Featured Articles
Exxon’s Never-Ending Big Dig
As bad as Exxon has been in the past, what it’s doing now — entirely legally — is helping push the planet over the edge and into the biggest crisis in human history.
BY BILL MCKIBBEN | FEBRUARY 19, 2016
In the 1990s, it (Exxon) started to put money and muscle into obscuring the science around climate change. It funded think tanks that spread climate denial and even recruited lobbying talent from the tobacco industry. It also followed the tobacco playbook when it came to the defense of cigarettes by highlighting “uncertainty” about the science of global warming. And it spent lavishly to back political candidates who were ready to downplay global warming. Click HERE to read the full article.
Small Businesses Pay the Price for Offshore Tax Havens
By Hill Abell
Austin American Statesman,Tuesday, April 14, 2015
For years, some of the largest corporations that do business here in Texas have dodged taxes by booking profits made in Texas and across the United States to known tax havens like the Cayman Islands. These tax havens levy little to no tax and allow our wealthiest corporate entities to avoid paying their fair share. For example, Exxon Mobile, Conoco Phillips, AT&T and several other companies based here in Texas maintain multiple subsidiaries in known tax havens. READ THE REST
The ‘Citizens United’ anniversary is a regrettable date for state courts
By WALLACE JEFFERSON AND BARBARA PARIENTE
Dallas Morning News, 20 January 2015 09:25 PM
Although we were appointed to our states’ high courts by governors of opposing parties, we share a bipartisan concern: On the fifth anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court’s Citizens United vs. Federal Election Commission decision, we are alarmed about the surge in interest group spending to influence state judicial elections. This has helped fuel a perception that justice is for sale, which undermines the public’s trust in impartial courts.
Citizens United and subsequent U.S. Supreme Court rulings have led to unrestricted spending from outside groups. Most people think this affects only elections in the executive and legislative branches. But donors with an ideological agenda have been spending large sums in an attempt to make courts friendlier to partisan agendas. Our founders envisioned a judicial branch that exists above the political fray, unlike the legislative and executive branches. Judges should do their job without regard to politics or special interests.
Consider what followed Citizens United on Election Day 2010: Three justices were swept off the Iowa Supreme Court. More than 90 percent of funding for a million-dollar “Vote No” campaign came from out-of-state groups. That funding bought advertising critical of the court’s ruling that a ban on marriage for same-sex couples violated Iowa’s constitution.
By 2011-12, the first full election cycle after Citizens United, interest group spending in judicial races accelerated. Outlays for TV ads and other electioneering increased to $15.4 million, more than 50 percent higher than the previous record. Last year, outside spending in judicial races was markedly more prevalent, often bankrolling criticism of a single judicial decision. Read More ....
Citizens United and subsequent U.S. Supreme Court rulings have led to unrestricted spending from outside groups. Most people think this affects only elections in the executive and legislative branches. But donors with an ideological agenda have been spending large sums in an attempt to make courts friendlier to partisan agendas. Our founders envisioned a judicial branch that exists above the political fray, unlike the legislative and executive branches. Judges should do their job without regard to politics or special interests.
Consider what followed Citizens United on Election Day 2010: Three justices were swept off the Iowa Supreme Court. More than 90 percent of funding for a million-dollar “Vote No” campaign came from out-of-state groups. That funding bought advertising critical of the court’s ruling that a ban on marriage for same-sex couples violated Iowa’s constitution.
By 2011-12, the first full election cycle after Citizens United, interest group spending in judicial races accelerated. Outlays for TV ads and other electioneering increased to $15.4 million, more than 50 percent higher than the previous record. Last year, outside spending in judicial races was markedly more prevalent, often bankrolling criticism of a single judicial decision. Read More ....
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Inside the Koch Brothers' Toxic Empire
By Tim Dickinson | September 24, 2014
Under the nearly five-decade reign of CEO Charles Koch, the company has paid out record civil and criminal environmental penalties. And in 1999, a jury handed down to Koch's pipeline company what was then the largest wrongful-death judgment of its type in U.S. history, resulting from the explosion of a defective pipeline that incinerated a pair of Texas teenagers.
