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As we first highlighted in our Dispatch
last December, renewable energy portfolio standards (RPS) are a great
way to stimulate renewable energy development. By requiring that a
certain percentage of a state's electricity come from renewable energy,
RPS jump starts economic development and job...
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Since we've condemned the recent spate of privatization proposals,
it's encouraging to see a debate in New Jersey on an innovative
proposal to manage state highways that doesn't involve a rip-off of the
taxpayer and the loss of democratic control over a public asset.
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Nearly 650,000 people are released
from state and federal prison every year, with larger numbers
reentering communities from local jails. Over 50 percent of those
released from incarceration are sent back to prison for a parole
violation or new crime within 3 years.
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Early this week, the Montana State Senate took a shot at out-of-control U.S. trade policies when it overwhelmingly passed (44-6) a resolution calling on Congress not to renew the President's "Fast Track" trade promotion authority. That fast track power gives the President the ability to...
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Pharmaceutical companies
spend $11.4 billion each year on marketing. Much of that is spent on
salespeople, known as "detailers", who visit doctor's offices to pitch
the latest drugs, in order to increase prescriptions for their
company's products-- usually at the expense of older,...
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Over a dozen groups have
filed protests against a plan by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to
open up the top of Colorado's Roan Plateau to leases for drilling,
which could be put up for bid as early as November. Oil and gas drilling already takes place on the plateau, but federal land managers...
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The United States, having largely invented the Internet, is becoming a global also-ran in deploying high-speed Internet broadband for its citizens. The dirty secret is that US federal policy is a debacle, a massive failure that has left most American families with access to relatively...
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Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania sued the Bush Administration
this week claiming they failed to adequately regulate emissions of
mercury and other pollutants at older cement plant kilns. Last
December, the EPA announced
new...
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While President Bush and Congress
duke it out over funding and reauthorizing the State Children's Health
Insurance Program, states are moving forward with universal kids
coverage.
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Concerns that new voter identification rules are discouraging voter
turnout, especially by voters in communities of color, is proving
justified, new research shows. A report prepared for the federal
Election Assistance Commission finds that in states with voter ID
requirements, such as forcing...
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If you want to know how cuts in education and social programs proposed
in President Bush's budget are likely to effect your state, check out this state-by-state analysis prepared by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.
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Stop the presses. Instead of receiving ridiculous tax breaks and
taking home obscene amounts of money tax-free, big oil may actually be
asked to pay its fair share of taxes for once.
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