Newsletter 5.7.19

Hi all,

Hope you are well. The show is off this week but we do have a newsletter for you.  Please enjoy!

REMINDER: DO NOT USE LYFT/UBER TOMORROW MAY 8TH, THEY ARE ON STRIKE. DON'T BE A SCAB. #thankyou 

Best,

Florence, Adam, Marco, and Nima 

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Uber and Lyft drivers are planning a strike on Wednesday ahead of Uber’s IPO Andrew J. Hawkins, The Verge (May 6, 2019)

Uber and Lyft drivers across several major cities are planning a two-hour strike on Wednesday to coincide with Uber’s initial public offering. Ride-share drivers are demanding an end to upfront pricing, a cap on company commission and few driver deactivations. This protest should be more geographically diverse and organized than a protest coinciding with Lyft’s IPO.

Chicago’s Charter School Strike Wave Keeps On Winning Rebecca Burns, In These Times (May 2, 2019)

Chicago charter school teachers have launched the first multi-employer strike charter school strike. The teachers are demanding increased funding for counseling and mental health facilities in schools that serve underprivileged groups. The current strike follows last year’s first ever charter school walkout also in Chicago. 

After the 2018 Blue Wave, Republicans Are Making It Harder to Vote  Ari Berman, Mother Jones (May 3, 2019)

Republican-controlled states are taking steps to further suppress voters after Democrats made gains nationwide last November. State legislators in Florida, Texas and Arizona have passed bills to create additional hurdles to voting. This new wave of voter suppression is especially egregious after an election cycle where voter in many states supported initiatives that expanded the right to vote.  

Power Plays in the Anti-Semitic Blame Game Sarah Jaffe, The New Republic (May 6, 2019)

Right-wing cretins Meghan McCain and Ted Cruz reacted to the recent Chabad of Poway shooting by placing blame on Rep. Ilhan Omar for the rise in anti-semitic violence. These smears are just the latest part in an ongoing effort to pin anti-semitism on the left while ignoring the historical and current evidence that hatred of Jews has been fostered by white supremacists on the far-right.

What Happens to Hurricane Victims When Congress Can’t Function? Emily Atkin, The New Republic (May 6, 2019)

Congressional gridlock over relief for hurricane victims has serious implications for the cities that relief is supposed to help. While Republicans try to stop any bill that grants additional funding to Puerto Rico, residents of affected cities are starting to leave their damaged hometowns.

Sanctions Are Murder Branko Marcetic, Jacobin (May 6, 2019)

Calls for renewed sanctions against Venezuela have become bipartisan orthodoxy in the midst of the crisis of Juan Guaidó’s attempts to seize power. However, a recent CEPR study shows the devastation caused by current sanctions against against Venezuela. These harrowing statistics are in line with other sanctions campaigns against U.S. enemies that only serve to inflict maximum suffering.  

In a Polarized Spain, Voters Give the Socialists Another Chance Sebastiaan Faber and Bécquer Seguín, The Nation (April 30, 2019)

Amid fears that a hard-right coalition government could form in Spain, the Spanish center-left party won the most seats in their Parliamentary  hile a far-right party will enter Parliament for the first time, Spain’s ruling party has a chance to form a government governed by left parties.

Will the Teacher Strike Wave Hit Mississippi? Michael Arria, In These Times (April 30, 2019)

A poll conducted by the Mississippi Association of Educators found that a majority of Mississippi teachers would support a one-day walk-out and a sizeable portion would support a strike. The poll comes after the state legislature had voted for an unsatisfactory teacher pay raise and snuck in money for a voucher program.

Establishment Media and the Green New Deal: New Wine in Old Bottles Miranda C. Spencer, FAIR (May 1, 2019)

Media coverage of the proposal for a Green New Deal has been infrequent and often focused on anything but the necessity for immediate action to address climate change. Most articles often focus on the political maneuvering behind the proposed bill or hand wringing over economic costs.  

Corporate Media Are Here to Warn You: Medicare for All Is a Very Bad Idea Alan MacLeod, FAIR (April 29, 2019)

Mainstream press is ringing the alarm bells over the increasingly popular proposal for a Medicare-for-All healthcare system. Media outlets and think tanks, who often receive funding from private insurance, deployed all the familiar used to discredit progressive legislation such as appeals to electability, fear of cost and publishing warnings from Democrats’ “Republican friends.”