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President Obama visited Wisconsin today to speak at Master Lock, a union firm that that has brought 100 manufacturing jobs back from China to the United States. Because it was the President's first visit to the state since the historic fight over collective bargaining broke out over one year ago, everyone was watching to see if he would address the controversy or signal his support. Some saw signals where none were intended. read more Read Full Story

Governor Scott Walker signed Wisconsin’s newest redistricting maps into law on August 9, 2011.  The maps had drawn criticism when they were released to the public one month before, on July 8. Democrats in the legislature criticized Republicans for not allowing them input and many observers poked fun at the contorted districts that gave Republicans an edge. Redistricting is largely a partisan process, and the party in charge works hard to draw maps that favor their members. read more Read Full Story

For the anniversary of the Wisconsin Uprising, a series of events have been planned to commenorate the historic events of February and March 2011. Book Reading: “Uprising: How Wisconsin Renewed the Politics of Protest, from Madison to Wall Street” Date: Thursday, February 9th, 5:00 p.m. Location: Tripp Commons, Memorial Union read more Read Full Story

MONTPELIER, Vermont — You can’t see them. They’re hidden from view and probably always will be. But the health insurance industry’s big guns are in place and pointed directly at the citizens of Vermont. read more Read Full Story

Wisconsin Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald (R-Juneau) is in a last-minute scramble to challenge "fraudulent" recall petition signatures. Of the six public officials facing recall in Wisconsin, Fitzgerald has the slimmest margin of recall signatures. While the effort to recall Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker garnered 185 percent of the necessary signatures, the effort to recall Fitzgerald in a heavily Republican district turned in 123 percent of the amount needed. Thus, it was no... Read Full Story

Documents obtained by the Center for Media and Democracy, recently unsealed as part of a major lawsuit against Syngenta, reveal that the global chemical company's PR team had a multi-million dollar budget to pay surrogates and others who helped advance its messages about the weed-killer "atrazine."  This story is part two of a series about Syngenta's PR campaign to influence the media, potential jurors, potential plaintiffs, farmers, politicians, scientists, and the U.S. Environmental... Read Full Story

Atrazine is an herbicide primarily manufactured by the multinational conglomerate Syngenta and commonly used on commodity crops, forests, and golf courses . Its potential harmful effects on human health have been documented since the 1990s. As a consequence, atrazine has been “ unauthorized ” in the European Union since 2004 (and in some European countries since 1991). However, it is one of the most heavily used herbicides in the United States . Syngenta, atrazine’s primary manufacturer... Read Full Story

- By Beau Hodai and Lisa Graves Documents obtained by the Center for Media and Democracy, recently unsealed as part of a major lawsuit against Syngenta, reveal how the global chemical company's PR team investigated the press and spent millions to spin news coverage and public perceptions in the face of growing concerns about potential health risks from the widely used weed-killer "atrazine." This story is part of a new series about this PR campaign to influence the media, potential jurors... Read Full Story

Wisconsin made a brief, unexpected appearance at the Super Bowl yesterday. A new ad by Chrysler, [http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/02/06/super-bowl-commercials-2012-clint-eastwood-chrysler_n_1255352.html read more Read Full Story

A guest post by Nick Surgey from Common Cause, originally posted on Common Blog . When Florida Rep. Rachel Burgin (R- 56) introduced a bill in November calling on the federal government to reduce taxes for corporations (HM 685) , she made an embarrassing mistake. read more Read Full Story