Daily Kos

Time 2020-06-22 06:04:43

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Sign and send a petition to your U.S. senators: Pass a pandemic relief bill immediatelyWhen asked about his timeline for passing the next, much needed, COVID-19 relief package, Mitch McConnell said we haven t...Fat shaming and obsessing over womens’ bodies is a longstanding problem. Toxic internet commentary, unattainable societal weight expectations, and misinformation surrounding obesity have only exacerbated the problem. Fat shaming often stems from “fatphobia,” an aversion to people who are in a heavier weight group for whatever reason and don’t adhere to society’s standards of what an “attractive” body should look like. Almost half of Americans stress about their weight. A government survey found that roughly 40% of U.S. adults are classified as obese, and women are more likely to be obese than men. As weight gain and obesity rise, so do the attacks on those who live with it. These weight criticisms are largely due to a society that too often views being heavy as a character flaw.On Thursday, University of Florida president Kent Fuchs released a statement with the title “Another step toward positive change against racism.” One of the important takeaways from the statement was that the university would end the practice of using unpaid inmate labor. “There are agriculture operations where UF has relied on prison and jail inmates to provide farm labor. The symbolism of inmate labor is incompatible with our university and its principles and therefore this practice will end.”Florida is one of a handful of states that uses unpaid inmate labor. This is slightly more obscene than states like California that use inmate labor for pennies on the dollar. It is equally as obscene as private companies that use detained immigrants as “a readily available, captive labor force.”Thousands across the nation participated in peaceful protests, rallies, and street celebrations to commemorate Juneteenth this weekend amid the ongoing call to end racial injustice. This year’s Juneteenth celebrations coincided with nationwide protests following the violent death of George Floyd. Worldwide, people took this year to commemorate the holiday alongside peaceful protests against police brutality and racism. Demonstrations in the U.S. and across the globe depicted unity in the movement in addition to the ongoing call for justice and peace.Juneteenth, a holiday composed of the words “June” and “19th”, celebrates the symbolic day in which the Union army major general Gordon Granger read aloud Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation abolishing slavery on a plantation in Galveston, Texas. While the proclamation was signed by Lincoln two years prior, many enslaved Black folk in Confederate territory remained captive and did not know of their freedom prior to this day in 1865.  With the ratification of the thirteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution in 1865, slavery was abolished across the U.S.For 40 years, the reproductive justice organization Taller Salud has been providing direct services to Puerto Rican survivors of gender-based violence and intimate partner violence. Founded in 1979, Taller Salud is the longest running feminist organization on the island. Located in the predominantly Afro-Puerto Rican municipality of Loíza, the organization began in response to the Puerto Rican Pill Trials when an American scientist and biologist identified low-income Puerto Rican women as guinea pigs for testing what would become the birth control pill. Today, the work that Taller Salud does is multifaceted, focusing on comprehensive health initiatives, leadership programs, direct services, and restorative justice. The organization—much like all of Puerto Rico—is also struggling to respond to overwhelming injustices. In 2017, hurricanes decimated the island and killed thousands of people, the effects of which are still being felt. More recently, Puerto Rico has moved to re-open, even as the number of COVID-19-related hospitalizations are on the rise and testing and healthcare infrastructure remain incredibly limited.And then there’s the rewritten civil code.Donald Trump has chosen H1-B and other temporary work visa holders in his latest attack on immigration. As the country battles one of the highest rates of unemployment in American history Trump is expected to sign an order suspending  H-1B, L-1, and other temporary work visas, including H-2B and J-1 visas, through the end of the year, multiple sources told NPR.If signed this order will be the latest restriction on immigration by the Trump administration. In May, Trump issued an executive order temporarily halting applications for new green cards to those outside of the country. The order excluded immigrants already in the country, in addition to overseas spouses and children of American citizens, but affected thousands seeking to immigrate to the U.S. Trump signed the order following promises on Twitter to end immigration amid the novel coronavirus pandemic. While it was expected then he would also suspend visa-worker programs, growing concerns from the business community delayed the action.Olivia Moore’s mother tried to temper the 16-year-old’s expectations for the May 30 rally she had organized in the wake of George Floyd’s murder. Protests had begun in cities and towns across the country and Moore was hoping to engage her own suburban community in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. The high school student had only begun planning and organizing her rally the day before, but that Saturday morning her event flier was spreading like wildfire on social media. In two hours, it had garnered 1,000 likes across multiple platforms.   