Scientists offer optimism: data on California's generation of renewable electricity points to a clean energy future for the state. When the California Independent System Operator (Cal ISO) – the state’s non-profit overseer-operator of the Golden State’s bulk electric power system, transmission lines and electricity markets – posted data on its website April 9 showing that the … Continue reading We Can Win the War on Climate Change. Just Ask California.
We don’t have to wait until 2020 to start organizing in Wisconsin. Tomorrow, Wisconsinites will choose between Lisa Neubauer and Brian Hagedorn for a seat on the state Supreme Court--and the outcome could foreshadow whether Wisconsin flips in 2020. The seat is currently held by Shirley Abrahamson, a left-leaning judge who is retiring after a … Continue reading Critical Wisconsin State Supreme Court Election Tuesday 4/2
While America was so wrapped up in the injustice of Attorney General Barr hiding the Mueller report, Antwon Rose's mom faced true injustice and despair: she watched her son's murderer - Michael Rosenfeld - go free. Yet again, institutional power eclipsed justice for a black family, and the media barely paid any attention - while … Continue reading To Protect and Serve? Reflecting on Antwon Rose.
My biggest memory of the night of the election of 2016: my husband is in bed asleep and I am in the living room watching anything but election coverage while checking the polls here and there. My son walks out of his bedroom and says "Mom, this can't be right, they are saying he won", … Continue reading We Are All in This Together!
Elijah Cummings was right. We desperately need a return to normalcy. But, how do we do that? What is our role as American citizens? The Trump presidency has awoken us to the fragility of our democracy, but the crisis didn’t start with him – it culminated in him. Simply removing Trump from office may remove … Continue reading A Return to Normalcy Depends On We The People
For the second time this week, the leader of the Republican majority in the Senate, Mitch McConnell, blocked the resolution which called for the publication of the Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s report on Russia's intervention in the 2016 presidential election. As of now, all we know about the content of the report is what’s in … Continue reading What do the results of the Mueller investigation mean?
The proposed bill to support Dreamers ignores young adults who entered the US legally as children, but are now 'aging out' or finishing college. Talk about a Catch 22. If you’re among the more than two million young adults living in America who were illegally brought into America as children and qualified for President Obama’s … Continue reading The Proposed ‘Dream & Promise Act’ is a Nightmare for Some
Download | iTunes | Spotify Kelly talks to Marc Friedenberg, a Penn State professor, lawyer, father, and Democratic nominee for the special election for US Congress in the Pennsylvania 12th District. This election, on May 21. is the first chance for Democrats to flip a Congressional seat in 2019.
He didn’t pull the trigger. He won’t be held criminally liable. And he can’t be sued. But make no mistake, Donald Trump bears responsibility for the act of white supremacist terrorism that recently took the lives of 50 Muslims in Christchurch, New Zealand. I’m not saying it was only him. There have been plenty of other aggressors over … Continue reading Yes, Donald Trump Is Responsible for Christchurch
There's a new term that you need to be familiar with: Identitarian and Identitarianism. It's the new hood for white supremacists and the new tiki torch for white nationalists. Same coin different sides, and once again, the same old tired playbook: Fly under the radar and be anonymous and secretive in their organizing and radicalization … Continue reading Identitarianism in America
We have a wealth of riches today in the Democratic party. In terms of candidates, we are in double digits and still counting. (Biden?) There are some who lament that there are simply too many candidates and our energies will be scattered. Others are looking forward to a lively debate where candidates will be tested … Continue reading “Who Gets My Money?” A Small Donor’s Dilemma
In response to this op-ed in the Johnson City Press asserting he's been inconsistent in his rebuke of presidential overreach, Congressman Phil Roe decided to double down on his support of the national emergency and "the wall." In doing so, he backed his argument with highly misleading half-truths and flat-out lies. First, he claimed that … Continue reading Rep. Phil Roe is Using Lies to Back Trump’s ‘Emergency’ – and Needs to Own It
