[mpen-dayton] FW: F.C.C. Repeals Net Neutrality Rules; Is the US mirroring the fall of Rome?; This shirt says "RESIST" and more
FYI. Best, Munsup
P.S. Please reply back to me with 'unsubscribe' added to the subject line if you no longer want to receive my e-Newsletters. The convenient link to unsubscribe is no longer available due to security reasons to protect my email servers.
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- FW: NYT Today's Headlines: F.C.C. Repeals Net Neutrality Rules & Homeowners Have Had It Good
- FW: How the Changes in Net Neutrality Going to Affect You
- FW: Sign the petition: Save net neutrality
- FW: Is the US mirroring the fall of Rome?
- FW: The Supreme Court is taking on this HUGE case:
- FW: Invest in Black voters
- FW: Election Review and Analysis
- FW: BREAKING: You stopped these extreme Trump nominees!
- FW: You Beat the #GradTax
- FW: LAST chance to stop the GOP tax scam (help!!!)
- FW: Half a million comments to stop the Trump birth control rules
- FW: Activism trumped Trump: Iran nuclear agreement remains intact
- FW: CDC banned words: Trump administration issues forbidden words for Centers for Disease Control
- FW: This shirt says "RESIST"
- FW: We can kill this bill. We must kill this bill
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From: NYTimes.com
Subject: NYT Today's Headline: F.C.C. Repeals Net Neutrality Rules
F.C.C. Repeals Net Neutrality Rules
By CECILIA KANG
In a 3-to-2 vote along party lines, the agency scrapped Obama-era rules meant to protect an open internet.
Homeowners Have Had It Good. Too Good, Says the Tax Bill
By CONOR DOUGHERTY
The tax code has long offered rewards for buying rather than renting, an equation that has troubled some economists - and that the Republican bill upends.
From: Make Tech Easier
Subject: How the Changes in Net Neutrality Going to Affect You
What Is Happening with Net Neutrality (And How Does It Affects You)?
Unless you've been living under a rock, you've probably heard the term Net Neutrality thrown around on the Internet.
Here's what you need to know about it. Continue Reading
From: Brandy Doyle; Campaign Manager, CREDO Action from Working Assets
Subject: Sign the petition: Save net neutrality
Tell Congress: Save net neutrality
The petition to Congress reads:
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Last week, Trump's Federal Communications Commission (FCC) tried to kill the open internet. They ignored millions of Americans to end the internet as we know it and give big cable companies control of what we say and do online.
References:
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From: Eric Kramer
Subject: Is the US mirroring the fall of Rome?
What the US Can Learn From the Fall of the Roman Republic
https://www.thenation.com/article/what-the-us-can-learn-from-the-fall-of-the-roman-republic/
By Ned Resnikoff on October 24, 2017
Donald Trump is not Julius Caesar, and he probably won't deal a death blow to the American republic. But that doesn't mean our country's system of government is stable, and it certainly doesn't mean Rome can't teach us about how societies collapse. To see the parallels between the contemporary United States and Ancient Rome clearly, says history podcaster Mike Duncan, you need to examine the generation before Caesar.
Duncan—creator of two of the most popular history podcasts ever created, The History of Rome and Revolutions—has done exactly that in his new book, The Storm Before the Storm: The Beginning of the End of the Roman Republic, out October 24 from PublicAffairs. The Nation sat down with Duncan to discuss the fall of the Roman Republic and whether the United States can avoid a similar fate.
—Ned Resnikoff
Ned Resnikoff: For your first book, why did you choose to cover this particular period?
Mike Duncan: A literary agent got ahold of me. She contacted me while I was doing the French Revolution series, and we were originally talking about doing some material out of the French Revolution. But nothing that I was proposing caught either of us as particularly exciting.
So, almost as a throwaway, I tossed out this idea that I had put together for a lecture. It was about this question of where America is on the Roman timeline, if America is Rome. So I had this pile of notes, and was like, "Well listen, there's this one particular 50-year period in Roman history which I think has a lot of contemporary parallels." And I just rattled all those off, and when I sent her that e-mail, she said, "That's the book. We should do that."
