Podcasts about democracy forum

Restoring Democracy in the Disinformation Age Access to reliable, accurate information is essential for democracy. From misleading health advice to conspiracy theories, unchecked disinformation risks swaying elections, jeopardising ecosystems, and even inciting violence. In fact, the World Economic Forum ranks misinformation and disinformation the number one short-term threat to humanity and progress.This week on the show, we hear from experts at the Disinformation and Democracy Forum hosted by Australian Democracy Network last month in Narrm (melbourne). It's a timely opportunity to hear from those dealing with the impacts of disinformation, about how we can address the threat while safeguarding free speech, empowering citizens, and holding big tech companies accountable for their role in shaping our democracy.Jane Gardner is the Director of Engagement at the Australian Conservation Foundation. She previously led communications and media at the Climate Council, Save the Children and at the University of Melbourne. Before this, she worked as a daily newspaper reporter. Jane has a strong track record in communications for advocacy and social change. From tackling climate disinformation, to reporting from the epicentre of the world's largest refugee camp, to coaching the next generation of young climate activists, Jane has enjoyed an interesting career and has many tales to tell. Mark Andrejevic is a Professor at the School of Media, Film, and Journalism at Monash University and is on the board of Digital Rights Watch. He writes about digital media and popular culture, with a focus on the ways in which automated data collection is transforming social, political, and cultural life. He is the author of four books and over 80 journal articles and book chapters. acf.org.au/disinformation-resourcesaustraliandemocracy.org.auEarth Matters #1499 was produced by Mia Audrey on the lands of the Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung in Narrm (melbourne).

Host: Ann Luther, League of Women Voters of Maine Production Assistance: Linda Washburn, Joel Mann Democracy Forum: Participatory Democracy, encouraging citizens to take an active role in government and politics. This month: Many of us are not yet feeling the heat from the dramatic policy changes coming out of the new federal administration – life goes on. But some of us are getting hurt. And some of us are afraid. Because so many of these federal policies are being promulgated by executive order, without Congress and sometimes in defiance of the courts, some observers are concerned that our country is experiencing a constitutional crisis. It is certainly a moment of disruption. How serious is it? Who might be next? How is this moment outside the norm? How worried should we be? Guest/s: Samuel R. Bagenstos, Frank G. Millard Professor of Law at the University of Michigan. Ryan Dennett, Program Director, Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association. Lauren McCauley, Editor, Maine Morning Star. To learn Amore about this topic: Visit LWVME.org About the host: Ann Luther currently serves as Treasurer of the League of Women Voters of Maine and leads the LWVME Advocacy Team. She served as President of LWVME from 2003 to 2007 and as co-president from 2007-2009. The post Democracy Forum 4/18/25: Constitutional Crisis? Call it what you will, this is not normal… first appeared on WERU 89.9 FM Blue Hill, Maine Local News and Public Affairs Archives.

Host: Ann Luther, League of Women Voters of Maine Production Assistance: Linda Washburn, Joel Mann Democracy Forum: Participatory Democracy, encouraging citizens to take an active role in government and politics. This month: This month we'll talk about civil resistance and how civil disobedience have succeeded or failed historically, seeking context for our current moment. What worked in the past, and what do we need now: protests, boycotts, tax resistance? What roles do institutions play: colleges and universities, the media, the business community? And what does the moment demand? What strategies and tactics work? Guest/s: Graham Platner, lead organizer for Acadia Action, Hancock County branch of 16 Counties for Courage Alex Newell Taylor, Co-founder, Sweet Fern MDI; Distributed Organizer for National Nurses United; former Deputy Director of Voter Engagement at Second Chances Florida Vanessa Williamson, Senior Fellow in Governance Studies at Brookings To learn Amore about this topic: Visit LWVME.org About the host: Ann Luther currently serves as Treasurer of the League of Women Voters of Maine and leads the LWVME Advocacy Team. She served as President of LWVME from 2003 to 2007 and as co-president from 2007-2009. The post Democracy Forum 3/21/25: Constitutional Crisis: How to Stand Up, Speak Up, Push Back first appeared on WERU 89.9 FM Blue Hill, Maine Local News and Public Affairs Archives.

At the 17th Geneva Forum for Human Rights and Democracy, former Tibetan political prisoner Namkyi delivered a powerful testimony, exposing the brutal realities of Chinese repression in Tibet. In this episode of In Conversation, Dukthen Kyi, head of the Advocacy Section at DIIR, shares insights into the impact of Namkyi's testimony, international reactions, and what this means for Tibet's human rights struggle.

Guests: Liberal Leader Bonnie Crombie, NDP Leader Marit Stiles, Green Party Leader Mike Schreiner Star's political columnist Martin Regg Cohn also leads the TMU Democracy forum, where he recently sat down with Liberal Leader Bonnie Crombie, NDP Leader Marit Stiles and Green Party Leader Mike Schreiner to discuss what they might do for Ontarians if their party wins the upcoming election. Doug Ford, the Progressive Conservative leader who hopes to be reelected, declined to participate in the forum.  Here in three separate episodes, Martin leads conversations with the leaders who did agree to participate in front of a live studio audience. The leaders speak about what makes them tick and what clicks with voters; the policies, the personalities, and the problems facing our province. Here's the episode with Bonnie Crombie. This episode was produced by Julia De Laurentiis Johnston, Martin Regg Cohn and Paulo Marques.

Guests: Liberal Leader Bonnie Crombie, NDP Leader Marit Stiles, Green Party Leader Mike Schreiner Star's political columnist Martin Regg Cohn also leads the TMU Democracy forum, where he recently sat down with Liberal Leader Bonnie Crombie, NDP Leader Marit Stiles and Green Party Leader Mike Schreiner to discuss what they might do for Ontarians if their party wins the upcoming election. Doug Ford, the Progressive Conservative leader who hopes to be reelected, declined to participate in the forum.  Here in three separate episodes, Martin leads conversations with the leaders who did agree to participate in front of a live studio audience. The leaders speak about what makes them tick and what clicks with voters; the policies, the personalities, and the problems facing our province. Here's the episode with Marit Stiles. This episode was produced by Julia De Laurentiis Johnston, Martin Regg Cohn and Paulo Marques.

Guests: Liberal Leader Bonnie Crombie, NDP Leader Marit Stiles, Green Party Leader Mike Schreiner Star's political columnist Martin Regg Cohn also leads the TMU Democracy forum, where he recently sat down with Liberal Leader Bonnie Crombie, NDP Leader Marit Stiles and Green Party Leader Mike Schreiner to discuss what they might do for Ontarians if their party wins the upcoming election. Doug Ford, the Progressive Conservative leader who hopes to be reelected, declined to participate in the forum.  Here in three separate episodes, Martin leads conversations with the leaders who did agree to participate in front of a live studio audience. The leaders speak about what makes them tick and what clicks with voters; the policies, the personalities, and the problems facing our province. Here's the episode with Mike Schreiner. This episode was produced by Julia De Laurentiis Johnston, Martin Regg Cohn and Paulo Marques.

Host: Ann Luther, League of Women Voters of Maine Production Assistance: Linda Washburn, Joel Mann Democracy Forum: Participatory Democracy, encouraging citizens to take an active role in government and politics. This month: We want to talk about private equity, what is it? Does private equity contribute to wealth and income inequality, erode confidence in shared services and institutions, and undermine faith in capitalism and democracy? Does it always work that way? Has private equity come to Maine? How can Maine protect its people from the worst outcomes? Guest/s: Brendan Ballou, former federal prosecutor and Special Counsel for Private Equity at the U.S. Department of Justice, author of the book, Plunder: Private Equity’s Plan to Pillage America. www.plunderthebook.com/ Hon. Traci Gere, Maine State Representative, (D-Kennebunkport), Housing and Economic Development Committee (Chair). legislature.maine.gov/house/house/MemberProfiles/Details/1408 Chris Noble, Policy Director, Private Equity Stakeholder Project. pestakeholder.org/ Pat Schwebler is Co-Director of the Cooperative Development Institute’s New England Resident-Owned Communities (NEROC) Program. Her background is in real estate, finance, nonprofits, and business management. cdi.coop/rocs/ To learn Amore about this topic: Visit LWVME.org About the host: Ann Luther currently serves as Treasurer of the League of Women Voters of Maine and leads the LWVME Advocacy Team. She served as President of LWVME from 2003 to 2007 and as co-president from 2007-2009. The post Democracy Forum 2/21/25: Private Equity and You first appeared on WERU 89.9 FM Blue Hill, Maine Local News and Public Affairs Archives.

Join Jim and Greg on 3 Martini Lunch as they discuss the increasing deportations of criminal illegal immigrants to Larry Ellison's alarming vision of a surveillance state to Barack Obama's latest condescending remarks on democracy and political alliances.First, Jim and Greg express their approval of the Trump administration's swift action to apprehend and deport more than a thousand criminal illegals, with deportation flights already underway. They emphasize the importance of political leaders addressing issues head-on rather than just running on them.Next, they react to Oracle founder Larry Ellison's disturbing suggestion that a nationwide surveillance system will soon track police and civilians through cameras everywhere, supposedly keeping everyone on their best behavior through AI monitoring. Jim and Greg strongly prefer letting Americans retain the freedoms they still have. Ellison also visited the White House recently for the announcement of a $500 billion AI infrastructure project, leading to public backlash from Elon Musk. Jim analyzes the potential impact on the Trump-Musk relationship.Finally, Jim and Greg groan as Barack Obama addresses the Democracy Forum, complaining about voters not prioritizing democracy in the 2024 election. Obama implies that the left should focus on getting more people to agree with him, rather than engaging in self-reflection. It's an arrogance that's unlikely to win him many new friends.

Host: Ann Luther, League of Women Voters of Maine Production Assistance: Linda Washburn, Joel Mann Democracy Forum: Participatory Democracy, encouraging citizens to take an active role in government and politics. This month: For much of our nation’s history, invoking “states’ rights” has meant opposing the federal government’s efforts to abolish slavery and enforce racial desegregation, and supporting state laws that discriminate against various ethnic, religious, or other minority groups. But there’s more to the history of states’ rights, and there’s a growing movement to invoke states’ rights to defend a progressive agenda in the years ahead from the threat of a hostile federal government. Guest/s: Jessica Bulman-Pozen, Betts Professor of Law and faculty co-director of the Center for Constitutional Governance at Columbia Law School www.law.columbia.edu/faculty/jessica-bulman-pozen Molly Curren Rowles, Executive Director ACLU of Maine www.aclumaine.org/en/biographies/molly-curren-rowles#:~:text=Molly%20Curren%20Rowles%20joined%20the,executive%20director%20in%20May%202024. Lucy Hochschartner, Climate & Clean Energy Director, Maine Conservation Voters www.maineconservation.org/about/staff-board/ To learn Amore about this topic: Visit LWVME.org About the host: Ann Luther currently serves as Treasurer of the League of Women Voters of Maine and leads the LWVME Advocacy Team. She served as President of LWVME from 2003 to 2007 and as co-president from 2007-2009. The post Democracy Forum 1/17/25: States' Rights, Then and Now first appeared on WERU 89.9 FM Blue Hill, Maine Local News and Public Affairs Archives.

In this season 7 finale episode 10 podcast to close out the New Year and usher in 2025, I want to bring to attention the key ideas President Obama explicated at the Obama Foundation Democracy Forum of 2024 on Pluralism and why they are relevant today. The principal question is can diverse groups of people with different perspectives and ideologies live together in a free, open, and integrated society? I also talk briefly about some of the ideas from the three panelists from this Democracy Forum consisting of young people who are a part of the Obama foundation. Please follow and subscribe to my podcast for future standalone podcasts and discussions with my cousins Vinni, Tinku, and other people. Now lets get started:

From Kingmaker to Court Jester: Obama's Relevance Problem I feel like a prophet sometimes—not the fiery, staff-wielding kind, but the kind who just calls out the obvious while everyone else is distracted by shiny objects. Case in point: Barack Obama. People have spent years debating whether he's the puppeteer pulling Joe Biden's strings. Spoiler alert: Obama isn't even the puppeteer of his own Netflix queue. Here's what I wrote recently: [START]For years, many people have insisted that Barack Obama is the puppeteer behind Joe Biden's presidency, labeling it Obama's "third term." The idea has become a refrain among political commentators and average citizens alike. But let me be clear: Obama is no puppet master. In fact, he isn't even in control of his own home—let alone the White House. Imagine being the former leader of the free world and your wife can make you crap your pants when she yells or gives you "the look." That statement isn't meant to be an attack on Michelle Obama, nor am I suggesting she's an abuser. But everybody knows she could kick Barack's behind.[END] Let's unpack that. Obama was once hailed as the cool, collected rock star of politics—a sort of "Hope and Change" Mick Jagger with less hair and more teleprompters. But now? He's more like the aging pop star who insists on playing his new album while everyone's just waiting for the hits. Democrats still treat him like he's the political Elvis, but by 2012 his star power was dimmer than a flashlight with a dying battery. Sure, he's still out there, signing books and giving speeches, but does anyone care? His relevance is like a Blockbuster card in a Netflix world: quaint, nostalgic, and entirely unnecessary. Even his attempt to rewrite history falls flat. Obama once bragged that his administration was scandal-free. This is the same guy whose tenure included Fast and Furious, the IRS targeting conservatives, Benghazi, and let's not forget, his healthcare website worked about as well as a screen door on a submarine. Then there's his recent speech at the Obama Foundation's Democracy Forum, where he tried to drop some wisdom about pluralism and democracy: [START]"Pluralism is not about holding hands and singing ‘Kumbaya.' It is not about abandoning your convictions and folding when things get tough. It is about recognizing that, in a democracy, power comes from forging alliances and building coalitions and making room in those coalitions not only for the woke, but the waking."[END] Really? The woke and the waking? Sounds like a rejected tagline for a bad zombie movie. And let's talk about the gall it takes for Obama to accuse anyone else of weaponizing the judiciary or targeting political opponents. That's rich coming from the guy who turned the IRS into his personal attack dog. Miranda Devine nailed it when she said, "It's over for Obama. The spell is broken."[SEGMENT 1-2] Obama is done 2 If I prove you wrong on Obama, would you believe me on other matters?   Buck Sexton chimed in with "Ever since his last minute desperate smear of Trump with the ‘very fine people on both sides' lie, Barack Obama has been slowly realizing his status as false prophet of the Democrat party is no more." Obama's fall from grace isn't just poetic; it's downright Shakespearean. He's like King Lear, wandering the stormy heath of irrelevance, shouting about pluralism while the world moves on. The Democrats needed a star, a unifying figure to rally behind. Instead, they're stuck with Joe Biden, Kamala Harris, and the ghost of Barack Obama, still trying to relive his 2008 glory days. But here's the punchline: Obama isn't the problem. He's the symptom of a party that's all style and no substance. They're the political equivalent of a fancy French pastry that looks amazing but collapses when you bite into it. And Obama? He's the powdered sugar on top—pretty, sweet, and entirely superfluous. So no, Obama isn't pulling the strings. He's not even in the room. At best, he's the guy in the nosebleeds, watching the game and occasionally yelling advice no one listens to. And honestly? That's probably for the best.    [SEGMENT 1-3] News of the Day 1   "Welcome to The Kevin Jackson Radio Show, the only place where common sense gets served hotter than McDonald's coffee in the '90s. We're here to dive into the absurd, untangle the outrageous, and remind you that the world doesn't need saving—it needs a sense of humor. If you're not laughing, you're crying… and let's face it, tears don't pay the bills. So let's start laughing a the lunacy of Leftism. Where do we start? I know. Leakers. And I'm not talking about Joe Biden's need for depends, though rumors are that Old Joe can't control his bladder anymore. But this latest leak is different…   Matt Gaetz Ethics Leak So, apparently, a hacker didn't release the dirt on Matt Gaetz. Nope. Turns out, Congresswoman Susan Wild—top Democrat on the Ethics Committee—just casually hit 'send.' Shocking, right? Democrats leaking? That's like finding out a Kardashian got another cosmetic procedure. Predictable! Wild deserves to be brought up on charges, but don't hold your breath—it's D.C., where the only thing that gets punished is honesty."   Mitch McConnell's Fall "Mitch McConnell fell inside the Senate, aka 'Sunset Acres Senior Living'. Don't worry, though; the Senate comes equipped with stairlifts and pudding cups for emergencies. At this rate, they'll be holding votes in between bingo games. Mitch's next bill should be titled, ‘Help, I've Fallen, and I Can't Get Up Act.'"Daniel Penny Acquittal So, Daniel Penny gets acquitted for defending himself on a New York subway, and the NAACP declares it's open season on Black folks. Funny, because a Black man helped Penny subdue Jordan Neely, and a Black woman testified on Penny's behalf. But hey, why let facts get in the way of a good ‘burn-the-city' fundraiser? Meanwhile, Neely's dad—who abandoned him decades ago—suddenly shows up to play the grieving father. If hypocrisy were a sport, the Left would've won the gold decades ago!" Cue the ‘Burn Everything Down Tour 2024.'"  [SEGMENT 1-4] News of the Day 2   [X] SB – Daniel Penny [X] SB – AOC on Daniel Penny That tells us everything. If we don't want violence on our subways…justice system is supposed to remedy this. He didn't express remorse   Does he sound like some deranged white supremacists who was hunting Black people?   Liz Cheney's Legal Warning "Liz Cheney warned that investigating the January 6th Committee will result in sanctions. Liz, honey, your career is already sanctioned—by the voters. Investigating you is like digging up a time capsule from the Bush era: full of bad decisions and forgotten relics. But sure, threaten lawyers. It's not like anyone takes you seriously anymore—except maybe MSNBC."WNBA and White Privilege "So, Caitlin Clark wins Time's ‘Athlete of the Year' and apologizes for being white. Girl, you play in the WNBA—there's already a limited audience, and now you're alienating the rest? She says the league was built on Black players. Sure, Caitlin, but you're the one putting up numbers while most folks are Googling, ‘Is the WNBA still a thing?' Next time, just take the award and smile. Nobody asked for the guilt monologue."  Syria's Dress Code "In Syria, Islamist rebels told a Christian woman she can't leave the house without a male guardian and must wear a hijab. Look, if your revolutionary government starts sounding like a bad sequel to The Handmaid's Tale, it's time to reevaluate your life choices. Next, they'll ban fun, freedom, and probably Wi-Fi—because tyranny loves a dead zone."Elon Musk on Homelessness "This is The Kevin Jackson Radio Show, where Elon Musk tweets what we're all thinking. Musk points out that ‘save the homeless' NGOs profit by keeping people on the streets. Of course, they do These NGOs are the ambulance chasers of social justice: the more misery, the better their margins." "Elon Musk pointed out that ‘save the homeless' NGOs make Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-kevin-jackson-show--2896352/support.

Well, Barack Obama is still evil. We are still allowing evil to be done through him. Also, Joni Ernst declares war on Trump voters. And finally, on the anniversary day after his death, some thoughts on John Lennon that always make people angry. That's okay. Sometimes that happens.Episode Links:NEW: Obama says Republicans are the ones who rig elections and weaponize the justice system while speaking at a "Democracy Forum."Is Joni Ernst "back Room Borking" Pete Hegseth? The woman who in 2014 promised to castrate pork hogs in Mordor on The PotomacI've known ⁦@PeteHegseth⁩ for over a decade. The insanity needs to stop. Baseless accusations made my “anonymous sources.” Total garbage. #ImwithPeteJoni Ernst: “Today, folks in Iowa and across the country are honoring the life of George Floyd.”RUN FOR YOUR LIFE (LYRICS) - The BeatlesWATCHING THE WHEELS. (Ultimate Mix, 2020) - John Lennon (official music video HD)SUBSTACK (for 12-10-2024)Read Clementine's full complain to the Court: [VIDEO] - Clementine was medically “transitioned” at 12, after one appointment.[VIDEO] - Dr. Johanna Olson-Kennedy explains why mastectomies for healthy teen girls is no big Alan's Soaps https://www.alansartisansoaps.comUse coupon code ‘TODD' to save an additional 10% off the bundle price.Bioptimizers https://bioptimizers.com/toddGive your body the magnesium it craves with Magnesium Breakthrough.  Visit bioptimizers.com/todd and save an extra 10% with promo code TODD.Bonefrog https://bonefrogcoffee.com/toddMake Bonefrog Cold Brew at home!  Use code TODD at checkout to receive 10% off your first purchase and 15% on subscriptions.Bulwark Capital Bulwark Capital Management (bulwarkcapitalmgmt.com)Get a second opinion on the health of your retirement portfolio today.  Schedule your free Know Your Risk Portfolio review go to KnowYourRiskRadio.com today.My Pillow https://mypillow.com/toddUse promo code TODD to save big on the entire MyPillow classic Collection with the Standard starting at only $14.88.  Renue Healthcare https://renue.healthcare/toddYour journey to a better life starts at Renue Healthcare. Visit renue.healthcare/ToddWisdom Nutrition https://trywisdomnow.com/toddStock up on Wisdom for 33% off plus free shipping. Visit trywisdomnow.com/todd.

Former president Barack Obama will deliver keynote speak at Democracy Forum in Chicago, and more.

Former president Barack Obama will deliver keynote speak at Democracy Forum in Chicago, and more.

Former president Barack Obama will deliver keynote speak at Democracy Forum in Chicago, and more.

Host: Ann Luther, League of Women Voters of Maine Production Assistance: Linda Washburn, Joel Mann Democracy Forum: Participatory Democracy, encouraging citizens to take an active role in government and politics. This month: This month, as we do each election year, we will reflect on the recent election: what just happened here, and why? What does it mean for Maine? Guest/s: – Nicholas Jacobs, Assistant Professor of Government, Colby College www.colby.edu/people/people-directory/nicholas-jacobs/ – Anna Kellar, Executive Director, League of Women Voters of Maine www.lwvme.org/lwvme-staff – Abby Kiesa, Deputy Director, CIRCLE circle.tufts.edu/about-circle/our-team – Steve Mistler, Chief Political Correspondent and State House Bureau Chief, Maine Public www.mainepublic.org/people/steve-mistler To learn more about this topic: Visit LWVME.org About the host: Ann Luther currently serves as Treasurer of the League of Women Voters of Maine and leads the LWVME Advocacy Team. She served as President of LWVME from 2003 to 2007 and as co-president from 2007-2009. The post Democracy Forum 11/15/24: Election Reflections: What Just Happened Here? first appeared on WERU 89.9 FM Blue Hill, Maine Local News and Public Affairs Archives.

Host: Ann Luther, League of Women Voters of Maine Production Assistance: Linda Washburn, Amy Browne Discussion held on Saturday, September 28, at the Moore Center in Ellsworth by the League of Women Voters – Downeast. Audio by Linda Washburn Democracy Forum: Participatory Democracy, encouraging citizens to take an active role in government and politics. This month: Answering questions about the many ways in which Maine has excellent pro-voter election laws that are well administered and free from fraud, etc. Guest/s: 1. Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows 2. Joann Bautista, Deputy Secretary of State – Policy Advisor 3. Bangor City Clerk, Lisa Goodwin 4. Moderated by Ann Luther, League of Women Voters Downeast/ To learn more about this topic: Visit LWVME.org About the host: Ann Luther currently serves as Treasurer of the League of Women Voters of Maine and leads the LWVME Advocacy Team. She served as President of LWVME from 2003 to 2007 and as co-president from 2007-2009. The post Democracy Forum Special 10/23/24: Voting Rights and the Integrity of Elections in Maine first appeared on WERU 89.9 FM Blue Hill, Maine Local News and Public Affairs Archives.

Host: Ann Luther, League of Women Voters of Maine Production Assistance: Linda Washburn Democracy Forum: Participatory Democracy, encouraging citizens to take an active role in government and politics. This month: We preview the upcoming elections and provide information about the ballot questions, which races will use ranked choice voting, how and when to vote, etc Guest/s: Randy Billings, political reporter for the Portland Press Herald, www.pressherald.com/author/randy-billings/ Anna Kellar, Executive Director for the League of Women Voters of Maine, www.lwvme.org/lwvme-staff To learn more about this topic: www.lwvme.org/node/3387?a0=node&a1=2457 Visit LWVME.org About the host: Ann Luther currently serves as Treasurer of the League of Women Voters of Maine and leads the LWVME Advocacy Team. She served as President of LWVME from 2003 to 2007 and as co-president from 2007-2009. The post Democracy Forum 10/18/24: Election 2024: What's on Your Ballot? first appeared on WERU 89.9 FM Blue Hill, Maine Local News and Public Affairs Archives.

