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Research Cited

Who Runs Louisiana?

ALEC

Source: The Bayou Brief | Published: 1/6/2019

ALEC, which claims to be a “membership organization of state legislators,” instead actually receives 98% of its funding from corporations and corporate foundations. ALEC provides state lawmakers with sample legislation, most of which is designed to (according to the Center for Media and Democracy) “undermine environmental regulations and deny climate change; support school privatization; undercut health care reform; defund unions and limit their political influence; restrain legislature’s abilities to raise revenue through taxes; mandate strict election laws that disenfranchise voters, among many other issues.”

Dayhoff: Getting Ready for Annual January Historical Civil Rights Tour

Education

Source: Carroll County Times | Published: 1/4/2019

According to SourceWatch, an investigative publication of The Center for Media and Democracy, DDK Tours was established in 1985 by Alphin “when he was a sergeant in the St. Louis Police Department. … [He later] started organizing Educational and Training tours to The King Center, Atlanta GA.” Since 1995, DDK has expanded its array of educational pilgrimages beyond the United States to South Africa and Ghana in Africa.

Reforming Wisconsin in 2019

Wisconsin

Source: WORT - A Public Affair | Published: 1/4/2019

What political reforms should Wisconsin look at in 2019? How best can we rid the dominance of money from politics? How might Tony Evers change the political landscape, after he takes office on Monday, January 7th? Esty Dinur takes a look at political reform in Wisconsin with Mary Bottari and David Armiak, both reporters at the Center for Media and Democracy.

How the Wireless Industry and Conservative Dark Money Groups Teamed Up to Fight Net Neutrality

Koch, SPN

Source: Fast Company | Published: 12/18/2018

More than half of the CTIA’s grants were directed to MyWireless.org, a subsidiary nonprofit. According to its tax return, the subsidiary funneled a sizable amount of the $1.24 million it received from CTIA to conservative dark money organizations. MyWireless.org gave $85,000 to the Free State Foundation, a conservative research organization with ties to ALEC; $25,000 to the Franklin Center for Government and Public Integrity, a Chicago-based, Koch-funded project; and $10,000 to the State Policy Network, an Arlington, Va., nonprofit described by the Center for Media and Democracy’s SourceWatch as an umbrella group that acts as “the tip of the spear of far-right, nationally funded policy agenda in the states that undergirds extremists in the Republican Party.” NCTA gave an additional $15,000 to the State Policy Network and another $135,000 to the Free State Foundation, tax records show.

Net Neutrality Fight Made Allies of Wireless Industry, Conservative Dark Money Organizations

Koch, SPN

Source: MapLight | Published: 12/18/2018

More than half of the CTIA’s grants were directed to MyWireless.org, a subsidiary nonprofit. According to its tax return, the subsidiary funneled a sizable amount of the $1.24 million it received from CTIA to conservative dark money organizations. MyWireless.org gave $85,000 to the Free State Foundation, a conservative research organization with ties to ALEC; $25,000 to the Franklin Center for Government and Public Integrity, a Chicago-based, Koch-funded project; and $10,000 to the State Policy Network, an Arlington, Va., nonprofit described by the Center for Media and Democracy’s SourceWatch as an umbrella group that acts as “the tip of the spear of far-right, nationally funded policy agenda in the states that undergirds extremists in the Republican Party.” NCTA gave an additional $15,000 to the State Policy Network and another $135,000 to the Free State Foundation, tax records show.

Teen Vaping Rates Surge as Portland Vape Store Owner Fights New Regulations

ALEC, Koch, SPN

Source: Portland Mercury | Published: 12/17/2018

Bates’ suit, announced last week, is being backed by the Goldwater Institute, a conservative think tank based in Arizona. According to the political funding watchdog website SourceWatch, Goldwater Institute has backed pro-vaping measures in the past, and has accepted donations from Altria, formerly known as Phillip Morris Global Tobacco, which sells Marlboro cigarettes as well as vape products.

Public School Conundrum

Education

Source: The Washington Times | Published: 12/13/2018

The Detroit News recently reported the states with the largest percentages of charter school closures since 2000: Kansas (77 percent); Iowa (73 percent); Ohio (58 percent); Wisconsin (43 percent); Virginia (40 percent); Washington, D.C. (39 percent); Arizona (39 percent); Florida (38 percent); Missouri (34 percent); and New Jersey (34 percent).

Mass. Fiscal Social Justice Claims Ring Hollow

ALEC, Koch, SPN

Source: CommonWealth Magazine | Published: 12/12/2018

MassFiscal is tied to other right-wing organizations. For instance, in its latest lawsuit it is represented by the Goldwater Institute of Arizona. The Center for Media and Democracy classifies Goldwater as “a right-wing advocacy group” with ties to the Koch brothers. One recent board member is Rebekah Mercer, whose billionaire family funded Donald Trump as well as Steve Bannon’s Breitbart News. Trump ally Christopher Ruddy calls Rebekah Mercer “the First Lady of the alt-right.”

Smith Should Rethink ALEC Ties

ALEC

Source: Citrus County Chronicle | Published: 12/8/2018

ALEC drew scrutiny recently when white supremacist David Horowitz was given a platform to speak at the Aug. 2018 New Orleans convention. Horowitz knew he was among friends as he pushed for an Article V convention in order to embed his racist agenda in our Constitution. In response, The Center for Media and Democracy, with a coalition of 78 organizations, sent a letter to 20 of ALEC’s biggest corporations asking them to drop their memberships in the corporate bill-mill.