Headlines

Tar Heel Lawmakers Put Global Warming on Hold! (or, a Rising Tide Lifts No Votes)

In a backward leap of anti-Copernican proportions, North Carolina's state legislature recently passed what may be the nation's first state-wide global warming denial legislation.

The legislature on July 2 effectively nullified the state's own science panel's report predicting a 20 to 55-inch rise in sea level. The statehouse also commanded scientists to wait until July 1, 2016, to make their next report (and only after it is approved/scrubbed by the powers that be).

University of Wisconsin Launches Historic Challenge to Adidas over Sweatshop Conditions for College-Branded Apparel

BREAKING NEWS: The University of Wisconsin Board of Regents on Friday filed a precedent-setting breach of contract claim against sportswear brand Adidas, after the company failed to comply with anti-sweatshop provisions requiring they provide certain benefits to workers who produce goods that bear the mark of the university. This is the first time a U.S. university has sought to enforce a global anti-sweatshop code of conduct in a U.S. court of law.

Express-Scripts is Twenty-Sixth Corporation to Dump ALEC

Pharmacy benefits manager Express-Scripts told the Center for Media and Democracy today that it has ended its membership in the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), making it the twenty-sixth business to dump ALEC in recent months.

Diageo Continues Flying ALEC Flag under Darkening Skies

When it's not sailing along on government largesse -- like the $2.7 billion granted by U.S. Virgin Islands to help sell rum -- the global corporation that owns Captain Morgan flies a very different flag. It is a corporate leader of the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), flying the flag of "limited government."

How a Right-Wing Group Is Infiltrating State News Coverage

  • Topics: Right Wing, Media
  • Editor's note: The Center for Media and Democracy is pleased to publish this important investigative work about a new and far-reaching effort to spin news about state legislation, which has been examined by Media Matters for America's Joe Strupp. CMD recently published two related stories, one on the Franklin Center's operations and one about ALEC, the American Legislative Exchange Council. Media Matters' original story is available here.

    When Idaho state legislators proposed a seemingly uncontroversial bill to ban access to commercial tanning beds by minors earlier this year, IdahoReporter.com took up the issue with force.

    Wisconsin Organizations Push for Election Transparency

    A coalition of Wisconsin organizations, including the Center for Media and Democracy (CMD), have asked state legislators to hold hearings on the need for greater transparency and accountability for political spending in Wisconsin. This call comes in the aftermath of a series of recall elections that saw over $100 million poured into the state, much of it from special interest groups that did not disclose their donors.

    Resolution Introduced in House to Make Congressional Research Reports Available to the Public

  • Topics: Democracy
  • A bipartisan resolution was introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives today to make Congressional Research Service (CRS) reports available to the public through the internet. The Center for Media and Democracy has signed-on in support of this legislation as a means to increase governmental transparency and promote a better-informed populace.

    Five More Corporations Dump ALEC; 25 Companies Have Now Cut Ties With Right-Wing Bill Mill

    Just in time for summer, Americans can cut their grass with a John Deere mower, drink a cold Miller High Life, and buy sunscreen from CVS without fear that their consumer dollars will be used to fund policies like voter suppression and climate change denial, now that Deere & Co., MillerCoors, and CVS have dropped their membership in the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC). Also cutting ties with ALEC are top computer maker Hewlett-Packard (HP) and electronics retailer Best Buy.

    Studies Show More People Shot to Death with ALEC/NRA “Stand Your Ground” Laws

    Two recent studies have found that so-called "Stand Your Ground" laws lead to more deaths. These findings contradict some claims made by right-wing politicians that have pushed these bills into law, such as the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) and the National Rifle Association (NRA). These laws have come under increased scrutiny since Florida's "Stand Your Ground" law was initially cited to protect Trayvon Martin's killer, George Zimmerman.

    Criminal Tax Penalties for ALEC? CMD's Investigation Provides Facts for Powerful New Complaint by Former IRS Official

    This month, a former leader of the Internal Revenue Service filed a complaint that the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) has violated the terms of its nonprofit status by operating primarily for the private benefit of its corporate members, based on documents and research from the Center for Media and Democracy (CMD), which manages PRWatch, ALECexposed, and SourceWatch. The complaint, which also alleges that ALEC misrepresented itself in tax filings, raises additional allegations beyond those in earlier IRS complaints filed by Common Cause.

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