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Bad News First
The news can be disheartening, but it can also inspire or focus our engagement. Let’s gird our loins and take a quick peek.
- As a Department of Justice attorney argued in court that it was too late to halt work on the White House Ballroom (and that the president could bulldoze the Statue of Liberty if he pleases) a report by Public Citizen revealed that $50 billion in government contracts have been awarded to ballroom donors in just the last six months.
- The Senate approved $70 billion in funding for immigration enforcement without reforms, sending the bill to the House. Meanwhile, ICE will no longer publicly report deaths of recently released detainees.
- Foreseeable consequence roundup: Add screwworm to your Ebola anxiety. I’m sure dismantling ocean monitoring will be just as successful.
But Here’s the Good News
Encouraging developments don’t always make the headlines. But good things are happening every day, so take heart!
- The Senate blocked the Save America Act and the House voted to aid Ukraine and sanction Russia.
- Judges blocked administration efforts to effectively halt legal immigration from 39 countries and to add unrelated new conditions to funding for SNAP.
- A federal judge referred Department of Justice attorneys for discipline, finding they misrepresented and withheld information from the court.
And Here’s What You Can Do
Even small efforts have the potential to ripple out in ways we don’t expect. Plus, doing even a little bit of good is good for you.
- Call your House reps about the ICE funding package. Again.
- Ask your Senators to oppose the nomination of Todd Blanche for Attorney General.
- Send a thank you note to Republican Senators who kept ballroom funding out of the reconciliation package, encouraging them to withhold support from future attempts to fund the project.
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