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Policy Change We Can Start Today!

A collection of 11 issues

One Invaluable Action for This Moment

How many journalists does it take to change a lightbulb? the old joke goes. Journalists just report the facts, they don't change them. At first glance, this joke doesn't age well. Much of the media seems to treat facts like Play-Do: highly pliable. Except nowadays, much

How to Make a Real Impact This Election

Whenever I see a spray of political signs, I always look for the names I don't recognize. And the reason is simple: those are likely the races where I can have the most impact. There's a good chance that these are signs for local races – school

How to Beef Up Cancer Funding in Two Steps

Who do you think the largest funder of cancer research in the world is? It's not Susan G. Komen or Lance Armstrong, the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation or the American Cancer Society. It's actually you and me. Our taxpayer dollars fund

One Immediate Action for a Stronger Democracy

Just about every state legislator I talk to says the same thing: I don't hear from constituents. Now mine is a petite sample size; America has 7,575 state representatives/senators/delegates/assembly members and I've spoken to about 11 of them. But it's

Who Calls the Shots in Local Government

If you've been up at night asking yourself, "What is the most common form of local government?" your sleepless wonderings are over! The answer is not, in fact, clownshow. The most common form of local government across this fair land is – drumroll, rat-a-tat, and a shish-boom-bah!

Things We Can Ask Our Legislator To Do For Us

On February 7, 2018, then-Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi made one minute last eight hours. When rank and file members speak on the House floor, they get one plain Jane sixty-second minute. But House leadership has the privilege of a Magic Minute, where they can speak for as long as the

The One Note That Can Change a Vote

Today, let's discuss some people who aren't household names, but who can tell us a lot about our role in democracy. Mark Babin, a licensed pilot and minister, won northern Maine's rural House District 3 seat by 110 votes. Down in the northeastern part

Two Unconventional Democracy Strengtheners

All kinds of juicy policy stuff is happening right under our noses! And an easy way to get some visibility into the juice is our Unconventional Democracy Strengthener #1: Sign up for our town or county's newsletter (if they have one). Mine shows up in my inbox on

For When You're Worried About the Election

The other night, I was in the kitchen making cookies and listening to a podcast from earlier in the week. I grated ginger as the hosts - two real smart cookies - forecasted the outcome of a special election for the U.S. House in Long Island. Their confidence was

A Useful Spot to Place Our Attention in 2024

This is part of a short series on how to navigate 2024. There are plenty of ideas to share, you'll know which lands for you. There was no wait to vote at the American Legion. Pretty quiet all morning, the woman at the folding card table told me