There has been a lot of talk since Super Tuesday and the March 17^th primaries about who turned Joe Biden’s campaign around. The consensus seems to be the African American vote did. Now that doesn’t mean all African Americans agree entirely with Biden’s views.  It means African Americans are recognizing the power of their votes if they get together shoulder to shoulder.

So let’s get smart and take a note from our Black brothers and sisters.  If we – women, the LGTBQ community, Native Americans, immigrants – stand together with them, we will build an alliance so strong we can gain the power politically and economically once and for all.

Of course we will continue to have our differences but we must believe no issue that separates us is more important than the common oppression we share.  Then we must not buy into the hatred and divisiveness that is being fueled by Donald Trump and the Republicans.

We can be victorious and then begin the work of making America all it can be for all of us.

jj's thoughts

#womensvoicesmedia

Pity the nation whose people are sheep
And whose shepherds mislead them
Pity the nation whose leaders are liars
Whose sages are silenced
And whose bigots haunt the airwaves
Pity the nation that raises not its voice
Except to praise conquerers
And acclaim the bully as hero
And aims to rule the world
With force and by torture
Pity the nation that knows
No other language but its own
And no other culture but its own
Pity the nation whose breath is money
And sleeps the sleep of the too well fed
Pity the nation oh pity the people
who allow their rights to erode
and their freedoms to be washed away
My country, tears of thee
Sweet land of liberty“

(After Khalil Gibran)

**In Senator Mitch McConnell’s Legislative Graveyard, Senate Republicans Block Commonsense Legislation To Secure Our Elections, Protect Americans’ Health Care, And Safeguard Pensions Earned By Working Americans**

Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Senate Republicans have turned the Senate into a legislative graveyard, refusing to take action on critical legislation that already has bipartisan support. More than 250 House-passed bills are buried in Leader McConnell’s legislative graveyard, and that number continues to grow.

“Republicans have kept the Senate at a standstill while urgently needed bills to protect our elections against the threat of foreign interference, protect Americans’ health care, shield survivors of domestic abuse, and meaningfully address the gun violence epidemic languish in Leader McConnell’s legislative graveyard,” said Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer. “Senate Republicans need to remember why they came to the Senate in the first place, make a U-turn, and allow the Senate to work for the people.”

On the Senate floor, Republicans have repeatedly blocked legislation to secure our elections, protect Americans’ health care, support workers, and take action on climate change. And Leader McConnell is refusing to allow the Senate to debate critical issues like universal background checks and prescription drug pricing. Democrats are ready to tackle these challenges and get to work for the American people. It’s time for Leader McConnell to stop standing in the way, because Americans deserve a Senate that is working for them.

LEADER MCCONNELL AND SENATE REPUBLICANS HAVE REPEATEDLY BLOCKED CRITICAL LEGISLATION FOR THE AMERICAN PEOPLE.

**Leader McConnell and Senate Republicans have blocked efforts by Democrats to pass commonsense bills on the Senate floor, including:**

**Election Security**

* S.2238/H.R.2722, Securing America’s Federal Elections Act, legislation to help safeguard elections from foreign interference, which passed the House with bipartisan support.

* S.2242, Foreign Influence Reporting in Elections Act, bipartisan legislation to require presidential candidates to report contact from foreign state actors to the FBI.

* S.1247, Duty to Report Act, legislation to require candidates to report offers of assistance from foreign state actors to the FBI and FEC.

* S.1540, Election Security Act, legislation to require paper ballots and provide election security grants.

* S.2669, SHIELD Act, legislation to prevent foreign interference in elections.

* S.1356, Honest Ads Act, bipartisan legislation to apply the existing rules on disclosures in political ads on TV to those on social media platforms.

* S.949, For the People Act, a sweeping package of pro-democracy reforms that aims to make it easier, not harder, to vote; end the dominance of big money in politics; and ensure that public officials work for the public interest.

* S.890, Senate Cybersecurity Protection Act, bipartisan legislation to provide cybersecurity assistance to the Senate.

* S.1834, Deceptive Practices and Voter Intimidation Protection Act, legislation to stop practices designed to prevent Americans from voting.

**Health Care**

* S.1556, No Junk Plans Act, legislation to overturn the Trump administration’s expansion of junk health insurance plans.

* H.R.986, Protecting Americans with Preexisting Conditions Act, which passed the House with bipartisan support.

* S.Res.18, a resolution authorizing the Senate Legal Counsel to intervene in the federal court case that would undermine protections for individuals with pre-existing conditions.

* S.Res.94, a resolution asking the Department of Justice to protect individuals with pre-existing conditions.

* S.1905, ENROLL Act, legislation to help Americans find a quality health care plan.

* S.916, MOMMA’s Act, legislation to reduce the maternal and infant mortality rate.

**Worker Protections**

* H.R.7, Paycheck Fairness Act, bipartisan legislation to empower women to challenge pay discrimination in the workplace, which passed the House with bipartisan support.

* S.2598, Pension Stability Act, legislation to protect workers’ and retirees’ pensions.

* S.2254, Butch Lewis Act, legislation to protect workers’ and retirees’ pensions.

