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NEWSMAKERS JAn-JUN 2017


Love Nests and Love Fests

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Donald Trump, Jr:  "I love it."
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Elmer Gantry Is Alive And Well


Arizona Interfaith/IAF Leaders In Arizona Republic:
Health Care Bill A Danger To The People of Arizona
​
Will Cause Irreversible Harm

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COPA Expands Pilot Health Care Project to Cover 2,500 Undocumented

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Monterey Co., CA --  At the urging of COPAleadership, the Board of Supervisors of Monterey County unanimously voted to quadruple the size of COPA's healthcare pilot project from $500 thousand to $2 Million on an annual basis.

The expanded program will provide at least 2,500 low-income undocumented residents, including farm workers and their families, with full-scope primary and preventative care, labs, radiology, medication and specialty services.  A third-party administrator will be hired to issue enrollment cards, administer payments and track data.  All here including media from W/SWIAF.


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A Fight Worth Joining: Defeating Trumpcare In The US Senate 
By Frank C. Pierson, Jr.


Behind the clear, powerful voice of a cancer mom, Together Louisiana intensifies its campaign against Senate proposal to swap healthcare for tax cuts

April Blackburn voted for Bill Cassidy for his 2014 US Senate race. She met Senator Cassidy in person earlier in the year, where he assured her that he only would support a health bill if it assured that "families like hers would be taken care of" and would not "fall through the cracks."
April's three year-old daughter has leukemia. Her chemotherapy costs over $1 million. They are one of the families who could lose coverage from the proposed Medicaid cuts.
As the rubber hit the road on the Senate version of the federal healthcare overhaul, with an outline of the bill finally seeing the light of day this morning, April's worst fears for her family seem all too close at hand.
The hopes that the Senate version of the healthcare bill would be less "cruel" than the House version, to quote President Donald Trump, appear to have been wishful thinking. The bill's overall thrust is very similar to the House version. Its central function is not so much healthcare provision, but a swap of healthcare provision for tax cuts -- the scaling back of federal funds to states to pay for Medicaid, used mostly by poor people, would pay for tax cuts that primarily benefit wealthy, out-of state residents.
Louisiana would be one of the nation's biggest losers in this swap, according to data from the Louisiana Budget Project. The state, after all, has far more people who would lose coverage from Medicaid cuts than it does wealthy residents who would benefit from tax cuts.
April, for one, is fighting back. She worked with Together Baton Rouge to record one of the most powerful testimonies to come out of the health debate -- a simple statement of her family's situation and a challenge to Senator Cassidy to fulfill the commitment he made to her.
April Skains Blackburn, Bill Cassidy, Senator John Kennedy, Office of Governor John Bel Edwards

Intervention By Nevadans For The Common Good To Oppose Trumpcare And Defend Medicaid Expansion: Interfaith Leaders Play Key Role In Senator Dean Heller's "No"

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Nevadans for the Common Good leaders with Governor Sandoval
"As leaders of the interfaith community and Nevadans for the Common Good, we understand “true worship is to work for justice and care for the poor and oppressed” (Isaiah 58: 5-7).
For this reason, we are deeply concerned about how proposed cuts to Medicaid would affect the most vulnerable in our community. Medicaid provides life sustaining health care for more than 600,000 Nevadans, including children, pregnant women, the elderly, veterans, the working poor, and persons with disabilities.
Equal access to adequate health care affirms the dignity of every person. Medicaid coverage includes home and community-based services that keep many elderly and disabled Nevadans connected to their communities and out of the poverty of loneliness.
Under the leadership of Gov. Brian Sandoval, Nevada has made remarkable progress in improving access to health care. We have cut our uninsured rate in half – going from 24 percent to less than 12 percent of the population. We have added half a million people to the ranks of the insured in the last five years."   Read this superb opinion piece  by Nevadans for the Common Good in the Nevada Independent.

Jersey City religious leaders want "better deal" for Bayfront
Metro IAF Organization In The Thick Of It

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A group of over three dozen local pastors and activists today demanded to be a part of the process to select a developer for the 100-acre Bayfront site on the city's western waterfront.
The group, under the banner Jersey City Together, slammed recent reports that one of the three developers seeking to oversee the massive development intended to make it an Orthodox Jewish enclave. They spoke gathered in a parking lot on Route 440 with the fenced-in Bayfront site behind them.  Story here.

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Louisiana Senator Bill Cassidy

Breaking:  Together Louisiana/IAF To Intervene With Louisiana Senator Bill Cassidy On Trumpcare; Letter From High Powered Religious Leaders Points To June 30 Meeting; Letter With Complete List Of Signers Here


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Hey, Senator, If You Have No Clue About What's Happening With Trumpcare...  What About Us?
Senator Lisa Murkowski: “I just truly do not know, because I don’t know where it’s going,” she said.
We Ask: Stop Whining, Start Acting...Put The Public Back In Public Hearings


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Just Because He Looks Guilty Doesn't Mean He Is
​Pence Lawyers Up


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TRUMP OFFICIALS OVERSEEING HEALTH CARE OVERHAUL PREVIOUSLY LOBBIED FOR HEALTH INSURANCE FIRMS


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No Wonder They're Hiding Out
Public Opinion In Every State In The Union Against Trumpcare


