This piece was originally published in Euromaidan Press American Paul Whelan was arrested on 28 December in Moscow and accused of espionage. What stands out in his case is not that he is extremely unlikely to be a spy – Moscow’s hostage-taking is well known. Whelan can be viewed as what the Russian intelligence calls … Continue reading The Hard Fate of Foreign Russia-Lovers
Download | iTunes | Spotify Kelly talks to Liuba Grechen Shirley, Founder & CEO of the Vote Mama PAC, the first PAC focused solely on electing moms. They discuss Liuba's run for Congress, the challenges she faced in running as the mother of two young children, and Vote Mama's plans to mentor and support Democratic mothers as they run … Continue reading PODCAST: Vote Mama with Liuba Grechen Shirley (Two Broads Talking Politics, Episode 184)
Friday, we saw our president appear on national television and declare a state of emergency for an artificial border crisis. At the same time, he admitted himself that not only was it unnecessary, but that he knew it was an abuse of his power as he asked the supreme court to support his decision anyway. … Continue reading On National Emergencies and Abuse of Power
Calling for impeachment hearings now is certainly warranted, but is not politically strategic, which is why Democratic leaders aren't doing it. Yet. By Matt Scharfstein & Nick Knudsen Donald Trump’s declaration of a national emergency on our border has prompted fresh calls for his removal from office. Rightfully so: the American people and their representatives … Continue reading How to Remove a Lawless President Through the Use of Institutional Power
The New Year has begun and, with that, a new Congress has been elected. Politically, the pendulum will swing to the left and to the right over and over again. While there is really no tri-fold brochure on how to politically navigate 2019, I will do my best to dispel a few myths that, if … Continue reading Common Myths: Watching for Blind Spots in 2019 & 2020
Every single day, we underappreciate the technology around us, yet we consume it without even batting an eyelash. From our iPhones to our laptops, to the gear shifts in cars and light bulbs. A typical day without the inventions from under-credited African Americans would leave many of us in the dark...literally. It should be quite … Continue reading Black History Month: Unsung Heroes & Their Inventions You Can’t Live Without
Millions have awakened to activism in these times. What is everyone else waiting for? Our adaptability to unjust conditions is simultaneously a sad commentary and a testament to human resilience. Photo by Ehimetalor Unuabona on Unsplash Growth is usually incremental, hard to discern, and easy to overlook. There are times, however, that are fueled with the kinetic energy … Continue reading Everything You Want Is On The Other Side Of Apathy
Download | iTunes | Spotify Kelly chats with Tina Belge, Democratic nominee for South Carolina Senate District 6, which has a special election on March 26, 2019.
Ahead of Hillary Clinton, we had Shirley Chisholm trailblazing her way through Congress. So why don't more people know about her or commemorate her importance to the Democratic party and women in politics? Those of us who happen to be blessed enough to know Shirley Chisholm's role in American history, she is an icon and … Continue reading Unbought and Unbossed: Long Before Hillary, There was Shirley Chisholm
Climate change is real and caused by human activities. Not only do 97% (or more) climate scientists agree, but even 62% of the American public agreed in a December 2018 survey, an increase of 10 points since March 2015. The UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report released in October 2018 warn that we … Continue reading Resist Climate Change: Join #MeatlessMonday
Democrats picked up more than 40 seats in the House, we only needed 23 to gain control of the chamber; While some of you might not remember that night, with all the news cycles since then. I remember it vividly. Democrats defended, fought and won in 10 seats that the President had favor in, 2 … Continue reading Apparently Howard Schultz Was Asleep During the Midterms!
This piece was originally published in The Integrity Initiative Russia uses many techniques in what is often now called “hybrid war”. They include subversive disinformation operations aimed at weakening Western countries and destroying trust in democratic institutions, as well as the direct lobbying of Russia’s interests through various unofficial channels of influence. Elements of this … Continue reading The Kremlin’s Use of Amateur Agents
While America fixates on the multi-car pileup that is the Trump Regime, it helps to see women making progress somewhere. I’ve just published a book – Ms. Nice Guy Lost – Here’s How Women Can Win – which chronicles the many ways in which Donald Trump and the GOP have rolled back rights and opportunities for … Continue reading US Women Could Use Some Good News. Here’s Some!
