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Over 80% of All US Voters Support Ending Dark Money’s Grip on Democracy

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Article by Brad Reed republished from Common Dreams under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0).

Attendees hold signs during a rally calling for an end to corporate money in politics on January 21, 2015 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

“The public’s conception of what has gone wrong goes far deeper than super PACs or White House ballrooms or even slush funds. To them, it is a system that is fundamentally misfiring.”

The Brennan Center for Justice on Tuesday published a poll showing that American voters believe the country faces a serious corruption problem, and supermajorities support taking major action to end the role of dark money in US politics.

The poll, which surveyed 2,000 registered voters across the country, found 79% support “a constitutional amendment to restore limits on money in elections.” The proposal would essentially overturn the 2010 Citizens United Supreme Court ruling, which opened the door to unlimited corporate spending in US elections.

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The Abolish Super PAC Act: Sanders and Lee Seek End to 'Corrupting Influence' of Dark Money

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The poll further found that 85% of Americans support “mandatory disclosure for all federal campaign contributions and spending”; 81% support “the creation of a new federal ethics enforcer”; and 69% support “a constitutional amendment limiting the president’s pardon power.”

Support for these anti-corruption measures was widespread across both political parties, with 84% of Democrats and 75% of Republicans backing the amendment granting government the power to regulate and limit campaign spending. The proposed mandatory disclosure law drew even more widespread support, with 88% of Democrats and 85% Republicans registering approval.

The poll found Republican voters far less inclined to support proposals that would specifically limit presidential powers, but even in those instances, a majority of Republicans favored a law limiting presidential pardon powers and a law that would let the US Congress and state governments sue the president for alleged violations of the Constitution’s emoluments clause that bars presidents from receiving foreign gifts.

Michael Waldman, president and CEO of the Brennan Center for Justice, wrote that he was struck by Americans’ widespread support for the poll’s proposed reforms, noting that “it’s hard to find a set of proposals with a wider bipartisan appeal.”

Waldman also noted that voters see corruption as why the government has become unresponsive to key voter concerns about housing and affordability.

“Policymakers should understand that the public’s conception of what has gone wrong goes far deeper than super PACs or White House ballrooms or even slush funds,” he wrote. “To them, it is a system that is fundamentally misfiring. A government that is not performing. And there is a willingness to name names and assign blame.”

Article by Brad Reed republished from Common Dreams under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0).

Donald Fuhrump says that Amerikkka doesn't bother with crimes or charges anymore, not being 100% Amerikkkan and opposing his real estate intentions is enough.
Donald Fuhrump says that Amerikkka doesn’t bother with crimes or charges anymore, not being 100% Amerikkkan and opposing his real estate intentions is enough.
Donald Trump urges you to be a Climate Science denier like him. He says that he makes millions and millions for destroying the planet, Burn, Baby, Burn and Flood, Baby, Flood.
Donald Trump urges you to be a Climate Science denier like him. He says that he makes millions and millions for destroying the planet, Burn, Baby, Burn and Flood, Baby, Flood.
Orcas discuss rotting brain, front Orca says Sundown Syndrome is a dead givaway and he wishes someone would Lock Him Up
Orcas discuss rotting brain, front Orca says Sundown Syndrome is a dead givaway and he wishes someone would Lock Him Up

Continue ReadingOver 80% of All US Voters Support Ending Dark Money’s Grip on Democracy

Blair’s fossil fuel ideas ‘bizarre’ in face of energy and climate crises, experts say

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https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2026/may/28/tony-blair-fossil-fuel-advice-bizarre-energy-climate-crises-experts-say

A solar park in Deeside, Wales. The UK broke records for solar energy generation this week. Photograph: Christopher Furlong/Getty Images

Energy specialists say abandoning net zero and increasing oil and gas drilling would cause more instability for Britons

Abandoning net zero and drilling for more oil and gas in the North Sea would be a massive setback for the UK and would not help the economy, leading experts have said in response to claims by the former prime minister Tony Blair.

“This is a bizarre intervention to make during the worst May heatwave on record and when the Iran crisis is providing yet more evidence of the enormous costs of oil and gas,” said Ed Matthew, the UK programme director at the E3G thinktank. “Clean energy is cheaper energy – it protects our bills from prices skyrocketing, its running costs are virtually zero, and it doesn’t cause climate change which threatens economic collapse … The government should ignore Blair’s ideological nonsense and focus on what works.”

In an essay published on Wednesday, Blair argued that the UK should exploit its remaining oil and gas reserves and abandon its long-set target of reaching net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. Blair, who has links to petrostates and whose institute takes money from technology companies that want a large build-out of AI data centres, has made these arguments for fossil fuels and against net zero many times in the past two years.

…

Calls to maximise production from the UK’s rapidly dwindling North Sea reserves have also been made by the Conservative and Reform parties.

