Voting rights advocates trying to rein in the head of the beleaguered federal Election Assistance Commission are getting no favors from the courts. Last week, a D.C. Circuit Court judge declined to issue a preliminary injunction blocking what critics say are voter-registration barriers that violate federal law. Back in January, Brian Newby, the commission’s executive […]
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Posted inAmerica and the World
Report: Warnings about Encryption ‘Back Doors’ Vindicated
The House Homeland Security Committee released a report Wednesday acknowledging what the technology industry has been telling the federal government for more than a year: It’s impossible to give law enforcement a “back door” to encryption technologies without giving bad actors the same access to people’s phones and other devices. The “Going Dark, Going Forward: […]
Posted inHealth and Social Policy
Union Conducts Nationwide Anti-VHA Privatization Protests
The American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE), the largest labor union representing federal and District of Columbia government workers, announced Tuesday that about 40 anti-VHA privatization rallies will be held nationwide. The move comes as the VA Commission on Care, the congressionally-mandated body tasked with making recommendations about the future of Veterans Health Administration, closes […]
Posted inLaw and Justice
Vermont Law Delivers Overlooked Victory for Privacy Rights
Recent foreign and domestic terrorist attacks have tilted the advantage on surveillance toward law enforcement and security agencies, which are using these incidents to push for broader powers. Civil liberties advocates can take heart, however, in a privacy victory that has largely gone unnoticed. In early June, Vermont Governor Peter Shumlin signed a sweeping privacy […]
Posted inHealth and Social Policy
SCOTUS Abortion Ruling Benefits Women of Color, Low-Income Women
The Supreme Court’s 5-3 ruling on Monday to throw out restrictive Texas abortion laws in the landmark case known as Whole Woman’s Health v. Hellerstedt is a major victory for reproductive rights advocates, who have been fighting a wave of what they call “clinic shutdown” laws nationwide. First enacted in 2013, the Texas laws rejected […]
Posted inLaw and Justice
Reformers Sound Alarm: McDonnell Ruling Invites Corruption
Good-government advocates voiced alarm Monday that the Supreme Court’s unanimous ruling to overturn former Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell’s 11-count corruption conviction will pave the way for the wealthy and powerful to more brazenly wield influence in government. “By saying that politicians can receive gifts in exchange for political favors, the Supreme Court has enshrined bribery […]
Posted inMoney, Politics, and Power
Report: Dark Money Surges in State and Local Elections
Undisclosed political spending is both more pronounced and more influential at the state and local level than it is in federal elections, concludes a new report by the Brennan Center for Justice at New York University’s School of Law. Also on the rise in state elections is what the report calls “gray money”-money that moves […]
Posted inMoney, Politics, and Power
Have New York’s Leaders Doomed Major Ethics Reform?
In the wee hours of Saturday, June 18, the New York legislature and Governor Andrew Cuomo passed a reform deal that strengthens the ban on coordination between super PACs and campaigns, and strips pensions from public officials who are convicted of felonies related to their office. But instead of cheering, government reform advocates are livid. […]
Posted inMoney, Politics, and Power
Foreign Contributions Risk Unites Liberals, Conservatives
Campaign-finance deregulation has elevated the risk that foreign money will make its way into American elections, and this danger is emerging as a rare point of bipartisan agreement between liberals and conservatives. The threat of foreign campaign contributions and how to stop it was the topic of a bipartisan forum at the Federal Election Commission […]
Posted inAmerica and the World
American Intelligence Agencies Lag Behind in Diversity
For decades, intelligence agencies like the CIA and NSA that have been tarred with accusations of sexism and racial profiling have worked hard to clean up their images and present a friendlier, more inclusive face to the world. Unfortunately, despite these efforts, similar scandals continue to hound the intelligence community, from the CIA’s hand in […]
