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March 15, 2011 9:49 pm | By Miranda Blue
Government Shutdown Would Close Courts, with “Dire Consequences”
As if the current judicial vacancy crisis wasn’t enough, now a group of federal judges is warning that a government shutdown over budget issues could lead to courts closing, accused criminals going free, and Americans waiting even longer for access…
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March 15, 2011 4:19 pm | By Miranda Blue
GOP Women Rally Behind Planned Parenthood
Christine Todd Whitman, former Republican governor of New Jersey and member of the George W. Bush administration, wrote an impassioned op-ed for a New Jersey newspaper today, calling attempts to defund Planned Parenthood and other family planning services “unacceptable”: I…
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March 15, 2011 3:21 pm | By Brian
James O’Keefe Discredited—Again
When will leaders in politics and the media stop believing right-wing smear artist James O’Keefe? Known for his “sting videos,” O’Keefe has been consistently discredited for his work against ACORN, CNN, a U.S. Senator, and now, NPR. An analyst for…
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March 15, 2011 2:06 pm | By Paul Gordon
The Strategy Behind the Maryland Marriage Bill Withdrawal
Advocates of equality were disappointed Friday when Maryland's pending marriage bill failed to pass the House of Delegates. It had already passed the Senate, in part because the vitriol of equality opponents had prompted one legislator to switch from opposing…
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March 14, 2011 9:59 pm | By Deborah Liu
Anti-Immigration Groups Push Green Wedge Strategy
PFAW’s Right Wing Watch in Focus report, “Previewing the Right-Wing Playbook on Immigration Reform,” identified nine strategies employed by right-wing pundits and politicians to demonize immigrants and derail comprehensive reform. Among those strategies were to portray immigrants as criminals, invaders,…
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March 14, 2011 6:07 pm | By Drew Courtney
Another View of the Judicial Vacancy Crisis
The Los Angeles Times today highlights the judicial vacancy crisis by spotlighting the senior judges who have already retired, but who are still needed to hear cases due to the lack of new judges being confirmed. As federal courts stagger…
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March 11, 2011 6:16 pm | By Brian
As Walker Signs Union Busting Bill, GOP Admits It’s All About Politics
Earlier today, Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker signed into law a bill that strips public workers of their rights to collectively bargain after the Republican-controlled legislature rushed through the legislation. While Walker maintains that the bill is necessary to solve the…
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March 10, 2011 10:20 pm | By Brian
Congressmen Expose King Hearings for Undermining Law Enforcement and American Values
During Rep. Peter King's misguided King hearing on what he calls the " radicalization of Muslim American community," Republicans took time to speak about the purported threat of Sharia Law and myths about Muslim Americans' lack of cooperation with law…
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March 10, 2011 4:10 pm | By Brian
King Hearings Disregard The Facts About Muslim Americans
As Peter King’s hearings on the radicalization of Muslim Americans continue this morning, civic and security groups are speaking out about the potential negative consequences of King’s divisive hearings. King did not call on any law enforcement officials as witnesses,…
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March 9, 2011 8:01 pm | By Miranda Blue
Japanese American Groups Supporting American Muslims in Fight Against Discrimination
The Washington Post today reports on the work some Japanese American groups are doing to support American Muslims, who are increasingly the objects of widespread fear and suspicion because of their faith. These groups see echoes of the persecution Japanese…
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March 9, 2011 5:41 pm | By Brian
Karl Rove’s Crossroads GPS Blasts Unions in Misleading Ad
A shadowy political organization founded by Karl Rove is spending $750,000 to run a nationwide ad blasting workers and their collective bargaining rights. Crossroads GPS is a pro-corporate group with a history of using misleading if not outright false claims…
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March 9, 2011 5:40 pm | By Miranda Blue
Why Unions Matter
"We believe collective bargaining is a civil right," said Larson. Getting rid of the mechanism that "has helped build the middle class for over fifty years is like saying, 'Seat belts have done such a great job at saving lives…
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March 8, 2011 9:37 pm | By Miranda Blue
Wisconsin Librarian Speaks Out Against the “Vilification of Public Employees”
A key part of the Republican strategy in efforts to bust public employee unions in Wisconsin and around the country is a concerted attempt to demonize teachers, nurses, firefighters, and other dedicated public workers. Audrey Barbakoff, a Milwaukee librarian, writes…
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March 8, 2011 5:41 pm | By Miranda Blue
Progressive Groups: King Hearings Will Encourage “Toxic Climate of Suspicion Toward American Muslims”
Rep. Peter King will begin his hearings on the “radicalization” of American Muslims on Thursday. Yesterday, People For and a coalition of over 50 progressive groups sent King a letter [PDF] expressing concern over his targeting of Muslims. The letter…
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March 7, 2011 9:09 pm | By Miranda Blue
Stepping Between Women and Their Doctors
From the Des Moines Register comes a heartbreaking story about a Nebraska couple who were prevented from making the deeply personal decision to end a late-term pregnancy after they found out their child “had virtually no chance of survival.” Nebraska…
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March 7, 2011 5:32 pm | By Paul Gordon
Rick Santorum’s Journey to Fantasyland
Rick Santorum has an op-ed against marriage equality in the Des Moines Register that is breathtaking in its dishonesty. In order to target a Republican base that has lurched further and further from reality, he writes about a world that…
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March 4, 2011 5:17 pm | By Miranda Blue
The Corporate Discount: Who the Republican Spending Cuts Really Benefit
In the Huffington Post today, People For the American Way’s President Michael Keegan connects the extreme pro-corporate policies being pushed by federal and state GOP officials with the new liberty that corporations have to buy influence in elections: One year after…
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March 4, 2011 5:15 pm | By Brian
Supreme Court Decision Exposes Religious Right Deceit on Hate Crimes Laws
When Congress debated and ultimately passed the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act, detractors unfairly criticized the law as a threat to free speech and religious freedom. Opponents, especially from the Religious Right, tried to cover…
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March 4, 2011 3:10 pm | By Miranda Blue
Scapegoating Teachers
Last week, PFAW’s Michael Keegan wrote of “increasing power of corporate interests in deciding who benefits from the government, and who becomes a scapegoat.” Watch Jon Stewart call out right-wing commentators on their willingness to scapegoat teachers and other public…
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March 3, 2011 11:04 pm | By Miranda Blue
King Having Trouble Finding Anti-Muslim Muslims to Testify at his “Radicalization” Hearings
Speaking of officially-sanctioned Islamophobia, GOP Rep. Peter King is having a hard time finding Muslim Americans, or any experts at all, to testify in his planned hearings about the “radicalization” of American Muslims. According to the American Prospect’s Adam Serwer,…