Common Dreams

The U.S. House of Representatives today passed H.R. 7521, a bill that would effectively ban TikTok in the United States. The vote comes just one day after the American Civil Liberties Union and partners expressed serious constitutional concerns with the bill.

Jenna Leventoff, senior policy counsel at ACLU, had the following reaction:

“Make no mistake: the House’s TikTok bill is a ban, and it’s blatant censorship. Today, the House of Representatives voted to violate the First Amendment rights of more than half of the country. The Senate must reject this unconstitutional and reckless bill.”

The Florida House of Representatives today voted to approve legislation specifically intended to prohibit local workplace standards requiring drinking water, cooling measures, recovery periods, posting or distributing materials informing workers how to protect themselves, and requiring first aid or emergency responses. The senate approved the measure yesterday.

In an attempt to preempt local protections set to be voted on in Miami-Dade county, this measure has been rushed through the state legislature ahead of sine die on Friday. The proposed protections in Miami-Dade county would require that outdoor workers have access to drinking water and regular shaded breaks, as well as training on protecting themselves from heat illness, injury, and fatality. Juley Fulcher, worker health and safety advocate with Public Citizen, issued the following statement:

“The punitive cruelty of denying workers access to water and protection from heat in one of the hottest states in the country is sinister and monstrous. Each year, hundreds of workers across the U.S. die excruciating deaths from heat. Not only does this bill rob workers of simple water breaks, it forbids the posting of educational materials to protect themselves from the heat.

“The vicious inhumanity at the heart of this legislation will cost the lives of and impose needless suffering on workers – especially workers of color and immigrant workers, who make up a disproportionate share of agricultural and construction workers – across the state. Governor Ron DeSantis should veto this legislation.

“With Florida joining Texas in preempting even the most minor workplace protections for excessive heat exposure, it’s past time for the federal government to step up. With what’s likely to be the hottest summer of our lives approaching, Congress should passing the Asuncíon Valdivia Heat Illness, Injury and Fatality Prevention Act, which would direct the Occupational Safety and Health Administration to adopt interim heat standards right now, while the agency continues its years-long slog of adopting a final heat protection rule.”

President Biden’s State of the Union address and a new White House fact sheet touched on a wide range of tax policy issues. See below for a statement on the President’s tax agenda and useful resources about many of the White House proposals.

STATEMENT FROM ITEP EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR AMY HANAUER

“When it comes to tax fairness, President Biden has a clear and compelling vision. Make large, profitable corporations and the wealthy pay their share, reduce taxes on low-income and working families with robust refundable tax credits, and use the trillions of dollars in new resources to create the kind of America we all want to see. As the President’s tax agenda makes clear, we can strengthen this country’s communities, care for all our people, and restore balance to our tax system. Our lawmakers just need to find the will to do it.”

RESOURCES

New blog: Tax Proposals President Biden Is Expected to Discuss in the State of the Union

Reforming the corporate tax

The President is proposing several important corporate tax reforms, including raising the rate to 28%, instilling a corporate minimum tax of 21% for billion-dollar corporations, reining in corporate tax avoidance, and increasing the stock buyback tax.

ITEP’s recent report found that many profitable American corporations are paying much less than the 21% corporate tax rate due to loopholes. The 342 companies included in our study paid an average effective income tax rate of just 14.1% from 2018-2022, almost a third less than the statutory rate. That translates to $275 billion in tax subsidies for these companies.

Other important corporate tax resources:

• Higher Stock Buyback Tax Would Raise Billions by Tightening Loophole for the Wealthy
• Unfinished Tax Reform: Corporate Minimum Taxes

Stronger taxes on wealthy individuals

The President is proposing, among other things, to have billionaires pay at a 25% minimum tax, and to ensure the IRS has enough funding to continue collecting unpaid taxes from wealthy taxpayers and corporations.

Resources:

• Everything You Need to Know About Proposals to Better Tax Billionaires
• IRS Commissioner, New GAO Report Highlight Importance of Proper IRS Funding (all our IRS funding work is here)

Improving refundable credits for low-income and working families

The President is proposing to restore the 2021 expanded Child Tax Credit and strengthen the Earned Income Tax Credit, among other reforms.

Resources:

• Expanding the Child Tax Credit Would Help Nearly 60 Million Kids, Especially Those in Families with Low Incomes (with state-by-state data)
• Expanding the Child Tax Credit Would Advance Racial Equity in the Tax Code
• Federal EITC Enhancements Help More Than One in Three Young Workers

Declaring, "We are outraged, we are heartbroken," hundreds of protesters turned out to block Biden's motorcade en route to his State of the Union speech, forcing cars to take "the long way" to the Capitol. Demonstrators from Jewish Voice For Peace and other groups said they were "holding a people's state of the union" to call for an end to U.S funding for Israel's assault on Gaza. "We know the state of the union," they said. “It's a state of genocide."

Concluding a day-long series of protests across Washington DC, hundreds of people in black shirts reading "Not In Our Name" and "Biden’s Legacy = Genocide" sat and stood along Pennsylvania Avenue near the Capitol, delaying Biden's speech by about a half hour. Organizers with megaphones led the crowd in impassioned chants: "Biden Biden You Can't Hide, We Charge You With Genocide," "Free, Free Palestine," "Stop Arming Israel," "Shame," "No More Money for Israel's Crimes." Banners were unfurled with the names of the over 30,000 Palestinians killed to date, alongside a sign that read, "Each Child of Gaza Is One of Our Own." Hours before the speech, demonstrators also gathered outside the White House, prompting police to block off roads. A Palestinian flag hung from the balcony of a Congressional office building, and many protesters donned keffiyehs. Said Ahmad Abuznaid, director of the U.S. Campaign for Palestinian Rights, "We are here today because enough is enough."

Protestors block traffic near US Capitol ahead of State of the Union www.youtube.com

Demonstrators also blocked traffic across the country from Los Angeles to Boston, where over 50 people were arrested. In Chicago, activists from a dozen Palestinian, Jewish, Muslim, multi-racial and teaching organizations held a 24-hour vigil that began with the reading of the names of Gaza's victims. "Thousands and thousands of people, men, women, children are dying," said one JVP member. "(It's) important to say these are real human beings." Arguing Biden would "say nothing substantive" about the conflict, many cited the need to "deliver our own state of the union." They are demanding a permanent ceasefire, an end to U.S. military funding for Israel, the reinstatement of funding to UNRWA, the UN agency that provides critical humanitarian aid, and investment in meeting Palestinian needs, from housing to health care to, ultimately, the dismantling of Israel's decades-old apartheid state in order to usher in "a just and lasting peace."

Among those participating were members of the American Friends Service Committee, a Quaker organization that works in Gaza and the West Bank trying to serve hot meals and find food and water for the displaced. "The Biden Administration has the power, and the responsibility, to stop the killing," said AFSC General Secretary Joyce Ajlouny. "It is a cruel irony to drop food when at the same time the U.S. is funding the dropping of bombs." Others argued that acts of civil disobedience are "the bare minimum" by way of response to an administration that has "lost (its) moral standing" by facilitating the slaughter of 30,000 civilians. "The State of the Union is genocide," said one JVP member. "We will not accept a president who claims to be fighting for democracy while ignoring the majority of people he represents."

Today, House Budget Chairman Jodey Arrington’s (R-TX) House Budget Committee held a markup on the House Republican FY2025 budget resolution. The budget resolution was reported out of committee with support from every Republican present, while every Democrat voted against it.

The following is a statement from Nancy Altman, President of Social Security Works:

“This budget includes a so-called ‘fiscal commission,’ which the White House has accurately referred to as a death panel for Social Security and Medicare. The commission is designed to slash vital earned benefits through a fast-track, closed-door process, intended to allow Republicans to avoid political accountability.

Every Republican who voted for this budget voted to cut Social Security and Medicare. During the mark-up, Democrats proposed numerous amendments to protect Social Security and Medicare. Republicans voted down all of them.

This markup comes two days after Donald Trump enthusiastically endorsed Chairman Arrington. Arrington is a fervent supporter of the death panel commission, and wants to attach it to must-pass government spending bills. By endorsing Arrington, Trump has endorsed the Social Security death panel.

