Be afraid Mitch…be very afraid of people voting
Union Thugs shared a post
NowThis Politics
January 30, 2019
Majority Leader Mitch McConnell mocked the idea of making Election Day a paid holiday, calling it a ‘power grab’ by Democrats
Majority Leader Mitch McConnell Thinks Federal Election Holiday Is Bad Idea
Majority Leader Mitch McConnell mocked the idea of making Election Day a paid holiday, calling it a 'power grab' by Democrats
Posted by NowThis Politics on Wednesday, January 30, 2019
Militarized police confront unarmed Indigenous earth protectors with sniper rifles
Wet’suwet’en Access Point on Gidumt’en Territory
Wet’suwet’en territory is under siege by RCMP tactical forces, who are working with TransCanada to force a pipeline through our territory. Yesterday Gitdumt’en people and supporters were forcibly removed from our homelands for upholding our Wet’suwet’en laws. Militarized police confronted unarmed Indigenous people with assault and sniper rifles and made 14 arrests. As of now, Gitdumt’en Clan spokesperson Molly Wickham remains in state custody along with several others.
We have never signed treaties with Canada or given up our rights and title to these lands. Canada is violating Anuk Nu’at’en (Wet’suwet’en law), it’s own colonial laws, and UNDRIP. The violent separation of our people and our lands is no different today than it was 150 years ago.
We fear for our neighbors at Unist’ot’en Camp who now face a similar prospect of state violence.
Today there are international solidarity actions with the Wet’suwet’en. Attend one near you: https://www.facebook.com/events/2225649537692362/
For ways to support: https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=225163691762758&id=212798726332588
To donate: https://www.gofundme.com/gitdumt039en-access-point
SHARE WIDELY – Wet'suwet'en territory is under siege by RCMP tactical forces, who are working with TransCanada to force a pipeline through our territory. Yesterday Gitdumt'en people and supporters were forcibly removed from our homelands for upholding our Wet'suwet'en laws. Militarized police confronted unarmed Indigenous people with assault and sniper rifles and made 14 arrests. As of now, Gitdumt'en Clan spokesperson Molly Wickham remains in state custody along with several others.We have never signed treaties with Canada or given up our rights and title to these lands. Canada is violating Anuk Nu'at'en (Wet'suwet'en law), it's own colonial laws, and UNDRIP. The violent separation of our people and our lands is no different today than it was 150 years ago.We fear for our neighbours at Unist'ot'en Camp who now face a similar prospect of state violence.Today there are international solidarity actions with the Wet'suwet'en. Attend one near you: https://www.facebook.com/events/2225649537692362/For ways to support: https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=225163691762758&id=212798726332588To donate: https://www.gofundme.com/gitdumt039en-access-point#WETSUWETENSTRONG #NOTRESPASS #WEDZINKWA #NOPIPELINESNo use of footage without consent. Direct media enquires to michaeltoledano@gmail.com
Posted by Wet'suwet'en Access Point on Gidumt'en Territory on Tuesday, January 8, 2019
Good Samaritan puts up dozens of Chicago’s homeless in hotel
‘A true hero’: Good Samaritan puts up dozens of Chicago’s homeless in hotel amid record-low temperatures
In one of Chicago’s homeless encampments, a haphazard collection of tents and flimsy dwellings made of tarps and blankets are scattered among barren trees. Nearby, stuffed garbage bags and beat-up cardboard boxes are strewn about in piles on the snow-covered ground.
This tent city adjacent to the bustling Dan Ryan Expressway is where dozens hunkered down to ride out a deadly cold snap that has sent temperatures across the Midwest plummeting to historic lows this week. With temperatures in Chicago continuing to drop, reaching minus-24 Wednesday morning, the city and welfare organizations have been working to keep the homeless population safe, Jacqueline Rachev, a Salvation Army spokeswoman, told The Washington Post in a phone interview late Wednesday.
