Rising star Kamala Harris enters 2020 race with short, but solid fundraising history

On Jan. 21, Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) became the latest Democrat to enterthe 2020 presidential race. Harris, a first-term senator, had been a district attorney and state Attorney General in California. She received national attention and Democratic acclaim in 2017 for her tough questioning of Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein and then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions from her position on the Senate Judiciary Committee. In the first day after her announcement, Harris reportedly raised $1.5 million from 38,000 donors.

In her thus far brief Senate career, Harris has positioned herself as one of the more progressive senators.

Learn more here…

https://www.opensecrets.org/news/2019/01/kamala-harris-enters-2020-race/

A look at the impact of Citizens United on its 9th anniversary

Countless pundits and politicians decry the landmark Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission ruling for making federal elections murkier than ever, but nine years later, the impact of the 2010 Supreme Court decision has never been clearer.

On Jan. 21, 2010, the Supreme Court overturned restrictions on independent expenditures from corporations and labor unions. The infamous decision set a precedent that through later rulings would spawn the creation of so-called super PACs, which can accept unlimited contributions from corporations, unions and other groups.

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https://www.opensecrets.org/news/2019/01/citizens-united/

Revolving door brings Trump-tied lobbying firm even closer to the White House

Brian Ballard has gone from zero to 100 clients real quick, leveraging his Trump ties to build a powerhouse lobbying firm practically from nothing and collecting numerous high-profile clients since the beginning of the Trump administration.

Ballard Partners has obtained more than one hundred foreign and domestic clients since Trump’s election and taken in more than $28 million from its clients during that time frame. After establishing himself as a top political fundraiser for the Trump campaign in 2016, Ballard was a member of Trump’s transition team and served as vice chair of Trump’s inaugural committee before embedding himself as a leading lobbyist at the center of Trump’s orbit.

Ballard has continued to grow his lobbying operation, assembling a team of key players in Trump world. On Tuesday, the firm announced the addition of former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi to spearhead a new corporate regulatory compliance practice. Like others at Ballard, Bondi has deep ties to Trump.

Learn more here…

https://www.opensecrets.org/news/2019/01/ballard-partners-revolving-door-white-house/

Flint Launches Program to Help Kids Who Need Special Education Services Because of Water Crisis | Colorlines

Of the many well documented consequences of the water crisis in Flint, Michigan—including a decrease in fertility and an increase in infant deaths—there is another that has not gotten as much press: lead exposure in children can negatively impact IQ, concentration and academic achievement. And now, as more Flint children seek special education services, the city has instituted a new program to help them.

Learn more here…

https://www.colorlines.com/articles/flint-launches-program-help-kids-who-need-special-education-services-because-water-crisis

Chalkbeat Disputes Chan-Zuckerberg Initiative’s Claim that Summit–“Personalized”–Learning is Research-Based

janresseger

“Personalized learning” is how the creators and promoters of computer driven education at school describe their programs, which they claim are advanced enough to tailor education to the particular needs of each student.  One of the biggest “personalized learning” platforms is Summit Learning, developed by Facebook engineers and now engineers at the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative as one of the philanthropy’s largest projects.  School districts can use Summit Learning for free, courtesy of the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative.

In November, the Washington Post‘s Valerie Strauss described Summit Learning: “The free platform, which offers online lessons and assessments, was developed by a network of 11 charter schools in California and Washington known collectively as Summit Public Schools, and Facebook engineers helped develop the software. Zuckerberg and his wife, Priscilla Chan, back the learning platform with engineering support through their… Chan Zuckerberg Initiative. The Summit website says the platform is a ‘personalized, research-backed…

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Jan. 23, 1957: Klan Forces Man to Jump from Bridge – Zinn Education Project

#tdih 1957. Four Klansmen randomly kidnapped Willie Edwards Jr., a African American man, in Montgomery, Alabama and forced him to jump to his death from a bridge. None were indicted.

Most textbooks focus narrowly on Jim Crow segregation, ignoring the pervasive, daily, widespread, and deadly violence against African Americans, other people of color, and Native Americans.

Read more and see documentary film on link below.

https://www.zinnedproject.org/news/tdih/klan-forces-man-jump/