We encourage everyone to read the Compendium's Summary of Findings and to encourage your governor and state legislators to read it closely. https://concernedhealthny.org/compendium/ The photo was taken on October 2 at the People's Hearing on Climate Change when people from across the state testified for four and a half hours on the harms they have already suffered and the need for action on climate. Governor Shapiro, every legislator, and their staff were invited to attend the hearing just steps from their offices. We can count on one hand how many even stopped by.

Have you had a family pet? Imagine your loved one dying to a lack of care. Kobe, a 12 year old poodle, died during a nail clipping at a PetSmart store. 47 cases across 14 states since 2008 (2008-2021) states family's claim they took their dog to PetSmart, just for it to die during or shortly after their visit. I have my own experience. Our family dog, Marshall, became aggressive and scared toward humans after his visit. We couldn't touch his neck or side abdomen. We had to rehome him in hopes 1-1 companionship would be better for him, and he died from a series of strokes. PetSmarts horrid actions should be punished.

Donald Trump is officially under a gag order – after spending months attacking the witnesses and public servants who are holding him accountable for trying to overturn the 2020 election. [1] This is an extraordinary move – but so is everything about this case, where a former President was willing to destroy the very foundation of our democracy in order to hold onto power. And, stopping Trump’s public intimidation campaign is necessary for a fair trial. Since a grand jury of his fellow citizens charged him in August, he has used his social media megaphone to publicly threaten those involved in his case – issuing a blanket threat that “If you go after me, I'm coming for you,” attacking his prosecutors as “deranged” and “a thug,” and even suggesting a key witness could have been subject to capital punishment. [2] This gag order should stop this violent rhetoric, but only if Trump actually follows it. The truth is, Trump and his cronies are counting on these threats working – and scaring officials out of holding him to account. That’s exactly why we need to speak out right now for the fair and equal rule of law. No one is above the law – especially not a disgraced, twice-impeached former president who would tear down our democracy to stay in power. Add your name if you agree: Trump must follow this gag order. [1] https://www.politico.com/news/2023/10/16/judge-imposes-gag-order-on-donald-trump-in-d-c-trial-00121743 [2] https://www.nytimes.com/2023/09/24/us/politics/trump-prosecutions-threats-violence.html

As the whole world grapples with the escalated violence in Israel and Palestine, the Israeli government has stopped all food, fuel, water, electricity, and humanitarian assistance from entering Gaza, which has already had devastating impacts on over 2 million people, half of whom are children. The UN agency for Palestinian refugees just announced that “Gaza is running dry,” and hospitals in Gaza reported that their backup generators would run out of fuel last night, cutting off life support and vital systems. This action has exacerbated the existing humanitarian crisis caused by the Israeli government's air, land, and sea blockade, and will likely result in catastrophic loss of life if continued. Nearly half of Gaza is under the age of 16, and 65% under the age of 25, effectively meaning that Palestinian children are bearing the brunt of the Israeli government's collective punishment. It’s unacceptable, inhumane, unjust, collective punishment, and is also a violation of international law. It must end now. President Biden and our leaders must publicly call for an immediate ceasefire and deescalation, demand the protection of all civilians including securing the release of hostages, and tell the Israeli government to turn on electricity in Gaza and to allow humanitarian aid for Palestinians to enter! While the Biden administration is close to an aid agreement with Israeli government officials to allow humanitarian aid into Gaza and establish ‘safe zones,’ there is still no action or plan in place. The United Nations and aid organizations are sounding an alarm that conditions in Gaza are dire right now. There is no time to spare. A military response from Israel will not secure the safety of those currently hostage or trapped, some of whom are Americans, and instead punishes a generation of young Palestinians living in Gaza. Netanyahu, facing mounting pressure and polling the lowest among Israeli voters, has led decades of policies that have resulted in no more peace or safety for Israelis. The Biden administration must call for a ceasefire and urge Netanyahu to do everything in his power to reunite hostages with their loved ones without putting more lives in danger. Israelis and Palestinians must not be bargaining chips, and their lives must be protected through diplomacy and new solutions. The Israeli government is preparing a massive ground invasion of Gaza as you read this, and they have already been targeting and bombing civilians in their attacks, which is an egregious violation of international law. This comes as the Israeli government dropped tens of thousands of leaflets from the sky to issue an evacuation order to Gazans living in the northern Gaza Strip, telling 1.1 million Palestinian residents to evacuate south within 24 hours, which the UN said would be impossible without devastating humanitarian consequences. Then, despite naming which routes would be safe for evacuation, the Israeli government bombed Palestinians evacuating. Humanity and millions human lives are at stake here. We must collectively act now to stop loss of life. United States leaders have the massive power to step in and stop it. And the time is NOW to come together and demand it end. The people of Palestine and Israel deserve to live their lives without fear of violence and mass death. Will you join in solidarity and sign the petition?

