Showing posts with label Censure. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Censure. Show all posts

Friday, August 25, 2017

News about: Nazi Deportation, Charlottesville, Censure, Monuments, Prisons, Racial Profiling, Right to Work, Pardon, Praying

  • Camping World CEO has told Trump supporters that they can take their business elsewhere, he doesn't want it. Doesn't he realize that Trump supporters are people who hunt and fish the most? Click HERE to read more about it...

  • Members of the New York Congressional Delegation wrote a letter urging Secretary of State Rex Tillerson to personally seek the deportation of a Nazi prison guard living in Queens. Led by Congressman Jerrold Nadler (D-NY), Congressman Joe Crowley (D-NY), and Congressman Dan Donovan (R-NY), the lawmakers asked Secretary Tillerson to use his influence to ensure that Jakiw Palij—a convicted Nazi guard—is deported, so New Yorkers and Americans are not forced to live besides “a painful reminder for Americans who fought against the Nazis or lost loved ones in the Holocaust.” Read more about it by clicking here...

  • The following Members have signed on as cosponsors of H.Res.496 censuring President Trump for his Charlottesville comments:

    Alma Adams (D-NC)
    Nannette Barragan (D-CA)
    Ami Bera (D-CA)
    Karen Bass (D-CA)
    Don Beyer (D-VA)
    Earl Blumenauer (D-OR)
    Suzanne Bonamici (D-OR)
    Anthony Brown (D-MD)
    Julia Brownley (D-CA)
    Michael Capuano (D-MA)
    Salud Carbajal (D-CA)
    Tony Cardenas (D-CA)
    David Cicilline (D-RI)
    Katherine Clark (D-MA)
    Yvette Clarke (D-NY)
    William Lacy Clay (D-MO)
    Steve Cohen (D-TN)
    Gerald E. Connolly (D-VA)
    John Conyers, Jr. (D-MI)
    Joe Courtney (D-CT)
    Joe Crowley (D-NY)
    Elijah Cummings (D-MD)
    Diana DeGette (D-CO)
    Rosa DeLauro (D-CT)
    Mark DeSaulnier (D-CA)
    Debbie Dingell (D-MI)
    Lloyd Doggett (D-TX)
    Eliot Engel (D-NY)
    Anna Eshoo (D-CA)
    Adriano Espaillat (D-NY)
    Elizabeth Esty (D-CT)
    Dwight Evans (D-PA)
    Bill Foster (D-IL)
    Lois Frankel (D-FL)
    Marcia Fudge (D-OH)
    John Garamendi (D-CA)
    Jimmy Gomez (D-CA)
    Al Green (D-TX)
    Raul Grijalva (D-AZ)
    Luis Gutierrez (D-IL)
    Denny Heck (D-WA)
    Brian Higgins (D-NY)
    Jim Himes (D-CT)
    Jared Huffman (D-CA)
    Sheila Jackson-Lee (D-TX)
    Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY)
    Hank Johnson (D-GA)
    Robin Kelly (D-IL)
    Joe Kennedy (D-MA)
    Rohit Khanna (D-CA)
    Ruben Kihuen (D-NV)
    Dan Kildee (D-MI)
    Derek Kilmer (D-WA)
    Ann Kuster (D-NH)
    James Langevin (D-RI)
    Rick Larsen (D-WA)
    John Larson (D-CT)
    Brenda Lawrence (D-MI)
    Al Lawson (D-FL)
    Barbara Lee (D-CA)
    Sander Levin (D-MI)
    Ted Lieu (D-CA)
    Dan Lipinski (D-IL)
    David Loebsack (D-IA)
    Zoe Lofgren (D-CA)
    Alan Lowenthal (D-CA)
    Nita Lowey (D-NY)
    Ben Ray Lujan (D-NM)
    Michelle Lujan Grisham (D-NM)
    Stephen Lynch (D-MA)
    Carolyn Maloney (D-NY)
    Doris Matsui (D-CA)
    Betty McCollum (D-MN)
    Donald McEachin (D-VA)
    Jim McGovern (D-MA)
    Greg Meeks (D-NY)
    Grace Meng (D-NY)
    Grace Napolitano (D-CA)
    Richard Neal (D-MA)
    Donald Norcross (D-NJ)
    Frank Pallone (D-NJ)
    Bill Pascrell, Jr. (D-NJ)
    Donald Payne, Jr. (D-NJ)
    Scott Peters (D-CA)
    Chellie Pingree (D-ME)
    Mark Pocan (D-WI)
    Jared Polis (D-CO)
    David Price (D-NC)
    Mike Quigley (D-IL)
    Jamie Raskin (D-MD)
    Cedric Richmond (D-LA)
    Jacky Rosen (D-NV)
    Linda Sanchez (D-CA)
    Jan Schakowsky (D-IL)
    Brad Schneider (D-IL)
    David A. Scott (D-GA)
    Jose Serrano (D-NY)
    Carol Shea-Porter (D-NH)
    Brad Sherman (D-CA)
    Albio Sires (D-NJ)
    Louise Slaughter (D-NY)
    Adam Smith (D-WA)
    Eric Swalwell (D-CA)
    Mark Takano (D-CA)
    Bennie Thompson (D-MS)
    Paul Tonko (D-NY)
    Norma Torres (D-CA)
    Nydia Velazquez (D-NY)
    Tim Walz (D-MN)
    Maxine Waters (D-CA)
    Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL)
    Peter Welch (D-VT)

    Is it any surprise that all of them are Democrats?

