Writing to overturn key provisions of the Voting Rights Act, Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts declared, “Nearly 50 years later, things have changed dramatically. Largely because of the Voting Rights Act ‘[v]oter turnout and registration rates’ in covered jurisdictions ‘now approach parity. Blatantly discriminatory evasions of federal decrees are rare.’…The tests and devices that [...]
Posted on August 30th, 2013 by Miryam Ehrlich Williamson
Filed under: Elections, Politics and Political Issues, Social Justice, Supreme Court, Uncategorized, Vote suppression, Voter Suppression | No Comments »
Growing up in Massachusetts means a special kind of connection to the Fourth of July. Along with Thanksgiving, the Fourth of July is one of two holidays all Americans can claim as our own. Both were born in Massachusetts: Thanksgiving in Plymouth around a communal dining table and the American Revolution, which started with the [...]
Posted on July 4th, 2013 by Debby
Filed under: Agriculture, Childhood Hunger, Farm Bill 2012, Farms & Farmers, Food, House of Representatives, House of Representatives, Nutrition, Public Option, Rural Urban Partnerships, US Congress | 1 Comment »
Posted with permission from Richard S. Gilbert, this lovely piece of writing sets the stage for what happened in 2008. The second Barn for Barack was a story we posted as a slide show in September, 2008. Thank you, Richard, for allowing us a glimpse into the family and the people behind the Second Barn [...]
Posted on October 13th, 2012 by Debby
Filed under: Election 2008, Election 2012, Farms & Farmers, Obama, People, Rural Life | No Comments »
It’s all politics at the Iowa State Fair in this presidential election year, as it has been for decades. Presumptive Republican vice presidential candidate Paul Ryan visited the fair last week, but left John Nichols of The Capital Times in Madison, Wis., wondering what he was doing there after refusing to answer questions about the [...]
Posted on August 27th, 2012 by Debby
Filed under: Agriculture, Election 2012, Farms & Farmers, Food, Rural Issues | No Comments »
This just in from The Rural Blog: House leaders look for ways to help farm-district members after blocking floor vote on Farm Bill “Having blocked the pending five-year Farm Bill, House Republican leaders now appear to be racing ahead of their own Agriculture Committee to come up with some alternative to protect the party’s farm [...]
Posted on July 26th, 2012 by Debby
Filed under: Agriculture, Election 2012, Farm Bill 2012, Politics and Political Issues, Republicans | No Comments »
The race is on for rural America’s support come November. Both campaigns have just about four months to woo voters in America’s non-metro areas. And both sides have specific campaign messages to induce small town and rural constituents to cast a ballot their way. Former Massachusetts Governor Romney has been making the rounds, flipping flapjacks [...]
Posted on July 5th, 2012 by Debby
Filed under: Democrats, Election 2012, Republicans | No Comments »
Seventy-six years ago, Democratic President Franklin D. Roosevelt fought for re-election in a time of crisis. The question has been raised in today in moneylife magazine, Can Obama do a FDR? Click on FDR to hear what President Roosevelt had to say about the forces behind inequity for hard-working Americans in 1936. I think you’ll agree [...]
Posted on May 23rd, 2012 by Debby
Filed under: Economic crisis: US, Economy, Election 2012, Federal Budget, Fiscal Crisis, Interest rates, Jobs, Uncategorized, Unemployment | 1 Comment »
U.S. Rep. Collin Peterson of Minnesota, the ranking Democrat on the House Agriculture Committee, told Mike Adams of AgriTalk that House Republicans’ budget outline “is going to cause big problems” for passage of a new Farm Bill this year. They are asking for a reconciliation process to avoid defense cuts, and they want them before [...]
Posted on March 25th, 2012 by Debby
Filed under: Farm Bill 2012, Farms & Farmers, Federal Budget, Federal Programs, House of Representatives, Rural Issues, Rural Urban Partnerships, Uncategorized | 2 Comments »
By Miryam Ehrlich Williamson The way the story goes, a man fell off the observation deck of a 50-story skyscraper. Each time he passed another floor he reassured himself, “So far, so good.” That would make a great campaign slogan for the national Republican Party, heading into the 2012 elections. If I were a Democrat [...]
Posted on May 11th, 2011 by Miryam Ehrlich Williamson
Filed under: Economy, Election 2012 | No Comments »
By Miryam Ehrlich Williamson Clearly, members of the tone-deaf House Republican leadership got their ears unblocked by constituents during Congress’s Easter Recess. The evidence: Both Finance Committee Chairman Paul Ryan (R-Wisc.) and Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.), previously self-appointed experts on what “The American People” want, discovered that said people are not nearly as enthusiastic [...]
Posted on May 5th, 2011 by Miryam Ehrlich Williamson
Filed under: Economy, Election 2012, Federal Budget | No Comments »
