Politics

The Fake US Democracy Exposed Again

September 2, 2015 The Center For Voting and Democracy, www.fairvote.org Educate! Democracy, Elections, Politics

By The Center For Voting and Democracy - FairVote first released its Monopoly Politics projections in 1997. Monopoly Politics 2014 and the Fair Voting Solution, the most recent installment, is a comprehensive report analyzing the effects of an increasingly polarized electorate coupled with a House of Representatives elected exclusively from single-winner districts. That report contained projections for 368 of the 435 house seats, using a straightforward metric that did not rely on any information about polling data, campaign expenditures, or any of the other typical information used for projecting races. Instead, it projected which party's candidate would win a seat based on how voters in that district had voted in the 2012 presidential election along with a measure of incumbency strength. First released in the spring of 2013 and updated as seats became open, our election 2014 projections were correct in 367 out of 368 races, meaning they were 99.7% accurate.

How The US Elections Manipulate Voters, Prevent Progress

September 1, 2015 Byron Williams, www.contracostatimes.com Educate! Elections, Politics, Propaganda

By Byron Williams in Contra Costa Times - If the 2016 presidential race stays true to form, it will be dominated by preliminary bouts, otherwise known as primaries, followed by the main event, the General Election. The primaries will be a competition to see who is more in touch with the respective party's base. This means Democrat and Republican candidates will appeal more to their parties more ideological sectors, only to make a mad dash to the center after the nomination process is complete. With some exceptions, this has been the basic formula that both parties have employed for the last four decades. It depends on a linear left/right axis. What's great about this approach is its neatness, or at a minimum the appearance thereof. For the portion of the electorate that participates in the political process, it is a call to arms -- to hunker down in the predictable silos of orthodoxy, questioning the sanity of those who possess the unmitigated gall to see the world differently.

Poll: Women’s Issues Connect To All Issues

August 27, 2015 Ms. Foundation For Women, www.forwomen.org Educate! Community, Politics, Women

By Ms. Foundation For Women - The survey shows that people see issues in their community as interconnected and would rather hear candidates and elected officials propose solutions with this in mind. When it comes to community problems, issues around economic security rise to the top – not necessarily a new polling finding. What is new, however, is that the survey reveals which issues the public sees as having disproportionate effects between genders. While most feel that women and men approach problems differently and have different strengths, they are much more likely to feel that men — rather than women — are in positions to fix problems. Finally, the survey shows the term “feminist” may have lost some of its meaning. After hearing a very simple definition, the percentage of the public who adopts the label triples.

Beirut’s “You Stink!” Garbage Protesters Call for Fall Of Regime

August 25, 2015 Al Jazeera, www.aljazeera.com Resist! Environment, Lebonon, Politics

By Al Jazeera - New clashes between anti-government demonstrators and Lebanese police left at least 20 people injured in the capital Beirut on Sunday, as protests — which started amid outrage over officials’ failure to collect garbage in Beirut — raged for a second day in an intensifying political crisis that the prime minister said could potentially see the government dissolved. Footage from the scene showed ambulances ferrying out casualties after security forces fired tear gas, rubber bullets and water cannons at demonstrators protesting against what they call Lebanon's overall political dysfunction. Among the thousands of protesters about 200 youths, some wearing scarves or masks over their faces, threw stones and bottles filled with sand at police and tried to pull down security barricades. Some of those injured had suffered smoke inhalation and at least 13 were hospitalized, according to the Lebanese Red Cross.

Undocumented Worker Stands Up To Billionaire Bully

August 24, 2015 Americas Voice, www.peoplesworld.org Resist! Immigration, Politics, President, Undocumented

By Americas Voice in People's World - As the negative coverage surrounding Donald Trump's inflammatory immigration policy paper continues to spill out, Liz Robbins of theNew York Times lifts up a critical, yet missing, voice in the current debate. Meet Ricardo Aca. Ricardo is an undocumented immigrant who works hard at three different jobs, including the Trump hotel in New York City's Soho neighborhood. In an incredible video from New Left Media and picked up by the New York Times, Ricardo describes working as a busboy at the only restaurant at Trump Soho, and his subsequent reaction to Trump's claim that undocumented immigrants from Mexico - hardworking immigrants like himself - are criminals. While Ricardo realizes the risks in going public -feeling Trump's retaliatory wrath in public or at work-he also wants to speak up for his family and community, and that's a risk he's willing to take for them.