  • Rep. Grace F. Napolitano slammed the U.S. Department of Interior for lack of transparency after releasing only a summary of the report on the Trump Administration’s review of certain National Monuments, including the San Gabriel Mountains National Monument, issuing the following statement:

    “This administration and Secretary Zinke have shut out the voices of the public, turning a review of some of our precious monuments into one of the least transparent and most complicated federal processes. The review was announced on April 26 of this year through an Executive Order by President Trump, yet we in the San Gabriel Valley have still not heard from the Secretary. I placed several requests to Secretary Zinke’s office, inviting him to come to California, visit our monument, and to speak with local residents, businesses, and city officials. I never received a response. I additionally sent a detailed letter describing the history and importance of the San Gabriel Mountains National Monument to our community. If the Secretary is not taking the time to meet with nearby locals nor sharing details of proposed changes to these monuments, then who really controls this process? How can the Secretary make a decision behind closed doors in Washington, DC without stepping foot in Southern California? It looks as though no monuments will be fully eliminated as a result of this review, but we sincerely hope Secretary Zinke publicly releases his recommendations and changes to existing monuments he sent to the White House today. The public, including 2.4 million Americans who submitted comments on the process, has every right to know. As we await details relating to the future of our national monuments, I will continue to fight to protect our limited green space in Los Angeles County and across the country."

    Typical Democrat: pretending to care about monuments while destroying them.

    However, the Public Lands Council and the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association were encouraged by the Department of the Interior’s report on National Monuments released today. The final report comes after an extensive review of Antiquities Act designations, ordered by President Trump, which included listening sessions in the field and a public comment period.

    Ethan Lane, Executive Director of the Public Lands Council, stated:

    “It is clear Presidents have repeatedly abused their authority under the Antiquities Act locking up over 250 million acres of land and water without local input or economic analysis. We are grateful to Secretary Zinke and his team for soliciting feedback from those most affected by executive land-grabs, and look forward to swift action from the White House in response to the recommendations that aligns with the original intent of the Antiquities Act.”

  • Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-D.C.) filed an amendment to the fiscal year 2018 Commerce, Justice, and Science Appropriations bill to prohibit the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) from carrying out the law that requires individuals in halfway houses and on home confinement to pay a subsistence fee to offset the cost of being housed or supervised. Currently, BOP charges residents at BOP halfway houses a subsistence fee of 25 percent of their gross income, but in August 2016 stopped charging any fee for home confinement. Norton has taken special interest in eliminating BOP-imposed subsistence fees because District of Columbia Code felons are the only local felons housed by BOP and are subject to the fee when in halfway houses. Norton introduced a stand-alone bill to eliminate the subsistence fees and wrote BOP Acting Director Thomas R. Kane calling on BOP to eliminate or significantly reduce subsistence fees. She states:

    “Imposing costly subsistence fees on those living at federal halfway houses puts a heavy financial burden on returning citizens who are trying to save money and prepare to make the already difficult transition back to society. Eliminating these counterproductive subsistence fees would help returning citizens meet their financial obligations and secure employment and housing.”

  • Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) also filed an amendment to the fiscal year 2018 Transportation, Housing And Urban Development Appropriations bill to prohibit states that receive federal transportation funding from engaging in unconstitutional profiling based on physical characteristics. Norton said the Supreme Court has stated that racial profiling violates both equal protection and title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and therefore her amendment states that none of the funds in the transportation title could be used in contravention of the Fifth or Fourteenth Amendments to the U.S. Constitution or Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Norton’s amendment previously unanimously passed by voice vote on the House floor and was included in the fiscal year 2015 omnibus appropriations bill, which was signed into law in December 2014. She states:

    “Despite heightened awareness of racial profiling throughout the country, we continue to see disproportionate stops of African Americans and other people of color by law enforcement officials. My amendment is a straightforward attempt to reduce racial profiling by local law enforcement by holding them accountable and putting their federal funding on the line if they engage in unconstitutional profiling.”

  • A Chicago worker, assisted by National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation staff attorneys, has appealed the dismissal of federal unfair labor practice charges against the Utility Workers Union of America (UWUA) and UWUA Local 18007. Gerald Howard is employed by Peoples Gas in Chicago, Illinois. UWUA Local 18007 union officials have a monopoly bargaining contract in place with Peoples Gas that includes a requirement that workers can be fired for refusing to pay dues or fees to the union.

