Tag Archives: Congress

A Call to Put an End to Inhumane Conditions at the Border

Children observe the movements of the US Border Patrol agents from the Mexican side where the border meets the Pacific Ocean, Tijuana, Mexico, on Friday, November. 16, 2018. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)

The Nation, a magazine known as America’s leading source of progressive politics and culture, has published a rare open letter cosigned by over 40 prominent authors, who are also immigrants and/or refugees, decrying the abhorrent and inhumane conditions reported in detention centers at the border.

A Call to Put an End to Inhumane Conditions at the Border

An open letter by Ariel Dorfman, Gabriel Byrne, Gary Shteyngart, Neil Gaiman, Khaled Hosseini, Viet Thanh Nguyen, Wayétu Moore, Ilya Kaminsky, Reza Aslan, and more.

The signers—which include Gabriel Byrne, Neil Gaiman, Khaled Hosseini, Gary Shteyngart, Viet Thanh Nguyen, Wayétu Moore, Ilya Kaminsky, Ariel Dorfman, Colum McCann, Reza Aslan, and countless more—implore public officials “to take immediate steps to rectify the atrocious conditions for asylum seekers being detained today.” They urge Congress to use its appropriation power to pursue four concrete actions to mitigate the crisis.

Open Letter: A Call to Address Inhumane Conditions at the Border

Dozens of immigrant/refugee authors—novelists, narrators, poets, memoirists, Pulitzer Prize winners, Oprah’s Book Club selections, and bestsellers from five continents—urge Congress to address the atrocities happening on America’s southern border.

 

Dear Members of the United States Congress:

 

We, like many of our fellow Americans, are appalled by the inhumane conditions in detention centers for asylum seekers at our southern border. The reports of death, abuse, overcrowding, untreated illness, malnutrition, and lack of basic hygiene are abhorrent, especially since many of those affected are children.

 

We appeal to you as published authors who are also immigrants and/or refugees. Many of us came to the U.S. as children and shudder to think how this country would treat us now. As such, we urge you to take immediate steps to rectify the atrocious conditions for asylum seekers being detained today.

 

The past three years have compelled millions of Americans, and many of our civic institutions, to reaffirm that this country remains the land of immigrants. People across the U.S. stood up to protest the White House’s refugee bans; faith leaders opened their communities to aid asylum seekers; local, municipal and state governments and the judicial branch exercised their powers to uphold and defend immigrant rights. Congress must act as well.

 

Many of you have defended immigrants and refugees with righteous eloquence, invoking our nation’s past and cherished symbols such as the Statue of Liberty. As writers, we appreciate the sublime power of words. But as immigrants, we also remember the brutal reality: when you’re walking in a strange land, herded by strange men who speak in strange tongues, when you’re stripped of basic human needs, when you’re hungry, cold and helpless, words aren’t enough.

 

We urge Congress to use its appropriation power to direct the following actions:

 

(1) Immediately direct all resources necessary to shelter migrants with decency and dignity by providing them access to medical care, nutrition and hygiene;

 

(2) Reverse the massive backlogs in the immigration justice system by allocating resources for judges to hear cases efficiently, with due process, as well as strengthening legal orientation to ensure every person understands every step of their proceedings;

 

(3) Forbid tax dollars from being spent on forcing asylum seekers to wait in Mexico or other unsafe third countries where they face danger;

 

(4) Reestablish safe and legal channels for migrants by tying immigration enforcement spending to the reopening of legal channels for migrants fleeing persecution and reversing the White House’s evisceration of the refugee resettlement program.

 

Polls show that the vast majority of Americans are horrified by the suffering unfolding in the camps. We call on you to leverage that public support to meet our moral obligations by ensuring those held by our own government receive elementary necessities like sanitation supplies and access to medical and legal personnel.

 

We remember well the experience of utter paralysis that’s part of nearly every immigrant’s journey: of standing before the US immigration system, praying to not be found wanting.

 

Today, those enduring unspeakable conditions at our border are praying, just as we once prayed, when it was our turn. They may be praying to a different god, or different gods or different entities, but it doesn’t matter; what matters is that the power to address their prayers lies with you, the United States Congress.

 

Please, do not let them go unheeded.

 

Respectfully yours,

 

Alex Abramovich, author, writer, and professor, Columbia University School of the Arts
Mohammed AL Samawi, author and interfaith activist
Reza Aslan, author, commentator, professor, and producer
Ishmael Beah, author and human rights advocate
Livia Blackburne, author
Gabriel Byrne, actor, director, producer, and cultural ambassador
Lan Cao, author and professor, Chapman University
René Colato Laínez, children’s book author and bilingual educator
Ariel Dorfman, author, playwright, essayist, and professor, Duke University
Boris Fishman, author, journalist, and professor, Princeton University
Neil Gaiman, author, screenwriter, director, producer, and activist
Lev Golinkin, author and journalist
Reyna Grande, author and inspirational speaker
Roy Guzmán, poet
Roya Hakakian, author, poet, and journalist
Khaled Hosseini, author, physician and UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador
Abdi Nor Iftin, author and interpreter
Ilya Kaminsky, poet, critic, translator, and professor, Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts
Angie Kim, author and essayist
Imbolo Mbue, author
Colum McCann, author; member, American Academy of Arts; and professor, Hunter College
Yamile Saied Méndez, author
Maaza Mengiste, author and professor, Hunter College and Princeton University
Wayétu Moore, author; memoirist; journalist; founder, One Moore Book; and lecturer, City University of New York’s John Jay College
Paul Muldoon, poet and professor, Princeton University
Azar Nafisi, author, essayist, scholar, and fellow, Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies
Viet Thanh Nguyen, novelist and professor, University of Southern California
Bao Phi, poet, essayist, spoken word artist, and community activist
Garry Pierre-Pierre, photographer; founder and publisher, The Haitian Times; and professor, Brooklyn College
Carolina Rivera Escamilla, author, director, theater actor, and producer
Fariha Róisín , author, editor, poet, podcaster, and writer-at-large/culture editor, The Juggernaut
Nikesh Shukla, author, editor and podcaster
Gary Shteyngart, author
Jim St. Germain, author, social entrepreneur, presidential appointee, and co-founder, Preparing Leaders of Tomorrow, Inc.
Chimene Suleyman, poet, writer, editor, and spoken word performer
Monique Truong, author, lyricist/librettist, and essayist
Anya Ulinich, novelist, graphic novelist, and short story writer
Ocean Vuong, poet, author, essayist and professor, University of Massachusetts at Amherst
Sholeh Wolpé , poet, writer, literary translator, and inaugural author in residence, UCLA
Rafia Zakaria, author, columnist, book critic, and resident scholar, The City College of New York

