NPI's Cascadia Advocate

Offering commentary and analysis from Washington, Oregon, and Idaho, The Cascadia Advocate is the Northwest Progressive Institute's uplifting perspective on world, national, and local politics.

Category Archives: Civil Liberties

An ethnolinguistic view of King County’s evolution over the last two hundred years

Excerpt: King County is a place that encompasses not just land but the stories of diverse lives that have shaped its past and continue to shape its present and future. Nestled in the heart of Washington state, King County holds within its boundaries the bustling metropolis of Seattle, a city known not only for the iconic Space Needle but also for its role as a melting pot of cultures, ideas, and histories.
Written by:Subhadra Vadlamannati
Other Categories:Policy Topics, Public Planning
Tags: ,
Bookmark:Permalink | 1 Comment

Try these three effective strategies for countering racism and hate in public spaces

Excerpt: In this essay, guest contributor Erin Jones discusses the three postures she uses for combating racism and hate in schools and other places where many people are together: Gratitude, brave spaces, and pause.
Written by:Erin Jones
Other Categories:Education, Policy Topics
Tags:
Bookmark:Permalink | Leave a comment

Right wing looking for a way to defeat Ohio reproductive rights constitutional amendment

Excerpt: The Buckeye State will vote November 7th on Issue 1, an amendment to the Ohio Constitution which proclaims: “Every individual has a right to make and carry out one’s own reproductive rights.” The decisions include contraception, fertility treatment, continuing one’s own pregnancy, miscarriage and abortion.”
Written by:Joel Connelly
Other Categories:Elections, Policy Topics
Tags: ,
Bookmark:Permalink | Leave a comment

Taking book bans to a whole new level: Right wing parents are trying to shutter an entire library in rural Washington via ballot measure

Excerpt: A rural community library system in the Pacific Northwest is under attack from a right wing ballot measure that seeks its closure after library staff and trustees refused to go along with a parent's censorship agenda.
Written by:Andrew Villeneuve
Other Categories:Policy Topics
Tags:
Bookmark:Permalink | Comments closed

Donald Trump indicted again — this time, finally, for assaulting American democracy

Excerpt: The indictment is the result of careful, methodical work by Special Counsel Jack Smith and many hardworking investigators at the Department of Justice, who have labored to ensure that the work done to expose what happened on January 6th didn't merely pass into history as a report, but led to charges. 
Written by:Andrew Villeneuve
Other Categories:Our Environment, Policy Topics
Tags: , ,
Bookmark:Permalink | Comments closed

Support for increasing the size of the U.S. Supreme Court inches upward in Washington

Excerpt: 52% of 773 likely 2024 general election voters surveyed by Public Policy Polling earlier this month said they supported increasing the size of the Court to make it a more diverse and representative body, while 40% were opposed and 8% were not sure.
Written by:Andrew Villeneuve
Other Categories:Legislative Advocacy, Litigation, Policy Topics
Tags: , ,
Bookmark:Permalink | Comments closed

Second Trump indictment lands, this one from federal charges filed by special counsel

Excerpt: The indictment charges that Trump unlawfully took and retained classified information that did not belong to him after exiting the White House, and that he lied about his actions and obstructed the federal government's efforts to recover the documents, because he didn't want to give them back.
Written by:Andrew Villeneuve
Other Categories:Open Government, Policy Topics
Tags: , , ,
Bookmark:Permalink | Comments closed

Issues facing LGBTQ+ community take center stage at 2023 YDWA Convention in Spokane

Excerpt: Though Washington has historically been one of the safer states to be queer, the LGBTQ+ experience east of the Cascades is a very different one due to the Republican-leaning local governments. After all, it wasn't that long ago that it wasn't very safe to be out in Spokane, the biggest city in the region.
Written by:Caya Berndt
Other Categories:Events, Policy Topics
Tags: ,
Bookmark:Permalink | Comments closed

Washington State Legislature swiftly agrees on a Blake fix after going into special session

Excerpt: "This bill recognizes the harm that public use causes our communities by creating the crime of public use," said Representative Jamila Taylor. "More importantly, it focuses on the most up-to-date science on recovery, working to connect people to treatment, housing, services, and employment opportunities."
Written by:Andrew Villeneuve
Other Categories:Legislative Advocacy, Policy Topics
Tags:
Bookmark:Permalink | Comments closed

Several Proud Boys convicted of seditious conspiracy in January 6th insurrection

Excerpt: These convictions are more than just a victory for the Department of Justice - they are an encouraging sign for the future of American democracy. For our republic to endure, attempts to overturn a free and fair election by force must be thwarted and their perpetrators held accountable.
Written by:Andrew Villeneuve
Other Categories:Policy Topics
Tags: ,
Bookmark:Permalink | Comments closed

Oregon Republicans flee the Capitol to block gun safety and reproductive justice bills

Excerpt: Republicans in Oregon are once again holding up the business of the Oregon State Legislature by refusing to show up for work, which is preventing the Senate from taking up critical gun safety and reproductive justice bills.
Written by:Andrew Villeneuve
Other Categories:Policy Topics
Tags: ,
Bookmark:Permalink | Comments closed

Disney sues Ron DeSantis, seeking to have retaliatory laws declared unconstitutional

Excerpt: Of DeSantis’ actions, the Disney brief declares: “This government action was patently retaliatory, patently anti-business and patently unconstitutional. But the Governor and his allies have made clear they do not care and will not stop.”
Written by:Joel Connelly
Other Categories:Policy Topics, World Commmunity
Tags: ,
Bookmark:Permalink | Comments closed

DONE! Governor Inslee signs assault weapons ban and two more gun safety bills into law

Excerpt: On April 25th, Governor Jay Inslee signed into law three pivotal new gun safety laws: a ban on assault weapons, a permit-to-purchase requirement, and a duty to impose reasonable controls law that gun manufacturers, distributors, and sellers must abide by. 
Written by:Andrew Villeneuve
Other Categories:Legislative Advocacy, Policy Topics
Tags:
Bookmark:Permalink | Comments closed

“Blake fix” bill fails in State House, prompting calls for special session on drug policy

Excerpt: Several Democrats joined the chamber's forty Republicans in casting nay votes, creating a potent obstacle to the bill's passage that leadership determined could not be surmounted before the clock ran out on the 2023 legislative session.
Written by:Andrew Villeneuve
Other Categories:Legislative Advocacy, Policy Topics
Tags: ,
Bookmark:Permalink | Comments closed