This International Women’s Day, let’s ensure women’s voices are heard in our democracy.
That means ensuring they can exercise their right to vote wherever they live, even in states with strict voter ID laws.
Across the country, voter ID laws create additional barriers for millions of women voters.
Seven out of 10 women change their last name when they get married or divorced. As a result, the ID they present at the polls may not match the name they originally registered to vote with (sometimes years ago). Trans women in particular can face discrimination and additional voting barriers if their gender presentation and name varies from their IDs.
Here are three things you can do right now to ensure that all women have the ID information and assistance they need to vote (and secure employment, housing, medical care, and so much more!):
Encourage the women in your life to do an ID check and get informed on what ID (if any) they need to vote.
Share our resources for LGBTQ+ voters, who face extra barriers to voting if their ID doesn’t match their name and gender.
If you need help, let us know! All of our services are free of charge and we can help you get the documents or ID you need, including covering costs, making appointments, and providing transportation.
I have been pointing out the extra targeting of women by these ID laws for years!
In some countries, a person has their thumb inked instead of requiring an ID to avoid voting more than once. The point being, if a "real" person presents to vote, the default should be to allow every eligible voter to exercise that right.
However, the radical extremists who have taken over the GOP are intent on ruling against the will of the majority. January 6, 2021 was a coordinated criminal effort to overthrow a fair election TFG lost by MILLIONS of votes.
You should also check your health care provider to see if they list Walgreens as a place to buy medical supplies (mine does) and write or call them to ask that they take Walgreens off their list. MVP provides a $25 debit card to all subscribers every month along with a list of eligible stores to purchase basic health maintenance supplies (basically, anything the store carries). Walgreens is one of 2 pharmacies listed.
I have to ask this question, one that pains me to ask:
How is what Gov. Newsom doing w/r/t Walgreens any different than what Gov. DeSanctified is doing to Disney. Are these governors blurring the line between democratic and authoritarian principles?
Good question, Andrew. My VERY simplified answer is…One governor supports the rights/will /health of his constituents( and the country) while the other( sadly my)governor supports the right to his authoritarian regime.
I'd like to see Robert Hubbell expand on this. Here's my non-lawyer take: Newsom is canceling the state's contract w/ Walgreens because the company's decision will hurt female Californians (and possibly their families) and is depriving those same people of a legal medication. DeSantis is canceling Florida's long-standing legal tax, utilities, and land use arrangement with Disney, imposing a pro-DeSantis board to oversee Disney, and is transferring the costs for maintaining Disney's roads, water, and other utilities from Disney onto Florida taxpayers. He's doing this because Disney criticized DeSantis's bigoted policies, not because he wants to protect Floridians.
What Walgreens is doing is hurting all PEOPLE. And what's to stop them from doing it with other meds? There are medicines for people with cancer, MS, RA, etc. that are teratogenic and people have been having a hard time getting them since Roe v Wade was overturned. Even people that aren't pregnant, because they *might* become pregnant.
I agree - there are distinct differences: Walgreens is about women's health while Disney is about entertainment. I suppose if either were breaking the law or acting in a discriminatory manner (perhaps that is an argument w/r/t Walgreens while clearly it is the opposite w/r/t Disney), the State could restrict the State's benefits to those companies. It's challenging issue. But clearly it is very unfortunate that Walgreen's has elected not support a woman's right to choose.
"Women’s March is calling for a nationwide boycott to protest Walgreens and fight for medication abortion access. Find your local store and let them know you won't support them until they support reproductive freedom."
Mar 9, 2023·edited Mar 9, 2023Liked by Robert B. Hubbell
Walgreens has been accumulating check marks on the wrong side of the ledger, lately. Not only are they choosing sides with the mifepristone debacle, but they have been over-reacting to claims of shop-lifting (Not saying that is not a problem.) Stores have hired security personnel and some are rumored to be placing many items under lock and key. Then they retracted their stance and said they were mistaken.
My own misadventure: I live in a state in which CBD, the cannabis extract, is legal to use. I also had a letter from my doctor, just in case. I use CBD as an effective treatment for neuromuscular pain, with very few side effects, and only at night.
Well, I applied to work temporarily during the holidays to help the young manager, a friend, stock shelves. She was in a bind and worn out from working endless-hours in her manager status. However, I failed their physical because of traces of marijuana! Not only that, but I had a stern call from the company doc who asked 3 times if I used marijuana. Each time I said no, I use CBD for pain at the lowest dose. ( They are different animals.) My doctor's letter and state legality mattered not. They wouldn't hire me. How embarrassing, especially since a few weeks later, Walgreens was selling CBD pain patches for external use.
I guess they are conservative-minded and morals conscious. I'm only guessing, but it seems like they make stern judgments about others. A friend and I discussed using a different pharmacy recently. We are boycotting.
It's funny (not) how all the worst stores are the ones that survive - CVS and Walgreens stay while Sav-On and Thrifty go under; Borders dies and $%$#$#@!! Barnes & Noble lives to finance themselves on returns for credit charged to the author's royalties. Assholery wins.
