Focused Read/The entire story in 4-5 minutes
(* Don't miss this read the day before #MarchForOurLives steps out in D.C. & beyond.)
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"The School Shooting Generation Has Had Enough
(By Charlotte Alter | Photographs by Gabriella Demczuk for TIME)
... The March for Our Lives almost certainly won’t lead to major gun legislation in Congress this year. But the Parkland teens are taking the long view. To them, this movement is as much about mobilizing young voters as it is about gun violence. The voter-registration group HeadCount plans to dispatch roughly 5,000 volunteers to sign up young voters at U.S. marches. The Parkland kids say their goal is for 4 out of 5 young people to vote in November’s midterm elections.
“Either have the politicians pass legislation or set them up to be voted out,” Kasky says. “It’s a win-win.”
... They envision a youth political movement that will address many of the other issues affecting the youngest Americans. Hogg says he would like to have a youth demonstration every year on March 24, harnessing the power of teenage anger to demand action on everything from campaign-finance reform to net neutrality to climate change.
But even if none of this works—even if they never pass comprehensive gun reform, and net neutrality fails, and Citizens United endures, and climate-change legislation stalls—today’s teenage rebels will become tomorrow’s establishment leaders, informed by the experience that may already be shaping the gun debate.
And that, says Hogg, is the bottom line for politicians who side with the NRA.
“You’re gonna be smeared in the textbooks. Your legacy is gone,” he says. “If you don’t stand up with us now, you’ll be standing against us.”
(—With reporting by Melissa Chan/New York)
You can read the story in full here
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On March
24th, MARCH FOR OUR LIVES...
An excerpt
of the: Mission Statement
Not
one more.
We cannot allow one more child to be shot at school.
We
cannot allow one more teacher to make a choice to jump in front of a
firing assault rifle to save the lives of students.
We cannot allow
one more family to wait for a call or text that never comes.
Our
schools are unsafe. Our children and teachers are dying.
We must make
it our top priority to save these lives.
On
March 24...The collective voices of the March For Our Lives
movement will be heard. …
You can find more information on the #MarchForOurLives website here
You can follow #MarchForOurLives on Twitter here
You can get #MarchForOurLives App here
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Focused Thought in 30 seconds
Focused Action in 30 seconds
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(Just in case the photo caption is difficult to read → “Former CIA Director John Brennan says it is possible the Russians 'have something' on the president, and he also believes the country's future is in jeopardy as Trump 'continues his antics.'”)
You can see Mr. Brennan's interview, in full, on MSNBC's Morning Joe Show here
Focused Point of Interest in 2-3 minutes
"Jersey native leads anti-Trump forces in 'the midterm of our lives'
(By Jonathan D. Salant)
As Democrats march into battle this fall in an election seen as a referendum on President Donald Trump, a West Orange native will be leading the charge.
Amanda Brown Lierman, a veteran of Barack Obama's first presidential campaign, is the Democratic National Committee's political and organizing director.
"This is like the midterm of our lives, honestly," Brown Lierman, 32, said in an interview at DNC headquarters in Washington. "We have a president that sits there and has Twitter tantrums all day every day, that is rolling back all of the great progressive advances that Barack Obama made during his tenure."
She cited Trump's efforts to repeal the Affordable Care Act, which independent studies said could leave as many as 32 million additional Americans without health insurance, and his support for the Republican tax bill that made corporate tax permanent but individual reductions only temporary.
"It's so failing the American people," she said. "We have to vote on that."
... Brown Lierman was born in West Orange and attended Dartmouth College, not expecting to go into politics.
That changed when her close college friend, Meleia Willis-Starbuck, was shot to death back home in Berkeley, California.
That set me on a path I never thought I would be on," she said.
She took time off from school and came to Washington to fight for gun control, but when an internship fell through, landed a temporary position in Obama's Senate office.
After graduating from Dartmouth and moving to Chicago to go to law school, she met Obama again at a fundraiser, where he convinced her to work on his campaign.
When Obama won, she joined the administration, then became political director for Rock the Vote and worked at other advocacy organizations before joining the DNC in June 2017.