The volume of Koch Industries' toxic output is staggering. According to the University of Massachusetts Amherst's Political Economy Research Institute, only three companies rank among the top 30 polluters of America's air, water and climate: ExxonMobil, American Electric Power and Koch Industries. Thanks in part to its 2005 purchase of paper-mill giant Georgia-Pacific, Koch Industries dumps more pollutants into the nation's waterways than General Electric and International Paper combined. The company ranks 13th in the nation for toxic air pollution. Koch's climate pollution, meanwhile, outpaces oil giants including Valero, Chevron and Shell. Across its businesses, Koch generates 24 million metric tons of greenhouse gases a year.
For Koch, this license to pollute amounts to a perverse, hidden subsidy.
Read more of this post in Rolling Stone
The volume of Koch Industries' toxic output is staggering. According to the University of Massachusetts Amherst's Political Economy Research Institute, only three companies rank among the top 30 polluters of America's air, water and climate: ExxonMobil, American Electric Power and Koch Industries. Thanks in part to its 2005 purchase of paper-mill giant Georgia-Pacific, Koch Industries dumps more pollutants into the nation's waterways than General Electric and International Paper combined. The company ranks 13th in the nation for toxic air pollution. Koch's climate pollution, meanwhile, outpaces oil giants including Valero, Chevron and Shell. Across its businesses, Koch generates 24 million metric tons of greenhouse gases a year.
For Koch, this license to pollute amounts to a perverse, hidden subsidy.
Read more of this post in Rolling Stone
Chris Hedges on the Corporate-State
by VictorMTA • September 16, 2014
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For our viewers who have not heard of, or know much about him, Chris Hedges spent 15 years as a foreign correspondent for The New York Times reporting from from Latin American, the Middle East, Africa and the Balkans. He has also covered al Qaeda in Europe, and he was part of a team of reporters that won the 2002 Pulitzer prize for their coverage of global terrorism and was a National Book Critics Circle finalist for his bookWar Is a Force That Gives Us Meaning. He is a Senior Fellow at The Nation Instituteand writes an online column for the web site Truthdig. He has taught at Columbia University, New York University, Princeton University and the University of Toronto.
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ACLU Gets it Wrong
by pewestlake • September 17, 2014
A Great Institution Goes Off the Rails The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is nothing if not a stalwart against any form of encroachment on the First Amendment right to free speech. Their mission of defending the right of all people to give voice to even the most outrageous of opinions is both honorable and admirable. But this singular obsession can also lead the ACLU into a position of absolutism that is neither socially relevant nor constitutionally valid.
The written testimony the ACLU provided to the Senate Judiciary Committee on the occasion of the Committee’s hearing on the campaign finance amendment proposed by Senator Tom Udall (D-NM) is an illustration of a mission gone astray.
Read more of this post
The written testimony the ACLU provided to the Senate Judiciary Committee on the occasion of the Committee’s hearing on the campaign finance amendment proposed by Senator Tom Udall (D-NM) is an illustration of a mission gone astray.
Read more of this post
Senate blocks campaign finance amendment
Politico 9/11/14 By BURGESS EVERETT |
Senate Republicans unanimously rejected a constitutional amendment sought by Democrats that would allow Congress to regulate campaign finance reform. The measure failed to clear a 60-vote threshold on Thursday afternoon, 54-42. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) quickly moved to hammer Republicans and tie them to Charles and David Koch, billionaire brothers who back national conservative political operations.
“Senate Democrats want a government that works for all Americans — not just the richest few. Today, Senate Republicans clearly showed that they would rather sideline hardworking families in order to protect the Koch brothers and other radical interests that are working to fix our elections and buy our democracy,” Reid said after the vote.
Read more: http://www.politico.com/story/2014/09/senate-block-campaign-finance-amendment-110864.html#ixzz3DJkBP7JG
“Senate Democrats want a government that works for all Americans — not just the richest few. Today, Senate Republicans clearly showed that they would rather sideline hardworking families in order to protect the Koch brothers and other radical interests that are working to fix our elections and buy our democracy,” Reid said after the vote.
Read more: http://www.politico.com/story/2014/09/senate-block-campaign-finance-amendment-110864.html#ixzz3DJkBP7JG
Republicans Who’ve Spoken Out Against Money in Politics
Posted on July 20, 2014 by citizensfortruth
Last month, Texans United to Amend set up an exhibition table at the Texas State Republican Convention in Ft. Worth (thanks to Mike Badzioch). On one of the days, I helped out. We were all glad to hear that Republican delegates shared the same concerns we had about the influence of too much money in politics. It's hard to say what percentage of all the delegates agreed with us, but of the delegates who stopped at our table to talk, 95% of them agreed with us on the 2 issues that we discussed with them.
