In dissent, Sotomayor says punishing people who sleep outside for lack of other options—through both civil penalties and jail time—is "unconscionable and unconstitutional," and faults the majority for spurning the "humanity and dignity of homeless people." supremecourt.gov/opinions/23pdf…

I met many homeless people in Grants Pass—with jobs that didn’t add up to rent, with disabilities or such trauma they couldn’t work. I know the faces of the people the Supreme Court just said should be in jail for sleeping outside. Now every city can do the same.

The US Supreme Court ruling is permission for the unfettered criminalization of homelessness. It comes at a time of mass homelessness & accelerating evictions. This is what social death (which often leads to actual death) looks like. Housing justice is the only way forward.

The US empire-state knows only one way of dealing with poverty: carcerality. It is not just the conservative Supreme Court but also all the liberal politicians who filed amici briefs begging for the power to criminalize homelessness.

Our most profound acts of resistance, resilience, and hope lie in the communities we make with each other. We keep us safe. We give us hope. Thank you Carla and all who organized last night’s service in honor of Queen for reminding us of that; and of all she stood for.

Today Western Center and @public_counsel held a press conference to demand the City of LA to fulfill its commitment to build affordable housing at the Venice Dell site. What's holding it up? Nothing--except delay tactics keeping families on the street. buildvenicedell.org

New addition to our family! Meet Estrella!

Newsom's executive order issued today on homeless camps is largely political theater without teeth. But it sends a clear and worrying message to localities: "Cities should start fining and incarcerating homeless people in encampment sweeps - even if no shelter is available" 🧵 1/

Prior to the Supreme Court Ruling cities and states were allowed to use every tool to clear encampments, including fining and arresting individuals who refused shelter. The only difference now is that localities can fine and jail homeless individuals without offering shelter 3/

The preamble of the order uses lots of language about "humane" responses and vague points of "partnering with nonprofits to provide shelter." But the actual order itself (p3) makes no mention of requiring a locality to offer or have shelter available to those being cleared 6/

What is left unwritten is the most important headline. "Localities are now free to fine and incarcerate those in encampments even if they don't have any shelter available." Leaving out a shelter requirement, the order flies in the face of Fed Guidelines 8/ usich.gov/news-events/ne…

However, the social science is clear. Newsom's approach of intensified criminalization does nothing to mitigate homelessness, it simply makes it worst 10/10: thefulcrum.us/governance-leg…

After 41.18 sweeps, only 2 people have been housed permanently, per the City: lapublicpress.org/2024/06/4118-h…. Not 2%. 2 people. It also has failed to provide ADA access to already woefully inaccessible streets, while displacing disabled ppl in homelessness. Past time for 41.18 to go.

Continuing their draconian crackdown on organizing, UCLA's "Updated Interim Time, Place and Manner Policies" from VCs Beck and Gorden Jr. now restrict "Free Expression" to only 1.86% of campus open space.

Waffle House has a Storm Center with an entire operations team that is so good at their job they assist FEMA during hurricanes. The European mind cannot comprehend this

"The city now finds itself in an embarrassing situation where one city department is using taxpayer dollars to erect a fence that limits people’s access to public space, while another city department uses up even more city resources to have that same fence taken down." L.A. TACO🌴🌮

Staggering details from this story: - After TX banned abortion, rate of sepsis shot up more than 50% for women hospitalized when they lost their pregnancies in the 2nd trimester - The rate of maternal deaths in TX rose 33% btwn 2019 + 2023 even as national rate fell by 7.5%

If they can disappear permanent residents, they can disappear citizens too, and it won’t stop at protesters. They’re using the issue of Palestine as a test run because they know democratic leadership will be slow to respond, allowing them to normalize abducting whoever they want

The United States was added Sunday to the CIVICUS Monitor Watchlist, due to declining civil liberties time.com/7266334/us-hum…