Saturday morning in Los Angeles possessed a quiet that belied the bustling streets and freeways so commonly associated with this sprawling western city. The January air was crisp. It wasn’t that long ago a blanket of smog hung each morning until the hot Southland sun burned it away. But on this morning, even the dimmed … Continue reading The Peaceful Weapons of Revolution: Takeaways from the 2019 Los Angeles Women’s March
"The Trump Effect" is the blow to the American attention span propagated by daily scandalous activities from the Trump Administration, which the media fall for every time - causing them to forego headlines about the REAL stories ... Trump's ties to Russia, how Putin interfered in our 2016 elections, and all of Trump's, his business', … Continue reading Battling Against “The Trump Effect”
When women march, we make our concerns visible, and for the past two years, the national Women’s March has provided an outlet to do that. But in 2019, Portland is doing something different. We didn’t march the weekend of Jan.19-20; we’re marching on March 3, 2019. Why the change in Portland? For one, the National … Continue reading Why Portland Rescheduled & Re-Envisioned its Womxn’s March
This shutdown needs to end, and the citizenry needs to apply pressure en masse to force the hands of Trump & McConnell. But what kind of pressure? Marches and large-scale demonstrations make a statement about the passion and size of the Resistance, but the movement doesn’t need to simply make a statement right now. It … Continue reading It’s Time for an Economic Walkout
This piece was originally published in The Integrity Initiative The Russian-speaking diaspora abroad is quite numerous in many Western countries and is made up of many different waves of emigration – from descendants of White Russian émigrés to those who are arriving today. However, all these waves are characterized by a fairly high level of … Continue reading How Does the Kremlin Influence Russians Living Abroad?
Donnie loves the little children. All the children of the world. Red, brown, yellow; black and white. They are precious in his sight. Early in his presidency, some had hope. Donald Trump was incensed that Bashar al-Assad launched a chemical attack on his people, violating international law and killing civilians. “[E]ven beautiful babies were cruelly murdered in … Continue reading Trump’s War On Children
As the government shutdown drags on, more evidence emerges that President Trump’s inner circle indeed collaborated with Russians, and attacks on our institutions and media have become commonplace - it’s no question democracy is being tested. The midterm elections offered a sigh of relief for many Americans, and a glimmer of hope that Congress will … Continue reading Beware the Pendulum Swinging Too Far Left: It’s What Our Adversaries Want
At an estimated cost of $1.2 Billion per week, the federal government shutdown will have an increasing economic impact as the weeks and months drag on. President Trump has indicated that he will hold the country hostage to get his $5.6 Billion in wall funding for months or even years. In that time frame, the … Continue reading Under the Bus: The Impact Trump’s Shutdown is Having on Families
We have witnessed the dawn of a new era for California elections - one that caused “shocks for California Republicans … watching Democrats flip a whopping seven House districts” in 2018. The most astounding win occurred in California's Congressional District 21 (CA-21) where “weeks after Election Day, absentee and provisional ballots boosted Democrat TJ Cox … Continue reading Pro-Voter Policies Boosted Big Blue Wins in California’s Midterms
What does Trump's "State of Emergency" really mean for America? "A state of emergency is a situation in which a government is empowered to perform actions that it would normally not be permitted. A government can declare such state during a disaster, civil unrest, or armed conflict. Such declaration alerts citizens to change their normal … Continue reading With a “State of Emergency”, Trump is Playing with Fire
This article was originally posted in EU Today. On December 28th of last year, Canadian-American Paul Whelan was detained in Moscow. According to the Russian side, Whelan was detained during the "espionage operation", in connection with which the FSB opened a criminal case against the American under an article "Espionage", which carries a sentence of … Continue reading Paul Whelan Could Not Be a Spy, Say CIA Veterans
Updating constituents about the shutdown, the new House Rep in CA-25 moves quickly to connect and communicate. While most freshman House members stayed in Washington, D.C. for additional orientation and education sessions last weekend, CA-25’s newly-inaugurated Rep. Katie Hill caught a red-eye flight back to her Southern California district to brief constituents on the status … Continue reading On Her 4th Day in Office, Katie Hill Flies Home, Hosts a Town Hall
Katie Hill's open communication as Congressmember-elect has CA-25 constituents excited about her first term as their Representative.
