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Trump Never Intended To Be Just

Trump Never Intended To Be Just

‘Death By a Thousand Cuts’: Longer Renewal Times Are Making DACA Recipients Deportable

‘Death By a Thousand Cuts’: Longer Renewal Times Are Making DACA Recipients Deportable

The White House's Lawn.

Trump’s UFC Birthday Bash Dwarfs Flag Day’s Meaning and History

8 Keys to Working Across Differences

8 Keys to Working Across Differences

Tech Firm Quietly Revolutionizing Democratic Fundraising

David Hawkings
By David HawkingsJan 24, 2019
David Hawkings
David Hawkings is a contributor for The Fulcrum, a nonpartisan publication dedicated to strengthening democracy by fostering informed civic engagement and elevating diverse perspectives.
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The Intercept offers a fascinating look into the new digital fundraising company Grassroots Analytics, which is "quietly shaking up the Democratic campaign finance world" with its methods for targeting customized groups of liberal donors across the country — such as all Democrats who identify as social workers or those who back "Medicare for All."

The story notes that the firm worked for three of the freshman House Democrats who scored some of the biggest surprise takeovers of the midterm: Joe Cunningham in South Carolina (who won the seat Mark Sanford lost in the GOP primary), Lucy McBath in Georgia (who ousted Karen Handel after less than a full term) and Kendra Horn in Oklahoma (who took out Steve Russell).


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​A group of youngsters help posting posters.
Democracy

Combating America’s Toxic Polarization: Lessons from Northern Ireland’s Troubles

Group of people waving small American flags at sunset. Concept for different topics like Election Results, Happy Veterans Day, Labor Day, Independence Day, President day
Democracy

A Lesson from the Last Time America Felt This Fragile

A Wisconsin school board votes to keep dual language program after pushback from families, students
Education

A Wisconsin school board votes to keep dual language program after pushback from families, students

Jasmine Clark Is Poised To Be the First Black Woman Ph.D. Scientist in Congress
Diversity, Equity & Inclusion

Jasmine Clark Is Poised To Be the First Black Woman Ph.D. Scientist in Congress

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Capitalism Without Competition Is Oligarchy
1 U.S.A dollar banknotes
Photo by Alexander Grey on Unsplash

Capitalism Without Competition Is Oligarchy

For decades, Americans were told that globalization and free markets would deliver broadly shared prosperity. Instead, many saw stagnant wages, hollowed-out communities, and a growing concentration of wealth and power. The backlash was inevitable. But the real failure was not capitalism itself. It was the corruption of competition and the establishment’s generations-long indifference to the working class it left behind. That disregard didn’t just crater trust in institutions; it fueled populist backlash across the political spectrum, with anti-establishment anger now reshaping American politics.

Two truths define the American economic dilemma. First: competitive capitalism remains history’s most powerful engine for wealth creation, driving greater aggregate prosperity over the past two centuries than perhaps any other economic system. But averages are dangerous fictions; a man can easily drown in a lake that is, on average, two feet deep.

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Cathy Alderman: Housing Is Healthcare

Cathy Alderman

Cathy Alderman: Housing Is Healthcare

The Colorado Coalition for the Homeless (CCH) is working to address the lack of long-term affordable and supportive housing, which they identify as the only lasting solution to homelessness. Cathy Alderman, the organization’s Chief Communications and Public Policy Officer, emphasizes that the primary challenge is the "high cost not just of housing, but the cost of living" in Colorado, which creates a significant barrier for people trying to access stable housing or find rentals they can afford.

To address these challenges, the Coalition operates under the fundamental belief that "housing is healthcare". "We want to provide access to affordable housing and affordable health care so that people can be successful in the other areas of their life," Alderman said. As both a housing developer and a federally qualified health center, CCH manages approximately 2,000 units across 23 residential properties while providing integrated health services through clinics and street medicine teams.

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My Generation Can Spot the Deepfake. That’s Not Enough.
Smartphone with ai text in jeans pocket
Photo by Immo Wegmann on Unsplash

My Generation Can Spot the Deepfake. That’s Not Enough.

Thomas Massie, a seven-term Republican congressman from Kentucky, lost his primary on May 19. The race cost $32.6 million, making it the most expensive congressional primary in U.S. history. Among the weapons deployed against him: an AI-generated video showing him checking into a hotel room with Representatives Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Ilhan Omar, with their hands clasped. The narrator called it "worse than adultery." A disclaimer at the bottom of the screen, in small text, read: "This satirical ad was created with artificial intelligence."

I watched the ad. It looks ridiculous. The movements are slightly too smooth, the lighting is off, and the scenario is so cartoonish that I genuinely could not tell at first whether it was meant to be taken seriously. But I'm 17, and I've spent the last four years watching AI-generated content get better in real time. I know what the seams look like. Massie, in his post-loss interview on Meet the Press, was blunt about who the ad actually reached: "It was actually very effective on the boomers."

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One Year After Arrest, Pressure Mounts on El Salvador to Free Ruth López

Ruth Lopez

Latino News Network

One Year After Arrest, Pressure Mounts on El Salvador to Free Ruth López

Human rights organizations across the Americas are intensifying pressure on the Salvadoran government to immediately release Ruth Eleonora López, a prominent anti‑corruption attorney who has now spent more than a year in pretrial detention under what advocates describe as arbitrary, retaliatory, and rights‑violating conditions. López, who leads the Anti‑Corruption and Justice Unit at Cristosal, was detained on May 18, 2025, and has remained behind bars ever since. Her case has become a flashpoint in the region’s debate over democratic backsliding and the criminalization of civil society under President Nayib Bukele.

According to Amnesty International, López’s first hours in custody amounted to a short‑term enforced disappearance, as authorities refused to reveal her whereabouts to her family or legal team. The organization reports that she has since been held under an incommunicado regime, with sharply restricted access to counsel and relatives, while her case remains sealed under judicial secrecy — preventing any public examination of the evidence against her. Over the past year, the charges have shifted without explanation, moving from alleged embezzlement tied to advisory work more than a decade ago to illicit enrichment. Human Rights Watch notes that no evidence has been presented in open court, and a judge extended her pretrial detention in December 2025, with the current order set to expire this month. The Human Rights Research Center adds that López’s imprisonment reflects a broader pattern in El Salvador of criminalizing human rights defenders, journalists, and anti‑corruption advocates.

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