Egypt Election: Muslim Brotherhood Candidate Could Face...
Democracy Now! reports on the controversial Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court on January 21, 2010. The ruling characterizes political spending as free speech and opened the floodgates for unlimited corporate spending on election campaigns. Critics argue that corporations should not be given the same First Amendment rights as people and that the ruling will greatly influence American politics and corrupt the election process.
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Vermont Voters Back Grassroots Campaign to Abolish Corporate Personhood
In another "Super Tuesday" vote, some two dozen towns in Vermont called on Congress to push a constitutional amendment to overturn the U.S. Supreme Court’s Citizens United v. FEC ruling and address the issue of corporate personhood. Vermont could become the third state, after Hawaii and New Mexico, to endorse...March 07, 2012 | Story -
Supreme Court to Decide Whether U.S. Corporations Can Be Sued for Abuses Overseas
The U.S. Supreme Court will hear oral arguments Tuesday on whether U.S.-based corporations can be sued in U.S. courts for human rights abuses committed overseas. The case involves nine Nigerian activists, including Ken Saro-Wiwa, executed for protesting Royal Dutch Shell. We’re joined by Marco Simons, legal director of...February 24, 2012 | Story -
"New Obama Campaign Co-Chair: 'The President Is Wrong'." By Amy Goodman
Russ Feingold writes: "The President is wrong to embrace the corrupt corporate politics of Citizens United through the use of Super PACs." As the Obama campaign "dances with the devil" according to Feingold, perhaps as the President’s new election co-chair, he will help us follow the money.February 23, 2012 | Blog Post -
Sen. Russ Feingold, New Obama Election Co-Chair: "The President is Wrong" to Accept Super PAC Money
One of the newly named co-chairs of President Obama’s re-election campaign is openly criticizing the President’s decision to accept super PAC funds, his record on civil liberties, and his handling of the war in Afghanistan. Former U.S. Senator Russ Feingold of Wisconsin has described Obama’s decision on super...February 23, 2012 | Story -
"Romney’s 1 Percent Nation Under God." By Amy Goodman
After winning big in Florida, Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney told CNN’s Soledad O’Brien who he wants to represent. “You could choose where to focus, you could focus on the rich, that’s not my focus. You could focus on the very poor, that’s not my focus. My focus is on middle-income Americans.” Of the very rich, Romney assures us, “They’re doing just fine.” With...February 02, 2012 | Blog Post -
Recount Leaves Santorum Ahead of Romney in Iowa GOP Caucus
Rick Santorum has been declared the winner of the Iowa caucus after a recount gave him a 34-vote lead over Mitt Romney. The outcome could slow the momentum of the front-runner Romney, who is hoping to wrap up the Republican nomination with a win on Saturday in South Carolina. "It’s a big deal," says John Nichols,...January 19, 2012 | Story -
Romney Cements Front-Runner Status with Unlimited Spending from Unregulated Super PACs
We speak with Mother Jones reporter Andy Kroll about how Mitt Romney "got his money’s worth" in New Hampshire’s Republican primary, winning about 40 percent of voter support, almost double that of his closest challenger, Rep. Ron Paul. Kroll says the victory demonstrates how one of the key stories in this...January 11, 2012 | Story -
Rivals’ Attacks on Romney’s Corporate Record Display Occupy Wall Street’s Wide Reach
The New Hampshire primary brought fewer than 50 percent of voters to the polls. The candidates are "addressing issues that aren’t really connecting with a whole bunch of Americans, especially blue-collar Americans," says Dale Kuehne, a New Hampshire political science professor. "I don’t know that they...January 11, 2012 | Story -
How New Hampshire Became Last U.S. State to Recognize MLK Day Holiday
Ahead of the Monday holiday celebrating Martin Luther King, Jr., we speak with two people key to establishing the day as a paid state holiday in New Hampshire—the last state to do so—replacing its optional Civil Rights Day in 1999. "I look at Mitt Romney talking about saving the soul of America and recall that the motto...January 11, 2012 | Story -
Occupy New Hampshire Member on His Exchange with Mitt Romney over Support for Corporate Personhood
