By Shyamali Roy Hauth: How does an 18-year old immigrant woman whose parents are both college professors and steeped in a tradition of non-violence end up in the armed forces? I was working three part-time jobs and struggling to pay rent and college costs. A friend mentioned that as a reservist, the Army paid part of her tuition. So I…
Photo Essay: Spring arrives, finally!
Ah, spring! Although by the time you see this, winter might be back. The Yoshino cherry blossoms finally peaked around the Tidal Basin in Washington, D.C., along with every blooming plant and tree in the metro area. Achoo! The colder than average March temperatures delayed the blossoms, which originally had been forecast to reach peak from March 17-20. Around a…
The killing field of gun safety bills in the Virginia House
Editor’s Note: Second in a two-part series on gun-related bills in the recently concluded state legislative session. Part 1 dealt with the Senate and was posted on April 2. This Part 2 deals with the House of Delegates By Ben Zuhl: Democrats in the Virginia House of Delegates introduced 80 bills to curb rampant gun violence in the legislative session…
A winning economic message for Democrats: Government works
By William Berkson: Republican “trickle down” policies have failed spectacularly. But their anti-government economic narrative retains a hold on the electorate. In 2016, despite the long Obama era economic recovery, 3% more voters thought Trump would handle the economy best. What Americans want is inclusive economic growth, and without a rival narrative to achieve it, Democrats will continue to fail…
Dogs walk their owners into higher levels of political activism
by Holly Hazard: Wouldn’t it be great to just sit at home and have voters come knocking asking how they might get more actively involved instead of you volunteering with a list and a clip board and going door-to-door? One early morning this winter I realized that many of my neighbors do walk by my door every day, rain or…
How to keep popular vote losers like Trump and Bush out of the White House
By Brad Swanson: Marcus Simon remembers vividly the feelings of despondency and helplessness he saw around him as reality set in – despite winning 2.9 million more votes than Donald Trump, Hillary Clinton had lost the 2016 presidential election. “The person who gets the most votes should win,” Simon remembers thinking. “Why shouldn’t it be that simple? That’s the way…
Climate rescue starts in your own backyard
By Mark Richer: Climate change is the most local of issues, as well as the most global. More than 90% of extra heat trapped by our atmosphere because of carbon emissions is absorbed in oceans spanning the globe. But the stronger and more frequent hurricanes, typhoons and cyclones that result hit us in our homes and communities. And glacial melting…
Connolly and Guzman predict continued victories for Democrats at national and state level
by Brad Swanson: Two prominent Virginia elected officials took turns Saturday night at a fund-raising event to celebrate recent Democratic victories and rally party members to take over the House and Virginia state legislature. Speaking first, Va. Del. Elizabeth Guzman (D- 31) used her story as the first Hispanic female immigrant to win election to the state House of Delegates…
Virginia Senate ignores gun horror, fails to limit use — again
Editor’s Note: First in a two-part series on gun-related bills in the recently concluded state legislative session. Part 1 deals with the Senate; Part 2 deals with the House of Delegates and will appear shortly By Sen. Dick Saslaw: Our push for commonsense gun legislation in the recently concluded session was derailed within days of the first gavel of the…
March for Our Lives: Grief, hope and joy
By Stephanie Witt Sedgwick: Equal parts of grief and hope came together at The March For Our Lives in Washington, D.C., and echoed in towns and cities across the country. An estimated 200,000 people gathered on Pennsylvania Avenue on March 24 to honor and remember the victims of the high school shooting in Parkland, FL, while vowing to change the…
March for Our Lives: Photo essay
Hundreds of thousands of people showed up for the March for Our Lives on March 24 in Washington, D.C. Led by students from Marjory Stoneman Douglas School in Parkland, FL., they carried creatively crafted signs supporting gun control measures, including banning assault weapons. The fervor of the teenage survivors of the school shooting on Valentine’s Day has given new energy to the push to stop…
First Person: A hateful encounter just increased my determination
By Marion Stillson: I love distributing literature to the public, using a wheelchair as I have done full time since I was twenty-three. And I am good at it: good at catching the mood of an oncoming pedestrian, good at just the right amount of deference or assertiveness, good at matching my position–delicately–so they cannot swerve to avoid me. So…
Barbara Comstock is an extremist hiding in plain sight
By Adam Siegel: Ideas once on the furthest extreme of the American political system have become mainstream in the Republican Party. Yesterday’s “extremist” is today’s “moderate.” Barbara Comstock is a poster child of this problem. For anyone thinking about decades of American politics, Va. Del. Comstock, R-10, can only be called an extremist. She is: –In the pocket of the NRA with…
Behind the Headlines: The Facebook dilemma
By Karen Kirk: Is it time to quit Facebook? I’m not alone in asking this question. There’s #DeleteFacebook on Twitter and various stories in the media about those who’ve gone cold turkey. Maybe it was always too good to be true. Troves of email users moved on to Facebook to keep up with long-distance friends and relatives, getting instant gratification…