Anti-War>Left Parties and Movements>Mainstream Politics>Democracy and Electoral Reform>Economic Justice>Civil and Human Rights>Education
Anti-War, Anti-Militarism Organizing
Dupage Peace Through Justice Coalition-- Local DuPage County peace group.
Dupage Against War Now-- Another local peace group.
Chicago Peace Pledge-- Chicago-based peace group. Site features a useful calendar of area events.
Chicago Coalition Against War and Racism-- Chicago anti-war coalition who sponsors big marches. Site features a useful calendar of anti-war events.
Illinois Peace Action-- Working for peace and against war, nuclear proliferation, wasteful military spending and the ill-conceived "Star Wars" missile defense system. Features information about the voting records of IL congressional representatives and Senators on peace issues.
U. S. Labor Against The War--Unions and union activists against the Iraq war and occupation.
Code Pink-- A women's group organizing against war and militarism.
United for Peace and Justice--National umbrella anti-war organization.
War Resisters League-- Pacifist organization that produces eye-opening critiques of the Pentagon budget and defense spending.
Not In Our Name-- "War on the world? Not in our name."Group pledges to resist the Bush administration's imperial ambitions at home and abroad.
BRING THEM HOME NOW! is a campaign of military families, veterans, active duty personnel, reservists and others opposed to the ongoing war in Iraq.
Hands Off Iraqi Oil-- Opposes foreign exploitation of oil in occupied Iraq.
AfterDowningStreet.org-- A nonpartisan coalition working to expose the lies that launched the occupation of Iraq (and the one that keeps it going) and to hold accountable its architects through impeachment.
International Action Center-- Information, activism, and resistance to U.S. militarism, war, and corporate greed, Linking struggles against war with struggles against racism and oppression within the United States. Founded by former U.S. attorney Ramsey Clark.
Global Women's Strike-- An international movement calling for an end to war, an end to gender oppression and wages for housework. Their slogan is "Caring Not Killing."
Stop War on Iran-- Working to prevent the next war in the Middle East being planned by the foreign policy establishment.
Left/Progressive Parties, Movements and Candidates
Progressive Democrats of America-- A grouping of folks who supported anti-war candidates Howard Dean and Dennis Kucinich in the 2004 Democratic primaries. They want to drag the Dems back to their New Deal, populist, broadly social democratic roots. It may be a fool's errand but I suppose anything is worth a try at this point.
The Green Party-- The fastest growing third party in the country, a progressive alternative to the Democrats and Republicans.
Democratic Socialist of America-- America's main democratic, nonsectarian, reform-oriented socialist group. They're not especially active and sometimes soft on the Democrats but have lots of members.
Solidarity-- Another democratically-inclined, nonsectarian socialist group. They're a strong presence in certain reform currents of the labor movement (TDU, New Directions, etc.).
Independent Progressive Politics Network-- A coalition of progressive third parties and interest groups working to build alternatives to the two major parties.
International Socialist Organization-- A revolutionary socialist organization in the tradition of Marx, Lenin and Trotsky. They work on causes like the death penalty, gay marriage, and, of course, oppose war and imperialism. Arguably the best of the Marxist-Leninist groups, they can always be counted on for a cogent Marxist analysis of the current political situation (although their approach to electoral politics often leaves much to be desired) .
Moveon.org-- Organized to fight the right's move to impeach Clinton, this group engages in progressive "electronic advocacy" on issues ranging from the the Patriot Act to the FCC's deregulation of media ownership. They've also sponsored television ads attacking the Bush administration's lies about Iraq.
The League of Independent Voters-- An organization dedicated to mobilizing young people to defeat the right in elections around the country. They've even published a witty how-to guide, How to Get Stupid White Men Out of Office.
Punk Voter-- George W. Bush and his pack of Bible-thumping, corporate lackeys are just about as close as you can come to being "anti-punks". Well, the nation's punks are finally fighting back. Joe Strummer woulda been proud.
Hip Hop Political Convention--A group that aims to mobilize the hip hop generation to make constructive political change. Active on issues like affirmative action, education and AIDS.
