On the heels of the blockbuster New York Times investigation of Wal-Mart’s systematic bribery of Mexican officials — and subsequent cover-up — Republic Report’s Zaid Jilani revealed that the company has since used corporate lobbying fronts to weaken the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, a law that establishes penalties for U.S. firms engaged in bribery abroad.
Continue Reading >>>

The corporate-funded front group the American Legislation Exchange Council (ALEC) is panicking. After a dozen corporations and major foundations have left the group in recent days, ALEC is making a concerted effort to reach out to right-wing bloggers to come to its defense. But conservatives should not be fooled. While ALEC does promote some conservative
Continue Reading >>>

President Dwight Eisenhower represented another era, when many in both parties rebuked special interests. At one point, Eisenhower vetoed a natural gas deregulation bill that he even agreed with on principle because the gas lobby had used such disreputable tactics in moving the legislation through Congress. Eisenhower’s effort against lobbying is best remembered though by
Continue Reading >>>

In one of the most watched primary elections tonight, incumbent Democratic Congressman Tim Holden (D-PA) lost to attorney Matt Cartwright. A ten-term lawmaker, Holden was well known in the region and enjoyed support from most of the state’s Democratic establishment. But Holden faced two challenges. One, a redrawn district that forced the congressman to run
Continue Reading >>>

Two years after BP’s horrific oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, there are still signs of environmental and economic havoc. Recent investigations from al Jazeera and the Associated Press have found shrimp without eyes, crabs without claws, and many species of fish that carry strange deformaties and other signs of mutations. ThinkProgress notes that
Continue Reading >>>

The rush to spend campaign cash is only getting started. During the Republican primaries, as both candidates and Super PACs flooded the early states with money, so many ads were purchased that local television stations ran out of space to sell. In South Carolina, Rick Santorum was forced to buy campaign spots during television shows
Continue Reading >>>

Following the defeat of the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA), lobbyists for Big Business have been very careful when writing and promoting legislation that drastically curtails Internet freedoms. Now, various corporations have gotten together to push for the Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act, or CISPA. Proponents of the bill are saying that it is
Continue Reading >>>

A blockbuster New York Times story published this weekend details how the Mexican subsidiary of retail giant Wal-Mart paid $24 million in bribes to Mexican officials — and subsequently top Wal-Mart officials allegedly decided to cover up these offenses. The details of Wal-Mart’s complicity in bribery are shocking, but there is one important element that the
Continue Reading >>>