What's Happening Now:
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The Marshmallow Test or How I Learned To Stop Worrying And Love Sex Education!
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The Census Matters To The Hood WI LYVEF's Shahn Hayes on why the census matters in Milwaukee
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Immigrant Youth Speak Out! Check out Maine Leaguer Jenna Vendil's blog about immigrant youth speaking out for equal education!
theleague.com
Roadmap to Progress: The State of the Union
On Tuesday, January 25th, our sister organization, the League of Young Voters Education Fund, is broadcasting live from D.C. with The 2011 State of the Union: Roadmap to Progress (#BarackTalk on Twitter). LYVEF's panel of artists and activists will discuss American Politics and President Obama's speech after it happens, fielding questions from participants online. RSVP on Facebook and check out youngvoterlive.com on Tuesday night at 8:15pm!
The League's Message to the Board of Supers
Hey San Francisco--have you been following local politics this week? It's been NUTS! Looks like we're going to have a new mayor, current City Administrator Edwin Lee. We wrote this open letter to our friends on the Board of Supervisors in hopes that we'll at least get a little bit of the change we'd like to see around here.
Spotlight 2010: The League's Year in Review
Our Sister Organization, the League of Young Voters Education Fund, just released their interactive timeline of all the highlights from their 2010 organizing. Covering everything from the Census to the Midterm Election, with stops along the way to highlight some of their special programs - 99problems.org and Ignite 2010, in particular - Spotlight 2010 is a great way to look back at one of the most successful years in League organizing. Check it out!
Call Congress for the DREAM Act
11/29/10: Congress returns to Washington, D.C., today for a busy three-week session. Senators blocked the DREAM Act in September, but you've continued to demand support for legislation that would put undocumented young people who complete higher education or military service on a path to U.S. citizenship. Read more here. Call Congress at 1-866-996-5161 to demand that your Representatives support the DREAM Act!
Vote for the TX League's Christina Sanders!
We're thrilled to announce that our Texas Director Christina Sanders (pictured at left) has been nominated as 2010's Most Valuable Organizer in a contest held by the New Organizing Institute. Christina is in second place and voting is easy - just click this link and like her entry.
Biko's new Midterm critique in HuffPo
Our executive director Robert 'Biko' Baker is generating a lot of discussion on the Huffington Post with his new article Confessions of a Young Organizer: Why the Democrats Lost the Midterm Elections. Check it out and join the conversation by posting a comment or sharing on facebook.
November 2nd, 2010: Thank You for Voting
Thanks to every visitor and supporter of the League of Young Voters for turning out to vote yesterday and exhibiting so much grace and enthusiasm under fire. The numbers are still changing and the analysis will continue for weeks, but we can tell you with certainty that the 2010 Midterms is the most engaged and most fired up that OUR base has ever been. Today, tomorrow and 2012 - we're in it for the long haul!
Get a Voter Guide on TheBallot.org
Michael Moore, Van Jones, HuffPo, NY Times, Politico, Salon.com...oh, and about twenty thousand people on twitter are using TheBallot.org to get informed before they vote today. Check out TheBallot and find a guide in your area! Tweet/Facebook it, too - it's a community driven site and our users have put hours and hours into their work. Paid for by the League of Young Voters PAC
Find Your Poll via Text this Tuesday
The 2010 Midterm Elections are TOMORROW. At this point, we're all up to our eyeballs in election forecasts and turnout appeals from high and low. To make sure YOU don't get turned around on your way to the polls:Look up your polling place by text!
Text TURNOUT + Your HOME ADDRESS
(i.e., "turnout 123 Smith St Brooklyn NY 11218") to 69866.
Billy Wimsatt vs the Tea Party
The League's founding Executive Director, BIlly Wimsatt (pictured at left), has a new Q&A with Mother Jones titled Can the Youth Brigade Stop a GOP Takeover? It's a fascinating article, full of insight about the 2010 Election and beyond. Check it out right now, here's an excerpt: MJ: What's the end game here? WW: The most eloquent way I've heard it was, "Free people living in fair society and a healthy planet."
Russell Simmons shouts out the League
Hip Hop mogul and entrepreneur Russell Simmons (twitter.com/UncleRUSH) retweeted an article that went up in the Huffington Post yesterday written by the League's founding executive director and current coordinator of TheBallot.org, Billy Wimsatt, along with Van Jones. Russell Simmons, Van Jones, Huff Po AND TheBallot.org? Awesome Thursday.
LYVEF's Election Central: November2nd.org
Our sister organization, the League of Young Voters Education Fund, just released November2nd.org, a one stop shop for Midterms 2010 news. Visitors to the site can pledge to vote, sign up to receive a beautiful Vote November 2nd reminder postcard (free!) and more. Check it out at november2nd.org right now!
LYVEF Announces IGNITE 2010
On October 1st, 2010, the League of Young Voters Education Fund is hosting IGNITE 2010: From the Blogs to the Blocks, in Atlanta, Georgia - right before the BET Hip Hop Awards weekend. Ignite 2010 is a first of its kind event, a chance for artists and activists to get together in the same space and share organic and realistic solutions to building youth urban power from the 2010 Midterms and beyond. Check it out right here!
Help us win $50k and you could win an iPad!
Our sister org LYVEF could win $50,000 in Pepsi's August contest, and your vote is crucial. Plus, our coalition will raffle off a FREE IPAD to one lucky daily voter! Go vote online now and text 101489 to 73774 to vote via text. Thanks so much.
Maine League hits 5,000 petition milestone for Legal Immigrant Voting Rights
The Maine League of Young Voters passed a major milestone for Legal Immigrant Voting Rights in Portland, delivering 5,080 signed petitions to put Voting Rights on the November ballot. The proposed charter amendment will allow immigrants to register to vote and cast ballots in municipal elections so long as they can provide proof of identity, age, residency, and legal status. Check out some press coverage of this victory:
Biko tears it up on C-SPAN
Well, honestly - does anyone ever tear it up on C-SPAN? Yeah, the League does!
Probably one of the livelier, more provocative discussions the public service tv station has witnessed in recent years, our sister org LYVEF's Director Biko Baker moderated a panel at the just-concluded America's Future Now conference titled Politics Beyond the Beltway. Watch it.
The Best Kept Secret of the June 8th Election...
There's a lot at stake on June 8th! The best kept secret of the election is that bond questions 2, 3, 4, and 5 will help support more sustainable communities in Maine. These bonds are Maine's homegrown economic recovery package, helping to create jobs while at the same time helping to protect the environment. Voting "YES" on 2, 3, 4, and 5 will provide critical funding for green jobs, energy conservation, sustainable transportation, community revitalization and clean water.
Do or Die on Don't Ask, Don't Tell
From our allies at the Courage Campaign: The time for action is now. We're closer than we've ever been to ending what the New York Times editorial board on Friday called a "culture war scar on military honor that finds the nation alone among the major Western allies."
The Great Cost of the Gulf Coast Oil Spill
Too tragic to be ironic, less than a week after Earth Day, the Gulf Coast Oil Spill has reinvigorated environmental advocates and provided a sickening reminder of the unsustainability of our current energy consumption practices. Our hearts and thanks go out to all the people working to mitigate this man-made disaster. Click the title for more images from the Huffington Post.
Change the future on Earth Day!
From LYVEF: TODAY, Thursday,
April 22nd is Earth Day! The economic and
environmental policies of the past are unsustainable. This Earth Day, stand up for the future by writing your Representatives to tell them the youth of America want Green Jobs, Clean Air, and Safe Streets!
