All Things Reform: April 2010

Friday, April 30, 2010

Online projects for citizens to participate in for our nation's financial crisis

Our nation has a wealth of Non-Governmental Organizations (NGO's) that work for a better financial condition for our federal government. Every one of them serve an important role in presenting our fiscal situation and in offering solutions.

As our national debt today nears a total of $13 Trillion, Americans are becoming more aware of the dangers our country faces financially and economically, especially in the long-term. I have done a survey on the Internet of national fiscal NGO's so that we, the American stakeholders, may contribute, each in our own way.

This list is by no means in any particular order of importance-- every NGO is uniquely supportive of our nation's fiscal well-being. Included are fiscal NGO's that specifically have programs which address our federal budget.

We, the people of this great nation are fortunate to have many federal budget projects to participate in. It is our ultimate responsibility to see America through the present budgetary crisis; your volunteering with these fine organizations are greatly appreciated.

Nonprofit Voter Engagement Network Blog: There's an app for that!

"Building on the spread of online voter registration, Project Vote is preparing to launch a voter registration application for the iPad, the new tablet computer released by Apple this spring."

Thursday, April 29, 2010

Disclose, Disclaim, Report: Democrats Reveal New Campaign Finance Legislation - OpenSecrets Blog | OpenSecrets

Political Party Time � USA TODAY uses Party Time to examine payday lenders

"USA TODAY used Party Time today to estimate how many fundraising events have been hosted by The Online Lenders Alliance, an association of Internet-based payday lenders. USA TODAY was looking into increased lobbying by payday lenders as Congress works on sweeping legislation to regulate banks and protect consumers from risky financial practices."

Political Activity Law - Political Law - Election Law � When candidates switch parties and “the law”

Political Activity Law - Political Law - Election Law � Facebook’s open graph and the Hill and technology

Political Activity Law - Political Law - Election Law � DISCLOSE Act hearing set for May 6

EPIC - EPIC Urges Congress to Extend Children's Privacy Law to Teenagers and Social Network Services, Says Current Law Has Failed to Keep Up with New Business Practices

firstamendmentcenter.org: news

"Lawmakers unveil new campaign-finance legislation"

CCR Letter to AG Holder on National Standards to Prevent, Detect, and Respond to Prison Rape | Center for Constitutional Rights

The People’s Blog for the Constitution � Video of Chip Pitts’ talk at UTD

"How technological developments are affecting individual privacy"

Human Rights First: Video Interview from Guantanamo on Day One of the Omar Khadr Hearing

"Action Alert"

Subject | Just Foreign Policy

"Action Alert: Be the Media: Raise the Profile of the Afghanistan Withdrawal Bill"

One Nation: Students Turned Into Criminals | The Foundry: Conservative Policy News.

After Much Delay, the DISCLOSE Act is Introduced | OMB Watch

"Legislation meant to diminish the impact of the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission"

Text & History � Forced Injustice in Arbitration: Heads, Corporate America Wins; Tails, Ordinary Americans Lose

"Given the tenor of the oral argument in Rent-A-Center, and the ruling in Stolt-Nielsen, it just may be that the Roberts Court will allow corporations to force pretty much every claim into private arbitration, but won’t respect arbitrators’ efforts to make the process fairer or more efficient for the victims of corporate misconduct.�"

EPA Issues Report on Indicators of Climate Change | rtknet.org: The Right-to-Know Network

Does “transparency” extend to private citizens’ actions? The Supreme Court looks at WA Referedum 71 case : Sunshine Review Blog

CQ Politics | RNC Fundraising Appeal Spurs House Action on Census Mailings Law

U.S. Households Lost $100,000 From Crisis, Study Says - The Pew Charitable Trusts

Countdown to Catastrophe

"This article, written for a lay audience, discusses the causes and consequences of 'catastrophic budget failure.'"

Tweet of the Week: 60% Believe Obamcare will Increase the Deficit | The Foundry: Conservative Policy News.

States Let the Public Follow the Money �

Victory – Congressional Pay Raise Thwarted � The Swine Line

What can be done? | Public Campaign Action Fund

"Part of the problem, of course, is that many Americans believe that they no longer have a voice in Washington, D.C.--they think special interests have too much control in our nation's capitol."

Riding Herd on Company Management

"President Obama called for reforms to provide shareholders a stronger say in the governance of companies in which they invest."

Supreme Court to Grapple With First Amendment, Disclosure and Transparency in Ballot Measure Case - OpenSecrets Blog | OpenSecrets

Help OpenSecrets.org Keep Fighting for Your Right to Know - OpenSecrets Blog | OpenSecrets

Vote Out Incumbents Democracy

"Anti-Incumbent movement is having positive effect."

'Stunning' Clause In AZ Immigration Law Lets Citizens Sue Govt For Lack Of Enforcement | TPMMuckraker

Privacy.org - The Source for News, Information, and Action

"Coalition Petitions Homeland Security to Suspend Airport Body Scanners"

Online Users Look For Government Information — Making Government Transparent and Accountable - Sunlight Foundation Blog

More Citizens are Using the Internet to Engage with Government | OMB Watch

Coalition to Congress: Oppose new Biometric ID plan | Liberty Coalition

"Re: Oppose Schumer/Graham Biometric National ID Proposal within Comprehensive Immigration Reform"

Subject | Just Foreign Policy

"Urge Your Reps to Support a Timetable for Withdrawal from Afghanistan"

When Whistle-blowers Suffer - Government Accountability Project

firstamendmentcenter.org: news

"Supreme Court skeptical on keeping petitioner IDs private"

EPIC - Supreme Court to Hear Arguments on Petitioner Privacy

Showtime for Bank Reform in the Senate | Center for Media and Democracy

"Sign the petition at BanksterUSA."

