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In case you hadn’t heard, COVID-19 has disrupted the economy perhaps more than any other singular event in history. Here are three metrics to get a sense of the damage. 1. Goldman Sachs originally forecast a 24% contraction in United States GDP during the second quarter, then revised its calamitous projection up to 34%. That’s a worse contraction in productivity than the U.S. experienced over three years of the Great Depression from 1930 to 1933 (-29%). 2. U.S. Non-farm payrolls officially p

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a dramatic and devastating impact on American society and the economy. All 50 states and the president have declared a state of emergency, and over 100 million Americans now live under stay-at-home orders. Meanwhile, Republican and Democratic lawmakers in Congress continue to squabble over a relief bill that the US desperately needs. Both sides failed to strike a deal on a multi-trillion-dollar stimulus plan over the weekend and on Monday, which prompted two parti

Hello America! Hello my Brothers and Sisters! This campaign, this race for the Democratic Party presidential nomination, has come to a critical point. A boiling point, some would say. And before we go any further, before voters in the next states cast their primary ballots and before the media casts its spin over the public, and before the kingmakers in the back rooms of the Democratic Party tell everyone that it’s over, I want to speak directly to the American people. Not just to Democrats. No

It didn’t take long for the presidential landscape to radically shift following a monumental Super Tuesday. Yet, despite the departure of the richest person to run for president in modern US history and the senior senator from Massachusetts, the true repercussions of Super Tuesday have yet to be fully realized. The reason? California has millions -- yes, millions -- of votes that have yet to be counted. AP quickly called California for Bernie Sanders on March 3 -- a big delegate prize for Sa

I’ve got some good news and some bad news. And once we put it all together, it’ll be news you can use — an easy way to join the Second American Revolution, now in progress. First, the bad news: You are being violated by your own government. Hustled and conned. We all are. Our voices and our votes. Our tax dollars, too. On a piece of parchment that birthed this country, our founders emphasized that lawmakers would derive “their just Powers from the consent of the governed.” That’s us. But those

Our country stands divided, now more than ever. But whether red or blue, young or old, rural or urban, voters share a common interest in expanding their choices at the ballot box while protecting majority outcomes. These ideals fueled the flames for a ranked choice voting revolution (RCV) in Maine, which just made history by becoming the first state to elect a U.S. Senator and two House members using RCV. Maine now joins the ranks of a dozen other cities that turned to ranked choice voting to

DENVER, Colo. - If Denver For Psilocybin canvassers can gather 4,726 signatures in the Mile High City by January 7th, a voter initiated ballot measure to legalize "magic mushrooms" as they're colloquially called will be put to a citywide vote in May of 2019. If the measure makes it onto the ballot and receives enough votes to become law, the Denver Psilocybin Mushroom Decriminalization Initiative would make the possession, consumption, and cultivation of psilocybin mushrooms for adults over the

SAN DIEGO, CALIF. - The biggest story in the 2018 election cycle was not what color of wave we saw. It was not President Donald Trump using the Ecuadorian immigrant caravan as a campaign issue. It was not the Democrats’ focus on the president’s behavior while holding the Oval Office. The biggest story in 2018 was the voter revolt against the political status quo. Political and election reform had its most groundbreaking year in half a century, and most media outlets didn’t pay attention. From

LANE COUNTY, ORE. - Voters in Lane County, Oregon may not have voted to approve STAR voting in the 2018 midterm election. However, advocates are still celebrating the world's first STAR voting campaign, and the close election to implement it. “Almost 75,000 Lane County voters chose YES to support a fundamentally new political process,” said Co-Petitioner Mark Frohnmayer. “This result, for a brand new system that many voters only learned about when they received their ballots three weeks ago, i

Much of the media's election coverage two weeks out from Election Day is focused on what kind of wave we are seeing -- red or blue -- and how Donald Trump will affect the outcome of the midterms. However, what often gets overlooked are the stories that matter to independent-minded voters. Here are the top 5 stories in nonpartisan news to start your week: 1. Nation's Only Independent Governor Suspends Re-Election Bid Alaska Governor Bill Walker announced late Friday that he is suspending his