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Jean Stevens, CODEPINK national media coordinator, 508-879-2138
Paris Marron, CODEPINK online organizer, 310-968-3475
In honor of President-elect Barack Obama's promises for change and peace, CODEPINK has launched a new Web site, RemindObama.org,
and debuted its "Remind Obama" short film designed to inspire Americans
to keep alive their hope in him and move him to keep his promises
beyond this historic inauguration Tuesday.
"As Obama said in his campaign, 'I know where I want to take this
country, but I cannot do it without out you, I can't do it by myself,'"
said Paris Marron, CODEPINK's online organizer. "So, in this moment of
victory for the progressive community, we are standing up to support
Obama and remind him of his campaign promises for peace. We cannot
forget there is much work to be done."
RemindObama.org
and the film will accompany on-the-ground activities of nearly 200
CODEPINK women in D.C. at the President-elect's inauguration. After
eight years of protests, frustration and struggle, CODEPINK believes
this President can follow through on his promises (end the war in Iraq;
shut down Guantanamo; reject the Military Commissions Act; end the U.S.
policy of torture; work to eliminate nuclear weapons; hold direct,
unconditional talks with Iran; and abide by Senate approved
international treaties) but ONLY with the same prodding from Americans
who elected him, including the estimated two million gathered at the
inauguration and the millions at home.
From Facebook, to Flickr, to YouTube, RemindObama.org offers tools for people worldwide to connect online, share the "Promises to Keep!" message and invite others to get involved.
"With the technology available to us, we are more able than ever to
connect activists on the street with actions on the web," Marron said.
"People are able to send photos, videos, and Twitter or status updates
straight from the streets to the web instantly using mobile phones.
It's opportunity to engage in the event online, from wherever they are,
and spread the message of hope and peace as we look forward to the next
administration."
At the inauguration, CODEPINK will sing and dance "Yes, we can-can
live in peace!" in bright-pink ruffled "can-can" skirts, "Pink Police"
and "Waitresses Servin' Up Peace" costumes outside balls, rallies and
other inauguration events. CODEPINK will also hand out to the crowd
thousands of pink ribbons that read, "Obama, keep your promises for
peace." (Photos of parade-goers with their ribbons will be posted here:
https://www.flickr.com/groups/remindobama/).
CODEPINK will spread their message of hope and change through organized events each day between Jan. 17 and 20 (listed below in bold).
On Sunday, Monday and Tuesday nights CODEPINK women will also gather
outside select balls and celebrations (call for details) and hand out
"Promises" ribbons. The CODEPINK calendar is available here, www.codepinkalert.org/inaugurationcalendar, where the downloadable comprehensive Google calendar is available as well.
Saturday, Jan. 17:
- 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. : Banner & prop making, strategy session at CODEPINK Convergence Space.
- 6 p.m. : CODEPINK will welcome Obama to D.C. with a train station action (details TBD). At Union Station.
Sunday, Jan. 18:
- 9 to 11 a.m.: Banner & prop making, strategy session at CODEPINK Convergence Space
- 12 p.m.: Can-can dancing and celebrating at "We Are One" opening celebration concert. At Lincoln Memorial.
Monday, Jan. 19:
- 10 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.: MLK Day Anti-oppression training and service projects at CODEPINK Convergence Space.
- 6
p.m.: "Send Bush Packing!" CODEPINK Says Goodbye to the Bush Years by
sending him off with suitcases, show tunes, and a hearty wave goodbye
during the "Sage-ing the White House" street theater event with
comedian Kate Clinton, a joyous "cleansing" the White House. At White
House perimeter on Lafayette Park side at DuPont Circle.
Tuesday, Jan. 20:
- 10 a.m.: CODEPINK activists to gather at McPherson Square (15th & K Streets NW)
- 10:30 a.m. - 2:30 p.m.: March from McPherson to parade; hand out pink
"promises" ribbons to crowd, photograph parade-goers with ribbons and
signs
- 3 to 5 p.m.: CODEPINK celebration at CODEPINK Convergence Space!