The bookstores I mourn are the small independent ones that went under when Borders and B&N came in. I loved the independents in Santa Monica near my home. Readings. Great books. Seeing that Brazos Bookstore near where I lived before moving to LA is still going gives me joy.
I actually buy all my books from the Harvard Book Store, a local bookstore in Cambridge, MA. https://www.harvard.com/ Being online means you can support "local" small bookstores like this one despite them being 3,000 miles away.
I buy mine at Porter Square Books, about a mile away from the Harvard Book Store. There were several others in the square that have gone out of business, along with a couple of nice coffee jernts. Harvard Square is not what it used to be, but it's nice that one of our bookstores is getting some business from Texas.
One time one of my Berkeley profs, Arlie Hochschild gave a book talk at Porter Square Books on her then new book, Strangers in their Own Land. I hadn't seen her for about 45 years. She was just as good as she'd been in her youth.
Such a great share. I was wondering about the shop lifting because so many post this on Twitter and it gives the impression that in California, looters are running rampant through Walgreens.
I think shoplifting is a problem, and there are stories of gangs who loot together. That, too is an outcome of Covid, at least to that greater extent. Nevertheless, I believe it was Walgreens who gave the impression of "the sky is falling," then had to walk it back. Personally, I love small businesses, but generally disdain corporations. I will not miss Walgreens at all. And now for my next gripe...the big "automated" tips that are at the close of a transaction by debit/credit card!
Hi, We live in Sonoma, a small Northern California town, where Walgreens bought and then closed the best pharmacy here, Pharmaca, with less than two weeks notice! . Everyone’s prescriptions were automatically transferred to Napa, 20 miles away! Trying to get them away from Walgreens to another local pharmacy here is a nightmare! I also tried contacting Walgreen’s CEO to protest their abortion med decision and the call is immediately transferred to a robo offer of some unknown product. This is a huge lesson on monopolies and the lack of anti-trust enforcement. I will never set foot in a Walgreens again.
Here in our area of Spain there is a Pharmacia on almost every corner, and most are independently owned by individuals. Ours is awesome. Owned by a woman. Her mother has one in another city. Irene is all about health and her small staff (2) ask questions before filling prescriptions just because a friend might be taking something. If they don't know they contact doctors to be sure that you need what you are getting. For 20 years I have been taking something prescribed initially by a doctor back in the states. I have been getting refills. Both of the staff here encouraged me to get off the drug, slowly. When I did, I realized that I never needed it in the first place and have spent thousands of dollars and endangered my liver. This is what a pharmacy should be.
The Trader Joe’s where I shop is next door to a Walgreens. I would occasionally pop in there to get the odd item (I’m a Kaiser member so need for the pharmacy). I’ve stopped popping in. Barren shelves and limited staff made even the simplest purchase a nightmare. I’d say Walgreens was aiding itself in its own demise. And this began before the pandemic, only to worsen during and now. This political stunt seals it. The Rite-Aid, formerly Thrifty, near my home has its own issues, but again, I don’t use the pharmacy, and the shelves seem to be marginally well stocked. And they have ice cream!
I had not heard that Ms. Greene sat in as Speaker pro-tempore today. I was amazed. She sounded like a child playing house. As the various deals Kevin McCarthy made to become Speaker are being revealed, I have come to the conclusion that there is almost nothing he would not have done either publicly or privately to have that title. I'm not sure even his family would be safe if someone made a demand involving them and I say that in all seriousness. I wonder which day Gaetz has directed that Kevin walk around the House with a "Kick Me" sign prominently displayed on the back of his suit jacket?
I think that it is safe to say that Qevin allowed himself to become a Eunuch--somewhere between the 14th and 15th votes for Speaker--so that he could finally ascend--no DESCEND--into the Speaker's chair!
Back in the day I think we used to be able to shame politicians for this type of behavior. But unfortunately these modern day extremist members of the GOP cannot be shamed. They seem more brazen, and the more of a negative reaction they get, the more it makes them double down.
Mar 9, 2023·edited Mar 9, 2023Liked by Robert B. Hubbell
"I find it difficult to hear these reports and not surrender to anger. "
We can either waste time stoking our outrage, or we can resist getting worn down by what we knew would happen anyway when McCarthy took charge.
To be blunt. I am old. Next month I mark another birthday and am glad to do so. There is no way I am wasting this oncoming Spring, my health and strength of mind on these fools.
Mr. Hubbell goes on to say that "But we should recognize that House Republicans are committing a strategic blunder of epic proportions..."So, let’s not give in to anger or despair." This is sage advice.
The Lincoln Project is in full warfare gear, the NDRC (National Democratic Redistricting Committee) is in full operation mode for 2024 as are many other organizations. Support them. I 100% know that walking around upset, angry and outraged is not healthy. It also leads to extremism. We need to keep our heads.