* S.27, American Miners Act, legislation to protect coalminers’ pensions.

**Climate Change**

* S.J.Res.9, bipartisan legislation calling on the United States and Congress to take immediate action on climate change.

* S.Res.97, legislation to establish a Select Committee on the Climate Crisis.

**Other Critical Issues**

* H.R.2486, FUTURE Act, legislation to reauthorize funding for Historically Black Colleges and Universities, Tribal Colleges, and Hispanic-Serving Institutions, which passed the House on a bipartisan voice vote.

* H.J.Res.77, a bipartisan resolution opposing President Trump’s removal of US troops from northern Syria, which passed the House with bipartisan support.

* S.2625, Syrian Allies Protection Act, legislation to make visas available to Kurdish Syrians supported to US armed forces in Syria.

* H.R.549, Venezuela TPS Act, legislation to protect Venezuelans from deportation, which passed the House with bipartisan support.

* S.2603, RELIEF Act, legislation to eliminate the green card backlog.

**LEADER MCCONNELL HAS BURIED COMMONSENSE, BIPARTISAN PROPOSALS PASSED BY THE HOUSE IN HIS LEGISLATIVE GRAVEYARD.**

More than 250 bills passed by the House are awaiting legislative action in the Senate, including:

* H.R.986, Protecting Americans with Preexisting Conditions Act, which passed the House with bipartisan support.

* H.R.987, Strengthening Health Care and Lowering Prescription Drug Costs Act, legislation to counteract the Trump administration’s efforts to sabotage the healthcare system, which passed the House with bipartisan support.

* H.R.8, Bipartisan Background Checks Act, legislation to enact the common sense, widely-supported expansion of background checks for gun purchases, which passed the House with bipartisan support.

* H.R.1112, Enhanced Background Checks Act, legislation to close the “Charleston Loophole” for gun purchases, which passed the House with bipartisan support.

* H.R.1, For the People Act, a sweeping package of pro-democracy reforms that aims to make it easier, not harder, to vote; end the dominance of big money in politics; and ensure that public officials work for the public interest.

* H.R.2722, Securing America’s Federal Elections Act, legislation to help safeguard elections from foreign interference, which passed the House with bipartisan support.

* H.R.4617, SHIELD Act, legislation to prevent foreign interference in elections.

* H.R.2513, Corporate Transparency Act, bipartisan legislation to crack down on money laundering by Russian oligarchs, which passed the House with bipartisan support.

* H.R.582, Raise the Wage Act, legislation to increase the federal minimum wage, which passed the House with bipartisan support.

* H.R.7, Paycheck Fairness Act, bipartisan legislation to empower women to challenge pay discrimination in the workplace, which passed the House with bipartisan support.

* H.R.397, Rehabilitation for Multiemployer Pensions Act, bipartisan legislation to protect workers’ and retirees’ pensions, which passed the House with bipartisan support.

* H.R.1585, Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act, which passed the House with bipartisan support.

* H.R.777, Debbie Smith Act, bipartisan legislation to help end the backlog of untested rape kits, which passed the House with bipartisan support.

* H.R.5, Equality Act, legislation to prevent discrimination against the LGBTQ community, which passed the House with bipartisan support.

* H.R.1500, Consumers First Act, legislation to strengthen the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

* H.R.1994, SECURE Act, legislation to help workers save for retirement, which passed the House with bipartisan support.

* H.R.1423, Forced Arbitration Injustice Repeal Act, legislation to eliminate forced arbitration clauses in employment, consumer, and civil rights cases, which passed the House with bipartisan support.

* H.J.Res.77, a bipartisan resolution opposing President Trump’s removal of US troops from northern Syria, which passed the House with bipartisan support.

* H.R.6, American Dream and Promise Act, legislation to protect Dreamers and those with Temporary Protected Status or Deferred Enforced Departure by ensuring they have a path to citizenship, which passed the House with bipartisan support.

* H.R.549, Venezuela TPS Act, legislation to protect Venezuelans from deportation, which passed the House with bipartisan support.

* H.R.2486, FUTURE Act, legislation to reauthorize funding for Historically Black Colleges and Universities, Tribal Colleges, and Minority-Serving Institutions, which passed the House on a bipartisan voice vote.

* H.R.9, Climate Action Now Act, legislation to hold the administration to the United States’ commitments under the Paris Climate Agreement to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, which passed the House with bipartisan support.

* H.R.1146, Arctic Cultural and Coastal Plain Protection Act, legislation to block oil and gas drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, which passed the House with bipartisan support.

* H.R.1941, Coastal and Marine Economies Protection Act, legislation to ban offshore drilling off the Atlantic and Pacific Coasts, which passed the House with bipartisan support.

* H.R.205, Protecting and Securing Florida’s Coastline Act, Republican-sponsored legislation to ban offshore drilling in the Eastern Gulf of Mexico, which passed the House with bipartisan support.

* H.R.1644, Save the Internet Act, legislation to restore net neutrality, which passed the House with bipartisan support.

