David Coman-Hidy

I get a lot of push back from readers on #Israel and #Gaza, much of it thoughtful. I've tried to address it here. My column for Bloomberg Opinion

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A powerful reminder that the words we use in research, industry, policies, and programs affect real people and places.

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I have posted a lot on how, despite Donald Trump's recent uptick in the polls, the presidential election remains a toss-up; and a couple of times about the statistical margin of error in the polls. I have also noted that on average over the past 14 presidential elections the polls have been off relative to the final outcome by 2.2 percentage points. This chart featuring the seven critical swing states sums up the points very neatly. In short, if the polls as they stand today are bang on (which is very unlikely), Kamala Harris narrowly wins the electoral college 276 to 262. But, as Ms Idielnik notes in the sidebar, if Ms Harris outperforms the polls by even a small margin she could finish up with 292 votes; or, contrariwise, Mr Trump could reel in 312 votes.

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For the 12 days of Christmas, here is the third of 12 must-read studies of 2024 that contribute to creating safer communities. “The Real Cost of ‘Bad News’: How Misinformation is Undermining Youth Justice Policy in Baltimore." (The Sentencing Project, December 2024).   The report, which examines coverage by six of Baltimore’s leading media outlets during the first half of 2024, finds that coverage of youth justice issues is skewed in ways that reinforce harmful stereotypes of children and adolescents. The Baltimore media’s intense focus on offending by youth was disproportionate to their actual role in Baltimore’s overall crime rate.  “The Real Cost of ‘Bad News’: How Misinformation is Undermining Youth Justice Policy in Baltimore." (The Sentencing Project, December 2024).   The report, which examines coverage by six of Baltimore’s leading media outlets during the first half of 2024, finds that coverage of youth justice issues is skewed in ways that reinforce harmful stereotypes of children and adolescents. The Baltimore media’s intense focus on offending by youth was disproportionate to their actual role in Baltimore’s overall crime rate. https://lnkd.in/g3XMdZD7

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In this feature article, I examined the recent cases of stampedes during the distribution of food palliatives in four states. I cite alarming figures of hunger and food inflation and consult experts on what could curb these incidents. https://lnkd.in/epTwiA9j

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PSA for all campaign donors: don't wait If you lead an organization that makes contributions for voter outreach, follow the lead of the #AllByApril campaign and send in your checks now. While the sponsors of All by April support nonpartisan 501(c)3 voter engagement campaigns, the same principles apply to all campaigns. The most effective campaigns are planned. And we can't plan if we don't know when we'll have the resources. And, in this case, by resources, I mean money.💸 Last year, I worked with a candidate in a special election. Unlike most candidates, she was really good at "call time," the time set aside to call donors and organizations to ask for campaign contributions. She starting to build strong relationships during these conversations, which resulted in lots of pledges to contribute. And then we waited. And waited. And waited. She followed up. She sent texts (again) with a link to her contribution site. She offered to pick up checks. When the checks straggled in one and two weeks before election day - in an all mail-ballot election when voters had ballots for 3 weeks already - we couldn't make the best use of it. It was too late. Fun fact: You know EMILYs List? The powerhouse organization that recruits, trains and supports pro-choice Democratic women for office? EMILY isn't a person. 🇪arly 🇲oney 🇮s 🇱ike 🇾east It helps the dough rise. Contributing early to your favorite campaign or organization means it can: ✔️Plan better for the entire campaign ✔️Be more flexible and efficient ✔️Better handle the crises and upheavals in a fast-moving election cycle Early money not only means a campaign can plan better; it also signals faith in the campaign, candidate or organization. It gives the campaign or organization breathing room to run a confident, bold campaign. In that special election, our mistake was not taking the risk of committing to spending before we had the cash in hand. I won't make that mistake again! Don't make the same mistake with your contribution. If a candidate or organization shares your values and commitment to justice, don't wait and see how it shapes up. See the All by April site for more inspiration to be bold. Link in the Comments. Can you remember a time when being cautious was the wrong decision? #CommunityOrganizing #OrganizingToWin #2024Election #EarlyMoneyIsLikeYeast #CampaignContributions #Democracy 📸: Big Dubya/flickr

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There is nothing better than using your legal skills to help a voter cast their ballot! Learn more about working in voter protection this year by attending one of these sessions!

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The fourth video in PolitiFact's VoteFact series prebunking election misinfo you may hear on Election Day!

