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ACLU of Florida Media Office, media@aclufl.org, (786) 363-2737
Today, former Florida governor Jeb Bush will formally announce his candidacy for president. Howard Simon, Executive Director of the ACLU of Florida, stated the following regarding the announcement:
"As Jeb Bush announces his candidacy for the presidency, history should not be rewritten about his record on civil rights and civil liberties during his two terms as Florida Governor.
Today, former Florida governor Jeb Bush will formally announce his candidacy for president. Howard Simon, Executive Director of the ACLU of Florida, stated the following regarding the announcement:
"As Jeb Bush announces his candidacy for the presidency, history should not be rewritten about his record on civil rights and civil liberties during his two terms as Florida Governor.
"Some have put forth a narrative portraying Jeb Bush as having governed as a moderate, and it may be politically expedient for him to allow that image to thrive. But Floridians who lived through his governorship know that he governed more ideologically and more extremely than moderately - sometimes ignoring public opinion, sometimes ignoring constitutional principles, all in order to pursue a decidedly not moderate policy agenda.
"As a result, much of his eight year tenure as Governor was characterized by battles with moderate Republicans in the legislature and battles with the courts, whose job it is to enforce principles that protect the constitutional rights of people."
Simon pointed to five actions by then-Governor Bush as examples of his style of leadership:
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1. The "Scarlet Letter" Law: In allowing the infamous "Scarlet Letter" Law to go into effect, Jeb Bush ignored Florida's state constitutional right of privacy and allowed the Legislature to require Florida women placing a child for adoption with a private adoption agency to publish a notice in local newspapers about their sexual history. The notice was to contain information about the mother's age, race, hair and eye color, approximate height and weight, any person the mother reasonably believes may be the father and the date and city in which the act of conception might have occurred. The ACLU challenged the law, and argued the case in court. The courts struck down the law. Gov. Bush then signed a repeal of the statute. (Note: Presidential candidate Marco Rubio, then a member of the Florida Legislature, voted for the Bill.)
2. Attorneys for the fetus of a disabled rape victim (but not for the victim): In the JDS case, when a developmentally disabled woman who was a resident of a state-run group home in Orlando was raped and impregnated by a member of the staff of the facility, Gov. Bush sent attorneys from the Department of Children and Family Services (DCF) to court to request that the court appoint a guardian for the fetus. The tactic was designed to use the court process so that it would be too late to perform an abortion. The ACLU argued the case against the Motion filed by DCF attorneys, and the court rejected to the Motion for the appointment of a guardian for the fetus.
3. State funding of religious schools and a fight to remove constitutional protections against government entanglement with religion: In 2006, the Florida Supreme Court struck down Gov. Bush's signature education reform measure, the "Opportunity Scholarship Program" (OSP)/school voucher program. The program, the centerpiece of his 1998 campaign for Governor and enacted in his first year in office, used state funds were to pay tuition for public school students to attend church-run sectarian schools. The ACLU was part of a coalition of public education and civil liberties groups that filed suit challenging the program as a violation of two state constitutional provisions: the century-and-a-half prohibition on direct or indirect aid to religious institutions ("no aid" to religious institutions), and the requirement that the state fund a uniform system of public education. Gov. Bush ignored both constitutional provisions. Though the Florida Supreme Court used only the later provision to strike down the voucher program, thereby not needing to rule on a "no aid" violation, Gov. Bush nevertheless asked the Legislature to propose a constitutional amendment to strip the "no aid to religious institutions" provision from the state constitution. In a dramatic and narrow vote, the Republican-controlled Florida State Senate declined Gov. Bush's request to place a repeal of state constitutional church-state separation on the ballot.
4. The Terri Schiavo tragedy: Gov. Bush's intrusion into the Terri Schiavo case shocked the nation. He attempted to use the machinery of state government and then, through a special law enacted by Congress and signed by President George Bush, the machinery of the federal government and federal courts to intrude into an intensely private family tragedy. ACLU attorneys were the legal team which, on behalf of husband Michael Schiavo, successfully challenged both the state law and the federal law that Gov. Bush used as the legal basis for his personal intervention. Gov. Bush's efforts to intervene in this matter included sending state police to seize Terri Schiavo and transport her to a facility where a feeding tube would be reinserted -- in violation of six years of proceedings in the Pinellas County courts that had determined the Terri Schiavo did not wish to be sustained artificially and indefinitely in a vegetative state.
