June, 22 2021, 09:36pm EDT
Senate Republicans Fail to Advance the For the People Act
WASHINGTON
Wade Henderson, interim president and CEO of The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, released the following statement after the Senate failed to garner the votes necessary to overcome a procedural step to advance the For the People Act:
"Senate Republicans have failed the American people by not seizing this opportunity to advance one of the most transformative pieces of legislation we have seen in a generation. The For the People Act would protect the freedom to vote by making sure voting options are equally accessible across all 50 states and all voters can exercise this fundamental right. We must ensure that all of us--no matter our color, zip code, or income--have an equal say in our democracy."
"With nearly 400 anti-voter bills introduced in states across the nation this year alone, and while the assault on our sacred right to vote continues in Republican controlled state legislatures, we will not give up. We will continue to fight for fair and accessible elections to make the promise of democracy a reality for all. The Senate must not let any rule or procedure that stops bills from ever being considered on the floor be a hurdle to shoring our democracy."
The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights is a coalition charged by its diverse membership of more than 200 national organizations to promote and protect the civil and human rights of all persons in the United States. Through advocacy and outreach to targeted constituencies, The Leadership Conference works toward the goal of a more open and just society - an America as good as its ideals.
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Progressives Sound Alarm as Harris Courts Crypto Industry
"Harris' promise to balance the industry's interests with those of consumers is an obvious contradiction," said the executive director of the Revolving Door Project. "Crypto is a haven for businesspeople with nefarious or criminal intent."
Sep 26, 2024
Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris' increasingly open embrace of cryptocurrency during her 2024 bid for the White House has sparked alarm among progressives, who have pointed to the still-nascent industry's pervasive fraud and opposition to regulatory guardrails as all the evidence the vice president should need to end her courtship of the sector.
Semaforreported Thursday that in addition to speaking publicly about "a friendlier approach to cryptocurrency than President Joe Biden," Harris is "dispatching aides to court well-heeled crypto investors and their Democratic allies in Congress."
"Harris debuted her newly crypto-coded message in remarks to Wall Street donors this past weekend," the outlet added, "and her campaign's quiet work with crypto allies indicates that she sees a space to compete on that turf with former President Donald Trump—who this month endorsed a still-unclear crypto platform launched by his sons."
Trump, the Republican presidential nominee, said earlier this week that he believes cryptocurrencies have "a great future" and suggested the U.S. could pay off the national debt with digital assets. Venture capital billionaires Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz have donated to Trump's campaign—contributions "motivated by areas like crypto and AI regulation," Axiosreported.
Trump's running mate, Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio), is friendly with the crypto industry and personally owns hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of bitcoin.
Harris, for her part, gave a nod to the cryptocurrency industry during a major economic policy speech in Pittsburgh on Wednesday, saying she wants the U.S. to "remain dominant" in "emerging technologies" such as the blockchain.
"Acceding would not only set the dangerous precedent that motivated industries can purchase the regulatory framework that best suits their interest, but also open Americans to fraud."
Harris' economic policy platform states that, if elected in November, she would "encourage innovative technologies like AI and digital assets while protecting our consumers and investors."
Billionaire investor and outspoken Harris supporter Mark Cuban told Semafor that he intends to visit Capitol Hill to "personally lobby lawmakers on any major crypto bill that gets a vote in the future, whether it’s industry-favorable or not."
In a statement earlier this week, the Revolving Door Project (RDP) warned that the Harris campaign's "acquiescence" to crypto would "lead to disaster."
"The cryptocurrency industry has doggedly pursued its mission to flout longstanding securities laws and robust SEC oversight," said Jeff Hauser, RDP's executive director. "Weak regulation is crucial to the industry's continued business strategy of serving as a conduit for money laundering, assisting ransomware rings, terrorist organizations, and those importing fentanyl."