Host: Ann Luther, League of Women Voters of Maine Production Assistance: Joel Mann The mostly volunteer team at the League of Women Voters – Downeast who plan and coordinate this series includes: Martha Dickinson, Ruth Eveland, Michael Fisher, Claire Fox, Starr Gilmartin, Maggie Harling, Ann Luther, Rick Lyles, Judith Lyles, Wendilee O'Brien, Leah Taylor, and Linda Washburn. Democracy Forum: Participatory Democracy, encouraging citizens to take an active role in government and politics This month: We want to talk about propaganda: its manifestations in U.S. history and currently, its hallmarks, its sponsors, its uses and effects. How do we define propaganda? How is this different from mis- and dis-information or from run-of-the-mill campaign messaging? And we want to talk about ways that people can recognize propaganda and push back. Guest/s: Michael Franz, Professor of Government and Legal Studies at Bowdoin College, and co-director of the Wesleyan Media Project. www.bowdoin.edu/profiles/faculty/mfranz/index.html Jason Stanley, the Jacob Urowsky Professor of Philosophy, Yale University, and author of the new book, Erasing History: How Fascists Rewrite the Past to Control the Future. campuspress.yale.edu/jasonstanley/ To learn more about this topic: Erasing History, Jason Stanley, 2024, www.simonandschuster.com/books/Erasing-History/Jason-Stanley/9781668056912 Letters from an American | Heather Cox Richardson June, 2024 heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/p/june-12-2024 Russia and China Are Winning the Propaganda War | The Atlantic, Anne Applebaum, June 2024 www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2024/06/china-russia-republican-party-relations/678271/ The Government Needs to Act Fast to Protect the Election | The Atlantic, Gowri Ramachandran and Lawrence Norden, June 2024 www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2024/06/murthy-v-missouri-supreme-court/678829/?utm_campaign=atlantic-daily-newsletter&utm_content=20240628&utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&lctg=6050e9c24c8a1e4095007a21&utm_term=The%20Atlantic%20Daily Media Control, Noam Chomsky, 2022 www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/213835/media-control-by-noam-chomsky/ Propaganda's Progression | Foreign Policy February, 2021 foreignpolicy.com/2021/02/01/propaganda-russia-trump-misinformation-capitol-riot/ Spending Fast and Furious: Political Advertising in 2020, Michael Franz, et. al, 2020 digitalcommons.bowdoin.edu/government-faculty-publications/5/ How Propaganda Works, Jason Stanley, 2015 press.princeton.edu/books/paperback/9780691173429/how-propaganda-works Master of American Propaganda | American Experience | Official Site | PBS www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/the-great-war-master-of-american-propaganda/ Where Truth Lies | Hidden Brain Media hiddenbrain.org/podcast/where-truth-lies/ Is all Propaganda bad? | Nabb Research Center Online Exhibits libapps.salisbury.edu/nabb-online/exhibits/show/propaganda/what-is-propaganda-/is-all-propaganda-bad- About the host: Ann Luther currently serves as Treasurer of the League of Women Voters of Maine and leads the LWVME Advocacy Team. She served as President of LWVME from 2003 to 2007 and as co-president from 2007-2009. In her work for the League, Ann has worked for greater public understanding of public policy issues and for the League's priority issues in Clean Elections & Campaign Finance Reform, Voting Rights, Ethics in Government, Ranked Choice Voting, and Repeal of Term Limits. Representing LWVME at Maine Citizens for Clean Elections, she served that coalition as co-president from 2006 to 2011. She remains on the board of MCCE and serves as Treasurer. She is active in the LWV-Downeast and hosts their monthly radio show, The Democracy Forum, on WERU FM Community Radio -which started out in 2004 as an recurring special, and became a regular monthly program in 2012. She was the 2013 recipient of the Baldwin Award from the ACLU of Maine for her work on voting rights and elections. She joined the League in 1998 when she retired as Senior Vice President at SEI Investments. Ann was a founder of the MDI Restorative Justice Program, 1999 – 2000, and served on its Executive Board. The post Democracy Forum 9/20/24: Propaganda: Is This For Real? first appeared on WERU 89.9 FM Blue Hill, Maine Local News and Public Affairs Archives.

F&M's Center for Public Opinion Research has conducted a random-sample survey of 900 Lancaster County Residents. Typically, about 60 attend the two-day forum. Those who attend are briefed about topics and issues they are asked to deliberate about. On day 1, attendees are asked to discuss topics and potential solutions to challenges. On Day 2, they deliberate and identify solutions and recommendations in small groups while moderated. Professor Stephen K Medvic and Berwood Yost, the Director for Opinion Research at Franklin and Marshall College joined the Spark to discuss their recent Reforming Democracy Forum that took place in Lancaster.Support WITF: https://www.witf.org/support/give-now/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Host: Ann Luther, League of Women Voters of Maine Production Assistance: Joel Mann The mostly volunteer team at the League of Women Voters – Downeast who plan and coordinate this series includes: Martha Dickinson, Ruth Eveland, Michael Fisher, Claire Fox, Starr Gilmartin, Maggie Harling, Ann Luther, Rick Lyles, Judith Lyles, Wendilee O'Brien, Leah Taylor, and Linda Washburn. Democracy Forum: Participatory Democracy, encouraging citizens to take an active role in government and politics This month: We talk about the Maine judiciary. 1. How are judges chosen in Maine? 2. Compare Maine’s judicial selection process to the federal system and to other states. 3. What standards of judicial ethics apply? 4. Are judges in Maine subject to undue influence by narrow special or partisan interests? 5. Are judges in Maine facing escalating threats, the way judges are in other states? 6. What insulates Maine? How fragile are our protections? Guest/s: – Leigh Saufley, President and Dean of the University of Maine School of Law, former Chief Justice of the Maine Supreme Judicial Court. mainelaw.maine.edu/faculty/profile/leigh-i-saufley/ – David Sachar, Director of Judicial Ethics at the National Center for State Courts. www.ncsc.org/staff-directory/staff/david-sachar – Dmitry Bam, Vice Dean/Provost, Professor of Law at the University of Maine School of Law. mainelaw.maine.edu/faculty/profile/dmitry-bam/ To learn more about this topic: 1. Judicial Nominations | Office of Governor Janet T. Mills www.maine.gov/governor/mills/about/judicial_nominations 2. Maine Judicial Branch courts.maine.gov/ 3. State of Maine Judicial Responsibility and Disability Committee www.cjc.maine.gov/index.html 4. How to file a judicial complaint in Maine www.cjc.maine.gov/file_complaint.html 5. Can State Supreme Courts Preserve—or Expand—Rights? | The New Yorker, June 2024 www.newyorker.com/magazine/2024/06/10/can-state-supreme-courts-preserve-or-expand-rights 6. Defense attorneys, ACLU question whether new bail reviews for unrepresented defendants are working | Portland Press Herald, May 2024 www.pressherald.com/2024/05/28/defense- attorneys-aclu-question-if-new-bail-reviews-for-unrepresented-defendants-are-actually-working/?uuid=43807610-1735-4ac6-af9e-fed1faa9554c&lid=12766 7. Probate court reform overdue | Editorials | ellsworthamerican.com, May 2024 www.ellsworthamerican.com/opinion/editorials/probate-court-reform-overdue/article_32f84f7a-eadf-11ee-b70f-0f051fa172be.html 8. Maine officials seek suspension of Hancock County probate judge | BDN, April 2024 www.bangordailynews.com/2024/04/10/hancock/hancock-police-courts/seek-suspension-william-blaisdell-iv-probate-judge-joam40zk0w/ 9. Judges and Prosecutors, Targeted by Trump, Will Not Be Intimidated, Ruth Ben-Ghiat, April 2024 lucid.substack.com/p/judges-and-prosecutors-targeted-by 10. Judicial Leaders Praise Federal Bill to Protect State Judges | NCSC, March 2024 www.ncsc.org/newsroom/news-releases/2024/judicial-leaders-praise-federal-bill-to-protect-state-judges2 11. Maine’s chief justice cites progress and challenges for backlogged court system | Maine Public, February 2024 www.mainepublic.org/courts-and-crime/2024-02-21/maines-chief-justice-cites-progress-and-challenges-for-backlogged-court-system 12. Maine’s Part-Time Court | Maine Monitor, June 2023 themainemonitor.org/maines-part-time-court/ 13. Maine courts may take until 2028 to touch backlog of cases | Maine Monitor, March 2023 themainemonitor.org/maine-courts-may-take-until-2028-to-touch-backlog-of-cases/ About the host: Ann currently serves as Treasurer of the League of Women Voters of Maine and leads the LWVME Advocacy Team. She served as President of LWVME from 2003 to 2007 and as co-president from 2007-2009. In her work for the League, Ann has worked for greater public understanding of public policy issues and for the League's priority issues in Clean Elections & Campaign Finance Reform, Voting Rights, Ethics in Government, Ranked Choice Voting, and Repeal of Term Limits. Representing LWVME at Maine Citizens for Clean Elections, she served that coalition as co-president from 2006 to 2011. She remains on the board of MCCE and serves as Treasurer. She is active in the LWV-Downeast and hosts their monthly radio show, The Democracy Forum, on WERU FM Community Radio -which started out in 2004 as an recurring special, and became a regular monthly program in 2012. She was the 2013 recipient of the Baldwin Award from the ACLU of Maine for her work on voting rights and elections. She joined the League in 1998 when she retired as Senior Vice President at SEI Investments. Ann was a founder of the MDI Restorative Justice Program, 1999 – 2000, and served on its Executive Board. The post Democracy Forum 6/21/24: Order in the Court: Who's Your Judge? first appeared on WERU 89.9 FM Blue Hill, Maine Local News and Public Affairs Archives.

Host: Ann Luther, League of Women Voters of Maine Production Assistance: Joel Mann The mostly volunteer team at the League of Women Voters – Downeast who plan and coordinate this series includes: Martha Dickinson, Ruth Eveland, Michael Fisher, Starr Gilmartin, Maggie Harling, Ann Luther, Rick Lyles, Judith Lyles, Leah Taylor, and Linda Washburn. Democracy Forum: Participatory Democracy, encouraging citizens to take an active role in government and politics This month: Some of us thought we already had a right to vote. Where are we getting it wrong? How would a Constitutional Amendment help? What are the chances of getting it? Guest/s: – Dmitry Bam, Vice Dean/Provost, Professor of Law at the University of Maine School of Law mainelaw.maine.edu/faculty/profile/dmitry-bam/ – Rich Hasen, Professor of Law and Political Science at UCLA and Director of the Safeguarding Democracy Project. law.ucla.edu/faculty/faculty-profiles/richard-l-hasen To learn more about this topic: 1. Opinion | How Do You Teach Constitutional Law With This Supreme Court? | The New York Times, Jesse Wegman (NYT Editorial Board), February 2024, www.nytimes.com/2024/02/26/opinion/constitutional-law-crisis-supreme-court.html?unlocked_article_code=1.YU0.w0u6.v_LEsvakt-x-&smid=url-share 2. A Real Right to Vote: How a Constitutional Amendment Can Safeguard American Democracy, Rick Hasen, February 2024, press.princeton.edu/books/hardcover/9780691257716/a-real-right-to-vote 3. Opinion | The U.S. Lacks What Every Democracy Needs | New York Times, Rick Hasen, January 2024, messaging-custom-newsletters.nytimes.com/dynamic/render?campaign_id=39&emc=edit_ty_20240120&first_send=0&instance_id=113009&nl=opinion-today&paid_regi=1&productCode=TY®i_id=112645860&segment_id=155858&te=1&uri=nyt%3A%2F%2Fnewsletter%2Fd53cac52-c68f-5cd1-9db9-35d6e9ee2ea2&user_id=89883f526c8e7fcdda54b38b8c9a217b 4. Does the Constitution Guarantee a Right to Vote? The Answer May Surprise You | New York Times, Michael Wines, October 2022, www.nytimes.com/article/voting-rights-constitution.html 5. The Right to Vote: Is the Amendment Game Worth the Candle? | William & Mary Bill of Rights Journal, Heather Gerken, October 2014, scholarship.law.wm.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?params=/context/wmborj/article/1704/&path_info=borj23_no1_p11_gerken.pdf   6. What Does the Constitution Say About the Right to Vote? – Democracy Docket, Mac Brower, February 2022, www.democracydocket.com/analysis/what-does-the-constitution-say-about-the-right-to-vote/ 7. The Missing Right: A Constitutional Right to Vote : Democracy Journal, Jonathan Soros, Spring 2013, democracyjournal.org/magazine/28/the-missing-right-a-constitutional-right-to-vote/ 8. What Does the Constitution Actually Say About Voting Rights? | The Atlantic, Garrett Epps, August, 2013, www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2013/08/what-does-the-constitution-actually-say-about-voting-rights/278782/ 9. The Right to Vote by Alexander Keyssar | Hachette Book Group, 2000, www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/alexander-keyssar/the-right-to-vote/9780465005024/?lens=basic-books 10. Voting rights laws and constitutional amendments | USAGov, www.usa.gov/voting-rights About the host: Ann currently serves as Treasurer of the League of Women Voters of Maine and leads the LWVME Advocacy Team. She served as President of LWVME from 2003 to 2007 and as co-president from 2007-2009. In her work for the League, Ann has worked for greater public understanding of public policy issues and for the League's priority issues in Clean Elections & Campaign Finance Reform, Voting Rights, Ethics in Government, Ranked Choice Voting, and Repeal of Term Limits. Representing LWVME at Maine Citizens for Clean Elections, she served that coalition as co-president from 2006 to 2011. She remains on the board of MCCE and serves as Treasurer. She is active in the LWV-Downeast and hosts their monthly radio show, The Democracy Forum, on WERU FM Community Radio -which started out in 2004 as an recurring special, and became a regular monthly program in 2012. She was the 2013 recipient of the Baldwin Award from the ACLU of Maine for her work on voting rights and elections. She joined the League in 1998 when she retired as Senior Vice President at SEI Investments. Ann was a founder of the MDI Restorative Justice Program, 1999 – 2000, and served on its Executive Board. The post Democracy Forum 5/17/24: Constitutional Right to Vote: Do we have it, do we need it? first appeared on WERU 89.9 FM Blue Hill, Maine Local News and Public Affairs Archives.

