Podcast appearances and mentions of Joaquin Castro

Ralph welcomes historian Douglas Brinkley (author of "The Unfinished Presidency: Jimmy Carter's Journey Beyond the White House") as well as journalist and former Carter speechwriter James Fallows to reflect on the life and legacy of the late, great President Jimmy Carter.Douglas Brinkley is the Katherine Tsanoff Brown Chair in Humanities and Professor of History at Rice University, presidential historian for the New-York Historical Society, trustee of the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library, and a contributing editor at Vanity Fair. He has authored, co-authored, and edited more than three dozen books on American history, including Silent Spring Revolution: John F. Kennedy, Rachel Carson, Lyndon Johnson, Richard Nixon, and the Great Environmental Awakening, Rosa Parks: A Life, and The Unfinished Presidency: Jimmy Carter's Journey Beyond the White House.When [Jimmy Carter] came in in January of 1977, he said, “The Democratic Party is an albatross around my neck…” The Southern Democrats that voted for Carter in 1976 in the Senate because of, you know, “he's a fellow Southerner,” they abandoned him. They wanted nothing to do with him.Douglas BrinkleyRalph, I don't know if anyone's already told you this—there's a lot of Carter in yourself. You have a lot of similarities in my mind in the sense that you both work tirelessly, and are brilliant, and you learn the nuts and bolts of an issue and you lean into it, and both of you are known for your integrity and your honesty and your diligence and your duty. The question then becomes: Where did Carter fail? And it's about media and about power within the Democratic Party. Those two things Carter couldn't conquer.Douglas BrinkleyI've just written a column called “Jimmy Carter Was My Last President.” And by that I meant he was my last president—and I believe he was the last president for progressive civic groups as well—because he was the last president to actively open up the federal government to engagement and participation by long politically-excluded American activists. He did this actively. He took our calls. No president since has done that. He invited us to the White House to discuss issues. No president since has done that. And that's what I think has been missing in a lot of the coverage—he really believed in a democratic society.Ralph NaderJames Fallows is a contributing writer at the Atlantic and author of the newsletter Breaking the News. He began writing for the magazine in the mid-1970s, reporting from China, Japan, Southeast Asia, Europe, and across the United States and has written hundreds of articles for the publication since then. He's also worked as a public radio commentator, a news magazine editor, and for two years he was President Jimmy Carter's chief speechwriter. He is the author of twelve books, including Who Runs Congress (with Mark Green and David Zwick), The Water Lords, Breaking the News: How the Media Undermine American Democracy, and Our Towns: A 100,000-Mile Journey Into the Heart of America (with Deborah Fallows).Jimmy Carter, for better and worse, had zero national politics experience. That was part of what made him seem refreshing…But Carter, I think one of his limitations in office was that he didn't know what he didn't know, in various realms. This happens to all of us. That's why many outsiders struggle in their first term as president. And so I think yes, he felt as if he could be in command of many things. And I think if he had a second term, he would have been more effective—as Barack Obama was, and others have been.James FallowsI'm really grateful for the chance to talk with you, Ralph, at this moment. As we reflect on a president of the past and prepare for an administration of the future…There are people whose example lasts because they've been consistent over the decades. And I think you, Ralph, in the decades I've known you, that has been the case with you. I think it's the case of Jimmy Carter as well. For people who are consistent and true to themselves, there are times when fortune smiles in their favor and there's times when fortune works against them, but their lasting example endures and can inspire others.James FallowsNews 1/8/251. According to newly released CIA documents, the agency conducted extensive surveillance on Latino – specifically Mexican and Puerto Rican – political activity in the 1960s, ‘70s, and early ‘80s Axios reports. Among other revelations, these documents prove that the agency infiltrated student activist groups “making demands for Mexican American studies classes” – in direct contravention of the CIA's charter, which prohibits domestic activities. The push to disclose the reality of this spying campaign came from Congressmen Jimmy Gomez and Joaquin Castro, whose mother was monitored by the FBI for her Chicano-related activism. Unlike the CIA, the FBI has not released their records.2. Crusading independent journalists Ken Klippenstein and Daniel Boguslaw are out with a new Substack piece regarding Luigi Mangione. This piece, based on a leaked NYPD intelligence report “Warning of ‘a wide range of extremists' that ‘may view Mangione as a martyr,'” due to their “disdain for corporate greed.” These reporters go on to criticize the media for hiding this report from the public, as they have with other key documents in this case. “The report, produced by the NYPD's Intelligence & Counterterrorism Bureau …was blasted out to law enforcement and counterterror partners across the country. It was also leaked to select major media outlets which refused to permit the public to read the document…By withholding documents and unilaterally deciding which portions merit public disclosure, the media is playing god.”3. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has finalized its rule to remove medical bills from credit reports. The bureau reports this rule will wipe $49 billion in medical bills from the credit reports of approximately 15 million Americans. Further, embedded within this rule is a critical provision barring creditors from access to certain medical information; in the past this has allowed these firms to demand borrowers use medical devices up to and including prosthetic limbs as collateral for loans and as assets the creditors could repossess.4. President Biden has blocked a buyout of US Steel by the Japanese firm Nippon Steel, per the Washington Post. His reasons for doing so remain murky. Many in Biden's inner circle argued against this course of action, including Secretary of State Antony Blinken, U.S. Ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel and Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen. And despite Biden framing this decision as a move to protect the union employees of US Steel, Nippon had promised to honor the United Steelworkers contract and many workers backed the deal. In fact, the only person Biden seemed to be in complete agreement with on this issue is incoming President Donald Trump.5. In September 2023, Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson issued a groundbreaking proposal: a publicly owned grocery store. While such institutions do exist on a very small scale, the Chicago pilot project would have been the largest in the United States by a wide margin. Yet, when the city had the opportunity to apply for Illinois state funds to begin the process of establishing the project, they “passed” according to the Chicago Tribune. Even still, this measure is far sounder than the previous M.O. of Chicago mayors, who lavished public funds on private corporations like Whole Foods to establish or maintain stores in underserved portions of the city, only for those corporations to turn around and shutter those stores once money spigot ran dry.6. On January 5th, the American Historical Association held their annual meeting. Among other proposals, the association voted on a measure to condemn the “scholasticide” being perpetrated by Israel in Gaza. Tim Barker, a PhD candidate at Harvard, reports the AHA passed this measure by a margin of 428 to 88. Along with the condemnation, this measure includes a provision to “form a committee to assist in rebuilding Gaza's educational infrastructure.” The AHA now joins the ever-growing list of organizations slowly coming to grips with the scale of the devastation in Gaza.7. According to Bloomberg, AI data centers are causing potentially massive disruptions to the American power grid. The key problem here is that the huge amounts of power these data centers are gobbling up is resulting in “bad harmonics,” which distort the power that ends up flowing through household appliances like refrigerators and dishwashers. As the piece explains, this harmonic distortion can cause substantial damage to those appliances and even increase the likelihood of electrical fires and blackouts. This issue is a perfect illustration of how tech industry greed is impacting consumers, even those who have nothing to do with their business.8. The Department of Housing and Urban Development reports homelessness increased by over 18% in 2024, per AP. HUD attributes this spike to a dearth of affordable housing, as well as the proliferation of natural disasters. In total, HUD estimates around 770,000 Americans are homeless, though that does not include “those staying with friends or family because they do not have a place of their own.” More granular data is even more appalling; family homelessness, for example, grew by 40%. Homelessness grew by 12% in 2023.9. On January 7th, Public Citizen announced that they have launched a new tracker to “watchdog federal investigations and cases against alleged corporate criminals…that are at risk of being abandoned, weakened, or scaled back under the Trump administration.” This tracker includes 237 investigations, nearly one third of which involve companies with known ties with the Trump administration. These companies include Amazon, Apple, AT&T, Bank of America, Coinbase, Ford, Tesla, Goldman Sachs, Meta, OpenAI, SpaceX, Pfizer, Black & Decker, and Uber among many others. As Corporate Crime expert Rick Claypool, who compiled this tracker, writes, “Corporate crime enforcement fell during Trump's first term, even as his administration pursued ‘tough' policies against immigrants, protestors, and low-level offenders…It's likely Trump's second term will see a similar or worse dropoff in enforcement.”10. Finally, Senate Republicans are pushing for swift confirmation hearings to install Tulsi Gabbard as Director of National Intelligence, per POLITICO. Yet, the renewed spotlight on Gabbard has brought to light her association with the Science of Identity Foundation, an alleged cult led by “guru” Chris Butler, per Newsweek. The New Yorker reports members of this cult are required to “lie face down when Butler enters a room and even sometimes eat his nail clippings or ‘spoonfuls' of the sand he walked on.”This has been Francesco DeSantis, with In Case You Haven't Heard. Get full access to Ralph Nader Radio Hour at www.ralphnaderradiohour.com/subscribe

Rita discusses the political and legal challenges facing former President Trump, including his legal team's efforts to counter the 2020 election subversion indictment. The show critiques the political motivations attributed to the release of court documents close to an election. Contributions from figures like Congressman Joaquin Castro and Liz Cheney are debated, while issues like voter confidence and election integrity are raised by callers. The script highlights frustrations with FEMA's response to Hurricane Helene, arguing federal resources are mishandled, impacting aid delivery to Americans. International policies, particularly U.S. relations with Israel and Iran, are criticized, accusing the Biden administration of prioritizing foreign aid over domestic needs. The program also pays homage to Vietnam veterans, emphasizing the importance of domestic priorities and support for American citizens. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

RIO GRANDE CITY, Texas - International trade between the United States and Mexico has increased to $1.4 million per minute, reports Congressman Henry Cuellar. Cuellar spoke about border commerce on the floor of the House of Representatives as he thanked his colleagues for passing legislation to help Starr Camargo Bridge. “Trade between the U.S. and Mexico has been tremendous,” Cuellar said. “In fact, just last year, trade between the U.S. and Mexico, our number one trading partner, reached $798.9 billion. “I would say that in the next four or five years, trade between the U.S. and Mexico will increase to a trillion dollars. And if you look at it right now, every minute, you have $1.4 million of trade between the U.S. and Mexico. "What does that mean? That means jobs, jobs, jobs, jobs.” Explaining the bill that helps the Starr Camargo Bridge Company, Cuellar said the Starr Camargo Bridge Expansion Act would give authority to increase the number of lanes for the bridge between Rio Grande City, Texas, and Camargo, Mexico. Cuellar said the bridge's previous authorization for construction expired, and an extension is required to pursue a planned expansion project and rail bridge addition. Cuellar said the bridge will not require a Presidential permit to expand since the bridge predates the 1972 International Bridge Act.    “This bill allows the Starr Camargo bridge, a privately-owned toll bridge between Texas and Mexico, to expand and become multimodal. This bridge's previous authorization for construction expired. So, we are coming back for an extension to make sure that we pursue the planned expansion project and also add a rail bridge. “Also, the planned expansion will ease congestion, reduce truck idling and waiting at the port of entry, and alleviate the supply chain issues.” Cuellar added: “This expansion will be paid by tolls, at no cost to any of the taxpayers. But this bridge also will serve as a vital trade link between the United States and Mexico.” Starr County Judge Eloy Vera supported the legislation. “The passage of the Starr Camargo Bridge Expansion Act is a significant step towards continuing our promotion of efficient cross-border commerce,” Vera said. “In addition, the ability for multimodal growth will greatly increase the capacity for diverse trade and enhanced economic opportunities. We congratulate everyone involved in making this effort a reality.” Cuellar's legislation in the House was cosponsored by U.S. Reps. Michael McCaul of Austin, Texas, Joaquin Castro of San Antonio, Texas, and Michael Lawler of New York. Editor's Note: Go to the Rio Grande Guardian website to read the full story.Go to www.riograndeguardian.com to read the latest border news stories and watch the latest news videos.

SAN ANTONIO, Texas - U.S. Rep. Joaquin Castro held a Zoom call to discuss President Biden's decision to withdraw from the 2024 presidential race.In a statement about the decision, Castro, a Democrat from San Antonio said: “Nearly four years ago, American voters swept Joe Biden into office with faith in his vision for our nation. Since his first day in office, he has delivered. The Biden-Harris administration rescued our country from the worst pandemic in a century, launched a renaissance in American manufacturing, and made unprecedented progress to lower drug prices, support America's veterans, and curb gun violence. At a critical moment, President Biden restored America's place as the leader of the free world. He will be remembered as one of the most accomplished presidents in our history.“President Biden's announcement today is a fulfillment of his promise to be a bridge to our future. This is the decision of a strong leader who believes America's best days are ahead of us. I am grateful to the President for his decades of service to our country and I look forward to working to elect Kamala Harris as the next president of the United States.”Here are some of the key parts of the Zoom call.To read the new stories and watch the news videos of the Rio Grande Guardian International News Service go to www.riograndeguardian.com.

[This blog will always be free to read, but it's also how I pay my bills. If you have suggestions or feedback on how I can earn your paid subscription, shoot me an email: cmclymer@gmail.com. And if this is too big of a commitment, I'm always thankful for a simple cup of coffee.]I spent this weekend in El Paso at the 2024 Texas Democratic Convention, and it was a breath of fresh air just to be around Texas Democrats. The excitement, the passion, the values, the pride, and the unyielding commitment were on full display. It felt so good to be home.When I was invited to speak at this year's convention, there was no doubt in my mind what I wanted to say. I wanted to offer a love letter to what it means to be a Texan, and specifically, the Texas Democrats who have guided my path in life and continue to do so.The original speech I wrote was a bit long, and after a kind and very reasonable request from convention staff, I trimmed a few minutes off it, but I want to include here the text that I had to cut, so the remarks that are italicized indicate they were in the original speech but not what folks saw at the convention.I implore folks to support Texas Democrats this year. I've rarely seen such energy as I saw this weekend. Folks are putting in the work, and it shows. I am optimistic about November.Please consider donating to Texas Democrats right here, Annie's List (supporting women candidates) right here, and Find Out PAC, a project started by the legendary Gina Ortiz Jones to beat extremist Republicans on the Texas Supreme Court, right here.I'm including the video of the speech below for those who'd like to watch it, and below that will be the full text of my remarks:FULL REMARKS (italicized text in original speech but not during delivery):My name is Charlotte Clymer, my pronouns are she/her, and I am proud to be from the Great State of Texas.I currently live in our nation's capital, and often, when I meet someone for the first time and they ask where I'm from and I tell them, they'll have a look of sympathy on their face and say something like: “Oh, I'm sorry. That sounds terrible.” And they mean it.And when that happens, I respond that I'm actually very proud to be from Texas. I love Texas.And the sympathetic look on their face will vanish and, in its place, will be confusion and incredulity.They'll say to me: “But Charlotte, you're a Democrat. You're pro-choice. You support abortion access. You're a trans woman. How can you be proud to be from Texas?”And I realize, in that moment, they truly don't get it. So, I gotta tell them.I tell them that I am from the home of Barbara Jordan, and that during the Watergate scandal, when Americans felt so alarmed and uncertain about our country's leadership, the conscience of our nation was a Black queer woman from Texas.I tell them that I'm from the home of Gov. Ann Richards and that long before these extremist male politicians were so threatened by women controlling their own destiny, Gov. Richards was making it look easy, backwards and in high heels.I tell them that I am from the home of Wendy Davis and Molly Cook and Julian Castro and Joaquin Castro and Gina Ortiz Jones and Molly Ivins. I'm from the home of Celia Israel and Beto O'Rourke and Gene Wu and Monique Alcala and Becca DeFelice.I tell that them that if they listen to Willie Nelson and Beyoncé and Selena, they are listening to Texas music.I tell them that when they watch Simone Biles dominate the Paris Olympics this summer, they are watching a Texas woman do that.I tell them that I'm from the home of Sheila Jackson Lee and Sylvia Garcia and Lizzie Fletcher and Greg Casar. I'm from the home of Veronica Escobar and Al Green and Marc Veasey and Vicente Gonzalez and Lloyd Doggett.I tell them that I am from the home of Jasmine Crockett.I tell them that I am from the home of Sarah Weddington and Cecile Richards and Ilyse Hogue and Kate Cox and millions of Texas women who refuse to be told what they can and cannot do with their own health care. These women terrify the leadership of the Republican Party for a very simple reason: because they know what every Texan knows, regardless of party or ideology or religion or race: they know that there is nothing as powerful as a Texas woman with a plan.I'm from the home of Colin Allred, the son of a single mother and public school teacher, who will be the next senator from the great State of Texas. And it's not because he has embodied a high standard of excellence his entire life (although he has). I's not because he's a beloved and respected Member of Congress (although he is). It's because Texans know, deep down, that Colin Allred is not the kind of man who's gonna fly off to Cancun in the middle of a natural disaster.I'm from the home of Dr. Kristin Hook. She's a former public school teacher and scientist and labor organizer. And when she saw that Chip Roy might be reelected by default, despite his obstruction, despite his irresponsibility, despite his lack of care and attention to the needs of working-class families, she thought to herself: “I can do better than this.” She is now the Democratic nominee for the 21st congressional district of Texas. And folks, she's gonna win.I'm from the home of Lauren Ashley Simmons, a brilliant union organizer and mom who showed up to her local school board meeting in the face of a cowardly and cynical effort by Greg Abbott to take over her children's school district. She looked at the absolute nonsense occurring in front of her and thought: “You know what, I can do better than this.” She came to that meeting as a concerned parent and left as a leader ready to change things. She is now the Democratic nominee for Texas House District 146. And folks, she's gonna win.I tell folks that I am from the home of nearly 400,000 Texas public school teachers and professional support staff who are overworked and underpaid and under-resourced and yet still come to schools every day ready to fight for the future of every young person. Did you what I said? Every young person, regardless of their religion or their race or their economic background or whether or not they are transgender.I tell folks that no matter what I accomplish in this lifetime, every bit of success I have ever achieved would not be possible without my Texas public school education and the teachers who never gave up on me.And I have a message for transgender and nonbinary youth in Texas: you are loved, you are important, you deserve happiness and authenticity, and we will never stop fighting for you.And I tell them that I come from the home of Carolyn Wilson. That's my grandmother. I know what it means to be a Texan because of my grandmother. She taught me that being a Texan means community. It means helping your neighbor. It means lending a hand to the most vulnerable. Being a Texan means no one gets left behind.My grandmother is an atheist, but when I became a Christian at 19, she didn't hesitate to show up to my baptism and tell me that she's proud of me. When I enlisted in the Army, my grandmother wrote me at basic training every week with encouragement, challenging me to reach a higher standard. When I came out as a trans woman, my grandmother told me how proud she is to have me as her granddaughter.The leadership of the Republican Party lives in fear of people like my grandmother because she is closer to the love and grace and empathy of God than they care to understand.They live in fear of meeting a reasonable adult who disagrees with them and defies being put in a box. I'm a progressive, pro-choice trans woman, and I am a Christian military veteran from Texas. They can't stand me because I make it impossible for them to place me in a box. I make it harder for them to divide people and pit Americans against each other.And I'm a Democrat because the Democratic Party has no time for that. Texas Democrats have no time for that. There are working class families to support, homeless veterans to house, minimum wage workers to be helped, gun reform to be achieved, health care to be expanded, children to be fed and educated, civil rights to advance, democracy to be defended, and a country, a proud country, to believe in.Folks, I wanna be very clear about this: we're gonna win in November. President Biden and Vice President Harris will be reelected, Colin Allred will be in the Senate, and we will take back the House.And Texas Democrats are going to lead the way.God bless America. God bless Texas.Thank you.Charlotte's Web Thoughts is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Get full access to Charlotte's Web Thoughts at charlotteclymer.substack.com/subscribe

There are 64 million Latinos in the United States – nearly 20% of the population. By 2050, it's projected that a third of the country's population will be Latino. But despite being such a significant part of the country, Latinos are still often viewed as being immigrants, not fully American – even though they've been a part of American life for centuries. Join us as host Eddie Robinson chats candidly with renowned author and journalist, Marie Arana. Her latest book, LatinoLand: A Portrait of America's Largest and Least Understood Minority, draws from hundreds of interviews and expansive research that not only examine the diverse background of the fastest-growing minority in this country, but also the importance of understanding their history and contributions to this country. Arana, who also served as the inaugural Literary Director of the Library of Congress, shares her own provocative story from growing up in Lima, Peru to arriving in Summit, New Jersey in the wake of the murder of Emmett Till – an African American teen whose death reinvigorated the Civil Rights Movement. She tells I SEE U that Latinos have largely been invisible with a cultural influence that has for too long been dismissed or hidden from public view. Her mission is to encourage all Americans to discover more about this burgeoning population—while the Latino community grapples with understanding its own past, its promising future and its inherent power.

