The meeting of the Publius Society scheduled for  7PM on Thursday, February 25 at the Alexander Hamilton Institute has been postponed because of bad weather.  The event will be rescheduled for March.  Check the AHI homepage for further details as to the precise time.

In March, AHI Undergraduate Fellows Jenna Cohen, Jack Dunn, Will Eagan, and Will Leubsdorf will lead a lively discussion about Citizens United v FEC, a recent SCOTUS decision holding restrictions on independent expenditures by corporations in support of or opposition to candidates to be unconstitutional. The decision leaves in place bans on direct corporate contributions to federal candidates and limits on direct contributions by individuals and political action committees.

The first link below is a summary of the case and decision. The next links are a sampling of opinion about the merits of the decision and its possible effects. Supporters of the decision see it as a victory for the first amendment; critics see it as an activist conservative court tilting American democracy toward corporate power. The last link includes the text of a recently introduced constitutional amendment that would exclude corporations from the protections of the First Amendment. We suggest that you read the first linked piece and sample the rest.

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You are cordially invited to join the discussion. The Publius Society is a merry band of students, faculty, and citizens with diverse political views and a shared interest in issues of American constitutionalism. We meet once a month for lively discussion, good cheer, and good food at the Alexander Hamilton Institute

We hope you will join us. To rsvp and see who else is attending, you can go to this event on AHI’s Facebook pagehttp://www.facebook.com/#!/group.php?gid=25554939255&ref=ts .To stay informed about Publius and other AHI events, join the more than 400 Facebook fans of AHI.

If you need a ride or can give a ride, come to KJ Circle at 6:45PM.

http://www.oyez.org/cases/2000-2009/2008/2008_08_205

http://blogs.wsj.com/law/2010/01/22/what-the-smart-erotti-are-saying-about-citizens-united/

http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/02/01/what-is-the-first-amendment-for/

http://www.scotusblog.com/2010/01/what-should-congress-do-about-citizens-united/#more-15469

http://www.scotusblog.com/2010/02/citizens-united-shareholder-rights-and-free-speech-restoring-the-primacy-of-politics-to-the-first-amendment/

http://www.scotusblog.com/2010/02/citizens-united-shareholder-rights-and-free-speech-restoring-the-primacy-of-politics-to-the-first-amendment-2/

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0110/31878.html

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704820904575055922496646104.html

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704820904575055340863805062.html?mod=WSJ_Opinion_LEFTTopOpinion