Moore’s mother had a litany of questions for her: “What if the police come and shut it down? Do you need a permit? What happens if a march starts? What are you going to do?” recalled Moore. “I'm like, I don't know, I don't have any plans, I don't know. I'm working on it. I was just literally working on the plan as I went along, and I kind of just did it.” On CNN’s State of the Union on Sunday morning, Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms chatted with host Jake Tapper about Donald Trump’s indoor rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Bottoms summed up the event, and Trump’s remarks, nicely, saying he “continues to try and divide us and really inflames the worst in people.” In the clips below, Bottoms talks about Juneteenth, Trump’s “joke” about COVID-19 testing, and the November election.As protests continue across the country following the death of George Floyd—an unarmed Black man murdered at the hands of the police—some celebrities and influencers are using their online platforms to share the mic with Black voices. Putting their privilege to use, these celebrities are sharing resources in the fight to end racial injustice as well as giving Black activists space to tell their stories and promote conversations surrounding the movement to end police brutality. Among celebrities using their privilege to support #BlackLivesMatter is former Disney star Selena Gomez. Gomez—who is one of the most followed celebrities on Instagram, with 180 million followers—has been using her social media to highlight and share the stories of Black activists, including a notable Instagram takeover by Ruby Bridges on June 14. Known as the first Black student to attend an all-white school in the South in 1960, Bridges became a civil rights icon at the age of 6. She took over Gomez’s Instagram account to share her experiences with racism in addition to never-before-seen footage from the day she entered first grade at New Orleans' William Frantz Elementary School.Over and over, Barr acts to sabotage prosecution of Trump's allies—and investigations into Trump himselfOver and over, Barr acts to sabotage prosecution of Trump's allies—and investigations into Trump himselfAfter not just one, but two apparent false statements from Trump Attorney General William Barr on the matter, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York Geoffrey Berman resigned Saturday evening—a decision he publicly said was due to "Attorney General's decision to respect the normal operation of law" in having his Deputy U.S. Attorney take over the position on an acting basis.That doesn't end the story, however. What is still unclear is why William Barr was so motivated to remove Berman that he first issued a false claim that Berman had resigned—prompting a public response from Berman stating that he quite emphatically had not—and a second, later claim to Berman that Donald Trump had fired him—only to have Trump soon afterward declare to reporters that he was "not involved" in the firing. No matter how you parse out that series of events, it's so far impossible to come up with an explanation that is not, on Barr's part, brazenly corrupt.Presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden marked the 8th anniversary of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program’s announcement by recommitting to using “the full extent” of his executive powers to protect young immigrants from deportation as he works on permanent legislation should he be elected president in November.“Dreamers deserve to be able to plan their lives with confidence, as do the 11 million undocumented individuals who are living in and enriching our country every day,” he said in a Medium post on Monday. “On my first day as President, I’ll be sending to Congress a bill outlining a clear roadmap to citizenship. And, as we work to pass a permanent, legislative reform through Congress, I’ll use the full extent of my executive authority to protect Dreamers and keep their families together.”​Although the most recent Supreme Court ruling has certainly been a step forward for Dreamers, this roadmap to citizenship is an essential step forward. In a video that’s now gone viral on both Twitter and Facebook, Baton Rouge, Louisiana resident Gary Chambers, a Black man and publisher of The Rouge Collection, calls out East Baton Rouge School Board member Connie Bernard, who is white, for allegedly online shopping during a meeting, as reported by The Independent. What was the meeting about? Moving to change the name of a local school, Lee Magnet High School, which is currently named after confederate general Robert E. Lee. “This is a picture of you shopping while we're talking about racism and history in this country,” Chambers said at a board meeting, holding up his cell phone. “Only white members of the board got up while we're talking. You don't give a damn." “You sit your arrogant self in here and sit on there shopping while the pain and the hurt of this community are on display,” Chambers said in a video from the June 18 meeting. "You should walk out of here and resign and never come back because you are the example of racism in this community. You are horrible." Bernard has since issued a statement of apology, but the pain and bigger picture structural issues remain.With this year’s Juneteenth coming in the midst of a transformational political moment, Prism spotlighted coverage of the ongoing fight for Black liberation. In case you missed it, here are a few of this week’s top stories.

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