When we hear citizens saying WHAT CAN SHE DO? SHE CANNOT DO ANYTHING-----we know we are listening to a person who doesn't know how to be a CITIZEN. CITIZENS' OVERSIGHT MARYLAND is a political action organization built to promote REAL LEFT SOCIAL PROGRESSIVE public policy. We like many people do not want to be POLITICIANS but we will in order to STOP MOVING FORWARD.
CITIZENS' OVERSIGHT MARYLAND web page was designed to show how to organize a political action organization. No one person can follow every category and level of government policy-making so COMMITTEES are indeed needed locally, statewide. For now our 99% US WE THE PEOPLE must focus on rebuilding THESE political committees and not what is happening NATIONALLY.
Our local 99% of citizens whether right wing or left wing KNOW who these global banking 5% freemason/Greek players are in their communities---they will not be FOOLED by CHIMERAS who adopt all the language of our REAL left social progressive citizens. Global banking 1% were able to capture American politics by killing our US domestic economy and making our 99% of US citizens black, white, and brown FEARFUL of speaking out POLITICALLY for their own RIGHTS AS CITIZENS.
This article would suggest US politics is A CHIMERA now that TRUMP is in office but of course these few decades of CLINTON/BUSH/OBAMA were a global banking 5% freemason/Greek player paid to be SHAPE-SHIFTERS AND CHIMERAS----POLITICALLY.
This is an AUSTRALIAN global banking 1% media outlet trying to PRETEND DEEP, DEEP, REALLY DEEP STATE is just too large to be removed from our PEOPLE'S government. We know the WEINER family from NY's famous WEINER'S top gun in the Clinton administration so nothing but MYTH-MAKING coming from this writer not being a JOURNALIST.
Tim Weiner
American journalist
Tim Weiner is an American reporter and author. He is the author of four books and co-author of a fifth, and winner of the Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award. en.wikipedia.org
Why the deep state in the US is a chimera
by Tim Weiner
To Donald Trump it seems as though the "Deep State" has arisen from the depths of the dismal swamp of Washington to torment him. He sees a cabal of his political enemies – foremost the men who have led the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the National Security Agency, and the Central Intelligence Agency – as a cryptocracy operating under the cover of the constitutionally established government, an immense conspiracy, a dark force seeking to destroy him. The president awakens to tweet thunderbolts against it before Fox & Friends signs on at dawn. (To wit: May 23, 2018, 6:54 AM: "the Criminal Deep State. They go after Phony Collusion with Russia, a made up Scam....")
Standing next to Vladimir Putin in Helsinki on July 16, he was asked if he believed the unanimous conclusion of his intelligence services that Russia tried to sway the 2016 election. Trump sided with the smirking autocrat: "They said they think it's Russia. I have President Putin; he just said it's not Russia. I will say this: I don't see any reason why it would be." Senator John McCain called it "one of the most disgraceful performances by an American president in memory."
Trump sees the FBI's lawmen as subversive crooks and the CIA's spooks as Nazi stormtroopers; he believes that they have tapped his phones, placed spies in his midst, and sabotaged him since before his inauguration; they are in cahoots with the press; and, more ominously, they are in thrall to Robert S Mueller III, the FBI director from 2001 to 2013 – and now, as the special counsel overseeing the criminal investigations of Trump and his cohorts, a man with the power to take apart his presidency.
The Deep State, to Trump, is a secret brotherhood of military and intelligence officers secretly manipulating the body politic, and is still run by the leaders of the American intelligence organisations under President Obama, along with unnamed sinister forces still resilient within the Justice Department. These are the same people who revealed a brazen covert operation by Vladimir Putin and his spy services to help elect Trump in 2016. To the president, they are not defending the republic but running a slow-rolling coup d'état.
Trump may be paranoid, but he has real enemies among the emeriti of the intelligence establishment, and among them are the authors of three new books that collectively have sold up to a million copies: James Clapper, the overseer of American espionage from 2010 to 2017 as Obama's director of national intelligence, Michael Hayden, who directed the NSA from 1999 to 2005 and the CIA from 2006 to 2009, and James Comey, whom Trump fired as the head of the FBI last year, and who may yet have his revenge. In the weird world that is Washington today, these politically conservative national security stalwarts – reviled by liberals, with reason, for their actions in office – have emerged as members of the opposition to Trump and as the focus of extreme ire from the right. By virtue of their high rank in the Deep State as Trump defines it, they are in his eyes among the most dangerous men in America. They by turns call Trump a liar and a fantasist, a threat to American national security, and a danger to the Constitution and the Bill of Rights.
"We have elected someone as president of the United States whose first instincts are to twist and distort truth to his advantage, to generate financial benefit to himself and his family, and, in doing so, to demean the values this country has traditionally stood for…. While he does this, he pointedly refuses to acknowledge the profound threat posed by Russia, inexplicably trusting the denials by Putin about their meddling in our political process over the considered judgments by his own Intelligence Community."
This passage, on the penultimate page of an otherwise pedestrian memoir, is as bracing as Clapper's cable news sound bites. Trump delivered his view of Clapper in an 8:58am tweet on April 28: "He is a lying machine who now works for Fake News CNN." This prompted a rapid response, also on Twitter, from John Brennan, CIA director from 2013 to 2017. Addressing Trump, he wrote: "Your hypocrisy knows no bounds. Jim Clapper is a man of integrity, honesty, ethics, & morality. You are not." (Brennan continues to troll Trump. "Your fear of exposure is palpable," he tweeted on June 23. "Your desperation even more so.") Not to be outdone, Michael Hayden recently weighed in on Trump's immigration policies, posting a picture of the Birkenau death camp with the caption: "Other governments have separated mothers and children." No precedent exists for men who have held such high office in the American intelligence establishment to assail their commander in chief in this fashion.
Hayden's briskly written book American National Security in an Age of Lies (Penguin) is almost entirely about Trump. He is forthright in stating in his subtitle that we are living in "an age of lies" and warning that our democracy may be in danger. His writing on Trump's America reads like Masha Gessen's on Putin's Russia (though not as eloquent). Hayden was no fan of Obama and found no place in his administration, in part because he carried out the extraconstitutional program code-named STELLAR WIND, in which President Bush ordered the NSA to turn its electronic-eavesdropping powers on Americans after September 11.
Hayden is nonetheless close to apoplectic about Trump's authoritarian tendencies and his alarming affinities with his Russian counterpart: "Putin could have been humming along when Trump was claiming, 'I alone can fix it,'" at the 2016 Republican convention. He laments, after noting Trump's relentless attacks on the press: "If this is who we are or who we are becoming, I have wasted 40 years of my life." And he takes umbrage at the idea that he and his old cohorts are working in secret to undermine Trump: "There is no 'deep state' in the American Republic. There is only 'the state,' or, as I characterise it, career professionals doing their best within the rule of law. Not that they always play nice ..."
No, they do not. Two weeks after Trump took office, The Washington Post and The New York Times published devastating accounts of conversations held before his inauguration between the man he had chosen as his national security adviser, the retired lieutenant general Michael Flynn, and Russia's ambassador to the United States, Sergey Kislyak. These were derived from court-authorised intelligence intercepts from surveillance of the Russian embassy in Washington. The subject was removing sanctions imposed on Russia by President Obama. Since Trump was not yet sworn in, the discussion was at best highly improper and at worst illegal. Flynn denied everything. Caught in the deception, he resigned, later pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI, and is now co-operating with Mueller, which makes him a dangerous threat to Trump and his inner circle.
Similarly sourced stories showed that Attorney General Jeff Sessions and Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner had also held sub rosa chats with the Russian ambassador. The question of how the national security intercepts made it into the newspapers is intriguing. I have reported and written on American intelligence since the late 1980s, and I can say that this kind of stuff has rarely, if ever, leaked in near-real time until last year. The likeliest source was someone high up in the FBI, the Justice Department, or the NSA – someone whose name would be familiar to Comey, Clapper, or Hayden – and that might put a little flesh on Trump's straw man.
This raises questions. Might Trump be right? Is there really an American Deep State? If so, is it out to get him?
I strongly doubt it, for reasons I discuss below. But I sat bolt upright when I read that Jack Goldsmith, a Harvard professor and a founding editor of the invaluable national security blog Lawfare, believes that these were indeed "deep state leaks against Trump." Goldsmith was an assistant attorney general in President George W. Bush's Office of Legal Counsel, and he knows the politics of secrecy. He first blew the whistle on STELLAR WIND 15 years ago, prompting Comey, then the acting attorney general, and Mueller, as FBI director, to confront the president with the fact that he was breaking the law.
Goldsmith, in a recently published essay, says these leaks against Trump could be interpreted as a return to the days of J Edgar Hoover, who used secret information as a weapon of political warfare. Though "we have never faced a situation in which the national security adviser, and perhaps even the president of the United States, presented a credible counterintelligence threat involving one of our greatest adversaries," he argues, there are no good leaks of state secrets, no higher truth served by unauthorised disclosures. "Even if it turns out that Flynn and others close to Trump were in the bag for the Russians," he writes, "many people will for a long time view the anti-Trump leaks as political abuse of intelligence to harm political enemies."
I believe that whoever backhanded the information on the intelligence intercepts to the Times and the Post was more saviour than saboteur; there are more virtuous leaks than vicious ones. Goldsmith, a formidable voice in national security affairs and a staunch conservative critic of Trump, thinks that the Deep State is real and that it did dirty work here. I think not. Yet the fear of a Deep State has a long history.
Invisible government
The nexus of political and economic power unchecked by democracy was a force that President Theodore Roosevelt saw as the dynamo of a deep state. In his Progressive Party platform of 1912, he warned: "Behind the ostensible government sits enthroned an invisible government owing no allegiance and acknowledging no responsibility to the people." He was talking about the plutocrats, the men whom he called the malefactors of great wealth, who bought the votes of senators and congressmen. "The unholy alliance between corrupt business and corrupt politics," as TR called it, lives and thrives today: this manifestation of a deep state is led by the Koch brothers, who have made the careers of men like Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and the disgraced and departed EPA chief Scott Pruitt, along with many of the most reactionary members of Congress.
TEDDY ROOSEVELT WAS INDEED FOUNDER OF PROGRESSIVE PARTY PLATFORM AND HE WAS A FAR-RIGHT WING REPUBLICAN BACK THEN. ROOSEVELT INSTITUTE/FOUNDATION OF COURSE OPPOSITE OF REAL LEFT SOCIAL PROGRESSIVE FDR POLICIES.
Was Theodore Roosevelt a Republican or a Democrat?
Roosevelt created the FBI in 1908 with the intent of using it to attack the invisible government of dark money. He died shortly before the rise of Hoover, who took over the bureau in 1924 and ran it for 48 years. The Cold War made Hoover the emperor of secrets. He ruled by fear. He operated outside the law and beyond the boundaries of the Constitution, wire tapping, bugging, and burglarising, unfettered by warrants. The CIA, created in 1947, and the NSA, created in 1952, worked in an uneasy alliance with Hoover's FBI – uneasy because he spied on them too. Hoover took a seat on President Eisenhower's National Security Council, alongside the secretaries of state and defense. He shaped the government's policies on everything from national security to civil rights.
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These few decades have had HOLLYWOOD TV and movies with lots of SHAPE-SHIFTER and CHIMERAs----because global banking 1% has told its 5% freemason/Greek players to be ready to be that FAKE ALT RIGHT ALT LEFT CIVIL UNREST/CIVIL WAR player and/or politician. This is why we now have US third, fourth, fifth political parties especially on the LEFT all corrupted with the SAME far-right wing global banking 5% players.
KARMA CHAMELEON FOLKS-----KNOW THOSE SHAPE-SHIFTERS WHEN WE ALL STAND UP TO BE US CITIZENS.
youtube.com
CHIMERA
Official Trailer (2018) Sci-Fi Movie HD
CHIMERA Official Trailer (2018) Sci-Fi Movie HD Subscribe to Rapid Trailer For All The Latest Trailers!…
Global banking 1% are running out of ways to be CHIMERAS---so, now our US 99% and new to US immigrants are having to witness POPULATION TENSIONS between literally biological chimeras----that would be our GMO HUMANS. Soon we will have political fights for rights of GMO HUMANS vs NATURAL HUMANS when of course no population group has its rights more ASSAULTED then our GMO HUMANS. So, please educate both our NATURAL CHIMERAS---those CLINTON/BUSH/OBAMA---and the coming GMO HUMANS as to the value of our US CONSTITUTION/BILL OF RIGHTS/CENTURIES OF AGE OF ENLIGHTENMENT for all 99% of WE THE PEOPLE black, white, and brown and especially our assaulted GMO citizens.
'What if at the very beginning stages of development you absorbed your twin’s cells? You’d be twins—a phenomenon called a chimera'.
Don't forget the CLINTON/BUSH/OBAMA CHIMERAS as this discussion is now turning to GMO citizens----getting rid of all global banking 5% freemason/Greek players starts with our NATURAL HUMAN CHIMERAS.
Below we see the source of this article all being FAR-RIGHT WING GLOBAL BANKING media outlets-----nothing LEFT SOCIAL PROGRESSIVE which is the US politics REALLY protecting our 99% rights as citizens.
This article is part of Future Tense, a collaboration among Arizona State University, the New America Foundation, and Slate. Future Tense explores the ways emerging technologies affect society, policy, and culture.
Remember, it was the FAKE RELIGIOUS RIGHT who ran overseas to create global GMO HUMAN research and development-----NOT left social progressives who are AGAINST genetic human manipulation.
Future Tense
Politics in Your DNA
How the realities of biology complicate the “personhood movement.”
By Jane Maienschein
June 10, 20148:11 AM
What if at the very beginning stages of development you absorbed your twin’s cells? You’d be twins—a phenomenon called a chimera. Would you suddenly feel extra special because you are really more than just one person? Threatened and confused about your identity? These are not just hypothetical questions. Some people are chimeras. Probably not many, but certainly a lot more than we know about since most never realize it. Chimerism happens even when we don’t see it.
There’s another kind of genetic mosaic, too, one in which your body is made up of cells from different organisms, usually from different people (occasionally from other animals). This might happen if you have a transfusion or a transplantation, for example, or when mothers absorb some cells from their offspring, or twins absorb cells from each other. Technically, every female is a kind of mosaic of two different X-chromosomes.
News of chimerism and genetic mosaicism is not completely new, nor are the ethical and practical questions associated with them. Yet as a society, we often take a heads-in-the-sand approach to addressing what such developmental complexities mean. Bioethical and policy discussions have instead largely focused on responses to laboratory creations of cross-species combinations that lead to chimeras, hybrids, or genetics mosaics. But they miss the fact that people and politicians care deeply about what it means to them to be human and how we can protect “life.” The personhood movement, and proposed legislation discussed below, show the urgent need to understand what we are really talking about. As the political season for congressional and local campaigns heats up, some candidates will surely make promises or proposals about embryos and reproduction that do not fit the facts. Last campaign season we got claims about “legitimate rape” and whether rape can lead to pregnancy, for example, and we heard Paul Ryan’s claims about personhood. The personhood movement is not going away soon and remains active through personhoodusa.com, for example. Now is the time to get ready for whatever comes up this round.
Most people didn’t care deeply in the 1960s when Beatrice Mintz combined embryos from two different mice to create a chimera, nor in the 1980s, when Nicole Le Douarin combined chick and quail embryos. The result was taken as intriguing and a little science fictionlike, and it generated discussion of what it would mean if somebody could create human or human-animal chimeras. In the mid-1990s, researchers did just that and provoked public interest. What if researchers introduced human nerve cells into a mouse? (Stanford law professor Hank Greely liked to phrase the question in a different way: What if Mickey Mouse suddenly started talking?)
Debates about this kind of laboratory combination led to legal and regulatory responses in some countries, such as the U.K., which had also led the way in regulating embryo research and in vitro fertilization. The United States didn’t enact any new policies, though bioethics consultants in the U.S. report that people often feel queasy about creating “unnatural” laboratory human chimeras, for a mix of practical and ethical reasons.
But it’s different when the chimera occurs naturally. Does a chimeric person combined from two fertilized eggs get two votes? According to some proposed legislation, he or she should. The discussion matters. As candidates position themselves for the dash to the next congressional and then presidential election, let’s understand what is at issue here.
WE HAVE NEVER HEARD OF NATURALLY DEFUSED EMBRYOS BEING CALLED 'CHIMERAS'. THAT TERM WAS COINED DURING GMO HUMAN MANIPULATIONS.
PAUL RYAN, being that global banking 1% OLD WORLD KINGS AND QUEENS KNIGHTS OF MALTA 33rd degree freemason----pushing for GMO HUMAN RIGHTS because he supports global banking 1% GENETIC ENGINEERING OF HUMANS.
Rep. Paul Ryan of Wisconsin—the failed Republican vice presidential candidate in 2012—was one of many to co-sponsor the House Sanctity of Human Life Act of 2013. (He was a co-sponsor on earlier, similar legislation as well.) The summary of H.R. 23:
Declares that: (1) the right to life guaranteed by the Constitution is vested in each human and is the person’s paramount and most fundamental right; (2) each human life begins with fertilization, cloning, or its functional equivalent, at which time every human has all legal and constitutional attributes and privileges of personhood; and (3) Congress, each state, the District of Columbia, and all U.S. territories have the authority to protect all human lives.” The proposed bill asserts further that “(B) the life of each human being begins with fertilization, cloning, or its functional equivalent, irrespective of sex, health, function or disability, defect, stage of biological development, or condition of dependency, at which time every human being shall have all the legal and constitutional attributes and privileges of personhood.
The impulse is clear. The sponsors, including Ryan, want to protect what they see as human life. They want to prohibit abortions. Unfortunately, they may love life, but they do not understand its earliest developmental stages. Their proposed legislation and the personhood movement ignore the existence of chimeras, among other developmental phenomena.
We know that some cases exist in which two eggs are fertilized inside a woman quite naturally, and the genetically different cells divide but then touch each other and grow together. In some cases, one absorbs the other; this can lead to an individual with a partially formed fetus, or parasitic twin, inside or attached to him or her.
