Open Secret is a filmed re-enactment of Alabama's 1901 constitutional convention, which produced the constitution which Alabama currently operates under.  Delegates to the convention openly discussed ways to disenfranchise black and poor white voters, and dismiss women's right to vote.

Daily newspapers are closing across America. Washington bureaus are shuttering; whole areas of the federal government are now operating with no press coverage. International bureaus are going, going, gone. Journalism, the counterbalance to corporate and political power, the lifeblood of American democracy, is not just threatened. It is in meltdown.

Ben Manski is a regular guest in WPR's "Week in Review"

A world of self-reliant cities is better not only for global ecosystems but also for the health of global democracy. Actively sharing great local business models provides a new tool for spreading democratic practice, not through threats or violence, but through opportunity and collaboration. Self-reliant communities, moreover, have very little rational reason to invade or coerce one another for oil, water or other resources.

Recognizing the financial and social costs of anti-immigrant approaches, more states and communities, as this Stateside Dispatch will outline, are looking to alternative solutions that emphasize community policing that incorporates immigrant community leaders into law enforcement efforts, protects witnesses and victims of crimes from harassment to encourage them to come forward in investigations, and restricts racial profiling to prevent police efforts from harming law-abiding citizens. Community policing is a commonly used and accepted method of combating crime by forming collaborative partnerships between law enforcement agencies and the individuals and organizations they serve to develop solutions to problems and increase trust in police.

How are we - especially those of us in the movement for radical democracy - creating opportunities for people to meet their needs in empowering, democratic, and community-building ways? How are we training them and making sure meaningful actions are ready and waiting? How can we help ourselves and those around us acquire individual self-respect and collective self-confidence?

Progressive Magazine's Panel Discussion: EXTENDING DEMOCRACY

Ben Manski, Liberty Tree Foundation for the Democratic Revolution
Diane Farsetta, The Center Media and Democracy
Kevin Alexander Gray, author and former Jesse Jackson campaign staff

 "Taken together, these measures must and will help cities contribute significantly to climate stabilisation and ensure a better quality of life for their inhabitants. The future of the city will be green."

David Couper is the former police chief of Madison, Wisconsin (1972-1993). He is now an Episcopal priest. This presentation was given in 1994.

If the people are generally progressive, and the system is the problem, then a movement to establish rule by the people – a democracy movement – could be the solution.

"Several factors are driving business corporations to push for corporatization of public assets. For one, many elected officials are willing suitors. Faced with crumbling infrastructures following years, if not decades, of neglect and massive budget deficits due to economic recessions/depression, local and state public officials are looking for a near-term cash infusion. Selling off some infrastructure is preferred to raising taxes and/or service fees."

Ben Manski responds to Independent Politics News' question, "How can progressives get off of the defensive in 2006?"

Ballot resolutions put a state on the map as opposed to the occupation of Iraq