CONECT/IAF
​Fighting For The Soul Of A Community:
Bridgeport, Connecticut

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Pastor Anthony Bennett of Mount Aery Baptist Church and other CONECT clergy and lay leaders gathered at the site of Jayson Negron's shooting on Fairfield Avenue in Bridgeport, Conn. With Negron's half-sister Jazmarie Melendez and aunt Grvon Torres, the group called for a more public investigation during a press conference on Friday, June 2, 2017
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The casket of 15-year-old Jayson Negron id carried to a waiting hearse following his funeral service at Funeraria Luz de Paz at 426 East Washington Avenue in Bridgeport, Conn. on Wednesday, May 17, 2017.
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The Rev. Teddy Hickman-Maynard of Bethel AME Church, center, and Jayson Negron's half-sister Jazmarie Melendez, right, listens to The Rev. Bernadette Hickman-Maynard of Bethel AME Church speaks to others gathered at the site of Negron's shooting on Fairfield Avenue in Bridgeport, Conn. CONECT clergy and lay leaders called for a more public investigation during a press conference on Friday, June 2, 2017.
BRIDGEPORT — Jazmarie Melendez crouched at the makeshift sidewalk memorial to her younger half-brother, Jayson Negron, killed a few feet away May 9 by a city police officer’s gun. 
Melendez placed fresh red roses around the site and gathered old, dead flowers in a milk crate. She admitted it is difficult visiting the location of her 15-year-old sibling’s death. 
“I don’t like coming here at all,” Melendez, 19, said.
But she did so Thursday to join with church leaders and demand better training and equipment for Bridgeport police and regular updates on the state-run investigation into the shooting. The event was organized by Congregations Organized for a New Connecticut, an organization made up of 25 churches, synagogues, and mosques.  
Media coverage here:
  • http://www.ctpost.com/local/article/Church-leaders-demand-cop-reforms-after-Negron-11191265.php#photo-12880254
  • http://fox61.com/2017/06/02/watch-live-clergy-leaders-speak-out-for-a-more-public-investigation-in-the-shooting-death-of-jayson-negron/
  • http://connecticut.news12.com/story/35575992/residents-rally-3-weeks-after-fatal-bridgeport-police-involved-shooting
  • www.ctpost.com/news/article/Michael-J-Daly-Give-community-real-role-with-11193633.php

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Catholic leaders back Trump over Pope on Paris Accord

Climate of Folly

Why Are Catholic Politicians Backing Trump on Paris?

"By using a word like “genocide,” Cardinal Bo is signaling that this is about as morally serious as it gets. In the famous list of infamies in Gaudium et spes, genocide pretty much tops the list. By this reckoning, undermining the Paris Agreement is signing the death warrants of untold numbers of people, the vast majority of them poor. Some of these people are alive today; some have yet to be born. But make no mistake: if you support Trump on this, you are formally cooperating with evil.

This brings me to the shameful reaction of some high-profile American Catholics. Paul Ryan, Newt Gingrich, and Rick Santorum have all come out in support of Trump’s decision. So have many right-wing Catholic activists who claim to be pro-life."  Story in Commonweal by Anthony Annett here.

A Very Big Win For IAF In Louisiana
Sweetheart Deals With Business Insiders Hammered
Giveaway Killed In State Senate Committee

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Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards
"Broderick Bagert, a representative of Together Baton Rouge, a coalition of church and civic groups, warned that the bill would tempt local government officials into making sweetheart deals with businesses to get the upfront infrastructure investments. He added that local government officials would be bound by those deals, no matter how bad it was.  Those arguments proved persuasive with the committee members."  Advocate story here.

IAF Media Gems
​REV. DAVID BRAWLEY WAS ANSWERING EAST BROOKLYN’S AFFORDABLE HOUSING PRAYERS LONG BEFORE DE BLASIO SWOOPED IN

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Greater Cleveland Congregations
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Cavs arena deal made better by critics, not politicians: Mark Naymik


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Metro IAF
​LI-CAN Launches Opioid Fight
Plus Key News From Metro IAF

Organized People In Great Fights Here


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Common Ground

Revitalization of the Washington High School outdoor sports facilities is gaining momentum!


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PCIC
​The Tucson City Council passed a new ordinance against SPICE! 


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United Power
​Community Initiative to ‘Reclaim Southwest Chicago’ Expands
By Maya Miller 


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VOICE
Fairfax Action (May 21, 2017)Update: 
There is much to celebrate! 

Major Victories and Commitments Here
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Calling Out Attorney General Jeff Sessions
Metro IAF:
 
"In short, Sessions must prove to a skeptical nation that he is a professional law enforcement officer and not a front for a failed ideology and a feckless President."  NY Daily News here.


​Incoming, Hopeful City Leaders Pledge to Help Rebuild Jackson, MS
Working Together Jackson, IAF In The Lead

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JACKSON — Concerned citizens and members of religious institutions gathered last week in the Emmanuel Missionary Baptist Church in south Jackson to ask the Democratic nominee for Jackson mayor, Chokwe Antar Lumumba, and several presumptive city-council candidates to pledge to help rebuild Jackson.
#Working Together Jackson, a coalition of faith-based and nonprofit organizations, hosted the forum called "The Rebuilding Jackson Accountability and Get Out the Vote Assembly." WTJ has a history of meeting with mayoral and city council candidates to ask them to, if elected, publicly pledge to hold themselves accountable in helping rebuild the capital city and meet regularly with WTJ to find solutions to city issues.
Jackson Free Press story

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Not looking good

"Special Prosecutor For Trump/Russia Investigation Is A Disaster"
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Dick Morris Foresees Big Trouble Ahead For Trump

​The Rats, The Ship And The Future Of The Presidency 

"In appointing a prosecutor, Rosenstein has killed this Administration’s ability to function. No health care overhaul. No tax cuts. No government reform. All while we await the results of a nothing investigation into a nothing scandal."  A big fat nothing.

Trump revealed highly classified information to Russian diplomats

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“It is all kind of shocking,” said a former senior U.S. official who is close to current administration officials. “Trump seems to be very reckless and doesn’t grasp the gravity of the things he’s dealing with, especially when it comes to intelligence and national security. And it’s all clouded because of this problem he has with Russia.”  Washington Post breaks the story.

VOICE-OKC, Allies Stop Payday Legislation with Governor’s Veto

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From swiaf.org:  After HB1913 passed, threatening to triple the cap on small personal loans and boost the maximum interest rate to 204% per year, VOICE leaders and allies persisted in their fight against the bill.
Leaders publicly called on Governor Mary Fallin to veto the bill, on television and in writing arguing, as did Fr. Tim Luschen, that the bill is “not anything that can make our community a better place.”
In her veto message, Governor Fallin urged legislators to consult with “all stakeholders,” including consumer advocates, if they choose to revisit the issue.
Oklahoma Governor Fallin Vetoes Payday Loan Bill, The Oklahoman
Churches, Charities Asking Gov. Mary Fallin to Veto Payday Loan Bill, KOCO TV
Oklahoma Priest: Legislature Should Reject High Interest Loan Bill, The Oklahoman[pdf]

Yes In My Back Yard
Lake County United Backs Behavioral Health Hospital 

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Instead of the rancor, divisiveness and anxiety that greet so many new proposals, the issue before the village board of Vernon Hills generated support, agreement and a broad-based desire to see one of the greatest unmet needs in the village and the county addressed with a mental health facility capable of treating people struggling with mental illness and families overwhelmed by their attempts to find appropriate and high-quality mental health services for their loved ones.  Daily Herald story here.

