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Time for a Citizens' Commission On Defending the Right to Vote
Donald Trump's commission on "election integrity" is meeting sensible resistance. The commission issued letters calling on states to provide it with extensive personal information on all voters, including names, addresses, birthdates, party affiliation, the last 4 digits Social Security numbers, military status and criminal records. This data collection would be targeted by every cyber thief in the world. At least 20 states have already indicated that they would not comply completely, including California, New York, Texas and more.
White Churches Have Moral Responsibility to Stand Up
In 2019, we will commemorate 400 years since the first 20 slaves were transported by ship from Africa by white slave traders and landed in Jamestown, Va.
Assault weapons are weapons of war
In the United States, 20 million assault rifles are in private hands, and nearly 400 million guns of all sorts. In the first 190 days of this year, Americans have suffered 320 mass shootings, more than one a day. Highland Park, Illinois, Uvalde, Texas, Chattanooga, Tennessee – the list is endless. Sixty-two people were shot and 10 killed in Chicago on the same holiday weekend that the Highland Park massacre took place, without garnering nearly as much attention.
The 1619 Project
On Sunday, the New York Times unveiled "The 1619 Project," a journalistic series in the Sunday magazine that seeks to tell the "unvarnished truth" about slavery and its impact on America's history. In 1619, just 12 years after the founding of the first permanent English settlement in the Americas, the Jamestown colonists bought the first slaves, 20 to 30 enslaved Africans, from English pirates.
America Leads the World in Violence
Gun violence spiked across the country in 2020, the most violent years in decades. 19,000 were killed in shootings, the highest death toll in 20 years (and that does not include gun suicides). Mass shootings -- defined as four or more shot in an incident -- also rose drastically to over 600.
Donald Trump's Big Lie About Health Care
Donald Trump's madcap presidency is now seeking to strip 20 million Americans of their health care coverage. He has instructed the Justice Department to join the lawsuit seeking to declare the Affordable Care Act unconstitutional.
Voter Suppression Alive and Well in Arkansas
The Solid South used to be Democratic. Today, the Solid South is Republican. What happened? President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Public Accommodations Act on July 2, 1964. As a result, South Carolina's Dixiecrat segregationist senator, Strom Thurmond, switched parties in September and vowed to lead fellow Dixiecrats to the Republican Party.
Is Trump Racist? Record Speaks Very Loudly
When new U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez was asked on "60 Minutes" whether she thinks President Trump is a racist, she responded with the candor that makes her a compelling force in Washington: "Yeah, yeah, no question."
Donald Trump's Broken Promise to the Vulnerable
Of all of Donald Trump's broken campaign promises, none is more cruel than his broken promise on health care.
The People of the Nation Have Spoken
"The people of this nation have spoken. They have delivered us a clear victory. ... We have won with the most votes ever cast for a presidential ticket in the history of this nation."
Jesse Jackson: Police Reform Won't Be Easy
As the worldwide demonstrations continue two weeks after the murder of George Floyd by a Minneapolis policeman, the question is whether outrage will lead to real reforms? Fundamental reforms would begin with ending the "qualified immunity" of police, curbing the militarization of police forces, transferring funds and functions to social agencies, imposing residency requirements and finally making lynching a hate crime.
Sessions Stands for Outmoded, Unjust Law-and-Order Policies
Attorney General Jeff Sessions gets it wrong. On core issue after core issue -- civil rights, voting rights, women's rights, police reform and particularly mass incarceration -- he is a destructive force.
The Vote Is the Centerpiece of Democracy
August 6 is the 55th anniversary of the Voting Rights Act. If the constitutional amendments passed after the Civil War -- the 13, 14 and 15th Amendments -- were the "second founding" of democracy in America, the Voting Rights Act, which after nearly a century of segregation gave legal effect to the 15th Amendment that outlawed discrimination in the right to vote, should be considered the "third founding."
The 2020 Census, Stand Up and Be Counted
A new report should raise alarms about the upcoming 2020 census. According to the Pew Research Center, the good news is that the overwhelming majority of Americans are aware of the census, and over eight in 10 say they are likely to participate. The bad news is that nearly one in four blacks, young people, and lower income people and one in five Hispanics are uncertain or reluctant to participate. If not changed, that could have truly negative impact on the most vulnerable.
Risking Lives In Endless Wars Is a Moral Violation and Strategic Failure
We just celebrated Veterans Day, paying tribute to the young men and women who have served our country. Across the country, families gathered at the gravesites of those who gave their lives. Veterans drank toasts to their fellow soldiers. In football and basketball stadiums, crowds offered a moment of silence for the fallen. The rituals are heartfelt, but far from complete. Too often ignored is the far greater number of lives that are lost not on the battlefield but at home, not from the enemy's guns but from our veterans' own hands.
President Biden’s State of the Union
Joe Biden’s State of the Union will feature good news. He has much to report – record job growth, record low unemployment, inflation down, and new efforts underway to rebuild our infrastructure, move to renewable energy and start to bring jobs back home.
Venezuela Needs a Helping Hand, Not a Hammer Blow
If you have a hammer, everything looks like a nail. The United States has a big hammer: the military, plus the intelligence community's covert intervention forces. So we are dropping bombs from drones in seven countries.
After Trumpcare Debacle, President Must Reach Out to Democrats
The decision of House Republicans to torpedo the American Health Care Act (AHCA), their own leadership's plan to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act (ACA), is a stunning defeat for President Trump and House Speaker Paul Ryan.
Why Should Iowa Always Be First?
Today, after more than a year of campaigning, debates, polls, fund-raising and ads, voters cast their first votes in the Iowa caucuses. Iowa is always first because it demands that it be first, but no matter who wins, this profoundly distorts the race.
Sadly, NCAA Players Have to Be the Adults In the Room
How many lives of young men and women should be sacrificed for entertainment - and for billions in profit? That question can't be ducked as the NCAA allows colleges to begin "voluntary" football practices, and other college teams begin to practice.
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