GOP Voter Registration Fraud Reported in California | Center for Media and Democracy

"People registered to vote as Republicans without their consent."

Wednesday, April 28, 2010

Despite New Law, RNC's Latest "Census" Mailer Still Misleads | Center for Media and Democracy

Thursday, April 15, 2010

This Post is Continuously Updated With the Latest Government Reform News from NGO's

Saturday, April 10, 2010

A "Statement on Justice John Paul Stevens" and more on the U.S. Supreme Court justice's retirement

From Justice at Stake [Wikipedia.org]

Gavel Grab blog post JAS: Justice Stevens ‘One of Best Friends America’s Courts Ever Had’

Bert Brandenburg, executive director of Justice at Stake, has issued the following statement on Justice John Paul Stevens’ retirement, as well as a biography of his life in the courts. A running summary of media reports, including speculation on the new Supreme Court vacancy, is in a separate Gavel Grab post below.

Blog post includes "Statement on Justice John Paul Stevens" and other references.

Real-time web "Justice Stevens" [OneRiot.com]

New, Free Research Tools on Campaign Finance Out

From OMB Watch [Wikipedia.com]

The Fine Print blog post New Tools to Help Advocates with Campaign Finance Data

A new site, TransparencyData.com, is acclaimed as "a central source for all federal and state campaign contributions made in the last twenty years." The Sunlight Foundation teamed up with the National Institute on Money in State Politics and the Center for Responsive Politics, and by merging data from these groups, produced a new development in the availability of campaign finance data. The public will be able to search through and download data about political donors, lobbyists, and lawmakers that may shed light on policy discussions and legislative votes. A Sunlight Foundation blog discusses some of the various ways the new resource can be used.
In addition, the Center for Responsive Politics has created a new section on OpenSecrets.orgdedicated to tracking independent political expenditures. "In each recent election cycle, hundreds of organizations together spent hundreds of millions of dollars in independent political expenditures that fueled advertisements and other communications supporting or opposing particular political candidates. And that was before the brave new world of the 2010 election cycle." Referencing the Supreme Court Citizens United decision, they expect a vast increase in the number of independent expenditures and the amount of money spent on such messages. Start exploring data on independent expenditures here.
The Campaign Finance Institute also used data from the National Institute on Money in State Politics to create an interactive tool, "Be A Citizen Policy Analyst." By selecting various changes to states' campaign finance laws, the tool will show you how those laws would impact political giving in the state. "In state after state, the tool shows that with only a few simple changes, the power of the small donor can transform the system."

Blog post includes links to tools.

Real-time web "Campaign Finance Reform" [OneRiot.com]

Tax Day Financial Analysis Charts

From Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget [Wikipedia.org]

The Bottom Line blog post So What's Our Revenue Situation?

With tax day fast approaching, it's worth discussing the current state of revenues in the United States. Last year, revenue collection hit a 60-year record low of 14.8 percent of GDP -- which was enough to pay for only 60% of what we spent.
Importantly, this revenue dip will be a temporary one -- caused by the precipitous drop in wages (including due to unemployment), capital gains, and corporate profits resulting from the recession, as well as a number of temporary tax cuts ("stimulus") designed to help the economy rebound.
In 2007, before the economic crisis, we were raising 18.8 percent of GDP, and by 2020, under the President's budget, we will be raising 19.6 percent.

Blog post includes charts.

Real-time web "Tax Day" [OneRiot.com]

Keep up-to-date federal budget analysis charts

From Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget [Wikipedia.org]

The Bottom Line blog post CRFB Launches A Featured Charts Page!

CRFB would like to introduce our new "Featured Charts" page where we will highlight important fiscal, economic, health care, and entitlement projection data in clear, interactive, and sharable graphs. CRFB will update these charts continuously as new data becomes available.
We encourage you to share any or all of these charts on your own websites and/or blogs.These charts will automatically update on your site even after you embed them. We hope this becomes a resource for anyone searching for important fiscal data.

Tuesday, April 06, 2010

U.S. Rep. Price Puts Big Money Interests Ahead of Struggling Residents in His Georgia District

Image via Wikipedia

From: Public Campaign Action Fund [Wikipedia.org]

Article: New research highlights Rep. Tom Price’s ties to financial services industry

Public cached article webpage, with highlighting: http://diigo.com/0aaoi

Reference: U.S. Rep. Tom Price (R-GA) [OpenSecrets.org]

Real-time web: "financial services industry" [OneRiot.com]

Judicial integrity in peril in new, unregulated Citizens United era

From: Justice at Stake [Wikipedia.org]

Article: New Republic Commentary: ‘Judging for Dollars’?

Public cached article webpage including highlights: http://diigo.com/0aai8

Reference: National Institute on Money in State Politics

Spotlight: Berman and Company

Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) is warning the reform community about a public affairs firm that fronts for business and industry in campaigns against consumer safety and environmental groups.

According to CREW's website Berman Exposed, Berman and Company has fought unions, Mothers Against Drunk Driving, PETA and other watchdog groups in their efforts to raise awareness about obesity, the minimum wage, the dangers of smoking, mad cow disease, drunk driving, and other causes. Richard Berman runs at least 23 industry-funded front groups and projects, such as the Center for Union Facts and holds 24 "positions" in those organizations.

Each year, Berman uses his front groups to spread misinformation, and spends millions of dollars distracting the public with misleading ads. To read about each of his front groups and the latest news concerning his business, please visit Berman Exposed.

Reference: Berman and Company