At tonight’s State of the Union, President Joe Biden has a golden opportunity to slam the Trump-Arrington death panel. In addition, Biden should renew his promise to protect and expand Social Security — and pay for it by taxing the ultra-rich. Then the American people will know which party stands with them and which party stands with the billionaire class.”

Those opposed to the Social Security death panel commission include:

Seventy percent of voters, including 71 percent of Republican voters
The White House, which refers to it as a “death panel for Social Security and Medicare”
116 House Democrats led by Reps. John Larson (D-CT) and Jan Schakowsky (D-IL)
AARP
The AFL-CIO
AFSCME and over 170 national, state, and local groups
100+ organizations including labor unions and advocates for seniors, women, and people with disabilities
Former staff (Democratic and Republican) of the 1983 Greenspan Commission

Today, ahead of President Biden’s State of the Union address, a coalition of the nation’s leading youth organizations—March For Our Lives, Sunrise Movement, Gen-Z for Change, and United We Dream Action—led a press conference in Washington D.C to unveil their Youth Agenda alongside Senator Bernie Sanders and Reps. Summer Lee, Jamaal Bowman, Ro Khanna, and Greg Casar. The “Finish the Job” Youth Agenda—a response to the President’s campaign slogan— outlines key issue areas that Biden must deliver on if he is serious about earning young people’s support in November. From combating climate change, protecting democracy, and ending gun violence to securing permanent protections for immigrant communities, and calling for a permanent ceasefire in Gaza – young people are once again demanding that President Biden fight for our lives and protect our futures.

The coalition of youth-led organizations also sent a letter to President Biden and Vice President Harris, calling on them to adopt the new youth-focused agenda not only for their campaign, but right now for their current administration.

Young people fought hard to push the Biden Administration to back key priorities, including the American Climate Corps, the Office of Gun Violence Prevention, and the pause of LNG exports, and we’re not letting up now. There is far more the President can and must do to pursue a progressive agenda that truly invests in the lives and future of our generation. From record-breaking heat, the continued ravage of the gun violence epidemic, attacks on our immigrant communities in states led by MAGA Republicans, to the fueling of the global war machine, including in Gaza, young people are fighting for a future where we can all live and thrive. The Youth Agenda is not only a policy roadmap and a call to action for the President, but for any candidate who wants to win the youth vote.

Young people across the country have spoken. If the President and his administration want to earn our support, they must follow the roadmap to success outlined in our agenda and make genuine progress on the issues that matter to our lives. Since 2018, the youth vote has soared to record heights, bringing the President to the White House in 2020 and beating back a right-wing wave in 2022. Biden received stronger support from voters ages 18-29, especially from young people of color, compared to any other age group. In the 2024 election, Gen Z and young millennials will make up well over a fifth of the American electorate, and we are a core part of the President’s winning coalition. Our needs and aspirations must be taken into account.

Michelle Ming, Political Director of United We Dream Action, said:
“Young people across the country, including immigrant youth, have been unapologetically clear about the vision for our futures that we’re fighting for: a future that invests in our lives, our safety, and our well-being. Our Finish the Job Youth Agenda is a clear reiteration of the issues that matter most to young constituents and a roadmap for President Biden and his administration to follow if they want to earn our support. Immigrant youth have experienced firsthand the harmful policies being proposed and enacted in states ranging from my former home state of Texas, to my current home state in New York. We will not let our communities be used as political scapegoats. We’re fired up to change the conditions for our communities, from permanent protections for our loved ones, a permanent ceasefire in Gaza, an end to gun violence, to urgent action to address climate change now. With the Youth Agenda, we’re giving Biden our winning playbook.”

Michele Weindling, Sunrise Movement Political Director, said:
“In 2020, young people sent Biden to the White House. In 2024, how many young people turn out for Biden will determine if we stave off a second Trump presidency. Right now, young people are shouting for what we need from Biden to mobilize our generation this November. President Biden must do everything in his power to fight the climate crisis, to end gun violence, to not cater to the right at the cost of immigrants' lives, and he must call for an immediate and permanent ceasefire in Gaza."

Natalie Fall, Executive Director of March For Our Lives, said:
“However you square it, young people are inheriting a broken and imperfect world. But as young people step into their political power, we are not accepting things as they are. Young people have organized and stood up for ourselves and our future. It’s time for our leaders to do the same for us. So we are saying to any candidate who wants our vote: listen to us, govern with our needs and our future in mind, and we will deliver you our votes. We know that our vote is a precious and powerful thing. In 2024, you cannot win higher office without the youth vote, and you cannot win the youth vote without the youth agenda. If President Biden really wants to “finish the job,” this is the roadmap he must follow.”

Elise Joshi, Executive Director of Gen-Z for Change, said:
“Gen-Z for Change launched a tool last week that enabled people across the country to send over 4 million emails to members of congress urging for a ceasefire. On top of that, millions are marching, divesting, donating, learning, and amplifying. So to the Biden Administration and our representatives, youth are awake and unwavering. We know the interconnected was between the climate crisis, occupation, tenant protections, reproductive justice, policing, militarism. And we reject that this is how it ought to be…President Biden must embrace this to earn our trust.”

Today, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) released its long-awaited climate disclosure rule, falling short of the robust standards that investors need and that the agency has the authority and responsibility to set.

SEC Chair Gary Gensler had initially promised a rule that would provide investors with “consistent, comparable, and decision-useful information.” However, the regulation dramatically scales back on these commitments, notably by failing to require companies to disclose greenhouse gas emissions across their value chains, including upstream and downstream emissions (“scope 3 emissions”), which typically represent the majority of a corporation’s carbon footprint. The rule also requires only limited disclosures of scopes 1 and 2 emissions (emissions from companies’ operations and energy use), without making them mandatory.

The rule issued today puts the US behind global counterparts — such as the European Union, Canada, and Japan — and lags behind standards set in California, widening the regulatory divide and potentially disadvantaging US companies in the global market. It leaves investors, particularly those planning for retirement, vulnerable to undisclosed risks and misinformation, as full emissions disclosure is critical for evaluating a company’s climate risk exposure.

Charles Slidders, Senior Attorney, Financial Strategies at the Center for International Environmental Law, released the following statement:

“The SEC’s decision to bow to industry pressure against comprehensive climate disclosure requirements is a disservice to both the planet and investors. In an era of urgent need for more sustainable practices, greater transparency, and reliable information on corporate climate impacts and risks, the lack of ambition reflected in this rule represents a step backward that could ultimately undermine efforts to mitigate climate change and protect investors’ interests.

“The SEC’s approach also represents an abdication of the agency’s authority and responsibility to address significant financial risks. Climate change unquestionably poses such risks.
“The SEC’s rule excludes the climate risk factors arguably most useful to investors and significantly weakens the draft proposal made in 2022, which aimed at safeguarding investors against the existing patchwork of unreliable, incomplete, and greenwashed corporate reporting on climate-related financial risks and opportunities.
“This rule will enable companies to obscure a major portion — in some cases nearly all — of their climate impacts through their value chains. It threatens to give a veneer of legitimacy to woefully inadequate corporate reporting on climate impacts and risks.
“The divergence between US disclosure regulation and that of our trading partners creates an information gap and leaves US companies at a competitive disadvantage. This information gap will create investor uncertainty about the climate risk US companies face, deterring investment, increasing the cost of capital, and ultimately putting them on the back foot compared to foreign companies that are required to disclose material scope 3 emissions.”

Note to editors:

Disclosure of all emissions — scopes 1, 2, and 3 — is important for investors to assess the value of a company, its exposure to climate risks (including future climate change mitigation policies), and its transition to net zero. Scope 3 emissions usually account for more than 70 percent of a business’s carbon footprint and are often the majority of a corporation’s emissions (and up to 90 percent of oil and gas companies’ emissions).

Scope 3 emission disclosures are therefore of fundamental importance to investors determining the climate impact of specific businesses and how climate change may impact businesses’ long-term financial sustainability.

