Not content to focus on destroying the United States, MAGA Republicans wants to take their crazy international. Case in point, Robert Gates' former butt-boi Mike Waltz. The member of Congress is never shy about sporting his huge incompetence and now he's angering Iraq.
Faiq Zidan, President of the Iraqi Supreme Judicial Council, is at the center of Iran’s plot to turn Iraq into a client state.
The first step in dismantling the Ayatollah’s network of control is to clearly name who is doing his bidding.https://t.co/rbSiufASd5
Today, the Iraqi government released its response:
The Foreign Ministry followed the statements and directions of the
United States Congressman Mike Waltz, regarding the President of the
Iraqi Supreme Judicial Council judge Faiq Zidan, the Ministry affirms
its categorical rejection for these statements that undermine the person
of the president of Iraq’s Supreme Judicial Council, judge Faiq Zidan,
and the basic rights of the Iraqi state, in which the judiciary
represents the primary guarantor of rights and freedoms.
The
Ministry considers these statements a blatant interference in Iraqi
internal affairs, and affirms that the attempt to influence the Judicial
authority is a violation of the most important elements of the state
entity, which is responsible for achieving justice, equality and
stability in the country.
The Foreign Ministry regrets the
attempts to involve Congress in such issues, as it constitute an
interference in the sovereignty of states and their judicial systems.
Foreign Ministry of the Republic of Iraq
June 29, 2024
Walz has long made critiques of Zidan over rulings that appeared to benefit Baghdad and shortchange the Kurdistan; however, this move makes it hard for him to be taken seriously on anything. And, for the record, I agree that Zidan favors Baghdad over Erbil and favors Baghdad over the law.
But now you want to fog everything up with this claim of being an agent of Iran? That's ridiculous. A) You have no proof and B) are you ignorant of the very deep ties that Iran ahs with Erbil -- especially with the Talanbani family. For example, Hero Talabani could not have fooled the people of Iraq about her incapacitated husband without the help of the Iranian government which is why she spent more time visiting Iran after her husband's stroke than she spent visiting her husband in his hospital in Germany.
Jalal Talabani was the President of Iraq when he had his stroke and was immediately taken to Germany. He never recovered from the stroke and Hero and the others posed him for photos to try to make it look as though he were mobile. Over a year and half later when he returned to Iraq, they still wouldn't let him be seen in public because he could no longer speak and had not recovered full use of his body. Jalal should have been replaced as President immediately but the Talabani family did not want to give up their hold on power so they deceived the Iraqi people. Hero would not have been able to pull that off had the Iranian government not helped and supported her.
For those late to the party on the Talabani scandal, let's drop back to the October 18, 2021 snapshot:
In 2012, Iraqi
President Jalal
Talabani suffered a stroke. The incident took place late on December
17, 2012 (see the December 18th snapshot) and resulted in Jalal being admitted to Baghdad's Medical Center Hospital. Thursday, December 20, 2012,
he was moved to Germany. He remained there for a year and a half. He
was incapacitated. But the Talabani family lied to everyone so that, as
the Iraqi Constitution requires, Jalal wouldn't be removed from office.
They lied to the country. They deceived the Iraqi people. They propped
him up and posed him for pictures -- leading Arabic media to mock it as
WEEKEND AT BERNIE'S -- but they couldn't offer video because he
couldn't speak.
The second set, months later, also showed Jalal posed with his right side to the camera.
[. . .]
Over 18 months later Jalal would return. They wouldn't be able to use
the return to pump up his party in elections because he couldn't speak.
In other words, the Talabani family lied to the Iraqi people, deceived
them. Iraq had a non-functioning president who should have been removed
from office. But the Talabanis lied to keep Jalal in a post he could
not serve.
[. . .]
They lied to the country. They deceived the Iraqi people. They propped
him up and posed him for pictures -- leading Arabic media to mock it as
WEEKEND AT BERNIE'S -- but they couldn't offer video because he
couldn't speak.
He never spoke in public again. Not even when he returned to Iraq 18 months after his stroke.
He
was not able to do any duties and he was not able to speak but the
Talabani family lied to the press and to the people so that they could
hold onto the position and the prestige. They harmed Iraq in the
process. Iraq needed a real president. It had none.
The
next election showed how much damage the Talabanis had done to the PUK
and that's been true ever since. In addition, you've got Jalal's sons
showing up to try to tell the Kurds what to do. They love that -- and
who wouldn't? One of Jalal's pampered sons who lives in the US and is
married to an American woman returning to the Kurdistan to lecture them
on how they shouldn't want independence for Kurdistan, lecturing them on
how they shouldn't vote for it in a non-binding referendum.
Back to the current issue of Mike Walz's stupidity, XINHUA notes:
The Iraqi parliament's Acting Speaker Mohsen al-Mandalawi noted
that Iraq, as a sovereign country, builds its relations with all
countries "upon mutual respect."
Al-Mandalawi said that if the
draft law is approved, it will constitute a dangerous turning point that
will affect, in one way or another, Iraq-U.S. relations.
