Casino Jack and the United States of Money
The US Supreme Court dealt a major blow to campaign finance reform with a ruling that will allow the dough to continue to flow through the halls of Washington. I doubt it was the intention of the justices, but their blow to campaign finance reform is timed perfectly with the premiere of our film, Casino Jack and the United States of Money at the Sundance film festival. Directed by Alex Gibney, the documentary offers a meticulous and often incredulous and humorous history of our nation's most notorious DC lobbyists, Jack Abramoff, and his cronies like former Speaker of the House Tom Delay, Grover Norquist and Ralph Reed. The Court ruled that the government cannot ban any spending by corporations, unions and other organizations in elections. This ruling will have "major political and practical consequences."
We're still developing our Social Action campaign for this film, but there are preliminary actions you can take to support campaign finance reform and learn more about organizations fighting to bring the voices of citizens, not corporations to Washington.
Food, Inc.
I get through Wednesdays with the help of the New York Times food section which offers the latest gossip on the New York restaurant scene (which is really of no use to someone like me in Los Angeles), Mark Bittman's simple recipes and an extensive cover piece about topics ranging from holiday meals to budget cuisine to food revivals. This week's featured article was about snacks and the challenges parents face of preparing healthy treats for the myriad of events their kids participate in regularly. It also noted that the number of Americans eating multiple snacks daily has increased to a whopping 42%. For tips on healthy eating, whether it's snacks or main courses, learn more with our campaign associate, Center for Science in the Public Interest.
An Inconvenient Truth
The reports on the recent international climate summit in Copenhagen were about as dreary as a winter day in that Scandinavian country. The situation seems to be worsening with reports that the nonbinding agreement could collapse. We can continue to watch and wait to see if international leaders make the Copenhagen agreement a reality. At the same time, though, we can take ownership of this issue and make changes in our own lives to address global warming through lifestyle changes, advocacy and education.
Countdown to Zero
Our films continue to be timely with the premiere of our documentary about nuclear weapons, Countdown to Zero at the Sundance Film Festival. The documentary theme was echoed yesterday when South Korea announced it would pre-emptively strike North Korea with conventional weapons if it was evident that their northern neighbor was going to launch nuclear weapons. Visit our preliminary campaign site to learn more about our campaign associate Global Zero and how you can get involved to end the proliferation of nuclear weapons worldwide.
Waiting for Superman
Living in Los Angeles, there's much controversy and experimentation in education in the nation's second largest school district. However, much of this has been brought to a sudden halt with our unseasonable rain storms which have actually closed many schools throughout the region. However, in drier places like Park City, UT, our film, Waiting for Superman, about our nation's education system, will premiere this Friday. If you don't happen to live in Utah, you can get background information about the film and our Social Action campaign. Stay tuned also for more exciting updates and details.
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