The Supreme Court has made clear in such decisions as Citizens United and Buckley v Valeo that the First Amendment to the Constitution prevents Congress from restricting the rights of individuals and organizations, including corporations, to finance political campaigns and issue advocacy. Therefore the only way to eliminate the influence of money on American politics is to pass a new amendment to the Constitution.

The worst decision the Supreme Court has ever made. Going against all prior decisions of controlling and accounting for the amount of campaign funds given, this court voted for unlimited, unaccountable amounts of money that Congress may accept. Two judges making this decision should have recused themselves because each was a guest at a Koch brothers function before making the decision.

Save our home from these frauds at the bank.

PNC continues to bully homeowners in trouble and makes it nearly impossible to allow a distressed homeowner to complete a short sale or to modify a mortgage.

The right to vote and choose our leaders is at the heart of what it means to be an American. If we don’t like the decisions our elected officials are making, we can simply vote them out. Politicians and the corporations who bankroll their campaigns are now trying to make it harder for working Mainers to vote, by taking away our time-honored right to register on Election Day. They know that if we have less of a voice, it will be easier for them to stay in power. That way they can continue to give tax breaks to the wealthy, and keep ignoring the needs of the other 99%. Join thousands of other Mainers who are promising to support same-day registration this Tuesday by signing this Yes on 1 pledge. Use the form above to add your name.

The vast majority of corporations --- banks, drug companies, hospital corporations, etc. -- settle federal and state fraud lawsuits --- by paying fines and penalties. This punishment has proven to be impotent in deterring these crimes. The massive penalties are passed on to consumers and taxpayers. Unless and until executives are threatened with imprisonment, egregious practices of this nature will continue. To these corporations, fines and legal expenses are just another cost of doing business.

Congress should be required to disclose who is financially supporting them. We ought to find out who is contributing to their elections from outside their districts

Corporations have been given citizenship by the supreme court in two rulings in the past 40 years...the most recent of which was Citizens United which gave corporations an unfettered ability to influence our political system. The other is a little known ruling Buckley v. Valeo (1976) upheld limits on campaign contributions, but held that spending money to influence elections is protected speech as in the first amendment. These two have created the current legislative environment we find ourselves in and its time for the 28th Amendment: Corporations are not citizens and DO NOT have the same rights as someone BORN a Citizen. It is Illegal for any Corporation, trade union, or other registered Organization to donate to candidates or otherwise attempt to influence elections or the legislative process.

Reports are circulating that a settlement of the robo-signing case between the big Wall Street banks and the 50 state attorneys general will be announced as soon as NEXT WEEK. Early indications are that the settlement will amount to yet another UNCONSCIONABLE GIVEAWAY TO THE BANKS. The settlement will provide too little money to home owners, will require only trivial financial penalties for the banks, will not have sufficient enforcement mechanisms to ensure that the money banks ARE supposed to pay actually gets paid, and will distribute huge amounts of money to home owners who were NOT fraudulently foreclosed on, while falling far short of compensating victims for the actual losses they wrongly sustained. Worst, early reports indicate that the settlement will grant civil and/or criminal IMMUNITY to the Wall Street banks and their executives.

Inter-island travel is essential for keeping Hawaii families connected. Hawaiian Air doubled the price of inter-island tickets since Aloha Airlines and the ferry was forced out of business. There are no longer discounted kama'aina, senior, or youth rates, and no more coupon books for frequent travelers, so it is prohibitive for people to visit their children, grandchildren and family. We are calling on our government to take action.

In a sane and civil response to the Occupy Movement, Albany County (NY) District Attorney P. David Soares is refusing to prosecute Occupy Albany participants for their peaceful exercise of their First Amendment rights. In response to orders from NY Governor Andrew Cuomo and Albany Mayor Jerry Jennings, Soares saw the wisdom of a peaceful law enforcement response, saying: “The protesters have been fine. We’ve been maintaining a great dialogue with the organizers and for the most part a lot of credit should go to the organizers for maintaining a wonderful protest.”

In a sane and civil response to the Occupy Movement, Albany County (NY) District Attorney P. David Soares is refusing to prosecute Occupy Albany participants for their peaceful exercise of their First Amendment rights. In response to orders from NY Governor Andrew Cuomo and Albany Mayor Jerry Jennings, Soares saw the wisdom of a peaceful law enforcement response, saying: “The protesters have been fine. We’ve been maintaining a great dialogue with the organizers and for the most part a lot of credit should go to the organizers for maintaining a wonderful protest.”