I don't know why nobody ever goes back to figure out why the Republic started falling apart in the first place, because if you ask that question, you wind up with Gaius and Tiberius Gracchus, and Marius, and Sulla, who are some of the most fascinating figures in Roman history. Everything they went through sets up the great fall of the Roman Republic a generation or two later.
It was a really underserved part of Roman history and also something that I think sheds a lot of light on what the United States, and also what the West generally, is going through right now.
NR: Which elements of Roman politics do you think contemporary readers will find most alien, and which will they find most familiar?
MD: I think the thing that would be most alien is there's a real small-c conservatism to the Roman political mentality. Today, we think of progress as an inherently good thing. Having come out of the Enlightenment, we have this whole theory of progress being something that we should always be pursuing.
The Romans were not really interested in any of that. They wanted today to be like yesterday, and they wanted tomorrow to be like today. They were really resistant to change in all facets of life. It's even more hardcore than Burkean conservatism.
NR: Why was it so important when Roman politicians began to violate some of the unenforced norms that hadn't been codified into law?
MD: Rome really didn't need to have a big body of written law, because the way that things have always been done is the way they ought to continue to be done. That psychological power kept everyone in check. There were intense rivalries between various families and individuals, but those bonds would keep everyone from going too far.
When there's no force keeping everyone in check beyond a social arrangement, the whole thing could collapse so quickly. It went from "I'm going to run for reelection" [in violation of custom] to, 50 years later, Pompey saying, "Who are you to quote laws to those with swords?" Which is what happens at the end of the book. Because at the end of the day, even respecting written law is merely a social custom.
NR: Tell me about the role economic inequality played in destabilizing Rome during the period you cover.
MD: At the beginning of the second century BCE, they were defeating Greece, they were defeating Carthage, and they rolled up into Spain and took over all these silver mines. You have this massive influx of wealth into Italy, and this very small group of people is getting all of it.
The vast majority of the people who are living in the Italian peninsula during these great wars of conquest are not really seeing a dime out of any of this. In the first chapter, there's a great speech from [populist reformer] Tiberius Gracchus, where he says, "Though they are styled masters of the world—which the Romans were—they have not a single clod of earth to call their own."
That's the lot of the poor Romans. They've been away on a campaign for a long time. They come back, their farm has been ruined, and they basically have to sell it to their rich neighbor. We see this happen constantly in cycles throughout history, where the larger noble estates will start to acquire the smaller pieces that surround the estate, until the next thing you know there's just one owner and everybody else is dispossessed.
So that transformation—bringing all that wealth in, concentrating it in the hands of a few, and the rich being able to leverage that wealth to acquire the possessions of all the poor people in Italy—completely dislocated the way of life that Italians had known going back to the to the misty ages before they were keeping records.
NR: Was the collapse of the Republic inevitable?
MD: When it comes to the Roman stuff, but also with Revolutions, this is a question I've been wrestling with a lot. I am somebody who thinks that the elites can make reforms to a system that is reaching terminal gridlock or is simply no longer servicing the needs of the polity. You can make sufficient reforms to head off a revolution.
I think there are things the Senate could have done to ameliorate the worst parts of the oligarchy that had set in. And if you look at what [populist leader, and ill-fated brother of Tiberius,] Gaius Gracchus was up to, I think his [land-redistribution] program could have gone a long way toward restoring the balance in time to keep the Republic going. But the Senate was wedded to this idea that these are our privileges, and we're not going to give up our privileges.
NR: How worried are you about the present day?
MD: I'm personally very worried. The disclaimer is that I'm that guy who just wrote a book about the beginning of the end of the Roman Republic. And I have been working for four years on a series where all I do is look at a situation to figure out all the things that are about to fall apart. So it feels like my brain and my imagination is now very primed to look around and be like, "Oh my God, this is the thing that's happening."
