PEG 12th Congressional District
Newsletter #190. Thursday, November 26, 2020
Georgia Senatorial Election: Tuesday, January 5, 2021
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Fighting the last fight...or NOT!
As a data scientist, Mark Grebner’s unique expertise is determining the techniques and practices that win elections. He will give us his analysis on how the Democratic party and candidates could have been much more successful while spending hundreds of millions less money in the November election. Most importantly, he will recommend what each of us can and should be doing now to win in 2022 and 2024. Spoiler alert, it isn’t donating more money.
Mark Grebner has been cited by the New York TImes, the Analysts Institute and scholarly publications devoted to the science of winning elections. His interviews are always entertaining, provocative and informative.
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Wednesday, December 2. Dr. Alexander Barron presents “Near Term to Net Zero: A New Approach to Setting Carbon Prices”
Economists widely agree that putting a price on fossil fuels is the most effective tool for reducing carbon emissions. But what level of carbon price is needed to reduce carbon emissions fast enough to prevent catastrophic climate change? Professor Alexander R. Barron will present a new method he and colleagues have developed to calculate the necessary carbon price. Their work was recently published as a paper in the research journal Nature. For details and registration, go here. 8–9 pm
Monday, December 7. Virtual Headline Lunch with the incoming Democratic Leader of the State House of Representatives Donna Lasinski
Representative Donna Lasinski has served the people of Michigan’s 52nd House District since 2017. As a longtime member of the community, Donna Lasinski is well known in Washtenaw County, but she will take on a new and significant key role in shaping state policy as the recently elected Democratic Leader of the State House of Representatives. Join the Ann Arbor/Ypsilanti Regional Chamber for lunch and hear Leader Lasinski share her thoughts on what’s ahead for the Michigan Legislature. Pose thoughts and questions on the important issues that affect the community. Register here. 11 am
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Every Sunday through January. Virtual Phone Bank to win Senate for Democrats: Georgia Senate runoffs
This effort is organized by Massachusetts Democrats (2nd Middlesex). Phonebank from home to help elect Democrats Rev. Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff to the US Senate. This event is hosted by Medford Chair Henry Milorin (medforddems.org), Democratic State Committee Members Teresa Walsh, Justin Klekota (electjustin.org) and Rep. Christine Barber (christinebarber.org). Contact Justin Klekota at secondmiddlesexdemocrats@gmail.com for more information. Join from anywhere. Register here. Sundays, 5–7 pm EST
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Important Georgia US Senate runoff dates
Now: Georgia residents can request their mail-in ballot
December 7: Voter registration deadline
December 14: Start of early vote
January 5, 2021: Election Day
Note: The graphic shown (left) can be downloaded and shared with friends and family on your social media. Just right click and save it to your device!
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Things to read, watch, and listen to |
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Guest Contribution: Acknowledgement of Indigenous Peoples
This Thanksgiving, PEG guest contributor, Patricia Anderson, acknowledges and honors indigenous peoples in Michigan. We say the words, "We acknowledge with respect," but are we who live here...
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equalityingov.org
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PEG Civics Deck: Who's getting screwed? Part II |
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Part II - Electoral College Series
The current system of determining electoral votes vary from state to state and "Battleground" states receive 7% more federal grants than "spectator" states, twice as many presidential disaster declarations, more Superfund enforcement exemptions,...
Read more
equalityingov.org
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How to skin an Internet or presidential lie, Part II
First, turn to a trusted fact-checking source such as Media Bias Fact Check which evaluates multiple news sites for their political bias as well as issuing a daily fact check of the day’s headlines.
Second, google and evaluate what you heard or saw on the media yourself. For example, Trump asserted that Republican challengers weren’t allowed in the Michigan election. By many Google accounts, it was a very different situation than that. According to CrainsDetroit, there were a total of 400 challengers —134 from each party, as well as 134 nonpartisan challengers from groups such as ACLU and the League of Women Voters — at the TCF Center in Detroit.