Common Ground/IAF Assembly: A Bilingual First

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Common Ground held a landmark action on April 26, conducting its first bilingual Delegates’ Assembly at the largest Latino parish in Milwaukee, St. Adalbert’s, located on the south side. 44 organizations and 750 leaders of all ages and backgrounds were represented, each dedicated to making Milwaukee a better place for everyone to live.
The focus was on stronger crime prevention and more respectful, productive interaction between police and the community along with jobs & job training.

Metro IAF Gets It Right
Grass-roots activists call for $1 billion in annual Metro funding — and they have a plan

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Metro Industrial Areas Foundation packed a downtown church Sunday
Several faith- and community-based organizations say Metro needs $1 billion a year in dedicated funding, and they’ve come up with a proposal that includes a mix of sales, gas and property taxes that leaders say will beef up service levels and preserve jobs while addressing the system’s long-term needs.
Scores of grass-roots activists with the Metro Industrial Areas Foundation packed a downtown church Sunday to rally support and present the plan — a medley of investment and savings proposals without the labor concessions sought by Metro General Manager Paul J. Wiedefeld and politicians.
All in WaPo here.

Citizens Haven't Read It
The CBO Hasn't Scored It

Trumpcare Tries To Stagger Forward In Sewer Of Congressional Hypocrisy
 

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House Republicans are once again fast-tracking consideration of their ObamaCare replacement bill without knowing the full impact of the legislation they’ll vote on Thursday.
The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) is not expected to have completed its analysis detailing the effects of the latest changes to the legislation overhauling the nation’s healthcare system in time for the Thursday vote.
Leadership’s decision to press ahead with the floor action means lawmakers will be voting on the bill without updated figures from their nonpartisan scorekeeper on how many people would lose coverage under the bill or how much it would cost.

Expunging Ghost of Fayette Place
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Durham CAN

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For nearly a decade, the ghost of the Fayette Place public housing community has haunted the edge of downtown Durham.
Now, after a year of dogged effort by an advocacy group, community residents, the Durham Housing Authority and several Durham officials, the site -- an eyesore and a reminder of past mismanagement and dubious decisions -- may be on the cusp of new life. Monday night, at meeting hosted by Durham Congregations, Associations and Neighborhoods (Durham CAN), five City Council members agreed to support repurchasing the project, probably with a loan or grant to the Durham Housing Authority.

Read more here: http://www.heraldsun.com/opinion/article147817734.html#storylink=cpy


Trump's Pants On Fire
Stone Cold Phony Claims For Trumpcare Cause Big Burn 

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President Ponders: What Would Duterte Do?  


Northern And Central Louisiana Interfaith Drives Change

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Rev. Theron Jackson, Pastor, Morningstar Missionary Baptist Church, Shreveport, LA
The tax exemption was created to encourage manufacturers to expand their facilities or re-locate to the state, creating new permanent jobs. Interfaith is not opposed to the exemption. However, it has been abused over the years and millions of dollars in local taxes have been lost
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Interfaith/Together Louisiana got Gov. John Bel Edwards to sign an executive order revamping the way exemptions are granted. And, for the first time, local entities have input on the requests.  Shreveport Times opinion here. 

“Where there is no vision the people perish.” Our vision is to address the crime issue by moving poor families out of poverty, upgrading their skills and helping them to make lifestyle changes that break the cycle of poverty.

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Rev. John Henson, Pastor, Church for the Highlands, Shreveport, LA
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Beleaguered House Speaker Paul Ryan shuns collaboration
LA Times story by Noam N Levey

GOP shuts out doctors, experts, Democrats — pretty much everybody — as they work on Obamacare repeal
“To think you are going to revamp the entire American healthcare system without involving any of the people who actually deliver healthcare is insanity,” said Sister Carol Keehan, president of the Catholic Health Assn., whose members include many of the nation’s largest medical systems."


Msgr Arsenio Carrillo Dies
A Great Priest And Fighter For Justice
Played Key Role In Building Pima County Interfaith Council

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Metro IAF
April 2017 Edition Of Organized People In Great Fights

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Metro IAF in the News
  • In Boston, GBIO Fights Back Against Discrimination
    Tue Apr 25, 2017 -GBIO
  • BUILD: Baltimore Youth Hold Mayor Accountable 
    Tue Apr 25, 2017 -BUILD
  • United Power for Action & Justice: 150 Leaders Trained in Chicago Metropolitan Area
    Tue Apr 25, 2017 -UPAJ
  • East Brooklyn Congregations: Leaders Demand Safety, Housing Repairs from NYCHA and Transportation Commissioner
    Tue Apr 25, 2017 -DNA Info
  • Common Ground: Training Offered in Spanish for Latino Leaders in Milwaukee
    Tue Apr 25, 2017 -
    Common Ground

Residents Ask Durham City Council To Buy Back, Develop Abandoned Land
Five Of Six City Council Members: Yes!

“There are people all throughout the city that are coming out today to make sure that there is justice for this community,” said Ivan Parra with Durham CAN. “This used to be the center of the African-American community, many years ago, and we want to rebuild this community with local residents.”  Much more here.

Local Action In El Paso, TX Hits Candidates Hard
They Respond
All In A Days Work For EPISO and Border Interfaith

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Several hundred Border Interfaith and EPISO leaders assembled for an accountability session, one day before early voting began, to challenge candidates for Mayor, City Council and the Board of Trustees for El Paso and Ysleta School Board around the issues most impacting residents’ daily lives.  Specifically, leaders asked candidates to commit to: ensuring the completion of infrastructure projects on time, opposition to statewide anti-immigrant legislation, and support for the funding of Project ARRIBA to the tune of $1.5 million over five years. City candidates were also challenged to publicly support a living wage for subcontractors who work for the city government.
With the exception of one candidate, the El Paso Times reports that “nearly all the candidates answered yes on all the issues and pledged to support Border Interfaithand EPISO on their agendas.”
At the conclusion of the assembly, leaders in the audience were challenged to take note of candidate responses and communicate what they heard to at least ten voters each before Election Day.
[Photo Credit: David Burge / El Paso Times]
​Grassroots Democracy on Display During EPISO Event, El Paso Times [pdf]
Future City Leaders Answer Questions About Immigration, Infrastructure, KVIA  ABC 7[pdf]
Thanks to W/SWIAF (www.swiaf.org) for this and other timely updates!