But on Wednesday, the second-coldest day in Chicago’s history, one Good Samaritan went beyond donating clothes or blankets — the unnamed person offered to put up about 70 homeless people in a hotel on the city’s South Side, the Chicago Tribune first reported.
“We think it’s wonderful that there’s somebody out there that has decided to be so kind to provide a warm place and a safe place for these folks to go,” Rachev said. “We’re thrilled they’re safe and warm at least for a few days.”
Much to the trepidation of officials who have repeatedly implored the public to seek proper shelter and avoid being outdoors, a group of homeless people remained camped in the tent city, relying on makeshift shelters and donated propane tanks for warmth. On Wednesday afternoon, their living situation grew even more dire.
One of the propane tanks — which officials have warned people not to donate, citing serious safety concerns — exploded shortly after noon when a space heater was left on too close to it, ABC 7 reported.
“I was just coming out of my tent, and I heard a boom,” Donald Gorobegko, a resident of the tent city, told ABC 7. “I felt the ground shake, then I looked up, I see smoke.”
Walter Schroeder, the deputy district chief for the Chicago Fire Department, told the Tribune that by the time firefighters arrived at the encampment, the blaze was already out and no one had been injured. But crews did find dozens of other propane tanks, which “escalated” the incident “to a Level I Hazmat,” Schroeder said.
There were about 150 to 200 propane tanks in the tent city, Maj. David Byrd of the Illinois State Police told ABC 7, describing the environment as “extremely unsafe.” After the explosion, the area was closed off, and authorities hurried to find places for the displaced people to go, the news station reported.
The Salvation Army, Rachev said, received a call from the city in the early afternoon informing them that group of about 70 homeless people needed to be moved to a warming shelter, and the organization immediately began making preparations for transport.
Then, about an hour later, the city called back. There was “no need” to pick anyone up, Rachev said, as “a Good Samaritan contacted the city and offered to pay for hotel rooms instead.”
Rachev did not know the person’s identity or the name of the hotel, but said she believed it was located on Chicago’s South Side. She also said she did not know exactly how many people went to the hotel. The Tribune reported that only one man did not go, choosing instead to check into a warming center. City officials could not be reached for comment late Wednesday night.
“It’s a deadly situation for anyone,” Rachev said about the extreme weather. “We’re thrilled that someone was in a position to be able to do this.”
While it remains unclear who was responsible for this act of kindness, others in the Chicago area appeared to have the same idea. On Wednesday, a Reddit user wanting to help homeless people shared a post offering to “cover a night at a local hotel of my choosing.”
“I know it’s not much but at least it’ll let you sleep in a warm bed and take a warm shower,” the person wrote.
Another person responded asking if the user wanted to “team up,” suggesting that together they could help more people.
“Bless you for this wonderful offer,” one person commented. “You could be saving someone’s life. You are a wonderful person for doing this!”
On social media, the anonymous donor who paid for the hotel rooms was heralded as “a true hero” and an “angel.”
Racist History of Banking
Sprinter posted an episode of Racist History
January 31, 2019
In America today, for every $100 of white family wealth, black families only have about $5.04.
It’s a direct result of centuries of racist banking policies and practices that systematically kept black Americans from opportunities to prosper.
In America today, for every $100 of white family wealth, black families only have about $5.04. It’s a direct result of centuries of racist banking policies and practices that systematically kept black Americans from opportunities to prosper.
Posted by Splinter on Monday, January 28, 2019
GM: Please invest in US
Pro Labor Alliance shared a post
UAW International Union
January 30, 2019
GM wants you to think they are moving production to Mexico and closing plants in the US due to market trends, but the facts paint a different picture:
GM and Ford: Different Choices
GM wants you to think they are moving production to Mexico and closing plants in the US due to market trends, but the facts paint a different picture:
Posted by UAW International Union on Monday, January 28, 2019
Let’s honor FDR by expanding social security!
