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#voting reform
hadeantaiga · 2 months
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How do we get people we actually like into government?
This is a multi-stage problem that comes in 3 parts:
Immediate concerns for the election of 2024
Near-future concerns after the 2024 election
Far-future concerns after certain goals are achieved
Immediate Concerns: Re-elect Biden and Democrats in your state on the national and local levels:
You might not like Biden or the Democrats, but if you want REAL election reform, we NEED them, because Republicans are against election reform in every way.
Near Future Concerns: Election reform in your local area:
Vote in local elections! I told you to do this up in step 1, but I'm going to reiterate it again because towns run elections all the damn time. Local elections are a great way to build power from the bottom-up. These people are closer to you than the president or your congressperson; they know you and your town. Vote for school board, vote for mayor, vote for the chief of police, vote for council members. You're going to need them on your side for the following goals.
Lobby for ranked-choice voting (RCV) in your town or city. This is one of the biggest reforms we need. With ranked-choice voting, we can fix a lot of problems. Ranked-choice voting means we'll be able to vote in third party candidates and actually have them win elections. It is happening! You'll notice on the map I linked that states like Florida have banned RCV. That's because Republicans know they'll lose if it becomes the law in their area. So if you have Republicans in charge of your town or city, this is going to be an uphill battle - which is why step 1 was to vote local.
Lobby for more polling locations. Many Republicans have had voting locations taken down, making it harder for people to vote in a multitude of ways (longer distance to get to a polling location, more people per location causing longer lines which makes it harder for people with an hourly wage to take off time to vote etc).
Vote for voter-ID reforms: Republican-lead states have incredibly strict ID laws you can help strike down. Vote them out, and then vote out their laws.
Lobby for incarcerated/convict voting. Being convicted of a crime and even being in jail shouldn't strip you of your right to vote especially in a country that disproportionately arrests and convicts people of color.
Vote to expand by-mail voting and other voting methods that make it easier for working people, disabled people, and other marginalized folks vote so their voice is heard.
On election day, VOLUNTEER. Drive people to the polls. Be a poll watcher - Republicans love to volunteer for this because it allows them to intimidate marginalized people out of voting. Your presence could make someone feel safe. You could get someone to the poll who might not have been able to make it otherwise.
Far-Future Goals: Lobby to eliminate the Electoral College
Once we have ranked-choice voting and we've been able to vote far-left candidates into office and we no longer have Republicans in control of everything, then we can do the hardest part: a Constitutional Amendment to eliminate the Electoral College. This absolutely positively cannot happen with Republicans in power. It requires 2/3rds of all US states or 2/3rds of the House and the Senate to even get and Amendment proposed. Then, 3/4 of all the state legislatures must ratify it.
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reasonsforhope · 1 year
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It was a really, really good political news day today in the US (4/4/23)
For anyone who hasn't heard, not only did Trump get arrested, but also:
-We found out that the legal case against him in this prosecution (stormy daniels hush money case) is SIGNIFICANTLY stronger than people had speculated. Like, wow do they have receipts.
-In fact, the evidence was so entirely there that the new question on prime time news (well, at least on msnbc lol) is "Hey, why didn't the federal courts prosecute him for this already???)
-Trump FAILED UTTERLY in his attempts to rally mass protests and demands for "death and destruction" if he was arrested. There was no violence at the arrest at all, and as for Trump supporters? They failed to show up in any kind of numbers--reportedly only about a hundred people were protesting the arrest
-We (aka Judge Janet Protasiewicz) WON what is widely considered to be the most consequential election of 2023, a Wisconsin state supreme court election that handed control of the state supreme court to the left
-Because of that election win, it is now extremely likely that abortion will be legal in Wisconsin, and that Wisconsin won't be able to throw out electors in the 2024 presidential election
-ALSO bc of this, Wisconsin, the most gerrymandered state in the country, will probably get nonpartisan, accurate maps, which COULD FLIP THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES in 2024
-In Chicago, Brandon Johnson, union organizer and former teacher, won the election for mayor, in a decisive win progressives, esp for meaningful criminal justice reform and investment in mental health (whereas the other guy was campaigning on hiring hundreds of new cops and being super tough on crime)
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peejayand33 · 2 years
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Emmett Till mother had her son casket open to show what society did to her son.