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Important #coriver policy piece Imagining the River We Deserve by Doug Kenney and the CRRG. Some of the key points below - my favorite is, of course, the one on source water forests! https://lnkd.in/g_a-jBbB #coloradoriver Kathryn Sorensen Elvy Barton Felicia Marcus Meena Westford  Prioritize equitable access to drinking water supplies;  Identify, incentivize, and implement programs to achieve permanent water savings in all sectors;  Improve protections for source water forests, overburdened Upper Basin tributaries (such as the Dolores, San Rafael, and headwaters affected by trans-basin diversions), and the few remaining unperturbed rivers to achieve both environmental and water supply reliability objectives;  Ensure a sustainable Colorado River by thorough climate change stress testing of all system infrastructure and rules;  Ensure that surface water shortages are not solved at the expense of depleting groundwater resources essential for maintaining baseflows and for water supply reliability and future use;  Enhance tools and opportunities that empower all basin Tribes to use established water rights in flexible ways, both consumptive and non-consumptive;  Acknowledge and address the suite of legal omissions and ambiguities in the Law of the River that introduce uncertainty in interbasin water allocation and management;  Continue to refine, integrate and support, as appropriate, existing programs for salinity control and recovery of endangered and threatened species;  Develop a new generation of cooperative agreements with Mexico (Minutes) to further advance coordinated reservoir protection, shortage sharing, and habitat restoration efforts in the Delta and Cienega de Santa Clara;  Further investigate the desired future role of Glen Canyon Dam in light of declining river flows and reservoir levels, infrastructure damage, and the evolving environmental and recreation objectives/challenges associated with Grand Canyon flows and sediment management;  Implement a plan for the Salton Sea that achieves water conservation, environmental, and public health objectives;  Secure durable revenue streams to support this full range of needed innovations; and,  Identify and implement additional pathways that provide more inclusive, equitable opportunities for engagement and collaborative problem-solving among all the basin’s sovereigns and stakeholders.

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Last October, we received a handful of consultant and campaign calls like this: "We need to get a phone bank operation up and running with 100 callers. Can Republican Jobs do that?" "We need 10 remote texting agents today. How fast can Republican Jobs deliver?" And, of course, we delivered within 24 hours. We spent the full election cycle identifying talent ready to make phone calls in the final weeks or days of a campaign. So when Consultants call us unsure if they can commit to their bids, they can rest easy knowing we already have a list of candidates ready to start calling! We don't start recruiting the day you're calling us! And of course, we have incredible vendors we can recommend - if we can't! If your consulting firm or campaign needs to run last-minute texting or phone operations, Republican Jobs is ready and affordable based on these referrals. Send us a DM if you need help staffing your last-minute GOTV projects, or go to https://lnkd.in/gywTP_Th

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Please give this important new report a read, documenting the role media is playing in harmful, regressive policymaking. It spotlights a particularly high profile "get tough" bill last session in Maryland, which flew in the face of the evidence of what is actually happening and what actually works, and sucked up tremendous oxygen and attention away from a range of other critical justice reform issues and needs. Too often we are shouting into the wind, as we continue to haul our reams of evidence to Annapolis re: the failure of ‘tough on crime’ policies versus sound, cost effective community safety solutions hiding in plain sight. And perhaps most importantly, as we witness the continued discounting of lived expertise of so many directly impacted families and community members sharing their experiences, only to have misleading and racially biased narratives win the day. Part of what makes this case study particularly compelling in my view (beyond living it) is that it documents this dynamic in a “blue”, trifecta Dem state, which already ranks among the worst in the nation in both racial disparities in our incarcerated population and in sending more children to be tried as adults than every other state besides Alabama. Yet notwithstanding, we are pushing boulders up the hill on political will. This enlightening report speaks directly to the role the media is playing in that, and concrete recommendations on how to change it. Appreciate our writing and efforts being cited here, which have continued well past the time period examined and will continue in coalition for as long as it takes. Alexis Piquero, always grateful to be in your company. And The Sentencing Project, thank you for this incredibly important work.

