Category: Uncategorized

Twenty-eight Colorado legislators have introduced SB 287, which would establish a presidential primary. Only parties that had polled at least 20% for president in the last election would be eligible for a presidential primary. The Governor would set the date, but it would always be in March. Under current law, since 2003, there is no presidential primary in Colorado; caucuses are used instead.
In 1992, Ross Perot got 23.32% of the vote for President in Colorado, but his ballot label was “independent”, so probably if the bill had been in effect in the 1990’s, there would have been …read more

A prisoner who was sharing the same Baltimore police vehicle as Freddie Gray told investigators Gray was “intentionally trying to injure himself,” but questions remain over the witness account and its consistency with what has already been reported.
RT.com
The news comes from documents obtained by the Washington Post, which state that the prisoner told investigators Gray was “banging against the walls” inside of the transport van.
However, the prisoner could not actually see Gray because there was a metal partition separating the two men.
The prisoner, whose identity has been concealed because of fears of reprisals, is a 38-year-old man currently in jail …read more

Baltimore, Maryland – As we reported earlier this week, during the recent riots in Baltimore, rival gang members have called a truce to protect their communities. Police initially panicked when hearing about the truce and put out a warning that gang members were teaming up to “target cops.” It was quickly revealed that these claims were entirely fabricated and that the gang members did not have ill intentions by calling their truce.
Members of the Crips, Bloods and BGF, Baltimore’s three largest gangs, even stood with city council members during a press conference this week. The council members spoke very highly …read more

On April 29, the California Supreme Court refused to hear Rubin v Padilla, the case filed by three of California’s minor parties that charges the top-two system injures voting rights in the general election. It is conceivable that the case will now be appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court. …read more

Reboot Illinois is about to launch a petition drive to place an initiative on the November 2016 ballot that would set up a nonpartisan commission to draw legislative district boundaries. See this story. The group tried in 2014 but did not get enough signatures. The Constitution requires approximately 290,000 valid signatures. The group will attempt to collect 600,000. The proposed initiative would only concern legislative districts, not U.S. House districts. …read more

DownsizeDC.org, along with 23 other organizations, sent this letter to the House, and an identical letter to the Senate, to oppose the 2016 Budget Resolution that includes a “slush fund” disguised as war funding.
&nbspDear Representative:
On behalf of the undersigned organizations and our combined memberships, we urge you to oppose the Fiscal Year 2016 Budget Resolution conference report scheduled for votes this week. The conference report contains serious fiscal concerns, particularly related to billions of dollars being allocated toward the Pentagon’s war budget for ill-defined purposes.
The conferees agreed to add $39 billion to the Overseas Contingency Operations (OCO) account, …read more

The death of Freddie Gray kicked off protests and riots across Baltimore, Maryland. But reports and lawsuits show a trend of city police brutally mistreating residents, especially those in the poorer communities. The city paid millions in settlements.

RT.com
Gray was the second person to die in Baltimore PD custody in 2015. In February, Trayvon Scott, 30, died after showing distress while in a holding cell at the Northern District police station on Valentine’s Day. Police said no force was used in Scott’s death, according to the Baltimore Sun. An initial examination by the medical examiner indicated that a pre-existing medical condition …read more

Las Vegas, Nev. – Comedian Eddie Griffin has never been one to mince his words, nor shy away from controversy, especially in regards to police brutality. He continued that tradition in a recent video posted to Facebook by taking on the events that have been unfolding in Ferguson, Baltimore, and other cities across the country.
Griffin zeroed in on one of the most important, yet unexplored, aspects of the protests in Baltimore. After the police killing of Freddie Gray, Baltimore protests devolved into rioting. The media was quick to label the protesters as “thugs,” seemingly in an effort to create division …read more

The Southern Brooklyn Democratic Club has endorsed the Green Party nominee for U.S. House, 11th district. The special election is May 5. See this story. …read more

On April 28, Washington, D.C., held special elections to fill two vacancies on the City Council. Here are the results. Party labels appeared on the ballot but parties did not have nominees.
In the 4th district race, there were 12 Democrats and Glova Scott, the Socialist Workers Party who had the ballot label “independent”.Here is a picture of the ballot in that race. Oddly enough, the official candidate list shows her as “Socialist Workers”.
In the 8th district race, there were 12 Democrats and Keita Vanterpool, who was an independent. There is no procedure for runoffs; the winner …read more