Mike Walz, from butt=boi to creator of international incidents. THE IRAQI NEWS AGENCY notes the remarks of al-Mandalawi in a little more detail:
A statement by the media office of the Speaker of Parliament on behalf
of Al-Mandalawi was quoted as saying - received by the Iraqi News Agency
(INA): “What was reported by American media regarding the submission by
Republican Congressman Mike Waltz of a draft law amendment and its
inclusion of a clause affecting the head of the Supreme Judicial
Council, Faiq Zidan, is a dangerous precedent this is added to the
record of the actions of the Biden government, which openly supported
the most horrific mass massacre committed by Zionist gangs against the
people of Gaza, and today it threatens to attack the sovereignty of
states and their symbols without a legal justification that allows it to
do so."
According
to the statement, Al-Mandalawi called on the Ministry of Foreign
Affairs to “move through its diplomatic means and deliver a direct
message of Iraq’s rejection, with all its authorities, of such offensive
interventions, which came from the American Congressman, describing
them as tools of influence for other countries,” stressing that “Iraq is
a country with Sovereignty, and its relations with all countries are
built on the basis of mutual respect."
Al-Mandalawi
stressed, “The draft law to be submitted to Congress by the Republican
representative, and if approved, will constitute a dangerous turning
point that will affect, in one way or another, the nature of bilateral
relations between the two countries.
You'd think Mike Walz could form a circle jerk with the government of Iraq over their mutual love of homophobia. RUDAW notes:
As many in the world celebrate pride month, Iraq’s President Abdul Latif
Rashid ratified controversial amendments to the country’s
anti-prostitution law criminalizing any practice of homosexuality and
transsexuality.
The Iraqi presidency announced that Rashid has approved several bills
which recently passed parliament, including several amendments made to
the country’s anti-prostitution law that criminalize any practice of
homosexuality and sex reassignment surgeries, making them punishable by
up to 15 years in prison.
Maybe Butt-boi Mike is upset because he doesn't think the law goes far enough? RUDAW notes:
Any individual, who undergoes a sex-reassignment surgery, as well as the
doctor or surgeon conducting the operation, will face one to three
years in jail. The bill excludes cases of medical intervention to "treat
birth defects to affirm the sex of the individual," referring to
genital surgeries on intersex children, which can inflict permanent harm
on the individual and compromise sexual function and sensation."
Intersex recognition is something avoided by the MAGA morons. The law, please note, is not effective in the semi-autonomous Kurdistan.
In other news, ALJAZEERA reports, "Five large bombs were discovered hidden in the walls of the historic
al-Nuri Mosque in the city of Mosul in northern Iraq, a remnant of the
armed group ISIL’s (ISIS’s) rule over the region. The mosque – famous for its 12th-century leaning minaret – was
destroyed by ISIL in 2017 and has been a focal point of the UN cultural
agency UNESCO’s restoration efforts since 2020." Per AFP, UNESCO has only been able to remove one of the five bombs because four of the bombs are "connected to each other." AP adds, "Iraqi authorities have requested that UNESCO halt all reconstruction
operations at al-Nouri mosque and evacuate the entire complex until the
devices are disarmed."
The Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) have ousted Abu Zeinab al-Lami
from his role as head of their security unit, a move that highlights his
influential standing within the organization.
“The head of the PMF has removed Abu Zeinab al-Lami from his role as
head of security and discipline directorate,” sources said Thursday.
“Ali al-Zaidi, deputy director of PMF security, has been appointed temporarily in his place,” they added.
Later Thursday, sources suggested the PMF rescinded al-Lami’s dismissal, which he reportedly contested.
Sources familiar with al-Lami’s role reveal that he made significant
decisions without consulting PMF leader Falih al-Fayyadh or Prime
Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani.
From that uncertainty of al-Lami's status to the firmer topic of numbers, KURDISTAN 24 reports:
In a troubling development, seven
suicides have been reported in Iraq over the past 72 hours, highlighting
a growing mental health crisis among the population.
Iraqi security agencies attribute this
surge to the overwhelming mental fatigue caused by ongoing social,
financial, and political crises.
Experts are urgently calling for the establishment of awareness and counseling centers to address the increasing suicide rates.
Staying on the topic of suicides, rumors abound that a social influencer held in a Baghdad jail has taken her own life.
Ahmed Luaibi, the ministry's spokesman, told the local media, "Social
media circulated news about the escape of the person named Hadeel
Al-Samarrai, nicknamed Umm Al-Lul, from the prison where she is
currently serving her sentence, and a second piece of news that she
committed suicide inside the prison." "Umm Al-Lul" is an individual's
nickname.
"We deny these circulating reports and confirm that she is in a women's
prison and is in good health," Laibi said. "We are not aware of any
other information." The released news is biased and lacks nuanced
information.
Remember when THE NEW YORK TIMES -- the paper that sold the Iraq War -- pretended to be interested in the Iraqi judicial and prison systems? Remember that? So long ago that the reporter covering it was Michael R. Gordon. Gordon's been with THE WALL STREET JOURNAL for seven years now. It was that long ago -- actually it was before Barack Obama was president that Gordo was covering that topic. At any rate, KURDISTAN 24 reports:
Prisoners and detainees in Iraqi jails
are enduring severe hardships, including significant delays and
restrictions on visits from their relatives.
