I had a fantastic conversation with my own MA State Rep Michelle Ciccolo (even though I couldn’t get her name out of my mouth properly in the beginning of the conversation. It was certainly different to talk with a Blue state rep working on good policy to make up for the federal government’s destruction, instead of a rep fighting a MAGA supermajority in a Red state. I didn’t know about the bills the statehouse has passed or is working on, and I’m also glad to hear how the AG is fighting the regime and the state reps work with our Congress critters. (TBF, our rep is Katherine Clark, Minority Whip, who talks a good game).
This conversation ranged from details of the legislation that MA is pursuing to protect our state, how New England states are working with Canada to develop trading relationships (New England gets all our energy from Canada), the catastrophic loss to MA with federal funding slashes in universities, science, medical innovation, to a real candid conversation about immigration—about how we want immigration, we want immigrants as members of our community, how sometimes immigrants—documented and not—end up being exploited and virtually indentured servants….and so much more.
We also talked about what local communities, unions, associations, and affinity groups can be doing to strengthen their own communities as a way to make change without having to take on Washington alone. Truly one of the better conversations I’ve had.
Since I was trying out a new way of streaming, I couldn’t see how many people attended or the comments. I’ll work on making that better for next time.
Thank you
, , , , and many others for tuning into my live video! Join me for my next live video in the app.Here are the timestamps for the video.
Chapters
00:00 Introduction to Massachusetts Politics and Community Engagement
04:11 State-Level Responses to National Issues
09:46 Impact of Federal Policies on Local Communities 16:12 Public Health Challenges and State Initiatives
21:53 Collaboration Between State and Federal Representatives
27:53 Grassroots Movements and Community Activism
29:31 Historical Context and American Identity
36:22 Engaging Locally for Change
41:45 Navigating Immigration Challenges
47:47 Food Systems and Public Health
52:10 Resilience in a Changing Society
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