In still other cases, the two develop largely separately, but result in births of what were historically called Siamese or conjoined twins. Medical responses in developed countries usually call for separating the two, even when this means that one will die to allow the other to live, especially when the two share vital organs.
In perhaps the biologically most intriguing cases, the two combine more completely. Two different lines of cells, with different genes on different chromosomes, come together and, with the amazing regulatory powers of life, merge together to make a whole, apparently normal and natural chimeric person. The case of Karen Keegan brought chimerism to medical attention in 1998, when her sons were being tested as possible kidney donors for her. They failed to match her DNA in ways that suggested that they could not be her sons, yet she (and her family) knew they were. Doctors finally discovered that she had two distinct sets of DNA, which proved that chimerism does occur and yet remain invisible.
Another case—this one in 2002—involved Lydia Fairchild, who similarly failed to match her children genetically. This biological surprise led to court battles as Fairchild separated from her husband and sought child support. She also turned out to be a genetic chimera. The resulting 2006 British documentary The Twin Inside Me (or I Am My Own Twin) called into question using genetic testing as a reliable source of evidence about identity. Chimerism also challenges us to think more seriously about how we will handle “personalized” medicine for people who are actually complex mixes of genomic materials.
What does such developmental complexity mean for the proposed Sanctity of Human Life Act?
If one twin absorbs part of the other, did it commit homicide? Perhaps so. Conjoined twins are considered to be two different people legally, but what if one of them has only legs and feet that stick out from the fully formed twin (which has actually happened)—is the one twin is a person with some extra parts, or did he or she also commit homicide in some way? What about a chimeric person--does he or she get two votes because of having come from two different fertilizations? If fertilization defines personhood, then surely so.
Clearly, this easily leads to nonsense. The Sanctity of Human Life Act legislation will almost certainly never become law, in part because the U.S. Congress is not doing much in these deeply divided times, and in part because members of Congress often propose such dead-end legislation to satisfy their core constituents and gain political and financial support. We know that. Nonetheless, the message is clear. For the 40 members of Congress who co-sponsored this bill, sanctity of human life is one of the top issues for gaining that political and financial support that they need so desperately. It helped place Paul Ryan as the conservative force on the Republican presidential ticket in 2012. Biological facts may not matter much to those constituents. But they should matter to otherwise intelligent people, which includes Paul Ryan and colleagues.
We can hope that our legislative, judicial, and executive governmental branches will learn enough biology so that they do not even consider legislation that makes little sense. Understanding what embryos are and how they develop is not just a theoretical matter—being inaccurate has consequences. Knowing the biology will not tell us how to act or what is right and good, but it will inform decisions so that they are not inconsistent with biological reality.
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CITIZENS' OVERSIGHT MARYLAND is a left social progressive political action organization being the OPPOSITE of far-right wing global banking 1% EMERGE MARYLAND. These women are being groomed to be POLITICAL CHIMERAS----pretending they care about our US 99% WE THE PEOPLE while MOVING FORWARD ONE WORLD for only the global 1%.
CLINTON/BUSH/OBAMA do indeed have a complete capture of our US political parties but that does not mean SURRENDER of 350 million US citizens and tens of millions of new to US immigrant citizens. It really is EASY PEASY to rebuild our last century's 99% WE THE PEOPLE political parties.
US Federal law and US Constitutional rulings have century's of protecting the rights of people to engage in any political stance they choose AND this right protects our EMPLOYMENT----that is why public sector workers cannot have their jobs threatened because they embrace the political views opposite of party in power. A corporation cannot HIRE OR FIRE an employee simply because they support policies HOLDING POWER AND WEALTH ACCOUNTABLE.
THERE IS A LAW FOR ALL THIS-----LET'S SAY THE APP IS ALREADY IN PLACE. WE SIMPLY NEED POLITICIANS WHO WILL ENFORCE THESE LAWS.
None of these global banking 5% Hillary nasty ladies will do that. As global banking 1% fills our US elections with women-----our US 99% of WE THE WOMEN are next in line to be thrown under the bus.
We can tell the WE DON'T CARE citizens AND organizations by who hosts these political events or forums RIGGED for global banking 1%
'The organization is hosting a fundraiser reception on Thursday, Dec. 8 at 6:30 p.m. at the Open Works studio at 1400 Greenmount Avenue in Baltimore'.
Emerge Maryland to train 23 women to run for office
Dec 7, 2016 Baltimore Sun
Emerge Maryland, the organization that trains Democratic women to run for office, announced its 2017 class Wednesday.
The 23 candidates from eight Maryland jurisdictions including Baltimore represent the largest class of the training program, which is in its fifth year.
Past graduates include state Del. Brooke Lierman of Southeast Baltimore and Baltimore City Councilwoman Shannon Sneed of East Baltimore.
"After the 2016 elections, where we saw Hillary Clinton defeated for president, and no women elected to Maryland's federal delegation, more women than ever are expressing interest in Emerge Maryland's
training program and saying they are motivated to run," Martha
McKenna, president of Emerge Maryland's board, said in a statement.
The Emerge Maryland training program includes nine sessions and 75 hours of training over six months from December through May.
Among the 23 new members is Robbyn Lewis, a Baltimore community activist who works at the Maryland Health Benefit Exchange. She is a candidate to fill the vacancy created in Baltimore's 46th legislative district after Del. Pete Hammen joined the administration of Mayor Catherine E. Pugh.
Lewis has been endorsed by incumbent lawmakers in the district, including Lierman.
Other local members of the Emerge Maryland class include: Lenora Dawson, Ellie Mitchell, Stephanie Smith and Dea Thomas of Baltimore, Marisol Johnson of Baltimore County, Shaneka Henson, Deborah Ritchie and Lisa Rodvien of Anne Arundel County, and Debra Jung and Christiana Rigby of Howard County.
Thomas ran for the Baltimore City Council's 11th District seat this year, finishing second to Councilman Eric T. Costello.
The organization is hosting a fundraiser reception on Thursday, Dec. 8 at 6:30 p.m. at the Open Works studio at 1400 Greenmount Avenue in Baltimore.
_______________________________________________
OF COURSE----our US right wing parties especially the US GOP is as captured and corrupt for global banking 1%-----same CHIMERAS PRETENDING to be US conservative Republicans while killing all that is AMERICAN REPUBLIC. It was our 99% of US right wing citizens FOOLED early on with all that STATES' RIGHTS jargon. It is of course our US FEDERAL laws and Constitution giving us rights as citizens and protections under law. If you are fighting for STATES' RIGHTS over FEDERAL RIGHTS you are killing your own voice as A US CITIZEN. That is what our BUSH NEO-CONS did on the right side of US politics. MARYLAND REPUBLICAN LARRY HOGAN is a SHAPE-SHIFTER. He pretends not to support TRUMP when of course both TRUMP AND HOGAN are the same global banking 5% freemason/Greek player pols MARYLAND right wing 99% of voters support both TRUMP AND HOGAN because their right wing party is corrupted and they have no one else for whom to vote.
WE NEED BOTH SIDES OF US POLITICAL SPECTRUM TO KNOW THE CHIMERAS----AND GET RID OF THEM-----WE ARE REBUILDING US POLITICAL STRUCTURES.
But TRUMP AND HOGAN are going to make AMERICA GREAT again say our 99% of right wing voters ---only they are not. They are killing, making a colonial entity of US taking us back to 1000BC ---nothing American happening in 1000BC.
Maryland Politics
Larry Hogan shuns Donald Trump. But Trump-loving Marylanders love Hogan anyway.
By Robert McCartney
September 28
SALISBURY, Md. -- Waiting in a large crowd at an outdoor arena for Gov. Larry Hogan to open a folk music festival, Christopher Welch listed his reasons for supporting the Republican chief executive.
“Hogan is opening the state back up for business. He’s been very good to state employees, which I am now. And he’s taking care of places outside the [Baltimore-Washington] metro corridor,” said Welch, a state trooper and candidate for clerk of the court here in rural Wicomico County.
Welch, a Republican who also supports President Trump, said Hogan’s repeated refusal to embrace the man in the White House “doesn’t bother me one bit.”
“Hogan is trying to make Maryland No. 1, and Trump is trying to make America No. 1,” Welch said. “They may have different views, but they’re both going in the same direction.”
On the Eastern Shore and in Western Maryland — red parts of a deep-blue state — Hogan has retained the enthusiastic support of the GOP base. That loyalty has freed the governor to champion centrist proposals and positions, including free community college, paid family leave for state employees, building the light-rail Purple Line in Montgomery and Prince George’s counties, and banning fracking across the state.
Hogan’s repeated attempts to distance himself from Trump, meanwhile, appear to have inoculated him from Democratic attempts to link him to the president, with 60 percent of Maryland voters in a recent Goucher Poll saying their opinions of Trump will have little to no effect on their gubernatorial vote.
The same poll found 91 percent of likely Republican voters supporting Hogan’s reelection, compared with 48 percent of likely Democratic voters who plan to vote for Democratic challenger Ben Jealous. Overall, Hogan is leading Jealous by double digits.
Some hardcore conservatives grumble about Hogan’s frequent criticisms of Trump — at a televised debate Monday, he said, “There’s not a lot I have in common with the president” — and his centrist positions on issues such as gun control.
But they’re ready to vote for him anyway, thrilled at the prospect of Maryland’s first two-term GOP governor since the 1950s.
IF ONLY HOGAN WAS REALLY A US RIGHT WING CONSERVATIVE REPUBLICAN AND NOT SIMPLY CLINTON/BUSH/OBAMA.
“It would be nice to have someone more conservative,” retiree Johanne Watson said after seeing Hogan recently at the Great Frederick Fair. But she added: “This works. It’s like making a little concession. . . . You have to concede a little bit to work with everybody.”
In a state where Democrats have a more than 2-to-1 edge in party registration, “Hogan is being smart by staying down the middle,” GOP voter Beth Dunn, 61, said in Salisbury. “Trump has too much ill will against him.”
Republicans “understand that he has to govern from the center,” state Sen. Michael J. Hough (R-Frederick) said of Hogan. “Many of them thought they’d never have a Republican governor in our lifetime.”
Hogan’s strategy mirrors that pursued by Gov. Charlie Baker of Massachusetts, another blue-state Republican leader who has been listed, along with Hogan, as the nation’s two most popular governors. Both have frequently broken with the president, most recently by calling for a delay in the Supreme Court nomination of Brett M. Kavanaugh so allegations of sexual misconduct can be fully investigated.
It’s not an approach that works in red states, where Republicans are loath to break with Trump because of the base’s strong support for the president.
But in Maryland, GOP leaders say Hogan’s popularity is a plus in their “Drive for Five,” a quest to gain at least five seats in the state Senate this November, which would eliminate the Democrats’ vetoproof majority and give the GOP leverage over judicial appointments and redistricting following the 2020 Census. Hogan has been the featured guest at campaign events and fundraisers for many Republican Senate candidates.
“He’s been raising a lot of money,” said Patrick O’Keefe, executive director of the Maryland Republican Party. “He’s been saying recently that he’s looking at [gaining] seven, eight or nine [seats].”
Mark Odachowski, who owns an electrical contracting company in Ocean City, has been making and handing out hundreds of Trump flags. When photos of them flying at a local marina circulated on social media, the president sent out an approving tweet.
Odachowski has praise for the governor, too. He credits both Trump and Hogan for an improved economy, which he said has allowed him to increase hiring from a low of nine employees at the bottom of the recession to 100 today.
“He’s definitely helped small business,” he said of Hogan. “You can see the economy is doing well, and he’s part of it.”
At the opening of the National Folk Festival in Salisbury this month, and later at the Frederick fair, Hogan was greeted enthusiastically. Supporters credited him for opposing tax increases, lowering tolls and reducing regulations — and for championing the interests of rural Maryland, which chafes at what it sees as second-class status compared with the more populous, Democratic-dominated areas around Baltimore and Washington.
OH, REALLY????
“He’s just a great administrator, and he’s fair and he’s considerate,” said attorney Melvin Caldwell Jr., who praised Hogan for restraining state spending.
Others welcomed the rebuilding of 11 bridges on U.S. Route 50, and $1.5 million of state funding for modernizing Main Street and building an amphitheater in time for the festival’s opening.
“It’s been a reality for us on the Eastern Shore that we’ve been left behind,” said Del. Carl L. Anderton (R-Wicomico). “Now we feel like we’re on an equal footing, and we’d kind of like to stay there for a little while.”
At the Frederick fair, Hogan toured exhibits of baked goods and cranked a machine that stripped kernels from ears of corn. “For eight years there was what a lot of people refer to as a war on agriculture and a war on rural Maryland,” he said, referring to the tenure of his predecessor, Democrat Martin O’Malley. “And the day I was sworn in, I said, ‘That war is over.’ I promised that the areas of the state that were ignored and neglected and forgotten would no longer be forgotten.”
Jealous and other Democrats have accused the governor of failing to stand up to Trump on immigration, the GOP tax law and other issues. But Hogan has publicly faulted Trump on subjects including health care, Chesapeake Bay funding, the separation of immigrant families at the border and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
An outspoken critic of Hogan’s moderation is Matt Adams, the Republican Party chairman in Somerset County on the Eastern Shore. He and other conservatives fault Hogan for signing a “red flag” gun-control bill that would allow family members or law enforcement agencies to seek court orders to keep people from owning a gun if they have been deemed by a judge to be a danger to themselves or others.
“Larry has consistently turned his back on his base,” Adams said. “Anyone who is really paying attention as a Republican has a serious concern about the gun bill that Larry has signed, and his lack of support for Trump.”
But Adams said he and like-minded conservatives would vote for Hogan anyway.
“Do we vote for Larry, versus Ben Jealous? Of course. Ben Jealous is a disaster,” Adams said.
Many Maryland Republicans who back both Hogan and Trump draw an important distinction between the two. While they applaud both men’s policies, they say they also find the governor likable but often cringe at the president’s aggressiveness and personal attacks.
“With Trump, the main problem is people don’t like him, but they like what he does,” said Mark McIver, the Republican central committee chairman in Wicomico. “With Larry, they like him, and they also like what he does.”
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The LAST PLACE any 99% WE THE PEOPLE would go TODAY for interpretation of US legal standing and history is our most captured of all-------US LAW SCHOOLS, LAWYERS ORGANIZATIONS-----including those PRETENDING to be helping our 99% as NAACP, ACLU, WOMEN'S LEGAL COUNCIL. Our US 99% and new to immigrant citizens simply must understand all these political structures were captured and we are going to rebuild our local and state political committees both right wing and left wing.
'However, political views aren’t covered by these laws and the laws of most states. This means employers are free to consider political views and affiliations in making job decisions'.
Below we see a good discussion on rights of workers to voice their political views without fear of corporate or business retaliation. Yet, the statement above is NOT correct. Baby-boomers were free to shout and stand against corporate power----it took global banking 1% OLD WORLD KINGS AND QUEENS using a FOREIGN SOVEREIGNTY OF MALTA GLOBAL MITRE CORPORATION and lots of lying, cheating, and political corruption to kill that OPEN US POLITICAL VOICE for all workers. So, labor rights citizens were able to shout against those corporations----women's rights/civil rights were able to shout for opportunity and access without being afraid of losing their jobs.
WE DO NOT WANT ----WRONGFUL TERMINATION PRIVATE LAWYERS DEFENDING OUR 99% OF WE THE PEOPLE VOICES IN POLITICS---THAT IS WHAT OUR CITY/COUNTY ATTORNEYS AND STATE ATTORNEYS HAVE AS A DUTY.
We KNOW a private lawyer is PRETENDING to care about our 99% of civil and political rights if they are not fighting to get our US, state, and local PUBLIC ATTORNEYS to do their PUBLIC DUTY.
Can Employers Discriminate Based on Political Beliefs or Affiliation?
Making decisions based on an employee's political beliefs or activities might violate state laws.
By Lisa Guerin, J.D.
Please answer a few questions to help us match you with attorneys in your area.
The employer is a Can an employer fire or discriminate against an employee based on political beliefs?
You may be surprised to learn that, for many employees, the answer is yes. Federal law does not protect private employees from discrimination based on their politics. However, some states do protect employees from certain types of political discrimination. And, an employer may not use an employee’s politics as a pretext for discrimination based on a protected trait, like race or religion.
What Is Discrimination Based on Political Beliefs?
Discrimination based on politics happens when an employer makes job decisions because of an employee’s political beliefs, party affiliation, or civic activities. An employer that, for example, refuses to hire applicants who vote Republican, fires anyone who supports gun control, or demotes someone who runs for the local school board is engaged in political discrimination.
Federal Laws Don’t Prohibit Political Discrimination
Not all forms of discrimination are illegal, however. It is illegal under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 for employers to make job decisions based on race, color, national origin, religion, and sex. Other federal laws prohibit discrimination based on age, disability, and genetic information. However, political views aren’t covered by these laws and the laws of most states. This means employers are free to consider political views and affiliations in making job decisions.
CALL US CRAZY BUT ARE NOT ALL THE ABOVE POLITICAL VIEWS? FEDERAL LAWS TIED TO PROHIBITED DISCRIMINATION ARE INDEED LAWS TIED TO POLITICAL VIEWS.
What About the First Amendment?
Many people mistakenly believe that the First Amendment of the Constitution protects them from discrimination based on their politics. After all, the First Amendment guarantees our rights to free speech, freedom of the press, free exercise of our religious beliefs, free assembly, and to petition the government for redress of grievances. Shouldn’t these rights protect us from discrimination based on our political beliefs and statements?
The First Amendment does protect our political views--but only from actions taken by the government. Those who work for public employers—the federal, state, or local government—are protected by the First Amendment and might have a valid legal claim if fired for their political beliefs, depending on the circumstances. However, those who work for private employers don’t enjoy these types of job protections under the First Amendment.
OH, REALLY???????
State Laws on Political Discrimination
A handful of states protect private employees from workplace discrimination based on their political beliefs or activities. A larger number of states protect employees from discrimination based on legal activities outside of work, which might include political activities.
