Good news for people who want to do good: Day 279

20,000 educators in the U.S. are DREAMers — they, and their students, need a clean DREAM Act now

There are roughly 800,000 young men and women across the nation who are at risk of deportation unless Congress passes a clean DREAM Act that does not include “poison pills” like guaranteed funding for a border wall.

And 20,000 of them are working in our school system, teaching and caring for the next generation of leaders. They need to know that the country they know as their home will protect them, will treat them like the Americans they truly are, and will recognize and reward the invaluable work they are doing for the nation’s children.

“So many of my teachers were so influential in my life,” says José Patiño, “and I wanted to do the same, give back to my community.”

Listen to him and other undocumented educators — and then tell your senators they must do the honorable and patriotic thing and support a clean DREAM Act.

Indivisible San Diego is making its mission to stop Trump crystal clear

Tom Steyer, philanthropist and environmentalist, has not been shy about his opinion of Donald Trump — his website, needtoimpeach.com pretty much says it all.

And Indivisible San Diego is equally bold when it comes to protecting the nation, and the world, from an ever-worsening Trump presidency. And they’ve offered Steyer a little help — or actually, not so little:

Dear @TomSteyer,

We have a flag ?? we think you might like. Maybe it should go on an #ImpeachTrump Road Trip. In solidarity, San Diego pic.twitter.com/4NSU9Jbs7z — Indivisible SanDiego (@SDIndivisible) October 24, 2017

ACTION ALERT: Protect the Arctic Refuge!

Trump and the Republicans in Congress are taking aim at the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, with the goal to open up drilling in the 19 million acre region in Alaska and to wreak havoc on this pristine corner of the country. It would also bring great strife to the indigenous Gwich’in tribe, who relies on fauna in the area as a staple source of food.

So the tribe, along with environmental activists, are fighting back, and you can join them. If you’re in the D.C. area, head to 204 Constitution Avenue NW bright and early to add your voice to the calls to protect this land and the people who call it home.

Women senators introduce the Code Like a Girl Act, to give girls a bright future in tech

The STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) industries are an integral part of society, and will only grow more so as we continue to advance technologically and to rely on the sciences to help us meet the future head on.

And girls must be a part of that work.

Republican Sen. Shelley Moore Capito of West Virginia and Democratic Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto of Nevada want to make that happen. They have introduced the Code Like a Girl Act, which will create grant programs at the National Science Foundation to help and encourage young girls interested in careers in STEM fields.

As Capito notes, even in 2017, “Girls and women remain seriously underrepresented in STEM classrooms and professions” — only a quarter of the tech workforce in the nation are women, in fact, according to Megan Bullock, co-founder of MESH Design and Development.

“Everyone benefits when girls are invited to have a seat at the keyboard,” Bullock declared.

Victory for women’s rights in the #JusticeForJane case!

The Trump administration had been doing its damnedest to force a pregnant 17-year-old undocumented immigrant to give birth by purposely holding her in detention past the 20-week point of her pregnancy, which would make her unable to obtain the abortion she wanted in severely anti-choice Texas.

But a federal appeals court just smacked down that despotic misogyny.

The court sent the case back down to a lower court, which promptly ordered the Trump administration to allow Jane Doe to get an abortion. Her lawyers had said the government was effectively “holding her hostage,” pointing to the anti-choice beliefs of the director of the Office of Refugee Resettlement. That office oversees health care for unaccompanied minors — including reproductive care.

The director, Scott Lloyd, had on multiple occasions met with pregnant teens in detention and tried to talk them out of getting an abortion. In Jane Doe’s case, the government tried all kinds of trickery to delay processes and to force her to go through unnecessary procedures like sonograms and counseling from so-called “crisis pregnancy centers,” which are nothing more than religiously-motivated anti-abortion groups.

But the courts saw through the administration’s ruse, and Jane Doe was given access to the rights over her own body she should never have been denied in the first place.

Rhode Islanders say “No!” to TrumpTV

If you’ve never heard of Sinclair Broadcast Group, you will soon. The massive communications network is essentially functioning as little more than propaganda for the Trump White House.

TrumpTV is reaching millions across the country, spewing out fake news and fabricated “terror alerts” to prop up Trump’s agenda, feed his ego, and scare the heck out of people. Even some of Sinclair’s own employees are blowing the whistle on it — and so are the people of Rhode Island.

Viewers there had begun to notice the change in their programming, and for some it was truly frightening. Moni Chea told the local paper that those fake terrorism stories were extremely troubling for her 85-year-old grandmother who had fled violent conflict in Cambodia.

Monday, many of those Rhode Islanders took to the streets to call for “News, not propaganda,” and to tell people to #TurnOff10

Rhode Islanders marching to protest Sinclair Media involvement @NBC10… Propaganda has NO PLACE HERE #TurnOFF10 pic.twitter.com/holkH02ZQh

— Indivisible RI (@IndivisibleRI) October 23, 2017

Protesters chanting, “TurnOff10!!!, TurnOff10!!!”. “NO PROPAGANDA NEWS!!!”Making clear, Sinclair Media will not welcome @NBC10 pic.twitter.com/Muj3oROGUF

— Indivisible RI (@IndivisibleRI) October 23, 2017

Protests @NBC10… PROPAGANDA News NOT WELCOME in RHODE ISLAND #TurnOff10 pic.twitter.com/BRq9kAe0hI

— Indivisible RI (@IndivisibleRI) October 23, 2017

Democrat Casey Conley wins the special election in New Hampshire!

Score one for the left in the Granite State!

BREAKING: @caseymconley has won the special election for the New Hampshire House. Congratulations, Casey! #nhpolitics 1/ pic.twitter.com/mbYzMjmvi8

— DLCC (@TheDLCC) October 24, 2017

Casey Conley won the Strafford County district 13 state House special election by a massive margin, 78 percent to 14 percent — the sixth special election win for Democrats in New Hampshire this year. He’s ready to get to work for families, fighting for a better future for his two young children and everyone else in his state and across the country.

And the night came with an extra dose of awesome for him:

One highlight of a memorable night? Call from @SenatorHassan. Thank you!!!!!

— Casey Conley (@caseymconley) October 25, 2017

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