What's Up, Marcy?

What's up, Marcy?
rally photos by C.A. & A.J. Matthews

What's up, Representative Marcy Kaptur? She has refused  to co-sponsor the Medicare For All (HR 1384) Bill in the House, and now she refuses to sign the "No War with Iran Resolution" (HR 2354). It's very confusing since Kaptur (D), our longest serving Congresswoman representing Ohio's 9th district,  previously supported the Sanders-Conyers Medicare For All Bill. 

What's up, Marcy? We know you can do better than this. Much better!

On the picket line, the nurses of St. Vincent Mercy Health picketed alone that day, their fellow medical tech workers having signed a separate contract to return to work earlier in he week. Our Revolution (National), traveling across the country in their Medicare For All van, stopped by Toledo to rally with the striking nurses and local activists.  A national Medicare For All program would help the nurses deal with their current mediocre health insurance coverage. It could possibly help with the extra long hours they've been forced to work due to staffing shortages (because the Bon Secours Corporation that runs their "charity" Catholic hospital chain expects higher profits). If the corporation didn't have to pay health care benefits to its workers because they had Medicare For All, then they could afford to hire more nurses and med techs, right?

Speakers at the Medicare For All protest in front of St. V's included the national director of Our Revolution and local OR leader Dennis Slotnick who also represents the Ohio Single Payer Action Network. Nancy Larson, a candidate for state office in 2020, spoke out as well as Stefania Czech, candidate for Toledo City Council District 2, Quinn Albright, a young activist representing the newly formed Northwest Ohio Democratic Socialists of America, physician-activist Dr. Jon Ross, and Adrian Matthews, a British national and proponent of socialized health care. 

After the rally, the crowd headed to Rep. Kaptur's local office downtown to present her staff a petition stating the voters' desire for Marcy to become a co-sponsor of HB 1384.

Unfortunately within a few days of the rally the St. Vincent nurses left the picket line when their union (UAW) folded and told them the strike was over. None of their demands for increased staffing and less mandatory overtime were addressed.

 

Two days later, another protest formed in front of Rep. Marcy Kaptur's office building located downtown at Maritime Plaza. The Northwest Ohio Peace Coalition had been planning the peace protest rally to inspire Rep. Kaptur to sign HR 2354 for some time when the story of two oil tankers in the Gulf of Oman, supposedly hit by Iranian missiles, monopolized the mainstream news feeds.

Many of the activists at the No War on Iran rally expressed surprise and disappointment in the Democratic  Congresswoman. Why hadn't she signed onto the resolution? What could be holding her back? 

It's difficult to know for sure, but Ohio has always been a favorite of Big Oil lobbying interests. Big Oil could realize some massively big profits in taking over Middle Eastern oil fields and shipping lanes. War is a profitable business after all. Is the answer to why Marcy Kaptur hasn't been more vocal on this issue simply "the money is too good to ignore"?

We're very disappointed if it is simply the lobbyists' cash motivating the congresswoman's non-action. You can do better than this, Marcy. Much better!

Our children's futures are at stake here. Without decent, universal health care, many of their futures will be shortened. With more wars for oil, their world becomes an even unsafer place to live in than it already is. 

Marcy--what's up? We can't afford to wait for leadership on these issues. All our  lives are hanging in the balance. Listen to these activists. Step up! 

Call your Congressmember today at https://www.callmycongress.com/ 

 ***

From Food & Water Watch

There’s a fast-moving amendment in the House of Representatives that would stop Trump's Department of Energy from financially backing dirty energy projects masquerading as clean energy projects.

A full House vote could happen any time this week, and you can help keep the pressure on by taking action TODAY — tell your representative we need more renewable energy, not dirty fossil fuel projects.

Congresswomen Ilhan Omar (D-MN) and Pramila Jayapal (D-WA) introduced an amendment that would require the Department of Energy to only back energy projects that address and mitigate climate change.

The amendment passed out of a House Committee last week, and it’s headed to the Floor. Make sure your representative is on board!

What would this amendment do? Energy companies would have to demonstrate how proposed projects would meet heightened standards. One affected project is the proposed massive petrochemical build-out in Appalachia. This enormous network of infrastructure is intended to store and process dirty fossil fuels in order to churn out more plastic. This amendment would effectively hold back the Department of Energy from quickly deciding to financially back the project.

Ultimately, we need comprehensive legislation that would move us to 100% clean, renewable energy on a swift timeline, but this amendment is a great step in the right direction.

Officially, it’s called Amendment 105 to Rule 2 on HR 2740, the Omar-Jayapal Amendment. Here at Food & Water Watch, we're calling it what it is — a really big deal and the result of hard work by activists around the country.