Today’s rule does not require scope 3 emission disclosures and requires only limited scopes 1 and 2 disclosures, without making them mandatory. A “Climate Risk Disclosure Rule” that only requires companies to disclose a small and partial subset of emissions is not a “Climate Risk Disclosure Rule.”

The Securities and Exchange Commission today voted to finalize its rule for the Enhancement and Standardization of Climate-Related Disclosures for Investors. The Commission cut key provisions from the proposal, including a requirement to disclose Scope 3 emissions that would have given investors important insight into how companies are adapting to the climate crisis and clean energy transition. In response, David Arkush, director of Public Citizen’s climate program, issued the following statement:

“By cutting Scope 3 disclosures from the rule, the SEC has fallen far short on a core mission—providing investors with the information they need to make investment decisions.

“Ninety-seven percent of investor comments on the proposal favored comprehensive reporting of greenhouse gas emissions. Rather than heed investor demand, the SEC caved to special interests and was cowed by litigation risk. This decision illustrates the main peril of the Supreme Court’s current anti-regulatory bent—that agencies will self-censor and decline to execute their role properly.

The final rule retains useful and positive elements, and we will work to build on them. But as the clean energy transition hastens and other jurisdictions move forward to provide investors the information they want and need, it is deeply disappointing for the SEC to sideline itself on key issues, at least temporarily, instead of showing the leadership we need.”

Following a series of resounding losses, former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley announced she will drop out of the 2024 GOP presidential primary, making Donald Trump the presumptive Republican nominee. Despite his attempts to overturn the 2020 election and the January 6 attack on the Capitol, disgraced former President Trump has garnered widespread support from Republican primary voters. On Super Tuesday, 15 states allocated a consequential 865 Republican delegates for the Republican presidential nominee. As of this morning, Trump has collected 995 delegates since the start of the campaign, leaving him just 220 away from the number needed to clinch the party’s nomination.

Stand Up America’s Executive Director, Christina Harvey, released the following statement in response to Super Tuesday’s results and Haley’s subsequent announcement:

“Republicans have effectively chosen an aspiring dictator as their nominee for president. Trump’s plans to undermine our freedoms and our democracy should be chilling to every American, including his pledges to abuse his power to seek revenge on political opponents, pardon his violent allies, and purge dissenters from the federal government.

“Voters will face a clear choice this fall, between an aspiring dictator who is running for office so that he can escape accountability and punish his political enemies, and a leader who will protect our democracy and fundamental freedoms.

“Between now and November, our community of nearly 2 million democracy-defenders across the country will mobilize to get out the vote and help ensure that Trump never steps foot in the Oval Office again.”

Stand Up America was founded in 2016 as a digital-first grassroots community working to resist Donald Trump and his cronies’ corruption, racism, and threats to our democracy. From 2017 to 2021, our members made 1.7 million calls to Congress to oppose the MAGA extremist agenda. In 2020, our volunteers contacted 25 million voters to help defeat Trump and elect Joe Biden to the presidency. In 2022, our team helped build a firewall for democracy ahead of 2024 by electing pro-democracy Secretaries of State in Arizona, Michigan, Minnesota, and Nevada, passing key democracy ballot initiatives, and mobilizing our members to get out the vote for progressive candidates nationwide. In 2023, we helped elect pro-democracy judges to the Wisconsin and Pennsylvania Supreme Courts. Our community will continue mobilizing to elect candidates who stand up for our freedoms and our democracy.

In ghastly images and videos, the world just watched a ten-year-old Palestinian boy starve to death as a result of Israel's crippling blockade of Gaza, and America's complicity in that atrocity. For days, his helpless parents saw Yazan al-Kafarneh, who had cerebral palsy, waste away into a literal skeleton from lack of food and medical care, the latest in what aid workers warn is a looming "explosion" in child deaths. Yazan weighed 11 pounds when he died. Warning: Very disturbing.

With an implacable Israel continuing to use starvation of civilians as a weapon of war, aid workers say Gazans "are looking down into the abyss." Added to at least 30,534 Palestinians dead and nearly 72,000 wounded amidst the enclave's massive devastation, UN and WHO teams see "an accelerating starvation crisis," especially in the north, where roughly 75% of children are suffering from malnutrition and severe dehydration. To date, at least 20 Palestinian children and infants have died; officials say children in Gaza "are being starved at the fastest rate the world has ever seen," and warn, “The Gaza Strip is poised to witness an explosion in preventable child deaths." Still, Israel is blocking most aid trying to get in. Last week, soldiers massacred over 100 Palestinians scrambling to take flour off aid trucks on al-Rasheed Street in Gaza City, and troops just opened fire on another hungry crowd.

Saturday, the US in conjunction with the Jordanian Air Force made its first humanitarian airdrop into the Strip, dropping 66 bundles, or barely two trucks' worth, of food but no water or medical supplies. Aid groups criticized the move as "political theatrics," "humanitarian aid theater," and a deeply degrading "Band-Aid measure" serving mostly to "relieve the guilty consciences of senior US officials whose policies are contributing to the ongoing atrocities," and who've declined to demand a ceasefire. Evidently coordinating with Israel, Jordan even released a hokey, flashy video of King Abdullah ostentatiously taking part in one drop, with soaring music and quick cuts worthy of a Jason Bourne trailer. Aid officials agree the airdrops are "not an effective way to alleviate the starvation of 2.3 million people," nor the "anguished cries of those babies slowly perishing under the world’s gaze."

Warning: Video very disturbing.

Emaciated child dies from lack of food and medicine in Gaza www.aljazeera.com

Experts say the grisly reality of that humanitarian catastrophe "makes a brutal mockery" of such aid attempts. With at least 576,000 people "one step away from famine," the hungry range from the elderly - like Abdul Rahman al-Dahdouh, who died horribly of malnutrition and severe dehydration - to Mahmoud Fattouh, a two-month-old who starved to death after going days without milk, gasping for breath. For powerless parents, the anguish of watching their children suffer is exacerbated by their knowledge that aid is nearby, yet impossible to reach: Videos show many hundreds of trucks waiting to cross into Gaza amidst a broken system "Israel could fix (for) the sake of the innocent." One mother described seeing her daughter's weight wither from 27 kilos to six: "God protect us from what is coming." One frantic father wailed for bread for his son: "We're coming here to die."

For 10 days, emaciated ten-year-old Yazan al-Kafarneh lay still and dying under blankets on a bed at Rafah's Abu Yusuf al-Najjar Hospital, his body skeletal, cheeks sunk, eyes hollowed - in an intolerable irony, Auschwitz-like. For months, his family had moved south from Beit Hanoun, trying to find food, water and the care he needed for his cerebral palsy. At the hospital, he received fluids intravenously, but "hunger ravaged his body." "We found nothing, so he was met with a slow and painful death," said one relative. "This child had turned into a skeleton in this war." His grieving parents sat agonizingly by his bed, seeing him fade away. Yazan's father shared a photo of him, taken a week before the Israeli offensive began; it showed Yazan, full-faced, smiling. On Monday, as relatives and health workers prepared Yanzan's body for burial, his grieving father told reporters, "Today, I lost my son due to lack of food.”

"I lost my child today," said Yanzan's weeping mother, who held him, an 11-pound wisp, in her arms as he died. "My son is now in heaven, but I never imagined that we would reach this stage. My message to the world is to look at Gaza’s children, and see how their lives have changed." "What are you waiting for?" Yazan's relative asked of an un-listening world. "You claim to be just and righteous. What are you waiting for? We have reached famine." The starvation of Gaza, with its children dying "in darkness and destitution," is a crime against humanity, charged a distraught Riyad Mansour, Palestinian Ambassador to the U.N. "Look at our children. Look at Yazan. Look at what agony they are enduring," he cried. "This has to stop. For God’s sake, this has to stop."

Today, Demand Progress, Oxfam America, the Friends Committee on National Legislation, Win Without War, Common Defense, Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft, and 23 partner organizations launched CeasefireAction.com, a grassroots action tool to apply urgent pressure on members of Congress to call for an immediate, permanent ceasefire. We see this as particularly timely given Israel is reportedly planning to launch a ground offensive in Rafah on March 10th, the start of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. More than 1.4 million people are currently sheltering in Rafah, the last safe zone in Gaza.

