THE HILL 10/29/14 By Michael Shank and Peter Hammer The post-industrial dystopia emerging on the streets of Detroit may be shocking, but it is not surprising. The crisis results from the convergent forces of fiscal austerity and structural racism in a region defined by its extreme segregation of race, wealth […]
US NEWS & WORLD REPORT 10/28/14 By Michael Shank and Julia Trezona Peek Members of Congress should refuse campaign donations from fossil fuel industries. Despite the fact that the American people mobilized in historic numbers last month to demand climate solutions, with the march in New York City drawing up […]
ROLL CALL 10/23/14 By Michael Shank and US Rep Steve Cohen (D-TN) This month, the first-ever global ranking of countries based on the quantity — and quality — of their jobs was released. The JustJobs Index uses empirical data to provide workers around the world with a simple answer to […]
HUFFINGTON POST 10/21/14 By Michael Shank As the Ferguson fight rages on, a potentially more courageous Congress stands ready to return, post-elections, to shut down that which rightfully enraged protestors initially. Last month, Republicans and Democrats in the Senate and the House of Representatives finally took a stand against the […]
THE HILL 10/20/14 By Michael Shank and Rep Scott Peters (D-CA) Last month was a significant time for climate action and raising awareness about climate change, featuring the massive People’s Climate March and the United Nations’ Climate Summit. Despite these events, Congress hasn’t acted. But there is an opportunity for […]
POLITIX 10/13/14 By Michael Shank Last month, Republicans and Democrats in the Senate and the House of Representatives finally took a stand against the growing militarization of our police forces and our main streets. Shortly after Congressmen Hank Johnson (D-Ga.) and Raul Labrador (R-Idaho) introduced the Stop Militarizing Law Enforcement […]
POLITIX 09/16/14 By Michael Shank As the United Nations convenes world leaders this month in New York to discuss ways to reduce global warming, the United States Senate has the opportunity to discuss the most important lever the U.S. government can pull to cool the planet and make our air […]
ATLANTA JOURNAL CONSTITUTION 08/28/14 By Hank Johnson As seen in the Atlanta-Journal Constitution: http://on-ajc.com/1lhRBWk U.S. Rep. Hank Johnson, a Georgia Democrat, is a member of the House Armed Services and Judiciary Committees. Michael Shank, associate director for legislative affairs at the Friends Committee on National Legislation, contributed to this article. […]
ROLL CALL 08/28/14 By Michael Shank and Julia Trezona Peek Once the lone province of climate scientists, the chorus warning of the costs of inaction on climate change grows larger daily, from former United States Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, who warned Washington this summer of the coming climate bubble, to […]
US NEWS & WORLD REPORT 08/22/14 By Michael Shank and US Rep Hank Johnson America is finally waking up to the militarization of its police forces. This is a good thing and heralds a tipping point in the changing face of policing in the United States. America must realize that […]