Mary Bottari

Mary Bottari

Mary Bottari is the Director of the Center for Media and Democracy's Real Economy Project and editor of their www.BanksterUSA.org site.

Articles by this author

On December 14, 2018, Scott Walker released a Venn diagram when he signed the lame-duck bills into law claiming that they did not curtail the powers of the new Democratic governor. Views
Friday, March 22, 2019
Boom! Wisconsin GOP’s Lame-Duck Power Grab Ruled Unconstitutional
A Wisconsin judge ruled on Thursday that laws passed by the Republican-controlled legislature in December to limit the powers of newly elected Democratic Governor Tony Evers and Attorney General Josh Kaul were unconstitutional. The lame-duck bills limited early voting, stopped the newly elected...
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Frederick Douglass famously advised: “Power concedes nothing without a demand, it never has and it never will.”(Photo: Exposed Views
Wednesday, February 06, 2019
Koch Kumbaya: The Billionaire Industrialists Appropriate Frederick Douglass, Pledge to “Do Right”
The billionaire industrialists Charles and David Koch, and their network of donors gathered last week at a swank Palm Springs resort for their annual confab of millionaires and billionaires who have committed to funnel at least $100,000 annually to the Koch political operation, which rivals the...
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The Janus case was spearheaded by ALEC’s sister group, the $80 million State Policy Network (SPN), made up of 66 right-wing think tanks and other Koch-funded institutions.(Photo: Screenshot) Views
Wednesday, January 23, 2019
ALEC’s New Union-Busting Toolkit Illustrates the Goal Is to Bankrupt Unions Not Protect Workers
It’s becoming an annual ritual. The Koch-funded cluster of groups, which has long abused their 501(c)3 IRS “charitable” designation by working to destroy political enemies, has concocted another “union busting” toolkit, giving ammunition and guidance to Republican politicians on how to attack and...
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"What Republicans didn't win at the polls, they would seek to preserve by pilfering."(Photo: Screengrab) Views
Friday, December 07, 2018
Wisconsin Schools the Nation on Hypocrisy and Partisan Power Grabs
Wisconsin elected the state's respected school superintendent as governor on November 6. Now a disgruntled GOP leadership is schooling the nation on hypocrisy and partisan power grabs. After an all-nighter Wednesday, Speaker Robin Vos and Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald succeeded in passing...
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Tony Evers (Photo: Screenshot) Views
Thursday, November 08, 2018
A Public School Teacher Just Beat the Pants Off Scott Walker
State School Superintendent Tony Evers defeated incumbent Governor Scott Walker 49.6 to 48.4 in a late night finish that kept supporters of both candidates on pins and needles. Evers won by 1.2 percentage points, which did not meet the standard for an automatic recount, and Walker was hoisted by...
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According OpenSecrets.org, outside groups and the three candidates spent an astonishing $36.9 million so far in the state’s most expensive primary in history. (Photo: Leah Vukmir/Screengrab) Views
Wednesday, August 15, 2018
Wisconsin GOP Just Nominated ALEC’s “Iron Lady” to Take on Tammy Baldwin
The Kochs have exercised a lot of influence in Wisconsin, working with Governor Scott Walker to crush wages, bust unions, gut school spending, and promote vouchers. But the Kochs may have had their biggest victory of all handed to them last night by another billionaire couple. Koch loyalist and...
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21 July 2017 - Denver, CO - US Secretary of Labor Alexander Acosta gives remarks and participates in Q&A at the 44th annual American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) meeting. (Photo Credit: Department of Labor Shawn T Moore) Views
Monday, August 13, 2018
ALEC Is Pushing a New Slate of Viciously Anti-Worker, Pro-Corporate Laws
When the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) convened its 45th annual meeting of legislators and corporate lobbyists at the swank Hilton New Orleans Riverside hotel on August 8, it served up a veritable banquet of union-busting, gerrymandering, pro-fossil fuel, and school privatization...
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Views
Wednesday, June 27, 2018
Trump’s Supreme Court Strikes Blow to Government Workers, Good Paying Jobs
In a major blow to organized labor and good paying government jobs, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled today that government workers who choose not to join a union cannot be charged fees to reimburse the union for the cost of representing them in collective bargaining. The decision was 5-4 in the Janus...
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"Americans for Tax Fairness estimates that the Kochs will get $1.4 billion from the Jobs and Tax Cut Act of 2017, money that could be used to pay asbestos victims before they die." (Photo: Wikicommons) Views
Tuesday, June 19, 2018
ALEC’s Deadly Asbestos Agenda Benefits Koch Industries, Nationwide
The American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) named Missouri Republican state Rep. Bruce DeGroot as a “Legislator of the Week” in June. Why is ALEC so fond of DeGroot? Because he has cheerfully championed ALEC legislation to restrict the right of terminally ill, asbestos victims to sue over...
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Rather than throwing up their hands and surrendering to the outside dark money forces already invading their state, Dawn Penich-Thacker, Save our Schools Arizona Co-founder and spokesperson tells CMD they are ready to battle the Kochs. Views
Tuesday, November 28, 2017
Koch Latino Front Group Instructs Arizona Moms About School Vouchers
A full year in advance of a historic showdown on school vouchers in Arizona, the Kochs are already ladling on the cash. Through their Latino front group, Libre Institute , they have launched a six figure ad campaign targeting Arizona moms on one of the Kochs’ favorite topics, school vouchers. The...
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