The website features a searchable database of the most recent statements from each member of Congress regarding calls for a ceasefire and a grassroots action tool for activists to contact their members of Congress and encourage them to publicly support a ceasefire.

A growing number of members of Congress are issuing statements in advance of the Rafah offensive. On the website, members’ statements are given one of the following designations: a green check mark indicates full support, a yellow wave line indicates partial support or statements that mention a ceasefire or pause but need significant improvement, and a black “x” indicates a lack of or insufficient support for a ceasefire or cessation of hostilities. Additional information regarding the criteria for each designation can be found here. The groups will continue to update the database as members of Congress issue new or revised statements.

The full list of participating organizations includes Action Corps, American Friends Service Committee, Antiwar.com, Center for Civilians in Conflict, Center on Conscience and War, Charity & Security Network, CommonDefense.us, Community Peacemaker Teams, Democracy for the Arab World Now, Demand Progress, Friends Committee on National Legislation, Global Ministries of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) and United Church of Christ, Just Foreign Policy, The Libertarian Institute, Middle East Democracy Center, MPower Change Action Fund, Muslims for Just Futures, National Iranian American Council Action, Nonviolence International, Oxfam America, Peace Action, Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft, RootsAction.org, Unitarian Universalist Association, United Musicians and Allied Workers, Win Without War, Women for Weapons Trade Transparency, and Yemen Relief and Reconstruction Foundation.

Upon public release of the website, the participating groups issued the following statements:

Hajar Hammado, Policy Advisor, Demand Progress: “With the impending Israeli attack on Rafah, it is more urgent than ever that Congress and the administration support an immediate, permanent ceasefire. Five months into this conflict, the United States continues its military and diplomatic support for Israel while air dropping aid packages – a band-aid solution that doesn’t address the root cause of why over half a million people in Gaza are facing starvation. An escalation is not the answer. We need an end to the violence, a release of hostages, and the free flow of humanitarian aid to alleviate the immense scale of suffering. This new tool, CeasefireAction.com, empowers constituents to hold their members of Congress accountable for their stances in this critical moment. A temporary, six-week ceasefire is not enough – we need an immediate, permanent ceasefire now.”

Scott Paul, Associate Director, Peace and Security, Oxfam America: “No amount of humanitarian aid is enough to help the people of Gaza while bombs are falling. A permanent ceasefire is the single most important humanitarian response that Gaza needs right now in order to prevent famine and protect civilian lives. The United States government can and must do more to save lives in Gaza now. They must insist on a ceasefire, the release of all hostages, and full humanitarian access.”

Seth Binder, Director of Advocacy, Middle East Democracy Center: "It is long past time for the United States to use its leverage and uphold U.S. law to end Israel's indiscriminate bombardment of Gaza and have this war come to an end. The humanitarian catastrophe that millions of Palestinians are suffering through and its seismic moral and strategic consequences should compel members of Congress to do everything in its power to secure a cessation of hostilities."

Naveed Shah, Political Director, Common Defense: “Common Defense’s veterans and members know all too well the horrors of war which is why we stand in solidarity with our partners and the international community to call for a ceasefire, the release of hostages, and for all parties to work towards a sustainable and just peace.”

Ryan Costello, Policy Director, National Iranian American Council Action: “More than 30,000 Palestinians have been killed in this brutal war, with many tens of thousands still at risk of bombardment, starvation and disease. President Biden has the leverage to stop this slaughter, and he must use it. There's not a moment to lose and all Members of Congress must join the American public and demand a ceasefire now.”

Hassan El-Tayyab, Legislative Director for Middle East Policy, Friends Committee on National Legislation: “The Israeli military is threatening to ramp up its military offensive in Rafah, the last safe zone in Gaza where more than 1.4 million displaced Palestinians are seeking refuge. The planned Israeli military assault on Rafah must not go forward and the disastrous violence in Gaza must end now to allow for the delivery of humanitarian aid. With the Rafah campaign looming, a growing number of members of Congress are sounding the alarm, demanding a ceasefire. But more action is needed. The American people must continue to urge Congress to publicly call for a ceasefire now to end the violence and secure the release of hostages.”

Sara Haghdoosti, Executive Director, Win Without War: “As the Israeli government threatens an all-out offensive on Rafah, still-silent members of Congress must join the push for an immediate ceasefire to prevent the U.S. government from enabling what could turn into a horrific act of ethnic cleansing, and to keep the Israeli government from endangering the remaining hostages. Months of endless bombardment and destruction have killed tens of thousands of Palestinians, done nothing to make Israelis safer, and spurred multiple regional crises. This violence has to end -- now.”

Sarah Leah Whitson, Executive Director, Democracy for the Arab World Now: “Every moment that passes without a ceasefire sentences another Palestinian child to death, whether from entirely avoidable starvation or by being bombed with American taxpayer-funded munitions. What is being done in our name and with our money and our weapons is a great stain on our nation but that doesn’t relieve any of our elected leaders of the moral imperative to force an immediate ceasefire.”

Erik Sperling, Executive Director, Just Foreign Policy: "Many of our organizations have been calling for a ceasefire from the earliest days of this conflict, as it was immediately clear that there was no military solution to this conflict. Since then, our worst fears have been realized, as Israel has since committed one of the most deadly and indiscriminate military campaigns against civilians in recent memory. While history will never forgive those who enabled these actions, ongoing U.S. complicity must end now. We are grateful to Demand Progress and all of the participating organizations for this important initiative to bring the most gruesome chapter in U.S.-Israel relations to a close."

Kevin Martin, President, Peace Action and Peace Action Education Fund: "The urgent need for a lasting ceasefire is underscored by the massacre of Gazans waiting for desperately needed food aid. The pro-peace, pro-ceasefire majority in this country needs to be heard, and heeded, by Congress and the Biden Administration."

Trita Parsi, Executive Vice President, Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft: “A ceasefire in Gaza is an absolute necessity, not only to end the slaughter of innocent civilians but also because continued killing there fuels four other points of tensions that can lead to the US getting dragged into a full-scale regional war in the Middle East: Israeli-Lebanese tensions, attacks on US troops by Iraqi and Syrian militias, tensions in the Red Sea and a potential clash between Iran and Israel. As a result, it is clearly in the US's national interest to see the fighting in Gaza end through a permanent ceasefire.”

Yasmine Taeb, Legislative and Political Director, MPower Change Action Fund: "A lasting and permanent ceasefire in Gaza is an absolute necessity and a bare minimum to end Israel's genocidal assault and put an end to the atrocities and war crimes committed against Palestinians. As the largest Muslim digital organization in the U.S., MPower members have generated more than 600,000 calls and letters to Congress in support of a ceasefire. Members of Congress need to listen to their constituents and President Biden needs to listen to his broader Democratic base and stop funding an illegal military campaign that has claimed the lives of more than 25,000 women and children alone in Gaza."

Jennifer Bing, Director of the Palestine Activism Program, American Friends Service Committee: “The Israeli military has forced almost the entire population of Gaza up against the border in Rafah and now there is nowhere left to flee. People in Gaza are dying from starvation, thirst, exposure, and the destruction and obstruction of access to health care. The U.S. and the international community must abide by the International Court of Justice order to prevent genocide and end this ongoing tragedy. Every member of Congress needs to listen to their constituents and support an immediate and permanent cease-fire and a full arms embargo on Israel until it ends its attacks on Palestinians.”

Annie Shiel, US Advocacy Director, Center for Civilians in Conflict: “The situation for civilians in Gaza is catastrophic and worsening every day. Civilians have no safe place to go and no access to humanitarian aid and basic services. The United States must urgently use its leverage to push for the protection of civilians and an immediate ceasefire. The Biden administration has failed abysmally to protect civilians in Gaza, and so members of Congress must step up to condition US support and demand a ceasefire.”

Dr. Peter Makari, Global Relations Minister for the Middle East and Europe, Global Ministries of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) and United Church of Christ: “The Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) and United Church of Christ support an immediate ceasefire as far too many lives have been lost and many others have been permanently altered. A cease fire is necessary to preserve life and health and to allow for much-needed humanitarian aid to enter Gaza. Beyond that, root causes and core issues must be addressed in order to realize a just and durable peace.”

