In January of 2019, H.R. 40 was introduced to members of Congress. The bill states its purpose is "to establish a commission to study and develop Reparations proposals for African-Americans" and "submit to Congress the results of such examinations." The Committee found that “as a result of the historic and continued discrimination, African-Americans continue to suffer debilitating economic, educational, and health hardships including but not limited to having nearly 1 million black people incarcerated; an employment rate more than twice the current white unemployment rate; and an average of less than 1/16 of the wealth of white families, a disparity which has worsened, not improved over time.” Now, in the wake of a national health crisis that disproportionately affects the Black Community and the continued public slaughter of Black bodies at the hands of law enforcement despite international condemnation, African Americans continue to be left behind economically. The time is now for this country to pay back the Black community for this economic chokehold. Join me in urging members of Congress to move forward with the findings of Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee’s Committee to Develop Reparations Proposals for African Americans and encourage Congress to demand Reparations for African Americans. Read H.R. 40 here: https://www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/house-bill/40

Phase 2 is not working. Masks are not being worn. In order to stay safe we must go back to phase 1 and reevaluate how to proceed.

Target has been positioning itself as a champion of its employees--getting public praise for supporting diversity and inclusion and increasing wages and benefits in response to the pandemic. But the truth is that those benefits leave out a shadow workforce of tens of thousands of people, many of whom are Black and Brown women, --who power Target's growing and profitable grocery delivery service, Shipt. Shipt has seen demand increase so much that the company has hired 100,000 people in the last few months to keep up, as the COVID-19 pandemic has fundamentally changed how people shop for groceries. Increasingly, consumers are relying on home delivery services, and home delivery service is a major reason that Target's revenue is up during the pandemic. But shoppers working for Shipt do not get the paid family and medical leave they need to care for a sick family member or recover from extended illness. Even for shoppers who get sick, Shipt only offers 50% sick pay for two weeks if they have a positive COVID-19 test or a mandatory quarantine order. Now, Shipt announced that they’re also cutting pay--in the middle of a pandemic. That’s why Shipt shoppers announced that on Wednesday, July 15, they’re going on strike. UltraViolet and PL+US (Paid Leave for the United States) are working together to demand that Target do better. If enough people speak up, we can pressure Target to ensure that Shipt shoppers get the same paid family and medical leave benefits that Target employees receive. Will you sign the petition?

Unemployment levels for young Americans and minority workers are at levels unseen since the Great Depression. Furthermore, the economy is not rebounding fast enough to put millions of formerly-employed workers back to work before federal unemployment benefits end on July 31. Nevertheless, a necessary relief bill will not be enacted in Washington by July or even August. California already has the largest number of homeless workers in the U.S. Failure to provide economic relief will balloon this human disaster into a catastrophe.

Bringing the Pioneer Amtrak route back, making stops in towns like Portland OR, Ontario OR, Boise ID, Twin Falls ID, Salt Lake City UT, and Denver Co would be a major uplifting to potentially 10's of thousands of people who would travel it frequently. Especially during poor weather, and other major events. Bringing the Pioneer back would be a monumental improvement to this region, but would also show that it is needed, by the demand it would have. It would likely be used more in the winter, as the area can see brutal storms. I know many families that would travel it to see other distant family members. Of course you will have a good amount of business people riding, but the real benefits will go to people who may not have the ability to drive. Seniors who don't like driving long distances, big families with small cars, and many more are possible with this line, and this route. And remember, travelling by train is environmentally friendly. Let's bring back the Pioneer!

Explanations for each request: 1. Designated Government Run Quarantine Facilities: On several social media travel groups, people planning to travel to Hawaii have openly stated they will not test as, if they test positive, they may have financial loss (deposits for vacation). Instead, they plan to “quarantine”. There are some realizing that, if enough people opt to “quarantine” at their accommodation, the state of Hawaii will be unable to enforce the 14 day mandate. The state will have to spend money enforcing and chasing down quarantine breakers OR running a designated quarantine location. Our tax money is better spent on a designated quarantine location. This will be more efficient in controlling the spread of COVID-19 and will better keep our residents and kupuna safe. Also this will further encourage people to get tested before they travel. In addition, if a traveler is opposed to testing for fear of positive results and possible financial impact, or because they are hard-headed and don’t like to follow rules then these same people will have little regard for the safety of our residents. Therefore it is unrealistic to assume they will respect quarantine rules and orders. Finally, this would give locals who live here and are returning an easy way to get tested here instead of in another state. We would also prefer that returning residents who are concerned they may be bringing the virus back to their family be given the option to stay in quarantine if they request. This infrastructure would give the residents of Hawaii more control and will decrease the chance of COVID19 spread from travelers. 2. Require 2nd test: While there is no full proof way to allow travel and prevent COVID19, this would at slow and mitigate the spread of infection by catching some of those that were infected during travel. 3. Mandatory Quarantine for travelers from hotspots: There is a much greater likelihood that people from areas that are currently having significant outbreaks will be carriers of COVID-19. If their own states and cities are not allowing them to dine out, and do recreational activities. Why would we allow them to put our community at risk by coming to Hawaii to do those things? We should not have to pay the price of another community’s outbreak.

