Tag Archives: Democratic

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Get Over It


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Republicans Are Mad That Other Republicans Are Debunking Benghazi

The right-wing Benghazi conspiracy has been thoroughly debunked numerous times, but now it is back in the news because Republicans are the ones that are debunking it.

Six different investigations in the past two years have found that, while the deaths of four Americans in Benghazi, Libya, including Ambassador Chris Stevens, were tragic and reprehensible, there was no evidence for any kind of cover-up by President Obama and his administration. There was also no evidence that the Obama administration stopped attempted rescues from the diplomatic compound or that it intentionally misinformed Congress or the American people. Despite the myriad conspiracy theories, these notions have been disproven time and time again.

Well, none of that changed with the release of the House Intelligence Committee’s latest report, the seventh of the genre, on what happened that night in Benghazi. According to the Associated Press, this Republican-led, bipartisan committee reported the following:

Debunking a series of persistent allegations hinting at dark conspiracies, the investigation of the politically charged incident determined that there was no intelligence failure, no delay in sending a CIA rescue team, no missed opportunity for a military rescue, and no evidence the CIA was covertly shipping arms from Libya to Syria.

While an investigation into the deaths at Benghazi was appropriate, conservative media, irresponsible right-wing politicians and pundits, and their enablers in Congress refuse to accept that these investigations have already concluded that there’s no controversy behind the tragic attack. Republicans have used this as a distraction for 2016 instead of treating the violence with the seriousness it has deserved.

Some Republicans are asking the GOP to move on from trying to prove something that does not exist. However, that has not stopped leading Benghazi conspiracy theorist Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., from calling the report inaccurate, “full of crap” and “a complete bunch of garbage.” Nor has this report stopped Rep. Trey Gowdy, R-S.C. from continuing his $3.3 million investigation into Benghazi, with House Republicans choosing to spend more on an eighth investigation than on the committees for Ethics, Veterans’ Affairs, the budget, or science.

BOTTOM LINE: The latest Benghazi investigation – this one led by House Republicans – found more of the same, namely that there was no conspiracy. But amazingly, that hasn’t stopped some GOPers from continuing to push this non-story. And conservatives wonder why the Obama administration continues its work on moving the country forward through executive action with such unreasonable and hostile opposition in Congress?

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

Prison for Parking Tickets ?


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Brave New Films

This season reminds us that there are a lot of things to be thankful for.

For instance, not having to go to jail for minor infractions like parking tickets.

But sadly, that’s not the reality for everyone. We live in a world where government and corporations continue to make money off of those who are poor, hungry and desperate.

To Prison for Poverty exposes two private probation companies who exploit and make million of dollars off of people who can’t afford small fines.

Watch the documentary and subscribe to our channel here:

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As we give thanks this holiday season, let’s continue to challenge the systems that profit off of poverty.

Want to take more action? Sign up to host a screening.

Together we can continue to exposed poverty profiteers and give everyone more to be thankful for.

Thanks for all that you do.
Robert Greenwald, President
Brave New Films
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#ImmigrationReform ~~~ is personal


The White House, Washington

As a kid, I dreamed of graduating from college, and hugging my parents with my diploma in hand.

There was just one problem: I found out that I am not a citizen. My parents brought me to America when I was just four years old.

This country is the only place I’ve ever called home. It means everything to me. And when I learned that I was undocumented, it shattered my life.

President Obama’s action on immigration offered me the chance to give back — to do right by the law, and contribute to this country that has given me so much. And his actions last week will give that opportunity to so many people who are Americans in their hearts, but not on paper.

I know this is an issue President Obama cares deeply about and that’s why I was so moved by what he had to say about it. Watch for yourself here.

This is about bringing undocumented immigrants like me out of the shadows, so that we can do right by the law and play by the rules. That’s why President Obama is taking these steps — but as he said on Friday, Congress needs to pass a comprehensive solution to fully solve this problem.

Because my brother is a citizen, my parents will have a chance to stay here and keep our family together. So for me, this is personal. But I’m not the only one: So many families will benefit.

See what the President announced last week, and please share this message with your friends and family:

http://www.whitehouse.gov/immigration-action

Thank you,

Astrid Silva

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Ken Ellis and Strong Families via Change.org

1 Comment

Four years ago, Albuquerque police shot and killed my son, Ken Ellis lll. He was a 25-year-old Iraq war veteran – wounded in action and suffering from severe PTSD – and a father. Nobody has ever been held accountable for his death.

Ken’s not alone – Albuquerque officers have shot and killed at least 27 people since 2010 in a pattern of unnecessary aggression and violence. Even the Department of Justice found that most of the police shootings in Albuquerque between 2010 and 2012 were unconstitutional.
~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

Families & Flexibilit​y, The Supreme Court, Babygate, & Paid Sick Days Victories!
Families & Flexibility

From left to right, Kelly Sakai, Janet Gornick, Dina Bakst, Barbara Wankoff, Marcee Harris Schwartz
Families & Flexibility Forum 
On Monday we co-hosted a forum on Families & Flexibility with NYC Comptroller Scott M. Stringer. We are excited to see this conversation garnering attention and eager to work with city officials to develop solutions in the coming months. Read more

Peggy Young v. UPS
Earlier this month A Better Balance and the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) jointly filed a friend of the court (amicus) brief in a case before the U.S. Supreme Court supporting a woman who was forced off her job while pregnant, losing income and her health benefits in the process. Peggy Young worked for UPS in Maryland when she became pregnant and submitted a doctor’s note with a lifting restriction. She was told that she could not have light duty because of a company-wide policy, so she would have to resort to unpaid leave. This was despite the fact that UPS provided light duty to many other workers. Our brief uses real stories to explain to the high court how policies like UPS’s are clearly illegal under the plain text of the federal Pregnancy Discrimination Act (PDA) and contrary to Congressional intent. Click here to read more and click here to read the brief.
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Babygate, the Sequel.   
This month the Feminist Press re-published our guidebook for expecting and new parents about their workplace rights.
Babygate: How to Survive Pregnancy and Parenting in the Workplace, has a new cover, updated content and has been generating buzz, from the New Republic and The Maria Shriver Project this summer to the Brian Leher Show on WNYC in September.  Coming up next?  Babygate, the website. Stay tuned!
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ABB Senior Staff Attorney Jared Make (far right) with other advocates after the Paterson law was passed.
Paid Sick Time Victories 
The momentum for paid sick time is undeniable. In the past three months, we have helped to win seven new paid sick time laws across the country! In July, San Diego and Eugene (Oregon) both passed paid sick time laws. In September, California became the second state to legally guarantee paid sick time for its workers! This statewide victory will extend paid sick time to more than six million workers in California who currently receive no paid sick days for personal or family health reasons. Also in September we helped to pass four new paid sick time laws In New Jersey: the cities of Paterson, East Orange, Passaic, and Irvington recently joined Newark and Jersey City in ensuring that workers can earn paid sick time.
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ABB Southern Office Director Elizabeth Gedmark (far right) with members of Respect the Bump and other advocates at Chicago Know Your Rights training.
Know Your Rights
ABB is continuing to educate pregnant women and caregivers around the country about their legal rights. For example, our Southern Office recently provided educational Know Your Rights materials in Nashville, TN at an event called the “Best Baby Shower”. Hundreds of pregnant women and their partners were in attendance. ABB is also working with our partners at Respect The Bump (a group of pregnant and formerly pregnant workers at Walmart who have banded together to create change at the superstore) to educate workers about their rights under Walmart’s new policy on Accomodations in Employment.