The words “foreign aid” conjure up images of American tax dollars being sent overseas to populations far away from our shores. Critics of foreign aid see this as a transfer of taxpayer money to non-Americans. Supporters see it as a way for America to support struggling people in developing nations, promote our values, and protect
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You pay a hidden premium every time they fill up your gas tank. The prices are high at the gas station, but part of the price you pay is directly caused by commodity speculators. And you can thank lobbyists for why the government has been unable to do anything to solve the problem. Over the
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One way to tackle Big Money’s role in the political system would be to better regulate corporate political spending. Right now, big corporations can engage in widespread political spending and hide much of it behind opaque bureaucracy. Activists are calling on the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to issue rules that would govern this spending. One
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Just as many Americans who have personally witnessed a UFO think super PACs don’t corrupt democracy. I know, I know…it’s hard to believe anyone believes super PACs aren’t hurting our democracy, as they enable the mega-rich, corporations, and unions to pour unlimited amounts of money anonymously into our elections. And the vast majority of Americans do agree
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Ten organizations, including Public Campaign, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW), Demos, Public Citizen, and U.S. PIRG, as well as United Republic, sent a letter to the Federal Elections Commission (FEC) endorsing an earlier request by two companies to allow text message campaign contributions to better let small donors participate in elections. The
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In America’s schools, the barrage of standardized testing kids have come under is overwhelming. From the Iowa Test of Basic Standards (ITBS) to the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), the alphabet soup of bubble-in tests that fill our schools is provoking a backlash from educators and parents who think kids are over-tested and denied
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Last month, Tennessee passed a law that would establish protections for teachers who chose to teach unscientific theories doubting global warming in a science classrooms. (It was somehow attached to a bill also providing protections for teachers instructing about creationism.) The group behind these climate denial laws, which have popped up all over the country, is
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Today, an alliance of superheroes known as The Avengers will entertain American moviegoers from coast to coast with their cosmic powers and witty banter as they unite seeking to save the earth from the film’s villain, Loki. As these superheroes band together thanks to their shared belief in saving humanity, the real-life actors who play them donate
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