- 7 p.m. : Peace Ball! Join CODEPINK women and supporters including
Howard Zinn, historian Amy Goodman of Democracy Now, Alice Walker,
author ("The Color Purple"); Eve Ensler, playwright ("Vagina
Monologues"); Bernice Johnson Reagon, vocal artist; Dick Gregory,
political comedian and activist; and performers Michael Franti and
Fertile Ground at Smithsonian National Postal Museum, 2 Massachusetts
Ave., N.E.
For more information, please call Jean Stevens at 508-769-2138 or email jean@codepinkalert.org.
CODEPINK is a women-led grassroots organization working to end U.S. wars and militarism, support peace and human rights initiatives, and redirect our tax dollars into healthcare, education, green jobs and other life-affirming programs.
(818) 275-7232"Does anyone truly believe that caving in to Trump now will stop his unprecedented attacks on our democracy and working people?" asked Sen. Bernie Sanders.
US Sen. Bernie Sanders on Sunday implored his Democratic colleagues in Congress not to cave to President Donald Trump and Republicans in the ongoing government shutdown fight, warning that doing so would hasten the country's descent into authoritarianism.
In an op-ed for The Guardian, Sanders (I-Vt.) called Trump a "schoolyard bully" and argued that "anyone who thinks surrendering to him now will lead to better outcomes and cooperation in the future does not understand how a power-hungry demagogue operates."
"This is a man who threatens to arrest and jail his political opponents, deploys the US military into Democratic cities, and allows masked Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents to pick people up off the streets and throw them into vans without due process," Sanders wrote. "He has sued virtually every major media outlet because he does not tolerate criticism, has extorted funds from law firms and is withholding federal funding from states that voted against him."
If Democrats capitulate, Sanders warned, Trump "will utilize his victory to accelerate his movement toward authoritarianism."
"At a time when he already has no regard for our democratic system of checks and balances," the senator wrote, "he will be emboldened to continue decimating programs that protect elderly people, children, the sick and the poor while giving more tax breaks and other benefits to his fellow oligarchs."
Sanders' op-ed came as the shutdown continued with no end in sight, with Democrats standing by their demand for an extension of Affordable Care Act (ACA) tax credits as a necessary condition for any government funding deal. Republicans have so far refused to negotiate on the ACA subsidies even as health insurance premiums skyrocket nationwide.
The Trump administration, meanwhile, is illegally withholding Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) funding from tens of millions of Americans—including millions of children—despite court rulings ordering him to release the money.
In a "60 Minutes" interview that aired Sunday, Trump again urged Republicans to nuke the 60-vote filibuster in the Senate to remove the need for Democratic support to reopen the government and advance other elements of their agenda unilaterally. Under the status quo, Republicans need the support of at least seven Democratic senators to advance a government funding package.
"The Republicans have to get tougher," Trump said. "If we end the filibuster, we can do exactly what we want. We're not going to lose power."
Congressional Democrats have faced some pressure from allies, most notably the head of the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE), to cut a deal with Republicans to end the shutdown and alleviate the suffering it has inflicted on federal workers and many others.
But Democrats appear unmoved by the AFGE president's demand, and other labor leaders have since voiced support for the minority party's effort to secure an extension of ACA subsidies.
"We're urging our Democratic friends to hold the line," said Jaime Contreras, executive vice president of the 185,000-member Service Employees International Union Local 32BJ.
In his op-ed on Sunday, Sanders asked, "Does anyone truly believe that caving in to Trump now will stop his unprecedented attacks on our democracy and working people?"
"If the Democrats cave now, it would be a betrayal of the millions of Americans who have fought and died for democracy and our Constitution," the senator wrote. "It would be a sellout of a working class that is struggling to survive in very difficult economic times. Democrats in Congress are the last remaining opposition to Trump's quest for absolute power. To surrender now would be an historic tragedy for our country, something that history will not look kindly upon."
"Can't follow the law when a judge says fund the program, but have to follow the rules exactly when they say don't help poor people afford food," one lawyer said.
As the Trump administration continued its illegal freeze on food assistance, the US Department of Agriculture sent a warning to grocery stores not to provide discounts to the more than 42 million Americans affected.
