Well, I woke up early this morning, intending to get to work. Then I saw the national headlines.
No, not the impeachment trial in the Senate. Most of us continue to hope against hope there, while expecting the worst.
My attention was grabbed this morning by two historic and horrific attacks by the Trump administration. While we are watching the impeachment, the wannabe dictator and his buds are quietly changing the world. Sigh…. I can’t wait until November!
Today’s Xenophobia: US to Restrict Visas for Pregnant Women Entering the Country
In case you thought the Trump administration was only using the impeachment proceedings to barf all over the Constitution, think again. The target now: Trump’s old nemesis, Birthright citizenship. They don’t want the “wrong” people getting it.
On Thursday the Associated Press reports that the Trump administration is imposing new rules aimed at targetting “birth tourism,” the supposed practice of foreign nationals traveling to the US to have children who will be US Citizens due to birthright citizenship.
Birthright citizenship is the constitutional provision that stipulates anyone born in the US is a citizen. It is born of the 14th Amendment to the Bill of Rights, which was ratified after the civil war and is the basis for most civil rights constitutional cases. It reads in the relevant part: “All persons born or naturalized in the United States and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside.”
Donald Trump, who does not understand the constitution, law or executive orders has long wanted to end this because it, of course, provides a way for people he doesn’t like – the children of immigrants – to become citizens and also then extend that citizenship to their parents. “Birth Tourism” may well be an issue, but the real point of these regulations is xenophobia and a desire to keep people out of America. [MORE…]
Trump creates new hurdles for pregnant women seeking U.S. tourist visas
Washington Post, by Abigail Hauslohner and Maria Sacchetti, Jan. 23, 2020
The Trump administration says it is cracking down on what it calls “birth tourism” and will instruct consular officers to assess whether women requesting visas to visit the United States are hoping to give birth here to obtain U.S. citizenship for the child.
Starting Friday, the State Department will no longer issue temporary visitor visas to women hoping to travel to the United States for the purposes of having a child, White House officials said in a statement Thursday. The visas — known as B-1/B-2 visas — provide for temporary travel to the United States for tourism, business or medical care.
The State Department said Thursday that consular officers cannot require pregnancy tests to make the determination but would not rule out that a woman’s physical appearance could be taken into consideration. [MORE…]
This Will Be the Biggest Loss of Clean Water Protection the Country Has Ever Seen
EcoWatch, by Olivia Rosane, Jan. 23, 2020
Myakka River State Park outside of Sarasota, Florida on Dec. 30, 2016. The park is a small preserve of rare protected habitat along Florida’s Gulf Coast, a region that has seen intense development and population growth. Andrew Lichtenstein / Corbis via Getty Images
Trump Finalizes Clean Water Rule Replacement
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Today, the Trump administration will finalize its replacement for the Obama-era Waters of the United States (WOTUS) rule in a move that will strip protections from more than half of the nation’s wetlands and allow landowners to dump pesticides into waterways, or build over wetlands, for the first time in decades.
President Donald Trump has been working to undo the 2015 rule since he took office, but his replacement goes even further, The New York Times explained. In addition to rolling back protections for some wetlands and streams that run intermittently or temporarily underground, it will also get rid of a requirement that landowners seek permits from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), which had considered permits on a case-by-case basis before 2015.
“This will be the biggest loss of clean water protection the country has ever seen,” Southern Environmental Law Center lawyer Blan Holman told The New York Times. “This puts drinking water for millions of Americans at risk of contamination from unregulated pollution. This is not just undoing the Obama rule. This is stripping away protections that were put in place in the ’70s and ’80s that Americans have relied on for their health.” [MORE…]
Trump Administration Cuts Back Federal Protections For Streams And Wetlands
NPR, by Scott Neuman and Colini Dwyer, January 23, 2020
The Environmental Protection Agency is dramatically reducing the amount of U.S. waterways that get federal protection under the Clean Water Act — a move that is welcomed by many farmers, builders and mining companies but is opposed even by the agency’s own science advisers. [MORE…]
I have been struggling with deep discouragement over the unlikely prospect of a successful impeachment and removal of the president. What’s to do?
