Current Actions

  • Tell the Trib. – No Koch News!

    The billionaire industrialist Koch brothers are not satisfied with buying our elected officials, now they want to buy the media too. Tell the Tribune Company: We don’t want propaganda with our breakfast cereal!


  • Tell President Obama & Congress We Will Fight Any Bill That Cuts Social Security

    Why is President Obama listening to Wall Street billionaire Pete Peterson and the Fix the Debt gang? Obama says he will introduce a budget that will contain cuts to Social Security, even though it does not contribute a dime to the federal budget deficit.

    Tell Obama: We don't want your Grand Bargain. Hands off Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid.


  • Say No to a Grand Swindle on Social Security and Medicare

    Why is President Obama listening to Pete Peterson and the Fix the Debt gang? Obama’s recent meetings with GOP leadership indicate that he is pushing a “grand bargain” on a budget that would put Social Security and Medicare on the table. But the federal deficit is in steep decline, while the job deficit is still about 9 million. Tell Congress this is not the time to prioritize deficit reduction over job creation.

    Click below and tell Congress to say NO! to the Grand Swindle.


  • Money OUT, Voters IN: Tell the WI Legislature We Want a Statewide Referendum on Citizen’s United!

    Join us in demanding the Wisconsin State Legislature put an advisory referendum on the ballot calling for a federal constitutional amendment to overturn Citizen’s United. Already, 11 states and more than 400 communities around the country have sponsored similar resolutions on money in politics and the people are winning!

  • Tell Whole Foods to Label Food Grown in Sewage Sludge

    An educated shopper in North Carolina has uncovered Whole Foods Market's "don't ask, don't tell" policy on “conventional” produce that may or may not be grown in sewage sludge. People have a right to know if the food they are buying is grown in human excrement and industrial waste. Sludge has been shown to contain toxic substances and other contaminants such as flame retardants (a carcinogen), pharmaceutical residues, endocrine disruptors, phthalates, industrial solvents, metals, and much more. Join us in asking Whole Foods to institute a company-wide transparency policy about fruits and vegetables grown in sewage sludge.

  • Give Sly the Mic!

    While AM 1670 WTDY radio in Madison may not care about having local, progressive voices on the radio, I know you do.

    Their recent action to end the "Sly in the Morning Show," and fire their entire news staff, silenced a critical forum for information about the hijinks in our State Capitol and national news affecting the lives of working people.

    But it doesn’t have to be the end of the story.

    Join us in asking Madison’s 92.1 radio to "Give Sly the Mic" by putting John "Sly" Sylvester back on the air as soon as possible.

  • Investigate the Kochs and Dark Money in the 2012 Elections!

    We just witnessed the most expensive election in history, with more "dark money" from secret sources than ever.

    Big. Secret. Bucks.

    Secretive non-profit groups obtained hundreds of millions of dollars and tried to influence the outcome of numerous races, without any disclosure of who was bankrolling these operations -- whether U.S. or global corporations or their CEOs.

    Those using such shadowy groups include some of the richest people in the world, like David and Charles Koch who run one of the biggest corporations on the planet.

    Some front groups spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on ads, calls, or mail, but operate out of a UPS drop box. Others operate as "shell companies" that cloak funding by other groups.

    We must expose the Big Secret Bucks game to stop it.

    One of the first steps we can take is to demand that the U.S. Senate investigate these secretive operations.

    Join the Center for Media and Democracy in asking Senators to subpoena the Koch brothers and others involved in the big secret money game.

  • TELL CONGRESS IT'S TIME FOR A ROBIN HOOD TAX!

    Wall Street gambling and greed collapsed the global economy, and we are still reeling.

    Politicians claim America is “broke” to justify layoffs and draconian cuts in critical services.

    We have a better idea.

    U.S. Rep. Keith Ellison (D-MN) is introducing a bill to place a tiny tax on the sale of stocks, bonds and derivatives that has the potential to raise billions in desperately needed revenue while clamping down the Wall Street casino that continues to threaten our financial stability.