5 Questions Every Candidate Needs To Answer About Education

August 24, 2015 Paul L. Thomas, www.alternet.org Resist! Education, Politics, President

By Paul L. Thomas in AlterNet - Since the early 1980s, education platforms have been essential to political campaigns for governorships and the presidency, with education policy increasingly defining elected officials’ political legacies. With the passing of No Child Left Behind in 2001, education legislation shifted even further to national prominence, as NCLB came to represent the “power” of bi-partisan commitments to education reform.  In the 2016 presidential election, education may once again emerge as a major point of debate, in part because of Jeb Bush’s legacy in Florida and in part because of the lingering political controversies around Common Core. Yet in addressing education issues candidates are likely to remain trapped inside the failed accountability mindset for reforming schools — one that privileges “standards” and “tests” as the central means of closing the infamous achievement gap.

#BLM Unveil Demands For US Policing Laws As Political Reach Grows

August 22, 2015 Jon Swaine, Lauren Gambino and Oliver Laughland, www.theguardian.com Strategize! #BlackLivesMatter, Black Lives Matter (BLM), Civil Rights, police brutality, Politics

By Jon Swaine, Lauren Gambino and Oliver Laughland in The Guardian - The unveiling of the detailed policy platform followed a series of disruptions by protesters affiliated with the Black Lives Matter movement of presidential campaign rallies held by presidential candidates across the country, including former secretary of state Hillary Clinton. The actions have succeeded in pushing police and criminal justice reform to the forefront of the race for the Democratic nomination. “America is finally waking up to this very necessary and critical conversation about race, equity and preserving the life and dignity of all citizens,” Brittany Packnett, one of the activists behind Campaign Zero, said in an interview. “These policies, like our resistance, will save lives and introduce a new way of viewing political strategy,” said Aurielle Lucier, the co-founder of the Atlanta-based activist group It’s Bigger Than You.

Private Prison Firms Buy Access To Public Officials At Conferences

August 21, 2015 Mike Ludwig, www.truth-out.org Educate! Corruption, Mass Incarceration, Politics, Prison Industrial Complex

By Mike Ludwig in TruthOut - The prison industry in the United States has grown so large that there are no less than seven professional associations for people who work at prisons and jails. The industry conferences held by these associations provide a perfect venue for private corrections companies to influence government officials with little public oversight, according to a recent report by the watchdog group In The Public Interest (ITPI). The biggest names in the prison business spend millions of dollars sponsoring these conferences and wooing prison officials with free massages, awards ceremonies, luxury dinner cruises and plenty of corporate schwag. Over the past week, one of the most prominent associations, the American Correctional Association (ACA), held its summer conference in Indianapolis, where major sponsors included private prison companies Corrections Corporation of America (CCA), GEO Group and food services giant Aramark.

Is #BlackLivesMatter Entering New Stage Of Development?

August 21, 2015 Glen Ford, www.blackagendareport.com Strategize! #BlackLivesMatter, Black Lives Matter (BLM), Hillary Clinton, Politics

By Glen Ford in The Black Agenda Report - It is painfully evident from the video of last week’s meeting between a #BlackLivesMatter delegation and Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton that the organization is philosophically incapable of making demands on the political representatives of the rulers of the United States. #BLM’s leadership is either confused as to the nature of political demands, or has decided to reject the most fundamental lessons of mass movement politics – indeed, of human social dynamics. Political movements are defined by their core demands. The video of #BLM’s closed-door encounter with Clinton in New Hampshire, August 11 – after the five activists had been prevented from attending and, presumably, disrupting her campaign event – should become a staple for future political education classes on what happens when would-be movement operatives enter the lion’s den unarmed with political demands: they are humiliated and eaten alive.

US Consulate To Citizens: Stay Away From New Zealand TPP Protest

August 15, 2015 Andrea Germanos, www.commondreams.org Resist! Government, New Zealand, Politics, TPP, usa

By Andrea Germanos in Common Dreams - Stay away from the Trans-Pacific Partnership protest taking place Saturday in New Zealand's largest city, the United States Consulate has warned its citizens. The Auckland action is one of over 20 that organizers have planned as part of a national day of action against the controversial pending trade deal. The Consulate's security message reads, in part: "Approximately 8,000 people are expected to attend the protest. We urge citizens to avoid the protest march route as even demonstrations intended to be peaceful can turn confrontational. We remind citizens to always exercise caution when in the vicinity of any large gatherings, protests, or demonstrations." Greens trade spokesperson Russel Norman, who is taking part in the actions, told Radio New Zealand that such fears are unfounded.

