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California Legislative Counsel Refuses to Provide Republican Member Legal Services
California Legislative Counsel Refuses to Provide Republican Member Legal Services
On August 12, Republican California Assemblymember Carl DeMaio (San Diego) sent a letter to the Director of California's Legislative Counsel, Cara Jenkins, requesting a legal opinion on what he calls an “unconstitutional effort for mid-cycle redistricting.”
14 Aug, 2025
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5 min read
Here’s Proof that Independent Voters are Not Just Democrats or Republicans
Here’s Proof that Independent Voters are Not Just Democrats or Republicans
IVN recognizes that being independent means something different to different people. It isn’t an ideology. It doesn’t require people to fall “in the center.” Being independent-minded is a mindset, and these voters can exist across the political spectrum.
11 Aug, 2025
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3 min read
Californians Just Voted to Get Tough on Crime. So Why Is Newsom Closing Another Prison?
Californians Just Voted to Get Tough on Crime. So Why Is Newsom Closing Another Prison?
Less than a year after 10 million Californians voted to lengthen prison sentences and crack down on retail theft and fentanyl dealing, Governor Gavin Newsom is shutting down yet another state prison.
08 Aug, 2025
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4 min read
Hate Gerrymandering? Let’s Start Voting in Primaries
Hate Gerrymandering? Let’s Start Voting in Primaries
Responding to pressure from President Trump, Texas Governor Greg Abbott and the Republican-controlled legislature are moving forward with a plan to redraw their district lines in advance of the 2026 midterms. Democrats are contemplating how to fight back and blunt any gains the GOP makes in Texas by conducting their own gerrymanders in New York, Illinois, and California.  
07 Aug, 2025
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4 min read
From Relief to Rage: $100M FireAid Concert Engulfed in Political Scandal
From Relief to Rage: $100M FireAid Concert Engulfed in Political Scandal
It seems we can’t even have a $100 million benefit concert without inviting partisan bickering. What began as an urgent and well-intentioned philanthropic effort to help victims of two catastrophic fires has turned into another political fight between the two major political parties.
05 Aug, 2025
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10 min read
Beyond Ranked Choice Voting: How We Count The Votes Matters
Beyond Ranked Choice Voting: How We Count The Votes Matters
Ranked choice voting keeps winning headlines. New York City uses it in primaries, Maine uses it statewide, Alaska uses it with a nonpartisan primary, and advocates from Better Choices are pushing for more consensus.
24 Jul, 2025
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5 min read
How It Really Works: The Unfair Fight Between Legal Cannabis and Unregulated 'Gas‑Station' Hemp
How It Really Works: The Unfair Fight Between Legal Cannabis and Unregulated 'Gas‑Station' Hemp
When President Richard Nixon told the nation on June 17, 1971, that drug abuse was “public enemy number one,” he formally launched the War on Drugs and cemented cannabis in Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act. 
22 Jul, 2025
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10 min read
Will Politics Kill Late Night TV?
Will Politics Kill Late Night TV?
Stephen Colbert’s Late Show is ending after nearly a decade at the top of the ratings. CBS insists this is a financial decision. Of course, everyone else is wondering if something more political may be at play. And the President of the United States is celebrating the news. Donald Trump took to Truth Social to cheer Colbert's upcoming exit.
18 Jul, 2025
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3 min read
Just Say No: The Political Hit Job That Killed Cannabis
Just Say No: The Political Hit Job That Killed Cannabis
As cannabis use became more common in the late 1970s, the backlash grew even stronger. A political and religious conservative resurgence was underway after years of liberal ascendancy. That wave would soon bring former California Governor Ronald Reagan to the White House.
18 Jul, 2025
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8 min read
Mamdani, Lander, and Other Partisan Extremists Just Took a Bite Out of NYC’s Democracy
Mamdani, Lander, and Other Partisan Extremists Just Took a Bite Out of NYC’s Democracy
The partisans, unions, and party bosses have won again. Independents, veterans, working people, young people and democracy have lost again. 
18 Jul, 2025
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2 min read