While poll after poll shows that 90% of people believe that we have a right to know what is in our food, large agribusiness companies have helped shaped a policy that does not reflect the wishes of the American people. We at Free Speech For People believe that the question of GMO labeling or related GMO issues ought to be a matter for the people to decide based on public interest concerns.
An important new report from our friends at Public Citizen sheds light on the voluntary disclosure of campaign contributions from 24 corporations totaling $8,750.000 to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. The report finds that while these 24 (which are listed in full in the report) have disclosed their amounts, there are still countless more whose identities are still unvailable to the public.
The report reads:
Alternet is shedding light on the role of campaign contributions that have helped shape U.S National Security. In the first of what will be a new series from Alternet’s New Dialogue Project, their data shows that these special interest groups’ influence both Democrats and Republicans. An excerpt below:
In a recent Bloomberg Businessweek interview, Former U.S Vice President Al Gore explains the role money and special interest groups play in politics saying, “Money plays the dominant role in politics today.”
Gore also stated that, "Corporations are not persons. Money is not speech. Big anonymous contributors should not call the shots."
Robert A.G. Monks, a member of our new Legal Advisory Committee, recently published this article The Corporate Voice is Louder than Your Voice in The Huffington Post.
It begins,
The following blog post, originally posted on Earthrights.org, was written by our Legal Advisory Committee member Katie Redford. The post is a part of Blog Action Day, an annual event aimed at uniting bloggers around a common theme, this year’s theme being human rights. For a full list of our new Legal Advisory Committee with brief bios for each member, click here.
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Recently the Statesmen Journal featured a powerful opinion piece written by Mike Sumner, a small business owner and Republican from Woodburn, Oregon. His piece illustrates the threat of corporate dominance in our elections due to increased power from campaign contributions, and the particular concern for small business owners and consumers alike.
It begins,
Fran Korten, the executive director of YES Magazine, wrote a new article yesterday to highlight the role of big money in politics and the connections between the 2010 Citizens United case, McCutcheon vs. FEC, and the current government shutdown.
Today marks a very troubling moment for our democracy as the Supreme Court will hear the McCutcheon vs. FEC case. While the 2010 Citizens United case allowed corporations to make unlimited campaign expenditures to influence our elections, McCutcheon will enable the wealthy few to give more money directly to the candidates themselves.
This post is written by Free Speech for People Co-Founder and President Jeff Clements and is featured on the ACS Law Blog.
It reads: