Until the early 20th century, more than half the country wasn’t allowed to vote. We’ve won so many battles for the right to vote, but in 2008 almost half of us chose not to. Share this video to remind someone what they need to do this November 6.
Read more: http://upworthy.com/the-one-thing-you-can-do-that-corporations-still-cant
Last summer, Jon Stewart stopped by the Egyptian TV show “Al Bernameg,” hosted by the brave and hilarious Bassem Youssef (dubbed by some “Egypt’s Jon Stewart”). Amidst the silliness, they end up having a pretty poignant discussion about the power of humor and satire in difficult situations from New York to Cairo and everywhere in between. Stick around ’til the end to see Stewart do something very American.
Read more: http://upworthy.com/jon-stewart-of-america-meets-the-jon-stewart-of-egypt-and-hilarity-ensues
When it comes to the relationship between midterm elections and presidential elections, maybe we have it all backwards.
Election-rigging isn’t just fodder for movies and primetime TV dramas anymore: It’s coming to a state
near you. As if you didn’t need more
reasons to hate the Electoral College…
If this plan is executed, Electoral College votes would be divvied up by the number of congressional districts won by the candidate instead of the current winner-takes-all format that grants the total number of Electoral College votes to the candidate who wins that state’s popular vote. After the successful gerrymandering of congressional districts to keep firm control of the House of Representatives in the Republican majority’s hands, states with highly “blue,” Democratic urban centers that are outnumbered by several rural “red,” Republican districts would give the majority of those states’ votes over to Republicans.
This sour-grapes tactic of rigging the Electoral College is currently being considered by several Republican-dominated state legislatures. These are the six most likely targets for such heinous Electoral College reform:
While the Electoral College needs to be reformed — if not outright abolished — to better reflect the will of the popular vote, using such strategies of dubious legality is a serious threat to an already money-besieged American democratic process.
Tired of seeing your vote diluted by big money super PACs and dirty political tricks? Then it’s time to let your congressional representative know that we won’t stand for this outright theft of the electoral process. It may be flawed, but it’s the only one we’ve got.
Read more: http://upworthy.com/this-is-how-you-steal-an-election
We’re now almost done with our first presidential campaign since the Supreme Court’s Citizens United ruling. And just as the Supreme Court predicted, the consequences have in no way at all totally corrupted our politics. *COUGH* *COUGH*
Truth is, it’s been a complete and total disaster. So what else do you do when the fundamentals of our democracy are threatened? Well, one San Francisco cab driver organized with the good people at The Other 98% and hit the beach!
Read more: http://upworthy.com/this-san-francisco-cab-driver-got-1000-people-to-lie-down-and-spell-out-3-words
I’m usually not a fan of Chris Matthews’ “shout until you get your point across” argument style, but this really needed to be said.
Read more: http://upworthy.com/this-is-what-happens-when-a-politician-tells-one-lie-too-many
Maybe you’re a Joseph Gordon-Levitt fan or maybe not, but what he’s talking about in the video is something the vast majority of Americans desperately want: a government that actually works for the people.
There has been plenty of debate about the consequences of unlimited money in elections. The debate is over now. There are a few outliers, no doubt, but it’s completely clear that what you need to win a congressional election is money — loads of money.
