Local News

[Zzzptm]

2019
On January 3, The Washington Post reported that the Trump administration is considering rolling back disparate impact regulations that provide anti-discrimination protections to people of color, women, and others.
On January 4, The Guardian reported that the Trump administration has stopped cooperating with and responding to UN investigators over potential human rights violations in the United States.
On January 25, the Department of Homeland Security began implementing the Migrant Protection Protocols – also known as the Remain in Mexico policy – which forces Central Americans seeking asylum to return to Mexico, for an indefinite amount of time, while their claims are processed.
On January 29, the Department of Justice reversed its position in a Texas voting rights case, saying the state should not need to have its voting changes pre-cleared with the federal government. Career voting rights lawyers at the department declined to sign the brief.
On February 6, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) – under the direction of Trump-appointed Director Kathy Kraninger – released its plan to roll back the central protections of the agency’s 2017 payday and car-title lending rule.
On February 22, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) issued a final rule to significantly undermine the Title X family planning program’s ability to properly serve its patients and to provide its hallmark quality care. The rule’s provisions will have far-reaching implications for all Title X-funded programs, the services provided, and the ability of patients to seek and receive high-quality, confidential family planning and preventive health care services.
On February 25, the White House issued a Statement of Administration Policy opposing H.R. 8, the Bipartisan Background Checks Act, which The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights supports.
On April 12, Politico reported that the Trump administration will not nominate (or renominate) anyone to the 18-member U.N. Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination.
On April 17, the Department of Housing and Urban Development proposed a rule (eventually published on May 10) seeking to restrict housing assistance for families with mixed-citizenship status. The agency’s own analysis showed that the proposal could lead to 55,000 children becoming temporarily homeless.
On May 6, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) published a final rule targeting home care workers – who are mostly women of color – designed to stop them from paying union dues and benefits through payroll deduction.
On May 6, the Office of Management and Budget proposed regulatory changes that could result in cuts in federal aid to millions of low-income Americans by changing how inflation is used to calculate the definition of poverty.
On May 24, the Department of Health and Human Services announced a proposed rule to weaken the non-discrimination protections (Section 1557) of the Affordable Care Act. The rule, if implemented, would harm millions of people in America by allowing health care providers to deny care to marginalized communities and worsen already existing health disparities.
On June 6, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau issued a final rule that delayed the compliance date for the agency’s 2017 payday and car-title lending rule.
On July 15, the administration moved to end asylum protections for most Central American migrants – deeming anyone who passes through another country ineligible for asylum at the U.S. southern border.
On July 15, the White House issued a Statement of Administration Policy opposing H.R. 582, the Raise The Wage Act, which The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights supports.
On July 23, the Trump administration published a notice in the Federal Register that expands expedited removals to a wider range of undocumented immigrants. The move threatens same-day deportation for anyone who cannot immediately show they have been in the United States continuously for two years without a hearing, oversight, review, or appeal. It also threatens to trigger massive racial profiling and roundups for immigrants and citizens in the United States.
On July 23, the Trump administration proposed a rule that could cut more than 3 million people from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) – or food stamps – after Congress blocked similar efforts in 2018.
On July 25, Attorney General William Barr announced that the federal government will reverse a nearly two-decade moratorium to resume the federal death penalty.
On July 31, Bloomberg Law reported that the Department of Housing and Urban Development plans to issue a proposed rule to amend the agency’s “disparate impact” regulations that provide anti-discrimination protections to people of color, women, and others. If enacted, millions of people in America would be more vulnerable to housing discrimination – with fewer tools to challenge it. The proposal was officially published in the Federal Register on August 19.
On August 7, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raided seven food processing plants in Mississippi and arrested 680 undocumented immigrants – representing the largest workplace raid in more than a decade. The raids – part of this administration’s dangerous, anti-immigrant agenda – left some children parentless and locked out of their homes after school.
On August 16, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services sent letters, first reported in the Boston area, stating that the agency will no longer consider most deferrals of deportation for people with a serious medical condition – asking people in extreme medical need to leave the country within 33 days.
On August 21, acting Homeland Security Secretary Kevin McAleenan announced that the administration was moving forward with new rules aimed at ending the decades-old Flores settlement agreement that ensures constitutional protections for children in immigrant detention facilities. Without the protections of Flores, the government can hold immigrant children indefinitely, and in prison-like conditions, with no hope for a timely release and no mandate for appropriate care of traumatized children.
On August 28, the Trump administration announced that some children born to U.S. military members and government employees working overseas wouldn’t automatically be considered U.S. citizens.
On September 11, multiple reports confirmed that the Trump administration would not grant Temporary Protected Status (TPS) to Bahamians impacted by Hurricane Dorian. The denial of protected status follows the Trump administration’s termination of the TPS designation for several other countries.
On September 17, the White House issued a Statement of Administration Policy opposing H.R. 1423, the Forced Arbitration Injustice Repeal (FAIR) Act, which The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights supports.
On September 24, the Department of Labor released its final overtime rule, which raises the salary threshold to an amount far lower than the Obama Labor Department’s previously finalized rule.
On October 23, the White House issued a Statement of Administration Policy opposing H.R. 4617, the Stopping Harmful Interference in Elections for a Lasting Democracy (SHIELD) Act, which The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights supports.
On November 1, the Department of Health and Human Services issued a rule to undo requirements that its grantees ensure that federal taxpayer dollars are not used to fund discrimination.
On December 3, the White House issued a Statement of Administration Policy opposing H.R. 4, the Voting Rights Advancement Act, which The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights supports.
On December 10, the Equal Employment Opportunities Commission (EEOC) revealed a proposed rule that would prohibit the use of official time by union representatives to assist in federal workplace anti-discrimination claims.
On December 18, Attorney General William Barr announced the launch of Operation Relentless Pursuit, which was projected to funnel $71 million to law enforcement in seven cities – Albuquerque, Baltimore, Cleveland, Detroit, Kansas City, Memphis, and Milwaukee – under the guise of combating violent crime. Operation Relentless Pursuit replicates the most devastating aspects of the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994, which flooded America’s streets with cops and dramatically increased incarceration rates, especially in Black and Brown communities.
On December 30, the Department of Labor announced a proposed rule setting out new standards for when the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs could issue predetermination notices for preliminary findings of discrimination. The rule would make it more difficult to identify and remedy potential discrimination in federal contractor and subcontractor workplaces, negatively impacting the right of federal contract workers to be free from unlawful employment discrimination.