In some prisons, it can take up to three
months for family members to see their detained loved ones, a situation
that has drawn sharp criticism from human rights organizations and
activists.
Although there are no precise figures on
the number of detainees in Iraq, estimates suggest that there are
around 100,000 prisoners housed in facilities managed by the Ministries
of Justice, Interior, and Defense, as well as those under the control of
security agencies, national security, and counter-terrorism units.
Additionally, the Popular Mobilization
Forces (PMF or Hashd al-Shaabi) and several secret prisons also hold
thousands of prisoners.
[. . .]
The Iraqi Center for Documenting War Crimes recently reported that 50
prisoners have died from torture in Iraqi prisons this year alone.
Civil war could break out in Iraq
unless prison reforms and national unity are enforced, the country's
first prime minister since the 2003 invasion, Ayad Allawi, told The National.
Mr
Allawi, a secular Shiite Arab and former vice president, warned of the
possibility of rising sectarian tensions in the country and said a new
wave of extremism was brewing in Iraq's overcrowded jails.
"Prisons are becoming a fertile ground for extremism.
Before it was between Sunnis and Shiites, now it's involving tribes,
involving regions, involving districts. The problem, if this continues,
will be a civil war throughout the country," he told The National from his home in London. It is 20 years since he took office in Baghdad.
Mr Allawi also believes prisons are a "breeding place for ISIS" and the extremist group could be on the rise.
He
said one solution would be to "clear prisons" from those who have been
"accused of political reasons – there must be a pardon". There must be a
push for national unity and reconciliation between Iraq's various
ethnic and religious groups that are currently ruling the country, he
added.
Yemeni armed forces say they and Iraqi resistance fighters
have carried out several military operations against ships linked to the
Israeli regime.
A Yemeni statement by the Yemeni forces said the operations on Friday
were carried out in support of the oppressed people of Palestine and
retaliation to Israel’s genocidal war in Gaza.
“Our Armed Forces carried out several qualitative military
operations, including a joint military operation with the Islamic
resistance in Iraq targeting the oil tanker ‘Waler’ in the Mediterranean
Sea with a number of drones,” said the statement.
Israel has been shelling different parts of Gaza City on Saturday morning following a deadly assault on Shejaiya on Friday.
Israeli shelling on the Al-Daraj and Al-Sabra neighbourhoods killed eight people, including women and children, according to Palestinian news agency WAFA.
The shelling comes as reports emerge on US
efforts to propose new language for a ceasefire deal in Gaza and to
bridge the gap between Israel and Hamas.
Hamas says there’s been no progress in ceasefire talks with Israel
over the war on Gaza as tens of thousands of protesters took to the
streets of Tel Aviv demanding the government save the captives and get a
deal done.
Osama Hamdan, a senior Hamas official based in Lebanon, said on
Saturday the Palestinian group is still ready to discuss any truce
proposal that ends the nearly nine-month conflict.
“Once again, Hamas is ready to deal positively with any proposal that
secures a permanent ceasefire, a comprehensive withdrawal from the Gaza
Strip, and a serious swap deal,” Hamdan told a news conference in
Beirut.
Ikram Kouachi (ANADULA AGENCY) adds, "Flouting a UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate
cease-fire, Israel has faced international condemnation amid its
continued brutal offensive on Gaza since an Oct. 7, 2023 attack by
Hamas." The slaughter continues. ALJAZEERA notes, "The Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor accused Israeli forces of 'widespread
massacres' in Gaza City, saying it has received reports from its field
teams of soldiers executing 'dozens, possibly hundreds, of victims'." Frances Madeson (TRUTHOUT) reports:
On June 1, approximately 50 medical students from Washington
University in St. Louis, Saint Louis University, and others interested
in the topic gathered at a public library in St. Louis’s Central West
End near both campuses to hear neonatal specialist Yassar Arain
describe the medical apartheid he experienced while volunteering in a
neonatal intensive care unit in Gaza this spring. Some openly wept as he
recounted tragedies he’d witnessed but was powerless to avert.
Arain is a Californian of Pakistani descent now practicing medicine
in Fort Worth, Texas. He’s also a father of young children. In
mid-April, he joined in a two-week medical mission under the aegis of
the Palestinian American Bridge,
a group of doctors that hosts foreign specialists to help provide care
in Gaza in the face of their own drastically reduced numbers. Per the
World Health Organization’s (WHO) latest monthly tally, since October 7, 2023, Israel has attacked 464 health care facilities, killed
727 health care workers, injured another 933, and damaged or destroyed
113 ambulances. Among the doctors, 55 specialists were killed, according
to a Reutersreport. Hundreds of bodies have been found in multiple mass graves at three hospitals. At the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) in Gaza, Arain was the sole neonatologist.
One of Arain’s patients was an infant who’d been shot in the head
during a surprise Israeli attack, while breastfeeding in his mother’s
arms. The bullet entered and exited his skull, making two wounds that
baby Mustafa somehow survived, but with an unknown developmental fate.