Take the Gorsuch thing, denying the Supreme Court seat for a whole year. You can't undo something like that. From now on, it feels like if you don't have the presidency and the Senate controlled by one party, we're just going to have empty Supreme Court seats. Because neither party now has any incentive to give in. So what's that going to start doing to the judiciary?
So yeah, I'm very worried. And if it does all fall apart, I can tell you that it will be very, very easy to write the first couple of episode of the Revolutions podcast on 21st-century America, because there's so much tinder out there. The arrival of the Internet, which creates completely separate bubbles for people to live in, can feed into a real psychological polarization. So there's a laundry list of 10 or 15 things that would be pretty easy to tick off and say, this is why it all fell apart right around the first third of the 21st century.
NR: So what do we do to avoid the same fate as the Roman republic?
MD: I'm not an expert in public policy, I'm just an historian coming at this from one side. But take the runaway economic inequality, where we just avoid dealing with the fact that a small minority of people are acquiring more and more wealth and the vast majority of people in the country are being shut out.
There is a reason, besides racism, why Trump was able to do what he did. And there was a reason why Bernie Sanders was able to do what he did. There are so many people in this country who are just absolutely convinced that the system is not working for them. So what do you say to the people in Washington, DC, or the people in the various state houses? They have to at least recognize that if they don't make some reforms, they're going to be dealing with the pitchforks.
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Ned ResnikoffNed Resnikoff is writer based in Berkeley, California.
From: ⚖ Ban Gerrymandering : House Majority
Subject: The Supreme Court is taking on this HUGE case:
Tell the Supreme Court: BAN Gerrymandering
For years, Republicans have used gerrymandering to create districts where it's IMPOSSIBLE for Democrats to win.
But now, the Supreme Court is hearing a case that could make it unconstitutional.
We need 5O,OOO signatures to demand the Supreme Court BAN gerrymandering. Sign NOW:
Republicans have gotten away with stealing elections for too long.
They have relied on shady gerrymandering tactics to make it IMPOSSIBLE for Democrats to take back Congress.
But here's the good news: The Supreme Court is hearing TWO cases that could make gerrymandering unconstitutional.
If they decide our way, Democrats can really take back Congress!
So we can't leave this up to chance. We're gathering 5O,OOO signatures to demand the Supreme Court ban gerrymandering.
Sign your name to DEMAND the Supreme Court ban gerrymandering:
Gerrymandering is costing Democrats BIG TIME.
For example, if the Alabama Senate Special Election was translated to a Congressional map, Democrats would have only won ONE seat -- even though they got the majority of votes in the state:
Meanwhile, Republicans rig the system so that their members face easy reelections in solidly red districts.
So if we want any chance of taking back the House, we NEED to end gerrymandering first.
Sign NOW to demand the Supreme Court end Republican gerrymandering:
http://action.thehousemajoritypac.com/end-gerrymandering
PAID FOR BY HOUSE MAJORITY PAC. NOT AUTHORIZED BY ANY CANDIDATE OR CANDIDATE'S COMMITTEE.
From: Judy Burnette
Subject: FW: Invest in Black voters
Black voters saved us last week, as has happened so many times before. Here's a screenshot from Tuesday's Alabama exit polls:1
Without Black voters, racist Roy Moore would've won in a landslide last Tuesday. But that's not what happened. Instead, history played out differently and we WON.
As critical as Black voters are, we are often ignored. Very little investment is made in organizing and leadership development in Black communities even though we consistently come through to move the country forward.
Color Of Change PAC is working to change that. From digital engagement to organizer trainings and other offline events, Color Of Change PAC is a Black-led organization investing in Black communities and Black voters.
If we want to continue winning in 2018 and take back the House and Senate from Trump and other far-right radicals, we need to start making investments today.
Our goal is to raise $175,000 before the end of the month. Donate today.
