What We’re Reading: a daily round-up of quick hits, clips, and opinion pieces touching on key issues of democracy, justice, liberty and national security.
Mimi Marziani, counsel at the Brennan Center, writes an opinion piece for Politico on the need for “super accountability” on the newly created “super committee.”
“What’s up with Wisconsin?” Erik Opsal, communications coordinator at the Brennan Center, writes his thoughts on the Wisconsin recall elections, the new Voter ID bill, and hidden political contributions.
Peter Zimroth of Arnold & Porter writes a personal account of why his pro bono work on behalf of the Al Falah Center is meaningful.
The Center for American Progress provide some stats on why we need more funding for civil legal aid programs.
A White House official says “the president is committed to improving our federal contracting system, making it more tansparent and more accountable.” President Obama is still reviewing an executive order that would make it mandatory to disclose political contributions made by federal contractors.
A Georgia congressman introduced a bill to repeal the Legal Services Corporation Act. See Dana Milbank’s op-ed in The Washington Post.
Super PACs and the 2012 presidential election, have these fundraising committees changed the playing field for political contributions? Politico's Kenneth Vogel reports.
The New York Times says shareholders have a right to know who and how much their companies are spending on political campaigns. Legal scholars petitioned the S.E.C. last week demanding this kind of disclosure.
The U.S. Department of Justice granted “pre-clearance” to provisions of Florida’s new elections law. This included three cited provisions from a letter on minority voters written by the Brennan Center, The League of Women Voters of Florida, Democracia USA, and the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law.