Blog
All Blogs
-
June 23, 2010 5:49 pm | By Rhee-Soo
Ending Anonymous Holds
Last weekend, Senator Claire McCaskill put pressure on obstructionist Republicans, announcing that she had enough votes to end the Senate practice of placing anonymous holds on executive nominees. As McCaskill explained in her recent Huffington Post piece, “someone, it seems,…
-
June 22, 2010 10:07 pm | By Rhee-Soo
Supreme Court Denies Access to Justice in Rent-A-Center v. Jackson
In yet another decision highlighting the Roberts Court's tendency to favor corporations over individual citizens, the Supreme Court on Monday made it more difficult for employees and consumers challenging their contracts to seek justice in court. In Rent-A-Center v. Jackson,…
-
June 22, 2010 8:02 pm | By Miranda Blue
Federal Judge Ends Drilling Moratorium
This afternoon, we have another illustration that when the pull of profits goes up against protecting public safety, the personal leanings of our federal judges really do matter. The Associated Press reports: A federal judge struck down the Obama administration's…
-
June 22, 2010 3:34 pm | By Miranda Blue
New People For Poll Shows Broad Support for Correcting Citizens United
People For released a new poll today that contains some pretty stunning numbers showing the extent to which Americans are fed up with corporate money and politics… and ready to amend the Constitution to fix it.Here are some of the…
-
June 21, 2010 10:21 pm | By Rhee-Soo
A New Ally For Kagan Opponents
As Republican leadership refuses to rule out filibustering Elena Kagan’s Supreme Court nomination, it’s important to keep in mind the ideological company her opponents keep. One new critic is none other than failed Supreme Court nominee Robert Bork, who plans…
-
June 21, 2010 9:18 pm | By Miranda Blue
Leahy: Senators Will Address Oil and the Courts in Kagan Hearings
Patrick Leahy, the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, says he’s going to make sure the subject of oil and the courts comes up in Solicitor General Elena Kagan’s Supreme Court confirmation hearings, which begin next week. The Hill reported…
-
June 21, 2010 5:43 pm | By Paul Gordon
A Father’s Day For ALL Fathers
Kudos to President Obama for including families with two fathers in his Father's Day proclamation. And further kudos are due to the president for inviting a gay father to speak at his Father's Day mentoring barbecue at the White House…
-
June 21, 2010 5:30 pm | By Rhee-Soo
Another City Joins Arizona Boycott
In May, People For signed on to a travel boycott of Arizona in response to the state’s new draconian immigration law. We’re pleased to note that not only other advocacy groups, but at least 20 US cities, have pledged to…
-
June 18, 2010 7:16 pm | By Rhee-Soo
Fieldtrip to the Heritage Foundation
As a new arrival in DC (I started interning here two weeks ago), I was thrilled to get a chance to visit the Heritage Foundation for the first time on Wednesday. I know everyone here at People For was flattered…
-
June 18, 2010 7:00 pm | By Miranda Blue
Dawn Johnsen on Caution and Principle
Last night, Dawn Johnsen spoke to the American Constitution Society, her first public appearance after a year and a half long battle over her confirmation to head the Office of Legal Counsel. Johnsen withdrew her nomination in April after an…
-
June 18, 2010 5:27 pm | By Miranda Blue
Texas Textbooks: What happened, what it means, and what we can do about it
People For has been tracking the Religious Right’s crusade to politicize textbooks—and fighting against it—since the 1980s. Our new Right Wing Watch: In Focus report outlines how the latest right-wing takeover of Texas textbooks fits into the history of the…
-
June 18, 2010 2:37 pm | By Rhee-Soo
After Citizens United: Big Tobacco Aims for More First Amendment Rights
In the wake of the Citizens United decision, the Supreme Court may choose to determine whether corporations have additional rights to free speech under the First Amendment. On June 24th, justices will meet to decide whether to hear a group…
-
June 17, 2010 10:20 pm | By Rhee-Soo
More on the Prop 8 Trial
The frailty of the legal arguments against marriage equality was on full display during yesterday’s closing arguments in the Perry v Schwarzenegger trial. The proponents of upholding California’s Proposition 8, which bans same-sex marriage in the state, insisted during the…
-
June 17, 2010 9:24 pm | By Miranda Blue
Our Questions for Solicitor General Kagan
We’ve said repeatedly that Elena Kagan’s Supreme Court confirmation hearings, which start in two weeks, open up the perfect opportunity to the country to have a real discussion of the meaning of the Constitution and the role of the Supreme…
-
June 17, 2010 8:55 pm | By Miranda Blue
The Perils of Obstructionism
Senate obstructionism has so crippled one agency that the Supreme Court has ruled invalid over 500 decisions it made over a two-year period. The National Labor Relations Board, meant to consist of five members, has a statutory quorum of three.…
-
June 17, 2010 7:29 pm | By Miranda Blue
Chamber of Commerce Wages “Unprecedented” Campaign Against Lead Paint Lawyer
A few weeks ago, we wrote about the Chamber of Commerce’s campaign to prevent the confirmation of attorney John McConnell to be a Rhode Island district court judge, because of his work as a personal injury lawyer to hold corporations…
-
June 17, 2010 2:14 pm | By Miranda Blue
The Freedom to Marry
The American Foundation for Equal Rights has posted a transcript of yesterday's closing arguments in Perry v. Schwarzenegger, the trial challenging the constitutionality of California's ban on same-sex marriage. Theodore B. Olson, the attorney for the couples who are challenging…
-
June 16, 2010 10:28 pm | By Miranda Blue
The New Originalism Debate—An Early Roundup of Good Reads
A few weeks ago, former Supreme Court Justice David Souter delivered a call to arms against the misguided theory of “constitutional originalism” that has dominated recent debates on the Supreme Court. “The Constitution is no simple contract,” Souter said, “Not…
-
June 16, 2010 9:17 pm | By Rhee-Soo
No-Fly Lists and Rendition
On Monday, the Supreme Court declined to hear a case brought by Maher Arar, a Canadian national who was sent to Syria and tortured after arriving in New York from a vacation.The court did not comment Monday in ending Syrian-born…
-
June 16, 2010 12:35 am | By Miranda Blue
Who Will Make Amends to Maher Arar?
Yesterday, the Supreme Court declined to hear the case of Maher Arar, a Canadian citizen who the US detained in 2002 and sent to Syria to be imprisoned and tortured for a year—without ever being charged with a crime.In an…