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What Is Visa Hiding? Majority Shareholders Thwart Effort to Require More Disclosure of Money Spent on ALEC

by Lisa Graves — January 31, 2013 - 7:08am
  • Topics: ALEC Exposed, Right Wing, Corporations, Democracy, Economy, Ethics, Lobbying

    • A majority of Visa shareholders rejected an effort to require the company to provide more disclosure about its role in the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) and related lobbying activities. Boston Common Asset Management, an investment firm focused on socially responsible investing, and the Unitarian Universalist Association of Congregations (UUA), a religious organization that affirms the inherent capacity for good in human beings, filed a resolution to require the company to disclose all payments used for lobbying purposes, including payments to groups like ALEC. In all, over 100 million votes were cast in favor of the resolution -- 37% -- but that substantial outpouring of support for greater transparency accounted for less than a majority of the votes cast by Visa shareholders.

    Wisconsin Senator Ron Johnson Hearts Ayn Rand

    by Mary Bottari — January 30, 2013 - 10:05am

    Wisconsin Senator Ron Johnson had a bad week, a really bad week. First he was raked over the coals by Hillary Clinton, then raked over the coals by Senator John Kerry. Then the usually media shy U.S. Senator decided to give a lengthy interview to the Atlas Society, a group whose job is to keep the flame of Ayn Rand alive and well.

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    Money OUT, Voters IN: Tell the Wisconsin Legislature We Want a Statewide Referendum on Citizens United

    by PRW Staff — January 29, 2013 - 12:31pm
  • Topics: Democracy

    • The Center for Media and Democracy is joining forces with a statewide coalition to put Wisconsin on the record opposing the U.S. Supreme Court's Citizens United v FEC decision and to put us on the path towards reclaiming our democracy.

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    The Wisconsin Legislature Is Now in Control of Credentialing Capitol Journalists: Who Gets to Cover the Capitol?

    by PRW Staff — January 29, 2013 - 8:57am
  • Topics: Journalism, Media

    • by Dylan Brogan

    At the height of the collective bargaining protests, when nearly all the doors at the Capitol were locked and guarded by police officers from every corner of the state, Dick Wheeler -- the unquestioned leader of the Wisconsin Capitol press corps -- ensured that members of the media were not denied access to the building.

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    GOP Vote Rigging Stalls in Virginia and Florida but Pushes On in Wisconsin and Michigan -- Why?

    by Brendan Fischer — January 28, 2013 - 9:20am
  • Topics: Democracy, Politics

    • Virginia's governor has come out against a partisan effort to reallocate electoral college votes by Congressional district, but the plan is far from dead in other states, with governors in Wisconsin and Michigan voicing support for similar measures. The split between Virginia and other states on this issue may not be explained entirely by cooler heads prevailing -- it might be part of a political calculation about how best to elect a Republican president in 2016.

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    ALEC Has Opposed "Popular Vote" Efforts Which Would Protect Against Partisan Rigging of Electoral College

    by Brendan Fischer — January 25, 2013 - 10:39am
  • Topics: ALEC Exposed, Corporations, Democracy, Politics

    • The American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) has actively lobbied against state plans to implement a national popular vote for president, urging state legislators to preserve the Electoral College -- which GOP legislators are now trying to rig to ensure the the next president is a Republican. In late 2011, ALEC officially changed its policy on the Electoral College to implicitly support allocating electoral votes by congressional district.

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    Frontline Gets Its Man: Lanny Breuer Leaves DOJ After Exposé

    by Mary Bottari — January 24, 2013 - 3:55pm
  • Topics: Campaign Finance, Real Economy Project

    • In a testament to the power of independent media, the award-winning public television show Frontline this week helped push a top Department of Justice (DOJ) official out the door.

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    Americans for Prosperity Provides "Grassroots" for Controversial Wisconsin Mining Bill

    by Meher Ahmad — January 24, 2013 - 10:33am
  • Topics: Environment, Real Economy Project

    • David Koch's Americans for Prosperity (AFP) chapter in Wisconsin is throwing its support behind a proposed mine in the state's far North. A mining bill -- almost identical to the one that failed last year in the Wisconsin State Senate -- was reintroduced this week in the state legislature. What changed? Republicans picked up two more Senate seats in 2012, which may give mining supporters the slim margin they need.

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    Destructive Interstate Job Piracy on the Rise, Says New Report

    by Mary Bottari — January 24, 2013 - 8:50am
  • Topics: Economy

    • With the nation still grappling with high unemployment and depressed tax revenues, many states are stepping up efforts to lure jobs from neighboring states -- paying firms a fortune to jump state lines. Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker, for instance, is actively trying to poach jobs from Illinois and changed the Wisconsin welcome signs to proclaim "Wisconsin -- open for business."

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    Five Days Before Latest College Shooting, TX Legislator Introduced ALEC/NRA Bill to Allow Guns on Campus

    by Brendan Fischer — January 23, 2013 - 8:58am
  • Topics: ALEC Exposed, Lobbying, Politics

    • Just days before three people were shot in an altercation on a college campus in Texas, fourteen Texas State Senators co-sponsored a National Rifle Association-backed bill to prohibit colleges from restricting concealed handguns on campuses. The legislation closely resembles a "model" adopted by the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC).

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