Addressing Climate Change

Governor Whitmer declared a state of emergency for Michigan as wind chills are predicted to approach 50 degrees below zero in parts of the state, a dangerous cold especially in places like Detroit where residents are not used to such temperatures.

If temperatures proceed as predicted, both Flint and Detroit will experience 12 consecutive days of below 20 degree weather by next Saturday, a record-breaking cold streak. According to Dr. Jeff Masters , t he co-founder of Weather Underground, these near-unheard of low temperatures are due to climate change: The warming of ocean waters and the melting of Arctic ice weakens the Polar Vortex, making it “more likely that the jet stream will take dramatic wintertime dips and push intense cold outbreaks into mid-latitude areas, such as the eastern U.S."

The good news is that our recently elected Attorney General, Dana Nessel, is addressing the problem of climate change, an effort applauded by the Sierra Club, the Michigan Environmental Council, and the Michigan League of Conservation Voters in contrast to our former Attorney General, Bill Schuette, who’d joined the lawsuit of Republican Attorney Generals challenging Obama’s environmental regulations curbing emissions of mercury, methane and greenhouse gases. AG Nessel announced, “Michigan will not be a party to lawsuits that challenge the reasonable regulations aimed at curbing climate change and protecting against exposure to mercury and other toxic substances.”

She is also investigating the legality of Snyder’s legislation signed during the lame duck session of congress, which authorized the construction of a 500 million dollar tunnel to house the aging pipeline which carries oil from Canada to the US. This tunnel threatens the fresh water supplies in Michigan. Equally so, she is concerned with per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), linked to numerous health problems, including cancer, and found in drinking water supplying multiple Michigan communities.

Saturday, February 2. Michigan Dems Party Spring Convention

If it’s your first time, or you find the process confusing-this guide is for you. It gives you all the ins and outs of membership, voting, credentials, and what meetings do what. Also some practical tips! Download their Guide . Learn more Michigan Democratic Party Spring Convention at Cobo Center Detroit. 7 am–5 pm

Reduce traffic and save the environment! 

If you can offer rides to the Convention, or you need a ride, click here . Cobo Center, 1 Washington Blvd., Detroit. 7 am–5 pm

Monday, February 4. Reclaim Our American Democracy monthly meeting

ROAD is dedicated to getting big and dark money in our politics. Pittsfield Township Hall, Enter from the rear door on east of bldg., 6201 W Michigan Ave, Ann Arbor . 7:30pm

Monday, February 4. Gun Violence in the United States: Competing frames and policy tension

Presented by the Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy. Moderated by Paula Lantz, Associate Dean with panelists Jane Coaston, Senior politics reporter at VOX, Jonathan Metzl, Director of the Center for Medicine Health and Society at Vanderbilt University, and Rebecca Cunningham, Assoc. V.P. for Research-Health Sciences at the University of Michigan. Free and open to the public. Reception to follow. Info: [email protected] . Fordschool.umich.edu Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy, Annenberg Auditorium, 1120 Weill Hall, 735 S. State St, Ann Arbor. 4:00–5:20 pm

Thursday, February 7. Drafts with Donna

This is an opportunity to ask Rep. Lasinski your questions and receive a legislative update from Lansing. For more information call Rep. Lasinski's legislative office at (517) 373-0828. The Beer Grotto - Dexter, 8059 Main Street, Dexter. 6–7 pm

Saturday, February 9. UNITY Meeting

WCDP, WCDP Black Caucus, Ann Arbor Dems, Eastern Washtenaw Dems, and Western Washtenaw Dems Unity Meeting Washtenaw County Learning Resource Center, 4135 Washtenaw Ave, Ann Arbor . Social time begins at 9:30 am, program begins at 10 am

Monday, February 11. Dearborn Heights Dems Monthly Meeting

Canfield Community Center, 1901 North Beech Daily Road, Dearborn Heights . 7–8 pm

Wednesday, February 13. Wyandotte Dems Monthly Meeting

Copeland Center, 2306 4th Street, Wyandotte . 7–8 pm

Wednesday, February 13. Dark money and its effect on our political process

The Michigan League of Women Voters will be presenting Craig Mauger, the executive director of the Michigan Campaign Finance Network (MCFN), will give a presentation about what happened in 2018, how the role of money in state politics has changed and how it impacts policy decisions that affect everyone. Pointless Brewery & Theater, 3014 Packard St, Ann Arbor . 7:30 pm

