“A detailed analysis shows how much more CO2 each of Trump’s climate policy changes would send into the atmosphere.” More …
Month: May 2017
Extreme Sea Level Rise and the Stakes for America
“Should a newly published sea level rise scenario come to pass, hundreds of American landmarks, neighborhoods, towns and cities would be submerged this century, at least in the absence of engineering massive, costly and unprecedented defenses and relocating major infrastructure. Ocean waters would cover land currently home to more than 12 million Americans and $2 trillion in property.” More …
Why Public=Private Partnerships Don’t Work: The Many Advantages of the Public Alternative
“For decades the failures of water, energy, rail and health privatizations have made clear across the globe that those who promote privatization offer false promises. Elections have been fought and won on promises to keep public services in public hands. In sectors like health, education, water, energy and transport, community attitudes strongly support universal public Provision.” More …
Can States Intervene in Troubled Police Departments If the Justice Department Doesn’t?
“The attorney general doesn’t plan on using his oversight authority to monitor and intervene in local departments. California provides examples of how states can compensate for that absence.” More …
GOP Gerrymandering: Extreme Maps
“Using data from the 2012, 2014, and 2016 election cycles, Extreme Maps finds that partisan bias resulting largely from the worst gerrymandering abuses in just a few battleground states provides Republicans a durable advantage of 16-17 seats in the current Congress, representing a significant portion of the 24 seats Democrats would need to gain control of the House in 2020. These ‘extreme maps’ were all drawn in states under single-party control; the report finds that conversely, maps drawn by independent commissions, courts, or split-party state governments had significantly less partisan bias in their maps.” More …
Going to the Slammer? What Life is Really Like for White Collar Criminals in Prison
“So you’re about to go away for a while. You’ll have plenty of time to figure out why you’re going; the first thing you need to know is where! Here’s a short list of top choices for hard time, including where Bernie Madoff, Martha Stewart, and more did their time.” More …
Trump Administration 2018 Budget Swaps Heavy Cuts to Education for Focus on School Choice
“President Donald Trump’s budget for fiscal year 2018 beginning October 1 and released this past Tuesday contains some potentially bad news for the state of education in the United States. Under the guise of “refocusing” funding priorities, the budget proposes a 13 percent, or $9 billion, cut for the Department of Education. On the chopping block are programs such as public service student loan forgiveness. Supporting Instruction State Grants, and 21st Century Community Learning Centers. Despite these, and other rollbacks on spending for Kindergarten through 12th grade and higher education, the budget did reflect the Trump administration’s misplaced commitment to advancing one aspect of education—school choice—using mechanisms such as vouchers to help students access schools that best suit their needs.” More …
Republicans Want to Leave You More Voicemail — Without Ever Ringing Your Cellphone
“The GOP’s leading campaign and fundraising arm, the Republican National Committee, has quietly thrown its support behind a proposal at the Federal Communications Commission that would pave the way for marketers to auto-dial consumers’ cellphones and leave them prerecorded voicemail messages — all without ever causing their devices to ring.” More …
Tourism in the US Has Drastically Declined Since Trump Was Elected
“America’s share of international tourism has dropped 16% in March, compared to the same month in 2016, according to Foursquare data. The decline began in October 2016, the month before the presidential election. From October to March, tourism-related traffic has fallen an average of 11% in the US, compared to the previous year. Meanwhile, tourism in the rest of the world has increased 6% year-over-year during the same period. ” More …
How the Trump White House Has Tried to Interfere With the Russia Investigations
“The pattern is increasingly clear: As investigations into the Trump campaign’s ties to and possible collusion with Russia have intensified, so too have efforts by the president and his staff to quash those probes or put pressure on US officials to publicly deny the validity of the swirling allegations.” More …