In light of the excruciatingly lenient sentence that Paul Manafort received, it's important that we look at our broken justice system that methodically and consistently finds white collar crime socially acceptable, and street crime a bane on our society. White collar crimes were first coined by sociologist Edwin Sutherland in 1939, as " a crime … Continue reading The ‘OK’ Criminal: White Collar Crime Stats That Will Surprise You
This piece was originally published in The Integrity Initiative New York criminal lawyer Arkady Bukh is known far beyond the United States. In the last decade, he has defended many Russian hackers who had been extradited to the United States. Among his clients were: Vladislav Khorokhorin, whom the US authorities called one of the most … Continue reading How Russian Hackers Work with Russian Intelligence
Reflections on Apollo 11: seeing a movie, and seeing what goes unseen, unspoken & unnoticed. Last weekend, we splurged on two IMAX tickets to view a gem of film history: Apollo 11, the documentary movie created from recently rediscovered National Aeronautics and Space Administration footage as a celebration of America’s extraordinary 1969 moon landing – … Continue reading History Looks Different Through a Woman’s Eyes
Yep. It's true. But why would information on the President's daughter and her business dealings be included in a House document request to the founder of Blackwater? I have thoughts. Read on. Background: Erik Prince and FSG (Frontier Services Group) Former Navy SEAL and founder of the now nonexistent private security company Blackwater, who held … Continue reading Ivanka Trump Named in House Document Request to Erik Prince’s Company Re: Emoluments
This article was originally posted in EU Today. Just recently, the Russian state channel Russia-1 listed US military facilities that would become possible Kremlin targets in the event of a nuclear strike. In particular, the TV host Dmitry Kiselev threatened to aim the Zircon hypersonic missiles at the Pentagon and several command posts, including the control … Continue reading Moscow is Engaging in Nuclear Blackmail. Who is the Intended Target?
As we all know. This week sets a rapid-fire succession of 3 back to back congressional hearings (one public, and 2 private), for Michael Cohen. So ladies and gents of the Twitter-verse, I dare to enlighten all of you, as we revel in what we learned in one of the most historic congressional hearings, we … Continue reading #RepCummings4TheWin: Cohen’s Testimony Before the Blue House:
And according to experts, electing women doesn't just feel better: it delivers better results for constituents and community. On two consecutive weekends in February, two of my representatives – one, a 31-year-old newly-elected member of the U.S. House of Representatives from California’s 25th House district, the other, a 40-something newly-elected member of the California Assembly from … Continue reading Meetings are Different When Your Congressman is a Woman
While much has been made of last week’s video depicting Green New Deal activists’ contentious visit with Senator Dianne Feinstein, in my opinion the most important video about climate last week came from the head of a union talking about immediate impact on workers. As the author of a DNC #GreenNewDeal & fossil fuel ban … Continue reading With Humanity On the Line, We Must Take Urgent Action Together On Climate
Download | iTunes | Spotify Sophy and Kelly chat with Juanita Charles, a Democratic veteran, business owner, wife, and mother, who is running for State Senate in Tennessee District 22 in the special election on April 23, 2019.
Download | iTunes | Spotify Kelly talks to three aldermanic candidates in the Chicago municipal election on Tuesday, February 26: Maria Hadden in the 49th Ward (00:26-16:59); Eileen Dordek in the 47th Ward (17:06-34:28); and Colin Bird-Martinez in the 31st Ward (34:35-50:12).
Ever since Brexit and Trump’s victory, the media has become flooded with stories about populism, even regarding opinions on whether support for populism is increasing or stalled in European elections. Shortly afterwards, the media started focusing on apparent problems with electoral integrity. You probably remember when Trump claimed, repeatedly, that millions of votes were fraudulently … Continue reading How Populism Threatens Electoral Integrity
The grassroots wonders if Joe Biden is a candidate for President in 2020. All indications point to it, and yet the tease continues – “Will I, or won’t I?”
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.