Third, turn to your trusted newsletter which often offers fact-checking articles. The Detroit Free Press, for example, checked Trump’s November 5 assertion about a lack of Republican challengers. In actuality, challengers from both parties were denied access after the vote-counting site exceeded 400.
Fourth, get accounts from first-hand witnesses. At his town meeting, I heard Michigan State Rep Yousef Rabhi tell how he was asked to go to the TCF Center in Detroit where largely African-Americans were counting the Wayne County vote and were being harassed by white GOP challengers, many from outside the county. They failed to find fraud although they created chaos and tension.
Bridge Magazine offers another firsthand account of the situation at the TCF center, this time from a Democratic challenger: “I was there to ensure a smooth process and make sure every vote was counted. They were there to gum up the process by questioning everything and anything.”
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NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund (LDF)
Founded in 1940 by the NAACP but legally separate from it, the LDF’s mission statement is telling: “To achieve racial justice, equality, and an inclusive society."
Its latest court case filed on November 20, 2020, is against President Trump and the Trump’s Campaign effort to disenfranchise African-American voters in Wayne County, Michigan, by invalidating their votes. Explains Sherrilyn Ifill, LDF’s president and director-counsel of the Michigan lawsuit, “The president’s use of dog whistles to suggest the illegitimacy of votes cast by Black voters in Detroit, Philadelphia, Milwaukee, and Atlanta are an appeal to a dangerous and corrosive radicalized narrative of voter fraud.” To hear a further explanation of the LDF lawsuit against Trump, listen to Sherrilyn Ifill explain it in her own words. To read more about the work the LDF is doing to prosecute racial injustice, click here. This Thanksgiving, all Americans can give thanks to the LDF for defending the integrity of our presidential election.
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Election Good News
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Tarra Simmons is elected to the Washington State House of Representatives, becoming the first formerly incarcerated person to be elected to the state legislature.
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Maria Rivera is elected mayor of Central Falls, Rhode Island, becoming the state’s first Latina mayor.
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A record number of Native American women will serve in the 117th Congress.
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Madinah Wilson-Anton is elected to the Delaware General Assembly, becoming the first practicing Muslim elected to the state legislature.
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Samba Baldeh is elected to the Wisconsin State Assembly, becoming the first Muslim elected to the state legislature.
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Christopher Benjamin is elected to the Florida State House, becoming the first Muslim elected to the state legislature.
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Iman Jodeh is elected as a Colorado state representative, becoming the first Muslim elected to the state legislature.
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Torrey Harris and Eddie Mannis win their respective elections, becoming the first ever openly LGBT+ state lawmakers in Tennessee.
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Mauree Turner is elected to the Oklahoma State House, becoming the first openly non-binary state lawmaker in U.S. history and the first Muslim state lawmaker in OK.
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Trans lawmaker Brianna Titone wins reelection following transphobic campaign attacks by her opponent.
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Kristin Graziano is elected sheriff of Charleston County, becoming the first woman to hold the position in South Carolina history.
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At 24, Khaleel M. Anderson is elected as the youngest Black state legislator in New York state history.
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Brianna Henries is elected to the Rhode Island General Assembly, becoming the first Native American woman elected to the state legislature.
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The PEG Newsletter typically goes out each Thursday, with a repeat send on Sunday that only goes out to recipients that have not opened it Thursday. PEG is a (mostly) non-partisan volunteer organization whose mission is to assure that our government will treat all Americans with equality and acceptance. PEG's work is primarily done by recruiting, educating and nurturing supporters for worthy organizations, actions and events that reflect our beliefs. To subscribe to this free newsletter, go to our website by clicking here. To share with your friends and networks, use the sharing buttons at the top of the email or just "forward" from your email browser.
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A special thanks to our Newsletter contributors: Ellen Halter, Mieko Preston, Leslie McGraw, Lisa Kamil, Leslie Kamil, Bernie Banet, Susie Ayer, Bette Cotzin, Jim Morgenstern, Jen Hoffman, and Chuck Newman for their help preparing our newsletters. Write us at equalityingovinfo@gmail.com if you would like help create our weekly newsletter. It’s fun and no ongoing commitment is required.
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