 Wednesday, February 13. League of Women Voters of the Ann Arbor Area

Meet the Elected Officials from Dearborn, Dearborn Heights, and Inkster, presented by the League of Women Voters Dearborn/Dearborn Heights. Join your neighbors for an informal open house to meet your elected officials, get your copy of the League’s 2019 Who’s Who: Your Elected Officials, and celebrate the League’s 99th anniversary.  Click here for the Facebook Event with additional info, call (313) 278-6476 or email [email protected] . Merci Café, 3371 Greenfield, Dearborn . 5–7 pm

Thursday, February 14. 12th District Dems Monthly Meeting

[email protected] for any questions. UAW, 9650 South Telegraph Road, Taylor . 7–8 pm

Monday, February 18. Allen Park Dems Monthly Meeting

Questions: call Dan Geb 313-600-6720. American Hungarian Reformed Church, 9901 Allen Road, Allen Park. 7–8 pm

Michigan Resistance Calling Parties

This week: Encourage MI Democratic Representatives to stay strong against the Border Wall.

Tuesday, February 19. Sustainable Ann Arbor Forum: Adapting to Climate Change

Join a conversation on how the Ann Arbor community is taking steps to address climate impacts and what more we could be doing at the city, neighborhood and individual level. Climate adaptation experts will share the soup to nuts on climate change. RSVP here. Ann Arbor District Library - Downtown Branch. 343 S 5th Ave, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48104 . 7–8:30 pm

Sunday, March 17. Kathy Fahey, Founder of Voters Not Politicians to speak

Protectors of Equality in Government is hosting this program on how she was able to create an organization that resulted in Michigan passing a transformative anti-gerrymandering amendment and what more can be done. Jewish Community Center of Greater Ann Arbor,   2935 Birch Hollow Dr, Ann Arbor. 2:00-3:30pm

Editorial: The war over Trump's wall has only just begun

The longest government shutdown in American history is over. Thank goodness. But the war over President Trump's border wall isn't finished, no matter how defeated he seems. Read more here. - The Week

Benson reaches gerrymandering settlement to GOP’s ire

Eleven state House districts will be redrawn under a settlement reached in a gerrymandering lawsuit with Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson’s office, but Republicans are already calling foul on the agreement and say a court battle looms. Read more here. - Michigan Advance

Pressure builds to fund child care access in Michigan

Don't let this baby fool you - no one is happy with the child care system in Michigan.

CEOs, Republicans add voices to Michigan’s child care ‘crisis’

Michigan needs workers. Workers need child care. But the cost is out of reach for many Michigan families. Will the weight of CEO’s and, increasingly, Republican lawmakers prompt the state to open its wallet? Read more here. - Bridge

 Four people, four reasons child care costs are a growing crisis in Michigan

Few people are happy with the affordability of child care in Michigan. Bridge profiles a parent, a child care worker, the owner of a child care center, and a CEO whose workers can’t find suitable care. Read more here. - Bridge

Hundreds of millions live in extreme poverty, huge rewards go to those at the top

Universal health, education and other public services reduce the gap between rich and poor, and between women and men. Fairer taxation of the wealthiest can help pay for them. Check out the report, “Public good or private wealth?” -Oxfam International

Bridge Michigan’s Truth Tour

Reporters from Bridge traveled all over the state to gather citizens’ opinions on issues. Today they delivered their report Michigan’s Moment of Truth straight to state leaders. To order your copy or to watch the 4 minute video click here. - Bridge

Will latest bipartisan measure put an end to lame duck in Michigan?

A Republican state representative wants to change the Michigan Constitution to do away with the Legislature’s contentious year-end session known as lame duck.

Whether the effort succeeds is up in the air. If past attempts are any indication, it will be an uphill battle. On the other hand, the lame-duck session that ended just before Christmas attracted national attention and accusations of partisan power grabs, prompting some legislators to take up the cause while memories are fresh. To learn more click here . - Bridge Magazine

Spending in 2018 Michigan U.S. House races double 2016 total

Report shows Spending in Michigan’s 14 U.S. House races in 2018 topped $80 million this year, doubling the 2016 total and marking the most expensive Congressional campaign cycle in Michigan history, the Michigan Campaign Finance Network found. Read more here. - MLive

How voting-machine lobbyists undermine the democratic process

Voting-system vendors, in partnership with elected officials, can influence municipalities to buy proprietary, inscrutable voting devices that are infinitely less secure than paper-ballot systems.

