The American Democracy Minute Radio Report & Podcast for Jan. 21, 2025

Today’s Script

(Variations occur with audio due to editing for time. Today’s Links below the script)

New Presidents often use “Day One” executive orders to move their policy agendas forward.  What are the different kinds of presidential orders, what are their limitations, and why do Presidents use them?

Since John F. Kennedy, presidents have averaged 269 executive orders over their terms.  Since 1907, each order receives a number, and all are cataloged at the National Archives.    There are three kinds of orders, according to Dr. Bert Rockman of Purdue University.   Executive orders are written orders, usually on  more weighty issues such as national emergencies or setting uniform policy for government action.    

Written presidential memoranda, authorize or freeze projects, share official positions with Congress, outline treaties and international affairs, and other policy matters.  Memoranda are not required to be published or public.  A third type are proclamations, such as a proclamation celebrating Juneteenth.   Pardons and clemency are not executive orders, but rather a separate power granted by the Constitution.

Gridlock resulting from the failure of Congress to compromise on legislation often stimulates presidents to use more executive orders, as presidents struggle to move their policies forward.  But executive orders can also be blocked by Congress or court review, as President Trump found out in his first term “Muslim Ban”, and may find again as he tries to end “birthright citizenship,” an action widely seen as unconstitutional.

Find more on the history of presidential orders at AmericanDemocracyMinute.org.  I’m Brian Beihl. 

Today’s Links

Articles & Resources:

American Bar Association – (2021) What Is an Executive Order?

Dr. Bert Rockman, Purdue University – (2021) Executive Orders & Presidential Power
NPR – (2017) Executive Order Or Memorandum? Let’s Call The Whole Thing An ‘Action’
PBS – What is an executive order? Here’s what the tool can and can’t do
ACLU Washington – (2020) Timeline of Donald Trump’s Muslim Ban
NBC 4 NY- Is Donald Trump’s plan to end birthright citizenship viable?

Register or Check Your Voter Registration:

U.S. Election Assistance Commission – Register And Vote in Your State

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Find all of our reports at AmericanDemocracyMinute.org

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Are you a radio station?  Find our broadcast files at Pacifica Radio Network’s Audioport and PRX

#Democracy  #DemocracyNews #ExecutiveOrder #PresidentialPower #TrumpInauguration

The post What is an Executive Order?  What are the Limits of Its Power?  Why Do Presidents Use Them? appeared first on American Democracy Minute.

The American Democracy Minute Radio Report & Podcast for Jan 20, 2025

Today’s Script

(Variations occur with audio due to editing for time. Today’s Links below the script)

On May 9, 1966, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. spoke in Kingstree, SC about the importance of voting on the eve of a state primary.  Here are his words:

“Let us on that glad day in June march on ballot boxes, for this is the way we’re going to straighten up the South and the nation.

Let us march on ballot boxes until somehow we will be able to develop that day men will have food and material necessities for their bodies, freedom and dignity for their spirits, and education and culture for their mind.

Let us march on ballot boxes so that men and women will no longer walk the streets in search of jobs that do not exist.

Let us march on ballot boxes until the empty stomachs of Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana and South Carolina are filled.

Let us march on ballot boxes until the idle industries of Appalachia are revitalized.

Let us march on ballot boxes until ‘brotherhood’ is more than a meaningless word and at the end of a prayer but the first order of business on every Legislature’s slate or agenda. Let us march on ballot boxes.

Let us march on ballot boxes until every valley shall be exalted, until every mountain and hill shall be made low, until the rough places are made plain and the crooked places straight and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed and all of bloods shall sing together.”

