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Jo Freeman reviews: Leader and Hyatt look at each of the planks in the National Plan, assessing what has changed and what hasn't. Spruill pays more attention to politics, following the ways in which feminists and anti-feminists polarized party politics and presidential elections. She finds that both the Democratic and Republican parties were substantially changed by the feminist and anti-feminist blocks within them. In the 2016 election, Phyllis Schlafly endorsed Donald Trump long before he won the primaries, while organized feminism turned out the troops for Hillary Clinton. Abortion has become a litmus test in each party, and women, both feminists and anti-feminists, write the relevant planks within each party's platform.
The president claimed in late November that the tax plan would “cost me a fortune.” Unlike past presidents, Trump hasn’t released his tax returns, so we can’t say exactly how he would be affected. But, again, several provisions would cut taxes for wealthy individuals like Trump. The final legislation cuts the corporate rate, increases exemptions for the AMT and estate tax, and cuts the top individual income tax rate. The nonpartisan Tax Policy Center found 91 percent of the top 1 percent income earners would get a tax cut in 2018, averaging nearly $62,000. He repeatedly and wrongly claimed the plan was “the biggest tax cut in our history.” The final GOP plan will reduce tax revenues by nearly $1.5 trillion over 10 years, which still ranks it eighth or fourth place, as measured by a percentage of gross domestic product or in inflation-adjusted dollars, respectively. Trump said “more than 30 million” small-business owners would get a marginal tax rate reduction that, in reality, could have affected no more than about 670,000 high-income taxpayers who report business income. Trump also pushed the popular myth that farm families often have to “sell the farm” in order to pay the estate tax. One expert told us he has never seen such a case in decades of studying the issue.
ON BEHALF OF MY COLLEAGUES THAT I'M HONORED TO JOIN IN WELCOMING SOME VERY SPECIAL GUESTS TODAY, WHO WILL TELL THEIR STORIES AND WHY WHAT IS HAPPENING ON THE FLOOR OF THE HOUSE IS AN IMMORALITY. IT'S A BETRAYAL OF THE ROLE WE HAVE TO MEET THE NEEDS OF THE AMERICAN PEOPLE, WILL INDEBT FUTURE GENERATIONS AND LET'S HEAR THEIR STORIES, ADDIE BARKIN, CAMPAIGN FOR DEMOCRACY DIAGNOSED WITH ALS. THANK YOU FOR BEING WITH US. I THINK AS RACHEL -- ARE RACHEL AND CARL HERE? THEY WERE HERE LAST NIGHT. THEY HAVE BEEN AROUND THE CAPITAL ADVOCATING FOR A BETTER AND HEALTHIER AMERICA. THANK YOU. LAUREN HATCHER, MOTHER OF SIMON. SIMON IS HERE WITH HIS PARTY ANIMAL T-SHIRT ON AND TIGGER. DIAGNOSED WITH CEREBRAL PALSY AND SOME OTHER ISSUES LAURA WILL DISCUSS AND UNIQUE DISORDER. SIMON BENEFITS FROM MEDICAID. AND YOU ALL KNOW SISTER SIMONE CAMPBELL, A LOBBY FOR CATHOLIC SOCIAL JUSTICE. YOU'LL BE HEARING FROM THEM AND FROM OUR DISTINGUISHED RANKING MEMBER OF THE WAYS AND MEANS COMMITTEE RICHIE NEAL OUR CHAMPION ON THIS ISSUE. THANK YOU.
The House Judiciary Committee approved, by voice vote, H.R. 1865, the Allow States and Victims to Fight Online Sex Trafficking Act of 2017, as amended. The House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Communications and Technology and Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, Homeland Security, and Investigations have held hearings on the bill (see The Source, 12/1/17 and 10/6/17, respectively). Sponsored by Rep. Ann Wagner (R-MO), the bill, among other provisions, would ensure the ability to enforce federal and state criminal law relating to sexual exploitation of children or sex trafficking.
Sonya Zalubowski writes: A little gold ribbon each side, the hinges I remembered. More gold squiggles printed on the cover inside, the regal stamp of British royalty, two lions flanking a crown."By appointment. Yardley London." Not even a faint smell of lavender anymore. Something much better. Those envelopes. I took the top one out, addressed to Miss Helen Romer in Seattle, Washington. The postmark Kenosha, Wisconsin. The postage just three cents. The date Sept 8, 1939. Now, as an adult, I realized what they represented, love letters from Dad to Mom at the start of their relationship.