We got this far, but now we have a small window of time to urge the rest of the House to stand in support.

Our allies and activists fighting back against projects like the Appalachia petrochemical hub need your support at this critical moment. Tell your representative to support the amendment and stand against a fossil fuel future.

Thanks for taking action,

Amanda Byrnes
Online Organizing Manager
Food & Water Watch
 

***

From the United Church of Christ:

Stop the Detention of Children

Mark 9:37 tells us that “Whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes not me but the one who sent me.” As people of faith we are called to care for, welcome and cherish all humanity. The children who come to our border are often fleeing violence and poverty and have endured a long and dangerous journey. They should be met with care and kindness. Once here, every measure should be made that they be placed with family and community sponsors. Instead, as of now, more than 2,500 children are being held in a “child detention facility” in Homestead, Florida.

Contact your members of Congress to let them know this is no way to treat anyone, especially the most vulnerable among us, children. We need to invest in ways to unite families and ensure the best continuum of care for children. Please urge your member of Congress to support the “Shut Down Prison Camps Act” and the “Families Not Facilities Act.” These legislative measures make sure that the government can’t house children in substandard “emergency influx shelters” like Homestead. They also make sure that it’s easier to place children with sponsors by prohibiting the sharing of information with the Department of Homeland Security that could be used to detain and deport family members who come forward to sponsor children.





Wednesday, June 17, 2015, is the day that my life changed.

As a hospital trauma chaplain I have experienced grief, tragedy, pain, and loss as I worked to comfort patients and families in their time of need. But that night four years ago, I was the person in need of comforting when I received a telephone call that no American should get: My mother and two of my cousins had been shot and killed in church along with 6 other parishioners at the Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, South Carolina. A white supremacist shot and killed 9 churchgoers as they prayed.

I lost so much in that senseless attack. And since then, hate crimes have been on the rise, resulting in more people being targeted simply because of their identity.

When hate-filled individuals are armed with a gun, their actions often become deadly.

The shooter targeted parishioners at Emanuel AME simply because of the color of their skin. Along with so many Americans, I was baffled at how such a hate-filled man was able to get his hands on a gun. That's why today I ask you to join me and support federal legislation to keep guns away from people convicted of a hate crime. It's one important step we can take to end hate-fueled gun violence. Add your name to ask the U.S. House of Representatives to pass the Disarm Hate Act of 2019.

  Thank you for being with me in the movement against hate and gun violence,
Reverend Sharon Risher
Everytown Survivor Network

P.S. If you are a survivor of gun violence or have a loved one who has been wounded or killed by gun violence, you can share your story on our Moments That Survive Memory Wall with the stories of other survivors of gun violence.

The D.C. "Bubble" Is Real

Mrs. Matthews Goes to Washington...

(And Discovers the D.C. "Bubble" Is Real)

words and photos by Cindy A. Matthews

It's been pointed out how our office holders in Washington D.C. live in a "bubble" and have little idea (or is it interest?) of what is happening outside of the bubble. They exist inside the small and cozy world of politics, busily wheeling and dealing with their peers. The struggles of ordinary Americans couldn't be further from their minds. To live "inside the beltway" is to ignore the rest of the country, its needs and desires. This disconnect with the voters could very well lead to dire consequences, as recent presidential election results demonstrate.

I caught a glimpse into this inside-the-beltway mindset recently on an "unpaid lobbying" trip to our nation's capital. I joined a citizens' activist group from Ohio along with others from West Virginia, Indiana, and Kentucky. We traveled to D.C. to meet with twenty-six congressional offices to help build support for the Return to Prudent Banking Act introduced by Representative Marcy Kaptur (D-OH, 9th District). Better known as the New Glass-Steagall, the bill would return American banking practices to the tenor of the original 1933 act signed into law by Franklin D. Roosevelt. The Glass-Steagall Act, which was repealed by Congress in 1999, made the big banks divest from the speculative, risky side of commercial banking, protecting the ordinary people's savings and home mortgages that had been lost in the devastating 1929 stock market crash, resulting in the Great Depression.

Congresswoman Kaptur at her press conference after the bill's introduction stated since the 2008 mortgage crisis the "mega-banks" (Citibank, Wells Fargo, Goldman-Sachs, etc.) have only grown in size. Their net worth has gone from being 17% of the gross domestic product to over 50%. All this wealth has been siphoned from ordinary Americans who lost their homes, their pensions and their 401Ks in the banking crisis, a frightening parallel to the situation that faced President Roosevelt. 

Many financial experts have stated a student loan debt crisis could dwarf the negative effects of the 2008 mortgage crisis and could happen anytime now. We must act quickly and decisively to prevent economic disaster by passing a New Glass-Steagall Act.

