Guest Contributor

America's Most Dynamic (Yet Under-Covered) Movement: Overturning Citizens United

-- by John Nichols, The Nation

The most under-covered political movement in the United States -- and there are a lot of under-covered political movements in the United States -- is the broad-based national campaign to enact a constitutional amendment to overturn the Supreme Court rulings that ushered in a new era of big-money politics.

Buzz off, Monsanto

-- by Paul Towers, Pesticide Action Network

Last week, the term "bee-washing" emerged in public conversation. It doesn't refer to some new bee cleaning service, but to the insidious efforts of Monsanto and other pesticide corporations to discredit science about the impacts of pesticides on bees -- especially neonicotinoids -- by creating public relations tours, new research centers and new marketing strategies.

Fracking Activists Could Face Felony Charges as "Ag-Gag" Laws Spread

-- by Jacob Chamberlain, Common Dreams

The same "Ag-Gag" laws that make it a crime to film or document egregious abuses on industrial farms may soon be used to criminalize anti-fracking activists who seek to expose environmental harms brought on by the gas drilling industry -- if a bill recently proposed in Pennsylvania passes.

Worms, Pond Scum and Economists

  • Topics: Economy
  • -- Dean Baker, Center for Economic and Policy Research

    The effort to blame the awful plight of the young on Social Security and Medicare is picking up steam.

    ALEC's Plan to Kill Union Jobs Everywhere, Even Outside the U.S.

    by Dave Saldana

    In Ontario, 465 union workers used to make locomotive engines. Then Indiana passed ALEC's anti-union legislation, and Caterpillar moved the works to Muncie. And that's bad for everybody.

    Cry Wolf: Why the Right Was Wrong About the Family Medical Leave Act

  • Topics: Politics
  • -- by Donald Cohen, Cry Wolf Project

    In February 2005, Patti Phillips sat by her daughter's bedside during the weeks before Stephanie Phillips died of bone cancer. Patti was able to be at her daughter's side the day she died because of the federal law that allows millions of Americans to take family leave without risking their jobs. "You want to be there with your child.... and you don't want to worry about your job," said Phillips, 49, an inventory specialist at Coca-Cola in Atlanta. "The law gives you peace of mind."

    Exposed: Whole Foods' and the Biggest Organic Foods Distributor's Troubled Relationships with Workers

    - by Ronnie Cummins of the Organic Consumers Association and Dave Murphy of Food Democracy Now!

    The union is like having herpes. It doesn't kill you, but it's unpleasant and inconvenient, and it stops a lot of people from becoming your lover. --John Mackey, CEO of Whole Foods Market

    Don’t Put a Fork in It: On the Perils of Genetically Engineered Salmon

    -- by Wenonah Hauter, Food and Water Watch

    While most Americans were enjoying the holiday season or stressing out over the nation's imminent leap off the so-called fiscal cliff, the Food and Drug Administration delivered some big news as quietly as possible. Fishy Genes.

    The Wisconsin Legislature Is Now in Control of Credentialing Capitol Journalists: Who Gets to Cover the Capitol?

  • Topics: Journalism, Media
  • by Dylan Brogan

    At the height of the collective bargaining protests, when nearly all the doors at the Capitol were locked and guarded by police officers from every corner of the state, Dick Wheeler -- the unquestioned leader of the Wisconsin Capitol press corps -- ensured that members of the media were not denied access to the building.

    Duke Energy Flip-Flop: ALEC Leads Attack on North Carolina Clean Energy with Duke Funding

    -- by Connor Gibson, Greenpeace

    Corporate polluters are taking aim this year at states with renewable energy laws, starting with an attack on North Carolina's clean energy economy by American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) politicians and member companies.

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