No one should have to stand in line for three hours to vote in a presidential election. But that’s just what 102-year-old Desiline Victor had
Author: Gloria Shur Bilchik
Gloria Shur Bilchik is a freelance writer and community volunteer in St. Louis, Missouri. She is the editor of Occasional Planet. She views the preservation of democratic values and progressive programs as vital to making the US a humane, livable place for her children and grandchildren.
Birther goes after 102-year-old voter honored at State of the Union speech
The birthers just won’t go away, and now they’re transferred their wrath to Desiline Victor, the 102-year-old Miami voter–born in Haiti–whose perseverance in the
Obama’s updated contraception policy respects religious liberty & women’s rights
On Feb. 1, 2013, the Obama administration announced an update to its proposed contraception coverage policy under the healthcare law. The update comes in
Mississippi’s last abortion clinic is pink and proud
Over the last weekend in January 2013, Jackson Women’s Health Services applied a coat of bright-pink paint to its building at the corner of
Questions about Mali
Until about a week ago, I couldn’t find Mali on a map—except that I knew to look in Africa. I knew that it was
5 online ways for Congress to be more transparent
It’s time for Washington to catch up with the rest of America. As people share Facebook and Instagram pictures of every latte they drink,
Get re-elected. Resign immediately. Go to work for a lobbying group. Repeat.
Political manipulation and cynicism hit a new low in December 2012, when, just 30 days after being re-elected, Jo Ann Emerson, the ten-term Congressperson
Progressive victories in 2012
As the Republican party and “leadership” moves farther and farther out of the mainstream and deeper into the realm of extreme, irrational, anti-democracy, backward-facing,
Corporate pork: the secret ingredient in the fiscal-cliff recipe
Once upon a time, a President or Congressional leader trying to get a bill passed would use earmarks—also known as “pork”—to buy votes from
Freedom of the Press Foundation to boost WikiLeaks and other freedom-of-info groups
It’s hard to decide whether WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange is a hero or a criminal. What’s much clearer is that we live in an