2170 Search Results Containing ":"
Yahoo! News/ The Guardian: Revealed: Tyson Foods dumps millions of pounds of toxic pollutants into US rivers and lakes
Big ag’s influence on state politics is “endemic”, according to Gavin Geis from Common Cause Nebraska, a non-partisan elections watchdog. “The big money spent on lobbying and campaigns by corporate agriculture has played a major role in resisting stronger regulation – despite clear signals such as high levels of nitrates in our groundwater and cancers in rural communities that we need more oversight for farmers across the board,” said Geis.
Found in: Common Cause
Wisconsin Examiner (Op-Ed): To be truly fair Wisconsin courts must be free from big political money
The unprecedented and obscenely high amount of political money being raised and spent in Wisconsin Supreme Court elections is a fairly new and horrific development in our state. It wasn’t always this way here and it cannot and should not continue.
Found in: Common Cause
Forbes: FCC Votes To Restore Net Neutrality: A Win For Consumers And Democracy
Former FCC Commissioner and Common Cause Special Adviser Michael Copps shared his perspective on the importance of reinstating net neutrality: “If I weren't out of the country today, I would be personally at the FCC jumping up and down, saluting the majority for reinstituting the network neutrality rules that were so foolishly eliminated by the previous Commission.” Copps has been a staunch advocate for an open Internet for over two decades, emphasizing that the reinstated rules are not only moderate but have previously been upheld in court, proving their efficacy and necessity. Ishan Mehta, Common Cause media and democracy program director, articulated the broader implications of the FCC’s decision, emphasizing that "The restoration of net neutrality is a victory for every American household, and it is a victory for democracy. Today’s vote returns control of the Internet to the American people instead of corporate interests.” The Internet, he argues, serves as a virtual public square essential for civic engagement and the organization of social justice movements in the U.S., highlighting the democratic necessity of equitable Internet access.
Found in: Common Cause
USA Today: Nebraska removes two-year waiting period for felons to vote
RISE is among the 31 member groups that make up the Nebraska Voting Rights Restoration Coalition, which counts Common Cause Nebraska among its members. Gavin Geis, the Executive Director, says restoring voting rights helps reduce recidivism by creating stronger community ties. "It's a way of engaging people in their communities that was cut off before," Geis said. "So beyond getting to vote on who represents you, I think this helps tie people back into their neighbors and their community in a way that will hopefully reduce the reasons why one ends up back in prison."
Found in: Common Cause
Orlando Sentinel: Judges urged to reconsider Florida federal redistricting case
Attorneys for groups such as Common Cause Florida and the Florida NAACP and other plaintiffs filed a motion Wednesday urging a three-judge panel to look again at whether the redistricting plan was passed in 2022 with a racially discriminatory motive. Wednesday’s motion for reconsideration said the judges incorrectly found that DeSantis’ intent “was all but irrelevant.” The lawsuit alleged that the map involved intentional discrimination and violated the U.S. Constitution’s 14th Amendment and 15th Amendment. The 14th Amendment ensures equal protection, while the 15th Amendment prohibits denying or abridging the right to vote based on race. “First, the court erred by treating the governor as an outsider to the legislative process,” Wednesday’s motion said. “Unlike private citizens advocating for legislative action, the governor is himself a state actor directly subject to the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments. He may not discriminate on the basis of race when using state authority, any more than the Legislature can. No case law supports the notion that, where multiple state actors act jointly to bring about the challenged conduct, all of them must be driven by illegal consideration of race.”
Found in: Common Cause
New York Times: In Immunity Case, Trump Can Lose in Ways That Amount to a Win
“If the court orders additional proceedings in the district court, holding trial before the election will become virtually impossible,” said a brief supporting Mr. Smith from Common Cause, a watchdog group.
Found in: Common Cause
Cleveland.com/The Plain Dealer (Op-Ed): For the sake of our state, it’s time to pull out HB 6, root and branch
For the past four years, a heavy cloud has hung over Ohio and our state legislature in the form of House Bill 6 and disgraced former Speaker Larry Householder. The HB 6 scheme has been a textbook example of corruption, embarrassing Ohioans with endless indictments, guilty verdicts and negative news stories. Now, four years later, it still dominates headlines, with the recent revelation of payments to conservative groups to support Gov. Mike DeWine, Lt. Gov. John Husted, and Senate President Matt Huffman.
Found in: Common Cause
Daily Beast: Trump’s New Legal Bills Are Hiding an $8 Million Mystery
Aaron Scherb, senior director of legislative affairs at good government watchdog Common Cause, agreed with Fischer’s assessment that the payments may violate reporting and corporate contribution laws. “By a legal sleight of hand, it appears that Trump world is trying to hide the true recipients of these donations,” Scherb told The Daily Beast. He noted that corporations aren’t allowed to donate directly to these committees, and that corporations can’t reimburse contributors. The payments, Scherb said, must be “thoroughly investigated to ensure that all entities and individuals are complying with the law.” “Shenanigans like this are reason #1000 why we need the DISCLOSE Act, which Senate Republicans have blocked at least five times in the last several years,” Scherb added.
Found in: Common Cause
Vanity Fair: Jack Smith’s One Job Is to Take Donald Trump to Trial Before the Election. (The Supreme Court May Not Let Him.)
One voting rights group, Common Cause, had the wherewithal to spell out, in no uncertain terms, that the justices are already tipping the scales in favor of Trump and that the public would be well within its right to view the justices as partisan hacks if they drag things out any further. “If this Court’s delay in disposing of this appeal has the result of preventing the case from going to trial prior to the election—or going to trial at all—it would give many Americans the sense that the Court, through its arbitrary and unexplained management of its own docket, has played partisan favorites in the midst of a heated presidential election,” the group wrote in a public filing.
Found in: Common Cause
Bloomberg: NY Court Will Publish Trump Criminal Trial Transcripts Online
The announcement comes three days after Common Cause New York, which advocates for election and ethics reform, and New York Focus, a nonprofit newsroom, called for the state court system to make the transcripts available, noting that public access is limited as New York is one of the only state court systems that charge the media and public for courtroom transcripts. “The longstanding issue of public access to court proceedings has been thrown into sharp relief by the Trump trial,” the organizations said Friday. They added, “During such a hotly contested and deeply polarized election season, and with public trust in democratic institutions at near-historic lows, the courts have an obligation to ensure the public knows the proceedings are fair and equal for everyone-including the former President.” The court’s decision is “a major victory for New Yorkers,” Common Cause said Monday, adding that it should be applied more broadly to other proceedings. “New Yorkers deserve access to the everyday court proceedings that impact them, which is why the state must join the vast majority of other judicial systems across the country and make written transcripts of all trials available to the public, and ultimately permit proceedings to be broadcast,” the organization said.