Washington's Dirty Laundry (Information on Mainstream Politics)
Misleader-- G. W. Bush's deceptions and misdeeds.
White House for Sale-- Tracking the influence of private money on the presidential campaigns.
Open Secrets-- Tracks campaign financing and lobbying dollars in Washington.
Follow the Money-- Keeps tabs on campaign spending at the state level. Want to know which corporations funded the election campaigns of your local judiciary? Look here.
Project Vote Smart- The place to turn for voting records, biographies and other information about individual politicians.
Political Wire-- Breaking news, buzz and commentary about all things political from Taegan Goddard, a widely published pundit.
Polling Report-- Opinion and tracking poll data.
National Council on Public Polls-- More polling data.
Pew Center for the People and the Press-- Another source of opinion poll information.
Program on International Policy Attitudes-- Tracking American attitudes toward U.S. foreign policy and overseas military interventions. Their research reveals a stunning degree of popular ignorance about the world around us and about U.S. actions abroad.
Bowling Alone-- The companion website for sociologist Robert Putnam's eponymously titled book. Presents reams and reams of data suggesting the decline of community and civic engagement in contemporary American society. Sobering stuff.
Centre for Global Research-- Canadian-based outfit that's monitoring the "war on terrorism" and the U.S.-lead "New World Order". Sometimes promotes views that border on conspiracy theory but is often a source of solid analysis.
Democracy and Electoral Reform
The International Endowment for Democracy--New organization started to involve the rest of the world in the fight for democracy where it is needed the most: in the USA.
Alliance for Better Campaigns-- Leading the fight for free TV and radio time for political candidates.
Illinois Campaign for Political Reform-- A non-partisan public interest group that conducts research and advocates reforms to promote public participation in government, address the role of money in politics and encourage integrity, accountability, and transparency in government. Local partner of Alliance for Better Campaigns.
Center for Voting and Democracy-- Promotes proportional representation and other democratic electoral reforms.
Midwest Democracy Center-- Local Illinois affiliate of the Center for Voting and Democracy. Current projects include an effort to win same day voter registration and instant runoff voting here in Illinois.
Public Campaign-- Advocating for public financing of elections.
Citizen Advocacy Center --Elmhurst, IL-based non-profit, non-partisan community legal organization dedicated to building democracy for the 21st century through education, organizing and litigation.
50 Years is Enough-- Opposing the World Bank/IMF/NAFTA/ WTO attack on the world's poor.
Global Exchange-- The source for information on the dangers of so-called "free trade".
Jubilee 2000-- Works for Third-World debt forgiveness.
Jobs with Justice-- Fighting for worker's rights.
Kensington Welfare Rights Union--Philly-based poor people's organization organizing to end poverty and to preserve and expand the U.S. social safety net.
Labor Notes-- Information about the labor movement and labor struggles in the US and around the world.
Take Back Your Time-- is a major U.S./Canadian initiative to challenge the epidemic of overwork, over-scheduling and time famine that now threatens our health, our families and relationships, our communities and our environment. Founded by John De Graaf, author of the book Affluenza.
United for a Fair Economy-- Education and organizing to reverse the growing economic divide between the filthy rich and the rest of us.
Citizens for Tax Justice-- Promoting a fairer and more equitable tax code, one in which the affluent pay their share.
Inequality.org-- Analysis of the growing wealth and income divide and some solid ideas for correcting it.
CorpWatch--Holding corporations accountable for the damage they do to the environment and human health.
Global Policy Forum-- Monitors policy making at the United Nations, promotes accountability of global decisions, educates and mobilizes for global citizen participation, and advocates on vital issues of international peace and justice.
Focus on the Global South-- Engages in research, analysis, advocacy and organizing in opposition to the to the poverty-creating, inequality increasing, ecologically destructive dynamics of corporate-driven globalization. Currently attached to the Chulalongkorn University Social Research Institute (CUSRI) in Bangkok, Thailand.
War on Want-- Fights global poverty and inequality. Works in solidarity with people in the developing world.