McCarthy handing over his gavel to MTG on International Women's Day is an insult to women. He may owe her but he knows in his heart how disrespectful of women this was.
Some advice from my friend Josh Marshall on dealing with Fucker Carlson:
It’s natural and understandable to react negatively and angrily to liars and traitors. But this is not at all the best or most effective response. The first response is simply mockery. That’s the most logical response and also the most effective. Watch these videos. They’re moments when the insurrectionists weren’t breaking down doors or hitting Capitol Police over the head with flag poles. This is like showing a Zapruder film containing just the part where JFK is happily waving to the crowd in Dealey Plaza. He’s having a great time. Why does Oswald get such a bad rap? Similarly, it’s been shown that probably 99% of the time Osama bin Laden wasn’t blowing up anything. And yet, look at what’s gotten all the focus.
This is more Saturday Night Live skit than outrage.
This deserves mockery because it is a lame and transparent effort on the part of the 20% to 25% of the population (and their Fox News cheerleaders) which endorses and supports the insurrection to repackage their degenerate values as a kind of evidentiary breakthrough. The insurrection was traitorous and disgusting; clumsily edited video of an insurrectionist putting back upright a flipped over chair is hilarious because it’s so stupid. We should treat it as such.
Quiverin' Qevin's so dumb, he didn't even get Marjorie Traitor Goon to give him what she gave all the gymrats down in JawJah that her husband is divorcing her on grounds of "serial adultery" for. And to think he wouldn't even have to look at her potato face while she was giving him the business.
Perhaps the Democratic National Committee, if it can grow a brain, should show pictures of soldiers during WWII, Korea, or Vietnam resting during lulls in the fighting – then say, “See, there really wasn’t a war!” (This wasn’t originally my idea; it bears repeating, though).
Ridicule the b**tards; don’t merely express outrage.
It's not just 20 to 25%...there's 1/3 of the country that doesn't even vote. So when you add the two together, it's 2/3 of our country that can't even find the plot.
Please desist calling out her potato face. The shape is what she inherited. Her facial expressions are not. Maybe no one would notice the resemblance to a vegetable that grows under the dirt if she sneered and scowled less.
Pretty is as pretty does, as my mother used to say. Be careful, or you may freeze that way!
Well, so much for Tucker Carlson, Kevin McCarthy, Marjorie Taylor Greene and all the other fascist traitors, including Walgreen's management, who have brought dishonor to themselves and what's left of the GOP. Remembering Abraham Lincoln's point that a "House divided against itself cannot stand," I grieve for my country that it has come to this. Heather Cox Richardson reports on Letters from an American today that despite outrage over Tucker Carlson's release of his false version of the January 6 attack on the capitol, Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy "says he does not regret giving Carlson access to the tapes, and Carlson indicated that anyone who objected to the false narrative he put forward on Monday had revealed themselves as being allied against the Republican base."
Those are fighting words, Mr. Speaker, so please include my name on the list of objectors to your fascist ploy, because your actions have revealed you to be a domestic enemy of the Constitution, a document I once took an oath to protect and defend against all enemies foreign and domestic. And be advised that when all your traitorous grandstanding is over, you and your partners in crime will be held accountable. The contemptible gesture of handing the Speaker's gavel over to Marjorie Taylor Greene, that illegitimate representative of the people Jim Carmichael calls "the 'anti-matter equivalent' of International Women's Day," just puts more icing on the poisonous cake the GOP has been baking for American people. I pray that you will soon find that your efforts have been a waste of time when your despicable icon of "retribution," Donald Trump, the QAnon /MAGA conspirator and "Emperor With No Clothes," along with you and the rest of his allies, will experience the storm that's really coming, the "storm" of moral Justice, the righteous retribution of Truth and the rule of law heralded by the voice of We, the People. "A STORM IS COMING:" as Frank Herbert prophetically said, "OUR STORM. EMPEROR-WE COME FOR YOU."
Jamie Raskin: "Jamie Raskin DESTROYS Republican "Morality" After Tucker Carlson Airs Jan. 6th Propaganda. Rep. Jamie Raskin slams House Republicans for what he calls their "moral agnosticism" regarding the truth behind the deadly Jan. 6th insurrection at the Capitol Building after Tucker Carlson aired shameless lies about the attempted coup."
Every single day Representative Raskin channels his outrage in a brilliant, knowledgeable manner while he dissects the Republicans' latest inanity. He is brilliant. He is on chemo.
I was thinking of Jamie Raskin this morning, as I often do. I cannot imagine what it was like, if present, for him to witness MTG "serving" as Speaker pro tempore. And with him, neither can I fathom the experience of Nancy Pelosi, who has served in this capacity with spellbinding honor, strength and grace. Or that of Adam Schiff among others. I was near breathless this morning in reading about it in Robert's newsletter. Reader Bob Morgan writes of this occasion as 'desecration,' naming what felt at my core.
