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May 1, 2013 8:38 pm | By Jen Herrick
Imagine a World Without Hate
In honor of its centennial, the Anti-Defamation League has launched the Imagine a World Without Hate video and action campaign. For me it recalls the power of the progressive movement. People For the American Way has worked with ADL for…
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May 1, 2013 1:55 pm | By Miranda Blue
Obama Nominates Three to Illinois District Courts
President Obama yesterday nominated three highly qualified candidates to federal district court judgeships in Illinois. The nominations of Colin Stirling Bruce, Sara Lee Ellis and Andrea R. Wood underscore the president’s commitment to bringing qualified, diverse candidates to the federal…
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April 29, 2013 9:14 pm | By Libby
Stepping Up The Pressure: PFAW Press Conference With Joe Sestak in PA
Over the past few weeks, People For the American Way has been busy in Pennsylvania, at the front lines of the fight to stop a Republican attempt to rig the electoral college. We’ve delivered over 100,000 petitions to Governor Tom…
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April 29, 2013 6:36 pm | By Ben Betz
You won’t believe what’s in the OH GOP’s budget…
Not content simply to pass a definitively right-wing budget, in recent weeks the extremist Republicans in control of Ohio’s legislature tacked on a slew of amendments to a substitute budget bill that read like a Radical Right Christmas wish list,…
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April 29, 2013 2:51 pm | By
Cuomo Can Fix New York’s ‘Pay to Play’ Reputation and Set National Example
The state of New York has become an embarrassing example of what can happen when money is allowed to rule politics. Earlier this month, for instance, two state lawmakers were arrested on corruption charges. It's a story that has become…
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April 25, 2013 8:06 pm | By Layne Amerikaner
Shedding Some Light on Corporate Political Spending
Today People For the American Way joined with 38 ally organizations and individuals in sending a letter to Congress to ask for support of the Shareholder Protection Act. The Act – sponsored by Rep. Michael Capuano (D-MA) and Sen. Robert…
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April 25, 2013 4:53 pm | By Layne Amerikaner
Employment Non-Discrimination Act to be Reintroduced in Congress
In much of our country, employers can legally fire someone simply because they are lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender. It’s something most Americans don’t realize. It’s also something most Americans believe is wrong. Today a bill designed to address that…
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April 25, 2013 3:07 pm | By Miranda Blue
Senate Confirms Second Woman and First Ever Public Defender to Eighth Circuit
Yesterday, the Senate unanimously confirmed Iowa’s Jane Kelly to the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals. Kelly, who currently serves as a federal public defender, becomes “only the second woman, and the first public defender, to serve in the history of…
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April 23, 2013 9:04 pm | By Miranda Blue
The Filibuster ‘False Equivalence’
Journalist Andrew Cohen, writing for the Brennan Center for Justice, explains how attempts to portray today’s Republican filibusters as routine “tit-for-tat” maneuvers are misleading: By trying not to be partisan, at least in this area of political coverage, we journalists…
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April 18, 2013 9:40 pm | By Layne Amerikaner
PFAW Joins Over 80 Ally Organizations in Calling for Support of Student Non-Discrimination Act
Today People For the American Way joined with more than eighty other national and state organizations in sending a letter to all members of Congress asking for support of the Student Non-Discrimination Act (SNDA). SNDA, which was reintroduced in the…
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April 18, 2013 7:20 pm | ByThe Background Check Filibuster: “Who’s Laughing Now?”
The 41 Republican and four Democratic senators who voted to filibuster a bipartisan gun sale background check bill yesterday are rightfully losing friends quickly. After all, the bill they blocked was supported by over 90 percent of voters and 90…
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April 17, 2013 8:46 pm | By Miranda Blue
Supreme Court Rules in Favor of Corporations in Human Rights Abuses Case
Back in September, PFAW senior fellow Jamie Raskin wrote a preview of the major cases coming before the Supreme Court this term, one of which, Kiobel v. Royal Dutch Petroleum, deals with the ability of foreign nationals to sue corporations for…
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April 16, 2013 2:15 pm | By admin
Why the National Conversation on Immigration Reform Is about My Family
I am a 24-year-old, proud Floridian. My parents came to the U.S. from Colombia many years ago, looking for a safe and opportunity-rich place to raise their daughters. From the time I was a toddler, I have spent my whole…
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April 11, 2013 9:09 pm | By Paul Gordon
Republicans Seek to Rig the DC Circuit Court
Earlier today, PFAW criticized Sen. Chuck Grassley's transparent plan to prevent President Obama from ever being able to restore balance to the DC Circuit Court of Appeals, which tilts heavily to the far right after eight years of ideological appointments…
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April 11, 2013 7:34 pm | By Layne Amerikaner
Trouble on the GOP Homefront
The GOP seems to be stuck between a rock and a hard place. Responding to last month’s Republican National Committee “autopsy,” the leaders of thirteen right wing organizations sent a letter this week to RNC Chairman Reince Priebus to “strongly…
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April 11, 2013 4:57 pm | By Layne Amerikaner
West Virginia Becomes 12th State to Call For Amendment Overturning Citizens United
The West Virginia Legislature has approved a resolution calling on Congress to propose a constitutional amendment overturning the Supreme Court’s 2010 decision in Citizens United v. FEC and related cases. This makes West Virginia the twelfth state to call for…
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April 11, 2013 3:15 pm | By Kyler
As Washington Begins Debate on Gun Violence Bills, National Responses Vary
As the U.S. Senate prepares to consider a package of gun violence prevention proposals this week, Republicans face a choice: whether to side with the vast majority of Americans who want common sense gun regulation, or with the radical pro-gun…
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April 11, 2013 1:51 pm | By Kyler
Delaware General Assembly Members Send Letter to Washington Urging Constitutional Amendment to Overturn Citizens United
During the first post-Citizens United presidential election last year, the American people were able to see just how outsized and distorted Super PACs and corporate influence have become in our democracy. Fortunately, the American people aren’t just taking note; they’re…
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April 10, 2013 4:56 pm | By Peter Montgomery
Prison Privatization: Reality vs. ‘Magic of the Marketplace’
People For the American Way’s 2012 Right Wing Watch In Focus report, “Predatory Privatization,” included a section on the pernicious private prison industry. The report documented that, for all the talk of efficiency and accountability among lawmakers pushing privatization, the…
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April 8, 2013 9:27 pm | By Paul Gordon
Courts Without Judges, Per the GOP Plan
The Sunday New York Times has a powerful editorial about the intentional damage being done to our nation by Senate Republicans' sabotage of the judiciary branch of the United States government. The number of vacancies on the nation's federal courts…