2020
On January 3, the Trump administration filed a brief in June Medical Services v. Gee, urging the Court to allow a Louisiana abortion access law to go into effect. The civil rights community filed briefs urging the Court to strike down the restrictive law, highlighting the law’s impact on Black women.
On January 7, the Department of Housing and Urban Development issued a proposal that would gut the agency’s 2015 Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing rule. HUD’s proposal would leave people of color, women, and other protected communities already harmed by unfair and unequal housing policies at a further disadvantage.
On February 5, the White House issued a Statement of Administration Policy opposing H.R. 2474, the Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act, which The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights supports.
On February 25, the Department of Justice sided with the plaintiff, Students for Fair Admissions, to oppose race-based affirmative action at Harvard University in a friend-of-the-court brief filed in the First Circuit Court of Appeals.
On April 30, the Department of Education issued guidance, flouting congressional intent under the CARES Act, that directs school districts to share millions of dollars designated for low-income students with wealthy private schools.
On May 26, the Department of Justice filed a statement of interest in an Alabama federal court in support of the state’s onerous absentee ballot requirements that put Black voters and voters with disabilities at risk during the COVID-19 pandemic.
On June 1, police officers and the National Guard dispersed peaceful protesters outside the White House using teargas and flash-bang explosions so that Trump could pose for photos, while holding up a Bible, in front of St. John’s Episcopal Church.
On June 12, the Department of Health and Human Services issued its final rule rolling back the non-discrimination protections (Section 1557) of the Affordable Care Act. The rule will promote discrimination in medical care.
On June 24, the White House issued a Statement of Administration Policy opposing H.R. 51, the Washington, D.C. Admission Act, which The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights supports.
On June 24, the White House issued a Statement of Administration Policy opposing H.R. 7120, the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act, which The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights supports.
On June 24, the White House issued a Statement of Administration Policy supporting H.R. 3985, the Just and Unifying Solutions To Invigorate Communities Everywhere (JUSTICE) Act, which The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights opposes.
On June 25, the Trump administration filed a brief with the U.S. Supreme Court arguing that the entire Affordable Care Act should be invalidated – saying “the remainder of the ACA should not be allowed to remain in effect.” The brief was filed in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic.
On July 7, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau issued its final rule on payday and car-title lending – undoing consumer protections and threatening to devastate communities of color that are already facing the worst fallout of the pandemic.
On July 7, the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights issued a notice in the Federal Register proposing changes to the Civil Rights Data Collection, including removal of several questions regarding school and district characteristics, discipline, school finance and data disaggregation.
On July 16, the Commission on Unalienable Rights (the formation of which was announced in July 2019 by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo) released a draft report to the public. Experts described the report as undermining decades of human rights progress.
On July 23, Secretary Carson terminated the Obama-era Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing (AFFH) rule, replacing it with a new rule called “Preserving Community and Neighborhood Choice.” AFFH aimed to combat segregation in housing policy.
On August 6, Trump appointed J. Christian Adams to serve on the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights (USCCR) and was sworn in one week later. Adams, who was a member of the president’s sham voter suppression commission, was appointed to the USCCR on the 55th anniversary of the Voting Rights Act.
On August 18, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) signaled its intent to create burdensome new rules for its conciliation process that could tip the scales in favor of employers and potentially expose workers who file workplace discrimination claims, as well as potential witnesses, to retaliation.
On August 21, the White House issued a Statement of Administration Policy opposing H.R. 8015, the Delivering for America Act, which The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights supports.