He’s since had seizures and needs long-term medical care — and, Arain
said, justice. “One of the hardest things that happens for me
internally, in my own mind,” Arain told the gathering, “is how we
reconcile this with what we promote here in America with newborn
mothers, which is skin-to-skin ‘kangaroo’ care. It helps the baby’s
temperature stay normal, develops bonding, delivers healthy bacteria to
the gut — all these nurturing things. But [think about what] we’re
putting Palestinian mothers and infants through.”
Babies in Gaza are dying needlessly due to supply shortages, babies that
would not have died if hospitals had even 50 percent of the resources
they had prior to October, Arain told the stricken audience. They’ve run
out of surefire medications like surfactant to help prematurely born
babies through respiratory ailments, and don’t have access to certain
technologies like a cooling room needed to cool down babies’ brains when
they experience oxygen deprivation. Israel has destroyed them all. One
newborn in need of cooling was delivered at 24 weeks [(typical gestation
is 36) after her mother’s house was bombed, killing her mother’s family
in the blast and sending her into preterm labor as a result of the
shock. But with no place to send babies in need of brain cooling, they
are condemned to a life of neurological impairment. Arain called it “a
crime against humanity.”
,
Gaza remains under assault. Day 266 of the assault in the wave that began in October. Binoy Kampmark (DISSIDENT VOICE) points out, "Bloodletting as form; murder as fashion. The ongoing campaign in Gaza
by Israel’s Defence Forces continues without stalling and restriction.
But the burgeoning number of corpses is starting to become a challenge
for the propaganda outlets: How to justify it? Fortunately for Israel,
the United States, its unqualified defender, is happy to provide cover
for murder covered in the sheath of self-defence." CNN has explained, "The Gaza Strip is 'the most dangerous place' in the world to be a child, according to the executive director of the United Nations Children's Fund." ABC NEWS quotes UNICEF's December 9th statement, ""The Gaza Strip is the most dangerous place in the world to be a child.
Scores of children are reportedly being killed and injured on a daily
basis. Entire neighborhoods, where children used to play and go to
school have been turned into stacks of rubble, with no life in them." NBC NEWS notes, "Strong majorities of all voters in the U.S. disapprove of President Joe
Biden’s handling of foreign policy and the Israel-Hamas war, according to the latest national NBC News poll.
The erosion is most pronounced among Democrats, a majority of whom
believe Israel has gone too far in its military action in Gaza." The
slaughter continues. It has displaced over 1 million people per the US
Congressional Research Service. Jessica Corbett (COMMON DREAMS) points out, "Academics and legal experts around the world, including Holocaust scholars, have condemned
the six-week Israeli assault of Gaza as genocide." The death toll of
Palestinians in Gaza is grows higher and higher. United Nations Women noted,
"More than
1.9 million people -- 85 per cent of the total population of Gaza --
have
been displaced, including what UN Women estimates to be nearly 1 million
women and girls. The entire population of Gaza -- roughly 2.2 million
people -- are in crisis levels of acute food insecurity or worse." THE NATIONAL notes, "The Gaza Health Ministry said on Saturday that at least 37,834
Palestinians have been killed and 86,858 injured in Israel's war on Gaza
since October 7. In the 24 hours to noon on Saturday, 40 people were killed and 224 injured, the ministry added." Months ago, AP noted, "About 4,000 people are reported missing." February 7th, Jeremy Scahill explained
on DEMOCRACY NOW! that "there’s an estimated 7,000 or 8,000
Palestinians missing, many of them in graves that are the rubble of
their former home." February 5th, the United Nations' Phillipe
Lazzarini Tweeted:
April 11th, Sharon Zhang (TRUTHOUT) reported, "In addition to the over 34,000 Palestinians who have been counted as
killed in Israel’s genocidal assault so far, there are 13,000
Palestinians in Gaza who are missing, a humanitarian aid group has
estimated, either buried in rubble or mass graves or disappeared into
Israeli prisons. In a report released Thursday, Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor said that the estimate is based on initial reports and that the actual number of people missing is likely even higher."
As for the area itself? Isabele Debre (AP) reveals, "Israel’s military offensive
has turned much of northern Gaza into an uninhabitable moonscape. Whole
neighborhoods have been erased. Homes, schools and hospitals have been
blasted by airstrikes and scorched by tank fire. Some buildings are
still standing, but most are battered shells." Kieron Monks (I NEWS) reports, "More than 40 per cent of the buildings in northern Gaza have been damaged or destroyed, according to a new study of satellite imagery
by US researchers Jamon Van Den Hoek from Oregon State University and
Corey Scher at the City University of New York. The UN gave a figure of 45 per cent of housing
destroyed or damaged across the strip in less than six weeks. The rate
of destruction is among the highest of any conflict since the Second
World War."
House Ag Republicans hold closed-door roundtable on child labor with meat packing associates
WASHINGTON – Today, Congressman Greg Casar
(D-Texas) releases the following statement after sitting in on the
House Agriculture Committee Republicans’ closed-door, corporate-backed
child labor roundtable with meat packing industry associates.
