Alternative News and Information. en-us http://www.alternet.org/rss/button.gif http://www.alternet.org/ AlterNet http://www.alternet.org/ Copyright 2012 Independent Media Institute. All rights reserved. http://www.alternet.org/news/156463/who_and_what_will_save_american_democracy story-a17ccdb9e4e3331a8b16298b1f403114 The Senate Judiciary Committee was told the time has come for a constitutional amendment to rein in campaign cash. Wed, 25 Jul 2012 08:00:01 -0700 Steven Rosenfeld, AlterNet http://www.alternet.org/story/156466/did_the_nypd_break_international_law_in_suppressing_protest_ story-9f77e26754b3f8293decb636b5668376 A new report just out documents how the NYPD used excessive force, arrested reporters, and concludes that police broke international law in their handling of Occupy. Wed, 25 Jul 2012 05:00:01 -0700 John Knefel, AlterNet http://www.alternet.org/story/156448/the_6_most_offensive_things_said_in_the_wake_of_the_aurora_shooting story-2fc71b71dc90b47763e827c151604233 Conservatives accuse liberals of politicizing the tragedy, but here are the worst examples of people using Aurora to push an extreme agenda. Tue, 24 Jul 2012 20:00:01 -0700 Sarah Seltzer, AlterNet http://www.alternet.org/story/156393/how_our_popular_notion_of_romance_keeps_failing_us_ story-52386b349542191ed89fd39484b8e1bc Eva Illouz's new book, "Why Love Hurts" is an in-depth analysis of the reasons our contemporary understanding of romance fails to satisfy us. Tue, 24 Jul 2012 20:00:01 -0700 Jake Blumgart, AlterNet http://www.alternet.org/activism/156454/5_critical_actions_that_really_can_put_us_on_a_sustainable_path story-9a8e564f5c7a8ea913193a9fc5d3cd78 Annie Leonard's new short film, "The Story of Change," shows why we have to do more than just vote with our dollars. Tue, 24 Jul 2012 20:00:01 -0700 Alyssa Figueroa, AlterNet http://www.alternet.org/rights/156450/nra%27s_wayne_lapierre_has_blood_on_his_hands_for_aurora_shooting_and_many_others_ story-2f064e010db687fb9d1afd28b9f56c03 LaPierre didn't pull the trigger, but he's the NRA's hit man when it comes to intimidating elected officials to oppose any kind of gun control. Tue, 24 Jul 2012 20:00:01 -0700 Peter Dreier, AlterNet http://www.alternet.org/story/156415/what_is_the_cause_of_violent_and_senseless_massacres_in_america story-c65aab80f789533da514645a7213d65f Beyond moralizing and hand-wringing, what can we do to change the societal forces that push Americans apart? Tue, 24 Jul 2012 20:00:01 -0700 Steven Rosenfeld, AlterNet http://www.alternet.org/world/156464/occupy_the_dam%3A_brazil%27s_indigenous_uprising_ story-39a8629d9342b0f2293abf9a34885bd9 In the Amazonian backcountry, tribes are challenging construction of the world's third-largest dam—by dismantling it. Tue, 24 Jul 2012 17:00:01 -0700 John Perkins, YES! Magazine http://www.alternet.org/story/156154/one_woman%27s_account_of_how_abuse%2C_corruption_and_silence_at_penn_state_perpetuate_a_poisonous_culture story-a2de62673c73f76bdaf92fbeabda164b A former Penn State student and instructor says a culture of abuse exists well beyond the football field and the school's problems are systemic. Tue, 24 Jul 2012 14:00:01 -0700 Kristin Rawls, AlterNet http://www.alternet.org/story/156413/5_reasons_the_super-rich_need_government_more_than_the_rest_of_us story-f288bc0dd27bcc4b0aafc27115a2071a Wealthy individuals and corporations want us to believe they've made it on their own, without the help of government or the American people. That's the bull of Wall Street. Tue, 24 Jul 2012 14:00:01 -0700 Paul Buchheit, AlterNet http://www.alternet.org/education/156458/penn_state_students_bear_brunt_of_ncaa_sanctions_for_sandusky_cover-up_as_trustees_emerge_unscathed