When the Supreme Court issued its ruling last week, allowing Trump's Muslim Ban to go into effect, it included an exemption for individuals with "bona fide" ties to U.S. persons or entities, such as having family members here. But this morning, the State Department—headed by Trump appointee Rex Tillerson—issued guidelines that redefine family in the narrowest and cruelest way possible, limiting the exceptions to just immediate family members and sons- and daughters-in-law. This means that persons with other ties to the U.S.—grandparents, aunts and uncles, nieces and nephews—are banned due to the racist and anti-Muslim executive orders. This narrow re-definition of family is unacceptable and is clearly intended to break up Muslim and refugee families. We call on elected officials to demand that the State Department reverse these guidelines immediately and let all of our families in. According to Tillerson's State Department: grandparents, grandchildren, aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews, cousins, brothers-in-law and sisters-in-law, fiancees, and any other relatives do not fit the definition of family members. Yes, you read that right—the Trump administration doesn't think grandmas and grandpas count as family members, and is banning them from the country based on nothing other than where they come from. The executive orders and these State Department guidelines are clearly built on a foundation of anti-Muslim, anti-Arab, and anti-refugee hate. And it's clear that the administration is still bent on implementing as much of its Muslim Ban as it can get away with. It's up to us to stop them from getting away with it. Tell your elected officials to let Tillerson and the State Department know that it's not up to them to tell us what our families look like—and to call on them to reverse their bizarre and inhumane guidelines.

In recent years, the NYPD has increasingly relied on “Glomar responses”—the CIA tactic of neither confirming nor denying information’s existence—when questioned about its unlawful surveillance of the Muslim community and other activists. Talib Abdur-Rashid and Samir Hashmi have been fighting the NYPD’s responses in a case that is now going to New York’s highest court, the Court of Appeals. Recently published comments about the case by the NYPD Deputy Commissioner for Legal Matters led to a strong letter from Talib and Samir’s lawyer to Mayor de Blasio calling on him to retract the comments and to “follow through on your promises to support FOIL’s policy of open government.” http://otmlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/OTMLAW-Ltr-to-Mayor-de-Blasio-Retraction-of-Statement-by-NYPD-Deputy-C....pdf. Talib and Samir are not alone. The NYPD threatens Glomar responses to slam the door shut in the faces of countless New Yorkers, making it harder than ever to hold NYPD officials accountable. Activists, journalists, and civil libertarians all depend daily on FOIL to investigate police abuses and to act as citizen watchdogs. The NYPD’s efforts are a flagrant attempt to place itself above our laws and to put the police beyond the reach of the people. Winning in court isn’t the only way to stop Glomar abuse. As a public advocate and candidate, Mayor de Blasio committed to reform the NYPD’s long pattern of surveillance abuses, and we ask him to keep his word. Mayor de Blasio is ultimately responsible for overseeing the legal arguments put forth by the NYPD and the New York City Law Department, and we will treat his silence on Glomar responses as a tacit endorsement of the tactic. With a single phone call, Mayor de Blasio could order the NYPD to comply with its FOIL obligations and cease its obstructionist tactics. We implore Mayor de Blasio to make that call. Frequently Asked Questions What is FOIL? The Freedom of Information Law (“FOIL”) empowers the public to request government documents, providing a vital oversight tool for every aspect of government, and casting sunlight into the darkest corners of our bureaucracy. FOIL is used by journalists, civil rights advocates, and everyday New Yorkers to empower citizen watchdogs. Modeled on the federal Freedom of Information Act (“FOIA”), the laws were part of a post-Watergate movement to secure greater transparency and accountability. Are there any limitations on FOIL requests? State lawmakers specified several narrow reasons why a FOIL request might be rejected. For example, an agency can withhold documents which would impede a police investigation or compromise confidential employee records. What is a Glomar response? A Glomar response is the familiar phrase we’ve heard in countless spy movies: “we can neither confirm nor deny the existence of the requested information.” In practice, Glomar responses are highly restricted and can only be used by the CIA and other intelligence agencies in the most sensitive cases. Glomar is utterly inconsistent with the FOIL obligations of a municipal police force like the NYPD, which have a much narrower mission and much more limited legal authorities to engage in surveillance and national security investigations. How has the NYPD utilized the Glomar response? Even as the CIA and other intelligence agencies started using Glomar responses in the 1970s, the NYPD never followed suit. For decades, as the NYPD fiercely fought off FOIL requests with every tool available, they never once used Glomar, tacitly acknowledging that New York law didn’t give them that option. In recent years, that changed, as the NYPD made Glomar responses for the first time in FOIL requests relating to information on Imam Abdur-Rashid and Samir Hashmi The NYPD has sought to stonewall these two Muslims because it seems they wanted to avoid embarrassment. The two men are good law-abiding citizens and should not be subjected to surveillance in the first place. The Glomar response does not even give the Court the ability to ascertain the validity of the NYPD’s objection by stating “we cannot confirm or deny” the existence of documents. It does not give the requester the ability to challenge the NYPD when there is an abuse of power. This is in contradiction of the Freedom of Information Law, which requires state and city agencies to search and certify if documents exist or not. The Glomar theory defeats the existence of FOIL and “Open Government” under the New York Constitution, denies people’s procedural rights and prevents the courts from performing their judicial tasks.