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There are some very positive numbers coming out from sites like Boston Globe Media and The Guardian about BlueSky. It turns out, when a social network doesn't actively hate and undermine links, they are clicked a lot more. Funny, that. There are a lot of moving parts to reversing the decline of news. Nothing is a cure-all. But having social media that encourages outside links, the vital connective tissue of the web, is a meaningful step. #journalism #news #SocialMedia

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THE 2024 CENSUS ERRORS ARE A SYMPTOM OF MUSEVENI'S PATRONAGE SYSTEM. These errors, which misrepresented population figures for several ethnic groups, are more than just mistakes—they are a symptom of a much larger problem rooted in President Museveni’s patronage system. For almost 4 decades, Museveni has exploited ethnic divisions to maintain power, a strategy inherited from the British colonialists' “divide and rule” machine. This patronage system, where corruption is rampant, undermines service delivery and fuels ethnic tensions and it is fair to say that he is “patient zero” in this corrupt epidemic. The real impact of this erroneous census is firstly on the ethnic groups which are being affected. It has deepened ethnic cleavages, making them feel marginalized and underrepresented. This isn’t just about numbers—it’s about identity and recognition. Denying indigenous groups their rightful place is akin to a sinister immigration policy that elevates foreigners over citizens. And that is not only it, there is also the economic burden and digital divide; it cost about 340 billion UGX, and now there’s a proposal to redo it for over 600 billion UGX, this is a heavy burden on taxpayers. Moreover, the lack of a robust internet backbone, a deliberate policy by Museveni, hampers accurate data collection and fair democratic processes. All these issues have a bearing on the urgent need to restore public trust and to do this, there must be accountability. The Executive Director of UBOS should step down, just as the KCCA ED did after the Kiteezi landslides. We need transparency and inclusive governance to ensure fair representation for all ethnic groups. And then you wonder why Museveni asked how many Ugandans are we, where do we stay, how do they live, what do they have/own, and how do we access services? Clearly all those questions missed the mark by not addressing the issue of the missing tribes and accurate representation. Therefore, 2024 census errors have only shed light on the core issues within Uganda’s governance system which needs a complete overhaul to bring about meaningful change in order to rebuild our nation. 🇺🇬 #Uganda #Census2024 #EthnicDiversity #Accountability #Transparency #InclusiveGovernance

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Tips and FYI for Applicants and Grassroots Firms: Consultants: These are some of the fastest campaign deployments I’ve ever seen in my recruitment and headhunting career. They're opening and closing like we're on the floor of the NY Stock Exchange. I credit part of that to how quickly Republican Jobs can refer talent, often on the same day. Every client is filling their deployment needs within 72-96 hours. If you're bidding on last-minute grassroots projects and need to know if you can realistically fill them, Republican Jobs offers estimates so consultants can confidently bid on large field projects. Republican Jobs has interviewed over 17,000 applicants, and we didn’t just start recruitment when you called us—we were already ahead. Applicants: Unfortunately, it takes us about 24 hours to respond to applicants via email this time of year with such high volume and interest. If applicants are NOT flexible about which state they can deploy to, it becomes more challenging to place them (but of course, we'll work within your preferences!). In some cases, if you're less flexible and we need to go back and forth on options, there's a chance those positions may already be filled. However, if applicants ARE flexible in their deployment location, their chances of placement significantly increase. As always, check our website openings before emailing us; it is updated within an hour. If you're asking us "which jobs are open" during high volume, it may be harder to assist and refer you efficiently. Operatives who can deploy quickly always get client preference. https://lnkd.in/gTRCCGiX

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The conventional wisdom is that New York City has plenty of local news outlets, and that resources - philanthropic and otherwise - are more needed elsewhere. That just isn't true, as 2024 State of Local News report from the Medill Local News Initiative shows. Based on the researchers' count, the perennially disadvantaged Bronx has 0.21 news outlets per 100,000 inhabitants, Staten Island has 0.5, Queens 1, and Brooklyn 1.37. Even in Manhattan the ratio is 2.7. The statewide average is 2.3, ranking New York 31st in the nation. If anything, these numbers err on the generous side. There are some puzzling allocations: THE CITY (newsroom) is listed as a Brooklyn publication, along with Documented, New York Focus, and The New York Post. In Manhattan, the international edition of the Jerusalem Post and Democracy now are unlikely local news providers, but even with these methodological quibbles, the picture is clear. By way of contrast, in St Lawrence County, on the far northern border of the state, there are 6 outlets serving a population of just over 100k. The report also makes the point that 95 percent of philanthropic funding for news flows to urban areas. At first glance, that looks like a severe skew, but the context is that 83 percent of the US population lives in urban areas, and the number is only climbing. Of course, the larger, and crucially urgent, point is that against all the best efforts of business owners, philanthropists, and advocates, we are going backwards fast, in the rural counties that are usually the poster-children for the "news desert" phenomenon, and in the urban areas that are just as badly off. Our project at THE CITY (newsroom)is to build a meaningful alternative in the country's biggest media market, and to serve a population that suffers worse news deficits than places that at first glance look far more information-poor. You can argue with aspects of the data, but it provides brutal baseline for how much work we have to do. I am inspired by how much is possible with relatively slender resources, but more insistent than ever that we need more of them. https://lnkd.in/eeSqw3nm

