Democracy Happy Hour – November 30, 2022

Democracy Happy Hour, November 30, 2022 - Meeting Recordings & Chat File:

• Speaker View Recording: https://us02web.zoom.us/rec/play/xpkXXkhhmp-z4ESHZE_pI4J2OjjYfxxz6-B2_pl4wSb1m13JMOUNncG33vzjAdtK61KwkeJWg2Zopm-C.-7O9thw_t9Z09j3r
• Gallery View Recording:  https://us02web.zoom.us/rec/play/rsCDn_Uc5Abb5Q0sRQlysoojOT16jUlpeocKO8mhpheMqETyHqybd1KhjDrJaI1VlwRlye3Azb_-mMbm.NAR_nqIiMRgNy6fZ
• Chat (Link will download a text file to your computer):  https://us02web.zoom.us/rec/sdownload/rPQEyOTMhCTdwEgqcM2KYg1xm-xIYtccDsGx5Xa4mANXBIc4kyvnNGdrOcjyXflKca052Qrc3AvAhQQs.p-FJkALIABt2PBJn

Fix Democracy First links:

• Fix Democracy First 2022 FUNDRAISING CAMPAIGN – Gifts available at various donation levels - https://www.fixdemocracyfirst.org/donate

Upcoming Topics:

• Dec 7 – Moore v Harper: Opening Arguments
• Dec 14 – Is the US a Republic, Democracy or Both?
• Dec 21 – NO Democracy Happy Hour this week - Holiday Break
• Dec 28 – NO Democracy Happy Hour this week - Holiday Break

ACTIONS & EVENTS:

Local Actions/Links:

• LWVSKC: DECLINE OF LOCAL NEWS FORUM WITH DEE ANNE FINKEN - Thursday, Dec 1^st @ 7 pm - https://lwvwa.org/event-5045979?CalendarViewType=1&SelectedDate=11/30/2022
• WA State - Save the Date! Democracy Lobby Week 2023 - https://lwvwa.org/page-18629/12967035

National Actions/Links:

• ACTION ALERT: Electoral Count Reform Act (ECRA) Senate Bill S.4573  
• Call your Senators & Senator Schumer - FACT SHEET - https://bit.ly/3XNznAi
• Congress Must Pass Electoral Count Reform Act - https://publiccitizen.salsalabs.org/congress-must-pass-electoral-count-reform-act/index.html

Georgia Actions:

• Make Calls to Voters Of Color with Georgia Coalition for the People’s Agenda - https://www.mobilize.us/voterempowerment/event/543478/
• Send Texts to Voters Of Color with Georgia Coalition for the People’s Agenda - https://www.mobilize.us/voterempowerment/event/543481/
• Moore v Harper - https://www.mooreharper.org/
• Citizen Connect - https://citizenconnect.us/
• Walking to Fix Our Democracy - https://www.fixourdemocracy.us/

Share your favorite democracy themed book or documentary Links:

BOOKS:

1.    How Civil Wars Start and How to Stop Them by Barbara F. Walter
 
2.    Democracy Incorporated:  Managed Democracy and the threat of Inverted Totalitarianism by Sheldon Wollin - The entire text of this book is available for free online at libcom.org.    
 
3.    After the Ivory Tower Falls: How College Broke the American Dream and Blew Up Our Politics—and How to Fix It by Will Bunch
 
4.    American Epic: Reading the U.S. Constitution by Garrett Epps
 
5.    The Politics Industry by Katherine Gehl & Michael Porter - Shorter version that can be downloaded for free in the 2017 report: https://www.hbs.edu/competitiveness/Documents/why-competition-in-the-politics-industry-is-failing-america.pdf
 
