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Top Stories for April 21:
GOP leader who voted to expel Tennessee Three resigns after being found guilty of sexually harassing interns
Well, well, well, well. Who could have seen this coming? The same Tennessee legislature that just expelled two Black members for speaking out of turn about gun violence, formed a secret committee to quietly investigate sexual harassment of interns by Republican Vice-Chair Scotty Campbell. They found him guilty, paid thousands of dollars to his victims, but did nothing to punish Campbell, who abruptly resigned when the media caught wind of it. More like Grand Old Boys Club!
Take Action: Charge Trump with contempt of Congress!
VIDEO OF THE DAY: Fulton County case takes stunningly bad turn for Trump
The Fulton County District Attorney’s office said some fake electors for Donald Trump have implicated each other in potential criminal activity — and is seeking to disqualify their lawyer.
Take Action: Disqualify Trump from holding public office!
Top Republican donor issues brutal news to his party
No Lie with Brian Tyler Cohen: Not a great day for Republicans…
BuzzFeed News is shutting down
BuzzFeed News is the latest journalism outlet to be fed into the layoff shredder as CEO Jonah Peretti blamed major platforms for not providing “the distribution or financial support required to support premium, free journalism purpose-built for social media,” and lamented his failure to “hold the company to higher standards for profitability.” BuzzFeed News did some truly incredible reporting over the years, especially during the Trump-Russia investigation, and they will be sorely missed.
Take Action: Tell the Biden team to use ALL emergency powers to protect the abortion pill!
House Republicans pass transgender sports ban for schools
House Republicans took a day off from the Fox News clip auditions they have the nerve to call “congressional hearings” to strip federal funding from any school that allows students who have been assigned male at birth to participate in women’s sports, despite President Biden’s vow to veto such legislation.
Take Action: Tell Congress to put an end to Republicans holding us hostage with the debt ceiling!
Senate asks chief justice to testify in escalation of Thomas scrutiny
The Senate Judiciary Committee has requested testimony from Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts about ethical standards on the nation’s highest court in the wake of the shocking revelations about how a shadowy billionaire pays for Clarence Thomas to go on vacation every year. Should Roberts decline, Democrats will be left without much recourse as Sen. Dianne Feinstein’s protracted absence currently denies them the majority vote needed to authorize a subpoena.
Transgender lawmaker silenced by Montana House speaker until she apologizes for hurting Republicans’ feelings
Republicans in Montana are literally silencing a transgender lawmaker on the state House floor for having the temerity to stand up and fight back against unwavering GOP legislative assaults meant to silence and vanish the trans community writ large. State House Speaker Speaker Matt Regier refused to acknowledge Rep. Zooey Zephyr from speaking until she apologized for rightly stating that Republicans will have “blood on their hands” if they supported a bill to ban gender-affirming medical care for transgender youth. Remind us who the snowflakes are again?
Anti-abortion radicals in Texas just cut off any chance of escape for abortion seekers
Avow: As if the draconian anti-abortion bill wasn’t bad enough, the Texas Senate passed a new bill to punish prosecutors who refuse to bring charges against women seeking abortions. Avow is fighting around the clock to help women and restore the rights that were taken from them. Can you chip in to support their critical efforts?
Dan Bongino out at Fox News
In some GOOD media layoff news, the sentient jug of workout supplement powder known as Dan Bongino, formerly of NRATV fame, is now out at Fox after being unable to come to terms on a new contract. Sadly, the former host of Unfiltered is walking because he knows that he can immediately start a show called, like, Cancelled: The Silenced Triggering, on some streaming platform and make an absurd amount of money spouting white supremacist apologia, but for the moment the nation will be spared.
Pentagon requests $36 million for…Havana Syndrome
Buried in the Pentagon’s sprawling $842 billion budget request is an ask for at least $36 million to respond to “anomalous health incidents” like…headaches, nausea, and hearing loss — the symptoms of the high-profile “Havana Syndrome” that reportedly affected US intelligence agents across the world. Originally blamed on some sort of secret Russian microwave weapon, the intelligence community eventually concluded that there was no evidence the incidents were caused by magic Cuban ray guns and most of the incidents were found to be attributable to stress, environmental causes (like crickets, lol), or preexisting medical conditions. Which raises a curious question — why does the military need 36 MILLION more taxpayer dollars to study this issue?
CEO celebrates worker who sold family dog after he demanded they return to office
In the latest example of dystopian corporate tyranny, the CEO of Clearlink held a company-wide video call in which he praised an employee who was forced to sell their dog in order to return to the office, accused other employees of “quiet quitting,” demanded workers increase productivity by “30 to 50 times our normal production,” and wondered aloud whether mothers could work full time and have a child as well because it wasn’t fair to the company. “You have misinterpreted my kindness for weakness,” said the extremely normal and definitely not a cartoonish Bond villain James Clarke to his workers. We can’t believe we have to say this, but nobody should ever have to sell a pet or delay having a child to suit the whims of a delusional, greedy executive.
The long-feared eviction tsunami is here
Pandemic eviction protections are being rolled back, and evictions have risen a staggering 80% over the previous year. In some regions evictions are even higher than they were before the pandemic began as the housing crisis and corporate greed-driven inflation drive more and more people into homelessness.
Ooooookay
DEEP DIVE: Heavy fighting between warring generals engulfs Sudan
Hope…
JOIN THE RESISTANCE
Required Reading for the Resistance. Actions that make a difference.
Today’s Action: Switch out your household products for a healthier planet!
No matter where those in power stand on protecting the planet, it’s essential that we all do our part to reduce unnecessary waste and pollution. Many small businesses are already doing the hard work to ensure sustainable options for everyday products are on store shelves. Check out this guide and start swapping out products in your own household today!
Going zero-waste — eliminating single-use bottles and paper products and rethinking mainstream cleaning methods — is a critical step in the quest for a healthier planet. Check out this guide to creating a natural cleaning kit here.
Here are some other tips to get you started:
- Seek out earth-friendly ingredients and refillable bottles from places like EarthHero and Zero Waste Store. Opt for biodegradable paper towels, compostable parchment paper, and products that can easily be recycled.
- Make your own cleaning products. The Kitchen Chemist’s guide and Wild Minimalist have great zero-waste recipes worth trying!
- Support your local farmers and community-based agriculture. “Food forests” are great ways to help the planet and encourage sustainable eating.
- Create a waste-free bathroom with reusable menstrual products, biodegradable toothbrushes, plastic free soaps and shampoos, and non-toxic deodorant.
The average American tosses out almost five pounds of trash every day. That’s three pounds more than the global average and amounts to a whopping 268 million tons annually for our nation as a whole. If every person reading this newsletter makes even modest changes, it could make a huge difference.
The past few years have produced severe, record-breaking weather events that are only getting worse. Unprecedented destruction from tornadoes, wildfires, and flooding have displaced hundreds of thousands of working families — all while corporations and beholden legislators continue punting on existential threats to our environment.
We can’t wait around for those in power to take the first step. Do your part to create a healthier planet today!
PS — Please don’t forget to sign the petition to demand Missouri restore gender-affirming care for trans adults, and be sure to follow us on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.