5. Defending a Civil War Era racist election system: Gov. Bush defended Florida's Civil War era system of lifetime felon disfranchisement under which the right to vote is taken away from more citizens in Florida than in any other state in the country. In a 2002 federal lawsuit, Johnson v. Bush, the Governor and his attorneys defended Florida's system of lifetime felon disfranchisement against charges of racial discrimination. The Governor ignored historical evidence that, with the extension of the franchise to the freed slaves following the Civil War, the system of lifetime felon disfranchisement was designed by the post-Confederacy 1868 Constitutional Convention to take the vote away from as many of the freed slaves as possible - largely because in some parts of the state freed slaves outnumbered whites.
Simon concluded:
"From publicly shaming Florida women for their private lives, to attempting to smash the protection against government entanglement with religion, to inviting himself - and the world -- into a family tragedy, Governor Bush saw his office as a license to use the power of government to enact his will and his own personal morality on the private lives of Florida citizens.
"He was and remains insensitive to the obligation of government to sometimes 'stay its hand' out of respect for the great religious diversity of our country. His recent speech at Liberty University echoed themes seen during his two terms as Florida Governor when he showed little appreciation for the fact that government policies should not impose the views of one religious tradition on people of a different faith tradition.
"As he prepares to run for higher office, Jeb Bush may want to present himself to the nation's electorate as a moderate. Those of us who fought for civil rights and civil liberties during his tenure in Florida know better."
The American Civil Liberties Union was founded in 1920 and is our nation's guardian of liberty. The ACLU works in the courts, legislatures and communities to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties guaranteed to all people in this country by the Constitution and laws of the United States.
(212) 549-2666"Israel's horrific colonial violence must end," said the U.S. Campaign for Palestinian Rights.
Israeli forces launched their latest bombing campaign in the occupied Gaza Strip early Friday morning just hours after killing at least nine Palestinians in a raid on a West Bank refugee camp—resulting in the deadliest single day in the besieged territory in more than a year.
The airstrikes came after the Israeli army said two rockets fired from Gaza were intercepted by Israel's missile defense system.
No injuries or deaths have been reported from the Israeli strikes as of this writing, but Al Jazeeranoted that the country's warplanes hit the al-Maghazi refugee camp in the center of Gaza with its early Friday bombing, which caused infrastructure damage and power outages.
At least 14 missiles were fired by Israeli fighter jets Friday morning.
"We didn't sleep the whole night, bombing and missiles," 50-year-old Gaza resident Abdallah Al-Husary toldReuters. "There is worry and there is fear, any minute a war can happen. With any clash in the West Bank, there can be war along the borders in Gaza."
Israeli forces have killed at least 30 Palestinians so far this year under the far-right government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has elevated virulently anti-Palestinian figures to top posts, including national security minister.
Last year,
according to data gathered by Middle East Eye, Israeli forces killed more Palestinians in the West Bank—at least 220 people—than in any year since the Second Intifada.
"Israel's horrific colonial violence must end," the U.S. Campaign for Palestinian Rights said in response to the fresh round of bombing.
Friday's attack on Gaza could be the first of many to come, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant suggested Friday. As the
Associated Pressreported, Gallant "instructed the military to prepare for new strikes in the Gaza Strip 'if necessary.'"
The burst of violence by the Israeli military drew a muted international response.
According toAl Jazeera, the United Arab Emirates, China, and France have requested a closed-door United Nations Security Council meeting on Friday to discuss the situation.
"While Palestinian deaths mount, the international response to Israel's violations consists of little more than timid condemnation at best, and unconditional support at worst."
Vedant Patel, a spokesperson for the U.S. State Department, said during a press briefing Thursday that the Biden administration is "deeply concerned by the escalating cycle of violence in the West Bank."
"I want to underscore the urgent need for all parties to de-escalate, to prevent further loss of civilian life, and to work together to improve the security situation in the West Bank," Patel added. "Palestinians and Israelis equally deserve to live safely and securely."