This is an excerpt of this week's bonus show. To hear the full episode subscribe at the Truth-teller level or higher on Patreon.com/Gaslit. If you're already subscribed, be sure to grab our RSS feed on Patreon to never miss an episode! Mike Johnson is Lucy playing football with Charlie Brown. The MAGA Ken doll delayed the vote for Ukraine aid by several more weeks, coming through for Donald Trump, his MAGA cult of violence, and their Kremlin backers. Call it what it is: treason. In this heated bonus show, Andrea is joined by Russian mafia expert Olga Lautman and Italy-based analyst Monique Camarra of the Kremlin File podcast, debating whether Mike Johnson will ever hold his long promised Ukraine aid vote, and ways to overcome his existential threat to civilians in Russia's ongoing genocide.    Our discussion was recorded on Tuesday, and includes a debate between Andrea and Olga on whether Mike Johnson will ever come through. We also discuss President Macron doubling down on sending NATO troops to Ukraine, and the long history of Russian terrorism and Western complacency. On Tuesday, Terrell Starr of the Black Diplomats Podcast and Substack joins Gaslit Nation to discuss the latest in the 2024 election and ways to overcome the threats to our democracy. Later in the month, Ari Berman of Mother Jones will be on the show to discuss his new book Minority Rule: The Right-Wing Attack on the Will of the People--And the Fight to Resist It.    Want to help unblock Ukraine aid in Congress? Contact Joaquin Castro (D-TX) at (202) 225-3236 and Mark Pocan (D-WI) at (202) 225-2906 and demand that they sign the two bipartisan discharge petitions put forth by Rep. Jim McGovern (D-MA) and Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA), which would force a vote in the House to pass aid for Ukraine. For more on that effort, read this urgent statement from the humanitarian nonprofit Razom for Ukraine: https://www.razomforukraine.org/razom-for-ukraine-calls-on-house-democrats-to-sign-discharge-petition/   To our supporters at the Democracy Defender level and higher, submit your questions for our upcoming Q&A! We always enjoy hearing from you! Thank you to everyone who supports the show – we could not make Gaslit Nation without you!   Fight for your mind! To get inspired to make art and bring your projects across the finish line, join us for the Gaslit Nation LIVE Make Art Workshop on April 11 at 7pm EST – be sure to be subscribed at the Truth-teller level or higher to get your ticket to the event!    Join the conversation with a community of listeners at Patreon.com/Gaslit and get bonus shows, all episodes ad free, submit questions to our regular Q&As, get exclusive invites to live events, and more!    Check out our new merch! Get your “F*ck Putin” t-shirt or mug today! https://www.teepublic.com/t-shirt/57796740-f-ck-putin?store_id=3129329  

Not a lot of lawyers can say that they helped create a whole new legal field, but William Shernoff can. On this week's episode, Ralph welcomes trailblazing attorney William Shernoff to discuss predatory insurance practices, and how consumers can protect themselves. This special episode was co-presented by The American Museum of Tort Law, and was recorded in front of a live virtual audience.William Shernoff is the founding partner of Shernoff Bidart Echeverria, a law firm specializing in insurance bad faith litigation. A longtime consumer advocate, he has made a career of representing insurance consumers in their cases against insurance companies. Often called the “father” of bad faith insurance law, in 1979, Mr. Shernoff persuaded the California Supreme Court to establish new case law that permits plaintiffs to sue insurance companies for bad faith seeking both compensatory and punitive damages when they unreasonably handle a policyholder's claim (Egan v. Mutual of Omaha).A frequent lecturer and writer, Mr. Shernoff co-authored the legal textbook, Insurance Bad Faith Litigation, which has become the field's definitive treatise, as well as How to Make Insurance Companies Pay Your Claims . . . . And What To Do If They Don't, Fight Back and Win – And How To Make Your HMO Pay Up, and Payment Refused. Under bad faith law in California and in most states, you not only could get the benefits you deserve under the insurance policy—whether it be life insurance or disability insurance or health insurance. But you can also get damages over and above the policy limits, which are emotional distress damages…Not only can you get the emotional distress damages, but any aggravation of your medical condition. And then punitive damages are on top of that. And attorney's fees are on top of that. So all of these damages are coming from insurance bad faith if the insurance bad faith law applies. And punitive damages are designed to punish the insurance company so that they correct their wrongful conduct in the future, and deter them from unfair claims practices. William ShernoffMost people, if they get a letter from an insurance company—which they consider to be an authoritative source— and the insurance company says, “Your claim is denied because…” and then they cite all kinds of fine print in the insurance policy, most people accept that and don't do anything. They don't see a lawyer. They just accept what their insurance company told them because it sounded quite official to them.William ShernoffInsurance regulation is state-controlled. The federal government has been blocked for decades and the Congress has imposed itself on the federal Federal Trade Commission and said that they can't even investigate the insurance companies without being allowed to by a committee in the House or the Senate that has jurisdiction over such matters. So the privileges of the insurance lobby are quite extraordinary even by comparison with other corporate lobbies.Ralph Nader More people should know about bad-faith cases rights—and use them. And not take whatever is dealt to them by insurance companies—denials, rescission of insurance policies, refusing to renew, other delays, or other crazy obstructions. Learn about your rights.Ralph Nader In Case You Haven't Heard with Francesco DeSantisNews 3/27/241. CNN reports the United Nations Security Council has passed a Gaza ceasefire resolution. The resolution itself is imperfect, calling only for a ceasefire during the month of Ramadan, but this watered down language paved the way for the United States to allow the resolution to pass. The U.S. has vetoed every previous ceasefire resolution before the Security Council and disputes the extent to which this resolution is legally binding. For its part, Israel's Foreign Minister stated unequivocally that Israel “will not cease fire,” per CNN.2. Following the passage of the Security Council resolution, Prime Minister Netanyahu canceled a planned high-level Israeli delegation visit to Washington, per CNBC. The planned visit, which would have included an address to Congress, was staring down scathing criticism from Congressional Progressives. Axios reports Representative Rashida Tlaib, the only Palestinian member of Congress and the most outspoken on the Israeli campaign of terror, said “[Netanyahu] shouldn't come to Congress, he should be sent to the Hague.”3. In another sign of the rift between the Biden Administration and Netanyahu, Haaretz reports that Congressional Democrats are sending formal warnings to the administration stating that Israel is not in compliance with U.S. laws governing the dispensation of military aid.  Joaquin Castro, a Democrat from Texas, said “Congress and [the] White House need to make clear to Israel that we will enforce US law to protect Palestinian children from starvation in Gaza.”4. Professor Jana Silverman, co-chair of the Democratic Socialists of America International Committee, reports “After a totally last-minute, ad-hoc, no-budget campaign, 13.2% of voters in the Democrats Abroad primary said no to genocide in Gaza and voted Uncommitted!” This impressive performance signals that the Uncommitted electoral protest movement isn't going anywhere. The next major test for the movement will be Pennsylvania, where Uncommitted PA is aiming for at least 40,000 votes in the state's April primary, per Lancaster Online.5. In an open letter, over 100 prominent American Jews condemned AIPAC. The letter reads “We are Jewish Americans who have…come together to highlight and oppose the unprecedented and damaging role of AIPAC…in U.S. elections, especially within Democratic Party primaries. We recognize the purpose of AIPAC's interventions in electoral politics is to defeat any critics of Israeli Government policy and to support candidates who vow unwavering loyalty to Israel, thereby ensuring the United States' continuing support for all that Israel does, regardless of its violence and illegality.” Signatories include the Ralph Nader Radio Hour's own Alan Minsky, celebrated academic Judith Butler, Postal Workers Union president Mark Dimondstein, Ben Cohen of Ben & Jerry's, and the actor Wallace Shawn among many others. The full letter is available at USJewsOpposingAipac.org.6. Oscar winning director Jonathan Glazer continues to be the target of phony outrage by pro-Israel groups like the Anti-Defamation League. Coming to the defense of the filmmaker however are other prominent Jewish organizations, like Jewish Voice for Peace and the Auschwitz Memorial, whose director said “In his Oscar acceptance speech, Jonathan Glazer issued a universal moral warning against dehumanization,” per the Guardian. Decorated Jewish playwright Tony Kushner, a signatory on the anti-AIPAC letter, told Haaretz “There's been a concerted attempt by right wing American Jews to sort of sell the idea that American college campuses are awash with virulent antisemites – professors and students and so on. And the Jewish students are walking these campuses in terror for their lives. I think this is nonsense. I see no evidence of it.”7. Both the Gannett and McClatchy newspaper companies have announced they will no longer use AP journalism in their publications, AP reports. This is yet another indication of the dire financial straits the news business finds itself in. The AP notes “Gannett's workforce shrank 47% between 2020 and 2023 because of layoffs and attrition…The company also hasn't earned a full-year profit since 2018… Since then, it has lost $1.03 billion.”8. In Honduras, the Intercept reports “an almost-impossible-to-believe scenario: A group of libertarian investors teamed up with a former Honduran government — which was tied at the hip with narco-traffickers and came to power after a U.S.-backed military coup — in order to implement the world's most radical libertarian policy, which turned over significant portions of the country to those investors through so-called special economic zones. The Honduran public, in a backlash, ousted the narco-backed regime, and the new government repealed the libertarian legislation. The crypto investors are now using the World Bank to force Honduras to honor the narco-government's policies.” While this story has certain unique angles – crypto and narco-trafficking chief among them – the key element is actually quite familiar: international ‘free trade' regimes superseding sovereign governments. We offer Honduras solidarity against these contemporary crypto-filibusters.9. On March 11th, Congressmen Jimmy Gomez and Joaquin Castro sent a letter to the heads of the CIA and FBI demanding disclosures of surveillance efforts on Latino civil rights leaders during the 1960s and ‘70s, citing the well-documented pattern of surveillance on Black civil rights leaders during that period and the wealth of circumstantial evidence indicating that these organs of national security did the same toward prominent Latino figures such as Cesar Chavez. The following day, in a hearing before the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, Rep. Castro pressed CIA Director Bill Burns on the matter, and Burns committed to working with his office to bring these activities to light. We hope that further transparency will beget further transparency and that some day the complete account of the CIA and FBI's domestic surveillance programs will be a matter of public record.10. Finally, in Mississippi, CBS reports that authorities have successfully convicted all six members of a police gang calling themselves the “Goon Squad.” These six white officers plead guilty to “breaking into a home without a warrant and torturing two Black men…The assault involved beatings, the repeated use of stun guns and assaults with a sex toy before one of the victims was shot in the mouth in a mock execution.” Lawyers representing the criminal cops allege that “their clients became ensnared in a culture of corruption that was not only permitted, but encouraged by leaders within the sheriff's office.” If true, then a federal investigation – and likely more than a few exonerations of individuals victimized by this “Goon Squad” – are in order. Justice demands it.This has been Francesco DeSantis, with In Case You Haven't Heard. Get full access to Ralph Nader Radio Hour at www.ralphnaderradiohour.com/subscribe

The journey began with the story of the Spanish boar that saved Castro's life.