Host: Ann Luther, League of Women Voters of Maine Production Assistance: Joel Mann The mostly volunteer team at the League of Women Voters – Downeast who plan and coordinate this series includes: Martha Dickinson, Claire Fox, Ruth Eveland, Michael Fisher, Claire Fox, Starr Gilmartin, Maggie Harling, Ann Luther, Rick Lyles, Judith Lyles, Wendilee O'Brien, Kathy Stark, Leah Taylor, and Linda Washburn. Democracy Forum: Participatory Democracy, encouraging citizens to take an active role in government and politics This month: We’ll talk about the Maine Clean Election Act — public funding for candidate campaigns– as we move through our third decade. How does our program work in Maine? What have been its benefits and disappointments? How do publicly financed elections fit into the practical landscape for campaign finance reform considering the current legal environment? What trends are we seeing in Maine and nationally? Guest/s: – Anna Kellar, Executive Director, Maine Citizens for Clean Elections www.lwvme.org/lwvme-staff – Ian Vandewalker, Special Counsel, Democracy, Brennan Center for Justice www.brennancenter.org/experts/ian-vandewalker To learn more about this topic: 1. RFK Jr.'s VP Pick and the Dangers of Self-Funded Campaigns | Brennan Center for Justice, Ian Vandewalker, March 2024 www.brennancenter.org/our-work/analysis-opinion/rfk-jrs-vp-pick-and-dangers-self-funded-campaigns 2. Maine considers expanding clean elections law to county candidates | Public News Service, February, 2024 www.publicnewsservice.org/2024-02-21/campaign-finance-reform-money-in-pol/maine-considers-expanding-clean-elections-law-to-county-candidates/a89001-1 3. Small Donor Public Financing Explained | Brennan Center for Justice, Mariana Paez and Ian Vandewalker, June 2023 www.brennancenter.org/our-work/research-reports/small-donor-public-financing-explained 4. 2023 Study Report on the MCEA | Maine Ethics Commission www.maine.gov/ethics/sites/maine.gov.ethics/files/inline-files/2023%20MCEA%20Study%20Report.pdf 5. MCEA Candidate Participation 2022 | Maine Ethics Commission www.maine.gov/ethics/sites/maine.gov.ethics/files/inline-files/2022%20MCEA%20Overview%20for%20VLA.pdf 6. Fight Over Clean Elections Act Won't Be Over Anytime Soon And May Have Consequences In November | Maine Public, June 2018 www.mainepublic.org/politics/2018-06-27/fight-over-clean-elections-act-wont-be-over-anytime-soon-and-may-have-consequences-in-november 7. What is the Maine Clean Elections Law?, MCCE video explainer and fact sheet, www.mainecleanelections.org/cleanelections 8. Cleaning House? Assessing the Impact of Maine's Clean Elections Act on Electoral Competitiveness | Maine Policy Review, 2012 digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1081&context=mpr 9. Maine “Clean Elections” Initiative, Question 1 (2015) – Ballotpedia ballotpedia.org/Maine_%22Clean_Elections%22_Initiative,_Question_1_(2015)#MCEA 10. Amplifying Small-Dollar Donors in the Citizens United Era | Common Cause www.commoncause.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/CT_SmallDonorDollar_Report_WEB.pdf About the host: Ann currently serves as Treasurer of the League of Women Voters of Maine and leads the LWVME Advocacy Team. She served as President of LWVME from 2003 to 2007 and as co-president from 2007-2009. In her work for the League, Ann has worked for greater public understanding of public policy issues and for the League's priority issues in Clean Elections & Campaign Finance Reform, Voting Rights, Ethics in Government, Ranked Choice Voting, and Repeal of Term Limits. Representing LWVME at Maine Citizens for Clean Elections, she served that coalition as co-president from 2006 to 2011. She remains on the board of MCCE and serves as Treasurer. She is active in the LWV-Downeast and hosts their monthly radio show, The Democracy Forum, on WERU FM Community Radio -which started out in 2004 as an recurring special, and became a regular monthly program in 2012. She was the 2013 recipient of the Baldwin Award from the ACLU of Maine for her work on voting rights and elections. She joined the League in 1998 when she retired as Senior Vice President at SEI Investments. Ann was a founder of the MDI Restorative Justice Program, 1999 – 2000, and served on its Executive Board. The post Democracy Forum 4/19/24: Clean Elections 24 Years Later (Yes, it's been that long) first appeared on WERU 89.9 FM Blue Hill, Maine Local News and Public Affairs Archives.

This month we continue our series on speech and censorship by discussing a famous critique of free speech from the left. My guest and I dig into Herbert Marcuse's famous essay and try to make sense of its critique of tolerance and free speech. We discuss Marcuse's background and role as a leading thinker of the New Left. We also analyze Marcuse's goal of liberation or autonomy, his understanding of the relationship between speech and action, his use of the term totalitarian, and his understanding of the duty of the intellectual.Our guest is Professor Alexander Duff. Alex is a scholar of the history of political philosophy, focusing on the ontology and psychology of statecraft and politics. He was trained at the University of Notre Dame, where he earned his Ph.D. from the department of Political Science and was educated in the humanities and history at Carleton University, Ottawa. He is the author of Heidegger and Politics: The Ontology of Radical Discontent (Cambridge University Press) and numerous articles on classical, Renaissance, modern, and contemporary political philosophy which have appeared in the American Journal of Political Science, Journal of Politics, Political Review Quarterly, the Review of Metaphysics, the Heidegger- Jahrbuch, and other scholarly and popular publications. His work has been translated into Estonian and Farsi.He teaches at the University of North Texas where he is Assistant Professor of Political Science and Director of the Constitutionalism and Democracy Forum. He has held fellowships from the Tocqueville Program for Inquiry into Religion and American Public Life at the University of Notre Dame and from the Program for the Study of the Western Heritage at Boston College and has delivered lectures at many colleges and universities, including Oxford, Harvard, Yale, the University of Notre Dame, Boston College, the University of Texas: Austin, and Louisiana State University. He lives in Little Elm, Texas.

Host: Ann Luther, League of Women Voters of Maine Production Assistance: Joel Mann The mostly volunteer team at the League of Women Voters – Downeast who plan and coordinate this series includes: Martha Dickinson, Ruth Eveland, Michael Fisher, Claire Fox, Starr Gilmartin, Maggie Harling, Ann Luther, Rick Lyles, Judith Lyles, Wendilee O'Brien, Leah Taylor, and Linda Washburn. Democracy Forum: Participatory Democracy, encouraging citizens to take an active role in government and politics This month: We'll revisit topics from our show in 2021, talking about the historical and contemporary links between labor organizing and expanding political rights like voting. Is union organizing an important, if not essential, tool in building a vibrant democracy – of people having a voice in their self-governance? What led to the demise of unions over the last half century? What have been the political consequences? Are unions making a comeback? Why is that? What new trends are emerging here in Maine? Guest/s: David Madland, Senior Fellow and senior adviser to the American Worker Project at the Center for American Progress www.americanprogress.org/people/madland-david/ Arthur Phillips, Economic Policy Analyst at the Maine Center for Economic Policy www.mecep.org/about/our-teams/ Cynthia Phinney, President of the Maine AFL-CIO. maineaflcio.org/content/32232 To learn more about this topic: 1. Americans' views of labor unions | Pew Research Center, February, 2024, www.pewresearch.org/politics/2024/02/01/labor-unions/ 2. State worker union filing charges against Mills administration over pay gap | WGME, February, 2024, wgme.com/news/local/state-worker-union-filing-charges-against-mills-administration-over-pay-gap-maine-gov-janet-mills-low-wages-cost-of-living 3. USPS reschedules meeting on Hampden processing facility | WABI, February, 2024, www.wabi.tv/2024/02/01/usps-reschedules-meeting-hampden-processing-facility/ 4. Local union president shares concerns about proposed changes to Hampden USPS facility | WABI, January, 2024, www.wabi.tv/2024/01/18/local-union-president-shares-concerns-about-proposed-changes-hampden-usps-facility/?link_id=6&can_id=1905c6b9067a4b4bf8e189b166246f7a&source=email-new-take-action-re-mail-service-changes&email_referrer=email_2215388&email_subject=correction-re-mail-service-changes 5. Union membership grew last year, but only 10% of U.S. workers belong to a union | NPR, January, 2024, www.npr.org/2024/01/23/1226034366/labor-union-membership-uaw-hollywood-workers-strike-gallup 6. Maine's labor movement sees big shift from small unions | Portland Press Herald, December, 2023, www.pressherald.com/2023/12/04/small-unions-drive-maines-labor-movement-forward/ 7. Maine farmworkers deserve equal rights | Bangor Daily News, Food and Medicine Op-ed, December, 2023, www.bangordailynews.com/2023/12/25/opinion/opinion-contributor/maine-farmworkers-equal-rights/ 8. UMaine System graduate-student workers win union certification | Mainebiz.biz, October, 2023, www.mainebiz.biz/article/umaine-system-graduate-student-workers-win-union-certification 9. Brief: The state of labor organizing in Maine | MECEP, September, 2023, www.mecep.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/The-state-of-labor-organizing-in-Maine-Labor-Day-2023.pdf 10. Why Government Unions—Unlike Trade Unions—Corrupt Democracy | TIME April, 2023, time.com/6267979/government-unions-corrupt-democracy/ 11. Chipotle agrees to pay $240 K after closing a store that sought to unionize | CBS, March, 2023, www.cbsnews.com/news/chipotle-union-settlement-closing-store-augusta-maine/ 12. Chipotle workers in Maine file for chain's first union election | The Hill, June, 2022, thehill.com/business-a-lobbying/business-lobbying/3534270-chipotle-workers-in-maine-file-for-chains-first-union-election/ 13. House sustains veto of bill to allow Maine farm workers to unionize | Maine Public, January, 2022, www.mainepublic.org/politics/2022-01-26/house-sustains-veto-of-bill-to-allow-maine-farm-workers-to-unionize 14. Re-Union by David Madland | Hardcover | Cornell University Press, 2021, www.cornellpress.cornell.edu/book/9781501755378/re-union/ 15. Democracy, Union Made, Phil Fishman in The American Interest, September 2007, www.the-american-interest.com/2007/09/01/democracy-union-made/ About the host: Ann currently serves as Treasurer of the League of Women Voters of Maine and leads the LWVME Advocacy Team. She served as President of LWVME from 2003 to 2007 and as co-president from 2007-2009. In her work for the League, Ann has worked for greater public understanding of public policy issues and for the League's priority issues in Clean Elections & Campaign Finance Reform, Voting Rights, Ethics in Government, Ranked Choice Voting, and Repeal of Term Limits. Representing LWVME at Maine Citizens for Clean Elections, she served that coalition as co-president from 2006 to 2011. She remains on the board of MCCE and serves as Treasurer. She is active in the LWV-Downeast and hosts their monthly radio show, The Democracy Forum, on WERU FM Community Radio -which started out in 2004 as an recurring special, and became a regular monthly program in 2012. She was the 2013 recipient of the Baldwin Award from the ACLU of Maine for her work on voting rights and elections. She joined the League in 1998 when she retired as Senior Vice President at SEI Investments. Ann was a founder of the MDI Restorative Justice Program, 1999 – 2000, and served on its Executive Board. The post Democracy Forum 3/15/24: Unions and Democracy Take Two first appeared on WERU 89.9 FM Blue Hill, Maine Local News and Public Affairs Archives.

Host: Ann Luther, League of Women Voters of Maine The mostly volunteer team at the League of Women Voters – Downeast who plan and coordinate this series includes: Martha Dickinson, Michael Fisher, Claire Fox, Starr Gilmartin, Maggie Harling, Ann Luther, Rick Lyles, Judith Lyles, Wendilee O'Brien, Lane Sturtevant, Leah Taylor, and Linda Washburn. Democracy Forum: Participatory Democracy, encouraging citizens to take an active role in government and politics This month: We will talk about the history of the Electoral College and how it's working in the 21st century. What reforms are needed, and which are possible? What is the NPV compact, and how would it work? Is it right for Maine? Guest/s: Mike Saxl, former Speaker of the Maine House of Representatives and Managing Principal of Maine Street Solutions, the leading proponent of the National Popular Vote in Maine www.verrill-law.com/michael-v-saxl/ Kate Shaw, Professor of Law, University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School, co-host of the Supreme Court podcast Strict Scrutiny www.law.upenn.edu/faculty/kateshaw To learn more about this topic: Our View: It's time to pick the president by national popular vote | Portland Press Herald, Editorial, January, 2024 www.pressherald.com/2024/01/14/our-view-its-time-to-pick-the-president-by-national-popular-vote-2/ No thanks to national popular vote | Bangor Daily News, Matt Gagnon op-ed, January, 2024, www.bangordailynews.com/2024/01/10/opinion/opinion-contributor/national-popular-vote-problems/ Arguments against national popular vote compact fall short | Bangor Daily News, Amy Fried op-ed, January, 2024, www.bangordailynews.com/2024/01/30/opinion/opinion-contributor/arguments-against-national-popular-vote-compact-fall-short-joam40zk0w/ Yarmouth representative pitches National Popular Vote plan | Spectrum News, January, 2024, spectrumlocalnews.com/me/maine/politics/2024/01/08/yarmouth-representative-pitches-national-popular-vote-plan-for-presidential-elections National Popular Vote | National Conference of State Legislatures, December, 2023, shows state-by-state passage, www.ncsl.org/elections-and-campaigns/national-popular-vote Majority of Americans continue to favor moving away from Electoral College | Pew Research, September, 2023, www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2023/09/25/majority-of-americans-continue-to-favor-moving-away-from-electoral-college/ “A Mystifying and Distorting Factor”: The Electoral College and American Democracy | Michigan Law Review, Katharine Shaw, 2022, repository.law.umich.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=8442&context=mlr The National Popular Vote, Explained | Brennan Center for Justice, December, 2020, www.brennancenter.org/our-work/research-reports/national-popular-vote-explained?utm_medium=PANTHEON_STRIPPED&utm_source=PANTHEON_STRIPPED The Electoral College is flawed — so are the alternatives: Experts | ABC News, December, 2020, abcnews.go.com/Politics/electoral-college-flawed-alternatives/story?id=74708394 Why We Need A National Popular Vote | Robert Reich, m.youtube.com/watch?v=Pn8rWMVGlfQ About the host: Ann currently serves as Treasurer of the League of Women Voters of Maine and leads the LWVME Advocacy Team. She served as President of LWVME from 2003 to 2007 and as co-president from 2007-2009. In her work for the League, Ann has worked for greater public understanding of public policy issues and for the League's priority issues in Clean Elections & Campaign Finance Reform, Voting Rights, Ethics in Government, Ranked Choice Voting, and Repeal of Term Limits. Representing LWVME at Maine Citizens for Clean Elections, she served that coalition as co-president from 2006 to 2011. She remains on the board of MCCE and serves as Treasurer. She is active in the LWV-Downeast and hosts their monthly radio show, The Democracy Forum, on WERU FM Community Radio -which started out in 2004 as an recurring special, and became a regular monthly program in 2012. She was the 2013 recipient of the Baldwin Award from the ACLU of Maine for her work on voting rights and elections. She joined the League in 1998 when she retired as Senior Vice President at SEI Investments. Ann was a founder of the MDI Restorative Justice Program, 1999 – 2000, and served on its Executive Board. The post Democracy Forum 2/16/24: National Popular Vote: What do we need? How can we get it? first appeared on WERU 89.9 FM Blue Hill, Maine Local News and Public Affairs Archives.

