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Democrats in Congress and Republicans in many statehouses are on a collision course over elections laws, with both sides racing to get their preferred rules in place before the 2022 elections.

The Senate is set to kick off consideration of a Democratic-backed election bill (S. 1) with a hearing next week, coinciding with a $30 million advertising and mobilization campaign to push for passage of the measure. A House-passed version (H.R. 1) would outlaw restrictions on voting by mail and partisan gerrymandering, among scores of other provisions that also would change campaign finance and ethics rules.

At the same time, Republicans are teeing up bills in state legislatures they control that would tighten voting restrictions, such as by limiting options for mail-in ballots and early voting for many voters. Theyre also getting set for a new round of redistricting likely to favor GOP lawmakers, especially in southern states set to gain House seats.

Which side prevails could determine how elections are conducted and who wins for years to come, both parties say.

By designating the legislation as S.1, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said Wednesday, Senate Democrats made clear we are committed to standing up to the voter suppression efforts that are threatening the core tenets of our democracy, to ending dark money in politics, and to ensuring public officials work for those they represent and not the special interests.

Schumer has indicated hes considering changing Senate rules to overcome a certain Republican filibuster to get it passed. Failure is not an option, he said.

Photo by Samuel Corum/Bloomberg

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) speaks during a news conference Wednesday.

The Senate Rules and Administration Committee will hold a hearing on the bill March 24 and schedule a markup to advance it to the floor soon after, Chairwoman Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) said in a statement Wednesday.

She said Congress has clear power under the Constitution to set rules for federal elections and override state rule changes. And in announcing the bill, Klobuchar called it essential to protecting every Americans right to vote.

The bill faces long odds in the Senate, where Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) promised Tuesday a scorched-earth response if they try to change filibuster rules to pass the election bill and other liberal measures on a party-line vote. Democrats and Republicans are divided 50-50 in the Senate, with Vice President Kamala Harris holding the deciding vote to give Democrats the majority.

McConnell, the Senates strongest opponent of changes in federal election and campaign finance laws, said earlier this year that the Democratic bill the House recently passed was an effort to grab unprecedented power over how America conducts its elections and how American citizens can engage in political speech.

But Republicans also are facing a backlash over their election proposals in states including Georgia, where legislation that would roll back voting by mail and early voting are seen by critics as aimed at restricting minority voting.

Rather than change their message, theyre busy trying to change the rules, Sen. Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.) said of Republican legislators on Wednesday in his first floor speech since being elected in January.

Tying that effort to his election as the states first Black senator, he said, We are witnessing right now a massive and unabashed assault on voting rights unlike anything weve ever seen since the Jim Crow era.

Republican lawmakers say theyre reacting to widespread concerns about election integrity. The Republican State Leadership Committee launched a commission last month for state leaders to share ideas on overhauling voting laws.

Restoring confidence in our nations elections wont happen overnight, but the RSLCs Commission on Election Integrity has served as a fantastic hub of ideas for beginning the process, RSLC President Dee Duncan said in a statement.

Recent GOP polling has shown a steep dropoff in Republican election confidence after Donald Trumps claims of widespread fraud in the 2020 election.

A poll sponsored by the conservative nonprofit R. Street found less than a quarter of Republicans believed the presidential election results were valid, even though about half GOP voters took advantage of mail-in ballots or early voting and nearly 90% said they were personally satisfied with the process they used to cast ballots.

Supporters of the Democratic election bill say their polling shows support for the voting rights and anti-corruption measures it contains. The campaign to pass the bill is being supported by the National Democratic Redistricting Council, whose chair is former Attorney General Eric Holder, along with liberal groups that have long supported revamping election and campaign finance laws.

Digital ads are already running. TV ads will start next week as Senate hearings on the bill get under way, with messages aimed at supporting Democrats who back it and at persuading Republicans. The first round of ads is set to target Alaska, Arizona, Georgia, Maine, and Pennsylvania.

Democrats have used reform messages successfully to elect candidates in recent elections, according to Tiffany Muller, head of the nonprofit End Citizens United/Let America Vote, which is spearheading the latest ad effort. But this effort is aimed at getting a bill passed, not election messaging, she insisted.

Theres a new urgency to getting that done as we see voting rights attacked across the country, Muller said on a call with reporters Wednesday. If Republicans are allowed to set the rules for the 2022 elections it makes the ability to just have the same debate in 2023 much more difficult, she said. And theres no doubt thats what Republicans are counting on.

