The meeting of the Publius Society scheduled for  7PM on Thursday, February 25  but postponed because of bad weather will take place on 8 April at 7 pm at the Alexander Hamilton Institute.

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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Publius Society Gathering 28 September

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 stately Alexander Hamilton Institute https://theahi.org/, a nationally acclaimed center of scholarly excellence founded by Professors Ambrose, Bradfield, and Paquette and home for a variety of student groups at Hamilton.

We hope you will join us. To rsvp and see who else is attending, you can go to this event on AHI’s Facebook page http://www.facebook.com/#!/event.php?eid=106267586072371&ref=mf.To stay informed about Publius and other AHI events, join the 440 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