State of the Union. Speaking of propaganda, Joe Scarborough saying Joe Biden is at his best is wild. Marjorie Taylor Greene Breaks House Rules to Wear MAGA Hat at State of the Union. Joe last night was not giving a SOTU, it was a screaming stump speech. Braun is in the lead in the Governor's speech. Tony talks about the interviews he's been conducting with the candidates. The antisemitic speech law here in Indiana. Republicans fear Democrat backlash. Congress goes after Tik Tok. Tik Tok fights back. Popcorn Moment: Biden takes on the Supreme Court over abortion during his SOTU. Plainfield Arts and Entertainment center. This is how you help a city build. Biden brings up Laken Riley at the SOTU, and fails. Nancy Pelosi angry that Biden said “Illegal” regarding Laken Riley's murder. Republican Sen. Katie Britt of Alabama gave the GOP response to the SOTU. Bitcoin is exploding. Tony is against federal digital currency. CASH MATTERS. CASH IS KING. Gold Star father heckles Biden during SOTU. Hochul sends National Guard to protect the subways in NYC. Here in Indy, the Blue Line continues on. Fill up on the News. Jobs report.  Joaquin Castro lying about Gaza. The Gaza Health Ministry is all propaganda...but we already knew that -   See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The wife of a Texas Ranger who was murdered in what some feel was a hate crime will be at tonight's State of the Union. Priscilla Martinez says it's important to stand up to a growing trend of white supremacy. "We do have a target on our back and we need to speak up," Martinez said. Her husband was allegedly killed by a neighbor who previously told them that Latinos were not welcome in their community. "We do need to bring awareness to hate, to racism, not just with Latinos but African Americans as well." Martinez will be a guest tonight of Congressman Joaquin Castro of San Antonio. He says the GOP is fanning the flames of hate, pointing to a meeting between prominent donors and neo-Nazi Nick Fuentes. "This is a once in a lifetime opportunity and I have to speak up for the ones that can't speak anymore." Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Heartland POD for Friday, February 23, 2024A flyover from this weeks top heartland stories including:Primary voting is underway in Texas | Kansas Medicaid expansion update | Illinois Gov J.B. Pritzker lays out priorities as a progressive pragmatist | Missouri Democrats filibuster ballot candy | KS Gov Laura Kelly's veto will stand Primary voting is underway in Texashttps://www.texastribune.org/2024/02/21/julie-johnson-brian-williams-congressional-district-32-colin-allred/BY SEJAL GOVINDARAOFEB. 21, 2024WASHINGTON — In 2018, Rep. Colin Allred flipped Texas' 32nd Congressional District, turning the Dallas-based district into a blue stronghold. Now, as the Democrat vies to unseat U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, a crowded field of 10 Democrats is lining up to replace him.Dr. Brian Williams, a trauma surgeon, and State Rep. Julie Johnson, of Farmers Branch, are leading the field in the Democratic primary with their fundraising efforts, each amassing about a million dollars in campaign donations since their campaigns were registered at the beginning of last summer.Ideologically, Williams and Johnson are aligned. They both rank health care a top priority if elected, and have touted their ability to work across the aisle.Johnson, a trial lawyer in her third term in the state House rode the 2019 blue wave to unseat hardline conservative incumbent Matt Rinaldi, by 13 points. Rinaldi now chairs the state GOP. In her three terms, at least 40 of the bills Johnson has co-authored or joint-authored have been signed into law.As a Democrat in the Republican-dominated state Legislature, Johnson has played a lot of defense trying to kill bills she and other progressives deem harmful. Johnson, who is gay, said she and other members of the House's LGBTQ caucus have had success in killing anti-LGBTQ bills by mastering the rules of procedure and “being better at the rules than the other side.” In 2019, she took down a House version of the so-called “Save Chick-fil-A bill” on a rule technicality. The bill was a response to a San Antonio airport kicking out the fast food restaurant over criticism of its religiously affiliated donations to anti-LGBTQ groups. It was revived in another bill and passed into law.If elected, Johnson would be the first openly LGBTQ member of Congress from a Southern state. She's drawn notable endorsements from Beto O'Rourke, Rep. Lloyd Doggett, D-Austin, EMILY's List, Equality PAC, and several labor unions.Matt Angle, director of Lone Star Project, a Texas group that works to boost Democrats, said Johnson is the frontrunner in the race, but Williams is a formidable challenger.“Make no mistake about it though,” Angle said. “Julie Johnson has a voter base within the district not only from her old district, but also just from years of being an active Democratic activist and a donor and really a couple of just outstanding terms in the legislature.”While he may be new to the Texas political arena, Williams is no stranger to the halls of Congress.Williams was a health policy adviser to U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy — who endorsed him — to help pass the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act in 2022 – the farthest reaching gun safety legislation in decades. The legislation, crafted in the aftermath of the shootings in Uvalde and Buffalo New York, allocated millions of dollars to expand mental health resources, strengthens background checks and tightens the boyfriend loophole. U.S. Sen. John Cornyn was a lead negotiator on the bill with Murphy, and Williams worked closely with Cornyn's office. In his role as a health policy advisor for Murphy, he worked across the aisle with Republican Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana on mental health legislation.Williams also worked with former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of California to pass federal health care legislation related to pandemic preparedness and reducing health care costs.Williams said his experience as a trauma surgeon — operating on victims of gun violence and women experiencing reproductive health emergencies — has fueled his priorities to fight for gun restrictions and increase access to abortions and other womens' health. Williams added his perspective as a Black doctor seeing racial disparities in health care will resonate with the district's diverse constituency, given that the district is now a majority-minority district with a 37% Hispanic or Latino population, 22% Black population and 8% Asian population.“They're excited that there's someone that looks like them that can represent them in Congress,” Williams said in an interview.As Allred opted to stay neutral in the race to succeed him – Williams said he had pursued his endorsement while Johnson said she had not – the tension between Johnson and Williams has been heating up.Williams has publicly criticized Johnson for a vote she took that would have made some changes and tweaks to the state's Alternatives to Abortions program, which provides information about resources to women seeking the procedure.“I draw contrast between myself and Representative Johnson about how I am the better candidate,” Williams said.Johnson, who is endorsed by Planned Parenthood, said Williams misrepresented the vote, which she said she cast to bring the already-funded program under the scope of the Health and Human Services Commission so it could be subject to public transparency. Her campaign published a fact-check on her website, likening Williams' misrepresentation of her record to “Trumpian-style, false attacks.”Planned Parenthood was critical of the legislation.Johnson said women's health is also a priority for her, and she stands by her record.“Texas leads the nation of uninsured folks, and in maternal mortality, and in infant mortality. Obviously, we're leading the nation in an attack on women's freedom for women's reproductive health, and I've been a champion of a lot of these issues,” she said.Other candidates vying for the open seat in the March 5 primary include businessman Raja Chaudhry, tech entrepreneur Alex Cornwallis, former Dallas City Councilman and real estate broker Kevin Felder and attorney Callie Butcher, who would be the first openly transgender member of Congress if elected.If no candidate gets a majority of the vote, there will be a runoff in May. The winner of the Democratic primary will face off against the winner of the Republican primary in November but is likely to win given that the district is solidly blue.And, from Dallas we go to Houston whereAfter bruising loss in Houston mayoral race, U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee faces her toughest reelection yetJackson Lee faces off against Amanda Edwards, her most formidable congressional opponent in three decades.https://www.texastribune.org/2024/02/19/sheila-jackson-lee-amanda-edwards-democratic-primary-houston/BY SEJAL GOVINDARAOFEB. 19, 2024In 1994, Sheila Jackson Lee, then a 44-year-old Houston city councilwoman, unseated four-term U.S. Rep. Craig Washington in the Democratic primary, securing a seat she'd come to hold for the next 30 years.This March, former Houston City Councilwoman Amanda Edwards, 42, is hoping to replicate that political upset as she faces off against Jackson Lee in the Democratic primary for Congressional District 18.Jackson Lee, who did not respond to requests for an interview, has only drawn four primary challengers over her 14-term career, all of whom she defeated by landslide margins.She's a household name in her Houston-based district, known for her frequent visibility at constituent graduations, funerals and baby showers.But last year she ran for Houston mayor against then-state Sen. John Whitmire. It was a bruising primary — unfamiliar territory for Jackson Lee — and her campaign was roiled with negative media after audio of her berating her congressional staffers was leaked. She ended up losing the race by 30 points and then immediately announced she was running for reelection to the U.S. House.Amanda Edwards, a former intern in Jackson Lee's office, initially announced she was running for Houston mayor until the congresswoman threw her hat in the ring. At that point, Edwards pivoted — endorsing Jackson Lee as mayor and beginning her own bid for Congress.By the time Jackson Lee announced she was running for her House seat again, Edwards had already gained momentum. In the fourth quarter of last year, Edwards outraised the congresswoman 10 to 1 — $272,000 to Jackson Lee's $23,000.Mark Jones, Baker Institute fellow in political science at Rice University said, “This could be the year that Congresswoman Jackson Lee loses. And given that as a safe, Democratic, seat whoever wins the primary will be headed to Washington in January of 2025”Jackson Lee holds a narrow lead in primary polls, while 16% of voters remain undecided. Edwards, a native Houstonian, said her commitment to public service is propelled by her father's battle with cancer when she was a teenager, where she learned firsthand about the cracks in the health care system and how “policy could be a matter of life and death.” She served as an at-large Houston City Council member from 2016 to 2020, where she represented a constituency of more than 2 million people.In her race to beat Jackson Lee, Edwards has garnered some notable endorsements including the Harris County Young Democrats, and the Harris County chapter of the Texas Coalition of Black Democrats – both of which endorsed Jackson Lee in past races.The Harris County Young Democrats rescinded its endorsement of Jackson Lee in the mayoral race — citing a “zero tolerance policy” for staff abuse.Lenard Polk, Harris County chapter president of the Texas Coalition of Black Democrats, said Jackson Lee's leaked audio tape controversy also factored into the committee's decision to not endorse her. On the recording Jackson Lee berates a staffer for not having a document she was looking for and calls two of her staffers “Goddamn big-ass children, fuckin' idiots who serve no Goddamn purpose.”He said endorsement committee members were still “quite upset” over the tape and it “wasn't a good look” for Jackson Lee. The leaked tape fueled discourse about Jackson Lee's reputation as an unkind boss on Capitol Hill – she regularly makes Washingtonian Magazine's worst of Congress list and her office has high turnover rates.Polk added that voters felt abandoned by Jackson Lee, who jumped into the mayor's race without endorsing someone to take her place, only to file for reelection a day after losing.Jackson Lee's battle to retain her seat is made tougher by 2021 redistricting, because the 18th district now includes more young white professionals who do not have the same level of loyalty to her as longtime district residents.But despite any damage she may have incurred from her mayoral run, Jackson Lee remains a powerful political force in her district.County Commissioner Rodney Ellis, who is backing Jackson Lee, said he doesn't know anyone in local politics with her “energy level,” and that Jackson Lee has secured meaningful federal grants for her district – most recently $20.5 million to Harris County Public Health Department's Uplift Harris Guaranteed Income Pilot project. He also said she has a reputation for being a reliably progressive voice in Congress.Jackson Lee has a long list of powerful endorsements from House Democratic leaders like House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and Minority Whip Katherine Clarke. She's backed by Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo and former Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner and other members of Texas' Washington delegation including Democratic Reps. Lizzie Fletcher of Houston, Lloyd Doggett of Austin, Henry Cuellar of Laredo and Joaquin Castro of San Antonio.Ellis said Jackson Lee may not be a strong fundraiser but she will benefit from her incumbency advantage.Linda Bell-Robinson, a Houston Democratic precinct chair, said she is fighting for Jackson Lee to retain her seat because seniority in Congress is important and Edwards would be learning the ropes as a freshman if elected.“We need fighters,” she said. “We don't need people trying to learn how to fight on the battlefield. We need people who are already fighting and know how to fight their fight.SEAN: Super interesting race. For my part, I don't have any problem with members of Congress being extremely tough to work for. I have problems with lying, fraud, criminal activity, and squishy voting records. Congresswoman Jackson Lee has 100% ratings from Planned Parenthood, the ACLU, and AFL-CIO. She has a 95% rating from League of Conservation VotersNew estimate predicts Medicaid expansion would serve 152K at no cost to stateA $509M federal incentive would help offset state cost for first eight yearsBY: SHERMAN SMITH - FEBRUARY 22, 2024 4:22 PMhttps://kansasreflector.com/2024/02/22/new-estimate-predicts-medicaid-expansion-would-serve-152k-at-no-cost-to-state/TOPEKA — The Kansas Health Institute on Thursday unveiled its analysis of Gov. Laura Kelly's proposal to expand Medicaid, predicting 152,000 Kansans would enroll in the first year with no additional cost to the state government.The Democratic governor has made passage of Medicaid expansion a top legislative priority this year, following her statewide campaign to promote the policy last fall. But Republican leadership in the Legislature opposes the policy and has blocked hearings on Medicaid expansion for four years.Kansas is one of just 10 states that still haven't expanded Medicaid since President Barack Obama signed the Affordable Care Act in 2010.The state-run version of Medicaid, called KanCare, provides health care services to low-income families, seniors and people with disabilities. Currently, those who earn less than 38% of the federal poverty level are eligible. For a family of four, the annual income limit is $11,400.Under the ACA, also known as Obamacare, the federal government offers to cover 90% of the cost of Medicaid services in exchange for expanding eligibility to 138% of the federal poverty rate. The annual income threshold for a family of four would be $41,400.Kelly's proposal includes a work requirement with exceptions for full-time students, veterans, caregivers, people with partial disabilities, and former foster kids. Her plan also would add a new surcharge for hospitals.KHI predicts the change in income eligibility would result in 151,898 people enrolling in KanCare — 106,450 adults and 45,448 children. Those numbers include 68,236 adults and 16,377 children who are currently uninsured.About 68.9% of the adults are already working at least part-time, according to the KHI analysis. Of the remaining 31.1% KHI determined 19.1% of the unemployed adults have a disability, 16.1% are students and 3.8% are veterans.KHI calculated the cost to the state for expanding Medicaid over the first eight years would be fully offset — mostly because of a $509 million incentive included in the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021. Other savings would come from the federal government picking up more of the tab on existing services, as well as the new surcharge on hospitals. The Kansas Sunflower Foundation on Thursday released findings from surveys that found 68% of Kansas voters, including 51% of Republicans and 83% of small business owners support Medicaid expansion.Steve Baccus, an Ottawa County farmer and former president of Kansas Farm Bureau, said in a news release that expanding Medicaid was about “investing in the well-being of our communities.”Baccus said “Our rural communities are often struggling to keep Main Street open and to continue to offer the necessary services to the surrounding agricultural enterprises. A community that can offer a total health care package has an advantage in maintaining a viable town.”The findings are consistent with a Fort Hays State University poll that was released in October.With budget proposal and fiery address, Pritzker paints himself as progressive pragmatistThursday, February 22, 2024Governor's spending plan advances progressive-backed policies in tight fiscal landscapeBy HANNAH MEISELCapitol News Illinoishmeisel@capitolnewsillinois.comhttps://capitolnewsillinois.com/NEWS/with-budget-proposal-and-fiery-address-pritzker-paints-himself-as-progressive-pragmatistSPRINGFIELD – In delivering his annual State of the State and budget address on Wednesday, Gov. JB Pritzker cast his administration as both progressive and pragmatic – a balance he's worked to strike as his national profile has grown.Some elements of the governor's proposed spending plan, like using $10 million in state funds to eliminate $1 billion worth of Illinoisans' medical debt, are hardline progressive ideas. Others, including a goal to achieve “universal preschool” by 2027, fit in with a more traditional liberal platform.But Pritzker has also defined his success in traditional economic terms, putting particular stock into how New York City-based credit ratings agencies view Illinois' finances, while also positioning Illinois as a hub for emerging technologies like electric vehicles and quantum computing. As Illinois faces an influx of migrants from the southern U.S. border Pritzker has leaned into a leadership style that prioritizes progressive ideals while projecting an image of fiscal responsibility.As he outlined a proposal to add $182 Million toward the state's migrant response, Gov. Pritzker said, “We didn't ask for this manufactured crisis, But we must deal with it all the same.”“Children, pregnant women, and the elderly have been sent here in the dead of night, left far from our designated welcome centers, in freezing temperatures, wearing flip flops and T-shirts,” Pritzker said. “Think about that the next time a politician from Texas wants to lecture you about being a good Christian.”The governor was met with big applause from Democrats in laying out his proposed “Healthcare Consumer Access and Protection Act,” which would, in part, ban “prior authorization” requirements for mental health treatment.Pritzker characterized the practice of prior authorization as a way for insurance companies to deny the care that doctors have prescribed.Pritzker is also proposing spending $10 million in state funds to buy Illinoisans' past-due medical debt that's been sent to collections. Partnering with national nonprofit RIP Medical Debt, which buys debt for pennies on the dollar on the same market that collections agencies purchase the rights to the debts, the governor said Illinois could “relieve nearly $1 billion in medical debt for the first cohort of 340,000 Illinoisans.”The governor spent time noting two key places he said Illinois fails its Black citizens:  maternal mortality and disproportionate rates of homelessness. To combat Black maternal mortality rates, Pritzker proposed helping more community-based reproductive health centers to open, citing Illinois' first freestanding nonprofit birthing center in Berwyn as a model.He said, “Black women in our state are three times more likely to die from pregnancy-related causes than white women.” Pritzker proposed spending an additional $50 million on the state's “Home Illinois” program launched in 2021, in part to “attack the root causes of housing insecurity for Black Illinoisans.” He cited a statistic that Black people make up 61 percent of Illinois' homeless population despite only being 14 percent of the state's general population.Additionally, the governor proposed a $1 million pilot program for free diapers for low-income families, as well as a $5 million increased investment in an existing home visit program “for our most vulnerable families” with babies in their first year.His budget also includes $12 million to create a child tax credit for families with children under three with incomes below a certain threshold. Among the successes Pritzker pointed to, perhaps the most salient is his claim that Illinois' new “Smart Start” early childhood program – proposed last year in the governor's second inaugural address – had exceeded its first-year goals.The program aimed to create 5,000 new preschool seats last year, but ended up creating 5,823, Pritzker said – a 15 percent overperformance. “As a result, right now we have over 82,000 publicly-funded preschool classroom seats – the highest number in our state's history. Staying on the Smart Start plan, we will achieve universal preschool by 2027.”Echoing his 2022 election-year call for a temporary pause on the state's 1 percent tax on groceries, Pritzker on Wednesday proposed nixing the grocery tax altogether.He said “It's one more regressive tax we just don't need. If it reduces inflation for families from 4 percent to 3 percent, even if it only puts a few hundred bucks back in families' pockets, it's the right thing to do.”Even while proposing a series of progressive expenditures, the governor also sought to cast himself as a pragmatist when it comes to state finances. The state has seen strong revenue performances in the past few years, But in November, the governor's own economic forecasting office predicted a nearly $900 million deficit in the fiscal year that begins July 1.“Our FY25 budget proposal makes some hard choices,” Pritzker said Wednesday. “I wish we had big surpluses to work with this year to take on every one of the very real challenges we face.”Illinois' once-paltry “rainy day” fund now has $2 billion socked away, the governor noted, and the state has paid off high-interest debt during his five years in office.To mitigate Illinois' previously projected deficit, Pritzker is proposing to more than double the tax rate paid by sportsbooks on profits – a change that would bring in an estimated $200 million annually. He also proposed extending an existing cap on operating losses that businesses can claim on taxes, which could help generate more than $500 million, the governor's office claims.Another revenue generator proposed by the governor: raising $101 million by capping a sales tax credit retailers are allowed to claim. But business groups on Wednesday signaled they'd put up a fight. In his first few months in office in 2019, Pritzker used his fresh political capital to muscle a $15 minimum wage ramp through the legislature – a long-fought-for progressive policy goal – followed closely by a trip to New York City to meet with executives at the influential big three credit ratings agencies.When Pritzker took office, Illinois' credit ratings were hovering around “junk” status after a two-year budget impasse under his predecessor, Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner. And though Illinois suffered a final credit downgrade in the early months of COVID, the state has since received nine upgrades.The governor on Wednesday held those upgrades in high regard, saying“My one line in the sand is that I will only sign a budget that is responsibly balanced and that does not diminish or derail the improving credit standing we have achieved for the last five years,”Andrew Adams contributed.Missouri Senate Dems Hold The Line In Ballot Fighthttps://missouriindependent.com/2024/02/20/democrat-filibuster-forces-removal-of-ballot-candy-from-senate-initiative-petition-bill/BY: RUDI KELLER - FEBRUARY 20, 2024 5:15 PM     A Democratic filibuster that stretched more than 20 hours ended this week when Senate Republicans stripped provisions critics derided as “ballot candy” from a proposal to make it harder to pass constitutional amendments proposed by initiative petitions.Ballot candy refers to language designed to trick voters - into thinking the initiative is about ensuring only citizens vote, for instance - when that's totally irrelevant to the question voters are deciding.By an 18-12 vote, with nine Republicans and nine Democrats forming the majority, language that stated non-citizens could not vote on constitutional amendments was removed, as were sections barring foreign governments and political parties from taking sides in Missouri ballot measures.The Senate then, by a voice vote, gave first-round approval to the bill that would require both a statewide majority and a majority vote in five of the state's eight congressional districts to pass future constitutional amendments.The proposal would alter the way Missourians have approved constitutional changes since the first statewide vote on a constitution in 1846.Senate Minority Leader John Rizzo of Independence, a Democrat, said, “All we're asking for is a fair fight. And the Republicans know if it's a fair fight, they lose, which is why they have to pump it full of ballot candy and mislead voters.”Meanwhile, the House spent much of Tuesday morning debating legislation that would make changes to the signature gathering process for initiative petition campaigns.Among numerous provisions, the bill would require signatures be recorded using black or dark ink and that signature gatherers be citizens of the United States, residents of Missouri or physically present in Missouri for at least 30 consecutive days prior to the collection of signatures.Its most sweeping provision grants new authority to the secretary of state and attorney general to review initiative and referendum petitions for compliance with the Missouri Constitution.The effort to make it harder to get on the ballot and harder to pass a constitutional amendment has been a GOP priority for several years. In the past two election cycles, voters have expanded Medicaid coverage and legalized recreational marijuana, circumventing the GOP majority that opposed both. The push to raise the threshold on amendments proposed by initiative has taken on a new urgency for Republicans as abortion-rights supporters move ahead with a signature campaign to make this year's ballot.The results on abortion amendments in other states has Missouri abortion foes anxious about whether they can defend the state's almost total ban in a statewide election. Voters in Ohio last year rejected an effort to increase the majority needed to pass constitutional amendments before voting 57% in favor of abortion rights. And in 2022, Kansas voters defeated an attempt to restrict abortion rights by a landslide vote.Gov. Kelly Keep Kansas GOP In Linehttps://kansasreflector.com/2024/02/20/kansas-house-republicans-fail-to-override-governors-veto-on-massive-tax-reform-bill/Kansas House Republicans fail to override governor's veto on massive tax reform billBY: TIM CARPENTER - FEBRUARY 20, 2024 12:41 PM     TOPEKA — The Republican-led Kansas House failed Tuesday to override Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly ‘s veto of a tax reform bill anchored by implementation of a single, flat state income tax rate of 5.25% in addition to elimination of the state sales tax on groceries and creation of a tax exemption for all Social Security income.The GOP holds supermajorities in the House and Senate, but there was skepticism that both chambers could muster two-thirds majorities necessary to rebuke Kelly given opposition among conservative and moderate Republicans to parts of the three-year, $1.6 billion tax cut favoring the state's most wealthy. Kelly said the decision of House members to sustain her veto was a win for working-class Kansans who would have seen “little relief under this irresponsible flat tax experiment.” The Legislature should move ahead with her proposal for reducing $1 billion in taxes over three years.The governor said “I urge legislators to work together to cut taxes in a way that continues our economic growth and maintains our solid fiscal foundation while benefitting all Kansans, not just those at the top,”.Rep. Tom Sawyer, D-Wichita, said the cost of the tax reform bill could reach $600 million annually when fully implemented, and the plan didn't do enough for the middle class in Kansas. He said a married couple earning $42,000 to $75,000 per year would only see an income tax reduction of about 75 cents.Rep. Trevor Jacobs of Fort Scott was among Republicans who opposed overriding Kelly's veto. He said the flat tax would force the state's working class to carry a larger burden of the state tax load. And the 2024 Legislature had sufficient time to develop an alternative that provided tax relief to all Kansans rather than just a select few.Good thinking! See it's not just Democrats who think KS Gov Laura Kelly knows what she's doing. Welp, that's it for me! From Denver I'm Sean Diller. Stories in today's show appeared first in the Missouri Independent, Kansas Reflector, Texas Tribune, and Capitol News Illinois. Thanks for listening, see you next time.  @TheHeartlandPOD on Twitter and ThreadsCo-HostsAdam Sommer @Adam_Sommer85 (Twitter) @adam_sommer85 (Post)Rachel Parker @msraitchetp (Post) Sean Diller (no social)The Heartland Collective - Sign Up Today!JOIN PATREON FOR MORE - AND JOIN OUR SOCIAL NETWORK!“Change The Conversation”Outro Song: “The World Is On Fire” by American Aquarium http://www.americanaquarium.com/