“Child
labor has been illegal in American plants since the 1930s. We should
hold companies that get multi-million dollar contracts from the federal
government, but continue to exploit children, accountable,” said Congressman Greg Casar (D-Texas).
“Members on both sides of the aisle at this closed-door meeting agreed
that 13-year-olds working in meat packing plants is wrong. The question
remains — will we just keep talking about it, or actually do something
about it?”
At the closed-door meeting, the witnesses said that children working in their plants are hard to identify as underage. Casar
brought two children’s backpacks to the meeting, referencing a
Department of Labor case at the Seaboard Triumph facility in Sioux City,
Iowa, where federal investigators witnessed
children “carrying glittered school backpacks” before starting their graveyard shift to clean kill-floor equipment.
Republican witnesses at the hearing included:
Paul DeCamp,
who works on labor issues for the law firm Epstein, Becker and Green.
Prior to his work at the Firm, DeCamp was the Administrator of the U.S.
Department of Labor’s (DOL’s) Wage and Hour Division under President
George W. Bush. Recently, DeCamp served as an expert witness for Packers
Sanitation Services (PSSI) after they were found to have hired 102
teenagers across multiple states.
Bryan Burns,
who serves as Vice President and Associate General Counsel of the Meat
Institute. In his role, Burns serves as the primary staff liaison to the
Worker Safety Committee, Environmental Committee, and Labor &
Employment Committee. Prior to joining the Meat Institute, Burn
previously served as a Senior Counsel for Litigation and Regulatory
Affairs at Tyson..
Ahead of the hearing, Casar and Congressman Jim McGovern (D-Mass.) hosted a press gaggle. Remarks as delivered:
Casar:
“During the Farm Bill markup, I brought forward an amendment that Mr.
McGovern and all the other Democrats supported to hold companies, major
meatpacking companies, accountable if they violate our child labor laws
that date back to 1938.
GC:“The
Department of Labor, just in the last year, found over 4,000 cases of
illegal child labor just last year. We know there's thousands more kids
that are illegally put to work every year. But the Department of Labor
has extremely limited resources, so the fact they were able to find
4,000 of these cases last year shows just how significant and pervasive
this problem is. So what we're asking is that if the federal government
gives billions of dollars in federal contracts to these
mega-corporations, that they simply follow the law. And don't exploit
child labor.
GC:
“What, I expect, we will hear in this closed-door, industry-only
roundtable is excuses. What is on the meat packing lobby’s website, is
that they essentially say that they can't identify when a worker is an
adult versus when they’re a child. But we know that many of these cases
are cases of 13-year-olds and 14-year-olds working night shifts at the
meat packing plants. Cleaning really dangerous equipment, mopping blood
off of kill floors, and doing other extremely hazardous work. And if a
bartender isn’t — we know that bartenders aren't serving 13-year-olds
when they walk into the bar because they can tell, regardless of what
their ID says, this child is 13 or 14, then I think multi-billion dollar
companies can do the same thing.
GC:
“And, we’ve got these backpacks here today because in one of the
complaints, one of the verified complaints, from the Department of Labor
— they saw children wearing, and the exact quote, ‘glittered backpacks,
glittered school backpacks,’ as they walked into their night shifts.
And so I’m going to ask representatives from these major companies
today, how it is that they can't tell that these are school children
going into their plants, if they are walking in with these sort of
backpacks. It's a serious, very serious issue. It's a life and death
issue. You know, there was recently a 14 year old child, named Marcos,
who had his entire right forearm ripped off, in a dangerous machine
working in these plants. These are kids that should be in school, and,
and should be able to grow up like anybody else and not be put illegally
to work, in these plants. And so what we'll be asking, is these
questions in this industry-only roundtable.
GC:
“And then, we will hopefully — the Chairman has said that we will have a
hearing, a public hearing. And I hope that at the public hearing, we
mark up Senator Booker’s and my bill, to hold these companies
accountable, to make sure that if we're giving them billion dollar
contracts that they aren’t illegally exploiting child labor. And I hope
that both the House version of the Farm Bill, and then Senator
Stabenow’s Senate version, that we include these provisions to protect
children from being exploited and also to just protect workers, in
general, at these meatpacking plants where, you know, many people have
died working for many of these corporations in recent years in these
meat packing plants, many people have been hurt and we should have these
baseline protections both in the House bill and if not in the House
bill, then we should have them in the Senate bill.”
McGovern:
“I can't even believe we're having this discussion. You know, we work,
we have a Congress where there's lots of disagreement on lots and lots
of issues. I would like to think that what would not be controversial,
is that we would all agree that we have to crack down on child labor
violations, that somehow that's a radical idea in this
Republican-controlled Congress, really is insane.
JM:
“Child labor is getting worse in this country, it's going in the wrong
direction. And we're having a briefing here today, basically in response
to not taking up my colleague's amendment, during the Farm Bill markup,
when we’re briefing today, it's all industry. I mean, really? I mean,
this is the, this is the response, somebody who represents the trade
association from meatpackers, another who used to work for a company
where, you know, they were found 100 violations, in terms of child
labor, I mean, this is insane.