Political Discrimination Laws
A few states explicitly prohibit employers from making job decisions based on an employee’s or applicant’s politics. In California, for example, employees are protected from discrimination based on their political affiliations and activities. New York and the District of Columbia have similar laws. And, in Oregon and Wisconsin, employees may not be penalized for refusing to attend meetings intended to allow their employer to communicate its political or religious opinions.
Lawful Conduct Laws
A number of states have laws that prohibit employers from making job decisions based on an employee’s off-duty conduct and activities, as long as they are legal. In Colorado, for example, an employer may generally not fire an employee for engaging in any lawful activity while off duty and away from the workplace. If your state has this type of law, it will likely protect you from political discrimination.
Political Discrimination Might Be Illegal on Other Grounds
Even if you work in a state that doesn’t protect employees from political discrimination, you might still have a legal claim if your employer’s actions were really based on a protected trait under Title VII or a similar state law. For example, if African American employees are fired for participating in a Black Lives Matter rally, but employees of other races are not fired for going to marches, rallies, or protests, that might qualify as illegal race discrimination. In this situation, the African American employees would have a claim that the employer used their politics as a pretext for race discrimination. Similarly, an employer that fires Christian employees for attending a right to life march but shows no interest in other employees’ political views might be making decisions based on religious beliefs rather than political beliefs. A good employment lawyer can help you understand the laws that might protect you in your state and the strength of your potential claims.
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EPI is again a global banking 1% captured media outlet so we are not going to get REAL information from this article but it does address good talking points. What happened during CLINTON/BUSH/OBAMA was a dismantlement of all that was STATES/CITY ATTORNEY duty to enforce and uphold our US 99% WE THE PEOPLE rights including the rights of citizens to express their political views freely without fear of retaliation from government or employers. These rights were indeed enforced much of last century--we understand some regions of US never enforced US Federal laws.
A LAWYER or a legal organization is NOT working for civil and worker rights if they are PRIVATE LAWYERS-----who are not fighting our state and city's attorney's office to ENFORCE US AND STATE laws of freedom of political voice. We do not want private law firms doing this ---we want our US government checks and balances TO WORK.
Again, the gorilla-in-room 99% policy issue surrounding our US rights to freely stand and support political issues without harm is ENDING DESIGNATION OF US FOREIGN ECONOMIC ZONES----ENDING MOVING FORWARD PRIVATIZATION OF ALL THAT IS PUBLIC.
STATES' ATTORNEYS WILL HAVE NO POWER TO DO AS THIS ARTICLE STATES IF MOVING FORWARD US FOREIGN ECONOMIC ZONE DEVELOPMENT CONTINUES.
EPI KNOWS US state attorneys will not have power to enforce these US civil or labor rights as long as that designation of US FOREIGN ECONOMIC ZONES exist...................we do not see any mention of this in this article
'Conclusion
State attorney general offices can be key allies in protecting workers’ rights. While there is variation in their structure, resources, and jurisdiction, state attorneys general have a range of powers that can enable them to play a leading role in ensuring legal compliance by employers and advancing and defending workplace protections'.
THIS IS A LONG ARTICLE PLEASE GLANCE THROUGH JUST TO REMIND WHAT OUR STATE ATTORNEYS HAVE FAILED TO ENFORCE THESE FEW DECADES.
State attorneys general can play key roles in protecting workers’ rights
Report • By Terri Gerstein and Marni von Wilpert • May 7, 2018
Summary
State attorneys general can be key allies in protecting workers’ rights. While there are variations in the structure, resources, and jurisdiction of state attorney general offices, these offices often have a range of powers that can enable them to play a key role in advancing and defending workplace protections by ensuring that employers comply with the law. This report describes some of the ways state attorneys general have been involved in protecting workers’ rights.
Introduction: Broader state enforcement is needed to enforce workers’ rights laws
Working people in America are being shortchanged: They are working harder, but inequality is rising and wages for all but the highest-paid workers are failing to keep up with economywide productivity growth (Gould 2018). Even worse, many workers are not being paid what they are owed by their employers. The failure to enforce workers’ rights laws has resulted in billions of dollars in wages being stolen from workers’ paychecks (Levine 2018; McNicholas, Mokhiber, and Chaikof 2017). For example, in the 10 most populous states in the country, each year 2.4 million workers covered by state or federal minimum wage laws report being paid less than the applicable minimum wage in their state—approximately 17 percent of the eligible low-wage workforce.1
The Wage and Hour Division (WHD) of the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL)—the federal agency responsible for enforcing minimum wage and overtime laws--has been stretched increasingly thin. The number of payroll jobs in the U.S. is more than three times as large as it was in the 1940s—146.6 million in 2017 compared with 45.0 million in 1948—but the number of wage and hour investigators at WHD has remained essentially the same (BLS various years). In 1948, WHD employed one investigator for every 22,600 covered workers; today, WHD has only one per every 135,000 workers (Cooper and Kroeger 2017). As a result, the agency’s ability to effectively police violations of labor law has suffered: from 1980 to 2015, the number of wage and hour violation cases WHD investigated decreased by 63 percent (Cooper and Kroeger 2017).
Moreover, the decline in union rates has put more workers at risk of labor law violations. Workers not covered by unions—those who are neither in a union nor covered by a union contract—are almost twice as likely (4.4 percent) to experience minimum wage violations as those in a union or covered by a union contract (2.3 percent) (Cooper and Kroeger 2017). And unions continue to be under attack: Trump’s budget blueprint calls for funding cuts to the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), the federal agency charged with upholding private-sector workers’ rights to organize and join unions (Opfer 2018).
These staffing shortages and funding cuts show that the Trump administration is not making enforcement of our nation’s labor laws a priority. To protect workers’ rights to fair pay and fair treatment on the job, funding and resources for federal labor and employment law enforcement agencies need to increase dramatically. In addition, state governments can and should take up the fight to protect workers’ basic rights on the job. State labor departments are usually the primary enforcer of state labor laws, but there are other governmental entities that can and do engage in worker protection activities, including state attorney general offices.
This report explores the ability of state attorneys general to take up enforcement of our labor laws and protection of workers’ rights. By examining enforcement actions among a number of states, this report highlights the various ways state attorneys general exercise jurisdiction to protect workers and enforce labor laws.
General background on state attorneys general
All 50 states and the District of Columbia, as well as Puerto Rico and other territories, have attorneys general. Although 43 of these attorneys general are elected statewide on a partisan basis, the staffs of these offices are generally career and operate in a professional, nonpolitical manner.2
Within the variety of office structures, most state attorney general offices have the following divisions (sometimes called “bureaus”): a division representing state agencies in trial courts; an appeals division, headed by the solicitor general; a division that brings public advocacy enforcement cases; a criminal division (where such jurisdiction exists); and a front office or executive team, including communications, intergovernmental, and outreach staff, a policy director; and other similar positions.
All state attorney general offices share a core commitment to the enforcement of state laws, but they vary widely in their jurisdiction, structure, resources, and areas of greatest focus:
Currently, there are several state attorney general offices that have units or staff dedicated to labor enforcement: California, Massachusetts, and New York have longstanding labor units, and, in recent years, new units have been created by District of Columbia Attorney General Karl Racine, Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan, and Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro, while Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson has also increased his office’s involvement in labor enforcement (OAG DC 2017b; OAG Illinois n.d.).
DEDICATED TO LABOR ENFORCEMENT MEANS MAKING SURE ALL LAWS GLOBAL CORPORATIONS NEED AS REGARDS LABOR---SUCH AS GLOBAL LABOR POOL -----ARE ENFORCED. THE STATES ABOVE DO NOT ENFORCE US 99% WE THE PEOPLE LABOR LAWS.
Unlike their federal counterparts and state agencies, state attorneys general typically have a broad range of issues they can address that impact policy and people’s lives. In addition to their statutory duties to represent state agencies in court, attorneys general often fulfill a generalized public advocacy role within their states. Attorneys general enforce state laws, educate the public about important rights, propose legislation, file amicus briefs, produce reports, author op-eds, issue opinion letters, make public statements that garner media and public attention, submit comments and provide testimony on state and federal legislation, and, in recent years, have sued the federal government over matters of national importance.
While state attorney general offices, like all government agencies, have limited resources and jurisdiction, they can often be more nimble and flexible than many other government agencies in addressing a range of emerging issues with a range of potential tools.
Roles of state attorneys general in protecting workers’ rights
Enforcement of laws to protect workers
Using their authority to enforce state laws, state attorneys general have played an affirmative role in protecting workplace rights.
Some state attorneys general are granted explicit civil or criminal enforcement jurisdiction. For example, the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Fair Labor Division has sole authority to enforce the Commonwealth’s wage and hour laws, including laws and regulations pertaining to prevailing wage, minimum wage, overtime, retaliation, misclassification of workers, tip pooling, and child labor (Gerstein and Sheikh 2017; OAG Massachusetts 2018b). The Division has the power to investigate work sites, issue civil citations, and bring criminal charges where appropriate. The attorney general of the District of Columbia also has independent enforcement authority for wage and hour laws. States such as Ohio and Florida have enacted their minimum wage laws through constitutional amendments that grant enforcement authority to the state attorney general, although they may not have exercised that authority to date (Gerstein and Sheikh 2017; Levine 2018).
NO STATE HAS WAGE THEFT AND EVERY KIND OF LABOR VIOLATIONS THAN OF COURSE MASSACHUSETTS.
The Epidemic of Wage Theft in Residential Construction in ...www.umass.edu/lrrc/research/working-papers-series/wage-theft
Our research documents how the illegal theft of workers' wages has reached epidemic levels in residential construction in Massachusetts. We conducted three ..
State labor agencies, through varying arrangements, often refer labor and employment law cases to their attorneys general for enforcement. For example:
Independent contractor misclassification
Numerous state-level studies show that between 10 and 20 percent of employers misclassify at least one worker as an independent contractor (Carré 2015). Independent contractor misclassification5 occurs when employers treat workers as self-employed independent contractors even though they should be considered employees, and thereby deprive such workers of coverage by minimum wage, overtime pay, unemployment insurance, and workers’ compensation laws (Carré 2015).
Payroll fraud
Payroll fraud occurs when employers pay workers cash wages “off the books” and thereby fail to pay unemployment insurance taxes, procure required workers’ compensation insurance, or withhold payroll taxes, among other things. In some states, efforts to address this conduct are combined with efforts to address independent contractor misclassification, through multi-agency misclassification task forces or other focused enforcement efforts. State attorney general offices have brought cases to address such off-the-books employment (OAG New York 2014a, 2015b).
Wage theft
Wage theft occurs when employers fail to pay workers the full wages to which they are entitled for their labor. This includes, for example, refusing to pay workers the total amount of promised wages, not paying for time spent preparing a workstation at the start of a shift or closing up at the end of a shift, not paying overtime premiums to workers who work more than 40 hours a week, and keeping workers’ tips. Given that wage theft disproportionately affects workers from low-income households—who are already struggling to make ends meet—the loss of wages can have a particularly damaging impact.
Joint-employer liability
When two or more businesses determine or have control over a worker’s pay, schedule, job duties, or other important terms and conditions of employment, the joint-employer doctrine allows them both to be held accountable as employers and responsible for violations of employment and labor laws (von Wilpert 2018):
Immigrant workers’ rights
Immigrant workers across the United States are often particularly vulnerable to workplace abuse:
Noncompete agreements
Labor mobility is fundamental to the ability to earn good wages. But an estimated 30 million U.S. employees, many of them relatively low-wage workers, are prevented from leaving their jobs for better wages elsewhere because they are bound by noncompete agreements (Eisenbrey 2016; Dougherty 2017). While noncompete agreements are legal in many states, one powerful tool that state attorneys general can use to challenge the use of noncompete agreements is the doctrine of parens patriae. This doctrine “allows a state to bring an action on behalf of its citizen in order to protect its quasi-sovereign interests in their health, comfort and welfare” (Myers 2013). Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan’s office exercised its parens patriae authority to challenge the use of noncompete agreements directed at workers in fast-food restaurants, and was able to require 300 Jimmy John’s sandwich restaurants throughout the state to rescind the noncompete agreements it had forced its sandwich makers and delivery drivers to sign (OAG Illinois 2016a, 2016b); Madigan’s office also sued a payday lending company for unlawful noncompete agreements (OAG Illinois 2017a). New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman has also reached several settlements in relation to employers’ use of noncompete agreements (OAG New York 2016e, 2016f).
Prevailing wage
Prevailing wage laws seek to ensure that government contractors pay wages that are comparable to the local norms for a given trade when those contractors are working on public construction and certain other contracts. Without prevailing wage requirements, contractors can win bids on government contracts by reducing their workers’ wages rather than competing on the basis of efficiency and management skills, materials costs, or the productivity of their workforce. Even after taking into account cost-of-living differences, median wages in construction are almost 7 percent lower in states where there is no prevailing wage law (Eisenbrey and Kroeger 2017).
Some state attorneys general have enforced the prevailing wage law directly. For example, New York’s attorney general has brought cases against contractors for prevailing wage violations in construction of affordable housing, public schools, public housing, and airport construction, among other things (OAG New York 2013a, 2014b, 2016a). In addition, many states have false claims acts, which fight fraud against the government by allowing whistleblowers who report fraud against New York State or local governments to receive a portion of the money recovered (OAG New York 2017a). Several state attorneys general have used their state’s false claims act to enforce prevailing wage laws.7
Criminal prosecutions
New York’s attorney general has obtained over 40 convictions of employers for violating labor laws since 2011. One such case involved a Papa John’s franchisee who created false records and gave workers fictitious names in order to continue to illegally withhold overtime pay after becoming aware that he was under investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor for wage violations.
Representing state labor agencies in court
A core function of state attorneys general is representing the state in court. Offices may defend labor agencies in their enforcement of state laws when employers challenge that enforcement in court, or they may defend agency decisions in unemployment or workers’ compensation cases. For example, in New York during the past decade, there have been numerous unemployment insurance cases where the New York Department of Labor determined that a worker had employee status, and was not an independent contractor as the employer claimed, and the attorney general’s office defended those determinations in appellate courts.9 This representational function can also come into play in cases with national implications, such as in the Janus v. AFSCME case, in which the Illinois Attorney General’s Office represented the state as a party when defending public-sector unions’ ability to collect fair share fees (OAG Illinois 2018).
In their representation of state agencies, state attorneys general have the ethical obligations and other constraints that accompany representing a client, but their work in this area often has important ramifications for workers’ rights.
Amicus briefs and comments on federal rulemakingState attorneys general can also influence labor and employment policies and regulations by participating in litigation before the United States Supreme Court and by submitting comments in relation to federal rulemaking.
State attorneys general are active in filing amicus briefs in labor and employment cases, both individually and through coordinated multistate efforts.
For example, several state attorneys general filed a brief in support of the Obama administration’s revised interpretation of the Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act’s (LMRDA) Persuader Rule, a rule that was intended to provide greater transparency and fairness in union elections in the private sector (OAG Massachusetts 2016; von Wilpert 2017). And 21 state attorneys general filed a brief in the Janus v. AFSCME case, urging the Supreme Court to uphold fair share fee provisions in public-sector collective bargaining agreements.10 A coalition of 18 state attorneys general also filed a brief in the Murphy Oil v. NLRB case, speaking out against the use of forced arbitration in employment contracts (OAG Massachusetts 2017a). An estimated 60 million American workers have been forced to give up their access to the courts to resolve employment disputes because of mandatory arbitration agreements in employment contracts (Colvin 2017).
In 2017, several state attorneys general submitted comments to the United States Department of Labor urging the Trump administration to not roll back the 2016 overtime rule,11 which would have updated the overtime salary threshold and given 12.5 million workers automatic overtime protections (OAG New York 2017b; Shierholz 2017).
In February 2018, a coalition of 17 state attorneys general filed public comments opposing the Trump administration’s proposal to rescind 2011 regulations that ensure employees can keep the tips they have earned (OAG California 2018b). It is estimated that, under the proposed rule, employers would have pocketed $5.8 billion in tips earned by tipped workers each year (Shierholz et al. 2017). As a result of this advocacy (in coalition with other groups), the omnibus spending bill enacted by Congress on March 23, 2018, included a provision that provides America’s tipped workers with explicit protection of their hard-earned tips (Conti 2018).
In April 2018, a coalition of 11 state attorneys general wrote a letter to U.S. Secretary of Labor Alexander Acosta, raising serious concerns about the U.S. Department of Labor’s Payroll Audit Independent Determination (PAID) program, a pilot program that allows certain employers who violate labor laws to avoid prosecution and penalties in exchange for simply paying the back wages their employees were already owed under federal law (OAG New York 2018b).
General advocacy
In addition to their law enforcement role, state attorneys general have engaged in various types of advocacy to protect and support workers’ rights.
Public education
State attorneys general have used a variety of approaches to educate the public on labor topics, including public outreach events to educate participants about their rights. Through their websites, state attorneys general often provide information about a variety of labor law−related topics and workers’ rights generally. Some websites also provide public access to formal complaint portals, which can be offered in various languages and may inform complainants that staff will not ask about an individual’s immigration status (Gerstein and Sheikh 2017).
The activities of the Fair Labor Section in Pennsylvania’s attorney general’s office provide an example of extensive outreach in this area. In its first year, the Section conducted labor roundtables with leadership from organized labor across the Commonwealth and participated in dozens of meetings with workers’ rights and other stakeholder groups. During the fall semester, the Temple University Beasley School of Law Sheller Center for Social Justice participated in a clinical experience with the Fair Labor Section, in which students investigated the use of noncompete agreements for low-wage workers in Pennsylvania. Finally, after co-authoring public comments regarding the proposed rescission of the 2011 tip rule described above, Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro held press conferences at a diner in Philadelphia and a restaurant in Pittsburgh about the potential adverse effects of the proposed rule change. There was extensive media coverage of these events, which raised public awareness of the issue.