Signers have endorsed this Open Letter as individuals and not on behalf of any organization. 

About THE NATION: Founded by abolitionists in 1865, The Nation has chronicled the breadth and depth of political and cultural life, from the debut of the telegraph to the rise of Twitter, serving as a critical, independent, and progressive voice in American journalism.

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Filed under Immigrants, Immigration, Protest

Comey Testimony Brings to Mind King Trump

The Donald. cartoon by Henry Chamberlain

“Will no one rid me of this troublesome priest?”
–Henry II

There is an artful moment during the testimony of former FBI Director James Comey. Sen. Angus King, (I) Maine, asked if Trump saying he hoped the Flynn investigation would go away was a direction. And Comey quotes the famous line attributed to Henry II, and which floats within Shakespeare’s Richard II: “Will no one rid me of this troublesome priest?” The senator said he was thinking of the same quote.

King Henry II wished that a priest would go away. That was Thomas Becket, the Archbishop of Canterbury. The next day, that priest was murdered, honoring the king’s wish. King Trump “hopes” for something, that the investigation of Michael Flynn would go away, an inappropriate suggestion, even for royalty.

That quote speaks volumes.

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Filed under Comics, Donald Trump, Editorial Cartoons, Humor, Political Cartoons, Russia, Russiagate

#NoBillNoBreak and BRAVE NEW FILMS

#NoBillNoBreak

#NoBillNoBreak

Rep. Katherine Clark of Massachusetts was fed up with the ritual in Congress of a moment of silence followed by no further response to the latest mass shooting in America. She approached civil rights icon Rep. John Lewis of Georgia. Lewis responded with organizing a classic sit-in. This time it would be inside the well of the House of Representatives, something never done before. And so history is being made. The Democrats are now galvanized and vow to continue the fight. Moving forward, spreading the word about the issues involved is crucial and Brave New Films is one great resource.

Rep. Katherine Clark teamed up with Rep. John Lewis for the sit-in.	–Katherine Clark / Twitter

Rep. Katherine Clark teamed up with Rep. John Lewis for the sit-in. –Katherine Clark / Twitter

Brave New Films is doing its part to spread awareness with its own Gun Safety campaign running since 2014. You may think you know the story but the facts will speak for themselves:

On January 5, 2016, President Obama announced executive actions aimed at expanding background checks. That same day, Smith & Wesson’s share prices rose to a record high of $25.86* a share.

Eleven days ago, 49 people died and 53 were injured in Orlando Florida, the 133rd mass shooting this year. As of yesterday, Smith & Wesson shares are up 19%** since Orlando.

Smith & Wesson is MAKING A KILLING, and they are not the only ones. The NRA, gun manufacturers and the politicians they pay are all guilty of greed.

Since launching our Gun Safety campaign in 2014, we have reached millions of people with our content. Because of your support and the thousands of supporters like you sharing and contributing, the narrative of our work is developing the connection for the mainstream media to see how greed is making us all less safe.

Will you donate $25 right now so we can continue to create content that activates millions? With every donation, big or small, you make an impact.

Content like this piece released yesterday and already reaching 210,000 people and counting. #NoBillNoBreak

The mainstream coverage of #NoBillNoBreak is promising. Now is the time to keep making the connection between the business of selling guns and the politics that allow an industry that fuels 133 mass shootings in less than half a year to keep making billions in profits. Together, we are reframing the gun debate because the right to safety should always triumph over greed.

Visit Brave New Films and learn more about their Gun Safety campaign and help support their film, THE REAL NRA: MAKING A KILLING.

Support Brave New Films in continuing to provide compelling content to millions of people. You can make a donation right here.

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Filed under Brave New Films, Civil Disobedience, Documentaries, Gun violence, NRA, Protest

Review: ALPHA HOUSE, Created by Garry Trudeau for Amazon Studios

Alpha-House-John-Goodman-Amazon-Studios-2013

There are a number of reasons why you might be curious about this show. The main reason to see it is because it’s funny. Politics and humor go hand in hand but they don’t always add up to something really funny. Sometimes, it is sent to us by the Gods. What else explains Tina Fey as Sarah Palin? Sometimes, it is sent to us by Garry Trudeau. Yes, that Pulitzer Prize-winning cartoonist of “Doonesbury” fame. His humor is recognized as rather wry and dry. But for this series, he’s eased up a bit on the drollness. He allows his characters to breathe and, in doing so, has established a good extended rhythm for the small screen.

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Filed under Amazon, Amazon Originals, Amazon Studios, Jeff Bezos, Television, Web Content, Webisodes