Hi friends,
How quickly things change. Now, an arraignment on new charges in the documents case against the former president is halfway down the front page of the newspaper.
You may already have forgotten the audible sigh of relief on Tuesday evening, when the special election to force through an anti-democratic measure in Ohio failed spectacularly.
Don’t bother relaxing. An entire town on the island of Maui was engulfed and destroyed by wildfire and the president has issued a major disaster declaration.
Yesterday, President Biden told interviewers at the Weather Channel that he had declared a climate emergency. If only. He backtracked and clarified the steps he has taken. They are not nothing AND they are insufficient.
Climate disasters are going to keep piling up. According to new research, ten storms prompted losses of $1 billion and more each in the first six months of this year.
Increasingly, the US government is called in to provide more than emergency relief, as insurers like State Farm and Farmers Insurance refuse to provide insurance. It is unsustainable for the government to respond to crises without taking bold action to avert them.
Tell Biden to show us that he’s serious by making a climate emergency declaration. This action is updated.
Climate catastrophe threatens us all, even if you’ve somehow managed to feel at a remove. In addition to facing fires and floods, Americans are vulnerable to climate-related financial collapse.
US financial regulators have acknowledged that climate change and the energy transition are an emerging risk to the financial system. The physical impacts of climate change threaten the value of the mortgages and businesses that secure most bank loans.
Public Citizen has published an explainer for the Fossil Free Finance Act, which would “require the Federal Reserve (Fed) to address the systemic risk that climate change and the energy transition present to our financial system.” I do like a plan.
Contact your Congressional delegation to build support for the Fossil- Free Finance Act. This quick action is from Americans for Financial Reform.
It’s hard to relax when Republicans are sticking with the polluters’ playbook and
climate-denial is part of the curriculum in Florida.
The attack on education is happening on many fronts. It’s not just the book banning and taking all the fun out of Shakespeare, which are sufficiently awful.
It’s also, unsurprisingly, a brazen and destructive effort to pull federal education funds. The Republicans’ proposed cuts would reduce federal education spending by about $22 billion, and would cut programs that they previously supported, including funds for Federal Work-Study and a childcare subsidy for college students who are also parents.
There’s a $50 million cut aimed at historically Black colleges and universities. This money, intended for infrastructure investments, is particularly necessary as HBCUs anticipate a surge in enrollments following the recent Court decision ending Affirmative Action.
Tell your Congressional representative to oppose education cuts! This quick action is from the Coalition on Human Needs.
Beginning in April, Americans started losing their Medicaid coverage as states began to clear their rolls of residents they deemed ineligible. Early in the pandemic, Congress had prevented states from terminating coverage and provided enhanced funding; enrollment in Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program grew by 32 percent by February of this year.
Some 4 million people have lost access to health care since April. The numbers are probably misleadingly low because the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) is not receiving data from states in a timely fashion. This week, CMS
made public letters it sent to state Medicaid officials warning that they may be running afoul of federal law and regulations. The letters, which were sent to all 50 states and Washington, D.C., identified three key areas of concern: high rates of people losing Medicaid because of paperwork problems, long call center wait times and slow application processing.
Tell Secretary Becerra to stop states from clearing Medicaid rolls in violation of federal mandates. This quick action is from Moms Rising.
I feel compelled to mention something positive, because we have to maintain our sense of possibility.
In the state of Michigan, free breakfasts and lunches will now be available to all students. Only seven states offer universal free lunch since the pandemic-era’s federal program ended a year ago. Michigan legislators just approved additional funds to pay for universal school meals to begin next month.
And don’t forget the Ohio special election results. We are not the only ones who care about democracy.
with love,
L