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For Justice Democrats, First There Was Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. Now, There's Jessica Cisneros. |
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Written by <a href="index.php?option=com_comprofiler&task=userProfile&user=52103"><span class="small">Madison Feller, ELLE</span></a>
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Thursday, 07 November 2019 09:36 |
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Excerpt: "In 2018, it was impossible to ignore Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. The first-time candidate won against an influential incumbent Democrat, becoming the youngest Congresswoman ever and solidifying the power of Justice Democrats, the progressive organization that recruited her."
Historically, women have needed to be convinced to enter politics. But since the 2016 presidential election, thousands of women announced their plans to run for public office. (photo: ELLE)
For Justice Democrats, First There Was Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. Now, There's Jessica Cisneros.
By Madison Feller, ELLE
07 November 19
She's a 26-year-old immigration lawyer with six-figure debt running against an incumbent in South Texas.
 istorically, women have needed to be convinced to enter politics. But since the 2016 presidential election, thousands of women announced their plans to run for public office. And we want them to win. So we're giving them examples of women who have run. The point: You can too.
In 2018, it was impossible to ignore Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. The first-time candidate won against an influential incumbent Democrat, becoming the youngest Congresswoman ever and solidifying the power of Justice Democrats, the progressive organization that recruited her.
Now, for 2020, Justice Democrats has introduced a new slate of candidates, including Jessica Cisneros, the 26-year-old whose race has often been compared to Ocasio-Cortez's, even though hers took place in the solidly blue Bronx. Cisneros, on the other hand, is running in Texas's 28th congressional district, going up against eight-term incumbent Rep. Henry Cuellar in the state's March 3rd primary. (Cisneros once interned for Cuellar but was shocked by his voting record; she now calls him "Trump’s favorite Democrat.") If she wins, she'll eclipse AOC for the title of youngest Congresswoman. Here, why she decided to run.
Whenever I talk about my story, it always starts with my parents. They came here from Mexico because my sister needed an operation that was too high risk; no doctor in Mexico wanted to perform it on her. My parents were able to find a doctor in Houston that would, so they moved. After the 1986 immigration reform, my parents were able to become permanent residents, and they moved down here to Laredo, Texas, where I was born.
When people ask me, "Why did you become an immigration attorney?" it's because of that, the fact that I was born into this very cross-cultural environment, this unique area of the country right on the border. My elementary school was right next to the river, and in the mornings, we could see families crossing into the United States. I remember saying I could not spot a difference between a mom and her child, and me and my mom. I know that my citizenship is a privilege. To many folks who are on the border, we know our lives could've been very different had we been born five minutes south of where we were.
As you can imagine, being an immigration attorney under Trump was a very difficult and heartbreaking experience. You go in there and the odds are already stacked against you, but under the Trump administration, it just felt like it was almost impossible to win cases and keep families together. It got to the point where I was trying to console one too many families. I thought, if they keep telling me that the law is a problem, then I'm going to go to Congress and change it.
Now I'm still making my case, but instead of being in a courtroom in front of a judge, I'm in a district and the voters are the judges.
I was nominated to run for office by my high school teacher; I think he saw Justice Democrats recruiting and thought of me. I got a call from Justice Democrats, and they asked about my roots to my community and what I believed we should be doing here in South Texas. I think it's very fitting that it was my high school teacher that nominated me because, being the daughter of recent immigrants, my parents knew that education was going to be a game changer for me and my sister. One thing they always told us was, "Seek out mentors. Pay attention to your teachers. Listen to their advice, and they'll help you navigate things that we can't help you with.”
As for the comparisons to Congresswoman Ocasio-Cortez, we're both young brown women, underdogs, that are just trying to do our best to help the Democratic party and provide true representation for our districts. What Congresswoman Ocasio-Cortez and Congresswoman Pressley did in the last cycle is really the reason why I'm talking to you. They showed the nation that it was possible to take on entrenched incumbents that weren't representing their districts correctly. Thanks to the work and the victories that they had, South Texas now believes that we can do it here, too. It's a different ground game, but they definitely inspired folks down here.