Opinion letters
State attorney general opinion letters are typically issued in response to a formal request for legal guidance by a state agency or state officials. Although not generally binding on the courts, a final opinion typically goes through a formalized review process and carries with it the full weight and authority of the office. Opinions often detail the duties and responsibilities of a state agency or official under state and federal law, or elucidate ambiguous or unclear statutory provisions in a state law (Gerstein and Sheikh 2017). For example, the Delaware and New Mexico state attorneys general each issued opinion letters asserting that the local governments in Sussex County, Delaware, and Sandoval County, New Mexico, did not have the statutory authority to enact local “right to work” ordinances, which would have barred unions from collecting fair share fees in the private sector (Delaware State News 2017; OAG New Mexico 2018).
ReportsIn 2014, the New York Attorney General’s Office issued Pinched by Plastic, a report on the payment of wages by payroll cards (OAG New York 2014d). The report was based on responses to inquiry letters sent by the attorney general’s office to approximately 40 national employers that were using payroll cards. It found that virtually all payroll card programs charged fees for card-related activities, and these fees added up, reducing take-home pay received by the lowest-paid workers in the state (OAG New York 2014d). In 2014, the New York Attorney General’s Office also began issuing annual Labor Day reports, providing a detailed overview of the Labor Bureau’s actions to protect the state’s workers (StateAG.org 2017b). Massachusetts began publishing a similar annual report in 2016 to highlight notable cases, investigations, and trends in labor enforcement in Massachusetts (StateAG.org. 2017a).
Legislation
Many state attorneys general have units within their office dedicated to drafting and proposing legislation. Some have used their legislative units to introduce bills that enhance worker protections and target abusive practices. In 2014, then Illinois Governor Pat Quinn signed into law Illinois House Bill 5622, a bill protecting low-wage workers who receive wages through payroll cards from unreasonable fees (OAG Illinois 2014). The Illinois Attorney General’s Office played a key role in this legislation: After receiving complaints from workers about onerous payroll card fees, the attorney general’s office, with assistance from the Illinois Department of Labor, drafted the original legislation, which was eventually sponsored by several state house representatives.
Similarly, after issuing its report on the payment of wages through payroll cards, New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman’s office also drafted legislation to regulate the use of payroll cards and enhance protections surrounding workers’ access to wages (OAG New York 2015c). In 2016, Schneiderman also proposed a bill to curb the widespread misuse of noncompete agreements (OAG New York 2016c).
Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson made wage theft the centerpiece of his 2015 legislative agenda. His office introduced legislation barring companies who have repeatedly violated the state’s wage theft laws from doing business in Washington (OAG Washington 2015b).
Multistate advocacy
There is a growing level of multistate action on workers’ rights issues among state attorneys general. In 2016, nine attorney general offices jointly sent letters to a number of retailers about their use of on-call shifts (shifts in which workers are expected to call in an hour or two before the start of a shift to learn whether or not they are needed for the day).12 The retailers that were using on-call shifts terminated the practice. In April 2018, 11 state attorney general offices jointly sent a letter to U.S. Secretary of Labor Acosta, expressing concerns about the Wage and Hour Division’s new pilot program, titled the Payroll Audit Independent Determination, which allows employers to avoid paying damages and penalties by voluntarily paying back wages only to underpaid workers (OAG California 2018a). And in February 2018, all 50 state attorneys general and the attorney general of the District of Columbia signed a letter to Congress seeking an end to mandatory arbitration for sexual harassment cases.13
Conclusion
State attorney general offices can be key allies in protecting workers’ rights. While there is variation in their structure, resources, and jurisdiction, state attorneys general have a range of powers that can enable them to play a leading role in ensuring legal compliance by employers and advancing and defending workplace protections.
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It simply makes common sense that our 300 years of US politics had broad and free discussions of political philosophy-----political stances -----our US politics were open to all kinds of political groups on right and left. We would not have had our FDR NEW DEAL, our 1960s civil rights/labor rights---all that ANTI-WAR activism without feeling free to express our political voices. Today, can our US city public K-12 parents stand outside shouting against COMMONER CORE AND RACE TO TOP? Yes they can but our public schools are being corporatized and creating conditions making it too hard for our 99% of parents and students to have opportunity and access at ordinary public K-12. So, the RIGHTS OF POLITICAL ASSOCIATION AND VOICE are still there for our US 99% of WE THE PEOPLE-----global banking 5% freemason/Greek players are simply making employment, health care, education et al impossible to attain through privatization of all that is PUBLIC-----THE PUBLIC is our 99% freedom of voice.
Remember, NYT is no longer a strong US news journal ----it is just as captured as CNN---------
'and while federal laws bar employers from firing workers because of such variables as their race, religion and gender, there is no such protection for political affiliation or activity'.
We see here TUGEND is a great big global banking 5% player so is not a US JOURNALIST
'Early life and education
Tugend was born in Los Angeles, California. Her parents are Thomas J. and Rachel (née Spitzer) Tugend.
She majored in journalism and history at the University of California, Berkeley and later earned a Master of Studies in Law at the Yale Law School'.
Shortcuts
Speaking Freely About Politics Can Cost You Your Job
By Alina Tugend
HERE’S a quiz for the coming campaign season. Which
one of these actions could get you disciplined or fired?
A) Hanging political cartoons on your office door.
B) Sending emails to your colleagues soliciting support for a controversial cause.
C) Writing a blog at home stating your opinions about a local campaign and posting it on Facebook.
D) All of the above.
The answer is D.
Now, that’s not an absolute. It depends on whether you are a private or public employee. It also depends on where you live.
But if you’re a nonunion private employee, your boss has great latitude to control your political actions. As Lee Tien, a lawyer with the Electronic Frontier Foundation, put it, “You don’t have the right to speak freely in the workplace.” Or even outside it.
It’s an issue that bubbles up around every major election, said Paula Brantner, executive director of Workplace Fairness, an informational site for employees. But the combination of intense political polarization, the Internet’s power to spread and magnify seemingly innocuous or private statements and technology’s growing ability to blur the line between workplace and home, make it a conundrum for employers and employees.
So it’s crucial that workers and their bosses understand their rights and responsibilities.
Here are the two most important points:
For private employees, who account for about 85 percent of the work force, the First Amendment’s guarantee offers no protection from being fired for something you’ve said, either in the workplace or outside of it, as on social media. That’s because the amendment addresses actions by the government to impede free speech, not by the private sector.
OH, REALLY???????
And while federal laws bar employers from firing workers because of such variables as their race, religion and gender, there is no such protection for political affiliation or activity.
A handful of states and localities address this issue, among them New York, California, Colorado, North Dakota and the District of Columbia. The broadest-based laws, such as those in California and New York, make it illegal to discriminate on the basis of an employees’ political activity or beliefs in or out of work, Ms. Brantner said, unless such activity interferes with the functioning of the business.
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Since our global banking 5% freemason/Greek players black, white, and brown players are all pledge to do anything 1000BC DNA OLD WORLD KINGS AND QUEENS say---we have to go to ancient mythology to see the FADS being pushed all tied with SHAPE-SHIFTERS-----of course we are brought back to VAMPIRES AND WEREWOLVES as tops-----we remember in US early 1900s movies telling us THE VEILS WERE DROPPED------contained lots of shape-shifting humans and creatures.
It takes far more energy to be a far-right wing global banking 5% freemason/Greek GREAT PRETENDER Chimera than to be simply ordinary 99% WE THE PEOPLE. Keep our voices strong and know who those shape-shifters are----as we rebuild our US right wing and left wing political parties and committees.
OH, NO---------EMERGE CALIFORNIA AS EMERGE MARYLAND IS TIED TO ECONOMIC POLICY INSTITUTE-------where journalism goes to DIE
.'Marni von Wilpert | Emerge California
emergeca.ngpvanhost.com/people/marni-von-wilpert
Marni von Wilpert is a civil rights and labor rights attorney. At the Economic Policy Institute, Marni monitors and evaluates legislation, regulations, and agency ...'
Creepy
10 Mythological Creatures and Shapeshifters
Listverse Staff October 26, 2009
Shapeshifting is a common theme in mythology and folklore. Many legendary creatures have this ability, which is represented in a full body transformation. It enables the creature to trick, deceive, hunt, and kill humans. Throughout history many murder sprees have been attributed to the presence of these beings. As Halloween is just around the corner, this list might help to give you all some ideas for a costume if you are going to a party. [JFrater: I am going to a Halloween party but I have no idea what I should go as – something that reflects a topic from the site might be nice. Any ideas?]
10 Leshy
The Leshy is a male woodland spirit in Slavic mythology believed to protect wild animals and the forests. They usually appear as tall men, but have the ability to change size and shapeshift into any form, animal or plant. Leshies have beards made of living grass and vines, and are often depicted with a tail, hooves, and horns. The Leshy has pale white skin and dark green eyes. They are the lords of the forest and hold close bonds with gray wolves, bears, and all animal life. When a leshy is in human form it looks like a common peasant, although its eyes glow. The creatures can shrink themselves to the height of a blade of grass or grow to the size of the tallest trees. It is commonly understood that leshies will lead peasants astray, make people sick, and even tickle them to death. The creatures are terribly mischievous and have horrible cries. However, Leshies can also imitate human voices and often times lure lost wanderers to their caves. They aren’t always evil, but enjoy misguiding humans and kidnapping young women.
9 Selkie
Selkies are creatures found in Faroese, Icelandic, Irish, and Scottish mythology. They have the ability to transform themselves from seal to human form. Selkies are able to shapeshift by shedding their seal skin, a risky endeavor because they must reapply the same skin in order to return to seal form. Stories surrounding these creatures are usually romantic tragedies. They are allowed to make contact with humans for only a short amount of time before they must return to the sea. In many cases humans have unknowingly fallen in love with selkies. Other times, humans have hidden the skin of the selkie, thus preventing it from returning to seal form. Male selkies are very handsome in their human form, and have great seduction powers over women. If a man finds and steals a female selkie’s skin then she will be under his control and is often times forced to become his wife. The creatures have been known to lure humans into the sea, by creating illusions and a false sense of reality.
8 Berserker
Berserkers were a group of Norse warriors. They are human, but in battle entered into a nearly uncontrollable, trance-like fury, and transformed into wolves, bears, and wild bulls. This enabled the men to fight more effectively. Their name would give rise to the English word “berserk”. Berserkers were said to wear the pelts of bears and wolves as they entered battle and could make the full transformation as they felt necessary. They are characterized as having bloodshot eyes, incredible strength, and endurance. Various Scandinavian kings used berserkers as part of their army or as hired men and royal bodyguards. Similar behavior is described in the Iliad, in which warriors are possessed by Gods and given the power to exhibit superhuman abilities.
7 Kitsune
n Japanese folklore the Kitsune is an intelligent and magical being. The creature’s strength increases with age, wisdom, and life experience. Kitsune is a Japanese fox. They have the ability to assume human form and are great tricksters. The creatures are noted for having as many as nine tails. A kitsune may take human form when it reaches a certain age, usually 100 years. They prefer to assume the shape of a beautiful woman, young girl, or elderly man. The creatures have the ability to clone the appearance of an individual. Kitsune have a fear and hatred of dogs. They can willingly manifest themselves in people’s dreams and create illusions so elaborate that they are perceived as reality. The kitsune can fly, become invisible, and often times generate fire or lightning. In some regions of the world the creatures can bend time, space, and drive people mad.
6 Púca
The púca is a legendary creature of Celtic folklore, most notably in Ireland, the West of Scotland, and Wales. The púca is a mythological fairy and ultimate shapeshifter. The creatures are capable of assuming a variety of terrifying forms, including a horse, rabbit, goat, goblin, or dog. No matter what shape the púca takes, its fur is always dark. They are most commonly seen as a black horse with a flowing mane and luminescent orange eyes. Púcas have the power to use human speech and although they are known for giving good advice, they also enjoy confusing and terrifying humans. Púcas have a fondness for riddles and are sociable creatures. They love to gather and play pranks on unsuspecting people and children. In many regions of the world the púca is seen as a creature of the mountains and hills. They are incredibly respected and if treated nicely will help humans.
5
Wendigo
The Wendigo is a creature appearing in the mythology of the Algonquian people. Descriptions of the Wendigo vary across culture, but they are generally described as a large alien-like canine beast. They are malevolent and cannibalistic creatures. Wendigos are strongly associated with the winter, the north, and coldness. Human beings will transform into Wendigos if they perform cannibalism. The person will become possessed by the demonic spirit of the beast, usually in a dream. Once transformed, the individual will become violent and obsessed with eating human flesh. These monsters are the embodiments of gluttony, greed, and excess. They are never satisfied with killing and consuming one person. Wendigos are constantly searching for new victims. They have been classified as giants and upon transformation the human will grow considerably in size. They populate rural and highly forested, mountainous regions. Recently the Wendigo has become a horror entity, much like the vampire, werewolf, or zombie.
4
Encantado
An encantado is a Brazilian legendary creature. They live in a deep underwater realm named the Encante. Encantados are most commonly viewed as a type of freshwater dolphin or sea snake that has the ability to shapeshift into human form. They are characterized by superior musical ability, seductiveness, and attraction to parties. The creature’s transformation into human form seems to be rare, and usually occurs at night. While in human form the encantado will wear a hat to hide its protruding forehead. It does not disappear while shapeshifting and frequently displays magical abilities, such as the power to control storms and haunt humans. They use various mind control techniques and can inflict illness, insanity, and even death. The creatures are known for kidnapping humans. Many villagers will not go near the Amazon River at night because of this. Plenty of South Americans believe in the existence of the encantado and claim to have seen and interacted with the species.
3
Aswang
An aswang is a mythical creature in Filipino folklore. The legend of the aswang is well known throughout the Philippines, except in the IIocos region. The creature is described as a combination of vampire and witch and is almost always female. The aswang is an eater of the dead and a cannibal. They are capable of transforming into either a huge black dog or a black boar. The creatures stalk and eat human beings at night. Garlic bulbs, holy water, and other objects are believed to repel aswang. Many stories revolve around these creatures eating children and unborn fetuses. In human form they appear normal, and are quiet, shy, and elusive. At night, they transform into the deadly beast. One key feature of the aswang is its bloodshot eyes. In the Middle Ages, the aswang was the most feared among the mythical creatures in the Philippines.
2
Vampires
Vampires are legendary creatures said to feed on the blood of humans and animals. It is difficult to make a single, definitive description of the folkloric vampire, although they were usually reported as bloated in appearance, ruddy, purplish, or dark in color. They are shapeshifters and can take many forms, predominantly bats or humans. Vampires are typically described as the undead, although some cultures believe that they can be living. Beginning in the 19th century, modern fiction began to portray vampires as gaunt and pale. In the past, vampire superstition in Europe led to mass hysteria, which resulted in corpses being staked and people being accused of vampirism. Many violent killing sprees have been attributed to vampires. They are known to terrorize their previous neighborhoods and will seduce their victims, waiting for the right moment to attack the neck. The creatures will frequently visit their relatives, particularly their spouses. Vampires are masters of disguise and camouflage. The most recently recorded case of vampirism is that of nineteen-year-old Mercy Brown, who died in Exeter, Rhode Island in 1892.
1
Lycanthrope
Lycanthropes or werewolves are mythological humans that have the ability to shapeshift into wolves or anthropomorphic wolf-like creatures. They can infect the human population with a bite and the creature’s transformation is often associated with a full moon. The lycanthropes mythology originated in Europe, but many accounts are found all over the ancient world. Features of the werewolf include the meeting of both eyebrows at the bridge of the nose, curved fingernails, low set ears, and a swinging stride. They have super-human strength and senses, far beyond those of either wolves or men. The beasts are known to feed on the homeless and easy prey. A person can be identified as a werewolf by cutting into their flesh to reveal hair or by revealing special bristles under their tongue. In returning to the human form the creature becomes weak and debilitated. Up until the 20th century wolf attacks on humans were widely reported causes of mass death in Europe.
CITIZENS' OVERSIGHT MARYLAND web page was designed to show how to organize a political action organization. No one person can follow every category and level of government policy-making so COMMITTEES are indeed needed locally, statewide. For now our 99% US WE THE PEOPLE must focus on rebuilding THESE political committees and not what is happening NATIONALLY.
Our local 99% of citizens whether right wing or left wing KNOW who these global banking 5% freemason/Greek players are in their communities---they will not be FOOLED by CHIMERAS who adopt all the language of our REAL left social progressive citizens. Global banking 1% were able to capture American politics by killing our US domestic economy and making our 99% of US citizens black, white, and brown FEARFUL of speaking out POLITICALLY for their own RIGHTS AS CITIZENS.
This article would suggest US politics is A CHIMERA now that TRUMP is in office but of course these few decades of CLINTON/BUSH/OBAMA were a global banking 5% freemason/Greek player paid to be SHAPE-SHIFTERS AND CHIMERAS----POLITICALLY.
This is an AUSTRALIAN global banking 1% media outlet trying to PRETEND DEEP, DEEP, REALLY DEEP STATE is just too large to be removed from our PEOPLE'S government. We know the WEINER family from NY's famous WEINER'S top gun in the Clinton administration so nothing but MYTH-MAKING coming from this writer not being a JOURNALIST.
Tim Weiner
American journalist
Tim Weiner is an American reporter and author. He is the author of four books and co-author of a fifth, and winner of the Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award. en.wikipedia.org
- Born: June 20, 1956 (age 62), White Plains, New York, U.S.
- Aug 3 2018 at 11:00 PM
- Updated Aug 3 2018 at 11:00 PM
Why the deep state in the US is a chimera
by Tim Weiner
To Donald Trump it seems as though the "Deep State" has arisen from the depths of the dismal swamp of Washington to torment him. He sees a cabal of his political enemies – foremost the men who have led the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the National Security Agency, and the Central Intelligence Agency – as a cryptocracy operating under the cover of the constitutionally established government, an immense conspiracy, a dark force seeking to destroy him. The president awakens to tweet thunderbolts against it before Fox & Friends signs on at dawn. (To wit: May 23, 2018, 6:54 AM: "the Criminal Deep State. They go after Phony Collusion with Russia, a made up Scam....")
Standing next to Vladimir Putin in Helsinki on July 16, he was asked if he believed the unanimous conclusion of his intelligence services that Russia tried to sway the 2016 election. Trump sided with the smirking autocrat: "They said they think it's Russia. I have President Putin; he just said it's not Russia. I will say this: I don't see any reason why it would be." Senator John McCain called it "one of the most disgraceful performances by an American president in memory."
