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January 28, 2011 9:31 pm | By Miranda Blue
PFAW Calls On Smithsonian Secretary to Step Down
People For the American Way has called on Smithsonian Secretary Wayne Clough to resign following his handling of a censorship controversy that resulted in a work of art being removed from one of the Smithsonian’s museums. In the Huffington Post…
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January 28, 2011 4:28 pm | By Paul Gordon
Conform or Be Cast Out
Right Wing Watch has a post this morning on how the Religious Right is bringing back the "Halal Meat Panic," exposing their fight to prevent stores and restaurants from selling Halal food:WorldNetDaily believes it's time for another right-wing panic over…
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January 26, 2011 4:45 pm | By Miranda Blue
In State of the Union, Obama Calls for Immigration Reform and DREAM ACT
In his State of the Union address last night, President Obama made a common-sense plea for comprehensive immigration reform, including a reference to the DREAM ACT, the popular measure that would provide a path to citizenship for young adults who,…
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January 25, 2011 10:25 pm | By Brian
House GOP Plans Attack on Fair Elections
After taking power in the House, the new Republican majority is preparing to eliminate one of the most significant efforts to ensure fair elections: the public finance system in presidential races. Instead of making the public finance system stronger, the…
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January 25, 2011 9:39 pm | By Miranda Blue
Justice Scalia Teaches at Michele Bachmann’s Constitution School
People For’s president, Michael Keegan, has a piece it the Huffington Post today on Justice Antonin Scalia’s visit to Rep. Michele Bachmann’s Constitution class: Yesterday, Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia traveled to the Capitol to teach a class about the…
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January 21, 2011 11:21 pm | By Miranda Blue
The Anniversary of Roe v. Wade
Today, in events around the country, Americans marked the anniversary of a Supreme Court decision that diminished the rights of individuals. Tomorrow, we’ll celebrate the 38th anniversary of a decision that took a great step toward recognizing the rights and…
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January 21, 2011 10:33 pm | By Miranda Blue
PFAW and Allies Deliver 750,000 Constitutional Amendment Petitions to Congress
This morning, a group of allied organizations held a rally at the Capitol to mark the first anniversary of the Supreme Court’s Citizens United decision. At the rally, People For the American Way and others delivered over 750,000 petitions calling…
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January 21, 2011 6:49 pm | By Brian
Senator Max Baucus Introduces Constitutional Amendment to Reverse Citizens United
While Republicans in Washington are celebrating the anniversary of Citizens United by threatening to scrap the public finance system for elections and allow corporations to donate directly to candidates, Senator Max Baucus of Montana is standing up with the vast…
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January 21, 2011 6:05 pm | By Brian
One Year After Citizens United, Right-Wing Demands Even More Corporate Money and Less Transparency in Politics
As Americans remember the one year anniversary of the Supreme Court’s ruling in Citizens United with calls for action to limit corporate influence in politics and reverse the Court’s reckless decision, pro-corporate activists and their Republican allies in Congress seek…
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January 21, 2011 3:24 pm | By Miranda Blue
Events and New Video Mark the First Anniversary of Citizens United Decision
Today is the first anniversary of the Supreme Court’s decision in Citizens United v. FEC, which lifted restrictions on the amount of money corporations can spend to influence federal elections. To mark the anniversary, people across the country are organizing…
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January 20, 2011 9:41 pm | By Paul Gordon
Lamar Smith Needs to Get His Facts Straight on the 14th Amendment
Rep. Lamar Smith, the new chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, is introducing himself to the American people. Someone should have told him to get his facts straight before talking about important issues affecting the lives of millions of people.Smith…
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January 20, 2011 5:55 pm | By Brian
Roles of Justices Scalia and Thomas in Citizens United Under Scrutiny
Supreme Court Justices Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas raised eyebrows and ethics questions late last year when they attended a conference sponsored by Charles and David Koch, the billionaire brothers who head Koch Industries. A comprehensive expose from The New…
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January 20, 2011 4:17 pm | By Jen Herrick
Wear a Trust Women Silver Ribbon, Spread the Word, Take Action
Saturday marks the 38th anniversary of Roe v. Wade. This landmark ruling, along with the earlier Griswold v. Connecticut, recognized a constitutional right to privacy and protected a woman's right to make reproductive decisions based on her own life, health,…
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January 19, 2011 7:03 pm | By Brian
More Voices Call For a Constitutional Amendment to Reverse Citizens United as Ruling’s Anniversary Approaches
Friday is the first anniversary of the Supreme Court’s 5-4 ruling in Citizens United v. FEC, which helped unleash massive corporate spending in the 2010 elections, and more voices have emerged to denounce the Court’s wrongheaded and extreme ruling. The…
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January 19, 2011 5:26 pm | By Paul Gordon
Another Step Forward for LGBT Equality
In a step forward for LGBT equality, the Obama Administration’s new hospital visitation regulations go into effect today. Under the rules, hospitals that participate in Medicare and Medicaid can no longer deny visitation privileges based on factors including sexual orientation…
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January 18, 2011 9:11 pm | By Paul Gordon
Cue the Violins: Inanimate Corporations Have Feelings, Too
On Wednesday, in a case involving the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), the nation's corporate giants are asking the Supreme Court to rule that they have a right to "personal privacy" just as people do. If the Corporate Court ignores…
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January 13, 2011 9:13 pm | By Paul Gordon
A Constitutional Lesson for Rick Perry
Texas Governor Rick Perry, who has notoriously floated the idea of secession, was reminded yesterday by the DC Circuit Court of Appeals that states cannot simply ignore a federal law they disagree with. Last fall, Texas flat-out told the EPA…
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January 12, 2011 9:16 pm | By Paul Gordon
A Real Blood Libel
Today, Sarah Palin used the term 'blood libel' to describe criticism she's received in the wake of the Tucson shooting. There are plenty of people debating what that term implies in her statement, but for me it has a very…
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January 11, 2011 11:29 pm | By Paul Gordon
Thomas and Scalia, the Commerce Clause, and the Healthcare Law
Justices Clarence Thomas, joined by Justice Antonin Scalia, issued an interesting dissent yesterday to the Supreme Court's decision not to hear a challenge to a federal law making it a federal crime for a convicted felon to buy, own, or…
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January 11, 2011 6:02 pm | By Miranda Blue
Standing with the Sheriff
There may be a politically active extremist serving as a sheriff in Arizona. But it’s not Pima County Sheriff Clarence Dupnik. On the day of the horrific shootings in Tucson that killed 6, critically wounded Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, and injured…