Last week, Sens. John McCain (R-AZ) and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) submitted an amicus brief ” urging the U.S. Supreme Court to let stand Montana’s century-old ban on corporate money in political campaigns despite the court’s Citizens United ruling two years ago declaring unconstitutional a similar federal law sponsored by McCain.” The challenge to Montana’s ban on corporate
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Norman Rousseau, a Newbury Park, California resident, spent last Saturday trying to fix an old RV. His house was being foreclosed upon by Wells Fargo and he apparently wanted to make sure his family had somewhere to live. But Sunday mid-morning, he shot and killed himself, CBS Los Angeles reports. The Rousseau family has been
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Rolling Stone’s Matt Taibbi released a new article last week where he laid out how Wall Street is at work undermining the toughest provisions of the Dodd-Frank financial reform law passed last year. Taibbi writes: The fate of Dodd-Frank over the past two years is an object lesson in the government’s inability to institute even
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In many places, being the leader of a chapter of a political party is an honor. It’s a position that you can use to advance your party’s values and goals. But Virginia Democratic Party chairman Brian Moran — brother of Rep. Jim Moran (D-VA) — is using his clout in a different way. In addition
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As we reported back in February, the over-the-counter drug association known as the Consumer Health Products Association (CHPA) spent $194,000 in January alone to battle legislation that would require a prescription for certain cold medicines so as to combat the spread of ingredients commonly used to make methmethamphetamines. The bill was eventually watered down after
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After risking their lives abroad, American veterans are returning home to a new set of dangers. For-profit college companies are increasingly targeting veterans and their education benefits as a source for easy profits. The companies have a record of fraud, from deceptive recruiting practices to extremely high drop-out and default rates. Unlike tradition private or
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Today, private organizations charge U.S. citizens hundreds of dollars simply to read a copy of standards they issue, standards that regulate things like gas pipeline safety, crane usage, and toy manufacturing — even though citizens are required to obey those standards, because the federal government has incorporated them into regulations.  This adds up to tens
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National Journal has obtained an e-mail sent from Sen. James Inhofe (R-OK) staffer David Banks to two dozen oil lobbyists where he asks for more support from the industry on policy. Here’s the crucial passage: Moving forward, we—your partners—would kindly ask for better coordination and communication from you to prevent the Obama administration from pulling
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