Retiring Catholic Bishop Of Tucson Delivers Parting Shot At Trump's Anti-Immigrant Ideologues; AG Sessions Chided For Failure To Hear The Full Story

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Mold Busters In NYC Public Housing?  
Metro IAF Forces The Issue

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The new program kicks off May 1 but only targets 38 of NYCHA’s 328 developments. Metro Industrial Area Foundation, the community group that sued NYCHA to address this problem, described the new program as better-late-than-never.
“We hope that it works,” said the Rev. Getulio Cruz, pastor of Monte Sion Christian Church, and a Metro IAF leader. “However, this comes after decades of neglect by NYCHA and almost three years after they agreed in federal court to really address mold.”

The Gold Standard:  IAF Job Training Delivers Spectacular Results
West/Southwest IAF Signature Initiative - A National First
​Wage Improvements Continue To Grow Year After Year

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According to the study, which was released Tuesday, the average annual income for people who completed the Project Quest program in San Antonio rose to roughly $38,000 in their sixth year after enrolling. Even those who started but didn’t complete the program saw their average annual earnings jump to $28,000, more than double their average $11,400 annual income before entering.  Austin-Statesman story.

Success Breeds Success: Training Initiatives Modeled After Project Quest Prove Their Mettle In Diverse Regions Of The Country
JobPath; Project Quest; Capital IDEA; Project ARRIBA; VIDA
NOVA; Capital IDEA-Houston; Skill-Quest; Project IOWA; Arizona Career Pathways
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Career Connect Metro West


Nevadans For The Common Good Tees Up The Right Way To Address The Immigration Issue...
With Senator Catherine Cortez Masto

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"Fixing a broken immigration system does not start with a border wall with Mexico, U.S. Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto said Monday night. It starts with open conversation and collaborating toward solutions.
Cortez Masto, D-Nev., sent this message during an “Immigration Civic Academy” held by Nevadans for Common Good at All Saints Episcopal Church in Las Vegas. Cortez Masto cited figures that showed the number of undocumented immigrants entering the United States from the Mexican border has decreased in the past five years."  Review Journal story here.
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Nevadans for the Common Good is a broad-based coalition of institutions in the Las Vegas area. The organization has three basic goals: to build relationships across our community based on trust and a willingness to listen to each other; to equip members and leadership with skills and practices to get results; to achieve change on concrete issues, as part of a common call to justice.


Indivisible Hits Trump Hard
Failure To Release Tax Returns Threatens Agenda
More Than 100,000 Turn Out On Tax Day
What Is He Hiding?

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NYC Stonewalls Tenant Demands For Repairs As Hundreds Gather; "They don't clean, they don't fix"

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BUSHWICK — City workers refused to meet with around two hundred public housing tenants who demanded they show up at a Sunday assembly to discuss basic repairs needed in common areas at Hope Gardens building complex.
"I'm mad as hell," said David Brawley, a pastor at St. Paul's Community Baptist Church in East New York who's helping organize New York City Housing Authority residents at Hope Gardens and other Brooklyn developments. Brawley spoke with NYCHA Brooklyn director Phillip Calandrillo who said he wouldn't come to the Sunday meeting at St. Barbara's Church on Bleecker Street in Bushwick.               Story here: ​dnainfo.com

Input Zero: DeBlasio And His Minions Slam Door On Public
Contructive Initiatives Ignored; Metro IAF Fights Back
Pastor/Leaders Call Him Out In The New York Daily News

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"This is not about our egos as pastors. It’s about the people we represent. Metro IAF is the largest organization of congregations, schools and homeowners associations in the city. Time is our most important resource, and we won’t waste it on people in power who aren’t ready to show our families respect."  NY Daily News Opinion

An Absolute IAF First:
Delegates Gain Commitments From Provincial Party Leaders; Accountability Assembly A Stunning Success!

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​So. Arizona Interfaith Changes State Law to Combat Drug

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Mold, Flooding, No Heat!
Jersey City Together/IAF Hammers Fat Cat Landlord
Investigation Confirms Hundreds Of Violations

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On Sunday, March 26th, 175+ tenant & Jersey City Together leaders gathered at St Paul's Episcopal Church to hold one of the city's largest landlords - Trendy Management - accountable. The owner, Esther Kaplan, had promised to attend, but cancelled at 12pm the day of the action. After tours of one of their buildings with leaders, press, & public officials, the city has begun systematically investigating their buildings. Inspections of the first 6 of their properties have resulted in more than 325 violations. The company owns more than 140 rent-controlled apartment buildings in Jersey City.
"Mold and Flooding, but no heat: Residents unite to take on Mega Landlord"
Jersey Journal (Caitlin Mota)
http://www.nj.com/hudson/index.ssf/2017/03/jersey_city_residents_with_no_heat_living_in_mold.html#incart_2box_hudson
"Jersey City Together Group helping tenants hold management company accountable"
Jersey City Independent (Ricardo Kaulessar) http://www.jerseycityindependent.com/2017/03/jersey-city-together-group-helping-tenants-hold-management-company-accountable/
"Mega-Landlord hit with 100+ violations after residents rally for action"
Jersey Journal (Caitlin Mota)
http://www.nj.com/hudson/index.ssf/2017/03/more_than_100_violations_for_mega-landlord_after_r.html#incart_river_index
"Here's hoping mayor keeps promise to hold mega-landlord accountable" (Op-Ed)
Op-Ed (Earl Morgan), Jersey Journal
http://www.nj.com/opinion/index.ssf/2017/04/heres_hoping_mayor_keeps_promise_to_hold_landlord.html#incart_river_index
"Another 200+ violations issued to Jersey City mega-landlord"
Jersey Journal (Caitlin Mota)
http://www.nj.com/hudson/index.ssf/2017/04/another_186_violations_issued_to_jersey_city_mega-.html#incart_2box_hudson
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Texas IAF Hammers State Legislators
Demand Support For Long Term Job Training

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Over 200 Network of Texas IAF Organization (NTO) leaders and Capital IDEA students and graduates landed at the Texas state capitol to pressure state representatives and senators to restore full funding of the Texas Innovative Adult Career Education Fund (ACE Fund), a state funds that support long-term workforce training, at $5 Million. The delegation additionally called on the legislature to support local control and oppose ant-immigrant legislation.  More here.