The head of the International Energy Agency, and one of the world’s most respected energy economists, Fatih Birol, said last month that opening new fields would have little impact, and more drilling by the UK would not bring down the price of oil and gas for British consumers.

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Last week, the UK’s Climate Change Committee warned that the impacts of global heating of 2C by 2050 were likely to wipe billions from the UK’s economy, in the form of damage from heatwaves, droughts, floods and storms, but that acting to reach net zero would bring economic benefits.

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See the original Guardian article at https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2026/may/28/tony-blair-fossil-fuel-advice-bizarre-energy-climate-crises-experts-say
dizzy: Blair should not be regarded seriously

Nigel Farage urges you to ignore facts and reality and be a climate science denier like him and his Deputy Richard Tice. He says that Reform UK has received £Millions and £Millions from the fossil fuel industry to promote climate denial and destroy the planet.
Nigel Farage urges you to ignore facts and reality and be a climate science denier like him and his Deputy Richard Tice. He says that Reform UK has received £Millions and £Millions from the fossil fuel industry to promote climate denial and destroy the planet.
Donald Trump urges you to be a Climate Science denier like him. He says that he makes millions and millions for destroying the planet, Burn, Baby, Burn and Flood, Baby, Flood.
Donald Trump urges you to be a Climate Science denier like him. He says that he makes millions and millions for destroying the planet, Burn, Baby, Burn and Flood, Baby, Flood.
Experienced climbers scale a rock face near the historic Dumbarton castle in Glasgow, releasing a banner that reads “Climate on a Cliff Edge.” One activist, dressed as a globe, symbolically looms near the edge, while another plays the bagpipes on the shores below. | Photo courtesy of Extinction Rebellion and Mark Richards
Experienced climbers scale a rock face near the historic Dumbarton castle in Glasgow, releasing a banner that reads “Climate on a Cliff Edge.” One activist, dressed as a globe, symbolically looms near the edge, while another plays the bagpipes on the shores below. | Photo courtesy of Extinction Rebellion and Mark Richards

Continue ReadingBlair’s fossil fuel ideas ‘bizarre’ in face of energy and climate crises, experts say

Farage, Harborne, £5 million and Reform UK’s cryptocurrency bill

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https://yorkshirebylines.co.uk/politics/farage-harborne-5mn-and-reforms-cryptocurrency-bill/

Within a year of receiving £5mn from a crypto billionaire, Nigel Farage’s Reform UK published a draft crypto bill

[which has since been withdrawn (unpublished) form Reform’s website]

The previously undisclosed £5mn ‘gift’ that Nigel Farage received from the British-born, Thailand-based cryptocurrency billionaire Christopher Harborne in mid-2024, shortly before reversing his decision not to stand as an MP in the coming general election, has certainly raised a few questions. Farage claims he was under no obligation to declare it since he wasn’t an MP at the time and, anyway, it was simply a no-strings-attached gift.

I’m sure we are all very pleased for him. Parliamentary authorities, however, are sceptical and have launched an investigation. Farage may eventually face a recall petition and a by-election if the standards commissioner hands out a lengthy suspension.

Not being a details man, he probably didn’t realise the rules require new members, within one month of their election, to declare “any registrable benefits (other than earnings) received in the 12 months before their election”. Personal gifts can be ignored, but only if they are from family members and even then, “the possible motive of the giver and the use to which the gift is to be put should be considered. If there is any doubt, the benefit should be registered”.

Registrable means anything that “might reasonably be thought by others to influence his or her actions, speeches or votes in Parliament, or actions taken in his or her capacity as a Member of Parliament”.

The money is reported to have been accompanied by a legal document declaring it to be “unconditional and irrevocable”. The Reform UK leader also suggested it was for his personal security, saying: “This money is the only way I can look after myself, and protect myself for the rest of my life”. That explanation barely survived the week with Farage later telling The Sun instead that it was “a reward for campaigning for Brexit for 27 years”.

Was the £5mn really just a gift?

Some, including Farage’s former colleague Ben Habib, suggest the purpose of the £5mn was to persuade Farage to stand as MP for Clacton. Farage formally announced on 23 May 2024 that he would not be a candidate in the general election that PM Rishi Sunak had announced the previous day. By 3 June, Farage had changed his mind. He would stand after all, and he was elected on 5 July with a 45% swing, the largest for any seat at a UK general election.

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Article by Anthony Robinson continues at https://yorkshirebylines.co.uk/politics/farage-harborne-5mn-and-reforms-cryptocurrency-bill/. There is more to the story of Nigel Farage, Reform UK and cryptocurrency …

Nigel Farage reminds you that he's the man that brought you Brexit and asks what could possibly go wrong.
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Elon Musk urges you to be a Fascist like him, says that you can ignore facts and reality then.
Continue ReadingFarage, Harborne, £5 million and Reform UK’s cryptocurrency bill