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Reps. Evans and Fitzpatrick Urged Bipartisan Showing at Congressional Baseball Game

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Congressmen Dwight Evans (D-PA) and Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA) issued a joint statement encouraging members of both parties to come together after the shooting on an Alexandria, Virginia, baseball field that left five people injured, including Rep. Steve Scalise (R-LA), the Republican majority whip, who remains in critical condition. At the time, Republican members of Congress were practicing for the Congressional Baseball Game. The shooter, who had professed disdain for Republicans, was killed during an exchange of gunfire. Here is the statement released on the day of the shooting by Evans and Fitzpatrick: [Read more…]

Trump Tax Plan Contains $2 Trillion Error

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Money Bag. Photo By Barbara Lock [CC0], via Wikimedia Commons

Photo By Barbara Lock

by Christopher Bates

On July 22, 1962, the Mariner I was launched after years of planning and preparation. Its mission, in the midst of the space race, was to conduct a flyby of Venus. Mariner never made it, since it exploded five minutes after takeoff. The reason? A missing dash in the mathematical coding done by NASA. It’s famously known as the “$80 million punctuation error.”

That $80 million is equivalent to a bit more than $650 million today. Still, if any of those scientists are still with us, they can sleep a little better, because their mistake is a drop in the bucket compared to the accounting error in Donald Trump’s budget. [Read more…]

March on Harrisburg Protesters Arrested at State Capitol

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A protester being arrested. Photo courtesy of March on Harrisburg.

Twenty-three protesters were arrested under charges of disorderly conduct, a summary offense, during a sit-in outside Pennsylvania State Representative Daryl Metcalfe’s office at the PA Capitol Monday, May 22. Five more were arrested on Tuesday. Two were from out-of-state and charged with failure to disperse, trespassing, and disrupting a meeting, as confirmed by Xelba Gutierrez, the outreach coordinator of March on Harrisburg. The two unidentified protesters have an unsecured bail set to $25,ooo and have a hearing on June 5. The other three protesters arrested on Tuesday had lesser charges. The demonstrators were with March on Harrisburg, a nonpartisan  grassroots organization, rallying behind bill HB 39/SB 132 that would place limits on gifts to state legislators. The organization believes that gifts to public officials are a channel for bias and corruption.

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March on Harrisburg Stops Marching and Starts Lobbying

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The second day of March On Harrisburg’s march. Photo courtesy of Philadelphia Jewish Voice’s Periscope.

One hundred and five miles in nine days—that is the feat just accomplished by March on Harrisburg’s participants, who marched from Philadelphia to the State Capital in Harrisburg, May 13-21. But the activists do not have time to rest their feet, as they start a four-day lobby and protest at the State Capital, May 22-24.

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Verizon, Comcast May Not Let You Read Articles Like This

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John Oliver is back at net neutrality, since his last segment on the topic in 2014, on Sunday’s “Last Week Tonight with John Oliver.”

Without the requirement to treat all data equally, big internet providers would be allowed to block or slow down access to any website whose ideas they do not like, or simply whose owners do not pay extra to be part of the “fast lane.”

Websites like the Philadelphia Jewish Voice could be silenced if they express views not in line with the company’s management.

Oliver shared the URL www.gofccyourself.com, which directly links you to the FCC’s Electronic Comment Filing System so that you can voice your support of net neutrality. After Oliver’s plea, the FCC’s site crashed, most likely as a result of the high influx of visitors. Back in 2014, Oliver’s call to action led to millions rallying behind net neutrality, and which contributed to the FCC’s Title II Net Neutrality Rules, passed in Feb. 2015, that tightened rules against the privatization of the internet.  You can also contact the FCC via email.

Thank you.

Do you value your continued access to alternative sources of information? Learn what you can do after the jump.

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Maccabiah: US Futsal Team Seeking Financial Help

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U.S. Maccabiah futsal team.

Among the athletes participating in the 20th Maccabiah Games in Israel in July, the U.S. delegation will include a futsal team. Futsal is similar to soccer, but played on a field the size of a basketball court with five players on each side.

Last year, at the Pan American Maccabi Games in Chile, the team came fourth, losing the bronze medal in penalty kicks to the host after a 3-3 draw.

At the 2013 Games, the team included four players from Greater Philadelphia, in addition to Coach Michael Monheit. Practicing in King of Prussia, the current team only has one local: goalkeeper Ethan Clearfield, who played in Chile as well.

The team is trying to raise $10,000 to ease the burden on the players. Monheit said that “for a number of players the competition and experience will not be possible” without this help:

For many of them, it will be their first trip to Israel and it will be a visit that will change their lives. I assure you, this will be the most significant connection in each of their lives so far to their Jewish heritage.

Currently, the team has raised about $2,000. Monheit said that “every dollar counts towards making it possible for these players to be able to join the team.”

Political Prisoners in the United States? Depoliticizing our criminal system

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Does the United States actually have political prisoners?

Green states do not disenfranchise. Yellow states only disenfranchise those who are actually in prison. Purple states also disenfranchise felons who are out on parole. Red states disenfranchise prisoners who are on parole or probation. Orange states restrict the rights of some to vote even after they have completed their sentences. (Source: The Sentencing Project)

Green states do not disenfranchise.
Yellow states only disenfranchise those who are actually in prison.
Purple states also disenfranchise felons who are out on parole.
Red states disenfranchise prisoners who are on parole or probation.
Orange states restrict the rights of some to vote even after they have completed their sentences.
(Source: The Sentencing Project)

Probably not by the strict definition of the term: people incarcerated for their political beliefs. But there are millions of American citizens in the criminal justice system who are pawns in our political system. The criminalization of an activity and the pursuit, arrest and incarceration of people engaged in those activities have political ramifications which, in turn, can tempt lawmakers to make decisions which favor their own political viewpoints.

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March on Harrisburg Aims to Repair Trust in Our Democracy

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— Michael Pollack

March on Harrisburg PosterMarch on Harrisburg is a grassroots, nonpartisan group dedicated to healing our wounded democracy and repairing the relationship between “We the People” and our elected representatives. We have a solid plan underway to pass three crucial and important laws in Pennsylvania, but first, it is important to understand the disease we are working to alleviate, the deep disease in our society, rooted in the way we relate to one another. [Read more…]

Yes, I Can Be A Zionist And A Feminist

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A side-by-side of Mayim Bialik (left) and Linda Sarsour (right). Photo courtesy of Fox News.

A side-by-side of Mayim Bialik (left) and Linda Sarsour (right). Photo courtesy of Fox News.

This article was originally published on Huffington Post.

Linda Sarsour, the Palestinian-American political activist, expressed back in March how feminists need to care for Palestinian women, and alluded to the sentiment that Zionism and feminism are incompatible. Sarsour said to The Nation, “It just doesn’t make any sense for someone to say, ‘Is there room for people who support the state of Israel and do not criticize it in the movement?’ There can’t be in feminism. You either stand up for the rights of all women, including Palestinians, or none. There’s just no way around it.”

Big Bang Theory actress and Orthodox Jew, Mayim Bialik, retaliated by writing an article for Grok Nation, which outlined how Sarsour’s statements were not only offensive, but also false. Bialik wrote on her Facebook page, where she also apologized for making it seem as though Sarsour directly said that Zionism and feminism are incompatible, “[The] conversation surrounding Zionism finally went too far for me to keep my big mouth shut.” Bialik vocalized her frustrations, and now I am following suit. I am tired of the discrimination against my people and of activists, such as Sarsour, who think they can pit my identity as both a Zionist and feminist against each other.

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