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Know your voter rights – and where to get help if your vote is challenged

Several states are holding local elections today. It’s important to know what your voter rights are and where to seek help if you feel that anyone has blocked you from exercising your Constitutional right to vote.

A good place to turn for information about your rights is the League of Women Voters. If you have questions about voting issues call their voting rights hotline website Vote411.org. Visit the website or

Call one of these national hotlines:
1-866-OUR-VOTE (866-687-8683)
1-888-VE-Y-VOTA (en Español)
1-888-API-VOTE (Asian multilingual assistance)
1-844-418-1682 (Arabic) read more

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Chef Mama Wei cooks Mu Shu Pork

Mama Wei's mu shu pork
Chef Mama Wei’s Mu Shu Pork via @lalwei

Ari put together this 23 second video of me cooking Mu Shu Pork. Made me look like I know what I’m doing.

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Inspiring messages of strength and hope in music videos by First Nation youth

Many Paths
Source: Many Paths … “The place where I was born is perfect”

Worth music video group shot
Source: Worth music video
Adams Lake (all girl) Indian Band’s “Worthy” carries a message of hope for youth:

The light will glow and inspire your journey … when you get a little older everything will be all right… you are worthy, you are worthy

Many Paths music video
Source: Many Paths music video
“Many Paths” with Kawacatoose First Nation youth

I’m going to keep my head up and make better decisions. You have to walk in my shoes to understand my position … If there’s one thing that a native people lack, the love and care – so unfair as I’m looking back … We walk the land of many paths, a narrow road that will lead us back to a life that we had … read more

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You’re not ready to know all that Google and Facebook know about us

What Google & FB have on you ss
Source: Dylan Curran’s article on The Guardian
It’s awe-inspiring and terrifying to know how much Google and Facebook know about us: where we go, what time we go to the gym, what you’ve searched, what searches you’ve deleted, what apps you use, what you and your friends talk about, and more. Dylan Curran, writing in The Guardian, says,

They can access your webcam and microphone
The data they collect includes tracking where you are, what applications you have installed, when you use them, what you use them for, access to your webcam and microphone at any time, your contacts, your emails, your calendar, your call history, the messages you send and receive, the files you download, the games you play, your photos and videos, your music, your search history, your browsing history, even what radio stations you listen to. read more

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On the topic of Philly’s Cheesesteaks – and a list of best places to buy

Corleones cheesteak
Foto: Corleone’s
So, I collected this list of Philly cheesesteak restaurant reviews in 2016 from a Facebook thread, but didn’t record whose thread. I need to share it, for the couple of real gems in the list and because Ari and Jorge Ivan are in Philly today, contemplating cheesesteaks. If you’ve got a favorite spot to add, share it!

Here’s what I concluded after reading through the comments:

  • Pats, Geno’s and Tony Luke’s are tourist places. Steve’s is another non-traditional spot but it gets banging reviews.
  • The consensus among Philly natives is that Papi stores make the best cheesesteaks – and they only cost $5-10
  • If you pay more than $10 for a cheesesteak you’re getting ripped off

This is my favorite comment 🙂 :

Vernon King: Foh dh. Who n the hell will pay beam dub on chessesteak with sesame seed long roll. When u could go to the Papi store & Get it for $4.00 or $4.50. I can buy new pair of J`s or Some Polo shirt. No State/City can make better chessesteak than ppl who was born/raised n Philadelphia,Pennsylvania hand down. read more

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Bernie Sanders will hold Town Hall on inequality with Elizabeth Warren & Michael Moore

inequality town hall 180319
Photo: PBS
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) announced Thursday that on March 19 he will host Inequality in America: A National Town Hall on Facebook Live focused on inequality in the United States in partnership with The Guardian, NowThis, The Young Turks and Act.tv.

Sanders, along with filmmaker Michel Moore, Sen. Elizabeth Warren, economist Darrick Hamilton and other experts, will discuss poverty in America, the 40-year decline of the middle class, the growing power of corporate interests and how we an economy that works for all Americans. read more

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Gov. Murphy will provide $2.1M for free legal help for NJ immigrants in need

New Americans in NJ
Source: Immigration Council
Newark, NJ – Governor Phil Murphy has announced that he intends to allocate $2.1M to fund free legal representation for immigrants facing detention or deportation who cannot afford private attorneys. In New Jersey, the vast majority of immigrant detainees fight their deportation cases without an attorney. It is not surprising that only 14% of unrepresented detainees are successful and able to remain in the United States, given the complexities of our immigration laws and the challenges of gathering evidence while incarcerated. Individuals facing deportation have no right to appointed counsel. read more

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Trump attacked workers’ pay and rights in 2017. Here are the worst violations.