Title I would amend numerous provisions of U.S. tax law. Among other changes, the bill would reduce most income tax rates for individuals and modify the tax brackets for those taxpayers; increase the standard deduction and the child tax credit; repeal deductions for personal exemptions; repeal or limit certain itemized deductions; and increase the exemption amounts for the individual alternative minimum tax. Those changes would take effect on January 1, 2018, and would be scheduled to expire after December 31, 2025. The bill also would permanently repeal the penalties associated with the requirement that most people obtain health insurance coverage (also known as the individual mandate).
Roberta McReynolds writes: A number of our visitors have special needs, and we have always been able to adjust to whatever any given situation requires. Santa has climbed down so we can kneel next to a wheelchair, given an autistic child the quietness and calm they need, and welcomed those with mental limitations with patience and understanding. We held a baby that was just two weeks old this year and had a woman who proclaimed she was 91 and had never had her picture taken with Santa before. Some visitors bring in their dogs for a picture and Mrs. Claus makes sure Santa has a supply of dog biscuits for our furry friends.
Injectable dermal fillers are not for everyone and may not be indicated for people with certain conditions (such as bleeding disorders or certain allergies). If your health care provider confirms that dermal fillers are an option for you, know that all products have benefits and risks. The FDA advises you to work with a licensed health care provider and to understand all of the risks and benefits before receiving treatment. Being injected with dermal fillers poses some risks. The most common side effects include: bruising, redness, swelling, pain, and itching. Additional side effects include: infections, lumps and bumps, and discoloration or change in pigmentation.
With growing concerns about the dangers of prescription painkillers, an estimated 3 million to 5 million people are using kratom and reporting positive results, based on information from retailers. But worries that the unregulated plant product could be abused for its mild euphoric qualities and users could become addicted are spurring federal officials to issue public health warnings — and a handful of states and cities to impose bans. Alabama, Arkansas, Indiana, Tennessee, Vermont, Wisconsin and the District of Columbia have banned kratom, along with at least three cities — Denver, San Diego and Sarasota, Florida. The FDA has also posted a warning letter to the marketers and distributors of Legal Lean Syrup, a drink, and Coco Loko, a "snortable" chocolate powder, for selling unapproved new drugs and misbranded drugs.
Robert Roskind is the owner of the Oasis cafe in Carrboro, North Carolina, where a typical serving of kratom is a heaping teaspoon of powder in a mug of hot water, orange juice or chocolate almond milk. As consumption of the opioi…
Jo Freeman writes: On December 5 Rep. Cheri Bustos (D-IL) told the Fifth annual Woman Rule Summit that she saw the same energy and enthusiasm in women during the last year that she saw [during the Anita Hill/Clarence Thomas hearings], and thought another Year might be coming. Sexual harassment by powerful men certainly attracted a lot more attention in 2017 than it did 25 years ago. There has been a shift in the presumption that the women were lying to a belief that the men are in denial. The Women Rule Summit featured issues of importance to women in more than just politics. The Fifth Summit had panels on women in sports, as entrepreneurs, in federal law enforcement, as well as a lot of politics.
GAO was asked to analyze diversity trends in the financial services industry, particularly in management positions. This report examines (1) trends in management-level diversity in the financial services industry from 2007 through 2015, (2) trends in diversity among potential talent pools, and (3) challenges financial services firms identified in trying to increase workforce diversity and practices firms used to address them.
The public sees vastly different pressure points for men and women as they navigate their roles in society. Large majorities say men face a lot of pressure to support their family financially (76%) and to be successful in their job or career (68%); much smaller shares say women face similar pressure in these areas. At the same time, seven-in-ten or more say women face a lot of pressure to be an involved parent (77%) and be physically attractive (71%). About half say more should be done to encourage girls to be leaders (53%) and to stand up for themselves (54%), compared with about four-in-ten who say the same about encouraging boys to do each of these.
"Americans from across the nation should be outraged by President Trump's unlawful attempt to eviscerate the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, one of our country's wildest and most scientifically significant federal public landscapes," said Stephen Bloch, legal director for the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance, Utah's largest conservation organization. "No one will look back on this decision in 15, 25 or 50 years and say Trump did the right thing by protecting less of this magnificent place. And by promoting this illegal act, Utah's parochial congressional delegation and local politicians have firmly come down on the wrong side of history."
Henry James and American Painting, an exhibition that is the first to explore the relationship between James' literary works and the visual arts, is appearing at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston. On view until Jan. 21, 2018, it offers a fresh perspective on the master novelist and the significance of his friendships with American artists John La Farge, John Singer Sargent, and James McNeill Whistler, and close friend and esteemed arts patron, Isabella Stewart Gardner.
Estate tax. The clearest benefit for the Trump family would be the tax bills' changes to the estate tax, which falls on estates worth more than $5.49 million (nearly $11 million for a couple). The House bill would repeal the estate tax entirely in 2024. As we’ve written before, that would save Trump’s estate $564 million, according to a Bloomberg estimate, based on a net worth of $3 billion. Trump has said his net worth is $10 billion, and if so, the savings to his estate from a repeal of the tax would be $1.9 billion.