The heartening news is that both the Republican and Democratic Parties' Platforms say they want to reinstate Glass-Steagall regulations. Along with Kaptur, Representatives Walter Jones (R-NC), Tim Ryan (D-OH) and Tulsi Gabbard (D-HI) are co-sponsoring the bill. Even Mr. Trump stated during his campaign that he supported a return to the Glass-Steagall. White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer reiterated that Trump supported reinstituting the Glass-Steagall--not once, but twice at a press briefing. 

The citizen activists presented Congresswoman Kaptur with 637 signatures on letters addressed to President Trump reminding him of his campaign promise. At least three hundred more electronic signatures and comments were made online in the short span of a month, and the activists asked that these signed letters and electronic signatures be presented to Mr. Trump as a reminder of the thousands of others who would gladly sign if given a chance. Fifteen state legislatures have passed memorial resolutions supporting the tenets of the Return to Prudent Banking Act as well. 

Most Americans want real protections for consumers by prohibiting the transaction of banking activities by securities firms. With so much going for it, what could prevent the Return to Prudent Banking Act from becoming law? The banking and financial industries could spell the end of Kaptur's bill, as they have the greatest number of lobbyists on Capitol Hill and give the most contributions to campaign war chests of both Democrats and Republicans. Perhaps even more daunting is the inside-the-beltway mentality that affects our elected representatives' outlook on the situation. 

  

This was the most enlightening aspect of the entire trip--talking to the congressional staffers, the eyes, ears and brains of their bosses. I'm not kidding. Without these dedicated young people, our representatives would get nothing done (even if that's their real intent). The staffers we conversed with stated plainly that if they don't get a sense from their constituents that the New Glass-Steagall is important, then they will simply will advise their bosses not to waste time and energy supporting it, no matter how essential it could be for the good of our economy and the betterment of ordinary Americans.

This is true on any number of issues--fracking, health care, education, veteran's affairs, etc. If a congressperson or senator doesn't hear much on a particular topic, it doesn't register on their consciousness. They run (and I do mean run) in and out of the Capitol for votes and committee hearings all day long... They don't have time to waste on inconsequential things.

 

Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) isn't on board yet with the New Glass-Steagall. Why? He's too busy obstructing Trump's appointments at this time. Yes, that was his answer to our question if he would support a senate version of Rep. Kaptur's bill. It was disappointing, to say the least, but if that's the main topic he's heard from his staff...

So, what can we ordinary Americans do? If we can get several thousands of our friends, family members, colleagues and neighbors to write post cards and letters to their congressperson or senator, the staffers will have to take notice of our concerns. They will be forced to bring up the subject with their boss. We learned that congressional offices receive anywhere between 50,000 to 60,000 letters per year . You can see where things can get lost and confused in the volume of correspondence, but a huge stack of letters on one subject--say, the Return of the Prudent Banking Act--will catch their attention. These staffers will then inform their boss how important this issue seems to be to potential voters. That could make all the difference in a bill gaining a new sponsor and increase its chance of becoming a law.

Showing up in person at your representative's  D.C. or local office when he/she is home and asking questions at town halls makes a big impression on them. Now is not the time to be shy. Now is the time to concentrate on focusing your elected officials' attention on  important issues. 

 

Sen. Portman's Coffee Meet & Greet

But is there anything we can do to break the "bubble" that keeps our elected officials separate from the rest of us unwashed masses once and for all? It's a question that haunts me. 

Everyone--and I do mean everyone--we met in D.C. was extremely polite and professional. Their manners, clothing, hairstyles, culture, the hallways... You name it and it's polite and professional. It is a cozy, little world where a representative or senator from a far distant state, homesick and lonely, has only his/her professional colleagues for companions in town. They hang out with their "co-workers" a lot after hours, you could say. (Congressional office suites are not separated by state or party affiliation, but by seniority and wherever they can squeeze you in. Literally. We met one staffer on the top floor that used to be used for storage until recent times. Their office suite is a renovated storage closet!)

 

The kindly Sen. Rob Portman (R-OH) supports fracking.

Believe it or not, I didn't notice any animosities between staffers or representatives of the two establishment parties. It's all "one big happy family" in the Congressional offices in Washington D.C. They really do get along and treat each other with outward respect--no matter how tough they try to portray themselves standing against the opposition. This polite milieu is clearly evident and extends to all visitors. I shook hands with Republicans who want to get rid of the A.C.A.--something that's been keeping me alive these past few years--and I felt nothing but respect and admiration for these kind and genteel individuals, even knowing their voting records.

