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Beginning today, in four states across the country, lawsuits will be filed to challenge the way presidential electors are selected in America. The plaintiffs in these suits charge that the “winner-take-all” system—the system by which the candidate who wins the popular vote in a state gets all of the electoral college votes in that state—violates both the 14th Amendment’s principle of “one person, one vote,” and the Free Speech Clause of the First Amendment. A Republican in California, no less t

I am a physician and a black woman who grew up poor and came of age in the 1970’s. I‘ve spent 25 years practicing medicine, mainly in Harlem, and I care deeply about the state of our country, about the state of black America, and about the state of our democracy. I am also a political independent and reform activist who has worked for years to help generate conversations about our dysfunctional and divisive political system and the overwhelming social crisis that results from it. These can be

It’s that time of year again…The time of year where President Trump asks for a military parade and the partisans on both sides go nuts. “It’s like they’re from communist Russia, wanting to show off our military strength in a parade!” “It’s like they’re from communist Russia, not wanting to support our military with a parade!” When the idea of a parade is floated, those on the left mainly cite money and seeming fascist as the biggest cons, while those on the right cite “supporting our military

Read about what really matters from the news last week. We provide you the least-biased news about current events so you can go about your day informed, not brainwashed. What to avoid: * The texts were found! Avoid the mayhem created by the texts between an FBI agent and his lover. The texts contained some damning information for the agent, which ended up getting him removed from Special Counsel Mueller’s team, but as of now that’s the most that’s come from them. Until something else surfaces

In an order issued on Monday, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled that the district lines “clearly, plainly and palpably” violate the state Constitution and gave the Republican legislature until February 9 to draw new ones. It is the second ruling in less than two weeks where a court has struck down an entire state congressional map as unconstitutional and demanded that the state legislature oversee a redraw in time for the November 2018 elections. However, the U.S. Supreme Court quickly issu

The news website, The Island Now, published an editorial recently that is worth reading. It challenges the way many people view voter suppression in the US. The focus in most media outlets are perceived efforts in Republican state legislatures to suppress the votes of Democrats, as if the problem is just one-sided. But it isn't. Voter suppression, and the attempt to silence people who refuse to have a (D) or (R) next to their name is something both parties do. It is no different in New York, w

Read about what really matters from the news last week. We provide you the least-biased news about current events so you can go about your day informed, not brainwashed. What to avoid: * The media contracted “Oprah 2020” fever, so, to stay healthy, avoid it! Sure, Oprah could run in 2020, but at this time we must decide how much we want to spend pondering that possibility. To help you out, here’s Free Wheel’s takeaways from “Oprah 2020.” What to focus on: * It’s day five for the many heroe

News broke Tuesday that a panel of federal judges struck down North Carolina's congressional map, ruling that it constituted an illegal gerrymander. But unlike gerrymandering rulings in the past, the decision had nothing to do with racial or class discrimination, but partisan discrimination. It is the first time a federal court has struck down congressional maps on the grounds of partisan gerrymandering. The court ordered the General Assembly to redraw the map. “On its most fundamental level,

The newspaper headline caught my eye. For 15 years, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (the VA) illegally hired physicians and surgeons with revoked licenses and malpractice convictions. As an organizational psychologist and former political candidate, I often described the need to transform the VA and how veteran suicide reflects national questions about war and peace-building. With Steve Sanson, president of Veterans in Politics, International, I co-wrote an article about vets in prison

Five years after adopting top-two, nonpartisan open primaries, California has seen its legislature transform from a state of dysfunction into a successful model for reform. Now, a new survey reveals that the people of California are noticing. Last month, the Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC) found that most voters in California are satisfied with the state’s nonpartisan open primary system, with 60% of likely voters in California saying it has “been mostly a good thing.” The PPIC’s