Host: Ann Luther, League of Women Voters of Maine The mostly volunteer team at the League of Women Voters – Downeast who plan and coordinate this series includes: Martha Dickinson, Michael Fisher, Claire Fox, Starr Gilmartin, Maggie Harling, Ann Luther, Rick Lyles, Judith Lyles, Wendilee O'Brien, Lane Sturtevant, Leah Taylor, and Linda Washburn. Democracy Forum: Participatory Democracy, encouraging citizens to take an active role in government and politics This month: We'll talk about the roll-out of semi-open primaries. Maine will be running semi-open primaries for the first time in 2024. We'll explain to voters what to expect and what important deadlines and new procedures may pertain. And we'll talk about how semi-open primaries might affect voter behavior and election outcomes. Guest/s: Shenna Bellows, Maine Secretary of State www.maine.gov/sos/about/bio.html Jill Goldthwait, Hancock County journalist and political columnist, former Maine state senator (unenrolled) en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jill_Goldthwait Laurel Harbridge-Yong, Professor of Political Science; Faculty Fellow, Institute for Policy Research; Northwestern University www.ipr.northwestern.edu/who-we-are/faculty-experts/harbridge.html To learn more about this topic: 1. LWV Of Tennessee | League of Women Voters LWVTN sues over Bona Fide Primary Voting Law, November, 2023 www.lwv.org/newsroom/press-releases/lwvtn-tennessee-voters-file-federal-lawsuit-challenging-state-bona-fide 2. Understanding the Partisan Divide: How Demographics and Policy Views Shape Party Coalitions | New America, February, 2023 www.newamerica.org/political-reform/reports/understanding-the-partisan-divide/ 3. The Success Story Behind Maine’s Adoption of Semi-Open Primaries | Independent Voter News, August, 2022 ivn.us/posts/the-success-story-behind-maines-adoption-of-semi-open-primaries 4. State Primary Election Systems | National Council of State Legislators, June, 2021 documents.ncsl.org/wwwncsl/Elections/Primary-Types-Table_2021.pdf 5. Why Do Legislators Reject ‘Half-Loaf' Compromises? | Northwestern Institute for Policy Research, April, 2020 www.ipr.northwestern.edu/news/2020/harbridge-yong-half-loaf-compromises.html 6. Rejecting Compromise: Legislators' Fear of Primary Voters. Anderson, S., D. Butler, and Harbridge-Yong, Cambridge University Press, 2020 www.cambridge.org/core/books/rejecting-compromise/01F2DA900C72ACF02E1B3ECF4EED43D3 7. LWVME Study Guide on Primaries, 2017-2018 www.lwvme.org/sites/default/files/pdfs/Primary_Study_Guide.pdf 8. 9 media myths about independent voters, debunked | Vox, January 2016 www.vox.com/2016/1/22/10814522/independents-voters-facts-myths 9. How Do You Like Me Now? The desirability of Political Independence, Klar S, Krupnikov Y., Independent Politics: How American Disdain for Parties Leads to Political Inaction, Cambridge University Press, 2016. www.cambridge.org/core/books/abs/independent-politics/how-do-you-like-me-now-the-desirability-of-political-independence/312BD7BFCC87D43FFACADAA264E261FB About the host: Ann currently serves as Treasurer of the League of Women Voters of Maine and leads the LWVME Advocacy Team. She served as President of LWVME from 2003 to 2007 and as co-president from 2007-2009. In her work for the League, Ann has worked for greater public understanding of public policy issues and for the League's priority issues in Clean Elections & Campaign Finance Reform, Voting Rights, Ethics in Government, Ranked Choice Voting, and Repeal of Term Limits. Representing LWVME at Maine Citizens for Clean Elections, she served that coalition as co-president from 2006 to 2011. She remains on the board of MCCE and serves as Treasurer. She is active in the LWV-Downeast and hosts their monthly radio show, The Democracy Forum, on WERU FM Community Radio -which started out in 2004 as an recurring special, and became a regular monthly program in 2012. She was the 2013 recipient of the Baldwin Award from the ACLU of Maine for her work on voting rights and elections. She joined the League in 1998 when she retired as Senior Vice President at SEI Investments. Ann was a founder of the MDI Restorative Justice Program, 1999 – 2000, and served on its Executive Board. The post Democracy Forum 1/19/24: Who Gets to Vote in Maine Primaries? Change is coming… first appeared on WERU 89.9 FM Blue Hill, Maine Local News and Public Affairs Archives.

Host: Ann Luther, League of Women Voters of Maine The mostly volunteer team at the League of Women Voters – Downeast who plan and coordinate this series includes: Martha Dickinson, Michael Fisher, Starr Gilmartin, Maggie Harling, Lisa Leaverton, Ann Luther, Rick Lyles, Judith Lyles, Wendilee O'Brien, Maryann Ogonowski, emerita, Lane Sturtevant, Leah Taylor, and Linda Washburn. Democracy Forum: Participatory Democracy, encouraging citizens to take an active role in government and politics This month: We’ll talk about what happened in the November 7 election. Who were the winners and losers, and what does it mean for the future? Guest/s: Shenna Bellows, Maine Secretary of State www.maine.gov/sos/about/bio.html Michael Shepherd, Political Editor at the Bangor Daily News www.bangordailynews.com/author/mshepherd/ To learn more about this topic: Mike Shepherd in the BDN www.bangordailynews.com/2023/11/08/politics/maine-2023-election-surprises-n6hjn1me0n/?mc_cid=3b4ae1f6a5&mc_eid=a2b49da37d www.bangordailynews.com/2023/11/08/morning-update/here-are-results-of-the-biggest-maine-races-from-tuesdays-election/ www.pressherald.com/2023-election/ www.vote411.org/ www.maine.gov/sos/cec/elec/upcoming/ballotquestionsnov2023.html 2023 Citizen's Guide to the Referendum Election www.maine.gov/sos/cec/elec/upcoming/pdf/citizensguide23.pdf www.mainepublic.org/tags/political-pulse archives.weru.org/democracy-forum/2023/10/democracy-forum-10-20-23-yikes-8-ballot-questions/ archives.weru.org/democracy-forum/2023/04/democracy-forum-4-21-23-ballot-questions-whose-initiatives-are-they/ About the host: Ann currently serves as Treasurer of the League of Women Voters of Maine and leads the LWVME Advocacy Team. She served as President of LWVME from 2003 to 2007 and as co-president from 2007-2009. In her work for the League, Ann has worked for greater public understanding of public policy issues and for the League's priority issues in Clean Elections & Campaign Finance Reform, Voting Rights, Ethics in Government, Ranked Choice Voting, and Repeal of Term Limits. Representing LWVME at Maine Citizens for Clean Elections, she served that coalition as co-president from 2006 to 2011. She remains on the board of MCCE and serves as Treasurer. She is active in the LWV-Downeast and hosts their monthly radio show, The Democracy Forum, on WERU FM Community Radio -which started out in 2004 as an recurring special, and became a regular monthly program in 2012. She was the 2013 recipient of the Baldwin Award from the ACLU of Maine for her work on voting rights and elections. She joined the League in 1998 when she retired as Senior Vice President at SEI Investments. Ann was a founder of the MDI Restorative Justice Program, 1999 – 2000, and served on its Executive Board. The post Democracy Forum 11/17/23: What Happened on Election Day? – And What Does It Mean? first appeared on WERU 89.9 FM Blue Hill, Maine Local News and Public Affairs Archives.

Recorded Thursday, September 28th 2023 as part of the Trinity Arts & Humanities Research Festival 2023. The Democracy Forum's Ellie Payne and Mark Little join AI Musicologist Martin Clancy to predict a riot.

Producer/Host: Amy Browne This month: Donna Loring on the Maine tribe’s support of Question 6 on the ballot this November.  Recorded on September 30th at an Issues Forum sponsored by the League of Women Voters of Maine. FMI: www.lwvme.org/ Wabanaki Windows archives (new shows air on the 4th Tuesday of each month, 4-5pm) Democracy Forum archives   (new shows air on the 3rd Friday of each month, 4-5pm) Amy Browne started out at WERU as a volunteer news & public affairs producer in 2000, co-hosting/co-producing RadioActive with Meredith DeFrancesco. She joined the team of Voices producers a few years later, and has been WERU’s News & Public Affairs Manager since January, 2006. In addition to RadioActive, Voices and Maine Currents, she also produced and hosted the WERU News Report for several years. She has produced segments for national programs including Free Speech Radio News, This Way Out, Making Contact, Workers Independent News, Pacifica PeaceWatch, and Live Wire News, and has contributed to Democracy Now and the WBAI News Report. She is the recipient of the 2014 Excellence in Environmental Journalism Award from the Sierra Club of Maine, and the First Place 2017 Radio News Award from the Maine Association of Broadcasters. The post Maine Currents Special 10/31/23: Background on Question 6 from a Tribal Perspective first appeared on WERU 89.9 FM Blue Hill, Maine Local News and Public Affairs Archives.

Host: Ann Luther, League of Women Voters of Maine The mostly volunteer team at the League of Women Voters – Downeast who plan and coordinate this series includes: Martha Dickinson, Michael Fisher, Starr Gilmartin, Maggie Harling, Lisa Leaverton, Ann Luther, Rick Lyles, Judith Lyles, Wendilee O'Brien, Maryann Ogonowski, emerita, Lane Sturtevant, Leah Taylor, and Linda Washburn. Democracy Forum: Participatory Democracy, encouraging citizens to take an active role in government and politics This month: – Some of them are citizen initiatives; some of them are constitutional amendments. What’s the difference? – What do they mean, what will they do, where did they come from, who supports and who opposes, and whose money is being spent? Guest/s: Will Hayward, Advocacy Program Director, LWVME – www.lwvme.org/lwvme-staff Steve Mistler, Maine Public's chief politics and government correspondent – www.mainepublic.org/people/steve-mistler To learn more about this topic: www.lwvme.org/www.vote411.org www.maine.gov/meopa/ www.maine.gov/sos/cec/elec/upcoming/ballotquestionsnov2023.html www.maine.gov/sos/cec/elec/upcoming/pdf/citizensguide23.pdf www.mainepublic.org/tags/political-pulse archives.weru.org/democracy-forum/2023/04/democracy-forum-4-21-23-ballot-questions-whose-initiatives-are-they/ About the host: Ann currently serves as Treasurer of the League of Women Voters of Maine and leads the LWVME Advocacy Team. She served as President of LWVME from 2003 to 2007 and as co-president from 2007-2009. In her work for the League, Ann has worked for greater public understanding of public policy issues and for the League's priority issues in Clean Elections & Campaign Finance Reform, Voting Rights, Ethics in Government, Ranked Choice Voting, and Repeal of Term Limits. Representing LWVME at Maine Citizens for Clean Elections, she served that coalition as co-president from 2006 to 2011. She remains on the board of MCCE and serves as Treasurer. She is active in the LWV-Downeast and hosts their monthly radio show, The Democracy Forum, on WERU FM Community Radio -which started out in 2004 as an recurring special, and became a regular monthly program in 2012. She was the 2013 recipient of the Baldwin Award from the ACLU of Maine for her work on voting rights and elections. She joined the League in 1998 when she retired as Senior Vice President at SEI Investments. Ann was a founder of the MDI Restorative Justice Program, 1999 – 2000, and served on its Executive Board. The post Democracy Forum 10/20/23: Yikes – 8 Ballot Questions! first appeared on WERU 89.9 FM Blue Hill, Maine Local News and Public Affairs Archives.