We’ve linked to more of Dr. King’s speech, archived at the University of South Carolina’s Moving Image Research Collections at AmericanDemocracyMinute.org.  I’m Brian Beihl

Today’s Links

Articles & Resources:
WLTX – (2020)  ‘Let us march on ballot boxes:’ Words spoken by Martin Luther King Jr. in 1966 resonate in 2020
University of South Carolina’s Moving Image Research Collections (MIRC) – Martin Luther King Jr. on voting
Equal Justice Initiative – Dr. King and Hundreds of Voting Rights Activists Arrested
Lee Saunders, American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) – (Opinion) Advancing Dr. King’s voting rights legacy
U.S. Election Assistance Commission – How to Register and Vote in Your State

Groups Taking Action:
NAACP,  Black Voters Matter, Vote.org, League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC), Rock the Vote, League of Women Voters Vote 411

Today’s Links

Articles & Resources
WLTX – (2020)  ‘Let us march on ballot boxes:’ Words spoken by Martin Luther King Jr. in 1966 resonate in 2020
University of South Carolina’s Moving Image Research Collections (MIRC) – Martin Luther King Jr. on voting
Equal Justice Initiative – Dr. King and Hundreds of Voting Rights Activists Arrested
Lee Saunders, American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) – (Opinion) Advancing Dr. King’s voting rights legacy

Groups Taking Action:

NAACP,  Black Voters Matter, Vote.org, League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC), Rock the Vote, League of Women Voters Vote 411

Register or Check Your Voter Registration:

U.S. Election Assistance Commission – Register And Vote in Your State

Please follow us on Facebook and Bluesky Social, and SHARE! 

Find all of our reports at AmericanDemocracyMinute.org

Want ADM sent to your email?  Sign up here!

Are you a radio station?  Find our broadcast files at Pacifica Radio Network’s Audioport and PRX

#Democracy  #DemocracyNews #ProtectElections #ProtectPollWorkers

The post For MLK Day: Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s “March on Ballot Boxes” Speech in South Carolina, May 9, 1966 appeared first on American Democracy Minute.

The American Democracy Minute Radio Report & Podcast for Jan. 15, 2025

Today’s Script

(Variations occur with audio due to editing for time. Today’s Links below the script)

Donald Trump’s inaugural committee has received $170 Million dollars in contributions, and it’s expected to reach $200 Million – almost double his 2017 total.  

Yes, the contributions pay for the inaugural balls, but inaugural funds are also a vehicle for corporate “pay to play” contributions, currying favor for federal contracts, lenient legislation, or access to the President. 

The Associated Press reported January 9th that the totals were far beyond President Trump’s $107 Million in 2017, and President Biden’s $62 Million in 2021.  

The Federal Election Commission oversees inaugural contributions, and any donation of $200 or more must be reported  – but 90 days after the contribution is made and long after the spotlight is gone.   There are no individual or corporate contribution limits, and only foreign nationals are barred from donating.  

Among the known 2024 inaugural donors, Amazon, Meta, Open AI Toyota, Ford General Motors and Boeing all made public statements when they donated $1 Million each.  Banking, pharmaceutical, and communications companies contributed seven figures, according to the Wall Street Journal. 

Energy company Chevron said in a statement to Reuters, “Chevron has a long tradition of celebrating democracy by supporting the inaugural committees of both parties.”  Or perhaps, they’re sending a message to someone.

We have more on the pay-to-play history of inaugurations at AmericanDemocracyMinute.org.  I’m Brian Beihl.

Today’s Links

Articles & Resources:

Federal Election Commission – Funding inaugural committee activities
National Archives – Federal Code § 104.21 Reporting by inaugural committees.
CNN/AP – Trump’s inaugural committee has already raised a record $170 million in donations
Federal Election Commission – Inaugural committee reporting

Open Secrets – First Trump Administration: 2017 Inauguration Donors
Courthouse News – (2017) Trump Inaugural Committee Reported to FEC for Violations
Open Secrets – (2019) –  Shining a light on inaugural committees
Open Secrets – (2019) – Companies that funded Trump’s inauguration came up big in 2017

Groups Taking Action:

Common Cause, Public Citizen,  C.R.E.W.

