Waste Management Reaps Treasure from Your Trash and Taxes
The for-profit company Waste Management (WM) has recently been embroiled in a trashy dispute with the city of Mobile, Alabama.
News
Astroturf Tramples Grassroots in Washington State GMO Labeling Battle
Washington State voters are being subjected to nonstop ads about a ballot initiative to label genetically engineered foods, Initiative 522. Ads sponsored by industries that oppose it.
Special Excerpt--Return to Nixonland: How the NSA Slipped its Leash
The documents leaked by Edward Snowden and published by the Guardian and other outlets confirm what privacy advocates have been saying for years: The government has secretly turned its most powerful weapons of foreign intelligence surveillance inward on millions of Americans.
Monterey Peninsula Fights For-Profit American Water for Public Control
While high profile privatizations have dominated the news in recent years, a new trend is quietly emerging -- communities taking public assets back under public control. The trend is most pronounced in the area of water resources. In communities across the country, people are deciding that water is just too precious to subject to the profit motive.
Officials in Arizona and Kansas Rig Ballots to Implement ALEC Voter Suppression Scheme
State officials in Arizona and Kansas are developing a new scheme to implement an American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC)-approved bill requiring proof of citizenship at the polls.
Did Scalia Really Say That? "Citizens United" Lurks Behind Supreme Court's Latest Money-in-Politics Case
The McCutcheon case provides a good example of how advocates and the court's "conservative" Justices have methodically laid the groundwork for dismantling campaign finance laws.
Dear WWII Vets, Forget About the Monument, They Are Gunning for Your Social Security
Apparently the only thing both Democrats and Republicans can agree on in Washington, DC, is that they can't deal with bad press involving Honor Flight vets.
This led to absurd images of Republicans -- who had shut down the federal government, including all monuments and museums -- rushing to "aid" veterans shut out by monument closures. In the most revolting display, Rep. Randy Neugebauer (R-TX) publicly berated a National Park Service Ranger for a situation created entirely by Congress.
Profiting from the Poor: Outsourcing Social Services Puts Most Vulnerable at Risk
In a story most in the media missed, protestors gathered under the dome at the Mississippi state capitol earlier this year to oppose a bill that would allow the state Department of Human Services (DHS) to privatize everything from child protective services to nutrition programs for the elderly.
Will Supreme Court Expand "Money as Speech" Ruse and Strike Donation Limits?
On Tuesday, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in a case that could further expand the reach of its controversial ruling that political spending is a form of speech protected by the First Amendment -- and which could give the one percent even more influence over politics.
Outsourced Cities, Brought to You by CH2M Hill
When the town of Sandy Springs, Georgia, spun-off from Fulton County and established a brand new government, it didn't sign a Declaration of Independence; it signed a contract.
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