As to your earlier post this morning, Barbara, I too am old, with a birthday near, and at times I wonder how I will endure the weight of these days, 'not surrender to anger,' and remain steady and hopeful. And so we carry on, somehow. And in large measure, supported by community, one such as this. With gratitude.
The good Mr Raskin is too kind! Moral cowardice is a more apt descriptor of these creatures who cowered behind desks and the very police whom they now disavow!
Janet, I am sorry you had to go through the experience of working while undergoing treatment. This is why we need a single payor, universal health insurance for all. When my brother, who lived and worked in France, developed colon cancer, he received his salary throughout his nine months of hospitalization and nearly a year at home. His medical bills were all covered by the national health insurance.
When you see all of MTG's antics and bizarre utterances put together you wonder how did such a person get elected to Congress? Then there's McCarthy who has practically adopted her. What does that say for him. But then again he appears to have no moral compass himself. What is it about the Republican Party that attracts these people? Legislators of old were relatively dignified.
She comes from the same Congressional district as the representative who almost beat a Senator to death with a cane on the floor of Congress before the Civil War for making remarks about how evil slavery was.
I believe his name was Preston Brooks and that may explain her seditious tendency which is why the Speaker Pro Tempore honor is even more of an insult to America 🇺🇸. Just shows what she can do when she is willing to do anything to get/ give ahead with Mccarthy?
Guess they all think they can fake it 🤷 until they make it and change reality and history? Must be dem Jewish space lasers again?
She jumped over to the district that she now represents because she knew she had a chance of winning. At one point she even contemplated going up against Lucy McBath in an urban Atlanta district.
Like a chess game she found the perfect ignorant “goober and cracker” District. A Republican Neurosurgeon tried to run against her in the primary and lost. Sadly a small unknown district has given this dangerous woman power.
Yup. Preston Brooks. And that was Charles Sumner who he beat almost to death, an abolitionist from Massachusetts. (The Sumner Tunnel is named after a different Sumner.)
My recent tweet re a quote by McCarthy “I hereby appoint the honorable Marjorie Taylor Greene to act as speaker pro tempore on this day."
Did he say honorable? Must be a slip of the tongue Of course a less than honorable person would not know an honorable person if they saw one because they don't know what honor is.
MTG's occupancy of the Speaker's chair completes McCarthy's desecration of it, much like the QAnon Shaman desecrated Mike Pence's seat in the Senate on J6.
Wouldn’t this make a good ad for Democrats: a video flipping back & forth between MTG in the Speaker’s seat and the “QAnon Shaman” in the Senate President’s seat.
Two off-topic comments. First, have you considered becoming an occasional op ed contributor to red state newspapers - with columns focused on the latest GOP House outrages? Eg a modified version of today’s letter. Second, the next time a wacko R politician complains about teaching about slavery and its aftermath it might be worth a column pointing out how German schools teach the Holocaust. It is required. A bit of research would be necessary but as I understand it, the teaching is pretty much no-holds-barred. Maybe other readers could add comments
Having lived in Northern Switzerland and worked with largely colleagues from Germany, I can tell you that my GenX cohort were fervent about Holocaust education. I was once in a meeting where an anti-semitic (I'm Jewish) remark was made about Jewish people (and money). I was so stunned that I couldn't even speak (and I'm an extrovert). I told a German colleague about it in passing, and she insisted on dealing with the offender. It's no joke there, even though they still have problems with N*zis to this day.
The Walgreens boycott may not be a national organization's doing but one that grows from the grassroots. My daughter has already said that if we can only get it at Walgreens, we don't need it.
ConocoPhillips wants to open Willow for 1 day's worth of oil a year? Are they kidding? Is the administration about to trash all of its positives for the goodwill of the API and related donors?
This International Women’s Day, let’s ensure women’s voices are heard in our democracy.
That means ensuring they can exercise their right to vote wherever they live, even in states with strict voter ID laws.
Across the country, voter ID laws create additional barriers for millions of women voters.
Seven out of 10 women change their last name when they get married or divorced. As a result, the ID they present at the polls may not match the name they originally registered to vote with (sometimes years ago). Trans women in particular can face discrimination and additional voting barriers if their gender presentation and name varies from their IDs.
Here are three things you can do right now to ensure that all women have the ID information and assistance they need to vote (and secure employment, housing, medical care, and so much more!):
Encourage the women in your life to do an ID check and get informed on what ID (if any) they need to vote.
Share our resources for LGBTQ+ voters, who face extra barriers to voting if their ID doesn’t match their name and gender.
If you need help, let us know! All of our services are free of charge and we can help you get the documents or ID you need, including covering costs, making appointments, and providing transportation.
https://www.voteriders.org/
Thanks! Pinning to the top for all to see about encouraging women to do an ID check for voting purposes.
"Encourage the women in your life to do an ID check and get informed on what ID (if any) they need to vote. https://www.voteriders.org/
YES!
I have been pointing out the extra targeting of women by these ID laws for years!
In some countries, a person has their thumb inked instead of requiring an ID to avoid voting more than once. The point being, if a "real" person presents to vote, the default should be to allow every eligible voter to exercise that right.
