Hannah-Beth Jackson

There should be outrage, but little surprise, in the decisions of Trump/right-wing controlled U.S. Supreme Court-from overturning Roe, the Chevron Doctrine, Voting Rights-and many other long-standing and important laws, - to giving Trump a full reign-of-terror if elected in 2024 to engage in even more outrageous activities to fulfill his personal vendettas against his perceived "enemies" If we want our democracy to survive and rational, adult and constructive policies to be implemented into the future, we must make sure Trump is never again allowed to participate in the running of this nation. Nothing short of our individual freedoms, our Democracy and our planet are at stake.

Donald J. Trump is now a convicted felon. He should be banned as the candidate representing one of our nation's two great political parties for his criminal conduct. Instead, those who should be protecting and supporting the rule of law have lined up in lock-step behind this now-convicted criminal and joined in attacking the very system that assures that no one is above the law--- a basic and critical component of any democratic country. He was convicted by a jury of his peers--regular people who sat and listened carefully and conscientiously to both sides present their case in a court of law. Certainly a low moment in our democracy-on so many levels. I only hope the American people cry out for our democracy in November and reject Mr. Trump and his spineless enablers from ever holding office again.

Republicans join Trump's attacks on justice system and campaign of vengeance after guilty verdict Republicans in Congress are embracing Donald Trump’s strategy of blaming the U.S. justice system after his historic guilty verdict.

So honored to be receiving this recognition, made all the sweeter by knowing I share the honors with my dear late, great friend and public servant, Carmen Ramirez. Like those she knew and touched, I miss her deeply.

CSU Channel Islands honors Hannah-Beth Jackson and the late Carmen Ramírez with a Doctorate of Humane Letters.

CSU Channel Islands honors Hannah-Beth Jackson and the late Carmen Ramírez with a Doctorate of Humane Letters.

Bill to Protect Same-Sex Marriage Rights Clears Congress The House gave final approval to the measure, with lawmakers from both parties voting in favor. It now heads to President Biden to be signed into law.

Most assuredly worth celebrating this great victory against insidious homophobia. Now it's time to overcome insidious misogyny and pass the Equal Rights Amendment!!! ,

Bill to Protect Same-Sex Marriage Rights Clears Congress The House gave final approval to the measure, with lawmakers from both parties voting in favor. It now heads to President Biden to be signed into law.

Speaker Nancy Pelosi: Legend. Role-model. Mother. Grandmother. Extraordinary leader. Shero.First woman to be second-in line for the Presidency. This nation owes you its deepest thanks and gratitude.
As you "drop-the-mike", we can only hope and strive to see more women follow in your footsteps and rise to meet the legacy you have created.

‘Grace and strength.’ California political world pays tribute to outgoing Speaker Nancy Pelosi One California lawmaker called Nancy Pelosi “an icon, a legend and the embodiment of California values.”

In case you still doubt who has your back...and who doesn't, this ACCURATE list should be enough to enlighten you.
And if you care about these issues, you'll vote-if you haven't already. Our present and future are at stake. And our young people must express their opinions by voting. After all, it's their future and the future of democracy that we're voting for.

Mike's Midterm Tsunami Truth #32 This Is All You Need to Know

I don't often focus on world-wide issues, as we have more than enough challenges here at home, but perhaps it is time to recognize and support those who are fighting against violence and subjugation due to rampant misogyny around the world. It is important that we stand with and support these brave women (and a few good men) in their fight for respect and equality.

Taliban Forces Fire on Women's Rally in Kabul as Protests in Iran Spread Around World - The Media Line Taliban forces opened fire on a women’s rally […]

After 25 years, beginning with the work of my dear friend and shero, Jackie Speier, and concluding today with the Governor's signature on a bill by Assemblymember Rebecca Bauer-Kahan, we are now making it illegal to charge more for products based on gender---- The Pink Tax is now officially over in California-and may the rest of the nation quickly follow-suit. Women have historically earned less than men, why should we pay a premium for products targeted at women (and girls)?

Goodbye ‘pink tax’: California prohibits charging premiums for women’s products This was part of a package of bills signed by Gov. Newsom on Tuesday aimed at advancing gender equity.

Thanks to the great work and commitment of How Women Lead, I have had the opportunity to share my thoughts on why having women on corporate boards is so important in the fight for gender equity, corporate and business success and the future of our state and nation's economy

Why Overturning SB826 Sends the Wrong Message and Interferes with Women’s Voices Being Heard "From the Boardroom" with Hannah-Beth Jackson As a retired California state senator and the author of Senate Bill 826, the court ruling enjoining implementation of the legislation requiring women on corporate boards was disappointing because the law provided an opportunity to create important public...