JM:
“I mean, look, there are states all around the country, state
legislatures that are moving in the wrong direction. That are weakening
child labor laws, and these guys here, you know, want to be wind at
their back. It's disgusting. It really is. And it's so disappointing.
And we're going to go through this charade today and we'll listen to the
industry-only panel tell us how everything is beautiful or how they
can't tell them who is a child and who's not, all that bullshit. Right?
But the bottom line is, this is, this doesn't cut it. And so it's really
disappointing.
JM: “I expected much better from the Chairman and, and from the Republicans quite frankly.”
Last year, Casar introduced the Child Labor Exploitation Accountability Act, aimed at holding corporations accountable for the exploitation of children and workers in the food industry.
###
Congressman
Greg Casar represents Texas’s 35th Congressional District in the U.S.
House of Representatives, which runs down I-35 from East Austin to Hays
County to the West Side of San Antonio. A labor organizer and son of
Mexican immigrants, Casar serves as the Whip of the Congressional
Progressive Caucus for the 118th Congress. He also serves on the
Committee on Oversight and Accountability and the Committee on
Agriculture.
Washington, D.C.
– Today, Congressman Robert Garcia (CA-42) released his 2024 Pride
Playlist to celebrate the end of Pride Month. The playlist includes
songs from artists like Chappell Roan, Beyoncé, and Selena. This is the
second annual Pride Playlist that the Congressman has released. You can
listen on Spotify
“Garcia,
one of 12 openly LGBTQ members of Congress, released his inaugural
Pride playlist last June on Spotify and Apple Music. This year’s
collection of songs is meant to be a continuation of that, he said.
“Obviously
you can listen to whatever song you want, but I did take some take to
curate it to how I would listen to it,” he said. “You can actually
listen to it in order from the first playlist, and this one for a total
of 40 songs.”
Among
some of this year’s musical selections: Janelle Monáe’s “Make Me Feel,”
Carpenter’s “Please Please Please,” “Nails, Hair, Hips, Heels” by
Todrick Hall, and Selena’s “Fotos Y Recuerdos.”
“I
wanted to include stuff I’ve also liked for a long time and some songs
that personally mean a lot to me from different points of my life,”
Garcia said.
“All
types of art and music are incredible and can change people’s
perceptions on issues and can be very powerful,” he added, pointing to
Beyoncé’s efforts to empower women and Roan’s use of her newfound
platform to uplift LGBTQ voices.”
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib (MI-12) released the following statement on the recent Supreme Court decision:
“The far-right Supreme Court just ruled that it is legal to
criminalize homelessness. This ruling is a heartbreaking display of the
dehumanization of our unhoused neighbors. It is unconscionable to
criminalize people who are simply trying to survive and sleeping outside
when they have nowhere else to go. We must take action to guarantee
housing as a fundamental human right in our Constitution and invest in
proven solutions like a Housing First approach, not ineffective and
cruel measures that simply push people experiencing homelessness out of
public view. Jails and fines will never end the homelessness crisis.”
Congresswoman Bush Statement on Supreme Court Grants Pass v Johnson Decision
Washington, D.C. (Jun. 28, 2024) — Congresswoman
Cori Bush (MO-01), a member of the House Judiciary Committee, released
the statement following today’s Supreme Court Case decision in City of Grants Pass v. Johnson,
where a 6-3 majority ruled that cities are allowed to jail, ticket, or
fine people for sleeping outside, even in cases where there are no
shelter options available. The Court held that enforcement of public
camping laws—including those that criminalize sleeping outside—do not
constitute “cruel and unusual punishment” in violation of the Eighth
Amendment.
“As someone who has been unhoused, I know that no one ever plans to
be homeless. Punishing our most vulnerable and marginalized communities
for our government’s failure to house its own people is heinous – and
that’s exactly what the Supreme Court has greenlit today. Our nation’s
highest Court steamrolled the civil and constitutional rights of
unhoused people by allowing cities to fine, ticket, or jail people for
sleeping outside, even in cases where there is nowhere else for them to
go. Penalizing our unhoused neighbors isn’t just cruel and inhumane, it
further exacerbates the unhoused crisis by destabilizing people’s lives
and increasing the likelihood of people becoming chronically homeless.
Nearly 40 percent of the unhoused population is Black, and Black people
are among the most at risk of being criminalized, surveilled, and
harassed. We will not allow this MAGA Court to get away with this vile
act of inhumanity. We will continue to fight to reform and expand the
Court, while simultaneously championing real, tangible solutions to the
unhoused crisis like my Unhoused Bill of Rights, universal housing
vouchers, permanent federal rental assistance programs, and guaranteeing
housing as a human right.”
This April, Congresswoman Bush led 18 Democratic colleagues in filing an amicus brief
to the Supreme Court arguing that penalizing homeless individuals
without available shelter violates the Eighth Amendment, and further spoke out in front of the Court
urging the Court to uphold the constitutional rights of unhoused
individuals. Yesterday, Congresswoman Bush, alongside Professor
Stephanie Sena, published an op-ed ahead of this decision, titled: “Whose Streets? Our Streets?”.