Occupy New Hampshire activist Mark Provost made national headlines Wednesday when he attended a town-hall meeting hosted by Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney and asked about his past comment that "corporations are people." Provost’s question to Romney came as Occupy New Hampshire is preparing for a...January 06, 2012 | Story
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Buddy Roemer: GOP Pres. Candidate Who Backs Occupy, Campaign Finance Reform, Excluded from Debates
We speak with Buddy Roemer, a candidate who is on the Republican ballot in New Hampshire but has not been invited to this weekend’s two Republican debates—or any of the past 16 debates—even though he is a former governor of Louisiana and four-term member of Congress. Roemer’s campaign is unusual in the Republican...January 06, 2012 | Story -
"Republicans Divided, Citizens United." By Amy Goodman
The Republican caucuses in Iowa show the 2012 presidential election promises to be long, contentious, extremely expensive and perhaps more negative than any in history.January 05, 2012 | Blog Post -
Citizens United Backlash Grows from Cali. to NYC Urging Congress to Overturn Corporate Personhood
Adding to a growing nationwide backlash against the U.S. Supreme Court’s Citizens United ruling, California lawmakers have introduced a resolution that calls on Congress to "propose and send to the states for ratification a constitutional amendment to overturn Citizens United." The New York City Council has just...January 05, 2012 | Story -
Iowa Tea Party Chair on Bachmann, Paul, Santorum’s Diverging Paths and Obama’s Re-Election Challenge
Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann won the Iowa straw poll in August but placed sixth with just 5 percent of the vote in last night’s Iowa caucus. We discuss the results with Ryan Rhodes, a Bachmann supporter and chairman of the Iowa Tea Party. Rhodes says Bachmann’s poor showing stems from a surge of Tea Party voters...January 04, 2012 | Story -
As States Take on Citizens United, Lawrence Lessig Offers Bold Plan to Get Money Out of Politics
California and New York City lawmakers are introducing measures today calling for a constitutional amendment overturning Citizens United, the controversial 2010 Supreme Court ruling that characterizes political spending as free speech and opened the floodgates for unlimited corporate spending on election campaigns. Similar measures...January 04, 2012 | Story -
"Pity the Billionaire": Thomas Frank on the "Unlikely Comeback of the Right" Ahead of Iowa Caucus
Bestselling author and Harper’s Magazine columnist Thomas Frank argues that as President Barack Obama fails to provide a coherent, progressive economic alternative, the right has staged an unlikely comeback — despite the ongoing fallout from the 2008 financial crisis for which its trademark policies were largely responsible....January 03, 2012 | Story -
Newt Gingrich’s Campaign Resurgence Funded by Secretive Coterie of Super PACs, Wealthy Backers
With the Iowa caucus less than two weeks away and the Republican presidential race still up for grabs, we take an in-depth look at the state of politics and money and how last year’s U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission has altered campaign fundraising since it opened the floodgates...December 23, 2011 | Story -
"Corporations Are Not People": Activists Push Amendment to Revoke "Corporate Personhood"
After an Election Day that saw a number of wins for progressive causes nationwide, activists opposed to "corporate personhood" — the notion that corporations have equal rights to individuals — are pushing ahead with a campaign to add a 28th amendment to the U.S. Constitution that would reject the idea that corporations...November 09, 2011 | Story
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By Amy Goodman with Denis Moynihan
Gen. John Allen, commander of U.S. Forces Afghanistan, spoke Wednesday at the Pentagon, four stars on each shoulder, his chest bedecked with medals. Unlike Allen, many decorated U.S. military veterans left the streets of Chicago after the NATO summit without their medals.
Web Exclusives
In an extended interview, David Bronner, president of Dr. Bronner’s Magic Soaps, discusses the history of the company, why they put sustainability and social justice ahead of profits, the organic and GMO labeling movements, the U.S. war on hemp, and why they refuse to sell out. [includes rush transcript]
Human Rights Watch’s Kenneth Roth examines why the U.S. has not pressured Bahrain to release pro-democracy activists. He also discusses Syria and the conditions in Israeli jails and courts that prompted 1,550 Palestinian prisoners to go on a hunger strike. [includes rush transcript]