Background on the five Dem Committee Chairs who are going to be all up in Trump's business.
It seems prudent to put our current political trajectory into a broader historical context, but how can we do this considering that we are in the midst of such an unusual political atmosphere? Indeed, the 2016 election cycle has demonstrated that we need to revisit our conventional mores and standards for Presidential elections. In anticipating … Continue reading 2020: Using Reagan’s Tactics to Rally the Democratic Base
Two explosive reports detail how Russia interfered in the 2016 presidential election to support Donald Trump.
Keener political hands than mine have noted that election night was cruel for Democrats in the Eastern Time Zone. Especially those of us who’d incautiously raised our hopes a bit high. Here in Ohio,we longed for redemption. In downtown Bowling Green “No Massacre Here,” dozens of volunteers, local committee members, and a few candidates gathered … Continue reading Swing State Saga: How We Fought on the Midterm Battleground
DemLabs' SeeSay experiment showed how we can crowdsource election integrity reporting.
Trump isn’t strong, powerful, or tough — he’s a guy who starts a fight at a club, knowing he rolled in with a security detail.
Comments due 12/17. If Trump succeeds, hundreds of thousands of tons of methane will be released - a gas with 86 times the planet-warming potential of CO2.
Bernie Sanders is going to run. Unfortunately, he has pissed off the largest Democratic demographic...35+ Black Women, and we aren't having it!
The House impeaches, but the Senate convicts & removes a president - requiring a 2/3 majority. Twenty Republicans would have to vote against Trump. Don't hold your breath.
On Thursday of last week, the Frankfurt Police Department raided six of the Bank's offices, after allegations of Russian money laundering, once again came to light.
Download | iTunes | Spotify Sophy and Kelly speak with three women running for Alderman in the Chicago Municipal Election in February 2019: Katie Sieracki in the 33rd Ward (00:28-20:50); Maggie O'Keefe in the 40th Ward (21:05-40:06); and Marianne Lalonde in the 46th Ward (40:22-53:36).
This piece was originally published in The Integrity Initiative There were famous religious dissidents in the former Soviet Union. New Christian opposition organizations have sprung up to continue their legacy, Kseniya Kirillova writes. A new Russian “socio-political club” called The New Orthodoxy was announced in Moscow in October. Its founders assert that the name originates … Continue reading New Dissident Movements in Russia have Christian Roots
The assault on voting rights in Wisconsin has been devastatingly effective. A rundown of what the GOP has done and how to mitigate the damage.
We are enabling our amoral, unboundaried, aspiring dictator of a President as we go about our daily lives, staying inside the lines, refraining from committing civil disobedience.
Download | iTunes | Spotify In the first segment Kelly speaks with former state legislative candidate Brett Pransky and with Sara Ridley from Action Together Lakewood about why the Blue Wave skipped Ohio in 2018 (or whether it really did) and what that means for 2020 (00:30-32:00). In the second segment Kelly chats with digital campaign strategist David Yankovich … Continue reading PODCAST: Lessons for 2020 (Two Broads Talking Politics, Episode 158)
A good Speaker can make all the difference in the US House. Here are some critical variables that factor in to making the right pick.
Comments and actions by Hyde-Smith betray her faulty character and deeply racist attitudes. Mississippi should elect Mike Espy to the Senate on Tuesday.
Kremlin attitudes toward the Trump Administration have been amplified by Russian media.
The cultural gap between urban and rural Oregon is at the heart of political differences in the state, as is the case across the US.
It's time to support Nancy Pelosi - LOUDLY and PROUDLY.
It started slowly, but one week out it's clear: the GOP was swamped in the midterms by a multi-hued Democratic wave.
Call your Senators and Representative and urge them to demand that Acting Attorney General Matt Whitaker recuse himself.
This Veterans Day, let's take a look at the current state of the largest health care system in the United States: The Department of Veteran Affairs.
The magic mix of efficiency, honesty, elder experience & Millennial/Gen Z fervor delivered an inclusive victory in CA-25.