We are scared, we are angry, we are humbled. We want to contribute, we cannot contribute. We want to have jobs soon, we will not have jobs soon. We didn't ask for this crisis, we didn't know this could happen, we weren't in a position to prepare. We need our system to help at this time where we need help more than ever. We cannot take care of our own? We are your Parents, your Grandparents, your Children, your Grandchildren, your Aunts, your Uncles and your Cousins. We need your help. With COVID infection rates increasing across much of the country and the high potential for at least a future second wave prior to the onset of mass vaccinations, July 31st will not mark a magical date where job availability will all of a sudden rocket upwards. Demand across numerous industries that employ large numbers of workers remains near or at their bottoms and people are still scared to go back to work, facing an internal crisis of consciousness between the need to provide for their families and the need to not put themselves or their families in harm’s way.

Tom Tiffany is not a team player! He is concerned about Tom and what Tom wants ONLY. It is time to get rid of Toxic Tom and protect Wisconsinites. It is time to show FULL Support for the Governor Wisconsinites elected. It is time other politicians respect and work with the man WE the Citizens of Wisconsin elected. Mr. Tiffany is only one example of those who refuse to work with officials that Wisconsinites elected. This is unsafe for Wisconsin. We need a government that works together for it's citizens.

Last year’s $746 billion Pentagon budget was the largest on record — and came at the expense of critical public health, education, and infrastructure spending. And while Congress still can’t agree on extending emergency assistance for families in the face of COVID-19, they’re gearing up to greenlight even more — three quarters of a TRILLION dollars — for the Pentagon this year. Money isn’t everything, but budgets are moral documents that reflect our priorities. And Congress’s priority appears to be funding redundant nuclear weapons, multi-billion dollar off-books spending accounts, and endless wars in the Middle East. No more. Congresswoman Barbara Lee has introduced bold new legislation calling for a $350 BILLION dollar cut to the Pentagon budget. It’s up to us to follow her lead and get Congress on board to shift astronomical funds away from the Pentagon and build true safety and security. Add your name to urge them to pass H. Res. 1003 NOW!

It's not just COVID and police brutality exposing racism in America. Black homeowners in Detroit are being overtaxed on top of these other injustices. We’ve all seen headlines about Detroit homeowners being overcharged $600 million dollars in property taxes. No community should be hit with such unjust bills and least of all a city with 40 percent of residents struggling in poverty. Detroit has one of the highest property tax foreclosure rates of any city since the Great Depression. A recent University of Chicago study shows that, even after Mayor Duggan tried to fix the problem, the City is still overcharging the lowest valued homes. These are deep, systemic problems that a task force should investigate, propose solutions to end the practice and help make the community whole. Governor Whitmer has proven that she can get the job done with COVID and is with us in the movement against police brutality. Now it's time to do the same for property tax injustice. We call on her to create a task force to investigate and stop unfair property tax practices and keep Detroit homeowners in their homes. Sources: https://harris.uchicago.edu/files/evalrespropertytaxasdetroit20162018.pdf https://scholarship.law.uci.edu/ucilr/vol9/iss4/3/ http://www.californialawreview.org/print/predatory-cities/#_ftn18 https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/11/opinion/coronavirus-cities-property-taxes.html

America faces an emergency on three primary fronts: a public health pandemic, economic insecurities, and long-standing structural and institutional racism. Working families need job security, economic stability, and freedom from systematic oppression. That is, we must address the racial barriers from COVID-19 and the racial oppression that African Americans and people of color are facing. Furthermore, we must stress the importance of the HEROES Cares Act. So, please sign on and join us for this tel-town hall Wednesday, June 24th, at 6:30 pm, for the tel-town hall call-in number (866) 976-6355. Speakers for this event will be NC Senator Erica Smith-Ingram Dr. Michelle Laws- Department of Health and Human Services Fayetteville Mayor Mitch Colvin Action NC member Tarsha Gunn

With the recent spikes in COVID-19 cases in Florida, the plan to re-open theme parks should be re-evaluated. The state’s proposed plan for re-opening theme parks would start at Phase 2, “after the successful conclusion of Phase 1, which includes a downward trajectory…this will occur when there is no evidence of a rebound or resurgence of COVID-19 cases.” Because of the increase in cases suddenly, it is clear that theme parks – a non-essential business – should not be planning to operate until the cases have gone down again. The recent spike of COVID-19 cases is concerning due to our proposed opening in July. With a record high of 4,049 new COVID-19 cases in a single day on June 20, 2020, we are now backtracking from where we originally were. Retreating back to an earlier Phase in re-opening is our best option at not exposing the virus to thousands and thousands of theme park employees and their families. As individuals who work in the bustling tourism industry in central Florida, we are responsible for ensuring the safety of our guests and our fellow magic makers. Keeping ourselves and our visitors safe is our number one priority, in every theme park. This includes our health and wellbeing. We are encouraged to say something when we see something that we deem is unsafe so we’re speaking up. This virus is not gone, unfortunately it’s only become worse in this state. Having our theme parks remain closed until cases are steadily decreasing would keep our guests, our employees and their families safe. Re-opening the theme parks is only putting our guests, employees, and families at higher risk for contracting COVID-19. While theme parks are a great way to relax and enjoy free time, it is a non-essential business; it is not fair to the people who work there to risk their lives, especially if they are at risk or have family members who are at risk. People are more important than making a profit. Mayors, Theme Park Executives, Government Officials - please hear what we are saying. shorturl.at/bCENX https://rb.gy/limuqd