Oil Depletion Analysis Center-- Drawing on oil industry studies, documents the coming energy crisis and explains how it will impact the economy and our lives. Scary stuff.
National Organization for Women--The leading feminist political organization in the country. A tad too reformist at times but still doing important work.
The Feminist Majority--Working on women's rights here and around the world.
Global Sisterhood Network--International women's rights organization.
The Mothers Movement (online)-- A site devoted to resources for "mothers and others who care about social change". Especially interesting stuff on the maternal wage gap, reproductive rights, feminist parenting and the fight to preserve and extend family and medical leave.
MADRE--International women's rights organization with a focus women and families in the Third World.
National Gay and Lesbian Task Force-- Working for the political advancement of gays, lesbians and other sexual minorities.
NAACP--Civil rights organization representing African Americans and other people of color.
La Raza-- Fighting for the rights of Hispanic-Americans.
Black Radical Congress -- Promoting a black liberation agenda for the 21st Century.
The New Abolitionist Society-- A group calling for the abolition of the white race and white privilege.
Third World Network -- A clearinghouse of information on NGOs, human rights, sustainable development and progressive initiatives in the Global South.
National Lawyers Guild -- Defended communists and others targeted for their political views during the McCarthy era when the ACLU wouldn't. The bar for people's lawyers.
Amnesty International -- Leading advocate for human rights -- especially rights of political prisoners-- around the world.
Human Rights Watch-- Another international human rights group. Issues an annual human rights report about every country in the world (and, lately, the U.S.'s record has been getting much, much worse).
Anti-RacismNet-- Collection of anti-racist links and news articles.
Center for Constitutional Rights -- Protecting the rights of dissidents and the disadvantaged. Needed now more than ever.
National Abortion Rights Action League-- Defending reproductive freedom, one cornerstone of women's liberation.
Americans United for Separation of Church and State-- Despite what our current president may believe, the U.S. is a secular nation with a constitutionally mandated separation of church and state. This organization works to keep it that way.
Critical Resistance-- Resisting the growth of the "prison-industrial-complex".
The Sentencing Project-- For a saner, fairer, less repressive criminal justice system.
National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty-- It is time to end the barbaric practice of state-administered murder once and for all.
Doctors Without Borders-- Bringing medical care to those in need around the world. Don't miss their report on the top ten underreported humanitarian stories of the year.
Free Higher Education-- Labor Party project to promote free higher education for all. An idea whose time has come.
Rethinking Schools-- Milwaukee-based group with progressive agenda for education, school funding and curricular reform. Focused on K-12. Nice collection of critical articles on vouchers and other right-wing education policy ideas.
Defend Dissent and Critical Thinking on Campus-- A progressive response to the attack on Ward Churchill and academic free expression engineered by right wing groups like Campus Watch and the misnamed Students for Academic Freedom.
Free Exchange on Campus-- A coalition of faculty, student, and civil rights organizations working together to preserve the free exchange of ideas on college campuses. A leading critic of Horowitz and the misnamed "Academic Bill of Rights".
Teachers for a Democratic Society--Another group formed to defend Ward Churchill and others targeted by the new McCarthyism.
DePaul Academic Freedom Committee-- A group formed by De Paul students in reaction to their university's decision to deny tenure to award-winning scholar and noted Israel critic Norman Finkelstein.
Center for Campus Free Speech-- Works against state or administration sponsored restrictions on free expression on college campuses.
College Freedom-- A website about academic freedom and the threats posed to it by administrators and (usually conservative) politicians and political groups.
Radical Teacher-- Leftists in education from K through college. Useful pedagogical ideas and articles on curricular issues from a feminist, socialist, anti-racist perspective.
Workplace: Journal of Academic Labor --News and commentary about graduate student unions, the labor struggles of adjunct faculty and other issues of concern to academic workers.
AAUP-- American Association of University Professors. It's stated purpose is " to advance academic freedom and shared governance, to define fundamental professional values and standards for higher education, and to ensure higher education's contribution to the common good." Sadly, at times the AAUP has been awfully inconsistent about defending professor's free speech rights (see, for instance, its deplorable performance in the Ward Churchill case).