Romney: an "Investment" for the 1%?
"People can invest what they want," billionaire industrialist David Koch recently told Politico.
News
Coordinated Actions Worldwide Call for Banning Fracking
Concerned people from the U.S. and numerous other countries will join in a global campaign event Saturday to call for a ban of hydraulic fracturing or "fracking." More than 150 events, on five continents, are planned for this weekend's "Global Frackdown" -- a day of action against fracking -- coupled with the promotion of the expansion of clean, sustainable energy options.
"Won't Back Down" Film Pushes ALEC Parent Trigger Proposal
-- by Mary Bottari and Sara Jerving
Well-funded advocates of privatizing the nation's education system are employing a new strategy this fall to enlist support for the cause. The emotionally engaging Hollywood film "Won't Back Down" -- set for release September 28 -- portrays so-called "Parent Trigger" laws as an effective mechanism for transforming underperforming public schools. But the film's distortion of the facts prompts a closer examination of its funders and backers and a closer look at those promoting Parent Trigger as a cure for what ails the American education system.
Will Pennsylvania Follow Wisconsin's Lead on Voter ID?
Last month, a Pennsylvania court upheld the state's American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) - inspired voter ID law, but in hearings on appeal that state's supreme court has given the law a harsh reception. Might the Pennsylvania Supreme Court follow Wisconsin's lead and throw out the voter ID law before the 2012 election?
Wisconsin Judge Strikes Down Sections of Walker's Act 10 as Unconstitutional
A Wisconsin judge has struck down as unconstitutional sections of Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker's controversial collective bargaining law, Act 10, at least as applied to municipal and school district employees, who are the majority of public workers in the state. Act 10 prompted months of protests after it was introduced in 2011, and inspired a hard-fought recall effort that Walker survived in June of this year.
Merck and Wells Fargo Dump ALEC, while Duke Energy Holds Out
Merck, one of the world's largest pharmaceutical companies, and Wells Fargo, one of the largest banks in the United States, have joined 38 other major firms and cut ties with the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC). ALEC is a controversial "bill mill" that brings together right-wing legislators and corporations to draft controversial model bills behind closed doors. The exit of the two firms brings the total to 40 major American firms that have departed ALEC in recent months. Meanwhile, Duke Energy, the largest regulated utility company in the United States, has not responded to recent intensified consumer pressure to dump ALEC. Beyond their membership in ALEC, all three firms have been criticized for dodging taxes from 2008-2010.
Environmentalist Bill McKibben on Keeping a Strong Focus on Climate Change
Bill McKibben, founder of the international climate change group 350.org, is one of the world's leading campaigners on the climate change crisis. In 2010, the Boston Globe called him "probably the nation's leading environmentalist."
Paul Weyrich's Troika Reunited: ALEC Partners with Republican Study Committee at Heritage Foundation
Three right-wing organizations founded nearly forty years ago by conservative activist Paul Weyrich are rediscovering their shared origins. The Republican Study Committee, a caucus of 169 right-wing Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives, is establishing a partnership with the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), the controversial "corporate bill mill" for state legislators, and their first meeting is scheduled at the Heritage Foundation headquarters. Each of those three organizations -- the RSC, ALEC, and the Heritage Foundation -- were founded in 1973 by Weyrich. (Weyrich passed away in 2008.)
Chicago Teachers "On Strike for Better Schools"
Negotiations between the Chicago Teacher's Union (CTU) and Chicago Public Schools (CPS) failed to result in a contract before Sunday, September 9, 2012 at midnight, sparking the first teacher's strike in Chicago in 25 years. The strike is now in its second day.
"Citizens for Fire Safety" Smoked Out: Front Group Folds After Exposé
Manufacturers of flame retardant chemicals, an industry that got a boost from Big Tobacco's shadow money decades ago, are being exposed to increased public scrutiny. In the fallout, a front group formed by the three biggest manufacturers, calling itself "Citizens for Fire Safety," has been shuttered.
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