End Mass Criminalization of Black and Brown Youth (89)
'Same Story Every Time': Baltimore Solidarity Actions Sweep U.S.
Written by Deidre Fulton | Common Dreams
Thousands marched—mostly peacefully—in cities including Boston, New York, and Washington, D.C.
Tensions Boil Over After Baltimore Police Call Protesters 'Lynch Mob'
Written by Lauren McCauley | Common Dreams
Demonstrators still seeking answers over the mysterious and troubling death of Freddie Gray, who died of a spinal injury while in the custody of the Baltimore Police Department, circled City Hall on Thursday after Maryland Governor Larry Hogan announced that he had called in state troopers to help quell the protests.
Seizing on Latest Police Killing, National Protests Declare: 'This Must Stop!'
Written by Lauren McCauley | Common Dreams
Seizing on the growing backlash against police brutalization and discriminatory mass incarceration, people across the country on Tuesday took to the streets. With mass demonstrations, sit-ins, and blockades, protesters in 30 cities demanded an end to "business as usual" within the U.S. criminal justice system.
How our police became soldiers (and how we can change them back)
Written by Lael Henterly | The Seattle Globalist
Back in June, Seattle resident Oscar Perez Giron committed the most minor of crimes, and ended up dead.
When fare enforcement officers approached 23-year-old Giron and his two companions on the light rail and asked for proof of fare payment, they could only produce two valid ticket stubs.
‘It’s Racist As Hell': Inside St. Louis County’s Predatory Night Courts
Written by Erica Hellerstein | ThinkProgress
In 2004, Sean Bailey recalls, he was driving through the streets of St. Louis County en route to a party, when he saw a familiar black-and-white car out of the corner of his eye. He reached for his phone to warn the friend he was following to slow down, but it was too late; the cop blared his siren and pulled up behind him. Bailey, who had a warrant stemming from a failure to appear in court for unpaid traffic tickets, felt a familiar pang of anxiety. He knew exactly what was going to happen next.
Guilty of Being Poor
Written by Karen Dolan | Institute for Policy Studies
When a community issues arrest warrants for more offenses than it has residents, something's deeply wrong.
Nearly 200 Groups Urge President Obama to Take Executive Action Adopting Fair-Chance Hiring Reforms for People with Records
Written by Mitchell Hirsch | NELP
In a letter to be presented to the White House today, nearly 200 civil rights, faith-based organizing, criminal justice, and social justice reform groups are calling on President Obama to take immediate executive action to ensure that federal agencies and contractors remove unnecessary barriers to employment for qualified job candidates who have an arrest or conviction in their past.
From Crispus Attucks to Michael Brown: Race and Revolution
Written by Amy Goodman | Common Dreams
March 5 marks an important but oft-overlooked anniversary. On a winter’s day 245 years ago, in the year 1770, an angry crowd formed in Boston, then the capital of the Province of Massachusetts Bay. People were enraged by the extortionate taxes imposed by the British Parliament. In order to quell the public furor, the British sent troops, who violently quashed dissent.
We're marching in Selma next week so that one day, every kid can wear a hoodie and not get shot
Written by Andrea Miller
It was exactly three years ago today that Trayvon Martin made the fatal mistake of putting on his hoodie and walking to a Florida convenience store at dusk for a cold drink and a pack of Skittles.
Pot State US Congressmen Introduce Federal Marijuana Legalization Bills
Written by Phillip Smith | AlterNet
Marijuana is already legal in four states and DC, and 23 states have medical marijuana. Now, a pair of federal legalization bills are in the hopper. Two congressmen from two states where marijuana is already legal under state law today filed two separate bills to legalize marijuana at the federal level. Rep. Jared Polis (D-CO) introduced a bill that would allow states to legalize marijuana without fear of federal intervention, while Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-OR) introduced a bill that would tax marijuana at the federal level, in addition to any state taxes. The bills were not yet available on congressional web sites as of this afternoon.
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Black in Alabama: Life in Prison for 2.5 Pounds of Marijuana
Written by Phillip Smith | AlterNet
A sentence handed down this week in Dothan, Alabama, raises questions about fairness and justice. And race. A Cowarts, Alabama, man was sentenced this week to life in prison—for being caught with 2 ½ pounds of pot. And yes, he is black.
Black Girls Matter: Pushed Out, Overpoliced, and Underprotected
Written by AAFP
Girls of color face much harsher school discipline than their white peers but are excluded from current efforts to address the school-to-prison pipeline, according to a new report issued today by the African American Policy Forum and Columbia Law School’s Center for Intersectionality and Social Policy Studies.
Rep. Rodney Moore to propose Probation of Discrimination Bill
Written by Kendrea Mekkah | In These Streets
NC State Representative Rodney Moore (99th district), plans to introduce the Probation of Discrimination Bill “mid-February.” The name of the bill reflects the intent to go beyond racial profiling to address “discriminatory profiling in general” say Rep Moore.
NYPD Officer Indicted In Death Of Akai Gurley, According To Reports
Written by Christopher Mathias | The Huffington Post
A New York City police officer has been indicted in the shooting death of 28-year-old Akai Gurley, law enforcement sources told both NY1 and The New York Daily News on Tuesday.