Dave DeCamp, News Editor, Antiwar.com: “Antiwar.com calls for Congress to push for a permanent ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and for an end to US military aid to Israel, which is fueling the slaughter of Palestinian civilians and emboldening Israel to press on. Netanyahu has made clear he would invade Rafah after any temporary truce, which is why a permanent ceasefire is necessary.”

Women for Weapons Trade Transparency: “Women for Weapons Trade Transparency stands with coalition partners in calling for a long overdue ceasefire in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories. Over 1,200 Israelis were killed by Hamas combatants on October 7th, and since then, Israel's indiscriminate bombing of the long blockaded Gaza strip has taken the lives of over 29,000 Palestinians. Israel must comply with the ruling of the International Court of Justice and take “immediate and effective measures” to protect Palestinians in the occupied Gaza Strip from the risk of genocide. Members of Congress must take every effort to stop the bloodshed and prevent further escalation in the region by calling for a permanent ceasefire.”

Darakshan Raja, Executive Director, Muslims for Just Futures: “Muslims for Just Futures demands that every member of congress immediately call for a permanent ceasefire. So far, more than 30,000 Palestinians have been brutally massacred and many more have been injured and displaced from their homes. Just recently, over 100 Palestinians were murdered and an additional 1000 were injured in North Gaza for trying to reach an aid truck with flour. We urgently call on all congress members to demand an end to US complicity in the genocide of Palestinians and to cut off US military funding to Israel without delay. We refuse to be complicit in the ongoing genocide of Palestinians."

Aisha Jumaan, President, Yemen Relief and Reconstruction Foundation: “We call for an immediate ceasefire to address the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza. People need safety and lifesaving supplies, including food, medical supplies, and fuel. More bombs and threats of mass atrocities defy our humanity; time is running out.”

Keith Knight, Managing Editor, Libertarian Institute: "All we're asking of Congress and our military is to embrace the 'Thou shalt not murder' principle."

Mubarak Awad, President, Nonviolence International: "Can't we all get along? Why is the US government killing us (Palestinians) with one hand and sending food with the other? We need peace, justice and equality. It's not so complicated."

Isaac Evans-Frantz, Director, Action Corps: "Urgent action is needed to pressure our U.S. government to fully leverage its influence for the immediate enforcement of the International Court of Justice's binding order, including an immediate ceasefire and other measures to protect civilians."

Maria Santelli, Executive Director, Center on Conscience and War: "As people of conscience, we cannot look away from the tragedy of war. And having seen the devastation, we cannot stay silent: the path to a just and lasting peace can only begin with a ceasefire now."

Paul Carroll, Director, Charity & Security Network: “A ceasefire is the only way to adequately ensure that humanitarian aid can reach those that need it.”

Norman Solomon, National Director, RootsAction.org: “An immediate and permanent ceasefire is essential to end the mass murder that Israel has inflicted on Palestinian people for nearly five months, made possible by massive and continuous arms shipments from the U.S. government. Constituents should demand that all members of Congress go beyond any equivocation to insist that the United States put a stop to Israel's genocidal impunity instead of continuing to enable it.”

Today, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau finalized a rule that prevents credit card companies from charging late fees higher than $8, which will save 45 million people an average of $220 or more than $10 billion a year. Groundwork Collaborative’s Director of Policy and Research Bilal Baydoun reacted with the following statement:

“Junk fees, like the excessive late fees credit card companies charge, are yet another tactic corporations use to prey on customers and juice their profit margins even further. CFPB’s new rule demonstrates that policymakers can – and must – take on predatory, deceptive behavior and act as a strong check on corporate power.”

In a historic action expected to save 45 million Americans up to $10 billion every year, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) finalized a rule to cap most credit card late fees at $8, down from an average of $30. New analysis from government watchdog Accountable.US found that the 8 largest credit card issuers charged consumers billions in credit card late fees and other service charges in 2023 alone, while the CFPB identified late fees as “the most significant fee assessed to cardholders in both dollar amount and frequency” and a major contributor to the more than $1 trillion in outstanding credit card debt in 2022.

As Accountable.US documents in today’s report, the cost-saving action has already faced significant industry pushback and will likely run into immediate legal and legislative attacks from big banks that abuse the junk fee practice.

“Big banks have no need to nickel and dime everyday families with hidden, high-cost late fees based on the massive profits they brag about to wealthy investors. Bank industry lobbyists claim junk fees teach responsibility, but families who are price-gouged with late fees as high as $41 buried in the fine print only get a hard lesson in corporate greed," said Accountable.US' Liz Zelnick.

“The Biden administration’s latest crackdown on needless junk fees won’t just lower costs for millions of Americans, it will put billions back into the economy to be spent on goods and services instead of padding profits of greedy banks,” added Zelnick.

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT CREDIT CARD LATE FEES:

• New Accountable.US research shows that the eight largest credit card issuers—six of which serve either on the boards of either the American Bankers Association or Consumer Bankers Association—have criticized the late fee rule or the CFPB itself while collecting billions in revenue from card fees, helping to fuel billions in profits.
• The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s newest rule is expected to put $10 billion per year back into the pockets of 45 million people, roughly $220 per person, per year.
• An Accountable.US analysis of recent corporate earnings and legal settlements debunks dubious claims from big bank CEOs that claim they cannot maintain profits without high-cost junk fees.
  
• House Financial Services Committee Chair Rep. McHenry (R-NC) has aggressively attacked the CFPB’s proposed rulemaking on credit card late fees without mentioning he has taken over $1.1 million from the eight largest credit card issuers and banking industry trade groups, including the Consumer Bankers Association, the American Bankers Association, and the Independent Community Bankers Of America, who decried the proposed rule.
  
• Last year, Senate Banking Committee Republicans sent a letter to CFPB Director Rohit Chopra demanding he “promptly rescind” the CFPB’s proposed rule cracking down on abusive credit card industry late fees, but neglected to mention they took over $2.2 million from banking trade groups opposed to the rule and the eight largest credit card issuers.
• An Accountable.US analysis dispelled top myths employed by the credit card industry to excuse hidden and excessive late fees – including claims that lowering these junk fees will somehow have adverse effects on borrowers and that high credit card fees are somehow beneficial to consumers.

In a major setback for democracy, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a ruling in Trump v. Anderson that Congress, rather than states, is responsible for enforcing the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution when it comes to federal offices.

The ruling means Donald Trump is still eligible to appear on the Colorado ballot, despite his role in the January 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, a violation of the “disqualification clause” of the 14th Amendment.

This decision sets a dangerous precedent for the permissible conduct of future presidents. By allowing Donald Trump to put himself above the law, this ruling declares that the Constitution of the United States can be selectively enforced. In failing to hold the former President accountable for attempting to destroy a 200-year history of a peaceful transfer of power, SCOTUS puts the survival of our democracy at risk.

Statement of Kathay Feng, Common Cause vice president of programs:

“This decision undermines the integrity of our Constitution and emboldens those seeking to disrupt and dismantle our democratic systems. For over 200 years, all but one of our leaders have abided by the Constitution and practiced the peaceful transfer of power. This ruling reverses the Colorado Supreme Court’s decision, and with it, green lights future presidents to intimidate, threaten and attack Congress into obedience. Our Constitution depends on checks and balances. Removing states as a check on tyrannical presidents threatens the future of our democracy. Common Cause is more committed than ever to ensuring that lawlessness will not become the new law of the land—we will work to ensure every voter will be able to cast a ballot and counted, regardless of threats of political violence or insurrection.”

Statement of Aly Belknap, Colorado Common Cause executive director:

“Today’s ruling will be remembered as a dark day for our democracy. Donald Trump lied, cheated, and unleashed violence when the election did not go his way, and his ongoing incitement has led to an unprecedented rise in attacks and death threats against election workers, judges, and other public servants. By refusing to hold Trump accountable and allowing him to skirt around the pillars of our Constitution, SCOTUS has greenlit this behavior for future public officials.”