Besides the issue of too much money influencing our political process, the other issue we discussed with them was our belief that corporations are not people and should not have the same constitutional rights as individuals. From what I could tell, none of them had heard of a constitutional amendment to solve those 2 issues. However, those in agreement with us, did not seem adverse to a constitutional amendment.
None of this should be too surprising. Republicans and Republican leaders, past and present, have spoken out against money in politics, the Citizens United decision, and corporate personhood. Here is a sampling: Read more of this post
Besides the issue of too much money influencing our political process, the other issue we discussed with them was our belief that corporations are not people and should not have the same constitutional rights as individuals. From what I could tell, none of them had heard of a constitutional amendment to solve those 2 issues. However, those in agreement with us, did not seem adverse to a constitutional amendment.
None of this should be too surprising. Republicans and Republican leaders, past and present, have spoken out against money in politics, the Citizens United decision, and corporate personhood. Here is a sampling: Read more of this post
The Uphill Battle to Hold US Corporations Accountable for Abuses Abroad
By Lauren Carasik, Al Jazeera America, 08 August 14
n July 24, the Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit dismissed a lawsuit (PDF) against the U.S.-based banana and produce company Chiquita by 4,000 victims of targeted violence during Colombia’s bloody civil war. The case was filed in 2007 on behalf of the families of union leaders, laborers, activists and ordinary villagers who claimed that Chiquita provided funding and logistical support to the Colombian right-wing paramilitary group United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia (known by its Spanish acronym AUC) that killed or disappeared their loved ones. The court found that though Chiquita executives in Ohio did make illegal payments to the AUC, the case did not “touch and concern” the U.S., because the harms occurred abroad. Read More....
Corporate Influence on the Business and Human Rights Agenda of the United Nations
A Working Paper by Jens Martens based on research by Judith Richter June 2014
From the Concluding remarks of this 40 page report:
Over the past four decades, the United Nations has experienced several waves of efforts to introduce legally binding instruments to hold transnational corporations accountable and liable for violations of environmental, social and human rights standards... And most recently, they became revitalized through the initiative by Ecuador and the CSO campaign for a binding treaty on business and human rights.
All these efforts met with vigorous opposition from powerful business interests and some governments. Transnational corporations and their business associations had a significant impact on shaping the agenda and the discourse at the UN and in convincing Governments to strike the Code of Conduct and the UN Norms off the agenda. The key objective of corporate interest groups over the decades was to prevent three sets of measures:
» the adoption of international legally binding rules to prevent human rights abuses related to TNC practices;
» the introduction of monitoring and accountability mechanisms for TNCs under the aegis of the UN;
» the establishment of an international system that would allow for suing and sanctioning those corporations who are responsible for human rights abuses and gaining reparations where national legislation is insufficient or not sufficiently implemented.
To read the entire document download file below
Over the past four decades, the United Nations has experienced several waves of efforts to introduce legally binding instruments to hold transnational corporations accountable and liable for violations of environmental, social and human rights standards... And most recently, they became revitalized through the initiative by Ecuador and the CSO campaign for a binding treaty on business and human rights.
All these efforts met with vigorous opposition from powerful business interests and some governments. Transnational corporations and their business associations had a significant impact on shaping the agenda and the discourse at the UN and in convincing Governments to strike the Code of Conduct and the UN Norms off the agenda. The key objective of corporate interest groups over the decades was to prevent three sets of measures:
» the adoption of international legally binding rules to prevent human rights abuses related to TNC practices;
» the introduction of monitoring and accountability mechanisms for TNCs under the aegis of the UN;
» the establishment of an international system that would allow for suing and sanctioning those corporations who are responsible for human rights abuses and gaining reparations where national legislation is insufficient or not sufficiently implemented.
To read the entire document download file below
| corporate_influence_on_the_business_and_human_rights_agenda.pdf |
Conservative group Alec devises offshoot ACCE to lobby at local levels:
As Republicans debate party future, aggressive ‘corporate dating service’ launches new group to push for conservative policies. by theguardian.com, Wednesday 30 July 2014
The corporate lobbying network American Legislative Exchange Council, commonly known as Alec, is seeking to extend its brand of aggressive privatization and tax cuts to the local level, with the launch on Wednesday of a new offshoot focused on America’s cities and counties.
