August, 25 2022, 11:20am EDT
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President Biden Has Advanced Worker Rights in the First 18 Months of His Administration, but There's Much More to Do
New EPI report assesses the Biden administration’s record for workers.
WASHINGTON
A new EPI report lays out the major actions Biden and Democrats have taken to protect and support workers in the first 18 months of the Biden administration--including passing a major fiscal stimulus package to address the COVID-19 pandemic and appointing pro-worker leaders to key federal positions.
At the beginning of President Biden's term, of the 22 million jobs lost during the COVID-19 pandemic recession, 60% had yet to be restored and the recovery had stalled. President Biden took office faced with the enormous task of restarting the recovery and halting, reversing, and withdrawing Trump's pro-corporate, anti-worker agenda.
In the last year and a half, Biden has:
- Passed comprehensive fiscal stimulus to address the coronavirus pandemic
- Passed critical and historic infrastructure and climate investments
- Raised the minimum wage for federal contractors to $15/hour
- Restored NLRB's purpose of protecting workers and advancing collective bargaining rights
- Nominated pro-worker, pro-racial economic justice individuals to key positions
- Nominated a Supreme Court justice, Ketanji Brown Jackson, with a history of protecting workers' rights
- Withdrew Trump-era executive orders and rules that would have curtailed efforts to combat federal workplace discrimination and undermined federal workers' rights to unionize
"These actions are incredibly important for workers, but they are just a start. The freedom to form a union, and a strong national wage floor, are foundational and are two of the most powerful tools Congress can grant workers to advance their rights. Not until these measures are in place can we begin to make real progress toward reducing racial and gender wage gaps and addressing economic inequality overall," said Margaret Poydock, Policy Analyst and Government Affairs Specialist at EPI.
EPI is an independent, nonprofit think tank that researches the impact of economic trends and policies on working people in the United States. EPI's research helps policymakers, opinion leaders, advocates, journalists, and the public understand the bread-and-butter issues affecting ordinary Americans.
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Texas Woman Charged With Attempted Murder of Palestinian-American Child
"My country is facing a war, and we are facing that hate here," the child's mother said. "My daughter is traumatized. Whenever I open the apartment door, she runs away and hides."
Jun 23, 2024
A 42-year-old white woman has been charged with attempted murder and injury to a child following her attempt to drown a 3-year-old Palestinian-American in the pool of a Euless, Texas apartment complex last month, according toCNN and other media outlets.
The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the largest civil rights and advocacy group in the United States, called for a hate crime investigation at a press conference Saturday and warned that the incident was part of an alarming increase in anti-Muslim hate since the war in Gaza began in October.
"My country is facing a war, and we are facing that hate here," the 3-year-old's mother, identified only as Mrs. H. due to safety concerns, said in a statement from CAIR's Texas chapter. "My daughter is traumatized. Whenever I open the apartment door, she runs away and hides, telling me she is afraid the lady will come and immerse her head in the water again."
A reminder that violent Islamophobia cannot be allowed in a decent society. There is no excuse or justification for trying to drown a 3-year-old.https://t.co/4N9nVGGqQd
— M.O.D.O.X. (@MODOX613) June 23, 2024
According to CAIR's account and media reports of the May 19 incident, Elizabeth Wolf, a 42-year-old white woman, allegedly approached Mrs. H. making racist interrogations about what country the family was from and the foreign language they were speaking. Mrs. H., a 32-year-old Palestinian-American woman, was wearing a hijab as she watched her two children play in the shallow end of the pool.
Wolf jumped into the pool and tried to drag the two children to the deep end. The elder of the two escaped, but Wolf allegedly held the 3-year-old child's head underwater. When Mrs. H. tried to intercede, Wolf allegedly took the hijab and tried to beat Mrs. H. with it, and also kicked her to keep her away as she attacked the child. A man then rescued the child.
Wolf was initially arrested for public intoxication and was released on bond the next day. She has since been charged with attempted murder and injury to a child, according toCNN. Wolf has again been released on bail after paying at least $40,000 in bond fees.
A woman in Texas tried to drown a 3 year old Muslim Palestinian child at her apartment complex pool after making racist remarks.
She has posted the $35,000 bond and is now back on the streets https://t.co/uoxH4l2fB6
— chris evans (@notcapnamerica) June 23, 2024
Though the incident took place over a month ago, it began to draw noticeable media coverage only on Friday, when CAIR drew attention to the fact that the 3-year-old victim was Muslim—and called for a hate crime investigation.
