The National Rifle Association (NRA) says it will begin filing lawsuits as early as tomorrow to challenge gun laws in counties across the country, following today's Supreme Court ruling against D.C.'s ban on handguns.
A suit against San Francisco could come as early as tomorrow, while suits against suburbs of Chicago may be filed as early as next week, NRA chief lobbyist Chris Cox told The Hill. The group is reviewing statutes across the country and has yet to determine how many it will file, Cox said. Cox listed six imminent suits in total.
"We certainly are gonna go and challenge any law that treats gun owners as second-class citizens," Cox told The Hill, calling today's decision a "big victory" for gun owners nationwide.
San Francisco bans residents of public housing projects from owning guns; the Chicago suburbs of Wilmette, Oak Park, Morton Grove, Evanston, and Winnetka ban all residents from owning handguns. The NRA will challenge those bans on behalf of its members living there, Cox told The Hill.
Read more...
Telecommunications companies donated more money, on average, to Democrats who changed their minds last week and supported immunity for those companies' cooperation with administration wiretapping practices, a report by MAPLight.org finds.
Verizon, Sprint, and AT&T donated $8,359 on average, between January 2005 and March 2008, to 94 House Democrats who switched their stances and voted yes last week on the House's Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) overhaul bill.The same companies donated $4,987 on average to those who consistently opposed immunity and voted no, the study finds.
The House FISA bill would likely grant telecommunications companies legal immunity for complying with Bush administration wiretapping practices after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001.
Read more...
Americans United for Change has long opposed many of President Bush's policies, but this year it's found a new way to say it--with a 28-ton bus.
The group today launched its Bush Legacy Bus, a rolling museum dedicated to the "worst policy failures" of the Bush administration. The bus will travel the country for the next five months, stopping in 150 cities and bearing a simple message: that Bush's policies have wreaked havoc on America.
The bus features interactive exhibits on the Iraq war, the economy, and healthcare. A screen displays images of New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina, with captions that criticize the government's response. A chart entitled "not just Bush's war" traces Iraq war support to House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio), Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), and former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-Texas). The floor shows a timeline of events in the Bush presidency.
Read more...
Though John McCain said yesterday he would like to ease restrictions on coastal drilling, the conservative Institute for Energy Research is not satisfied.
The group, which holds that regulations hinder the energy industry, said McCain's call was "good news for consumers," but blasted McCain's opposition to drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR).
"Unfortunately, we continue to find fault with Senator McCain
Liberal interest group Americans United for Change says it is almost finished constructing a tour bus dedicated to "the devastating impact" President Bush has left on the U.S.
The bus will feature interactive exhibits on the legacy of Bush's policies on healthcare, the economy, energy, and the War in Iraq.
The group says it will take the Bush Legacy Bus on a tour across the country. Its more illustrious stops will include the Democratic National Convention, the Republican National Convention, and offices of senators and congressmen who have supported Bush's policies.
The bus will be unveiled at a cookout sponsored by the AFL-CIO June 24. The cookout will be held across from the White House in downtown Washington, DC, in front of the AFL-CIO's office.
Americans United for Change president Bad Woodhouse explains the bus in this video:
Five senators sent a letter to the head of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CTFC) today, calling on him to restrict the trade of oil futures, citing rising gas prices as reason to limit investment.
Sens. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), Ted Stevens (R-Alaska), and Olympia Snowe (R-Maine) called on CFTC Chairman Walter Lukken to use emergency powers to prevent futures traders from increasing the size of their investments, and to reduce the holdings of institutional investors, such as banks and investment funds, whose investments exceed certain levels.
The senators wrote that the increasing price of oil futures is driving up the price of gasoline. Futures trading centers on the purchase and sale of oil at future prices, and investors essentially bet on how the price of oil will fluctuate. Over 99 percent of new investors are betting that the price of oil will go up, the senators wrote, resulting in a speculation bubble that has driven up the price of oil.
Imprisoned lobbyist Jack Abramoff influenced some White House actions and offered expensive meals and tickets to White House officials, according to a proposed report released by the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee today.
The report also states that Abramoff had personal contact with President Bush, and that high-level White House officials held Abramoff in high regard and sought recommendations from him on policy issues.
The committee, headed by Chairman Henry Waxman (D-Calif.), today announced the release of the proposed report, which the committee will mark up Thursday.
See the report and the committee's announcement here.
After presidential candidates have bashed lobbyists for much of the '08 race, the American League of Lobbyists (ALL) is appealing to candidates to treat them with more respect, The Hill's Jim Snyder reports (see the story here).
ALL President Brian Pallasch said today that both Barack Obama and John McCain were hypocritical to attack lobbyists, as both candidates have worked with them and know the value of their input.
Pallasch said lobbyists are frustrated with candidates' insinuations that lobbying work is evil and/or inappropriate.
In a letter to members of Congress today, 112 organizations are calling for action on legislation to protect whistleblowers at federal agencies.
The effort was spearheaded by the Government Accountability Project, Public Citizen, the Project On Government Oversight, and the Union of Concerned Scientists. The group also includes the American Civil Liberties Union, Society of Professional Journalists, American Association of Small Business Owners, and Consumers Union.
Most Viewed RSS Feed »
