Politics
Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General: Many Children Separated from Parents, Guardians Before Ms. L. v. Ice Court Order and Some Separations Continue
As of December 2018, HHS had identified 2,737 children who were separated from their parents and required to be reunified by a June 2018 court in the Ms. L v. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) litigation. However, this number does not represent the full scope of family separations. Thousands of children may have been separated during an influx that began in 2017, before the accounting required by the court. In addition, as of early November 2018, HHS has received at least 118 separated children since the court order. HHS officials estimate that ORR received and released thousands of separated children before the court order in Ms. L v. ICE. ORR was not legally required to identify or track separated children released before the court's order. more »
The First Biography of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Crusader Without Violence, Is Reissued 60 Years Later
Jo Freeman Reviews: In a long chapter on Family, we learn why the name on his birth certificate is Michael Luther, and why he was called 'Little Mike' in his early years. In fact, Martin Luther King wasn't named for Martin Luther, but you'll have to read the book to find out why. Nonviolence came to him easily. Even as a boy he didn't want to fight, or hit those who hit him. In 1950, while studying at Crozer Theological Seminary, he went to a lecture on Gandhi by a well-known black preacher. He was so intrigued that he read everything that he could find on the Mahatma and his philosophy. The future leader didn't leave home until he graduated from Morehouse College. However, he was ordained at 18 and made associate pastor of his father's church when he was 21. His theological training was not necessary for a career as a Baptist minister; he was going into the family business. more »
Jo Freeman: With the 116th Congress the Party Gap has Become a Party Chasm
Jo Freeman writes: While many have greatly lauded this great leap upward over the 112 women who were M.C.s during 115th Congress, few have noted that this gain was almost entirely among Democrats. Of the 36 women elected to the House for the first time, only one is a Republican. Of the 3 new Senators, only one is a Republican. Women are now 25 percent of both houses of Congress, but not of both parties. Women are over one-third of the Democratic Caucus in both houses (36% and 39%), 15 percent of Republicans in the Senate, and only 8 percent of Republicans in the House. more »
A New Lawsuit and Partial Shutdown: Alleging that the Federal Government is Violating the Law by Requiring Some Federal Employees to Work Without Pay
Editor's Note: Two points about this lawsuit are it doesn't force an injunction and doesn't protect private contractors. "Our members put their lives on the line to keep our country safe,” said J. David Cox Sr., national president, American Federation of Government Employees, “requiring them to work without pay is nothing short of inhumane. Positions that are considered ‘essential’ during a government shutdown are some of the most dangerous jobs in the federal government. They are frontline public safety positions, including many in law enforcement, among other critical roles. A substantial number of those working without pay are military veterans." more »