May 4, 2023
Child labor violations, child care need, mis/disinformation, and more!
Contact all members of Congress:
By phone: (202) 224-3121
By email: democracy.io
By US mail: Representatives / Senators
By fax: Representatives / Senators
By Resistbot: Resist.bot
Contact White House or other federal agencies:
CHILD LABOR VIOLATIONS ON THE RISE AS ARE LOOSENING LAWS
With a declining labor market, some states and industries are looking to loosen child labor laws to increase the availability of cheap labor. Child labor violations are on the rise as this trend continues. Attempts to weaken state-level child labor standards are part of a coordinated campaign backed by industry groups intent on eventually diluting federal standards that cover the whole country. Child labor laws were set in place nearly one hundred years ago for good reason. Let’s tell our state and federal legislators that we need to continue to protect our children and that these laws do not need to be loosened to satisfy the greed of industry.
TELL CNN: DON’T NORMALIZE TRUMP
CNN has announced they will hold a live town hall with Donald Trump hosted by Kaitlan Collins on May 10th, giving a live block of free airtime to a man with a long record of flagrant lies and a long criminal rap sheet. This is the sort of opportunity cable news was repeatedly criticized for offering Trump in 2016, and we can’t stand by and let him be treated like a “normal” candidate. Let’s reach out to CNN and urge them to cancel this appearance or failing that commit to live fact-checking Trump and forcing him to address his coup attempt, legal charges and rejection of the Constitution. We can reach out to Kaitlin Collins’ publicity contact Sydney Baldwin at Sydney.baldwin@warnermedia.com, along with CNN CEO Chris Licht at chris.licht@turner.com, and press contacts Dylan Rose Geerlings at dylan.rose.geerlings@warnermedia.com and Anna Jager at anna.jager@warnermedia.com.
UNIVERSAL CHILD CARE
The lack of affordable child care hurts families, businesses, and taxpayers. The Child Care for Every Community Act, sponsored by Representative Mikie Sherrill (D-NJ-11) and Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), would, if passed, expand access to high-quality, affordable child care to all Americans. Let’s tell our U.S. Representatives to co-sponsor H.R.953 and our U.S. Senators to co-sponsor S.388.
GREETINGS TO DOORWAY SHOOTING SURVIVOR RALPH YARL
Ralph Yarl, the young teenager shot for going to the wrong door while picking up his brother has been released from the hospital and now faces a long recovery While he heals, his school has graciously agreed to accept cards and letters on his behalf. We can wish Ralph well and let him know that we care by sending our cards and letters to him at this address: Ralph Yarl and Family c/o Staley High School, 2800 Shoal Creek Parkway, Kansas City, MO 64156.
MEDIA AND MIS/DISINFORMATION
This week, an AP-NORC poll revealed that almost “three-quarters of U.S. adults say the news media is increasing political polarization in this country”. Back in 2016, another poll showed that two-thirds of Americans felt that fake news caused confusion about facts. At least one study has shown that people are reluctant to change their minds about misinformation even when corrected. We are responsible for our media diet and for sorting out facts from untruths. Let’s work to understand the biases of our own information sources and strive to rely more on least-biased sources for our information diet. These two sites can help us do that: Ad Fontes Media’s Interactive Media Bias Chart and Media Bias/Fact Check.
STATE-SPECIFIC ACTIONS
ALL - MAPPING 469 ANTI-LGBTQ BILLS IN PROCESS
The ACLU has offered a tool that allows us to stay informed about where anti-LGBTQ legislation has passed or is under consideration. In addition to letting us know which states have passed such legislation, it indicates the status of legislation in progress. We can consult this tool to remain apprised of bills in our states.
Child labor, what next. Despicable.