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Trump Team Hired Man Who Pushed A Scam IRS Called ‘Worst Of The Worst’

Even as he has vowed to eliminate “every dollar of waste, fraud, and abuse across the federal budget and operations,” the new acting administrator of the General Services Administration, Stephen Ehikian, has appointed a senior adviser whose firm used to specialize in tax transactions that a bipartisan Senate committee excoriated and that the IRS branded as “abusive” and among “the worst of the worst tax scams.” The adviser has been battling the tax agency in court over $4 billion in disallowed deductions for thousands of his clients.

Locals Hit Elon Musk Tesla Car Dealers Again

Local grassroots organizers stepped up actions on Saturday for the second weekend outside Elon Musk’s Tesla electric vehicle dealerships in hopes of spurring a boycott against the company. At least four dealerships were targeted in the region as fury rose against the mega-billionaire and world’s richest man. The protests were part of a national effort by many grassroots groups. Local dealerships of the District of Columbia, Maryland and Virginia (DC-MD-VA) at Georgetown, Washington DC; Rockville, Maryland; Tysons Corner and Arlington, Virginia were among those sites of the weekend protests.

This Black-Owned Bank Is Disrupting Recidivism

For 21 years, Halim Flowers was incarcerated in prisons across the country, often spending his time reading books about economics, banking and finance. It wasn’t until 2018, during his last few months in the D.C. Department of Corrections, that 44-year-old Flowers was able to validate what he was learning, meet bankers from D.C. based-Industrial Bank, and open a savings account from prison with one of the only banks in the country offering services to incarcerated people. “They were good teachers. They humanized us as incarcerated people,” says Flowers, who is now an artist, author and runs his own fashion brand.

Protesters March On White House To Oppose Netanyahu’s Visit

Washington, DC – On Tuesday night, February 4, hundreds of protesters gathered at Lafayette Square, near the White House, to raise their voices and stomp their feet in opposition of the meeting between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Donald Trump. Organized by Palestinian Youth Movement DMV, Md 2 Palestine, Party for Socialism and Liberation, and the Muslim American Society, the organizers united around the demands to arrest genocidal Zionist Netanyahu, the end of all U.S. aid to Israel, and no normalization of relations between occupied Palestine and Israel.

DRAD Fights DC’s Anti-Protest Residential Tranquility Act

We’ve been fighting anti-protest bills across the country for years. This week, an assault on the right to protest came to our own backyard, aimed at restricting protests in residential neighborhoods. The bill comes as part of a nationwide wave of anti-protest legislation, with hundreds of bills introduced since 2017. Introduced as an “emergency measure,” Defending Rights & Dissent had 3 days to help pull together a coalition to stop the bill. We successfully brought legal and activist groups into a united front to mobilize against the bill.

Students, Community Members Battle Repression Of Pro-Palestine Protesters

George Washington University, Washington, DC – On Thursday, August 22, over 300 people gathered at James Monroe Park in downtown DC to support the student intifada. Last semester, students and community members from across the DMV set up an encampment at The George Washington University (GWU), called “Shohada’ Square.” Those involved have been facing charges from the courts, repression from the university, and brutalization by the police. August 22 marked the first day of classes for the 2024 fall semester at GWU, and student organizers planned a protest to remind administration that they will not back down.

Thousands Stand Up To Netanyahu And The War Makers In Washington

Despite facing multiple police agencies, who came from as far away as New York, and a Capitol encased in heavy metal fences to protect a war criminal, tens of thousands of determined supporters of the Palestinian people, from around the US, came to say no to the visit of the genocidal Israeli President Benjamin Netanyahu, who was being welcomed with open arms by the war profiteers and the great majority of Democrat and Republican representatives in Congress. In a major speech of nearly an hour to both houses of the US Congress, Netanyahu harangued and admonished the representatives to “send us the tools so we can finish the job”.

Netanyahu’s Speech: As American As It Gets

Benjamin Netanyahu’s speech before Congress was everything you’d expect: packed full of lies and propaganda spin, yet simultaneously very illuminating and revealing. The Israeli prime minister received no fewer than 58 standing ovations while speaking before both houses of Congress and spewing the most despicable lies you could possibly imagine in his conspicuously American accent. Depending on how politically aware you are, this spectacle could be perceived as either deeply un-American, or as American as it gets. Netanyahu repeated evidence-free atrocity propaganda about what happened on Oct. 7.