6.    Forward: Notes on the Future of Our Democracy by Andrew Yang
 
7.    The Proactive Voter Movement by Rich Stevenson - https://cs2pr.us/ProVotPam.pdf

8.    Democracy by David Moss
 
9.    Who Will Tell the People? by William Greider
 
10. Ecological Democracy by Roy Morrison
 
11. Break 'em Up by Zephyr Teachout
 
12. Monopolized by David Dayen
 
13. We Build the Road as We Travel by Roy Morrison  
 
14. The Populist Moment by Lawrence Goodwyn  (this is a "Readers' Digest"ish version of his textbook Democratic Promise)
 
15. Unequal Protection by Thom Hartmann
 
16. Davos Man by Peter Goodman
 
17. PR! A Social History of Spin by Stuart Ewen
 
18. Confessions of an Economic Hit Man by John Perkins  (there will be a new edition that's supposed to be out in Feb)
 
19. The Spirit Level by Kate Pickett and Richard Wilkinson
 
20. This Land is Our Land by Jedediah Purdy
 
21. Dollarocracy by John Nichols and Robert W. McChesney
 
22. The Great Transformation by Karl Polanyi
 
23. Almost any book by Erich Fromm will provide a good foundation for democracy.
 
24. Something to destroy stereotypes about the Americas before Columbus would be 1491 by Charles C. Mann
 
25. For a good look into the vacuous minds on the other side I suggest this non-fiction book: The Virtue of Selfishness by Ayn Rand and Nathaniel Branden which can't create a pretend universe that a fiction book can.
26. Breaking the Two Party Doom Loop by Lee Drutman
a. Video presentations: Lee Drutman on Breaking the Two-Party Doom Loop - https://www.c-span.org/video/?464450-5/washington-journal-lee-drutman-discusses-book-americas-party-system

b. Can We Break Out of the Two-Party Doom Loop? - https://ash.harvard.edu/event/can-we-break-out-two-party-doom-loop

27. Keystones of Democracy - It is a compendium of the three great works from the period of the Enlightenment: The Second Treatise of Government by John Locke, The Social Contract by Jean Jacques Rousseau and Rights of Man by Thomas Paine.
 
28. Of Population and Pollution -- A Global Warming Primer by Arnold James Byron
 
29. Disordered Minds: How Dangerous Personalities Are Destroying Democracy by Ian Hughes

DOCUMENTARIES:

• DARK MONEY - available to stream at PBS.org and via Amazon Prime Video.
• A political thriller that examines one of the greatest present threats to American democracy: the influence of untraceable corporate money on our elections and elected officials. The film takes viewers to Montana—a frontline in the fight to preserve fair elections nationwide—to follow an intrepid local journalist working to expose the real-life impacts of the US Supreme Court’s Citizens United decision. Through this gripping story, DARK MONEY uncovers the shocking and vital truth of how American elections are bought and sold. This Sundance award-winning documentary is directed/produced by Kimberly Reed (PRODIGAL SONS) and produced by Katy Chevigny (E-TEAM).
• The Democracy Rebellion - People Power in Action by Hedrick Smith
• https://reclaimtheamericandream.org/the-democracy-rebellion/
• The Democracy Rebellion - People Power in Action

• Correspondent Hedrick Smith spent three years crisscrossing America, discovering how average Americans were coming off the sidelines and challenging the power elite. Citizen movements didn’t always win victories for reform right away. Some of them had to try two or three times – in Florida, six times – to change a political status quo stacked by the power brokers for themselves. Smith came away impressed and amazed at the commitment, the tenacity, and the idealism of political amateurs who learned that they go into the arena and beat the pros. Have a look and pick your own favorite grassroots heroes.
• Slay the Dragon - https://www.slaythedragonfilm.com/
• A grassroots movement led by a young woman with no prior political experience gathers influence to protect voting rights and end gerrymandering, where electoral maps are re-drawn to serve the party in power
• Requiem for the American Dream - Requiem for the American Dream

• REQUIEM FOR THE AMERICAN DREAM is the definitive discourse with Noam Chomsky, widely regarded as the most important intellectual alive, on the defining characteristic of our time - the deliberate concentration of wealth and power in the hands of a select few. Through interviews filmed over four years, Chomsky unpacks the principles that have brought us to the crossroads of historically unprecedented inequality - tracing a half-century of policies designed to favor the wealthiest at the expense of the majority - while also looking back on his own life of activism and political participation. Profoundly personal and thought provoking, Chomsky provides penetrating insight into what may well be the lasting legacy of our time - the death of the middle class and swan song of functioning democracy. A potent reminder that power ultimately rests in the hands of the governed, REQUIEM is required viewing for all who maintain hope in a shared stake in the future.
• Suppressed & Sabotaged: The Fight to Vote - Suppressed and Sabotaged: The Fight To Vote • Full Documentary • BRAVE NEW FILMS (BNF)

• The insurrection was over a year ago, but the war on democracy is far from over. Efforts to sabotage the voting methods of millions have taken root in states all across the U.S. Our latest documentary sounds the alarm on this existential threat to our democracy and informs voters on how to take action ahead of the critical 2022 midterms. In 2018 Brian Kemp successfully suppressed hundreds of thousands of votes to become the governor of Georgia, beating out Stacey Abrams. This film uncovers the insidious voter suppression tactics Kemp and politicians all across the country use to stay in power. And these tactics are taking root in states all across the country just in time for the 2022 midterms.
• What is Democracy? - what is democracy? w/ Silvia Federici [documentary] 2018