Host: Ann Luther, League of Women Voters of Maine The mostly volunteer team at the League of Women Voters – Downeast who plan and coordinate this series includes: Martha Dickinson, Michael Fisher, Starr Gilmartin, Maggie Harling, Lisa Leaverton, Ann Luther, Rick Lyles, Judith Lyles, Wendilee O'Brien, Maryann Ogonowski, emerita, Lane Sturtevant, Leah Taylor, and Linda Washburn. Democracy Forum: Participatory Democracy, encouraging citizens to take an active role in government and politics This month: We’ll talk about book banning in an historical and political perspective: tensions between First Amendment rights and rights of parental control; whether and how book bans reflect the tip of the iceberg of other coercive ambitions: controlling ideas, controlling culture, controlling people, etc. What is happening in Maine and around the country? Guest/s: 1. Lindsay Decker, Librarian at the Fogler Library at the University of Maine and also a member of the Maine Library Association’s Intellectual Freedom Committee (IFC). 2. Kasey Meehan, Program Director, Freedom to Read, PEN America. 3. Jason Stanley, Jacob Urowsky Professor of Philosophy at Yale University. To learn more about this topic: Banned Books Week (October 1 – 7, 2023) | ALA LIVE from NYPL and The Atlantic | Banned: Censorship and Free Expression in America, October 5 Books Unbanned | The Seattle Public Library (spl.org) Books Unbanned | Brooklyn Public Library (bklynlibrary.org) Intellectual Freedom – Maine State Library Florida schools got hundreds of book complaints — mostly from 2 people, August, 2023 Twenty-two challenges to school library books have been filed in Maine since January 2022. Just one book has been removed. | Maine Monitor, August, 2023 The Book Banners on the Left – by Cathy Young | The Bulwark, August, 2023 Inside Moms for Liberty's summit: Big money and money even bigger conspiracy theories | Media Matters for America, July 2023 You can’t tell the truth about the Holocaust in Poland. Could that happen in the US? | USA Today, July, 2023 How book-banning campaigns have changed the lives and education of librarians – they now need to learn how to plan for safety and legally protect themselves | The Conversation, July. 2023 About the host: Ann currently serves as Treasurer of the League of Women Voters of Maine and leads the LWVME Advocacy Team. She served as President of LWVME from 2003 to 2007 and as co-president from 2007-2009. In her work for the League, Ann has worked for greater public understanding of public policy issues and for the League's priority issues in Clean Elections & Campaign Finance Reform, Voting Rights, Ethics in Government, Ranked Choice Voting, and Repeal of Term Limits. Representing LWVME at Maine Citizens for Clean Elections, she served that coalition as co-president from 2006 to 2011. She remains on the board of MCCE and serves as Treasurer. She is active in the LWV-Downeast and hosts their monthly radio show, The Democracy Forum, on WERU FM Community Radio -which started out in 2004 as an recurring special, and became a regular monthly program in 2012. She was the 2013 recipient of the Baldwin Award from the ACLU of Maine for her work on voting rights and elections. She joined the League in 1998 when she retired as Senior Vice President at SEI Investments. Ann was a founder of the MDI Restorative Justice Program, 1999 – 2000, and served on its Executive Board. The post Democracy Forum 9/15/23: Book Banning: The Tip of the Iceberg? first appeared on WERU 89.9 FM Blue Hill, Maine Local News and Public Affairs Archives.

Host: Ann Luther, League of Women Voters of Maine The mostly volunteer team at the League of Women Voters – Downeast who plan and coordinate this series includes: Martha Dickinson, Michael Fisher, Starr Gilmartin, Maggie Harling, Lisa Leaverton, Ann Luther, Rick Lyles, Judith Lyles, Wendilee O'Brien, Maryann Ogonowski, emerita, Lane Sturtevant, Leah Taylor, and Linda Washburn. Democracy Forum: Participatory Democracy, encouraging citizens to take an active role in government and politics This month: Ballot Questions: Whose Initiatives Are They? We’ll talk about the citizen initiative process in Maine: the sheer number of them, the money behind them, their strengths and shortcomings, home-grown vs. “from away.” How does the initiative process work, and how is it working for Maine? Can ordinary citizens can still run a ballot question? Guest/s: Shenna Bellows, Maine Secretary of State Todd Donovan, Professor of Political Science, Western Washington University To learn more about this topic: As Abortion Measures Loom, GOP Raises New Barriers to Ballot Initiatives | The Pew Charitable Trusts, February, 2023 Missouri House Passes Bill Making It Harder for Voters To Amend State Constitution – Democracy Docket, February, 2023 Policy Matters: Ballot initiatives – Press Herald, November 17,2022 League Study On Maine’s Citizens’ Initiatives And People’s Veto Referenda, Fall, 2020 Initiatives without Engagement: A Realistic Appraisal of Direct Democracy's Secondary Effects, Joshua J. Dyck & Edward L. Lascher, Jr., Jr., 2019 Democracy Forum – Citizen Initiatives: The Devil's in the Details, April 19, 2019 Initiative and Referendum Overview and Resources | NCSL Citizen Initiatives & Peoples Veto | Maine Secretary of State Citizens as Legislators: Direct Democracy in the United States, Todd Donovan and Shaun Bowler, 1998 About the host: Ann currently serves as Treasurer of the League of Women Voters of Maine and leads the LWVME Advocacy Team. She served as President of LWVME from 2003 to 2007 and as co-president from 2007-2009. In her work for the League, Ann has worked for greater public understanding of public policy issues and for the League's priority issues in Clean Elections & Campaign Finance Reform, Voting Rights, Ethics in Government, Ranked Choice Voting, and Repeal of Term Limits. Representing LWVME at Maine Citizens for Clean Elections, she served that coalition as co-president from 2006 to 2011. She remains on the board of MCCE and serves as Treasurer. She is active in the LWV-Downeast and hosts their monthly radio show, The Democracy Forum, on WERU FM Community Radio -which started out in 2004 as an recurring special, and became a regular monthly program in 2012. She was the 2013 recipient of the Baldwin Award from the ACLU of Maine for her work on voting rights and elections. She joined the League in 1998 when she retired as Senior Vice President at SEI Investments. Ann was a founder of the MDI Restorative Justice Program, 1999 – 2000, and served on its Executive Board. The post Democracy Forum 8/18/23: Ballot Questions: Whose Initiatives Are They? (REBROADCAST) first appeared on WERU 89.9 FM Blue Hill, Maine Local News and Public Affairs Archives.

Host: Ann Luther, League of Women Voters of Maine The mostly volunteer team at the League of Women Voters – Downeast who plan and coordinate this series includes: Martha Dickinson, Starr Gilmartin, Maggie Harling, Lisa Leaverton, Ann Luther, Rick Lyles, Judith Lyles, Wendilee O'Brien, Maryann Ogonowski, Pam Person, Lane Sturtevant, Leah Taylor, Linda Washburn Democracy Forum: Participatory Democracy, encouraging citizens to take an active role in government and politics This month: A number of towns in Hancock County are doing, have done, or are thinking of doing comprehensive planning. So, what is comprehensive planning, why do Maine towns do it? Why should they do it and how often? What comprises a comprehensive plan? What difference does it make in a community, why should people care? Guest/s: Susan Lessard, Bucksport Town Manager Noel Musson, Principal/Planner with the Musson Group Evan Richert, Former director of the State Planning Office To learn more about this topic: Comprehensive Plans: Municipal Planning Assistance Program: Maine DACF Comprehensive Planning: A Manual for Maine Communities Land Use Planning | National Working Waterfront Network Comprehensive Plan | Town of Orland, December, 2022 Priority Strategy: Increasing Physical Activity Through Community Design | CDC, December, 2022. The Future of the Comprehensive Plan | Journal of Comparative Urban Law and Policy May, 2022 A New Era of Equity-Based Comprehensive Planning…Finally | GreenLaw, September, 2021 About the host: Ann currently serves as Treasurer of the League of Women Voters of Maine and leads the LWVME Advocacy Team. She served as President of LWVME from 2003 to 2007 and as co-president from 2007-2009. In her work for the League, Ann has worked for greater public understanding of public policy issues and for the League's priority issues in Clean Elections & Campaign Finance Reform, Voting Rights, Ethics in Government, Ranked Choice Voting, and Repeal of Term Limits. Representing LWVME at Maine Citizens for Clean Elections, she served that coalition as co-president from 2006 to 2011. She remains on the board of MCCE and serves as Treasurer. She is active in the LWV-Downeast and hosts their monthly radio show, The Democracy Forum, on WERU FM Community Radio -which started out in 2004 as an recurring special, and became a regular monthly program in 2012. She was the 2013 recipient of the Baldwin Award from the ACLU of Maine for her work on voting rights and elections. She joined the League in 1998 when she retired as Senior Vice President at SEI Investments. Ann was a founder of the MDI Restorative Justice Program, 1999 – 2000, and served on its Executive Board. The post Democracy Forum 1/20/23: Comprehensive Planning: Why Bother? first appeared on WERU 89.9 FM Blue Hill, Maine Local News and Public Affairs Archives.

If you want to know how the State of Maine significantly reduced the influence of big money in political campaigns, listen to this interview! John Brautigan (attorney with over 25 years of experience in campaign finance and election law and former Maine State Representative) and Ann Luther (former President of the Maine League of Women Voters, long-time advocate of Clean Elections and Campaign Finance Reform, and host of the League's monthly radio show, The Democracy Forum) explain the Maine Clean Elections Act and Ranked Choice Voting and how these work in Maine to re-invigorate the democratic process of one person, one vote.

Host: Ann Luther, League of Women Voters of Maine The mostly volunteer team at the League of Women Voters – Downeast who plan and coordinate this series includes: Martha Dickinson, Starr Gilmartin, Maggie Harling, Lisa Leaverton, Ann Luther, Judith Lyles, Wendilee O'Brien, Lane Sturtevant, Leah Taylor, Linda Washburn Democracy Forum: Participatory Democracy, encouraging citizens to take an active role in government and politics This month: Election Reflections: What Just Happened Here? -A conversation about the election. -Less about how the parties and the candidates performed; more about how democracy performed. -How did the election machinery hold up? -How did our voters and our instituions hold up? -Have our citizens embraced or rejected the legitimacy of the outcomes? -What does it all mean in the context of a bigger conversation about the future of western democracy? Guest/s: Maya Eichorn, Liberal Studies Student York County Community College, and fellow with Maine Students Vote, and affiliate of the League of Women Voters of Maine Elaine Kamarck, Founding Director at the Center for Effective Public Management and Senior Fellow in Governance Studies at Brookings Steve Mistler, Chief Political Correspondent and State House Bureau Chief, Maine Public To learn more about this topic: Turnout among young voters was the second highest for a midterm in past 30 years | NPR, November 2022 LePage's loss leaves Maine Republicans at a crossroads – Portland Press Herald, November 2022 Midterms pose fresh test for American democracy after two years under fire | Washington Post, November 2022 ‘We're watching you': incidents of voter intimidation rise as midterm elections near | The Guardian, November 2022 Gen Z voter turnout will show just how influential influencers really are | Washington Post, November 2022 State courts are fielding sky-high numbers of lawsuits ahead of the midterms – including challenges to voting restrictions and to how elections are run | The Conversation, October 2022 The end of the debate? Republicans draw the curtain on political theater | US politics | The Guardian, September, 2022 Can the abortion issue save Democrats in the 2022 midterm elections? | Brookings, Elaine Kamarck, August 2022 About the host: Ann currently serves as Treasurer of the League of Women Voters of Maine and leads the LWVME Advocacy Team. She served as President of LWVME from 2003 to 2007 and as co-president from 2007-2009. In her work for the League, Ann has worked for greater public understanding of public policy issues and for the League's priority issues in Clean Elections & Campaign Finance Reform, Voting Rights, Ethics in Government, Ranked Choice Voting, and Repeal of Term Limits. Representing LWVME at Maine Citizens for Clean Elections, she served that coalition as co-president from 2006 to 2011. She remains on the board of MCCE and serves as Treasurer. She is active in the LWV-Downeast and hosts their monthly radio show, The Democracy Forum, on WERU FM Community Radio -which started out in 2004 as an recurring special, and became a regular monthly program in 2012. She was the 2013 recipient of the Baldwin Award from the ACLU of Maine for her work on voting rights and elections. She joined the League in 1998 when she retired as Senior Vice President at SEI Investments. Ann was a founder of the MDI Restorative Justice Program, 1999 – 2000, and served on its Executive Board. The post Democracy Forum 11/18/22: Election Reflections: What Just Happened Here? first appeared on WERU 89.9 FM Blue Hill, Maine Local News and Public Affairs Archives.