    Join PRWatch.org and RootsAction.org and write to your member of Congress today to say it's time for a Robin Hood Tax!

    For more information on the Robin Hood Tax, please see here.


  • TEST: WHAT IS COKE DOING WITH KOCH?

  • On Tax Day, Let’s Tax Wall Street!

  • Tell ALEC Funders It's Time to Cut Ties!

    For the past year, the Center for Media and Democracy has worked to unmask the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) through its award winning ALEC Exposed project. We have convinced 42 global firms to stop underwriting ALEC's extreme agenda. Now our work has been featured on the PBS show "Moyers & Company," giving a boost to our campaign.

    Join us in asking the remaining ALEC corporate members or sponsors to cut ties with ALEC!

    With one click, you can send the letter below to the CEOs and lobbyists of ALEC companies.

  • SIGN THE PETITION!

  • SIGN THE PETITION ON THE BLOCKTOPUS!
  • SIGN THE PETITION!
  • NO CUTS. TAX WALL STREET.
    NO CUTS. TAX WALL STREET. Tell Congress there's a sensible tax on Wall Street that would help solve our budget problems. When reckless trading on Wall Street crashed the global economy, American taxpayers bailed out the big banks to the tune of $4.7 trillion. That is trillion with a “T”. http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Total_Wall_Street_Bailout_Cost ? Today, Wall Street is booming. Goldman Sachs, Morgan Chase, and Wells Fargo executives are earning just as much as they did before the financial crisis. In 2010, the CEOs of these three banks made $52 million dollars combined. Yet on Main Street family incomes are tanking, job creation has stalled, and 42 million people are living in poverty -- more than at any other time in the last 50 years. We have done our part, now it’s time for Wall Street to do more – through a tiny sales tax on each Wall Street trade called a financial transaction tax. Right now Congress is considering huge cuts to Medicare and Social Security as well as other important programs in health, education and housing. Enough is enough! We know where the money is. It’s time for Wall Street to start Paying US Back! A tiny tax on financial services can generate billions of dollars . Sincerely,

  • WHAT IS COKE DOING WITH KOCH?

    What is Coca-Cola doing behind closed doors with Koch Industries at the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC)? The Center for Media and Democracy has uncovered that smoke-filled back room where Fortune 500 firms and right-wing politicians craft the bills that undermine our wages, our legal rights, our voting rights, and our democracy -- and it is called ALEC.

    While we are not surprised to see Koch Industries, the National Rifle Association, Phillip Morris, RJ Reynolds and Big PhRMA at the table, but we were surprised to see Coca-Cola on the "Private Enterprise Board" a.k.a. the corporate governing board of ALEC. We were surprised to see Coke linking itself to an extreme right-wing agenda that works to disenfranchise voters, bash immigrants, privatize Medicare and Social Security and dismantle public education for the benefit of private for-profit schools.

    Send a letter today to President and CEO of Coca-Cola, Mr. Muhtar Kent, telling him to DUMP ALEC!

  • TELL CORPORATIONS TO DUMP ALEC!

    Why are major corporations risking their reputation by cozying up behind closed doors with the Koch Brothers and Big Tobacco to manipulate state laws throughout the country? The Center for Media and Democracy has uncovered that smoke-filled back room where Fortune 500 firms and right-wing politicians craft the bills that undermine our wages, our legal rights, our voting rights, and our democracy – and it is called ALEC.

    We are sending letters to the corporate leadership of the American Legislative Exchange Council (Bayer, Pfizer, GlaxoSmithKline, Wal-Mart, Kraft, Coca-Cola, State Farm, Johnson and Johnson, AT&T, Koch, Altria/Phillip Morris USA, Reynolds Tobacco, Centerpoint 360, American Bail Coalition, Diageo, Energy Future Holdings, Exxon Mobile, Intuit, Peabody Energy, PhRMA, Reed Elsevier, Salt River Project, UPS) to demand that they withdraw their membership from ALEC and do what’s right for our democracy.

