Portside

After the coup, Honduras had the most rapid rise in inequality in Latin America and now has the most unequal distribution of income in the region. Over 100 percent of all real income gains in in 2010 and 2011 went to the wealthiest 10 percent of Hondurans -- the poverty rate increased by 13.2% while the extreme poverty rate increased 26%. But whoever wins next election will have ample room to increase employment, and invest in infrastructure, education and development.

Reader Comments - Science, Climate Change; Angela Davis; Israel; Elections and Labor; Music and Race Relations - Ahmet and Nesuhi Ertegun; Weathermen; Doctors & Interns as Workers; Mondragón; Golden Rice; Civil War was About Slavery; Announcements - Stop the Attacks on the School Bus Drivers' Union-Boston-Nov 9; Art to End All Wars - Live! Auction-New York-Nov 16; Unions & Child Care: Expanding Access, Raising Standards-New York-Dec 18; Travel-Study Delegations to Cuba

Tuesday's election showed gains for progressives and labor-backed candidates, and also for socialists. In Seattle, Kshama Sawant received 46.1% of the total vote for City Council. However, the count of the most recently counted votes gives her 49.69%. Even if her opponent holds on, he has announced that he will not run again - against her or anyone else.

Elections show the tide can turn against the unholy alliance of big business, the Tea Party, and the religious right. Growing protests - the "Moral Monday" movement in North Carolina, militant immigrant rights activism, battles to protect women's health clinics from state budget cuts, strikes by low-wage workers, civil disobedience actions to challenge voter suppression, & campaigns against global energy corporations. Virginia - win in a race lost by 17 points in 2009.

We need to get much more organized on the democratic side of the divide in the Democratic Party. We may not be in a position for million-dollar media buys, but we can field tens of thousands of new organizers. Next year's congressional elections call for a more unified, progressive and revitalized Democratic Party.

A new report says that early in-person voting reduces stress on the election system and provides greater access to voting. Based on extensive research, the report recommends that all states and local jurisdictions implement these seven early voting policies to expand the benefits of early voting nationwide.

Reader Comments- Sports, Police Killing, Tea Party, Robin Hood Tax, Doug Ireland; Announcements- Tim DeChristopher, Environmental Activism-NYC-Nov.02; Perspectives from NYC Food Service Workers-Nov.03; Mario Savio Memorial Lecture-Berkeley-Nov.12; Cuba Skate: Art on Deck-Washington, DC-Nov.16; Politics of Immigration Reform Forum-NYC-Nov.20; Memorial for Stephen Coats-Washington, DC-Nov.25; International Conference In Israel: For A Nuclear Free Zone In The Middle East

Reader Comments- Teachers Protests in Brazil and Mexico; Shutdown and Social Security; , GOP Playbook; Two Countries in 2014; Koch Bros. Monster Out of Control; Ghost of McCarthy; Lessons from Germany; Gen. Vo Nguyen Giap; Mission Accomplished? More Responses; Annnouncements- Trans-Pacific Partnership Forum - New York-Oct 25; Concert Celebration for Jon Fromer - New York-Oct 26 Social Cost of America's Race to Incarcerate - Chicago-Nov 7; Shorts, Job Announcement