Theres no similar ad campaign among opponents of the election bill, David Keating, president of the nonprofit Institute for Free Speech, said in an email, but he pointed to widespread opposition from Republican officials, conservative organizations, and the American Civil Liberties Union.

To contact the reporter on this story: Kenneth P. Doyle in Washington at kdoyle@bgov.com

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Kyle Trygstad at ktrygstad@bgov.com; Bennett Roth at broth@bgov.com

Continued here:
Parties Set for Election Law Clash as Senate Bill Heads to Floor - Bloomberg Government

Tech companies are no stranger to controversy and workplace issues. Over the years, its become clear that no company is immune from diversity issues. But its the job of those in the diversity, equity and inclusion departments to create and foster environments that are welcoming to all.

Last year, in the wake of the police killings of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and others, many companies spoke out in support of Black lives and the Black Lives Matter movement. At TechCrunch Sessions: Justice, well examine what some companies said at the time and how those statements align with where they are today.

Well also dive in to the myth of the pipeline problem, as well as the idea of imposter syndrome and how companies can help to shift the onus from the person experiencing feelings of doubt to the systems and cultures that perpetuate biases, sexism and racism. Well also, of course, talk about each companys DEI efforts over the years, where progress has been made and where theres still room for improvement.

To have this conversation, weve called on three DEI leaders from Uber, Facebook and Netflix to share their experiences, struggles and wins leading the charge for genuine inclusivity in tech.

Heres a bit about the three of them:

Bo Young Lee, Uber Chief Diversity Officer

Image Credits: Photo by Kimberly White/Getty Images for TechCrunch / Getty Images

Lee became Ubers first-ever chief diversity officer in early 2018. Lee joined about one year after former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder and his law firm recommended Uber have a chief diversity officer. Holder and his firm were tapped in the aftermath of former Uber engineer Susan Fowlers allegations of sexual harassment at the company.

At TC Sessions: Justice, Ill chat with Lee about where Uber is today, as well as how it is doing in its mission to double Black representation in leadership by 2025.

Sandra Altine, VP of Workforce Diversity and Inclusion

(Photo courtesy of Facebook)

Altine joined Facebook last April after previously serving as the managing director of global diversity and inclusion for investor service Moodys.

Last year, Facebook committed to having 50% of its workforce be members of underrepresented groups, which includes BIPOC, women, disabled people and veterans. Over the next five years, Facebook also said its committed to increasing its Black employee base by 30%; currently 3.8% of its U.S.-based employees are Black.

Wade Davis, VP of Inclusion Strategy for Product

Photo courtesy of Netflix

Davis, who joined Netflix in this role in September 2019, works directly with product leaders at the company to implement inclusive policies and practices into the workplaces. He also works alongside other VPs at Netflix to improve upon diversity and inclusion within the workforce. Prior to joining Netflix, Davis consulted for Google, P&G and others.

Netflix released its first-ever diversity report just this year. Netflix had previously disclosed its data but had yet to make a full report out of it. Netflix did not lay out any concrete goals, but said its generally wanting to increase representation by hiring more inclusively and building out its recruiting networks.

Be sure to snag your tickets to TC Sessions: Justice here for just $5 here.

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Hear from Uber, Facebook and Netflix about diversity, equity and inclusion at TC Sessions: Justice - TechCrunch

Kyra Tan

Two weeks ago, President Rose announced a series of speakers who will each discuss an aspect of American democracy in light of the January 6 Capitol insurrection. While the series is laudable, Bowdoin has invited two figures who offer right-of-center opinions or votes that most Bowdoin students should consider problematic. In particular, the College has invited senator Susan Collins (R-Maine), but no corresponding Democratic-leaning politician (senator Angus King (I-Maine), again?) to discuss these recent events. In addition, the series next speaker, Suzanne Nossel, is a staunch opponent of what is often called cancel culture and has misconstrued the intentions and actions of its proponents, who are simply holding individuals responsible for their words, opinions and actions. The College has brought in some fantastic speakers this year, particularly Senator King, Eric Holder and DeRay McKesson 07, but I am disappointed by the invitation of these specific individuals for this series.

