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"Won't Back Down" Film Pushes ALEC Parent Trigger Proposal

by Mary Bottari — September 19, 2012 - 10:00am
  • Topics: ALEC Exposed, Front Groups, Issue Management, Public Diplomacy, Third Party Technique, Children, Corporations, Democracy, Education

    • -- by Mary Bottari and Sara Jerving

    Well-funded advocates of privatizing the nation's education system are employing a new strategy this fall to enlist support for the cause. The emotionally engaging Hollywood film "Won't Back Down" -- set for release September 28 -- portrays so-called "Parent Trigger" laws as an effective mechanism for transforming underperforming public schools. But the film's distortion of the facts prompts a closer examination of its funders and backers and a closer look at those promoting Parent Trigger as a cure for what ails the American education system.

    Pennsylvania Supreme Court Rules against Voter ID, for now

    by Brendan Fischer — September 18, 2012 - 3:12pm
  • Topics: ALEC Exposed, Right Wing, Democracy, Propaganda, Race / Ethnic Issues

    • The Pennsylvania Supreme Court has vacated a lower court ruling that had upheld the state's voter ID law, setting the stage for the law to be blocked before the November elections.

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    Will Pennsylvania Follow Wisconsin's Lead on Voter ID?

    by Brendan Fischer — September 18, 2012 - 8:00am
  • Topics: ALEC Exposed, Democracy, Race / Ethnic Issues, Wisconsin Protests

    • Last month, a Pennsylvania court upheld the state's American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) - inspired voter ID law, but in hearings on appeal that state's supreme court has given the law a harsh reception. Might the Pennsylvania Supreme Court follow Wisconsin's lead and throw out the voter ID law before the 2012 election?

    On Jobs Promise, Walker Fooled Wisconsin Once; New Romney Ads Promise 240,000 State Jobs

    by Will Dooling — September 17, 2012 - 7:30am
  • Topics: Advertising, Election 2012, Democracy, Economy, Labor, Wisconsin Protests

    • On September 6th, the Detroit News reported that Republican candidate for president Mitt Romney took a look at the latest polls and decided to pull down ads in Michigan and Pennsylvania. Romney-friendly SuperPACs did the same. The campaign and its allies are looking to move the money to swing states where the polling is more favorable.

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    Wisconsin Judge Strikes Down Sections of Walker's Act 10 as Unconstitutional

    by Brendan Fischer — September 14, 2012 - 5:47pm
  • Topics: Economy, Labor, Wisconsin Protests

    • A Wisconsin judge has struck down as unconstitutional sections of Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker's controversial collective bargaining law, Act 10, at least as applied to municipal and school district employees, who are the majority of public workers in the state. Act 10 prompted months of protests after it was introduced in 2011, and inspired a hard-fought recall effort that Walker survived in June of this year.

    Outside Money Frames Candidates for Wisconsin's U.S. Senate Seat

    by Will Dooling — September 14, 2012 - 8:26am
  • Topics: Election 2012

    • After a close primary, the race to fill Wisconsin's open U.S. Senate seat is now underway, with former Wisconsin Governor Tommy Thompson facing off against Madison's U.S. Representative Tammy Baldwin. Both campaigns have sizable campaign coffers at their disposal, yet both are being assailed by huge ad buys coming from outside the state. The pro-Thompson ads come from "dark money" nonprofit groups that do not disclose their donors, despite raising and spending unlimited funds for the election. The pro-Baldwin ads are aired by big-spending Super PACs that also have no limits on raising or spending but must disclose the source of their funds.

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    Merck and Wells Fargo Dump ALEC, while Duke Energy Holds Out

    by Rebekah Wilce — September 14, 2012 - 8:06am
  • Topics: ALEC Exposed, Corporations, Politics

    • Merck, one of the world's largest pharmaceutical companies, and Wells Fargo, one of the largest banks in the United States, have joined 38 other major firms and cut ties with the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC). ALEC is a controversial "bill mill" that brings together right-wing legislators and corporations to draft controversial model bills behind closed doors. The exit of the two firms brings the total to 40 major American firms that have departed ALEC in recent months. Meanwhile, Duke Energy, the largest regulated utility company in the United States, has not responded to recent intensified consumer pressure to dump ALEC. Beyond their membership in ALEC, all three firms have been criticized for dodging taxes from 2008-2010.

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    Environmentalist Bill McKibben on Keeping a Strong Focus on Climate Change

    by Sara Jerving — September 13, 2012 - 7:47am
  • Topics: Activism, Global Warming, Environment

    • Bill McKibben, founder of the international climate change group 350.org, is one of the world's leading campaigners on the climate change crisis. In 2010, the Boston Globe called him "probably the nation's leading environmentalist." The Center for Media and Democracy (CMD) interviewed McKibben to ask about the status of the global climate change movement and the current priorities of 350.org. McKibben will be in Madison, WI to address "Fighting Bob Fest" September 15.

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    Paul Weyrich's Troika Reunited: ALEC Partners with Republican Study Committee at Heritage Foundation

    by Brendan Fischer — September 12, 2012 - 8:44am
  • Topics: ALEC Exposed, Right Wing, Front Groups, U.S. Congress, Think Tanks

    • Three right-wing organizations founded nearly forty years ago by conservative activist Paul Weyrich are rediscovering their shared origins. The Republican Study Committee, a caucus of 169 right-wing Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives, is establishing a partnership with the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), the controversial "corporate bill mill" for state legislators, and their first meeting is scheduled at the Heritage Foundation headquarters. Each of those three organizations -- the RSC, ALEC, and the Heritage Foundation -- were founded in 1973 by Weyrich. (Weyrich passed away in 2008.)

    News

    Chicago Teachers "On Strike for Better Schools"

    by Harriet Rowan — September 11, 2012 - 8:35am
  • Topics: Activism, Education, Labor, Real Economy Project

    • Negotiations between the Chicago Teacher's Union (CTU) and Chicago Public Schools (CPS) failed to result in a contract before Sunday, September 9, 2012 at midnight, sparking the first teacher's strike in Chicago in 25 years. The strike is now in its second day.

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