Following the deadly Israeli raid on the Jenin refugee camp, the Palestinian Authority suspended a security cooperation agreement with Israel.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is scheduled to visit the Middle East starting Sunday, with planned trips to Egypt, Israel, and the West Bank. Axiosreported that CIA Director Bill Burns "arrived in Tel Aviv on Thursday for visits to Israel and the occupied West Bank, where he is expected to meet Israeli and Palestinian leaders and his counterparts on both sides."
Philip Luther, Middle East and North Africa research and advocacy director at Amnesty International, condemned the international community for continually refusing to act in the face of Israel's unending violence against Palestinians.
"For almost a year, Jenin refugee camp has been at the center of Israel's escalating military crackdown," Luther said in a statement Thursday. "Palestinian journalist Shireen Abu Akleh was shot dead in the camp last May, and its residents continue to be subjected to relentless military raids which amount to collective punishment."
"Meanwhile, Israel continues to enjoy total impunity for the system of apartheid it imposes on Palestinians—a system which is partly maintained through violations like unlawful killings," Luther added. "While Palestinian deaths mount, the international response to Israel's violations consists of little more than timid condemnation at best, and unconditional support at worst. Today's bloodshed is a reminder of the cost of this shameful inaction—until there is accountability, deadly attacks against Palestinians across the occupied Palestinian territories will continue."
"Chevron should not be doing $75 billion in stock buybacks while price gouging American families and accelerating the climate crisis," said one critic.
Climate and consumer advocates reacted angrily Thursday to Chevron's announcement of a planned $75 billion stock buyback amid record profits and a worsening planetary emergency exacerbated by the continued extraction and burning of fossil fuels.
California-based Chevron said Wednesday it would start buying back shares on April 1, and that the new repurchase will be three times the size of the last one, which began in 2019. Bloombergnotes that the new buyback is equivalent to nearly a quarter of Chevron's market value.
"Companies like Chevron are doing absolutely massive stock buybacks after price gouging working families for over a year," tweeted Pennsylvania state Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta (D-181). "Then these same companies will come back hat-in-hand begging for more tax breaks and tax cuts."
Brian Vickers, a business administration professor at Northeastern State University in Oklahoma, tweeted, "I kept saying gas price increases were straight-up price gouging and not indicative of the price of oil, and here's all the proof I was right."
\u201cAfter decimating Indigenous groups in the Amazon and evading a $9.5 billion pollution judgement in Ecuador, @Chevron is now reporting a $75 billion buyback of its own stock. How the rich get richer while the poor die.\n\nThis company should lose its license to operate.\u201d— Steven Donziger (@Steven Donziger) 1674760480
The Biden administration—which despite a worsening climate emergency has been pressing oil companies to increase production to keep gas prices down—denounced Chevron's planned buyback.
"For a company that claimed not too long ago that it was 'working hard' to increase oil production, handing out $75 billion to executives and wealthy shareholders sure is an odd way to show it," White House spokesperson Abdullah Hasan said in response to news of the buyback.
Thursday's announcement came as Chevron, BP, ExxonMobil, Shell, and TotalEnergies are set to announce a record $199 billion in collective 2022 profits, 50% higher than the previous record set over a decade ago, according to Bloomberg.
\u201cNEWSFLASH: Chevron should not be doing *$75 BILLION* in stock buybacks while price gouging American families and accelerating the climate crisis.\u201d— Climate Power (@Climate Power) 1674755389
Chevron's $11.2 billion third-quarter profit last year was its second-highest on record and nearly double the $6.1 billion it reported during the same period in 2021.
Reacting to Chevron's impending buyback, biogeochemist and Earth sciences professor Gabriel Filippelli said "so much is wrong about this."
"Record profits for Chevron and the [Biden] administration is mad that they don't pump that into more drilling?" he asked. "They should pump it into more renewables and a real divestment strategy to stop producing their deadly product."
On Wednesday, U.S. Sens. Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) and Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.) reintroduced the Fair and Transparent Gas Prices Act, which the lawmakers argue "would give the Federal Trade Commission the tools it needs to investigate unfair practices, provide market transparency, and prevent price gouging by Big Oil and gas companies."
