Apr 18, 2013
A petition drive has been launched by Voters for Fair Use of Ballot Referendum, aka Voters for FUBR (pronounced foo’-bar). Bill Lucas, of Ferndale Michigan, founded the organization in late 2012. Its purpose is to prevent the legislative abuse of attaching appropriations to new laws to render them referendum-proof. Voters for FUBR are circulating a petition with a proposal [...]
Apr 16, 2013
Michigan House Rep. Greg MacMaster (R-105) introduced a bill today that would “prohibit governmental entities from commercially competing against the private sector.” HB 4549, known as the Government Competition Against Private Enterprise Act, is a copy-cat bill to the federal one Senator Thune (R-South Dakota) introduced a couple of years ago titled the Freedom From [...]
Apr 13, 2013
As of April 10th, 2013 VLTP Co-Founder Ron Rabatsky resigned his position with Voters Legislative Transparency Project. Ron is leaving VLTP but will continue his work pursuing ALEC and seeking to make their actions and initiatives transparent to all. Ron will be missed for his tireless work ethic and ability to keep track of every [...]
Apr 8, 2013
We need to learn a lesson from history when it comes to natural resources. Money, labor, privatization, and politicians operate the same. Some things never change. At the time of Presidents Harding and Coolidge, the oil companies, particularly Sinclair Oil was given our nation’s oil resources for a sweetheart deal – no bidding necessary. The [...]
Apr 3, 2013
Let’s see now, what have we learned from Bob Sloan’s experiences and articles about prison industries in Nevada? Among other things, they are not supposed to be competing with free market businesses, as well as paying the going wages. Well, there are furniture factories in Maine. Do you think that they were consulted about a [...]
Mar 31, 2013
Mar 14, 2013
Clean energy and clean transportation projects are helping drive the U.S. economic recovery, and green business is particularly booming in the Southeast. But will politicians kill the momentum? That’s the question raised by a report released last week by Environmental Entrepreneurs (E2), which found that in 2012 companies and communities nationwide announced more than 300 [...]
Feb 27, 2013
Michigan’s Gov. Rick Snyder has thumbed his nose at the suggestion he develop a nonpartisan process in screening potential appointees to the Michigan Supreme Court. In the wake of the scandalous resignation of Justice Diane Hathaway, the national court- watchdog group, Justice at Stake, urged the governor to set-up a nonpartisan screening commission to aid [...]
Feb 25, 2013
Secretive funding network channeled millions to stop state governments moving towards renewable energy The trusts, Donors Trust and Donors Capital Fund, served as the bankers of the conservative movement over the past decade, have funded a campaign against windfarms. Photograph: Alex Garcia/Getty Images (editor’s note: this article is describing the activities of groups involved in [...]
Feb 24, 2013
Nine oil and gas companies face shareowner resolutions this proxy season requesting quantitative reporting of risks associated with hydraulic fracturing and the management of fugitive methane emissions. SocialFunds.com — Nine leading oil and gas companies—Cabot Oil and Gas, Chevron, Exxon Mobil, EOG Resources, ONEOK, Pioneer Natural Resources, Spectra Energy, Range Resources and Ultra Petroleum—face shareowner [...]
