Portside

Ebola facts; Black colleges in trouble; Unwholesome Whole Foods; Blue-state diaspora; Striking for the boss

On September 12, just seven weeks before election day, a panel of three 7th Circuit appellate judges -- all appointed by Republican presidents -- reinstated Wisconsin's voter ID law, which federal district Judge Lynn Adelman had blocked in April as unconstitutional and violative of the Voting Rights Act.

Social Democrats to lead new coalition - but far-right party scores large gains to become third-largest in country.

Think of this as the year that democracy of, by, and for the billionaires shall not perish from the Earth. In other words, these days, if you have billions of dollars, you can shout from the skies and the rest of us have to listen. They are: Sheldon Adelson, Charles and David Koch, Sam Walton, Rupert Murdoch, Linda McMahon, or hedge fund honchos like John Paulson and Steven Cohen.

Race plays an unmistakable part in the Democratic challenge in conservative states and districts. And it's deeper than just antipathy to Obama; in fact, it goes back half a century.

Born into a poor, mixed-race Amazon family, Marina Silva is on the verge of a stunning election win after taking over her party

The Dean 2004 vet explains why she's running for NY governor -- and how the left can take over the Democratic Party. Teachout's run is as much a challenge to the fatalistic, anti-electoral politics left as to Cuomo. The Fordham Law professor says progressives shouldn't merely complain about the corporate takeover of the Democratic Party; they should fight for its soul.

The South, where 55 percent of America's black population lives, is increasingly looking like a different country. Fewer children can read; more adults have HIV; its residents suffer from the shortest life expectancies of any in the United States. Six of the eleven states that made up the former Confederacy are at the bottom. That deprivation tends to be concentrated in the parts of these states with disproportionately large African American populations.(long article)

The organizing director of 15 Now explains the tactics, obstacles and lessons learned from Seattle's fight for $15.

Podemos ('We can') is a left-wing party that surprised Spain by winning more than 1 million votes and five seats in the European Parliament elections last month, a mere four months after being founded. Physicist Pablo Echenique is one of those elected.