Over an average of 800,000 people tune in to MSNBC’s prime news every day. It is unacceptable for a trusted news source to sideline, silence, or censor their Muslim broadcasters. And because the area of expertise of Ayman Mohyeldin, Ali Velshi, and Mehdi Hasan are related to the unfolding crisis, this blatant discrimination against MSNBC broadcasters affects the public’s ability to access fair and balanced reporting. Bias in media coverage on Muslims and Muslim Americans is well-documented and researched—and that bias can perpetuate and exacerbate existing stereotypes and discrimination against Muslims in our country. Both Jews and Muslims are often the targets of religiously-motivated hate crimes in the U.S., making the need for fair and balanced media reporting even more dire. Over an average of 800,000 people tune in to MSNBC’s prime news every day. It is unacceptable for a trusted news source to sideline, silence, or censor Muslim broadcasters. And because the areas of expertise of Ayman Mohyeldin, Ali Velshi, and Mehdi Hasan are related to the unfolding crisis, any silencing has a direct affect on the public’s ability to access fair and balanced reporting. Bias in media coverage on Muslims and Muslim Americans is well-documented and researched—and that bias can perpetuate and exacerbate existing stereotypes and discrimination against Muslims in our country. Both Jews and Muslims are often the targets of religiously-motivated hate crimes in the U.S., making the need for fair and balanced media reporting even more dire. MSNBC values their reputation for having journalists who bring diverse backgrounds to news production and news coverage. Journalism and news media have an immense amount of public influence, and that’s why networks should take their responsibility seriously and be held to high standards of ethics. We’re calling on MSNBC to live into their values, affirm their commitment to fair and unbiased reporting, and commit to amplifying the voices of their Muslim hosts!

I support the Massachusetts Lobstermen's Associations letter of comment that states: "Commercial lobstering is one of the most historic and iconic fisheries, employs thousands of people and now more than ever, the commercial lobstermen of the Commonwealth need your help to survive. Over the last several years the commercial lobstermen, here in the Commonwealth, have been at the forefront of conservation for Right Whales. Over 11,000 square miles of closed waters and with no State waters left open in February, March, April up until May 15th. These closed months are not the only time commercial lobstermen are restricted from earning a living because it takes them one month to set gear and one month to remove that same gear. This extends the loss of lobster harvesting to five months. 750 active commercial lobstermen in Massachusetts landed 14,608,443 pounds of American Lobster with an ex-vessel value of $81,793,467 in 2022. Given that the cost of doing business today has increased an estimated 300% and, the average price per pound in 2022 was comparable to the price received in the 1990’s. Established in 1963, the MLA is a member-driven organization that accepts and supports the interdependence of species conservation and the members’ collective economic interests. The MLA continues to work conscientiously through the management process with the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries (DMF), Atlantic States Marine Fisheries, New England Fisheries Management Council, Bureau of Ocean Energy Management and, the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration to ensure the continued sustainability and profitability of the resources in which our fishermen are engaged in. This Act will establish a program that will be administered by the Department of Unemployment Assistance (DUA). This program would be a similar program to the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance program. The MLA will be available to assist and answer any questions with this program in anyway possible to ensure the programs success. The MLA does not see this Act relative to lobstering closure mitigation as a forever fund. This Act is meant to help those commercial lobstermen who are not yet incorporated to, become incorporated. The MLA will work with commercial lobstermen over a three-year period to become incorporated through a series of seminars once the Act is passed. Now, more than ever the commercial lobstermen of the Commonwealth need the passage of S552 An Act relative to lobstering closure mitigation. The passage of this Act is an investment in the survival of the survival of the commercial lobster fishery to ensure it will be here for generations to come."

Serial liar George Santos has just been charged with 10 new counts of conspiracy, wire fraud, identity theft, and falsifying campaign finance records. The Justice Department already indicted him on 13 other counts – including embezzling donor money from his campaign, money laundering, and lying to the House of Representatives. George Santos misled and lied to hundreds of thousands of voters about his identity, his finances, and what he was doing with their money – deceiving every one of his constituents to gain power. And once he got to Congress, he got straight to work undermining the guardrails designed to catch the corruption he was engaging in. His first vote was to weaken the Office of Congressional Ethics, and he recently cosponsored the extremist “ACE” Act which would give big money interests more influence in our elections. If we can’t trust him to be honest about who he is, we can’t trust him to serve in Congress and represent our country. George Santos wants a government that’s more corrupt and less accountable – but we can’t allow his deceit and corruption to move our country backwards. Add your name if you agree: Congress must pass the Freedom to Vote Act.

