Let’s Not Get Fracked!

If you listen regularly to public radio’s “This American Life” (TAL), you probably weren’t surprised by their recent, in-depth examination of fracking in Pennsylvania, where natural gas companies are now ripping through the Marcellus Shale. The radio program has made a real niche in dissecting the way power works across our country, and fracking –Continue reading “Let’s Not Get Fracked!”

Medicaid Matters across Generations

On July 12th, over 250 people joined with Senators Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island, Al Franken of Minnesota and Claire McCaskill of Missouri to highlight the important role Medicaid plays for seniors, kids, families and America and to decry recently proposed cuts to the critical program. The Alliance for a Just Society worked with CaringContinue reading “Medicaid Matters across Generations”

Main Street Takes on Wall Street…And Wins!

Big bank lobbyists have been putting on a full-court press in Washington, D.C. to roll back components of the financial overhaul passed last year and free Wall Street to go back to the “business as usual” that led to the financial crisis in 2008. The bankers are gunning for the new Consumer Protection Bureau andContinue reading “Main Street Takes on Wall Street…And Wins!”

Gutierrez Urges Latinos to Claim Political Power

On May 27, the Progressive Leadership Alliance of Nevadav (PLAN), an Alliance for a Just Society affiliate, hosted U.S. Representative Luis Gutierrez at their “Familias Unidas” summit on immigration issues. Gutierrez delivered the event’s keynote speech, speaking alongside community members who shared their personal stories of how the current immigration system separates families and closesContinue reading “Gutierrez Urges Latinos to Claim Political Power”

On Tax Day, Time to Tell Corporations that the Game of Tax Dodgeball is Over

This year Uncle Sam pushed Tax Day back to April 18, giving us all a three-day tax filing holiday. It’s almost enough to make you feel warm and fuzzy inside. Until, that is, you hear about GE, which apparently is on extended vacation, paying essentially nothing in taxes for 2010 despite raking in $5.1 billionContinue reading “On Tax Day, Time to Tell Corporations that the Game of Tax Dodgeball is Over”

Washington CAN! Leads Takeover of State Capitol to Protest Budget Cuts

At 8 p.m. on Wednesday, April 6, Lieutenant  Mark Arras of the Washington State Patrol addressed a crowd of 100 people who had filled the Capitol Building rotunda with sleeping bags and pillows. They had taken up camp in the Capitol to protest state budget cuts slashing social services like health care and education. “WeContinue reading “Washington CAN! Leads Takeover of State Capitol to Protest Budget Cuts”

Why Medicaid Matters

In 1965, President Lyndon Johnson signed Medicaid and Medicare into law. At the signing ceremony, he spoke of the tradition of leadership that compelled the country to create such programs. He also spoke of another tradition, one embedded in our national identity and values. He said this value “calls upon us never to be indifferentContinue reading “Why Medicaid Matters”

America’s Food Sweatshops

This article is written by Yvonne Yen Liu and reprinted with permission from Colorlines.com. Liu presented the findings of her report, “The Color of Food,” at the Alliance’s IPP Symposium, “Health Equity — Beyond Health Care Reform” on March 11, 2011. You can download the full report here.

Money in Politics: Politicians For Hire

Part of our series of articles exploring the influence of corporate money over our political system. What do protesting teachers in Wisconsin, families facing foreclosure, and community leaders fighting state budget cuts have in common? Well, as the chant now heard ‘round the country goes: “We Are One.” And we are watching to see whichContinue reading “Money in Politics: Politicians For Hire”

Montanans Demonstrate Unity Against State Budget Cuts

Over 400 Montanans from across the state, all the way from Ashland to Missoula, converged on the State Capitol in Helena on Monday, February 21, for the first annual Citizens Day at the Capitol, hosted by Alliance for a Just Society affiliate the Montana Organizing Project. Since the state legislative session began in January, MontanaContinue reading “Montanans Demonstrate Unity Against State Budget Cuts”