The new network, the American City County Exchange (ACCE), will hold its first public meeting in Dallas, Texas, on Wednesday. It is timed to sit alongside Alec’s annual meeting at which the parent body will debate its usual menu of conservative priorities – pushing back government regulation, fighting moves to curb climate change, reducing trade union powers and cutting taxes. Read More...
The new network, the American City County Exchange (ACCE), will hold its first public meeting in Dallas, Texas, on Wednesday. It is timed to sit alongside Alec’s annual meeting at which the parent body will debate its usual menu of conservative priorities – pushing back government regulation, fighting moves to curb climate change, reducing trade union powers and cutting taxes. Read More...
U.S. Senate Hearings regarding SJR 19
US Senate JudiciaryCommittee Hearing: Examining a Constitutional Amendment to Restore Democracy to the American People |
US Senate Sub-Committee on Constitution, Civil Rights and Human Rights: Discussion of SJR 19 |
Proposed 28th Amendment to the Constitution SJR 19
by citizensfortruth June 22, 2014
On June 3, 2014, a hearing was held by the Senate Judiciary's subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights and Human Rights to discuss SJR 19. SJR 19 is a joint resolution, introduced by Senator Tom Udall (New Mexico), proposing a 28th amendment to the U.S. Constitution that would allow Congress and the states to regulate the raising and spending of money in elections.
At that hearing, petitions with more than 2 million signers in support of an amendment were delivered to the subcommittee. When discussing SJR 19, Senator Udall stated that elections should be about the quality of ideas, not the size of bank accounts. Read more of this post
At that hearing, petitions with more than 2 million signers in support of an amendment were delivered to the subcommittee. When discussing SJR 19, Senator Udall stated that elections should be about the quality of ideas, not the size of bank accounts. Read more of this post
Senate Hearing an Exercise in Partisan Futility
by pewestlake June 6, 2014
This picture tells us all we need to know about why the movement to amend the Constitution to abolish corporate constitutional rights and money as speech is still in its infancy. Of the 12 organizations that gathered and presented signatures to the Senate Judiciary Committee […]
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8 Initiatives to Fight Big Money in Politics – Part 2
by citizensfortruth April 6, 2014
This is a continuation of a prior post concerning initiatives to fight big money in politics. In that post, 4 initiatives were discussed in which action can be taken to reduce the influence of big money in politics and in our government or, at least, bring attention to that need. This post discusses 4 more initiatives.
5. SEC Regulation
This initiative involves soliciting the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for a rules change in order to provide more transparency in corporate political spending. One of the arguments used by the Supreme Court in substantiating its Citizens Uniteddecision was that there would be full disclosure and transparency in corporate political spending, so there was no need to worry. However, this has turned out not to be the case. Because of the dysfunctional Federal Election Commission (FEC), disclosure rules are becoming more and more ineffective because of all the loopholes. Even Congress tried to pass a law requiring all publicly traded corporations to disclose their political spending, but has twice failed. Many are now looking to the SEC to act. Since the SEC has rulemaking authority in this area, it has the power to require disclosure. Read more of this post
5. SEC Regulation
This initiative involves soliciting the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for a rules change in order to provide more transparency in corporate political spending. One of the arguments used by the Supreme Court in substantiating its Citizens Uniteddecision was that there would be full disclosure and transparency in corporate political spending, so there was no need to worry. However, this has turned out not to be the case. Because of the dysfunctional Federal Election Commission (FEC), disclosure rules are becoming more and more ineffective because of all the loopholes. Even Congress tried to pass a law requiring all publicly traded corporations to disclose their political spending, but has twice failed. Many are now looking to the SEC to act. Since the SEC has rulemaking authority in this area, it has the power to require disclosure. Read more of this post
McCutcheon Decision Will Increase Corruption, Threaten the Republic
VictorMTA • April 6, 2014
Last Wednesday, the Supreme Court handed down its McCutcheon v FEC decision. While plutocrats are celebrating, many Americans, conservative and liberal, are concerned about how destructive this decision will be on top of the unpopular Citizens United decision four years ago. While more Republicans are comfortable with plutocracy than Democrats, people are waking up to […]
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8 Initiatives to Fight Big Money in Politics –
Part 1Posted on March 18, 2014 by citizensfortruth
According to Lawrence Lessig of Rootstrikers, the biggest obstacle that we face in fighting big money's influence in our political system and government is not organized opposition from the other side. It is the pervasive feeling that we are powerless to change this. People think that there isn't anything they can do to make a difference. If we think like this, nothing will ever change. There were many in the beginning who thought that the civil rights and gay rights movements in the U.S. and the anti-apartheid movement in South Africa would fail. Every successful movement that has ever taken place in the world started out with many people feeling powerless to change things.
