Walk the red carpet at the Barrymore Theatre! The Center for Media and Democracy/ALEC Exposed, in partnership with the Brave New Foundation, presents a Robert Greenwald film: Koch Brothers Exposed, a film screening followed by a discussion on the billionaire Koch brothers' attack on democracy. Watch the trailer here.
-- by Donna Smith of the California Nurses Association/National Nurses Organizing Committee, originally posted on MichaelMoore.com. Donna's battle with medical bills and bankruptcy was documented in the 2007 Michael Moore film Sicko.
There has never been any doubt in my mind that if I face another cancer diagnosis that requires prolonged treatments and has an uncertain outcome, I would rather die than fight it. As an insured American who knows first-hand how quickly a cancer in my body turns to full out trauma in my career and in my finances, I just cannot do it again nor can I ask my husband to risk his own life and security either. It wouldn't be fair.
-- by Brian Austin, originally posted on Badger Blue, Times Two.
"The world, that understandable and lawful world, was slipping away."
-- William Golding, Lord of the Flies
Question of the day: What interest would a corporate lobbyist group have in expanding the rights of citizens to shoot and kill each other?
A great deal has been written about the shooting deaths of Trayvon Martin and Bo Morrison over the past several weeks. I don't need to rehash that conversation, as there is little I can offer regarding specific facts of those cases. What I would like to do instead is examine why these Castle Doctrine/Stand Your Ground Laws have been promoted with such enthusiasm by the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC).
I have written about ALEC in several prior posts, including Enemy at the Gates and Contempt, thy name is Fitzgerald. In short, ALEC is a corporate lobbyist group that writes model legislation favorable to its corporate members and presents this legislation for passage in statehouses across the nation. The conduit for this legislation are the legislators who are also members of ALEC. This partnership between corporate lobbyists and politicians has been very fruitful for the corporations hawking their legislation. This is fact, not conspiracy theory, as evidenced when ALEC legislation was recently introduced in Florida still bearing the ALEC mission statement.
A guest post by Greg Colvin, a partner at the firm Adler & Colvin, originally published at OurFuture.org.
No doubt about it, large unlimited donations are flowing into SuperPACs from rich individuals and corporations aimed at influencing who is elected at all levels of government in 2012. With the SuperPACs and other forms of political committees regulated by the federal and state election agencies, or by the IRS under section 527, at least we know who the donors are.
Washington, D.C. — A coalition of civil rights and government watchdog groups with members in all 50 states elevated the ongoing campaign to pressure corporations to withdraw from the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) by calling today on three prominent companies to join the list of firms departing ALEC.
The Center for Media and Democracy, Color of Change, Common Cause, People for the American Way, Progress Now, and CREDO said their members will be petitioning State Farm Insurance, Johnson & Johnson, McDonald's -- all of whom play a prominent leadership role in ALEC to leave the organization immediately.
On March 29, a diverse coalition of advocacy organizations, activists, and national leaders protested the American Legislative Exchange Council's (ALEC) paid promotion of deadly "Kill at Will" legislation written by the National Rifle Association (NRA). The attendees delivered a letter to ALEC headquarters at 1100 Vermont Ave, NW in Washington demanding that the group disclose all NRA funding and publicly pledge to end its promotion of "Kill at Will" bills.
Organizing sponsors include the National Urban League, NAACP, ColorOfChange, Moveon.org, AFL-CIO, SEIU, ProgressNow, Center for Media and Democracy/ALECexposed.org, Presente, Public Campaign, Common Cause, People For the American Way, UltraViolet, Faith in Public Life, National Council of Churches, USAction, and more.
MEDIA ADVISORY, March 28, 2012
CONTACT: Tim Rusch, 917.399.0236, Tim@fitzgibbonmedia.com, Naomi Seligman, 310.617.4577, Naomi@FitzGibbonMedia.com
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Rally Against ALEC "KILL AT WILL" Laws that are Protecting Trayvon's Shooter
Prominent National Organizations Urge ALEC to Disavow Lethal Law after Murder of Florida Teen -- Will Deliver Demand Letter to DC Headquarters
WASHINGTON, DC -- On March 29, a diverse coalition of advocacy organizations, activists, and national leaders will protest the American Legislative Exchange Council's (ALEC) paid promotion of deadly "Kill at Will" legislation written by the National Rifle Association (NRA). The attendees will also deliver a letter to ALEC headquarters at 1100 Vermont Ave, NW in Washington demanding that the group disclose all NRA funding and publicly pledge to end its promotion of "Kill at Will" bills.
-- By Greg Colvin, originally published on OurFuture.org
Since the U.S. Supreme Court decided the Citizens United case two years ago, saying that the Constitution gives corporations the right to spend without limit to influence American elections, people have been asking "how can we amend the Constitution to put this right?"
A guest post by Dave Saldana, who is a journalist, attorney, and media critic
You really have to hand it to right-wing media hounds. They've gotten so good at bird-dogging the media that they don't even have to raise their alarm of faux outrage and trumped up claims of bias anymore. Now, so fearful are the once-great bastions of journalism of the mere accusation, that they hound their own.
See, for example, the Wisconsin newspapers of the Gannett chain, which yesterday offered mea culpas for their 25 employees among the million-plus Wisconsinites who signed the petition to recall Governor Scott Walker.
-- by Sandra Steingraber; this intro and open letter were originally posted on the Orion magazine blog.
Orion's search for a more truthful relationship between humans and the natural world occasionally calls for the expression of outrage. The more we learn about a gas-drilling practice called hydraulic fracturing—or "fracking"—the more we see it as a zenith of violence and disconnect, impulses that seem to be gathering on the horizon like thunder clouds.
Long-time friend and Orion columnist Sandra Steingraber has been particularly vocal about the dangers of fracking. Her columns in recent issues of the magazine have frequently been dedicated to the issue; and last year, after receiving a Heinz Award for her work, Steingraber donated the cash prize to the fight against fracking in her home state of New York.
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