Dear friends,
Well, we were really lucky. The acid yellow skies cleared and hopefully we took to heart the warning blast over our bow.
There are strict emissions requirements that industry lobbyists were targeting, and a rule change was proposed in August 2020. A few weeks ago, the proposed rule got tossed.
In a new fact sheet posted on the EPA’s website, the agency noted that it had “received significant adverse comments” on the provision it had put forward during the Trump administration.
I’m not sure if we can credit public comments, because there were some heavy-hitters in Congress like Jamie Raskin and Bernie Sanders who made some noise on the issue, but I believe that our voices matter.
It’s a great time to make a public comment on the Bureau of Land Management’s proposed rule to allow conservation leases.
Conserving rather than exploiting land is part of the transition we need.
Tell the Bureau of Land Management that conserving land will protect water supplies and wildlife. Please personalize your comments!
In Vermont, I walked in the woods, biked on the Greenway, and paddled on the Winooski River in the June snow (cottonwood fluff!) with my magnificent springling. Watch them fold one of the kayaks in the video at the bottom of this post.
Among the many topics discussed as we paddled and lounged on the water, was the possibility of every locality having a small fleet of these kayaks for emergency flood rescue.
As we Jews like to say, Dayenu! (it would have been enough!). But it in fact, I bring quite a haul of good news.
The former president was arraigned today on 38 counts: After his presidency ended, he retained classified documents from the CIA, the Department of Defense, the National Security Agency, and the Department of State, among others.
Trump stored these documents where they were not secure, and disclosed information from the documents to people without security clearance even though he knew that the documents were classified.
He failed to turn over the documents he had taken after numerous requests and warnings that the Department of Justice (DOJ) would receive a referral. He conspired with Walt Nauta, his employee, to conceal boxes, which he repeatedly referred to as “my boxes” and both Nauta and Trump lied to attorneys resulting in a false certification by one of Trump’s attorneys that the search of Mar-a-Lago was thorough.
Read this delightful commentary, “What the Trump indictment can teach us about good writing.”
I’ll bet Trump wishes that he had a root canal in the White House.
There is some other good news from the courts.
The decision in Allen v. Milligan — an appeal of a victorious voting rights case argued in a federal district court by NAACP Legal Defense Fund in Alabama — was a triumphant defense of section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, which prohibits discriminatory voting practices.
On my favorite legal podcast, Strict Scrutiny, special guest Janai Nelson explained that while the decision last week was “an unequivocal win for democracy,” it is not progress. Think: Ukraine defending their territory against Russian advances.
Nelson and the hosts of the podcast sang the praises of Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, whose powerful remarks on the deliberate race-consciousness of the framers of the 14th Amendment’s equal protection clause was a great example of using ‘the master’s tools’ to secure a victory.
It’s very likely that the Court’s decision in January 2022 to stay the lower court’s decision — until SCOTUS could hear and rule on the case — gave control of the House of Representatives to Republicans because it maintained racial gerrymanders, not only in Alabama, but elsewhere.
The decision that came down last week will shape the new Congress, and will make it possible for voting rights legislation like the Freedom to Vote Act and the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Act to become federal law. There are our opportunities for progress.
Another good Supreme Court decision, HHC v. Talevski, was decided 7-2, with Justice Jackson writing the majority opinion. The Strict Scrutiny podcasters helped me understand that this ruling is an important win for civil rights and disability rights because it enables people to go to court to enforce their rights to health care.
A federal district court judge in Tennessee struck down the anti-drag law and the federal judge who issued a preliminary injunction against Florida’s ban on gender-affirming care stated that
A Manhattan judge vacated hundreds more convictions tied to nine NYPD officers who planted evidence and took bribes. This was in addition to 188 convictions that were overturned last fall. The Manhattan DA continues to investigate cases in which the officers were involved.
Here’s the video I promised. All that childhood origami paid off!
with love,
L