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Consumer Watchdog

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Consumer Watchdog investigations and advocacy on data privacy, surveillance, AI, and your right to control your personal information.
Few details on tax return;

Few details on tax return;

<h3>Governor reports how much he paid and gave to charity</h3><p class="source">Sacramento Bee</p> <p>"He's releasing the numerator but not the denominator," said Jamie Court, president of FTCR. "If you don't know how much he makes, you don't know what loopholes he's benefitting from, and what tax policies he adopts that are good or bad for him."</p>
Kicking Women’s Butts

Kicking Women’s Butts

<font face="verdana,sans-serif" size="2">At the Governor's Conference on Women and Families this morning a group of nurses protesting Arnold's decision to gut the state's nurse staffing ratios were kicked out of the event while the Gov...</font>
Arnold Goes to Washington

Arnold Goes to Washington

<p class="source">Marketplace Radio - Minnesota Public Radio</p> <p>Schwarzenegger marketed himself in California as the anti-politician. He told voters he's so rich and famous he can't be bought. That label stuck, even though the self-professed Collectinator took in $72,000 per day in campaign cash during his first year.</p>
Arnold Goes to Washington

Arnold Goes to Washington

<!-- excerpt --><p>Schwarzenegger marketed himself in California as the anti-politician. He told voters he's so rich and famous he can't be bought. That label stuck, even though the self-professed Collectinator took in $72,000 per day in campaign cash during his first year.</p>
Nonprofits tangle Schwarzenegger’s fund-raising machine

Nonprofits tangle Schwarzenegger’s fund-raising machine

<p class="source">Associated Press</p> <p>"What Schwarzenegger has done is create a shadow government so he can bypass campaign finance disclosure laws," said Jamie Court, president of FTCR, a Santa Monica-based consumer group. "He's taking advantage of charitable welfare organizations to promote</p>
Governor sets money-raising record;

Governor sets money-raising record;

<h3>$26.6 million in his first year -- most of it from special interests</h3><p class="source">The San Francisco Chronicle</p> <p>"He's taken more money from special interests than anyone in this state ever has," said David Fink, a policy advocate at the Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights, which has been a vocal critic of the Schwarzenegger administration.</p>
Meeting your ‘new day in California’ governor

Meeting your ‘new day in California’ governor

<p class="source">Sacramento Bee</p> <p>"Any of those kinds of real big, powerful special interests," Schwarzenegger had said before his election, "if you take money from them you owe them something." What kind of special interests did he have in mind?</p>
Furry Little Arnold

Furry Little Arnold

<font face="verdana,sans-serif" size="2">In the weeks leading up to the November election Governor Schwarzenegger took cues from the savviest of woodland creatures: he stocked up for the winter. The Gov. took $500,000 from real estate...</font>
POLITICIANS’ TRIPS DRAWING CRITICISM

POLITICIANS’ TRIPS DRAWING CRITICISM

<p class="source">The Daily News of Los Angeles</p> <p>While legislators say such trips are valuable in learning about programs and policies in other countries, critics question whether lawmakers might be unduly influenced by special-interest groups that often pay for their junkets.</p>
Out to Sushi?

Out to Sushi?

<font face="verdana,sans-serif" size="2">According to an LA Times analysis, Arnold's staff has accepted hundreds of gifts worth tens of thousands of dollars from special interests. These gifts ranged from 152 lunches to $7,818 in Kings...</font>