You can make a difference
Part of the important work on Racial Justice. For those who missed it!! Here is the link and passcode to view our event, RaciallyCharged: America’s Misdemeanor Problem. You can view the screening and the important discussion by Akili Shakur from BLM NWI-Gary and Saving Our Families as well as our other Indivisible partners in INDIANA. Click here to view the screening. Use passcode: jhD!j?4f to watch.
We need national fair election laws. Pew has released reliable polls from the 2020 election that are very bad news for for republicans and very good news for democrats.
Still, “The task for those of us who are terrified by the GOP’s current efforts to win elections by cheating–gerrymandering, vote suppression, placing unethical partisans in positions to oversee elections, etc.–is to work our fannies off to keep them from destroying democracy in the short run.” Read “Hopeful Signs,” another excellent blog post from Sheila Kennedy and see below for strategies to save democracy. Congressional action is imperative.
Contact our senators:
Todd Young: (202) 224-5623;
To email: https://www.young.senate.gov/contact/email-todd
Mike Braun: (202) 224-4814;
To email: https://www.braun.senate.gov/contact-mike
Find your representative and contact him or her.
Let’s do our part to help alleviate food insecurity, which is especially dire during these times.
Donate to or volunteer at Food Bank of NWI
For a list of local food pantries: https://www.foodpantries.org/st/indiana
Meals on Wheels, NWI: https://mownwi.org/
National
Enacted, signed by the President
S. 409: A bill to provide for the availability of amounts for customer education initiatives and non-awards expenses of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission Whistleblower Program, and for other purposes.
Congress
“The Senate returns from its Fourth of July recess this week while the House continues its break from floor work while holding remote hearings.” (Causes) Read more about the week ahead in Congress at Causes.
In other news
Eligible parents will begin receiving the first monthly installment of the new enhanced child tax credit starting on July 15. The payments, which could total as much as $300 for each child under age 6 and $250 for each one ages 6 to 17, will continue each month through December. The other half of the credit can be claimed at tax time next year. Use CNN’s child tax credit calculator to see how much you could receive. (CNN)
“A handful of recent studies have found that students are more engaged in school after taking classes that frankly discuss racism and bigotry — just as some educators like Mason fear such discussions could be threatened by a wave of broad state laws designed to limit the teaching of what some are calling “critical race theory.”” (Chalkbeat)
For the second time in seven weeks, Texas Democrats have left the state capital in Austin to break a quorum and deny Republican majorities in the legislature the ability to send legislation ― including a controversial election reform bill ― to the GOP governor’s desk. (Causes)
President Biden moved up the withdrawal of American troops from Afghanistan from September 11 to August 30. (Causes)
“The Justice Department has agreed to pay $6.1 million to a technology contractor to create a massive database of videos, photographs, documents and social media posts related to the Capitol riot as part of the process of turning relevant evidence over to defense attorneys for the more than 500 people facing criminal charges in the Jan. 6 events, according to a court filing and government records.” (Politico)
“President Joe Biden on Friday fired Social Security Commissioner Andrew Saul, a Trump administration appointee, after he refused to resign from the post.” (Politico)
Award-winning journalist Nikole Hannah-Jones announced that she has declined an offer of tenure from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC). Read her statement about her experiences, the process and her decision at the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund.
“Covid-19 vaccines saved hundreds of thousands of lives and prevented more than a million hospitalizations in the United States, according to new estimates from researchers at Yale University and the Commonwealth Fund.” (CNN Health)
To find and contact your Members of Congress: https://www.usa.gov/elected-officials
Indiana
Republican leaders plan to complete redistricting by October The Statehouse File
Indiana Citizen staff report. Indiana House Speaker Todd Huston and Senate President Pro Tem Rodric Bray are tentatively planning on completing …
A Marion County Judge has ruled in favor of Governor Eric Holcomb on two procedural motions involving his lawsuit against the Indiana General Assembly over who has the power to call special sessions. (Indy Politics)
Hoosier citizen advocacy groups want U.S. Sens. Todd Young (R-Ind.) and Mike Braun (R-Ind.) to vote for the federal voting reform bill known as the “For The People Act.” (WFIU)
“Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita is joining 36 other state attorneys general in a lawsuit against internet giant Google.” (WBOI)
Several new laws just became effective this month in Indiana. One of them updates the policy on marijuana use and driving. (WSBT)
The City of Fort Wayne and the Allen County Sheriff’s Department have denied allegations detailed in a pending excessive force lawsuit filed by a couple in U.S. District Court last month. (WANE-TV)
State troopers expect to be fully equipped with bodycams by the end of next month. (WIBC)