However, the radical extremists who have taken over the GOP are intent on ruling against the will of the majority. January 6, 2021 was a coordinated criminal effort to overthrow a fair election TFG lost by MILLIONS of votes.
Beverly, you’re always ahead of the curve!💙
DemCastUSA is running a letter-writing campaign to pressure Walgreens.
https://action.demcast.com/a/walgreens?sp_sn=twitter&spclid=058394FF-EF0B-4487-A7A1-B822DA6FE36C
You should also check your health care provider to see if they list Walgreens as a place to buy medical supplies (mine does) and write or call them to ask that they take Walgreens off their list. MVP provides a $25 debit card to all subscribers every month along with a list of eligible stores to purchase basic health maintenance supplies (basically, anything the store carries). Walgreens is one of 2 pharmacies listed.
I have to ask this question, one that pains me to ask:
How is what Gov. Newsom doing w/r/t Walgreens any different than what Gov. DeSanctified is doing to Disney. Are these governors blurring the line between democratic and authoritarian principles?
Good question, Andrew. My VERY simplified answer is…One governor supports the rights/will /health of his constituents( and the country) while the other( sadly my)governor supports the right to his authoritarian regime.
I'd like to see Robert Hubbell expand on this. Here's my non-lawyer take: Newsom is canceling the state's contract w/ Walgreens because the company's decision will hurt female Californians (and possibly their families) and is depriving those same people of a legal medication. DeSantis is canceling Florida's long-standing legal tax, utilities, and land use arrangement with Disney, imposing a pro-DeSantis board to oversee Disney, and is transferring the costs for maintaining Disney's roads, water, and other utilities from Disney onto Florida taxpayers. He's doing this because Disney criticized DeSantis's bigoted policies, not because he wants to protect Floridians.
What Walgreens is doing is hurting all PEOPLE. And what's to stop them from doing it with other meds? There are medicines for people with cancer, MS, RA, etc. that are teratogenic and people have been having a hard time getting them since Roe v Wade was overturned. Even people that aren't pregnant, because they *might* become pregnant.
I agree - there are distinct differences: Walgreens is about women's health while Disney is about entertainment. I suppose if either were breaking the law or acting in a discriminatory manner (perhaps that is an argument w/r/t Walgreens while clearly it is the opposite w/r/t Disney), the State could restrict the State's benefits to those companies. It's challenging issue. But clearly it is very unfortunate that Walgreen's has elected not support a woman's right to choose.
Done.
"Women’s March is calling for a nationwide boycott to protest Walgreens and fight for medication abortion access. Find your local store and let them know you won't support them until they support reproductive freedom."
https://action.womensmarch.com/efforts/boycott-walgreens
Marjorie Taylor Greene as Speaker of the house is the “anti-matter equivalent” of International Women's Day!
Walgreens has been accumulating check marks on the wrong side of the ledger, lately. Not only are they choosing sides with the mifepristone debacle, but they have been over-reacting to claims of shop-lifting (Not saying that is not a problem.) Stores have hired security personnel and some are rumored to be placing many items under lock and key. Then they retracted their stance and said they were mistaken.
My own misadventure: I live in a state in which CBD, the cannabis extract, is legal to use. I also had a letter from my doctor, just in case. I use CBD as an effective treatment for neuromuscular pain, with very few side effects, and only at night.
Well, I applied to work temporarily during the holidays to help the young manager, a friend, stock shelves. She was in a bind and worn out from working endless-hours in her manager status. However, I failed their physical because of traces of marijuana! Not only that, but I had a stern call from the company doc who asked 3 times if I used marijuana. Each time I said no, I use CBD for pain at the lowest dose. ( They are different animals.) My doctor's letter and state legality mattered not. They wouldn't hire me. How embarrassing, especially since a few weeks later, Walgreens was selling CBD pain patches for external use.
I guess they are conservative-minded and morals conscious. I'm only guessing, but it seems like they make stern judgments about others. A friend and I discussed using a different pharmacy recently. We are boycotting.
It's funny (not) how all the worst stores are the ones that survive - CVS and Walgreens stay while Sav-On and Thrifty go under; Borders dies and $%$#$#@!! Barnes & Noble lives to finance themselves on returns for credit charged to the author's royalties. Assholery wins.
The bookstores I mourn are the small independent ones that went under when Borders and B&N came in. I loved the independents in Santa Monica near my home. Readings. Great books. Seeing that Brazos Bookstore near where I lived before moving to LA is still going gives me joy.
I actually buy all my books from the Harvard Book Store, a local bookstore in Cambridge, MA. https://www.harvard.com/ Being online means you can support "local" small bookstores like this one despite them being 3,000 miles away.
I buy mine at Porter Square Books, about a mile away from the Harvard Book Store. There were several others in the square that have gone out of business, along with a couple of nice coffee jernts. Harvard Square is not what it used to be, but it's nice that one of our bookstores is getting some business from Texas.