Sources: 1. https://act.colorofchange.org/go/12656?t=7&akid=8323%2E803204%2EUxwoq3
Paid for by ColorOfChange PAC, colorofchangepac.org,
not authorized by any federal, state, or local candidate or candidate's campaign committee
From: Thomas Scott
Subject: Election Review and Analysis
Need proof that America silences black women? Just read this
https://abagond.wordpress.com/2017/12/15/why-did-white-women-vote-for-roy-moore/
About 63% of White women voted for Republican Roy Moore in the Alabama election for US Senate in 2017 – despite the fact that he had been banned from a mall in his early 30s for hitting on teenage girls, despite the fact that eight of those women came out against him, one accusing him of sexually molesting her at age 14, another of attempted rape at 16.
Meanwhile only 2% of Black women voted for Moore. They voted heavily for Democrat Doug Jones.
White Women Need to Get Their Shit Together | Awesomely Luvvie
Matt Bruenig: What Actually Happened in Alabama? | naked capitalism
From: Katie O'Connell, Digital Communications Coordinator, People For the American Way
Subject: BREAKING: You stopped these extreme Trump nominees!
Thank you, thank you, thank you! Because of you, two of Trump's radically extreme judicial nominees, Jeff Mateer and Brett Talley, had their nominations withdrawn today. This victory would not have been possible without supporters and activists like you who signed petitions, bombarded senators with calls, donated, and shared information about why these nominees were completely unfit for lifetime seats.
We went all out to stop Jeff Mateer because, while Republican senators have rubber-stamped unprecedentedly extreme Trump nominees, Matteer's record of bigotry was so beyond the pale and so undeniable that if he could be confirmed to a lifetime seat on the federal bench, it would mean that anyone could. Mateer's history of hostility towards members of the LGBTQ community is long and well-documented: he has called transgender people Satanic and spoke at a conference where speakers advocated for the death penalty for gay people -- and that's just two examples (there are more). Over 54,000 PFAW members demanded their senators call for his nomination to be withdrawn.
In addition to hosting rallies with coalition partners and signing a letter opposing his nomination, PFAW released a digital ad in opposition to Mateer that declared hate has no place in our courts.
More than 31,000 PFAW members also called for senators to reject Brett Talley who was unanimously rated not qualified by the American Bar Association and once defended the KKK on an online forum.
Check out PFAW's Right Wing Watch for more on Mateer, Talley, and today's withdrawals of their nominations>>
We are so grateful to have members like you who never stop speaking out to defend the American Way.
People For the American Way is fighting the Right to defend our cherished constitutional rights and values. If you have not made your year-end donation to PFAW, please do so now to let us know you're with us as we head into the New Year.
From: The AAUP
Subject: You Beat the #GradTax
A victory for students.
While the soon-to-be-voted-on combined House and Senate tax bill will have profoundly detrimental effects, there is a victory for higher education in it. According to media reports, provisions that would have reclassified tuition waivers as taxable income and repealed the current Student Loan Interest Deduction have been removed from the combined bill.
You had a part in that--in addition to the petition we delivered to the House, you made calls and took action online--including 35,000 of you who changed your Facebook photo in protest.
If you still want to continue to fight the bill, you can. Check out our page on One Faculty, One Resistance to find numbers to call.
Thank you for taking a stand. It will have a profoundly positive impact on students.
From: STATE OF EMERGENCY: House Majority
Subject: LAST chance to stop the GOP tax scam (help!!!)
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This is an EMERGENCY.
House Republicans want to vote on the final version of their tax scam bill THIS WEEK. It could become law in just DAYS.
This bill GUTS crucial government programs like Medicare to make room for massive tax breaks for Paul Ryan's wealthiest friends.
We can still stop this despicable plan -- but this is our LAST CHANCE. Please sign your name NOW if you care about stopping the tax bill:
Millions of hard working Americans will suffer if this bill passes.
Some could lose healthcare or some could see massive tax hikes they can't afford. Why? So Paul Ryan can make his rich friends richer.
It's absolutely disgusting and it needs to be stopped.
So please, sign your name NOW to stop the GOP tax scam:
http://action.thehousemajoritypac.com/Stop-GOP-tax-bill
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From: Maya Rupert; Senior Director of Policy, Center for Reproductive Rights
Subject: Half a million comments to stop the Trump birth control rules
Last week, we made sure our voices were heard at the Department of Health and Human Services, when we delivered comments from over half a million activists like you on the Trump administration's new birth control rules.
