RockTheVote
10 candidates that made history on November 7, 2017
Democrats scored a major victory on the one year anniversary of the Trump Presidency, winning every election by landslides, and making significant gains in state legislators. Here is the story of 10 unlikely candidates that made history. Let their stories be an inspiration for the 2018 elections and beyond.
Election 2017: 3 winners and 3 losers
Four Progressive Leaders Offer Four Observations from Election Night 2017
Puerto Ricans Fear Schools Will Be Privatized in the Wake of Hurricane Maria
These actions are in line with what Naomi Klein calls disaster capitalism. Capitalist using disasters to privatize industries and disenfranchise people, despite the best effort of the community to do otherwise. In this case the community strives to open schools, while ideologues trying to push privatization while hurting the community!
Syracuse study disputes ICE claims of ‘sanctuary city’ impacts
The Trump administration is overstating the success of a program in which local law enforcement agencies partner with the federal government to facilitate the deportation of county jail inmates suspected of being unauthorized immigrants, They claim to have deported 40K people, Ice records show only 10K were deported and only 5K had criminal convictions.
Voting Rights Issues
Signs of a Bright Future for Georgia’s Pre-K Students
Former Capitol Hill Staffer Works to Repeal Mandatory Minimum Laws He Helped Write
This is a story of how partisan congress works. Kevin Ring, a former staffer for Newt Gingerich, who helped write laws for, minimum drug sentences, explains how much of these laws are written based on partisan politics, as opposed to well established research. Now he works for a non profit to undo the same laws, he helped right.
Kremlin-owned Firms Linked to Major Twitter and Facebook Investments
Trump Voter fraud elections commission appears to have gone dark
The commission set up by President Trump to investigate the bogus voter fraud allegations, has not met since September 12th. The commission has been hampered by multiple lawsuits by several civil rights and voting rights groups, including the American Civil Liberties Union, arguing it hasn't been transparent and hasn't conducted enough of its business in the open.
Voting access under attack as countdown to 2018 election begins
Gerrymander 5K: run highlights absurdity of Republican redistricting
Progressives and democrats are using creative ways to demonstrate gerrymandering to their constituents. A 5K run in Asheville, zigzagged through the city showing how the republicans have gerrymandered a progressive enclave in a red state, such that it is now represented by two republicans, one an ultra-conservative.
The Right to Vote Is Never Safe
What’s so funny about the federal criminal justice system?
Donald Trump's reckless statements on criminal justice have real consequences on peoples lives. This criminal justice attorney explains how a criminal conviction effects peoples lives, and how the justice system really work, and how Trumps comments are not based on a real understanding of the system.
Don’t Leave People in Prisons or Jail Behind
5 facts about Muslim Millennials
I Was a Racist Cop: How I came to recognize my own racism, bias, and privilege
Silence is the culture of many police departments. In my second year as a cop ― a career that would span more than a decade across three states ― I was taught the ramifications of speaking out. After a sergeant stole from an impounded car, another whistleblower and I reported him up the chain of command. Within days, I was fired. It was just before Christmas; young, a child on the way, and now my fledgling career tarnished. I received the message loud and clear: Do not kneel.
The Election Bombshell Everyone Missed: Trump Campaign Staffer Convicted on All 10 Counts of Sweeping Voter Fraud
“Donald Trump has made claim after claim calling the integrity of the election into question, but his Michigan campaign had no problem hiring a staff member facing election law charges,” said Progress Michigan executive director Lonnie Scott in a public statement. “The fact that the Trump campaign and the Michigan Republican Party embraced Brandon Hall is just one more reason to recount and audit the vote in Michigan.”
Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders Are Often Ignored
Last month, a landmark study called “Tokens on the Small Screen” confirmed what even casual TV watchers have probably observed: the Asian Americans and Pacific Islander (AAPI) population is seriously under-represented on television. Putting more Asian faces on TV isn’t about diversity for diversity’s sake. It’s about closing the gap in the public understanding of how different demographic groups are impacted by issues such as policy changes in immigration, health care, taxes and trade.
US immigration population hits record 60 million, 1-of-5 in nation
This is a good example of right wing fear mongering. They state that there are 60 million immigrants, stating that we don't know how many are legal vs illegal, which is easily knowable., They also claim that this rise is the reason why Donald Trump won the presidency. They basically imply that immigration is the reason for the troubles in this country. Studies show that immigration has had no effect on wages in this country.
Balanced Ballot Proposal
Voting is a Right for Which Americans Fought and Died
NAACP Files Lawsuit in Defense of DACA Eligible People of Color
NAACP has filed a suit against President Trump, Attorney General Jeff Sessions, Homeland Security Elaine Duke, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Department of Homeland Security, in defense of people of color eligible for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA). DACA was designed to protect the most vulnerable residents, young undocumented immigrants, who are overwhelmingly people of color.
Republicans aren’t voting for Graham-Cassidy. They’re just voting for Obamacare repeal.
This Hispanic Heritage Month, What’s There to Celebrate? We Asked.
For the first time in 40 years the congressional Hispanic Caucus institute decided not to invite Donald Trump due to his pardon pf Joe Arpaio, dismantling of Obamacare that afforded millions of hispanics health insurance, his voter fraud investigation based on false premises and his actions on DACA.
Flint’s water had a “horrifyingly large” impact on fetal deaths, study
The lead contamination crisis in Flint, Michigan, appears to have led to a 58% increase in fetal deaths in the city between November 2013 and March 2015. Study shows that neglect in environmental protection comes at a horrendous cost to the society. Despite these findings the trump administration is reducing the EPA funding, which is charged with maintaining water standards.
Leading the Charge: Mayor Announces Fast-Charging EV Hubs in All 5 Boroughs
Distorted Districts, Distorted Laws
Gerrymandering results in a system were Politicians pick their voters, instead of the other way around. This results in legislators who are less responsive to the will of their voters. As a result, even though the wast majority of voters for example support the expansion of ACA, 19 states have refused the federal funding directly opposing the will of their people. This brief discusses the fate of public policies in 6 states.
The rumors that Trump was changing course on the Paris climate accord, explained
Major publications like Wall Street Journal announced that Trump Administration had reversed course and wants to stay with the agreement, which the administration denied. It seems more a revelation of the Trump administrations incompetence, where administration officials and conservative news outlets seem to conflict the official white house message.
Bipartisan swath of lawmakers files Supreme Court briefs against gerrymandering
Latinos are disproportionately affected by asthma, and Trump’s policies are making it worse
Biased AI Is A Threat To Civil Liberties. The ACLU Has A Plan To Fix It
Artificial Intelligence is reshaping our entire society: our day to day work, the products we purchase, the news we read, how we vote. Advocacy groups like ACLU are concerned that these algorithms do not discriminate in cases of criminal justice, equity as it relates to fair housing, fair lending and fair credit.
The Trump Administration Is Planning an Unprecedented Attack on Voting Rights
The college debt crisis is even worse than you think
Lo income students are overwhelmingly burdened with student loans. Not only will the jobs waiting for them not empower them to pay back their excessive loans, most don't even finish college. This means most of these lo-income students leave campus saddled with lots of debt but none of the salary gains that traditionally come with bachelor's degree.