“President Roosevelt understood that true individual freedom cannot exist without economic security and independence. That’s what Social Security’s all about.” – Chris Van Hollen
Sen. Van Hollen: Let's Honor FDR By Expanding Social Security
"President Roosevelt understood that true individual freedom cannot exist without economic security and independence. That's what Social Security's all about." – Chris Van Hollen
Posted by Social Security Works on Thursday, January 31, 2019
House Democrats Unveil Social Security Expansion
HuffPost
House Democrats Unveil Social Security Expansion Bill With Unprecedented Support
In less than a decade, mainstream Democrats in Congress have gone from entertaining Social Security cuts to almost universally endorsing the program’s expansion.
With Democrats in charge of the House for the first time since this tidal shift upended party orthodoxy, senior members of Congress are setting the stage for the legislative chamber to increase Social Security benefits, bringing a onetime liberal pipe dream a step closer to law.
Democratic Reps. John Larson (Conn.), Conor Lamb (Pa.) and Jahana Hayes (Conn.) are introducing the Social Security 2100 Act on Wednesday, legislation that would expand Social Security benefits across the board and prolong the program’s solvency for the next 75 years and beyond. The legislation finances a more generous benefit and cost-of-living adjustment formula, a reduction in income taxes on benefits and the closure of Social Security’s long-term funding gap by lifting the cap on income subject to payroll taxes and raising those tax rates.
The bill is being rolled out on the 137th birthday of President Franklin D. Roosevelt, who established Social Security as part of his New Deal in 1935.
The bill already has the support of more than 200 House Democrats, including House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Richard Neal (D), who relied on Social Security payments to help pay for college after his father died.
That puts the bill just shy of the 218-vote mark it would need to pass the House.
Larson introduced identical legislation during the last Congress, when GOP rule ensured it was dead on arrival. As incoming chairman of the Ways and Means subcommittee on Social Security, he is now equipped to shepherd its passage.
“We’ve been in the wilderness since 2010. This is a great opportunity,” Larson said.
Larson expressed confidence that the legislation would pass on the House floor after going through the standard legislative process, complete with hearings that shed light on the issue of retirement security.
“It’s a tribute to the grassroots effort that’s gone into this,” he said, singling out the contributions of Social Security Works and the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare.
In the Senate, Sens. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) and Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) have sponsored a companion bill, but Republican control almost certainly precludes it from consideration. The legislation’s passage in the House is nonetheless an opportunity for Democrats to showcase what they would deliver if they had unified control of the federal government.
People are OK taking a little bit of the burden on themselves as long as they understand we’re dedicating the money to Social Security. Rep. Conor Lamb (D-Pa.)
The legislation raises benefits by creating a minimum payment that’s 25 percent greater than the federal poverty level as well as modestly adjusting the benefit formula so that more of a person’s pre-retirement income will be replaced. Larson estimates that the new benefit formula would increase the average payout by 2 percent. His legislation would not change the age at which a retiree can collect benefits.
The legislation also replaces the consumer price index, used to calculate the annual cost-of-living adjustment (COLA), with an index that better reflects seniors’ expenses, particularly the higher costs of health care. The Social Security Administration’s chief actuary projects that the bill’s Consumer Price Index for the Elderly (CPI-E) would, on average, increase the COLA by about 0.2 percent.
To finance the ambitious legislation, Larson would subject earnings of $400,000 or more to the Social Security payroll tax.
Currently, Americans pay Social Security taxes only on the first $132,900 that they earn based on a cap that rises with average wage growth. The new legislation would leave income between $132,900 and $400,000 untaxed. Over time, the present-day cap would rise to $400,000, at which point all earnings would be subject to the tax.
Larson’s legislation would also raise the payroll tax by 1.2 percentage points on both employees and employers, phasing in the change over 24 years.