Trump sees the FBI's lawmen as subversive crooks and the CIA's spooks as Nazi stormtroopers; he believes that they have tapped his phones, placed spies in his midst, and sabotaged him since before his inauguration; they are in cahoots with the press; and, more ominously, they are in thrall to Robert S Mueller III, the FBI director from 2001 to 2013 – and now, as the special counsel overseeing the criminal investigations of Trump and his cohorts, a man with the power to take apart his presidency.
The Deep State, to Trump, is a secret brotherhood of military and intelligence officers secretly manipulating the body politic, and is still run by the leaders of the American intelligence organisations under President Obama, along with unnamed sinister forces still resilient within the Justice Department. These are the same people who revealed a brazen covert operation by Vladimir Putin and his spy services to help elect Trump in 2016. To the president, they are not defending the republic but running a slow-rolling coup d'état.
Trump may be paranoid, but he has real enemies among the emeriti of the intelligence establishment, and among them are the authors of three new books that collectively have sold up to a million copies: James Clapper, the overseer of American espionage from 2010 to 2017 as Obama's director of national intelligence, Michael Hayden, who directed the NSA from 1999 to 2005 and the CIA from 2006 to 2009, and James Comey, whom Trump fired as the head of the FBI last year, and who may yet have his revenge. In the weird world that is Washington today, these politically conservative national security stalwarts – reviled by liberals, with reason, for their actions in office – have emerged as members of the opposition to Trump and as the focus of extreme ire from the right. By virtue of their high rank in the Deep State as Trump defines it, they are in his eyes among the most dangerous men in America. They by turns call Trump a liar and a fantasist, a threat to American national security, and a danger to the Constitution and the Bill of Rights.
"We have elected someone as president of the United States whose first instincts are to twist and distort truth to his advantage, to generate financial benefit to himself and his family, and, in doing so, to demean the values this country has traditionally stood for…. While he does this, he pointedly refuses to acknowledge the profound threat posed by Russia, inexplicably trusting the denials by Putin about their meddling in our political process over the considered judgments by his own Intelligence Community."
This passage, on the penultimate page of an otherwise pedestrian memoir, is as bracing as Clapper's cable news sound bites. Trump delivered his view of Clapper in an 8:58am tweet on April 28: "He is a lying machine who now works for Fake News CNN." This prompted a rapid response, also on Twitter, from John Brennan, CIA director from 2013 to 2017. Addressing Trump, he wrote: "Your hypocrisy knows no bounds. Jim Clapper is a man of integrity, honesty, ethics, & morality. You are not." (Brennan continues to troll Trump. "Your fear of exposure is palpable," he tweeted on June 23. "Your desperation even more so.") Not to be outdone, Michael Hayden recently weighed in on Trump's immigration policies, posting a picture of the Birkenau death camp with the caption: "Other governments have separated mothers and children." No precedent exists for men who have held such high office in the American intelligence establishment to assail their commander in chief in this fashion.
Hayden's briskly written book American National Security in an Age of Lies (Penguin) is almost entirely about Trump. He is forthright in stating in his subtitle that we are living in "an age of lies" and warning that our democracy may be in danger. His writing on Trump's America reads like Masha Gessen's on Putin's Russia (though not as eloquent). Hayden was no fan of Obama and found no place in his administration, in part because he carried out the extraconstitutional program code-named STELLAR WIND, in which President Bush ordered the NSA to turn its electronic-eavesdropping powers on Americans after September 11.
Hayden is nonetheless close to apoplectic about Trump's authoritarian tendencies and his alarming affinities with his Russian counterpart: "Putin could have been humming along when Trump was claiming, 'I alone can fix it,'" at the 2016 Republican convention. He laments, after noting Trump's relentless attacks on the press: "If this is who we are or who we are becoming, I have wasted 40 years of my life." And he takes umbrage at the idea that he and his old cohorts are working in secret to undermine Trump: "There is no 'deep state' in the American Republic. There is only 'the state,' or, as I characterise it, career professionals doing their best within the rule of law. Not that they always play nice ..."
No, they do not. Two weeks after Trump took office, The Washington Post and The New York Times published devastating accounts of conversations held before his inauguration between the man he had chosen as his national security adviser, the retired lieutenant general Michael Flynn, and Russia's ambassador to the United States, Sergey Kislyak. These were derived from court-authorised intelligence intercepts from surveillance of the Russian embassy in Washington. The subject was removing sanctions imposed on Russia by President Obama. Since Trump was not yet sworn in, the discussion was at best highly improper and at worst illegal. Flynn denied everything. Caught in the deception, he resigned, later pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI, and is now co-operating with Mueller, which makes him a dangerous threat to Trump and his inner circle.
Similarly sourced stories showed that Attorney General Jeff Sessions and Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner had also held sub rosa chats with the Russian ambassador. The question of how the national security intercepts made it into the newspapers is intriguing. I have reported and written on American intelligence since the late 1980s, and I can say that this kind of stuff has rarely, if ever, leaked in near-real time until last year. The likeliest source was someone high up in the FBI, the Justice Department, or the NSA – someone whose name would be familiar to Comey, Clapper, or Hayden – and that might put a little flesh on Trump's straw man.
This raises questions. Might Trump be right? Is there really an American Deep State? If so, is it out to get him?
I strongly doubt it, for reasons I discuss below. But I sat bolt upright when I read that Jack Goldsmith, a Harvard professor and a founding editor of the invaluable national security blog Lawfare, believes that these were indeed "deep state leaks against Trump." Goldsmith was an assistant attorney general in President George W. Bush's Office of Legal Counsel, and he knows the politics of secrecy. He first blew the whistle on STELLAR WIND 15 years ago, prompting Comey, then the acting attorney general, and Mueller, as FBI director, to confront the president with the fact that he was breaking the law.
Goldsmith, in a recently published essay, says these leaks against Trump could be interpreted as a return to the days of J Edgar Hoover, who used secret information as a weapon of political warfare. Though "we have never faced a situation in which the national security adviser, and perhaps even the president of the United States, presented a credible counterintelligence threat involving one of our greatest adversaries," he argues, there are no good leaks of state secrets, no higher truth served by unauthorised disclosures. "Even if it turns out that Flynn and others close to Trump were in the bag for the Russians," he writes, "many people will for a long time view the anti-Trump leaks as political abuse of intelligence to harm political enemies."
I believe that whoever backhanded the information on the intelligence intercepts to the Times and the Post was more saviour than saboteur; there are more virtuous leaks than vicious ones. Goldsmith, a formidable voice in national security affairs and a staunch conservative critic of Trump, thinks that the Deep State is real and that it did dirty work here. I think not. Yet the fear of a Deep State has a long history.
Invisible government
The nexus of political and economic power unchecked by democracy was a force that President Theodore Roosevelt saw as the dynamo of a deep state. In his Progressive Party platform of 1912, he warned: "Behind the ostensible government sits enthroned an invisible government owing no allegiance and acknowledging no responsibility to the people." He was talking about the plutocrats, the men whom he called the malefactors of great wealth, who bought the votes of senators and congressmen. "The unholy alliance between corrupt business and corrupt politics," as TR called it, lives and thrives today: this manifestation of a deep state is led by the Koch brothers, who have made the careers of men like Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and the disgraced and departed EPA chief Scott Pruitt, along with many of the most reactionary members of Congress.
TEDDY ROOSEVELT WAS INDEED FOUNDER OF PROGRESSIVE PARTY PLATFORM AND HE WAS A FAR-RIGHT WING REPUBLICAN BACK THEN. ROOSEVELT INSTITUTE/FOUNDATION OF COURSE OPPOSITE OF REAL LEFT SOCIAL PROGRESSIVE FDR POLICIES.
Was Theodore Roosevelt a Republican or a Democrat?
- www.answers.com
Roosevelt created the FBI in 1908 with the intent of using it to attack the invisible government of dark money. He died shortly before the rise of Hoover, who took over the bureau in 1924 and ran it for 48 years. The Cold War made Hoover the emperor of secrets. He ruled by fear. He operated outside the law and beyond the boundaries of the Constitution, wire tapping, bugging, and burglarising, unfettered by warrants. The CIA, created in 1947, and the NSA, created in 1952, worked in an uneasy alliance with Hoover's FBI – uneasy because he spied on them too. Hoover took a seat on President Eisenhower's National Security Council, alongside the secretaries of state and defense. He shaped the government's policies on everything from national security to civil rights.
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These few decades have had HOLLYWOOD TV and movies with lots of SHAPE-SHIFTER and CHIMERAs----because global banking 1% has told its 5% freemason/Greek players to be ready to be that FAKE ALT RIGHT ALT LEFT CIVIL UNREST/CIVIL WAR player and/or politician. This is why we now have US third, fourth, fifth political parties especially on the LEFT all corrupted with the SAME far-right wing global banking 5% players.
KARMA CHAMELEON FOLKS-----KNOW THOSE SHAPE-SHIFTERS WHEN WE ALL STAND UP TO BE US CITIZENS.
youtube.com
CHIMERA
Official Trailer (2018) Sci-Fi Movie HD
CHIMERA Official Trailer (2018) Sci-Fi Movie HD Subscribe to Rapid Trailer For All The Latest Trailers!…
Global banking 1% are running out of ways to be CHIMERAS---so, now our US 99% and new to US immigrants are having to witness POPULATION TENSIONS between literally biological chimeras----that would be our GMO HUMANS. Soon we will have political fights for rights of GMO HUMANS vs NATURAL HUMANS when of course no population group has its rights more ASSAULTED then our GMO HUMANS. So, please educate both our NATURAL CHIMERAS---those CLINTON/BUSH/OBAMA---and the coming GMO HUMANS as to the value of our US CONSTITUTION/BILL OF RIGHTS/CENTURIES OF AGE OF ENLIGHTENMENT for all 99% of WE THE PEOPLE black, white, and brown and especially our assaulted GMO citizens.
'What if at the very beginning stages of development you absorbed your twin’s cells? You’d be twins—a phenomenon called a chimera'.
Don't forget the CLINTON/BUSH/OBAMA CHIMERAS as this discussion is now turning to GMO citizens----getting rid of all global banking 5% freemason/Greek players starts with our NATURAL HUMAN CHIMERAS.
Below we see the source of this article all being FAR-RIGHT WING GLOBAL BANKING media outlets-----nothing LEFT SOCIAL PROGRESSIVE which is the US politics REALLY protecting our 99% rights as citizens.
This article is part of Future Tense, a collaboration among Arizona State University, the New America Foundation, and Slate. Future Tense explores the ways emerging technologies affect society, policy, and culture.
Remember, it was the FAKE RELIGIOUS RIGHT who ran overseas to create global GMO HUMAN research and development-----NOT left social progressives who are AGAINST genetic human manipulation.
Future Tense
Politics in Your DNA
How the realities of biology complicate the “personhood movement.”
By Jane Maienschein
June 10, 20148:11 AM
What if at the very beginning stages of development you absorbed your twin’s cells? You’d be twins—a phenomenon called a chimera. Would you suddenly feel extra special because you are really more than just one person? Threatened and confused about your identity? These are not just hypothetical questions. Some people are chimeras. Probably not many, but certainly a lot more than we know about since most never realize it. Chimerism happens even when we don’t see it.
There’s another kind of genetic mosaic, too, one in which your body is made up of cells from different organisms, usually from different people (occasionally from other animals). This might happen if you have a transfusion or a transplantation, for example, or when mothers absorb some cells from their offspring, or twins absorb cells from each other. Technically, every female is a kind of mosaic of two different X-chromosomes.
News of chimerism and genetic mosaicism is not completely new, nor are the ethical and practical questions associated with them. Yet as a society, we often take a heads-in-the-sand approach to addressing what such developmental complexities mean. Bioethical and policy discussions have instead largely focused on responses to laboratory creations of cross-species combinations that lead to chimeras, hybrids, or genetics mosaics. But they miss the fact that people and politicians care deeply about what it means to them to be human and how we can protect “life.” The personhood movement, and proposed legislation discussed below, show the urgent need to understand what we are really talking about. As the political season for congressional and local campaigns heats up, some candidates will surely make promises or proposals about embryos and reproduction that do not fit the facts. Last campaign season we got claims about “legitimate rape” and whether rape can lead to pregnancy, for example, and we heard Paul Ryan’s claims about personhood. The personhood movement is not going away soon and remains active through personhoodusa.com, for example. Now is the time to get ready for whatever comes up this round.
Most people didn’t care deeply in the 1960s when Beatrice Mintz combined embryos from two different mice to create a chimera, nor in the 1980s, when Nicole Le Douarin combined chick and quail embryos. The result was taken as intriguing and a little science fictionlike, and it generated discussion of what it would mean if somebody could create human or human-animal chimeras. In the mid-1990s, researchers did just that and provoked public interest. What if researchers introduced human nerve cells into a mouse? (Stanford law professor Hank Greely liked to phrase the question in a different way: What if Mickey Mouse suddenly started talking?)
Debates about this kind of laboratory combination led to legal and regulatory responses in some countries, such as the U.K., which had also led the way in regulating embryo research and in vitro fertilization. The United States didn’t enact any new policies, though bioethics consultants in the U.S. report that people often feel queasy about creating “unnatural” laboratory human chimeras, for a mix of practical and ethical reasons.
But it’s different when the chimera occurs naturally. Does a chimeric person combined from two fertilized eggs get two votes? According to some proposed legislation, he or she should. The discussion matters. As candidates position themselves for the dash to the next congressional and then presidential election, let’s understand what is at issue here.
WE HAVE NEVER HEARD OF NATURALLY DEFUSED EMBRYOS BEING CALLED 'CHIMERAS'. THAT TERM WAS COINED DURING GMO HUMAN MANIPULATIONS.
PAUL RYAN, being that global banking 1% OLD WORLD KINGS AND QUEENS KNIGHTS OF MALTA 33rd degree freemason----pushing for GMO HUMAN RIGHTS because he supports global banking 1% GENETIC ENGINEERING OF HUMANS.
Rep. Paul Ryan of Wisconsin—the failed Republican vice presidential candidate in 2012—was one of many to co-sponsor the House Sanctity of Human Life Act of 2013. (He was a co-sponsor on earlier, similar legislation as well.) The summary of H.R. 23:
Declares that: (1) the right to life guaranteed by the Constitution is vested in each human and is the person’s paramount and most fundamental right; (2) each human life begins with fertilization, cloning, or its functional equivalent, at which time every human has all legal and constitutional attributes and privileges of personhood; and (3) Congress, each state, the District of Columbia, and all U.S. territories have the authority to protect all human lives.” The proposed bill asserts further that “(B) the life of each human being begins with fertilization, cloning, or its functional equivalent, irrespective of sex, health, function or disability, defect, stage of biological development, or condition of dependency, at which time every human being shall have all the legal and constitutional attributes and privileges of personhood.
The impulse is clear. The sponsors, including Ryan, want to protect what they see as human life. They want to prohibit abortions. Unfortunately, they may love life, but they do not understand its earliest developmental stages. Their proposed legislation and the personhood movement ignore the existence of chimeras, among other developmental phenomena.
We know that some cases exist in which two eggs are fertilized inside a woman quite naturally, and the genetically different cells divide but then touch each other and grow together. In some cases, one absorbs the other; this can lead to an individual with a partially formed fetus, or parasitic twin, inside or attached to him or her.
In still other cases, the two develop largely separately, but result in births of what were historically called Siamese or conjoined twins. Medical responses in developed countries usually call for separating the two, even when this means that one will die to allow the other to live, especially when the two share vital organs.
In perhaps the biologically most intriguing cases, the two combine more completely. Two different lines of cells, with different genes on different chromosomes, come together and, with the amazing regulatory powers of life, merge together to make a whole, apparently normal and natural chimeric person. The case of Karen Keegan brought chimerism to medical attention in 1998, when her sons were being tested as possible kidney donors for her. They failed to match her DNA in ways that suggested that they could not be her sons, yet she (and her family) knew they were. Doctors finally discovered that she had two distinct sets of DNA, which proved that chimerism does occur and yet remain invisible.
Another case—this one in 2002—involved Lydia Fairchild, who similarly failed to match her children genetically. This biological surprise led to court battles as Fairchild separated from her husband and sought child support. She also turned out to be a genetic chimera. The resulting 2006 British documentary The Twin Inside Me (or I Am My Own Twin) called into question using genetic testing as a reliable source of evidence about identity. Chimerism also challenges us to think more seriously about how we will handle “personalized” medicine for people who are actually complex mixes of genomic materials.
What does such developmental complexity mean for the proposed Sanctity of Human Life Act?
If one twin absorbs part of the other, did it commit homicide? Perhaps so. Conjoined twins are considered to be two different people legally, but what if one of them has only legs and feet that stick out from the fully formed twin (which has actually happened)—is the one twin is a person with some extra parts, or did he or she also commit homicide in some way? What about a chimeric person--does he or she get two votes because of having come from two different fertilizations? If fertilization defines personhood, then surely so.
Clearly, this easily leads to nonsense. The Sanctity of Human Life Act legislation will almost certainly never become law, in part because the U.S. Congress is not doing much in these deeply divided times, and in part because members of Congress often propose such dead-end legislation to satisfy their core constituents and gain political and financial support. We know that. Nonetheless, the message is clear. For the 40 members of Congress who co-sponsored this bill, sanctity of human life is one of the top issues for gaining that political and financial support that they need so desperately. It helped place Paul Ryan as the conservative force on the Republican presidential ticket in 2012. Biological facts may not matter much to those constituents. But they should matter to otherwise intelligent people, which includes Paul Ryan and colleagues.
We can hope that our legislative, judicial, and executive governmental branches will learn enough biology so that they do not even consider legislation that makes little sense. Understanding what embryos are and how they develop is not just a theoretical matter—being inaccurate has consequences. Knowing the biology will not tell us how to act or what is right and good, but it will inform decisions so that they are not inconsistent with biological reality.
