Corporations

Rep. Cantor - Bought and Paid for by Wall Street Investors

by PRW Staff — October 18, 2011 - 8:16am

by the Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) blog

The Center for Media and Democracy is re-posting this article from the CREW blog as part of our efforts to expose the influence of corporate money in politics. Eric Cantor is also an alumnus of the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), which the Center has been investigating through ALECexposed, and he has introduced federal legislation that parallels the ALEC agenda. CMD is also helping to raise awareness of alternatives to the Cantor/ALEC agenda to starve government and slash government services, namely how a tiny tax on Wall Street could help. Cantor's efforts to smear Occupy Wall Street protesters and his receipts from Wall Street firms are documented below.

Op-Ed

ALEC Politicians Spin Special "Interest" Bill to Protect Corporate Wrongdoers as "Job Creation"

by Lisa Graves — October 13, 2011 - 11:13am

Topics: ALEC Exposed, Tort Reform, Corporations, Economy, Pharmaceuticals, Propaganda

For years, the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), has been itching to protect big corporations from high interest rates charged in cases where corporations have killed or injured Americans. Now, Wisconsin politicians serving on key ALEC task forces are pushing a bill embracing this idea as part of ALEC alumnus Scott Walker's latest effort to force the ALEC agenda into law based on claims that doing so will help "job creators."

Op-Ed

ALEC and Coca-Cola: A "Classic" Collaboration

by Rebekah Wilce — October 12, 2011 - 10:51pm

Topics: ALEC Exposed, Corporations, Democracy, Politics

What is Coca-Cola doing behind closed doors with Koch Industries and other multinational corporations in the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC)? Coca-Cola Refreshments' Director of Public Affairs and Communications, Gene Rackley, represents Coke on ALEC's "Private Enterprise" Board, along with Koch Industries' Michael Morgan.

Coke and ALEC have a lot in common. Both love free trade and have been big boosters of free trade agreements, such as the Korea, Panama and Columbia agreements facing votes this week in Congress. Both are dubious about recycling, especially taxes applied to industry to pay for mandatory recycling. But in one area, ALEC policy benefits Coke and other sweet drink makers directly.

News

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.

News

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.

Op-Ed

Chicago to Wall Street: Pay US Back!

by Mary Bottari — October 12, 2011 - 8:40am

Topics: Activism, BanksterUSA, Corporations, Democracy, Economy

While the Occupy Wall Street movement is sweeping the country and peaceful arrests are mounting, Chicagoans took to the streets this week to hold the big banks accountable for crashing the economy and to demand city, state and federal policies that work for working families.

For many, the goal was stopping the foreclosure mill and telling the big banks it was time to Pay US Back! for the $4.7 trillion bailout. For others, the demands focused on the fallout from the financial crisis including contentious contract negotiations with the administration of Chicago Mayor Rahm Emmanuel.

For most, the range of issues were inextricably linked.

Op-Ed

"Occupy Wall Street" Should Protest Wall Street Takeover of Health Care

by Wendell Potter — October 11, 2011 - 1:16pm

Topics: Activism, Corporations, Economy, Health

The lobbyists for U.S. health insurers surely have to be feeling a little uneasy knowing that thousands of Occupy Wall Street demonstrators who have been marching and protesting in Washington as well as New York and other cities might target them in the days ahead. After all, the headquarters of the insurers' biggest lobbying and PR group, America's Health Insurance Plans (AHIP), at 601 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W., is just blocks away from Freedom Plaza, where the demonstrators have set up camp -- and problems with health insurers appear to be near the top of the list of protesters' concerns.

Editorial

Children Gardening in Sewage Sludge: Los Angeles Schools Alerted

by Lisa Graves — October 11, 2011 - 7:00am

Topics: Sludge, Children, Corporations

This week, CMD's new Food Rights Network sent letters to thirteen schools in the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) that have "organic" school gardens adopted by Hollywood's Environmental Media Association (EMA). As we reported in May, EMA teamed up with sludge-marketing corporation Kellogg Garden Products, which sells products made from Los Angeles area industrial and human sewage sludge with the label "quality organics" and which used the gardens for photo ops with sludge products.

Gardens in which kids grow vegetables and fruits were contaminated with sewage sludge as a result of EMA's partnership with Kellogg, which donated hundreds of cubic yards of sewage sludge products. EMA, which hosts its annual green carpet awards this Saturday, October 15th, has failed to take any steps to help remediate the children's "organic" gardens that were sludged.

Op-Ed

The Battle Between O'Dwyer and PRSA

by Anne Landman — October 10, 2011 - 7:32pm

Topics: Corporations, Ethics, Public Relations

The Public Relations Society of America, the trade group for the American public relations industry, and Jack O'Dwyer, who has specialized in reporting on the PR industry for over 40 years, are at war, and the battle is getting heated -- and harmful for PRSA.

Why should people care about this obscure fight? Because the conflict is a microcosm of the battle against the unethical and harmful PR trends that are hurting this country.

News

"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.