Producer/Host: Amy Browne This week: Democracy Forum host Ann Luther of the League of Women Voters of Maine, joins us to invite listeners to tune in to Friday’s show (4pm). Friday’s show “will be less about how the parties and the candidates performed; more about how democracy performed. How did the election machinery hold up? How have our citizens embraced or rejected the legitimacy of the outcomes? Did women voters play a pivotal role in Maine or in other states? What about young voters? What does it all mean in the context of a bigger conversation about the future of western democracy?” About the host: Amy Browne started out at WERU as a volunteer news & public affairs producer in 2000, co-hosting/co-producing RadioActive with Meredith DeFrancesco. She joined the team of Voices producers a few years later, and has been WERU's News & Public Affairs Manager since January, 2006. In addition to RadioActive, Voices, Maine Currents and Maine: The Way Life Could Be, Amy also produced and hosted the WERU News Report for several years. She has produced segments for national programs including Free Speech Radio News, This Way Out, Making Contact, Workers Independent News, Pacifica PeaceWatch, and Live Wire News, and has contributed to Democracy Now and the WBAI News Report. She is the recipient of the 2014 Excellence in Environmental Journalism Award from the Sierra Club of Maine, and Maine Association of Broadcasters awards for her work in 2017 and 2021. The post Around Town 11/17/22: Democracy Forum Election Reflections: What Just Happened Here? first appeared on WERU 89.9 FM Blue Hill, Maine Local News and Public Affairs Archives.

Hosts: Leah Murray and Greg Skordas  Congressman Adam Kinzinger from Illinois is in Utah to participate in a forum about Democracy with senate candidate Evan McMullin. Rep. Kinzinger joins our show to discuss why he supports McMullin, his experience in the January 6th committee, and what he believes the future of the Republican party is. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Host: Ann Luther, League of Women Voters of Maine The mostly volunteer team at the League of Women Voters – Downeast who plan and coordinate this series includes: Martha Dickinson, Starr Gilmartin, Maggie Harling, Lisa Leaverton, Ann Luther, Judith Lyles, Wendilee O'Brien, Pam Person, Lane Sturtevant, Leah Taylor, Linda Washburn Panel moderator: John Brautigam, an attorney and consultant with over 25 years of experience in campaign finance and election law, public policy, advocacy, and legal representation. From 2004 to 2008 he served in the Maine legislature and was House Chairman of the Insurance and Financial Services Committee. Prior to his tenure in the legislature Mr. Brautigam served as Assistant Attorney General. He previously served as legal counsel successfully defending the constitutionality of the 1996 reforms to Maine campaign finance laws, including the Maine Clean Election Act. Brautigam is counsel for the League of Women Voters of Maine. Democracy Forum: Participatory Democracy, encouraging citizens to take an active role in government and politics This month: Many legal scholars say that the Supreme Court's decision in Moore v Harper, involving the Independent State Legislature Theory, could be one of the most important election law cases for the future of federal elections. If adopted by the Court, the most extreme versions of the theory could destabilize elections. But the Court could adopt a more limited, less disruptive version. Or the Court could decide not to adopt any version. We’ll introduce this issue and some of the potential implications of the case Moore v. Harper to be decided in 2023. Guest/s: Derek T. Muller, holds Ben V. Willie Professorship in Excellence at the University of Iowa College of Law Eliza Sweren-Becker, counsel in the Voting Rights & Elections Program at the Brennan Center for Justice To learn more about this topic: There Is Absolutely Nothing to Support the ‘Independent State Legislature’ Theory | The Atlantic, October, 2022 Moore v. Harper, Explained | Brennan Center for Justice, August 2022 State Legislature Seeks Unchecked Power over Elections in Moore v. Harper | League of Women Voters, League of Women Voters blog, August 2022 Unpacking the Left's Disinformation Campaign about Moore v. Harper | National Review, August, 2022 The Next Big Threat to American Democracy Is Headed to the Supreme Court | The New Republic, August 2022 Is Democracy Constitutional? | The Atlantic, July 2022 Richard Pildes' on Election Law Blog, July 2022 Derek Muller on Moore v. Harper and Independent State Legislature Doctrine | The Lawfare Podcast: July, 2022 About the host: Ann currently serves as Treasurer of the League of Women Voters of Maine and leads the LWVME Advocacy Team. She served as President of LWVME from 2003 to 2007 and as co-president from 2007-2009. In her work for the League, Ann has worked for greater public understanding of public policy issues and for the League's priority issues in Clean Elections & Campaign Finance Reform, Voting Rights, Ethics in Government, Ranked Choice Voting, and Repeal of Term Limits. Representing LWVME at Maine Citizens for Clean Elections, she served that coalition as co-president from 2006 to 2011. She remains on the board of MCCE and serves as Treasurer. She is active in the LWV-Downeast and hosts their monthly radio show, The Democracy Forum, on WERU FM Community Radio -which started out in 2004 as an recurring special, and became a regular monthly program in 2012. She was the 2013 recipient of the Baldwin Award from the ACLU of Maine for her work on voting rights and elections. She joined the League in 1998 when she retired as Senior Vice President at SEI Investments. Ann was a founder of the MDI Restorative Justice Program, 1999 – 2000, and served on its Executive Board. The post Democracy Forum 10/21/22: What's At Stake in Moore v. Harper? Gerrymandering and More first appeared on WERU 89.9 FM Blue Hill, Maine Local News and Public Affairs Archives.

Host: Ann Luther, League of Women Voters of Maine The mostly volunteer team at the League of Women Voters – Downeast who plan and coordinate this series includes: Martha Dickinson, Starr Gilmartin, Maggie Harling, Ann Luther, Judith Lyles, Wendilee O'Brien, Maryann Ogonowski, Pam Person, Lane Sturtevant, Leah Taylor, Linda Washburn Democracy Forum: Participatory Democracy, encouraging citizens to take an active role in government and politics This month: Checks and Balances: What are They? Are They Working? How the three branches of government check each other: executive, judicial, legislative. Why did it matter to the Framers, and why does it matter to us? Of what importance is mutual and self-regard among the branches: each branch protecting its own institution and backing up the other branches? Is the public one of the checks — with political consequences creating a limit on extremism? Does it seem to be working right now? Why or why not? Guest/s: Andrew Rudalevige, Chair of the Department of Government and Legal Studies, Thomas Brackett Reed Professor of Government, Bowdoin College Kim Lane Scheppele, Laurance S. Rockefeller Professor of Sociology and International Affairs in the Princeton School of Public and International Affairs and the University Center for Human Values To learn more about this topic: Post-ROE, the Supreme Court is on a collision course with Democracy | Vanity Fair August 25, 2022 Opinion | The Supreme Court Has Too Much Power and Liberals Are to Blame – POLITICO, July 27, 2022 Most in new poll say US government needs major reforms, complete overhaul | The Hill, July 13, 2022 The Supreme Court's Role in the Degradation of U.S. Democracy | CLC, July 13, 2022 Opinion | How the Founders Intended to Check the Supreme Court's Power – POLITICO, July 3, 2022 How Viktor Orbán Wins | Journal of Democracy, July 2022 Abuses of executive privilege reveal our system of checks and balances is on life support | The Hill October 24, 2021 Executive privilege is killing checks and balances | MichaelLeppert.com October 15, 2021 Checks and balances on war powers — Defense Priorities, April 2, 2021 By Executive Order | Princeton University Press, April 2021 Checks and Balances in a Trump-Era Supreme Court | Brennan Center for Justice, July 10, 2020 Congress Has Lost Its Power Over Trump | The Atlantic, February 4, 2020 The Unconstrained Presidency: Checks and Balances Eroded Long Before Trump | Council on Foreign Relations, August 14, 2018 Congress's Power over Courts: Jurisdiction Stripping and the Rule of Klein | CSR, August 9, 2018 About the host: Ann currently serves as Treasurer of the League of Women Voters of Maine and leads the LWVME Advocacy Team. She served as President of LWVME from 2003 to 2007 and as co-president from 2007-2009. In her work for the League, Ann has worked for greater public understanding of public policy issues and for the League's priority issues in Clean Elections & Campaign Finance Reform, Voting Rights, Ethics in Government, Ranked Choice Voting, and Repeal of Term Limits. Representing LWVME at Maine Citizens for Clean Elections, she served that coalition as co-president from 2006 to 2011. She remains on the board of MCCE and serves as Treasurer. She is active in the LWV-Downeast and hosts their monthly radio show, The Democracy Forum, on WERU FM Community Radio -which started out in 2004 as an recurring special, and became a regular monthly program in 2012. She was the 2013 recipient of the Baldwin Award from the ACLU of Maine for her work on voting rights and elections. She joined the League in 1998 when she retired as Senior Vice President at SEI Investments. Ann was a founder of the MDI Restorative Justice Program, 1999 – 2000, and served on its Executive Board. The post Democracy Forum 9/16/22: Checks and Balances: What are They? Are They Working? first appeared on WERU 89.9 FM Blue Hill, Maine Local News and Public Affairs Archives.

Host: Ann Luther, League of Women Voters of Maine The mostly volunteer team at the League of Women Voters – Downeast who plan and coordinate this series includes: Martha Dickinson, Starr Gilmartin, Maggie Harling, Ann Luther, Judith Lyles, Wendilee O'Brien, Maryann Ogonowski, Pam Person, Lane Sturtevant, Leah Taylor, Linda Washburn Democracy Forum: Participatory Democracy, encouraging citizens to take an active role in government and politics Description, guests and links FMI can be found here About the host: Ann currently serves as Treasurer of the League of Women Voters of Maine and leads the LWVME Advocacy Team. She served as President of LWVME from 2003 to 2007 and as co-president from 2007-2009. In her work for the League, Ann has worked for greater public understanding of public policy issues and for the League's priority issues in Clean Elections & Campaign Finance Reform, Voting Rights, Ethics in Government, Ranked Choice Voting, and Repeal of Term Limits. Representing LWVME at Maine Citizens for Clean Elections, she served that coalition as co-president from 2006 to 2011. She remains on the board of MCCE and serves as Treasurer. She is active in the LWV-Downeast and hosts their monthly radio show, The Democracy Forum, on WERU FM Community Radio -which started out in 2004 as an recurring special, and became a regular monthly program in 2012. She was the 2013 recipient of the Baldwin Award from the ACLU of Maine for her work on voting rights and elections. She joined the League in 1998 when she retired as Senior Vice President at SEI Investments. Ann was a founder of the MDI Restorative Justice Program, 1999 – 2000, and served on its Executive Board. The post Democracy Forum 8/19/22: Libraries: Defenders of Democracy (Originally aired April 15 2022) first appeared on WERU 89.9 FM Blue Hill, Maine Local News and Public Affairs Archives.

For this very special episode, we bring you address by Nobel Prize winning economist Joseph Stiglitz. This address was from an event organised as part of the UTS Vice Chancellor's Democracy Forum. Professor Stiglitz's address is followed by a conversation with UTS behavioural economist Michelle Baddeley. The theme of this episode is Government's role in innovation.

Host: Ann Luther, League of Women Voters of Maine Democracy Forum: Participatory Democracy, encouraging citizens to take an active role in government and politics Taxation without Representation: Should DC be a State? What rights of self-determination do DC residents now enjoy? How are their rights now constrained? What are the obstacles to DC statehood? What is the history? What is the racial justice aspect to this issue? Against the backdrop of Maine’s own struggle for statehood and the Missouri Compromise, why should Maine people care? Anne Anderson, Chair of the League of Women Voters DC Full Rights Committee Chris Myers Asch, Visiting Instructor of History, Colby College, and co-author of the book, Chocolate City, A History of Race and Democracy in the Nation's Capital To learn more about this topic: League of Women Voters of the District of Columbia – YouTube With Liberty and Justice for All (Except DC) | League of Women Voters, May 2022 The Case for Statehood – DC History Center, with links to other great resources DC Statehood Explained | Brennan Center for Justice, March, 2022 epublicans Used to Back DC Statehood. What Changed? – The Atlantic, David Graham, June, 2021 The Long Fight for DC Statehood – JSTOR Daily, Livia Gershon, February, 2021 When Adding New States Helped the Republicans – The Atlantic, Heather Cox Richardson, September, 2019 Chocolate City: A History of Race and Democracy in the Nation’s Capital by Chris Myers Asch and George Derek Musgrove, 2019 On the Road with the DC Statehood Toolkit, League of Women Voters of DC, November 2017 The mostly volunteer team at the League of Women Voters – Downeast who plan and coordinate this series includes: Martha Dickinson, Starr Gilmartin, Maggie Harling, Ann Luther, Judith Lyles, Wendilee O'Brien, Maryann Ogonowski, Pam Person, Lane Sturtevant, Leah Taylor, Linda Washburn About the host: Ann currently serves as Treasurer of the League of Women Voters of Maine and leads the LWVME Advocacy Team. She served as President of LWVME from 2003 to 2007 and as co-president from 2007-2009. In her work for the League, Ann has worked for greater public understanding of public policy issues and for the League's priority issues in Clean Elections & Campaign Finance Reform, Voting Rights, Ethics in Government, Ranked Choice Voting, and Repeal of Term Limits. Representing LWVME at Maine Citizens for Clean Elections, she served that coalition as co-president from 2006 to 2011. She remains on the board of MCCE and serves as Treasurer. She is active in the LWV-Downeast and hosts their monthly radio show, The Democracy Forum, on WERU FM Community Radio -which started out in 2004 as an recurring special, and became a regular monthly program in 2012. She was the 2013 recipient of the Baldwin Award from the ACLU of Maine for her work on voting rights and elections. She joined the League in 1998 when she retired as Senior Vice President at SEI Investments. Ann was a founder of the MDI Restorative Justice Program, 1999 – 2000, and served on its Executive Board. The post Democracy Forum 7/15/22: Taxation without Representation: Should DC be a State? first appeared on WERU 89.9 FM Blue Hill, Maine Local News and Public Affairs Archives.

