Super PACs are allowed to accept unlimited donations from corporations, unions, and individuals and to make political ads supporting or attacking any candidate.
Super PACs have to disclose their donors and cannot coordinate with campaigns, but as Stephen Colbert has shown, these rules don't really have any teeth.
Colbert, with the help of his lawyer Trevor Potter and Comedy Central cohort John Stewart, has worked to satirize the Super Pac movement. He has shown how little regulation and how much power these groups have.
Unfortunately, it is difficult to put this genie back in the bottle. Even though Colbert has made the ridiculousness of Super PACs evident, the groups continue to proliferate. Politicians, especially Mitt Romney, revel in the money saved on ads, and many political groups have gone the route of fighting Super PACs with Super PACs instead of denouncing the Citizen's United decision.
President Obama initially opposed the concept, which was great. However, he has since given his tacit approval to a Super PAC that supports him: http://obamasuperpac.com/. I really wish the President had not given in, even though it may be true that he needs his own PAC to compete with the many republican Super PACs working against him. Colbert of course satirized Obama's Super PAC decision:
Colbert's most recent effort was announced on his show last night. He will be franchising his Super PAC on college campuses nationwide. I applaud him for continuing to lampoon Super PACs (especially showing that only one document is needed to register a new Stephen Colbert Super PAC franchise).
My only worry is that Colbert is making Super PACs too cool; I want the awesome t-shirt and for Stephen to come to ND, and that is almost making me forget the harm that can be done by Super PACs not as innocuous as Colbert's.
It may be that Super PACs won't go away until we make them; either by knocking some sense (in the form of new judges) into the Supreme Court, by creating comperehensive election funding reform, or both.
Personally, I like the idea of public election funding that would force the candidates to separate themselves based on the issues rather than their money.
Whatever we do, we need to get rid of Super PACs. Hopefully, Colbert will keep making them look silly, the truth about Super PACs will get out to the people, and they will eventually be an embarrassing memory.
According to Wikipedia, newts (pleurodelinae) "have the ability to regenerate limbs, eyes, spinal cords, hearts, intestines, and upper and lower jaws."
With his win in the South Carolina Republican primary, Newt Gingrich has put himself back in front of the Republican line-up and has set himself up for an extended battle with Mitt Romney. Yet, many people (myself included) did not expect Newt to still be in the running and completely wrote off his candidacy long ago.
From what has happened I can only conclude that if Ronald Reagan was the "Teflon President," then Newt Gingrich is the "Regenerative Candidate."
Newt has been hit by multiple scandals (Freddie Mac consulting fees, Tiffany's credit line, Greek cruise, the "open marriage" interview, and the list goes on) and he has a good deal of baggage from his past; but everytime a scandal "wounds" Newt's campaign he somehow "regenerates" the viability of his campaign and comes back with all trace of his "wounds" removed.
I am forced to admit that there is something to his ability to keep himself a part of the conversation, and the increasingly real possibility of his becoming the Republican nominee. This ability, however, is most likely being helped by the lackluster Republican field and the unwillingness of many Republicans to support Mitt Romney.
I do not think Gingrich can keep pulling off his amphibian act in a general election, but it is for that reason that I wouldn't mind his being the Republican candidate. If Newt Gingrich does defeat Romney, either it ensures an Obama win (seeing as Gingrich is racist, hypocritical, undecorous, unethical, and in my view unelectable) or he wins, I move to Canada, and Republlicans officially forfeit all rights to their claims of "family values" and their denials of bigotry (what little right they still have to profess these things).
For all of his slippery and unre-mitt-ing (had to be done) efforts, Newt Gingrich is ultimately unelectable; whether or not he can edge out Romney in the primary process.
Why?
1. Because it is impossible to support him when one takes all of his scandals and unethical behavior cumulatively. It is true that "the Japanese fire belly newt can regenerate its eye lens 18 times over a period of 16 years and retain its structural and functional properties," but I think most people want a president who only goes through at most a handful of eye lenses, whether or not he manages to recover (metaphorically speaking of course).
The following is a post from guest writer Athena Hughes, the producer of Notre Dame's Loyal Daughters and Sons. Notre Dame remains extremely conservative and quiet about a major issue on college campuses: sex, sexual assault, and sexuality. As Halloween Weekend arrives, we think it an appropriate time to open the dialogue about a topic that should never be made taboo. Be safe this weekend, and go Irish!
Do you have something to say about sex? If you want to contribute to the conversation about sexuality and relationships on this campus, whether it is an experience or an opinion, we want to hear it!
Loyal Daughters and Sons is an annual theatrical performance comprised of scenes and monologues, all of them based on interviews with Notre Dame students. It began five years ago as a Gender Studies thesis project with an interest in increasing awareness and promoting discussion about relationships, sexual violence, sexuality, religion, and gender relations at Notre Dame. Each year includes new scenes based on new interviews, in addition to scenes from past performances.
This year we want to diversify the discussion as much as possible, but we can only do that if we have a range of interviews to draw from. This is where you come in! If you have had an experience, positive or negative, painful or joyful, that you feel comfortable sharing with our interviewers, we would love to hear from you.
If you don’t have a story to share but you have an opinion, we want to hear that too! Whether it’s your personal beliefs about or your experiences with sex, sexuality, relationships, or assault, or how these issues are dealt with at Notre Dame, you can make a valuable contribution to this year’s performance, and possibly future performances as well.