Collins, who said we need to get to know people who arent just like us and called for hearing opposing ideas at a 2016 talk at Bowdoin, has herself been avoiding voters who disagree with her, as she has not held a town hall in over 20 years. Collins, despite being the Republican senator who broke with Trump most often, has received significant criticism for her votes on federal justices and the Trump tax cuts and exhibits a level of hypocrisy that exemplifies the poor state of our political system, the subject of her talk.

Collins called the FBI investigation on the sexual assault allegations against Brett Kavanaugh very thorough, despite the failure to interview key witnesses and indications that the White House prevented a further investigation of perjury by Kavanaugh. She refused to support impeachment after President Trump asked for a Ukranian investigation of the Bidens and opposes the use of reconciliation for a new stimulus package despite voting for the Bush tax cuts, passed through reconciliation, after the Bush administration fired the Senate parliamentarian for his rulings on reconciliation. Still, as long as the often-evasive Collins is willing to take questions from students, this talk is a fantastic opportunity to hold her accountable for her past votes and statements, even if that is not Bowdoins intended purpose.

Nossel, meanwhile, is a Federalist Society (best known as a breeding ground for conservative justices) contributor who has criticized what she labels as cancel culture in op-eds and her recent book, Dare to Speak: Defining Free Speech for All. Nossel claims that cancel culture causes individuals to fear anything they say can and will be used against them by the places they depend on for education, employment and political representation. Nossel admits there are times when content is too vitriolic, bigoted, deceitful or misleading to be shared online, but seems to misunderstand, or willfully ignore, the part of cancel culture in which individuals face consequences for actions or speech that may be discriminatory or downright hurtful to certain groups of people.

The idea that individuals should not face consequences for their speech or opinions is laughably absurd. Newspapers, like the Bowdoin Orient itself, have the right to hire and fire journalists and columnists as they see fit and to publish other submissions in the same manner. In her 2020 resignation letter to the New York Times, former op-ed staff editor Bari Weiss described constant bullying by colleagues who pushed for her removal, but has since appeared on The View, published an op-ed on fighting back against woke culture in the New York Post, one of the most-read papers in the country, and operates a Substack titled common sense. Weiss, for all her talk about this New McCarthyism, is doing just fine.

There is also the question of community association in addition to perceived restrictions on speech. Workplaces and campus communities, as two examples, are ultimately collectives of individuals who make their own decisions about who they want to engage with. Interviewers consider the cultural fit of job applicants, so surely employers should care about the impact of a persons beliefs on their colleagues and customers. These groups are not some oppressive power about to crush vocal dissidents, but communities that care about the wellbeing of their members. Individuals who refuse to respect and validate their peers and colleagues, and who refuse to learn from those experiences, are capable of creating much more damage than any benefits from diversity of thought. Nobody should be cancelled for anything less extreme, but to suggest that we must engage with hostile and malicious people is just as constraining as any perceived censorship. I look forward to Collins and Nossels talks, but they are part of the problem, not the solution.

Michael Borecki is a member of the Class of 2021.

Original post:
OP ED: Collins, Nossel part of problem, not solution The Bowdoin Orient - The Bowdoin Orient

We all see it, right? Cryptocurrency is having a moment again.

It last had a mainstream moment in late 2017, followed by the infamous crash in 2018. But that was, in hindsight, mostly mania and hype.

This time looks different, and dare I say more mature and more enduring. This time it's Joe Main Street and Wall Street buying in. The current run has been driven by institutions, but not just investment firms. Square, MicroStrategy, and Tesla loaded up. Notable hedge fund heads changed their public tune on crypto.

But Bitcoin hasn't changed. The perceptions merely changed, as former skeptics decided it's time to reexamine crypto. The narratives changed, and crypto is an industry driven by narratives. (Remember when big banks were all talking up "blockchain without Bitcoin?") The pandemic created a perfect storm for crypto adoption, as bullish narratives converged with a retail investor revolution.

And people have a lot of questions. Is Bitcoin really a form of currency, or merely digital gold? Is crypto mining bad for the environment? What's the deal with these wild auction prices for digital collectibles (NFTs)?

Decrypt is here to answer all your questions. We are here for people at every level of crypto understanding, whether you're starting from zero (see: What is crypto?) or you're deep down the rabbit hole of DeFi investing, yield farming, and staking.

We cover daily crypto news for the folks that live and breathe this stuff (and lately, there's a flood of daily news, from Tether and Bitfinex settling in New York to Coinbase preparing to go public); we answer specific questions we keep hearing from newbies (Why does Coinbase have 3 different apps?); and we present handy explainers in our excellent Learn section.

