Demand Progress
Demand Progress
Background
Another leftwing political organization has appeared on the scene (2010/2011) named Demand Progress, {www.demandprogress.org).
Their "Our Mission" statement, as found at their website as of 4/14/11), stated the following:
- - Demand Progress workes to win progressive policy changes for ordinary people through organizing, lobbying, and elections in the United States.
- - We run online campaigns to rally people to take action on the news that affects them - by contacting Congress and other leaders, funding pressure tactics, and spreading the word in their own communities.
- - We work in Washington to provide an advocate for the public in all the back-room decisions that affect our lives.
- - And we recruit and work with candidates across the country to help them run winning campaigns powered by everyday people instead of corporate fat cats.
The Team:
- Aaron Swartz - Executive Director. Aaron Swartz is the founder and executive director of Demand Progress. He previously co-founded the Progress Change Campaign Committee, watchdog.net, Open Library, Jottit, and Reddit.com.He is also on the board of Change Congress and a fellow at theCenter for Ethics at Harvard University. He is co-author of the RSS 1.0 specification and helped launch Creative Commons. He currently lives in Cambridge, Massachusetts].
- David Segal - Campaign Director. David Segal is a former Democratic Rhode Island State Representative, and served on the Providence City Council as a member of the Green Party (GP). During his 8 years as an elected official he's overseen the passage of legislation promoting economic justice, renewable energy and open space, banking reform, affordable housing, LGBT rights, criminal justice reform, and a variety of other progressive causes. He recently ran in the Democratic primary for Rhode Island's first Congressional seat, supported by much of the netroots and organized labor. His opinion pieces have appeared in the New York Times (NYT), Boston Globe, and other newspapers, and in a variety of online publications. He has a degree in mathematics from Columbia University.
- David Moon - Program Director. David Moon is a Washington-based policy attorney and political consultant. The former Chief Operating Officer of the election reform group, FairVote, Moon has coordinated numerous advocacy efforts to make our electoral process more fair and accessible. In recent years, he has managed and assisted successful campaings for progress Democrats, PACs and ballot initiatives around the country. His issue portfolio has included work on smart growth and transit issues, criminal justice reform, LGBT rights, women's rights, civil liberties, and more. He is a graduate of American University's Washington College of Law and received his bachelors degree from Tufts University.
- Morgan Callahan - Operations Director. Morgan Callahan is the Operations Director for Demand Progress. While previously working in electoral politics, she led community organizing, communications, research on Get-Out-The-Vote efforts in over 10 states. She most recently worked in the Development Department at EMILY's List as the Events and Call-Time Manager and consults as the Publications Manager for the journal MatchBook, which is dedicated to the prevention and treatment of juvenile firesetting. Morgan has a degree in International Relations from Hobart and William Smith Colleges and currently lives in Somerville, (Massachusetts).
Resolution to Honor Civil Rights Hero Fred Korematsu
February 6, 2012, Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley introduced a resolution honoring Fred Korematsu, who challenged the internment of Japanese Americans.
Wyden and Merkley said the resolution honoring Korematsu’s work and advocacy of the civil rights and liberties of all people is timely, given the president’s executive order establishing a Muslim ban.
"Fred Korematsu’s brave advocacy for the civil rights of 120,000 Japanese Americans remains a timeless example of courage that resonates today and every day,“ Wyden said. “I am committed to fighting for the continued advance of civil rights he spent his life defending, and against those who would betray both the law and our history to impose an unconstitutional religious test on immigrants."
"Heroes like Fred Korematsu demonstrate the importance of fighting fiercely for our core American values, even when it is hard,” said Merkley. “His story reminds us that the time is always right to stand up for what is right. We must keep fighting for the freedom and equality that define our nation, and ensure that the Statue of Liberty continues to stand as a beacon of hope around the world."
The resolution is cosponsored by Senators Mazie Hirono, Bernie Sanders, Cory Booker, Brian Schatz, Sherrod Brown, Sheldon Whitehouse, Maria Cantwell, Elizabeth Warren, Richard Blumenthal, Tim Kaine , Patty Murray, Chris Coons, and Dick Durbin.
A broad coalition of advocacy organizations support the resolution, including the Fred T. Korematsu Institute, the Bill of Rights Defense Committee & Defending Dissent Foundation, Demand Progress, Free Press Action Fund, Restore the Fourth, The Yemen Peace Project, and Fight for the Future.[1]