Justice United Campaign Pays Off
Orange County North Carolina IAF Organization Acts To Protect Immigrant Drivers From Oppressive Fines And Court Fees

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600 community members approve deal with Orange County, North Carolina District Attorney James Woodall.   Drivers denied licenses set to save tens of thousands of dollars a year in court fees and fines.

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Donald Trump, Man Without A Plan:​ Tough rhetoric, big promises — and no substance. 


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Indivisible
Maybe Long Term And Formidable?
Trump/Ryan Hope Not


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PictureRepublican Rep Dana Rohrabacher
Republican Representative Dana Rohrabacher said before the bill was pulled that voting it down would be "neutering Trump" while empowering his opponents.

"You don't cut the balls off a bull and then expect that he can go out and get the job done," Rohrabacher told Reuters. "This will emasculate Trump and we can't do that. ... If we bring this down now, Trump will have lost all of his leverage to pass whatever bill it is, whether it's the tax bill or whatever reforms that he wants."


Big Fight In Cleveland, Ohio! 
Greater Cleveland Congregations Battles For Community Equity Fund

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At issue in Q stadium upgrade: A dollar-for-dollar match of all public money for jobs for the unemployed, mental health and addiction support, and capital projects in distressed neighborhoods. New Alliance with Detroit Regional Interfaith Voice For Equity (DRIVE) extends reach, ramps up political consequences.    ​
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All in all a fascinating story, incredible media:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uspyepp-E1I
http://www.cleveland.com/naymik/index.ssf/2017/03/looking_for_cavs_owner_dan_gil.html 
http://www.wkyc.com/news/local/cleveland/cleveland-congregations-flock-to-detroit-protest-arena-plan/424321523
http://www.clevescene.com/scene-and-heard/archives/2017/03/21/gcc-takes-q-deal-opposition-to-dan-gilberts-doorstep-in-detroit
http://www.detroitnews.com/story/business/2017/03/21/rally-arena/99457324/
http://www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/detroit/2017/03/21/dan-gilbert-quicken-loans-arena/99452464/
http://www.mlive.com/news/detroit/index.ssf/2017/03/rally_outside_gilbert_offices.html
http://fox8.com/2017/03/21/cleveland-area-faith-leaders-take-q-renovation-complaints-to-detroit/ 

A Big Gray Cloud Hovers Over Trump
Presidency

“The longer this hangs out here, the bigger the cloud is,” panel Chairman Devin Nunes (R., Calif.) told Mr. Comey at the end of the hearing. “There is a big, gray cloud that you’ve put over people who have very important work to do to lead this country.”

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Actions That Matter:
Over 400 leaders from Manhattan Together and South Bronx Churches Sbc gathered with Comptroller Scott Stringer to push for more action on Special Education, NYCHA and to present new campaigns on immigration and homelessness. 

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He Promised:  President's Big Beautiful Wall
Calling All Prototypes; Trump Schemes Seizure Of Private Property
Homeland Security Dept. requests designs for Mexico border wall

Really Expensive, Really Dumb
The requests add that the government’s “nominal concept is for a 30-foot high wall.” The requests say the structure should include anti-climbing fixtures to make it impossible to scale, and be sturdy enough to at least temporarily withstand a variety of tools—such as chisels, battery-powered devices and torches—that could be used to breach it.
Story in Wall Street Journal

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While Trump Flounders, IAF Surges
Organized People In Great Fights
Metro IAF Reports Out:  March, 2017

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Tamir Rice, 12, shot to death by Cleveland police officer

Greater Cleveland Congregations
Challenges Slow Pace Of Police Reform

NY Times: Richard Gibson, the pastor of Elizabeth Baptist Church and the head of Greater Cleveland Congregations, an interfaith group, said on Wednesday that there was widespread frustration in Cleveland over the slow pace of police reform in the wake of the killings of Tamir and of Timothy Russell and Malissa Williams, two unarmed African-Americans who were fatally shot by the police after a car chase in 2012. (Six officers were later fired in connection with that case.) The recent suspensions “are just symptomatic of the fact that real reform has not yet occurred,” Pastor Gibson said. “They do not deter in any way the possibility of events like this recurring.


Turnaround Tuesday Delivers Living Wage Jobs In Baltimore
BUILD/IAF's Two Year Old Social Invention Powers Change

Read Michael Gecan's Commentary In The Baltimore Sun Here

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"Turnaround Tuesday had been operating for two years, based on BUILD's effective local organizing and the commitment of Baltimore's premier anchor institution, the Johns Hopkins University and Hospital, to hire hundreds of residents returning from prison or jail. To date, 274 people have already been hired to living wage jobs, and scores more are in the pipeline."


Surprise!   Breitbart Trashes Trumpcare
Plan Could Force 15 Million to Lose Health Coverage​

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Paul Ryan and Mike Pence are reportedly staggered by the scale and scope of the opposition to Trumpcare. Trump in virtual hiding. Golfing.

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Stumped

Shaun King, NY Daily News:  "Virtually every progressive grassroots movement in America right now is fueled by people outside of the Democratic Party ... this is a huge reason why the party is so outrageously unpopular."
But the Democratic Party seems to have no earthly idea why it is so damn unpopular 


Trumpcare Bellyflops: Now He Owns It
Plan To Ration Healthcare Draws Opposition On All Sides
POTUS Retires To Back Room With Speaker Ryan To Twist Arms
Ouch!

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Story About IAF Organizer Robert Hoo 
Las Vegas Review Journal

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Robert Hoo, Lead Organizer, Nevadans for the Common Good

Immigrant, refugee backers pack church to affirm Durham as inclusive

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DURHAM, NORTH CAROLINA 
More than 1,300 Latinos, Muslims, refugees, immigrants, their families and supporters filled Immaculate Conception Catholic Church on Sunday to affirm Durham as a city of inclusion.
The event, which organizers insisted was not a protest, was hosted by the N.C. Congress of Latino Organizations and Durham Congregations Associations and Neighborhoods and conducted in English and Spanish.
“We hope that as we leave here, we’re not going to be leaving with confusion but rather with hope,” said Banlly Baquedano, a representative of Iglesia Hispana Emanuel and mother of two.

