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We Should Ban Facial Recognition Technology
A critical look at the evidence suggests that new technology doesn’t resolve racial disparities in who gets arrested and charged. In fact, it might make it worse.
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The Fight Against Trumpism Must Continue Even After Trump is Gone
The Defend Democracy Alliance was ready to fight for every vote to be counted. We must also be ready to fight the conditions that gave rise to Trump which won’t just disappear once he leaves the White House.
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Working for Something New
This is a transcript of a speech that Benji Ramirez Gomez made on Wednesday, November 4 at a Count Every Vote demonstration at the Wisconsin State Capitol. I’m here to speak on behalf of the Madison DSA but before I do I’d like to introduce myself. I’m the son of two undocumented immigrants. So when…
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Together With Joanna Love
Joanna Love has been all over activism in Madison this year. In an interview with Benji Ramirez Gomez, she shares her outlook on this year’s uprising and the future of the fight in Madison.
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LINK: Grassroots Organizing for the Houseless
LINK emerged during the uprising following George Floyd’s murder. An interview with organizers from the group reveals the breadth and thoughtfulness of their work since June.
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The Vicious Values of Pro-Life Wisconsin
Pro-Life Wisconsin has always been a band of ruthless hypocrites. Their recklessness during a pandemic proves there’s nothing “pro-life” about them.
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Demanding the bare minimum on COVID in Wisconsin’s prisons
A sustained protest outside the Governor’s Mansion calls out the state’s failure to protect incarcerated people during the pandemic
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Rural America Isn’t Your Quaint Escape
Northern rural areas are not a playground, especially during a pandemic. They do not exist solely as a backdrop or a photo, or an escape from realities back home.
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Approval Voting: What Is It and How Does It Work?
Approval voting. It works just as it sounds: you vote for everyone you “approve” of. Your ballot looks exactly the same as it does in familiar first-past-the-post. A bunch of circles with names by them — but now, you can fill in more than one circle. That’s the only difference. We get rid of the…
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Support Immigrants, Abolish Ice
On Sunday, November 1, 2020, community activists will hold a socially-distanced all-day event at Capitol Square to honor children and adults who have died at the hands of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) or Customs and Border Protection and for all people of color who have been killed by police.
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Taking Action During Election Week
Defend Democracy Alliance is a coalition of organizations that came together to prepare for the November 3 election. We are concerned about anti-democratic attacks on voting rights and possible attempts to undermine the results. We also acknowledge that a Joe Biden victory is a hollow victory for many of the struggles we are a part…
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It’s Not Just the South: Anti-Black Racism in the Great Lakes
US cultural memory seems to embrace the defeat of the South in the US Civil War as an exoneration of the North. But the North has racism baked into its core. The contemporary and historical experiences of Black Americans in the North – especially in the Great Lakes region – show how true this is.
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Understaffed, Underfunded: Wisconsin Public Health and COVID-19
A public health professional talks about the understaffed, underfunded system on the front lines of Wisconsin’s COVID-19 emergency as well as the kinds of policies that might have made a difference.
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How do I vote in this hellscape election?
Dear Commie, My absentee ballot arrived and I can hardly bring myself to look at it. I know that Donald Trump is a POS monster from hell, but unlike my liberal friends I am unable to delude myself into thinking that Joe Biden is a decent human being, much less a good political leader. Over…
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The Serious Politics of the ‘People’s Candidate’ for State Senate
Nada Elmikashfi’s bid for State Senate exposed the conflicts in our local political landscape, including the class conflicts that usually get papered over in Madison’s tepid electoral scene. Elmikashfi made politics political again.
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The Union Difference: How Their Power and Influence Affects Everyone’s Safety
The difference is clear: the Madison School Board has a relationship of respect with the union, Madison Teachers Inc. and those it represents. The University of Wisconsin disdains those who work at the University and disrespects their organizations. The anti-union bias of the University places all of us in jeopardy.
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Attack on Independent Campaign Shows that Undermining Democracy is a Bi-partisan Project
The Green Party candidates won’t appear on the ballot this fall due to bureaucratic maneuvering by the Democratic Party. This wasn’t a defense of democracy – it was an assault on voting rights.
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We Need to Know What Happened to Ello Johnson
There is more information available about what took place between Ello Johnson and Monona Police on Thursday, possibly including dash cam and body cam footage. All of it needs to be made public now.
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Ranked Choice Voting: Breaking the Duality
First-past-the-post and “lesser evil” voting have strangled the life out of our democracy. Ranked-choice voting can help fix this. It can allow more representative candidates, more political parties to be relevant so that people can vote for what they really want.
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Blaming Students for Systemic Stupidity
This is just another example of how the response to COVID-19 is shaped to fit the logic of capitalism. Activities that generate profits – labor, purchasing goods and services – are approved, but people must limit the non commodified social interactions that would actually enrich their lives and sustain their mental health in order to…
