LGBTQ rights: Where do Harris and Trump stand?

  Polls show that LGBTQ rights will likely factor into most Americans’ pick for president this November as they choose between former Republican President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris, a Democrat.

  A March 2024 survey by independent pollster PRRI found that 68% of voters will take LGBTQ rights into consideration at the polls. Fully 30% stated that they would vote only for a candidate who shares their views on the issue.

  It is no coincidence, then, that LGBTQ rights issues feature prominently in the party platforms.

Why Trump accuses people of wrongdoing he himself committed − an explanation of projection

  Donald Trump has a particular formula he uses to convey messages to his supporters and opponents alike: He highlights others’ wrongdoings even though he has committed similar acts himself.

  On Oct. 3, 2024, Trump accused the Biden administration of spending Federal Emergency Management Agency funds − money meant for disaster relief − on services for immigrants. Biden did no such thing, but Trump did during his time in the White House, including to pay for additional detention space.

Kamala Harris’ and Donald Trump’s records on abortion policy couldn’t be more different – here’s what actions they both have taken while in office

  Abortion is a critical, if not the most important, issue for many voters – especially women, according to polls – ahead of the U.S. presidential election in November.

  Since Vice President Kamala Harris became the Democratic presidential nominee in August 2024, she has been vocal about her support for abortion rights. Specifically, she supports Congress passing a federal law that would protect abortion rights in the wake of the Supreme Court in 2022 overturning the landmark Roe v. Wade ruling, which recognized a constitutional right to abortion.

How sheriffs define law and order for their counties depends a lot on their views − and most are white Republican men

  Many Americans will find on their November 2024 ballot a space to vote for an important office: local sheriff. While there are exceptions, sheriffs have a long history of using their power to maintain a particular, unequal balance of power in society, often along racial and class lines.

  A recent example of this arose on Sept. 13, 2024, when Bruce Zuchowski, sheriff of Portage County, Ohio, posted a message on a Facebook page headed by a graphic that included his official portrait and which was labeled with his official title. Zuchowski called for the public to write down the addresses of people who have campaign signs supporting Democratic nominee Vice President Kamala Harris in their yards.

Democratic men are stepping up for a woman president by stepping back, at last

  Women have been running for president of the United States since 1872, and for almost that long, people have been asking what women need to do in order to break what Hillary Clinton has called the “highest, hardest glass ceiling” left in American culture.

  Almost no one has asked what men need to do in order to remedy the problem that the job has been off-limits to more than 50% of the talent pool since … forever.

Politicians often warn of American decline – and voters often buy it

  Presidential candidates talk about national decline while campaigning. A lot. This was front and center during the June 2024 debate between former President Donald Trump and President Joe Biden.

  “Throughout the entire world, we’re no longer respected as a country,” Trump said, as he has repeatedly.

US voters say they’re ready for a woman president − but sexist attitudes still go along with opposition to Harris

  Since President Joe Biden exited the presidential race on July 21, 2024 and endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris as the Democratic presidential nominee, Harris’ campaign has generated widespread enthusiasm and attention. She quickly became the official Democratic presidential nominee and erased Donald Trump’s lead over Biden in national and swing-state polling.

  Harris and her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, have also drawn tens of thousands of supporters to their recent rallies in Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Michigan, Arizona, and Nevada.

Vice President Kamala Harris and migration in the Americas: Setting the record straight

  Vice President Kamala Harris has shown a long-standing commitment to the rule of law and supports a bipartisan border security bill. On the other hand, anti-immigration MAGA extremists in Congress, including House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA), have played politics with the issue of immigration—even making up a nonexistent immigration role—but shown little interest in actually fixing the broken immigration system.

  Contrary to what her detractors have long alleged, Vice President Harris was never placed in charge of the U.S.-Mexico border; rather, she has taken on a challenging task similar to the effort then-Vice President Joe Biden undertook during the later stages of the Obama-Biden administration: overseeing U.S. efforts to address the root causes of migration from El Salvador, Honduras, and Guatemala—the so-called Northern Triangle of Central America.

Harris brings joy to the presidential campaign − and GOP mockery of ‘laughing Kamala’ is nothing new to Black women

  Harris brings joy to the presidential campaign − and GOP mockery of ‘laughing Kamala’ is nothing new to Black women

  With Vice President Kamala Harris’ ascent to the top of the Democratic ticket, Republicans are rebuilding a campaign strategy that for months focused on running against President Joe Biden. One emerging theme asserts that Harris laughs too much at inappropriate moments – part of a broader argument that Harris is “weird.”

Annual Selma Bridge Crossing Jubilee highlights progress and continuing battles

  It was a good day to be in Selma, even if the misting rain kept people away until the afternoon sun broke through.

  But while the gray clouds threatened before they were vanquished, the smell of barbecue competed with the low throb of bass powering old R&B classics along Water Avenue to draw people out for the 59th Anniversary Selma Bridge Crossing Jubilee. The weeklong event, commemorating the March 7, 1965 attack on 600 voting rights marchers, culminated March 3 with a speech from Vice President Kamala Harris before she led thousands on a march across the Edmund Pettus Bridge over the Alabama River.

