August 25, 2015

Despite strict voter ID laws, Alabama is in the process of closing 45 of 49 driver's license offices

If you're going to need a driver's license in Alabama, you're most likely going to have to figure out a way to get to one of only four driver's licenses offices in the entire state:

The Alabama Law Enforcement Agency said budget cuts will result in closing driver's license offices across the state.

The agency said the cut will be in phases, with 33 offices closed during the first wave.

In January 2016, a further 12 offices will close. By March, all but four offices in the entire state will shut their doors.

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more at link: http://www.dailykos.com/story/2015/08/25/1415384/-Despite-strict-voter-ID-laws-Alabama-is-in-the-process-of-closing-45-of-49-driver-s-license-offices?detail=facebook

August 25, 2015

Cornel West endorses 'brother' Bernie Sanders

*(I searched and didn't see this posted yet)*

Washington (CNN)Civil rights activist and philosopher Cornel West on Monday endorsed Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders for president.

"I endorse Brother @BernieSanders because he is a long-distance runner with integrity in the struggle for justice for over 50 years," West tweeted late Monday night.

West went on to say that it's time for Sanders' "prophetic voice to be heard across our crisis-ridden country."

While West has been a long time supporter of Sanders (and "not a Hillary Clinton fan at all&quot , the endorsement comes weeks after Black Lives Matter activists disrupted a Sanders event in Seattle, taking the podium from the self proclaimed socialist who is seeking the Democratic Party's presidential nomination. West has frequently linked arms with Black Lives Matter activists and has been arrested with them during various protests.
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more at link: http://www.cnn.com/2015/08/25/politics/cornel-west-endorses-bernie-sanders/index.html

August 25, 2015

Boston Globe Pledges Columnist Will Stop Writing About Telecom Issues After Conflict Of Interest Cri

Boston Globe Pledges Columnist Will Stop Writing About Telecom Issues After Conflict Of Interest Criticism

The Boston Globe says columnist John E. Sununu will no longer write about cable and Internet issues because of his financial conflict of interest. Media Matters criticized the paper after it allowed the former Republican senator to complain about the "unnecessary regulation of the internet" without disclosing he has been paid over $750,000 by broadband interests.

In an August 17 column, Sununu attacked the Obama administration for reaching "ever deeper into the economy, pursuing expensive and unnecessary regulation of the internet, carbon emissions, and even car loans." Sununu serves on the board of directors for Time Warner Cable, and is a paid "honorary co-chair" for Broadband for America, which has been supported by broadband providers and the National Cable & Telecommunications Association.

Dan Kennedy, an associate professor of journalism at Northeastern University, wrote that Globe Editorial Page Editor Ellen Clegg stated "Sununu has told me he will avoid writing about issues pertaining to cable and internet access because of his seat on the Time Warner Cable board." Clegg reaffirmed that the Globe is "posting bios for our regular freelance op-ed columnists online and linking those bios to their bylines" to provide "more transparency."

She added in her email to Kennedy that Sununu "has also assured me that he will disclose his support of GOP presidential candidate John Kasich in the text of any columns he writes about presidential politics (he is chair of his campaign in New Hampshire.)" Sununu devoted his June 22 column to Donald Trump, writing that he's "running a race where both the chance of winning and the risk of losing are zero." The piece did not note Sununu's ties to Kasich.

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more at link: http://mediamatters.org/blog/2015/08/25/boston-globe-pledges-columnist-will-stop-writin/205138

August 11, 2015

Larry Lessig Believes Democracy Is Screwed. So He's Running For President To Save It.

Source: Huffington Post

WASHINGTON -- Larry Lessig, a well-known legal theorist and political activist, is taking the plunge into electoral politics, announcing on Tuesday that he will formally explore a run for the presidency in 2016 as a Democrat.

Lessig, a Harvard law professor, will be a distinctly unconventional White House aspirant. In an interview, he said he will run on a singular platform: the Citizen Equality Act, which includes campaign finance reform, an end to partisan gerrymandering, and a vast expansion of voting access that would make Election Day a national holiday. Should he win and lead the passage of that agenda, Lessig said he'll promptly quit, handing the office to his vice president, whoever that may be.

“This is not a 'Rent Is Too Damn High' campaign,” Lessig said, referencing the infamous 2010 gubernatorial run of Jimmy McMillan in New York. “This is a campaign about how we need to intervene to make democracy possible again. Raising the salience of that issue is enormously important. I think there is more of a chance that we do more than just raise the salience. ... It is a shot worth taking regardless of the criticism that will come.”

Individuals have run for the White House before with the aim of spotlighting an issue more than occupying an office. Lessig is of that vein, having warned about the pernicious influence of money in politics for years now. It's almost fantastical to imagine the swift series of successes that would result in him challenging William Henry Harrison, who died after 32 days in office, for the shortest presidency.

Read more: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/larry-lessig-2016_55c93a18e4b0f1cbf1e61b66?kvcommref=mostpopular

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More at link, including video. More people panicking as Bernie continues to steamroll, I suppose. Bernie light.