Media

As the elections approach, strong enforcement of voter protections is needed to prevent attempts to block Virginia voters from casting their ballot, according to a report released today by voting rights groups Demos and Common Cause. The study, “Bullies at the Ballot Box: Protecting the Freedom to Vote from Wrongful Challenges and Intimidation” focuses on voter protection laws in Virginia and nine other states where elections are expected to be close, or where large challenger operations are expected or have taken place during recent elections. 

A non-partisan policy analysis group, California Common Sense (CACS), released a report last Thursday called “Winners and Losers: Corrections and Higher Education in California” that shows how the state has reduced higher education funding while simultaneously increasing it for the state prison system consistently over the past three decades.

As the elections approach, strong enforcement of voter protections is needed to prevent attempts to block Texas voters from casting their ballot, according to a report released today by voting rights groups Demos and Common Cause. The study, “Bullies at the Ballot Box: Protecting the Freedom to Vote from Wrongful Challenges and Intimidation” focuses on voter protection laws in Texas and nine other states where elections are expected to be close, or where large challenger operations are expected or have taken place during recent elections. 

Chicago teachers themselves will say it: nobody wanted to go on strike.  But today, after ten months of fruitless efforts to negotiate a fair contract, the city’s classrooms are empty and educators are walking picket lines for the first time in 25 years.  At first glance, the strike looks like a negative outcome for every

Ross Anderson has a great interview at The Atlantic with Michael Grunwald, author of The New New Deal. In his book, Grunwald details the history of ARRA, including extensive research on its impact on clean energy research and development.

Something that you hear about quite a lot these days is the “all of the above” energy plan. The phrase is in both party platforms with the general idea being that our energy needs should be met by using all forms of energy available -- coal, oil, gas, nuclear, renewables, biofuels, etc. Diversifying our energy sources and moving away from strictly relying on fossil fuels is a good idea.

Self-appointed partisan activists are reportedly working to recruit 1 million volunteers to challenge and block certain voters’ right to vote on and before Election Day, creating an atmosphere of intimidation at the polls.  

A new fact sheet from Demos, College on a Credit Card, investigates the relationship between educational expenses and credit card debt, and shows that putting college on credit can be a very bad deal. 

Anyone who has hung around progressive circles for the past two decades has invariably logged a small chunk of their lives in frustrating "vision" conversations. The problem, always, was coming up with the elevator pitch for a Balkanized liberalism that was more a grab bag of specific causes than a movement guided by a few simple values. Progressives spent many long years envying the parsimony of a conservative ideology built around the mantra of small government, traditional values, and a strong defense.