters gathered outside the Mechanic’s Institute. Meanwhile, about 200 unarmed Black people, mostly Union veterans, approached the building in a parade form to show support. As they came to the building, bystanders harassed the marchers and isolated scuffles broke out.

Source:

history.com and youtube.com