Statement of Levi A. Monagle,Hall Monagle Huffman & Wallace LLC attorney representing Common Cause:

“The Framers of our Constitution foresaw — and feared — the very situation in which this case came to be. That’s why our Constitution was wisely designed to restrain the power of transient, inflamed majorities to protect the health and safety of our democratic system. Sadly, SCOTUS has chosen to chip away at the foundation of the Constitution by refusing to hold the former President accountable. To ignore this threat and to willfully undermine the constitution is to invite a coup. We now face the risk of descending into a lawless future.”

You can find the Supreme Court’s decision here.

Background on Trump v. Anderson:

The lawsuit was initially filed in September 2023 on behalf of six Colorado voters by Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW), a government accountability and advocacy organization, and Martha Tierney, Common Cause’s National Governing Board Chair and member of the Colorado Common Cause State Advisory Board. The suit sought to disqualify former President Donald Trump from office by enforcing Section 3 of the 14th Amendment, which prohibits those who violate their oaths of office by engaging in insurrection from holding public office.

On November 17, 2023, Colorado District court ruled that former President Donald Trump “engaged in an insurrection” on January 6, 2021, within the meaning of Section 3 of the 14th Amendment. The judge ultimately rejected the attempt to remove him from the state’s 2024 primary ballot, holding that the clause does not apply to the presidency. The case is now on appeal in the Colorado Supreme Court. The case then went on appeal to the Colorado Supreme Court.

Colorado Common Cause filed an amicus brief in the Colorado Supreme Court’s case urging the Court to enforce the Constitution and hold Trump accountable in line with the “disqualification clause” of the 14th Amendment, ultimately aligning with the court’s final ruling that Trump’s role in the insurrection disqualifies him from the Colorado ballot under the 14th Amendment. Trump appealed the decision, and Common Cause then filed an amicus brief to the Supreme Court of the United States, urging the court to affirm the Colorado Supreme Court’s Ruling.

This case was historic in its aim to remove a presidential candidate from the ballot. The first successful enforcement of Section 3 in over 150 years occurred last year when a New Mexico court ruled that Couy Griffin, a New Mexico county commissioner, engaged in the January 6 insurrection. Upon the judge’s ruling that Griffin was disqualified under Section 3 of the 14th Amendment, he was immediately removed from office.

The U.S. Supreme Court today has made a mockery of Section 3 of the Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

The Supreme Court has ruled that–despite inciting and facilitating a violent insurrection that defeated federal law enforcement, conquered the seat of our national government, nearly assassinated the vice president and key congressional leaders, and blocked Congress from certifying his electoral defeat, thus disrupting the peaceful transfer of power for the first time in our nation’s history–the disgraced ex-president Donald Trump can run for office again because this critical provision of the Constitution, designed to prevent exactly this situation, cannot be enforced.

Under Section 3 of the Fourteenth Amendment, “No person shall . . . hold any office, civil or military, under the United States. . . who, having previously taken an oath, . . . as an officer of the United States. . ., to support the Constitution of the United States, shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof.” Every court and state official that has addressed that issue — in Colorado, Maine, and Illinois — concluded that Trump engaged in insurrection and is disqualified from the presidency.

The Supreme Court did not deny that Trump engaged in insurrection; indeed, during a nearly three hour oral argument on February 8, 2024, neither Trump’s lawyer nor any of the Justices seriously disputed that conclusion. Instead, the Court ruled that states’ power to appoint presidential electors–which the Court has previously described as “far-reaching” and “plenary”–does not allow them to apply this critical provision of the Constitution to presidential candidates. As of today, states can exclude a presidential candidate from the ballot because he did not submit the proper paperwork with the proper number of verified signatures, but not because he fomented a bloody insurrection against the U.S. Constitution.

This decision is disgraceful,” said Ron Fein, Legal Director of Free Speech For People, which pioneered the first litigation under Section 3 of the Fourteenth Amendment and co-led the successful Illinois challenge. “The Supreme Court couldn’t exonerate Trump because the evidence of his guilt was overwhelming, so instead the Justices neutered our Constitution’s built-in defense against insurrectionists and said the facts don’t matter.

This dangerous ruling encourages Trump–and those who follow his example–to engage in more insurrections and disregard more broadly the Constitution. As one Senator explained in 1866 when advocating for Section 3, “the man who has once violated his oath will be more liable to violate his fealty to the Government in the future.” The framers of the Fourteenth Amendment learned this lesson in blood, and gave us Section 3 to prevent a repeat. With today’s ruling, the Supreme Court has utterly failed in its duty to uphold this constitutional mandate at this critical moment in history.

Defying fear, cold, threats of arrest, thousands of Russians came to pay their mournful respects to Alexei Navalny, long "living proof that courage is possible," at his funeral this weekend. People chanted "No To War," "Putin Is A Murderer," and, hauntingly, "Navalny"' over and over as they waited in long lines amidst a massive police presence to honor a man "who was not scared of anything." "You weren't afraid," they avowed to his memory, "and neither are we."

For almost 15 years, Navalny, 47, a former lawyer turned blogger and unflinching activist, endured "a slow-motion assassination attempt" by a Russian government that sought to break him because he wouldn't shut up, and by a leader who so pathologically reviled him he refused to say his name. Since 2010, when he posted leaked documents exposing a $4 billion embezzlement scheme by the state-run oil pipeline Transneft, Navalny endured some of the worst excesses of Russian repression as punishment for staying alive. He was harassed, detained, half-blinded, repeatedly jailed on fake charges; he was a fiery orator at protests, did "a dangerously good" job running for Moscow mayor, tried to run for president; his Anti-Corruption Foundation produced slick, stirring, deeply researched videos about Putin's kleptocracy amidst his citizens' dirt-poor lives, including the two-hour “Putin’s Palace: The Story of the World’s Largest Bribe” about a $1.3 billion Black Sea villa boasting a hookah bar, hockey rink, helipad and vineyard.

After collapsing from a poisoning by the lethal nerve-agent Novichok on a return flight from Siberia - he survived when the pilot spontaneously diverted the plane to get emergency treatment - he spent three weeks on a ventilator in Germany and five months in recovery. Then he returned to Russia in January 2021, honoring his long-held belief it would be hypocritical to be in exile and not share the abuses other Russians were living through. "Besides," he said with his trademark grin and wit, "What bad things can happen to me inside Russia?" Before he left, he took part in the Oscar-winning documentary Navalny by German filmmakers; when they asked, if he was killed, if he had any message for the Russian people, he looked intently into the camera and soberly said, "You should not remain inactive." Then, self-effacing, he turned away laughing. Putin denied any involvement in the assassination attempt, telling the media if Russian security had really wanted to kill the activist, they "would have finished the job."

On his return, Navalny was quickly re-arrested, the start of a series of grim crackdowns. He was moved between prisons before being given a 19-year sentence at the Gulag-era, Arctic Circle "Polar Wolf" penal colony, with perhaps the most brutal conditions of Russia's vast prison system - frigid cold, repulsive gruel for food, beatings, surveillance, solitary confinement and isolation aimed at "breaking the human spirit." One former prisoner: "It was complete and utter annihilation." Still, Navalny held on. "Few things are as refreshing as a walk (at) 6:30 a.m,” he joked in a letter of forced exercise at minus 26 degrees. "And you wouldn’t believe the lovely fresh wind that blows into the courtyard." Even in his last, gaunt appearance at a hearing the day before he was killed, he smilingly razzed the judge for some of his "enormous salary" to get more books. The next day, his mother, who'd been visiting, was handed a note; it said Alexei had "felt unwell" after a walk and died of “sudden death syndrome.” Doctors confirmed "the death of the convict."

