Campaign Cash Rules Drown in the Bathtub
'm speculating here, but as we approach year's end, I assume that Grover Norquist hasn't been visited by Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present and Future and found spiritual redemption. Nonetheless, I'm...
View ArticleThe NSA's Telephone Meta-data Program: Part I
In my last post I explained a bit about what it was like to serve as one of the five members of the President's Review Group that was charged this fall with the responsibility of making recommendations...
View ArticleCampaign Cash Rules Drown in the Bathtub
I'm speculating here, but as we approach year's end, I assume that Grover Norquist hasn't been visited by Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present and Future and found spiritual redemption. Nonetheless, I'm...
View ArticleACA Dates that Matter
Confusion about Affordable Care Act (ACA) deadlines is rampant. That's because there are lots of them and they keep changing. The fact is that some of them matter a lot more than others. In my view,...
View ArticleThe Top 5 Voting Rights Moments of 2013
This may have been an "off" year for voting, without a national election, but state politicians kept busy in 2013 with attempts to make it harder to vote. In addition, the U.S. Supreme Court issued the...
View ArticleA Not-So-Schadenfreude Christmas
To all the folks who've spent the better part of the last six years delighting in any and every misstep, miscalculation or error made by our duly elected president; to the conscience-challenged...
View ArticleThe Republicans and the Radical Minority
As 2014 begins, the Republican party faces another year of intraparty warfare, with Tea Partiers and other conservatives, along with their wealthy backers, vowing to continue their war on moderate and...
View ArticleAll I Want for Christmas Are My Voting Rights
As we gather for the holidays, we remember the empty chairs at far too many holiday tables: for servicemembers killed overseas http://apps.washingtonpost.com/national/fallen/ children slain by gun...
View ArticleTyranny of the Minority
Watching interest group politics in America recalls what Gerald Ford said after Nixon resigned - that the time is one which "troubles our minds and hurts our hearts." Yet, more than two centuries ago,...
View ArticleThe White House Begs the Question on Mass Surveillance
The White House report on surveillance makes an important contribution to the escalating debate, but it begs a big question. It finds that the NSA's massive collection of American telephone records...
View ArticleOpenly Gay Men Behind Bars Are Told We Deserve What We Get -- But Nobody...
Life behind bars can be a terrifying experience for anyone. For a person who is openly gay, it is often pure hell. I won't ever forget my first 24 hours in jail. I can block out the faces of the men...
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Utah: 18th in the Nation but the Last One I Expected
Last Friday, Utah became the 18th state in the Union to start issuing marriage licenses to gay couples. Wow. It's probably the last place in America I would have expected to do that. When I found out,...
View ArticleIn Reaching Budget Deal, Congress Turns its Back on Those Who Have Served
With the New Year almost upon us, I'm making a resolution that if fulfilled, could resonate among veteran communities across the nation. My hope for 2014 is to be the cause and not just the effect; and...
View ArticleTreat Millennials as Adults in 2014
How can President Barack Obama regain his rock-star status with the Millennial generation? That's a question that weighs heavily on the White House after a poll released this month shows that...
View ArticleMassachusetts Startups Challenge The Status Quo, So Why Shouldn't Their...
As 2013 is coming to a close, we all start to think about New Year's resolutions. As individuals we tend to have no problem setting goals that will challenge us, but often, when it comes to electing...
View ArticleBeyond Incoherent
Last September at the Clinton Global Initiative, the singer Bono called out American oil companies and the American Petroleum Institute's legal challenge to U.S. regulations requiring oil and mining...
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Why I'm Fighting to Stop Deportations Outside of Congress
This past month, I left my job in Congress to return to community organizing. It was a hard decision, but I could no longer just sit there in a place full of political games -- games that are causing...
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(Un)happy New Year for Jobless Americans
Christmas is over, the wrapping paper's in the trash, and the tree is looking a little tired. But trees and tinsel won't be the only things kicked to the curb in the next few days. As of December 28,...
View ArticleAFER Recaps the Top Marriage Equality Moments of 2013 (VIDEO)
The year started with no shortage of uncertainly and doubt: After years of challenging Proposition 8, AFER was about to argue before the U.S. Supreme Court that marriage equality is protected by the...
View ArticleAre Retailers Doing Enough to Protect Consumers From Data Breaches?
Last week, Target Corporation confirmed that nearly 40 million credit card and debit card accounts were compromised between November 27 and December 15. One estimate of the cost of the data breach has...
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