    Under federal law, no worker can be forced to formally join a union. However, because Illinois is not a Right to Work state, workers can be forced to pay union dues or fees as a condition of employment. Under the National Right to Work Foundation-won Supreme Court case Communication Workers v. Beck, nonmember workers cannot be legally compelled to pay union dues used for union politics and member-only activities. Workers can also demand a breakdown of the dues and fees paid to see which fees are used for which purpose.

    In a letter sent to UWUA Local 18007 on February 18, Howard formally resigned his membership in the UWUA and objected to paying full dues, as is his right under the Beck precedent, but UWUA Local 18007 union officials failed to acknowledge his resignation. A month later on March 15, Howard sent another letter, this time to officials at the UWUA International headquarters in Washington, DC.

    In a letter dated April 3, Washington-based UWUA officials finally acknowledged Howard’s resignation and objection to paying full dues as of his February 18 letter. The UWUA official’s letter also claimed that Howard would be required to pay 90% of full union dues, but did not provide any explanation for how it arrived at that figure.

    Although the UWUA later provided Howard a breakdown attempting to justify that non-chargeable activities like union political and lobbying activities only make up ten percent of full dues, further evidence suggests the figure is not accurate. In required disclosure reports filed with the U.S. Department of Labor under threat of perjury, UWUA officials do not categorize political spending but their report shows multiple examples of political spending that contradict the figures in the breakdown provided to Howard after he filed his unfair labor practice charges.

    “UWUA union bosses are ignoring clear Supreme Court precedent, compelling payment for union political and lobbying activities and violating the rights of a worker they claim to ‘represent’ in their grab for more forced union dues,” said Mark Mix, president of the National Right to Work Foundation. “This type of disregard for the rights of rank-and-file workers highlights why Illinois desperately needs a Right to Work law making union affiliation and dues payments strictly voluntary.”

  • The National Urban League has condemned the pardoning of Sheriff Joe Arpaio. Click HERE to read about it.

  • A Washington state high school football coach who was punished for taking a knee at the 50-yard line for a post-game prayer violated the U.S. Constitution, according to the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals. Read about it...

  • And, Finally, according to Truthfeed,

    "A federal judge has denied Democratic Senator Bob Menendez (D-NJ) from casting any senate votes until his case is closed. Menendez has been indicted on corruption charges and will heading to court next month."

    Read more about it by clicking here

  • Maxine Waters:

    "I'm afraid if North Korea nukes us, that man is gonna get us into a war!"

    and

    "If you come after me...I'm coming after you!"

    And she says the President doesn't make any sense...??????????
  • Tuesday, August 22, 2017

    Paul Ryan Won't Censure President

    Washington, D.C. - August 22, 2017 (The Ponder News) -- Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal (D-WA), Congressman Jerrold Nadler (D-NY), and Congresswoman Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-NJ), who authored the censure resolution introduced last week against President Trump for his comments about the violence in Charlottesville, issued the following statement in response to Speaker Paul Ryan saying that he will not support the censure, calling it the “worst thing we could do.”

    Below is the joint statement issued by Reps. Nadler, Watson Coleman, and Jayapal:

    “By reducing the resolution censuring President Trump for his Charlottesville comments to a ‘political food fight’, Speaker Ryan has exemplified what we should fear in any leader – the failure to speak out when morally compelled to take action. In the wake of Charlottesville, Democrats and Republicans alike have been moved to reject the President’s ambivalent and wholly inadequate response to acts of domestic terrorism. Many have gone so far as to condemn any attempt to project a moral equivalency between white supremacists, the KKK and neo-Nazis, and those who gathered to protest against the ‘Unite the Right’ rally and the racist ideals it represents. Yet Speaker Ryan remains silent, and continues to omit calling out the President directly for his morally repugnant statements.

    “President Trump called many of the participants in the ‘Unite the Right’ rally, “very fine people,” and Speaker Ryan’s remarks provide cover for an Administration that too often has engaged in dog-whistle politics. If Speaker Ryan wishes to clearly and definitively separate the Republican Party from the bigoted and nationalist ideology and policies of these groups, and demonstrate that the President’s comments blaming “both sides” for the violence in Charlottesville were not only wrong but out of line with the ideals of this country, then he should get off the sidelines and stop blocking Congress from voting on this censure.

    “Our censure resolution will make it clear that the United States government does not align itself with the comments made by President Trump, and that those elected to represent the millions of Americans in the United States House of Representatives are vehemently opposed to the hate and ignorance that fuels racism and anti-Semitism. History will judge us for how we acted in this moment. If Congress does not send a clear message to the President, the world will see Congress as complicit and groups peddling in white supremacy, racism and anti-Semitism will feel vindicated and emboldened to continue down their path of hate and violence.”