All Blogs

  • February 20, 2009 5:43 pm | By Willard

    The Obstruction Strategy

    On Wednesday night, I was thrilled to represent People For the American Way members and activists at a small White House reception. When meeting the President and First Lady, as well as Vice President Biden and his wife Jill, it…

  • February 13, 2009 11:08 pm | By Drew Courtney

    News From Newark

    Readers of blogs like Towleroad and GayPolitics may have come across a story this week about Newark, Delaware City Councilman Ezra Temko, who pushed anti-discrimination legislation through the council, and came out in the process. What you might not have…

  • February 13, 2009 9:15 pm | By Paul Gordon

    Hardly the End of DOMA.

    Late last week, you may have seen headlines about a federal judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit who ruled the Defense of Marriage Act unconstitutional. For anyone in favor of equal justice under law (and…

  • February 13, 2009 6:00 am | By Willard

    Rumors of their death…

    Even before November's election, gallons of ink were being spilled to report the demise of the Religious Right. But, as Mark Twain might have said, rumors of the Right's death have been greatly exaggerated. A small incident that was mostly…

  • February 12, 2009 10:30 pm | By Ben Betz

    Best Post on Glenn Beck Ever.

    I can't do it justice with a synopsis. Click and read:To attack Obama's New Deal, Beck invokes Henry Ford -- the Nazis' friendBy David Neiwert at Crooks and Liars 

  • February 11, 2009 12:28 am | By Stacey Gates

    Solicitor General Nominee Elena Kagan Sails Through Senate Judiciary Committee Hearing

     Pres. Obama’s Solicitor General nominee and Harvard Law School Dean Elena Kagan went before the Senate Judiciary Committee today and anyone looking for fireworks was certainly disappointed – committee Republicans held their fire.  That’s probably due in part to the…

  • February 6, 2009 7:21 pm | By Ben Betz

    Dealing With the Right’s Big Lies

    We here at People For have been making the case since the November elections that even though the results were devastating for the Republican Party, they actually strengthened the Radical Right and increased its influence within the GOP. Republicans in…

  • February 6, 2009 6:01 pm | By Willard

    Restoring Justice, Step by Step

    On Monday, Eric Holder was confirmed as Attorney General. Big news ... and good news for Americans who depend on the Justice Department to defend their rights. A bit more under the radar, Monday also saw another important piece of…

  • February 4, 2009 8:45 pm | By Marge Baker

    Mark Gitenstein for Office of Legal Policy

    I’ve seen some concerns expressed about the possible nomination of Mark Gitenstein to head the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Policy, including questions about whether he’s sufficiently committed to protecting the rule of law to serve in the position at…

  • January 30, 2009 6:13 pm | By Willard

    New Rasmussen Supreme Court Poll: Garbage In, Garbage Out

    This week, right-wing polling firm Rasmussen Reports heralded a new poll which supposedly revealed that 64% of Americans think that "Supreme Court decisions should be based on what is written in the Constitution," whereas only 27% think the decisions "should…

  • January 30, 2009 6:00 am | By Willard

    Executive privilege for Rove?

    This was an exciting week. Our efforts to prevent the Right from building Senate opposition against Attorney General-nominee Eric Holder paid off and his nomination was approved by a 17-2 vote in the Senate Judiciary Committee. And yesterday President Obama…

  • January 29, 2009 6:40 pm | By Willard

    Energized and ready to pave the way

    In President Obama's first few days in office, he has already undone some serious damage from the previous administration with the stroke of a pen. He signed orders to close Guantanamo and the CIA's network of secret foreign prisons. And…

  • January 22, 2009 6:09 pm | By Paul Gordon

    Obama’s Civil Rights Agenda: LGBT Equality

    With George Bush and Dick Cheney finally out of power, our country is returning to its ideals so quickly and in so many ways that it’s dizzying. Recognizing the rule of law? Check.  Following the Constitution? Check.  Keeping politics out…

  • January 16, 2009 8:18 pm | By Ben Betz

    Gay but Equal?

    By MARY FRANCES BERRY (From the January 16, 2009 edition of the New York Times) AS the country prepares to enter the Obama era, anxiety over the legal status and rights of gays and lesbians is growing. Barack Obama's invitation to the…

  • January 16, 2009 3:46 pm | By Willard

    It’s Our Moment, Let’s Make the Most of It!

    This Tuesday marks what I hope will be the beginning of a dramatic new direction for our country. The relevance of President-elect Obama's inauguration falling one day after Martin Luther King, Jr. Day is not lost on any of us.…

  • January 9, 2009 11:11 pm | By Stacey Gates

    Breaking News: Two Pay Equity Bills Pass the House

      Workers seeking to bring pay discrimination lawsuits against corporations scored a huge victory today as the House of Representatives passed two key pay equity bills: the Ledbetter Fair Pay Act and Paycheck Fairness Act.  Lilly Ledbetter received an anonymous…

  • January 9, 2009 11:06 pm | By Stacey Gates

    National Gay and Lesbian Task Force Releases Report on California’s Prop 8 vote

    A new report released by the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force this week analyzing the Prop 8 vote paints a stark picture of the work that must be done by the gay rights community to change hearts and minds. …

  • January 5, 2009 9:57 pm | By Drew Courtney

    Department of Justice Will Actually Uphold the Law!

    After 8 years of the Bush Administration, it’s amazing how low our collective standards have fallen. For instance, the idea that Barack Obama has appointed people to the Department of Justice who will uphold the rule of law — as…

  • December 19, 2008 9:59 pm | By Paul Gordon

    Where Is Today’s Deep Throat?

    Mark Felt - better known as the anonymous source Deep Throat - died yesterday at the age of 95.  The deputy director of the FBI in the early 1970s, Felt secretly led Washington Post reporters Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward…

  • December 17, 2008 8:38 pm | By Ben Betz

    Vote for the 2008 Equine Posterior Achievement Award!

    The Equine Posterior Achievement Award has been created to honor that leader whose abilities to misrepresent an issue, manipulate his/her followers, brazenly disregard reality or pander to our baser instincts reach such ridiculous levels that we don't know whether to…