I like the idea of giving to local libraries.
One time one of my Berkeley profs, Arlie Hochschild gave a book talk at Porter Square Books on her then new book, Strangers in their Own Land. I hadn't seen her for about 45 years. She was just as good as she'd been in her youth.
Bookstore.org is on-line, but gives a high percentage of sales to indie bookstores.
Such a great share. I was wondering about the shop lifting because so many post this on Twitter and it gives the impression that in California, looters are running rampant through Walgreens.
I think shoplifting is a problem, and there are stories of gangs who loot together. That, too is an outcome of Covid, at least to that greater extent. Nevertheless, I believe it was Walgreens who gave the impression of "the sky is falling," then had to walk it back. Personally, I love small businesses, but generally disdain corporations. I will not miss Walgreens at all. And now for my next gripe...the big "automated" tips that are at the close of a transaction by debit/credit card!
https://news.bloomberglaw.com/daily-labor-report/walgreens-employees-in-california-secure-4-5-million-wage-deal
Hi, We live in Sonoma, a small Northern California town, where Walgreens bought and then closed the best pharmacy here, Pharmaca, with less than two weeks notice! . Everyone’s prescriptions were automatically transferred to Napa, 20 miles away! Trying to get them away from Walgreens to another local pharmacy here is a nightmare! I also tried contacting Walgreen’s CEO to protest their abortion med decision and the call is immediately transferred to a robo offer of some unknown product. This is a huge lesson on monopolies and the lack of anti-trust enforcement. I will never set foot in a Walgreens again.
Here in our area of Spain there is a Pharmacia on almost every corner, and most are independently owned by individuals. Ours is awesome. Owned by a woman. Her mother has one in another city. Irene is all about health and her small staff (2) ask questions before filling prescriptions just because a friend might be taking something. If they don't know they contact doctors to be sure that you need what you are getting. For 20 years I have been taking something prescribed initially by a doctor back in the states. I have been getting refills. Both of the staff here encouraged me to get off the drug, slowly. When I did, I realized that I never needed it in the first place and have spent thousands of dollars and endangered my liver. This is what a pharmacy should be.
They own Boots (UK shop so this should be global) & Duane Reade as well.
Did not know that they owned Boots.
The Trader Joe’s where I shop is next door to a Walgreens. I would occasionally pop in there to get the odd item (I’m a Kaiser member so need for the pharmacy). I’ve stopped popping in. Barren shelves and limited staff made even the simplest purchase a nightmare. I’d say Walgreens was aiding itself in its own demise. And this began before the pandemic, only to worsen during and now. This political stunt seals it. The Rite-Aid, formerly Thrifty, near my home has its own issues, but again, I don’t use the pharmacy, and the shelves seem to be marginally well stocked. And they have ice cream!
yay! ice cream!
And the Walgreens CEO is a Black WOMAN! https://www.linkedin.com/in/roz-brewer/
The real theft is here: https://news.bloomberglaw.com/daily-labor-report/walgreens-employees-in-california-secure-4-5-million-wage-deal
Rarely shop there, will also boycott!
I had not heard that Ms. Greene sat in as Speaker pro-tempore today. I was amazed. She sounded like a child playing house. As the various deals Kevin McCarthy made to become Speaker are being revealed, I have come to the conclusion that there is almost nothing he would not have done either publicly or privately to have that title. I'm not sure even his family would be safe if someone made a demand involving them and I say that in all seriousness. I wonder which day Gaetz has directed that Kevin walk around the House with a "Kick Me" sign prominently displayed on the back of his suit jacket?
I think that it is safe to say that Qevin allowed himself to become a Eunuch--somewhere between the 14th and 15th votes for Speaker--so that he could finally ascend--no DESCEND--into the Speaker's chair!
It is, however, a rare eunuch who emasculates himself.
Back in the day I think we used to be able to shame politicians for this type of behavior. But unfortunately these modern day extremist members of the GOP cannot be shamed. They seem more brazen, and the more of a negative reaction they get, the more it makes them double down.
The sign won't be on the back of his jacket, more likely hanging from the coattails.
"I find it difficult to hear these reports and not surrender to anger. "
We can either waste time stoking our outrage, or we can resist getting worn down by what we knew would happen anyway when McCarthy took charge.
To be blunt. I am old. Next month I mark another birthday and am glad to do so. There is no way I am wasting this oncoming Spring, my health and strength of mind on these fools.
Mr. Hubbell goes on to say that "But we should recognize that House Republicans are committing a strategic blunder of epic proportions..."So, let’s not give in to anger or despair." This is sage advice.
The Lincoln Project is in full warfare gear, the NDRC (National Democratic Redistricting Committee) is in full operation mode for 2024 as are many other organizations. Support them. I 100% know that walking around upset, angry and outraged is not healthy. It also leads to extremism. We need to keep our heads.
McCarthy handing over his gavel to MTG on International Women's Day is an insult to women. He may owe her but he knows in his heart how disrespectful of women this was.
