This time, it’s personal By Sam Fieldman (May 26, 2023) Recently, while scrolling through my emails, I found one from my friend Vickie Deppe. With her old-school charm, she declared, “Sam, we’re FAMOUS! ;D,” and linked me to an article by the Center for Media and Democracy. (Vickie, with her old-school charm, still uses emoticons […]
News from the Front Lines of the Fight to End Corruption
The Daily Wolf is a place for us all to connect, learn, and stay up to date on the movement. Here, you’ll find educational resources, news from the front lines, personal stories, and interviews.
May Day in the USA?
The History behind International Workers’ Day By Debbie Augustine (May 1, 2023) When you think of May Day, you might envision spring flowers, dancing around a maypole — or even a desperate call for help. But in some 80 countries worldwide, it’s also recognized as International Workers’ Day, a holiday that honors the labor movement […]
What We’re Missing by Missing out on Hemp & Cannabis
By Vincent DiBattista (April 20, 2023) What if we could consult with the twelve most intelligent people to walk the planet? – people who were never part of our media environment. What would they say about our most daunting issues? Would they have solutions for food insecurity, health crises, pollution and climate change? They might […]
Remembering the Ladies — and a Movement to Amend
By Debbie Augustine March is Women’s History Month when we remember the accomplishments of women throughout our past. And what better place to begin for champions of amendment-driven movements than with the suffragists? They helped pass the 19th Amendment giving American women the right to vote. Here are the ladies checking our progress, peering into […]
It’s Black History Month, but gun violence is not yet history
By Ronnie Kellogg Sadness and anger flooded my being as I stood in my living room. It happened again. I was on the phone with my mom and she had just told me that my 20-year-old cousin DaeTiauna was killed in a drive-by shooting. Not long before that, she told me that another 20-year-old relative, […]
For Valentine’s Day, Mend a Heart, and Love your Country!
By Patt O’Neill (February 13, 2023) When first asked to write about Valentine’s Day, I thought someone’s mind had slipped a gear. But I eventually saw a connection with campaign finance reform, so please bear with me. History of the Day Before the gaudy chocolate-and-roses commercialism of today, Valentine’s Day honored a 3rd-century saint (“Saint […]
Citizens United, 13 Years Later
By Thomson Pritchard-Torres (January 20, 2023) January 21, 2010 – a day that’ll live in infamy. In their Citizens United ruling, the Supreme Court opened the floodgates for dark money, giving big money even more power (Lau, 2019). Deep-pocket donors fund campaigns through super PACs, which take and spend almost unlimited funds, often from anonymous […]
The Undue Influence of Deep-pocket Donors is Killing Us
By Kristine Baumstark (May 3, 2022) The undue influence of deep-pocket donors threatens to kill us in a variety of ways – polluted groundwater, polluted air, toxic chemical spills, overpriced medications, climate change related wildfires and floods . . . and on and on. Sadly, some Americans are literally dead, thanks to the undue influence that wealthy donors […]
Special Interests and Michigan’s Line 5 Controversy
By Eric Kachman (April 8, 2022) Once again, the overwhelming influence of special interests has created a climate related problem on both national and international levels. This time, an idyllic spot in Michigan is the focal point. Aging pipeline threatens the Great Lakes The Enbridge Line 5 has long been a concern for the people […]
Undue Influence Exercised by Charter School Supporters
By Brooke Zarn and Kristine Baumstark (February 1, 2022) Love ‘em or hate ‘em, charter schools nationwide tend to perform roughly as well as public schools and enrollment continues to rise. At the same time, however, a growing mistrust is undercutting the broad support charter schools have enjoyed in the past. What’s wrong with charter schools? […]
Special Interests Demand End to Supplemental Unemployment
By John Shen, National Legislative Director, Wolf-PAC (December 20, 2021) A few months ago, unemployment benefits that had helped millions of Americans during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic were allowed to expire. That included the extra $300 provided by the federal government, and assistance for gig workers and the long-term unemployed. This is a particularly harsh example […]
FEC and SCOTUS Welcome Foreign Power over American Elections
November 22, 2021 Brian Martel, Communications Deputy Director, Wolf-PAC Samuel Fieldman, National Counsel, Wolf-PAC “A cornerstone principle of federal campaign-finance law is that foreign nationals are barred from directly or indirectly making a contribution… or an expenditure, in connection with a federal, state, or local election.” — Commissioner Ellen L. Weintraub, Statement of Reasons of […]
Redlining and the Undue Influence of Special Interests
By Morgan Lowe (November 12, 2021) We were always moving on — always a new house and new school. That air of instability makes me anxious to this day. My mother was searching for “safety and a good education,” while I only wanted something that felt like home. I never understood my mother’s decisions until […]
Disclosure Law Struck Down by Supreme Court
By John Shen The Supreme Court has struck down a disclosure law, concealing the funding of a powerful political group. They’ve once again ruled in favor of dark money and against our right to know. Knowing who pays who in American politics isn’t merely an issue of transparency. It enables […]
Payday Lenders and Racist Practices
By Brooke Zarn and Kristine Baumstark Payday lenders tend to trap people in a never-ending cycle of debt with outrageous interest, and studies show racial bias in industry marketing strategies. In April of 2021, the Los Angeles Times reported on a study from the University of Houston. Researchers found that payday and title lenders disproportionately target Black […]
Veteran Volunteer Shares Why Fixing America’s Broken Campaign Finance System Matters to Everyone
By Steve Geller: A musician who knows the score My name is Steve Geller, and I’m one of Wolf-PAC’s longest-tenured volunteers. I joined the group in February 2014 and experienced the triumphant passage of our resolution in five states, including my state of California. We celebrated the passing of state number two six weeks from […]
Who Did CARES Really Help?
By Morgan Lowe On March 27, President Trump signed the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act), which seems like it will be the only federal attempt to assist American businesses and citizens as we struggle to make it through the COVID-19 pandemic. But eight months later, one has to question, is this […]
Fighting the Corruption Behind Climate Change
By Brian Martel The oil industry has been one of the most profitable in history and one of the most politically influential. Not only do oil companies, through their PACs, contribute directly to political campaigns, but they also affect our political discourse in more insidious ways. From the moment the public became aware of climate […]
Supreme Court Unanimously Affirms that We the People can Control Our Government
By Samuel Fieldman, Wolf-PAC National Counsel The Supreme Court is still capable of making a unanimous decision to enforce basic tenets of Constitutional Law, despite being viewed as ideologically divided. Its July 6 ruling on Chiafalo v. Washington was particularly significant. The high court affirmed that electors to the electoral college, like delegates to a […]
Citizens United: Cutting through the Controversy
By Brian Martel January 21 marks the 10th anniversary of the Supreme Court’s landmark ruling Citizens United v. Federal Elections Commission, which Senator John McCain called, “. . . the most misguided, naive, uninformed, egregious decision. . .” of the century. Citizens United v FEC effectively threw open the flood gates to big money, freeing […]