But I'm not naive. I'm sure a lot of people in the beginning were thinking, "What is this woman doing? 26 years old and running for Congress." I've also seen firsthand how the current system isn’t built to encourage working class people like me to run.
There's a lot of investment that you have to make in the beginning of the campaign. There was this contract we were entering into for initial operations, and I wasn't sure where we were going to get the money. I'm in six-figure debt from school loans. I knew we were doing the right thing and that people from our district were going to respond in a positive way, so we took a leap of faith. But obviously that's scary because you don't know if it's actually going to turn out the way you thought it would and, if all of a sudden, you’d have to pay back this money. As a working class person, I don't have those networks where I can just call friends and ask them to donate large sums of money to the campaign. We're very blessed that it worked out, but that certainly is an obstacle that would keep someone like me from running.
In the end, it's about this campaign team coming together and taking this risk, knowing we have the hard work and the determination. That's how we were able to reach our version of the American dream. Even though the odds were against us, each one of us and our supporters were scrappy people, and whenever anybody takes a bet on us, we're going to deliver. People are taking a bet on us, and we're going to work really hard and prove them right.
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Coal Plants Get a Pass to Pollute Our Waterways |
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Written by <a href="index.php?option=com_comprofiler&task=userProfile&user=52104"><span class="small">National Resource Defense Council, EcoWatch</span></a>
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Thursday, 07 November 2019 09:36 |
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Excerpt: "The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Monday proposed to roll back safeguards that keep one of the nation's biggest industrial polluters - coal-burning power plants - from discharging harmful substances into the nation's waterways."
Coal-fired power plant. (photo: Chris LeBoutillier/Pexels)
Coal Plants Get a Pass to Pollute Our Waterways
By National Resource Defense Council, EcoWatch
07 November 19
 he U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Monday proposed to roll back safeguards that keep one of the nation's biggest industrial polluters — coal-burning power plants — from discharging harmful substances into the nation's waterways. In addition, the agency moved to extend deadlines for companies to stop using unlined toxic coal ash ponds, which are prone to spills and leaks that could contaminate groundwater.
Power plants alone are responsible for 30 percent of all toxic pollution dumped into surface waters.
"These two measures are the latest example of the Trump administration rewarding polluters at the expense of all of us who rely on clean water," said Jon Devine, director of federal water policy at NRDC.
"The EPA's proposal would expose millions of people to a toxic brew of mercury, arsenic, lead and selenium — pollutants that can cause neurological disorders and cardiovascular disease and increase the risk of cancer," Devine continued, referring to the agency's move to undermine the 2015 requirements under the Effluent Limitation Guidelines, which set pollution limits for discharges from power plants. These water pollution standards control the amount of heavy metals, nutrients and other pollutants that coal-fired power plants may discharge into our nation's rivers, lakes and bays. In 2017, under President Trump, the adoption of the 2015 requirements were delayed by the EPA.
Also alarming is the agency's proposed rollback of a rule that stopped power plants from transporting and storing dirty coal ash waste by first diluting it in water and then storing it in risky, unlined waste ponds, which can spill and leak, affecting nearby communities.
"Coal ash dumps are already leaking toxic pollution into our groundwater supplies across the country," said Becky Hammer, deputy director of federal water policy at NRDC. "As the dangerous spills in Tennessee and North Carolina dramatically demonstrate, these toxic dumps are contaminating our communities and harming our health. Allowing them to stay open risks causing serious harm to public health, particularly in low-income communities and communities of color."
"These dangerous attacks on the environment and our public health cannot be allowed to stand," Devine said.
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High Turnout of Smart Voters in Kentucky Terrifies Rand Paul |
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Written by <a href="index.php?option=com_comprofiler&task=userProfile&user=9160"><span class="small">Andy Borowitz, The New Yorker</span></a>
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Wednesday, 06 November 2019 13:42 |
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Borowitz writes: "Surprisingly high turnout among smart voters in Kentucky on Tuesday has left Senator Rand Paul 'terrified and shattered,' one of Paul's aides has revealed."