It's a very nice feeling when everyone gets along and stays busy, but this is where the bubble or the inside-the-beltway mentality does its most damage, in my opinion. There's no need for our elected representatives to be accountable to us because they're accountable to their buddies on the Hill who they see daily and get along with so well. Yeah, that must be it. Why be worried or bothered about what people hundreds or thousands of miles away are thinking when your whole social world fits inside the tiny District of Columbia and its environs? (Surveys show that seven of the richest counties in the U.S. encircle our nation's capital. Rich and comfortable. What's not to love? Why ever go home and deal with those noisy constituents?)

Just as we voters need to make our physical presence known to our policy makers, they in turn need to get out of their gilded Congressional offices and see more of us in the flesh. They need to see the reality we deal with on a daily basis. Senator Bernie Sanders stated he didn't know half as much about the suffering of his fellow Americans until he started touring some of the poorest and hardest-hit-in-the-recession areas of the country during his presidential campaign--and he is humble enough to admit it.  

Think, what if we could make that  mind-opening experience of touring the country's economically hardest hit places mandatory for all elected officials? The bubble would burst and never reform. One would hope the wake-up call would change their hearts at least.

***

Speaking of Bernie Sanders... Here's a funny story about my futile attempts to meet him in person.

Desperately Seeking Bernie

by C.A. Matthews

I've been trying to shake Sen. Bernie Sanders hand  since May 2015. It's a mission of mine--sort of like seeking the Holy Grail was for King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table. However, so far no success. 

After attending three presidential campaign rallies (one where I worked as a volunteer), one health care rally, a trip to Philadelphia during the Democratic National Convention (didn't see him in the flesh there, alas), and a visit to the inner hallways of the senate office buildings, surely now was the time I'd have my chance to shake my progressive idol's hand and tell him how much I admired him and all he's done for America.

But it wasn't meant to be.

It's not that we didn't actually see Bernie--because we did.  Yes, we saw him for a whole split second. We stopped by Sen. Sanders' senate office between our visits to see others in the same building to catch a glimpse of his name plaque and Vermont flag. Our group took numerous photos of his office--even posing with the large cardboard cut-out of a dairy cow courtesy of Ben and Jerry's. But our only glimpse of Bernie was when he darted into his "private entrance" door as we quickly waved at him in the hallway.

I shouted, "Hi! We're visiting from Ohio. We love you, Bernie!" And then he was gone.

We asked his office staffers if we could shake Bernie's hand quickly and snap a photo, but they said we'd have to make an appointment to do so since the senator was very busy. Next week sometime was the earliest opening. Since we were leaving the next day, we told them thanks, but no thanks.

I guess I should be happy. If I'd finally succeeded after so many attempts to shake Bernie's hand, the universe might have winked out of existence. So, my quest for the "Grail" will continue. Before we left the hallway, I lightly touched the door handle Bernie had last touched. Not quite a handshake, but it'll have to do for a Berner who'd traveled so far... Well that, and a snapshot of me beside a Ben and Jerry's cardboard cow.

 ***

Celebrating Diversity and Unity in Greater Toledo

The Islamic Center of Greater Toledo hosted the Unified Prayer for Peace event on a sunny Sunday afternoon, opening its doors to all to come and stand united in their commitment to peace and understanding in our country in the wake of the Trump administration's ban on those coming from primarily Muslim countries. Over five hundred were in attendance, including Representative Marcy Kaptur (D-OH, 9th District) and Toledo city council member Peter Ujvagi, a proud Hungarian immigrant.

A "Unified Prayer For Peace" was lead by Imam Talal Eid. Congregation president Nadia Ashraf-Moghul and Iman Eid both spoke about the support and love they've experienced from the surrounding community over the years. They felt recent actions by our government against immigrants and Green Card holders of Muslim descent did not reflect the true generosity of spirit most Americans demonstrate daily in the Greater Toledo area. 

After the short program, the public was treated to a free dinner featuring ethnic foods as well as coffee and doughnuts.  On their Facebook page, the ICGT stated: "The Islamic Center of Greater Toledo thanks you, our amazing Greater Toledo area friends who came out in great numbers to pray with us. We thank our gracious guests, our beloved Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur, Councilman Peter Ujvagi, Ms. Joan Schroeder and TK Barger for speaking wonderful words of wisdom. To our guests, you are always welcome to your mosque and your mosque is always open to friends and neighbors. May God Bless you all and Bless our country."

Perhaps the idea of diverse communities cooperating and growing in tolerance and compassion toward one another seems impossible to some, but the Islamic Center of Greater Toledo and the Northwest Ohio area have proven once again how wrong that cynical outlook can be.