Israel and the Palestinian territories have been engulfed in new levels of horrifying violence. On October 7th, Hamas fighters entered Israel and brutally killed over 1,000 people, most of whom were civilians. In addition, Hamas fighters are now holding as many as 150 Israelis as hostages and prisoners of war. The Israeli military is now bombing the Gaza Strip, a densely populated territory of over 2 million Palestinians, half of whom are children. As of October 12th, Israel has dropped over 6,000 bombs on Gaza and killed over 1,500 Palestinians, including 500 children. The Israeli Minister of Defense has publicly stated that Israel is cutting off food, water, fuel, and electricity to Palestinians in Gaza, creating the conditions for mass starvation and death. But the worst may be yet to come. Following the Israeli military's cutoff of fuel and power to Gaza, Palestinian hospitals are now running out of electricity, and many wounded Palestinians could soon die. The combination of Israeli bombardment, an Israeli ground invasion, and Israel’s intentional mass starvation of Gaza Palestinians could create the conditions for genocide. All of this sits atop a long and ugly history of Israeli apartheid and military occupation, in which Palestinians have been forced for decades, often at gunpoint, to give their homes and land to the Israeli government so that those resources could be given to Jewish Israeli settlers. And in Gaza, Palestinians have been living under a crushing Israeli blockade for years, trapped in what has been described as the world's largest open-air prison. Unfortunately, President Biden offered a blank check of political support for Israel in his speech on October 10th. This comes on top of the billions of dollars in military funding that the U.S. gives Israel every year. President Biden must reverse course and plant the seeds for peace. Otherwise, U.S. foreign policy will help encourage the deaths of thousands of Palestinians – as Israel bombs, invades, and starves the Gaza Strip. We need Biden to support a ceasefire now. Please join us. -------------------------------- SOURCES: “Israel-Hamas war live updates: Gaza Strip residents panic as 1.1 million told to evacuate by Israeli military," Yahoo News, https://news.yahoo.com/israel-hamas-war-live-updates-gaza-conflict-death-toll-185228934.html “Palestinian death toll passes 1,500 – as it happened," The Guardian, October 12, 2023, https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2023/oct/12/israel-hamas-war-live-updates-biden-hamas-attack-holocaust-gaza-displaced-palestine#top-of-blog "Gaza 'soon without fuel, medicine and food' - Israel authorities," BBC, October 10, 2023, https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-67051292 “Israel’s Apartheid Against Palestinians: A Look Into Decades Of Oppression And Domination,” Amnesty International, accessed October 13, 2023, https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/campaigns/2022/02/israels-system-of-apartheid/ “Timeline: the humanitarian impact of the Gaza blockade," Oxfam, accessed October 13, 2023, https://www.oxfam.org/en/timeline-humanitarian-impact-gaza-blockade “President Biden Delivers Remarks on the Terrorist Attacks in Israel,” The White House, Oct 10, 2023.

The news over the last few days has been horrifying. Attacks on everyday people are war crimes that have no place in any conflict. Hamas’ deadly attacks against civilians and hostage-taking are unconscionable. A siege of Gaza where millions of people — many of whom are children — are without water, food, or electricity also isn’t justice. The U.S. government has a crucial role to play in what happens next — and our voices can help ensure those efforts focus on preventing further escalation and protecting people’s lives. That’s why I’m calling on you today to urge the Biden administration to do all that it can to prevent further escalation of the crisis and safeguard people’s lives. Will you add your name to the petition now?

Our institutions, and quite frankly, just general normalcy are at stake. Chaos will ensue if MAGA leaders like Jordan or Scalise get picked as Speaker of the House and extremists likeMatt Gaetz and Marjorie Taylor Greene will only be emboldened. As the GOP circus continues, the American people are the ones who will continue paying the price for their chaos, as House Republicans continue to avoid governing and advancing progress. Sources: 1. "Freedom Caucus likely to play a bigger role in new GOP-led House. So who are they?" Pew Research Center, January 23, 2023 https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2023/01/23/freedom-caucus-likely-to-play-a-bigger-role-in-new-gop-led-house-so-who-are-they/ 2. "Jim Jordan's rapid rise has been cheered by Trump and the far right. Could it soon make him speaker?" ABC News, October 16, 2023 https://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/jim-jordans-rapid-rise-cheered-trump-make-speaker-104002789 3. "Jim Jordan U.S. Representative from Ohio," GLAAD, October 6, 2023 https://glaad.org/gap/jim-jordan/

I've talked with other parents at De Zavala, and I'm not the only one who feels this way. We all believe that our children should get a chance to learn about and respect each other's cultures and histories. We're asking the Fort Worth School District to add an educational Black history program at every school in the district. This would promote diversity, inclusion, and mutual respect among our students.

No one should have to bury their loved ones because of someone else’s lack of concern.