With the rush to hire ICE agents & the reportedly uneven vetting process, an investigation may reveal disturbing behavior that makes these women & girls even more vulnerable. @pbsnews.org @cnn.com @laurenunderwood.bsky.social #womenandgirls #disappeared #kidnapping #assault #darkweb

These facilities have cameras everywhere, but agents do not appear to wear body worn cameras as a general rule. Congress should request, obtain, and review ALL footage being captured in these facilities and how that footage is being handled/secured.

Let’s remember the human toll of failing to act. Nothing even remotely radical about that.

Watch the full clip of Brian’s interview on @NewsHour youtu.be/K2zqfX6TY_A?si…

We need an immediate and substantive policy overhaul to address a weakening social safety net, stagnant wages that have not kept up with the cost of living, and a housing market that allows large institutional investors to hoard inventory and raise rents exorbitantly on the working class.

No more piecemeal and half-hearted measures like raising the minimum wage to $15/hour by 2028 (not enough and way too late), or advocating for building more “affordable housing” without legislation & regulations to prohibit predatory investors from continuing to distort the housing market.

The ones using terms like the “affordability crisis” to paper over their diabolical failure to raise the standard of living for working class Americans during their several terms on office.

So, what now?

Those of us who rallied alongside @selc.bsky.social @sierraclub.org, Appalachian Voices, the NAACP, and the Friends of Chesterfield will continue to fight and advocate for the VCEA. Now it’s up to the Virginia General Assembly to stand up for Virginians.

In addition to the negative environmental & health impacts that will come with the CERC, the SCC approved having ratepayers foot the bill for this regressive project that will largely benefit data centers. That does not seem to align with the affordability agenda we heard so much about this year.

So, if that was the case in 2021, it stands to reason that $15/hour as a minimum wage by 2028 falls far short of the goal to raise the standard of living for most Virginians. Let’s do better.

We must strive for a living wage much sooner than 2028. A 2021 analysis from Brookings said a $15/hour minimum wage “would help millions of struggling households in small and mid-sized cities achieve self-sufficiency.”

More and more lower-income households are struggling to get by as wages fail to keep up with inflation. What’s worse is that most studies attempting to track wage growth fail to capture the unbanked, so the suffering is likely more pervasive than we can know through available empirical data.

I am deeply concerned about how disabled residents who benefitted from these programs will be affected by this new policy once implemented.

I am a veteran & a whistleblower who also faced the wrath of political retribution in the civil service because I would not abandon my integrity. So, to all my fellow vets who are or are looking to serve again: continue to fight for what is right and hold onto your integrity.

Happy Veterans Day.

Now what? What happens when your local leaders protect corporate interests over your community’s health and wellbeing? Time to fight! @sierraclub.org @selc.bsky.social @moreperfectunion.bsky.social @12onyourside.com @cbs6-richmond.bsky.social @goochlandva.bsky.social

Only one member of the board of five voted against this project. Only one brave supervisor moved to delay the vote. 4-1 in favor despite overwhelming opposition from the community. Wild indeed, but this is becoming a sad trend here in Virginia.