Monthly Archives - March 2022

We’re glad Katherine Clark is our Congresswoman: Assistant Speaker Katherine Clark has secured $750,000 for a coastal resiliency project that will reduce the risk of flooding to Arlington and other communities in the Mystic River Basin.

“Climate change is here,” the Assistant Speaker said in a March 22 release, “we need to make investments now to prevent disasters later.”

The risk of disaster is not far off. Due to rising sea levels, the dams that currently protect our community from coastal flooding will only be able to provide sufficient protection for 10 or 20 more years. When protection fails, the most vulnerable among us will suffer the consequences. In the end, though, no one is safe from profound environmental collapse.

Assistant Speaker Clark, and the Biden Administration, in our community and throughout the country, are investing in a safe and resilient future for everyone. They understand that we need to be ready to fight back when the inevitable threats occur. We won’t be unless we invest in our future now.

What you can do: Help the Mystic River Watershed Association to preserve the river and protect our communities, as a volunteer or donor.

Defending Democracy in Ukraine

In this moment, we’re so glad to have a president who actually opposes Vladimir Putin and has rallied worldwide punishment of his regime.  He has not praised Putin as a man with “lots of gifts” who “knows how to use power.” He understands Putin’s challenge to democracy. What can we do? This war is hell for Ukrainian civilians. Refugees are on the move. Let’s help organizations like the International Rescue Committee, which is marshalling help for the people whose lives are being shattered by this cynical war. https://www.rescue.org/article/how-can-i-help-ukraine. Here are more: https://www.npr.org/2022/02/25/1082992947/ukraine-support-help. And let’s speak up here at home in favor of democracy and protection of the weak against the strong.

The Nomination of Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to the Supreme Court

On February 25, Joe Biden nominated Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson as the next justice of the Supreme Court. Judge Jackson would be the first woman of color ever to serve on the court. It’s about time! But this isn’t just about historic firsts. Judge Jackson is almost universally respected as a fair judge with a commitment to equal justice. Won’t it be grand to have a justice who has been a public defender and seen with her own eyes what it means to be ground up by the wheels of justice? A justice who has the courage to protect the right of workers to organize against overweening corporations? A justice who is on the side of human rights, democracy, the rule of law? Yes, but it won’t happen automatically. What can we do? First off, let the Judiciary Committee know the joy we feel in this historic nomination. https://www.judiciary.senate.gov/about/members. And let’s keep it up. Let our legislators know how important this is and that we won’t quit until the Senate proudly confirms Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson.