by Pamela Powers Hannley AOL Chairman and CEO Tim Armstrong reported that the highly profitable, multi-million-dollar company was forced to cut employee benefits because of increased insurance costs under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and the cost of care for two sick dependent children born to AOL employees. Armstrong (who made $12 million in 2012) said because … Read more
Progressive voices were heard loud and clear at Saturday’s Arizona Democratic Party (ADP) State Committee Meeting in Maricopa, Arizona.
Unlike some past ADP meetingswhere progressives were ignored or where progressive resolutions were tabled and not heard by the full ADP membership, the Maricopa meeting was dominated by progressives.
During the morning caucus meetings, approximately 80 members of the progressive caucus (pictured here) met in the booming high school cafeteria to hear about legalization of marijuana, the plight of Dreamers, and a host of progressive resolutions.
In the progressive caucus, members unanimously endorsed resolutions: 1) in support of a Constitutional Amendment ending Citizens United and abolishing corporate personhood; 2) in support of passage of the Inclusive Prosperity Tax (AKA Robin Hood Tax); 3) against building the Keystone XL Pipeline; and 4) in support of allowing DREAMers to have Arizona drivers’ licenses and in-state college tuition. A resolution requiring clean elections candidates to give back extra funds passed, with some dissent. In addition, with only one dissenting vote, the Progressive Caucus voted to endorse Safer Arizona, the citizens’ initiative to legalize marijuana for personal use. [Votes from the entire State Committee after the jump.]
One hundred years ago, at the dawn of the last American Progressive Era, the United States was a very different place– a place of inequality, discrimination, and wealth disparity, author and historian John Nichols told a gathering of Progressive Democrats of America (PDA) in June.
Although slavery had been abolished in 1865 (#13), the rights of citizens were established in 1868 (#14), and the right to vote for all men was established in 1870 (#15), the majority of Americans could not vote.
At the turn of the last century, women and adults 18-21 years of age were barred from voting, and because of racist, state-level machinations and poll taxes, many African Americans and poor Americans of any color also were kept from voting. In addition, citizens didn’t have representation in the US Senate, since Senators were chosen by robber barons in back room deals (not elected by the people).
This sounds all too familiar, doesn’t it? Are Republicans trying to take our country back to 1900? Consider these current scenarios:
The energy and activism of the Progressive Era (1900-1929) brought many positive changes and new Constitutional Amendments; it’s up to those of us in the New Progressive Movementto fight back against new regressive and discriminatory laws to save our country.
Videos and details after the jump.
January 21, 2010 is a date that will go down in infamy. It is the date the US Supreme Court ruled in favor of Citizens United and declared that corporations are people, money equals speech, and campaign finance reform that limits the amount of money a corporation can donate to political campaigns is unconstitutional.
This decision paved the way for the obscene amounts of money that were spent in the 2010 and 2012 elections and emboldened groups like the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) to write "model" laws for their elected minions to pass.
Happy peasants nationwide celebrated the third anniversary of corporate personhood on Friday, with the biggest celebration being a mass wedding on the steps of the New York Stock Exchange. With the Devil and hundreds of Occupiers as witnesses and Reverend Billy of the Church of Stop Shopping officiating, seven brides pledged their allegiance to seven corporate persons, and in turn, the corporate grooms promised to dominate and "own" them for the rest of their lives. Watch the wedding ceremony after the jump.
by Pamela Powers Hannley The US Supreme Court ruled in favor of Citizens United and proclaimed that corporations are people, they have the right to free speech, and, by the way, money equals speech. That was January 2010, and the country has not been the same since. The 2010 elections were awash with secret, private … Read more