April 26, 2023
Demand a Supreme Court code of ethics, advance the Equal Rights Amendment, uphold child labor protections, and more!
Contact all members of Congress:
- By phone: (202) 224-3121
- By email: democracy.io
- By US mail: Representatives / Senators
- By fax: Representatives / Senators
- By Resistbot: Resist.bot
Contact White House or other federal agencies:
- WHAT SUPREME COURT ETHICS?This week has seen another round of revelations of corruption on the Supreme Court, as Justice Clarence Thomas failed to recuse himself from a 2004 appeal tied to his benefactor Harlan Crow’s family business, and Justice Neil Gorsuch failed to disclose the buyer of a long-on-the-market property he sold days after his confirmation was the chief executive of a law firm with frequent business before the Court. Unlike other courts in the United States, the Supreme Court has no code of ethics. After the Clarence Thomas revelation by ProPublica, “the justices are facing increasing pressure to adopt a formal code of ethics similar to the one that binds lower court judges.” Clearly, there is a need for a code of ethics at our highest judicial level. As the Supreme Court is not moving on addressing this issue, both houses of Congress have done so by offering the Supreme Court Ethics, Recusal, and Transparency Act of 2023 (H.R. 926/S. 359).These bills remain in committee. Let’s contact our members of Congress and ask them to co-sponsor/support these bills and get this important legislation passed.
- ERA VOTEIt’s been announced that the Senate could vote on the ERA yet this week. If approved by both houses, this bipartisan joint resolution, entitled A joint resolution removing the deadline for the ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment (S.J.Res.4), would allow the completion of the work done over 50 years ago to prohibit discrimination based on sex. Let’s contact our federal senators and representatives to tell them we think this is way past due.
- NO LABELS THIRD PARTYWith President Biden announcing his reelection bid yesterday, it’s a good time to talk about No Labels. No Labels is a political party that was established in 2010 claiming to be a centrist, bipartisan organization supporting centrist policies and programs. In so many ways, the thought of that kind of coming together is appealing to many who are fed up with current cutthroat, divisive politics. However, upon closer inspection, this group is a fox in sheep’s clothing, and it is trying to advance a third-party candidate for the 2024 presidential election. While the chances of a third-party winning are small, another third-party candidate could further divide the electorate most likely in favor of the GOP. It is also troubling that Harlan Crow, the now infamous patron/friend of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, is a major donor. Crow also is a big donor to GOP members of the Senate Judiciary Committee. When we hear news of this group, let’s steer clear and remember that this group is not who they claim to be.
- SPEAK OUT AGAINST LAWS REDUCING CHILD LABOR RESTRICTIONS A growing number of states are loosening restrictions on child labor, potentially leading to situations that can put children in dangerous working environments. This is especially dangerous to undocumented minors who can be forced to work in inappropriate settings after being released to distant relative or non-relative sponsors. Many of these laws are passing swiftly under the radar. Let’s tell our state legislators to oppose any bills that loosen restrictions on child labor, and let’s ask our federal MoCs to codify legislation that puts the safety and wellbeing of children in the forefront.
- FACEBOOK CASH SETTLEMENT FOR USERSIn 2018, Cambridge Analytica, a pro-Trump firm, and Facebook caused a breach of the personal data of 87 million people. Facebook parent, Meta, has agreed to pay a $725 million privacy settlement. Anyone in the US who has had a Facebook account since May 24, 2007 can now apply for their portion of that settlement. The deadline for applying is August 25, 2023, at 11:59 PM PT. Let’s use this form to make our claim.
STATE-SPECIFIC ACTIONS
- WINNING PROGRESSIVE BALLOT QUESTIONS IN RED STATES: After the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, six states passed citizen-led ballot questions upholding abortion rights and reproductive freedom. It’s a sore point for the GOP, and states dominated by GOP lawmakers are pushing legislation that will make it harder to get referendum questions on the ballot. The Fairness Project runs ballot measure campaigns to advance progressive policies in red, purple, and blue states—and more often than not, they win. Let’s look at their list of ballot measure campaigns, and if there’s an active campaign in our state, let’s get involved.