Read more here: http://www.newsobserver.com/news/local/counties/durham-county/article136624523.html#storylink=cpy


Support Balloon Deflating?

Pro Trump Rallies Flop
President's Attempt To Call Out Supporters Flounders

OOPS!

Keystone Pipeline Won’t Have to Use U.S. Steel Despite Trump Pledge President said last week that Keystone must use American steel ‘or we’re not building one

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Trump Anti-Science Pathology Blooms:
White House proposes steep budget cut to leading climate science agency
Trump to Undo Vehicle Rules That Curb Global Warming​

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Greater Cleveland Congregations Goes Toe To Toe With Stadium Welfare

More than 200 people packed Cuyahoga County Council chambers Tuesday;   resolution to spend 282 million in tax dollars to renovate Quicken Loans Arena at issue.
​
Members of 
Greater Cleveland Congregations, a non-partisan coalition which represents 100,000 people across 43 congregations and partner organizations in Cuyahoga County, made up the bulk of the crowd.

"I find this deal unconscionable," said GCC member Donna Weinberger of Solon. "This deal is not fair, equitable and not the best we can do to bring vitality and growth to all our neighborhoods."   

Blow by blow in Cleveland.com here. 

Vital Local Work Goes On
IAF Digs In, Makes Change

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Huge Impact Documented:  WIN and Urban Matters Report on Affordable Housing Construction and Homelessness

​Together Louisiana Puts Teeth in Efforts to Rein In Corporate Subsidies

Metro IAF Documents Great Fights, Impressive Outcomes


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In December, Spicer said barring media access is what a ‘dictatorship’ does. Today, he barred media access


Morally Damaged Assault On Immigrant Communities Begins; Brutal Trump Crackdown Launched

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Will Terrorizing Immigrants Be Trump's Waterloo?
His Plan To Deport Millions Plays To His "Base" But Will He Suffer Bad Political Consequences?  Organized Citizen Pushback Could Devastate His Already Damaged Administration


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Bishop Robert McElroy Calls for Leaders to Act as Disrupters in the Face of ICE Raids, Anti-Muslim Bigotry, and Economic Exclusion


> Ps. 60 v.3
> Thou hast shewed thy people hard things: thou hast made us to drink the wine of astonishment.

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Struggles to regain mojo in campaign style event
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President Trump's rally Saturday in Melbourne, Florida drew a crowd of 9,000 according to local police enforcement.
Melbourne police tweeted, "All attendees now in the AeroMod hangar for the @realDonaldTrump rally. Total attendees at event = 9,000."Trump held an identical campaign event at this airport hangar during the general election in September. According to reports, 15,000 people attempted to attend the September rally, but some were turned away.

Donald Trump:  My Firing Of Flynn Was So Unfair

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Pudzer Blown Out As Labor Secretary
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​
Unfair! Cries Trump While Firing Him
"The Media Made Me Do It"

Puzder’s fate amplified the deteriorating relationship between White House and Capitol Hill, where bipartisan support grew on Wednesday for expanded investigations into ties between Trump, his presidential campaign and Russian officials.  WaPo here.

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The looming conflict between Trump’s immigration sweeps and religious freedom

Churches, in other words, may act to protect immigrants out of a sense of religious obligation. And that is where things might get tricky for the Trump administration.


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Durham CAN pushes for affordable housing on downtown lot


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Henderson City Council backs push to boost state funding for meal delivery program; Nevadans For The Common Good presses forward


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Who’s ‘Normalizing’ Donald Trump Now? The vulgarity and violence of the anti-Trump left may be helping the president.

Perhaps. But there’s a good argument that the Democrats are getting played. This was, in fact, the headline over a recent New York Daily News piece by Mike Gecan, co-director of the Industrial Areas Foundation—the same IAF that was co-founded by Saul Alinsky and helped inspire a young community organizer named Barack Obama.

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David Ignatius On The Arab Spring

The Arab Spring may seem like a distant memory, but a new report by a team of Arab and American analysts argues that across the Middle East people still feel the same yearning for better governance and rule of law that motivated protesters in Tahrir Square.

Despite these reversals, Arabs still embrace an agenda of better governance, according to the report, titled “
Arab Fractures: Citizens, States, and Social Contracts,” which was published last week by the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. The lead author was Marwan Muasher, a former Jordanian foreign minister. He was joined by three other Arabs and three Americans.

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Better Take Note:
Trump is targeting up to 8 million people for deportation.  Up to 8 million people in the country illegally could be considered priorities for deportation, according to calculations by the Los Angeles Times. They were based on interviews with experts who studied the order and two internal documents that signal immigration officials are taking an expansive view of Trump’s directive.

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The right way to resist Trump


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Decisive Progress In Baton Rouge Policing Led By Together Baton Rouge

Baton Rouge Police Department Union President Sgt. C. Bryan Taylor said Friday that he agrees with use-of-force policy changes Mayor-President Sharon Weston Broome announced on Thursday.

Together Baton Rouge leaders:
We congratulate Mayor-President Broome on this historic change in policy and are proud to have played a role in their development.

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Taxpayers Fund Eric Trump's Business Trip; So This Is How It's Going To Be?

"Although the Trumps have pledged a division between business and government, they will nevertheless depend on the publicly funded protection granted to the first family as they travel the globe promoting their brand."

"Despite the use of public funds, government agencies would not provide key details connected to the trip, including the duration of the stay, the name of the hotel or the number of booked rooms."

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​Federal judge halts Trump travel ban nationwide

A federal judge in Seattle issued a temporary nationwide restraining order Friday stopping President Trump's executive order banning citizens of seven Muslim-majority countries from entering the United States.

Judge James Robart, who was appointed by former President George Bush, ruled the executive order should be stopped nationwide, effective immediately.

"It's our president's duty to honor this ruling and I'll make sure he does," Washington attorney general Bob Ferguson said in a live statement following the ruling. "No one is above the law, not even the president."

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President Donald Trump and recently appointed NSC member Steve Bannon embrace

Trump's Mental Health An Issue; Bizarre, Hostile Behavior With Allies Triggers Alarm

Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah), the chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee. He told the Washington Post editorial board last week he wasn’t “talking about some of the rhetoric that’s flying around” about Trump, but, “If you’re going to have your hands on the nuclear codes, you should probably know what kind of mental state you’re in.”