While Paris was known as a cosmopolitan city, Parisian society was still very restrictive for women. They were not allowed to attend the École des Beaux-Arts, the country’s most important art academy until 1897, and it was not socially acceptable to frequent public spaces, such as cafes, to work on their art and mingle with their peers without a male companion. The exhibition traces how women embraced their artistic aspirations and helped create an alternative system that included attending private academies, exhibiting independently and forming their own organizations.
Janet Yellen before the Joint Economic Committee, US Congress "With the job gains this year, 17 million more Americans are employed now than eight years ago. Meanwhile, the unemployment rate, which stood at 4.1 percent in October, has fallen 0.6 percentage point since the turn of the year and is nearly 6 percentage points below its peak in 2010. In addition, the labor force participation rate has changed little, on net, in recent years, which is another indication of improving conditions in the labor market, given the downward pressure on the participation rate associated with an aging population."
Since the epidemic began, a few cities and states have begun collecting data on drug seizures, arrests, overdose deaths and other collateral effects of the opioid epidemic. Indiana, for example, is working on a statewide, multi-agency database that includes information on pharmacy robberies, overdose-related ambulance calls and the use of the opioid overdose antidote naloxone. Alaska, Arizona, Florida, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota and Virginia have declared the opioid epidemic a state of emergency, in part to enable better information sharing among agencies.
The Downton Abbey-themed experience has opened: The Exhibition opened in New York City on Nov. 18, and runs through the month of January before traveling throughout the US. It will connect fans with their favorite characters, costumes, locations and historic events of the era, as well as showcase never-before-seen footage. In the meantime, the Lightner Museum in St. Augustine, Florida is presenting a costume history of the period surrounding World War I, a period that changed the social fabric of Great Britain.
Joan L. Cannon wrote: The Internet has become the conduit to confidants I didn’t know I needed, and now I behave as though I couldn’t survive without them. Actually, I doubt if I could. Nowadays I need to remind myself of how easy it’s going to be to overwork my new roster of what I can think of only as friends — real friends in most instances, as opposed to acquaintances. It’s such a temptation to tap out an email whenever a thought strikes me that I know would be of no interest or would be likely to be misunderstood by available ears, or worse, to raise hackles or prejudices that would spoil the relationship on the spot.
In recent weeks there have been many media reports about the process for employees in the legislative branch to file claims with the Congressional Office of Compliance (OOC) under the Congressional Accountability Act of 1995 (CAA). Several of those reports contain incorrect information about that process. The questions and answers [in this post] address the most common misconceptions about the OOC; more detailed information is available [at the website].
Jo Freeman writes: Forty years ago over 20,000 people gathered in Houston, Texas to celebrate International Women's Year (IWY) and identify goals for women for the next decade. On November 6 and 7, 2017, a few hundred people gathered at the University of Houston to celebrate the 40th anniversary of that conference. It was not sponsored by the federal government, though some would argue that today's federal government made it necessary. Speakers discussed what happened in 1977, what didn't happen, what should have happened, and what it all meant.
The New Jersey tax compromise included a 23-cents-per-gallon hike in the gas tax, bringing it to 37.5 cents a gallon. The legislation also cut $1.4 billion in other taxes, including income taxes on elderly residents who can now exempt the first $100,000 of retirement income (a couple) from state income tax. Supporters said the tax break for middle-income seniors was a way to counter arguments that eliminating the estate tax was a gift to the wealthy. New Jersey took in nearly $320 million in estate taxes in 2014. The increase in the gas tax is expected to raise more than $1 billion a year.
In the previous open-enrollment season, 12.2 million people nationwide selected individual market plans through the marketplaces. The number dropped off during the year because not everyone paid and some found coverage elsewhere. Forty-five percent of all respondents to the KFF survey and 52 percent who said they were uninsured said they have heard less about open enrollment this year compared to previous years. Insurers are trying to pick up some of the challenges of publicizing enrollment, and some of those ads are getting noticed.
Rose Madeline Mula writes: The church I attend these days isn't the Roman Catholic Church of my parents — or even of my youth. No, despite my profound disgust with the pedophile priests horror and the Church’s anti-woman and anti-gay leaning, I haven't converted to another religion. But if the 20-year-old me were to come back to visit me today, she would be sure I had defected.
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Jo Freeman's Book Reviews: Looking back 40 years at the National Women's Conference in Houston
The Whoppers of 2017: President Trump Monopolizes Fact-Check.org's List of the Year’s Worst Falsehoods and Bogus Claims.