Several grocery chains and food delivery apps have announced in recent days that they would provide substantial discounts to those whose Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits have been delayed. More than 1 in 8 Americans rely on the program, and 39% of them are children.
But on Sunday, Catherine Rampell, a reporter at the Washington Post published an email from the USDA that was sent to grocery stores around the country, telling them they were prohibited from offering special discounts to those at greater risk of food insecurity due to the cuts.
"You must offer eligible foods at the same prices and on the same terms and conditions to SNAP-EBT customers as other customers, except that sales tax cannot be charged on SNAP purchases," the email said. "You cannot treat SNAP-EBT customers differently from any other customer. Offering discounts or services only to SNAP-eligible customers is a SNAP violation unless you have a SNAP equal treatment waiver."
The email referred to SNAP's "Equal Treatment Rule," which prohibits stores from discriminating against SNAP recipients by charging them higher prices or treating them more favorably than other customers by offering them specialized sales or incentives.
Rampell said she was "aware of at least two stores that had offered struggling customers a discount, then withdrew it after receiving this email."
She added that it was "understandable why grocery stores might be scared off" because "a store caught violating the prohibition could be denied the ability to accept SNAP benefits in the future. In low-income areas where the SNAP shutdown will have the biggest impact, getting thrown off SNAP could mean a store is no longer financially viable."
While the rule prohibits special treatment in either direction, legal analyst Jeffrey Evan Gold argues that it was a "perverted interpretation of a rule that stops grocers from price gouging SNAP recipients... charging them more when they use food stamps."
The government also notably allows retailers to request waivers for programs that incentivize SNAP recipients to purchase healthy food.
Others pointed out that SNAP is currently not paying out to Americans because President Donald Trump is defying multiple federal court rulings issued Friday, requiring him to tap a $6 billion contingency fund to ensure benefit payments go out. Both courts, in Massachusetts and Rhode Island, have said his administration's refusal to pay out benefits is against the law.
One labor movement lawyer summed up the administration's position on social media: "Can't follow the law when a judge says fund the program, but have to follow the rules exactly when they say don't help poor people afford food."
"You need to understand that he actually believes it is illegal to criticize him," wrote Sen. Chris Murphy.
After failing to use the government's might to bully Jimmy Kimmel off the air earlier this fall, President Donald Trump is once again threatening to bring the force of law down on comedians for the egregious crime of making fun of him.
This time, his target was NBC late-night host Seth Meyers, whom the president said, in a Truth Social post Saturday, "may be the least talented person to 'perform' live in the history of television."
On Thursday, the comedian hosted a segment mocking Trump's bizarre distaste for the electromagnetic catapults aboard Navy ships, which the president said he may sign an executive order to replace with older (and less efficient) steam-powered ones.
Trump did not take kindly to Meyers' barbs: "On and on he went, a truly deranged lunatic. Why does NBC waste its time and money on a guy like this??? - NO TALENT, NO RATINGS, 100% ANTI TRUMP, WHICH IS PROBABLY ILLEGAL!!!"
It is, of course, not "illegal" for a late-night comedian, or any other news reporter or commentator, for that matter, to be "anti-Trump." But it's not the first time the president has made such a suggestion. Amid the backlash against Kimmel's firing in September, Trump asserted that networks that give him "bad publicity or press" should have their licenses taken away.
"I read someplace that the networks were 97% against me... I mean, they’re getting a license, I would think maybe their license should be taken away,” Trump said. "All they do is hit Trump. They’re licensed. They’re not allowed to do that.”
His FCC director, Brendan Carr, used a similar logic to justify his pressure campaign to get Kimmel booted by ABC, which he said could be punished for airing what he determined was "distorted” content.
Before Kimmel, Carr suggested in April that Comcast may be violating its broadcast licenses after MSNBC declined to air a White House press briefing in which the administration defended its wrongful deportation of Salvadoran immigrant Kilmar Abrego Garcia.
"You need to understand that he actually believes it is illegal to criticize him," wrote Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) on social media following Trump's tirade against Meyers. "Why? Because Trump believes he—not the people—decides the law. This is why we are in the middle of, not on the verge of, a totalitarian takeover."