#anna eshoo

The Times claimed that only 112 of the 431 House of Representatives members are people of color. It lists Rep. Rashida Tlaib as a person of color, while listing Rep. Justin Amash as white.

Tlaib's parents and Amash's father came from Arab towns and neighborhoods in Israel. Amash's mother came from Syria. They both have traditional Arab names.

How is Tlaib a person of color while Amash is white?

The Amash and Tlaib clans both have a sizable presence in Israel. They’re both Arabs, but, aside from Tlaib being a militant leftist while Amash is an ex-GOP Never Trumper, the only obvious difference is that Amash’s family was Christian while Tlaib’s family is Muslim. . . .

"24 people lead the Trump administration. 3 are Asian, Black or Hispanic," the New York Times insisted. That doesn't include Alex Azar, the Secretary of Health and Human Services, whose grandparents came from Lebanon, and Mark Esper, the Secretary of Defense, whose grandfather emigrated from Lebanon. The Times likewise lists Governor Chris Sununu, of partial Lebanese and Arab Israeli descent, as white, and certainly not a person of color.

What makes an Arab immigrant from Israel, Lebanon, or Syria, white? Christianity.

Israeli Jews, like Lyor Cohen, YouTube's Global Head of Music, also don’t qualify. The New York Times lists Cohen, the son of Israeli immigrants, as yet another white non-person of color.

It’s not just Jews or Arabs who aren’t considered minorities unless they’re Muslim.

Rep. Anna Eshoo's father was an Assyrian Christian who, in her own words, "was driven from the Middle East." The New York Times still lists her as white. Assyrians and Armenians are not people of color. The difference isn’t, as we see in Amash and Tlaib’s case, racial, it’s religious.  

In the wee hours of July 6, members of the Raging Grannies Action League joined students and @VigilforDemocracy to paint the word DESEGREGATE in front of Foothills Park in Palo Alto Hills. See photo of Mercury News article above: Battle RAGES anew over fate of residents only Foothills Park. 

Repealing Trump-era breakthrough device coverage limits access to ‘life-changing treatments,’ lawmakers say

Dozens of House representatives have taken issue with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ (CMS’) recent repeal of a Trump-era rule granting expedited Medicare coverage to breakthrough medical devices. In a letter penned to CMS Administrator Chiquita Brooks-LaSure last week, 61 bipartisan lawmakers wrote that they “do not support” CMS’ Nov. 12 repeal decision nor “the multiple…

Policy Executives at Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter to Testify at Senate Hearing on Algorithms

Next week, policy executives from Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter will testify at a Senate Judiciary hearing on algorithmic amplification, Politico reports. Social media recommendation algorithms have come under increasing scrutiny in recent years, and Democratic lawmakers have voiced concerns about how they can fuel… Read more…