Sum of Us helps you tell Spanish corporation Ferrovial to withdraw from its contracts running inhumane detention centers on Manus Island and Nauru. Some background: Australia detains asylum-seekers, who are running from war and torture in their homelands, on these islands -- and then outsources their operation to private corporations. But the 1,200-plus asylum-seekers detained at these two centers suffer inhumane treatment condemned by the U.N.; if a government wants to treat people badly, I'd rather it do the dirty work itself, because then it would have to be more directly accountable to the people. But involving private contractors adds another layer between the people and their government, almost like that's the idea. At least, that would be the idea from government's end -- the idea from the corporation's end, of course, is to make money, and the prevailing "wisdom" among corporations is that you only make money by cutting costs, and treating asylum-seekers humanely costs money. But the Big Stick of Bad PR may yet force Ferrovial to yield -- if we wield it.
Meanwhile, H.R. 5494/S. 6, the We the People Act, would combine a number of popular and effective ways to regulate campaign finance in America -- it combines the DISCLOSE Act (which fell to a 41-Senator filibuster in 2010), the Financial Services Conflict of Interest Act, a bill regulating SuperPAC coordination, a bill mandating 48-hour disclosure of PAC donations over $1,000, and a bill banning Congressfolk from lobbying, among others. Sounds ambitious? So did cleaning up the Augean stables -- and if anything, cleaning up the Augean stables is a day spent tending your tomato plants next to the task of wrenching our government free from wealthy donors. Sadly, the We the People Act would give right-wing mouth-holes more opportunities to throw old arguments against the wall (disclosure is bullying, etc.) to see what sticks. The good news? All their arguments are the kind of rubbish only desperate people throw against the wall. So People for the American Way helps you tell your Congressfolk to loosen the grip big money has on our elections by supporting the We the People Act.
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