Sometimes it is a matter of not knowing what to do to effect change. In this post and the next, there will be 8 initiatives discussed in which action can be taken to reduce the influence of big money on our political system and government. National groups are leading some of these efforts. These initiatives include amending the U.S. Constitution, reforming campaign finance, placing limits on lobbying, disclosing corporate political spending, and enforcing existing campaign finance laws.
1. The American Anti-Corruption Act
One initiative is being led by Represent.us to place limits on lobbying, political donations, and PACs. The details of this initiative are encompassed in the American Anti-Corruption Act. The Act is a citizen-sponsored bill that will be introduced in Congress once one million Americans have signed up to co-sponsor the bill. Click here to read and co-sponsor the Act. Read more of this post
Sometimes it is a matter of not knowing what to do to effect change. In this post and the next, there will be 8 initiatives discussed in which action can be taken to reduce the influence of big money on our political system and government. National groups are leading some of these efforts. These initiatives include amending the U.S. Constitution, reforming campaign finance, placing limits on lobbying, disclosing corporate political spending, and enforcing existing campaign finance laws.
1. The American Anti-Corruption Act
One initiative is being led by Represent.us to place limits on lobbying, political donations, and PACs. The details of this initiative are encompassed in the American Anti-Corruption Act. The Act is a citizen-sponsored bill that will be introduced in Congress once one million Americans have signed up to co-sponsor the bill. Click here to read and co-sponsor the Act. Read more of this post
The New Hampshire Rebellion
Posted on February 23, 2014 by citizensfortruth
Last month, in January, Rootstrikers' founder Lawrence Lessig led 200 followers from 20 states on a 185-mile march from one end of New Hampshire to the other. The march was the first of others that are planned in the state over the next 2 years by the group New Hampshire Rebellion. The objective of the group is to bring attention to the issue of money in politics and to inspire New Hampshire voters to ask all presidential candidates the question, "How will you end the system of corruption in Washington?"
There are several reasons for Lessig’s decision to target New Hampshire. New Hampshire is one of the first states to hold a primary each presidential cycle. It is important to get all presidential candidates thinking about the issue of money in politics and to get their views on the record early in the election cycle. Also, New Hampshire voters have acquired a reputation for being a well informed electorate that requires candidates to have more exposure with them, with a lot of that exposure coming from one-on-one encounters or in small group settings. Candidates wanting to win in that state have to spend a lot of time meeting with voters and discussing issues important to those voters. Read More
There are several reasons for Lessig’s decision to target New Hampshire. New Hampshire is one of the first states to hold a primary each presidential cycle. It is important to get all presidential candidates thinking about the issue of money in politics and to get their views on the record early in the election cycle. Also, New Hampshire voters have acquired a reputation for being a well informed electorate that requires candidates to have more exposure with them, with a lot of that exposure coming from one-on-one encounters or in small group settings. Candidates wanting to win in that state have to spend a lot of time meeting with voters and discussing issues important to those voters. Read More
Utah and Arkansas Scandals Involving Money in Politics
Posted on January 18, 2014 by citizensfortruth|
Over the last several weeks we’ve seen two more state government high ranking officials resign over alleged campaign finance abuse and other ethics violations. Near the end of November, Utah’s then attorney general, John Swallow, announced his resignation from office effective December 3. Mark Darr, Arkansas’s current lieutenant governor, recently announced his resignation effective February 1.
Former Attorney General John Swallow was accused of failing to disclose business conflicts of interest, giving preferential treatment to donors, and violating attorney-client privilege while serving in the attorney general’s office. On January 11, 2013, businessman Jeremy Johnson accused Swallow of being part of a plan to bribe a U.S. senator to derail a Federal Trade Commission probe into an internet marketing company owned by Johnson. Continue reading →
Former Attorney General John Swallow was accused of failing to disclose business conflicts of interest, giving preferential treatment to donors, and violating attorney-client privilege while serving in the attorney general’s office. On January 11, 2013, businessman Jeremy Johnson accused Swallow of being part of a plan to bribe a U.S. senator to derail a Federal Trade Commission probe into an internet marketing company owned by Johnson. Continue reading →
Moyer’s 8 stages of successful movements critical for activists to understand
by VictorMTA • The Amendment Gazette, January 7, 2014
In the December 27th edition of the Popular Resistance Newsletter, the late Bill Moyer‘s 8 stages of successful social-political movements was presented. The folks in the movement to amend the Constitution to overturn the Citizens United decision would benefit from comprehending these stages to understand the pitfalls and obstacles that various movements have faced previously in order to get past them. Below is a graphic showing the 8 stages and a brief review of each stage explained below that: Read More...