On September 2, Trump sent a memorandum to the attorney general and the director of the Office of Management and Budget that threatened to pull federal funding from “anarchist jurisdictions” – cities “that are permitting anarchy, violence and destruction.” This was also viewed as a political move targeting cities where people are protesting police brutality and systemic racism.
On September 3, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission issued an opinion letter abandoning its long-standing interpretation of Section 707 of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
On September 4, the Department of Housing and Urban Development issued a final rule that severely weakens the disparate impact tool under the Fair Housing Act, which will make millions of people more vulnerable to housing discrimination.
On September 4, Russell Vought, the director of the Office of Management and Budget, sent a memo to the heads of executive departments and agencies instructing them to end anti-racist trainings that address white privilege and critical race theory – caalling them “divisive, anti-American propaganda.”
On September 8, a whistleblower complaint from a Department of Homeland Security official alleged that top DHS officials, including Chad Wolf and Ken Cuccinelli, directed analysts to downplay threats from violent white supremacy and Russian election interference.
On September 22, Trump issued an executive order prohibiting federal agencies, federal contractors, and grantees from engaging in anti-discrimination workplace diversity trainings the administration deemed “divisive.”
On September 22, the Department of Labor proposed a rule that would make it easier for employers to misclassify workers and deny them minimum wage and overtime protections.
On September 24, the Department of Housing and Urban Development issued its final rule to gut the disparate impact tool under the Fair Housing Act, which will make it harder to challenge systemic racism by housing providers, financial institutions, and insurance companies that deprive people of the services and opportunities they need.
On October 1, the White House issued a Statement of Administration Policy opposing H.R. 8406, the HEROES Act, which The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights supports.
On October 6, Microsoft revealed that the Department of Labor’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) contacted the company over its commitments to increasing diversity. According to Microsoft, “the OFCCP has focused on whether Microsoft’s commitment to double the number of Black and African American people managers, senior individual contributors and senior leaders in our U.S. workforce by 2025 could constitute unlawful discrimination on the basis of race, which would violate Title VII of the Civil Rights Act.” The OFCCP contacted Wells Fargo for the same reason.
On October 8, a Justice Department memo suspended all diversity and inclusion training for the department’s employees and managers in compliance with Trump’s recent executive order banning anti-bias trainings.
On October 21, Trump signed an executive order that could expand his ability to hire and fire tens of thousands of federal employees. The order would allow federal agencies to reclassify certain workers, which would strip them of job protections. The national president of the American Federation of Government Employees referred to the order as “the most profound undermining of the civil service in our lifetimes.”
On November 2, Trump signed an executive order establishing the President’s Advisory 1776 Commission to “promote patriotic education.” The commission, teased by Trump in remarks on September 17, was viewed as a political move aimed at censoring the teaching of American history and as an attack on The New York Times’ Pulitzer-Prize winning 1619 Project, which details this nation’s history beginning when the first enslaved Africans were brought to America.
On November 9, in a memo to U.S. attorneys, Attorney General William Barr authorized the opening of election fraud investigations “if there are clear and apparently-credible allegations of irregularities that, if true, could potentially impact the outcome of a federal election in an individual State.” The memo, for which there was no factual basis, was viewed as an attempt to sow chaos and led to the resignation of Richard Pilger, director of the DOJ Criminal Division’s Election Crimes branch.
On December 8, the White House issued a Statement of Administration Policy opposing the conference report to accompany H.R. 6395 – the National Defense Authorization Act. Their opposition was based in large part on the inclusion of language that would rename all bases and other military assets named for the confederacy.
On December 12, Justice Department lawyers acknowledged that the expulsion of 66 unaccompanied migrant children (without a court hearing or asylum interview) by U.S. border officials represented a contravention of a November district court ruling.

