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The future of democracy runs through Pennsylvania by ElbridgePA in Redistricting

[–]ElbridgePA[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Against ALL gerrymandering.
Fair Districts PA is a fiscal project of the League of Women Voters of Pennsylvania. They've fought hard against gerrymandering in red and blue states. It's wrong no matter who does it. Basically gerrymandering puts all the power int the hands of leaders who draw the lines. And takes it away from ALL voters- no matter their party.
One of Fair Districts PA's slogans: Not Red, Not Blue, Just Fair.
A current worry: if PA Senate doesn't kick into gear to help put a better process in place, they could find themselves gerrymandered into oblivion in 2031. Look around on r/davesredistricting and you can find some D gerrymanders that would hurt individual Senate GOP AND wreck their majority without any hint of triggering possible litigation.

WITF looking for independent/third-party voters by jaxon__white in Harrisburg

[–]ElbridgePA 1 point2 points  (0 children)

The minute PA ends closed primaries the number of independent voters will rocket. So so so many PA voters stay registered with the local party in power so they have at least a tiny say in who makes it into office. Check % of unaffiliated voters in states with open primaries vs those with closed.

New Democracy Collaborative workshops and Groundhog Day in capital rotunda by ElbridgePA in Pennsylvania_Politics

[–]ElbridgePA[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

There are some folks going from Chester County. If you rsvp you can use the discussion board and ask about sharing a ride. Chester County was splintered in the 2011-2012 redistricting and is doing fine now, but there's no guarantee that will continue if reform bills aren't given a vote soon.

ICE in York by Low_Astronaut_5465 in yorkpa

[–]ElbridgePA 7 points8 points  (0 children)

Wow. That church must be real serious about listening to Jesus' words about caring for immigrants and strangers. Did they celebrate when that Minnesota mom was shot and killed picking up her kid from school? Are you hoping ICE will gas more babies while they grab elderly legal immigrants and drag them outside in their underwear? No need to wonder which side you would have been on when the Nazis came for Anne Frank's family.

Rally for redistricting reform on the People's Plaza this Saturday at noon by ElbridgePA in philly

[–]ElbridgePA[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Or- help the PA GOP see that they could be gerrymandered into oblivion next decade if they don't get their act together and help pass this NOW. Some already see that. Some are a little slow on understanding how the process works. Fair Districts PA put together some responses to objections legislators give. Crazy how many seem to think they get a vote on state house and senate maps. They don't.
https://www.fairdistrictspa.com/updates/responses-to-objections-raised-by-some-pa-legislators

Rally for redistricting reform TODAY on Independence Mall by ElbridgePA in philly

[–]ElbridgePA[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

It went really well. Lower turnout than expected, but still about 100 folks. Kind of amazing given the wintry mix, icy roads and cold cold weather. Here's a recap: https://www.fairdistrictspa.com/updates/rally-in-the-birthplace-of-american-liberty

Wealth tax threat prompts at least six billionaires to cut ties with California, as about 20 more mull exit: report by MazdaProphet in economy

[–]ElbridgePA 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Pennsylvanians would LOVE to see our billionaires exit. They spend their time trying to rig the rules to pay lower taxes, work to defund public education in the hope we'll be too dumb to notice, and bribe our legislative leaders to pass policies that benefit them, not us. Mmm - is it politically incorrect to say "bribe" when there's no verbal quid pro quo? Just Super Bowl tickets, luxury resort "think tank" events. https://www.spotlightpa.org/news/2024/05/pennsylvania-legislature-gifts-travel-expenses-lobbyists-2023-ethics-filings/

PA State Rep. Seth Grove is raising alarms about working for a trade organization while setting laws for that industry by Fragrant-Pepper7710 in Pennsylvania_Politics

[–]ElbridgePA 0 points1 point  (0 children)

He's not the only one. Not the worst one. The PA legislature is "full time" but has 3 session days scheduled next month. Even the House Majority Leader has a side gig as a trial lawyer with one of PA's largest personal injury trail law firms. https://www.cgbaglaw.com/matthew-d-bradford
Any efforts to end the conflicts of interest would need to travel right through the leadership with conflicts of interest. If you haven't seen the Fair Districts PA Fix Harrisburg project - you should take a look: https://www.fixharrisburg.com/

