Protecting Nonprofit Rights

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 news

Criminal Prosecutors Will Not Be Stationed at Polls on Election Day

Sep 25, 2008 by Lateefah Williams*

Following complaints from civil rights groups, the Justice Department announced on September 23 that it will not station criminal prosecutors at polls on Election Day. The civil rights groups fear that the presence of criminal prosecutors may intimidate minority voters. According to the Associated Press, "[t]he move reverses a decades-long practice that put prosecutors on the lookout for voter fraud, ballot access violations and other polling problems."

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YouTube, Now a Permissible Way for Senate Offices to Increase Transparency

Sep 24, 2008 by Amanda Adams*

RollCall ($$) reports that Senators can now legally post YouTube videos on their Web sites. "Until now, any Senator who embedded a YouTube video or linked to a Flickr album was in violation of outdated rules that required them to keep within the senate.gov domain. Some posted such links anyway, and few were reprimanded."

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Church Electioneering Debate in LA Times

Sep 24, 2008 by Amanda Adams*

In a Los Angeles Times opinion piece, Barry Lynn, executive director of Americans United for Separation of Church and State (AU) and Erik Stanley, head of the Pulpit Initiative for the Alliance Defense Fund (ADF) debate federal tax laws that prohibit clergy members from publicly endorsing political candidates.

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"Just Click Send"

Sep 24, 2008 by Amanda Adams*

A New York Times editorial puts the situation bluntly; "there is no excuse - except a desire to slow the public's right to know - for their ongoing efforts to block electronic filing of their reports on campaign donations."

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Voter Intimidation Bill Stalled

Sep 24, 2008 by Amanda Adams*

According to electionline.org the Deceptive Practices and Voter Intimidation Act (S. 453) is stalled in the Senate. The Department of Justice (DOJ) said they are working with the Senate on the bill and encouraged advocates to get in touch when they identify cases of deceptive practices and voter intimidation. "Sen. Benjamin Cardin, D-Md., said he agreed with the need to combat deceptive practices but expressed his disappointment that the deceptive practices bill has languished in the Senate since October 2007."

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IRS Will Review Complaint Concerning ADF's Pulpit Freedom Sunday

Sep 23, 2008 by Lateefah Williams*

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has agreed to review a complaint by three former top IRS officials that the Alliance Defense Fund's (ADF) "Pulpit Freedom Sunday" violates federal tax law. Pulpit Freedom Sunday is part of an initiative asking churches to defy the IRS's prohibition against partisan politicking by preaching sermons that support or oppose a candidate for political office. ADF distributed information about "Pulpit Freedom Sunday" at the Value Voters Summit 2008, which was held on September, 20.

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Attention Washington, DC Readers: Issue Forums on Philanthropy at Georgetown

Sep 23, 2008 by Amanda Adams*

The Center for Public and Nonprofit Leadership at the Georgetown Public Policy Institute will hold a series of issue forums on philanthropy. Each forum will examine the intersection of philanthropy and public policy through a specific issue: race, social justice for children, the global fight against HIV/AIDS, and local public education reform. The first one will take place next Friday Oct. 3 titled, Taking Account of Race: A Philanthropic Imperative. Gara LaMarche, the President and CEO of The Atlantic Philanthropies will be the keynote speaker.

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FEC, DOJ Must Respond to 527's Court Challenge

Sep 23, 2008 by Amanda Adams*

We reported when the Real Truth About Obama Inc.'s (RTAO) preliminary injunction request was denied. RTAO appealed the case and it is now before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. BNA Money and Politics ($$) reports that the Federal Election Commission (FEC) and the Department of Justice (DOJ) have until Sept. 24 to respond to a bid for an injunction request to block enforcement of campaign finance rules.

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FBI to Increase Secret Powers in the Near Future

The Department of Justice (DOJ) plans to finalize secret changes to a secret rule that sets guidelines for the Federal Bureau of Investigation's (FBI) work. The changes will reportedly lower intelligence-gathering standards and could pose a significant threat to individual rights. Several senators have voiced strong concerns about the changes.

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Voter Purging Allegations Arise as November Election Nears

As the November elections near, more allegations of voter purging are cropping up. Michigan, a closely watched swing state in the presidential election, has been a hotbed of voter purging issues in recent weeks. Florida, another swing state, also finds itself in the midst of voter purging issues. Nonprofit organizations, individual citizens, and political parties have recently filed lawsuits alleging that voters are being unlawfully removed from the eligible voter pools.

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