I first wrote about Bitcoin in 2011 at Fortune. Senators Chuck Schumer (NY) and Joe Manchin (VA) had written a letter of concern to then-Attorney General Eric Holder asking him to look into Bitcoin after Gawker (R.I.P.) ran an expos on Silk Road, which used Bitcoin as its form of payment.

Since then, regulation has become a buzzy topic in the crypto industry, but has developed at a snail's paceas regulation does. Multiple government agencies, including the SEC, CFTC, and IRS, all appear to want some jurisdiction over crypto regulation. There's also a fascinating push-and-pull between the Wall Street types who welcome more regulation, and the original Bitcoin true believers who were attracted to the space specifically because it wasn't regulated and was outside of government reach.

And since then, media coverage of crypto has evolved. Legacy media outlets have assigned more reporters to the crypto beat, new crypto news outlets have launched, and existing crypto news outlets are staffing up.

But the crypto news space has two pervasive problems: too many of the articles are written in an insidery, jargon-filled tone aimed at those who are already experts; and too many writers in the space are shills for the coins they cover.

We aim to be your go-to place for clear-eyed, discerning coverage of crypto: the good, the bad, and the baffling.

Decrypt made some hiring moves in February. I joined as its new Editor-in-Chief, after a decade of covering crypto and sports business at Fortune and then Yahoo Finance. (Fun fact: I collaborated with Decrypt on an investigative story about the SEC's quiet crackdown on ICOs back in 2018, not knowing I'd come join the site three years later.) Jeff John Roberts (no relation!), formerly of Fortune and GigaOm before that, joined as our Executive Editor; his recently published book about Coinbase, Kings of Crypto,makes him the leading expert on the red-hot company. (If you ask Jeff, Coinbase is the next Facebook. Really.) Alanna Roazzi-Laforet, a former Cond Nast digital sales exec, became our publisher. Matt Hussey, another co-founder and our former Editor-in-Chief, is now heading up the sales side. We join the existing excellent Decrypt team.

To call out just a few of Decrypt's recent engaging features: read Adriana Hamacher on what happened when a digital artist made $900,000 from buyers who thought they were buying Banksy pieces; Scott Chipolina on the man who put up Bitcoin billboards in every U.S. city with a Federal Reserve Bank; Tim Copeland's nuanced analysis of Elon Musk's public journey toward Bitcoin understanding; and Jeff Benson's examination of Janet Yellen's (bearish) comments about Bitcoin.

We're bringing on big guests: see our extensive new video interview with Mark Cuban, who talks DeFi and his obsession with NFTs; listen to NBA star Spencer Dinwiddie on our Decrypt Daily podcast; and read our interview with Miami Mayor Francisco Suarez, who told us he's planning to personally buy some coins. We've got more big interviews to come.

We're also actively participating in the industry we cover with our reader token, which rewards you for reading and learning with Decrypt. The token has been in an invite-only beta, but will very soon open to the pubic for our first "season," sponsored by Filecoin. Just download our beautiful mobile app. It's our hope that we can help spur the advent of Web3, when tokenization reduces the friction of paying for digital news content. And make sure you subscribe to our daily email newsletter.

To the 4.6 million people who came to Decrypt in February: Thank you, and buckle up, because it's all likely to get even crazier. And to all the newly curious: Welcome to crypto.

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Letter From The Editor: Welcome to Crypto - Decrypt

For the entire month of February, NBC will showcase essays about Black Americans who pioneered change in United States history during the Civil Rights Movement that led to nationwide desegregation. Pioneers include those who led local efforts to desegregate schools, professionals who forged ahead to become luminaries within their industries, and advocates who stoked the wave of change head-on in the nation's bid for racial justice and equality.

Rep. Terri Sewell, D-Alabama, on the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama, Feb. 15, 2015.

I know that the journey I'm now on was only made possible because others made those sacrifices and took a journey.

U.S. Rep. Terri Sewell, the first Black woman elected to Alabamas congressional delegation, reminds herself daily that her personal success is not her birthright; rather, that it was made possible only as a result of the blood, sweat and tears poured out by the women, men and children who came before her.

Sewell represents Alabamas 7th Congressional District, the focal point of numerous notable civil rights events in the 1960s. She thinks often about a tragedy that occurred just two years before her birth.