"I felt the need and the urge to do something," Brown Lierman said. "Our country is in shambles right now. I wake up every morning hoping that was a terrible nightmare that I had.
I just want to be able to do my part and given my skill set and my background, I felt like the DNC was the right space to come and try to make that change."
Her title is political and organizing director, and it is the organizing that is a top priority, seeking to reach Democratic-leaning voters who don't turn out in midterm elections and others who are disgusted with Trump and GOP policies.
A top target are millennial voters. "They are the pathway to change," Brown Lierman said.
... So to ensure they turn out in 2018, she said, the party has to go where they are, meaning social media. Since millennials move frequently, the party needs to make sure they register at their new homes and know when they need to vote, she said.
The party also must reach out to its most loyal voters, Brown Lierman said. A huge turnout by black women, for example, helped Democratic nominee Doug Jones win an upset victory in Alabama's U.S. Senate race in December.
"The Democrats have been criticized for taking certain voters for granted," she said. "We recognize that. We acknowledge that and we have to do better."
Early efforts are paying off. Brown Lierman has welcomed the fact that Democratic candidates have captured dozens of positions formerly held by Republicans across the country.
"We know what we need to do to win," she said. "We need to play in a lot of different places, which for me means organizing early and organizing often. Those conversations, those relationships, need to start happening now."
Brown Lierman cited last November's New Jersey election as an example of what the party hoped to accomplish this year. Democrats turned out to elect Gov. Phil Murphy and increase their majorities in the state legislature.
... "I see myself playing an active role up and down the ballot," Murphy said. "Do I see myself both campaigning and raising money for candidates up and down the ballot in New Jersey? Absolutely. That's my first port of call."
You can read the story here
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→ Direct sources for Democrats:
* ( Personal favored and most informative follows are shared here with the understanding that readers will always apply their own critical thinking to any information provided anywhere by anyone. #StrongerTogether does not share sources of information lightly but -- no one is perfect! -- so always #DistrustAndVerify I am using a star rating that is strictly based on my situational experience with the work of the media personality specifically in relation to issues of interest to me. )
The Democratic Party Website
Also
C-SPAN (a good place for speeches & hearings direct source (s))
→ Fact checking organizations courtesy of the Society of Professional Journalists
in alphabetical order...
→ Some of my favorite, most informative
follows on Twitter include:
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ US Intelligence | Author | Navy Senior Chief | NBC/MSNBC
⭐⭐⭐ Federal Government Operations | Vanity Fair | Newsweek | MSNBC Contributor | Author
⭐⭐⭐⭐ Voting Rights/Voter Suppression | Author | Mother Jones
→ Some of the most credible media -- at the moment:
📰📰📰 Mother Jones
→ Some of the most credible Talking Heads -- at the moment -- and their Twitter handles:
( 📎 Interesting to note: Wallace, a former Republican (or an inactive Republican I believe she calls herself) is new to the job but for right now she has clearly put country over party and her work on Trump GOP has been credible, IMO... )
...for Networking for Democrats today!
g. (Unapologetic Democrat)
g. (Unapologetic Democrat)
📎 Note: I rarely get involved in primary races -- outside of those in my own area. And, unless there is a glaring reason that can not be ignored, I support Democratic Party nominees winning in general elections.
.
.
.
(Linked) "...is our 2016 platform...a declaration of how we plan to move America forward. Democrats believe that cooperation is better than conflict, unity is better than division, empowerment is better than resentment, and bridges are better than walls.
It’s a simple but powerful idea: We are stronger together."
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Curated by Gail Mountain, with occasional personal commentary, Network For #StrongerTogether ! is not affiliated with The Democratic Party in any capacity. This is an independent blog and the hope is you will, at a glance, learn more about the Party and you will, with a click or two, also take action on its behalf as it is provided!
( You can also find me on Twitter at https://twitter.com/GKMTNtwits )
*
See the League of Women Voters website:
Vote411 here
Thank you for focusing!
g., aka Focused Democrat
✊ Resisting "Fake News"
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