PRW Staff's News Articles

Since 9/11, Koch Industries Has Fought Against Tougher Government Rules on Chemical Plants

By John Aloysius Farrell, Ben Wieder and Evan Bush

The Center for Media and Democracy is re-posting this article from John Aloysius Farrell, Ben Wieder, and Evan Bush at iWatch News, a project of the Center for Public Integrity, as part of our effort to track Koch Industries and ALEC via our ALECexposed.org project and to expose corporate spin. The original can be found here. For more, see Farrell's April 2011 article "Koch's web of influence" and Cole Goins' August 2011 article "What's it like living near a chemical plant?," both also on iWatch. To find out about chemical plants near you, download the spreadsheet of data gathered from the risk management plans that Koch files with the EPA.

Revealed: Former Goldman Sachs VP Turned Issa Staffer Supervised Scheduling Of Elizabeth Warren Incident (Think Progress)

  • Topics: BanksterUSA
  • -- by Lee Fang

    The Center for Media and Democracy is re-posting this article from Lee Fang at Think Progress as part of our effort to track right-wing opposition to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau through our BanksterUSA project. The original can be found here. For context on these new revelations, please read this news story from May 24.

    Last week, ThinkProgress revealed that Chairman Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA) hired Peter Haller, a former Goldman Sachs vice president, as one of his top aides. Haller, who adopted his mother's maiden name in 2008 and had escaped public scrutiny until now, coordinated an Oversight Committee letter to regulators demanding that they justify new Dodd-Frank rules impacting investment banks like his old employer, Goldman Sachs. After publication of our story, the Project on Government Oversight discovered more of Haller's Oversight Committee letters, again on issues directly related to Goldman Sachs.

    FreedomWorks Announces AstroTurf Roadshow

    FreedomWorks, Inc., a non-profit organization heavily involved with the Tea Party movement, announced on August 3rd a new round of Tea Party rallies throughout Wisconsin. The first rally is in Hudson, Wisconsin, on Friday, August 5th, and other rallies are scheduled for LaCrosse, Kenosha, Milwaukee, Fond du Lac, New London, Merrill, Rhinelander and DePere through Monday, August 8th. See schedule here.

    ALEC Activity in Wisconsin, Circa 2004

    By Katya Szabados

    (From CMD: This report was originally printed as the cover story in the March 2, 2004 edition of the Madison-based newspaper "The Wisconsinite," titled "Dr. No and the Spectre of ALEC." While written more than seven years ago, the story it tells about the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) and its role in Wisconsin government is illuminating and remains relevant today.

    Colvin on Comparing the Constitutional Amendments Proposed after Citizens United

    By Greg Colvin

    Among those who feel the only way to overcome the Citizens United decision, which opened the door to unlimited corporate spending on elections, is to amend the U.S. Constitution, the question on everyone's mind is: "So what's the language?"

    I offered a version of my own, the Citizens Election Amendment, posted three months ago at this site. It got a pretty good response (over 400 people "liked" it on Facebook) and last week I was in Washington, DC, talking to several members of Congress about it.

    The main approach I take is to build upon the individual citizen's constitutional RIGHT TO VOTE (a right that Americans have shed blood and died for), protecting and expanding it to give citizen human beings the right to be the sole source of funding for election campaigns.

    TODAY: Call the White House and Demand PATRIOT Act Reform!

    When: Tuesday, April 5 9:00am - 5:00pm EST
    What: Ask the president to veto any PATRIOT Act reauthorization that does not include expanded civil liberties protections
    White House Phone Number: 202-456-1111

    On Tuesday, April 5, the 219th anniversary of the first veto in US history by President George Washington, the Center for Media and Democracy along with the Bill of Rights Defense Council and a coalition of other civil liberties groups are calling on President Barack Obama to veto any bill reauthorizing the PATRIOT Act without impo

    Robert Greenwald on the Koch Brothers?

    We want your vote on the worst thing the Koch brothers have done to date! Is it oil spills, anti-worker, anti-healthcare, anti-immigration, or maybe you’ve got a better one? Write it in at Koch Brothers Exposed.

    The Huffington Post: Five Worst Things the Koch Brothers Have Done. Vote!

    Robert Greenwald
    Filmmaker, Brave New Films

    Center for Media and Democracy Submits Amicus Brief Defending Campaign Disclosure Rules

    MADISON--The Center for Media and Democracy (CMD) has filed a brief with the Wisconsin Supreme Court defending proposed disclosure rules passed in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court's Citizens United decision, rules that are being challenged by the Koch-funded group, Americans for Prosperity. In the brief, CMD also questions whether rights granted by Wisconsin's Constitution can be legitimately extended to corporations.

    Walker’s Budget Plan Is a Three-Part Roadmap for the Right

    Guest Opinion by Mike Konczal

    Tim Fernholz wrote an excellent article in the National Journal about the "bait and switch" of Governor Walker's Wisconsin plan. Fernholz points out that the short-term deficit problem can be covered by debt restructuring, and that the big pieces of the bill that relate to dismantling public sector unions, control over Medicaid and creating a no-bid energy asset sale process are not directly budget related. (See Bait and Switch?).

    There's a three-prong approach in Governor Walker's plan that highlights a blueprint for conservative governorship after the 2010 election. The first is breaking public sector unions and public sector workers generally. The second is streamlining benefits away from legislative authority, especially for health care and in fighting the Health Care Reform Act. The third is the selling of public assets to private interests under firesale and crony capitalist situations.

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