Jonathan Capehart speaks to how Biden looked out for ALL of us. The oligarchy and dictatorship ahead will only benefit the new/old president and those close to him. Remember the goodness of Biden and resist the evil of Trump.

San Jose, Calif., City Council unanimously resolves to protect undocumented residents (News, 2/7/25)

LINK SAN JOSE, Calif.—With the inauguration of President Donald Trump, a new wave of raids conducted by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency swept immigrant communities across the Bay Area, prompting local leaders to take action in defense of residents. On Jan. 26, ICE raided a plaza on King Road and Story Road, which is a well-known Latino/a cultural landmark. It spurred significant protests to denounce the raid throughout the week. Most notably, on Feb. 3, over 500 individuals protested ICE’s presence in the city. On Feb. 4, the San Jose City Council unanimously approved a resolution authored by Councilmembers Peter Ortiz, Pamela Campos, Domingo Candelas, and David Cohen affirming the city’s commitment to preserving the safety and dignity of all its residents, regardless of national origin or immigration status. With the passage of the resolution, the city upheld its historic role in protecting and fostering its diverse community. Hundreds of residents turned out on a rainy Tuesday afternoon to provide public comment in support of the resolution, representing community organizations like the San Jose Peace and Justice Center, the Rapid Response Network, and the Silicon Valley Immigration Committee, in addition to the many others who attended individually as workers, business owners, religious leaders, and residents to express concerned for their undocumented neighbors and provide public comments in support of the resolution. Alysa Aujero, a substitute teacher for San Jose Unified, delivered a passionate comment in support of her undocumented students. “We vow to remind our students that we love them, that they all belong here, that this is a safe place and we want all our students to thrive […] Teachers and school staff are one part of our community. It requires y’all in charge to keep them safe. It’s a community responsibility to keep our people safe.” City Councilmembers also touted their records in support. Vice Mayor Pam Foley and Council member David Cohen recalled their time on the school board in 2016 during Trump’s first presidency protecting confidential student records from immigration authorities. In particular, Cohen drafted and approved northern California’s first resolution to the Berryessa School Board promising non-cooperation with ICE. He also stressed the importance of institutional trust between the community and the city. Councilmembers Domingo Candelas and Bien Doan recalled their own histories with immigration. Candelas’s mother had been undocumented for a significant part of her life and currently holds the strongest voting record of her family. Doan fled war in Vietnam in the 1970s and experienced discrimination during his time in the States, which he alluded to as his reason for supporting the resolution. Mayor Matt Mahan noted the contributions of immigrants to the economic life of San Jose, who make up 40% of the city’s population. Three-quarters of those immigrants have been in the city for longer than a decade, and 70% are part of the workforce in San Jose. He also noted that of 60,000 small businesses, around half are owned by immigrants. Of course, immigrants are more than just their economic contributions, and Mahan reaffirmed the city’s position as a moral stance in favor of protecting diversity. Mahan also committed to supporting the Rapid Response Network and making “Know Your Rights” resources available at all community centers. The mayor also questioned San Jose Police Chief Paul Joseph, asking him to clarify the role of law enforcement in ICE raids. According to Joseph, the police department will neither cooperate with ICE nor detain residents on issues specific to immigration. However, in accordance with sanctuary state policy, the police department will not be able to interfere in ICE raids and will continue to execute arrest warrants for other crimes, regardless of immigration status. San Jose is no stranger to protecting its immigrant community, as documented by the authors of the resolution. The city has passed four similar resolutions in the past: Resolution 75401 (6/8/2010): The city will not detain persons solely for suspicion of having unlawful resident status in the United States, and the City will serve all residents without reporting any otherwise law-abiding persons to federal immigration officials unless otherwise required by federal law, court decision or other legal requirement. Resolution 78788 (9/18/2018): Denouncing the U.S. Department of Justice’s Zero Tolerance Policy that resulted in the inhumane separation of families, and called for the immediate reunification of existing separated families. Resolution 79013 (3/19/2019): Denouncing the attempted deportation of Vietnamese refugees and immigrants who arrived in the United States prior to 1995, and acknowledging the rights of refugees and asylum seekers to pursue sanctuary and avoid the endangerment that may accompany a forced return to their country of origin. Resolution 79473 (4/14/2020): Monitor, protect, and defend the confidentiality of resident information provided to the Federal Government through the 2020 Census from breach and misuse, and to support outreach activities to ensure a complete count and broad participation in the Census as a way to guarantee that marginalized and hard-to-count communities participate in the Census without fear. In the face of increased raids by the Trump administration, it seems the residents of San Jose can count on their local institutions will continue to serve them regardless of immigration status. We hope you appreciated this article. 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Documentary: The rise of the ultra-right in the US (DW - Deutsche Welle - a public broadcast service) - The triumph of the radical right is the outcome of a well-thought-out strategy set in motion more than 40 years ago by a conservative minority thirsty for power (52 minutes)

Documentary: Germany's Enemy Within (PBS - FRONTLINE) - Germany's far-right party the AfD (Alternative für Deutschland) has provoked violence. FRONTLINE investigates the overlapping rise of the AfD and far-right extremism in modern-day Germany (54 minutes)

Kimmel is comedic genius as he exposes idiot Trump and his idiot followers during busy inauguration week.