Sen. Rand Paul. (photo: Andrew Harrer/Getty)
High Turnout of Smart Voters in Kentucky Terrifies Rand Paul
By Andy Borowitz, The New Yorker
06 November 19
 The article below is satire. Andy Borowitz is an American comedian and New York Times-bestselling author who satirizes the news for his column, "The Borowitz Report." 
 urprisingly high turnout among smart voters in Kentucky on Tuesday has left Senator Rand Paul “terrified and shattered,” one of Paul’s aides has revealed.
As the election returns came in Tuesday night, it became clear that intelligent voters, who had never played a prominent role in any of Senator Paul’s electoral contests, were making their feelings known in unprecedented numbers.
“What we were seeing was huge participation by voters who apparently both consume and comprehend verifiable facts,” the senator’s aide said. “As far as Rand Paul is concerned, this is the doomsday scenario.”
As the night wore on, the aide said, Paul stared at the Kentucky election returns on TV in a near-catatonic state, finally moaning, “Where are all of these smart people coming from, damn it?”
The aide cautioned that it remains to be seen whether the heavy turnout of sentient Kentucky voters is a one-off fluke, but, if it turns out to be a lasting trend, “Rand Paul is going to have to find a dumber state.”
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RSN: How to Run for Public Office - for Those Who Score Low on the Narcissism Scale |
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Written by <a href="index.php?option=com_comprofiler&task=userProfile&user=33196"><span class="small">Angela Watters, Reader Supported News</span></a>
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Wednesday, 06 November 2019 12:58 |
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Watters writes: "If you don't think you are better than everyone around you and you don't think you have what it takes to save the world, this series about running for office is for you."
'Photos from my campaign.' (image: Angela Watters/RSN)
ALSO SEE: Part Two: WTF Is That Red Scare Loyalty Oath
in My Candidate Packet?
ALSO SEE: Part Three: How to Not Go Nuts When
Running for Public Office
How to Run for Public Office - for Those Who Score Low on the Narcissism Scale
By Angela Watters, Reader Supported News
06 November 19
If you don’t think you are better than everyone around you and you don’t think you have what it takes to save the world, this series about running for office is for you.
 little narcissism goes a long way in politics. Believing you can save the world may be narcissistic, but charismatic people with good hearts and the confidence to make positive societal change make wonderful leaders. The flip side of the coin is the ruthless or malignant narcissism Donald Trump displays daily on Twitter and in public. In the lexicon of popular psychology, Trump’s Republican cronies are what’re referred to as “flying monkeys,” like those the Wicked Witch sends after Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz. Politicians in the GOP do Trump’s evil bidding and echo his lies, while we are continually assured by in-the-know pundits and journalists that these politicians only pretend to publicly support the guy because they want to stay elected. Like that’s not reprehensible behavior on its own.
After six months as a school board member in my town and nearly six years at RSN, I’ve become convinced that a little narcissism coupled with a solid base of extroversion is necessary for anyone to be successful at running for higher-level office. This is not so with local offices. Pretty much anyone over eighteen can pull this off (requirements vary). If you look at politicians speaking publicly with greasy ease and effortless confidence and think, “No way I can do this,” then this series, friend, is the blueprint for you. You can and should run for public office, because our country needs more self-doubting introverts running things.
Part 1 – The Whys of Running for Office, or No Trumpian Dick Moves, Please
There are plenty of offices to choose from on the local level – choose the work that tugs at your heartstrings. Passion for the work will end up sustaining you, once you are elected. In smaller communities, you may end up running unopposed. That’s ideal. When I ran in April, four people ran for three seats – that’s a 75% chance. After all, most local positions are unpaid, like school board member in Illinois, or are compensated at a very low level. The mayor in “Coaltown,” Illinois, for instance, is paid only about 9K a year, while council members make about half that amount. Essentially, holding local office is a really heavy, labor-intensive volunteer gig.
