Tag Archives: Los Angeles

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

ACTION:Turn On The Water … it’s the right thing -reminder


Thousands of low-income Black Detroit residents have already had their water shut-off risking both public health and personal safety. What’s worse — the city plans to resume shut-offs tomorrow.
Water is a human right.ImageTell the panel: turn the water back on in DetroitTake Action

Thousands of low income Black Detroit residents have already had their water shut off, risking both public health and personal safety. What’s worse — the city plans to resume shut-offs tomorrow.1

Just weeks ago, under pressure from organizers in Detroit and thousands of supporters online, Governor Rick Snyder’s hand-picked Emergency Manager returned control of the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department (DWSD) to the duly-elected mayor.2 While a small victory for local control, the move was ultimately a political ploy to provide cover for Emergency Manager Kevyn Orr. Mayor Duggan’s “10 Point Plan” does little more than offer better customer service while continuing the inhumane and unjust practice of shutting off water.3

The solution is the Water Affordability Program (WAP) passed by the city council back in 2005. The WAP would provide relief to thousands and create a safety net that allows low income residents to pay on a sliding scale, based on their income. A 3-judge panel is holding a hearing on August 29th during which they could order the WAP back into effect and end the shutoffs once and for all.

Sign the petition: tell the panel to turn the water back on and implement the Water Affordability Program.

While Detroiters suffer under policies implemented by an unelected emergency manager, corporations are protected and speculators are circling. Individuals with as little as $33 owed have had their water shut off without warning while the Palmer Park Golf Course which owes $437,714 still has water.4 The initial round of shutoffs were a tactic to make the city’s water rights a more attractive target to potential private investors. 5

Even with authority tenuously returned to the Mayor, his plan offers little hope to residents whose rates have risen 119% in the past decade.6 Under this scheme, relief is only available after putting down a large lump sum payment and there is no promise that the emergency manager will not seize back control and change the rules yet again.

The Water Affordability Program would provide relief to all residents living under 175% of the federal poverty line and reign in the out-of-control rates DWSD has charged.7 The WAP is the best way to restore water to thousands of residents in Detroit at reasonable rates.

Turn the water back on: Sign the petition to implement the WAP.

Water is a basic human right and denying access to water poses a dire threat to public health. To make matters worse, earlier this month there were historic floods in Detroit. A state of emergency was declared. The flooding has caused millions of gallons of sewage to back up into waterways and basements. 8 How are you supposed to clean sewage from your basement when the city has shut off your water?

Sign the petition: Turn the water back on in Detroit!

Thanks and Peace,

Aimée, Rashad, Arisha, Matt, Johnny and the entire ColorOfChange.org team.

Help support our work. ColorOfChange.org is powered by YOU—your energy and dollars. We take no money from lobbyists or large corporations that don’t share our values, and our tiny staff ensures your contributions go a long way.

1. “Duggan, DWSD to release updated plan on water shutoffs Thursday; moratorium extended until Aug. 25,” Metro Times, 8/4/14,
http://act.colorofchange.org/go/3787?t=8&akid=3599.1174326.1Q65qP

2.”Detroit’s drought of democracy,” New York Times, 7/29/14,
http://act.colorofchange.org/go/3789?t=10&akid=3599.1174326.1Q65qP

3.”Orr Dumps ‘Hot Mess’ of Water Shut-offs in Duggan’s Lap,” People’s Water Board, 7/29/14
http://act.colorofchange.org/go/3790?t=12&akid=3599.1174326.1Q65qP

4. “Detroit water department now sending shut-off crews to commercial customers,” Detroit Free Press, 7/14/14
http://act.colorofchange.org/go/3798?t=14&akid=3599.1174326.1Q65qP

5.”Detroit shuts off water to thousands of broke residents,” Think Progress, 6/20/14,
http://act.colorofchange.org/go/3791?t=16&akid=3599.1174326.1Q65qP

6. See reference 3.

7. See reference 3.

8. “Snyder declares flood disaster for southeast Michigan,” Detroit Free Press, 8/20/14,
http://act.colorofchange.org/go/3792?t=18&akid=3599.1174326.1Q65qP

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

Too many Black families … a repost


 It’s a time of celebration and joy, but every year there are too many Black families who have empty seats around their holiday dinners.