Register or Check Your Voter Registration:

U.S. Election Assistance Commission – Register And Vote in Your State

Please follow us on Facebook and Bluesky Social, and SHARE! 

Find all of our reports at AmericanDemocracyMinute.org

Want ADM sent to your email?  Sign up here!

Are you a radio station?  Find our broadcast files at Pacifica Radio Network’s Audioport and PRX

#Democracy  #DemocracyNews #TrumpInauguration #PaytoPlay #CorporateInfluence

The post Donations to Trump’s Inauguration May Reach $200M, Funding the Parade, Inaugural Balls  . . . and Pay-to-Play Influence appeared first on American Democracy Minute.

The American Democracy Minute Radio Report & Podcast for Dec. 26, 2024

Today’s Script

See the original broadcast page for script and today’s links:

The post Survey Finds Strong Support from Americans for Early Voting & Election Day Holiday Reforms, But Also Restrictive ID Requirements appeared first on American Democracy Minute.

The American Democracy Minute Radio Report & Podcast for Dec. 19, 2024

Today’s Script

(Variations occur with audio due to editing for time. Today’s Links below the script)

You’re listening to the American Democracy Minute, keeping YOUR government by and for the people.

In official meeting rooms around the country, 538 electors for the 2024 Presidential election met December 17th to cast their vote on behalf of their state’s results.  Thirteen of those Electoral College electors are accused 2020 fake electors, some of whom still face prosecution. 

Trump campaign associates coordinated a plot in seven battleground states to submit a fraudulent slate of Republican electors.  The plot failed when Vice President Mike Pence refused to participate and certified the results. 

The alleged “fake electors” in Michigan, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Nevada, New Mexico, Georgia and Arizona were subject to investigations by state officials, the January 6th Committee, and the Special Counsel.  Fake electors in Michigan, Georgia, and Arizona still face trial. Nevada prosecutors just refiled charges Dec.12th.  No charges were brought in New Mexico, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. 

Stunningly, 13 of those electors were renominated by their state Republican parties as electors in 2024.  Six of the 15 awaiting trial for forgery in Michigan were renominated. Six Nevada electors were re-indicted last week on forgery charges, two of whom were renominated, including Jesse Law and state GOP chair Michael McDonald.  

Still unclear is whether Trump will include the fake electors in his promised pardons for those accused and convicted for the January 6th insurrection.  

We have more at AmericanDemocracyMinute.org. I’m Brian Beihl.

Today’s Links

Articles & Resources:

Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (C.R.E.W) – The cases against fake electors and where they stand
LawFare – Where the Fake Electors Cases Stand in State Court
Michigan Public – “Vindication” as Trump’s “fake electors” serve as real ’24 electors
NPR – ‘Fake electors’ from 2020 are casting 2024 votes for Trump while facing felony charges

ABC News – 13 accused of being ‘fake electors’ cast Electoral College votes for Trump
Wisconsin Politics – Trump vows to eliminate Education Department, pardon Jan. 6 convicts during Mosinee rally
CNN – Recordings, emails show how Trump team flew fake elector ballots to DC in final push to overturn 2020 election
WSAZ – January 6th defendants, “fake electors” hope President-elect Trump keeps his word on pardons

Groups Taking Action:
C.R.E.W.,  LawForward

Register or Check Your Voter Registration:

U.S. Election Assistance Commission – Register And Vote in Your State

Please follow us on Facebook and Bluesky Social, and SHARE! 

Find all of our reports at AmericanDemocracyMinute.org

Want ADM sent to your email?  Sign up here!

Are you a radio station?  Find our broadcast files at Pacifica Radio Network’s Audioport and PRX

#Democracy  #DemocracyNews #January6th #FakeElectors

The post Among 2024 Electoral College Presidential Electors Were 13 Alleged 2020 Fake Electors, Some of Whom Await Trial on Fraud Charges appeared first on American Democracy Minute.