Democracy

Statement of Laura MacCleery, Director of Public Citizen’s Congress Watch Division

Oct. 3, 2007 -- If the Senate wants to help boost public confidence in an agency that has consistently weakened campaign finance laws, it should defeat the nomination of Hans von Spakovsky as a member of the Federal Election Commission (FEC). Von Spakovsky’s demonstrated record of excessive partisanship and unfair acts toward political adversaries would cripple the agency, which is already struggling to prove it can be even-handed in interpreting the law and settling partisan disputes.    » read more »

Washington, D.C. -- October 1, 2007 -- Although North Africa has experienced some economic progress over the past two years, the leaders of Algeria, Egypt, Libya and Tunisia remain fundamentally undemocratic and, in some cases, have reversed earlier gains in freedom, according to a report released by Freedom House.    » read more »

1 October 2007 -- (Spanish version follows English) -- Yesterday, Sept. 30, the Ecuadorian people demonstrated their profound democratic vocation by voting peacefully for representatives to the constituent assembly.

Summary of Key Findings

The Carter Center congratulates the Ecuadorian people for their civic commitment. We would like to particularly recognize the role of the poll workers, who were mostly young people. Their creativity, honesty, and close attention to the law made the election successful, despite the complexity of the vote count.    » read more »

Court Finds Bush Order Impedes Access, Violates Presidential Records Act

Oct. 1, 2007 -- WASHINGTON, D.C. – A federal district court today struck down part of an executive order issued by President Bush in 2001 to limit public access to the records of past presidents. The ruling by Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly in American Historical Association v. National Archives and Records Administration (No.    » read more »

Washington, D.C. -- September 27, 2007 -- Steps by the Russian government to restrict opposition political parties and civil society activity over the past two years is substantially constraining the country’s political process in advance of December’s parliamentary elections, according to a new report released by Freedom House.    » read more »

September 18, 2007 -- Washington, DC--In today's New York Times, Bob Herbert takes a closer look at a Republican sponsored ballot initiative being proposed to change the way California distributes its electoral votes - a change that the GOP believes would allow them to pick up seats in California and win the White House. This initiative is just more of the GOP's "dirty electoral tricks" by the same national Republican players that funded the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth. Herbert says, "This crowd is no more interested in genuine electoral reform than Britney Spears is."    » read more »

19 September 2007 -- Ethiopia’s main opposition, the Coalition for Unity and Democracy (CUD) says the struggle in Ethiopia is a struggle for democracy, and it hopes the United States will stand on the side of those fighting for democracy in Ethiopia.

In July this year, the Ethiopian government pardoned and released from prison 38 of the country’s top opposition leaders. They had been arrested and charged with treason in a government crackdown following the 2005 parliamentary elections. Now a five-man delegation of the opposition CUD is in the United States.    » read more »

5-Sep-2007 -- Controversial Internet entrepreneur turned cultural critic Andrew Keen, who says the revolution of interactivity and user-generated content on the internet is leading to ‘less culture, less reliable news and a chaos of useless information’ is one contributor certain to ignite debate at the two-day conference at the University of York. The conference is funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) through its e-Society programme.    » read more »

04 September 2007 -- A U.S. rights organization says a group of jailed Burmese activists are staging a hunger strike to demand medical treatment for an injured colleague.

The Washington-based U.S. Campaign for Burma says 41 detained pro-democracy activists have been on a hunger strike since August 30.

It says they are demanding treatment for another jailed activist whose leg was broken during his arrest by Burmese police.    » read more »

August 30, 2007 -- WASHINGTON, D.C— Today, Senator Edward M. Kennedy, Chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, sent the following letter to Secretary Michael Leavitt requesting information on the interactions of political appointees at the Department of Health and Human Services and the Office of the Surgeon General, specifically during tenure of Dr. Richard Carmona.

The letter is below.

August 30, 2007

Secretary Michael Leavitt
Department of Health and Human Services
200 Independence Avenue, SW
Washington, D.C. 20201

Dear Secretary Leavitt:    » read more »

August 27, 2007 -- Kentucky Attorney General Greg Stumbo today notified Kentucky Governor Ernie Fletcher that his Trustee appointments to the University of Kentucky and the University of Louisville run afoul of Kentucky law.    » read more »

August 24, 2007 -- TALLAHASSEE — Florida Governor Charlie Crist today addressed the Commission on Open Government during the group’s first meeting in Tallahassee. The nine commission members appointed by the Governor are charged with reviewing and evaluating the public’s right of access to government meetings and records. The meeting is the first of at least three public hearings to receive input from the public, media and government representatives throughout the state    » read more »

21 August 2007 -- Chinese pro-democracy campaigner and long-time U.S. resident Yang Jianli has returned to his home in the United States, following five years in prison in Beijing. He was arrested in China in 2002 on charges of illegal entry, during a trip to his home country to observe labor unrest.

For years, the case of Chinese dissident Yang Jianli has been the focus of high level attention from U.S. lawmakers and Bush administration officials.    » read more »

Illinois Senator Says He'll "Take the Blinders" Off the White House

August 15, 2007 -- CEDAR FALLS, IA -- U.S. Senator Barack Obama (D-IL) today said that as President, he will enact sweeping reforms to dramatically increase transparency and accountability in government to make it responsive and accountable to the American people. The Illinois Senator outlined his plan in remarks that highlighted his record of fighting for ethics and lobbying reforms that were unpopular with political insiders while in the U.S. Senate and the Illinois state Senate.    » read more »

August 14, 2007 -- Washington, D.C. — Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid sent the following letter today to Senators Jay Rockefeller and Pat Leahy, encouraging them to develop long-term modernizations to FISA that better serve our national security interests than the law signed by President Bush this month:

August 14, 2007

The Honorable John D. Rockefeller IV
Chairman, Senate Select Committee on Intelligence
Washington, DC 20510

The Honorable Patrick J. Leahy
Chairman, Senate Committee on the Judiciary
Washington, DC 20510

Dear Jay and Pat:    » read more »