Hours later, Alexei's wife Yulia made a poignant appearance at the Munich Security Conference, where she was scheduled to speak. "I thought, ‘Should I stand here before you or should I go back to my children?’" she said. "Then I thought, ‘What would have Alexei done?'" Still, Russia's repression machine churned on. Alexei's mother battled for days to retrieve his body, and to get permission for a funeral in Moscow, not the solitary tundra. The funeral of a Russian dissident, many noted, "always reflects the political moment." In 1986, that of Anatoly Marchenko, the last political prisoner to die behind bars, was a dark time, said his son, but this is worse: Soviet officials "at least needed to pretend to look humane" to the west; in Putin's regime, "They don’t care about the optics." In 2015, when critic Boris Nemtsov was gunned down, he was due to hold a protest with Navalny, in jail for 15 days; the court refused him funeral leave, but he visited the grave his first day out, insisting, "There will be no let-up in our efforts - we will give up nothing."

Russia's "fiercest advocate for democracy" was mourned across Russia and around the world, where activists protested to show "we (still) exist...The idea of (Navalny's) 'beautiful Russia of the future’ hasn’t died." Grotesquely, amidst the grieving, only a buffoon of America's right seemed not to know that a hero had been lost. The day of Navalny's death, useless idiot Tucker Carlson pranced and gushed through a Moscow grocery store, dazzled by the fresh bread, slick carts and low prices, part of a fawning propaganda tour of a city "so much nicer than any city in my country!" with its elegant, slave-labor-built subway, fast food many Russians can't afford, tyrant-enforced lack of "filth and crime" or messy diversity that "will radicalize you against our leaders." Jon Stewart masterfully ripped his ignorant cant, citing "the hidden fee to your cheap groceries and orderly streets - the literal price of freedom." "Ask Alexei Navalny or any of his supporters," he snapped. "I mean, liberty is nice, but have you seen Russia's shopping carts?" (Or North Korea's).

In the days leading up to Navalny's funeral, the Kremlin had warned "unauthorized gatherings" would violate the law, and across the country they arrested hundreds of people for laying flowers at makeshift memorials. Still, at Friday's ceremony in a quiet Moscow suburb near where Navalny lived until 2017 with his family, up to 10,000 people braved the threats and cold to join what became Russia's largest opposition gathering in decades. Surrounded by bulky, armed, masked police who recorded their passports, a sea of mourners came in grief and rage, gravely standing in lines that stretched a kilometer, bearing candles, placards, armloads of flowers, remnants of hope, chanting “Russia without Putin!” “Russia will be free!” “Putin is a murderer!” and "Navalny! Navalny!" For every person there, many noted, there were likely 100 or 1,000 more who'd stayed home out of fear but were with them in spirit; allies in exile urged supporters to honor Navalny by going to local memorials to the victims of Soviet-era repression.

— (@)

The Kremlin had tried to thwart efforts to hire a hearse to carry Navalny’s body to the church, the Icon of the Mother of God Soothe My Sorrows. When it finally arrived and pallbearers lifted out the coffin, people in the crowd began clapping, chanting and crossing themselves. Navalny was laid to rest in a brief Russian Orthodox ceremony attended by close relatives, including his parents and mother-in-law, holding candles. He lay in an open coffin, his body covered in red roses; a funereal chaplet, a paper ribbon with the image of Jesus, Mary and John the Baptist, lay across his forehead. Despite enduring church ties to the Kremlin, many opposition figures, including Navalny, still count themselves among the faithful. Though Nalany rarely went to church, he said being an Orthodox Christian made him feel “like I am part of something big and shared." After the ceremony, people streamed to nearby Borisovskoye Cemetery, where they lined up, often weeping, to pass by the fresh grave and toss in flowers or handfuls of dirt.

Navalny's wife Yulia and two children, who are living outside Russia, did not attend. "I don't know how to live without you," Yulia wrote in a final tribute, thanking him for "26 years of absolute happiness" and vowing to continue his work. "But I will try to make you happy for me and proud of me up there." His 23-year-old daughter Daria, a senior at Stanford University, also posted a tribute saying he had given his life for his family and for Russia. In 2021, she accepted the European Parliament's Sakharov Prize for human rights advocacy on behalf of her father. "Ever since I was a child, you taught me to live by certain principles. To live with dignity," she wrote."You always were and will forever be an example for me. My hero. My dad." Earlier, before the funeral, Vladimir Putin was asked if he had any message for the family Nalany had left behind. Putin said he had "nothing to say."

— (@)

With no coverage of the funeral allowed on Russian state TV, Navaly's support team in exile broadcast it often tearfully on YouTube, where over a quarter of a million people watched; many sent messages of sorrow and defiance, which streamed alongside the images. Scenes from the funeral were also broadcast on Twitter and by some Western media, including CNN, though at one point their Internet connection was blocked. On social media, several people posted footage of the final moments at the cemetery when Navalny's coffin was lowered into the ground. In a flourish true to Navalny's unflagging sense of humor, the coffin slowly dropped to the ending music for 1991's "Terminator 2," which Navalny called "the best film on earth," maybe because it told the story of a small but impassioned group fighting back against a powerful enemy. The last scene sees Arnold Schwarzennegger being lowered into molten steel as he proclaims, "I'll be back."

"What did Alexei mean to you?" asked one journalist of an older woman at the funeral. She responded, "He was not afraid to ascend to Golgotha." Many others echoed their respect for his fearlessness, resilience, tenacity. "We came just to honor the memory of the person who was not scared of anything," said one. Also, "I loved this person, I loved this hero." And, "It may be the only opportunity to say good-bye to Alexei. I may not be able to go inside, but at least I will give a part of my heart." One woman quoted an online comment: "This man sacrificed himself to save the country, and the other man sacrificed the country to save himself." "We act according to the behests left by Alexei Navalny," she said. "His name will go down in history."

— (@)

Some media reports suggest Putin finally decided to kill Navalny amidst talk of a pending prisoner exchange that would have included Navalny, who as the noose tightened horribly around him had reportedly given up his opposition to exile. Putin, paranoid and power-crazed, could never accept his nemesis going free. But he also - see paranoid and power-crazed - likely panicked, and didn't think through to the dangers of martydom. "Even behind bars, Navalny was a real threat to Putin, because he was living proof that courage is possible, that truth exists, that Russia could be a different kind of country," writes Ann Applebaum in The Atlantic. "Now Putin will be forced to fight against Navalny’s memory, and that is a battle he will never win."

The brave souls, sorrowful but firm, who made their daunting way to Navalny's funeral seem to confirm that. Again and again, asked why they had risked their safety to be there, they said the same thing in different ways: "We had to." "You can't not come," said one woman." Let them see that many remember, many know. It's not possible to silence it." "It's no longer scary," said another woman. "There's already such pain, such anger - it's impossible to sit and be afraid." Another pointed to the long line of fellow patriots where she stood. "It is good to be here in the company of like-minded people," she said. "Nobody is scared. Everyone knows what they want. It is not scary when we are together."

Reacting to the massive fires in the Texas Panhandle, the largest in Texas’ history and burning through 1.1 million hectares:

Ian Duff, Head of Greenpeace’s Stop, Drilling Start Paying campaign said:

“These fires are an unfolding tragedy. Our hearts go out to those who are experiencing loss across the state.

The blazes we’re seeing in Texas are not just fueled by high winds and exceptionally dry weather. As emissions from burning more oil and gas makes the climate crisis worse, we can only expect to see more of these out of control disasters.

The UN projects that the number of wildfires will rise worldwide by 50% by 2100, and that climate change is expected to make these fires more frequent and intense. As the largest oil driller and producer in the United States, oil companies in Texas are literally fueling the flames on their doorstep.

The corporations threatening our planet and its people – including Chevron, Exxon, Equinor, Eni, BP, Shell, and TotalEnergies – have just announced mind-boggling annual profits. They must stop drilling and start paying. Oil and gas drilling and production from ExxonMobil and other fossil fuel giants needs to be rapidly phased out – and their billions in profits must pay for the damage they’ve caused.”

Today, Social Security Works and Data for Progress released new polling showing that voters overwhelmingly reject Social Security cuts, as well as the idea of a closed-door “fiscal commission” to determine Social Security’s future. Instead, they want Congress to raise taxes on wealthy Americans to protect Social Security.

Currently, Social Security contributions are capped at $168,600 and people do not contribute on their wage income above that amount (unearned investment income is also exempt from Social Security contributions). That means that people making $1,000,000 a year are about to stop paying into Social Security for the rest of 2024.

