New Posts

Feb 8, 2016

Top 400 Taxpayers See Tax Rates Rise, But There’s More to the Story

As Americans were gathering party supplies to greet the New Year, the Internal Revenue Service released their annual report of cumulative tax data reported on the 400 tax r...

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Feb 4, 2016

Chlorine Bleach Plants Needlessly Endanger 63 Million Americans

Chlorine bleach plants across the U.S. put millions of Americans in danger of a chlorine gas release, a substance so toxic it has been used as a chemical weapon. Greenpeace’s new repo...

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Jan 25, 2016

U.S. Industrial Facilities Reported Fewer Toxic Releases in 2014

The Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) data for 2014 is now available. The good news: total toxic releases by reporting facilities decreased by nearly six percent from 2013 levels. Howe...

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Jan 22, 2016

Methane Causes Climate Change. Here's How the President Plans to Cut Emissions by 40-45 Percent.

  UPDATE (Jan. 22, 2016): Today, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) released its proposed rule to reduce methane emissions...

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More Foundations are Using Funds to Influence Public Policy

Last week the the New York Times reported that there are "a growing number of philanthropists whose foundations are spending increasing amounts and raising their voices to influence public policy — a marked shift from their traditional position." The article opens by highlighting the Peter G. Peterson Foundation's efforts to address fiscal responsibility. The foundation financed a documentary examining the United States' addiction to debt titled "I.O.U.S.A."

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Brennan Center for Justice Proposes Universal Voter Registration

This year's presidential election has come and gone with minimal controversy, but many argue that doesn't mean there isn't room for improvement. The Alliance for Justice worked on the Election Protection hotline run by Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights and has some examples of the problems on Election day. And in response, suggest some ways to alleviate such issues in the future such as nationwide early voting, same day voter registration, increased penalties for voter suppression efforts, and provide more money to state and local authorities to conduct voter registration efforts.

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AU Files IRS Complaint Against NC Religious Organization

On Oct. 30, Americans United for Separation of Church and State (AU) filed an IRS complaint against the General Baptist State Convention of North Carolina for engaging in partisan electioneering. The Convention hosted Michelle Obama, wife of then Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama, at an event on Oct. 29.

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CAIR Filed an IRS Complaint Against Clarion Fund for Anti-Muslim Film

The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) filed an IRS complaint on Sept. 30 against the Clarion Fund, a nonprofit organization that distributed an anti-Muslim film to 28 million households in swing states during the presidential election season. The DVD, "Obsession: Radical Islam's War Against the West," was distributed in papers in at least 10 states.

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Using Technology to Monitor the Election

Numerous online resources have popped up lately that allow everyone to participate and protect the election process. Now, you can share your voting experiences with the world. Here are a few online tools;
  • VoterStory.org is a web widget to collect voter complaints across the web and feed them to a network of groups standing by to help individual voters and monitor trends.
  • Video the Vote is a network of citizens working to document voter suppression and disenfranchisement.

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IRS Representative Discusses Important Issues for Public Charities

At an American Bar Association teleconference, Judy Kindell, senior technical adviser to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) director of exempt organizations, commented on some important issues for charities. BNA Money and Politics ($$) reported on Kindell's comments. 501(c)(3) organizations are "prohibited from engaging in campaign activity, defined as any activity that favors or opposes candidates for public office.

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Virginia NAACP Sues State Officials For Lack of Election Preparedness

The Virginia NAACP sued Virginia Governor Tim Kaine, the Virginia Board of Elections and its executive secretary, Nancy Rodrigues, and registrars and election officials in Richmond, Norfolk and Virginia Beach on October 27 for a lack of election preparedness. The lawsuit claims that the state is unconstitutionally failing to allocate enough voting machines, poll workers and polling places. The NAACP alleges that the problem is particularly acute in heavily minority precincts and that the state's failures can result in long lines and ultimately voter disenfranchisement.

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AU Asks IRS to Investigate New Jersey Catholic Diocese and New Mexico Church for Partisan Electioneering

Americans United for Separation of Church and State has asked the IRS to investigate the Roman Catholic Diocese of Paterson, N.J. and Rock Christian Fellowship in Espanola, New Mexico. According to AU's letter to the IRS, Roman Catholic Bishop Arthur J. Serratelli has published a letter on Catholic Diocese of Paterson, N.J.'s website and newspaper attacking Barack Obama." The letter criticizes Obama for his pro-choice stance and encourages parishioners not to vote for Obama.

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Some Dallas Catholics Equate Bishops letter to a McCain Endorsement

Catholic parishioners in the Dallas-Fort Worth area recently received a letter from their local bishops that many of the parishioners felt was advising them who to vote for in the upcoming presidential election. The letter summarized key points of Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship, a document issued by the Bishops of the United States. Many Dallas-Fort Worth Catholics told the Dallas Morning News that they were offended by the letter. "My bishop basically told me that if I vote for Barack Obama, I will go to hell," said Phillip Archer, a Dallas Catholic.

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Voter Fraud?

It would be impossible to ignore the news surrounding the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now, or ACORN, a grassroots community organization that advocates for low and moderate income people and has traditionally been active in registering low income voters. The group has had clear and unacceptable organizational troubles, for example, a relative of one of its leaders embezzled funds from the group.

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Resources & Research

Living in the Shadow of Danger: Poverty, Race, and Unequal Chemical Facility Hazards

People of color and people living in poverty, especially poor children of color, are significantly more likely...

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A Tale of Two Retirements: One for CEOs and One for the Rest of Us

The 100 largest CEO retirement funds are worth a combined $4.9 billion, equal to the entire retirement account savings of 41 percent of American fam...

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