    By clicking the link below, you’ll be able to send your own letters to companies. Don’t forget each firm also has Facebook pages and Twitter feeds where this message can become viral!

    For more information about these corporations, ALEC and the details of what they’re doing, go to www.ALECexposed.org.

  • SIGN THE PETITION!
  • Tell Hollywood: It’s Not Green to “Greenwash” Sewage Sludge in Gardens

    Some of Hollywood's "green" celebrities—Rosario Dawson and a bevy of starlets—thought they were promoting organic school gardens for inner-city kids.  But the Environmental Media Association (EMA) teamed them up with a secretive corporation whose main business is selling Los Angeles sewage sludge products!

    That company calls its Kellogg brand "quality organics" and deceptively labels bags sold at the garden store as "garden soil" made from "compost"—with no mention that they are made from industrial and human waste.  Sewage sludge is hazardous material containing dioxins, PCBs, medical waste, industrial solvents, flame retardants, heavy metals, endocrine disruptors and other contaminants.  That's why federal law bars the use of sewage sludge-based products in organic gardens.  

    So, when news broke that Kellogg Garden Products provided sewage sludge products to EMA's organic school gardens—and its spokesperson even posed with those products at the gardens—you'd think EMA and its stars would cut all ties to the sludge industry.  

    But you'd be wrong.  Instead of denouncing the contamination of the kids' gardens and the corporation's effort to "greenwash" its brand through associating with stars devoted to organic produce, EMA is sticking with its corporate donor.  So far.   

    Tell Hollywood it's not green to partner with a company that put sewage sludge on school gardens and that sells this stuff without labeling it to say "This product is derived from sewage sludge." Sign the petition to demand that Hollywood stop the greenwashing of sewage sludge now!

  • Help Elizabeth Warren Fight Attempts to Weaken the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau

    Elizabeth Warren is building a strong, independent Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to be a watchdog for consumers, but the agency is under attack. Use the form below to contact your member of Congress.

  • Call your Senators now and tell them to oppose these proposals to gut the CFPB!

    In a last minute development, opponents of financial reform are pushing for votes TODAY on amendments to gut the new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) (AMENDMENT NUMBER #391 - Moran), and to repeal the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act entirely (AMENDMENT NUMBER #394 - DeMint) . A vote to delay and try to derail curbs on fees banks charge merchants – and thus the consumer – on debit cards is already scheduled (AMENDMENT NUMBER #392 - Tester).

  • TELL US YOUR STORY
  • Put Americans Before Corporations

    In January 2011, the Supreme Court rewrote the First Amendment to say that Congress can't restrict corporate spending to influence elections. But corporations don't deserve the same rights as people, and the financial influence of companies in our elections and public policies must be limited.

  • No More Shadow Banking!

    The opaque “over-the-counter” derivatives market helped turn the collapse of the U.S. housing bubble into a global economic catastrophe. The Dodd-Frank Wall Street reform law drags the shadowy derivatives market out into the light of day, forcing the big banks to trade on open exchanges and to put real money behind their bets. Don’t let the big banks crawl back into the shadows!

  • Demand Strong Action on Fraudclosure!

    In 2010, banks initiated 3 million foreclosure filings. Total foreclosure filings could reach 9 million in 2011. In any civilized nation, the forcible migration of a city the size of New York would be treated for what it is -- an economic and humanitarian catastrophe. Attorneys General in every state are now actively investigating this FRAUDCLOSURE. Write to the lead investigator, Attorney General Tom Miller of Iowa, today.

  • Here Come the High Rollers!

    Reckless Wall Street derivatives trading helped collapse the economy, costing Americans 8 million lost jobs and 14 trillion in lost savings and wealth. In 2008, excessive speculation created price bubbles in food and energy prices which led to $4 gasoline in the U.S. and over 130 million people around the world went hungry.

    The Dodd-Frank Wall Street reform bill cracks down on the speculators and high rollers, bringing transparency to dark markets and forcing the big banks to put up real money behind their bets. Now the Wall Street lobbyists are working feverishly behind the scenes to punch a number of loopholes into the law during the agency rulemaking process.