2021
On January 18, which was MLK Day, Trump’s 1776 Commission issued a report calling for “patriotic education,” comparing progressivism to fascism and communism, and justifying the nation’s founding on the basis of slavery.

[Zzzptm]

So, in the face of Trump's administration's policies that took America back into segregationist laws by wiping out Civil Rights provisions that had been made from 1964 onward, I'd say Biden's comments - which are belied by his actual record on Civil Rights - are not such a big deal.

So now comments from Trump himself:

“You Don’t Want to Live With Them Either” - Trump's response to a 1973 lawsuit about Trump's racial discrimination in housing at properties he owned.

“Bring Back the Death Penalty” - Part of Trump's crusade to lynch the Central Park Five in 1989, whose guilt he insisted in campaign speeches in 2016, in spite of the CP5's convictions being vacated on the basis of DNA evidence and the confession of the actual criminal.

“They Don’t Look Like Indians to Me” - Trump attempting to block the creation of a Connecticut casino on tribal land that would compete with his Atlantic City casino operations.

“Our Very Vicious World” - Trump pitched a season of The Apprentice in 2005 that would pit Black businesspeople against White businesspeople. While that concept did not see air time, Trump's treatment of Black contestants did air, and did generate controversy.

“He Doesn’t Have a Birth Certificate” - Trump casting unjustified aspersions on Barack Obama's citizenship.

 “On Many Sides” - Rather than condemn the outright murder of a counter-protester in Charlottesville on 12 August 2017 by white supremacist marchers, part of a group chanting "Jews will not replace us" and "Blood and soil", Trump denounced "this egregious display of hatred, bigotry, and violence on many sides." He paused and repeated, "On many sides." In actuality, only the white supremacists had beaten to death DeAndre Harris, a black man. Only a white supremacist drove his Dodge into the crowd, killing Heather Heyer, a white woman, and injuring 35 others. Trump promoted an idea of false equivalency in order to shield white supremacists from the blame that rightly should have fallen on them.

On 14 August, Trump walked back his statement and condemned the KKK, neo-Nazis, white supremacists and other hate groups. On 15 August, he walked back the walk-back with his comment about "very fine people on both sides" and accusing the alt-left of being violent. The truth, again, was that the far-right groups had brought the violence to Charlottesville, and the far-right groups where overwhelmingly racist in their policy platforms.

