Dear friends,
When we land on a Monday like this one, it seems like a good time to review our strategy of working for justice. A post from Garrett Bucks’s The White Pages beautifully articulates what we are up against and why we have to be both savvy and tenacious.
Remarking on the avalanche of legislation that criminalize doctors, librarians, and teachers, Bucks writes:
These bills are about the construction and maintenance of autocracy— about the ways in which politicians who hold niche, reactionary worldviews use the performance of legislative power to make you believe that they will always win and you will always lose.
If you— the earnest, progressive, current-events-follower— have witnessed all this with a debilitating sense of overwhelm, if you have wailed at how there is so much evil legislation in so many different states. . . then the trick is working.
We know better. Tomorrow is the last day of voting in what is likely the most consequential election of the year. There’s still time to phone bank:
Join a phone bank (they will train you) to get out the vote in Wisconsin tomorrow.
Even if you have written postcards to Wisconsin voters or joined phone banks or donated to Judge Janet’s campaign for Supreme Court (or any combination of these), there are a few more things you can do.
Shit has gone crazy in Wisconsin. A school district prevented first graders from singing a song called “Rainbowland.” Perhaps you can guess why. Add it to the list of reasons why this election matters — abortion rights, partisan gerrymandering, voting rights, and so on. We will not be tricked.
As in New York, there is pressure in Wisconsin to give judges more opportunity to hold people accused of crime on bail. There are two binding referendums on the Wisconsin ballot that concern cash bail; BLOC organizer Kyle Johnson explains why folks should vote NO:
A “yes” vote would give judges and the state legislature more power. That power will not stop crime, but respond to it in the same reactive way: by endlessly building jails and prisons, judging people by their worst mistakes and lowest moments, refusing to rehabilitate, rinse and repeat.
If you’ve got friends or family in Wisconsin, please share the full post that explains referenda (#1 and 2) and why a NO vote is the right move.
Make an investment in Wisconsin and support Black Leaders Organizing for Communities (BLOC).
New York State’s budget is late and there are two big issues that are contributing to the hold up. The first is so-called bail reform, which would
remove the requirement that judges use the “least restrictive means” to ensure defendants return to court while awaiting trial or plea deals. Legislative leaders are opposing this.
Lawmakers are right to oppose it, as judges have a grievous record of detaining too many people in jail, primarily for the crime of poverty.
Legislators are pushing for the Clean Slate bill, which would be an actual reform, because it would seal criminal records automatically, following a waiting period. This would enable folks to find jobs and housing after involvement with the criminal legal system.
Let NYS legislators know where you stand on the Clean Slate Bill and so-called bail reform. This quick action is from the NYCLU.
The second issue is the Governor’s housing proposal, which is a worthy effort to get housing built in suburban communities to address the housing crisis. If you need details, check out my March 24 post.
Call on legislative leaders to support a housing program with both carrots and sticks to enable the state to increase housing stock in New York State. I made it easy!
Here’s a last-chance-to-comment before the NYS Public Service Commission decides what to do with National Grid’s half-baked proposal to comply with the state’s Utility Thermal Energy law.
The Commission instead recommended that the company expand its efforts to increase energy efficiency and meet demand with renewable energy. National Grid is less interested in these initiatives, however, and their proposal for Starrett City reflects that.
Take a quick action to contact the Public Service Commission to comment on National Grid’s failure to meet the requirements mandated by the groundbreaking Utility Thermal Energy Network and Jobs Act.
Okay, a few words about the elephant in the room: after the first criminal indictment against Trump was issued, we were instantly reminded of the downside — an astonishing stream of invective and lies from the former president and his allies.
In addition, we are all subject to the relentless promotions of the season premiere of the Trump show. The cable news shows are enjoying a return to the elevated viewership of the last season. This is bad. Even if we don’t tune in, we can’t quite escape.
The current president and members of his administration are electing not to comment for now. I applaud their efforts to change the channel.
If you do let the former president live rent-free in your head, remember that you — like the members of the Biden Administration — have more pressing business. And always refer to Bragg’s indictment as the first indictment.
The former president is likely to be charged with multiple crimes in different venues.
Even if he ultimately beats the charges in Manhattan, the mere fact that he is facing charges there will make it more difficult for him to defend himself in criminal cases elsewhere, be it Fulton County, federal court in Washington, or Florida where a classified documents case might be filed.
He is also going to trial later this month in the defamation suit brought by E. Jean Carroll, who has alleged that Trump raped her in the 1990s. Carroll is pursuing additional charges against him.
Trump and his lawyers are going to be very busy, and I hope that — like R. Kelly and Michael Avenatti, who faced multiple indictments simultaneously — Trump will find himself “overwhelmed and ultimately convicted.”
And, the last words on the subject go to Judd Legum:
"The facts are that he broke campaign finance laws and that he lied to cover it up," Fox News' Sean Hannity said.
Hannity was not talking about former President Donald Trump, who was indicted last week for funneling $130,000 to his alleged mistress, Stormy Daniels.
The quote from Hannity, from June 3, 2011, refers to former presidential candidate and former senator John Edwards, who was indicted that day on charges similar to those Trump now faces.
Legum provides multiple examples, besides Hannity, and his point is plain: in spite of the considerable outrage about John Edwards’s behavior, the same voices are now raised to trash the decision to charge Trump.
We have our goals and objectives. Our primary tactic is collective relentlessness. Mind the messaging, and keep working for justice.
with love,
L