And an insult to the country.
Some advice from my friend Josh Marshall on dealing with Fucker Carlson:
It’s natural and understandable to react negatively and angrily to liars and traitors. But this is not at all the best or most effective response. The first response is simply mockery. That’s the most logical response and also the most effective. Watch these videos. They’re moments when the insurrectionists weren’t breaking down doors or hitting Capitol Police over the head with flag poles. This is like showing a Zapruder film containing just the part where JFK is happily waving to the crowd in Dealey Plaza. He’s having a great time. Why does Oswald get such a bad rap? Similarly, it’s been shown that probably 99% of the time Osama bin Laden wasn’t blowing up anything. And yet, look at what’s gotten all the focus.
This is more Saturday Night Live skit than outrage.
This deserves mockery because it is a lame and transparent effort on the part of the 20% to 25% of the population (and their Fox News cheerleaders) which endorses and supports the insurrection to repackage their degenerate values as a kind of evidentiary breakthrough. The insurrection was traitorous and disgusting; clumsily edited video of an insurrectionist putting back upright a flipped over chair is hilarious because it’s so stupid. We should treat it as such.
Quiverin' Qevin's so dumb, he didn't even get Marjorie Traitor Goon to give him what she gave all the gymrats down in JawJah that her husband is divorcing her on grounds of "serial adultery" for. And to think he wouldn't even have to look at her potato face while she was giving him the business.
Josh Marshall is the best journalist in the business. I am a TPM Prime subscriber and cite to TPM almost every edition of the newsletter.
I've been friends with him 20 years, since TPM was 1 page on Blogger that he was doing in his apartment. I love seeing all his success.
Perhaps the Democratic National Committee, if it can grow a brain, should show pictures of soldiers during WWII, Korea, or Vietnam resting during lulls in the fighting – then say, “See, there really wasn’t a war!” (This wasn’t originally my idea; it bears repeating, though).
Ridicule the b**tards; don’t merely express outrage.
It's not just 20 to 25%...there's 1/3 of the country that doesn't even vote. So when you add the two together, it's 2/3 of our country that can't even find the plot.
9/11 couldn't have happened because we didn't see the planes take off, right?
Please desist calling out her potato face. The shape is what she inherited. Her facial expressions are not. Maybe no one would notice the resemblance to a vegetable that grows under the dirt if she sneered and scowled less.
Pretty is as pretty does, as my mother used to say. Be careful, or you may freeze that way!
Well, so much for Tucker Carlson, Kevin McCarthy, Marjorie Taylor Greene and all the other fascist traitors, including Walgreen's management, who have brought dishonor to themselves and what's left of the GOP. Remembering Abraham Lincoln's point that a "House divided against itself cannot stand," I grieve for my country that it has come to this. Heather Cox Richardson reports on Letters from an American today that despite outrage over Tucker Carlson's release of his false version of the January 6 attack on the capitol, Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy "says he does not regret giving Carlson access to the tapes, and Carlson indicated that anyone who objected to the false narrative he put forward on Monday had revealed themselves as being allied against the Republican base."
Those are fighting words, Mr. Speaker, so please include my name on the list of objectors to your fascist ploy, because your actions have revealed you to be a domestic enemy of the Constitution, a document I once took an oath to protect and defend against all enemies foreign and domestic. And be advised that when all your traitorous grandstanding is over, you and your partners in crime will be held accountable. The contemptible gesture of handing the Speaker's gavel over to Marjorie Taylor Greene, that illegitimate representative of the people Jim Carmichael calls "the 'anti-matter equivalent' of International Women's Day," just puts more icing on the poisonous cake the GOP has been baking for American people. I pray that you will soon find that your efforts have been a waste of time when your despicable icon of "retribution," Donald Trump, the QAnon /MAGA conspirator and "Emperor With No Clothes," along with you and the rest of his allies, will experience the storm that's really coming, the "storm" of moral Justice, the righteous retribution of Truth and the rule of law heralded by the voice of We, the People. "A STORM IS COMING:" as Frank Herbert prophetically said, "OUR STORM. EMPEROR-WE COME FOR YOU."
Amen 🙏🏽
So proud of Governor Newsom and his stand against Walgreens. Will not effect ' ordinary' Americans.
https://apnews.com/article/california-governor-newsom-walgreens-abortion-pill-080489daa45a981f2da140a2a56ee25b?utm_source=cordial&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=hp-us-reg-morning-email_2023-03-09&utm_term=us-morning-email
A true Profile in Courage:
Jamie Raskin: "Jamie Raskin DESTROYS Republican "Morality" After Tucker Carlson Airs Jan. 6th Propaganda. Rep. Jamie Raskin slams House Republicans for what he calls their "moral agnosticism" regarding the truth behind the deadly Jan. 6th insurrection at the Capitol Building after Tucker Carlson aired shameless lies about the attempted coup."
