A simple premise behind every law that gets created: No one should live in fear. The laws we create should support that basic assumption by reducing crime. But when laws have no bearing on crime rates, yet become the very source of fear that people live with, we have crossed the Constitutional boundary, and lawContinue reading ““No One Should Live in Fear…” Courts Rule on NYPD “Stop and Frisk””
Author Archives: AJS admin
Will SEC order a dose of sunlight for corporate political spending?
Mary Jo White, the new Chair of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, was recently confirmed to a five-year term that secures her position until 2019. With that kind of job security, Ms. White should be able to rise above the partisan pressures of Washington politics and advance a proactive agenda at the SEC thatContinue reading “Will SEC order a dose of sunlight for corporate political spending?”
Sorting through the business lobbies’ diverse interests on tax reform
This fall a major showdown is brewing over tax and budget priorities in our nation’s capital. Senator Max Baucus (D-Montana) and Congressman Dave Camp (R-Michigan) have been laying groundwork for a rewrite of the U.S. tax code.
CellBlocks and Border Stops
The Institute for Pragmatic Practice, Union Theological Seminary and the Alliance for a Just Society are hosting our fifth symposium, Cell Blocks & Border Stops. Hundreds of organizers, academics, policy leaders, journalists, theologians and grassroots activists will convene and examine the intersection of immigration control and mass incarceration, and to consider the future of activismContinue reading “CellBlocks and Border Stops”
Women with Cancer: Prisoners’ rights versus the Profit of Corporations
Rahul Gupta and Danisha Christian Contributed to this Series Sherrie Chapman found a lump in her breast. A prisoner in a California Corrections facility, Sherrie persisted in demanding an examination by prison medical personnel. Her pleas were not answered until 9 years later, when lumps were visibly protruding from her breast. Even after receiving aContinue reading “Women with Cancer: Prisoners’ rights versus the Profit of Corporations”
FHFA, Fannie and Freddie Stage A Last Ditch Effort to Squash Homeowners
The Federal Housing and Finance Authority (FHFA) is taking dramatic actions against homeowners, and cities working to fix the housing crisis. Just, this morning, Mark Harris, a Desert Storm veteran in Atlanta, who was highlighted in the Alliance’s report Wasted Wealth: How the Wall Street Crash Continues to Stall Economic Recovery and Deepen Racial InequityContinue reading “FHFA, Fannie and Freddie Stage A Last Ditch Effort to Squash Homeowners”
Inadequate Healthcare in Prisons: A Death Penalty Conviction for Profit (3-Part Examination)
Danisha Christian and Rahul Gupta contributed to this series “In the last ten years alone, there have been instances of medical neglect, sexual abuse, and preventable suicide in private facilities [throughout the state], said Bob Libal, Director of Grassroots Leadership. Libal and others are part of the Texas Civil Rights Project and Prison Legal NewsContinue reading “Inadequate Healthcare in Prisons: A Death Penalty Conviction for Profit (3-Part Examination)”
The Affordable Care Act and Women: A Nation Cycling Between Celebration and Obstruction
What Women Won with the ACA: What the Nation Should Celebrate What the nation has now, under Obamacare, is coverage for the many costs of being a woman—medically speaking: Insurance companies must now charge the same price to cover men and women. No pre-existing conditions clauses will be allowed. Maternity care is covered; upending anContinue reading “The Affordable Care Act and Women: A Nation Cycling Between Celebration and Obstruction”
From Grape Boycott to Great Buy-cott: Colorado Groups Bring New Spin to Old Idea in Campaign for Immigration Reform
The grape boycotts organized by the United Farm Workers in the late 1960s were part of a groundbreaking strategy to engage consumers in the fight for fair treatment for immigrant farmworkers. Fast forward to 2013, and groups in Colorado campaigning for economy-boosting immigration reform with a path to citizenship are putting a new spin onContinue reading “From Grape Boycott to Great Buy-cott: Colorado Groups Bring New Spin to Old Idea in Campaign for Immigration Reform”
The Great Big PhRMA Medicare Heist
Part 1: Rigging the System is Profitable While millions of Americans struggle to pay for their prescription medication, big pharmaceutical companies reap $600 billion in annual profits. $116 million is spent on direct lobbying, and with a 77,500% return, the investment certainly pays off. Profits have been bolstered by pharmaceutical companies’ myriad of policyContinue reading “The Great Big PhRMA Medicare Heist”