Rep. Terri Sewell, D-Alabama, talks about the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing by the Ku Klux Klan that killed four young girls, and how they were finally recognized for their sacrifice fifty years later.

It was Sunday morning, Sept. 15, 1963, a day that began like any other for parishioners of Birminghams 16th Street Baptist Church. It was the citys largest Black parish, and a hub of civil rights activism where leaders like Martin Luther King Jr. and Fred Shuttlesworth rallied the community. On this particular morning, 400 congregants had gathered to attend service.

Shortly before 10:30 a.m., a box containing more than a dozen sticks of dynamitedetonatedbeneath the church steps. Twenty-two churchgoers were wounded, but most poignantly, the lives of four young girls attending Sunday school were cut short.

The Four Spirits statue in Birminghams Kelly Ingram Park memorializes the victims of the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing Denise McNair, Carole Robertson, Addie Mae Collins and Cynthia Wesley.

The murder of Addie Mae Collins, Denise McNair, Carole Robertson and Cynthia Wesley, aged 11 to 14,shook the nation. But it wasnt until 2013 50 years after the Ku Klux Klan bombing that the victims were officially acknowledged for their sacrifice with what Sewell described as, "the highest civilian honor that Congress can bestow upon anyone."

Sewell was the sponsor of a bill thatposthumously awardeda Congressional Gold Medal to the girls, an action that came as the result of a sense of personal duty.

"I am a direct beneficiary of the [civil rights] movement. I know that I drink deep from wells that I did not dig," Sewell said. "I get to walk the halls of Congress today, because Addie Mae, Denise, Carole and Cynthia cannot [...] I walk in their shoes."

"The four little girls are a symbolic representation an embodiment of the promise of America, and their loss of life is a lost opportunity. [...] We, who have been beneficiaries, must make every effort to live up to the promise that their loss of life symbolizes."

Barack Obama designates the Congressional Gold Medal to commemorate the four young girls killed during the 1963 bombing of 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama, as Birmingham Mayor William Bell, Dr. Sharon Malone Holder, Attorney General Eric Holder, Rep. Terri Sewell, Thelma Pippen McNair, Lisa McNair and Dianne Braddock look on May 24, 2013, in Washington, D.C.

Since becoming a congresswoman, Sewell has sought to make good on that promise, dedicating herself to elevating public awareness of the four Birmingham girls and other pioneers and milestones that helped forge new achievements in civil rights.

The year 2020 marked the 55th anniversary of "Bloody Sunday," a day of violence in which peaceful marchers were assaulted on their journey from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama. They marched in defiance of the policies that kept them separate, but not necessarily equal, and above all else, protested for their right to vote.

Sewell again worked to honor those who opened doors for future generations of people of color. She mobilized fellow lawmakers and secured unanimous passage of a bill to award a Congressional Gold Medal to the "foot soldiers" who "were so brave to be brutally beaten on the Edmund Pettus Bridge."

Rep. Terri Sewell, D-Alabama, talks about the figures and events of the Civil Rights era that have become the foundation for Black success in the United States, including her own as the first Black Congresswoman for Alabama.

"We have tofind strengthin the fact that there were, in ageneration aheadof us, folks that didnt just complain, but they nonviolently organized and protested. [...] Its a testament to the enduring nature of our American values that are so enshrined in the Constitution," Sewell said.

It is the persistence and sacrifice of Selmas marchers and Birminghams four young "heroines," Sewell said, that make it possible for her to hold the keys to an office on Capitol Hill.

She contemplates that reality each day, and is encouraged and committed to ensuring that yesterdays sacrifices continue to create new opportunities for tomorrows youth: "We cannot rest on our laurels. We have to build upon [the sacrifices of others] and run our leg of the race with as much gusto ... empowered and emblazoned by the fortitude and bravery of those that came before us."

We cannot rest on our laurels. We have to build upon [the sacrifices of others] and run our leg of the race with as much gusto... empowered and emblazoned by the fortitude and bravery of those that came before us.

Comcast NBCUniversals Voices of the Civil Rights Movement platform honors the legacy and impact of Americas civil rights champions. Watch more than 17 hours of firsthand accounts and historical moments, online and on Xfinity On Demand.

Content owned and funded by Comcast NBCUniversal, parent company of this station.

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Alabama's 1st Black Congresswoman on the Sacrifices of the Elder Generation - NBC10 Boston