Newsletter 11.10.20

Hi all! 

Thanks as always for your support and for those that showed up to the Election Night Discord hang. It was a lot of fun!

-- Florence, Marco, Julianne, Adam, and Nima 

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This Democrat Is Vying for a Powerful Foreign Affairs Role. His Ties To Right-Wing Groups in Colombia Could Haunt Him. Sarah Lazare, Maurizio Guerrero In These Times (November 9, 2020)

Rep. Gregory Meeks is the establishment favorite to replace Eliot Engel as chair of the House For­eign Affairs Com­mit­tee, and his push for the Colombia Free Trade Agreement led to his collaboration with right-wing Colombian politicians. While Colombian activists protested how the trade deal would open the country for exploitation, Meeks allied with forces tied to violent paramilitary groups to push the deal.

College Football’s Inept COVID Response Sparks a Revolt Stephen Wood, Current Affairs (November 9, 2020)

The NCAA’s decision to allow college football during the pandemic and leave guidelines to the leagues has resulted in a rash of cases among student athletes and spectators. The inept handling of the COVID-19 pandemic has led to a group of PAC-12 athletes to author a manifesto calling for better safety procedures and radical change to health coverage for college athletes.

With Prop 22’s Passage in California, Tech Companies Are Just Writing Their Own Laws Now Alex N. Press, Jacobin (November 5, 2020)

California passed Proposition 22 following a $200 million ad blitz from gig companies to obscure that the proposition would allow these companies to deny their workers common employment benefits. The proposition could reflect the future of how gig companies try to circumvent labor laws, and they are already trying to export it to other states.

Trump Is Still the President, and the Pandemic Is Getting Worse Melody Schreiber, The New Republic (November 7, 2020)

As the country focused on the results of the election, health officials have become increasingly worried about the U.S. hitting record COVID-19 cases. A Biden Administration must be ready on day one to tackle the pandemic and offer the national assistance Trump failed to give.

Illinois Progressives Wanted To Tax the Rich. A Right-Wing Billionaire Helped Defeat Them. Ryan Zickgraf, Jacobin (November 7, 2020)

Illinois’ Fair Tax amendment would have eliminated the state’s flat tax and allowed the state to  tax the rich at a higher rate. Billionaire Ken Griffin funded an opposition campaign filled with misinformation in order to keep his taxes lower while the state deals with a massive financial hole.

Corporate Media Reverse Reality by Blaming BLM Protesters for Everything Joshua Cho, FAIR (November 3, 2020)

The media often assigns blame to Black Lives Matter protesters whenever a protest becomes violent. Assigning blame to protesters ignores that these protests were triggered by acts of police violence and everything that follows is in reaction to that initial violence.

Trump's Online SNAP Program Helps Amazon and Walmart, But Leaves Rural People Behind Bryce Oates, Debbie Weingarten, In These Times (November 2, 2020)

The Trump Administration’s online pilot of the Sup­ple­men­tal Nutri­tion Assis­tance Pro­gram has so far failed to address gaps in rural infrastructure and ignores local grocers in favor of big chains. While rural residents are more likely to participate in SNAP, lack of broadband access and a distrust of giving private information are barriers to implementing the program.

How Criminal Justice Reform Fared at the Ballot Box On Tuesday Daniel Nichanian, Anna Simonton, The Appeal (November 5, 2020)

Criminal justice reform had major successes and setbacks this election with four states voting to allow recreational cannabis use and Oregon voting to decriminalize drugs. Reforms to sentencing and bail had mixed results nationwide while several reform-minded down ballot candidates won their elections.

Trump’s Parting Gift to Screw Over Workers Julia Rock, Jacobin (November 9, 2020)

After the polls closed, Trump’s Department of Labor quietly punished foreign laborers by publishing a rule to freeze wages for farmworkers who are working under H-2A visas until 2023. These workers have been deemed essential and have been hit hard by COVID-19, but the Trump Administration prioritized the agriculture industry’s bottom line.

No, Defund The Police and Medicare For All Didn't Lead to Democratic Losses In the House Aidan Smith, The Appeal (November 9, 2020)

Centrist Democrats were quick to blame defunding the police and Medicare for All for election losses. This narrative ignores that Joe Biden ran opposing both policies and no consistent ideological throughline on Medicare for All could be found between the winners and losers in swing districts.