Republican Convention Host Committee Tied to Company Moving Jobs to Mexico

Yesterday, we looked at the host committee unfurling the carpet in Philadelphia for the Democratic National Convention this summer, including three locals with a number of questionable associations. Now we’re examining the Republican National Convention’s host committee chairs, most of whom are connected to an electrical equipment and car parts manufacturer called Eaton Corporation. …

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Republican or Democrat? Both parties’ convention host committees represent the 1%

The host committees for both the Republican and Democratic national conventions are composed of wealthy officials who spend their day-to-day lives representing the interests of health insurers, fracking companies, banks and other large corporations. Host committees are comprised of locals picked by party elites to represent the cities hosting each convention. This year’s Democratic National …

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You are being followed: The business of social media surveillance

LittleSis is partnering with MuckRock to investigate how police across the country are monitoring, tracking, and archiving public social media posts. To plug into our work, follow this link to file a freedom of information request using MuckRock’s platform. In keeping with our mission to monitor and track the powers that be, we at LittleSis …

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Who’s behind unpaid prison labor in Texas?

Several of the officials charged with regulating Texas’s prison labor program, wherein thousands of workers behind bars are compelled to produce goods and provide services for free, are connected to some of the richest and most powerful institutions and people in the state. The Texas Board of Criminal Justice, which oversees Texas Correctional Industries (TCI), …

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The real estate developer behind Mayor Bill de Blasio’s affordable housing plan

Since announcing his $41 billion affordable housing plan in 2014, New York Mayor Bill de Blasio has encountered fierce resistance from grassroots housing advocates, who have pointed out that the plan would displace thousands of low-income families and spur gentrification in neighborhoods targeted for rezoning. Until very recently, that opposition was also matched by the …

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Behind the scenes: The push to repeal the ban on oil exports

Since the oil exports ban was repealed on December 18th, 2015, there has been a slow trickle of news detailing the oil industry’s behind-the-scenes campaign to shape this critical policy decision. The most recent piece, from Paul Blumenthal, detailed large, direct corporate donations from oil and gas companies to the Senate Leadership Fund in the …

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Power networks behind the Department of Homeland Security’s expanding biometrics division

2016 is a big year for the Department of Homeland Security’s ability to collect, store, analyze, and share biometric information from non-citizens (and “citizens of interest”) at border crossings and airports. We took a look at the power networks behind the companies unrolling iris and facial scanning technology on the California-Mexico border and JFK airport …

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