Tag Archives: thinkprogress

After the 2010 elections swept Republicans into power in legislatures across the country, they set about passing an unprecedented number of restrictions — 135 in 2011 and 2012 and 84 more so far this year — on abortion rights.

Michigan has been no exception. A year ago, Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder (R) signed one of the nation’s most extreme anti-abortion laws.

Now lawmakers have used a quirk in Michigan law to push through a bill mandating rape insurance. Yes, you read that right: rape insurance.

ThinkProgress’ Tara Culp-Ressler explains:

On Wednesday evening, both chambers of the Michigan legislature approved a measure that will require women to purchase an additional insurance rider if they want abortion coverage, even in cases when the pregnancy resulted from rape or incest. It will take effect 90 days after lawmakers adjourn, making Michigan the ninth state to restrict coverage of abortion on the private insurance market — an increasingly popular method of imposing barriers to the procedure.

Opponents decried the legislation as a “rape insurance” bill, pointing out that victims of sexual assault would be forced to pay out-of-pocket for an abortion procedure unless they had thought ahead and purchased a separate rider. In the lead-up to the vote, State Senate Minority Leader Gretchen Whitmer (D) called the bill “one of the most misogynistic proposals” that has ever been up for debate in the legislature, adding that forcing women to consider purchasing extra insurance in case they’re raped in the future is “truly despicable.”

And Republicans endorsed the measure even after their own colleagues shared their personal stories of sexual assault and miscarriage. Last year, two female Michigan state representatives were temporarily banned from speaking on the Michigan House floor after they dared speak the word “vagina” during the debate on a different draconian anti-abortion bill.

Snyder had vetoed the bill last year but it will become law this year without his signature because “citizen-initiated” bills (bills advanced following a signature gathering drive) approved by the legislature don’t require his approval. The legislature could have disapproved, in which case the measure would’ve been put before Michigan voters in 2014. Instead, they endorsed the offensive and cruel notion of rape insurance.

Harsh anti-abortion measures like this are just one example of a nationwide campaign by right-wing activists to impose their own theological doctrines onto others using public policy.

BOTTOM LINE: If Republicans don’t want to be accused of waging a war on women, they should stop passing bill after bill that attack women and their families.

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A Deal With Iran

11/26/2013 Nativegrl77

By CAP Action War Room

Global Powers Reach Interim Agreement on Iran’s Nuclear Program

After months of previously secret high-level meetings between U.S. and Iranian officials and years of international diplomacy, global powers reached a signifcant interim agreement with Iran regarding its nuclear program.

ThinkProgress has the details of the deal, which is meant to provide six months for negotiators to hammer out a final, comprehensive agreement:

According to the terms of the deal, Iran has agreed to open itself up to more and greater sanctions from the International Atomic Energy Agency, while halting the installation of any further centrifuges used to enrich uranium. Tehran’s stockpile of uranium enriched to 20 percent will be diluted, and construction at the heavy water reactor in Arak will be halted. Progress at Arak, which will be able to produce plutonium when fully operational, was a key concern left unresolved at the last round of talks.

In exchange, according to the White House fact sheet on the interim deal, the so-called P5+1 — the United States, United Kingdom, France, Germany, China, and Russia — will provide “limited, temporary, targeted, and reversible” relief from sanctions to Iran. This will include the release approximately $4.2 billion of Iranian funds currently being held and suspending sanctions on “gold and precious metals, Iran’s auto sector, and Iran’s petro-chemical exports” to the tune of approximately $1.5 billion. Embargoes against Iranian oil, banking institutions, and other financial sanctions will remain in place during the six month period the deal covers.

Polling out last week indicated that Americans overwhelmingly support an agreement along the lines of the deal reached on Saturday.

Nevertheless, Republicans and some Democrats almost immediately criticized the deal and threatened to pass additional sanctions when Congress returns next month, something which would violate the agreement and blow up the deal. Last week, Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) explained her opposition to a new round of sanctions:

“If you want a war, that is the thing to do. I don’t want a war. The American people don’t want a war. We’ve had years in Iraq and Afghanistan. This is an opportunity to move in a different path, and we ought to try it.”

Others, including Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL), likened the deal to the unsuccessful effort to prevent North Korea from acquiring nuclear weapons. Here’s five reasons why they are wrong.

Still other critics of the deal, including Senate Republican Whip John Cornyn (R-TX), made the bizarre and utterly ridiculous suggestion that the years-in-the-making, high-profile international diplomatic effort was really just a plot to distract from the rollout of HealthCare.gov.

While Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been sharply critical of what he called “a historic mistake,” an Israeli military official said a deal could increase regional stability.

(ThinkProgress explains how the deal would look compared to the cartoon bomb that Netanyahu famously displayed during a speech before the United Nations General Assembly last year.)

BOTTOM LINE: The first-step deal announced yesterday in Geneva represents a major achievement by the Obama administration, addressing a top U.S. security challenge. By marshaling all the elements of American power—diplomatic, economic, and military—the United States and its partners haven taken a significant step toward addressing one of the most pressing concerns in the Middle East: the Iranian nuclear program.

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Rashad Robinson, ColorOfChange.org

11/25/2013 Nativegrl77

WALMART

For Black Friday, speak out for striking Walmart workers.

