COMMENT: The "Democracy at Risk” event in Larchment with David Pepper was cancelled due to one of the organizers getting covid. In the meantime, I recommend his book, "Laboratories of Autocracy: A Wake-Up Call from Behind the Lines ". "If you care about protecting democracy, then you need to know what's happening at the state level.“ One study recently ranked New York 47 out of 50 states. Those that want to restrict voting rights and security regularly point to New York as an example to emulate. The Democratic majority in New York has failed to enact laws to protect our ballots and strong audits adequate to detect wrong vote counts. The state legislature has still not acted to ban hybrid computerized voting machines that can print on your ballot after you cast it. Contact Governor Hochul to put passage of S309/A1115 to ban hybrids at the top of her list. Ukrainians are dying to protect democracy. The least we can do is make a phone call or two to protect it in New York. Allegra Dengler
A form for comment on her site doesn’t list elections or democracy as choices.https://www.governor.ny.gov/content/governor-contact-form
Contact By Phone: 1-518-474-8390 | Office hours: 9:00am to 5:00pm
Contact By Mail:
The Honorable Kathy Hochul
Governor of New York State
NYS State Capitol Building
Albany, NY 12224
NEWS
https://www.wfmj.com/story/45579232/21-news-podcast-david-pepper-on-the-threat-to-american-democracy-and-what-you-can-do-to-save-it
21 News Podcast: David Pepper on the threat to American democracy and what you can do to save it
One year since the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, Pepper argues that the real threat to American democracy is happening in a much quieter way at the state level with little attention from the people.
Tuesday, January 4th 2022, 4:32 PM EST
Updated: Tuesday, January 4th 2022, 4:34 PM EST
By J. Breen Mitchell
In the first episode of the third season, Managing Editor Justin Mitchell speaks with David Pepper, author of "Laboratories of Autocracy: A Wake up call from Behind the Lines." One year since the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, Pepper argues that the real threat to American democracy is happening in a much quieter way at the state level with little attention from the people. Far from being a partisan issue, Pepper says the threat has grave consequences for Republicans and Democrats. Not to despair, though, Pepper says there are a number of simple things Americans can do to make sure the people maintain their voice.
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Laboratories of Autocracy: A Wake-Up Call from Behind the Lines Paperback – October 14, 2021
by David Pepper (Author)
Editorial Reviews
Review
"There's a booming literature on the erosion of democracy in America, as well as around the world, but David Pepper's book Laboratories of Autocracy stands out as arguably the most important...[It] provides a wealth of ideas about how to fight back to protect demcracy...This is no armchair account--it reads more like a well-organized set of field notes from battles seen first-hand."
- Paul Rosenberg, Salon
" [A] scorch-ingly good book....Buy his book. Read it. Act on it. Share it. And, as he says, "Resist.""
- Columbus Free Press
Pepper "persuasively argues that the site of the most pernicious corruption and assaults on democracy is not where congressional Republicans roam. It's in the statehouses, which Pepper calls "the most corrosive danger America faces."
- Paul Waldman, The Washington Post
"From my Texas to his Ohio to countless states in between, David Pepper rightly argues that the biggest risk to democracy lies in out-of-control, out-of-touch and undemocratic statehouses that too few people pay attention to. Until we address that root cause--and David suggests many practical steps we can all take--the nation's governance will continue to dangle in the balance. Read this book and spread the word."
- Paul Begala
""If you care about protecting democracy, then you need to know what's happening at the state level. And if you want to know what's happening at the state level, you should read this insightful, alarming and uniquely authoritative book." - David Litt, New York Times bestselling author and former Obama speechwriter
"America is just awakening to the role played by state legislatures in engineering a hard U-turn back to the worst of our past, and now David Pepper, by using Ohio's sad transformation as his lens, has provided the details on how it's happened, who's behind it, and what can be done. He's performed a scary, but valuable service."
- Brian Alexander, author of The Hospital and Glass House
"My daughter Jaime was murdered in the Parkland school shooting. Because of my experience following what happened, Laboratories of Autocracy truly speaks to me. In Florida, we quickly mobilized and moved a mountain politically. We passed gun safety legislation. That was less than four years ago. As polarized as we were then, it is worse now, and that same result could never happen. The truth is, Florida, just like Ohio and many other states, has become more autocratic. A well-executed takeover of our political process by a minority has ensured that the will of the majority is thwarted. For those who need a lesson in why this happened and what we need to do going forward, you must read Laboratories of Autocracy."