    Let regulators know you are watching. Send the letter below and tell them to say “no” to the big banks and their billion-dollar loopholes!

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    Stand for Religious Freedom
    and Against Intolerance

    Remember September 11th and Be Counted.

    We are a group of ordinary Americans who have come together to affirm this country's commitment to its founding ideals of religious freedom and respect for all faiths. We are troubled by acts of bigotry and intolerance aimed at Muslims in recent months, which do not represent the America we know. We hope that the thousands who share this commitment and our faith in America will sign this pledge.

  • SIGN THE PETITION!
  • Put a New Sheriff on the Block -- Support a Consumer Financial Protection Bureau!

    The Banksters have pulled off the biggest heist of all time. They have collapsed the economy, throwing 8 million out of work and jeopardizing the future of millions more. Now their lobbyists are swarming Capitol Hill trying to prevent the passage of any meaningful reform that would prevent the next crisis. Use the letter below to say NO! to the Banksters and tell your Member of Congress that we need a new sheriff in Washington, D.C. in the form of a CONSUMER FINANCIAL PROTECTION BUREAU.

  • Break Up the Banks!
    There is a big fight between Democrats and Republicans over the issue of "too big to fail" (TBTF). Both groups say that their various policy prescriptions will "end" TBTF. They are both wrong. The only way to put an end to TBTF institutions is to break up the ones that exist now and prevent them from growing TBTF in the first place with a flat size cap.

  • Audit the Fed!

    Senator Bernie Sanders is rallying the troops again for his amendment to the Senate financial reform bill to audit the Federal Reserve. While the Treasury Department is posting TARP bailout recipients and amounts on their web page, the Fed is quietly spending much more, as much as $2 trillion, but is not telling us who is getting the money or why. Sanders' bill parallels the Ron Paul-Alan Grayson language from the House bill. Now if Senate leaders would only put the amendment to a vote, we might find out where the Banksters hid the big bucks.

  • SIGN THE PETITION!

  • Senate Bank Reform Legislation!

    It's crunch time for financial reform. The House passed a bill in December. In March, the Senate takes up the issue. The final bill that emerges will set the shape of the American economy for the next 50 years. Now is the time to tell the Senate we need strong rules to crack down on the reckless behavior of the big banks that caused the financial crisis. American families simply cannot afford a "boom and bail" economy. Say No to Boom and Bail!

  • Save Unemployment Insurance!

    In December, 2 million Americans will lose their Unemployment Insurance unless Congress acts. Congress is about to make a choice that will define this moment in history: Support those unemployed by the recession or give tax cuts to millionaires. Let them know you are watching and tell Congress that UI benefits are a vital lifeline in these tough times. Call you Senator toll free 866-606-1189 or send an email below.

  • SIGN THE PETITION!
  • Put Americans Before Corporations

    In January 2011, the Supreme Court rewrote the First Amendment to say that Congress can't restrict corporate spending to influence elections. But corporations don't deserve the same rights as people, and the financial influence of companies in our elections must be limited.

  • We Need Comprehensive Financial Reform Now!

    While it may be a wonderful life on Wall Street, here on Main Street too many of us are struggling this holiday season. A financial sector run wild has collapsed the economy -- gifting us with layoffs, debt, and foreclosures. We need aggressive banking reform legislation now to prevent another catastrophic meltdown.

  • Break Up the Banks!

    While countries in Europe are moving rapidly to break up their biggest financial institutions to recoup taxpayer money and restore competition, the U.S. Congress has failed to take up any measure to break up "too big to fail" institutions that pose a threat to the global economy. A growing list of experts from the left and the right want to see the big banks restructured including former Fed Chairs Paul Volcker and Alan Greenspan. Even John S. Reed, who as CEO of Citibank for 14 years oversaw the merger between Citi and Travelers Group, thinks these giant institutions should be broken up to separate consumer banking from risky trading. The good news? Last week, U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) introduced a bill directing the U.S. Department of the Treasury to BREAK UP THE BANKS!