Every single day Representative Raskin channels his outrage in a brilliant, knowledgeable manner while he dissects the Republicans' latest inanity. He is brilliant. He is on chemo.
I was thinking of Jamie Raskin this morning, as I often do. I cannot imagine what it was like, if present, for him to witness MTG "serving" as Speaker pro tempore. And with him, neither can I fathom the experience of Nancy Pelosi, who has served in this capacity with spellbinding honor, strength and grace. Or that of Adam Schiff among others. I was near breathless this morning in reading about it in Robert's newsletter. Reader Bob Morgan writes of this occasion as 'desecration,' naming what felt at my core.
As to your earlier post this morning, Barbara, I too am old, with a birthday near, and at times I wonder how I will endure the weight of these days, 'not surrender to anger,' and remain steady and hopeful. And so we carry on, somehow. And in large measure, supported by community, one such as this. With gratitude.
The good Mr Raskin is too kind! Moral cowardice is a more apt descriptor of these creatures who cowered behind desks and the very police whom they now disavow!
Moral *and* garden-variety cowardice.
Janet, I am sorry you had to go through the experience of working while undergoing treatment. This is why we need a single payor, universal health insurance for all. When my brother, who lived and worked in France, developed colon cancer, he received his salary throughout his nine months of hospitalization and nearly a year at home. His medical bills were all covered by the national health insurance.
When you see all of MTG's antics and bizarre utterances put together you wonder how did such a person get elected to Congress? Then there's McCarthy who has practically adopted her. What does that say for him. But then again he appears to have no moral compass himself. What is it about the Republican Party that attracts these people? Legislators of old were relatively dignified.
She got elected because she's in a district that is 80% goobers and crackers.
She comes from the same Congressional district as the representative who almost beat a Senator to death with a cane on the floor of Congress before the Civil War for making remarks about how evil slavery was.
I believe his name was Preston Brooks and that may explain her seditious tendency which is why the Speaker Pro Tempore honor is even more of an insult to America 🇺🇸. Just shows what she can do when she is willing to do anything to get/ give ahead with Mccarthy?
Guess they all think they can fake it 🤷 until they make it and change reality and history? Must be dem Jewish space lasers again?
Brooks was from South Carolina. However, MTG was born in Forsyth County Ga. This area has a strong history in racism to this very day. See:
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/05/19/us/politics/replacement-theory-georgia.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare
She jumped over to the district that she now represents because she knew she had a chance of winning. At one point she even contemplated going up against Lucy McBath in an urban Atlanta district.
Like a chess game she found the perfect ignorant “goober and cracker” District. A Republican Neurosurgeon tried to run against her in the primary and lost. Sadly a small unknown district has given this dangerous woman power.
Yup. Preston Brooks. And that was Charles Sumner who he beat almost to death, an abolitionist from Massachusetts. (The Sumner Tunnel is named after a different Sumner.)
My recent tweet re a quote by McCarthy “I hereby appoint the honorable Marjorie Taylor Greene to act as speaker pro tempore on this day."
Did he say honorable? Must be a slip of the tongue Of course a less than honorable person would not know an honorable person if they saw one because they don't know what honor is.
MTG's occupancy of the Speaker's chair completes McCarthy's desecration of it, much like the QAnon Shaman desecrated Mike Pence's seat in the Senate on J6.
Good parallel. I wish I had made it!
Wouldn’t this make a good ad for Democrats: a video flipping back & forth between MTG in the Speaker’s seat and the “QAnon Shaman” in the Senate President’s seat.
Not much audio necessary.
With a caption, "I was asked to be here," with a picture of Trump next to the latter and "Charlie" McCarthy next to the former.
Two off-topic comments. First, have you considered becoming an occasional op ed contributor to red state newspapers - with columns focused on the latest GOP House outrages? Eg a modified version of today’s letter. Second, the next time a wacko R politician complains about teaching about slavery and its aftermath it might be worth a column pointing out how German schools teach the Holocaust. It is required. A bit of research would be necessary but as I understand it, the teaching is pretty much no-holds-barred. Maybe other readers could add comments
Very good point about how Germany treats the Holocaust. I was not aware of that fact.
Having lived in Northern Switzerland and worked with largely colleagues from Germany, I can tell you that my GenX cohort were fervent about Holocaust education. I was once in a meeting where an anti-semitic (I'm Jewish) remark was made about Jewish people (and money). I was so stunned that I couldn't even speak (and I'm an extrovert). I told a German colleague about it in passing, and she insisted on dealing with the offender. It's no joke there, even though they still have problems with N*zis to this day.
They arrested the extremists before they could do it.
Because TFG & Pence wouldn't approve the national guard!
Anger can be motivating if properly channeled.
The Walgreens boycott may not be a national organization's doing but one that grows from the grassroots. My daughter has already said that if we can only get it at Walgreens, we don't need it.
ConocoPhillips wants to open Willow for 1 day's worth of oil a year? Are they kidding? Is the administration about to trash all of its positives for the goodwill of the API and related donors?