Winning Progressive

For this weekend’s reading list we have articles on the Obama vs. Romney Supreme Court, True the Vote, rebuilding the middle class, guns and reducing crime in big cities, and dealing with climate change.

An Obama Supreme Court Versus a Romney High Court – a report evaluating the potential impacts of November’s Presidential election on the future of the Supreme Court and the critical economic and social issues that the Court will likely face over the next years and decades.

A Reading Guide to True the Vote - an overview and collection of articles about True the Vote, the right-wing, tea party aligned organization that is promising to have 1 million poll watchers interfering with people’s right to vote this November.

10 Ways to Rebuild the Middle Class For Hardworking Americans – a report on raising the minimum wage, protecting union rights, stopping wage theft, making workplaces family friendly, and other steps that are key to restoring the middle class in the US.

Our Romance With Guns – a review of three books discussing our nation’s obsessions with guns and and the strategies that cities have taken to reduce gun violence.

In a Climate-Crazed World, How Can We Plan for the Future? – an essay about the challenges of taking action today to address future problems, such as climate change, that have uncertain ramifications, timing, etc.

For this weekend’s reading list, we have reports on conservative plans to bully voters on Election Day, the facts on who doesn’t pay federal income taxes and why, how state tax codes can be used to reduce poverty, the Obama Administration’s regulations aimed at greatly reducing sexual assaults in prisons, and increasing segregation in our schools.

Bullies at the Ballot Box - a report on the plans of True the Vote and other right-wing organization to hinder voting by people of color and other Democratic-leaning groups through overly aggressive and unfounded Election Day challenges to the eligibility of voters in Democratic precincts. For more on this voter suppression effort, see this New York Times article.  And to help defend the right to vote, sign up for the Democratic Party’s election protection efforts.

Misconceptions and Realities About Who Pays Taxes - in the aftermath of the revelation of Mitt Romney’s offensive comments about people who owe no federal income taxes, the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities has released a report explaining which groups of people don’t pay federal income taxes and how much in other types of taxes most of those folks do pay.

State Tax Codes as Poverty Fighting Tools - a report documenting how state tax policies, such as the Earned Income Tax Credit and child care tax credits, can be used to help reduce poverty.

Prison Rape: Obama’s Program to Stop It – A review of how we can greatly reduce the 209,000 sexual assaults that occur in US prisons every year, and how the Obama Administration’s recently finalized standards for reducing sexual assaults in prison are expected to be successful.

E Pluribus . . . Segregation: Deepening Double Segregation for More Students – a report on how schools in the US are becoming more racially segregated and how government could take action to reduce such segregation.

For this weekend’s reading list, we have articles on the right wing effort to build an army of poll watchers to try to steal the election this fall; efforts to approve of marriage equality in Maine, Maryland, and Washington; the economic struggle of the middle class, how big corporations are increasingly running state courts, and Paul Ryan’s other radical guru.

How the Right is Building its “Poll Watcher” Network for November - the story of how the right-wing organization True the Vote is working to build an army of “poll watchers” to help suppress voting this November.   To help counteract this effort and make sure that every eligible voters gets to cast their vote this November, please volunteer for the Democratic National Committee’s voter protection effort.

The Future of Marriage Equality – a report on the fight for marriage equality in three states – Maine, Maryland, and Washington – where the issue will be on the ballot this November.  Here are links to support the effort in Maine, Maryland, and Washington.

The Lost Decade of the Middle Class – a comprehensive review of the economic blow that the middle class in America has suffered over the past decade, with stagnant income and declining net worth.  Most Americans accurately identify Congress, banks and  financial institutions, big corporations, and the Bush Administration as the primary culprits in causing this economic decline.

Big Business Taking Over State Supreme Courts - a report on how a tidal wave of money is allowing corporate interests to get an increasingly tight stranglehold on court systems in the 39 states where judges are elected rather than appointed.

Prime Time for Paul Ryan’s Guru (the One Who’s Not Ayn Rand) – a look at the radical views of another person who Paul Ryan identifies as a guru on his economic and budget policies – Friedrich von Hayek.