This semester is dedicated to collecting interviews that the writers, Tara Duffy and Jodie Sullivan, will use to create new scenes and monologues. The interview content is sometimes quoted directly in the script and is sometimes used as a jumping-off point, but always with a commitment and sensitivity to the intention and feelings of the interviewee. Rest assured that the identities of all interviewees are always kept strictly confidential. If you would prefer to be interviewed by a male student, arrangements can be made.
If want to set up an interview, or if you have any questions, email us at loyaldaughtersandsons@gmail.com. We look forward to hearing from you!
Republican legislators realize that they can continue to disparage those below the poverty line and enable the corporations that exploit them if they simply make it more difficult to vote.
I thought it was bad enough that corporations can spend unlimited funds on political "speech," but apparently we still hadn't undermined our democratic rights enough.
According to a recent New York Times article, a number of states have recently passed laws related to voting and voter registration; these laws limit opportunities to register to vote and to vote, while also requiring specific types of photo identification that not all voters posess.
These laws are being challenged under the Voting Rights Act (1965), but given a similar law has already been established here in Indiana.
The Brennan Center for Justice at the NYU school of law conducted a study from which they concluded: "These new laws could make it significantly harder for more than five million eligible voters to cast ballots in 2012."
The following video is the Senate Judiciary hearing on this subject. It is a long video, so I recommend that you listen from 2:30 to 9:55 to hear Senator Richard Durbin explain the problem and Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina try to defend the new laws. Also, listen from 37:20 to 45:00 to hear Congressman Emanuel Cleaver object to the laws and from 45:00 to 52:05 to hear Congressman Todd Rokita defend the laws based on Indiana's law:
Early voting is a very popular reform that helps increase turn out and makes elections easier to monitor. Yet, early voting reforms are being reversed.
Preventing independent organizations from registering voters, especially when carried out by non-partisan groups, is absurd. Poor people, the elderly, the young, and the disabled don't always have access to registration without these groups.
The only reason Republicans want to pass these laws is their fears about illegal immigration. The "airport" argument that Lindsey Graham makes is ridiculous; he himself reveals that ID requirements don't stop those who are committed to comitting a crime. They do, however, impact people who don't have the resources or opportunities to obtain such IDs and make it to the polls on a certain day.
Congressman Rokita makes a decent argument, but nothing he says proves the law is preventing fraud. Also, in my (albiet limited) experience those who help oversee elections do take voting seriously. Further, I don't feel that I should have to prove myself with a photo; I feel confident when the system takes me at my word that I am who I say I am.
Congressman Emanuel Cleaver says these laws are reminiscent of poll taxes and other measures that were used in the past to prevent African-Americans from voting.
Cleaver also says, "Why in the world are we doing things to make voting more difficult? It would seem to me, in the United States of America in the 21st century we would do everything concievably possible to give everybody encouragement to vote. We're encouraging democracy in Iraq; let's demand it at home and do away with anything that prevents any American from voting."
I think, like the Congressman, that in 2011 we should not only be able to say everyone has the right to vote, but also that everyone actually has an opportunity to vote.
Voter fraud exists, but it is not a significant problem. So, if it ain't broke, don't fix it; especially when the solution is a greater injustice than the problem.
Yesterday I spent $5.95 on a Pizza Pollo at Recker’s. It tasted like happiness, as always. It also cost the same as about 12 human lives.
Let me explain.
This week is ND Fighting NTDs Awareness Week. NTDs are Neglected Tropical Diseases, a collection of chronic, preventable diseases that plague over 1.4 billion people worldwide. That’s 20% of the global population. All of these diseases can be treated or prevented for just 50 cents per person per year.
NTDs are chronic parasitic illnesses. They are mostly transmitted through water, dirt and human feces. I’ll spare you a technical rundown of the diseases, but just know that they cause unimaginable suffering: malnutrition, respiratory illness, debilitating, painful blindness, paralyzing swelling of the limbs, mental retardation, and the works. The medicines to treat NTDs have been developed and donated by major pharmaceutical companies, but we have no way of physically getting them to the people who so desperately need help. We need money to transport the medication and train and educate distributors to safely administer the medicine.
This is no easy undertaking, but it is do-able. That’s why ND Fighting NTDs is launching a major initiative around campus this week to raise money and awareness. You’ll see us and our posters all over, but here’s a quick overview of the events you don’t want to miss. We will be giving out free Einstein bagels in front of Debartolo on Monday and Tuesday, hosting a documentary screening on South Quad Monday evening, a faculty panel to discuss various solutions to global health problems on Tuesday in Geddes Auditorium, and a Dirt Cup Dessert Sale in Lafortune on Thursday.
If you are starting to feel really guilty about your latest Starbucks coffee, don’t. I don’t feel guilty about my pizza, but I will go to Five Guys Eddy Street on Wednesday evening after 7 pm, because 15% of all proceeds will be donated to fight NTDs. And I will indulge in a Dessert Cup on Thursday (buy one with FlexPoints!) to help the cause. And yeah, for the chocolate, too.
But really, why should you care? NTDs are neglected precisely because no one cares. They're chronic, they don't kill people quickly so they don't inspire the same horror and fear as diseases like Malaria. Because of this, they just don't have the star power, they don't get attention and therefore they don't get the funds and global interest. These diseases are major humanitarian problems, though. Their symptoms collectively slow down economies, prevent children from reaching their full mental capacity, and imprison entire populations in a cycle of pain, poverty, and illness. This is so much more than a medical issue, it's a social issue.
We are seeing progress in the fight against NTDs and it's because people like you and I are finally mobilizing, so I really I hope I see you at one of our events. NTDs are so fixable, and as a proud member of the Fighting Irish Community, I will happily fight to end the neglect. So should you.