The Heartland POD for Friday, February 23, 2024A flyover from this weeks top heartland stories including:Primary voting is underway in Texas | Kansas Medicaid expansion update | Illinois Gov J.B. Pritzker lays out priorities as a progressive pragmatist | Missouri Democrats filibuster ballot candy | KS Gov Laura Kelly's veto will stand Primary voting is underway in Texashttps://www.texastribune.org/2024/02/21/julie-johnson-brian-williams-congressional-district-32-colin-allred/BY SEJAL GOVINDARAOFEB. 21, 2024WASHINGTON — In 2018, Rep. Colin Allred flipped Texas' 32nd Congressional District, turning the Dallas-based district into a blue stronghold. Now, as the Democrat vies to unseat U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, a crowded field of 10 Democrats is lining up to replace him.Dr. Brian Williams, a trauma surgeon, and State Rep. Julie Johnson, of Farmers Branch, are leading the field in the Democratic primary with their fundraising efforts, each amassing about a million dollars in campaign donations since their campaigns were registered at the beginning of last summer.Ideologically, Williams and Johnson are aligned. They both rank health care a top priority if elected, and have touted their ability to work across the aisle.Johnson, a trial lawyer in her third term in the state House rode the 2019 blue wave to unseat hardline conservative incumbent Matt Rinaldi, by 13 points. Rinaldi now chairs the state GOP. In her three terms, at least 40 of the bills Johnson has co-authored or joint-authored have been signed into law.As a Democrat in the Republican-dominated state Legislature, Johnson has played a lot of defense trying to kill bills she and other progressives deem harmful. Johnson, who is gay, said she and other members of the House's LGBTQ caucus have had success in killing anti-LGBTQ bills by mastering the rules of procedure and “being better at the rules than the other side.” In 2019, she took down a House version of the so-called “Save Chick-fil-A bill” on a rule technicality. The bill was a response to a San Antonio airport kicking out the fast food restaurant over criticism of its religiously affiliated donations to anti-LGBTQ groups. It was revived in another bill and passed into law.If elected, Johnson would be the first openly LGBTQ member of Congress from a Southern state. She's drawn notable endorsements from Beto O'Rourke, Rep. Lloyd Doggett, D-Austin, EMILY's List, Equality PAC, and several labor unions.Matt Angle, director of Lone Star Project, a Texas group that works to boost Democrats, said Johnson is the frontrunner in the race, but Williams is a formidable challenger.“Make no mistake about it though,” Angle said. “Julie Johnson has a voter base within the district not only from her old district, but also just from years of being an active Democratic activist and a donor and really a couple of just outstanding terms in the legislature.”While he may be new to the Texas political arena, Williams is no stranger to the halls of Congress.Williams was a health policy adviser to U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy — who endorsed him — to help pass the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act in 2022 – the farthest reaching gun safety legislation in decades. The legislation, crafted in the aftermath of the shootings in Uvalde and Buffalo New York, allocated millions of dollars to expand mental health resources, strengthens background checks and tightens the boyfriend loophole. U.S. Sen. John Cornyn was a lead negotiator on the bill with Murphy, and Williams worked closely with Cornyn's office. In his role as a health policy advisor for Murphy, he worked across the aisle with Republican Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana on mental health legislation.Williams also worked with former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of California to pass federal health care legislation related to pandemic preparedness and reducing health care costs.Williams said his experience as a trauma surgeon — operating on victims of gun violence and women experiencing reproductive health emergencies — has fueled his priorities to fight for gun restrictions and increase access to abortions and other womens' health. Williams added his perspective as a Black doctor seeing racial disparities in health care will resonate with the district's diverse constituency, given that the district is now a majority-minority district with a 37% Hispanic or Latino population, 22% Black population and 8% Asian population.“They're excited that there's someone that looks like them that can represent them in Congress,” Williams said in an interview.As Allred opted to stay neutral in the race to succeed him – Williams said he had pursued his endorsement while Johnson said she had not – the tension between Johnson and Williams has been heating up.Williams has publicly criticized Johnson for a vote she took that would have made some changes and tweaks to the state's Alternatives to Abortions program, which provides information about resources to women seeking the procedure.“I draw contrast between myself and Representative Johnson about how I am the better candidate,” Williams said.Johnson, who is endorsed by Planned Parenthood, said Williams misrepresented the vote, which she said she cast to bring the already-funded program under the scope of the Health and Human Services Commission so it could be subject to public transparency. Her campaign published a fact-check on her website, likening Williams' misrepresentation of her record to “Trumpian-style, false attacks.”Planned Parenthood was critical of the legislation.Johnson said women's health is also a priority for her, and she stands by her record.“Texas leads the nation of uninsured folks, and in maternal mortality, and in infant mortality. Obviously, we're leading the nation in an attack on women's freedom for women's reproductive health, and I've been a champion of a lot of these issues,” she said.Other candidates vying for the open seat in the March 5 primary include businessman Raja Chaudhry, tech entrepreneur Alex Cornwallis, former Dallas City Councilman and real estate broker Kevin Felder and attorney Callie Butcher, who would be the first openly transgender member of Congress if elected.If no candidate gets a majority of the vote, there will be a runoff in May. The winner of the Democratic primary will face off against the winner of the Republican primary in November but is likely to win given that the district is solidly blue.And, from Dallas we go to Houston whereAfter bruising loss in Houston mayoral race, U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee faces her toughest reelection yetJackson Lee faces off against Amanda Edwards, her most formidable congressional opponent in three decades.https://www.texastribune.org/2024/02/19/sheila-jackson-lee-amanda-edwards-democratic-primary-houston/BY SEJAL GOVINDARAOFEB. 19, 2024In 1994, Sheila Jackson Lee, then a 44-year-old Houston city councilwoman, unseated four-term U.S. Rep. Craig Washington in the Democratic primary, securing a seat she'd come to hold for the next 30 years.This March, former Houston City Councilwoman Amanda Edwards, 42, is hoping to replicate that political upset as she faces off against Jackson Lee in the Democratic primary for Congressional District 18.Jackson Lee, who did not respond to requests for an interview, has only drawn four primary challengers over her 14-term career, all of whom she defeated by landslide margins.She's a household name in her Houston-based district, known for her frequent visibility at constituent graduations, funerals and baby showers.But last year she ran for Houston mayor against then-state Sen. John Whitmire. It was a bruising primary — unfamiliar territory for Jackson Lee — and her campaign was roiled with negative media after audio of her berating her congressional staffers was leaked. She ended up losing the race by 30 points and then immediately announced she was running for reelection to the U.S. House.Amanda Edwards, a former intern in Jackson Lee's office, initially announced she was running for Houston mayor until the congresswoman threw her hat in the ring. At that point, Edwards pivoted — endorsing Jackson Lee as mayor and beginning her own bid for Congress.By the time Jackson Lee announced she was running for her House seat again, Edwards had already gained momentum. In the fourth quarter of last year, Edwards outraised the congresswoman 10 to 1 — $272,000 to Jackson Lee's $23,000.Mark Jones, Baker Institute fellow in political science at Rice University said, “This could be the year that Congresswoman Jackson Lee loses. And given that as a safe, Democratic, seat whoever wins the primary will be headed to Washington in January of 2025”Jackson Lee holds a narrow lead in primary polls, while 16% of voters remain undecided. Edwards, a native Houstonian, said her commitment to public service is propelled by her father's battle with cancer when she was a teenager, where she learned firsthand about the cracks in the health care system and how “policy could be a matter of life and death.” She served as an at-large Houston City Council member from 2016 to 2020, where she represented a constituency of more than 2 million people.In her race to beat Jackson Lee, Edwards has garnered some notable endorsements including the Harris County Young Democrats, and the Harris County chapter of the Texas Coalition of Black Democrats – both of which endorsed Jackson Lee in past races.The Harris County Young Democrats rescinded its endorsement of Jackson Lee in the mayoral race — citing a “zero tolerance policy” for staff abuse.Lenard Polk, Harris County chapter president of the Texas Coalition of Black Democrats, said Jackson Lee's leaked audio tape controversy also factored into the committee's decision to not endorse her. On the recording Jackson Lee berates a staffer for not having a document she was looking for and calls two of her staffers “Goddamn big-ass children, fuckin' idiots who serve no Goddamn purpose.”He said endorsement committee members were still “quite upset” over the tape and it “wasn't a good look” for Jackson Lee. The leaked tape fueled discourse about Jackson Lee's reputation as an unkind boss on Capitol Hill – she regularly makes Washingtonian Magazine's worst of Congress list and her office has high turnover rates.Polk added that voters felt abandoned by Jackson Lee, who jumped into the mayor's race without endorsing someone to take her place, only to file for reelection a day after losing.Jackson Lee's battle to retain her seat is made tougher by 2021 redistricting, because the 18th district now includes more young white professionals who do not have the same level of loyalty to her as longtime district residents.But despite any damage she may have incurred from her mayoral run, Jackson Lee remains a powerful political force in her district.County Commissioner Rodney Ellis, who is backing Jackson Lee, said he doesn't know anyone in local politics with her “energy level,” and that Jackson Lee has secured meaningful federal grants for her district – most recently $20.5 million to Harris County Public Health Department's Uplift Harris Guaranteed Income Pilot project. He also said she has a reputation for being a reliably progressive voice in Congress.Jackson Lee has a long list of powerful endorsements from House Democratic leaders like House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and Minority Whip Katherine Clarke. She's backed by Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo and former Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner and other members of Texas' Washington delegation including Democratic Reps. Lizzie Fletcher of Houston, Lloyd Doggett of Austin, Henry Cuellar of Laredo and Joaquin Castro of San Antonio.Ellis said Jackson Lee may not be a strong fundraiser but she will benefit from her incumbency advantage.Linda Bell-Robinson, a Houston Democratic precinct chair, said she is fighting for Jackson Lee to retain her seat because seniority in Congress is important and Edwards would be learning the ropes as a freshman if elected.“We need fighters,” she said. “We don't need people trying to learn how to fight on the battlefield. We need people who are already fighting and know how to fight their fight.SEAN: Super interesting race. For my part, I don't have any problem with members of Congress being extremely tough to work for. I have problems with lying, fraud, criminal activity, and squishy voting records. Congresswoman Jackson Lee has 100% ratings from Planned Parenthood, the ACLU, and AFL-CIO. She has a 95% rating from League of Conservation VotersNew estimate predicts Medicaid expansion would serve 152K at no cost to stateA $509M federal incentive would help offset state cost for first eight yearsBY: SHERMAN SMITH - FEBRUARY 22, 2024 4:22 PMhttps://kansasreflector.com/2024/02/22/new-estimate-predicts-medicaid-expansion-would-serve-152k-at-no-cost-to-state/TOPEKA — The Kansas Health Institute on Thursday unveiled its analysis of Gov. Laura Kelly's proposal to expand Medicaid, predicting 152,000 Kansans would enroll in the first year with no additional cost to the state government.The Democratic governor has made passage of Medicaid expansion a top legislative priority this year, following her statewide campaign to promote the policy last fall. But Republican leadership in the Legislature opposes the policy and has blocked hearings on Medicaid expansion for four years.Kansas is one of just 10 states that still haven't expanded Medicaid since President Barack Obama signed the Affordable Care Act in 2010.The state-run version of Medicaid, called KanCare, provides health care services to low-income families, seniors and people with disabilities. Currently, those who earn less than 38% of the federal poverty level are eligible. For a family of four, the annual income limit is $11,400.Under the ACA, also known as Obamacare, the federal government offers to cover 90% of the cost of Medicaid services in exchange for expanding eligibility to 138% of the federal poverty rate. The annual income threshold for a family of four would be $41,400.Kelly's proposal includes a work requirement with exceptions for full-time students, veterans, caregivers, people with partial disabilities, and former foster kids. Her plan also would add a new surcharge for hospitals.KHI predicts the change in income eligibility would result in 151,898 people enrolling in KanCare — 106,450 adults and 45,448 children. Those numbers include 68,236 adults and 16,377 children who are currently uninsured.About 68.9% of the adults are already working at least part-time, according to the KHI analysis. Of the remaining 31.1% KHI determined 19.1% of the unemployed adults have a disability, 16.1% are students and 3.8% are veterans.KHI calculated the cost to the state for expanding Medicaid over the first eight years would be fully offset — mostly because of a $509 million incentive included in the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021. Other savings would come from the federal government picking up more of the tab on existing services, as well as the new surcharge on hospitals. The Kansas Sunflower Foundation on Thursday released findings from surveys that found 68% of Kansas voters, including 51% of Republicans and 83% of small business owners support Medicaid expansion.Steve Baccus, an Ottawa County farmer and former president of Kansas Farm Bureau, said in a news release that expanding Medicaid was about “investing in the well-being of our communities.”Baccus said “Our rural communities are often struggling to keep Main Street open and to continue to offer the necessary services to the surrounding agricultural enterprises. A community that can offer a total health care package has an advantage in maintaining a viable town.”The findings are consistent with a Fort Hays State University poll that was released in October.With budget proposal and fiery address, Pritzker paints himself as progressive pragmatistThursday, February 22, 2024Governor's spending plan advances progressive-backed policies in tight fiscal landscapeBy HANNAH MEISELCapitol News Illinoishmeisel@capitolnewsillinois.comhttps://capitolnewsillinois.com/NEWS/with-budget-proposal-and-fiery-address-pritzker-paints-himself-as-progressive-pragmatistSPRINGFIELD – In delivering his annual State of the State and budget address on Wednesday, Gov. JB Pritzker cast his administration as both progressive and pragmatic – a balance he's worked to strike as his national profile has grown.Some elements of the governor's proposed spending plan, like using $10 million in state funds to eliminate $1 billion worth of Illinoisans' medical debt, are hardline progressive ideas. Others, including a goal to achieve “universal preschool” by 2027, fit in with a more traditional liberal platform.But Pritzker has also defined his success in traditional economic terms, putting particular stock into how New York City-based credit ratings agencies view Illinois' finances, while also positioning Illinois as a hub for emerging technologies like electric vehicles and quantum computing. As Illinois faces an influx of migrants from the southern U.S. border Pritzker has leaned into a leadership style that prioritizes progressive ideals while projecting an image of fiscal responsibility.As he outlined a proposal to add $182 Million toward the state's migrant response, Gov. Pritzker said, “We didn't ask for this manufactured crisis, But we must deal with it all the same.”“Children, pregnant women, and the elderly have been sent here in the dead of night, left far from our designated welcome centers, in freezing temperatures, wearing flip flops and T-shirts,” Pritzker said. “Think about that the next time a politician from Texas wants to lecture you about being a good Christian.”The governor was met with big applause from Democrats in laying out his proposed “Healthcare Consumer Access and Protection Act,” which would, in part, ban “prior authorization” requirements for mental health treatment.Pritzker characterized the practice of prior authorization as a way for insurance companies to deny the care that doctors have prescribed.Pritzker is also proposing spending $10 million in state funds to buy Illinoisans' past-due medical debt that's been sent to collections. Partnering with national nonprofit RIP Medical Debt, which buys debt for pennies on the dollar on the same market that collections agencies purchase the rights to the debts, the governor said Illinois could “relieve nearly $1 billion in medical debt for the first cohort of 340,000 Illinoisans.”The governor spent time noting two key places he said Illinois fails its Black citizens:  maternal mortality and disproportionate rates of homelessness. To combat Black maternal mortality rates, Pritzker proposed helping more community-based reproductive health centers to open, citing Illinois' first freestanding nonprofit birthing center in Berwyn as a model.He said, “Black women in our state are three times more likely to die from pregnancy-related causes than white women.” Pritzker proposed spending an additional $50 million on the state's “Home Illinois” program launched in 2021, in part to “attack the root causes of housing insecurity for Black Illinoisans.” He cited a statistic that Black people make up 61 percent of Illinois' homeless population despite only being 14 percent of the state's general population.Additionally, the governor proposed a $1 million pilot program for free diapers for low-income families, as well as a $5 million increased investment in an existing home visit program “for our most vulnerable families” with babies in their first year.His budget also includes $12 million to create a child tax credit for families with children under three with incomes below a certain threshold. Among the successes Pritzker pointed to, perhaps the most salient is his claim that Illinois' new “Smart Start” early childhood program – proposed last year in the governor's second inaugural address – had exceeded its first-year goals.The program aimed to create 5,000 new preschool seats last year, but ended up creating 5,823, Pritzker said – a 15 percent overperformance. “As a result, right now we have over 82,000 publicly-funded preschool classroom seats – the highest number in our state's history. Staying on the Smart Start plan, we will achieve universal preschool by 2027.”Echoing his 2022 election-year call for a temporary pause on the state's 1 percent tax on groceries, Pritzker on Wednesday proposed nixing the grocery tax altogether.He said “It's one more regressive tax we just don't need. If it reduces inflation for families from 4 percent to 3 percent, even if it only puts a few hundred bucks back in families' pockets, it's the right thing to do.”Even while proposing a series of progressive expenditures, the governor also sought to cast himself as a pragmatist when it comes to state finances. The state has seen strong revenue performances in the past few years, But in November, the governor's own economic forecasting office predicted a nearly $900 million deficit in the fiscal year that begins July 1.“Our FY25 budget proposal makes some hard choices,” Pritzker said Wednesday. “I wish we had big surpluses to work with this year to take on every one of the very real challenges we face.”Illinois' once-paltry “rainy day” fund now has $2 billion socked away, the governor noted, and the state has paid off high-interest debt during his five years in office.To mitigate Illinois' previously projected deficit, Pritzker is proposing to more than double the tax rate paid by sportsbooks on profits – a change that would bring in an estimated $200 million annually. He also proposed extending an existing cap on operating losses that businesses can claim on taxes, which could help generate more than $500 million, the governor's office claims.Another revenue generator proposed by the governor: raising $101 million by capping a sales tax credit retailers are allowed to claim. But business groups on Wednesday signaled they'd put up a fight. In his first few months in office in 2019, Pritzker used his fresh political capital to muscle a $15 minimum wage ramp through the legislature – a long-fought-for progressive policy goal – followed closely by a trip to New York City to meet with executives at the influential big three credit ratings agencies.When Pritzker took office, Illinois' credit ratings were hovering around “junk” status after a two-year budget impasse under his predecessor, Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner. And though Illinois suffered a final credit downgrade in the early months of COVID, the state has since received nine upgrades.The governor on Wednesday held those upgrades in high regard, saying“My one line in the sand is that I will only sign a budget that is responsibly balanced and that does not diminish or derail the improving credit standing we have achieved for the last five years,”Andrew Adams contributed.Missouri Senate Dems Hold The Line In Ballot Fighthttps://missouriindependent.com/2024/02/20/democrat-filibuster-forces-removal-of-ballot-candy-from-senate-initiative-petition-bill/BY: RUDI KELLER - FEBRUARY 20, 2024 5:15 PM     A Democratic filibuster that stretched more than 20 hours ended this week when Senate Republicans stripped provisions critics derided as “ballot candy” from a proposal to make it harder to pass constitutional amendments proposed by initiative petitions.Ballot candy refers to language designed to trick voters - into thinking the initiative is about ensuring only citizens vote, for instance - when that's totally irrelevant to the question voters are deciding.By an 18-12 vote, with nine Republicans and nine Democrats forming the majority, language that stated non-citizens could not vote on constitutional amendments was removed, as were sections barring foreign governments and political parties from taking sides in Missouri ballot measures.The Senate then, by a voice vote, gave first-round approval to the bill that would require both a statewide majority and a majority vote in five of the state's eight congressional districts to pass future constitutional amendments.The proposal would alter the way Missourians have approved constitutional changes since the first statewide vote on a constitution in 1846.Senate Minority Leader John Rizzo of Independence, a Democrat, said, “All we're asking for is a fair fight. And the Republicans know if it's a fair fight, they lose, which is why they have to pump it full of ballot candy and mislead voters.”Meanwhile, the House spent much of Tuesday morning debating legislation that would make changes to the signature gathering process for initiative petition campaigns.Among numerous provisions, the bill would require signatures be recorded using black or dark ink and that signature gatherers be citizens of the United States, residents of Missouri or physically present in Missouri for at least 30 consecutive days prior to the collection of signatures.Its most sweeping provision grants new authority to the secretary of state and attorney general to review initiative and referendum petitions for compliance with the Missouri Constitution.The effort to make it harder to get on the ballot and harder to pass a constitutional amendment has been a GOP priority for several years. In the past two election cycles, voters have expanded Medicaid coverage and legalized recreational marijuana, circumventing the GOP majority that opposed both. The push to raise the threshold on amendments proposed by initiative has taken on a new urgency for Republicans as abortion-rights supporters move ahead with a signature campaign to make this year's ballot.The results on abortion amendments in other states has Missouri abortion foes anxious about whether they can defend the state's almost total ban in a statewide election. Voters in Ohio last year rejected an effort to increase the majority needed to pass constitutional amendments before voting 57% in favor of abortion rights. And in 2022, Kansas voters defeated an attempt to restrict abortion rights by a landslide vote.Gov. Kelly Keep Kansas GOP In Linehttps://kansasreflector.com/2024/02/20/kansas-house-republicans-fail-to-override-governors-veto-on-massive-tax-reform-bill/Kansas House Republicans fail to override governor's veto on massive tax reform billBY: TIM CARPENTER - FEBRUARY 20, 2024 12:41 PM     TOPEKA — The Republican-led Kansas House failed Tuesday to override Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly ‘s veto of a tax reform bill anchored by implementation of a single, flat state income tax rate of 5.25% in addition to elimination of the state sales tax on groceries and creation of a tax exemption for all Social Security income.The GOP holds supermajorities in the House and Senate, but there was skepticism that both chambers could muster two-thirds majorities necessary to rebuke Kelly given opposition among conservative and moderate Republicans to parts of the three-year, $1.6 billion tax cut favoring the state's most wealthy. Kelly said the decision of House members to sustain her veto was a win for working-class Kansans who would have seen “little relief under this irresponsible flat tax experiment.” The Legislature should move ahead with her proposal for reducing $1 billion in taxes over three years.The governor said “I urge legislators to work together to cut taxes in a way that continues our economic growth and maintains our solid fiscal foundation while benefitting all Kansans, not just those at the top,”.Rep. Tom Sawyer, D-Wichita, said the cost of the tax reform bill could reach $600 million annually when fully implemented, and the plan didn't do enough for the middle class in Kansas. He said a married couple earning $42,000 to $75,000 per year would only see an income tax reduction of about 75 cents.Rep. Trevor Jacobs of Fort Scott was among Republicans who opposed overriding Kelly's veto. He said the flat tax would force the state's working class to carry a larger burden of the state tax load. And the 2024 Legislature had sufficient time to develop an alternative that provided tax relief to all Kansans rather than just a select few.Good thinking! See it's not just Democrats who think KS Gov Laura Kelly knows what she's doing. Welp, that's it for me! From Denver I'm Sean Diller. Stories in today's show appeared first in the Missouri Independent, Kansas Reflector, Texas Tribune, and Capitol News Illinois. Thanks for listening, see you next time.  @TheHeartlandPOD on Twitter and ThreadsCo-HostsAdam Sommer @Adam_Sommer85 (Twitter) @adam_sommer85 (Post)Rachel Parker @msraitchetp (Post) Sean Diller (no social)The Heartland Collective - Sign Up Today!JOIN PATREON FOR MORE - AND JOIN OUR SOCIAL NETWORK!“Change The Conversation”Outro Song: “The World Is On Fire” by American Aquarium http://www.americanaquarium.com/

LAREDO, Texas - LAREDO, Texas - U.S. Reps. Henry Cuellar and Vicente Gonzalez participated in a virtual press conference to respond to what they say is “Republican-led extremist chaos and obstruction at the U.S. Mexico border.”The event was hosted by U.S. Rep. Joaquin Castro of San Antonio and also featured Sheila Jackson Lee of Houston, Sylvia Garcia of Houston, Greg Casar of Austin and Jasmine Crockett of Dallas.Cuellar, of Laredo, and Gonzalez, of McAllen, said Governor Greg Abbott was trying to provoke a standoff at the border. As a result, they said, Abbott was inciting extremist violence, obstructing federal immigration enforcement, and endangering asylum-seekers, Border Patrol agents, and border residents.Here is an audio recording of the opening remarks of Reps. Cuellar and Gonzalez at the virtual press conference:To read the new stories and watch the news videos of the Rio Grande Guardian International News Service go to www.riograndeguardian.com.