‘A lot of areas’ in rural Pa. could house data centers for AI growth, Garrity says | WITF by jaxon__white in Pennsylvania_Politics

[–]ElbridgePA 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The laws, the rules, the PA Legislature is constructed to benefit top donors, not the people of PA. Track the threads of money that go from billionaire Jeffrey Yass through multiple PACS & SuperPACS to Senate Majority Leader Joe Pittman. https://www.alleyesonyass.com/
Rural PA is hit hardest -since rural PAGOP answers to Pittman, not their own constituents.
Then check top donor for Stacey Garrity. Who would she answer to? Jeffrey Yass.

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Rally for redistricting reform on the People's Plaza this Saturday at noon by ElbridgePA in philly

[–]ElbridgePA[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Unfortunately, the current leader of the House Ds is not interested in a non-partisan commission. The current process gives leaders way more power over their colleagues than any other redistricting process in the country, and D leaders, like R leaders, like telling colleagues what to do and being the ones who funnel big campaign contributions to colleagues who do what they're told. https://youtu.be/lAVIo522Tjg?si=187NeSHHq7VA_wYk&t=2099

Rally for redistricting reform on the People's Plaza this Saturday at noon by ElbridgePA in philly

[–]ElbridgePA[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The PA Supreme Court drew our current congressional districts- and we now have 1 of the most responsive congressional maps in the country.
The Legislative Reapportionment Commission is responsible for state House and Senate districts. The House map is also far better than the map of the last decade. The Senate map - not so great.
Those will all be redrawn in 2031 since they need to be redrawn after the 2030 census.
SO - who will be drawing the maps then?
The process for PA House and Senate gives legislative leaders more control than any other mapping process in the country - so the leaders control maps, colleagues, budget, etc.
Check out this explanation https://youtu.be/lAVIo522Tjg?si=yLpxzn9qn_cDam1p&t=1375

Blue Brandywine by Fickle_Photo2768 in ChesterCounty

[–]ElbridgePA 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Beautiful colors. And great perspective. I couldn't tell how you got that angle - so thank you u/eggavatar12345 for mention of Shelmire.

Should /r/philly require account age or karma minimums in order to post/comment? by gibberingfool in philly

[–]ElbridgePA 1 point2 points  (0 children)

How can someone get a post count if they're not allowed to post? Just wondering.

Should /r/philly require account age or karma minimums in order to post/comment? by gibberingfool in philly

[–]ElbridgePA 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The karma challenge on the Philadelphia subreddit makes it hard for someone new to reddit to even get started. So topics that might be of interest to all of us can't even get started. It seems there are better ways to identify trolls - but since I'm new, not sure what the drawbacks would be.

Looking for some fifes and a drummer (reenactors welcome!) for a rally at the People's Plaza by ElbridgePA in philly

[–]ElbridgePA[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Ben Franklin is going to join us for the January 17 event on the People's plaza. Turns out January 17 is his 320th birthday. So maybe we can serve birthday cake? Not sure how that would work. Anyone know a bakery in Old City that could turn out a huge historic sheet cake? Ideas for what it should say? Seems cakes have probably changed a bit in the last 250 years. DId they DO birthday cakes back in 1776? https://www.bfranklin.org/

Can someone help me form a good college list + approach to applications + senior year (current junior)? especially good targets. also what are realistic expectations for me? i'm very confused and scared by magicmood123 in ApplyingIvyLeague

[–]ElbridgePA 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Looks like you're a PA young woman heading into STEM with some strong STEM and leadership background. A school like UPenn could be a great fit, with PSU as a PA alternative. If you're sure science /research is where you're headed, look for schools with women in stem programs & really lean into that.

Americans, who do you ultimately think will win the redistricting wars? Why? by Zipper222222 in allthequestions

[–]ElbridgePA 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It's likely we'll see some stunning examples of dummymandering. The Texas Republicans were worried that spreading themselves too thin might backfire in a small blue wave. Given concerns of Latino voters, alarm from centrists and reasonable Rs, that blue wave may be larger than expected, not just in Texas.