Out of the $13.7 million
Congresswoman Bush secured in this year's Community Project Funding,
approximately $4.5 million went to various housing and housing-related
projects across the district.
In May, Congresswoman Bush and her fellow Co-Chairs of the Congressional Caucus on Homelessness led their colleagues in a letter to House Appropriations calling for robust federal investments in homeless services and programs.
In December 2023,
Congresswoman Bush—in her capacity as Vice Chair of the Criminalization
of Poverty on the Poverty Task Force and Co-Chair of the Congressional
Caucus on Homelessness—led a member-level briefing educating members of
Congress about how the federal government can decriminalize
homelessness.
In March 2023, Congresswoman Bush joined her fellow Co-Chairs to re-establish the Congressional Caucus on Homelessness—a caucus dedicated to educating members of Congress and their staff on the complex issues faced by unhoused persons.
In July 2023, Congresswoman Bush reintroduced the Unhoused Bill of Rights,
a resolution which declares unalienable rights for unhoused persons and
provides solutions for the federal government to permanently end the
crisis by 2027.
In February 2023, Congresswoman Bush joined Congressman Jesús “Chuy” García (IL-04) in sending letters
to Greystar Real Estate and the Professional Background Screening
Association (PBSA) to ensure renters’ rights are being protected during
the tenant screening process.
In September 2021, Congresswoman Bush, alongside Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), introduced the Keeping Renters Safe Act of 2021 to enact an urgently needed nationwide eviction moratorium.
In addition to housing justice, Congresswoman Bush is also pushing
for judicial reform. Alongside Senators Tina Smith (D-Minn.), Edward J.
Markey (D-Mass.), and Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), and Representatives
Jerrold Nadler (NY-12), Hank Johnson (GA-04), and Adam Schiff (CA-30),
Congresswoman Bush introduced the Judiciary Act,
legislation that would expand the Supreme Court by adding four seats to
create a 13-Justice bench. Just last month, Congresswoman Bush called
for the resignation of U.S. Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito and in April 2023, Congresswoman Bush called for the impeachment of Justice Clarence Thomas after a barrage of ethics scandals.
Baldwin’s resolutions celebrate Pride Month, honor legacy and progress of LGBTQ+ movement, and acknowledge work still left to do
WASHINGTON, D.C. – In honor of Pride Month 2024,
U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) co-sponsored several Senate
Resolutions to honor the legacy of the LGBTQ+ movement and acknowledge
the work left to do to achieve equality for all Americans. The Senate
Resolutions Senator Baldwin co-sponsors recognize Pride Month, honor the
anniversary of the Stonewall Uprising, and acknowledge the
discrimination that LGBTQ+ individuals who served our nation have faced.
“Pride Month is a time to reflect on the progress we’ve made and
recommit to forging ahead on the path to true equality. I’m proud to
introduce these resolutions to honor the history of the LGBTQ+ movement
and the sacrifices made by those who came before us,” said Senator Baldwin. “In
recent years, we have made incredible progress in our fight for
equality, including passing my bipartisan Respect for Marriage Act, but
we cannot take progress for victory. I will not stop fighting to create a
more accepting, equal country that lives up to our nation’s ideals.”
Senator Baldwin leads several Senate Resolutions honoring Pride Month, including:
Recognizing Pride Month – Senator Baldwin recognized
Pride Month with a Senate Resolution that highlights the contributions
LGBTQ+ Americans have made to our country, notes several major
milestones in the fight for equal treatment of LGBTQ+ Americans, and
resolves to continue efforts to achieve full equality. A full version of
the resolution is available here.
Honoring Anniversary of Stonewall Uprising – Senator
Baldwin introduced a resolution to commemorate the grand opening of the
Stonewall National Monument Visitor Center and designate June 28th,
2024 as “Stonewall Day.” This resolution highlights the significance of
the Stonewall uprising and the long and ongoing movement to ensure that
all LGBTQ+ people have equality and freedom from discrimination in every
aspect of daily life. A full version of the resolution is available here.
Acknowledging Discrimination Against LGBTQ+ Individuals Who Served Our Nation – Senator
Baldwin led a Senate resolution that acknowledges and apologizes for
the mistreatment of and discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual,
transgender (LGBT) individuals who have served our nation in the
uniformed services, as civil servants, or in the Foreign Service. A full
version of the resolution is available here.
Senator Murray Statement on SCOTUS Decision in EMTALA Case
Senator Murray: “This decision fails patients and
doctors—and leaves an unacceptable level of uncertainty for women and
their health care providers. Even with EMTALA still in place for now in
Idaho —Republican abortion bans continue to have a dangerous chilling
effect. Doctors are still forced to contend with dangerous laws on the
books that threaten them with prosecution or jail time, making our
health care providers either hesitant or altogether unwilling to provide
women lifesaving abortion care in these states.”