Kamala Harris has tied the record for the most tie-breaking votes in Senate history – a brief overview of what vice presidents do

  On Jan. 20, 2021, Kamala Harris became the first African American, the first person of South Asian descent, and the first woman to serve as vice president of the United States.

  More recently, she made history again by casting her 31st tie-breaking vote in the Senate, matching only one other vice president’s record for such votes. John C. Calhoun, who was vice president from 1825 to 1832, needed all eight years of his term to reach that number. In contrast, Harris has only been in office for two and a half years.

Unlike the US, Europe is setting ambitious targets for producing more organic food

  President Joe Biden has called for an all-of-government response to climate change that looks for solutions and opportunities in every sector of the U.S. economy. That includes agriculture, which emits over 600 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent every year – more than the total national emissions of the United Kingdom, Australia, France, or Italy.

  Recent polls show that a majority of Americans are concerned about climate change and willing to make lifestyle changes to address it. Other surveys show that many U.S. consumers are worried about the possible health risks of eating food produced with pesticides, antibiotics, and hormones.

Global supply-chain woes may imperil more than Christmas shopping

  A global shipping crisis has been quietly brewing for months. Soon it will lead to layoffs, higher prices, and fewer options at the grocery store. In time, it could threaten our nation’s security. 

  Vice President Kamala Harris caught a glimpse of the unfolding problem during her recent swing through Asia. In Singapore, a global hub for maritime trade, she learned that congestion at its piers was causing shipping companies to bypass the port. 

Texas voting law builds on long legacy of racism from GOP leaders

  Texas Gov. Greg Abbott signed into law a bill on Sept. 7, 2021, that reduces opportunities for people to vote, allows partisan poll watchers more access, and creates steeper penalties for violating voting laws.

  The Republican governor argued that the legislation would “solidify trust and confidence in the outcome of our elections by making it easier to vote and harder to cheat.” Democratic opponents of the measure, however, said Republican legislators presented no evidence of widespread voter fraud during debate on the bill.

Hank Sanders: Sketches #1780 - The Year of the Black Woman

  The year of the Black woman. Sometimes things happen in bunches. The old folks say, "When it rains, it pours." It may not be pouring for Black women, but recognitions of excellence are coming in bunches. The Year Of The Black Woman.

  No segment of our society has been sacrificed more than the Black Woman. No segment of our society has given more to others. No segment has been less appreciated. But the past 12 months have been different, very different for some.

When Americans recall their roots, they open up to immigration

  Which was the first generation in your family to arrive in America? Do you know why your family came to the United States?

  Members of President Joe Biden’s administration – and key nominees – have answered these questions in their first days in office.

  Upon his nomination as Biden’s secretary of Homeland Security, Alejandro Mayorkas, a native of Cuba, tweeted: “When I was very young, the United States provided my family and me a place of refuge.”

Most US states don’t have a filibuster – nor do many democratic countries

  As the U.S. Senate proceeds with its business, split 50-50 between Republicans on one side and Democrats and independents on the other, lawmakers and the public at large are concerned about the future of the filibuster.

  Under the rules of the U.S. Senate, if just one lawmaker doesn’t want a bill to progress, they can attempt to delay its passage indefinitely by giving a principled speech, or even just reading “Green Eggs and Ham,” as Ted Cruz did in 2013. A supermajority of three-fifths of the senators, or 60 of the 100, is required to stop the filibuster – or signal that one would not succeed – and proceed to a vote.

3 ways Black people say their white co-workers and managers can support them and be an antidote to systemic racism

  President Joe Biden committed the U.S. government to racial equity by issuing four executive orders on Jan. 26 that seek to curb systemic racism. In the orders, he cited the killing of George Floyd in 2020, which sparked months of protests and prompted many U.S. companies to likewise commit themselves – and hundreds of billions of dollars – to helping Black Americans overcome institutional discrimination.

With Kamala Harris, Americans yet again have trouble understanding what multiracial means

  News that Sen. Kamala Harris was Joe Biden’s choice for the 2020 Democratic vice presidential nominee drove speculation and argumentation about her identity. The big question appeared to be, “Is Kamala Harris truly African American?”

  There were numerous articles and opinion pieces about whether Harris can legitimately claim to be African American; the authenticity of her Black identity if she has an Indian mother; what it means for her to be biracial; and other articles opining and speculating about her racial, ethnic, and even national identity.

Biden plans to fight climate change in a way no U.S. president has done before

  Joe Biden is preparing to deal with climate change in a way no U.S. president has done before – by mobilizing his entire administration to take on the challenge from every angle in a strategic, integrated way.

  The strategy is evident in the people Biden has chosen for his Cabinet and senior leadership roles: Most have track records for incorporating climate change concerns into a wide range of policies, and they have experience partnering across agencies and levels of government.

  Those skills are crucial because slowing climate change will require a comprehensive and coordinated “all hands on deck” approach.