Write a letter to the editor of your local paper now: Join Us

Every week, it’s more bad news for Walmart. The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), charged with protecting workers’ rights to organize and demand better working conditions, just announced it will prosecute Walmart for illegal firings and threats to workers in 13 states.¹ News of Walmart’s canned food drive for its own employees — who aren’t paid enough to afford Thanksgiving dinner — has gone viral.²

Walmart workers are leading a movement to end the systemic labor exploitation Walmart has made the norm.³ They’re standing up and saying no to part-time, temporary, poorly paid work that keeps our families struggling to put food on the table and holds our economy back. This week, as they engage in historic, nationwide strikes for the second Black Friday in a row, Walmart associates are putting their lives and livelihoods on the line for all of us — and they need our support.

Not everyone knows the risks Walmart associates are taking for workers everywhere this Black Friday, but there’s an easy way to fix that: Please take a moment to send a short letter to the editor of your local newspaper today showing your support for striking workers.

Despite raking in record-breaking billions in annual profits, Walmart recently got caught admitting that most of its employees make under $25,000 a year.⁴ And the company knows that it can afford to give workers a full 50% raise without harming its profitability — bringing take-home earnings up to $33,000 for cash-strapped associates who are now forced to depend on government, food banks and even each other to make ends meet.⁵

All workers are harmed by Walmart’s artificially low pay, wage theft, and aggressive reliance on intimidation tactics — up to and including illegal firings — to keep employees from speaking up for their most basic rights on the job. But as the single largest employer of Black workers in the country,⁶ Walmart has become a critical battleground in the fight to reverse the devastating shrinking of Black economic opportunity we’ve seen over the past few decades.⁷

Walmart won’t suddenly do what’s right on its own — it’s up to us to make the company pay a fair wage for a day’s work and treat its employees with basic respect. By sending a letter to the editor of your local paper — especially in communities with a Walmart store — you are providing exactly the kind of support a worker needs when making the difficult choice to leave work and stand up for all of us. It’s easy with our simple tool: click below to get talking points and writing tips, then submit your letter directly to your local paper online.

Keep Walmart’s bad behavior in the news by writing a letter to the editor of your daily paper: let your community know why you’re supporting striking workers this Black Friday.

Thanks and Peace,

–Rashad, Matt, Arisha, Aimée, Johnny, Kim and the rest of the ColorOfChange.org team November 23rd, 2013

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. “National Labor Relations Board to Prosecute Walmart For Violating Workers’ Rights,” ThinkProgress, 11-18-13 http://act.colorofchange.org/go/3087?t=9&akid=3188.1174326.mtLIG3

2. “Walmart Store Holding Thanksgiving Food Drive For Its Own Workers,” Huffington Post, 11-18-13 http://act.colorofchange.org/go/3091?t=11&akid=3188.1174326.mtLIG3

3. “Josh Eidelson: Walmart Is a Pioneer in Unionbusting,” The Nation, 11-21-12 http://act.colorofchange.org/go/3095?t=13&akid=3188.1174326.mtLIG3

4. “Why Wal-Mart can afford to give its workers a 50% raise,” CNN Money, 11-12-13 http://act.colorofchange.org/go/3089?t=15&akid=3188.1174326.mtLIG3

5. “A Higher Wage Is Possible,” Demos, 11-19-13 http://act.colorofchange.org/go/3090?t=17&akid=3188.1174326.mtLIG3

6. “Will Black Friday Be Blue for Wal-Mart?” The Root, 10-13-12 http://act.colorofchange.org/go/3094?t=19&akid=3188.1174326.mtLIG3

7. “Black workers embody the new low-wage economy,” Al Jazeera America, 09-12-13 http://act.colorofchange.org/go/3096?t=21&akid=3188.1174326.mtLIG3

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4.8 Million Denied Coverage

11/21/2013 Nativegrl77

By CAP Action War Room

The Republican Coverage Gap

The frenzy of attention surrounding insurance companies dropping substandard policies peaked last week when the House of Representatives voted on the GOP’s 46th attempt to repeal Obamacare.

Republicans, however, don’t seem to much care about the nearly 5 MILLION poor Americans who won’t receive any coverage at all because Republican governors and state legislators in 25 states are refusing to expand Medicaid. Indeed, the very same politicians and conservative groups expressing the most outrage about insurers dropping substandard insurance plans are also actively campaigning against the Medicaid expansion.

This means that families making just a few thousand dollars a year are still not considered poor enough to qualify for Medicaid in Texas and many other states refusing to expand eligibility.

Here’s a ThinkProgress infographic showing how those being denied coverage by Republicans for political reasons compares to those who have received cancellation notices.

real_victims-53

You can find out more on the coverage gap HERE.

BOTTOM LINE: The number of Americans who Republicans want to gain coverage under Obamacare is ZERO, which they’ve demonstrated by voting almost 50 times to repeal the law. While Democrats want to make Obamacare work, Republicans only want it to go away and are working to deny millions of the neediest Americans health coverage in the meantime.

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the War on Holidays …

11/15/2013 Nativegrl77

By CAP Action War Room

Which Companies Are Ruining Thanksgiving For Their Workers?

It’s that time of the year: conservatives are once again decrying the non-existent War on Christmas.

Meanwhile, retailers across the country are engaged in a very real War on Thanksgiving by forcing their low-wage workers to come in and work on Thanksgiving Day so the rest of us can start shopping a few hours earlier.

Here’s the ThinkProgress guide to the War on Thanksgiving.