Michael Brown, Eric Garner, Tamir Rice, Tanesha Anderson, John Crawford, and many, many more.

But there’s a vibrant movement on the streets demanding that our country value and protect Black lives, and it’s forcing many Americans — particularly our elected officials — to wake up to the realities of everyday violence against Black people.  

We’re in the middle of a transformative moment, and ColorOfChange has bold plans for 2015.

We are going to:

  1. Strengthen the police accountability work we’ve spear-headed throughout 2014. From ensuring Darren Wilson, Daniel Pantaleo, and other police officers are held fully accountable, to securing nationwide structural reforms addressing discriminatory police violence, there’s a lot to be done.
  2. Lift up the voices of our 1 million members to fight back against the new right-wing Congress. The Republicans who now control both houses are determined to pass legislation that will put our communities in harms way. And we’re determined to hold them accountable.
  3. Continue to combat toxic media representations of Black folks and the movements for justice springing up everywhere.
  4. Keep our fingers on the country’s pulse, ready to jump on rapid response moments and influence the national dialogue.

…and there’s a lot more in the pipeline.

Make a $1 holiday donation today to strengthen ColorOfChange’s civil rights campaigns this coming year. (Or give whatever you can.)

Every donation you make, every dollar you give, makes a BIG difference. Our small staff will stretch it out and ensure it has a real impact in 2015.

Thanks and peace,

–Rashad, Arisha, Matt, Bhavik, and the ColorOfChange team

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

Indigenous voices lead largest climate march ever ~~ a repost


“The protection of nature, forests, and ecosystems is the responsibility of everyone.
What happens will ultimately affect us all. We are standing up for our lives, yours, the entire world and for the lives of future generations!”
– Patricia Gualinga, Kichwa leader from the Ecuadorian Amazon
 a small group made big waves in New York City. Amazonian indigenous spokespeople and social movement leaders led more than 400,000 others at the People’s Climate March. Amazon Watch joined front-line indigenous communities and representatives in demanding that humanity keep the oil in the ground as a fundamental solution to climate chaos. From the Arctic to the Amazon, leadership ofindigenouspeoples in climate solutions was on full display.

Read the rest and see videos and photos on Eye on the Amazon »

posted 9/27/2014
~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

Walker And Rubio’s ACA Replacement Plans, By The Numbers


By

GOP Presidential Candidates Scott Walker And Marco Rubio Release Plans to Repeal And Replace The Affordable Care Act

For the last five years, Republicans have been attacking the Affordable Care Act in word and deed. Despite the fact that a majority of Americans oppose repeal efforts, conservatives have promised to “repeal and replace” the law, and congressional Republicans have voted more than 50 times to repeal it. Yet in these five years, no Republican lawmaker has offered a real plan to provide affordable health coverage to Americans. Scott Walker and Marco Rubio’s replacement plans, released today, are no different.

Unsurprisingly, both Walker and Rubio’s plans would repeal the ACA, which would wreak havoc on the entire health care industry. Here are just a few examples showing the effect of repealing the ACA:

  • 19 million: the number of people who would lose coverage, including those enrolled in marketplace plans and through Medicaid.
  • 129 million: the number of people with pre-existing conditions who will no longer be protected from discrimination.
  • $137 billion: the estimated increase in federal budget deficit over ten years.
  • 8.7 million: the number of people receiving premium tax credits, who would lose them if the law were repealed.

Walker actually proposes giving Americans some form of tax credit to pay for health care coverage, but rather than basing tax credits on income—like the Affordable Care Act does—Walker’s plan would base tax credits on age. This could significantly hurt low-income people who could see a substantial cut to their tax credits based on Walker’s system. Not to mention the fact that, at the proposed level, Walker’s credit system would not come close to covering the cost of decent coverage. Rubio’s plan also gives no indication that his proposed tax credit would be sufficient to pay for good health care coverage.

