07 November 20
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07 November 20
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Robert Reich | Thanking You
Robert Reich, Robert Reich's Blog
Reich writes: "The only good thing Trump has done is to awaken many of us to injustices that have plagued our country for centuries."
Over the past four years, we’ve taken to the streets to raise our voices – from protecting the sovereignty of Indigenous land and water, to demanding an end to systemic racism and police brutality, to fighting back against nonstop attacks on reproductive freedom, and so much more.
This unprecedented wave of activism has made one thing clear: The American people are fired up.
And now we are taking that momentum to the ballot box. We are voting not only for ourselves and our family’s future, but for our community, for those whose votes have been suppressed, and for the survival of American democracy itself.
We’ve made millions of phone calls, sent thousands of letters, and knocked on who knows how many doors. We’ve mobilized our families, friends, and neighbors to head to the polls.
We are a multi-racial, multi-class coalition that’s come together in unprecedented solidarity to send this racist, narcissistic man packing.
Joe Biden. (photo: Mike Blake/Reuters)
Biden Inches Closer to Victory as Trump's Chances Fade
Alana Wise, NPR
Wise writes: "Four days after Americans cast the final ballots in the 2020 White House race, votes are still being counted but Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden has maintained his lead in electoral votes."
READ MORE
A healthcare worker and a patient. (photo: ABC News)
US Tops 125,000 Daily Coronavirus Infections - a Record High
Christina Maxouris, Jay Croft and Harmeet Kaur, CNN
Excerpt: "The United States set a new record on Friday when it surpassed 125,000 daily coronavirus infections, while Covid-19 hospitalizations continued to climb, prompting health experts to issue dire predictions."
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Scott Walden was placed on leave following a Facebook post in which he threatened supporters of Joe Biden. (photo: Flowmeton Police Department)
Police Captain Who Said Biden Voters Should Get a 'Bullet in Their Skull' Has Been Put on Leave
Trone Dowd, VICE
Dowd writes: "An Alabama police captain who said Joe Biden voters should get 'a bullet in their skull' has been placed on administrative leave."
The Alabama officer only made it worse when he tried to explain his Facebook comment later.
Capt. Scott Walden of the Flomaton Police Department could face termination for writing the graphic comment under a fellow Trump supporter’s post on Facebook.
“Idiots that voted for Biden hated Trump enough to throw the country away,” the person commented, to which Walden replied, “they need to line up ev1 of them and put a bullet in their skull for treason.”
The comment was screen-shotted and began circulating on social media Wednesday. Walden later deleted the post, but the damage was done. After receiving an undisclosed number of complaints about the captain’s words, the Flomaton Police Department launched an internal investigation and placed the captain on leave.
“The Flomaton Police Department treasures the community’s trust, and this is achieved through transparency regarding public information,” the department said in a statement Thursday evening. “The Flomaton Police Department holds officer’s conduct to the highest standard and will continue to do so. Copies of the comments and complaints have been acquired and retained for Internal Investigations.
Walden later argued online that his comments had been misconstrued, saying he didn’t mean that all Democrats need to be executed, just the ones who commit treason, according to screenshots taken by CBS affiliate WHNT.
“The comment even says TREASON but someone has run rampant saying I was meaning liberal n Democrats,” he wrote. “Well #1 I don’t care who you vote for, #2 the comment was about treason and what should happen to the ones who are charged for committing treason. So either you trying to stir the pot or you are ok with someone committing treason but not ok with someone who says they should be shot. This is the world we live in.”
While Walden can ask for a fair hearing in order to save his job, it may be a bit of a battle. Flomaton Mayor Dewey Bondurant told local media that Walden has had a history of making controversial comments on social media, something he’s warned him about before, and that he personally wants to see him removed from his post.
“That’s what I wanted to do to start with, but by law, I can’t,” the mayor said Thursday.
It’s been a tough few days for some of the president’s most passionate supporters around the country. After a promising start on Election Night, the president’s chances for reelection have dwindled significantly. Supporters in Michigan, Arizona, Georgia and Pennsylvania have protested outside of counting locations demanding that officials count the ballots properly and fairly, despite there being no evidence of illicit activity in the tallying process.
That hasn’t stopped President Trump from fomenting conspiracy. Thursday evening, Trump took to the White House Briefing Room and spewed lies attempting to delegitimize mail-in ballots as illegal and tried to claim victory in states he continues to lose traction in. As it stands now, Biden is set to officially win the election before the end of the day Friday.
Democratic House candidate Sharice Davids at a victory party in Olathe, Kansas, on Nov. 6, 2018. Davids defeated Republican incumbent Kevin Yoder to win the 3rd Congressional District seat in Kansas. (photo: Colin E. Braley/AP)
A Record-Breaking 6 Native Americans Were Elected to Congress on Tuesday
Caitlin O'Kane, CBS News
O'Kane writes: "Six Native American and Native Hawaiian were elected to the House of Representatives on Tuesday - a record-breaking number."
ix Native American and Native Hawaiian were elected to the House of Representatives on Tuesday — a record-breaking number.
Democratic Representative Sharice Davids won reelection in Kansas, CBS News projects. She defeated Amanda Adkins, becoming the only Democrat representing Kansas in the House.
In Hawaii, Democratic candidate Kaiali'i Kahele defeated his Republican challenger Joe Akana, CBS News projects. Kahele will be only the second Native Hawaiian to represent the state in Congress.
