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Daily Archives: August 2, 2018

What The District?! Explore How Your Voting District Has Evolved

ACLU – “For better or worse, the way Congressional districts are drawn can determine who wins elections, which communities are represented, and what laws are passed. Explore how your own district has changed (sometimes dramatically) over time.”

Most state legislatures have the power to draw new congressional district boundaries. Enter your zip code and you will be provided with the history of the boundaries in your respective district from 1953 to the present. This resource clearly identifies the history of gerrymandering in districts around the country.

Meet the brave men and women standing up for their land and our environment in the face of violence and threats

Global Witness: “The food on our plates, the rings on our fingers and the wooden furniture in our homes: all too often there is a violent reality behind household items we use everyday. As agribusiness booms, tropical forests are logged and mining continues to deliver huge revenue to major global corporations, there are increasingly brutal attacks on land… Continue Reading

Prisons of Poverty: Uncovering the pre-incarceration incomes of the imprisoned

Prison Policy Initiative: Prisons of Poverty: Uncovering the pre-incarceration incomes of the imprisoned – “Correctional experts of all political persuasions have long understood that releasing incarcerated people to the streets without job training, an education, or money is the perfect formula for recidivism and re-incarceration. While the fact that people released from prison have difficulties finding… Continue Reading

Media Lawsuits Seeking Government Records Jump Under Trump

“The number of lawsuits filed by news organizations and reporters to obtain federal government records was up sharply during the first year and a half of the Trump Administration. On an annual basis, news media Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) filings rose above 100 for the first time. This is a dramatic increase compared with… Continue Reading

A Surveillance State Unlike Any the World Has Ever Seen

Spiegel Online: “In western China, Beijing is using the most modern means available to control its Uighur minority. Tens of thousands have disappeared into re-education camps. A journey to an eerily quiet region… Nowhere in the world, not even in North Korea, is the population monitored as strictly as it is in the Xinjiang Uighur… Continue Reading

Trump Moves to Ease Obama Auto-Mileage Rules, California’s Clout

Bloomberg: “The Trump administration, taking aim at one of former President Barack Obama’s signature environmental achievements, is proposing to suspend required increases in vehicle fuel economy after 2020 and unwind California’s authority to limit tailpipe greenhouse gas emissions in the state. The Environmental Protection Agency and National Highway Traffic Safety Administration jointly proposed on Thursday… Continue Reading

Comparing Men and Women in Parliament – data analysis about gender representation

The Pudding – What 1.2 million parliamentary speeches can teach us about gender representation. “100 Years of Women in the House of Commons – This year marks a century since some women in the United Kingdom were awarded the right to vote in and stand for elections. Since then, 490 different women have represented their… Continue Reading

Population in Private Prisons Grew Five Times Faster than Total Prison Population, 2000-2016

“Despite substantial research that challenges the purported cost-saving benefits of private prisons, and the bipartisan consensus on the need to address mass incarceration, from 2000 to 2016 the number of people housed in private prisons increased 47 percent, compared to an overall rise in the prison population of 9 percent, according to a new report… Continue Reading