story-55d9057dcb2bed6c5984ce33d52dc925 Sports writer David Zirin argues that the NCAA's unprecedented punishment harms innocent students but lets trustees off the hook. Tue, 24 Jul 2012 12:00:01 -0700 Amy Goodman, Democracy Now! http://www.alternet.org/drugs/156453/hundreds_of_medical_marijuana_supporters_protest_obama_in_oakland_as_feds_escalate_war_on_pot story-f39a5f04a73054b678426d39335c9632 Demanding answers for unjustified federal raids and threats, patients challenged the DEA's claim that marijuana has no medical use. Tue, 24 Jul 2012 11:00:01 -0700 J.A. Myerson, AlterNet http://www.alternet.org/environment/156446/get_used_to_the_american_west_in_flames%3A_what_living_with_the_%27new_normal%27_will_mean story-884a3b327b812ea7fae2d2222ed7d48c More than scenery is at stake, more even than the stability of soils, ecosystems, and watersheds. Here's why. Tue, 24 Jul 2012 07:00:01 -0700 William deBuys, TomDispatch.com http://www.alternet.org/election2012/156388/james_fallows%3A_the_gop_pulled_off_an_institutional_coup_with_the_help_of_enablers_in_the_media story-c1a7e33ea8abdd49950096fc20f04e86 "There’s always been partisan division, but not the idea that the only thing that mattered was blocking whoever had won the last election." Tue, 24 Jul 2012 06:00:01 -0700 Joshua Holland, AlterNet http://www.alternet.org/story/156444/banks%27_lending_frenzy_left_borrowers_buried_in_student_debt story-17665aba9ae634fd121561a17b96059b Just like those who took out mortgages at the height of the market, private student loan borrowers are now suffering from the excesses of that period. Tue, 24 Jul 2012 06:00:01 -0700 Marian Wang, ProPublica http://www.alternet.org/immigration/156128/how_the_brutal_murders_of_a_little_girl_and_her_father_doomed_the_xenophobic_minuteman_movement story-11ae77fcbf1243e0fb027e068a8501cd The brutal killings of Junior and Brisenia Flores highlighted growing extremism on the fringes of the anti-immigrant movement. Mon, 23 Jul 2012 17:00:01 -0700 David Neiwert, AlterNet http://www.alternet.org/visions/156437/the_story_of_change story-a914c664781187c9577ae5f604984d67 Annie Leonard's latest video urges viewers to put down their credit cards and start exercising their citizen muscles to build a more sustainable, just and fulfilling world. Mon, 23 Jul 2012 14:00:01 -0700 Annie Leonard, The Story of Stuff http://www.alternet.org/reproductivejustice/156436/the_new_misogyny%3A_what_it_means_for_teachers_and_classrooms story-ea1026696cadc48775907505feafed8e The vilification of K-12 teachers is part and parcel of the growing misogyny we are witnessing in today's United States. Mon, 23 Jul 2012 12:00:01 -0700 The Editors of Rethinking Schools, Rethinking Schools http://www.alternet.org/election2012/156397/romney_campaign%27s_race-baiting_strategy_could_have_dire_consequences_for_america story-d3761b28a7ef939a7b2e344c99cec357 Romney's strategy has incorporated racial and cultural cues, both subtle and blatant, as a means of deflection from the Obama campaign's questions about Bain Capital. Sun, 22 Jul 2012 23:00:01 -0700 Adele M. Stan, AlterNet http://www.alternet.org/election2012/156141/religious_right%27s_ralph_reed_field-tests_plan_for_beating_obama story-81ae5ef3f8b5df3782d1b330374d6b05 Reed's Faith and Freedom Coalition, "a 21st-century version of the Christian Coalition on steroids," is leading the effort. Tue, 10 Jul 2012 00:00:01 -0700 Adele M. Stan, AlterNet http://www.alternet.org/peek/155908/5_ways_email_can_completely_ruin_your_life story-92fe1cea1d9df81b1eed7d303e8ba58c We're hooked on email. And it's driving us batshit crazy. Thu, 21 Jun 2012 17:00:01 -0700 Lynn Parramore, AlterNet