At the same time, the bill cuts income taxes on Social Security benefits for those who receive them by raising the income threshold at which they would be taxed. Under the legislation, 12 million beneficiaries ― out of nearly 63 million total ― would receive a tax cut, according to Larson.
Still, the bill’s payroll tax increase is likely to be the biggest political challenge for Larson and other Democrats trying to advance the bill.
To try to preempt that line of attack, Larson is fond of brandishing a Starbucks cup at every event promoting the bill. He calculates that for a worker making $50,000 a year, the tax hike amounts to just 50 cents a week ― or one $4.50 cup of Starbucks every nine weeks.
Larson, who represents Hartford, known as the nation’s insurance capital, also wants Americans to view payroll taxes as an insurance premium rather than a tax, noting that its official name is FICA, or the Federal Insurance Contribution Act tax.
It helps Larson’s case that his allies hail from ideologically diverse branches of the party. The co-chairs of the House’s Expand Social Security Caucus that Larson started in September include Reps. Debbie Dingell (Mich.) and Raúl Grijalva (Ariz.), members of the Congressional Progressive Caucus; Rep. Terri Sewell (D-Ala.), a member of the business-friendly New Democrat Coalition; and Lamb, who does not belong to any ideologically driven bloc.
Lamb, perhaps more than anyone, attests to the low political risk of backing higher Social Security taxes to pay for solvency and benefit expansion. He endorsed the policy during his March special election win in a southwest Pennsylvania district where Donald Trump won by more than 19 percentage points in 2016.
“People are OK taking a little bit of the burden on themselves as long as they understand we’re dedicating the money to Social Security,” he said.
Lamb referred to his co-sponsorship of the bill as the fulfillment of a campaign promise and said he wants whoever the Democratic presidential nominee is to endorse the legislation.
Because Social Security is statutorily prohibited from borrowing to pay benefits, it faces a funding shortfall as more baby boomers retire in the coming years.
Social Security is projected to have enough revenue to pay out full benefits until 2034, according to the program’s nonpartisan actuaries. After that, absent legislation tweaking the program’s finances, it will only be able to pay out about three-quarters of promised benefits.
Conservatives tend to favor closing Social Security’s funding gap through benefit cuts; progressives prefer plans that raise more revenue for the program.
But Larson’s bill represents the culmination of efforts by left-leaning groups to look at Social Security as an essential vehicle for retirement security in a time of stagnant wages, depleted home equity and volatile 401(k) plans.
The average monthly Social Security benefit is just under $1,250. Without it, 22 million more Americans would live in poverty.
Larson holds out some hope that President Donald Trump, who promised to protect Social Security from cuts as a candidate, might strike a deal to close Social Security’s funding gap with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.). The Connecticut congressman compared the unlikely duo to President Ronald Reagan’s partnership with House Speaker Tip O’Neill (D-Mass.) in 1983, the last time Congress passed legislation reforming Social Security.
“Nancy Pelosi may be exactly the person to drive this across the goal line with the person down on Pennsylvania Avenue,” Larson said.
Chicago train tracks on fire during polar vortex!
WATCH: It’s so cold in Chicago today that they have to set the railroad tracks on fire to keep trains moving. https://cbsn.ws/2CVL8fG
Chicago train tracks on fire during polar vortex
WATCH: It's so cold in Chicago today that they have to set the railroad tracks on fire to keep trains moving. https://cbsn.ws/2CVL8fG
Posted by CBS News on Wednesday, January 30, 2019
School officials announce snow day!
HALLELUJAH: To announce a snow day, these school officials sang their own rendition of “Hallelujah” – and their voices will blow you away ❄️https://cbsn.ws/2CQVpcU
School officials announce snow day with epic "Hallelujah" rendition
HALLELUJAH: To announce a snow day, these school officials sang their own rendition of "Hallelujah" – and their voices will blow you away ❄️ https://cbsn.ws/2CQVpcU
Posted by CBS News on Wednesday, January 30, 2019