The 1% is Hogging so much of our Income that it’s Holding the Economy Back
By Juan Cole | Dec. 15, 2013 Published in informed Comment
(By Anthony W. Orlando)
We all know that inequality has been rising and the average American household has been suffering. There is a myth that says all this suffering is necessary, that extreme inequality is the by-product of a rapidly growing economy—or worse, that it’s a good thing because it motivates everyone to work hard and climb the long ladder to the One Percent.
Even a brief glance at the historical record reveals just how perverted this hypothesis is.
For one thing, the economy has not been growing rapidly since inequality started climbing. From 1950 to 1980, “real gross domestic product (GDP)”—the output of the economy, adjusted for inflation—grew by 3.8 percent per year. From 1980 to 2010, it grew by 2.7 percent per year. (Since then, it’s been even worse.)
So income inequality hasn’t been “growth-enhancing” at all. In fact, just the opposite. Read more...
Even a brief glance at the historical record reveals just how perverted this hypothesis is.
For one thing, the economy has not been growing rapidly since inequality started climbing. From 1950 to 1980, “real gross domestic product (GDP)”—the output of the economy, adjusted for inflation—grew by 3.8 percent per year. From 1980 to 2010, it grew by 2.7 percent per year. (Since then, it’s been even worse.)
So income inequality hasn’t been “growth-enhancing” at all. In fact, just the opposite. Read more...
Six Things Nelson Mandala Believed That Most People Won't Talk About
BY AVIVA SHEN AND JUDD LEGUM ON DECEMBER 6, 2013 THINKPROGRESS
In the desire to celebrate Nelson Mandela’s life — an iconic figure who triumphed over South Africa’s brutal apartheid regime — it’s tempting to homogenize his views into something everyone can support. This is not, however, an accurate representation of the man.
Mandela was a political activist and agitator. He did not shy away from controversy and he did not seek — or obtain — universal approval. Before and after his release from prison, he embraced an unabashedly progressive and provocative platform. As one commentator put it shortly after the announcement of the freedom fighter’s death, “Mandela will never, ever be your minstrel. Over the next few days you will try so, so hard to make him something he was not, and you will fail. You will try to smooth him, to sandblast him, to take away his Malcolm X. You will try to hide his anger from view.”
As the world remembers Mandela, here are some of the things he believed that many will gloss over.... (continued)
In the desire to celebrate Nelson Mandela’s life — an iconic figure who triumphed over South Africa’s brutal apartheid regime — it’s tempting to homogenize his views into something everyone can support. This is not, however, an accurate representation of the man.
Mandela was a political activist and agitator. He did not shy away from controversy and he did not seek — or obtain — universal approval. Before and after his release from prison, he embraced an unabashedly progressive and provocative platform. As one commentator put it shortly after the announcement of the freedom fighter’s death, “Mandela will never, ever be your minstrel. Over the next few days you will try so, so hard to make him something he was not, and you will fail. You will try to smooth him, to sandblast him, to take away his Malcolm X. You will try to hide his anger from view.”
As the world remembers Mandela, here are some of the things he believed that many will gloss over.... (continued)
Ending the criminal insanity of the concept of corporations as people
Posted Nov 26 by Meteor Blades on Daily KOS
The Supreme Court's announcement that it will rule on whether secular corporations can deny health insurance coverage of birth control for its female employees got proper attention from Joan McCarter here and Adam B here Tuesday. Anyone who isn't worried about how the Court may rule hasn't been paying attention.One of my favorite writers for decades has been Harold Meyerson. He's hit the bullseye on the birth control cases with his latest: Individual believers and non-believers draw their own lines on all kinds of moral issues every day. That’s human nature. They are free to say that their lines adhere to or are close to specific religious doctrines. But to extend the exemptions that churches receive to secular, for-profit corporations that claim to be following religious doctrine, but may in fact be nipping it here and tucking it there, would open the door to a range of idiosyncratic management practices inflicted on employees. For that matter, some religions have doctrines that, followed faithfully, could result in bizarre and discriminatory management practices.