McDonalds NYC demo
McDonalds NYC Demonstration for workers rights & fair pay Source: IUF.org

The focus of the Economic Policy Institute’s (EPI) report issued on January 12, 2018 is in its name: Ten actions that hurt workers during Trump’s first year: How Trump and Congress further rigged the economy in favor of the wealthy

See the article for facts about how workers are affected by each action on this list:

McDonalds NYC demo
McDonalds NYC Demonstration for workers rights & fair pay Source: IUF.org

  • Enacting tax cuts that overwhelmingly favor the wealthy over the average worker
  • Taking billions out of workers’ pockets by weakening or abandoning regulations that protect their pay
  • Blocking workers from access to the courts by allowing mandatory arbitration clauses in employment contracts
  • Pushing immigration policies that hurt all workers
  • Rolling back regulations that protect worker pay and safety
  • Stacking the Federal Reserve Board with candidates friendlier to Wall Street than to working families
  • Ensuring Wall Street can pocket more of workers’ retirement savings
  • Stacking the Supreme Court against workers by appointing Neil Gorsuch
  • Trying to take affordable health care away from millions of working people
  • Undercutting key worker protection agencies by nominating anti-worker leaders
    • read more

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    If you want a different kind of new year, be a new you

    Happy New Me 2018 graphic
    Image from a Foztee sweatshirt
    Sam Soto and I loved Corey Teague’s 2018 New Year message so much we translated it to Spanish. Corey is keeping it real – and we can all benefit by following suit.

    Now we have reached the part of the show where everyone begins talking about who they plan to “cut off” and how they plan to be “new” and how everything will just be different. Look out, here comes a reality check: unless you don’t wake up tomorrow, it’ll be Monday. That’s it, Monday. And then, there will be Tuesday, Wednesday, so on and so forth. Nothing out of the ordinary will happen UNLESS you do something unordinary to provoke an unordinary event to occur. Remember, NOTHING FROM NOTHING LEAVES NOTHING. You must be willing to do something in order to get something. That’s how life works. This attitude that life owes you something must die within you before you can begin mentally preparing yourself to receive something. What have you done lately for someone other than yourself? If you have to take longer than 30 seconds to answer then you’re living in a vacuum. It’s time to step out and live in 2018. If not, this new year will begin and end just like every other year. read more

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    Homemade Pineapple Cough Syrup

    pineapple
    source: pexels.com

    All Natural Pineapple Cough Syrup

    Yield: about a cup so make more if you think you may need it. This is very good stuff: good for you and good for treating your cough.

    Ingredients

    2 thick slices of fresh pineapple, peel removed, but core intact (about two good cups)
    1 Tbsp honey
    1/2 tsp cayenne pepper (omit or reduce for children)
    a thumb sized piece of fresh ginger, peeled and sliced or rough chopped
    juice of 1 lemon

    Instructions

    Chop the pineapple roughly into chunks, including the core, which is both edible and extremely healthy. Blend everything up in a blender or food processor until smooth. read more

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    Three big lies the UN spread in 2017 that stoked hatred of Israel and Jews

    Source: UN Watch
    Here are three examples of lies the United Nations spread about Israel in 2017. The ostensible goal was to provoke hatred of Israel and Jews. But United Nations Watch is on hand, monitoring statements and correcting records in order, “to repel the darkness and light the candle of truth.”

    Executive Director Hillel C. Neuer writes about the three lies:

  • When UNRWA launched a global campaign showing 11-year-old girl “Aya from Gaza” in a bombed-out building—portraying Israel as a cruel oppressor of Palestinian children—UN Watch exposed a fraud: the photo was actually from Syria! The story went viral online. UNRWA suffered massive embarrassment, and was forced to remove the photo worldwide.
  • When the U.N. held its ‘Hate Israel Day,’ we brought the Son of Hamas to deliver an epic speech exposing Palestinian crimes. He stunned the assembly into silence, and literally caused heads to turn. The video has been seen more than 8 million times on Facebook and YouTube. Israel’s prime minister called it “an extraordinary moment of truth at the United Nations.”
  • When Arab states accused Israel of Apartheid, I took the floor at the U.N. to remind the world that “Israel’s 1.5 million Arabs enjoy full rights to vote and to be elected in the Knesset; they work as doctors and lawyers; they serve on the Supreme Court.” Then I asked the accusers: “How many Jews live in your countries? Once upon a time, the Middle East was full of Jews. Algeria had 140,000 Jews. Algeria, where are your Jews? Egypt used to have 75,000 Jews. Where are your Jews?” The speech went viral—viewed more than 5 million times—and continues to reverberate.
    • read more

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    Some ways the GOP tax bill will destroy the environment

    Margaret Mead Quote
    Source: quotefancy.com

    Camila Thorndike offers a list of some ways the GOP tax scam intends to destroy the environment. She found these items less than a day after the 500+ page tax bill was released to Capitol Hill politicians for the first time last night, just an hour before the GOP began pushing for the bill to be voted on. So more horrible measures will probably be found over time.

  • Hands out a billion dollars to oil companies and preserves $14 Billion in fossil fuel subsidies, more than renewables by a 7:1 ratio.
  • Suddenly axes tax breaks for electric vehicles.
  • Eliminates the commercial solar investment credit.
  • Jeopardizes wind energy by reducing credit for future projects by a third and threatening those underway.
  • Randomly opens the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to drilling, making an industrial oil field of this wild land, which is sacred to the indigenous Gwich’in people and home to 250 species and migratory birds from all 50 states and 6 continents. This, after three generations of bipartisan protection.
  • Further weakens the EPA (think: drinkable water, breathable air, EJ), DOI (think: national parks and public lands
  • and NOAA (think: oceans, weather), and then all state agencies that will scramble to fill in the gaps.
    • read more