This is only one part of our fight to stop the Trump administration's new rules, which allow employers and universities to block insurance coverage for birth control. We are also urging lawmakers to pass the Protect Access to Birth Control Act, which would repeal the new rules on birth control coverage.
And, we have filed a lawsuit in federal court against the Trump administration to fight for a contraceptive coverage guarantee—we're hoping you'll be able to help with that effort too.
We are so grateful to supporters like you who were willing to lend your voice in the public comments. Can we count on you to make a $25 tax-deductible contribution to fund the next step in this fight?
Every action we take makes a difference for millions of women in this country. Your voice matters in this movement—and we're so thankful to have you fighting alongside us.
reproductiverights.org
For 25 years, the Center for Reproductive Rights has used the power of law to advance reproductive freedom as a fundamental human right that all governments are legally obligated to protect, respect, and fulfill.
From: Monique Teal, Daily Kos
Subject: Activism trumped Trump: Iran nuclear agreement remains intact
On Tuesday night, Congress ran out of time to destroy the Iran nuclear agreement. That means the agreement remains unchanged and intact.
Daily Kos was an early supporter of the Iran deal and over the course of two years, our community took more than 1.1 million actions to help ease its eventual passage through Congress.
When Donald Trump announced his intention to dismantle the deal two months ago, the Daily Kos community, alongside a wide coalition, showed up once again to advocate for peace.
With this deal, we eliminated the threat of a nuclear armed Iran and strengthened our own national security and that of our allies in the region. Without it, we'd face yet another avoidable conflict in the Middle East.
Our work to defend diplomacy is not over. But we won this battle and we couldn't have done it without you.
From: Andrew Tierman
Subject: CDC banned words: Trump administration issues forbidden words for Centers for Disease Control, says Washington Post report
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/cdc-banned-words-fetus-diversity-report/
From: Nita, Shaunna, Kat, Karin, Adam, Holly, Kathy, Susan, Anathea, Audine, Shannon, Emma, Pilar, Natalie, Melody, Pam, Lindsay, and Ryan, the UltraViolet Action team
Subject: This shirt says "RESIST"
Looking for the perfect gift for the resisters in your life? UltraViolet has you covered with a store full of feminist resistance t-shirts and sweatshirts, and every sale helps fund our work to hold Trump and his enablers accountable. Place your order by Monday (December 18) to get your gear in time for Christmas.
Get your gear
Order today, before they run out.
Want to support our work? UltraViolet is funded by members like you, and our tiny staff ensures small contributions go a long way. Chip in here.
From: Robert Fox, MoveOn.org Political Action
Subject: We can kill this bill. We must kill this bill.
This is Robert Fox, MoveOn's Chief Operations Officer. As "the numbers guy," I write to MoveOn members very rarely. But I'm writing to you today because Friday evening Congress released its final version of the Republican tax scam—one of the worst bills ever considered by Congress. This fight is now entering its final stretch.
This bill truly is a scam. It is the biggest tax increase in American history.1 It cuts taxes for the super rich and corporations, while socking the rest of us.2 And it's expected to result in 13 million Americans losing their health care.3 That's why, as Senator Ron Wyden said, this bill is "the ultimate betrayal of the middle class."4
Never in my entire career has Congress so explicitly raised taxes on the middle class to cut them on millionaires and billionaires. It's absolutely despicable. But we still have a chance to stop this. Right now, as we enter the final stretch, we still don't know if the GOP has enough votes to pass this bill.
Thanks to strong support from MoveOn members this year, we've been able to successfully block the GOP from dismantling our health care—even though they tried several times. Now, in addition to fighting the GOP tax scam, we're also campaigning to win a clean Dream Act by Christmas, stop the Muslim ban, and expose Donald Trump's corrupt ties to Russia. And we're gearing up to win back the House and Senate in 2018.