In Oklahoma, CBS News projects both Representative Tom Cole and Representative Markwayne Mullin, two Republicans, won reelection.
Democratic Congresswoman Debra Haaland of New Mexico also won reelection. Republican Yvette Herrell also won in New Mexico.
According to Indian Country Today, a total of 13 Native American candidates were competing for House seats this year. The six winners have set a record. The group is split evenly by party — three Democrats and three Republicans.
In 2019, Cole and Haaland became co-chairs of the bipartisan Congressional Native American Caucus, which "seeks to educate members of Congress and encourage an open dialogue about issues affecting Native Americans," according to a press release from Cole's office.
"As part of this mission, the caucus regularly convenes briefings, considers the impact of legislation on tribal nations and provides a forum for members of Congress to exchange information, ideas and research." In 2016 only four member of Congress were Native American, according to the release.
Cole is a member of the Chickasaw Nation of Oklahoma. Haaland is a member of the Pueblo of Laguna who also has Jemez Pueblo heritage.
Davids, who in 2018 became the first Native American congresswoman, is also one of the few openly gay women in Congress. She is a member of the Ho-Chunk Nation.
Herrell is a member of the Cherokee Nation, according to the Albuquerque Journal. Representative Markwayne Mullin is a member of the Cherokee Nation as well.
Kahele, who served as a state senator in Hawaii, is of Native Hawaiian ancestry; his family comes from the small fishing village of Miloli'i in South Kona.
People gather and light up their smartphones or lanterns to form an inscription saying WYBÓR ('choice'), along with a lightning bolt, to show solidarity with the protests against the Constitutional Court ruling on tightening the abortion law at Blonia Park on November 03, 2020, in Krakow, Poland. (photo: Omar Marques/Getty Images)
Poland's Historic Fight for Abortion Rights
Kinga Stanczuk, Jacobin
Stanczuk writes: "Last week, Poland banned abortion after its government stacked the courts with right-wing ideologues. But they didn't count on women fighting back - and now they face a historic wave of protest."
READ MORE
The gray wolf once numbered in the tens of thousands in the U.S., but was pushed to the brink of extinction. (photo: National Geographic)
ALSO SEE: Wolves Win in Colorado After Vote for
Reintroduction by 2023
Gray Wolves to Be Removed From Endangered Species List
Nathan Rott, NPR
Rott writes: "Gray wolves, a species that has long been vilified and admired, will no longer receive federal protections under the Endangered Species Act in the Lower 48 U.S. states, the Trump administration announced Thursday."
The long-anticipated move is drawing praise from those who want to see the iconic species managed by state and tribal governments, and harsh criticism from those who believe federal protections should remain in place until wolves inhabit more of their historical range. Gray wolves used to exist across most of North America.
"After more than 45 years as a listed species, the gray wolf has exceeded all conservation goals for recovery," said Interior Secretary David Bernhardt, announcing the delisting, which will revert management of wolf populations to local wildlife agencies.
Federal wildlife officials are hailing the move as a success story, similar to endangered species recovery stories such as the bald eagle and American alligator.
After being nearly wiped clean from the contiguous U.S. by the mid-20th century, there are now more than 6,000 gray wolves in the Lower 48 states, largely clustered in the Northern Rocky Mountains and the Western Great Lakes region.
Critics are calling the move premature, though, and are already promising to sue.
"This is no 'Mission Accomplished' moment for wolf recovery," said Kristen Boyles, an attorney for Earthjustice. "Wolves are only starting to get a toehold in places like Northern California and the Pacific Northwest, and wolves need federal protection to explore habitat in the Southern Rockies and the Northeast."
Some critics are portraying the move as another environmental attack by the Trump administration, which has rolled back dozens of environmental regulations, including protections for endangered species and migratory birds. But wolves have a complicated history that doesn't fit cleanly into the bipartisan rancor that now dominates U.S. environmental policies.
After being hunted, trapped, poisoned and harassed to the point of near extirpation in the contiguous U.S., all gray wolves south of Canada were given federal protections under the Endangered Species Act in 1978.
Under that protection, their numbers slowly recovered in the Great Lakes region, and in 1995 federal wildlife officials reintroduced gray wolves to central Idaho and Yellowstone National Park, where their population has since flourished.
In 2013, the Obama administration also proposed to delist gray wolves, saying that the species had rebounded to the point where they were no longer at risk of extinction and should be managed by state and tribal governments.
A couple of years earlier, wolf populations in Montana and Idaho were delisted by a congressional budget rider, authored by a Democrat and Republican senator in each of those states who were pressured by agricultural and sportsmen groups. Wolves are an apex predator that, at times, kill livestock. Subsequent lawsuits saw gray wolves get delisted, relisted and delisted again in Wyoming.
Today, state wildlife agencies manage wolf populations in Montana, Idaho and Wyoming, and hunting of the species is permitted.
Similar hunting seasons are expected in some Midwestern states if the national delisting survives the anticipated court challenges, and wildlife groups contend that hunting seasons will limit wolves' ability to repopulate other parts of the country.
Randy Johnson, a large carnivore specialist for Wisconsin's Department of Natural Resources, told Wisconsin Public Radio this month that if wolf management fell back to the state, it would use all of the tools available to find a balance "between a healthy and sustainable wolf population, but also addressing those social concerns and livestock concerns when and where needed."
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