Maybe this needs to happen again to show what society & their voting choices did to these kids.
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txttletale · 1 year
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what does it mean when people say stuff like individual morality or action is incompatible with class analysis or class struggle?
alright so like one of the key ideas about class analysis is the idea that classes (as a whole) have economic interests that affect all their members but don't extrapolate out to an individual analysis.
for example, let's say that you can't find a job, and somebody offers to pay you below the table for below minimum wage. it's in your individual interest to do this--it beats having no job! but as a member of the working class, once this practice becomes normalized, suddenly the standards of pay for everyone are lower because people know that they can just pay less than minimum wage under the table. competition between workers for jobs drives wages down for everyone, leaving them all in a worse situation overall even if each individual choice to scab, to accept lower pay, to resist unionization, etc, leaves the person who makes it better off. cf. karl marx on what happens when wages and working conditions deteriorate:
The labourer seeks to maintain the total of his wages for a given time by performing more labour, either by working a great number of hours, or by accomplishing more in the same number of hours. Thus, urged on by want, he himself multiplies the disastrous effects of division of labour. The result is: the more he works, the less wages he receives. And for this simple reason: the more he works, the more he competes against his fellow workmen, the more he compels them to compete against him, and to offer themselves on the same wretched conditions as he does; so that, in the last analysis, he competes against himself as a member of the working class.
— Karl Marx, Wage Labour & Capital
similarly, any individual member of the working class is completely dispensable and replaceable by capital. if one person refuses to work unless they're paid a higher wage, they'll be fired and replaced with somebody who doesn't. the individual worker has no economic leverage whatsoever. but the working class has incredible economic leverage! and so does the intermediate stage between the working class and the individual--organized segments of the working class (e.g. trade unions) have economic leverage. if one person strikes, the capitalist can fire them. if 40,000 people strike, your industry is going to shut down.
so the reason why class analysis is compatible with individual action is that your incentives measurably change when you start organizing--it's in the interests of the individual to compete, but in the interests of the class to cooperate. and obviously you cannot just expect everyone to spontaneously coordinate! you, the individual, are disposable to capital! if you, personally, refuse to take the under-the-table offer, either on moral grounds or because you recognize your class interest, your neighbour's going to take it--unless you and her get together and agree that neither of you will take it. that's the only way that the guy making the offer is going to have to give in and offer the job for a living wage.
and this is what organization is--trade unions (although they have severe limitations!), communist parties, and other worker's organizations allow the working class to pursue their collective interest--which can only be pursued by collective action, because engaging in the strategies of collective action as an individual, without the cooperation of your peers, is high risk for no reward.
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toadundercoldstone · 1 year
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Despite living in England, I have been incredibly invested in the Scottish Gender Recognition Reform Bill for the past few months because to me, it represented UK politics moving forward from the time of medical diagnosis of dysphoria, 10 year waiting lists and the like.
I thought that considering that the bill passed in Scotland with a solid majority, and they had taken steps to make it as difficult as possible for the uk to intervene without causing issues, that we were smooth sailing and we were finally seeing some progress on terf island.
I even foolishly allowed myself to believe that the rest if the UK would follow along eventually, and that it marked the beginning of self-reporting your gender without medical intervention - as it is in many other countries.
Section 35 (follow the link below for a better explanation) is part of the Scotland Act 1998 that allows the scottish secretary by power of the UK government to veto any bill within four weeks of its passing if there are reasonable grounds to believe either:
The bill is incompatible with the UK’s international obligations or jeopardises national defence.
The bill has adverse effects on policy areas that are the responsibility of the UK government.
IT HAS NEVER BEEN USED UNTIL TODAY
Parliament is claiming that the scottish bill has “passed the adverse effects test” and has used section 35 to stop it from coming into effect, continuing to place the lives of trans people in danger and furthering tensions surrounding Scottish independence, making claims about “same sex schools” and “sex equality”.
FM Nicola Sturgeon has called it a blatant attack on scottish independence and has promised to fight against this situation. She has also accused the UK government of using trans people as a weapon in the debate of scottish independence, and I am inclined to agree with her.