It's a lot to do all at once. And we still have major financial commitments to make for our last-chance efforts to stop this despicable bill. Which is why I'm asking you:
Will you rush a contribution now to support MoveOn's emergency efforts to stop the GOP's sham tax plan and attack on our health care? DONATE!
I've been in progressive politics for a long time, and this is by far one of the worst bills considered by Congress during that entire time. I'm determined to stop it, and I'll do whatever it takes to make that happen (including writing you emails over the weekend asking for money, so that I can approve more urgent campaign expenses).
I know firsthand just how much you and our other members have invested in this movement already. I wouldn't ask you again if it weren't so important. With your support, we will take our very best shot at stopping this GOP tax bill, continue to protect our health care, and work on all of our other priorities at the same time.
We still need to make major financial commitments to defeat the GOP's tax scam over the coming days. That's why I'm asking you now—and why I need to know by Monday night: Can we count on you to pitch in and help us stop this terrible tax reform and health care bill from passing? DONATE!
Here's what we have planned to stop the GOP tax giveaway:
- We're melting the phone lines in Washington, D.C., just like we did to defeat Trumpcare, using our innovative tools and targeting to drive constituent calls to key members of Congress. We have also mobilized a volunteer team to text tens of thousands of voters across the country and urge them to call key members of Congress. MoveOn members have made more than 75,000 calls to Congress on taxes already.
- We're running in-person events this weekend and into next week. We're recruiting MoveOn members to host and attend rallies and actions around the country this weekend and working with allies to coordinate constituent drop-bys at offices in key states and congressional districts on Monday. We'll also continue to have a presence with rallies and actions in Washington, D.C.
- We're making and targeting more hard-hitting videos. Our videos on taxes have already been seen 10 million times, and we've strategically invested to boost these videos in key markets. We're finalizing videos focusing on Senators Susan Collins and Jeff Flake that we'll run on social media in Maine, Arizona, and Washington, D.C. And we're continuing to push videos that specifically target the two dozen House Republicans who could still flip and reject this bill.
- We're running more Facebook ads. Facebook ads help us show videos to constituents in key states and districts for only one tenth of a cent per view. So your donation will go a long way! And our videos also ask folks to call, which helps to flood congressional phone lines. Facebook ads also help us recruit folks to last-minute events—growing crowds and getting news coverage.
- And we're gearing up to boot vulnerable Republicans who voted to raise taxes on their own middle-class constituents out of office. Many Republicans, representing areas carried by Hillary Clinton, already voted for this bill in some form. And no matter what ultimately happens, they must be held accountable. We'll make sure that their voters know that when they go to the polls on Election Day in 2018.
Will you help fight back against the GOP tax scam and attack on health care? Click below to chip in. DONATE!
This is a massive undertaking. We know that the wealthiest and greediest of Trump's cronies are willing to spend whatever it takes to pass this bill and get their tax cuts. It's on us to ensure—once again—that people power prevails.
Sources:
- "The GOP Plan Is the Biggest Tax Increase in American History, By Far," The Intercept, December 1, 2017
https://act.moveon.org/go/27681?t=5&akid=195517%2E1195276%2EoFAlJ6 - "The Biggest Tax Scam in History," The New York Times, November 27, 2017
https://act.moveon.org/go/27738?t=7&akid=195517%2E1195276%2EoFAlJ6 - "The final GOP tax bill is complete. Here's what is in it," The Washington Post, December 15, 2017
https://act.moveon.org/go/27739?t=9&akid=195517%2E1195276%2EoFAlJ6 - "Republicans' Tax Bill Nears the Finish Line," The New York Times, December 13, 2017
https://act.moveon.org/go/27740?t=11&akid=195517%2E1195276%2EoFAlJ6
Want to support MoveOn's work? The MoveOn community will work every moment, day by day and year by year, to resist Trump's agenda, contain the damage, defeat hate with love, and begin the process of swinging the nation's pendulum back toward sanity, decency, and the kind of future that we must never give up on. And to do it we need your support, now more than ever. Will you stand with us? DONATE!
End of MPEN e-Newsletter
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