Like so many, I am shocked and grieved by the death of one of the best public servants I have been honored to know and work with over the past four decades. The death of Ventura County Supervisor Carmen Ramirez' is a stunning and irreplaceable loss to the people of Ventura County and to all who knew her. As my friend and colleague, she led the fight to protect the environment from big corporate polluters, gave voice to the voiceless, sought justice everywhere while always conducting herself with kindness, dignity and respect.
Whether walking precincts together in Oxnard, speaking passionately on the need to protect the environment and her community from polluters who cared nothing about the people and natural resources they were willing to destroy, or enjoying wonderful local theatre together or simply sharing thoughts on how to make life better for the people of her community, Carmen was an inspiration and role-model to all lucky enough to be in her presence.
To her wonderful husband and partner, Roy Prince--(who had been our architect back in the 1980's) to her family and to all who loved and benefited from her wisdom, kindness and unwavering fight for justice, we have lost one of the best.

And the violations of our privacy and freedoms continue to be exposed as the alt-right continues its assault on our personal autonomy with Facebook and data mining companies complicit. It is outrageous and simply unacceptable. We must act and prohibit this kind of intrusive over-reach into our personal lives. Nothing less than our liberty and freedom is at stake.

This Is the Data Facebook Gave Police to Prosecute a Teenager for Abortion Motherboard has obtained court documents that show Facebook gave police a teenager’s private chats about her abortion. Cops then used those chats to seize her phone and computer.

While we've just seen some very hopeful democracy in action-with the people of Kansas, a very "red" state, reaffirming our right to own our own bodies and exercise our reproductive freedom, there is still so much that needs to be done to assure us our equality of opportunity and equal status in our country. A tough but honest and important read. We must continue to demand those rights in all aspects of our lives.

It’s Getting Harder to Be a Woman in America The US welcomes the employment and economic advancement of women—yet doesn’t actually support them. We’ve finally hit a breaking point.

July 4th is usually one of my favorite holidays-as we celebrate the aspirations of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness for all. While this is certainly aspirational, more than actual, given our nation's history of slavery, misogyny, racism and intolerance, we have attempted to rise above that to seek and create a "more perfect union". We try, we make progress, we fall back, we rise up again. But this year is different. For me, it is a sad day. Our hopes and aspirations for a better, more tolerant society have been undermined by the powerful-yet misguided ranting and rulings of our Supreme Court which is now inhabited by right-wing, Trump Republican ideologues who don't care about equality, freedom and striving for that more perfect union. Nor do they care about the rule of law. They are illegitimate, yet extremely powerful and are given a lifetime appointment that will allow them to continue to distort the call to liberty and freedom that our founders sought and proclaimed on this day almost 250 years ago....unless we act.
What can we do so that our day of "Independence", symbolizing our desire to do better and be better as a nation and as a people is truly that?
We activate: We register people to vote; we walk to the doors of voters ; we support those candidates who share our values and dreams ; we make sure our values and issues are front-and-center to voters and we make sure to vote in November.
The promise of this great country is at stake for those who truly believe we should be the beacon of human aspirations-the role-models for a better life for all who seek it; for a healthy and sustainable planet and future; for the right of people to choose when and whether to have a family; to support all who come together in love and respect, to reduce the threat of violence caused by hate and violence. I love this country---warts and all ....and I want her back!

By its actions today this Supreme Court has confirmed that It is a disgrace to justice, to women and our nation. By their recent outrageous decisions, from undermining 50 years of precedent acknowledging women's reproductive freedom, they have demonstrated that they are no longer the legitimate protector of our beloved Constitution, our nation's values or the rule of law.
This is a very sad moment in our nations' history and I cry and rage for our country, our children and our future. But we must turn this anger to action and fight on against the tyranny of this repressive and ideologically motivated gang of six. We MARCH, we VOTE and we DEMAND OF OUR ELECTED REPRESENTATIVES that our reproductive freedom not be denied!