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CITIZENS' OVERSIGHT MARYLAND is a left social progressive political action organization being the OPPOSITE of far-right wing global banking 1% EMERGE MARYLAND. These women are being groomed to be POLITICAL CHIMERAS----pretending they care about our US 99% WE THE PEOPLE while MOVING FORWARD ONE WORLD for only the global 1%.
CLINTON/BUSH/OBAMA do indeed have a complete capture of our US political parties but that does not mean SURRENDER of 350 million US citizens and tens of millions of new to US immigrant citizens. It really is EASY PEASY to rebuild our last century's 99% WE THE PEOPLE political parties.
US Federal law and US Constitutional rulings have century's of protecting the rights of people to engage in any political stance they choose AND this right protects our EMPLOYMENT----that is why public sector workers cannot have their jobs threatened because they embrace the political views opposite of party in power. A corporation cannot HIRE OR FIRE an employee simply because they support policies HOLDING POWER AND WEALTH ACCOUNTABLE.
THERE IS A LAW FOR ALL THIS-----LET'S SAY THE APP IS ALREADY IN PLACE. WE SIMPLY NEED POLITICIANS WHO WILL ENFORCE THESE LAWS.
None of these global banking 5% Hillary nasty ladies will do that. As global banking 1% fills our US elections with women-----our US 99% of WE THE WOMEN are next in line to be thrown under the bus.
We can tell the WE DON'T CARE citizens AND organizations by who hosts these political events or forums RIGGED for global banking 1%
'The organization is hosting a fundraiser reception on Thursday, Dec. 8 at 6:30 p.m. at the Open Works studio at 1400 Greenmount Avenue in Baltimore'.
Emerge Maryland to train 23 women to run for office
Dec 7, 2016 Baltimore Sun
Emerge Maryland, the organization that trains Democratic women to run for office, announced its 2017 class Wednesday.
The 23 candidates from eight Maryland jurisdictions including Baltimore represent the largest class of the training program, which is in its fifth year.
Past graduates include state Del. Brooke Lierman of Southeast Baltimore and Baltimore City Councilwoman Shannon Sneed of East Baltimore.
"After the 2016 elections, where we saw Hillary Clinton defeated for president, and no women elected to Maryland's federal delegation, more women than ever are expressing interest in Emerge Maryland's
training program and saying they are motivated to run," Martha
McKenna, president of Emerge Maryland's board, said in a statement.
The Emerge Maryland training program includes nine sessions and 75 hours of training over six months from December through May.
Among the 23 new members is Robbyn Lewis, a Baltimore community activist who works at the Maryland Health Benefit Exchange. She is a candidate to fill the vacancy created in Baltimore's 46th legislative district after Del. Pete Hammen joined the administration of Mayor Catherine E. Pugh.
Lewis has been endorsed by incumbent lawmakers in the district, including Lierman.
Other local members of the Emerge Maryland class include: Lenora Dawson, Ellie Mitchell, Stephanie Smith and Dea Thomas of Baltimore, Marisol Johnson of Baltimore County, Shaneka Henson, Deborah Ritchie and Lisa Rodvien of Anne Arundel County, and Debra Jung and Christiana Rigby of Howard County.
Thomas ran for the Baltimore City Council's 11th District seat this year, finishing second to Councilman Eric T. Costello.
The organization is hosting a fundraiser reception on Thursday, Dec. 8 at 6:30 p.m. at the Open Works studio at 1400 Greenmount Avenue in Baltimore.
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OF COURSE----our US right wing parties especially the US GOP is as captured and corrupt for global banking 1%-----same CHIMERAS PRETENDING to be US conservative Republicans while killing all that is AMERICAN REPUBLIC. It was our 99% of US right wing citizens FOOLED early on with all that STATES' RIGHTS jargon. It is of course our US FEDERAL laws and Constitution giving us rights as citizens and protections under law. If you are fighting for STATES' RIGHTS over FEDERAL RIGHTS you are killing your own voice as A US CITIZEN. That is what our BUSH NEO-CONS did on the right side of US politics. MARYLAND REPUBLICAN LARRY HOGAN is a SHAPE-SHIFTER. He pretends not to support TRUMP when of course both TRUMP AND HOGAN are the same global banking 5% freemason/Greek player pols MARYLAND right wing 99% of voters support both TRUMP AND HOGAN because their right wing party is corrupted and they have no one else for whom to vote.
WE NEED BOTH SIDES OF US POLITICAL SPECTRUM TO KNOW THE CHIMERAS----AND GET RID OF THEM-----WE ARE REBUILDING US POLITICAL STRUCTURES.
But TRUMP AND HOGAN are going to make AMERICA GREAT again say our 99% of right wing voters ---only they are not. They are killing, making a colonial entity of US taking us back to 1000BC ---nothing American happening in 1000BC.
Maryland Politics
Larry Hogan shuns Donald Trump. But Trump-loving Marylanders love Hogan anyway.
By Robert McCartney
September 28
SALISBURY, Md. -- Waiting in a large crowd at an outdoor arena for Gov. Larry Hogan to open a folk music festival, Christopher Welch listed his reasons for supporting the Republican chief executive.
“Hogan is opening the state back up for business. He’s been very good to state employees, which I am now. And he’s taking care of places outside the [Baltimore-Washington] metro corridor,” said Welch, a state trooper and candidate for clerk of the court here in rural Wicomico County.
Welch, a Republican who also supports President Trump, said Hogan’s repeated refusal to embrace the man in the White House “doesn’t bother me one bit.”
“Hogan is trying to make Maryland No. 1, and Trump is trying to make America No. 1,” Welch said. “They may have different views, but they’re both going in the same direction.”
On the Eastern Shore and in Western Maryland — red parts of a deep-blue state — Hogan has retained the enthusiastic support of the GOP base. That loyalty has freed the governor to champion centrist proposals and positions, including free community college, paid family leave for state employees, building the light-rail Purple Line in Montgomery and Prince George’s counties, and banning fracking across the state.
Hogan’s repeated attempts to distance himself from Trump, meanwhile, appear to have inoculated him from Democratic attempts to link him to the president, with 60 percent of Maryland voters in a recent Goucher Poll saying their opinions of Trump will have little to no effect on their gubernatorial vote.
The same poll found 91 percent of likely Republican voters supporting Hogan’s reelection, compared with 48 percent of likely Democratic voters who plan to vote for Democratic challenger Ben Jealous. Overall, Hogan is leading Jealous by double digits.
Some hardcore conservatives grumble about Hogan’s frequent criticisms of Trump — at a televised debate Monday, he said, “There’s not a lot I have in common with the president” — and his centrist positions on issues such as gun control.
But they’re ready to vote for him anyway, thrilled at the prospect of Maryland’s first two-term GOP governor since the 1950s.
IF ONLY HOGAN WAS REALLY A US RIGHT WING CONSERVATIVE REPUBLICAN AND NOT SIMPLY CLINTON/BUSH/OBAMA.
“It would be nice to have someone more conservative,” retiree Johanne Watson said after seeing Hogan recently at the Great Frederick Fair. But she added: “This works. It’s like making a little concession. . . . You have to concede a little bit to work with everybody.”
In a state where Democrats have a more than 2-to-1 edge in party registration, “Hogan is being smart by staying down the middle,” GOP voter Beth Dunn, 61, said in Salisbury. “Trump has too much ill will against him.”
Republicans “understand that he has to govern from the center,” state Sen. Michael J. Hough (R-Frederick) said of Hogan. “Many of them thought they’d never have a Republican governor in our lifetime.”
Hogan’s strategy mirrors that pursued by Gov. Charlie Baker of Massachusetts, another blue-state Republican leader who has been listed, along with Hogan, as the nation’s two most popular governors. Both have frequently broken with the president, most recently by calling for a delay in the Supreme Court nomination of Brett M. Kavanaugh so allegations of sexual misconduct can be fully investigated.
It’s not an approach that works in red states, where Republicans are loath to break with Trump because of the base’s strong support for the president.
But in Maryland, GOP leaders say Hogan’s popularity is a plus in their “Drive for Five,” a quest to gain at least five seats in the state Senate this November, which would eliminate the Democrats’ vetoproof majority and give the GOP leverage over judicial appointments and redistricting following the 2020 Census. Hogan has been the featured guest at campaign events and fundraisers for many Republican Senate candidates.
“He’s been raising a lot of money,” said Patrick O’Keefe, executive director of the Maryland Republican Party. “He’s been saying recently that he’s looking at [gaining] seven, eight or nine [seats].”
Mark Odachowski, who owns an electrical contracting company in Ocean City, has been making and handing out hundreds of Trump flags. When photos of them flying at a local marina circulated on social media, the president sent out an approving tweet.
Odachowski has praise for the governor, too. He credits both Trump and Hogan for an improved economy, which he said has allowed him to increase hiring from a low of nine employees at the bottom of the recession to 100 today.
“He’s definitely helped small business,” he said of Hogan. “You can see the economy is doing well, and he’s part of it.”
At the opening of the National Folk Festival in Salisbury this month, and later at the Frederick fair, Hogan was greeted enthusiastically. Supporters credited him for opposing tax increases, lowering tolls and reducing regulations — and for championing the interests of rural Maryland, which chafes at what it sees as second-class status compared with the more populous, Democratic-dominated areas around Baltimore and Washington.
OH, REALLY????
“He’s just a great administrator, and he’s fair and he’s considerate,” said attorney Melvin Caldwell Jr., who praised Hogan for restraining state spending.
Others welcomed the rebuilding of 11 bridges on U.S. Route 50, and $1.5 million of state funding for modernizing Main Street and building an amphitheater in time for the festival’s opening.
“It’s been a reality for us on the Eastern Shore that we’ve been left behind,” said Del. Carl L. Anderton (R-Wicomico). “Now we feel like we’re on an equal footing, and we’d kind of like to stay there for a little while.”
At the Frederick fair, Hogan toured exhibits of baked goods and cranked a machine that stripped kernels from ears of corn. “For eight years there was what a lot of people refer to as a war on agriculture and a war on rural Maryland,” he said, referring to the tenure of his predecessor, Democrat Martin O’Malley. “And the day I was sworn in, I said, ‘That war is over.’ I promised that the areas of the state that were ignored and neglected and forgotten would no longer be forgotten.”
Jealous and other Democrats have accused the governor of failing to stand up to Trump on immigration, the GOP tax law and other issues. But Hogan has publicly faulted Trump on subjects including health care, Chesapeake Bay funding, the separation of immigrant families at the border and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
An outspoken critic of Hogan’s moderation is Matt Adams, the Republican Party chairman in Somerset County on the Eastern Shore. He and other conservatives fault Hogan for signing a “red flag” gun-control bill that would allow family members or law enforcement agencies to seek court orders to keep people from owning a gun if they have been deemed by a judge to be a danger to themselves or others.
“Larry has consistently turned his back on his base,” Adams said. “Anyone who is really paying attention as a Republican has a serious concern about the gun bill that Larry has signed, and his lack of support for Trump.”
But Adams said he and like-minded conservatives would vote for Hogan anyway.
“Do we vote for Larry, versus Ben Jealous? Of course. Ben Jealous is a disaster,” Adams said.
Many Maryland Republicans who back both Hogan and Trump draw an important distinction between the two. While they applaud both men’s policies, they say they also find the governor likable but often cringe at the president’s aggressiveness and personal attacks.
“With Trump, the main problem is people don’t like him, but they like what he does,” said Mark McIver, the Republican central committee chairman in Wicomico. “With Larry, they like him, and they also like what he does.”
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The LAST PLACE any 99% WE THE PEOPLE would go TODAY for interpretation of US legal standing and history is our most captured of all-------US LAW SCHOOLS, LAWYERS ORGANIZATIONS-----including those PRETENDING to be helping our 99% as NAACP, ACLU, WOMEN'S LEGAL COUNCIL. Our US 99% and new to immigrant citizens simply must understand all these political structures were captured and we are going to rebuild our local and state political committees both right wing and left wing.
'However, political views aren’t covered by these laws and the laws of most states. This means employers are free to consider political views and affiliations in making job decisions'.
Below we see a good discussion on rights of workers to voice their political views without fear of corporate or business retaliation. Yet, the statement above is NOT correct. Baby-boomers were free to shout and stand against corporate power----it took global banking 1% OLD WORLD KINGS AND QUEENS using a FOREIGN SOVEREIGNTY OF MALTA GLOBAL MITRE CORPORATION and lots of lying, cheating, and political corruption to kill that OPEN US POLITICAL VOICE for all workers. So, labor rights citizens were able to shout against those corporations----women's rights/civil rights were able to shout for opportunity and access without being afraid of losing their jobs.
WE DO NOT WANT ----WRONGFUL TERMINATION PRIVATE LAWYERS DEFENDING OUR 99% OF WE THE PEOPLE VOICES IN POLITICS---THAT IS WHAT OUR CITY/COUNTY ATTORNEYS AND STATE ATTORNEYS HAVE AS A DUTY.
We KNOW a private lawyer is PRETENDING to care about our 99% of civil and political rights if they are not fighting to get our US, state, and local PUBLIC ATTORNEYS to do their PUBLIC DUTY.
Can Employers Discriminate Based on Political Beliefs or Affiliation?
Making decisions based on an employee's political beliefs or activities might violate state laws.
By Lisa Guerin, J.D.
Please answer a few questions to help us match you with attorneys in your area.
The employer is a Can an employer fire or discriminate against an employee based on political beliefs?
You may be surprised to learn that, for many employees, the answer is yes. Federal law does not protect private employees from discrimination based on their politics. However, some states do protect employees from certain types of political discrimination. And, an employer may not use an employee’s politics as a pretext for discrimination based on a protected trait, like race or religion.
What Is Discrimination Based on Political Beliefs?
Discrimination based on politics happens when an employer makes job decisions because of an employee’s political beliefs, party affiliation, or civic activities. An employer that, for example, refuses to hire applicants who vote Republican, fires anyone who supports gun control, or demotes someone who runs for the local school board is engaged in political discrimination.
Federal Laws Don’t Prohibit Political Discrimination
Not all forms of discrimination are illegal, however. It is illegal under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 for employers to make job decisions based on race, color, national origin, religion, and sex. Other federal laws prohibit discrimination based on age, disability, and genetic information. However, political views aren’t covered by these laws and the laws of most states. This means employers are free to consider political views and affiliations in making job decisions.
CALL US CRAZY BUT ARE NOT ALL THE ABOVE POLITICAL VIEWS? FEDERAL LAWS TIED TO PROHIBITED DISCRIMINATION ARE INDEED LAWS TIED TO POLITICAL VIEWS.
What About the First Amendment?
Many people mistakenly believe that the First Amendment of the Constitution protects them from discrimination based on their politics. After all, the First Amendment guarantees our rights to free speech, freedom of the press, free exercise of our religious beliefs, free assembly, and to petition the government for redress of grievances. Shouldn’t these rights protect us from discrimination based on our political beliefs and statements?
The First Amendment does protect our political views--but only from actions taken by the government. Those who work for public employers—the federal, state, or local government—are protected by the First Amendment and might have a valid legal claim if fired for their political beliefs, depending on the circumstances. However, those who work for private employers don’t enjoy these types of job protections under the First Amendment.
OH, REALLY???????
State Laws on Political Discrimination
A handful of states protect private employees from workplace discrimination based on their political beliefs or activities. A larger number of states protect employees from discrimination based on legal activities outside of work, which might include political activities.
Political Discrimination Laws
A few states explicitly prohibit employers from making job decisions based on an employee’s or applicant’s politics. In California, for example, employees are protected from discrimination based on their political affiliations and activities. New York and the District of Columbia have similar laws. And, in Oregon and Wisconsin, employees may not be penalized for refusing to attend meetings intended to allow their employer to communicate its political or religious opinions.
Lawful Conduct Laws
A number of states have laws that prohibit employers from making job decisions based on an employee’s off-duty conduct and activities, as long as they are legal. In Colorado, for example, an employer may generally not fire an employee for engaging in any lawful activity while off duty and away from the workplace. If your state has this type of law, it will likely protect you from political discrimination.
Political Discrimination Might Be Illegal on Other Grounds
Even if you work in a state that doesn’t protect employees from political discrimination, you might still have a legal claim if your employer’s actions were really based on a protected trait under Title VII or a similar state law. For example, if African American employees are fired for participating in a Black Lives Matter rally, but employees of other races are not fired for going to marches, rallies, or protests, that might qualify as illegal race discrimination. In this situation, the African American employees would have a claim that the employer used their politics as a pretext for race discrimination. Similarly, an employer that fires Christian employees for attending a right to life march but shows no interest in other employees’ political views might be making decisions based on religious beliefs rather than political beliefs. A good employment lawyer can help you understand the laws that might protect you in your state and the strength of your potential claims.
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EPI is again a global banking 1% captured media outlet so we are not going to get REAL information from this article but it does address good talking points. What happened during CLINTON/BUSH/OBAMA was a dismantlement of all that was STATES/CITY ATTORNEY duty to enforce and uphold our US 99% WE THE PEOPLE rights including the rights of citizens to express their political views freely without fear of retaliation from government or employers. These rights were indeed enforced much of last century--we understand some regions of US never enforced US Federal laws.
A LAWYER or a legal organization is NOT working for civil and worker rights if they are PRIVATE LAWYERS-----who are not fighting our state and city's attorney's office to ENFORCE US AND STATE laws of freedom of political voice. We do not want private law firms doing this ---we want our US government checks and balances TO WORK.
Again, the gorilla-in-room 99% policy issue surrounding our US rights to freely stand and support political issues without harm is ENDING DESIGNATION OF US FOREIGN ECONOMIC ZONES----ENDING MOVING FORWARD PRIVATIZATION OF ALL THAT IS PUBLIC.
STATES' ATTORNEYS WILL HAVE NO POWER TO DO AS THIS ARTICLE STATES IF MOVING FORWARD US FOREIGN ECONOMIC ZONE DEVELOPMENT CONTINUES.
EPI KNOWS US state attorneys will not have power to enforce these US civil or labor rights as long as that designation of US FOREIGN ECONOMIC ZONES exist...................we do not see any mention of this in this article
'Conclusion
State attorney general offices can be key allies in protecting workers’ rights. While there is variation in their structure, resources, and jurisdiction, state attorneys general have a range of powers that can enable them to play a leading role in ensuring legal compliance by employers and advancing and defending workplace protections'.