As US Congress Cheered For Netanyahu, Protesters Gathered To Denounce Him

Washington, DC – Hours before Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu arrived at the United States Capitol to deliver a speech to Congress, a woman with a blue scarf concealing her face sat alone on a park bench and waved a Palestinian flag near Union Station in Washington, DC. “We will fight for freedom wherever it’s being denied all over the world. We connect with the Palestinians because we are freedom fighters here in America,” the lone protester, who asked to remain anonymous, told Al Jazeera on Wednesday. She was one of the thousands of protesters who would ultimately gather across the capital city to demonstrate against the Israeli prime minister’s speech.

Hundreds Protesting Netanyahu Visit Arrested At US Capitol

Around 200 pro-Palestine protesters were detained on Capitol Hill on 23 June, ahead of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s address to the US Congress the day after. The protest took place in the Canon House Office Building. The demonstrators, wearing shirts with the slogan “Not in our name,” were organized by the Jewish Voice for Peace group. According to police, the protesters were warned that demonstrating in the Canon House Office Building was illegal. Executive Director of Jewish Voice for Peace, Stefanie Fox, said the Israeli premier’s speech in Congress on Wednesday was the reason for the demonstration.

Climate Activists Score Major Win In Campaign To Electrify DC

Last month, Extinction Rebellion D.C. scored a major victory for the End Methane, Electrify D.C. campaign: the D.C. Public Service Commission dismissed corporate utility provider Washington Gas’ application for the third phase of their $12 billion fossil fuel pipeline replacement project dubbed Project Pipes. The commission also partially approved a petition to investigate Washington Gas’ leak reduction practices. This victory is a major milestone in the fight to shut down a fossil fuel project that would lock D.C. into decades of planet-warming emissions while poisoning the city’s residents, especially the communities that are most marginalized and underserved.

Arrest Netanyahu! Surround Congress On July 24

When war criminal Netanyahu comes to Washington DC on July 24, we will mobilize and issue a notice of a citizen’s arrest! The people of the world stand with Palestine and against the genocide committed by Israel with full support of the United States and impunity. Join us in forming a People’s Red Line Against genocide around the Capitol building! Benjamin Netanyahu, the Prime Minister of the genocidal state of Israel should be arrested for war crimes and crimes against humanity. In fact, the International Criminal Court has requested arrest warrants for him and Yoav Gallant, the Minister of Defense of Israel. We won’t let a war criminal walk the streets of DC.

The Government Is Failing To Meet Refugees’ Basic Needs

In the days after the fall of Kabul in August 2021, the U.S. military evacuated tens of thousands of vulnerable Afghans to U.S. military bases. But their assistance ended there. “The military bases that were hosting the Afghan families reached out to my family’s mosque, asking for volunteers to bring supplies,” says Yasmeen Zargarpur, co-founder of One Community Social Services. Despite its leading role in the Afghans’ devastating circumstances, the government only offered temporary shelter to those fleeing. My conversations with local organizations and leaders in the resettlement space across Washington, D.C., Maryland and Virginia revealed a clear pattern of government agencies slacking in sustainably supporting refugees and immigrants arriving to the region — leaving community members to fill that gap.

German Parliamentarian In Washington Says No To NATO

As NATO marks its 75th anniversary on the eve of its Washington summit, three of its great myths are unravelling. First myth: That NATO is a defensive alliance abiding by international law. In reality, over the last quarter century, NATO has waged unprovoked, illegal wars of aggression against Yugoslavia and Libya; and the United States, the leader of the alliance, invaded and occupied Iraq, in a catastrophic adventure – to name three notorious examples. Second myth: That NATO stands for democracy and the rule of law. The reality is that NATO has never had a problem with counting military dictatorships or fascist regimes among its members.

Defenders Of Wildlife Union Announces Two-Day Unfair Labor Practice Strike

Washington, DC – The continuing refusal of senior leaders at Defenders of Wildlife (Defenders) to operate in good faith and bargain fairly with the organization’s staff union (Defenders United) has led to what will be the first worker’s strike in the conservation organization’s 77 year history. The Office and Professional Employees International Union (OPEIU) Local 2 authorized a 2-day unfair labor practice (ULP) strike after an overwhelming majority of Defenders United’s 76-member bargaining unit voted in favor. The strike will take place on July 9-10 unless the parties are able to reach an agreement on restoring union members’ annual wage increases and equal access to improved benefits, which Defenders’ leadership unilaterally removed last year, contradicting clear past practice on these issues. Non-union staff received both.
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