Californians: your call to support fair elections is needed today
On Thursday January 19th, there will be a crucial vote in the Appropriations Committee on AB 1148, the California DISCLOSE Act. This Act would require the three largest funders of political ads to be...
View ArticleCalifornians: please call before Thursday to support fair elections.
Earlier today I posted Californians: your call to support fair elections is needed today. Since many Californians may not have been on-line until tonight, I am reposting the information in hopes that...
View ArticleCalifornia health care bill may be reconsidered next week
This morning the California State Senate voted twice on SB 810, the California Universal Health Care Act since there were members “absent” during the first vote. By the second vote, those who were in...
View ArticleCampaign for a Healthy California
Today I received a press release from the Campaign for a Healthy California, which is working to bring single payer health care (including vision and dental care) to the state. A bill sponsored by...
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Tax Fairness Day in Fresno
Today, about fifteen people gathered in front of the IRS building in Fresno, CA to protest current tax policies that favor corporations and the rich. As this man said: One woman had a...
View ArticleSend a thank you note
Yesterday a commenter at dailykos suggested we send a thank you note to Chief Justice John Roberts for his support of the Affordable Care Act. I've done that and conveyed the idea to friends and...
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Move your money day in Fresno
To emphasize the importance of individuals using credit unions and local banks, more than sixty activists gathered in southeast Fresno, CA for a press conference at noon yesterday. As reported in...
View ArticleCrucial Native American votes
In Why the Native American Vote Could Win the Senate for Democrats in the October 22 Nation, the author explains that four Senate candidates are campaigning in states with enough Native Americans to...
View ArticleRomney's record in Massachusetts
Romney claims that as governor of Massachusetts he was able to work well with a Democratic legislature. To refute this, I have written a short letter to the editor that might be useful for people...
View ArticleOne-Man Election Clearinghouse
As more voting results have trickled in after Election Day, Dave Wasserman has entered every county's updated numbers on a spreadsheet and then tweeted the new information for each county. However, I...
View ArticlePolitical carols
A friend reports singing these political carols at a local congressman's office the other day. The group of nine wore Santa hats and suggests others conduct a similar action.[To the tune of “O...
View ArticlePetition to close Guantanamo
Last I looked, an on-line petition titled "President Obama: Close Detention Facility at Guantanamo Bay" had 105,553 supporters. As reported yesterday in the Guardian:A former chief prosecutor for the...
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"Restore the Fourth" (pictures)
The Fourth Amendment to the Constitution"The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall...
View Article"Like so many book burners"
In So the innocent have nothing to fear? After David Miranda we now know where this leads, Simon Jenkins, former editor of the London Times and now a columnist for the Guardian, compares the smashing...
View ArticleWhy they flee
"Just when and how do people decide to flee so abruptly and suddenly, leaving everything behind?" asks Reem Alsalem in The Decision to Leave Syria (4/26/13). Reem begins by recalling how her father...
View ArticleA digital core for the government?
After experiencing many failures of IT systems developed with private contractors, the United Kingdom now has a "government digital service" with 300 employees. It also has a cabinet-level position for...
View ArticleAl Gore says NSA will be reined in
Speaking at McGill University in Montreal on Tuesday, Al Gore described the NSA measures revealed by Edward Snowden as "outrageous" and "completely unacceptable." According to the Guardian, Gore also...
View Article"US health reform's Gettysburg moment"
In January 1 2014: US health reform's Gettysburg moment, a veteran of decades-long battles over health care policy sees a parallel between the Union Army's victory at Gettysburg in 1863 and today,...
View Article"But there aren't enough doctors!"
Most ACA critics now grudgingly admit that people are getting insured after all, but they say there's a catch. "Where are we going to get all the doctors?" a social worker asked me recently. "We're...
View ArticleSnowden elected rector at Glasgow University
On Tuesday, February 18, Edward Snowden was elected rector by Glasgow University students to represent their interests for three years. Various British and American news sources reported the story,...
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