by Maury Marcus May 26, 2019 Next year (2020), all candidates in all parties, for any office at any level, must be confronted with three definitive choices. Republican statements on these three issues show contradictions, but office-seekers in all parties need to come clear on these three controversies. The first is between two interpretations of the Second Amendment. Wayne LaPierre …
Is It a Flaw in the Constitution? Fifty Senators Represent Less Than 17% of Total U.S. Population
By Tarek Lucien Radjef. The smallest state, Wyoming has 600,000 people. Kentucky is the 25th smallest with 4.5 million Kentuckians. The total population from 1-25 is 53 million. These states are listed at the bottom of the article. The total U.S. population, including territories is about 330 million. Senators have equal power in their Chamber. This means that when Senators Dianne Feinstein and Kamala Harris of California vote,representing 40 million people, it can be nullified by Mike …
What Happened to the 40‐Hour Workweek?
By Dru Murray Americans are witnessing the demise of the 40-hour workweek. The 40-hour workweek was instituted in 1940 when Congress amended the Fair Labor Standards Act to protect employees from exploitation. Later, Baby Boomers were told Americans would soon work less due to the introduction of computers into the workplace. That promise has died a terrible death. Young Americans …
Democrats Hold the Keys to the City of Plano
By Debbie O’Reilly, Women Organizing Women Democrats President Collin County Democrats, Plano is in a fight for its future. The runoff for Plano City Council Place 7 is not just about one seat. It’s not about Ann Bacchus. In Ann’s own words, “It is about protecting Plano’s brand of excellence. It is about keeping control local. It is about honoring …
We Get What We Vote (or Don’t Vote) For
By Mike Rawlins, CCDP Chair. With another odd-year non-partisan election almost behind us, we first want to thank everyone who stepped up to run. It’s a significant commitment of time, energy, and often money, and we appreciate the passion for public service that led you to take the step. Though not as many Democrats won as we would have liked, we …
Tolerance and the First and Second Amendments
By Tarek Lucien Radjef Amendment 1 – Freedom of Religion, Speech, and the Press Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof, or abridging the freedom of speech or of the press, or the right of the people peaceably to assemble and to petition the government for a redress of grievances. Amendment …
Our Politics Are Local
Speaker of the House, Tip O’Neill, famously said over thirty years ago that all politics are local. That is especially true as voting begins for the May 4 general election. With city councils, schools boards, and Collin College Board of Trustees on the ballot, these elections are as local as we get. And you need to vote! With extreme reactionary candidates running for several of …
Why We Need to Participate in Census 2020
By Donna Buesing, CCDP Staff Writer Spanish Translation The U.S. Government’s regular Census is approaching. Please do NOT disregard this vitally important bit of paperwork. It may seem to be intrusive, but it truly makes a HUGE difference (or it can) in what happens in our communities. It’s ONLY AFTER 72 years that the specific data is released. That …
Why Is Collin County Important to Democrats?
By Jennifer Mott, Collin County Precinct Chair. Collin County, located just north of Dallas, is the 6th most populous county in Texas and sits adjacent to three other of Texas’s 10 largest counties. We are experiencing some of the fastest population growth in the country, and, according to 2017 census data, Collin County is home to three of the nation’s …
About Nationalism and Cholesterol
BY TAREK LUCIEN RADJEF. Most of us are aware that there is good and bad Cholesterol. The bad LDL must be under 100 mg/dL and the good HDL must be over 60 mg/dL. Well, there is good and bad Nationalism. It took me a while to realize that because I never talked about it in the past. Now, when the …
WHAT’S SO?
By Barb Walters, Vice Chair, CCDP. Collin County Democrats turned out in record numbers in November 2018; and although we didn’t turn the county blue, we had some significant wins: Colin Allred is now our Democratic Congressman in CD23; and eight of the thirteen Justices on the 5th District Court of Appeals are Democrats! We registered more voters than even before …
Become a Texas Legislative Activist!