“Trump is needlessly damaging the deep trust that binds one of America’s closest alliances,” said Professor Rory Medcalf, head of the National Security College at the Australian National University in Canberra. “China and those wishing to weaken the strongest alliance in the Pacific will see opportunity in this moment.”

Donald Trump is sowing diplomatic chaos around the world just two weeks into his presidency, as he feuds with world leaders and defends an unpredictable style that has alarmed friends and foes alike.

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How Democrats are getting played

A challenging opinion in the NY Daily News offered by Michael Gecan, Co-Director, Industrial Areas Foundation.

"The Trump team is following the Walker playbook, with some variations. Like Walker, it is running aggressive plays right from the start. It doesn’t have to feel out the opponents’ soft spots and tendencies. It knows them."

Read the rest here.


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Steve Bannon’s first major play is shaping up as a full-blown fiasco

 The resulting mess and intensified media scrutiny of Bannon’s role has ripped the lid off the teeming, ugly reality of Trumpism. The White House has sought to employ comically contorted euphemisms to mask the reality of this executive order. The nonstop claims that this isn’t a ban meant to target Muslims is belied by the history of this proposal and by Trump’s own words about it, which leave little doubt that its intent is discriminatory.

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Trump tells Mexico: 'I might send' U.S. military to take care of 'bad hombres'

Sabre Rattling President Threatens Iran And Mexico On The Same Day
"President 
Donald Trump threatened in a phone call with his Mexican counterpart to send U.S. troops to stop "bad hombres down there" unless the Mexican military does more to control them itself, according to an excerpt of a transcript of the conversation obtained by The Associated Press."
"I think your military is scared. Our military isn't, so I just might send them down to take care of it"

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President Trump's executive order halts refugee program for Central American kids


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Bishop Gerald Kicanas, Catholic Diocese of Tucson

Statement By Multi-Faith Leaders In Southern Arizona Challenges Trump On Refugee Ban, Border Wall And More

"While we fully understand the need for security protocols and proper vetting procedures of immigrants and refugees, we repudiate the current administration’s executive orders regarding asylum seekers, the border wall, the ban on the admission of any refugee for a period of time, as well as the ban on admitting all immigrants and non-immigrants from seven countries.  This order applies to Syrian refugees, perhaps the most vulnerable.  These orders are not in keeping with the values and moral fabric of our nation."  
​The rest here.
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Southern Arizona Faith Leaders Gather On Emergency Basis To Craft Statement

Rapid Response Gathering Delivers Forceful Message


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​More From Stone Cold Crazy
WSJ: The Wrong Kind
"Like Sigmund Freud’s cigar, sometimes crazy is just crazy."

Trump's Man Of The Hour


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Jihadist groups hail Trump’s travel ban as a victory

Sen. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.): “It’s unacceptable when even legal permanent residents are being detained or turned away at airports and ports of entry.”


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America's Traditional Values Trashed;
Protests Mount;
​Religious Leaders Fighting Back

"We know what it's like to be the stranger," said Mosbacher, a Reform rabbi at Temple Shaaray Tefila, noting that Jewish refugees were at times turned away from the U.S. "As a person of faith, it was so important to be there."  Full AP story here.

Total Confusion Reigns As Trump Accuses Arizona Senator John McCain Of "looking to start WWIII"; Say What?

The developments underscore the haphazard approach the Trump administration has taken toward using its political power. Trump issued the order Friday with little notice to or input from the Department of Homeland Security, the State Department or other agencies critical to implementing it, according to multiple sources.  

Do House Democrats Have A Pulse?

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Bannon In The National Security Council: "Stone cold crazy"

Stephen K. Bannon — whose nationalist convictions and hard-line oppositional view of globalism have long guided Trump — was directly involved in shaping the controversial immigration mandate, according to several people familiar with the drafting who requested anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly.



Massive Protest At JFK Delivers; Rabbi Mosbacher, IAF Leader, Front and Center

Rabbi Joel Mosbacher's statement: Since the election, I have been waiting to see what our new president would actually do- tried to not be distracted by what he said. I knew the moment would come when it was time to react to his actions, and for me, today was the day. So proud to have been a part of a powerful march today; refugees got a temporary reprieve. Let's go home, defrost our toes, and be ready for the battles yet to come. Let's be strategic with our anger, with our moral outrage, with our religious commitment to justice. A long road is ahead of us. Let's use our power wisely.
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Big Loser on this one

Court Acts; Stay Is Granted
Federal judge blocks Trump immigration ban nationwide


Pope Francis Calls Out American Cardinals, Bishops And Priests

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At Mass Tomorrow We'll See What They Have To Say


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Who Represents America?

That the order, breathtaking in scope and inflammatory in tone, was issued on Holocaust Remembrance Day spoke of the president’s callousness and indifference to history, to America’s deepest lessons about its own values.

The order lacks any logic. It invokes the attacks of Sept. 11 as a rationale, 
while exempting the countries of origin of all the hijackers who carried out that plot and also, perhaps not coincidentally, several countries where the Trump family does business. The document does not explicitly mention any religion, yet it sets a blatantly unconstitutional standard by excluding Muslims while giving government officials the discretion to admit people of other faiths.
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Texas mosque burned to the ground
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Funny for sure
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What's the big joke?

Trump Cracks Down On Refugees

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"We don't want them here. We want to ensure that we are not admitting into our country the very threats our soldiers are fighting overseas. We only want to admit those into our country who support our country and love deeply our people."  Donald Trump

Dallas Area Interfaith Figures Prominently In Study Of High Impact Community Actions Targeting Payday Lending:

New study tells inside story of how local communities use ordinances to say ‘enough’ to payday lenders
From “The Power of Community Action”: 10 Lessons

Go to pages 80 and 97 of the study itself here for focus on DAI.

Posted On The Oracle, AZ Message Board
Image Created By Oracle Artist Michael Moore

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Mexican Analyst: Trump Is A Madman

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Enrique Krauze, a noted political analyst, said Peña Nieto should distance himself from the new U.S. president.
“Trump is a madman who will probably destroy himself,” he tweeted. “You have to gain time with patience, strength and dignity.”
“The uncertainty is over,” tweeted Javier Lozano, a PAN senator. “It is confirmed that we will have to deal with an arrogant and ignorant despot in the USA.”
He had a message for the Mexican political class, even those of different ideological strips. 
“Close ranks in the face of the tyrant and let us move forward united and firm.”  Read more in the LA TIMES.


