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ALECexposed: List of Corporations and Special Interests that Underwrote ALEC's 40th Anniversary Meeting

by Lisa Graves — August 15, 2013 - 1:27pm
  • Topics: ALEC Exposed, Corporations

    • This year's annual meeting of the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) had fewer corporations listed as sponsoring that meeting for a seemingly smaller total amount of revenue.

    Based on the sponsorship rates ALEC promoted earlier this year, the organization took in approximately $910,000 from firms specifically designated as "President" to "Trustee" level sponsors for its 40th Anniversary meeting compared with estimated revenue of approximately $1.2 million for the same level of sponsorships at last year's meeting in Salt Lake City.

    News

    More Corporations Drop Off ALEC's Conference Brochure

    by Lisa Graves — August 15, 2013 - 7:37am
  • Topics: ALEC Exposed, Corporations

    • An examination of the promotional brochure for the Chicago meeting of the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) reveals that the meeting -- where corporate lobbyists secretly vote as equals with legislators on model bills at ALEC task force meetings -- has fewer corporate sponsors willing to tell the public they bankroll ALEC's operations. This news comes in the aftermath of 48 corporations and six non-profits leaving ALEC after the Center for Media and Democracy (CMD) connected the dots between "Stand Your Ground" legislation and ALEC, and coalition of organizations pressed for corporations to stop funding ALEC.

    News

    Koch-Funded Franklin Center "Watchdogs" Infiltrate State Capitols

    by Rebekah Wilce — August 14, 2013 - 7:53am
  • Topics: Right Wing, Defend the Press, Media

    • As newsrooms across the country have cut staff reporters -- due in part to slipping ad revenue and corporate media conglomeration -- the Franklin Center for Government and Public Integrity has rushed to fill the gap, as the Center for Media and Democracy (CMD) has documented. The Franklin Center has 40 state news websites, with reporters in 34 states so far. Its reporters have received state house press credentials and its stories appear as news in mainstream print newspapers in each state without alerting readers to the heavy right-wing bias of the Franklin-related publications.

    News

    "Pandora's Lunchbox" -- Ingredients in Processed Food Products May Surprise You

    by Lisa Graves — August 13, 2013 - 9:05am
  • Topics: Agriculture, Children, Corporations, Food, Food Rights Network, Health, Marketing, Science

    • "The vitamin D in your milk ... is almost surely a derivative -- after many chemical stages -- from lanolin from Australian sheep wool, concocted in a factory in China. ... Vitamin A, is often synthesized from acetone, a principal ingredient in nail polish remover," notes George Kenney based on his interview with Melanie Warner, a former writer for the New York Times.

    Guest Contributor

    The Tiniest New Technology Poses Unanswered Safety Questions

    by Jill Richardson — August 12, 2013 - 7:21am
  • Topics: Food Safety, Corporations, Food Rights Network, Health

    • You might use nanotechnology in the sunscreens you squirt or lather on your kids. You might lick your lips and taste it in your favorite lip-gloss. You might even eat it in your Jell-O pudding. But is it safe?

    Press Release

    ALEC at 40: Turning Back the Clock on Prosperity and Progress

    by PRW Staff — August 8, 2013 - 9:30am
  • Topics: ALEC Exposed, Corporations, Democracy

    • New Report Identifies 466 ALEC Bills in 2013 That Reflect Corporate Agenda

    For Immediate Release: August 8, 2013
    Contact: Harriet_Rowan@prwatch.org

    Today, the Center for Media and Democracy (CMD) released a new report: "ALEC at 40: Turning Back the Clock on Prosperity and Progress." The report identifies and analyzes 466 American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) bills introduced in 2013.

    Special Report

    ALEC 2013 Agenda Harkens Back to a Bygone Era

    by Mary Bottari — August 8, 2013 - 7:01am
  • Topics: ALEC Exposed, Corporations, Democracy

    • The year was 1973. Richard Nixon said he was "not a crook." John Dean said there was "a cancer on the presidency." Pinochet was taking over Chile; George Wallace was still in charge of Alabama. Gasoline was 40 cents a gallon and the minimum wage was $1.60 an hour.

    In Illinois, a group of legislators gathered to remake America. On their minds: "limited government," "free markets," "federalism" ... and let's not forget the girls.

    News

    A Side of Climate Change Denial with Your Coffee? ALEC Dishes up Some Hard to Swallow Spin with the Heartland Institute

    by Lisa Graves — August 8, 2013 - 12:05am
  • Topics: ALEC Exposed, Global Warming, Environment

    • This morning in Chicago hundreds of primarily Republican state legislators are getting more indoctrination against doing anything about climate change from the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC).

    This year, ALEC has chosen its long-time partner, the Heartland Institute, to help host the session. Heartland is so extreme on the issue of climate change that it sought to equate people who believe the climate is changing with the Unabomber, through a billboard campaign that featured a mugshot of Ted Kaczynski with the line: "I still believe in Global Warming. Do you?" Heartland lost numerous funders in response to a citizens campaign about the ad last year.

    News

    What's on ALEC's Agenda for its 40th Anniversary Meeting in Chicago?

    by Brendan Fischer — August 7, 2013 - 10:34am
  • Topics: ALEC Exposed

    • CHICAGO -- This week, the corporate and legislator members of the American Legislative Exchange Council are meeting at the swank Palmer House hotel in Chicago to celebrate the organization's 40th anniversary, be educated in corporate sponsored workshops and adopt legislative priorities for the coming year. Here is what is on the agenda for ALEC's 40th -- notably, some of the workshops carry a $40,000 pricetag for corporate sponsors.

    Guest Contributor

    ALEC's Chicago Conference Incites Protest, Multiple Arrests

    by PRW Staff — August 7, 2013 - 12:25am
  • Topics: Activism, ALEC Exposed

    • -- by Ashlee Rezin, published from Progress Illinois

    Six people were arrested Monday when protesters descended upon the Palmer House Hilton in Chicago to push back against the impending visit of the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), whose conservative agenda, activists say, promotes policies and legislation that protects corporate interests and disenfranchises workers and voters.

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