THIS IS A LONG ARTICLE PLEASE GLANCE THROUGH JUST TO REMIND WHAT OUR STATE ATTORNEYS HAVE FAILED TO ENFORCE THESE FEW DECADES.
State attorneys general can play key roles in protecting workers’ rights
Report • By Terri Gerstein and Marni von Wilpert • May 7, 2018
Summary
State attorneys general can be key allies in protecting workers’ rights. While there are variations in the structure, resources, and jurisdiction of state attorney general offices, these offices often have a range of powers that can enable them to play a key role in advancing and defending workplace protections by ensuring that employers comply with the law. This report describes some of the ways state attorneys general have been involved in protecting workers’ rights.
Introduction: Broader state enforcement is needed to enforce workers’ rights laws
Working people in America are being shortchanged: They are working harder, but inequality is rising and wages for all but the highest-paid workers are failing to keep up with economywide productivity growth (Gould 2018). Even worse, many workers are not being paid what they are owed by their employers. The failure to enforce workers’ rights laws has resulted in billions of dollars in wages being stolen from workers’ paychecks (Levine 2018; McNicholas, Mokhiber, and Chaikof 2017). For example, in the 10 most populous states in the country, each year 2.4 million workers covered by state or federal minimum wage laws report being paid less than the applicable minimum wage in their state—approximately 17 percent of the eligible low-wage workforce.1
The Wage and Hour Division (WHD) of the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL)—the federal agency responsible for enforcing minimum wage and overtime laws--has been stretched increasingly thin. The number of payroll jobs in the U.S. is more than three times as large as it was in the 1940s—146.6 million in 2017 compared with 45.0 million in 1948—but the number of wage and hour investigators at WHD has remained essentially the same (BLS various years). In 1948, WHD employed one investigator for every 22,600 covered workers; today, WHD has only one per every 135,000 workers (Cooper and Kroeger 2017). As a result, the agency’s ability to effectively police violations of labor law has suffered: from 1980 to 2015, the number of wage and hour violation cases WHD investigated decreased by 63 percent (Cooper and Kroeger 2017).
Moreover, the decline in union rates has put more workers at risk of labor law violations. Workers not covered by unions—those who are neither in a union nor covered by a union contract—are almost twice as likely (4.4 percent) to experience minimum wage violations as those in a union or covered by a union contract (2.3 percent) (Cooper and Kroeger 2017). And unions continue to be under attack: Trump’s budget blueprint calls for funding cuts to the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), the federal agency charged with upholding private-sector workers’ rights to organize and join unions (Opfer 2018).
These staffing shortages and funding cuts show that the Trump administration is not making enforcement of our nation’s labor laws a priority. To protect workers’ rights to fair pay and fair treatment on the job, funding and resources for federal labor and employment law enforcement agencies need to increase dramatically. In addition, state governments can and should take up the fight to protect workers’ basic rights on the job. State labor departments are usually the primary enforcer of state labor laws, but there are other governmental entities that can and do engage in worker protection activities, including state attorney general offices.
This report explores the ability of state attorneys general to take up enforcement of our labor laws and protection of workers’ rights. By examining enforcement actions among a number of states, this report highlights the various ways state attorneys general exercise jurisdiction to protect workers and enforce labor laws.
General background on state attorneys general
All 50 states and the District of Columbia, as well as Puerto Rico and other territories, have attorneys general. Although 43 of these attorneys general are elected statewide on a partisan basis, the staffs of these offices are generally career and operate in a professional, nonpolitical manner.2
Within the variety of office structures, most state attorney general offices have the following divisions (sometimes called “bureaus”): a division representing state agencies in trial courts; an appeals division, headed by the solicitor general; a division that brings public advocacy enforcement cases; a criminal division (where such jurisdiction exists); and a front office or executive team, including communications, intergovernmental, and outreach staff, a policy director; and other similar positions.
All state attorney general offices share a core commitment to the enforcement of state laws, but they vary widely in their jurisdiction, structure, resources, and areas of greatest focus:
- Law enforcement. Some offices have considerable resources to investigate and open cases on their own initiative and conduct their own law enforcement, while others have funding structures that limit such opportunities.
- Representation of state agencies. State attorney general offices are responsible for representing state agencies in court, and, in some states, they serve as agencies’ general counsel as well. Depending on a variety of resource, institutional, structural, and political factors, attorney general relationships with the administrative agencies they represent vary considerably.
- Public advocacy. In their public advocacy activities, attorneys general tend to intervene in strategic or high-impact cases where there is a pattern of violations.
- Criminal jurisdiction. Some have extensive jurisdiction to enforce criminal laws, while others do not.
Currently, there are several state attorney general offices that have units or staff dedicated to labor enforcement: California, Massachusetts, and New York have longstanding labor units, and, in recent years, new units have been created by District of Columbia Attorney General Karl Racine, Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan, and Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro, while Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson has also increased his office’s involvement in labor enforcement (OAG DC 2017b; OAG Illinois n.d.).
DEDICATED TO LABOR ENFORCEMENT MEANS MAKING SURE ALL LAWS GLOBAL CORPORATIONS NEED AS REGARDS LABOR---SUCH AS GLOBAL LABOR POOL -----ARE ENFORCED. THE STATES ABOVE DO NOT ENFORCE US 99% WE THE PEOPLE LABOR LAWS.
Unlike their federal counterparts and state agencies, state attorneys general typically have a broad range of issues they can address that impact policy and people’s lives. In addition to their statutory duties to represent state agencies in court, attorneys general often fulfill a generalized public advocacy role within their states. Attorneys general enforce state laws, educate the public about important rights, propose legislation, file amicus briefs, produce reports, author op-eds, issue opinion letters, make public statements that garner media and public attention, submit comments and provide testimony on state and federal legislation, and, in recent years, have sued the federal government over matters of national importance.
While state attorney general offices, like all government agencies, have limited resources and jurisdiction, they can often be more nimble and flexible than many other government agencies in addressing a range of emerging issues with a range of potential tools.
Roles of state attorneys general in protecting workers’ rights
Enforcement of laws to protect workers
Using their authority to enforce state laws, state attorneys general have played an affirmative role in protecting workplace rights.
Some state attorneys general are granted explicit civil or criminal enforcement jurisdiction. For example, the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Fair Labor Division has sole authority to enforce the Commonwealth’s wage and hour laws, including laws and regulations pertaining to prevailing wage, minimum wage, overtime, retaliation, misclassification of workers, tip pooling, and child labor (Gerstein and Sheikh 2017; OAG Massachusetts 2018b). The Division has the power to investigate work sites, issue civil citations, and bring criminal charges where appropriate. The attorney general of the District of Columbia also has independent enforcement authority for wage and hour laws. States such as Ohio and Florida have enacted their minimum wage laws through constitutional amendments that grant enforcement authority to the state attorney general, although they may not have exercised that authority to date (Gerstein and Sheikh 2017; Levine 2018).
NO STATE HAS WAGE THEFT AND EVERY KIND OF LABOR VIOLATIONS THAN OF COURSE MASSACHUSETTS.
The Epidemic of Wage Theft in Residential Construction in ...www.umass.edu/lrrc/research/working-papers-series/wage-theft
Our research documents how the illegal theft of workers' wages has reached epidemic levels in residential construction in Massachusetts. We conducted three ..
State labor agencies, through varying arrangements, often refer labor and employment law cases to their attorneys general for enforcement. For example:
- In 2013, the Washington State Attorney General’s Office partnered with the state’s Department of Labor & Industries to launch an extensive investigation into a construction company for multiple violations of the state’s prevailing wage and overtime pay laws. The attorney general’s office recovered more than $64,000 in unpaid wages plus $25,000 in interest for the 14 misclassified workers (OAG Washington 2013).
- In 2017, New York Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman, upon referral from and with the support of the state Department of Labor, prosecuted the owner of a home health care agency for wage theft. The owner was ultimately sentenced to one year in jail for defrauding 67 employees out of over $135,000 in wages (OAG New York 2017c).
- In 2015, Indiana’s attorney general brought a civil lawsuit, upon referral from its state labor agency, against a trucking company for wrongful termination and retaliation against an employee after that employee reported workplace violence in violation of Indiana’s Occupational Safety and Health Act (Flores 2015).
- Since at least 2007, the Wisconsin Department of Justice (which is the state attorney general’s office) has successfully pursued several cases to recover back wages for employees under Wisconsin’s plant closing law. The law requires employers of a certain size to provide advance notice prior to shutdowns that impact a threshold number of employees (Wisconsin DOJ 2007, 2009b).4 If the Department of Workforce Development cannot recover payment of certain wages owed within a certain timeframe after receiving notice of the closure, the Department is required to refer the case to the Wisconsin Department of Justice.
- In Washington, the attorney general’s office worked with the Washington State Department of Revenue, Office of Insurance Commissioner, Employment Security Department, and Department of Labor & Industries, among others, to recover over $500,000 in unpaid wages and taxes from an athletic club that had underpaid its employees (OAG Washington 2015a).
Independent contractor misclassification
Numerous state-level studies show that between 10 and 20 percent of employers misclassify at least one worker as an independent contractor (Carré 2015). Independent contractor misclassification5 occurs when employers treat workers as self-employed independent contractors even though they should be considered employees, and thereby deprive such workers of coverage by minimum wage, overtime pay, unemployment insurance, and workers’ compensation laws (Carré 2015).
- The Illinois attorney general has used the state’s Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act to pursue misclassification cases.6 In 2009, the attorney general, along with the Illinois Department of Labor, investigated, sued, and eventually settled with five construction companies for misclassifying workers in violation of the state’s Employee Classification Act, the Illinois Whistleblower Reward and Protection Act, and the Illinois Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act (OAG Illinois 2009).
- In 2018, the New York attorney general obtained the conviction of three Queens-based construction companies for misclassifying over 150 workers as independent contractors to avoid paying them overtime premiums, including a court order requiring the employers to pay $371,447.01 for unpaid wages and $359,747.86 in unpaid unemployment contributions to the New York State Department of Labor (OAG New York 2018a).
Payroll fraud
Payroll fraud occurs when employers pay workers cash wages “off the books” and thereby fail to pay unemployment insurance taxes, procure required workers’ compensation insurance, or withhold payroll taxes, among other things. In some states, efforts to address this conduct are combined with efforts to address independent contractor misclassification, through multi-agency misclassification task forces or other focused enforcement efforts. State attorney general offices have brought cases to address such off-the-books employment (OAG New York 2014a, 2015b).
Wage theft
Wage theft occurs when employers fail to pay workers the full wages to which they are entitled for their labor. This includes, for example, refusing to pay workers the total amount of promised wages, not paying for time spent preparing a workstation at the start of a shift or closing up at the end of a shift, not paying overtime premiums to workers who work more than 40 hours a week, and keeping workers’ tips. Given that wage theft disproportionately affects workers from low-income households—who are already struggling to make ends meet—the loss of wages can have a particularly damaging impact.
- In 2017, the California attorney general filed suit against a janitorial cleaning company for failing to pay workers the minimum wage, underreporting payroll taxes, and providing false payroll information to its workers’ compensation insurance carrier (OAG California 2017).
- In 2017, the District of Columbia attorney general filed a lawsuit against a home health care service provider and its owner for failing to pay 27 employees wages they had earned (OAG DC 2017a).
- In 2014, the New York attorney general recovered $625,000 in restitution and another $300,000 in damages for airport workers who were receiving as little as $3.90 per hour. The investigation began after several workers notified the Service Employees International Union Local 32BJ, which has been organizing airport workers, that they were not earning the minimum wage (OAG New York 2014c).
Joint-employer liability
When two or more businesses determine or have control over a worker’s pay, schedule, job duties, or other important terms and conditions of employment, the joint-employer doctrine allows them both to be held accountable as employers and responsible for violations of employment and labor laws (von Wilpert 2018):
- In 2016, the New York attorney general filed a lawsuit against Domino’s Pizza and three of its franchisees as joint employers. The lawsuit alleged, among other things, that Domino’s required its franchisees to use software containing a payroll system that systematically undercalculated overtime wages for franchisee employees. The attorney general’s investigation revealed that the company “urged franchisees to use payroll reports from the company’s computer system (called ‘PULSE’), even though Domino’s knew for years that PULSE undercalculated gross wages” (OAG New York 2016b).
- In 2017, the Massachusetts attorney general settled a case with the owners of an aerosol factory for nearly $1 million to resolve intentional overtime and minimum wage violations and for hindering the state’s investigation. As a result, approximately 480 affected workers received restitution. In the lawsuit, the attorney general alleged that the company used staffing agencies to pay its workers in an attempt to protect itself from liability. In 2018, the attorney general settled a related case with the staffing company itself (OAG Massachusetts 2017b, 2018a).
Immigrant workers’ rights
Immigrant workers across the United States are often particularly vulnerable to workplace abuse:
- In 2015, the Illinois attorney general sued several employment agencies and restaurants for abusive and exploitative employment practices (OAG Illinois 2015). The attorney general alleged that two restaurants consistently underpaid Latino immigrant workers who were required to work 12- to 14-hour days, six days a week, with no official meal breaks; discriminated against them based on their race and national origin; and housed them in squalid living conditions (OAG Illinois 2015).
- In 2017, the Washington attorney general filed suit against a private prison corporation—which had been contracted by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to house detained immigrants—for not paying its detainee workers the minimum wage. The attorney general alleged that the corporation paid thousands of detainee workers $1 per day or, in some instances, only snacks and extra food, for labor necessary to keep the prison operational. Washington’s minimum wage is $11 per hour (OAG Washington 2017; Johnson 2017).
Noncompete agreements
Labor mobility is fundamental to the ability to earn good wages. But an estimated 30 million U.S. employees, many of them relatively low-wage workers, are prevented from leaving their jobs for better wages elsewhere because they are bound by noncompete agreements (Eisenbrey 2016; Dougherty 2017). While noncompete agreements are legal in many states, one powerful tool that state attorneys general can use to challenge the use of noncompete agreements is the doctrine of parens patriae. This doctrine “allows a state to bring an action on behalf of its citizen in order to protect its quasi-sovereign interests in their health, comfort and welfare” (Myers 2013). Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan’s office exercised its parens patriae authority to challenge the use of noncompete agreements directed at workers in fast-food restaurants, and was able to require 300 Jimmy John’s sandwich restaurants throughout the state to rescind the noncompete agreements it had forced its sandwich makers and delivery drivers to sign (OAG Illinois 2016a, 2016b); Madigan’s office also sued a payday lending company for unlawful noncompete agreements (OAG Illinois 2017a). New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman has also reached several settlements in relation to employers’ use of noncompete agreements (OAG New York 2016e, 2016f).
Prevailing wage
Prevailing wage laws seek to ensure that government contractors pay wages that are comparable to the local norms for a given trade when those contractors are working on public construction and certain other contracts. Without prevailing wage requirements, contractors can win bids on government contracts by reducing their workers’ wages rather than competing on the basis of efficiency and management skills, materials costs, or the productivity of their workforce. Even after taking into account cost-of-living differences, median wages in construction are almost 7 percent lower in states where there is no prevailing wage law (Eisenbrey and Kroeger 2017).
Some state attorneys general have enforced the prevailing wage law directly. For example, New York’s attorney general has brought cases against contractors for prevailing wage violations in construction of affordable housing, public schools, public housing, and airport construction, among other things (OAG New York 2013a, 2014b, 2016a). In addition, many states have false claims acts, which fight fraud against the government by allowing whistleblowers who report fraud against New York State or local governments to receive a portion of the money recovered (OAG New York 2017a). Several state attorneys general have used their state’s false claims act to enforce prevailing wage laws.7
Criminal prosecutions
New York’s attorney general has obtained over 40 convictions of employers for violating labor laws since 2011. One such case involved a Papa John’s franchisee who created false records and gave workers fictitious names in order to continue to illegally withhold overtime pay after becoming aware that he was under investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor for wage violations.
Representing state labor agencies in court
A core function of state attorneys general is representing the state in court. Offices may defend labor agencies in their enforcement of state laws when employers challenge that enforcement in court, or they may defend agency decisions in unemployment or workers’ compensation cases. For example, in New York during the past decade, there have been numerous unemployment insurance cases where the New York Department of Labor determined that a worker had employee status, and was not an independent contractor as the employer claimed, and the attorney general’s office defended those determinations in appellate courts.9 This representational function can also come into play in cases with national implications, such as in the Janus v. AFSCME case, in which the Illinois Attorney General’s Office represented the state as a party when defending public-sector unions’ ability to collect fair share fees (OAG Illinois 2018).
In their representation of state agencies, state attorneys general have the ethical obligations and other constraints that accompany representing a client, but their work in this area often has important ramifications for workers’ rights.
Amicus briefs and comments on federal rulemakingState attorneys general can also influence labor and employment policies and regulations by participating in litigation before the United States Supreme Court and by submitting comments in relation to federal rulemaking.
State attorneys general are active in filing amicus briefs in labor and employment cases, both individually and through coordinated multistate efforts.
For example, several state attorneys general filed a brief in support of the Obama administration’s revised interpretation of the Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act’s (LMRDA) Persuader Rule, a rule that was intended to provide greater transparency and fairness in union elections in the private sector (OAG Massachusetts 2016; von Wilpert 2017). And 21 state attorneys general filed a brief in the Janus v. AFSCME case, urging the Supreme Court to uphold fair share fee provisions in public-sector collective bargaining agreements.10 A coalition of 18 state attorneys general also filed a brief in the Murphy Oil v. NLRB case, speaking out against the use of forced arbitration in employment contracts (OAG Massachusetts 2017a). An estimated 60 million American workers have been forced to give up their access to the courts to resolve employment disputes because of mandatory arbitration agreements in employment contracts (Colvin 2017).
In 2017, several state attorneys general submitted comments to the United States Department of Labor urging the Trump administration to not roll back the 2016 overtime rule,11 which would have updated the overtime salary threshold and given 12.5 million workers automatic overtime protections (OAG New York 2017b; Shierholz 2017).
