Wisconsin Archives

May 16, 2013

School Boards Beware – ALEC Calls for Elimination of School Boards

In a recent commentary discussing attacks upon Wisconsin’s school board structure(s), professor Julie Underwood writes about the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), an influential national network that’s pushing an agenda to shrink government, privatize schools, and promote business interests. The article outlines ALEC’s legislative impact in Wisconsin and why pubic school supporters should be concerned. In this report [...]

Apr 16, 2013

Wisconsin Ethics board fails to curb ALEC shell game

From Brendan Fischer at Capital Times Analysis by Bob Sloan The Center for Media and Democracy has had great successes in exposing the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC). Through their efforts ALEC has recently been attempting to change their image by dropping “American Legislative” from their vocabulary, asking members and the media to now refer [...]

Mar 2, 2013

Destroying Access to Local Democracy

Most of you will have no idea what I am writing about – because you are fortunate to have more than just basic cable, and were born after the advent of cable TV. Many of you – might not know or care – but you should – if you claim to care about the democratic [...]

Jan 23, 2013

Right to Work — The Domino Effect

Lawmakers in states that formerly lacked the political will to openly bust unions with Right to Work laws are now lining-up like dominoes, emboldened by the Michigan lame duck legislative feeding frenzy that puked-up, among 300 hastily passed laws, a RTW bill that the spineless flip-flopping governor meekly signed into law, after saying he had no interest in [...]

Jan 19, 2013

Right to Work — As Does Michigan, So Goes Wisconsin

A disturbing report out of the midwest… Wisconsin is poised to enact a Right to Work Law modeled after Michigan’s new law. An AP report out of the state says the RTW legislative movement is picking-up steam in the wake of an appeals court ruling upholding the 2011 law that stripped public sector employees of [...]

Jan 11, 2013

Wisconsin Assembly Republicans Introduce Resolution To End Transparency And Ban People

The Wisconsin Assembly Republicans are quite the bunch. They all stood by as people were removed, day after day, for simply filming an open meeting or silently holding a sign. It seems they forgot to read the Wisconsin Constitution, which states in articles three and four: SECTION 3. [Free speech; libel.] Every person may freely [...]

Dec 17, 2012

The History of the NRA/ALEC Gun Agenda

by Lisa Graves at PR Watch Here is a review of the NRA-by-way-of-ALEC gun agenda: The retail sale of machine guns has been barred by federal law since the gangster era but, as uncovered by the Center for Media and Democracy (CMD), one year ago at ALEC’s “policy summit” in Arizona, the NRA obtained unanimous [...]

Nov 8, 2012

2012 – An Awakening Electorate and the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC)

Op-Ed by Exec. Dir. Bob Sloan As pressure has been brought to bear upon the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) over the past couple of years, many of their far-right conservative initiatives were brought into the light along with that organization’s secretive memberships and vast influence. Articles began surfacing that advised voters of ALEC’s involvement in [...]

Oct 17, 2012

What the #&%! Is CMD Thinking?

Dear Center for Media and Democracy, Are you out of your #&%! minds, or do you just want to throw some red meat to the radical right? I refer directly to your article: We’ve got a few bones to pick with you re this… First, just what “industrialized nations would expect a presidential candidate to indicate [...]

Sep 15, 2012

Wisconsin Collective Bargaining Law Struck Down By County Judge

Dane County Circuit Judge Juan Colas ruled that the law violates both the state and U.S. Constitution and is null and void. In his 27-page ruling, the judge said sections of the law “single out and encumber the rights of those employees who choose union membership and representation solely because of that association and therefore [...]