In the past decade, Election Systems & Software (E.S. & S.), the largest manufacturer of voting machines in the country, has routinely wined and dined a select group of state-election brass. Read more here. - The New Yorker

The Good Fight

Last week PEG reported on David Leonhardt’s opinion piece for the New York Times, decrying the inadequacy of the resistance to the Trump Administration. Why haven’t Americans stopped traffic, protesting this government shutdown, he asked, as they would have in Western European countries?

“Halfway through the Trump Presidency, the Resistance is Winning,” is John Cassidy’s counterpoint to Leonhardt’s pessimis, published in the New Yorker . Despite noting the tremendous damage the current administration has done to our democratic institutions, Cassidy remains cautiously optimistic. “Trump has undoubtedly disrupted the American system of government, but he hasn’t upended it. And, in many ways, his Administration is already losing steam.” To put it another way, Cassidy asks,” Who was the more powerful, Donald Trump or Thomas Jefferson?” concludes that Jefferson appears to be winning. The courts have stayed many of Trump’s most repressive efforts, and most importantly, despite Trump’s endless disparagement of the media as “fake news,” our freedom of speech marches on—daily.

Coalition to end immigration detention

The Tornillo Shutdown Coalition had tremendous success in helping to convince the government to shut down the immigrant children's prison in Tornillo, Texas. The Coalition is now organizing to meet in Washington, DC, to lobby for an end to immigration detention . The Coalition will hold a press conference in DC on February 6 or 7 with Senator Jeff Merkley (D-OR) and Representative Judy Chu (D-CA27) who will be re-introducing their bills to shut down immigrant child detention. Other members of Congress may join us at this event. The details of the event will be forthcoming. The Coalition will also visit as many congressional offices as possible to explain the concerns and ask for support. A public demonstration is also being planned for February 8.

It is suggested that those who are unable to be in DC visit the district offices of their congresspeople and/or call their to congressional offices . If you can help with any of these efforts, please email [email protected] and include in the subject-line of your email one of the following, so that the Coalition can follow up with more details:

The coalition is moving forward, and asks for your continued support.

Trump must not get away with obstruction of justice

Trump’s former attorney, Michael Cohen, decided not to testify before Congress next month because of threats to him and his family by Trump and his current lawyer, Rudy Guiliani. Read NBC story The fact that Cohen has now been subpoenaed does not negate his fear for his family’s safety. Read Politico story

Trump must not get away with ‘rolling back women’s rights by 50 years’ 

Donald Trump’s decision to change definitions of domestic violence and sexual assault has rolled back women’s rights by half a century, campaigners have warned. The Trump administration quietly changed the definition of both domestic violence and sexual assault back in April but the move has only just surfaced. The change could have significant repercussions for millions of victims of gender-based violence. Trump’s new definition will no longer include psychological abuse and other emotional harm, just physical harm. Once again, women are targeted. Let’s let our MoCs know that the more complete definition needs to be restored and codified. Read more here. - Independent

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Please, don't leave us lonely. Make sure to follow us on Instagram at http://www.instagram.com/equalityingov, Facebook, and on Twitter at https://twitter.com/equalityingov for time-sensitive announcements, events, news, and reminders. And, some artistic funnies!

Alexa, Please Fix the Government

PEG has a new addition to its "Justice League" and she goes by the name of Alexa Cooley. She is a sophomore political science and communications student in the honors college at Eastern Michigan University and interested in studying women in politics and campaigns. She has formerly worked on the campaigns of Gretchen Driskell and Anuja Rajendra. Along with working with Protectors of Equality in Government, she works in Government Relations at EMU. In her free time, she is a member of EMU's Student Government, EMU College Democrats, and plays and studies flute.

Recently, Ms. Cooley offered a talk covering MLK's "Give us the Ballot" Speech and the use of poll taxes and literacy tests as voter suppression, as well as the case of Shelby County v. Holder (2013), which is the case that dismantled the Voting Rights Act of 1965 (that MLK was key in passing). This rid federal government of oversight in districts (states, counties) that have a history of voting rights abuses. That opened the door for all the injustices that we saw this past election and even before that. Most of the abuses occurred in formerly monitered districts and have very high rates of voter roll purges. 

Thanks to Newsletter contributors: Bernie Banet, Ellen Halter, Leslie McGraw, Richard Gaeth, Laura Nathan, Alexa Cooley and Chuck Newman for their help preparing this newsletter. Write us at [email protected] if you would like help create our weekly newsletter. It’s fun and no ongoing commitment is required.

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