UPDATED: 2:38 PM EST
Hundreds of progressive activists are currently sitting in on the steps of the United States Capitol building to protest the outsized influence of corporate money in American politics.
The movement called Democracy Spring is based on Moral Monday‘s, the religiously driven campaign that increased voter engagement and participation on a number of political issues.
Police have started arresting the peaceful protestors, who include The Young Turks founder Cenk Uygur.
More police moving in, supporting police line as mass arrests start. #DemocracySpring https://t.co/f4T9Ha1dED
— Alejandro Alvarez (@aletweetsnews) April 11, 2016
“It’s time to take mass nonviolent action on a historic scale to save our democracy,” a statement on the Democracy Spring website. “This April, in Washington, D.C., we will demand a Congress that will take immediate action to end the corruption of big money in our politics and ensure free and fair elections in which every American has an equal voice.”
Lot of energy at #DemocracySpring pic.twitter.com/wp5w7Zm4CN
— Jordan (@JordanChariton) April 11, 2016
According to the movement’s website, the campaign started on April 2nd with a “march from the Liberty Bell in Philadelphia” and it culminated today at the Capitol building.
So many people still not budging — awaiting arrest #DemocracySpring https://t.co/Lv9cZzvAQU pic.twitter.com/cskeQF5HFu
— Cassandra Fairbanks (@CassandraRules) April 11, 2016
This is a breaking news story. Stay with RISE NEWS as we update this story.
Are you there? Send us tips, pictures and additional information to [email protected].
RISE NEWS is a grassroots journalism news organization that is working to change the way young people become informed and engaged in public affairs. You can write for us
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At Least Eight Women Elected To Public Office In Historic Saudi Arabian Election
Saudi Arabian women have taken another large leap forward in their path to greater equality with at least eight female candidates winning seats in Saturday’s local council elections, according to regional media. The vote marks the first time both men and women could cast their ballot in Saudi Arabia. Counting is still taking place so the… Read More
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Is Daphne Campbell Trying To Trick Republicans Into Voting For Her?
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Updated: 8-9-18 at 3:19 PM EST (Campbell responds)
–Senator Daphne Campbell has been accused of illegally sending mailers to Republican voters in an attempt to trick them into voting for her, a Democrat.
–Campbell says that it is her opponent Jason Pizzo who is behind the ploy.
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Miami has a long and rich history of politicians playing dirty tricks on each other.
And signs are pointing to another example of that in 2018.
William Stuttgen is a registered Republican who lives in the Belle Meade area of Miami.
He’s retired and really dislikes his State Senator- Daphne Campbell.
He even has a campaign sign for Campbell’s opponent, Jason Pizzo in his front yard.
So when he received a letter in the mail last week that apparently came from a group of local Republicans that endorsed Campbell in the District 38 primary on August 28th, he was incensed.
Since no Republican or Independent registered to run in the general election in November, all voters in the district will be able to vote in the Democratic Primary.
Whoever wins in three weeks will be the district’s next State Senator.
And Stuttgen thinks that Campbell is using a classic dirty trick to get unsuspecting Republicans to vote for her.
“Someone got a list of the registered Republicans,” Stuttgen said in an interview at his home with RISE NEWS. “Pizzo didn’t do this. This is a Campbell thing.”
The chair of the Miami-Dade Democratic Party Juan Cuba said that they will be investigating whether Campbell is behind the flyer, as first reported by the Miami New Times:
The @MiamiDadeDems steering committee will be investigating/ sending @SenCampbellD38 a letter inquiring whether her campaign is involved with this mailer, & asking her to renounce this illegal tactic.
— Juan Cuba (@juancuba) August 7, 2018
Stuttgen said that the flyer was mailed to his house and had a stamp on it.
But it had no return address.
The name of the organization that claimed to pay for the flyer- “your Republican Neighbor” is not a registered political group in Florida and it is not clear where the money for the mailing came from.
It is also not clear how many people received the mailer.
Pizzo told RISE NEWS that his campaign has received another flyer from a voter in Miami Beach.
A Pizzo-supporting dark money group called FloridaStrong also said that have received a flyer from a voter who lives in Miami Beach that came from the same “your Republican Neighbor” group.
RISE NEWS canvassed six random houses on the street that Stuttgen lives on in Belle Meade.
None of the people we spoke to, including a registered Republican had received the flyer as of Sunday.
“Given my opponent’s unethical practices, there should be little doubt that she and her campaign coordinated this slate card,” Pizzo told RISE NEWS.
In a wide ranging phone interview that lasted nearly 45 minutes, Campbell denied the claims that she was behind the flyer.
She said that it was Pizzo who paid for the flyers to go out.
“He made it. It’s Christian Ulvert,” Campbell said of Pizzo’s political advisor. “I don’t have no money to do a slate. It’s them doing it. They’re so stupid.”
“Jason Pizzo can not take me down because I’m a people person,” Campbell said. “I’ve done so much for the communities I serve.
“Pizza wants developers from New Jersey to get rid of Haitians from Little Haiti,” Campbell said. “This is an attack on a black woman. I pray to God that August 28th that he gets his results. I leave Jason in God’s hands.”
On the campaign trail, Campbell has claimed that Pizzo is a secret Republican who wants to buy the election.
“I’m a proud Democrat,” Campbell said at a recent event in North Miami.
While Stuttgen is a Republican, he said that he is moderate on social issues.
Campbell is a pro life, anti-gay marriage Democrat who has been consistently supported by one of Florida’s most conservative religious groups, the Christian Family Coalition.
“She thinks people vote party line and they don’t look at the names,” Stuttgen said. “This is lunacy.
Campbell has a long history of controversy and borderline criminal behavior.
In the aftermath of Hurricane Irma, RISE NEWS uncovered that Campbell had used her personal connection to an FPL lobbyist to try to get power turned on at the house of her “mother” before her other constituents.
Stuttgen said that if Pizzo loses to Campbell, he will be leaving Miami for good.
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Women Now Make Up The Majority Of Law Students
In a historic milestone, women now make up the majority of law students in the United States, comprising of just over a 50 percent of the seats at accredited Law Schools in the country.
According to the American Bar Association, the number of male and female students enrolled in Juris Doctorate programs had been nearly equal until this year which also marked the first time women law students outnumbered their male counterparts.
Data released by the American Bar Association shows that 55,766 women were enrolled nationwide in a Juris Doctorate program compared with 55,059 men.
The released data also showed that over 51 percent of first year students were female.
The American Bar Association requires accredited schools to annually disclose data in a number of fields such as admissions, financial aid and employment outcomes.
Most law schools however, do not require students to identify their gender hence some students are not included in the data as they do not identify with either gender.
Overall, law school enrollment remains flat with only a tiny increase in first year students.
Enrollment numbers have stabilized after dropping drastically by almost 30 percent since 2010.
Women outnumbering men in law schools is a historical milestone as this was one area where male enrollment exceeded female enrollment despite women historically having earned 57.1 percent of college degrees.
RISE NEWS is a grassroots journalism news organization that is working to change the way young people become informed and engaged in the world. You can write for us.
Cover Photo: University of Michigan School of Law. Jason Crotty/Flickr (CC By 2.0)
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