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Justice Department Changes Stance on Key Voting Rights Case

Pema Levy Mother Jones
The Justice Department “simply has no more credibility in this litigation,” Dunn told the Texas Tribune after the government’s latest brief. “For six years, the Department of Justice stood on the side of voters arguing that Texas’ unnecessary voter photo ID law was enacted with discriminatory intent, then after the new administration was sworn in, one of DOJ’s first acts was to back out of the case.”

Ella Jenkins Named 2017 NEA National Heritage Fellow

NEA
Through more than 50 years of groundbreaking efforts, Ella Jenkins, aptly nicknamed the “First Lady of Children’s Music,” laid the groundwork for the field of children’s music and inspired generations of children’s music leaders who have followed in her footsteps.

Democrats’ Turnout in Georgia Blew Past Typical Off-Year Levels

Nate Cohn The New York Times
The battle for control of the House will be fought in large part in Republican-leaning districts like Georgia’s Sixth, and a strong Democratic turnout alone probably won’t be enough to win a high-turnout election. The Democrats must face the additional challenge of mobilizing young, nonwhite and especially Black voters. The race suggests that Democrats will probably be disappointed if they hope to increase the Black share of the electorate with traditional mobilization.

All the Brown Girls on TV

Mallika Rao The Atlantic
HBO’s latest web-series acquisition eschews Brooklyn for a queer, multiracial, multiethnic arts landscape in Chicago. Welcome to Fatimah Asghar and Sam Bailey’s world.

Donald Trump Collected a Massive $168,000 Union Pension. Will He Fight for Yours?

Andrew Joyce Policy.Mic
As recently as 2015, Donald Trump was still collecting a $168,000 pension — and maybe more — from the Screen Actors Guild for playing himself in The Apprentice. Now that Trump is about to be president, the most important question is: What is Trump's plan to save the system that is designed to protect millions of union pensions like his own?

The Burn Pits, A Book Review

H. Patricia Hynes Truthdig
In his no-holds-barred book, “The Burn Pits: The Poisoning of America’s Soldiers,” former Marine and Army Joseph Hickman exposes the knowing contamination of thousands of soldiers stationed on bases with these lethal pits.

How to Repeal and Replace ObamaCare Today? Use Medicare

Robert C. Hockett The Hill
I have a very simple, even modest, proposal, one that offers us means both of having the cake and of eating it too. Why not, in the very same legislation that repeals ObamaCare, instantly entitle all who lose their insurance coverage under the ACA immediately to enroll in Medicare? The enrollment might be permanent, and at the prices that Medicare currently costs its participants, or it might be simply until such time as a viable replacement for ObamaCare is found . . .