"The industry has defiantly moved past the stench of Sam Bankman-Fried's fraud-backed influence campaign to flood key congressional races with cash in a transparent attempt to strongarm Democrats into acquiescing to their demands," he continued. "Acceding would not only set the dangerous precedent that motivated industries can purchase the regulatory framework that best suits their interest, but also open Americans to fraud, increased ransomware, and other illicit behavior pervasive across the cryptocurrency industry."
Dean Baker, senior economist at the Center for Economic and Policy Research, toldThe Washington Post on Thursday that while he gets that Harris "doesn't want to alienate the crypto folks," the federal government "should not be encouraging speculation in this stuff."
"This is just gambling," said Baker. "I don't think we need to make it easier to do illegal transactions—blackmailing, drug dealing, whatever."
Crypto industry spending on federal lobbying surged to an all-time high of $24.7 million in 2023, according to OpenSecrets, and the cash blitz has continued this year as major digital currency asset players and their congressional allies in both parties fight off regulatory efforts.
The industry has also spent big on the 2024 elections: An analysis released last month by the consumer advocacy group Public Citizen found that crypto firms have poured more than $119 million directly into federal elections so far this year, making them "by far the dominant corporate political spenders."
"Crypto-influenced lawmakers bending over backwards to benefit Big Crypto means weaker protections preventing individual consumers from being defrauded by reckless crypto scams—and softened regulations protecting our financial system from destructive innovations that exploit consumers while enriching insiders," Public Citizen said at the time. "The influence of Big Crypto is more evidence a constitutional amendment is needed to overturn Citizens United—and restore our democracy to one where people call the shots, not corporations."
Hauser also expressed concerns about "the idea that crypto insiders would have any sway in policymaking," which he warned would "just further put Americans in harm's way, once again disproportionately harming the poor and communities of color."
"Harris' promise to balance the industry's interests with those of consumers is an obvious contradiction," said Hauser. "Crypto is a haven for businesspeople with nefarious or criminal intent. The rampant fraud and criminal behavior in the very young industry—not just from FTX, but from Binance, OneCoin, Digital Currency Group, and countless others—is unprecedented in recent American history."
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25 Arrested Blocking Netanyahu's Motorcade to UN General Assembly
"Our world leaders have done nothing to stop Netanyahu and his genocidal administration," said one organizer. "We must be the ones to stop him."
Sep 26, 2024
More than two dozen Palestinian and Jewish activists and allies were arrested in New York City Thursday after blocking the planned route of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's motorcade ahead of the right-wing leader's United Nations General Assembly speech.
Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP), which co-organized the protest, said that 25 people including the actor Rowan Blanchard were arrested by New York police outside United Nations headquarters in midtown Manhattan.
"As Jewish New Yorkers we vehemently condemn Prime Minister Netanyahu's assault on Lebanon and genocide of Palestinians in Gaza," explained JVP's Jay Saper. "We will continue to raise our voices in dissent until the United States government stops arming Israel and Palestinians are able to live with the full freedom and dignity they deserve."
The protest and Netanyahu's New York visit came as Israeli forces continued the relentless assault on Gaza for which Israel is being tried for genocide at the International Court of Justice. According to Palestinian and international officials, more than 147,000 Gazans have been killed or wounded by Israeli forces since October 7, when Hamas led the deadliest attack on Israel since the country's founding in 1948.
Israel has also ramped up attacks on Lebanon in response to rockets launched from that country by the political and paramilitary group Hezbollah. Last week, a two-day bombings spree targeting Hezbollah communications devices that also killed civilians including children was attributed to Israel. Israeli airstrikes on Lebanon have killed hundreds of civilians and wounded thousands more.
"Our world leaders have done nothing to stop Netanyahu and his genocidal administration from murdering over 15,000 children and several times more adults," said Munir Marwan of protest co-organizer Palestinian Youth Movement. "As he plans to escalate the slaughter, we must be the ones to stop him."
Netanyahu is scheduled to address the General Assembly on Thursday.
Several world leaders condemned Israel's aggression during their U.N. speeches this week.