\u201cBig Oil is making record profits, while Nevadans still have some of the highest gas prices in the country. I see it every time I fill up my tank.\n\nMy bill will investigate Big Oil for price gouging and work to stop any unfair practices hurting Nevadans.\nhttps://t.co/bT3Qv1m5kx\u201d— Senator Cortez Masto (@Senator Cortez Masto) 1674745500
Last March, Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) introduced legislation that would tax excess oil company profits and use the proceeds to pay American households a quarterly rebate. That same month in the Senate Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) introduced the Ending Corporate Greed Act, which would impose a 95% tax on the windfall profits of major companies.
President Joe Biden has threatened to back a windfall profits tax on Big Oil unless companies ramp up production, but has not yet done so.
While the move comes after law enforcement in Georgia killed a "Cop City" protester, one official said it is a "purely precautionary" measure before the anticipated release of video footage from an arrest in Tennessee.
Republican Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp on Thursday signed an executive order declaring a state of emergency through at least February 9 that will enable him to deploy up to 1,000 National Guard troops "as necessary."
The order follows protests in Atlanta after 26-year-old forest defender Manuel "Tortuguita" Teran was shot dead last week during a multi-agency raid on an encampment to oppose construction of Cop City, a nearby law enforcement training center. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI), which is investigating the case, has said Teran was killed after he shot and wounded a state trooper.
While the order begins by stating that "protests turned violent in downtown Atlanta" last Saturday, The Atlanta Journal-Constitutionreported that Kemp's aides signaled that the move was not about the Cop City demonstrations but rather in anticipation of any potential response to video footage from Memphis, Tennessee showing the arrest of Black motorist Tyre Nichols.
\u201cGeorgia Gov. Brian Kemp is calling up to 1,000 National Guard troops & declaring a state of emergency until Feb 9, a week after police killed forest defender Tortuguita. 12 Cop City opponents were charged with domestic terrorism since. Tomorrow the Tyre Nichols video comes out.\u201d— Alleen Brown (@Alleen Brown) 1674766682
As Common Dreamsreported earlier Thursday, five fired Memphis cops were charged with second-degree murder and other crimes related to Nichols' death. Footage of the 29-year-old's arrest is expected to be released sometime after 6:00 pm local time on Friday.
"We understand the executive order is purely precautionary based on possible unrest following the release of the videos from Memphis," an official in Georgia with direct knowledge of the situation told the AJC. "There are no immediate intentions to deploy the guard."
The Atlanta Police Department also mentioned the Memphis case in a statement Thursday:
We are closely monitoring the events in Memphis and are prepared to support peaceful protests in our city. We understand and share in the outrage surrounding the death of Tyre Nichols. Police officers are expected to conduct themselves in a compassionate, competent, and constitutional manner and these officers failed Tyre, their communities, and their profession. We ask that demonstrations be safe and peaceful.
In a series of tweets Thursday, the Atlanta Community Press Collective named several people killed by law enforcement in recent years and suggested that Kemp's order is about "trying to instill fear in anyone who stands up against police brutality."
\u201cKemp's declaration of a State of Emergency isn't about property damage at Saturday's protests at all. It's about police murdering #TyreNichols and Tortuguita within two weeks of each other. They're trying to instill fear in anyone who stands up against police brutality.\u201d— Atlanta Community Press Collective (@Atlanta Community Press Collective) 1674764329
Meanwhile, national groups and progressive lawmakers have echoed local demands for an independent probe in Teran's case.
The Georgia Bureau of Investigation has highlighted that it is separate from the Georgia State Patrol and said that GBI "is conducting an independent investigation," after which it will "turn the investigative file over to the prosecutor." The agency noted Wednesday that DeKalb County District Attorney Sherry Boston has recused herself from the case so a special prosecutor will be assigned.
Some have pushed back against the "police narrative" that the "corporate media has ran away with" for Teran's case, as forest defender Kamau Franklin toldDemocracy Now! last week, adding that "we find it less than likely that the police version of events is what really happened."
"And that's why we're calling for an independent investigation, not one that's done by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, not one that's done by any federal authority, but a complete independent investigation," Franklin said, "because that's the only way we're going to know what really happened."