Media

In 2008, young people—particularly those of color—endured more voting restrictions than any other youth voting demographic that came before, yet black youth turnout hit its highest rate in history.

New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, with the support of the mortgage task force formed by the Obama administration last January and the Justice Department, has commenced the long overdue prosecution of the Big Banks for their role in triggering the financial crisis of 2008. (That is not a typo -- the Justice Department has finally moved against the Big Banks.)

Mitt Romney finally offered up some details yesterday about tax reform, specifically how he would limit tax deductions and broaden the tax base in order to afford the lower tax rates he is proposing. Romney said in Denver:

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo and his administration are trying to walk a fine line on the future of fracking in the state. A few months ago, word leaked from the Cuomo administration that fracking might be allowed on a limited basis in towns that approved the practice.

Oops, I completely forgot to register

But evidence is mounting that it is the last point — the fact that people move — that is key, and that past assumptions about why tenants don't vote may be incorrect.

Political scientists who have been re-evaluating reams of voting data have found that whether a tenant votes is less about political will and more about the cumbersome and at times elusive process of registering.

We hear so much about polarization these days, that it can be easy to forget that Americans are actually quite unified around certain core values -- most notably, the importance of work, community, and individual responsibility.

The problems posed by unpredictable work schedules are starting to get attention, and it's about time. As Susan Lambert recently wrote in a New York Times op-ed, such schedules are increasingly the norm for low-income workers.

Yesterday brought the sad news that noted environmental advocate and scholar, Barry Commoner, had passed away. As pointed out in the many tributes to his life and achievements, Commoner was one of the founders of modern environmentalism and embraced a more complex, holistic view of environmental issues.

This morning saw a big victory for Pennsylvania’s voters when a judge partially enjoined Pennsylvania’s strict new voter ID law in advance of next month’s elections.  Pennsylvania’s voters will not have to show a photo ID in order to vote a regular ballot this November. This victory will remove an unnecessary burden that threatened the freedom to vote for tens of thousands of voters this fall.