House votes down bill to exempt blogs, e-mail from campaign finance laws News
House votes down bill to exempt blogs, e-mail from campaign finance laws

[JURIST] The US House of Representatives [official website] voted Wednesday not to exempt online political expression – blogs, emails, and other forms of Internet communication – from campaign finance laws [FEC materials]. Lawmakers had warned that the Internet may have opened up a new loophole for election spending. The House voted 225-182 [roll call vote] for House Resolution 1606 [PDF text], which would have exempted online forms from regulation by the Federal Election Commission [official website], but the margin fell short of the two-thirds majority required for the bill to move forward. The FEC has been instructed by the federal courts [JURIST report] to promulgate rules governing political speech and campaign spending online. AP has more.

THIS DAY @ LAW

Indian National Congress founded

The Indian National Congress (INC) was founded on December 28, 1885 in Bombay (now Mumbai), India. In subsequent decades, the so-called Congress Party would advocate for Indian independence from the UK, which was eventually achieved in 1947. The first Prime Minister of independent India, Jawaharlal Nehru, was elected as a member of the INC. Learn more about the history and founding of the Indian National Congress.

Congress recognized Pledge of Allegiance

On December 28, 1945, Congress officially recognized the Pledge of Allegiance and encouraged its recitation in schools. The Pledge was supposedly written in 1892 by Francis Bellamy, a Baptist minister, to celebrate the 400th anniversary of Columbus Day. The words “under God” were added by Congress in 1954. The revised version of the Pledge was the subject of litigation before the United States Supreme Court originally brought by Michael Newdow, a parent who unsuccessfully objected to his daughter's school district policy requiring daily recitation of the Pledge. The court ruled that Newdow had no standing.

Nepal ends monarchy, establishes republic

On December 28, 2007, the Kingdom of Nepal's interim parliament ended the country's monarchy and established the Republic of Nepal. Free elections were held on April 10 of the following year to elect a Constituent Assembly.

Learn more about the rise of democracy in Nepal.