A secret court ruling in the "John Doe" probe into campaign finance violations during Wisconsin's 2011 and 2012 recall elections could have implications well beyond the investigation -- if news reports from anonymous sources are accurate.
The American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), which has secretly lobbied for the adoption of its corporate-backed bills and tracked them for years, is likely anticipating or actually under an IRS examination, says a former head of the IRS Exempt Organizations division, Marcus Owens. He makes this observation in light of recent claims by ALEC staff that it does not track where its bills are introduced or passed, despite extensive evidence that it has done so for years and bragged about doing so.
Rep. Dave Camp (R- MI) and Sen. Max Baucus (D-MT) have introduced "Fast Track" legislation in Congress. It's been 15 years since a U.S. president sought Fast Track authority, which strips Congress of its Constitutional authority to have a meaningful role in U.S. trade policy.
CMD broke the story that the $12.9 billion-a-year natural and organic foods retailer Whole Foods Market has a policy of "don't ask, don't tell" when it comes to non-organic produce being grown in fields spread with sewage sludge, euphemistically called "biosolids." Since then, activists and PRWatch readers have sent emails to Whole Foods executives asking the company to require its suppliers to disclose this information and label it for customers. Now Whole Foods has announced that it will "prohibit the use of biosolids" as a requirement for produce suppliers.
Despite a full-court press defending the supposed benefits of genetically engineered "golden rice," it has never entered production. According to Jonathan Latham of Independent Science News, the science media has utterly failed to report accurately on genetically modified organisms (GMOs) -- on their failures and criticisms rather than just their potential successes. A transgenic high-protein cassava, a type of starchy edible root, was lauded in the scientific press but fizzled not long after. So did a supposedly virus-resistant sweet potato that was widely hailed in the media. According to Jonathan Latham of Independent Science News, these and others are just a few examples of what he says is the utter failure of the science media to report accurately and critically on genetically modified organisms (GMOs) -- on their failures rather than just their touted successes.
New details have emerged about the role of the shadowy "Citizens for a Strong America" in Wisconsin politics.
Xcel Energy and Endo Health Solutions have cut ties to the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), bringing the total number of corporations that have left ALEC since 2011 to 72.
West Virginia residents in eight counties and part of a ninth were told Thursday evening not to drink, cook with or wash with water supplied by West Virginia American Water after a leak earlier in the day at a chemical facility along the Elk River.
In the final weeks of Wisconsin's 2012 recall elections, a group called Coalition for American Values Action flooded the state's airwaves with over $400,000 in ads, telling viewers that "recall is not the Wisconsin way," and to "stop the recall madness" by voting to reelect Walker.
The Koch brothers and their wealthy allies pledged to spend $400 million on the 2012 elections -- and it looks like they did it. The Koch network alone raised nearly as much as the Romney campaign.
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