This is Garrison Hardie with your CrossPolitic Daily News Brief for Friday, January 26th, 2024. Dropwave Do you have a podcast, or thinking about starting one? Does your church have a podcast feed for sermons? Then Dropwave.io is for you. Cancel culture is like walking on a thin glass bridge over the Grand Canyon. Every step you take could get you killed, I mean canceled. Since the beginning CrossPolitic has been working on being antifragile, so no matter what happens, our content can still be delivered to your tv and to your podcast. The Waterboy and his friend Jeremi, have been working on building a podcast hosting solution for rowdy platforms like CrossPolitic, so that you can be confident your podcast will never fall through that glass bridge. Dropwave offers seamless onboarding for shows that have been around for years to easy to use solutions for starting your own podcast. Dropwave will track all your show’s downloads by city, state, and country, and it offers network and enterprise packages for solutions like the Fight Laugh Feast Network. Free to speak, Free to podcast, free to start your journey now at www.Dropwave.io. https://thehill.com/homenews/state-watch/4428905-gop-governors-abbott-border-security-immigration/ GOP governors back Abbott in border standoff Republican governors are backing Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) in his standoff against the federal government over border authority. On Tuesday, the Texas National Guard appeared to ignore a Supreme Court decision and continued building razor wire barriers on the U.S.-Mexico border, preventing the federal Border Patrol from doing their jobs. In a statement Wednesday, Abbott justified the actions by claiming his authority to combat an “invasion” of the state “supersedes” federal law. GOP Govs. Kevin Stitt of Oklahoma, Kristi Noem of South Dakota, Ron DeSantis of Florida, Glenn Youngkin of Virginia and Brian Kemp of Georgia have all said they support Abbott’s actions. “If the Constitution really made states powerless to defend themselves against an invasion, it wouldn’t have been ratified in the first place and Texas would have never joined the union when it did,” DeSantis said on X, formerly Twitter. “TX is upholding the law while Biden is flouting it.” Youngkin added that the Biden administration “has turned every state into a border state,” and that Abbott is doing what the border officials “refuse to do to secure our border.” Stitt, Noem and Kemp also said their states “stand with” Texas. The federal government has claimed in court filings that the Texas National Guard has physically prevented the Border Patrol from doing its job on certain parts of the Rio Grande, as well as blocked off portions of the border previously used to process migrants. The claim that Texas officials can supersede federal authority has sparked calls from Democrats for President Biden to nationalize the Texas National Guard and force them to follow the court’s decision and federal law. Democratic Texas Reps. Joaquin Castro and Greg Casar have advocated for nationalizing the state guard. Abbott’s statement Wednesday specifically claims the federal government has “broken the compact” with the states, justifying ignoring federal law and the Supreme Court. The so-called “compact theory” is a rejected idea of state supremacy used to justify the secession of Confederate states during the Civil War. The Supreme Court repeatedly shot down the legal theory in the early years of the U.S., when it was first proposed to nullify federal legislation during former President John Adams’s time in office. https://www.foxnews.com/politics/gop-ags-battle-blue-state-push-to-shutter-largest-ammo-manufacturer-to-punish-second-amendment-rights GOP AGs take aim at Dem plea for Biden to shut down critical ammo manufacturer Every republican attorney general in the country blasted their Democrat counterparts for attempting to shutter an ammunition factory in Missouri, a letter sent to the White House Wednesday revealed. In a letter obtained exclusively by Fox News Digital, all 28 GOP attorneys general asked President Biden and White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention director Stefanie Feldman to disregard their Democrat colleagues' request to end commercial sales from Lake City Army Ammunition Plant, one of the country’s largest ammo manufacturers. Democrats had previously asked the administration to investigate the contracting and manufacturing practices of the plant after a New York Times report alleged that "military-grade rounds" were sold commercially and were connected to mass shootings. But the Republicans say the Democrats’ letter contained a "litany of errors." "Perhaps those States should focus more on prosecuting crime to stop mass shootings—rather than trying to stop lawful Americans’ use of guns and ammunition. Their tactic is an overt attempt to punish Americans’ exercise of their Second Amendment rights, Among the list of "errors" the GOP AGs point out that their Democrat colleages allege that ammunition manufactured for "military use" does not belong in communities. "First, the ammunition manufactured at Lake City and sold into the commercial market is not the primary rifle cartridge used by the United States military. The primary cartridge is proprietary to the Army and may not be sold commercially," the AGs note. "Second, while the United States military purchases and uses a particular type of ammunition, that is not determinative as to whether it is "military ammunition" that should be banned for public use," they write. "If the United States military using ammunition precluded that ammunition’s use by civilians, then other widely and commonly available ammunition, including 9mm and 12-gauge shotshells, would also be prohibited for public use," they argued, adding that Supreme Court precedent "does not support such an openly artificial distinction." According to the state’s top prosecutors, Lake City only sells ammunition to commercial customers that is legal to manufacture, and it complies with all the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives’ (ATF) requirements. The AGs argued that the Democrats’ efforts would undermine national security. "Gun control advocates are firing blanks when they contend that taxpayers are subsidizing mass shooters. They get causality backward. The law-abiding target shooters and gun owners who buy Lake City ammunition are subsidizing national defense and military readiness," they argue. They note that the Defense Department "sought to avoid a situation when the military needs surge due to a real-world conflict, ammunition is not readily available," adding that ammunition availability requires facilities, production equipment, a skilled workforce, and supply chains to remain in constant operation. "Machines and production cannot be turned on like the flip of a switch. It takes time to hire and train the highly skilled workers needed to operate production lines to manufacture the highest quality ammunition for U.S. warfighters. Commercial production has allowed Lake City, and its suppliers, to maintain steady labor, maximize equipment run time, ensure a stable supply base, and provide a level of readiness to the U.S. military that would not otherwise be available," they added. The attorneys general also said that Lake City cannot halt commercial use without a "detrimental loss" to their communities and economy. If it stopped, the AGs allege it would result in an estimated loss of 500–700 jobs or 30%–45% of the skilled workforce now employed at Lake City and "countless more" throughout the supply chain. Montana Attorney General Austen Knudsen in a statement to Fox News Digital called the investigation by the New York Times "highly questionable" and, their latest effort to shut down the Lake City Army Ammunition Plant is based on a highly questionable ‘investigation' by the New York Times." Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird charged that "if the Biden Administration and anti-gun activists were serious about saving lives, they would start by enforcing the laws on the books to combat violent criminals." Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey echoed those sentiments, adding that "Lake City Ammunition did nothing wrong." "We should be focused on the free flow of illegal weapons coming across our border – not taking aim at law-abiding patriots," Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita said, adding that the border crisis "is exactly why law-abiding citizens need the liberty to defend themselves." https://thefederalist.com/2024/01/24/canadian-court-rules-trudeaus-unreasonable-crackdown-on-trucker-convoy-violated-federal-law/ Canadian Court Rules Trudeau’s ‘Unreasonable’ Crackdown On Trucker Convoy Violated Federal Law A Canadian court ruled Tuesday that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s use of a controversial federal law in early 2022 to target truckers protesting their industry’s Covid vaccine mandate was “unreasonable” and illegal. The use of the Emergencies Act “does not bear the hallmarks of reasonableness — justification, transparency and intelligibility,” Federal Court Justice Richard Mosley wrote. “I conclude that there was no national emergency justifying the invocation of the Emergencies Act and the decision to do so was therefore unreasonable and ultra vires.” As the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) explained, “ultra vires” is a term courts use “to refer to actions beyond the scope of the law.” In early 2022, Trudeau’s government implemented a series of Covid shot mandates for various sectors of Canadian society, including a requirement for truckers crossing the U.S.-Canada border. The tyrannical mandate ultimately prompted Canadian truckers to launch the “Freedom Convoy,” a massive protest comprised of vehicles that ended outside Parliament Hill in the nation’s capital. While peaceful, the protests evoked the ire of Trudeau, who used the Emergencies Act to mobilize the Canadian military and state intel agencies to forcibly remove the demonstrators gridlocking Ottawa. In addition to backing GoFundMe’s attempts to deplatform fundraising efforts for the convoy, Trudeau’s administration also expanded “its terrorist financing rules to target crowdfunding sites like the convoy’s new platform GiveSendGo,” The Federalist’s Jordan Boyd wrote, with Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland baselessly claiming the platforms were “being used to support illegal blockades and illegal activity which is damaging the Canadian economy.” As if his abuse of the Emergencies Act weren’t despicable enough, Trudeau — who went into hiding upon the convoy’s arrival in Ottawa — also grossly smeared the protesters with the typical diatribe of leftist slanders, including accusations of “antisemitism, Islamophobia, anti-Black racism, homophobia, and transphobia.” Despite his best attempt to play the role of a dictator, Trudeau’s use of the Emergencies Act went beyond the scope of what is permitted by Canadian law. While the Emergencies Act can be employed to manage a national emergency that “cannot be effectively dealt with under any other law of Canada,” Mosley determined that Trudeau’s actions far exceeded that threshold. “The potential for serious violence, or being unable to say that there was no potential for serious violence was, of course, a valid reason for concern,” Mosley wrote. “But in my view, it did not satisfy the test required to invoke the Act, particularly as there was no evidence of a similar ‘hardened cell’ elsewhere in the country, only speculation, and the situation at Cou[r]ts had been resolved without violence.” Mosley further ruled that the government’s financial crackdown violated demonstrators’ Charter rights “by permitting unreasonable search and seizure of the financial information of designated persons and the freezing of their bank and credit card accounts.” Unsurprisingly, the Canadian government plans to appeal the ruling, with Freeland laughably claiming on Tuesday that the administration’s unlawful actions were “necessary” and “legal” because Canadian “national security was under real threat.” https://justthenews.com/politics-policy/energy/taxpayers-could-get-stuck-cost-removing-offshore-wind-farm-after-biden-admin Taxpayers may get stuck with cost of removing an offshore wind farm after Biden admin waives fees The Biden administration reportedly waived fees for an offshore wind project that are in place to ensure that the infrastructure is removed and the site reclaimed at the end of the project’s life. President Joe Biden, as part of his climate agenda, is pushing an aggressive buildout of offshore wind projects along the East Coast. With the offshore wind industry struggling financially, the waiving of these fees raises concerns about what would happen if these companies go bankrupt and leave behind wind farms they can’t afford to remove. Protect The Public Trust (PPT), a government watchdog group, obtained documents showing that the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) informed Vineyard Wind had approved the company’s request to waive fees for financial assurances that goes toward decommissioning costs. The bureau’s reasoning for granting the deferral, according to PPT, was that the financial assurance was “unnecessarily burdensome for lessees because, at that point, they have not begun receiving project income.” Since the project is using “proven wind turbine technology” and its contracts guaranteed electricity sale prices, BOEM reasoned, the project had a predictable income over the life of the project. The Department of Interior requires these bonds from oil and gas producers, as taxpayers have been stuck decommissioning the projects of companies that go bankrupt or were operating prior to bonding requirements. California, for example, is trying to decommission 23 federal offshore platforms at a cost of $1.7 billion, and the liability for those costs remain unresolved. There are also thousands of onshore orphaned wells across the country that the federal government is trying to plug. In some cases, these wells were drilled a century or more ago before bonding requirements, and there’s no solvent owner of record to hold accountable for the costs. In Wyoming, an industry sprang up a decade ago hoping to tap coal beds for natural gas, but after natural gas prices collapsed, the entire industry collapsed with it. The state was left with a lot of wells to plug and no companies to hold accountable. While the Biden administration is granting waivers for these protections to offshore wind projects, it’s proposing steep increases in bonding requirements for oil and gas operations. While that proposal is met with support from environmentalists, industry groups have criticized the measure. Kathleen Sgamma, president of the Western Energy Alliance, told Reuters in July that rather than trying to ensure funding for reclamation efforts, the administration was raising the costs so high as a means to reduce the number of operations. Elmer Peter Danenberger III, a petroleum engineer with decades of experience in the oil and gas industry, explained on his “Bud’s Offshore Energy” blog that BOEM’s decision to waive Vineyard Wind’s obligations significantly increases the public’s risk exposure. Danenberger wrote that BOEM, in granting the waiver, cited a general departure authority, which was intended for special situations and not for waivers that could be applied broadly.

This is Garrison Hardie with your CrossPolitic Daily News Brief for Friday, January 26th, 2024. Dropwave Do you have a podcast, or thinking about starting one? Does your church have a podcast feed for sermons? Then Dropwave.io is for you. Cancel culture is like walking on a thin glass bridge over the Grand Canyon. Every step you take could get you killed, I mean canceled. Since the beginning CrossPolitic has been working on being antifragile, so no matter what happens, our content can still be delivered to your tv and to your podcast. The Waterboy and his friend Jeremi, have been working on building a podcast hosting solution for rowdy platforms like CrossPolitic, so that you can be confident your podcast will never fall through that glass bridge. Dropwave offers seamless onboarding for shows that have been around for years to easy to use solutions for starting your own podcast. Dropwave will track all your show’s downloads by city, state, and country, and it offers network and enterprise packages for solutions like the Fight Laugh Feast Network. Free to speak, Free to podcast, free to start your journey now at www.Dropwave.io. https://thehill.com/homenews/state-watch/4428905-gop-governors-abbott-border-security-immigration/ GOP governors back Abbott in border standoff Republican governors are backing Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) in his standoff against the federal government over border authority. On Tuesday, the Texas National Guard appeared to ignore a Supreme Court decision and continued building razor wire barriers on the U.S.-Mexico border, preventing the federal Border Patrol from doing their jobs. In a statement Wednesday, Abbott justified the actions by claiming his authority to combat an “invasion” of the state “supersedes” federal law. GOP Govs. Kevin Stitt of Oklahoma, Kristi Noem of South Dakota, Ron DeSantis of Florida, Glenn Youngkin of Virginia and Brian Kemp of Georgia have all said they support Abbott’s actions. “If the Constitution really made states powerless to defend themselves against an invasion, it wouldn’t have been ratified in the first place and Texas would have never joined the union when it did,” DeSantis said on X, formerly Twitter. “TX is upholding the law while Biden is flouting it.” Youngkin added that the Biden administration “has turned every state into a border state,” and that Abbott is doing what the border officials “refuse to do to secure our border.” Stitt, Noem and Kemp also said their states “stand with” Texas. The federal government has claimed in court filings that the Texas National Guard has physically prevented the Border Patrol from doing its job on certain parts of the Rio Grande, as well as blocked off portions of the border previously used to process migrants. The claim that Texas officials can supersede federal authority has sparked calls from Democrats for President Biden to nationalize the Texas National Guard and force them to follow the court’s decision and federal law. Democratic Texas Reps. Joaquin Castro and Greg Casar have advocated for nationalizing the state guard. Abbott’s statement Wednesday specifically claims the federal government has “broken the compact” with the states, justifying ignoring federal law and the Supreme Court. The so-called “compact theory” is a rejected idea of state supremacy used to justify the secession of Confederate states during the Civil War. The Supreme Court repeatedly shot down the legal theory in the early years of the U.S., when it was first proposed to nullify federal legislation during former President John Adams’s time in office. https://www.foxnews.com/politics/gop-ags-battle-blue-state-push-to-shutter-largest-ammo-manufacturer-to-punish-second-amendment-rights GOP AGs take aim at Dem plea for Biden to shut down critical ammo manufacturer Every republican attorney general in the country blasted their Democrat counterparts for attempting to shutter an ammunition factory in Missouri, a letter sent to the White House Wednesday revealed. In a letter obtained exclusively by Fox News Digital, all 28 GOP attorneys general asked President Biden and White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention director Stefanie Feldman to disregard their Democrat colleagues' request to end commercial sales from Lake City Army Ammunition Plant, one of the country’s largest ammo manufacturers. Democrats had previously asked the administration to investigate the contracting and manufacturing practices of the plant after a New York Times report alleged that "military-grade rounds" were sold commercially and were connected to mass shootings. But the Republicans say the Democrats’ letter contained a "litany of errors." "Perhaps those States should focus more on prosecuting crime to stop mass shootings—rather than trying to stop lawful Americans’ use of guns and ammunition. Their tactic is an overt attempt to punish Americans’ exercise of their Second Amendment rights, Among the list of "errors" the GOP AGs point out that their Democrat colleages allege that ammunition manufactured for "military use" does not belong in communities. "First, the ammunition manufactured at Lake City and sold into the commercial market is not the primary rifle cartridge used by the United States military. The primary cartridge is proprietary to the Army and may not be sold commercially," the AGs note. "Second, while the United States military purchases and uses a particular type of ammunition, that is not determinative as to whether it is "military ammunition" that should be banned for public use," they write. "If the United States military using ammunition precluded that ammunition’s use by civilians, then other widely and commonly available ammunition, including 9mm and 12-gauge shotshells, would also be prohibited for public use," they argued, adding that Supreme Court precedent "does not support such an openly artificial distinction." According to the state’s top prosecutors, Lake City only sells ammunition to commercial customers that is legal to manufacture, and it complies with all the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives’ (ATF) requirements. The AGs argued that the Democrats’ efforts would undermine national security. "Gun control advocates are firing blanks when they contend that taxpayers are subsidizing mass shooters. They get causality backward. The law-abiding target shooters and gun owners who buy Lake City ammunition are subsidizing national defense and military readiness," they argue. They note that the Defense Department "sought to avoid a situation when the military needs surge due to a real-world conflict, ammunition is not readily available," adding that ammunition availability requires facilities, production equipment, a skilled workforce, and supply chains to remain in constant operation. "Machines and production cannot be turned on like the flip of a switch. It takes time to hire and train the highly skilled workers needed to operate production lines to manufacture the highest quality ammunition for U.S. warfighters. Commercial production has allowed Lake City, and its suppliers, to maintain steady labor, maximize equipment run time, ensure a stable supply base, and provide a level of readiness to the U.S. military that would not otherwise be available," they added. The attorneys general also said that Lake City cannot halt commercial use without a "detrimental loss" to their communities and economy. If it stopped, the AGs allege it would result in an estimated loss of 500–700 jobs or 30%–45% of the skilled workforce now employed at Lake City and "countless more" throughout the supply chain. Montana Attorney General Austen Knudsen in a statement to Fox News Digital called the investigation by the New York Times "highly questionable" and, their latest effort to shut down the Lake City Army Ammunition Plant is based on a highly questionable ‘investigation' by the New York Times." Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird charged that "if the Biden Administration and anti-gun activists were serious about saving lives, they would start by enforcing the laws on the books to combat violent criminals." Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey echoed those sentiments, adding that "Lake City Ammunition did nothing wrong." "We should be focused on the free flow of illegal weapons coming across our border – not taking aim at law-abiding patriots," Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita said, adding that the border crisis "is exactly why law-abiding citizens need the liberty to defend themselves." https://thefederalist.com/2024/01/24/canadian-court-rules-trudeaus-unreasonable-crackdown-on-trucker-convoy-violated-federal-law/ Canadian Court Rules Trudeau’s ‘Unreasonable’ Crackdown On Trucker Convoy Violated Federal Law A Canadian court ruled Tuesday that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s use of a controversial federal law in early 2022 to target truckers protesting their industry’s Covid vaccine mandate was “unreasonable” and illegal. The use of the Emergencies Act “does not bear the hallmarks of reasonableness — justification, transparency and intelligibility,” Federal Court Justice Richard Mosley wrote. “I conclude that there was no national emergency justifying the invocation of the Emergencies Act and the decision to do so was therefore unreasonable and ultra vires.” As the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) explained, “ultra vires” is a term courts use “to refer to actions beyond the scope of the law.” In early 2022, Trudeau’s government implemented a series of Covid shot mandates for various sectors of Canadian society, including a requirement for truckers crossing the U.S.-Canada border. The tyrannical mandate ultimately prompted Canadian truckers to launch the “Freedom Convoy,” a massive protest comprised of vehicles that ended outside Parliament Hill in the nation’s capital. While peaceful, the protests evoked the ire of Trudeau, who used the Emergencies Act to mobilize the Canadian military and state intel agencies to forcibly remove the demonstrators gridlocking Ottawa. In addition to backing GoFundMe’s attempts to deplatform fundraising efforts for the convoy, Trudeau’s administration also expanded “its terrorist financing rules to target crowdfunding sites like the convoy’s new platform GiveSendGo,” The Federalist’s Jordan Boyd wrote, with Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland baselessly claiming the platforms were “being used to support illegal blockades and illegal activity which is damaging the Canadian economy.” As if his abuse of the Emergencies Act weren’t despicable enough, Trudeau — who went into hiding upon the convoy’s arrival in Ottawa — also grossly smeared the protesters with the typical diatribe of leftist slanders, including accusations of “antisemitism, Islamophobia, anti-Black racism, homophobia, and transphobia.” Despite his best attempt to play the role of a dictator, Trudeau’s use of the Emergencies Act went beyond the scope of what is permitted by Canadian law. While the Emergencies Act can be employed to manage a national emergency that “cannot be effectively dealt with under any other law of Canada,” Mosley determined that Trudeau’s actions far exceeded that threshold. “The potential for serious violence, or being unable to say that there was no potential for serious violence was, of course, a valid reason for concern,” Mosley wrote. “But in my view, it did not satisfy the test required to invoke the Act, particularly as there was no evidence of a similar ‘hardened cell’ elsewhere in the country, only speculation, and the situation at Cou[r]ts had been resolved without violence.” Mosley further ruled that the government’s financial crackdown violated demonstrators’ Charter rights “by permitting unreasonable search and seizure of the financial information of designated persons and the freezing of their bank and credit card accounts.” Unsurprisingly, the Canadian government plans to appeal the ruling, with Freeland laughably claiming on Tuesday that the administration’s unlawful actions were “necessary” and “legal” because Canadian “national security was under real threat.” https://justthenews.com/politics-policy/energy/taxpayers-could-get-stuck-cost-removing-offshore-wind-farm-after-biden-admin Taxpayers may get stuck with cost of removing an offshore wind farm after Biden admin waives fees The Biden administration reportedly waived fees for an offshore wind project that are in place to ensure that the infrastructure is removed and the site reclaimed at the end of the project’s life. President Joe Biden, as part of his climate agenda, is pushing an aggressive buildout of offshore wind projects along the East Coast. With the offshore wind industry struggling financially, the waiving of these fees raises concerns about what would happen if these companies go bankrupt and leave behind wind farms they can’t afford to remove. Protect The Public Trust (PPT), a government watchdog group, obtained documents showing that the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) informed Vineyard Wind had approved the company’s request to waive fees for financial assurances that goes toward decommissioning costs. The bureau’s reasoning for granting the deferral, according to PPT, was that the financial assurance was “unnecessarily burdensome for lessees because, at that point, they have not begun receiving project income.” Since the project is using “proven wind turbine technology” and its contracts guaranteed electricity sale prices, BOEM reasoned, the project had a predictable income over the life of the project. The Department of Interior requires these bonds from oil and gas producers, as taxpayers have been stuck decommissioning the projects of companies that go bankrupt or were operating prior to bonding requirements. California, for example, is trying to decommission 23 federal offshore platforms at a cost of $1.7 billion, and the liability for those costs remain unresolved. There are also thousands of onshore orphaned wells across the country that the federal government is trying to plug. In some cases, these wells were drilled a century or more ago before bonding requirements, and there’s no solvent owner of record to hold accountable for the costs. In Wyoming, an industry sprang up a decade ago hoping to tap coal beds for natural gas, but after natural gas prices collapsed, the entire industry collapsed with it. The state was left with a lot of wells to plug and no companies to hold accountable. While the Biden administration is granting waivers for these protections to offshore wind projects, it’s proposing steep increases in bonding requirements for oil and gas operations. While that proposal is met with support from environmentalists, industry groups have criticized the measure. Kathleen Sgamma, president of the Western Energy Alliance, told Reuters in July that rather than trying to ensure funding for reclamation efforts, the administration was raising the costs so high as a means to reduce the number of operations. Elmer Peter Danenberger III, a petroleum engineer with decades of experience in the oil and gas industry, explained on his “Bud’s Offshore Energy” blog that BOEM’s decision to waive Vineyard Wind’s obligations significantly increases the public’s risk exposure. Danenberger wrote that BOEM, in granting the waiver, cited a general departure authority, which was intended for special situations and not for waivers that could be applied broadly.