For the moment, rather than focus on the right-wing idealogues sitting on the Supreme Court, preparing to overturn ROE and deny women our basic rights and dignity, consider the human consequences: For those of us who lived before ROE, these stories are very real:
I'm not pro-murdering babies.
I'm pro-Becky who found out at her 20-week anatomy scan that the infant she had been so excited to bring into this world had developed without life-sustaining organs.
I'm pro-Susan who was sexually assaulted on her way home from work, only to come to the horrific realization that her assailant planted his seed in her when she got a positive pregnancy test result a month later.
I'm pro-Theresa who hemorrhaged due to a placental abruption, causing her parents, spouse, and children to have to make the impossible decision on whether to save her or her unborn child.
I'm pro-little Cathy who had her innocence ripped away from her by someone she should have been able to trust and her 11-year-old body isn't mature enough to bear the consequence of that betrayal.
I'm pro-Melissa who's working two jobs just to make ends meet and has to choose between bringing another child into poverty or feeding the children she already has because her spouse walked out on her.
I'm pro-Brittany who realizes that she is in no way financially, emotionally, or physically able to raise a child.
I'm pro-Emily who went through IVF, ending up with SIX viable implanted eggs requiring a selective reduction in order to ensure the safety of her and a SAFE amount of fetuses.
I'm pro-Christina who doesn't want to be a mother, but birth control methods sometimes fail.
I'm pro-Jessica who is FINALLY getting the strength to get away from her physically abusive spouse only to find out that she is carrying the monster's child.
I'm pro-Vanessa who went into her confirmation appointment after YEARS of trying to conceive only to hear silence where there should be a heartbeat.
I'm pro-Lindsay who lost her virginity in her sophomore year with a broken condom and now has to choose whether to be a teenage mom or just a teenager.
I'm pro-Courtney who just found out she's already 13 weeks along, but the egg never made it out of her fallopian tube so either she terminates the pregnancy or risks dying from internal bleeding.
You can argue and say that I'm pro-choice all you want, but the truth is:
I'm pro-life.
Their lives.
Women's lives.
You don't get to pick and choose which scenarios should be accepted.
Women's rights are meant to protect ALL women, regardless of their situation!

*Copied and pasted - you can do the same*

An excellent article that addresses and exposes the anti-abortion movement's hypocrisy and sets forth an honest and practical agenda to provide women with the tools to assist them in determining when and whether to have a child. It also clearly shows that the anti-abortion movement has little to do with protecting children--but rather with an ideology to serve its right-wing, misogynistic masters in pursuing their political goals. ,

Opinion | What American Mothers Really Need If red-state legislators truly want to limit abortions — legal and illegal — they must create conditions that give women a genuine choice.

There has been much confusion over a recent LA Superior Court opinion that struck down a different law dealing with discrimination on California's corporate boards. While that law is likely to be appealed and that fight continued through the appellate courts, a separate court has not yet ruled on SB 826- my legislation calling for adding women to these important seats of power. In his LA Times article, Michael Hiltzik's talks about the progress we are making in ending the long-standing practices of discriminating against women in publicly-held companies headquartered in California and that this movement and law is not only necessary, but constitutional-and will ultimately be found so- We are seeing significant progress in this fight and will continue to fight for equity in the halls of power in our state and nation.https://www.latimes.com/business/story/2022-04-08/californias-corporate-board-diversity-law-unconstitutional
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So pleased to see the most recent economic numbers demonstrating the success of the Biden Administration's efforts to reboot our economy after the devastating impacts of COVID not only on our nation, but throughout the globe. Thank you, as always, Professor Heather Cox Richardson for explaining and putting into context just how effective these policies are in this difficult and complex international arena. While there are problems that must be addressed--and will always be--- thank you to the Biden/Harris policies that are bringing economic opportunity to our nation during these challenging times.
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April 1, 2022 The March jobs report came out this morning and, once again, it was terrific. The economy added 431,000 jobs in March, and the figures for January and February were revised upward by 95,000. The U.S has added 1.7 million jobs between January and March, and unemployment is near an all-time low of 3.6...

The first Female Secretary of State: a woman of substance, commitment to helping raise up other women to positions of power and influence and a true stateswoman. While not without controversy, she conducted herself with grace, grit and gumption. Thank you, Madeleine Albright for setting an extraordinary example for the women who will follow.

Albright acted as model, mentor for generations of women CHICAGO (AP) — Dissatisfied with the temporary job she accepted after graduating from the University of Chicago, Sahana Dharmapuri felt the pressure to find work using her studies of the Middle East and public policy.