Latest Expand and Protect Social Security News
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Screwing With and Screwing the Elderly and Disabled
Social Security checks to rise just 0.3% in 2017
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Seizing on Popular Support, Dems Unite on Expanding Social Security
'A few years ago, expanding Social Security was considered a radical idea. Now, it's the official position of the Democratic Party'
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Clinton and Sanders Debate How Much to Expand Social Security
Last night on the debate stage, Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton, the two candidates vying for the Democratic nomination for…
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The Damned Lies: Attacking the Trust in America's Retirement System
Ever wonder why you hear Republicans and the Right-wing media constantly saying that Social Security is going bankrupt? This drumbeat…
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Elizabeth Warren Wants To Make Up Missing Social Security Increase
Elizabeth Warren would like to send every senior citizen and disabled veteran in America a check for $580.
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Democrats win as Social Security cuts removed from Senate highway bill
Two provisions to cut Social Security benefits in the proposed highway bill caused Democrats in both the Senate and House…
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Strengthen, Expand Social Security
As boxes of petitions signed by 2 million Americans were hauled to the Capitol on Thursday, Sen. Bernie Sanders introduced…
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The Real Social Security Crisis Is Income Inequality
Sen. Bernie Sanders (D-Vt.) has called out his Senate Republican colleagues for “creating a phony crisis” with regard to Social…
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Why Is No One Talking About the GOP’s Plan to Send Millions of Disabled Americans Into Poverty?
Despite their virtues, many conservative Republicans have an unfortunate habit of picking on the weak and disadvantaged, slandering the people…
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GOP Assault on Social Security Could be 'Death Sentence' for Nation's Disabled
Republican opposition to a plan that would shore up a critical government safety-net program amounts to a new front in…
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House rule sets up election-year battle over Social Security
Buried in new rules that will govern the House for the next two years is a provision that could force…
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'Hostage-Takers': Republicans Go After Social Security on Very First Day
Advocacy groups vow to fight back against what they believe is a preliminary "stealth attack" that portends a wider assault…
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5 Most Economically Vulnerable Groups of Aging Americans Who Need Social Security
(Editor’s note: The following is an excerpt from a new book, “Social Security Works! Why Social Security…
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5 Most Economically Vulnerable Groups of Aging Americans Who Need Social Security
(Editor’s note: The following is an excerpt from a new book, “Social Security Works! Why Social Security…
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New Polling Shows Overwhelming Support for Adding a Caregiver Credit to Social Security
Poll shows that 68% of Americans favor counting caregiving for small children, chronically disabled relatives, and aging family members towards…
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Latest News
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Trump administration's voter suppression attempts ahead of midterms are not only 'morally wrong,' they're illegal +
Imagine going to the polls on Election Day and discovering that your ballot could be collected and reviewed by the… Read More
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ACLU Blueprints Offer Vision to Cut US Incarceration Rate in Half by Prioritizing 'People Over Prisons' +
ACLU Blueprints Offer Vision to Cut US Incarceration Rate in Half by Prioritizing 'People Over Prisons' Read More
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As Florence Makes Landfall, Poorest Once More Likely to Suffer Most From Storm's Destruction +
"These disasters drag into the light exactly who is already being thrown away," notes Naomi Klein Read More
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How about some good news? Kansas Democratic Representative advances bill for Native Peoples. +
How about some good news? Kansas Democratic Representative advances bill for Native Peoples. Read More
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How One Dying Man Changed The Debate About The Tax Bill +
What mattered was that he showed up — that he put himself in front of the people whose opinions on… Read More
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Democrats Just Won a Major Victory in Virginia +
On a night of Democratic victories, one of the most significant wins came in Virginia, where the party held onto… Read More
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Repealing the Jim Crow law that keeps 1.5 million Floridians from voting. +
A seismic political battle that could send shockwaves all the way to the White House was launched last week in… Read More
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Nuclear Weapons: Who Pays, Who Profits? +
In an interview with Reuters conducted a month after he took office, Donald Trump asserted that the U.S. had “fallen… Read More
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Sessions issues sweeping new criminal charging policy +
Attorney General Jeff Sessions overturned the sweeping criminal charging policy of former attorney general Eric H. Holder Jr. and directed… Read More
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Featured Social Security News
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Screwing With and Screwing the Elderly and Disabled +
Social Security checks to rise just 0.3% in 2017 Read More
-
The Damned Lies: Attacking the Trust in America's Retirement System +
Ever wonder why you hear Republicans and the Right-wing media constantly saying that Social Security is going bankrupt? This drumbeat… Read More
-
Elizabeth Warren Wants To Make Up Missing Social Security Increase +
Elizabeth Warren would like to send every senior citizen and disabled veteran in America a check for $580. Read More
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Why Is No One Talking About the GOP’s Plan to Send Millions of Disabled Americans Into Poverty? +
Despite their virtues, many conservative Republicans have an unfortunate habit of picking on the weak and disadvantaged, slandering the people… Read More
-
GOP Assault on Social Security Could be 'Death Sentence' for Nation's Disabled +
Republican opposition to a plan that would shore up a critical government safety-net program amounts to a new front in… Read More
-
'Hostage-Takers': Republicans Go After Social Security on Very First Day +
Advocacy groups vow to fight back against what they believe is a preliminary "stealth attack" that portends a wider assault… Read More
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Fight for Big Ideas: Expand Social Security +
Why did Democrats lose on election night? Because not enough of them were fighting for big ideas. As Sen. Bernie… Read More
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Almost Every Slice of American Society Wants To Strengthen Social Security Except Washington Insiders +
Most Americans want better benefits, and they agree on how to pay for them. As strengthening Social Security becomes a… Read More
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