In an op-ed about the polling, Social Security Works President Nancy Altman and Representative John Larson (D-CT) wrote that:

“We need to provide the 70 million Americans who pay into the system and rely on these benefits with the security to know it is solvent and working for them — and they deserve a direct answer on how Congress is going to address it. For more than 40 percent of them, Social Security is the only retirement plan they have. That’s why — across party lines — Americans are so adamant about fixing, maintaining, and enhancing Social Security, not cutting their hard-earned benefits.”

Key results from the polling include:

• 92% of voters, including 94% of Republicans, reject cutting Social Security to reduce the national debt.
• 71% of voters want Congress to protect Social Security by increasing taxes on wealthy Americans.
• 70% of voters, including 71% of Republican voters, oppose the creation of a commission aimed at cutting Social Security, Medicare, and other programs.
• 70% of voters think the future of Social Security should be decided through the regular lawmaking process in Congress, not through a new closed-door commission.

The United States District Court for the Western District of Texas today granted a motion for preliminary injunction to block Texas Senate Bill 4 (88-4), which would permit local and state law enforcement to arrest, detain, and remove people they suspect to have entered Texas from another country without federal authorization. The legislation is one of the most extreme anti-immigrant laws ever passed by any state legislature in the country.

A lawsuit from civil rights groups argues that the S.B. 4 violates the supremacy clause of the U.S. Constitution and is preempted by federal law, as Texas judges would be required to order a person’s deportation regardless of whether a person is eligible to seek asylum or other humanitarian protections under federal law. Advocates have warned that the law will separate families and directly lead to racial profiling, subjecting thousands of Black and Brown Texans to the state prison system, which is rife with civil rights abuses.

The lawsuit was filed in December 2023 by the American Civil Liberties Union, the ACLU of Texas, and the Texas Civil Rights Project (TCRP) on behalf of El Paso County, American Gateways, and Las Americas Immigrant Advocacy Center. It was subsequently consolidated with a lawsuit by the Department of Justice.

The court’s decision will temporarily block the law from going into effect as the case is litigated. Without an injunction, the law would have gone into effect on March 5, 2024. This ruling is likely to be appealed by the state.

The following reactions are from:

Anand Balakrishnan (he/him), senior staff attorney at the ACLU’s Immigrants’ Rights Project, said:

“The federal court’s decision confirms over a century of Supreme Court precedent, affirming that immigration enforcement is squarely within the federal government’s authority. S.B. 4 is a blatantly unconstitutional attempt to bypass federal law. We applaud the court’s decision, but we must ensure this harmful law is struck down altogether.”

Edna Yang (she/her), co-executive director of American Gateways, said:

“This decision is a victory for all our communities as it stops a harmful, unconstitutional, and discriminatory state policy from taking effect and impacting the lives of millions of Texans. Local officials should not be federal immigration agents, and our state should not be creating its own laws that deny people their right to seek protection here in the U.S. While we are thankful for this court decision, we know that too many people fleeing persecution are being denied their legal rights to make their case and seek political asylum. The only way to fix our broken immigration system is through federal congressional action, not individual state action.”

Jennifer Babaie (she/her), Director of Advocacy and Legal Services with Las Americas Immigrant Advocacy Center, said:

“With today’s decision, the court sent a clear message to Texas: SB 4 is unconstitutional and criminalizing Black, brown, indigenous, and immigrant communities will not be tolerated. This crucial decision allows us to continue to focus our efforts on building a safe, legal, humane immigration system not contingent on abuses like racial profiling and harassment. We must continue to be vigilant against Texas’ politics of fear and hatred. But today, immigrants and Texans of color get to pursue living lives of hope, opportunity, and family. It’s a win worth celebrating.”

David Donatti (he/him), senior staff attorney at the ACLU of Texas, said:
“The court’s decision to block this anti-immigrant law from taking effect is an important win for Texas values, human rights, and the U.S. Constitution. Our current immigration system needs repair because it forces millions of Americans into the shadows and shuts the door on people in need of safety. S.B. 4 would only make things worse. Cruelty to migrants is not a policy solution.”

Aron Thorn (he/him), senior attorney, Beyond Borders Program at TCRP, said:

“We celebrate today’s win, blocking this extreme law from going into effect before it has the opportunity to harm Texas communities. This is a major step in showing the State of Texas and Governor Abbott that they do not have the power to enforce unconstitutional, state-run immigration policies. While this is only the first step in abolishing the law, people across the state can breathe a sigh of relief knowing they will not be needlessly arrested or deported by Texas under S.B. 4.”

Iliana Holguin (she/her), El Paso County Commissioner Precinct 3, said:

“El Paso County applauds the court’s clear confirmation today that immigration policies rest solely under Federal jurisdiction, and the state of Texas’ interference with the U.S. Constitution will not be tolerated. A piecemeal approach from individual states on federal matters such as immigration enforcement would put an undue burden on local taxpayers, while opening the door to potential civil rights violations for border residents and immigrants alike.”

The order granting a preliminary injunction is available here: https://www.aclu.org/documents/las-americas-v-mccraw-order-granting-preliminary-injunction

Access “Know Your Rights” under S.B. 4 materials in English here: https://www.aclutx.org/en/know-your-rights/know-your-rights-under-texas-deportation-scheme-sb4

Access “Know Your Rights” under S.B. 4 materials in Spanish here: https://www.aclutx.org/es/know-your-rights/conozca-sus-derechos-segun-el-plan-de-deportacion-sb4-de-texas

Killer robots threaten to become the immoral and destabilizing norm unless urgent action is taken to curtail the military use of artificial intelligence (AI), according to a Public Citizen report released today.

The report, “A.I. Joe: The Dangers of Artificial Intelligence and the U.S. Military,” details a host of novel problems and concerns that arise as the U.S. military increasingly relies on and operationalizes AI systems, in addition to the dangers posed by autonomous weapons – “killer robots” programmed to make their own decisions about use of lethal force. These risks include:

• The possible launch of nuclear weapons by automated systems;
• Reliance on AI intelligence processing that increases the use of violence; and
• Battlefield deepfakes.

This analysis is timely, as the Department of Defense (DoD) just requested $300 million for its first installment of drones under the Replicator Initiative, a program to fund and deploy fleets of many small “attritable” weapons to out-compete China in the domain of AI-empowered systems. In addition, recent on-the-ground reports show that Israel has used AI-assisted technologies in its drone strike campaign on Gaza. AI-supported warfighting is not science fiction; it is already here.

New Silicon Valley AI tech firms are campaigning for new Pentagon spending on AI weapons and technology. Following the longstanding practices of old-line military contractors, firms like C3.ai, Anduril Industries, Rebellion Defense, and Palantir are working the revolving door and the Washington influence game. A singular figure driving the campaign for more Pentagon reliance on AI is Eric Schmidt, the former Google executive who is now heavily invested in the sector.

“Desperate to feed at the Pentagon trough, a new set of AI military contractors is urging the Pentagon to recklessly embrace dangerous AI technologies,” said Robert Weissman, president of Public Citizen. “We need safeguards in place – including a ban on autonomous lethal weapons – before these corporations become entrenched in the military-industrial complex and it’s too late.”

“AI technologies are advancing faster than the everyday American can track,” said Savannah Wooten, People Over Pentagon advocate at Public Citizen. “The risk of empowering the U.S. military to become a tech-enabled killing machine is sky-high. We have months, not years, to demand that no AI systems are permitted to launch nuclear weapons, kill without human oversight, or generate deepfakes that undermine global democracy.”

“AI absolutely cannot become the next military spending ‘Gold Rush’. The Pentagon is rife with waste and excess spending as it is,” Wooten added. “If top brass wants to fund AI advancements, they must strategically reinvest their own budget, not demand billions more in taxpayer funding.”

Key recommendations from the report include:

• The U.S should pledge not to develop or deploy autonomous weapons, and should support a global treaty banning such weapons;
• The U.S. should codify the commitment that only humans can launch nuclear weapons;
• Deepfakes should be banned from the battlefield; and
• Spending for AI technologies should come from the already bloated and wasteful Pentagon budget, not additional appropriations.