The oil industry has never had a history of honesty with the public or responsibility to the earth it continues to destroy. So there should be little surprise that it continues to lie and misrepresent its intentions and its false claims that extending drilling will serve the public. It will not. And the sooner we transfer over to renewable sources, wean ourselves off this destructive and dishonest industry, the better we and the earth shall be. , ,

California oil industry wants to drill more. Why that wouldn’t tame runaway gas prices Drilling more oil in Kern County and elsewhere in California would not likely have any measurable impact on soaring gas prices because it is just a blip in the global market

As we celebrate March as Women's History Month, it is important to remember that, in spite of our efforts, we still have a long way to go to achieve parity in our country. The barriers to equality continue to be great even as we strive to break them down. We have yet to eliminate the gender pay gap as women continue to earn significantly less than their male counterparts doing substantially similar work. This is a battle we've been fighting for decades and while we have made some progress, that gap, particularly for women of color, continues to be daunting. So while we take a few days of the year to recognize and highlight the successes and challenges of women throughout the nation and world, platitudes and self-congratulatory pronouncements will not end the sexism, misogyny and cultural barriers that we struggle to overcome in virtually all aspects of our lives. In the workplace, we are entitled to equal pay; we are entitled to paid family leave; childcare for our children so we can work and support our families; flexibility in our work schedules, safe and secure workplaces so we are not subject to unwanted sexual advances and harassment; maternity leave to bond with our newborns, among but a few examples of policies that should be part of our social and economic fabric but fairness doesn't happen just because it should. The fight for equality requires that we call out those who would hold us back and hold them accountable. So this month we congratulate ourselves on our achievements and recognize our hard work and accomplishments ....and we go forth and continue that fight for equality for our mothers, our sisters, ourselves and the generations of women and girls to follow.

Having just concluded my 10th day testifying in this case, I am hopeful that the court will recognize the value-and constitutionality of this law. Women have been excluded from the board rooms of corporate America for far too long. Yet, we bring insights, ideas and our life experience to the decision-making of these major economic engines. The data is clear: when women serve on these boards of directors, companies show greater profits, productivity, governance practices, transparency, risk-aversion and accountability.

What if California’s women on boards law is overturned? A trial in Los Angeles challenging the constitutionality of California’s women on boards law concluded Wednesday.

When the world seems to have turned upside-down, it's always heart-warming to see and learn when the next generation steps up and give us hope. Daisy Gonzales is truly an inspiration. Having had the pleasure of watching her grow while at UCSB to following her rise as an education leader, there is, indeed, optimism for the future with wonderful leaders like Dr. Gonzales stepping into the fray.

She grew up in foster care. Now this Latina trailblazer opens doors in California colleges “I learned early on that an education was really important,” she said.

This is a very important moment for victims of workplace sexual harassment. Requiring victims to engage in "mandatory arbitration" as a condition of employment has allowed perpetrators to control the results and thus reduce victim's willingness to step forward. Not a panacea to the problem, but an excellent and significant step. ..and on a bipartisan vote-as it should be. , , ,

Senate passes sweeping overhaul of workplace sexual misconduct law The Senate passed one of the largest workplace reforms in decades, freeing victims of sexual harassment and sexual assault to seek justice in court when they had previously been bound to a closed, often-secretive legal proceeding commonly used in these types of cases by employers.

For those who are interested in the facts, take a look at the success of our nation's economy. Thank you President Biden for creating an environment where our nation is thriving. Now, let's raise the minimum wage, provide family and medical leave for our workers and take other key steps so all our people can enjoy this robust economy and the opportunities for better work/life balance possible under these robust conditions.

US jobs soar by 467,000 | LinkedIn That’s the most jobs in three months, even as the COVID-19 variant coursed through the country.

The face of this little boy killed by a crazed, gun-totting young man says it all.The culture of gun violence in this country is beyond disturbing. No one needs an assault weapon to protect themselves. There is no sanity to this---let's end the proliferation of these fi****ms and protect the lives of so many innocent people. We must not capitulate to a culture that accepts this lunacy. , ,

Tell Congress: Stop Assault Weapon Sales Now In approximately 4 minutes, the Sandy Hook Elementary shooter fired 154 bullets, killing 20 children and 6 educators. Sign the petition now to demand Congress stop the sale of assault weapons!

In the world of politics, and life in general, one doesn't often come across a person with unquestioned decency, integrity and grit who remains unwavering in the face of the winds of the day. Gary K Hart was such a person and it was my honor and privilege to learn politics from him, to succeed him in the State Assembly and then in the State Senate as the representative of Santa Barbara and Ventura...many years later.
A wonderful, wonderful human being has left us, but given his impact on so many, his wonderful wife and three beautiful daughters, his legacy of goodness and decency will surely live on. https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2022-01-28/gary-hart-former-california-education-secretary-dies-at-78
Rest in peace, good man- we need more of you leading the way

Gary K. Hart, charter school architect and former California education secretary, dies at 78 Hart was a longtime state legislator who wrote California's law authorizing charter schools in 1992.