“Go Back to Their Huts” - Trump on what people in "shithole nations" would never do if they immigrated to America. To underline Trump administration racist policy, three times as many federal aid workers were sent to Houston after Harvey than to Puerto Rico after Maria and the federal government approved aid for Harvey that was 23 times as much as that for Maria.

[Zzzptm]

Now, again, I'd like to set this stuff aside. We've got better things to do than go around and around in arguments. I'd much rather stick to things that are where we can find common ground or at least non-partisan discussions about.

Like this fellow in England who started a walking group to help men address mental health issues:

https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/englishman-creates-a-mental-health-walking-group-just-for-lads-like-him/

There's quite a lot of stigma associated with mental health issues in England, particularly among men, and it's good to see someone taking positive steps to help in that area.

[Zzzptm]

Here's one: save on shipping costs by growing the lettuce in the store!

https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/fresh-lettuce-is-grown-right-inside-supermarket-for-shoppers-to-take-home-without-packaging-a-hydroponic-garden-in-a-fridge/

[Typhon]

Now, again, I'd like to set this stuff aside.

Well that is wonderful.  Say all you want to say in record breaking lengthy posts, and then claim we should "set this stuff aside".  Now I don't want to insult you or make your blood pressure rise, so let me just say that this is yet another indication of speaking with a very young person.  So I won't talk about the reams and reams of data from Joe Biden's more than 4 decade long history of policy making that harmed minorities.  I'll just set it all aside.  I'll end this conversation by giving you one last piece of advice:  Keep on getting more booster shots.

[Zzzptm]

It's set aside, then. Let's please keep it all set aside.

[Zzzptm]

https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/meditation-could-protect-older-people-against-alzheimers-according-to-new-research/

It's preliminary research, but holds out promise about mental mindfulness and challenging activities can help to forestall dementia. I'm excited about this finding and hope more research is done along that line.

[Zzzptm]

Great story about Cards cornerback Antonio Hamilton visiting a burn victim unit.

https://www.azcardinals.com/news/for-burn-victims-antonio-hamilton-and-teammates-bring-hope

Hamilton had a journey through a burn unit himself and he's helping to let people know there's a light of hope that shines.

[Vyn]

I worked for a children's hospital for quite a few years, and when I first started they took me on a tour of the various departments and care units. The burn unit was especially tough - those nurses that can debride a 4 year old and come back the next day are a special kind of person. I would not be able to do it.

[Zzzptm]

Yeah, It's a tough, tough job. Much respect for the people who do it day in and day out.

[Zzzptm]

Brilliant work with making wind turbines safer for wildlife and more efficient:

https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/mini-wind-turbines-for-rooftops-up-to-50-more-power-and-no-spinning-blades/

[KiloDeltaCharlie]

The UK is looking for its 3rd Prime Minister in a matter of weeks... Liz Truss has bowed to popular opinion and resigned after just 45 days in post (by far the shortest tenure in history... George Canning died after 119 days in 1827).

Truss says a replacement will be in place by next Thursday.

Main achievements in those 45 days. Shook hands with the Queen who died 2 days later. Announced a mini budget which caused the UK economy to implode and had to be U-Turned a few weeks later!

[Zzzptm]

Most disasters per day of tenure, then?

Granted, "Queen dying" is not Truss' fault, but she'll still be blamed for it because it happened on her watch, such is the public's willingness to fix responsibility for random events on the top leader of the day. But the budget leading to economic crisis, that's all her government.

[Vyn]

I made mention of it in the other thread, but yeah, it was pretty clear that Ms. Truss's decision to roll out her economic plan and then turn right around and flop the other direction was based on the flimsiest of knowledge.

I'm not sure how she could have wanked things up more.

Edited to add:

[Zzzptm]

Yes, I saw that bit about lettuce lasting longer than Liz Truss... lettuce also had a better mini-budget, from what I gather.