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🗽This year on Juneteenth, we are taking our democracy and our fate back from the politicians, pundits, opinionators and deluded fascists. 🗳️Democracy is about "we the people." For too long, we've depended on candidates to inspire people to vote. 🚨We can't wait for that to happen! This election, like all elections, is about us, and we need to act. 🛑No patriot of the USA wants to wake up on November 6 with a convicted felon and rapist Trump and the Republicans poised to take over our government. We need everyone who cares about the future and our lives to come out and make a stand for democracy. #CallToAction 🤳: for this marathon event, we need you to show up and make a video about the issues that concern you and motivate you to vote. These videos will be used on our Democrats Abroad social media to encourage and motivate others to vote. We welcome participation from people of all ages, genders, ethnicities, races, sexual orientations and backgrounds. What will happen at this event: 1️⃣Drop by for 10 or 15 minutes. 2️⃣We will record + edit video 3️⃣We will help you say what you want to say. 4️⃣We will motivate you to bring out the best in you on camera. 5️⃣Come camera-ready. Video Topics/Suggestions: 🤬Reproductive Freedom/Reproductive Rights/Abortion Rights 😱Preserving Our Democracy 😡Fighting Against Fascism and Autocracy 🙏Separation of Church and State/Against Christian Nationalism 📖Book Bans ⚧️Protecting Transgender People 🏳️‍🌈LGBTQ Rights 🥳Civil Rights 🌎Climate Change 🤯Ending Gerrymandering 👩🏾‍🏫 Free Higher Education for Everyone 📚Saving Our Public School System from Voucher Programs 🔫Establishing Sensible Gun Laws 👮🏾‍♀️👮🏻‍♂️Veterans' Help/Rights 🤦🏻‍♂️Abolishing Citizens United to Keep Dark Money and Corporations Out of Politics 😭The Worst Part of the Trump Administration ❌Why You Don't Want a Felon to be President Again 🇺🇸Restoring Voter Protection 🫶🏼Stopping Discrimination Against Minority Communities 👍Any Other Topic You Think is Important 🏆Come out for your democracy. 💌RSVP today and help ensure a better future.   WHEN 📅 Wednesday, June 19 at 9AM CET CONTACT Angela Fobbs blackcaucus@democratsabroad.org

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Frontier Blog 5: BORDER ROUTES, WAR NARRATIVES & NEED OF SOCIAL AUDITS Today's blog is expressed in four tracks. Somewhere these four tracks converge. I leave it on the readers to fathom where they converge.

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As we wait to hear who won the election, one thing is already clear: election disinformation has reached alarming levels. In the latest episode of Anti-Defamation League's extremely podcast, two experts in the field of disinformation, Dr. Claire Wardle of Cornell University and Scripps News National Correspondent Elizabeth Landers join extremely hosts Oren Segal and Jessica Reaves to break it down. Among the topics they discuss: ·     How the disinformation onslaught of 2024 differs from disinformation waves of past presidential elections ·     The latest AI tools being used to create fake images, video and audio aimed at swaying voters ·     The liar’s dividend—the phenomenon whereby, because disinformation and misinformation are so widespread and more people are unsure about what is and isn’t true, a liar can simply deny that something is real ·     The role of pre-bunking in reducing the spread of election falsehoods and deterring election denialism ·     What social media platforms should be doing to curb disinformation and why they’ve pulled back from doing so Check out the episode here.

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I actually brought up Sebastian Junger in my interview with Seth Kaplan, an expert on fragile states at Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS), for tomorrow's Edge column in The Chronicle of Higher Education. He and I talked about the notion of #community, the ties found on a #college #campus, and what education looks like in a fragile nation. "To the extent that #colleges are less tied to place than they used to be, they are undermining community. Colleges used to be local or regional, subregional, taking #students from those areas. The national competition around prestige means that more colleges are not taking people locally, and #graduates are not staying locally, not working to be a part of the local community. If you know the organization Lead For America, that to some extent has been an attempt to reverse the #braindrain — for roughly half a century, we’ve had a brain drain from people migrating from about 40 states to fewer than ten states, and fewer cities. The way many universities work has contributed to that brain drain. Community is about stickiness, interdependence, the giving to each other, not just taking from each other." Subscribe to The Edge here!: https://lnkd.in/ePiiE_pr Spring beach reading!: https://lnkd.in/dpY2Fc8t

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