Legislators in four states have introduced bills in recent weeks supporting the controversial TransCanada Keystone XL pipeline, with language that appears to have been lifted directly from a "model" American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) bill and from TransCanada's own public relations talking points.
In Tuesday's State of the Union, five days before what is anticipated to be the largest climate rally in the U.S. history, President Obama made his message on climate change clear: "For the sake of our children and our future, we must do more to combat climate change." After touting the nation's success in producing more oil and natural gas than ever before, Obama outlined an "all-of-the-above" plan which involves reducing pollution and speeding up the transition to sustainable energy, including wind and solar.
President Obama announced plans for a nonpartisan commission to "improve the Election Day experience" in his State of the Union address, a response to the long lines and heavy burdens that states imposed on voters during the 2012 elections. But his proposal -- which some have called "the policy equivalent of a sock drawer" -- falls short of what many had hoped.
-- By Lisa Graves, Brendan Fischer, and Meher Ahmad
The Obama administration is urging a federal court to overturn a ruling that blocked the government from enforcing a law that could allow the military to imprison American citizens indefinitely, without trial. The Center for Media and Democracy joined an amicus brief with groups across the political spectrum calling for the judiciary to reject such unchecked power to use "indefinite detention."
After Wall Street collapsed the global economy in 2008, nations around the world were thrown into political turmoil. In the United States, the 2010 election swept into office a group of radical governors and legislators who promised jobs on the campaign trail, but delivered political retribution instead.
Wisconsin is one of the highest-performing states in the country when it comes to election administration, but some state Republicans are falling behind a partisan national effort to attack the state's voting procedures and narrow access to the ballot box. "Rig the Vote," a new report from the Center for Media and Democracy and Citizen Action of Wisconsin, examines how proposed changes to Wisconsin's voting practices threaten the state's free and fair elections and are part of a cynical national effort to manipulate the electoral system for partisan gain.
-- by Donald Cohen, Cry Wolf Project
In February 2005, Patti Phillips sat by her daughter's bedside during the weeks before Stephanie Phillips died of bone cancer. Patti was able to be at her daughter's side the day she died because of the federal law that allows millions of Americans to take family leave without risking their jobs. "You want to be there with your child.... and you don't want to worry about your job," said Phillips, 49, an inventory specialist at Coca-Cola in Atlanta. "The law gives you peace of mind."
Katherine Forrest is a federal judge in New York appointed by President Obama to fill the spot vacated by bank battler Jed Rakoff when he went on senior status. Within months of taking the job, Forrest blocked the president and Defense Secretary Leon Panetta from enforcing aspects of the National Defense Authorization Act of 2012. The plaintiff, Chris Hedges, and groups objecting to the policy -- including the Center for Media and Democracy -- argued that the law is so broadly written that it could be used to permit the military to arrest U.S. citizens and detain them indefinitely for exercising their freedom of speech and of the press.
Contact: Nikolina Lazic, nikolina@prwatch.org
2,000 Public Officials Have Already Expressed Support for Constitutional Amendment
WASHINGTON – This week The Center for Media & Democracy and ally organizations applauded the re-launch of the "Declaration For Democracy" campaign. Public officials signing the declaration are proclaiming their support for amending the constitution to limit the influence of money in our democracy and to restore the rights of the American people in the wake of the Supreme Court's 2010 decision in Citizens United v. FEC.
Some GOP leaders have backed-off plans to allocate electoral votes according to gerrymandered Congressional districts, but Pennsylvania Republicans have hatched a new scheme to give a boost to the GOP's presidential chances.
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