Neither Walker nor Rubio’s plan contains new ideas. Instead, each rehashes the same old, stale conservative mantra. For instance, both support block granting Medicaid, an idea that Rep. Paul Ryan has proposed in his budget for years and which Gov. Romney endorsed in his unsuccessful 2012 bid for president. Block granting Medicaid would cripple a vital program that has provided health coverage to 80 million Americans in 2014. Although neither Walker nor Rubio provides much detail on their block grant proposals, the amount of money provided to states through block grants typically increase each year more slowly than the growth in health care costs, so block granting funding would mean Medicaid would get squeezed more and more. As a result, Paul Ryan’s Medicaid block grant proposal would lead to 14-20 million low-income people losing their health coverage.

BOTTOM LINE: The American people support the ACA, the Supreme Court upheld it, and the GOP’s continued efforts to undermine it only serve to show how out-of-touch Republican lawmakers are. The Affordable Care Act has been woven into the fabric of our health care system, repealing the law and replacing it with old, failed policies will have a devastating impact on hard working Americans.

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

Rashad Robinson, ColorOfChange.org #StillCantBreathe


Families should not have to spend years fighting for justice for their loved ones killed by police. But for thousands of Black families across the country, that is an every day reality. Eric Garner, Ramarley Graham, Tamir Rice, Rekia Boyd, Tanisha Anderson, Mya Hall, Freddie Gray, Dajerria Becton, and most recently Sandra Bland, are just a few of the police brutality cases the Department of Justice is yet to prosecute. The DOJ’s failure to do it’s job and hold abusive and discriminatory police accountable in a timely and effective manner has had an unconscionable human toll.

Since Eric Garner was killed, at least 12 Black people have been killed in New York, and countless others unjustly stopped and harassed.6 Last February, NYPD Officer fatally shot 28-year-old Akai Gurley as he walked up the stairs of an apartment building with his girlfriend.7 And in response to the growing resistance to the NYPD’s discriminatory practices, law enforcement is under reporting the number of times they stop and search people, creating an illusion of reform.8 In fact, the number of settlements New York has paid out for victims of police violence has sky rocketed in recent years.9

But in the face of injustice, we cannot back down. Recently, New York families spent months campaigning for a special prosecutor to oversee police killings in New York — and won 8 It is an incredible step in the right direction and speaks volumes to the power of Black and brown folks to create a safer and more just world for our communities. On this tragic 1 year anniversary, we must renew our calls for justice and send a clear message to our national leaders that we will not stop until justice is served.

Help increase pressure on US Attorney General Loretta Lynch to indict the police who killed Eric Garner and Ramarley Graham, and pave the way for even greater police accountability.

Thanks and peace,

— Rashad, Arisha, Shani, Lyla and the rest of the ColorOfChange.org team
July 17th, 2015

Please help support our work. ColorOfChange.org is powered by YOU—your energy and dollars. We take no money from lobbyists or large corporations that don’t share our values, and our tiny staff ensures your contributions go a long way.

References,

1. “One Year Later, Remembering Eric Garner,” New York Times 07-17-15
http://act.colorofchange.org/go/5006?t=6&akid=4546.1174326.1nfLHg

2. “Officer Who Put Eric Garner in Fatal Choke Hold Would Like His Old Job Back,” New York Magazine 07-13-15
http://act.colorofchange.org/go/5007?t=8&akid=4546.1174326.1nfLHg

3. “New York Police Department Is Undercounting Street Stops, Report Says,” New York Times 07-09-15
http://act.colorofchange.org/go/5008?t=10&akid=4546.1174326.1nfLHg

4. “Eric Garner’s Family Urges Justice Department To Prosecute Officer,” NPR 07-14-2015
http://act.colorofchange.org/go/5009?t=12&akid=4546.1174326.1nfLHg

5. Communities United for Police Reform Upcoming Events
http://act.colorofchange.org/go/5010?t=14&akid=4546.1174326.1nfLHg

6. “The Counted,” The Guardian
http://act.colorofchange.org/go/5011?t=16&akid=4546.1174326.1nfLHg

7. “Officer Charged in Akai Gurley Case Debated Reporting Gunshot, Officials Say,” NYTimes 02-11-2015
http://act.colorofchange.org/go/5012?t=18&akid=4546.1174326.1nfLHg

8. See reference 3.

9. “Cost of Police-Misconduct Cases Soars in Big U.S. Cities,” Washington Post 07-15-2015
http://act.colorofchange.org/go/5013?t=20&akid=4546.1174326.1nfLHg