Privilege And The Working Class

August 11, 2015 Candace Cohn, www.socialistworker.org Strategize! Politics, Privilege

By Candace Cohn in Socialist Worker - THE PRIVILEGE model of oppression, often encountered in today's liberal and radical circles, has evolved since the 1960s. Many of today's well-intentioned advocates are unaware of the theory's class roots--roots that continue to profoundly impact privilege politics today. At the height of the American civil rights movement, when theories of oppression might be expected to have some resonance, privilege politics were virtually unknown. The privilege model was unable to find a foothold among the hundreds of thousands of anti-racists involved in the country's massive and often integrated struggles for freedom. Only later, during the tragic crisis and disintegration of the New Left at the end of the '60s, were privilege politics able to gain a hearing--among white, middle-class students, most of whom had had no involvement in the civil rights novement. White-skin privilege theory would come to play a major role in the destruction of Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) by extreme sectarians.

Bruce Rauner Is Using A Manufactured Crisis To Bust Unions

August 6, 2015 Jennifer Ritter and Jacob Swenson-Lengyel, www.inthesetimes.com Organize! Austerity, Conservative, Illinois, Politics

By Jennifer Ritter and Jacob Swenson-Lengyel for In These Times - If you like Scott Walker, you’ll love Bruce Rauner. In February, Rauner issued an executive order blocking public employee unions from collecting “fair share” fees, or payments from non-union members who nonetheless benefit from collective bargaining done on their behalf. The order is intended to decimate public employee unions, not just in Illinois, but across the nation. As unions rightfully fight the executive order, Rauner hopes the case will make it to the Supreme Court, where following last years Harris v. Quinn ruling, many experts believe conservative justices may be poised to strike down fair share fees nation wide. That was just an opening foray. Now Rauner is using the budget crisis to blackmail legislators into supporting his anti-worker policies. He refuses to raise revenue unless the state legislature, Cook County and municipalities across the state bow to his anti-union, destabilizing “turnaround agenda.”

Jimmy Carter: The US Is An Oligarchy

August 3, 2015 Paige Lavender, www.huffingtonpost.com Educate! Democracy, Government, oligarchy, Politics

By Paige Lavender in The Huffington Post - Former President Jimmy Carter spoke with the Thom Hartmann Program earlier this week about "political bribery" in the United States, saying it's created “a complete subversion of our political system as a payoff to major contributors.” Carter was asked about Supreme Court cases like Citizens United, which he said has turned America into an "oligarchy." "It violates the essence of what made America a great country in its political system. Now it’s just an oligarchy, with unlimited political bribery being the essence of getting the nominations for president or to elect the president," Carter said. Carter said the power of money isn't limited to just the presidency, claiming "the same thing" applies to lawmakers on the state level and in Congress. "The incumbents, Democrats and Republicans, look upon this unlimited money as a great benefit to themselves," Carter said. "Somebody’s who’s already in Congress has a lot more to sell to an avid contributor than somebody who’s just a challenger."

Politicians Admit The Corruption Of Government By Money

July 31, 2015 Jon Schwarz, www.facebook.com Resist! Campaign Finance, Capitalism, Corruption, Money, Politics

By Jon Schwarz in The Intercept - One of the most embarrassing aspects of U.S. politics is politicians who deny that money has any impact on what they do. For instance, Tom Corbett, Pennsylvania’s notoriously fracking-friendly former governor, got $1.7 million from oil and gas companies but assured voters that “The contributions don’t affect my decisions.” If you’re trying to get people to vote for you, you can’t tell them that what they want doesn’t matter. Meanwhile, 85 percent of Americans say we need to either “completely rebuild” or make “fundamental changes” to the campaign finance system. Just 13 percent think “only minor changes are necessary,” less than the 18 percent of Americans who believe they’ve been in the presence of a ghost.

Seattle City Councilmember Blows Whistle On ALEC (&ACCE)

July 31, 2015 Nick Licata, www.prwatch.org Resist! ALEC, City, Politics, Urban

By Nick Licata in PR Watch - There was one problem in finding out—ALEC is open only to state legislators or private-interest parties, i.e. corporations or business associations. Being neither, I wouldn’t be able to get into their conference. A break came last year when ALEC formed ACCE (the American City County Exchange) for city and county public officials. It was to take ALEC’s organizational approach of helping these elected representatives pass laws that could cut taxes, limit government and promote free markets (i.e. turn over government services and functions to businesses). I had assumed that this was a closed association, and that I would be required to take an oath or be screened and approved for admission. There have been Democratic state legislators who experienced difficulty in getting admitted into ALEC meetings. But in the end, they were admitted. Why?

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