Dear Progressive Reader,
Donald Trump left Washington this week without signing a coronavirus relief package that had passed both chambers of Congress with bipartisan majorities—leaving uncertainty in his wake. The federal unemployment benefits added as a part of the CARES Act are expiring tonight, and the national moratorium on evictions issued by the Centers for Disease Control ends on December 31. Millions of people are being impacted by Trump’s inaction. Marissa Endicott writes this week about local and regional efforts around the country to address issues of housing insecurity. As one New York state legislator tells her, “This is a perfect opportunity for us to consider how we do housing writ large. We see an impending eviction crisis, a homelessness crisis that has been exacerbated by this pandemic, and it should really beg the question about why we cannot, as a society, house people as a right.”
The Trump Administration has acted in other areas. As attorney Elizabeth Cavell points out, “Long after he leaves office, Donald Trump’s religious rightwing takeover of the federal courts will continue to damage our Constitution.” Plus, Lexi McMenamin reports, “Despite significant outcry, the Trump Administration has rushed through executions of inmates on federal death row in anticipation of an upcoming presidential transition. This is a departure from the past half-century, where public support for the death penalty has receded, and state governments have mostly abolished or rejected the practice.” And on December 18, the outgoing President participated in a meeting where the imposition of martial law was reportedly discussed. “Outrageous as it is, Trump’s consideration of martial law hasn’t received the attention and denunciation it deserves and demands,” says Matthew Rothschild. “To even consider imposing martial law should be anathema to anyone who respects democracy and is sworn to uphold the Constitution.”
Meanwhile, as Erik Gunn describes, the Congressional Progressive Caucus is working closely with the Poor People’s Campaign co-chaired by the Reverend William Barber II. They held an event on Monday to announce a “People’s Agenda” for 2021. “This agenda,” writes Gunn, “was necessary even before the advent of COVID-19, but it has been made still more so by the social and economic fault lines that the pandemic has exposed.” As Barber said at the event, “This is the present that America and the world needs right now. For chains of inequality to be broken. And for all oppression to cease. And this agenda starts us on that journey.”
For year's end, cartoonist Mark Fiore sums up 2020 in a cartoon review of “The Year in Bad.” And in an op-ed this week on our website, Kiki Monifa writes: “Many people have aptly described 2020 as ‘unprecedented.’ . . . It was the year the nation’s twin pandemics of COVID-19 and systemic racism were publicly acknowledged and inadequately addressed.” Monifa continues, “This will be the year we celebrate holidays without gathering in person. This includes Kwanzaa, an annual celebration of African American culture that began in 1966 and is today celebrated worldwide by folks of African descent, along with our allies of other races. . . . Folks will be Zooming, FaceTiming, Google Meeting, Skyping, Housepartying, Facebook Room Meeting, and using other remote video connections to celebrate Kwanzaa from the day after Christmas, December 26, to New Year’s Day, Januay 1.” So, she concludes, “Here’s hoping that this Kwanzaa season and beyond will continue the healing for our twin pandemics. Harambee (Let’s pull together)!”
Keep reading, and we will keep bringing you important articles on these and other issues of our time.
Sincerely,
Norman Stockwell
Publisher
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