Read more....
The Supreme Court's announcement that it will rule on whether secular corporations can deny health insurance coverage of birth control for its female employees got proper attention from Joan McCarter here and Adam B here Tuesday. Anyone who isn't worried about how the Court may rule hasn't been paying attention.One of my favorite writers for decades has been Harold Meyerson. He's hit the bullseye on the birth control cases with his latest: Individual believers and non-believers draw their own lines on all kinds of moral issues every day. That’s human nature. They are free to say that their lines adhere to or are close to specific religious doctrines. But to extend the exemptions that churches receive to secular, for-profit corporations that claim to be following religious doctrine, but may in fact be nipping it here and tucking it there, would open the door to a range of idiosyncratic management practices inflicted on employees. For that matter, some religions have doctrines that, followed faithfully, could result in bizarre and discriminatory management practices.
Read more....
Quid Pro Quo: The McDonnell Scandal
Posted on November 17, 2013 by citizensfortruth
On October 16, 2013 a federal appeals court refused to allow Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell to shield e-mails from a grand jury subpoena. This decision was just one more step in the scandal which broke earlier this year.
Money in politics can take two forms: campaign funds and bribes after election. In many cases both occur — the McDonnell scandal is a good example. Governor McDonnell has always portrayed himself with a squeaky clean image, so it came as quite a surprise when allegations of corruption were reported.
In addition to the federal investigation, the state of Virginia launched its own investigation of Governor McDonnell. Attorney General of Virginia Ken Cuccinelli asked Attorney Michael Herring of the Richmond Commonwealth to investigate the McDonnells’ relationship with the nutrition company Star Scientific and its chief executive, Jonnie Williams (Cuccinelli did not investigate the case himself, because he had also accepted money from Williams, although he was cleared of wrongdoing). Allegedly, McDonnell and other members of his family had accepted gifts from Williams in exchange for favorable consideration from state programs. Read More...
On October 16, 2013 a federal appeals court refused to allow Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell to shield e-mails from a grand jury subpoena. This decision was just one more step in the scandal which broke earlier this year.
Money in politics can take two forms: campaign funds and bribes after election. In many cases both occur — the McDonnell scandal is a good example. Governor McDonnell has always portrayed himself with a squeaky clean image, so it came as quite a surprise when allegations of corruption were reported.
In addition to the federal investigation, the state of Virginia launched its own investigation of Governor McDonnell. Attorney General of Virginia Ken Cuccinelli asked Attorney Michael Herring of the Richmond Commonwealth to investigate the McDonnells’ relationship with the nutrition company Star Scientific and its chief executive, Jonnie Williams (Cuccinelli did not investigate the case himself, because he had also accepted money from Williams, although he was cleared of wrongdoing). Allegedly, McDonnell and other members of his family had accepted gifts from Williams in exchange for favorable consideration from state programs. Read More...
Dark Money Texans Helped Utah's Rogue AG
Disgraced Utah Attorney General John Swallow resigned last week, as a state probe found evidence that he deliberately failed to disclose unsavory business transactions mandated by state election law. Texas operative Jason Smith, who used dark-money attacks to help install Swallow in 2012, has since gone to work for Barry Smitherman's Texas Attorney General campaign. (Article curtesy of Texans for Public Justice)
Read the details in Lobby Watch.
Republican Support Grows Against Citizens United and Dark Money
In case you didn’t know, there have been 5 states in 2013 that have passed resolutions calling on Congress to pass a constitutional amendment overturning the Citizens United decision. These 5 states are Delaware, Illinois, Maine, Oregon, and West Virginia. This makes a total of 16 states that have passed resolutions so far. That is close to one-third of all 50 states.
Prior to 2013, the state resolution effort was supported primarily by Democratic legislators. That is beginning to change. In the 5 states passing resolutions this year, there was significant Republican support. For example, the majority of Oregon’s Republican House members voted for the resolution.
The support garnered from Republican state lawmakers on this issue is reflective of the support two ballot initiatives received from Republican voters on Election Day 2012. Continue reading →
Prior to 2013, the state resolution effort was supported primarily by Democratic legislators. That is beginning to change. In the 5 states passing resolutions this year, there was significant Republican support. For example, the majority of Oregon’s Republican House members voted for the resolution.
The support garnered from Republican state lawmakers on this issue is reflective of the support two ballot initiatives received from Republican voters on Election Day 2012. Continue reading →
