Republicans, and some in the media, are claiming that it's unprecedented that US companies are criticizing Georgia's new Jim Crow voter suppression law. In fact, corporate activism isn't new at all. ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌

	Note to loyal readers: Please consider subscribing for $5 a month, or $50 a year. Many thanks for helping keep CyberDisobedience ad-free! Enjoy. JOHN Subscribe now Sorry Mitch, good American companies have been defending civil rights for decades Republicans, and some in the media, are claiming that it's unprecedented that US companies are criticizing Georgia's new Jim Crow voter suppression law. In fact, corporate activism isn't new at all. John Aravosis Apr 7 A growing number of American companies and organizations have publicly denounced the state of Georgia for adopting a new Jim Crow -style voter suppression law intended to take the right to vote away from Democratic voters, and Black Americans in particular. Subscribe now The biggest splash this week came when Major League Baseball pulled the All-Star game from Atlanta and moved it to Denver, as a result of Georgia’s new law. Georgia is one of several dozen states in which Republican politicians, unhappy with Trump’s 2020 election loss, are attempting to make voting more difficult for Democrats. Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell angrily warned companies this week to “stay out of politics,” while media commentators portrayed corporate support for civil rights as a “new phase” of the “bitterly divided politics” between Republicans and Democrats. Nancy Ognanovich @NOgnanovich NEWS: #McConnell in Kentucky calls actions of #MLB, #Coke, and #Delta in opposition of Georgia voting law ‘stupid.’ ‘My warning to corporate America is to stay out of politics,’ he says. ‘I’m not talking about political contributions, he adds. April 6th 2021 2,767 Retweets12,689 Likes In fact, American companies — not all, but some big names — have long been important partners in the civil rights battle, going back decades. I know because I was there. I worked with Senator Ted Kennedy’s office back in the early 1990s, in an effort to pass the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, ENDA — legislation to outlaw anti-gay job discrimination at the federal level. (Most people don’t realize that it is still legal under federal law to fire someone for being gay, or trans.) We prepared hearings on ENDA, and, just as importantly, worked to secure a list of key corporate sponsors of the legislation. This was important because, in addition to Republicans claiming ENDA would impinge on religious liberty, they also claimed it was bad for business. So who better than business itself to refute the GOP’s spurious lies. And refute they did. Among the big-name American companies who came out in support of ENDA by the mid-1990s: Apple, Microsoft, AT&T, Xerox, Harley Davidson, Honeywell, Merrill Lynch, Dow Jones, RJR Nabisco, Bankers Trust, Bethlehem Steel, Eastman Kodak, Genentech, Nynex, Pacific Gas & Electric, Pacific Telesis, Polaroid, Prudential Insurance, Quaker Oats, and Silicon Graphics. You have to remember that this was 1995-96. Openly-gay people were banned from military service, and marriage equality was still two decades away. It was so early on in the gay rights battle that it was considered a huge deal that Democratic presidential candidate Bill Clinton openly-courted the gay vote during the campaign — something unheard from a major presidential candidate — then had an openly-gay (and openly-HIV+ convention speaker), and finally appointed openly-gay people to first-ever senior administration positions like “assistant secretary” and “ambassador. So the fact that Apple, Microsoft and the rest were willing to be publicly pro-gay, and support gay civil rights legislation, in the early 1990s, was a big deal at the time, even if it seems a no-brainer today. So the next time you hear someone claim that corporate outrage over Republican attempts to reimpose Jim Crow is something “new” — and therefore, somehow, untoward or illegitimate — remind them that good American companies (as opposed to bad organizations like the US Chamber of Commerce) have been supporting civil rights for decades. Other Interesting Stuff 57% of Republicans support Biden’s infrastructure plan: Invest in America @InvestNowUSA NEW POLL with @DataProgress: 73% of Americans — including 57% of Republicans — support the American Jobs Plan’s investment in infrastructure. April 6th 2021 48 Retweets94 Likes And while Republicans are complaining that parts of Biden’s infrastructure bill aren’t really “infrastructure” — Democrats argue that we need a new updated definition of infrastructure for the 21st century — the American people don’t seem to care. They love the new provisions! Chris Kahn @Cmkahn Whether or not you want to call it "infrastructure," Biden's plan is very popular: Public support for federal gov't funding efforts to... -home care for elderly: 78% -expand high-speed internet: 71% -replace lead pipes: 68% nyti.ms/3rU0pVL Biden U.S. infrastructure ideas popular, but support for plan is partisan: Reuters/Ipsos pollPresident Joe Biden’s $2 trillion infrastructure plan is loaded with road repairs, internet upgrades and other initiatives that are widely popular on their own, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll, but U.S. public support declines when the initiatives are packed into a Democratic...reut.rs April 6th 2021 401 Retweets1,355 Likes I hate talking about Tucker Carlson, but it’s important, as Fox News — and Republicans more generally — are trying to rewrite the history of the January 6th Insurrection at the US Capitol building, and thus make it possible (and acceptable) for it to happen again. More from HuffPo. More Americans are calling themselves Democrats, and fewer Republicans, according to Gallup: In Gallup polling throughout the first quarter of 2021, an average of 49% of U.S. adults identified with the Democratic Party or said they are independents who lean toward the Democratic Party. That compares with 40% who identified as Republicans or Republican leaners. The nine-percentage-point Democratic advantage is the largest Gallup has measured since the fourth quarter of 2012. In recent years, Democratic advantages have typically been between four and six percentage points. And Ted Cruz hits the supermarket: Torben Kassler @torben_kassler Ich wenn im Supermarkt einer ohne Maske auftaucht April 7th 2021 2,231 Retweets11,248 Likes If I’m inspired later this week, you’ll be hearing from me again. Enjoy the week. JOHN Share Subscribe now You’re on the free list for CyberDisobedience - by John Aravosis. For the full experience, become a paying subscriber for only $5 per month. 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