Women represent in red Tulsa, OK.

Senator says she will donate salary for every day government is shut down

Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) announced on Saturday that she would donate her salary for every day the federal government remains shut down.

"I will not go home and take my salary for as long as my constituents are being impacted by President Trump's irresponsible choice to shut down the government," Cortez Masto said in a statement.

"It is time to work together on a bipartisan compromise that puts Dreamers on a pathway to citizenship and ensures the long-term health, economic and security of Nevadans."
Senate Democrats and Republicans failed to meet a midnight deadline on Friday to reach an agreement to fund the government.

Lawmakers on both sides of the government lashed out at each other on Saturday, increasing the likelihood the shutdown would extend into the week.


http://thehill.com/homenews/senate/369958-senator-says-she-will-donate-salary-for-everyday-government-is-shutdown?__twitter_impression=true&__twitter_impression=true

Oregon hospitals: Please vote YES for Measure 101 this Tuesday

The forces fighting hardest to promote Measure 101, a ballot measure that would tax Oregon's large hospitals and most insurance policies, are the same entities that would pay a majority of those taxes.

Why? When poor uninsured patients show up in the emergency room, hospitals are required to treat them even if those people can't pay. They say that's more expensive and less effective than keeping patients insured and giving them less costly preventative and routine care.

And then there is the big federal match. Oregon's roughly $300 million contribution to cover its share of some patients' Medicaid costs over two years would net the state's health care industry another nearly $1 billion in federal matching money.

Hospitals and other players in the state's health industry say paying new or higher health care taxes is well worth that payoff.

With less than a week until the 8 p.m. Jan. 23 ballot deadline, here are answers to some other key questions about Measure 101.


http://www.oregonlive.com/politics/index.ssf/2018/01/oregon_hospitals_please_tax_us.html

I just donated $20 to Margaret Good for FL State Rep in honor of today's march

Margaret Good is the Democrat running in the Florida State Assembly special election in February. This race is the real deal, the race is close and time/resources are pouring in from Sister Districts, Ready2vote and the Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee (DLCC). Please take a look at her site at

https://margaretgood.com

If she's not for you, I am sure there are thousands of women from the local state and federal levels to help out.

Trump campaign sends out an ad calling Dems "complicit in all murders by illegal immigrants"

OKLAHOMA CITY says "TIME'S UP"!

Massive turnout for Women's March in Asheville, NC

Irony: Tomi Lahren's ancestor was prosecuted for forging immigration papers

Now, let’s back up for a moment: The concept of “illegal” immigration didn’t exist in the U.S. until the late 19th century, when the blatantly racist Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 became the first federal law to regulate newcomers to the U.S. The same racial bias extended into the 1924 Immigration Act, which established quotas for immigration from different parts of the world—quotas that heavily favored western Europe. (Jeff Sessions is a big fan,saying the act “was good for America” in a 2015 interview with none other than Steve Bannon.)

omewhere in between, Tomi Lahren’s great-great-grandfather Constantin Dietrich came to the U.S. from the city of Odessa, then part of South Russia. Dietrich’s obituary says he came to the U.S. in 1905, and he initially applied to become a naturalized American citizen in 1909. However, once he did the paperwork conservatives are always screaming about, he changed the date of his original declaration from 1909 to 1911, because he waited too long to complete the process, and needed to fudge the numbers in order to disguise the period where he was—wait for it—undocumented. He got caught, though, and went on trial for forgery in Bismarck, North Dakota in 1917. He was ultimately acquitted.

Now, none of this is all that unusual. Many Americans (at least, those whose ancestors were not brought here unwillingly as slaves) have stories like this in their backgrounds. The reason for bringing this up is to point out that attempting to criminalize large swaths of the American population by branding them “illegals” is not about law and order. It’s about cruelty and racism, and it’s ahistorical bullshit to boot. That, and if the Russians want Tomi Lahren back, they can absolutely have her.


https://www.avclub.com/today-in-irony-tomi-lahrens-ancestor-was-prosecuted-fo-1802682206

Tuesday is Election Day in PA

PA-HD35: Democrat dominates fundraising as Mon Valley special election nears

If money talks in elections, the special election for House District 35 is proving to be a one-sided conversation. According to finance reports, Democrat Austin Davis has outraised his Republican rival, Fawn Walker-Montgomery, by roughly 27 to 1.

Mr. Davis, a top aide to Allegheny County Executive Rich Fitzgerald and the vice-chair of the Allegheny County Democratic Committee, reports raising $82,804.30 since his campaign began taking shape in mid-September of last year. Ms. Walker-Montgomery, a former McKeesport city councilwoman who works for a human-services non-profit, raised $2,921.11 in 2017, with another $48.25 since the New Year.

The finance reports, which cover the first week of January, will provide the last full accounting of the campaigns’ financial activity before the Jan. 23 election.

“Austin has been wanting to do this for a long time,” said Don Friedman, a longtime Pittsburgh political consultant who chuckled ruefully when told the totals. “I’m not surprised by this.”

If money talks in elections, the special election for House District 35 is proving to be a one-sided conversation. According to finance reports, Democrat Austin Davis has outraised his Republican rival, Fawn Walker-Montgomery, by roughly 27 to 1.

Mr. Davis, a top aide to Allegheny County Executive Rich Fitzgerald and the vice-chair of the Allegheny County Democratic Committee, reports raising $82,804.30 since his campaign began taking shape in mid-September of last year. Ms. Walker-Montgomery, a former McKeesport city councilwoman who works for a human-services non-profit, raised $2,921.11 in 2017, with another $48.25 since the New Year.

Mr. Davis and Ms. Walker-Montgomery are competing to replace former state Rep. Marc Gergely, who resigned last fall after pleading guilty to charges related to an illegal gambling ring. The district includes a number of Mon Valley communities and neighboring areas including:Clairton, Duquesne, McKeesport and Munhall, West Mifflin and White Oak.

Mr. Davis’ warchest was swelled with at least $32,500 in contributions from unions, led by the politically active IBEW #5 electrical workers union. He also received contributions from a slew of area politicians, including his boss: Mr. Fitzgerald contributed $2,500. State Rep. Frank Dermody, the Oakmont representative who leads House Democrats, contributed $1,000.

Mr. Davis got an additional boost of just over $4,000 of “in-kind” contributions in the form of mailers put out by the state Democratic Party. Mr. Davis spent $28,728, nearly one-fifth of which went to his political consultants, the Carey Group.


http://www.post-gazette.com/news/politics-local/2018/01/16/austin-davis-fawn-walker-montgomery-special-election-house-district-35-fundraising-campaign/stories/201801160116