"We ask for a hate crime probe, a higher bail bond, and an open conversation with officials to address this alarming increase in Islamophobia, anti-Arab, and anti-Palestinian sentiment," Shaimaa Zayan, a CAIR operations manager, said in the CAIR statement.
A CAIR civil rights report documented a marked surge in complaints of anti-Muslim hate in late 2023, as the war in Gaza began. Anti-semitic incidents in the U.S. also spiked during the same period, according to the Anti-Defamation League, a pro-Israel advocacy group, Reutersreported. More than 37,000 Palestinians in Gaza have been killed during the war, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, following the killing of more than 1,100 Israelis on October 7.
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Donald Trump Endorses Ten Commandments in Schools at Evangelical Event
Trump spoke in support of a controversial new Louisiana law that requires the display of the commandments in all public classrooms, which progressives have said is a prime example of Christian nationalism in action.
Jun 23, 2024
Presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump on Saturday endorsed the display of the Ten Commandments in schools while speaking at a conference of religious conservatives, raising concerns among progressives of a rising tide of Christian nationalism.
Trump made the comments as keynote speaker at a Faith and Freedom Coalition conference in Washington, D.C., after Louisiana adopted a law this week that requires the display of the Ten Commandments in all public classrooms.
"Has anyone read the 'Thou shalt not steal'?" he said. "They think it's such a bad thing. I mean, has anybody read this incredible stuff? It’s just incredible," Trump said. “They don’t want it to go up. It’s a crazy world."
Trump: Who likes The Ten Commandments going up in schools? Has anybody read the thou shalt not steal? I mean has anybody read this incredible stuff? pic.twitter.com/o7HFNymLfX
— Acyn (@Acyn) June 22, 2024
Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry, a Republican, signed the bill into law on Wednesday—the first state to enact such a law in recent memory.
The law requires primary, secondary, and postsecondary classrooms to display the commandments in "large, easily readable font" by the start of 2025. The display must also state that the commandments "were a prominent part of American public education for almost three centuries"—a debatable contention.
Rights groups immediately condemned the law, calling it "blatantly unconstitutional" and announcing a planned lawsuit. The U.S. Supreme Court, which could end up with the case, struck down a similar law from Kentucky in 1980, but is now under a conservative super majority.
Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito was recently called a "crusader for Christian nationalism" by a critic following a series of controversies, including a leaked audio tape in which he said that the country needs to return to being "a place of godliness" and that there were fundamental issues on which no compromise with "the left" could be brooked.
Trump's endorsement of the Ten Commandments law comes as he seeks to sure up evangelical support even though he declined to support a national abortion ban—the next step on the anti-choice agenda. During his speech, he did say, in an apparent effort to placate his audience, that there was "a vital role for the federal government in protecting unborn life." He also implored attendees, "Go and vote, Christians, please!"
Trump's speech followed a social media post on Friday in which he'd expressed support for the display of the commandments, not just in public schools but other private schools and "many other places."
"This may be, in fact, the first major step in the revival of religion, which is desperately needed in our country," he wrote on Truth Social, which is owned by Trump Media. "Bring back [the Ten Commandments]!!!"
Neither his position on the national abortion ban nor revelations from his personal life have had a noticeable impact on Trump's popularity with evangelicals.
"Somehow, despite his philandering, lying, business fraud, and numerous other violations of the Ten Commandments, he continues to be thought of as a person of faith by 64 percent of Republicans," The New Republic's Hafiz Rashid wrote.
Louisiana's Ten Commandments law is a prime example of Christian nationalism in action, Sarah Jones wrote in New York.
"Christian nationalists are looking to score points against their foes—and win an ideological war in the process," she wrote. "If America is a Christian nation, nobody else truly belongs. Not atheists, not Muslims, not Jews, not even other Christians who disagree with their interpretation of the Bible. That's a lesson Louisiana Republicans hope to impart to Americans as children."
With Trump's success in the Republican primaries and relatively high polling numbers, progressive thinkers have this year ramped up their warnings about the threat that Christian nationalism poses to democracy.
"A society where one set of religious views is imposed on a large number of citizens who disagree with them is not a democracy," Robert Reich wrote in a Common Dreams op-ed in February. "It's a theocracy."
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Bowman Calls for Primary Voters to Reject AIPAC Money at Rally With Sanders, AOC
Flanked by progressive heavyweights, Rep. Jamaal Bowman called for "the many" to defeat "the money" of AIPAC, which has set funding records in its effort to help defeat the pro-Palestine Congressman.