Trump and his loyal House and Senate leaders have built an immovable blind base of support, promoted a blatant misinformation campaign, and fomented anger and civil unrest on behalf of a supposedly poor victim president. Against all precedent and outside of any moral and constitutional bounds, Senator McConnell and the White House are coordinating a Senate impeachment trial that is predicted to be a quick acquittal or maybe even something less.
The hilarity of the morning Trump news hour has become deadly serious for me. I can barely tune in to watch as the nation crumples under the threat of McConnell’s Senate control.
Discouragement is real, and our republic is surely in danger. It seems at times like there’s nothing we can do. Or can we?
We are, after all, THE PEOPLE.
The voices of America will be heard loud and clear on Tuesday evening, Dec 17, 2019, when “NO ONE IS ABOVE THE LAW” events take place in over 600 cities nationwide.
Please attend! Rallies will be held this Tuesday evening (TODAY!) at 5:30pm in Walnut Creek, Napa, Fairfield, Sonoma, Berkeley, El Cerrito, Oakland, San Francisco… Plug in your zip code for details at NeedToImpeach.
Here is information on a few of the events closest to Benicia:
“Nobody Is Above the Law” Rally in Walnut Creek
WHEN: Tuesday, December 17 at 5 p.m.
HOST(S): Ogie S.
WHERE
Intersection, Mt. Diablo Blvd. and Main St.
Walnut Creek, CA 94596
Signups: 1085 attendees
Please join us for a “Nobody Is Above the Law” rally in downtown Walnut Creek at 5:00 PM this Tuesday, 12/17/19, the evening before the House of Representatives is expected to vote on the impeachment of Donald Trump. It is a crucial time to be visible and vocal about the imperative to take back our democracy!
We need to show that there is massive public support for impeaching Trump for his crimes and abuses of power. That’s why the night before the House of Representatives takes a historic vote to impeach Trump, we’ll take to the streets to declare that Nobody Is Above the Law. Join us!
The day BEFORE the Impeachment Vote (we believe the vote will be Wednesday, therefore, we are scheduling the Impeach and Remove Rally for Tuesday, December 17th) so we will rally at Veterans Park at 5:30 p.m. Get your posters ready now! Find one of your resistance T-shirts! Get your Rapid Response Backpack stocked! Spread the word! We’ll be gathering to support our democracy’s survival and freedom from the tyrant in the White House and fully supporting Impeachment in the House and Removal in the Senate! We are honoring our Constitution and those who resisted all the way!
El Cerrito Plaza, All Four Corners on San Pablo Ave.
El Cerrito, CA 94530
Signups: 561 attendees
We need to show that there is massive public support for impeaching Trump for his crimes and abuse of power. That’s why the night before the House of Representatives takes a historic vote to impeach Trump, we’ll take to the streets to declare that Nobody Is Above the Law.
Directions: BART to El Cerrito Plaza station, then walk WEST to the corners of San Pablo Ave. and Carlson. NOTE: Please do NOT block any of the accessibility ramps on the corners, or impede pedestrians, traffic, or businesses. Thanks!
Let’s take our stand for democracy and join this movement taking place all across the nation. We will gather in front of the Chase Bank on the southwest corner of Center and Shattuck. Bring signs, insults and dress warm!
Directions: If you come out of the downtown Berkeley BART you’ll see us.
Repost from MSNBC Youtube – Rachel Maddow [Editor: See this powerful 8-minute video. Warren is spot on: “We’re not an America that can be politics all the time. There come moments that are serious enough that we have to stop, take a deep breath, and be willing to say, that’s wrong.” Also below, watch Maddow lay out Mueller’s “road map” to impeachment. – R.S.]
Senator Elizabeth Warren First 2020 Candidate To Call For Impeachment | Rachel Maddow | MSNBC
2020 Democratic presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren talks with Rachel Maddow about her call for impeachment proceedings against Donald Trump. The first 2020 candidate to call for impeachment, Senator Warren says she came to the decision after reading the Mueller report.
ALSO EXCELLENT…
Robert Mueller Report: Outline For Prosecution | Rachel Maddow | MSNBC
Rachel Maddow hones in on Volume II of the Mueller report the day after its release and shows why it could serve as a road map to prosecution after Trump leaves office.
The voices of America will be heard loud and clear on Tuesday evening, Dec 17, 2019, when “NO ONE IS ABOVE THE LAW” events take place in over 600 cities nationwide.
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