Voting rights and voter suppression, especially voter ID, continue to make headlines in many states. Below is a sample of the latest. For more information, click here and also check out The Right to Vote under Attack: The Campaign to Keep Millions of Americans from the Ballot Box, a Right Wing Watch: In Focus report by PFAW Foundation.

UPDATE: After more than 9 hours of floor debate, at just after 2 am yesterday, the Minnesota House passed its version of the voter ID constitutional amendment (HF 2738), sponsored by ALEC State Chairwoman Mary Kiffmeyer. The Senate moved on its version earlier this month, and now a floor vote appears imminent. Once both chambers agree, rules state that the question will bypass Governor Mark Dayton and go to the voters in November.

March 7, 2012 marked the 47th anniversary of the “Bloody Sunday” when voting rights marchers were beaten in their attempt to cross the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama. NAACP President Ben Jealous joined activists from then and now in marking the occasion with another march, saying protest is just as necessary now as it was then.

In October 2010, the Department of Education Office for Civil Rights issued guidance to address bullying in schools, especially as it relates to federal education anti-discrimination laws. One of those laws, Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 (Title IX), prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex. While the language does not specify sexual orientation and gender identity, DOE has made clear that harassment on these grounds, under certain circumstances, violates Title IX.

Minnesota is currently fighting voting rights battles on multiple fronts, including voter ID and same-day registration.

Hey #YP4 Fellows, Alumni and Friends!

Note: If the tense of this entry seems odd, it's because it was written live during the forum. Also, sorry for messing up the views count, it increments whenever I edit.

The Student Forum on Global warming is being held at the University of St Thomas on March 03, 2008. UST president Father Dease introduced MN Governor Tim Pawlenty and UST alumnus and world-renowned arctic explorer Will Steger.

On the wall above Will Steger is a graph of "Global CO2 Concentration over the Last 40,000 Years". When the ppm drops below 200, we hit an ice age. Above 300? Warming. Currently the concentration is 385 parts per million. This increase began at the beginning of the industrial revolution.

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Benson, Minnesota.  Ever heard of it? Me either. Link to google maps.  Well pay attention because it is now home to the first, and largest, poultry litter power plant in the United States.  The plant will power 50,000 homes in Minnesota from tons of turkey waste and woodchips from massive industrial turkey farms.  To read more of the science go here: Poultry Litter to Fuel Minnesota Power Plants

Just think, maybe one day we'll become so technologically advanced you can power your own home from your cat box.    

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After an incredible 2-year effort getting the most ambitious renewable energy standard in the nation, I'm eager to report a new action community I've had the privilege of starting. Along with a team of other Macalester students, I launched the World Energy Community Action Network (WeCAN) at the Minnesota Citizen's Conference on Climate and Energy Action about two weeks ago. The network is a diverse group of citizens collaborating for a collective vision of people-driven solutions to global warming and the energy crisis.

Now I need your help!

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This week Minnesota state legislature passed a 25% Renewable Energy Standard making it the most progressive energy legislation in the country.  

  The state and their main energy provider Excel are expected to find a quarter of their energy from clean sources such as solar, wind and water. Currently half the state's energy comes from coal and and only 8% is renewable.  

  Not only was this bill passed by an overwhelming majority, but it was also signed by a Republican governor. (Pawlenty, who is speculated to run in '08 for Prez) Lawmakers cited economic and job growth and protecting the environment as major reasons for voting for the bill.

  Similar ones are set to come up in New York and Maine as well. If only it would go the Washington.