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For Immediate Release
April, 17 2017, 02:45pm EDT
Contact:
Tel: (520) 623.5252,Email:,center@biologicaldiversity.org
Protest to Urge Feinstein to Resist GOP Attacks on Wildlife, Civil Rights
Groups Demand Democrats Oppose Funding for Trump's Border Wall, Budget Riders to Defund Planned Parenthood, Gut Environmental Laws
SAN FRANCISCO
Constituents of Sen. Dianne Feinstein and members of the Center for Biological Diversity will gather outside her San Francisco office tomorrow at noon to demand that the senator and her Democratic colleagues resist right-wing attacks on wildlife and civil rights.
Tomorrow's protest comes as President Trump and congressional Republicans are exploiting the federal budgetary process to try to include additional funding for Trump's border wall and dangerous policy riders that would block funding of women's reproductive health services and undermine the Endangered Species Act and other environmental laws.
Congress must pass the continuing budget resolution by April 28 to avoid a government shutdown. Politicians in both major parties often exploit budget showdowns to attach riders on behalf of powerful interest groups. Feinstein last year used a budget rider to weaken protections for endangered salmon and delta smelt. Protesters tomorrow will demand a clean budget bill and unified Democratic opposition to Trump's divisive agenda.
What: Rally calling on Feinstein and the rest of California's representatives in Congress to strongly oppose attacks on wildlife and civil rights in the must-pass continuing budget resolution.
When: Tuesday, April 18 at noon
Where: Outside Sen. Dianne Feinstein's district office, 1 Post Street, San Francisco
Who: The rally is being organized by the Center for Biological Diversity, MoveOn.org, Indivisible San Francisco and other groups.
"We need strong, unified resistance to Trump's dangerous agenda. Feinstein and other Democrats must reject the border wall, defend Planned Parenthood, and protect our environment," said Blake Kopcho, a political organizer with the Center. "Developers, ranchers and the oil industry are trying to use this budget showdown to undermine bedrock environmental laws. It won't work if Feinstein and her colleagues stand firmly with their constituents."
At the Center for Biological Diversity, we believe that the welfare of human beings is deeply linked to nature — to the existence in our world of a vast diversity of wild animals and plants. Because diversity has intrinsic value, and because its loss impoverishes society, we work to secure a future for all species, great and small, hovering on the brink of extinction. We do so through science, law and creative media, with a focus on protecting the lands, waters and climate that species need to survive.
(520) 623-5252LATEST NEWS
'Decades in the Making': Antitrust Advocates Celebrate as Jury Rules Against Live Nation-Ticketmaster
Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison called the verdict "a win for everyone who thinks concert tickets are too damn expensive."
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Antitrust advocates celebrated on Wednesday after a jury found that Live Nation and is subsidiary Ticketmaster were illegal monopolies who for decades systematically overcharged customers for concert tickets.
As reported by The Associated Press, the verdict against Live Nation and Ticketmaster could cost the two entities "hundreds of millions of dollars, just for the $1.72 per ticket that the jury found Ticketmaster had overcharged consumers in 22 states," and they could be forced to sell off some of the venues they own.
The case against Live Nation, which was brought by 33 states and the District of Columbia, was initially led by the US Department of Justice. However, under President Donald Trump, the DOJ last month reached a last-minute settlement with the company that would not require it to be broken up.
The state attorneys general, however, vowed to see the case through and were rewarded with a big verdict in their favor.
New York Attorney General Letitia James celebrated the verdict, describing it as "a landmark victory to protect New Yorkers from harmful monopolies."
Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison called the verdict "a win for everyone who thinks concert tickets are too damn expensive," and declared himself "proud to have brought this lawsuit."
District of Columbia Attorney General Brian Schwalb noted Live Nation "has raked in billions in profits from an illegal monopoly that coerces venues, restricts artists, and exploits fans," and called the verdict "a massive win in the fight for fairness for local venues, artists, and fans."
Lina Khan, former chair of the Federal Trade Commission under President Joe Biden, hailed the verdict, but said it was just "a key first step towards ending Live Nation’s monopolistic control and securing real relief for those it harmed."
Lee Hepner, senior legal counsel at the American Economic Liberties Project, said the verdict was "decades in the making," and he cited iconic Seattle band Pearl Jam's fight against Ticketmaster in the 1990s to illustrate just how long it's taken to hold the company accountable.
"Pour one out for Pearl Jam, who testified before Congress in 1993 about Ticketmaster's abuse of the live concert industry," he commented.
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Senate Republicans on Wednesday once again narrowly stymied a Democrat-led resolution aimed at reining in President Donald Trump's power to wage war against Iran.
Although the war launched by the US and Israel in late February has killed more than 1,700 civilians and sparked a global fuel crisis that has sent prices skyrocketing, that was not enough for 52 Republican senators—every one except libertarian Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.)—who voted to back the president even as the war further erodes his approval rating.
The Democratic caucus was similarly unified, with every member voting for the war powers resolution except the pro-Israel hawk Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.).
It was the fourth war powers resolution to fail in the Senate since Trump launched the war on February 28, The last measure in late March fell short by a nearly identical margin.
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After more than two weeks of delay, a similar bill will be brought to the floor in the House of Representatives on Thursday. Its sponsor, Rep. Gregory Meeks (D-NY), the ranking member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said it has a good chance of passing.
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He added, "This dangerous, unnecessary, and expensive war has cost American taxpayers around $50 billion so far, with the Trump administration seeking hundreds of billions of dollars more as part of a $1.5 trillion military budget."
Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), an Army National Guard veteran who sponsored the blocked resolution, suggested in her remarks before the vote that Republicans who opposed the resolution would be putting "Trump’s ego first" ahead of American interests and enabling more "chaos."
The two-week ceasefire agreement is set to expire on April 21. A week later, the war will hit the 60-day mark, after which troops must be withdrawn unless their deployment is approved by Congress, though the White House can request a 30-day extension by citing "national security" concerns.
According to Politico, some Republicans—even those who voted against the war powers resolution on Wednesday—have indicated that the 60-day mark may be a turning point for them.
Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC), who is retiring after the next election, said that the administration "has got to start answering questions" about the war's trajectory, especially as it requests tens of billions of dollars in emergency funding.
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Raskin accused Trump of exploiting the power of his office to "loot billions of dollars from American taxpayers," an operation that he described as the "ongoing scandal of this ruthlessly corrupt administration."
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