PRW Staff's News Articles

Taxpayer Dollars Subsidize ALEC Birthday Bash

  • Topics: ALEC Exposed
  • -- By Isabel Carson

    As the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) gears up for its 40th birthday party in Chicago, Illinois, next week, some state legislatures are digging into taxpayers' pockets to pay for ALEC politicians to travel to the birthday bash.

    Hard-Hitting TV Ads Push to Overturn Citizens United

    For many years now, the Center for Media and Democracy has joined with Public Citizen, Common Cause, People for the American Way, Move to Amend, Free Speech for the People, and other good government and grassroots groups in an effort to build momentum to overturn the Citizens United Supreme Court decision with an amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

    Through countless collective and individual efforts, we are on a roll. In total, 16 states and roughly 500 communities have asked Congress to initiate the process of overturning Citizens United by amending our constitution. The Nation magazine dubbed it the "most successful and uncovered" political movement in America.

    Just How Low Can Your Salary Go? 117 ALEC Bills in 2013 Fuel Race to the Bottom in Wages and Worker Rights

    -- by Mary Bottari and Rebekah Wilce

    At least 117 bills introduced in 2013 fuel a "race to the bottom" in wages, benefits, and worker rights and resemble "model" bills from the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), according to a new analysis by the Center for Media and Democracy (CMD), publishers of ALECexposed.org.

    A Book Is Better Than a Box of Chocolates

    -- by Ralph Nader

    Summer is an ideal season for jolting your mind into action by expanding your reading horizons. So shut off the computer and the television, put away the various gadgets, close your email and pick up a good book. There are plenty of entertaining choices for your reading pleasure, but the following titles are ones that I have enjoyed. They all address the serious pursuit of justice/happiness side of the written word.

    Americans for Prosperity Goes After ObamaCare (Again)

    -- by Seep Paliwal

    Americans for Prosperity (AFP), a conservative advocacy group founded and funded by David Koch, is spearheading an ad campaign aimed at young women attacking the 2010 federal health reform law dubbed "ObamaCare." It is spending more than $1 million to run the ad in Virginia and Ohio, with plans to expand it to a total of seven states.

    The Supreme Court Has Severely Limited Workers’ Ability to Sue Employers for Discrimination

    -- by Seep Paliwal

    In the midst of landmark opinions on the Voting Rights Act, affirmative action, and marriage equality, the U.S. Supreme Court handed down a pair of barely-noticed decisions that will severely limit workers' ability to seek justice if they are victims of discrimination at work.

    EPA Pulls Its Punches When It Comes to Issuing Findings on Fracking

    When the Environmental Protection Agency abandoned its multimillion-dollar investigation, which found strong evidence of fracking contamination of water resources in Wyoming in June, industry groups cheered, and environmentalists fumed.

    America's Most Dynamic (Yet Under-Covered) Movement: Overturning Citizens United

    -- by John Nichols, The Nation

    The most under-covered political movement in the United States -- and there are a lot of under-covered political movements in the United States -- is the broad-based national campaign to enact a constitutional amendment to overturn the Supreme Court rulings that ushered in a new era of big-money politics.

    John Nichols, Bob McChesney Book Event for “Dollarocracy” in Madison July 24th

  • Topics: Democracy, Media
  • The Center for Media and Democracy will be hosting the inaugural event celebrating the publication of Dollarocracy: How the Money and Media Election Complex is Destroying America, the new book from acclaimed authors John Nichols and Robert McChesney.

    Top Ten U.S. Supreme Court Quotes From This Week

  • Topics: Politics
  • What a monster of a week for court watchers. The U.S. Supreme Court struck down the federal Defense of Marriage Act (U.S. v. Windsor), upheld same-sex marriage in California (Hollingsworth v. Perry), neutered the landmark civil rights legislation the Voting Rights Act (Shelby County v. Holder), and punted on affirmative action (Fisher v. University of Texas).

    Here are the top ten quotes from justices writing majority, concurring, and dissenting opinions this week:

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