• This reflection on democracy spans millennia and continents, from ancient Athens' groundbreaking experiment in self-government to capitalism's roots in medieval Italy, and from modern-day Greece grappling the with its financial collapse and mounting refugee crisis to the United States reckoning with its past and the growing gap between rich and poor.
• LIES, POLITICS AND DEMOCRACY - https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/documentary/lies-politics-and-democracy/
• FRONTLINE examines how officials fed the public lies about the 2020 presidential election and embraced rhetoric that led to political violence.
• Dismantling Democracy – PBS Series – https://www.pbs.org/show/dismantling-democracy/
• Dismantling Democracy examines democratic structures of government in the United States and around the world. Narrated by Tara Setmayer and featuring interviews from across the political spectrum, the three-part series depicts the gradual deterioration of the democratic process. Through a critical look at the history and current state of democracies, it becomes evident that preserving democracy is a feat no less significant than its establishment. So, are we up to this pressing task of preserving democracy?
• 13^th – View on Netflix - https://www.netflix.com/title/80091741
• Trailer: 13TH | official trailer (2016) Netflix

• Filmmaker Ava DuVernay explores the history of racial inequality in the United States, focusing on the fact that the nation's prisons are disproportionately filled with African-Americans.
• Democracy’s Dozen: 12 documentaries to stream this winter - https://www.civicnebraska.org/20221128-dem-dozen-documentaries/

Democracy in the News Links:

Same-Sex Marriage Bill Passes Senate After Bipartisan Breakthrough - https://www.nytimes.com/2022/11/29/us/politics/same-sex-marriage-bill-senate.html

Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes guilty of Jan. 6 seditious conspiracy - https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2022/11/29/rhodes-oathkeepers-sedition-verdict-jan6/

Garland Names Special Counsel for Trump Inquiries - https://www.nytimes.com/2022/11/18/us/politics/trump-special-counsel-garland.html/

Turning Point for Garland as Justice Dept. Grapples With Trump Inquiries - https://www.nytimes.com/2022/11/28/us/politics/trump-special-counsel-garland.html

Justice Dept. Seeking to Question Pence in Jan. 6 Investigation - https://www.nytimes.com/2022/11/23/us/politics/mike-pence-jan-6.html

Top Trump adviser Stephen Miller testifies to January 6 federal grand jury - https://www.cnn.com/2022/11/29/politics/stephen-miller-testifies-january-6-federal-grand-jury-trump/index.html

Former Trump adviser Kellyanne Conway sits for 5-hour interview with January 6 committee - https://www.cnn.com/2022/11/28/politics/kellyanne-conway-meeting-january-6-committee/index.html

Mark Meadows ordered to testify in Trump investigation - https://www.politico.com/news/2022/11/29/mark-meadows-ordered-to-testify-in-trump-investigation-00071232

Trump doesn't have 'absolute immunity' over efforts to overturn 2020 election, judge says - https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald-trump/trump-doesnt-absolute-immunity-efforts-overturn-2020-election-judge-sa-rcna59128

US courts ruling in favor of justice department turns legal tide on Trump - https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/nov/29/donald-trump-legal-trouble-us-courts-favor-justice-department

Three weeks after election, Arizona remains in turmoil over results - https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/11/28/arizona-cochise-county-maricopa-election/

GOP-controlled Arizona county refuses to certify election - https://apnews.com/article/arizona-deadline-2022-midterms-certification-d6a1ea4020c26313a3124931c14b79fb

Arizona secretary of state sues after Republican officials refuse to certify county election results - https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/nov/28/republicans-arizona-county-refuse-to-certify-midterm-election-results

Maricopa County says printer glitches didn’t prevent anyone from voting - https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/11/27/maricopa-county-elections-printer-toner/

Luzerne County, Pennsylvania Sued for Failing To Certify Election Results - https://www.democracydocket.com/news-alerts/luzerne-county-pennsylvania-sued-for-failing-to-certify-election-results/

Georgia Supreme Court allows early voting on post-holiday Saturday - https://www.cnn.com/2022/11/23/politics/georgia-supreme-court-early-voting/index.html

Search for Widespread Voter Fraud Finds Very Little Voter Fraud - https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/2022-midterms-voter-fraud-investigations-1234637110/

Was Election Denial Just a Passing Threat? Or is it here to stay? - https://www.nytimes.com/2022/11/28/us/politics/election-deniers-2022-midterms.html