Usually, you already know what spurred you on to run for a particular office. As a former teacher who recognized as early as my son’s pre-Kindergarten experience that my local district was off the charts with dysfunction, I wanted to be a part of making things better for kids, teachers, and families in our district. Among other unsavory incidents the first year, I sat through a PTO meeting in which new district parents were accused of stealing from the school by a gang of veteran first grade teachers, who then told us they had never wanted the crap our children gave them at Christmas anyway. After that inanity, I wasn’t about to put my kid in this district for the next eight years without at least attempting to be on the school board. When I decided to run, a year after the PTO meeting, a new superintendent had been hired, and the air was full of excitement about the new focus on loving kids and getting them to read. But what the hell had been going on in that district anyway? I was determined to know.
While wanting to be on the inside and know what’s going on may be what incites you to run, you aren't going to get elected just by criticizing the local government. You should be running because you have a passion for the work and you want to make a difference for constituents.
I ran for school board because, based on experiences I had with the district, I felt the district needed more respect for families and two-way parent and community involvement. After my work in the community setting up a community-wide PTSA and serving as president, I felt like I could be a good advocate for families, children, and the taxpayers we serve.
A friend of mine ran for park district commissioner because the board was filled with elderly commissioners and programs for children were always first on the chopping block. She ran to be a voice for parents. People told her she was wrong to say she was running for families, but authentic representation is not a special interest. Departments serving young children should have parent representation.
Authentic representation, like wanting to represent parents as a parent, is a completely reasonable rationale to run for office, and my inclusion of “authentic” before representation is intentional. If you are a white person, even if you believe you are the most sensitive and “woke” ally to the African American community in town, you will never be a voice for a community of which you are not a member. You can be an advocate and an ally in “The Struggle,” but not a voice. An alternative idea is to offer to be a campaign manager or to help fundraise for someone you think would be a good fit for the position. Throughout the country, our elected officials are overwhelmingly white and male. This is especially true locally.
Are you the person who shows up at every board or council meeting and regularly gives impassioned speeches about what the elected officials could be doing better and how? If you run for that office and win, you will be on the other side and will be subjected to people like you. (Ahem! This was me a couple of times.) This can be a good thing. You will ask the tough questions of the directors, superintendents, or city managers, who really run the show. You will get both sides of the story when you hear about something from a community member. Communities want elected officials to ask tough questions. However, if you get elected, your role will certainly change. Fighting the figurative “man” doesn’t work or make much sense, once you become “the man.”
Do you have a conflict of interest? Have you sued the city multiple times? Did the Parks Department fire you as a lifeguard as a teenager? Does your business have a food services contract with the school district? These are all possible conflicts of interest. If you have any of these, especially a financial interest, you should really consider not running, unless you are coming on to make a positive difference for the community. If City Council is your sworn enemy for all time because the city wasn’t timely with a sidewalk repair, please don’t run for City Council. It can have a very destructive and counter-productive effect when someone elected to a governance position views the entity as their bête noir.
Finally, all elected officials are sworn to uphold fiduciary duties. This means that you are required to always put the interest of the city, department, or district ahead of your own personal or financial interests. Insisting that a school district start an after-school yoga class taught in Mandarin, because your kid is begging for it, may be in violation of your fiduciary duty as a school board member. So may be voting against a union contract because there wasn’t enough in it for your history-teacher husband.
As a local official, you can and should strive to represent a certain demographic in a public body, but you are still sworn to advocate for all constituents. We see a dereliction of this duty daily in Donald Trump, a man who has never felt like he needed to represent the interests of all Americans. This really shouldn’t need to be said, but with Donald Trump and his lackeys upending ethical norms daily, it bears repeating.
Next: Part Two – The Ins and Outs of Filing for Office, or WTF Is that Red Scare Loyalty Oath in My Packet?
Angela Watters is the Managing Editor for Reader Supported News. She was elected to the school board in her town in April of this year.
Reader Supported News is the Publication of Origin for this work. Permission to republish is freely granted with credit and a link back to Reader Supported News.
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n every good disaster movie, we get to meet the easily dispensable character: someone who mixes just enough stupidity with just enough mediocrity to be cannon fodder for the impending calamity.