The 86th Texas Legislature or TX Lege 2019 is in session and the Democrats are appalled at the bills being filed. For example, there are over 40 anti-abortion bills alone. The Republicans need to be held accountable. It starts with your education on how the Legislature works and then helping defeat these bills and continues with taking back our County, …
Break Out of the Capitalism Vs. Socialism Narrative
By Sudhir Joshi, CCDP Communications Director. Democrats Need to Talk About Fairness and Balance. As the race for the 2020 Democratic Presidential nomination heats up, I am constantly hearing interviewers trap Democrats in the Capitalism vs. Socialism paradigm. The interviewer might ask a question like, ‘Are you a socialist?’ Then, I see the Democratic candidate go down the conversational rabbit …
What if ALL Eligible Voters Went to the Polls?
By Tarek Lucien Radjef. About our right to vote … The United Nations Universal Declaration on Human Rights states that “The will of the People shall be the basis of the authority of the government. This shall be expressed by periodic and genuine elections.” Thomas Jefferson observed that “We do not have a government by the majority of the people; …
Importance of Party and Nonpartisan Elections
By Mike Rawlins, County Chair. With the May nonpartisan elections for various city councils and school boards heating up, and with Senator Sanders again announcing for President, there has been a lot of talk about who is and isn’t a real Democrat. This raises an even more basic question about why we even have political parties. I’d like to step …
Governor Jennifer Granholm “WOWed” the Crowd! At the 2019 WOW Dems Luncheon
Misty Spracklen Communications Chair, WOW Dems 2/18/2019 A sell-out crowd packed the event of the season Saturday, February 16 at Eldorado Country Club in McKinney to hear keynote speaker Governor Jennifer Granholm at the 2019 Women of Courage Luncheon hosted by Women Organizing Women Democrats (WOW Dems). Thank you to all who attended and supported this extraordinary event! The former …
Activists Celebrate Marijuana-Related Bills Filed and Mark Marijuana Advocacy Day
Are you interested in attending a Legislative Day in Austin for a Cause of Yours? Check out the TXLege2019 Corner in the Rally each week for information and details on upcoming legislative days. The following article describes an advocacy day in the Capitol during the Texas Legislature on February 7, 2019. Lawmakers can begin debate and then vote on those …
2018 Election Analysis
Mike Rawlins, County Chair Someone once asked Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg when she thought there would be enough women serving on the Supreme Court. She answered “When there are nine.” That’s how I look at Collin County – when every partisan office is held by a Democrat I’ll say there are enough. Now that we’ve had a few weeks to …
On 2018 Mid-Term Election Results
OK, so let me get this out of the way up front. Losing sucks. Sharon Hirsch’s race for HD66 is still too close to call, but the narrow losses of Sarah Depew for HD67, Mark Phariss for SD8, Suzanne Smith for State Board of Education, and Ramona Brumfield for Justice of the Peace leave all of us disappointed and frustrated. …
Article: Tree of Life shooting
Zachary Kolodny Precinct 85 Chair 10/29/2018 This past Saturday, the Jewish sabbath, there was a shooting in Pittsburgh at the Tree of Life Synagogue which led to the tragic death of 11 people and the injury of six others. This tragic event was the worst anti-Semitic attack in US history. More people were killed than even in the tragic Charleston …
Check Your Ballot!
by Mike Rawlins, Collin County Democratic Party chair 10/25/2018 We have had a few reports of people having trouble with the voting machines. To avoid them we urge you to do the following: Know your voting Precinct number? It’s on your voter registration card. Know who should be on your ballot! If you don’t already have a slate card, go …
Volunteer For Collin County
By: Donna Buesing, Staff Writer In this time of crazy ineptitude and irrational “thinking,” we can, in so many little ways, restore sanity and focus. “How?” you might ask. It is deceptively easy. VOLUNTEER!! You don’t need to commit to 40 hours. Not even 10 hours. If you have two or three hours while the kids are at school or …
Please Don’t Be a Non-Voter
9/5/2018 by Dr. Mel Whitehurst We Need Your Help A positive relationship exist between the number of voters who vote and the problems solved. As the number of voters increase more problems are resolved. As they decrease additional problems emerge. More of us need to vote. Democracy’s strengths start with the voters. Thank you for voting. When you vote you …
Get Deputized and register voters!
Get Deputized! Saturday, September 12 Are you currently deputized as a Voter Registrar in Collin County? Would you like to be? We have several events coming up where we will need lots of Deputy Voter Registrars (DVRs) in attendance. The Plano Balloon Festival and Oktoberfest are two examples of fun events where Dems can strengthen our numbers. If you were …