This is an issue of consistency, as noted by Fr. James Martin, S.J. on his Facebook page: If bishops ban members of same-sex marriages from receiving a Catholic funeral, they also have to be consistent... Moreover, they must ban anyone who does not care for the poor, or care for the environment, and anyone who supports torture, for those are church teachings too. More basically, they must ban people who are not loving, not forgiving and not merciful, for these represent the teachings of Jesus Christ, the most fundamental of all church teachings. To focus only on LGBT people, without a similar focus on the moral and sexual behavior of straight people is, in the words of the Catechism, a "sign of unjust discrimination" (2358) (https://www.facebook.com/FrJamesMartin/posts/10154522014756496).

As Senator Flake and Senator Leahy have said - now is the time for easing restrictions on U.S. dealings with Cuba. On Friday, the Senators called on congressional leaders to allow a vote on bipartisan legislation lifting restrictions on American travel there. America should be leading.

Donald Trump has declared war on people with disabilities in America! Trump wants to take away health care for people with disabilities! Trump has appointed ablest people to his cabinet like Jeff Sessions and Betsy DeVos! Trump wants to cut social security (both SSDI and SSI) by 72 billion dollars! Trump wants to cut public housing, food stamps, and other human services for disabilities by billions of dollars! Trump wants to take away education support for disabled children. Trumps wants to weaken the Americans with Disabilities Rights Act. Trump is an ablest and prejudice against people with disabilities. Don’t forget Trump made fun of that disabled reporter. Trump is creating a holocaust for people with disabilities, but we will not stand for it. Tell Trump and the GOP that we will not stand for this for one second and to stop declaring war on people with disabilities!