As angry and disappointed as I am, I wish I could say I was surprised. terf island continues to terf and trans people continue to die as sufferers of violent crime, economic disparity and suicide. Spread love, check in with your friends, fight your battles until we don’t have to anymore.
I love all you trans people in scotland and the uk and the world and I wish you the best <3
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gxlden-angels · 8 months
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As you all know, I was raised in one of those wack ass "non-denominational" pentecostal churches. I was always taught anyone not pentecostal/baptist/methodist or within that realm weren't actually christians. Essentially, if your group had a Name™️ like Mormons, JWs, Catholics, etc. then u were that group, not "[That Group] Christians"
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tomorrowusa · 27 days
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Exactly what language is Trump speaking? Professional translators are often baffled. But we do hear echoes of 1930s Germany in his diminishing attempts at communication.
Trump echoes Nazi propaganda and pushes lie that ‘no one speaks languages’ of migrants in wild border speech
This vid includes Trump's pseudo-English at Eagle Pass.
youtube
If you're an English teacher, get your students to attempt to transcribe some of Trump's attempts at human speech.
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spr0utsies · 19 days
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"dont vote for the fascist" the red one or the blue one?
the one that wants to completely overturn the democratic system idk. think with your fucking brain lol this is not the “gotcha” you think it is. i fucking hate joe biden but i also don’t want republicans to start project 2025 and make my existence illegal 👍
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double-gs · 2 months
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I need to know something if you're from the UK
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philosophybits · 7 months
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In so far as it is an institution intended to achieve, for the benefit of the greatest number, the social reforms to which landed suffrage is opposed, universal suffrage is powerless; especially if it pretends to legislate or govern directly. For, until the social reforms are accomplished, the greatest number is of necessity the least enlightened, and consequently the least capable of understanding and effecting reforms.
Pierre-Joseph Proudhon, What is Property?
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mylionheart2 · 1 year
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"All too often, the most corrupt and powerful people grow so accustomed to life with impunity that standard accountability feels to them like unjust persecution."  — Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez
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reasonsforhope · 1 year
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"New Mexico Democratic Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham signed a bill into law Friday that prohibits sentencing juvenile offenders to life in prison without eligibility for parole.
Under SB64, the No Life Sentences for Juveniles Act, offenders who committed crimes when they were younger than 18 and received life sentences will be eligible for parole hearings 15 to 25 years into their sentences, depending on the conviction, according to the state’s legislative website.
The legislation also applies to juveniles who were found guilty of first-degree murder even if they were tried as adults. If any juvenile offender is denied parole, they will “be entitled to a parole hearing at two-year intervals,” according to the bill.
New Mexico joins a slew of states that have enacted similar sentencing measures following a 2021 Supreme Court ruling that made it easier for those who committed their crimes when they were younger than 18 to be sentenced to prison for life without parole.
“When children commit serious crimes, they should be held accountable, but they should not spend their entire lives in prison without a chance for redemption,” said Democratic state Sen. Kristina Ortez, one of the bill’s sponsors, in a Facebook post...
The legislation passed the state Senate in late February with bipartisan support, and passed in the House earlier this week along party lines.
Illinois also passed a bill last month banning juvenile life sentences without parole. At least 24 other states and Washington, DC, have similar laws, according to the Campaign for the Fair Sentencing of Youth, a nonprofit advocacy organization."
-via CNN, 3/18/23
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anotherpapercut · 4 months
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I love how every election season establishment dems just like scream "VOTE" over and over again without ever presenting a plan for how they'll actually fix anything once we've voted for them or even bothering to do anything at all ever to protect voting rights???? like saying "vote" isn't super helpful when people are not being ALLOWED to vote
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sordidamok · 1 day
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Nine people with no accountability *probably* won't finish the job of taking reproductive rights away from all women in USA.
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zahri-melitor · 3 months
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I know this categorisation is all over the place but I’m cackling that I’ve apparently read the same number of comics where Jason appears as Red Hood as I have comics containing Stacy from the GCPD, Dylan Battles (I love you Dylan), Ramsey Robinson (really hitting the Manhunter list here), and the Christopher Smith Peacemaker (aka the one from Blue Beetle).
Similar numbers of civilian appearances from Damian too.
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