In February 2018, a coalition of 17 state attorneys general filed public comments opposing the Trump administration’s proposal to rescind 2011 regulations that ensure employees can keep the tips they have earned (OAG California 2018b). It is estimated that, under the proposed rule, employers would have pocketed $5.8 billion in tips earned by tipped workers each year (Shierholz et al. 2017). As a result of this advocacy (in coalition with other groups), the omnibus spending bill enacted by Congress on March 23, 2018, included a provision that provides America’s tipped workers with explicit protection of their hard-earned tips (Conti 2018).
In April 2018, a coalition of 11 state attorneys general wrote a letter to U.S. Secretary of Labor Alexander Acosta, raising serious concerns about the U.S. Department of Labor’s Payroll Audit Independent Determination (PAID) program, a pilot program that allows certain employers who violate labor laws to avoid prosecution and penalties in exchange for simply paying the back wages their employees were already owed under federal law (OAG New York 2018b).
General advocacy
In addition to their law enforcement role, state attorneys general have engaged in various types of advocacy to protect and support workers’ rights.
Public education
State attorneys general have used a variety of approaches to educate the public on labor topics, including public outreach events to educate participants about their rights. Through their websites, state attorneys general often provide information about a variety of labor law−related topics and workers’ rights generally. Some websites also provide public access to formal complaint portals, which can be offered in various languages and may inform complainants that staff will not ask about an individual’s immigration status (Gerstein and Sheikh 2017).
The activities of the Fair Labor Section in Pennsylvania’s attorney general’s office provide an example of extensive outreach in this area. In its first year, the Section conducted labor roundtables with leadership from organized labor across the Commonwealth and participated in dozens of meetings with workers’ rights and other stakeholder groups. During the fall semester, the Temple University Beasley School of Law Sheller Center for Social Justice participated in a clinical experience with the Fair Labor Section, in which students investigated the use of noncompete agreements for low-wage workers in Pennsylvania. Finally, after co-authoring public comments regarding the proposed rescission of the 2011 tip rule described above, Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro held press conferences at a diner in Philadelphia and a restaurant in Pittsburgh about the potential adverse effects of the proposed rule change. There was extensive media coverage of these events, which raised public awareness of the issue.
Opinion letters
State attorney general opinion letters are typically issued in response to a formal request for legal guidance by a state agency or state officials. Although not generally binding on the courts, a final opinion typically goes through a formalized review process and carries with it the full weight and authority of the office. Opinions often detail the duties and responsibilities of a state agency or official under state and federal law, or elucidate ambiguous or unclear statutory provisions in a state law (Gerstein and Sheikh 2017). For example, the Delaware and New Mexico state attorneys general each issued opinion letters asserting that the local governments in Sussex County, Delaware, and Sandoval County, New Mexico, did not have the statutory authority to enact local “right to work” ordinances, which would have barred unions from collecting fair share fees in the private sector (Delaware State News 2017; OAG New Mexico 2018).
ReportsIn 2014, the New York Attorney General’s Office issued Pinched by Plastic, a report on the payment of wages by payroll cards (OAG New York 2014d). The report was based on responses to inquiry letters sent by the attorney general’s office to approximately 40 national employers that were using payroll cards. It found that virtually all payroll card programs charged fees for card-related activities, and these fees added up, reducing take-home pay received by the lowest-paid workers in the state (OAG New York 2014d). In 2014, the New York Attorney General’s Office also began issuing annual Labor Day reports, providing a detailed overview of the Labor Bureau’s actions to protect the state’s workers (StateAG.org 2017b). Massachusetts began publishing a similar annual report in 2016 to highlight notable cases, investigations, and trends in labor enforcement in Massachusetts (StateAG.org. 2017a).
Legislation
Many state attorneys general have units within their office dedicated to drafting and proposing legislation. Some have used their legislative units to introduce bills that enhance worker protections and target abusive practices. In 2014, then Illinois Governor Pat Quinn signed into law Illinois House Bill 5622, a bill protecting low-wage workers who receive wages through payroll cards from unreasonable fees (OAG Illinois 2014). The Illinois Attorney General’s Office played a key role in this legislation: After receiving complaints from workers about onerous payroll card fees, the attorney general’s office, with assistance from the Illinois Department of Labor, drafted the original legislation, which was eventually sponsored by several state house representatives.
Similarly, after issuing its report on the payment of wages through payroll cards, New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman’s office also drafted legislation to regulate the use of payroll cards and enhance protections surrounding workers’ access to wages (OAG New York 2015c). In 2016, Schneiderman also proposed a bill to curb the widespread misuse of noncompete agreements (OAG New York 2016c).
Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson made wage theft the centerpiece of his 2015 legislative agenda. His office introduced legislation barring companies who have repeatedly violated the state’s wage theft laws from doing business in Washington (OAG Washington 2015b).
Multistate advocacy
There is a growing level of multistate action on workers’ rights issues among state attorneys general. In 2016, nine attorney general offices jointly sent letters to a number of retailers about their use of on-call shifts (shifts in which workers are expected to call in an hour or two before the start of a shift to learn whether or not they are needed for the day).12 The retailers that were using on-call shifts terminated the practice. In April 2018, 11 state attorney general offices jointly sent a letter to U.S. Secretary of Labor Acosta, expressing concerns about the Wage and Hour Division’s new pilot program, titled the Payroll Audit Independent Determination, which allows employers to avoid paying damages and penalties by voluntarily paying back wages only to underpaid workers (OAG California 2018a). And in February 2018, all 50 state attorneys general and the attorney general of the District of Columbia signed a letter to Congress seeking an end to mandatory arbitration for sexual harassment cases.13
Conclusion
State attorney general offices can be key allies in protecting workers’ rights. While there is variation in their structure, resources, and jurisdiction, state attorneys general have a range of powers that can enable them to play a leading role in ensuring legal compliance by employers and advancing and defending workplace protections.
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It simply makes common sense that our 300 years of US politics had broad and free discussions of political philosophy-----political stances -----our US politics were open to all kinds of political groups on right and left. We would not have had our FDR NEW DEAL, our 1960s civil rights/labor rights---all that ANTI-WAR activism without feeling free to express our political voices. Today, can our US city public K-12 parents stand outside shouting against COMMONER CORE AND RACE TO TOP? Yes they can but our public schools are being corporatized and creating conditions making it too hard for our 99% of parents and students to have opportunity and access at ordinary public K-12. So, the RIGHTS OF POLITICAL ASSOCIATION AND VOICE are still there for our US 99% of WE THE PEOPLE-----global banking 5% freemason/Greek players are simply making employment, health care, education et al impossible to attain through privatization of all that is PUBLIC-----THE PUBLIC is our 99% freedom of voice.
Remember, NYT is no longer a strong US news journal ----it is just as captured as CNN---------
'and while federal laws bar employers from firing workers because of such variables as their race, religion and gender, there is no such protection for political affiliation or activity'.
We see here TUGEND is a great big global banking 5% player so is not a US JOURNALIST
'Early life and education
Tugend was born in Los Angeles, California. Her parents are Thomas J. and Rachel (née Spitzer) Tugend.
She majored in journalism and history at the University of California, Berkeley and later earned a Master of Studies in Law at the Yale Law School'.
Shortcuts
Speaking Freely About Politics Can Cost You Your Job
By Alina Tugend
- Feb. 20, 2015
HERE’S a quiz for the coming campaign season. Which
one of these actions could get you disciplined or fired?
A) Hanging political cartoons on your office door.
B) Sending emails to your colleagues soliciting support for a controversial cause.
C) Writing a blog at home stating your opinions about a local campaign and posting it on Facebook.
D) All of the above.
The answer is D.
Now, that’s not an absolute. It depends on whether you are a private or public employee. It also depends on where you live.
But if you’re a nonunion private employee, your boss has great latitude to control your political actions. As Lee Tien, a lawyer with the Electronic Frontier Foundation, put it, “You don’t have the right to speak freely in the workplace.” Or even outside it.
It’s an issue that bubbles up around every major election, said Paula Brantner, executive director of Workplace Fairness, an informational site for employees. But the combination of intense political polarization, the Internet’s power to spread and magnify seemingly innocuous or private statements and technology’s growing ability to blur the line between workplace and home, make it a conundrum for employers and employees.
So it’s crucial that workers and their bosses understand their rights and responsibilities.
Here are the two most important points:
For private employees, who account for about 85 percent of the work force, the First Amendment’s guarantee offers no protection from being fired for something you’ve said, either in the workplace or outside of it, as on social media. That’s because the amendment addresses actions by the government to impede free speech, not by the private sector.
OH, REALLY???????
And while federal laws bar employers from firing workers because of such variables as their race, religion and gender, there is no such protection for political affiliation or activity.
A handful of states and localities address this issue, among them New York, California, Colorado, North Dakota and the District of Columbia. The broadest-based laws, such as those in California and New York, make it illegal to discriminate on the basis of an employees’ political activity or beliefs in or out of work, Ms. Brantner said, unless such activity interferes with the functioning of the business.
_______________________________________________
Since our global banking 5% freemason/Greek players black, white, and brown players are all pledge to do anything 1000BC DNA OLD WORLD KINGS AND QUEENS say---we have to go to ancient mythology to see the FADS being pushed all tied with SHAPE-SHIFTERS-----of course we are brought back to VAMPIRES AND WEREWOLVES as tops-----we remember in US early 1900s movies telling us THE VEILS WERE DROPPED------contained lots of shape-shifting humans and creatures.
It takes far more energy to be a far-right wing global banking 5% freemason/Greek GREAT PRETENDER Chimera than to be simply ordinary 99% WE THE PEOPLE. Keep our voices strong and know who those shape-shifters are----as we rebuild our US right wing and left wing political parties and committees.
OH, NO---------EMERGE CALIFORNIA AS EMERGE MARYLAND IS TIED TO ECONOMIC POLICY INSTITUTE-------where journalism goes to DIE
.'Marni von Wilpert | Emerge California
emergeca.ngpvanhost.com/people/marni-von-wilpert
Marni von Wilpert is a civil rights and labor rights attorney. At the Economic Policy Institute, Marni monitors and evaluates legislation, regulations, and agency ...'
Creepy
10 Mythological Creatures and Shapeshifters
Listverse Staff October 26, 2009
Shapeshifting is a common theme in mythology and folklore. Many legendary creatures have this ability, which is represented in a full body transformation. It enables the creature to trick, deceive, hunt, and kill humans. Throughout history many murder sprees have been attributed to the presence of these beings. As Halloween is just around the corner, this list might help to give you all some ideas for a costume if you are going to a party. [JFrater: I am going to a Halloween party but I have no idea what I should go as – something that reflects a topic from the site might be nice. Any ideas?]
10 Leshy
The Leshy is a male woodland spirit in Slavic mythology believed to protect wild animals and the forests. They usually appear as tall men, but have the ability to change size and shapeshift into any form, animal or plant. Leshies have beards made of living grass and vines, and are often depicted with a tail, hooves, and horns. The Leshy has pale white skin and dark green eyes. They are the lords of the forest and hold close bonds with gray wolves, bears, and all animal life. When a leshy is in human form it looks like a common peasant, although its eyes glow. The creatures can shrink themselves to the height of a blade of grass or grow to the size of the tallest trees. It is commonly understood that leshies will lead peasants astray, make people sick, and even tickle them to death. The creatures are terribly mischievous and have horrible cries. However, Leshies can also imitate human voices and often times lure lost wanderers to their caves. They aren’t always evil, but enjoy misguiding humans and kidnapping young women.
9 Selkie
Selkies are creatures found in Faroese, Icelandic, Irish, and Scottish mythology. They have the ability to transform themselves from seal to human form. Selkies are able to shapeshift by shedding their seal skin, a risky endeavor because they must reapply the same skin in order to return to seal form. Stories surrounding these creatures are usually romantic tragedies. They are allowed to make contact with humans for only a short amount of time before they must return to the sea. In many cases humans have unknowingly fallen in love with selkies. Other times, humans have hidden the skin of the selkie, thus preventing it from returning to seal form. Male selkies are very handsome in their human form, and have great seduction powers over women. If a man finds and steals a female selkie’s skin then she will be under his control and is often times forced to become his wife. The creatures have been known to lure humans into the sea, by creating illusions and a false sense of reality.
8 Berserker
Berserkers were a group of Norse warriors. They are human, but in battle entered into a nearly uncontrollable, trance-like fury, and transformed into wolves, bears, and wild bulls. This enabled the men to fight more effectively. Their name would give rise to the English word “berserk”. Berserkers were said to wear the pelts of bears and wolves as they entered battle and could make the full transformation as they felt necessary. They are characterized as having bloodshot eyes, incredible strength, and endurance. Various Scandinavian kings used berserkers as part of their army or as hired men and royal bodyguards. Similar behavior is described in the Iliad, in which warriors are possessed by Gods and given the power to exhibit superhuman abilities.
7 Kitsune
n Japanese folklore the Kitsune is an intelligent and magical being. The creature’s strength increases with age, wisdom, and life experience. Kitsune is a Japanese fox. They have the ability to assume human form and are great tricksters. The creatures are noted for having as many as nine tails. A kitsune may take human form when it reaches a certain age, usually 100 years. They prefer to assume the shape of a beautiful woman, young girl, or elderly man. The creatures have the ability to clone the appearance of an individual. Kitsune have a fear and hatred of dogs. They can willingly manifest themselves in people’s dreams and create illusions so elaborate that they are perceived as reality. The kitsune can fly, become invisible, and often times generate fire or lightning. In some regions of the world the creatures can bend time, space, and drive people mad.
6 Púca
The púca is a legendary creature of Celtic folklore, most notably in Ireland, the West of Scotland, and Wales. The púca is a mythological fairy and ultimate shapeshifter. The creatures are capable of assuming a variety of terrifying forms, including a horse, rabbit, goat, goblin, or dog. No matter what shape the púca takes, its fur is always dark. They are most commonly seen as a black horse with a flowing mane and luminescent orange eyes. Púcas have the power to use human speech and although they are known for giving good advice, they also enjoy confusing and terrifying humans. Púcas have a fondness for riddles and are sociable creatures. They love to gather and play pranks on unsuspecting people and children. In many regions of the world the púca is seen as a creature of the mountains and hills. They are incredibly respected and if treated nicely will help humans.
5
Wendigo
The Wendigo is a creature appearing in the mythology of the Algonquian people. Descriptions of the Wendigo vary across culture, but they are generally described as a large alien-like canine beast. They are malevolent and cannibalistic creatures. Wendigos are strongly associated with the winter, the north, and coldness. Human beings will transform into Wendigos if they perform cannibalism. The person will become possessed by the demonic spirit of the beast, usually in a dream. Once transformed, the individual will become violent and obsessed with eating human flesh. These monsters are the embodiments of gluttony, greed, and excess. They are never satisfied with killing and consuming one person. Wendigos are constantly searching for new victims. They have been classified as giants and upon transformation the human will grow considerably in size. They populate rural and highly forested, mountainous regions. Recently the Wendigo has become a horror entity, much like the vampire, werewolf, or zombie.
4
Encantado
An encantado is a Brazilian legendary creature. They live in a deep underwater realm named the Encante. Encantados are most commonly viewed as a type of freshwater dolphin or sea snake that has the ability to shapeshift into human form. They are characterized by superior musical ability, seductiveness, and attraction to parties. The creature’s transformation into human form seems to be rare, and usually occurs at night. While in human form the encantado will wear a hat to hide its protruding forehead. It does not disappear while shapeshifting and frequently displays magical abilities, such as the power to control storms and haunt humans. They use various mind control techniques and can inflict illness, insanity, and even death. The creatures are known for kidnapping humans. Many villagers will not go near the Amazon River at night because of this. Plenty of South Americans believe in the existence of the encantado and claim to have seen and interacted with the species.
3
Aswang
An aswang is a mythical creature in Filipino folklore. The legend of the aswang is well known throughout the Philippines, except in the IIocos region. The creature is described as a combination of vampire and witch and is almost always female. The aswang is an eater of the dead and a cannibal. They are capable of transforming into either a huge black dog or a black boar. The creatures stalk and eat human beings at night. Garlic bulbs, holy water, and other objects are believed to repel aswang. Many stories revolve around these creatures eating children and unborn fetuses. In human form they appear normal, and are quiet, shy, and elusive. At night, they transform into the deadly beast. One key feature of the aswang is its bloodshot eyes. In the Middle Ages, the aswang was the most feared among the mythical creatures in the Philippines.
2
Vampires
Vampires are legendary creatures said to feed on the blood of humans and animals. It is difficult to make a single, definitive description of the folkloric vampire, although they were usually reported as bloated in appearance, ruddy, purplish, or dark in color. They are shapeshifters and can take many forms, predominantly bats or humans. Vampires are typically described as the undead, although some cultures believe that they can be living. Beginning in the 19th century, modern fiction began to portray vampires as gaunt and pale. In the past, vampire superstition in Europe led to mass hysteria, which resulted in corpses being staked and people being accused of vampirism. Many violent killing sprees have been attributed to vampires. They are known to terrorize their previous neighborhoods and will seduce their victims, waiting for the right moment to attack the neck. The creatures will frequently visit their relatives, particularly their spouses. Vampires are masters of disguise and camouflage. The most recently recorded case of vampirism is that of nineteen-year-old Mercy Brown, who died in Exeter, Rhode Island in 1892.
1
Lycanthrope
Lycanthropes or werewolves are mythological humans that have the ability to shapeshift into wolves or anthropomorphic wolf-like creatures. They can infect the human population with a bite and the creature’s transformation is often associated with a full moon. The lycanthropes mythology originated in Europe, but many accounts are found all over the ancient world. Features of the werewolf include the meeting of both eyebrows at the bridge of the nose, curved fingernails, low set ears, and a swinging stride. They have super-human strength and senses, far beyond those of either wolves or men. The beasts are known to feed on the homeless and easy prey. A person can be identified as a werewolf by cutting into their flesh to reveal hair or by revealing special bristles under their tongue. In returning to the human form the creature becomes weak and debilitated. Up until the 20th century wolf attacks on humans were widely reported causes of mass death in Europe.
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