A miracle is coming to New York City. Beginning on July 1, and barring a last-minute hitch, motorists will soon pay a hefty $15 to enter the southern half of Manhattan — the area bounded by the Hudson River, the East River and 60th Street. An anticipated 15 percent or so of drivers will switch […] Source ..read more

One reform proposal that many progressives curiously have in common with the presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump is their call for an end to the Senate filibuster. The prospect of quicker passage, or any passage, of popular legislation is alluring for self-evident reasons. Yet in view of Trump’s aggressive plans for radical policy and […] Source ..read more

Despite a surprisingly good showing by many Democrats in 2022 and recent special elections — due in part to the backlash against the Supreme Court’s 2022 abortion ruling and extremist GOP candidates — there are good reasons to fear the very real possibility of a Trump victory in November. Just look at Trump’s lead in […] Source ..read more

“Project 2025” has been winning an increasing amount of attention in its own right, but it’s actually the opening salvo of “The 2025 Presidential Transition Project.” This comprehensive playbook was produced under the auspices of the Heritage Foundation and supported by over 100 partner organizations. Officially titled “Mandate for Leadership: The Conservative Promise,” its perverse […] Source ..read more

Among people who care about protecting and improving American democracy, there is deep concern about the low rates of electoral participation in the United States. As the world’s oldest democracy, turnout rates in the United States are pitiful. In the 2020 Presidential election, democracy advocates celebrated the record-breaking turnout of 169 million people, or 66% […] Source ..read more

The unofficial contest to become Donald Trump’s running mate has underscored the enduring Republican plot to overturn elections. At the beginning of this election year, Rep. Elise Stefanik, of New York, chair of the House Republican conference, stated that she would not agree to certifying the results of the 2024 election unless she considered them […] Source ..read more

Were awards given for the worst economic idea each year, Donald Trump’s call for a 10% tax on all imports would be the 2023 winner. The tax would damage the US economy as well as propagate climate change and environmental devastation. Trump sees jobs lost to foreign trade as the economic problem facing the US. […] Source ..read more

Official Washington has lost the plot, and I’ve never been more frightened for the future of America. No, I’m not talking about the fear of losing our democracy to authoritarian theocrats, though that remains a constant existential threat. I’m concerned that the pro-democracy “good guys” have settled into a debilitating groupthink. To use the Rumsfeldian […] Source ..read more

College debt is approaching $2 trillion, more than all other types of household debt except mortgages. Fueled by tuition that exceeds $25,000 a year (room and board adds another $11,000), Federal student loan debt averages more than $37,000 among those with any student debt. Following a hiatus of more than 3 years, 45 million Americans […] Source ..read more

As a citizen activist in the late 1970s and 1980s working at the Environmental Policy Institute, Robert Alvarez was among the first to document the extreme hazards of managing high concentrations of nuclear waste derived from nuclear weapons production, and as a senior appointee at the Department of Energy, he worked to prevent the department’s […] Source ..read more