Murray led Congressional Democrats in amicus brief urging SCOTUS to affirm that EMTALA requires hospitals to provide emergency stabilizing care, including abortion care
Washington, D.C. — Today, U.S. Senator Patty Murray
(D-WA), a senior member and former Chair of the Senate Health,
Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee, issued the following
statement on the Supreme Court’s decision in Idaho v. United States and Moyle v. United States,
two consolidated cases that concern the rights of pregnant individuals
to get the emergency medical care they need—which can include abortion
care—under a federal law, the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act
(EMTALA), enacted in 1986, that requires hospital emergency rooms to
provide treatment for all people to stabilize their conditions.
After the Dobbs decision in 2022, Idaho enacted a draconian
abortion ban that makes it a felony for a doctor to terminate a
patient’s pregnancy unless it is “necessary” to prevent the patient’s
death. The United States sued the State of Idaho, arguing that the
state’s law is preempted by EMTALA in those circumstances in which
abortion may not be necessary to prevent imminent death, but still
constitutes the necessary stabilizing treatment for a patient’s
emergency medical condition. The district court agreed; it held that in
those limited, but critically important situations, EMTALA requires
Medicare-participating hospitals to provide abortion as an emergency
medical treatment.
Today, the Supreme Court dismissed the cases but without a ruling on the merits, sending the case back to the 9th Circuit Court and reinstating the district court’s injunction.
“Women in America deserve nothing less than an outright
rejection, on the merits, of the very idea that their doctors cannot
provide lifesaving abortion care. This decision fails patients and
doctors—and leaves an unacceptable level of uncertainty for women and
their health care providers.
“Even with EMTALA still in place for now in Idaho —Republican
abortion bans continue to have a dangerous chilling effect. Doctors are
still forced to contend with dangerous laws on the books that threaten
them with prosecution or jail time, making our health care providers
either hesitant or altogether unwilling to provide women lifesaving
abortion care in these states.
“We are talking about women whose water breaks dangerously
early, or who are experiencing uncontrollable hemorrhage, sepsis, or
pre-eclampsia—these are the women Republicans don’t think deserve access
to emergency care. And so, even with today’s ruling
that leaves so much in question, pregnant women whose health is in
danger are still being denied necessary medical care every day in
America, including just across the border from my home state.
“And let’s be clear, providing emergency stabilizing care
under EMTALA is the bare minimum to keep a patient alive—these women may
have undergone tremendous trauma and suffering up until they meet the
threshold for emergency stabilizing care. Women shouldn’t have to lose
organ function or their ability to have children jeopardized just to
receive basic medical care.
“Republicans and Donald Trump won’t stop until abortion is
outlawed everywhere, until abortion care is impossible to obtain no
matter a woman’s circumstance, and until pregnant women have fewer
rights than an embryo—this is their vision for America. President Biden
and his administration will keep fighting every way they can to protect
access to essential health care, but we need the support in Congress to
restore the right to abortion nationwide—that’s what we’ll keep fighting
to do.”
In March, Senator Murray led 258 Members of Congress in an amicus brief
urging the Supreme Court to uphold the district court’s ruling, arguing
that the congressional intent, text, and history of EMTALA make clear
that covered hospitals must provide abortion care when it is the
necessary stabilizing treatment for a patient’s emergency medical
condition, and that EMTALA preempts Idaho’s abortion ban in emergency
situations that present a serious threat to a patient’s health. In
April, Senator Murray issued a statement emphasized the stakes of this case in a statement ahead of oral arguments before the Supreme Court. Murray also applauded the launch of a new tool from the Biden Administration to make it easier for women to report potential EMTALA violations.
Senator Murray is a longtime leader in the fight to protect and
expand access to reproductive health care and abortion rights, and she
has led Congressional efforts to fight back after the Supreme Court’s
disastrous decision overturning Roe v. Wade last year. Murray led her colleagues
at the outset of this Congress to make crystal clear that Senate
Democrats are continuing to fight to protect every American’s
reproductive rights and will be a firewall against Republicans’
continued attacks on women’s rights—and that’s exactly what she’s doing
now. Murray has introducedmorethan a dozen pieces of legislation to protect reproductive rights from further attacks, protect providers, and help ensure women get the care they need; she also co-leads the Women’s Health Protection Act, which would restore the right to abortion nationwide. Ahead of the one-year anniversary of the Dobbs decision, Senator Murray led
Senate Democrats in seeking unanimous consent on the Senate floor for
four common-sense bills to protect women’s fundamental freedoms, and in
January she led her colleagues
in hosting a “State of Abortion Rights” briefing with women who have
suffered firsthand from Republican abortion bans. On June 4th, Senator
Murray chaired a HELP Committee hearing titled “The Assault on Women’s Freedoms: How Abortion Bans Have Created a Health Care Nightmare Across America.” Recently, Murray also helped lead efforts to force Republicans on the record on votes to protect access to contraception and access to IVF—Senate
Republicans blocked consideration of both bills, showing once again how
extreme and out-of-step they are with the American people. In advance
of the Dobbs anniversary, Murray, Schumer, and other Senate Democratic women introduced a bill expressing support for reproductive rights and challenging Republicans to at least support the idea that women should be able to access basic reproductive health care.
