Silent Media...

[Bettyboo]

...this links to another thread, a news story, but I thought I'd put this in the lounge for more robust discussion.

Media Silent as Massive Protest in D.C. Fills Jails Beyond Capacity
Media Silent as #DemocracySpring Protest in D.C. Fills Jails


Not easy to find the story unless you're looking for it, and on BBC, CNN and FOX, more important stories include:

Brazilian congressman impeachment.
Australian mayor with whacky haircut being axed.
Pam's racy photothread.
Stuff about bibles becoming an official state book.
Robbers in tin suits to foil bank sensors.
...

CNN - Breaking News, U.S., World, Weather, Entertainment & Video News
Fox News - Breaking News Updates | Latest News Headlines | Photos & News Videos
BBC - Homepage

I would've thought the protest arrests would warrant headline news on these three sites, but seemingly not so...

[baldrick]

it was on just in on aust abc news

More than 400 protesters arrested for 'unlawfully demonstrating' at US Capitol, police say - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)

Police have arrested more than 400 protesters outside the US Capitol from the organisation Democracy Spring, which is seeking to remove big money from politics and combat restrictive voter identification laws.
The mostly calm demonstration resulted in arrests for what the US Capitol Police called "unlawful demonstration activity" such as crowding and obstruction.
Organisers vowed to repeat the demonstration every day for a week.

and this message may start to propogate

http://news.stanford.edu/news/2016/a...ad-040816.html

National popular vote far better than Electoral College system for choosing presidents, Stanford professors say

The Electoral College distorts presidential campaigns, disenfranchises voters and drives partisanship, Stanford scholars say. They suggest constitutional reforms to adopt a single national popular vote where the one-person, one-vote concept applies.

By Clifton B. Parker








It is time to abolish the Electoral College in favor of a single national popular vote where all votes count equally, Stanford political experts say.
The Electoral College is responsible for disenfranchising, in effect, huge swaths of American voters, said Doug McAdam, a professor of sociology who studies American politics. A single national popular or "constituency" vote would determine the president based on who won the most votes total across the country.
Otherwise, McAdam said, "The great majority of American voters exercise no real political voice in the outcome of presidential elections."
Under the U.S. Constitution, the Electoral College determines who is the U.S. president, based on vote totals in each state. The candidate who receives a majority of electoral votes (270) wins the presidency. Each state's number of electors is equal to its number of members of Congress (representatives plus senators). Washington, D.C., also has three electors, so the total number of Electoral College members is 538.
According to McAdam, four out of five Americans exercised no real electoral voice in the 2012 presidential election due to the winner-take-all Electoral College system, which made campaigns focus on the handful of "battleground" states that were up for grabs heading into the election.

[chassamui]

There is always a danger in the two party system that you end up with a hung parliament. Dem President cannot legislate because the House won't allow it. One person one vote would probably elect a Republican, based on the bias of congress. Nothing wrong in that, unless you want an idiot like Trump elected.

[Neverna]

CNN has now got an article on it.

'Democracy Spring' protesters arrested at Capitol Hill sit-in - CNNPolitics.com

Hundreds of 'Democracy Spring' protesters arrested at Capitol Hill sit-in

(CNN) More than 400 protesters staging a sit-in against the influence of money in politics and congressional inaction to reverse it were arrested on the steps of the U.S. Capitol Monday, the first day of what is expected to be a week-long series of demonstrations.

"More than 400 individuals have been arrested for unlawful demonstration activity, and are being processed using mass arrest procedures," the U.S. Capitol Police said in a statement early Monday evening. Those taken into custody will be charged with "crowding, obstructing and incommoding."

Beginning on April 2 in Philadelphia, participants in the "Democracy Spring" campaign marched nearly 150 miles south to Washington, where the Progressive Change Campaign Committee (PCCC) said on Monday that rallies and events have been scheduled through the weekend in an effort to "draw attention to our corrupt campaign finance system and rigged voting laws."

PCCC co-founder Adam Green, one of dozens of liberal leaders taking part in the demonstrations, was among those arrested on Monday.

"Today, I join others in non-violent civil disobedience in order to help focus the nation's conversation on these key democracy issues -- and the public needs politicians to start acting now," he said in a statement.