**LEADER MCCONNELL HAS PROUDLY PROCLAIMED HIMSELF THE “GRIM REAPER” FOR LEGISLATION TO HELP THE MIDDLE CLASS.**

Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY): “The one thing I get to do that the other 99 don’t get it do, is decide what we’re going to do.” [Remarks at Susan B. Anthony List, 6/3/19]

Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY): “Donald Trump still in the White House, and as long as I'm Majority Leader of the Senate, I get to set the agenda, that's why I call myself the Grim Reaper.” [Fox News Hannity, 5/9/19]

Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY): “If I'm still the majority leader of the Senate, think of me as the Grim Reaper. None of that stuff is going to pass. None of it.” [Remarks in Owensboro, KY via CNN, 4/22/19]

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Retrieved 1/4/20 - https://www.democrats.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/in-senator-mitch-mcconnells-legislative-graveyard-senate-republicans-block-commonsense-legislation-to-secure-our-elections-protect-americans-health-care-and-safeguard-pensions-earned-by-working-americans

“Women will run the 21st Century…. 
This is going to be the women’s century and young people are going to be its leaders.”

Bella Abzug, April 1997

 

Bella S. Abzug (1920-1998) was one of the most influential and recognizable female politicians and leaders of the late 20th century.

Congresswoman Bella Abzug was an activist her entire life, beginning in early adolescence when she delivered impassioned speeches in the subways for causes she championed. After an acclaimed career as a civil rights lawyer, peace activist and political organizer, the Hunter College and Columbia Law School graduate sought public office for the first time at age 50 under her famous slogan: “This woman’s place is in the House – the House of Representatives.” She decisively won election to Congress in 1970 beating an 18-year incumbent to represent Manhattan’s West Side and Lower East Side. Bella helped to bring billions of dollars in public works and transportation funding to New York City and New York State and authored or co-authored several historic bills, including Title IX, a bill prohibiting sex discrimination in educational opportunities by schools receiving Federal funding assistance (though Title IX did not mention athletics, it became known most prominently for its impact on high school and college sports), the Freedom of Information Act, and the first law banning discrimination against women with respect to obtaining credit.

Bella also chaired historic hearings on government secrecy. She was voted by her colleagues the third most influential member of the House as reported in the U.S. News and World Report. Bella was known for her keen intelligence, her flamboyance and her colorful wide-brimmed hats. Often recognized by these vibrant hats, Bella reminded all who admired them: “It’s what’s under the hat that counts!”

Ms. Abzug was the first woman to run for the U.S. Senate from New York. After losing the Senate race to Patrick Moynihan in 1976 (by less than 1 percent!), Bella ran for Mayor of New York City in 1977, becoming the first woman ever to run for that office. As a result of her groundbreaking campaigns for higher office, Bella is often credited with paving the way for women aspiring to even higher levels of office, and opening doors to power for all women and especially to generations of women leaders in politics and government. Increasingly influential on the national and world stages, Bella went on to serve as Chairwoman of President Carter’s National Women’s Advisory Council. In that capacity, Bella, among other accomplishments, presided over the first National Conference on Women in Houston in 1977 where 2,000 elected delegates from every state and territory in the U.S. and 18,000 observers attended and developed a precedent-setting National Platform of Action for women.

As a pioneering attorney, a highly effective member of Congress (D.NY) representing all of Manhattan’s West Side and the Lower East Side of Manhattan, and a leader in the global movement for women’s rights, Ms. Abzug has often been credited with “jumpstarting the international feminist movement.” Bella always moved deftly between community activism and government or institutional power by exercising her tactical brilliance, wit and charisma in the courts, the Congress, the United Nations and in the streets—yet she always preserved her fierce integrity and never hesitated to take risks on behalf of her ideals. She was skilled at translating her visions and altruistic hopes into pragmatic solutions. She was the author of two successful books, “Bella: Ms. Abzug Goes to Washington” and “The Gender Gap,” the latter co-authored with friend and colleague, Mim Kelber. She also lectured widely throughout the United States and internationally, tirelessly campaigning for the rights of women.

Ever open to new approaches, Bella continually devised innovative strategies to further her vision of equality and power for women in the United States and abroad. In the last decade of her life, in the early 1990’s, she co-founded the Women’s Environment and Development Organization (WEDO), one of the largest non-governmental organizations working in the United Nations and internationally to achieve full economic rights and equal representation for women. Bella led WEDO until her death, at age 77, in 1998. She was inducted into the Women’s Hall of Fame in Seneca Falls and is the recipient of numerous prestigious national and international awards. A year before her death, Bella received the highest civilian recognition and honor at the U.N., the Blue Beret Peacekeepers Award. Bella was married to her beloved husband Martin for 42 years. Together they raised two daughters, Eve and Liz (Isobel).

 “About Bella Abzug” from the Bella Abzug Leadership Institute  abzuginstitute.org         

For those who met her and/or knew her well the following quote from the Jewish Women’s Archive seems to embody that which was Bella.

 Bella was "born yelling" in 1920. A daughter of Russian immigrants, she grew up poor in the Bronx. By the age of thirteen, she was already giving her first speeches and defying convention at her family's synagogue. At tuition free Hunter College, Bella was student body president, and on scholarship at Columbia she was one of only a minuscule number of women law students across the nation.