This is Garrison Hardie with your CrossPolitic Daily News Brief for Friday, January 26th, 2024. Dropwave Do you have a podcast, or thinking about starting one? Does your church have a podcast feed for sermons? Then Dropwave.io is for you. Cancel culture is like walking on a thin glass bridge over the Grand Canyon. Every step you take could get you killed, I mean canceled. Since the beginning CrossPolitic has been working on being antifragile, so no matter what happens, our content can still be delivered to your tv and to your podcast. The Waterboy and his friend Jeremi, have been working on building a podcast hosting solution for rowdy platforms like CrossPolitic, so that you can be confident your podcast will never fall through that glass bridge. Dropwave offers seamless onboarding for shows that have been around for years to easy to use solutions for starting your own podcast. Dropwave will track all your show’s downloads by city, state, and country, and it offers network and enterprise packages for solutions like the Fight Laugh Feast Network. Free to speak, Free to podcast, free to start your journey now at www.Dropwave.io. https://thehill.com/homenews/state-watch/4428905-gop-governors-abbott-border-security-immigration/ GOP governors back Abbott in border standoff Republican governors are backing Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) in his standoff against the federal government over border authority. On Tuesday, the Texas National Guard appeared to ignore a Supreme Court decision and continued building razor wire barriers on the U.S.-Mexico border, preventing the federal Border Patrol from doing their jobs. In a statement Wednesday, Abbott justified the actions by claiming his authority to combat an “invasion” of the state “supersedes” federal law. GOP Govs. Kevin Stitt of Oklahoma, Kristi Noem of South Dakota, Ron DeSantis of Florida, Glenn Youngkin of Virginia and Brian Kemp of Georgia have all said they support Abbott’s actions. “If the Constitution really made states powerless to defend themselves against an invasion, it wouldn’t have been ratified in the first place and Texas would have never joined the union when it did,” DeSantis said on X, formerly Twitter. “TX is upholding the law while Biden is flouting it.” Youngkin added that the Biden administration “has turned every state into a border state,” and that Abbott is doing what the border officials “refuse to do to secure our border.” Stitt, Noem and Kemp also said their states “stand with” Texas. The federal government has claimed in court filings that the Texas National Guard has physically prevented the Border Patrol from doing its job on certain parts of the Rio Grande, as well as blocked off portions of the border previously used to process migrants. The claim that Texas officials can supersede federal authority has sparked calls from Democrats for President Biden to nationalize the Texas National Guard and force them to follow the court’s decision and federal law. Democratic Texas Reps. Joaquin Castro and Greg Casar have advocated for nationalizing the state guard. Abbott’s statement Wednesday specifically claims the federal government has “broken the compact” with the states, justifying ignoring federal law and the Supreme Court. The so-called “compact theory” is a rejected idea of state supremacy used to justify the secession of Confederate states during the Civil War. The Supreme Court repeatedly shot down the legal theory in the early years of the U.S., when it was first proposed to nullify federal legislation during former President John Adams’s time in office. https://www.foxnews.com/politics/gop-ags-battle-blue-state-push-to-shutter-largest-ammo-manufacturer-to-punish-second-amendment-rights GOP AGs take aim at Dem plea for Biden to shut down critical ammo manufacturer Every republican attorney general in the country blasted their Democrat counterparts for attempting to shutter an ammunition factory in Missouri, a letter sent to the White House Wednesday revealed. In a letter obtained exclusively by Fox News Digital, all 28 GOP attorneys general asked President Biden and White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention director Stefanie Feldman to disregard their Democrat colleagues' request to end commercial sales from Lake City Army Ammunition Plant, one of the country’s largest ammo manufacturers. Democrats had previously asked the administration to investigate the contracting and manufacturing practices of the plant after a New York Times report alleged that "military-grade rounds" were sold commercially and were connected to mass shootings. But the Republicans say the Democrats’ letter contained a "litany of errors." "Perhaps those States should focus more on prosecuting crime to stop mass shootings—rather than trying to stop lawful Americans’ use of guns and ammunition. Their tactic is an overt attempt to punish Americans’ exercise of their Second Amendment rights, Among the list of "errors" the GOP AGs point out that their Democrat colleages allege that ammunition manufactured for "military use" does not belong in communities. "First, the ammunition manufactured at Lake City and sold into the commercial market is not the primary rifle cartridge used by the United States military. The primary cartridge is proprietary to the Army and may not be sold commercially," the AGs note. "Second, while the United States military purchases and uses a particular type of ammunition, that is not determinative as to whether it is "military ammunition" that should be banned for public use," they write. "If the United States military using ammunition precluded that ammunition’s use by civilians, then other widely and commonly available ammunition, including 9mm and 12-gauge shotshells, would also be prohibited for public use," they argued, adding that Supreme Court precedent "does not support such an openly artificial distinction." According to the state’s top prosecutors, Lake City only sells ammunition to commercial customers that is legal to manufacture, and it complies with all the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives’ (ATF) requirements. The AGs argued that the Democrats’ efforts would undermine national security. "Gun control advocates are firing blanks when they contend that taxpayers are subsidizing mass shooters. They get causality backward. The law-abiding target shooters and gun owners who buy Lake City ammunition are subsidizing national defense and military readiness," they argue. They note that the Defense Department "sought to avoid a situation when the military needs surge due to a real-world conflict, ammunition is not readily available," adding that ammunition availability requires facilities, production equipment, a skilled workforce, and supply chains to remain in constant operation. "Machines and production cannot be turned on like the flip of a switch. It takes time to hire and train the highly skilled workers needed to operate production lines to manufacture the highest quality ammunition for U.S. warfighters. Commercial production has allowed Lake City, and its suppliers, to maintain steady labor, maximize equipment run time, ensure a stable supply base, and provide a level of readiness to the U.S. military that would not otherwise be available," they added. The attorneys general also said that Lake City cannot halt commercial use without a "detrimental loss" to their communities and economy. If it stopped, the AGs allege it would result in an estimated loss of 500–700 jobs or 30%–45% of the skilled workforce now employed at Lake City and "countless more" throughout the supply chain. Montana Attorney General Austen Knudsen in a statement to Fox News Digital called the investigation by the New York Times "highly questionable" and, their latest effort to shut down the Lake City Army Ammunition Plant is based on a highly questionable ‘investigation' by the New York Times." Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird charged that "if the Biden Administration and anti-gun activists were serious about saving lives, they would start by enforcing the laws on the books to combat violent criminals." Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey echoed those sentiments, adding that "Lake City Ammunition did nothing wrong." "We should be focused on the free flow of illegal weapons coming across our border – not taking aim at law-abiding patriots," Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita said, adding that the border crisis "is exactly why law-abiding citizens need the liberty to defend themselves." https://thefederalist.com/2024/01/24/canadian-court-rules-trudeaus-unreasonable-crackdown-on-trucker-convoy-violated-federal-law/ Canadian Court Rules Trudeau’s ‘Unreasonable’ Crackdown On Trucker Convoy Violated Federal Law A Canadian court ruled Tuesday that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s use of a controversial federal law in early 2022 to target truckers protesting their industry’s Covid vaccine mandate was “unreasonable” and illegal. The use of the Emergencies Act “does not bear the hallmarks of reasonableness — justification, transparency and intelligibility,” Federal Court Justice Richard Mosley wrote. “I conclude that there was no national emergency justifying the invocation of the Emergencies Act and the decision to do so was therefore unreasonable and ultra vires.” As the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) explained, “ultra vires” is a term courts use “to refer to actions beyond the scope of the law.” In early 2022, Trudeau’s government implemented a series of Covid shot mandates for various sectors of Canadian society, including a requirement for truckers crossing the U.S.-Canada border. The tyrannical mandate ultimately prompted Canadian truckers to launch the “Freedom Convoy,” a massive protest comprised of vehicles that ended outside Parliament Hill in the nation’s capital. While peaceful, the protests evoked the ire of Trudeau, who used the Emergencies Act to mobilize the Canadian military and state intel agencies to forcibly remove the demonstrators gridlocking Ottawa. In addition to backing GoFundMe’s attempts to deplatform fundraising efforts for the convoy, Trudeau’s administration also expanded “its terrorist financing rules to target crowdfunding sites like the convoy’s new platform GiveSendGo,” The Federalist’s Jordan Boyd wrote, with Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland baselessly claiming the platforms were “being used to support illegal blockades and illegal activity which is damaging the Canadian economy.” As if his abuse of the Emergencies Act weren’t despicable enough, Trudeau — who went into hiding upon the convoy’s arrival in Ottawa — also grossly smeared the protesters with the typical diatribe of leftist slanders, including accusations of “antisemitism, Islamophobia, anti-Black racism, homophobia, and transphobia.” Despite his best attempt to play the role of a dictator, Trudeau’s use of the Emergencies Act went beyond the scope of what is permitted by Canadian law. While the Emergencies Act can be employed to manage a national emergency that “cannot be effectively dealt with under any other law of Canada,” Mosley determined that Trudeau’s actions far exceeded that threshold. “The potential for serious violence, or being unable to say that there was no potential for serious violence was, of course, a valid reason for concern,” Mosley wrote. “But in my view, it did not satisfy the test required to invoke the Act, particularly as there was no evidence of a similar ‘hardened cell’ elsewhere in the country, only speculation, and the situation at Cou[r]ts had been resolved without violence.” Mosley further ruled that the government’s financial crackdown violated demonstrators’ Charter rights “by permitting unreasonable search and seizure of the financial information of designated persons and the freezing of their bank and credit card accounts.” Unsurprisingly, the Canadian government plans to appeal the ruling, with Freeland laughably claiming on Tuesday that the administration’s unlawful actions were “necessary” and “legal” because Canadian “national security was under real threat.” https://justthenews.com/politics-policy/energy/taxpayers-could-get-stuck-cost-removing-offshore-wind-farm-after-biden-admin Taxpayers may get stuck with cost of removing an offshore wind farm after Biden admin waives fees The Biden administration reportedly waived fees for an offshore wind project that are in place to ensure that the infrastructure is removed and the site reclaimed at the end of the project’s life. President Joe Biden, as part of his climate agenda, is pushing an aggressive buildout of offshore wind projects along the East Coast. With the offshore wind industry struggling financially, the waiving of these fees raises concerns about what would happen if these companies go bankrupt and leave behind wind farms they can’t afford to remove. Protect The Public Trust (PPT), a government watchdog group, obtained documents showing that the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) informed Vineyard Wind had approved the company’s request to waive fees for financial assurances that goes toward decommissioning costs. The bureau’s reasoning for granting the deferral, according to PPT, was that the financial assurance was “unnecessarily burdensome for lessees because, at that point, they have not begun receiving project income.” Since the project is using “proven wind turbine technology” and its contracts guaranteed electricity sale prices, BOEM reasoned, the project had a predictable income over the life of the project. The Department of Interior requires these bonds from oil and gas producers, as taxpayers have been stuck decommissioning the projects of companies that go bankrupt or were operating prior to bonding requirements. California, for example, is trying to decommission 23 federal offshore platforms at a cost of $1.7 billion, and the liability for those costs remain unresolved. There are also thousands of onshore orphaned wells across the country that the federal government is trying to plug. In some cases, these wells were drilled a century or more ago before bonding requirements, and there’s no solvent owner of record to hold accountable for the costs. In Wyoming, an industry sprang up a decade ago hoping to tap coal beds for natural gas, but after natural gas prices collapsed, the entire industry collapsed with it. The state was left with a lot of wells to plug and no companies to hold accountable. While the Biden administration is granting waivers for these protections to offshore wind projects, it’s proposing steep increases in bonding requirements for oil and gas operations. While that proposal is met with support from environmentalists, industry groups have criticized the measure. Kathleen Sgamma, president of the Western Energy Alliance, told Reuters in July that rather than trying to ensure funding for reclamation efforts, the administration was raising the costs so high as a means to reduce the number of operations. Elmer Peter Danenberger III, a petroleum engineer with decades of experience in the oil and gas industry, explained on his “Bud’s Offshore Energy” blog that BOEM’s decision to waive Vineyard Wind’s obligations significantly increases the public’s risk exposure. Danenberger wrote that BOEM, in granting the waiver, cited a general departure authority, which was intended for special situations and not for waivers that could be applied broadly.

