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New Report: ALEC Exposed in Iowa

Des Moines -- Today a group of open government advocates released a new report called "ALEC Exposed in Iowa: How Corporate Influence Subverts Our Democratic Process" that details the American Legislative Exchange Council's influence on Iowa lawmakers and the legislative process in the state.

Another WI Supreme Court Election Battle Dominated By Outside Spending

Ever since Governor Scott Walker imposed his anti-union legislation on Wisconsin, the state has become exceptionally polarized. This polarization is reflected in the current race for Supreme Court. Once again Wisconsin is seeing massive spending from outside groups in a race that is officially nonpartisan.

From Tabloids to Tablets: News Corp Spends Big on LA School Board Race, Sets Sights on Public Education "Market"

  • Topics: ALEC Exposed
  • A subsidiary of Rupert Murdoch's News Corp -- parent company of Fox News and the Wall Street Journal -- has spent a whopping $250,000 on the Los Angeles school board race, just as the corporation focuses on making money off of public education. News Corp and its for-profit education subsidiaries are also members of the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), and the education initiatives promoted by News Corp's preferred candidates track the ALEC agenda.

    Have a Cold One, Brought to You by the Foodopoly

    - by Wenonah Hauter

    Tonight, millions of people will enjoy a beer. What the vast majority of them probably won't realize is that the variety of brands they see in the stores come from just two foreign-based multinational companies that control 80 percent of the market here in the U.S.

    Center for Media and Democracy Wins Open Government Award

    The Wisconsin Freedom of Information Council has awarded the "Citizen Openness Award" to the Center for Media and Democracy for its efforts to bring sunshine to government operations in 2012.

    Community-Owned Internet, Long Targeted by ALEC and Big Telecom, Under Fire in Georgia

    Members of the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) in the Georgia Legislature are pushing a bill to thwart locally-owned internet in underserved communities, an industry-sponsored effort that effectively reinforces the digital divide. (UPDATE: HB 282 failed on a 94-70 vote on March 7.) If Georgia had passed the bill it would have been the twentieth state to eliminate community control over internet access.

    New Report By U.S. PIRG Targets Cash Stashed Overseas

    In our new report on Fix the Debt, CMD reveals that part of the Fix the Debt's hidden corporate agenda is to push for new tax loopholes that would actually add to the deficit. Specifically, many Fix the Debt firms want to exempt money made offshore from taxation in the United States. Opening this new loophole would cost the Treasury some $1 trillion over 10 years according to Citizens for Tax Justice.

    New Study by National Employment Law Project Documents ALEC’s Attack on Wages

    Since the Center for Media and Democracy's launch of ALEC Exposed in July 2011, CMD has known that the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) and its corporate funders are accelerating the race to the bottom in wages and working conditions for America's working families. ALEC has a raft of "model bills" to lower wages and slash benefits for workers, even one to repeal state minimum wage laws.

    Walker Walks Away from "John Doe" Investigation, Pushes Budget Deal Only ALEC Could Love

    On March 1, 2013, Milwaukee Country prosecutors shut down the long running "John Doe" probe into corruption in Scott Walker's office during the time he served as Milwaukee County Executive. Six people were charged and convicted, including three former Walker staff, but no charges were brought against Walker. Milwaukee County District Attorney John Chisholm issued a brief, telling statement: "After a review of the John Doe evidence, I am satisfied that all charges that are supported by proof beyond a reasonable doubt have now been brought and concluded."

    Wenonah Hauter, Author of "Foodopoly," Discusses Why Corporate Control of America's Food System Affects YOU

    Wenonah Hauter, Executive Director of the national advocacy organization Food and Water Watch, will be in Madison, March 18, to read from her acclaimed new book "Foodopoly: The Battle Over the Future of Food and Farming in America." Publishers Weekly calls it a "tour de force."

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