U.S. Rep. Barbara Lee will not attend the inauguration of Donald J. Trump on Jan. 20. She explains why:Inaugurations are celebratory events, a time to welcome the peaceful transition of power and honor the new administration. On Jan. 20, I will not be celebrating or honoring an incoming president who rode racism, sexism, xenophobia and bigotry to the White House.Donald Trump ran one.... Read More
Right-wing Republicans can’t keep their minds and taxpayers’ dollars out of the toilet. During the first week of 2017, GOP lawmakers in five states introduced bills to make transgender people use restrooms corresponding to their gender at birth rather than their current gender identity.Three other states filed so-called “bathroom bills” last year for introduction in this year’s legisla.... Read More
The National Press Club raised concerns this week about President-elect Donald Trump's continual use of the phrase "fake news" to criticize news stories that he disagrees with or that displease him.In his Jan. 11 news conference, Trump refused to field questions from certain reporters, accusing one journalist of working for a "terrible" organization and referring to an outlet represented by .... Read More
President-elect Donald Trump’s planned arrangement with the Trump Organization falls far short of what’s necessary to avoid conflicts of interest and Emoluments Clause violations that will dog his administration and severely undermine the public’s faith in government.Common Cause has called on President-elect Trump to divest from the Trump Organization and put his wealth into a blind trust.... Read More
According to a report published by the Milwaukee Homicide Review Commission in 2013 entitled “Estimating the Number of Sex Trafficked Youth Using Contacts with Milwaukee Police Department,” more than 77 youth below the age of 17 were trafficked in our city. This information is now more than 3 years old and does not account for adults.There are many great organizations working to fight huma.... Read More
After months of reviewing public comments, the National Park Service announced director Jonathan Jarvis signed and finalized "Director’s Order #21," a policy allowing federal parks to seek donations from corporate vendors, allowing the parks service to partner with alcohol companies, dropping the policy that parks must be free of commercialism and lifting restrictions on naming rights in park.... Read More
Right-wing Republicans can’t keep their minds and taxpayers’ dollars out of the toilet. During the first week of 2017, GOP lawmakers in five states introduced bathroom laws to make transgender people use restrooms corresponding to their gender at birth rather than their current gender identity.Three other states filed so-called “bathroom bills” last year for introduction in this year�.... Read More
America’s president-elect famously promised to “drain the swamp.” Surrounding himself with alligators is a curious way of going about making good on that promise. Alligators like swamps.Donald Trump hasn’t made all of his appointments yet, but the cast of characters he’s pulled together so far has more wealth between them than the poorest one-third of American households. That’s 17 .... Read More
On Aug. 14, after a night of unrest prompted by the fatal police shooting of a black man, Milwaukee Police Chief Ed Flynn said his review of body camera video of the incident proved the officer had acted appropriately.“The individual did turn toward the officer with a firearm in his hand,” Flynn stated, later saying the man, 23-year-old Sylville Smith, “was raising up with” the gun.M.... Read More
NAACP president and CEO Cornell William Brooks issued the following statement opposing the nomination of U.S. Sen. Jeff Sessions as attorney general:America yet stands at the beginning of presidential administration but also in the middle of a Twitter age civil rights movement based on old divisions.U.S. Sen. Jefferson Beauregard Sessions is among the worst possible nominees for attorne.... Read More
