PHOTOS: NDP Justice Minister Kathleen Ganley at yesterday morning’s press conference on Bill 1, An Act to Renew Democracy in Alberta. Below: Premier Rachel Notley, PC Leader Ric McIver. With Bill 1, An Act to Renew Democracy in Alberta, there can be no question that Alberta’s NDP government is playing
Continue readingTag: Citizens United
350 or bust: Greedy Lying Bastards: Exposing The Fossil Fools Who Put Profit Before Human Lives
* One of the few-and-far-between perks of being a climate blogger is that occasionally I get access to books and movies before the general public does. This past weekend I got to watch “Greedy Lying Bastards” before it hit movie screens across the U.S. on Monday. Sunday night I, along
Continue readingThe Equivocator: 10 Ballot measures to Watch in Tonight’s U.S. election
Tonight President Barack Obama will be re-elected, Democrats will keep the Senate and for no apparent reason the Republicans will keep the House of Representatives for another 2 years. More awesomely, Wisconsin is going to elect America’s first openly gay … Continue reading →
Progressive Proselytizing: A more realistic approach to limiting the influence of money in politics
Cenk Ugyur, host of the popular The Young Turks (a progressive, internet-based US politics show), frequently like to deride the pervasive and damaging influence of Big Money in US politics, especially in the post-Citizens United era. He is right to do so for this is, indeed, among the most corrupting
Continue readingDeSmogBlog: B.C. Protest This Saturday to Stop Warren Buffett’s BNSF Coal Trains
shutterstock_14976709.jpg Warren Buffett, the third wealthiest man on the planet (net worth: $44 billion), often referred to as the "Oracle of Omaha," is the target of a May 5 action called for by Stop Coal B.C. Well, not Buffett directly, but a rail company he owns through his massive holding company, Berkshire
Continue readingSong of the Watermelon: The Alternative Norquist Pledge
It has been over two years since the US Supreme Court’s Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission ruling struck down government restrictions on political spending by corporations and unions. A crafty syllogism lies at the heart of the decision’s rationale: Corporations = people. Money = speech. Therefore, campaign finance reform
Continue readingPushed to the Left and Loving It: When is the Price of a Politician Too High?
Since Citizens United paved the way for the wealthy to buy U.S. political candidates outright, there is more for Americans to worry about than losing their democracy, though that is certainly a blow to a once democratic country. The people with all of this money expect something in return and
Continue readingPushed to the Left and Loving It: Too Big to Fail or So Big They Must Fail
g There is an excellent Viewpoint piece in this week’s Time magazine, written by foreign and domestic policy expert, David Rothkopf. Fixing Capitalism Means Taking Power Back From Business Rothkopf discusses not only the rise of big stateless corporations, now dictating foreign policy, but also what domestic capitalism has turned itself into.
Continue readingRed Tory v.3.0.3: Colbert v. Citizens United
More fun with SuperPacs from the team of Stephen Colbert and his friend/business partner Jon Stewart (with whom he’s definitely not co-ordinating!). Because he’s not on the ballot in South Carolina and that state’s GOP doesn’t allow write-ins, the latest TV ad from the Americans for a Better America Tomorrow,
Continue readingRed Tory v.3.0.3: Mitt The Ripper
The unaffiliated (definitely not co-ordinating with Stephen Colbert) SuperPAC “Americans for a Better Tomorrow, Tomorrow” has just released the following advertisement, which logically proposes that if “corporations are people” then Mitt Romney should be regarded as a serial killer… The way Colbert has methodically gone about illustrating on his show
Continue readingProgressive Proselytizing: The SuperPAC charade is getting tiresome
Can we please drop this SuperPAC ruse already? It is the first election season post Citizens United and so these new political groups are allowed to collect unlimited, undisclosed amounts of money from people and corporations alike and spend it in the elections. Only there is a technical catch: they
Continue readingThe Disaffected Lib: Montana Judges Stare Down Corporatist US Supreme Court, Reject "Citizens United."
Judges of Montana’s Supreme Court have defied the US Supreme Court and refused to apply the perverse Citizens United decision in their state. The court upheld Montana’s right to regulate how corporations can raise and spend money for political purposes. One judge dissented, Justice James Nelson, holding (properly) that
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