Public banking gets a toehold in New Jersey

by Joseph Lawler | Mar 6, 2018 (washingtonexaminer.com) At the 2016 Princeton Community Democratic Organization annual picnic, a pair of activists approached Phil Murphy with an unconventional idea: A public bank for New Jersey. Murphy, a longtime banker with Goldman Sachs, heard the activists out. Then, when he announced his platform for his gubernatorial… Continue reading

Justice Department sues California over sanctuary laws

SFGATE.com March 6, 2018 After struggling in court for the last year to strip federal funds from California and sanctuary cities like San Francisco for refusing to aid federal immigration agents, the Trump administration filed suit Tuesday accusing the state of unconstitutionally interfering with immigration enforcement. Three state laws enacted… Continue reading

The Middle Class Myth: How Social Class Actually Works, Explained Simply

March 2, 2018 (johnlaurits.com) Alongside the classic jingles and fuzzwords like “freedom” and “hardworking Americans,” US politicians love the term “middle class,” which is smart politics in a nation where about 60% believes they are middle class. The middle of a group, however, is defined (in statistics, at least) as a section with… Continue reading

Student After Teacher Fires Gun: ‘I Dare You to Tell Me Arming Teachers Will Make Us Safe’

February 28, 2018 by Common Dreams “I’m a Dalton High School student. Please don’t tell me a damn thing about arming teachers. Please don’t tell me that I don’t know what the hell I’m talking about.” by Julia Conley, staff writer Students were evacuated from Dalton High School in Dalton, Georgia on… Continue reading

A public bank is not a promise to keep San Francisco’s money green

Native Americans and their allies demonstrate outside Wells Fargo on Saturday in San Francisco over the commercial bank’s backing of the Keystone XL pipeline. (Courtesy Anesti Vega/Indigenous Rising Media) By Robyn Purchia on February 28, 2018 (sfexaminer.com) Montgomery Street echoed with the Lakota cry, “Mni Wiconi!” — “Water is life” — on… Continue reading