This climate change case could be a game-changer — in a good way

Plus, the worst people you know get publicly shamed

Welcome to a premium Wednesday edition of Progressives Everywhere!

We’ve got a very interesting main feature tonight about a major lawsuit against Big Oil that could prove to be a serious game-changer in the fight against climate change as well as some news items you should know about. But first, I want to update you on several stories we’ve been reporting on here at Progressives Everywhere.

New York

It’s been a big few days for State Sen. Alessandra Biaggi, who we featured in the most recent edition of this newsletter. Biaggi, who is running for Congress in NY’s third district, today had one of her most important legislative accomplishments signed into law by Gov. Kathy Hochul. An outspoken advocate for victims of sexual harassment and sexual assault, Biaggi’s bills provide a checklist of important protections for victims path, present, and future.

This suite of legislation ensures that all employees in both the private and public sectors are treated in a fair manner and have the needed resources available to seek accountability. If signed by the governor, this legislative package will enact a ban on “no rehire” clauses in settlement agreements, extends the statute of limitations on workplace harassment and discrimination claims, protects public and private employees under the Human Rights Law, provides protection from unlawful retaliation, creates a workplace sexual harassment hotline, and enacts the Let Survivors Speak Act.

Biaggi highlighted the Let Survivors Speak Act when we spoke last week. It reforms the law to ban NDAs on settlements between survivors of sexual assault and their assailants so that they’re able to talk about their experiences.

The signing ceremony with Gov. Hochul was a lot more cordial than it would have been with Andrew Cuomo, given Biaggi’s outspoken criticism of the now-former governor.

As I noted in the story last week, Biaggi went hard after Cuomo when it became apparent that his administration was purposely suppressing the number of nursing home residents that died of Covid in 2020, both to cover up for his mistakes and justify helping out his private equity donors. This week, the New York State auditor’s office released new data that indicated the cover-up was even broader than first estimates.

We were one of the first outlets to really focus on Cuomo’s cover-up, when most media was still treating the ex-governor like a celebrity and new icon.

Arizona

Kyrsten Sinema’s indecency knows no bounds. Excerpts from a new book provide some behind-the-scenes anecdotes that make her “fuck off” ring seem mild. In truth, the cynical, self-absorbed senator from Arizona is even more abhorrent than we knew:

In the spring of 2021, "she became the first-ever lawmaker to argue with White House aides when they asked her to wear a face mask in the company of the president, repeatedly asking why that was necessary when she had been vaccinated."

• She also discouraged Biden from coming to Arizona after the president signed the COVID rescue plan in 2021.

Biden aides complained that Sinema sounded more like Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) than a Democrat, the book says:

• At a private fundraiser in D.C. with a Republican-heavy group of lobbyists — which hasn't been reported before — she portrayed herself as anti-tax and anti-government.

• She mocked Biden while speaking warmly about House GOP leader Kevin McCarthy, and even defending far-right Rep. Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.), who denied the election results and claimed Antifa had infiltrated the Capitol riot. "I love Andy Biggs," she said.  "I know some people think he’s crazy, but that's just because they don’t know him."

Andy Biggs, in case you’ve forgotten, is the virulent white supremacist who has deep ties to the January 6th insurrectionists.

We began covering the Primary Sinema movement almost immediately when it began last fall and have stayed on the beat over the past six months, including this scoop about a crucial moment for the campaign in January.

Iowa

Old friend JD Scholten, who nearly took out actual Nazi Rep. Steve King in 2018, is now running for State House! He’s been one of the smartest voices on how Democrats should approach trying to win back rural voters, a topic we spoke with him about last year. Spoiler alert: The answer isn’t just messaging, but more populist economic and agricultural policy, too!

OK, now on to the main story tonight…

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by Natalie Meltzer

A Hawaii state court has given the green light for Honolulu to proceed with a pioneering case against Big Oil, moving the city one step closer to what could become a watershed moment for efforts to hold companies accountable for misrepresenting the scale and severity of fossil fuels’ impacts on climate change.

Since 2017, over two dozen states and local governments across the country have filed lawsuits in state courts alleging that large oil companies knowingly downplayed their products’ role in causing sea level rise, extreme weather, and other dire consequences of climate change. The City and County of Honolulu filed its lawsuit against eight major oil and gas companies — including ExxonMobil, Chevron, Shell, and BP — in 2020.

Honolulu’s lawsuit notes that the city has already lost 25% of its beaches due to climate change and that the city’s infrastructure — including its drinking water system — has been badly damaged due to saltwater flooding. It argues that these damages, and the associated costs of mitigation and adaptation, are a direct consequence of oil companies’ products and their deceptive practices to prevent the transition to more sustainable energy sources.