After midterms, relieved U.S. election officials look to 2024 race - https://www.reuters.com/world/us/after-midterms-relieved-us-election-officials-look-2024-race-2022-11-18/

With time running out, Congress must reform the Electoral Count Act - https://www.bangordailynews.com/2022/11/25/opinion/editorials/with-time-running-out-congress-must-reform-the-electoral-count-act/

Passing Electoral Count Act reforms is vital to national security - https://www.militarytimes.com/opinion/commentary/2022/11/22/passing-electoral-count-act-reforms-is-vital-to-national-security/

Murkowski, Peltola reelected in Alaska's ranked-choice voting, ABC News reports - https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/murkowski-peltola-reelected-alaskas-ranked-choice-voting-abc/story?id=93854516

Republicans hold majority in Alaska House after benefiting from ranked choice voting - https://alaskapublic.org/2022/11/23/republicans-hold-majority-in-alaska-house-after-benefiting-from-ranked-choice-voting/

Nevada passed the ranked-choice voting, open primary ballot question. What happens next? - https://elkodaily.com/indy-explains-nevada-passed-the-ranked-choice-voting-open-primary-ballot-question-what-happens-next/article_08690ea0-6d1a-11ed-9c01-87ac4a6c1f4d.html

Seattle narrowly approves ranked-choice voting - https://crosscut.com/politics/2022/11/seattle-narrowly-approves-ranked-choice-voting

After vote in Seattle, ranked choice advocates eye rest of WA - https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/politics/after-vote-in-seattle-ranked-choice-advocates-eye-rest-of-wa/

How GOP state supreme court wins could change state policies and who runs Congress - https://www.npr.org/2022/11/22/1138344117/republican-state-supreme-court-abortion-voting-redistricting-ohio-north-carolina

In Blow to Trump, Supreme Court Permits House to Obtain His Tax Returns - https://www.nytimes.com/2022/11/22/us/supreme-court-trump-taxes-house-democrats.html

Supreme Court suggests higher bar may be needed for corruption cases - https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/11/28/public-corruption-supreme-court-new-york/

A rogue Trump judge has thrown the Supreme Court in disarray - https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2022/11/29/23484335/supreme-court-united-states-texas-ice-immigration-drew-tipton-trump

THE SAMUEL ALITO LEAK ALLEGATIONS PUT THE SUPREME COURT'S ACCOUNTABILITY PROBLEM ON FULL DISPLAY - https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2022/11/samuel-alito-leak-allegations-supreme-court-accountability-problem

4 Takeaways About Money in the Midterms - https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/analysis-opinion/4-takeaways-about-money-midterms

Billionaires Provided 15 Percent of Funding for the Midterms - https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/analysis-opinion/billionaires-provided-15-percent-funding-midterms

A Powerful New Tool Transforms How Billionaires Give Fortunes Away - https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2022-11-29/billionaires-powerful-new-tool-has-ray-dalio-kochs-joining-patagonia-founder?leadSource=uverify%20wall

Georgia Senate Runoff Draws Big Money, Big Names From Both Parties to Boost Vote - https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-11-28/georgia-senate-runoff-on-dec-6-draws-big-money-big-names-to-boost-turnout?srnd=politics-vp&leadSource=uverify%20wall

Biden cranks up his courtship of top donors ahead of the 2024 presidential election - https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/joe-biden/biden-cranks-courtship-top-donors-ahead-2024-presidential-election-rcna59029

What a WA rep’s No. 1 ranking in corporate cash means for the climate - https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/politics/what-a-wa-reps-no-1-ranking-in-corporate-cash-means-for-the-climate/

FEC scales back digital ad transparency rule after backlash - https://www.axios.com/2022/11/29/fec-digital-ad-disclosure-rule

To Boost Turnout, Some Cities Just Synced Up Their Local Elections With National Cycles - https://boltsmag.org/even-year-local-elections/

Lawsuit seeks to stop disqualification of WA ballots for signature mismatches - https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/politics/lawsuit-seeks-to-stop-disqualifying-wa-ballots-for-signature-mismatches/

Suit: WA Should Stop ‘Unlawful’ Signature Reviews That Disenfranchise Voters - https://www.invw.org/2022/11/28/suit-wa-should-stop-unlawful-signature-reviews-that-disenfranchise-voters/

New study documents Washington’s local news and democracy crisis - https://www.seattletimes.com/opinion/new-study-documents-washingtons-local-news-and-democracy-crisis/