Intellectually Entertaining. Socially Relevant.
The Puerto Ricans just voted on the island’s political status, but Pres. Obama is calling for a redo: “Puerto Rico may be getting another status vote. The White House budget submitted to Congress Wednesday includes a $2.5 million appropriation for Puerto Rico to hold another plebiscite on its relationship to the United States. Calling for another vote Read More
It’s finally happened: “President Hugo Chávez of Venezuela died Tuesday afternoon after a struggle with cancer, the government announced, leaving behind a bitterly divided nation in the grip of a political crisis that grew more acute as he languished for weeks, silent and out of sight, in hospitals in Havana and Caracas. Close to tears Read More
BBC News provides an excellent overview of what’s at stake in Tuesday’s two-part referendum concerning Puerto Rico’s future political status: “The first asks voters whether they want to keep the island’s current status. The second asks whether they would prefer independence, US statehood, or an option known as ‘sovereign free association’ with the US that Read More
A sad day in American politics: “In a move drawing fire from voter ID law supporters, the largest global election monitoring organization is sending an unprecedented number of observers to U.S. polling stations, paying particular attention to any signs of voter intimidation. The website of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe says that Read More
I’m always hearing people badmouth the electoral process. Our votes don’t matter, they say. Everything’s run by corporations anyway. Pardon the farm talk, but that’s a steaming pile of bull sundae. Voting does matter. This is still a republic, Ben Franklin would tell us, so long as we keep it that way. Sure, Citizens United Read More
Yet again, Latinos are being painted as the sleeping giant in American politics. As Janell Ross writes for Huff Post Latino Voices: “The nation’s 50 million Latinos make up the largest minority group and the fastest growing segment of the American electorate. Both President Barack Obama and Mitt Romney are clamoring for Latino voters. So Read More
Voter ID laws may keep a half-million eligible voters from fulfilling their duty this year, according to a study released by the Brennan Center for Justice on Wednesday. As Fox News Latino reports: “The report found that while legal precedent requires states to provide free voter IDs to eligible residents who don’t have them, even Read More
In the U.S., we are the happy beneficiaries of a great democratic experiment. The cornerstone of any true democracy is the right of the eligible populace to vote. Historically, the U.S. has witnessed the struggles of disenfranchised members of society to obtain this fundamental right of citizenship. One need only recall the struggle of women Read More
Last week, our friends at the non-partisan organization, Voto Latino, launched a new campaign to get young people to vote. Teaming with iTunes, they are offering more than 30 free music downloads to those who sign up to receive information on voter registration and other key issues throughout 2012. To receive the free downloads, users must open Read More