"Gaza is one of the worst humanitarian crises in recent history, and it is now dangerously spilling over into Lebanon," leftist Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva said Tuesday.
Cyril Ramaphosa, the president of South Africa—which is leading the ICJ genocide lawsuit against Israel—said that "we will not sit silent and watch as apartheid is perpetrated against others."
In a separate case, the ICJ recently ruled that Israel's 57-year occupation of Palestine is an illegal form of apartheid that must immediately end.
"The only lasting solution is the establishment of a Palestinian state, a state that will exist side by side with Israel, with East Jerusalem as its capital," Ramaphosa added.
Leftist Colombian President Gustavo Petro asserted that "when Gaza dies, all of humanity will die."
"Those of us who have the power to sustain life speak without being paid attention to," he added. "That is why they do not listen to us when we vote to stop the genocide in Gaza. The presidents who can destroy humanity do not listen to us."
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Large Majority of Americans Want to End Electoral College
The polling follow a Republican push to change Nebraska rules to boost GOP nominee Donald Trump's chances of winning in November.
Sep 26, 2024
Polling results released Wednesday, less than six weeks away from November's Election Day, show that a majority of Americans want to ditch the Electoral College and "would instead prefer to see the winner of the presidential election be the person who wins the most votes nationally."
Pew Research Center surveyed 9,720 adults across the United States in late August and early September, and found that 63% want to abolish the process outlined in the U.S. Constitution and replace it with a popular vote approach, compared with just 35% who favor keeping the current system.
The Electoral College is made up of electors who are supposed to act on behalf of their state's voters. Each state gets the same number of electors as its members of Congress, and Washington, D.C. gets three electors, bringing the current total to 538. The candidate who secures 270 electoral votes becomes the next president.
D.C. and most states allocate all of their electoral votes to the winner of the popular vote in their state, though Maine and Nebraska give two votes to the statewide winner, and the remaining votes to the most popular candidate in each congressional district.
Pew noted Wednesday that "some Republicans have been pressing to change Nebraska's rules so that the statewide winner gets all five of its electoral votes. This would likely work to former President Donald Trump's advantage, given Nebraska's consistent support of GOP presidential candidates."
Republican Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen confirmed Tuesday that he has no plans to call a special legislative session to restore a winner-takes-all approach before the November election, in which Trump is set to face Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris.
There have been just five presidential contests in which the Electoral College winner did not also win the nationwide popular vote—1824, 1876, 1888, 2000, and most recently in 2016, when Trump beat Democrat Hillary Clinton by securing key "swing states."
Continuing a trend that's lasted over two decades, 8 in 10 Democrats and Democratic-leaning Independents told Pew that they prefer a popular vote system for the presidential contest, while Republicans and Independents who lean toward the GOP were more divided: 53% want to retain the Electoral College and 46% would like to replace it.
"Reference sources indicate that over the past 200 years more than 700 proposals have been introduced in Congress to reform or eliminate the Electoral College," according to the National Archives. "There have been more proposals for Constitutional amendments on changing the Electoral College than on any other subject."
Among them is a joint resolution that Congressman Steve Cohen (D-Tenn.) introduced just days after Trump incited a violent mob to disrupt the certification of his 2020 loss by storming the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021—for which the Republican nominee faces ongoing legal trouble.
"Americans expect and deserve the winner of the popular vote for any office to win and assume that office," Cohen said at the time. "More than a century ago, we amended our Constitution to provide for the direct election of U.S. senators. It is past time to directly elect our president and vice president. The Electoral College is a vestige of the 18th Century when voters didn't know the candidates who now appear daily on their phones and television screens."
"Last week's mayhem at the Capitol shows that attempts to manipulate the Electoral College vote by politicians employing falsehoods are a real danger," he added. "The president should always be elected by the people, not by politicians. Currently, the system allows politicians to make the ultimate decision. It is well past time to do away with this anachronistic institution and guarantee a fair and accurate vote for president."
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