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ALEC Ties Bring Down British Defense Secretary, Threaten Prime Minister David Cameron

by Brendan Fischer — October 18, 2011 - 9:12am
  • Topics: ALEC Exposed, Corporations, Democracy, Ethics, International, Lobbying, Politics

    • British Defense Secretary Liam Fox has stepped down in the midst of an escalating scandal tied to the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC). The ALEC connections have led opposition party leaders and the British press to question whether British Prime Minister David Cameron has been "allowing a secret rightwing agenda to flourish at the heart of the Conservative party."

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    Recall On: Scott Walker's Campaign Coffers "Open for Business"

    by Mary Bottari — October 17, 2011 - 2:42pm
  • Topics: Corporate Campaigns, Democracy, Economy, Wisconsin Protests

    • Putting aside a laundry list of potential dates, calculations and concerns, the Democratic Party of Wisconsin announced last week that they will be joining with community groups to launch a campaign to recall the state's governor, Scott Walker. With a corruption scandal brewing behind the scenes, political activists decided there was no better time than now.

    Hurdles for those wishing to recall Walker are high.

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    CMD Opposes Anti-Muslim Intelligence Tools

    by Patrick Moran — October 17, 2011 - 7:01am
  • Topics: Terrorism, Democracy, Religion

    • The Center for Media and Democracy has signed onto a letter with the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and 26 other civil and human rights groups urging Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) director Robert Mueller to reform intelligence tools that express an anti-Muslim bias.

    The letter addresses FBI intelligence guidelines for law enforcement that purport to identify when a religious convert becomes a "Homegrown Islamic Extremist," but the list of "indicators" are behaviors protected by the First Amendment. The FBI has publicly declared that "strong religious beliefs should never be confused with violent extremism," but these guidelines contradict that message.

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    Wisconsin GOP Pushes ALEC Anti-Consumer Bill to Protect Drug Makers

    by Brendan Fischer — October 12, 2011 - 2:29pm
  • Topics: ALEC Exposed, Tort Reform, Corporations, Democracy, Economy

    • In the name of "job creation," Wisconsin GOP legislators are taking another page from the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) playbook and pushing a bill that gives global corporations that manufacture drugs and medical devices immunity from lawsuits when their products injure or kill.

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    ALEC Tied to British Political Scandal

    by Brendan Fischer — October 12, 2011 - 9:50am
  • Topics: ALEC Exposed, Right Wing, Corporations, Democracy, Economy, International, Lobbying

    • British Conservative Party defense secretary Liam Fox is in the midst of scandal that has grown deeper as ties to the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) are revealed. Pressure has been growing on Fox in recent weeks after having been caught in a lie about unethical dealings with his friend and former flatmate, and more ethical problems arising from the operation of a recently-dissolved, ALEC-connected "charity" Fox founded.

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    Local Food Ordinances from Maine to California

    by Rebekah Wilce — October 10, 2011 - 7:00am
  • Topics: Agriculture, Environment, Politics

    • Los Angeles County, California, is considering a resolution "recognizing the rights of individuals to grow and consume their own food and to enter into private contracts with other individuals to board animals for food."

    This resolution did not arise in a vacuum. Santa Cruz County, California, recently passed a similar resolution. Nevada County, California, citizens are pushing a similar resolution. And in El Dorado County, California, Farmer Pattie Chelseth has proposed a "Local Food and Self Governance Ordinance."

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    "Occupy" Movement Comes to Madison, Wisconsin

    by Emily Osborne — October 8, 2011 - 3:22pm
  • Topics: Activism, Corporations, Democracy, Wisconsin Protests

    • MADISON – The energy from Wisconsinites protesting Governor Scott Walker's attack on working people in early spring may have inspired Occupy Wall Street, and on Friday, Occupy Wall Street inspired demonstrations in Wisconsin. Around 150 people gathered in Madison's Reynolds Park Friday night for the first in a series of Occupy Madison demonstrations.

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    The Occupation Is On The Move, Find a Big Bank Protest Near You

    by Mary Bottari — October 8, 2011 - 9:34am
  • Topics: Activism, Banking, BanksterUSA, Corporations

    • U.S. Senator Paul Wellstone used to say "sometimes you have to pick a fight to win one."

    Now Occupy Wall Street has picked one, right in Jamie Dimon's backyard.

    But it won't stay contained in Zuccotti Park. While Brookfield Properties called the park a "public sanctuary" in 2005, they have apparently changed their minds. Mr. Zuccotti wants his park back and the police are preparing to clear it with new rules barring camping, sleeping and breathing.

    They are too late. The train has left the station and the Occupation is on the move. From Manhattan to Hawaii big bank protests are planned. Everyone who cares about creating an economy that works for working people should get on board.

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    "We are the 99%," but the 1% Buy Elections, Reports Show

    by Brendan Fischer — October 7, 2011 - 8:44am
  • Topics: Corporations, Democracy, Economy, Election Protection, Politics

    • As the "Occupy" protests spread across the country with the slogan "we are the ninety-nine percent," two reports released this week demonstrate how the top one percent are playing an increasingly outsized role in American elections.

    The New Yorker reports on a conservative multimillionaire's successful efforts to buy North Carolina's elections, and a report from campaign finance reform groups describe how an elite group of donors have laundered unlimited contributions to presidential campaigns. Much of this influence was made possible by the U.S. Supreme Court's Citizens United decision, and anger over corporate influence in politics is helping fuel the populist uprisings in Manhattan, D.C., and around the country.

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    Wisconsin Becomes Part of Gas Industry's Land Grab

    by Sara Jerving — October 7, 2011 - 7:50am
  • Topics: Corporate Social Responsibility, Corporations, Environment

    • The methane gas industry is snapping up land across the United States, and it's not only regions with gas reserves its after. Part of the controversial process of hydraulic fracturing, or "fracking," which has become big business in the nation, requires a fine silica sand. The sand is most easily accessible in the state of Wisconsin, which means the industry is looking to scrape the Midwestern state of it's rolling hills by extracting its sand. This new scramble for sand mining has local residents concerned about the health and environmental impacts on their communities.

    The industry of sand mining is booming along with the national increase in "natural" gas drilling. The industry is touting methane gas as a "bridge fuel" to wean the nation of its petroleum addiction, but the controversial practice of hydraulic fracturing has citizens up in arms because the process leaks harmful toxins into the nation's water supplies -- and the overall process of methane gas drilling is just as dirty, if not dirtier, than using petroleum.

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