Joe Biden - The Best President I've Ever Voted For!

In 2023, Amnesty International released two reports highlighting abuses suffered by children and young people using TikTok. Driven into the Darkness: How TikTok Encourages Self-harm and Suicidal Ideation details how TikTok's quest for young users' attention may worsen mental health issues.

CFT Announcement - Passage of the Social Security Fairness Act

On December 21, 2024, the U.S. Senate took a historic step in finally correcting a mistake from 1983 by passing the Social Security Fairness Act! President Biden is expected to sign the bill into law soon but there is no formal announcement yet. When signed by the President the Social Security Fairness Act will repeal the WEP/GPO penalties that unfairly take hard-earned Social Security benefits from CFT members who also participate in CalSTRS. As we know too well, more than 3 million active and retired educators and other public sector workers have waited decades for this day. The benefits, by way of eliminating the penalty, will be felt for decades. Thank you to the thousands of CFT members who helped the effort to get this bill passed. The many letters, calls, and rallies all made a critical difference. Below you will find a short FAQ about the bill. In Unity, Jeff Freitas CFT President Social Security Fairness Act FAQ What does the Social Security Fairness Act (SSFA) do? The SSFA repeals provisions of law that reduce or eliminate Social Security benefits for individuals who receive other pension or disability benefits from a system that does not require participation in Social Security, such as California State Teachers Retirement System (CalSTRS). The rules that reduce Social Security benefits are called the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and the Government Pension Offset (GPO). Once signed into law, these changes are effective for benefits payable after December 2023. In short, this act eliminates the WEP and GPO penalties. By eliminating these penalties, it gives the promised benefits from all systems a worker has paid into and doesn’t penalize anyone for being in multiple systems during different periods in their working life. What are WEP and GPO? WEP is a formula applied by the Social Security Administration that can reduce the size of a worker’s Social Security retirement or disability benefit. It applies to people with a combination of Social Security-covered employment and non-covered employment (e.g. a teacher or faculty member in California who had other jobs that paid into Social Security). It impacts public employee retirees who participate in a public pension system such as CalSTRS who do not pay into Social Security but paid Social Security taxes while at other jobs. An example of this would be a person who worked at a private company before getting into teaching or a school nurse who works extra shifts at a hospital. The WEP reduction does not apply to workers with fewer than 10 years (40 quarters) of employment covered by Social Security. So, for example, if you taught for decades and worked five summers outside the school system, WEP would not impact you. The WEP reduction does not apply to workers with more than 30 years of substantial earnings from employment covered by Social Security. So, for example, if you worked in the private sector for 30 years and then worked as a substitute teacher, WEP would not apply to you. The GPO reduces the spousal or widow(er) benefit by two-thirds of the monthly non-covered pension and can partially, or fully, offset an individual's spousal/widow(er) benefit, depending on the amount of the non-covered pension. For instance, an individual with a $900 spousal benefit from Social Security, who also has a $1,000 non-covered pension like CalSTRS, would see their Social Security benefit reduced by $667, or two-thirds the non-covered pension amount. That leaves them with a $233 remaining spousal benefit. With the GPO measure repealed, the same individual would be entitled to the entire $900 spousal benefit amount without an offset reduction. Who does this affect? For CFT members, this affects those who are retired (or one day will retire), in the CalSTRS system and have paid into Social Security for another job and/or have a spouse who pays or has paid into Social Security. Teachers do not participate in Social Security when they are members of the CalSTRS Defined Benefit plan. Neither of these penalties, nor the elimination of these penalties, applies to benefits derived from CalPERS since those workers (mostly classified professionals) simultaneously contributed to Social Security. Does this change my contributions to my pension fund or Social Security? This does not change anyone's current participation in Social Security, nor does the act change anyone’s contribution to their pension fund or Social Security. Participation in whatever retirement system a person is in will continue with no additional cost to the employee or employer. This only affects the benefits received in retirement from Social Security into which a person has already contributed. Does this apply to those already receiving retirement, disability, or survivor benefits? Yes, this applies to current recipients. We believe this will be retroactive to December 2023. The law states the following: The amendments made by this Act shall apply with respect to monthly insurance benefits payable under title II of the Social Security Act for months after December 2023. Notwithstanding section 215(f) of the Social Security Act, the Commissioner of Social Security shall adjust primary insurance amounts to the extent necessary to take into account the amendments made by section 3. Once the bill is signed and the Social Security administration can apply the rules, the reduction in payments will be eliminated and all new payments should be based on the normal calculation for Social Security benefits. When does the change in law take effect? President Biden signed the law. The Social Security Administration will need to make rules and create a process to implement this for millions of current and future beneficiaries.