‘Solidarity Gathering’ In New Haven To Stand Up For Muslims, Immigrants

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CONECT/IAF Steps Up
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​New Haven Register: Faithful gather in New Haven amid ‘anxiety of these times’


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President Trump: How damaged?

In the first five days of his presidency, Trump has put the enormous power of the nation’s highest office behind spurious — and easily disproved — claims.


Marin Organizing Committee Presses For Humane Response To Homeless
Escalating Rents Particularly Hard On Immigrants, Arbitrary Evictions, Deportation Threats

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More than 300 people turned out for a community organizing meeting in San Rafael this week highlighting the dual threats that Marin immigrants face — deportation and loss of housing.
The session, held amid fierce winter rains, was hosted at St. Raphael Catholic Church by the Marin Organizing Committee, a broad-based network of local institutions, congregations and nonprofits, and the same group that founded Marin’s emergency winter shelter program for the homeless.
Read more in Marin Independent Journal

NYC Mayor's Budget To Fix Public Housing Falls Short
​Metro IAF Fights For More
Runaway Killer Mold Getting Ahead Of Leaky Roof Repairs

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NY Daily News:  ... a group that’s sued NYCHA to force repairs, Metro Industrial Areas Foundation, questioned whether repairs will come fast enough to alleviate the toxic mold that afflicts so many public housing tenants.
“Ten years is an eternity for the children and adults who suffer with respiratory conditions now,” Metro IAF member Fr. Francis Skelly, pastor of the Immaculate Conception Church in the South Bronx, said. “The health threats are urgent.”  Read more.

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How To Push Back:
A Very Good Piece To Get You Started
Find it here


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Alternative Facts

Conway tries to flush reality down the toilet. www.politico.com/story/2017/01/alternative-facts-kellyanne-conway-233998 
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​The traditional way of reporting on a president is dead. Trump’s press secretary killed it.
Sean Spicer’s remarks about the audience for Trump’s inauguration were full of falsehoods, and they should inspire journalists to dig in and pay far more attention to actions than sensational tweets or briefing-room lies.
Margaret Sullivan reports.


Trump in Charge Day 1: 
Donald Trump said today at CIA headquarters:  “God looked down and, and he said we’re not going to let it rain on your speech.. . .The truth is it stopped immediately.”  
This claim followed Trump’s repeated falsification of his inaugural turnout numbers by more than double and expressions of gratitude for the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) which two days previous he likened to Nazis. 
  Then, to wrap it up, Trump blamed the media for his fake numbers and contradictory statements.  
Creepy Trump flak freaks out over inauguration turnout claims. Pants on fire.
With False Claims, Trump Attacks Media on Turnout and Intelligence Rift​
Meanwhile millions marched in opposition to Trumpism around the globe.

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One hour before the Woman's Solidarity March in Tucson, AZ. Over 10,000 at march time.

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God or Mammon?

Was Jesus A Nationalist?
​Trump's Craven Image Enabled By Christian Clergy


Trump: We’re giving power back to the people
His First Official Move:
Trump blocks Federal Housing Administration plan to cut mortgage fees


David Duke: "We did it"
​Anti-Trump Protests Erupt Across The Country

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Chris Hedges Talks With Michael Gecan About Building Organizations to Empower Ordinary Citizens
Hard Truths 1: Vid: Hedges And Gecan
Hard Truths 2: Interview: Hedges And Gecan In Truthdig

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Citizens UK/IAF In The Middle Of Affordable Housing Reinvention In London; Breaks Open Community Land Trust Initiative After Long Grassroots Struggle. More Here in the Guardian.

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​On Twitter, Cornell William Brooks, the president of the N.A.A.C.P., criticized Mr. Trump and posted a photo showing a young Mr. Lewis bloodied from protesting. “By disrespecting @repjohnlewis, @realDonaldTrump dishonored Lewis’ sacrifice & demeaned Americans & the rights, he nearly died 4. Apologize,” he wrote.  NY Times story here.

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Greater Edmonton Alliance/IAF Advances Innovative Senior Care Pilot
GEA gave its full support to the Coordinating Council initiative. The result: the ‘Seniors Home Supports Program’, a pilot project that the City of Edmonton has agreed to fund for three years.

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Trump Trashes John Lewis

Lewis was the youngest speaker at the 1963 March on Washington, by then already a central figure in the efforts of African Americans to secure civil rights. For years, he was repeatedly arrested and beaten at Southern protests. In 1965, during the celebrated “Bloody Sunday” march at the Edmund Pettus bridge in Selma, Ala., Lewis was clubbed so severely that he suffered a skull fracture. He recovered and led other protests, and 30 years ago he was elected to Congress.

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Greater Cleveland Congregations: Invest In Residents And Neighborhoods
Not Just B-Ball Stadium Renovation
 

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#NOTallin:
Regional Faith-based Coalition Announces Opposition to Q Renovations

Press conference drives the basics home.  Here's the media roundup:
  • CLEVELAND.COM
  • CLEVELAND SCENE
  • CRAIN'S CLEVELAND
  • CLEVELAND 19
  • WKYC

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Len Komoroski, Chief Executive Officer of the Cleveland Cavaliers and Quicken Loans Arena

IAF In Cleveland Pushes Back Against Basketball Bully Corporate Welfare
Greater Cleveland Congregations has announced it is "Not All In" on a plan to use tax dollars for half of a $140 million makeover of Quicken Loans Arena. The group of 43 churches and organizations wants equal public investment in Cleveland residents and neighborhoods. Read all in cleveland.com


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Back Of The Yards
Lessons From A Community Organizer On Building Political Power

​By Michael Gecan, Co-Director, Industrial Areas Foundation

"While the current extreme polarization in American politics is a prevailing theme in political discussions and election postmortems, we often forget a critical precedent, the balkanization of neighborhoods such as Back of the Yards during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries."

Political Commentary That Cuts Deep
All Here In The Boston Review


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Decline Of Unions Helped Fuel Trump

Alan Draper Offers Compelling Argument In The American Prospect


CONTINUE >> NEWSMAKERS July - December 2016

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