On its website and in press releases, "Democracy Spring" said "hundreds" have been arrested so far, and reports that 3,500 people from 33 different states have pledged to join the protests this week.

They are pushing for a series of legislative actions, including the passage of four bills aimed at reducing "the influence of money in politics" while seeking to "expand and protect voting rights."

[Neverna]

And NBC

More Than 400 Arrested at U.S. Capitol Protest | NBC4 Washington

More Than 400 Arrested at U.S. Capitol Protest

Hundreds took to Capitol Hill Monday afternoon and were hoping to be arrested. Many of them got what they wanted.

The group, Democracy Spring, is staging a week-long sit-in at the U.S. Capitol. The protesters are calling for votes on legislation that would reform the public campaign finance system.

They said Congress needs to act now to protect the voting rights of every American. More than 3,600 people from across the country pledged to risk arrest if their demands are not met.

“This movement should be unstoppable, because the vast majority of Americans already want it to succeed,” said Robert Schaff, a protester with Democracy Springs. “We just need to give the hope that it can succeed so that we can muster the strength so that we can overcome the special interests that are blocking reform.”

The demonstrators also protested state voter ID laws, saying they suppress voter participation. Another chant protested Democratic "superdelegates" — party figures, such as members of Congress, who are given votes at the Democratic National Convention but are not elected by primary elections or at party caucuses.

Police led dozens of protesters away in plastic handcuffs into a bus and shuttle vans, prompting cheers from the two groups of protesters, which were separated by a large police response.

U.S. Capitol Police said Monday evening that more than 400 people had been arrested for unlawful demonstration activity.
Many of the protesters had marched from Philadelphia to Washington over the past week.

[Norton]

Arrests in US as hundreds protest big money in politics - AJE News

I have a look everyday at Al Jazeera. It's my main, main stream source.

Washington DC - Police in Washington DC have arrested dozens of protesters who were staging a sit-in outside the US Congress meant to raise awareness about corporate influence in American politics.

The day began with a rally of about 500 people in US capital as part of a series of actions around "Democracy Spring", a reference to the Arab Spring protests of 2011 that upended the Egyptian government and saw similar anti-government protests across North Africa and the Middle East.

"Right now, we have a campaign finance system that is dominated by money," Kaja Rebane, 38, a Wisconsin graduate student, dressed as the Statue of Liberty, told Al Jazeera.

"It makes it very hard for regular Americans to be heard."

Many, like Rebane, cited the 2010 US Supreme Court decision on campaign financing, popularly referred to as "Citizens United".

That decision recognised that corporations and unions could spend unlimited cash indirectly on campaigns and has since led to an unprecedented amount of money in US elections. Some analysts believe upwards of $5bn could be spent during the 2016 US election.

Ray Lewis, a retired Philadelphia police captain, who was arrested in New York City during the Occupy Wall Street protests in 2011, agreed with many people in attendance that the US Congress is largely to blame for what he believes is a corrupt political system.

"I am trying to bring this message of democracy to mainstream, white America," said Lewis, a white man, wearing his police uniform.

"Minorities know the truth. White America does not. They’re living in this dream world."

Police lined the steps of the main US Capitol building as protesters approached. Officers warned of arrests, asking those who did not want to be to step outside a security perimetre.

About 200 people refused to leave. At press time, US Capitol police did not have an official number of arrests.

[Dapper]

What happened to the article Miss Kit posted about it this morning?

[harrybarracuda]

400 wow that's a lot.

Cameron got 5000.

'Resign Cameron' protests: Activists surround venue where Conservative Party is holding spring meeting | UK Politics | News | The Independent

[Dillinger]

I would've thought the protest arrests would warrant headline news on these three sites, but seemingly not so...

You wanna stop hanging round with that Dapper

[baldrick]

has batty been silenced by the evil overlords ? - that will teach him to post using his real name

[misskit]

What happened to the article Miss Kit posted about it this morning?

Still there. https://teakdoor.com/world-news/16471...s-capitol.html

Just noticed Cenk Uygur in that photo.

Odd the first news reports came from government sponsored media, National Public Radio and VOA.