After audio of his bribery attempt of Kari Lake goes viral, Arizona RNC chief Jeff DeWit plays a familiar liberal hand and pulls out the victim card. Little fish like DeWit being caught swimming in an ocean of filth has the UniParty spooked. Who was behind the bribe? And the gloves are off in Texas as the National Guard and Greg Abbott prepare for war with the Biden Administration. The bad news for Joe? Abbott's got the backing of 25 governors willing to send reinforcements to help. PLUS Texas Rep. Joaquin Castro proves the old adage - "never let a good lie go to waste" - even if it means you have to slander people. Podcast Production: Bob Slone Audio Productions 

The news of Texas covered today includes:Our Lone Star story of the day: Want to sit on your county appraisal district board without being beholden to the local government tax takers? Thanks to a new law 50 Texas counties will now elect 3 citizens appraisal board members each. Deadline to file to run is fast approaching.Our Lone Star story of the day is sponsored by Allied Compliance Services providing the best service in DOT, business and personal drug and alcohol testing since 1995.Senator John Cornyn endorses Donald Trump for president. Trump is the first candidate in almost 50 years to win both Iowa and New Hampshire. Data reveals large percentage of NH Republicans won't vote for him in '24. The worry with open primaries continues to fester: Nikki Haley Campaign Memo Sparks Discussion of Closing Texas GOP Primary | 2024 Elections. We need a closed GOP primary in Texas but that's a fight it will be hard to find a way to win.San Antonio U.S. Rep. Joaquin Castro is so intent on having no border security, he calls on Biden to federalize Texas National Guard to stop it from working to stop illegal border crossing. That fairly well sums up on the position of most Democrat politicians these days. BORDER SHOWDOWN: DHS Sends 2nd Demand Notice to Texas over Seized Park Access BORDER SHOWDOWN: Texas Defies Feds — ‘We Will Continue to Deploy Razor Wire' Texas GOP lawmakers urge DOJ to forgo lawsuit against Lone Star State: ‘Texas should not be punished'  – might as well send a letter to the NY Times asking it to not be Left wing. Liberal Democrat Colin Allred launches first TV ads in bid to take on Ted Cruz. He like so many other black Democrats are among the nastiest cold blooded hypocrites on the planet. They claim to be about helping blacks but then advocate for abortion on demand which is proven to effect black lives more than any others.Texas Attorney General Says School Marshals Can Open Carry Handguns on CampusesListen on the radio, or station stream, at 5pm Central. Click for our radio and streaming affiliates.www.PrattonTexas.com

State Rep. David Spiller heard the last episode of Y'all-itics and had something to say. Spiller wrote the controversial legislation that lets local and state police charge undocumented immigrants with a misdemeanor. State Rep. Victoria Neave Criado and Congressman Joaquin Castro criticized it, worrying it will lead to racial profiling of lawful U.S. citizens. But Spiller argues this soon-to-be Texas law will not result in roundups of migrants who have been here for decades and, he says, police likely won't enforce it too far north of the Rio Grande. Spiller sits for our questions in this special release episode. GUESTState Rep. David Spiller / R-Jacksboro

State Rep. David Spiller heard the last episode of Y'all-itics and had something to say. Spiller wrote the controversial legislation that lets local and state police charge undocumented immigrants with a misdemeanor. State Rep. Victoria Neave Criado and Congressman Joaquin Castro criticized it, worrying it will lead to racial profiling of lawful U.S. citizens. But Spiller argues this soon-to-be Texas law will not result in roundups of migrants who have been here for decades and, he says, police likely won't enforce it too far north of the Rio Grande. Spiller sits for our questions in this special release episode.   GUEST State Rep. David Spiller / R-Jacksboro

*CAUTION: This episode contains adult language*Texas will soon become the ‘Show Me State' when Governor Abbott signs Senate Bill 4 into law. This is the legislation that lets local and state police arrest people who cannot prove whether they are a citizen. Immigration law is a federal responsibility, not a state one. That's why lawsuits are threatened. In this episode, state Rep. Victoria Neave-Criado, D-Dallas, told the Jasons that she now carries her passport, worried of having to prove she is a citizen. U.S. Rep. Joaquin Castro says he's pressuring the Biden administration to respond to the Republican-led legislature's latest move. GUESTS:State Sen. Paul Bettencourt, R-Houston [4:51]State Rep. Victoria Neave Criado, D-Dallas [5:55 & 20:23]U.S. Rep. Joaquin Castro, D-San Antonio [32:54]

*CAUTION: This episode contains adult language* Texas will soon become the ‘Show Me State' when Governor Abbott signs Senate Bill 4 into law. This is the legislation that lets local and state police arrest people who cannot prove whether they are a citizen. Immigration law is a federal responsibility, not a state one. That's why lawsuits are threatened. In this episode, state Rep. Victoria Neave-Criado, D-Dallas, told the Jasons that she now carries her passport, worried of having to prove she is a citizen. U.S. Rep. Joaquin Castro says he's pressuring the Biden administration to respond to the Republican-led legislature's latest move.   GUESTS: State Sen. Paul Bettencourt, R-Houston [4:51] State Rep. Victoria Neave Criado, D-Dallas [5:55 & 20:23] U.S. Rep. Joaquin Castro, D-San Antonio [32:54]

AUSTIN, Texas - Civil rights attorney Roberto Lopez does not expect the Biden Administration to come to the aid of immigrants arrested under the sweeping new powers Senate Bill 4 bestows on law enforcement.Lopez, a Rio Grande Valley native, is the beyond borders senior advocacy manager at the Texas Civil Rights Project. TCRP works to defend the civil and human rights of border communities and of those migrating through the borderlands.Lopez spoke about the likely impact SB 4 will have on a recent webinar hosted by America's Voice and Congressman Joaquin Castro of San Antonio.“Two years ago, we filed a complaint with the Department of Justice. We have continued to provide supplemental complaints on all the abuses that we're documenting. We have several probable cause affidavits that are wrong, where DPS officers said that they knew someone was an alien because of how they smelled. And the federal government has not responded to that. The Biden administration is not going to come to our rescue,” Lopez said.If that is the case, what can immigrant families do? Lopez said he and other civil rights leaders will be there to help."What we're going to be doing now is working with our community, helping ensure that everybody knows their rights, documenting abuses from police as they take on these immense and incredible new powers,” Lopez said.“And we will be fighting tirelessly as these bills come into effect in the next few months to just make sure that everybody knows what this legislation does, how they can respond to law enforcement when they're pulled over. And we will be doing our best to document and fight this in court as best we can.”On the webinar, Lopez gave his analysis of Senate Bill 4.“SB 4 will subject millions of people across the entirety of Texas to racial profiling. And that is not some sort of exaggeration. This bill is not limited to the border. It is not limited to immigrants who have recently crossed (the border). This allows any officer in the entire state of Texas with a gun at their hip, to detain and arrest someone who they suspect of being here without papers.”Lopez said there is no clarity from the authors of the legislation on how it should be applied. He said dozens of amendments were filed to try to clarify the meaning of the legislation, to give officers guidance on how to implement SB 4. “All of those (amendments) were just swept aside,” Lopez said. Lopez said what this tells Texans is that the state is not making good public policy. “This is all political theater.”Editor's Note: Go to the Rio Grande Guardian International News Service to read the full story. Editor's Note: Here is an audio recording of testimony Roberto Lopez gave at a recent Senate Committee on Border Security hearing.To read the new stories and watch the news videos of the Rio Grande Guardian International News Service go to www.riograndeguardian.com.

Stories we're following this morning at Progress Texas: Six more plaintiffs have joined the lawsuit, spearheaded by Amanda Zurawski, over Texas abortion laws that led to life-threatening medical situations for them: https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2023/11/15/1213188342/20-women-sue-texas-over-abortion-laws Officials in Mexico push back against new, unconstitutional immigration legislation in Texas: https://www.houstonchronicle.com/politics/texas/article/mexico-deportation-law-18494150.php ...One Houston immigration attorney thinks SB4 is entirely unworkable in reality: https://news.yahoo.com/houston-area-officials-texas-bill-025800209.html Enormous amounts of public school funding are a bait-and-switch for vouchers: https://www.dallasnews.com/news/politics/2023/11/16/house-education-chief-tries-to-pass-texas-school-choice-bill-with-shrinking-wad-of-cash/ Donald Trump will be in Texas this weekend, and Governor Abbott is expected to endorse Trump's run for re-election: https://www.cnn.com/2023/11/15/politics/abbott-expected-endorse-donald-trump/index.html A convention of Texas secessionists envisions an independent Nation of Texas with "no liberals or poor people": https://www.texastribune.org/2023/11/15/texas-secession-texit/ Officials at UT Austin are hurriedly dismantling any trace of DEI in advance of a new law taking effect January 1: https://www.kvue.com/article/news/education/university-of-texas/ut-austin-dei-law-changes/269-57d6e995-c80b-46a7-b5fb-5dcb11f96579#amp_tf=From%20%251%24s&aoh=17001257422314&csi=0&referrer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com&share=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.kvue.com%2Farticle%2Fnews%2Feducation%2Funiversity-of-texas%2Fut-austin-dei-law-changes%2F269-57d6e995-c80b-46a7-b5fb-5dcb11f96579 ...While a federal judge expresses skepticism about motivations behind a Texas ban of the use of TikTok on state college campuses: https://www.expressnews.com/news/education/article/tiktok-ban-texas-universities-federal-lawsuit-18495277.php U.S. Rep. Joaquin Castro wants a federal investigation over the Warner Bros. shelving of Coyote Vs. Acme: https://thehill.com/business/4309998-joaquin-castro-federal-probe-warner-bros/ Elon Musk's SpaceX has been cleared by the FAA to launch its Starship rocket from Boca Chica Friday morning at 7am: https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston-texas/space/article/spacex-federal-approval-second-starship-launch-18490997.php Thanks for listening! Grab your tickets for our 2023 Holiday Parties, and consider pitching in to support our important work, at https://progresstexas.org/.

Stories we're following this morning at Progress Texas: A bill including private school vouchers was approved in committee on Friday and is likely to see a full vote on the House floor: https://www.texastribune.org/2023/11/10/texas-house-vote-committee-school-vouchers/ Abbott's stubbornness on vouchers is related to his national political ambitions: https://www.dallasnews.com/news/politics/2023/11/10/texas-gov-greg-abbott-thrust-in-middle-of-gop-infighting-hampering-school-choice-agenda/ School safety funding advanced on Friday as well: https://www.texastribune.org/2023/11/10/texas-house-school-safety-funding/ U.S. Rep. Joaquin Castro of San Antonio warns against GOP rhetoric threatening military action at the border: https://www.texastribune.org/2023/11/10/joaquin-castro-latinos-republicans/ A Republican election loser loses again in court and will not get an election do-over: https://apnews.com/article/election-lawsuit-texas-harris-county-67dc7dc3055c684fed1349060de69d6f Sherman ISD backs down on its anti-trans theater policy - but also wants its theater department to perform a children's version of Oklahoma!: https://www.chron.com/news/houston-texas/article/texas-trans-student-oklahoma-18485660.php A conservative Tyler bishop is removed from his post by Pope Francis, likely over his public critiques of the pontiff: https://www.nytimes.com/2023/11/11/world/europe/pope-francis-joseph-strickland.html Thanks for listening! Find your tickets to our Austin and Dallas holiday parties and consider making a donation to help us continue our important work at https://progresstexas.org/.

Stories we're following this morning at Progress Texas: President Joe Biden says he had "no choice" but to authorize 20 miles of new border wall through a sensitive environmental zone in South Texas: https://apnews.com/article/biden-us-mexico-border-wall-immigration-texas-f99fd10257292a898618236df3613979 Biden's lack of faith in the efficacy of border walls clashes with a statement by Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, who says they're needed: https://www.texastribune.org/2023/10/05/biden-border-wall-texas-starr-county/ U.S. Rep. Joaquin Castro will file a resolution today condemning right-wing talk of military intervention south of the Mexican border: https://www.military.com/daily-news/2023/10/05/texas-congressman-wants-house-renounce-gop-contenders-threats-of-military-strikes-mexico.html Governor Abbott releases his agenda for the third special legislative session, set to begin Monday - public school funding is a glaring omission: https://t.co/0ciFXa93Mm And the third annual Trans Pride Fest happens Saturday in Denton: https://www.click2houston.com/news/texas/2023/10/06/amid-anti-lgbtq-legislation-a-north-texas-college-town-hosts-its-third-annual-trans-pride-event/ Our super-popular progressive voting guide is up! Study up: https://progresstexas.org/2023-texas-statewide-ballot-guide Thanks for listening! Please consider supporting our important work at https://progresstexas.org/donate.

On today's program we're looking into the bipartisan imperialist consensus in Washington when it comes to Venezuela.Following a recent US Congressional delegation to Brazil, Chile, and Colombia by Representatives Greg Casar, Nydia Velázquez, Joaquin Castro, Maxwell Frost, and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, media outlets were once again filled with headlines about the need for the US to change its relationship with Latin America. Despite the potential for this trip to “replace” or “realign” the US-Latin America relationship, public comments by lawmakers following their trip, Democrats are still deeply wedded to the US imperialist project. To talk about the very real consequences of tepid and insufficient calls by so-called progressives to merely “review” US sanctions on Venezuela, Host José Luis Granados Ceja speaks with Hector Figarella, a Venezuela-born activist and organizer with the Anti-Imperialist Action Committee. Venezuela Analysis' Andreína Chávez also joins the program to talk about her recent piece titled ‘Clear As The Full Moon' about the harsh circumstances Venezuela has been forced to endure at the hands of imperialism.Music: Embandolaos - Los Caimanes NegrosAli Primera - Canción para los valientes

Pags and TX Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick Analyze Border Buoys and Confront Joaquin Castro's Claims, while Discussing Texas' Role in Addressing the Southern Border Crisis. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Pags and TX Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick Analyze Border Buoys and Confront Joaquin Castro's Claims, while Discussing Texas' Role in Addressing the Southern Border Crisis. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It's an EmMajority Report Thursday! She speaks with Sara Marcus, assistant professor of English at the University of Notre Dame, about her recent book Political Disappointment: A Cultural History from Reconstruction to the AIDS Crisis. Then, Emma is joined by Zoya Teirstein, climate change and health reporter at Grist, to discuss her recent reporting on climate change-related illnesses. Emma starts off by highlight reporting in Bloomberg that showed how the city of Minneapolis had beaten back inflation in no small part due to a concerted effort to build more affordable housing in the city. Emma also touches upon Texas Rep. Joaquin Castro's visit to Eagle Pass, Texas, as he surveyed the absolutely evil conditions Texas Gov. Greg Abbott had set up at the Southern border to control and deter migration. Then Emma is joined by Sara, and they begin their conversation by specifying what the moments of "political disappointment" in American history are per her scholarship, and what are the specific characteristics that makes these moments correlate with one another. As Sarah explains, these moments (starting with Reconstruction and ending with the response to the AIDS crisis in the 1980's) bear similarities in the cultural responses to them. Emma notes that the moments that Sara highlights, that of "political disappointment" aren't monocultural historical moments from the 1960's, but ones that center on marginalized communities. Sara observes how the narratives of "progress" perpetuated in American history are ones that are clearly rebutted and contradicted by the experiences of marginalized communities, as writers like WEB Dubois observed in their writings. They then touch on another moment outlined in Sara's research, the Civil Rights Movement, and how her thesis manifested in ideological and strategic conflict between Martin Luther King Jr. & Stokely Carmichael, and how that conflict was ultimately exacerbated by the people reporting on and historicizing it. They jump back in time to Sara's research on the 1930's, specifically the quarrels that characterized the politics surrounding the New Deal, specifically within the American Communist movement in the fight against fascism, and how the factionalism at the time complicated and blurred the lines of racial coalitions at the time. Emma reflects on how some of these notions that Sara outlines, and how they show some strong parallels with some of the disaffection of young voters on the Left who, galvanized by Bernie Sanders' 2016 and 2020 presidential campaigns, are unsure of what may come in the future that may replicate that, if anything. They touch on the feminist movement in the 1960's and 1970's, before ending the conversation on Sara's section on the AIDS crisis. Then, Emma speaks with Zoya, and asks her to react to some of the footage coming out of the island of Maui in Hawaii, that's been besieged by raging wildfires. Zoya observes that this summer has been a summer of weather extremes across the country, and that the situation in Maui is no different. Emma asks Zoya if she thinks there's been a larger media reckoning in how climate change has been covered, seeing now that, in the context of the air quality issues in New York City earlier in the summer, that extreme weather issues have come home to everyone nationwide as opposed to the protection from them some may expect on the East Coast in urban centers. Emma and Zoya then dive into her reporting in Grist, and how Samoa and its residents, as well as its physicians, have been on the forefront of climate-related illness, both experiencing it and treating it, and, in Zoya's estimation, it'd be a mistake for medical practitioners to not try and emulate early treatment methods that Samoan doctors are developing. Emma asks Zoya what she thinks are some heat and climate-related illnesses may become more and more prominent as extreme weather events begin to become more and more common. Emma asks how some of these climate-related illnesses, like fungal-based illnesses or illnesses like dengue fever, are able to migrate when they may have been previously unable to, and how lower-income areas with less supported water and sanitation infrastructure can be even more adversely affected by this disease migration. They end the conversation by touching on Zoya's most recent piece, about the heat-related illnesses found in people in Phoenix, Arizona, after 31 straight days of over 110 degree heat. Zoya, trying to stem the tide of doomerism, ultimately does qualify that there have been serious and encouraging medical breakthroughs to help mitigate these issues (whew!). And in the Fun Half,  Emma is joined by Brandon and Binder as they break down Michael Knowles hawking an abortion reversal pill, Fox News highlighting a Mom on TikTok...bemoaning American capitalism??, Matt Walsh complains that people care more about the fate of hummingbirds than the fate of white people, and Twitter flack Linda Yaccarino tries to claim that X (??) is even safer than it was a year ago (Binder, you'd be surprised, doesn't agree with this!). Plus, your calls & IM's! Check out Sara's book here: https://www.hup.harvard.edu/catalog.php?isbn=9780674248656 Check out Zoya's reporting at Grist here: https://grist.org/author/zoya-teirstein/ Become a member at JoinTheMajorityReport.com: https://fans.fm/majority/join Subscribe to the ESVN YouTube channel here: https://www.youtube.com/esvnshow Subscribe to the AMQuickie newsletter here: https://am-quickie.ghost.io/ Join the Majority Report Discord! http://majoritydiscord.com/ Get all your MR merch at our store: https://shop.majorityreportradio.com/ Get the free Majority Report App!: http://majority.fm/app Follow the Majority Report crew on Twitter: @SamSeder @EmmaVigeland @MattBinder @MattLech @BF1nn @BradKAlsop Check out Matt's show, Left Reckoning, on Youtube, and subscribe on Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/leftreckoning Subscribe to Brandon's show The Discourse on Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/ExpandTheDiscourse Subscribe to Discourse Blog, a newsletter and website for progressive essays and related fun partly run by AM Quickie writer Jack Crosbie. https://discourseblog.com/ Check out Matt Binder's YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/mattbinder Check out Ava Raiza's music here! https://avaraiza.bandcamp.com/ The Majority Report with Sam Seder - https://majorityreportradio.com/

The news of Texas covered today includes:Our Lone Star story of the day: Junk fees and false room rates by hotels is a symptom of an absence of integrity in the industry and the moral decline of our society. The feds, the Texas Attorney General, and customers are fighting it but the hotels don't care and actually seem to think lying to customers is a game. Hotels are returning fire in the “junk fee” war. Don't be a casualty. Office of the Attorney General Sues Travel Reservation Site for Deceptive Trade Practices Regarding the True Price of Hotel Rooms (Booking.com, Priceline.com, and Kayak.com) Paxton Secures Agreement with Marriott to End Hidden Hotel Fees and Ensure Transparency Paxton Sues Hyatt Hotels for Deceptive Trade Practices Regarding the True Price of Hotel Rooms I've had Platinum status for many years with Wyndham and their La Quinta operator in Brownwood charged us, without advance disclosure, a junk fee we'd have not known about had we not demanded a receipt upon leaving. Terrible lack of integrity.Our Lone Star story of the day is sponsored by Allied Compliance Services providing the best service in DOT, business and personal drug and alcohol testing since 1995.Is the “political calculus” of finally banning taxpayer funded lobbying in Texas really changing? My guess is that such might, I stress might, be offered up, and likely watered down, next session as a chosen red meat issue.Now, because of the Texas House's impeachment circus we don't know if this is law enforcement working as it should (which is why impeachment should not have been used – to let law enforcement handle law enforcement) or, a pile-on action to help poison the well just like how magically the securities related suit finally gets a direct court hearing with Paxton present after all these years.Border Patrol Union rips Rep. Joaquin Castro‘s criticism of Texas Rio Grande water buoys: ‘unhinged diatribe'.Listen on the radio, or station stream, at 5pm Central. Click for our radio and streaming affiliates.www.PrattonTexas.com

Chris has a new podcast for Progress Texas, which is being published here as an introduction for the first few weeks. If you like it, please take a moment and subscribe on the main Progress Texas podcast feed on the platform of your choice. Hope you like it! Stories we're following this morning at Progress Texas: Orange river buoys deployed by Governor Abbott and Operation Lone Star are modified with razor-sharp circular saw blades: ⁠https://theweek.com/greg-abbott/1025651/circular-saw-blades-divide-controversial-rio-grande-buoys-installed-by-texas⁠ Texas officials at the border have defied warnings about breaking international and Federal law for months: ⁠https://www.dallasnews.com/news/politics/2023/08/08/docs-show-rio-grande-agency-warned-texas-for-months-on-border-buoys-before-turning-to-doj/⁠ U.S. Rep. Joaquin Castro isn't buying DPS claims of "working well" with U.S. Border Patrol: ⁠https://www.houstonchronicle.com/politics/texas/article/border-eagle-pass-democrats-18284715.php⁠ A Texas A&M professor says all this cruelty at the border won't work anyway: ⁠https://theeagle.com/opinion/column/abbotts-barrels-wire-fences-wont-work/article_d9a953be-34c3-11ee-ab39-17dc6a41f352.html⁠ Texas gets another national black eye, this time from Rolling Stone: ⁠https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-features/texas-abortion-bounty-law-ruling-1234802301⁠ Texas abortion ban, lifted for a few hours last week, now heads on appeal to the Texas Supreme Court: ⁠https://www.npr.org/2023/08/08/1192750247/what-just-happened-when-texas-abortion-bans-briefly-lifted-and-what-comes-next⁠ Watch Ted Cruz squirm as he explains voting against a wave of funding for Dallas-area microchip manufacturing: ⁠https://www.nbcdfw.com/news/politics/texas-politics/sen-ted-cruz-explains-vote-against-chips-act-after-tour-of-dallas-county-inland-port/3312776/⁠ Patriot Front finds itself on opposing ends of two lawsuits: ⁠https://www.dallasnews.com/news/courts/2023/08/08/texas-extremist-group-patriot-front-sued-over-boston-attack-of-black-man/⁠ Texas judge orders Southwest Airlines lawyers to undergo training...by an extremist hate group: ⁠https://newrepublic.com/post/174906/texas-judge-orders-airline-lawyers-take-training-far-right-hate-group-adf⁠ A climate change-related migration OUT of Texas may be on the horizon: ⁠https://www.texasstandard.org/stories/heat-climate-change-migration-texas-south-southwest/⁠ Before you flee, plant a tree! Free fruit trees offered in San Antonio this weekend: ⁠https://www.mysanantonio.com/lifestyle/outdoors/article/free-trees-san-antonio-parks-18285502.php⁠ Thanks for your support! Learn more about Progress Texas at ⁠https://progresstexas.org/⁠.