Our goal is to make the Stone Mountain Confederate Carving more inclusive and to change its designation. Who should be included in the carving on Stone Mountain? Native Americans, African Americans, women, Lincoln, Sherman, Grant, McCallum, etc. The carving should be removed If it cannot be made more representative of the Civil War history. In 1915, Samuel Venable the principal owner of Stone Mountain was a member of the Klan and hosted KKK events on his mountain for decades afterwards. Both Venable and the carving sculptor Gutzon Borglum were associated with the KKK. The KKK was a terrorist group who believed in white supremacy and race separation. The Venable Brothers deeded the north face of the mountain to the United Daughters of the Confederacy in 1916 to create the carving. The UDC established the Stone Mountain Confederate Memorial Association (SMCMA) for fundraising and on-site supervision of the project. The Stone Mountain Confederate Memorial Association was packed with KKK members. In 1958, the State of Georgia purchased Stone Mountain. However, the Confederate Carving was not completed until 1972. The story of Stone Mountain actually predates both the first white settlers and the Creek Indians before them. At least 12 Archaic Indian sites have been identified in the vicinity of Stone Mountain. Crystal Mountain was the name given it in 1567 when Spanish explorer Juan Pardo visited it, in search of the Moundbuilder civilization discovered by deSoto on an earlier trip. The Moundbuilders were gone, replaced by Creek Indians who called the peak Lone Mountain and used the easily spotted mountain as a meeting place. In the early 19th century, the area was known as Rock Mountain. Woodland Indians built a rock wall, encircling the top of the mountain. By the beginning of the 20th century the wall had disappeared. At the beginning of the Civil War, 22 million people lived in the North and 9 million people (4 million of whom were slaves) lived in the South. About 2.75 million soldiers fought in the Civil War 2 million for the North and 750,000 for the South. Over ninety-five percent of African Americans lived in the South. Approximately 620,000 soldiers died from combat, accident, starvation, and disease during the Civil War. By the end of the Civil War, roughly179,000 black men (10% of the Union Army) served as soldiers in the U.S. Army and another 19,000 served in the Navy. Nearly 40,000 black soldiers died over the course of the war—30,000 of infection or disease. Even though a majority of African Americans lived in the South, the racism was so deep that African Americans were not allowed to join the Confederate army or have weapons. They served only in support roles. 28,693 Native Americans served in the Union and Confederate armies during the Civil War. 250 documented cases of women serving as soldiers in the Civil War but it is suspected there were many more than that.

It is a crime for masked people to publicly gather in the state of Virginia with the intent to conceal identity in any public place. We expect local and state law enforcement to enforce the Code of Virginia under 18.2-422, with an exception for any street theater that may occur parallel to the gathering of the hate group also known as the KKK.

Corey Stewart is losing in his endeavor to become governor of Virginia. His message of hate and bigotry is not catching on in a diverse and progressive state. Why does Anna's want to host a loser? Call Anna's at (804) 730-7203 to demand they cancel Stewart's Friday night event.

Confederate Corey will be in the Richmond area June 9-10 as part of his "Take Back Virginia" tour. Corey Stewart has campaigned for Virginia Governor calling immigrants criminals while championing pro-Confederate principles. Stewart doesn't represent Virginia as it is today. He represents Virginia as it was 150 years ago. Stewart doesn't represent Virginians who are welcoming to all people and want to move beyond the lost cause of the Civil War. Richmond is a city of love that rejects the hatred and discrimination that are fundamental to Confederate Corey's campaign.

Must Read and Resist Hate! https://mic.com/articles/178984/louisiana-rep-clay-higgins-on-muslims-after-london-attack-kill-them-all#.zn4LYZyjr

Dear Mayor Khan and the people of London: As many of us in the United States know, the days following a terror attack are filled with grief, fear, uncertainty and instability. We’ve also seen how those same days bring out the best in people: strangers offering support to victims and their families—regardless of what they look like or where they come from—and foreign allies sending words of strength and solidarity. Sadly, our president has violated that sacred pact. You have no doubt had your hands full since Saturday’s attack that claimed the lives of seven innocent people, but President Trump has taken to Twitter to attack your response in the immediate aftermath of the attack and use this tragedy as a vehicle to further his own xenophobic agenda. We want to make it clear to you and the people of London that he does not speak for us. Despite anti-immigrant rhetoric about rooting out extremism, you understand that British Muslims are just as much a part of the fabric of your city than anyone else and want nothing more than peace. You also understand that no “ban” can end hate, and raising alarm will only lead to further chaos. As American author E.B. White wrote in 1973, “As long as there is one upright man, as long as there is one compassionate woman, the contagion may spread and the scene is not desolate. Hope is the thing that is left to us, in a bad time.” We, compassionate citizens of the United States, are sending your city hope and strength. Ignore hate, embrace love, and know we will always be your loyal friends.

We should not be honoring Confederate leaders who fought to keep slavery. We instead should honor men like William Stewart, an African American who fought for the Union before moving to Washington.