Host: Ann Luther, League of Women Voters of Maine Democracy Forum: Participatory Democracy, encouraging citizens to take an active role in government and politics Issue: Participatory Democracy, encouraging citizens to take an active role in government and politics Key Discussion Points: The courts as protectors of democracy Judicial philosophy and constitutional interpretation The authority and power of the court The peril of the court being political or even perceived as such Guests: Richard H. Pildes, Sudler Family Professor of Constitutional Law, New York University School of Law Maron Sorenson, Assistant Professor of Government, Dept. Government and Legal Studies, Bowdoin College To learn more about this topic: Decade-long study shows Supreme Court is now further to the ideological right than most Americans | Ash Center, June, 2022 The Supreme Court Is on the Verge of Expanding Second Amendment Gun Rights | Brennan Center for Justice May, 2022 5 justices, all confirmed by senators representing a minority of voters, appear willing to overturn Roe v. Wade | The Conversation, May 2022 The Court and Its Procedures – Supreme Court of the United States The Supreme Court (2020) : Throughline : NPR, September, 2021 The Authority of the Court and the Peril of Politics, Stephen Breyer, 2021 Nine Reasons that “Originalism” Isn't Really a Thing for Supreme Court Justices, October, 2020 The Law of Democracy: Legal Structure of the Political Process. Samuel Issacharoff, Pamela S. Karlan, Richard H. Pildes, Nathaniel Persily. ” 5th Edition, 2016. Is the Supreme Court a ‘Majoritarian’ Institution?, Richard Pildes, December, 2010 The mostly volunteer team at the League of Women Voters – Downeast who plan and coordinate this series includes: Martha Dickinson, Laurie Fogleman, Starr Gilmartin, Maggie Harling, Ann Luther, Judith Lyles, Wendilee O'Brien, Maryann Ogonowski, Pam Person, Lane Sturtevant, Leah Taylor, Linda Washburn About the host: Ann currently serves as Treasurer of the League of Women Voters of Maine and leads the LWVME Advocacy Team. She served as President of LWVME from 2003 to 2007 and as co-president from 2007-2009. In her work for the League, Ann has worked for greater public understanding of public policy issues and for the League's priority issues in Clean Elections & Campaign Finance Reform, Voting Rights, Ethics in Government, Ranked Choice Voting, and Repeal of Term Limits. Representing LWVME at Maine Citizens for Clean Elections, she served that coalition as co-president from 2006 to 2011. She remains on the board of MCCE and serves as Treasurer. She is active in the LWV-Downeast and hosts their monthly radio show, The Democracy Forum, on WERU FM Community Radio -which started out in 2004 as an recurring special, and became a regular monthly program in 2012. She was the 2013 recipient of the Baldwin Award from the ACLU of Maine for her work on voting rights and elections. She joined the League in 1998 when she retired as Senior Vice President at SEI Investments. Ann was a founder of the MDI Restorative Justice Program, 1999 – 2000, and served on its Executive Board. The post Democracy Forum 6/17/22: The Supreme Court and Democracy first appeared on WERU 89.9 FM Blue Hill, Maine Local News and Public Affairs Archives.

Host: Ann Luther, League of Women Voters of Maine Democracy Forum: Participatory Democracy, encouraging citizens to take an active role in government and politics Key Discussion Points: Local news and local democracy. What is a “news desert”? Does Maine have them? What happens in towns that have no institutional news coverage? Does it affect self-governance at the local level? Can citizen or grass-roots journalism fill the gap? Even if we have plenty of citizen journalists, do we lose cohesion without an institutional resource that provides a collective understanding? Guests: Penelope Abernathy, visiting professor at the Northwestern University Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University Dan MacLeod, Managing Editor, Bangor Daily News Lincoln Millstein, blogs local news at The Quietside Journal To learn more about this topic: Survival of the Fittest: Can Independent News Media Endure in These Times? | Global Engagement at Georgetown University, April, 2022 New Report On The State Of Our Democracy | League of Women Voters 2021 Local news deserts are expanding: Here’s what we’ll lose | Washington Post, November, 2021 Exploiting the local news desert | Editor and Publisher, November 2021 Islander celebrates 20 years of community journalism – Mount Desert Islander, Faith D'Ambroise, November, 2021 Trends and Facts on Newspapers | State of the News Media | Pew Research Center. June, 2021 The mostly volunteer team at the League of Women Voters – Downeast who plan and coordinate this series includes: Martha Dickinson, Laurie Fogleman, Starr Gilmartin, Maggie Harling, Ann Luther, Judith Lyles, Wendilee O'Brien, Maryann Ogonowski, Pam Person, Lane Sturtevant, Leah Taylor, Linda Washburn FMI re League of Women Voters of Maine: www.lwvme.org About the host: Ann currently serves as Treasurer of the League of Women Voters of Maine and leads the LWVME Advocacy Team. She served as President of LWVME from 2003 to 2007 and as co-president from 2007-2009. In her work for the League, Ann has worked for greater public understanding of public policy issues and for the League's priority issues in Clean Elections & Campaign Finance Reform, Voting Rights, Ethics in Government, Ranked Choice Voting, and Repeal of Term Limits. Representing LWVME at Maine Citizens for Clean Elections, she served that coalition as co-president from 2006 to 2011. She remains on the board of MCCE and serves as Treasurer. She is active in the LWV-Downeast and hosts their monthly radio show, The Democracy Forum, on WERU FM Community Radio -which started out in 2004 as an recurring special, and became a regular monthly program in 2012. She was the 2013 recipient of the Baldwin Award from the ACLU of Maine for her work on voting rights and elections. She joined the League in 1998 when she retired as Senior Vice President at SEI Investments. Ann was a founder of the MDI Restorative Justice Program, 1999 – 2000, and served on its Executive Board. The post Democracy Forum 5/20/22: The Demise of Local News: What Are We Losing? first appeared on WERU 89.9 FM Blue Hill, Maine Local News and Public Affairs Archives.

Athens Democracy Forum

Host: Ann Luther, League of Women Voters of Maine Key Discussion Points: libraries and democracy privacy protection intellectual freedom and censorship informed citizenry, challenges and threats from book bans to funding Guests: Rich Boulet, Director, Blue Hill Public Library Alexandra Hinrichs, Children’s Author and Middle School Librarian at Leonard Middle School in Old Town Alison Macrina, Founder and Director of the Library Freedom Project Jamie Ritter, Maine State Librarian To learn more about this topic: Book Banning Efforts Surged in 2021. These Titles Were the Most Targeted | New York Times, April 4, 2022 World librarians, archivists rush to save Ukraine’s digital history | The Washington Post, April 8, 2022 Tired of years of budget woes, Ellsworth library director leaving for MDI | BDN, April 5, 2022 Schools nationwide are quietly removing books from their libraries | Washington Post, March 22, 2022 Book bans and the threat of censorship rev up political activism in the suburbs | NPR, March 21, 2022 How this Old Town school handled a request to ban a book on sexual assault | BDN, March 18 2022 Prerecorded on 4/12/2022 using Zoom technology. The mostly volunteer team at the League of Women Voters – Downeast who plan and coordinate this series includes: Martha Dickinson, Laurie Fogleman, Starr Gilmartin, Maggie Harling, Ann Luther, Judith Lyles, Wendilee O'Brien, Maryann Ogonowski, Pam Person, Lane Sturtevant, Leah Taylor, Linda Washburn FMI re League of Women Voters of Maine: www.lwvme.org About the host: Ann currently serves as Treasurer of the League of Women Voters of Maine and leads the LWVME Advocacy Team. She served as President of LWVME from 2003 to 2007 and as co-president from 2007-2009. In her work for the League, Ann has worked for greater public understanding of public policy issues and for the League's priority issues in Clean Elections & Campaign Finance Reform, Voting Rights, Ethics in Government, Ranked Choice Voting, and Repeal of Term Limits. Representing LWVME at Maine Citizens for Clean Elections, she served that coalition as co-president from 2006 to 2011. She remains on the board of MCCE and serves as Treasurer. She is active in the LWV-Downeast and hosts their monthly radio show, The Democracy Forum, on WERU FM Community Radio -which started out in 2004 as an recurring special, and became a regular monthly program in 2012. She was the 2013 recipient of the Baldwin Award from the ACLU of Maine for her work on voting rights and elections. She joined the League in 1998 when she retired as Senior Vice President at SEI Investments. Ann was a founder of the MDI Restorative Justice Program, 1999 – 2000, and served on its Executive Board. The post Democracy Forum 4/15/22: Libraries: Defenders of Democracy first appeared on WERU 89.9 FM Blue Hill, Maine Local News and Public Affairs Archives.

Host: Ann Luther, League of Women Voters of Maine We’ll talk about anger and intimidation in the public sphere, especially in local politics. Where is this coming from? What is it that puts schools and elections in the bull’s eye? What measures should officials take? What can ordinary people do? Can we still have deliberative democracy? Guests: Patti Dubois, Waterville City Clerk and the Legislative Policy Chair for the Maine Town and City Clerks Association. Jordan LaBouff, Associate Professor of Psychology and Honors at the University of Maine. umaine.edu/psychology/jordan-labouff/ Paul Markosian, an Ellsworth business owner and member of the Ellsworth School board. To learn more about this topic: Eloquent Rage: A Black Feminist Discovers Her Superpower, Brittney Cooper, 2018. Local election officials are exhausted, under threat and thinking about quitting, Politico, March 2022 Whitmer plot underlines growing abuse of women officials | AP News, March 2022 Bill to make interfering with election workers a crime OK’d | AP News, February 2022 Maine teachers and school board members seek legal protection as they face harassment, February 2022 The Role of Racial Resentment in Our Politics | Brennan Center for Justice, February 2022 The Five Minute Fix, Washington Post, January 2022 City School Board threatened with lawsuits over masking policies, January, 2022 Prerecorded on 3/10/2022 using Zoom technology. The mostly volunteer team at the League of Women Voters – Downeast who plan and coordinate this series includes: Martha Dickinson, Laurie Fogleman, Starr Gilmartin, Maggie Harling, Ann Luther, Judith Lyles, Wendilee O'Brien, Maryann Ogonowski, Pam Person, Lane Sturtevant, Leah Taylor, Linda Washburn FMI re League of Women Voters of Maine: www.lwvme.org About the host: Ann currently serves as Treasurer of the League of Women Voters of Maine and leads the LWVME Advocacy Team. She served as President of LWVME from 2003 to 2007 and as co-president from 2007-2009. In her work for the League, Ann has worked for greater public understanding of public policy issues and for the League's priority issues in Clean Elections & Campaign Finance Reform, Voting Rights, Ethics in Government, Ranked Choice Voting, and Repeal of Term Limits. Representing LWVME at Maine Citizens for Clean Elections, she served that coalition as co-president from 2006 to 2011. She remains on the board of MCCE and serves as Treasurer. She is active in the LWV-Downeast and hosts their monthly radio show, The Democracy Forum, on WERU FM Community Radio -which started out in 2004 as an recurring special, and became a regular monthly program in 2012. She was the 2013 recipient of the Baldwin Award from the ACLU of Maine for her work on voting rights and elections. She joined the League in 1998 when she retired as Senior Vice President at SEI Investments. Ann was a founder of the MDI Restorative Justice Program, 1999 – 2000, and served on its Executive Board. The post Democracy Forum 3/18/22: Communities on Edge: Threats and Intimidation in the Public Sphere first appeared on WERU 89.9 FM Blue Hill, Maine Local News and Public Affairs Archives.

15th Sep 2021 A lecture by Mark Little to launch the Trinity Long Room Hub's Schuler Democracy Forum on the United Nations International Day of Democracy 2021. Mark Little has spent 30 years working on the faultline of media, technology and democracy. In 'Media for Humanity - a brief history of the future of journalism', his inaugural talk as Schuler Democracy Forum Media Fellow, he looks back on three decades of media disruption and builds the optimist's case for a new era of purpose-driven journalism. Mark Little is an entrepreneur, journalist and Trinity College graduate. He spent 20 years in broadcast news, as a reporter and presenter for RTE. He was the station's first Washington Correspondent. In 2001, he won the Irish TV Journalist of the Year award for his reporting from Afghanistan. He was also anchor of the current affairs programme Prime Time, and wrote three books about US and world affairs. In 2010, he founded the world's first social news agency Storyful, which was eventually sold to News Corp. He worked for Twitter, as Vice President for Media in Europe and Managing Director of its International Headquarters. In 2017, he co-founded Kinzen, which combines editorial skills and artificial intelligence to protect online conversations and communities. Mark also served on the Future of Media Commission, established by the Irish government in 2020 to provide a strategy for the future of public media in Ireland. Schuler Democracy Forum is a new three-year initiative, funded by Dr Beate Schuler, that engages Trinity's research in the arts and humanities with questions relating to the media and democracy. Working with media, enterprise, policymakers and civil society organisations, the Forum is committed to transforming research into real-world practice and activity.