Jonathan Rosenblum's News Articles

Adidas Tells WI Court It Has No Obligation to Help Exploited Workers

Despite promising U.S. universities that it would help ensure fair labor practices, Adidas, the world's second largest athletic shoe and apparel company, has told a Wisconsin court that it can't be required to "stand in the shoes" of its global suppliers who owe millions of dollars to workers, according to a court document reviewed by the Center for Media and Democracy.

VP Role for Paul Ryan Has His Former Parish Priest Worried

The entrance to St. Mary Elementary School in Janesville, Wisconsin has two identical archways with contrasting inscriptions. One entrance says, "For God." The other says, "For Country." That is where Mitt Romney's vice presidential running mate, U.S. Rep. Paul Ryan, first merged his studies of government and religion as a young student.

It's Bucky v. Adidas: Indonesia Labor Rights Violations Head to Court in Wisconsin

  • Topics: Ethics
  • A student rendering of Bucky Badger puts the University of Wisconsin-Madison's furry mascot in a lock-up formed by the Adidas three-bar logo.

    But in a historic test, it is the midwestern university that is now putting Adidas on trial.

    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).

    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."

    Supreme Court Applies Citizens United to States: Rules for Robber Barons and Copper Kings

    If notorious Montana copper baron William Andrews Clark were alive today, he would be celebrating the U.S. Supreme Court decision that nullified Montana's 100 year old Corrupt Practices Act. Legal observers said Monday that the Court's ruling applies its controversial 2010 Citizens United decision to all state electoral races down to dog catcher and leaves little room for states or localities to regulate "independent" corporate campaign contributions.

    The Nuns on the Bus Go Up and Down

  • Topics: Religion
  • As the exhaust cleared from Mitt Romney's brief bus stop in the economically devastated town of Janesville, Wisconsin on Monday, another massive bus rolled into town.

    Four nuns from two coasts and the American heartland embarking on the ultimate tongue-in-cheek counterspin tour, walked off their presidential campaign-style "wrapped bus," past 300 cheering fans into the offices of the nation's rising star conservative Catholic lawmaker, Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Janesville). They were there to challenge the House Budget Committee Chairman's fundamentals -- both the social services-slashing budget that he has shepherded through Congress and his claims that Catholic doctrine supports his policies.

    The Incredible Shrinking $7.5 Million Damage Tab for the Wisconsin Capitol Protests

    When all is said and spun, some will judge the veracity of Governor Scott Walker's administration by a single number it released in March 2011.

    The "Wisconsin Uprising" hit its stride in February-March, 2011 with more than 100,000 protesters rallying outside the Capitol and thousands more inside, including hundreds who occupied overnight for up to three weeks. When the administration was seeking to limit public access to the Capitol during the protests, the Wisconsin Department of Administration's chief counsel Cari Anne Renlund, told a judge hearing the access case that the cleanup would cost $6 million to repair damaged marble inside the Capitol, $1 million for damage outside and $500,000 for costs to supervise the damage. The estimates (which were the same as the original cost of the entire construction of the Capitol nearly a century ago) were based largely on alleged tape residue damage from signs. Protestors countered that they had consulted with preservationists and used marble-safe blue painter's tape. Their militant adherence to the blue tape was visible to every Capitol visitor.

    State Farm Insurance Claims "No Fault" in Bankrolling ALEC

    Despite calls from Color of Change, the Center for Media and Democracy and other public interest groups to cut ties with the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), State Farm Insurance, the nation's largest auto insurer and a major insurer of homes, has maintained both membership and leadership in the organization. Why would a Fortune #37 company that specializes in making a profit off of risk algorithms take the risk of alienating many of its own customers?

    Republican Presidential Primary Swings Into Land of Recall

    What does Wisconsin get when it crosses the recall of Governor Scott Walker with a Republican presidential primary? The serious answer: a massive infusion of Super PAC and other outside money into the state.

    Most of the state has been focused on Walker's campaign to hold onto his job for the past several months, but in advance of Wisconsin’s April 5 presidential primary, Romney, Santorum, Paul and Gingrich are competing for a little bit of attention -- and for Wisconsin's 42 delegates.

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