ALEC Exposed

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CONTEST: Searching for High Quality ALEC Protest Photos/Video Suitable for Posting On-line

by PRW Staff — May 4, 2012 - 9:02am
  • Topics: ALEC Exposed, Corporations, Democracy

    • Grassroots activism and consumer pressure have played a critical role in exposing the extreme policy proposals of the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) over the past year. To date, 14 corporations and 34 legislators have decided to cut their ties with ALEC.

    News

    National Board for Professional Teaching Standards Cuts Ties to ALEC

    by Rebekah Wilce — May 1, 2012 - 1:50pm
  • Topics: ALEC Exposed, Education

    • The national certifying body for teachers in the United States, the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS), participated in the Education Task Force of the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) until April 2012. In an official statement sent to the Center for Media and Democracy (CMD) today, NBPTS spokesperson Brian Lewis said, "Given recent events, the new NBPTS President and CEO decided to discontinue engagement with ALEC. As a result, NBPTS terminated its membership as an Education Task Force Member of ALEC effective April 18, 2012, and also withdrew from participating in the upcoming ALEC conference. ... The decision to participate in ALEC had been made by previous NBPTS leadership."

    News

    Koch-Funded Mackinac Center Brings Wisconsin Act 10 Provisions to ALEC

    by Brendan Fischer — May 1, 2012 - 8:37am
  • Topics: ALEC Exposed, Corporations, Labor, Politics, Wisconsin Protests

    • With the recent publication of additional American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) documents, new questions are being raised about the source of certain provisions in Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker's controversial collective bargaining legislation. Some of those provisions may be adopted by ALEC for introduction in other states.

    News

    Rep. Hank Johnson Calls Out ALEC on the House Floor

    by Sara Jerving — April 30, 2012 - 9:30am
  • Topics: ALEC Exposed, Corporations, Democracy

    • Rep. Hank Johnson (D-GA) recently spoke on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives about the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) "undermining our democracy." In his address, Johnson urged Americans to visit the Center for Media and Democracy's ALECexposed.org site to learn more about the shadowy organization. Johnson also mentioned ALEC on the House floor earlier this month.

    News

    For-Profit Education Firm Kaplan Is 14th Company to Dump ALEC

    by Rebekah Wilce — April 27, 2012 - 12:22pm
  • Topics: ALEC Exposed, Corporations

    • Kaplan, a for-profit education, tutoring, and testing empire that is the largest division of the $4 billion Washington Post Company, recently told the Republic Report (RR) that Kaplan's for-profit college division "was a member of ALEC for a one year period, which ended in August 2011." Kaplan's membership in ALEC's Education Task Force is documented in task force agendas and materials obtained by Common Cause and publicly released yesterday.

    News

    One Year Later: The First ALEC Protest in Cincinnati

    by Sara Jerving — April 27, 2012 - 7:00am
  • Topics: Activism, ALEC Exposed, Corporations

    • With all the national media attention on the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) over these past several weeks, few realize that a campaign to lift the veil on ALEC's operations and agenda began almost one year ago. This week marks the anniversary of the first public rallies in opposition to ALEC. This is the story of the power of ordinary extraordinary individuals to stand up, speak out and make an enormous difference in defense of democracy.

    News

    U.S. Supreme Court Considers ALEC Immigration Bill

    by Brendan Fischer — April 25, 2012 - 8:43am
  • Topics: ALEC Exposed, Corporations, Human Rights, Politics

    • Today, the U.S. Supreme Court is hearing arguments challenging Arizona's SB 1070 immigration law. In 2009, this bill was pre-approved by legislators along with corporate lobbyists and special interest representatives at an American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) task force before passing the Arizona legislature and being signed into law by Governor Jan Brewer, an ALEC alum. The National Rifle Association (NRA) was the private sector co-chair of ALEC's "Public Safety and Elections Task Force" when the bill was approved.

    Guest Contributor

    ALEC Leader Admits Last Week's Announcement Was a PR Stunt

    by PRW Staff — April 25, 2012 - 8:40am
  • Topics: ALEC Exposed

    • -- by Campaign Staff at ColorOfChange.org

    Last week, ALEC acknowledged that it was reeling after its corporate sponsors -- some of which pay hundreds of thousands of dollars at times for membership in the right-wing group -- started dropping like flies. In a statement that sidestepped any admission of wrongdoing for pushing voter suppression and Stand Your Ground/Shoot First bills nationwide, ALEC announced, "We are eliminating the ALEC Public Safety and Elections task force that dealt with non-economic issues, and reinvesting these resources in the task forces that focus on the economy."

    News

    CMD's Lisa Graves a Finalist for Milwaukee Press Club Award

    by PRW Staff — April 25, 2012 - 8:33am
  • Topics: ALEC Exposed, Media

    • The Center for Media and Democracy (CMD) is pleased to have an article chosen as a final entry in the 82nd Annual Milwaukee Press Club Awards (MPC) for Excellence in Wisconsin Journalism. The finalists will be announced at MPC's May 18th Gridiron Awards Dinner at the Marcus Center for the Performing Arts. The article "Group Called 'Citizens for a Strong America' Operates out of a UPS Mail Drop but Runs Expensive Ads in Supreme Court Race?" written by Lisa Graves, CMD's Executive Director, was nominated in the category of Best Investigative Story or Series. The article illustrates how the Koch-funded Americans for Prosperity group propagates shell organizations, like "Citizens for a Strong America" to meddle in Wisconsin politics, in this instance in the 2011 race between Joanne Kloppenburg and Justice David Prosser. CMD's work was featured on MSNBC's Rachel Maddow show.

    Op-Ed

    Breaking Up with ALEC Is Hard to Do for Johnson & Johnson

    by Sara Jerving — April 24, 2012 - 11:00pm
  • Topics: ALEC Exposed, Corporations

    • As Procter and Gamble became the 13th major American firm to announce that it was dropping its membership in the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), a few corporations have publicly confirmed their loyalty to the controversial organization. Johnson & Johnson is one of the companies that has so far stood by ALEC, despite ALEC's role in pushing "model" laws that make it harder for Americans to vote and that advance the NRA's gun agenda.

    Firm Tries to Distance itself from Extreme ALEC Agenda

    Instead of quitting, Johnson & Johnson prefers to try to distance itself from certain elements of the ALEC agenda, which may explain ALEC's PR move to dump its "Public Safety and Elections Task Force," where corporate lobbyists and elected officials voted behind closed doors on templates for changing gun and voting laws.

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