Jun 22, 2024
Congressman Jamaal Bowman, a prominent critic of Israel's war on Gaza, called on Saturday for voters to defeat the influence of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, which has poured millions of dollars into defeating him, as he made his final campaign push before the Democratic primary in New York's 16th Congressional District on Tuesday.
The contest has seen one of the largest influxes of money of any U.S. House of Representatives primary race in history, mainly because of AIPAC's super PAC, the United Democracy Project (UDP), which has spent more than any interest group has ever spent on a House race—more than $14 million, according to The New York Times.
"AIPAC is scared to death," Bowman (D-N.Y.) said at an animated rally in the Bronx in which Sen. Bernie Sander (I-Vt.) and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) also spoke. "They are afraid they have already lost," he said, citing public opposition to AIPAC's agenda.
"They are in this race because we called for a permanent cease-fire in Gaza," Bowman said of AIPAC. "And we’re going to keep calling for a permanent cease-fire."
Progressive standard-bearers Sanders and Ocasio-Cortez came to the rally, where placards read "for the many, not the money," to help stave off a possible Bowman defeat to challenger George Latimer, a pro-Israel Democrat who leads in the polls. An Emerson College poll from early June showed Latimer up 17 points, 48% to 31%. The race has been seen as a bellwether for the fate of other pro-Palestine progressives such as Rep. Cori Bush (D-Mo.), who faces a primary challenge in August.
It is TWO million degrees but we are happy to be alive folks @JamaalBowmanNYÂ @AOCÂ @BernieSanders take The Bronx pic.twitter.com/Q0KArxNOWm
— Anna Bahr (@anna_bahr) June 22, 2024
Latimer has not just the backing of AIPAC but also some local support and connections. He is the Westchester County Executive and has political clout there—Politico called him "the Cher of suburban New York." The 16th district includes the southern part of the county and a slice of the northern Bronx, giving it a wide mix of demographics.
Latimer was accused by Bowman and others of using an Islamophobic dog whistle in a recent debate, when Latimer said that Bowman's constituency was Dearborn, Michigan—a majority Arab-American city.
In a blow to Bowman, who has described himself as an "outspoken Black man," Jewish voters in the county recently formed Westchester Unites, a group that has mobilized votes for Latimer, including a substantial proportion of the early and mail-in voting that's already underway.
The race has been "nationalized," or "Israelized," as The Nation's Richard Lingeman wrote, with the two candidates' positions on Gaza dictating their fundraising hauls.
The Times reported that UDP was spending up to "$17,000 an hour" and "filling television screens, stuffing mailboxes, and clogging phone lines with caustic attacks." Other pro-Israel groups have also given money.
UDP's ads and messages "almost never" mention Israel, the Times noted. This is in keeping with AIPAC's strategy in races across the country as support for Israel's war on Gaza wanes.
Yet the groups attacking Bowman plan to put forward a different message if the race goes they way they want.
"Assuming the outcome is as we expect it, the message is going to be that being pro-Israel is not just wise policy, it's smart politics," said Mark Mellman, founder of the Democratic Majority for Israel, an advocacy group that spent $1 million against Bowman, told the Times.
Marshall Wittmann, an AIPAC spokesman, told the Times that Latimer was "pro-Israel" while "Jamaal Bowman has refused to support the Jewish state as it fights a moral and just war against Iranian terrorist proxies."
The pro-Israel lobby's all-out attack on Bowman for his opposition to the war led Karen Attiah, columnist at The Washington Post, to label its strategy as "shut up or else"—a way of using money to silence public criticism of Israel.
Sanders, who campaigned with Bowman both Friday and Saturday, emphasized the same disturbing dimension to AIPAC's efforts. "This is the message of this campaign: You stand up to powerful interests, they will try to bring you down,” he told the Times.
"Are we a democracy or an oligarchy?" Sanders wrote on social media Thursday, pointing to AIPAC's spending in the Bowman race.
People in New York have also expressed opposition to AIPAC's attempt to influence a local race.
"The funding toward Latimer from AIPAC has definitely turned me off a lot," Sasha Fuller, a 23-year old who attended a Bowman rally on Friday, told the Times. "He’s kind of a more traditional corporate Democrat, so I don’t really support his politics."
Just as Bowman argued that AIPAC was scared, some of his supporters have found a silver lining in the group's blitz of attack ads. Jeremy Cohan, spokesperson for the New York chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America, said the spending was a sign of change, as public opinion moves further from the positions of groups like AIPAC.
"I do see it as, to some degree, a sign of desperation," Cohan toldAl Jazeera.
“They are doing that because they see where the tides are moving," he added. "They see where history is moving.”
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