Stories we're following this morning at Progress Texas: Orange river buoys deployed by Governor Abbott and Operation Lone Star are modified with razor-sharp circular saw blades: https://theweek.com/greg-abbott/1025651/circular-saw-blades-divide-controversial-rio-grande-buoys-installed-by-texas Texas officials at the border have defied warnings about breaking international and Federal law for months: https://www.dallasnews.com/news/politics/2023/08/08/docs-show-rio-grande-agency-warned-texas-for-months-on-border-buoys-before-turning-to-doj/ U.S. Rep. Joaquin Castro isn't buying DPS claims of "working well" with U.S. Border Patrol: https://www.houstonchronicle.com/politics/texas/article/border-eagle-pass-democrats-18284715.php A Texas A&M professor says all this cruelty at the border won't work anyway: https://theeagle.com/opinion/column/abbotts-barrels-wire-fences-wont-work/article_d9a953be-34c3-11ee-ab39-17dc6a41f352.html Texas gets another national black eye, this time from Rolling Stone: https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-features/texas-abortion-bounty-law-ruling-1234802301 Texas abortion ban, lifted for a few hours last week, now heads on appeal to the Texas Supreme Court: https://www.npr.org/2023/08/08/1192750247/what-just-happened-when-texas-abortion-bans-briefly-lifted-and-what-comes-next Watch Ted Cruz squirm as he explains voting against a wave of funding for Dallas-area microchip manufacturing: https://www.nbcdfw.com/news/politics/texas-politics/sen-ted-cruz-explains-vote-against-chips-act-after-tour-of-dallas-county-inland-port/3312776/ Patriot Front finds itself on opposing ends of two lawsuits: https://www.dallasnews.com/news/courts/2023/08/08/texas-extremist-group-patriot-front-sued-over-boston-attack-of-black-man/ Texas judge orders Southwest Airlines lawyers to undergo training...by an extremist hate group: https://newrepublic.com/post/174906/texas-judge-orders-airline-lawyers-take-training-far-right-hate-group-adf A climate change-related migration OUT of Texas may be on the horizon: https://www.texasstandard.org/stories/heat-climate-change-migration-texas-south-southwest/ Before you flee, plant a tree! Free fruit trees offered in San Antonio this weekend: https://www.mysanantonio.com/lifestyle/outdoors/article/free-trees-san-antonio-parks-18285502.php Thanks for your support! Learn more about Progress Texas at https://progresstexas.org/.

Ralph welcomes journalist and executive director for intellectual capital at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, Hal Weitzman, to discuss his book “What's The Matter With Delaware? How the First State Has Favored the Rich, Powerful, and Criminal—and How It Costs Us All.”Hal Weitzman is Executive Director for Intellectual Capital at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business and editor-in-chief of Chicago Booth Review. A former Financial Times editor and foreign correspondent, he is the author of Latin Lessons: How South America Stopped Listening to the United States and Started Prospering and What's the Matter with Delaware?: How the First State Has Favored the Rich, Powerful, and Criminal—and How It Costs Us All.We know that lawyers and investors in corporations hate political uncertainty because it might affect their profit-making process. And in Delaware they've perfected that system. They have completely bypassed any political uncertainty, and therefore also bypassed any oversight or regulation.Hal WeitzmanThe state of Delaware, the major law firms, the legislature, and the State Secretary of State over the years have created a very powerful embrace to make sure that Delaware stays #1 in terms of being a haven for these kinds of corporations, and in terms of making sure that the federal government interferes the least.Ralph NaderIn Case You Haven't Heard with Francesco DeSantis1. The Lever reports that in Delaware, The Company State, in a little town called Seaford, corporations may soon have the right to vote. The town has proposed an amendment to their charter granting LLCs, corporations, trusts or partnerships suffrage in municipal elections. Claire Snyder-Hall, executive director of Common Cause Delaware called this a "shocking...attempt to [give] artificial entities… voting rights," and characterized it as the “flipside [of voter suppression]." This proposal would require the blessing of both houses of the Delaware legislature, and while unlikely to pass, the corporate control of the First State is so powerful that passage cannot be entirely counted out either.2. Senate HELP Committee Chair Bernie Sanders has launched an investigation into safety at Amazon. Chairman Sanders wrote on Twitter “If Amazon can afford to spend $6 billion on stock buybacks last year, it can afford to make sure its warehouses are safe. If Amazon can afford to pay its CEO $289 million over the past 2 years, it can afford to treat all of its workers with dignity and respect, not contempt.” To further this investigation, the HELP committee has launched an online portal allowing “current or former workers, supervisors, medical staff, or anyone else in Amazon's warehouses,” to submit their stories of mistreatment.3. A troubling new report from the Governors Highway Safety Association (GHSA) highlights the rise in pedestrian fatalities in recent years. According to the data, over 8,000 pedestrians were killed on US roadways in 2022, more than double the number who were killed in 2010 and higher than any year since 1980. Regulators must take pedestrian safety as seriously as that of automobile drivers.4. Last Thursday, Indian Prime Minister and Right-wing extremist Narendra Modi addressed Congress, following his meeting with President Biden. A number of progressive Democrats boycotted the event, including Reps. Summer Lee, Cori Bush, Ilhan Omar, Jamaal Bowman, Rashida Tlaib, and AOC. In a joint statement issued by Bush and Bowman, the members wrote “by bestowing Prime Minister Modi…the rare honor of a joint address, Congress undermines its ability to be a credible advocate for the rights of religious minorities and journalists around the world.” This from the Hill.5. People's Dispatch reports that the New York City Council has passed a resolution calling for the United States to end the blockade on Cuba. New York City now joins Washington, D.C. and Chicago in passing such resolutions. This resolution notes “Every year since 1992, the United Nations (UN) General Assembly has adopted a resolution declaring the embargo a violation of both the Charter of the United Nations and international law”.6. In the recent Virginia primaries, reform prosecutors swept their respective elections, per Bolts Magazine. Steve Descano, Parisa Dehghani-Tafti, and Buta Biberaj, prosecutors in Fairfax, Loudoun, and Arlington each fended off primary challenges from the right, two of whom were endorsed by police unions and a third who was backed by none other than the local Republican Party. The reform prosecutors trounced these regressive opponents by margins of 10 to 13 points. Deghani-Tafti told the magazine “If this election was a referendum on reform, our voters emphatically responded that they will not go backward.”7. The Reykjavik Grapevine reports that no whaling will occur in Iceland this Summer, following months of protest. Interestingly, the article notes that “Whaling is not a traditional practice in Iceland. Not only is Hvalur hf. the one and only company in Iceland engaging in commercial whaling…it does so at a loss.”8. Martin Austermuhle of WAMU reports that Republicans in the House are once again seeking to meddle in the sovereign affairs of Washington, DC. Riders in a draft spending bill promulgated by the GOP include banning reproductive rights legislation, reversing the legalization of marijuana, and other conservative priorities that would never get off the ground in the district. The major concern here is that spineless Congressional Democrats will serve up DC on a silver platter in exchange for other Republican concessions. Just another reason DC statehood must be a top priority.9. A group of House Democrats sent a letter to Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen calling on her to ease the sanctions regime imposed on Venezuela, NBC reports. The authors include Reps. Joaquin Castro and Gregory Meeks, the ranking member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, along with progressives like Jim McGovern of Massachusetts and Barbara Lee of California. The letter described how sanctions "have often been found to be ineffective in achieving their objectives," and "to purposefully continue contributing to economic hardship experienced by an entire population is immoral and unworthy of the United States.” Hopefully Secretary Yellen will heed these words.10. Finally, how much does a trashcan cost? A new report in Responsible Statecraft highlights price gouging at the Pentagon, including a trashcan sold to the Defense Department for $52,000. Must be one hell of a bin! Get full access to Ralph Nader Radio Hour at www.ralphnaderradiohour.com/subscribe

On this episode of Here to Lead, Congressman Joaquin Castro (TX-20) shares what it was like growing up in a family of public servants and how his parents' activism inspired him to get involved in his community and eventually run for Congress. He also talks about the work he is doing in Congress to change the Latino narrative in American media and push back against negative stereotypes.

Nuestra Palabra: Latino Writers Having Their Say's Tony Diaz the Librotraficante welcomes Award Winning Author and one of the OG Librotraficante Caravan members Diana Lopez to the show to discuss her latest book, the first in a series, "Felice and the Wailing Woman". Diana speaks with Tony about her inspiration behind the book and her literary journey and her current partnerhsip with the Guadalupe Cultural Arts Center Latino Book Store's Texas Author Series to create curriculum and lesson plans from authors, all through a grant spearheaded by Joaquin Castro. To highlight this partnership, Tony also has on the show San Antonio ISD Teacher Celi Manriquez; the Bonham Middle School STEM Academy instructor is developing the lesson plans for Ms. Lopez's book so that students can read stories about them, that they can relate to, and can inspire them. We have a live event on April 14th at the Guadalupe Cultural Arts Center as well as at Bonham Academy; check our next post for more details! Diana López is the author of the adult novella, Sofia's Saints, and numerous middle grade novels, including Confetti Girl, Nothing Up My Sleeve, and Lucky Luna. Her debut picture book is now available and is called Sing With Me: The Story of Selena Quintanilla. She also wrote the novel adaptation for the Disney/Pixar film, Coco. Diana retired after a 28-year career in education at both the middle grade and college levels. Her "second act" day job is helping her husband in his physical therapy clinic, FYZICAL Therapy & Balance Center, located in her hometown of Corpus Christi, Texas, but she still enjoys meeting with students when she visits schools to chat about books and writing. Araceli Manriquez is a middle school dual-language teacher in San Antonio ISD. She currently teaches eighth-grade DL social studies and started the first Mexican American Studies (MAS) course for middle school students in the district. She received her double-major bachelor's degree in Interdisciplinary Studies Bilingual EC-6 and Mexican American Studies from the University of Texas at San Antonio and also has her master's degree in Bilingual-Bicultural Studies. Manriquez has been at the forefront of advocacy and organizing for Mexican American Studies to be offered as a course for credit throughout the state of Texas. She also helped create a MAS Summer Camp on her campus for San Antonio ISD middle and high school students and writes MAS curriculum for the district. As an educator, she ensures that her students have a rich, deep understanding of the culture and contributions of the Latinx/e community and are taught a true history of Texas. Manriquez is an active member of her local union, the San Antonio Alliance, and a founding member of its social justice caucus, PODER. She leads professional development in social studies, Mexican-American studies and culturally relevant/sustaining pedagogy for educators throughout San Antonio. Tony Diaz Writer and activist Tony Diaz, El Librotraficante, is a Cultural Accelerator. He was the first Chicano to earn a Master of Fine Arts degree from the University of Houston Creative Writing Program. In 1998, he founded Nuestra Palabra: Latino Writers Having Their Say (NP), Houston's first reading series for Latino authors. The group galvanized Houston's Community Cultural Capital to become a movement for civil rights, education, and representation. When Arizona officials banned Mexican American Studies, Diaz and four veteran members of NP organized the 2012 Librotraficante Caravan to smuggle books from the banned curriculum back into Arizona. He is the author of The Aztec Love God. His book, The Tip of the Pyramid: Cultivating Community Cultural Capital, is the first in his series on Community Organizing. www.Librotraficante.com www.NuestraPalabra.org www.TonyDiaz.net Nuestra Palabra is funded in part by the BIPOC Arts Network Fund. Instrumental Music produced / courtesy of Bayden Records Website | baydenrecords.beatstars.com

 The Puro Politics team talks Rosie Castro's appointment, Joaquin Castro's surgery and Tony Gonzales' censure. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Gun violence prevention advocates speak with Austin lawmakers with Uvalde families. Congressman Joaquin Castro recovers from cancer surgery in his intestinal tract. The U.S. Supreme Court starts hearing arguments on Biden's plan for student loan forgiveness. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

HE'S BACK!!!!  In the first hour of The Marc Cox Morning Show, Marc tells what he did on his vacation, the debacle that is Southwest Airlines.  Joaquin Castro tries to make you feel bad for Illegals getting shipped to sanctuary cities.  George Santos embellished his resume, and China is getting hit hard by Covid and will require a negative test before leaving the country.     Coming Up:  Sean Theama from the Young Americans for Liberty.

Today's stories: 1. Tulsi Gabbard interviews George Santos 2. Marjorie Greene defends George Santos 3. George Santos makes himself out to be the victim 4. Joaquin Castro responds to bussing of migrants 5. Mark Meadows burned documents in the White House 6. Libs of TikTok owner does sick interview with Tucker Carlson 7. Biden likely already decided to run for reelection 8. MeidasTouch slams Trump Want to support the show and gain access to a weekly bonus show? Become a Patreon member at: https://www.patreon.com/lukebeasley Get connected below! Twitter - https://twitter.com/lukepbeasley Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/lukebeasleyofficial/ TikTok - https://vm.tiktok.com/TTPdSfpPHw/ YouTube channel - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCM05jgFNwoeXvWfO9GuExzA

Let's talk about Latinx representation in movies and tv shows! This week the girls dive into if they have felt representation in a movie or tv show, whether the lack of representation matters, if more representation would change negative opinions about Latinx community, and so much more.  This is good one so you won't want to miss, so listen in and spread the word! SOURCES: -The LA Times' Full Coverage of their investigation into Hollywood's Latino Culture Gap: https://www.latimes.com/latinogap/ -U.S. Government Accountability Office's Study on Workforce Diversity: https://www.gao.gov/products/gao-21-105322?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=newsletter_axioslatino&stream=science -USC Annenberg (2020) Study on Inequality in 1,300 Popular Films: https://assets.uscannenberg.org/docs/aii-inequality_1300_popular_films_09-08-2020.pdf -USC Annenberg (2021) Study on Hispanic and Latino Representation in Film: https://assets.uscannenberg.org/docs/aii-hispanic-latino-rep-2021-09-13.pdf -New Yorker Q&A with Joaquin Castro on The Exclusion of Latinos From American Media and History Books: https://www.newyorker.com/news/q-and-a/the-exclusion-of-latinos-from-american-media-and-history-books -LA Times Article on 'Selena' writers say Netflix series disrespected the singer - and staff: https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/tv/story/2021-06-11/netflix-selena-the-series-showrunners-untitled-latinx-project-latino-gap - Follow us on Instagram @glowinguplatina! Submit your questions for the Q&A episode here. Email us some love at glowinguplatina@gmail.com. Visit our website: www.glowinguplatina.com. Listen to the official Glowing Up Latina playlist on Apple Music or Spotify. BLAEKER / Tequila Shawty (Instrumental) / Courtesy of www.epidemicsound.com.

Cristela Alonzo is one of only a few Latinos with a Netflix comedy special. When her first premiered in 2017, she didn't hold back on her dislike for former President Donald Trump or her identity as a Mexican-American in South Texas. Now, she's back for her second special, "Middle Classy." And she's bringing her activism with her, opening up the special with cameos from civil rights leader Dolores Huerta and Texas Rep. Joaquin Castro.She shares with us what it's like being able to finally afford to take care of herself and the importance of therapy despite the stigma among her Latino family.Want to support 1A? Give to your local public radio station and subscribe to this podcast. Have questions? Find us on Twitter @1A.

Cristela Alonzo is one of only a few Latinos with a Netflix comedy special. When her first premiered in 2017, she didn't hold back on her dislike for former President Donald Trump or her identity as a Mexican-American in South Texas. Now, she's back for her second special, "Middle Classy." And she's bringing her activism with her, opening up the special with cameos from civil rights leader Dolores Huerta and Texas Rep. Joaquin Castro.She shares with us what it's like being able to finally afford to take care of herself and the importance of therapy despite the stigma among her Latino family.Want to support 1A? Give to your local public radio station and subscribe to this podcast. Have questions? Find us on Twitter @1A.

In a special day of ABC News coverage, "Start Here" speaks to Democratic Rep. Joaquin Castro and Republican commentator David French about what each party is wrestling with on gun reform. If you are struggling with thoughts of suicide or worried about a friend or loved one, help is available. Call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255 [TALK] for free, confidential emotional support 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. You can also reach the Trevor Project at 1-866-488-7386 or the Crisis Text Line by texting "START" to 741741. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Tonight on the Last Word: President Biden makes a plea for action on guns after the deadly Texas elementary school shooting. Also, an NRA meeting is scheduled for Friday in Houston. And Sen. Chris Murphy begs the Senate to “find a path forward.” Morgan Chesky, Rep. Joaquin Castro, Judge Lina Hidalgo, David Hogg and Tony Plohetski also join Lawrence O'Donnell.

After the deadliest mass shooting since Sandy Hook, the co-hosts react ti at least 19 students and two adults being killed at a Texas elementary school. Rep. Joaquin Castro shares a message to families impacted by Uvalde school shooting and why Congress needs to take action now. Then, Nelba Márquez-Green – the mother of Ana Grace Márquez-Greene, who was killed in the Sandy Hook school massacre – reacts to the mass shooting in Texas and explains why thoughts are prayers are “hollow without action.” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Another tragedy of American gun violence as 15 people are killed at an elementary school in Texas. We are providing extensive live reporting and perspective on today's horrific event. Texas Rep. Joaquin Castro joins to share what Congress can do to prevent mass shootings. To learn more about how CNN protects listener privacy, visit cnn.com/privacy

3 guests who know the US political landscape like the backs of their hands—Dem Rep. Joaquin Castro, Rep Former Rep. David Jolly, and Dem Former Senator Barbara Boxer—join Harry to assess the political jockeying on the right, and particularly by Fla Gov DeSantis and Tex Gov Abbott to be the new party standard bearers. They then discuss the best strategies for Democrats in the midterms. They end by considering the legal and political implications of the court decision invalidating the mask mandate.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Julián and Sawyer welcome US Rep. Joaquin Castro to talk about President Biden's State of the Union address, the results of the Texas primary elections, and Gov. Greg Abbott's assault on transgender children and their families. They also comment on Biden's historic nomination of federal judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to the US Supreme Court and the uphill battle she may face on Capitol Hill.    Follow Congressman Castro online at @JoaquinCastroTX.    Keep up with Julián on Twitter at @JulianCastro and Instagram at @JulianCastroTX. Sawyer can be found on Twitter and Instagram at @SawyerHackett. And stay up to date with us on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram at @LemonadaMedia.    Leave us a voicemail at 833-453-6662.    ‘Our America' is presented in part by the Marguerite Casey Foundation.    Click this link for a list of current sponsors and discount codes for this show and all Lemonada shows go to lemonadamedia.com/sponsors. Joining Lemonada Premium is a great way to support our show and get bonus content. Subscribe today at bit.ly/lemonadapremium. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.