Have you heard of ALEC?

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  1. Ralph Deeds profile image66
    Ralph Deedsposted 12 years ago

    ALEC may be the largest single source of evil in the United States. The acronym stands for American Legislative Exchange Council. It authored Florida's "stand your ground law" and engineered the introduction of similar laws in a number of other states. You may have suspected that Florida's law was introduced by ignorant yahoos. It was not. As outlined by Paul Krugman's column today, ALEC is funded by the Koch Brothers, EXXON-Mobil, et al. The organization is introducing bills in legislatures across the country to further the goals of its sponsors:  union busting, tax breaks for corporations, privatization of prisons and schools and other public services, repeal of environmental protection laws and so forth.

    http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/26/opini … ef=opinion

    1. Evan G Rogers profile image60
      Evan G Rogersposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      Why would EXXON want us all shooting ourselves?

      1. Ralph Deeds profile image66
        Ralph Deedsposted 12 years agoin reply to this

        ALEC works for EXXON on anti-climate change issues. It worked with the NRA to get stand your ground bills passed in 21 states. ALEC is a hydra-headed evil monster.

        http://s2.hubimg.com/u/6382637_f248.jpg ALEC MONSTER

        http://www.alternet.org/story/154689/ho … =1&t=5

      2. Druid Dude profile image61
        Druid Dudeposted 11 years agoin reply to this

        besides...nothing eats oil faster than a really good war. Doesn't matter where, any place is just fine.

      3. Ralph Deeds profile image66
        Ralph Deedsposted 11 years agoin reply to this

        Exxon-Mobil could care less about guns. It funds ALEC to fight EPA regulations and to preserve the depletion allowance loophole. ALEC shills for the NRA on gun control issues. ALEC and NRA are responsible for writing "stand your ground" statutes in 25 states. ALEC is basically something out of Ayn Rand. Deregulate corporations and banks so that they can fxxk the poor and middle class.

      4. Hollie Thomas profile image60
        Hollie Thomasposted 11 years agoin reply to this

        Exxon(or the koch-******* wants to control you, Evan. Can you really not get your head around the "long game"

    2. profile image61
      logic,commonsenseposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      No, the largest single source of evil in this country is the Senate, closely followed by the president.

      1. lovemychris profile image76
        lovemychrisposted 12 years agoin reply to this

        Yeah--the Repubs in the senate! Every single one of them voted for the Blunt amendment!

        My god...anymore "freedom", from the "freedom pary", and we'll all be in jail!

      2. Ralph Deeds profile image66
        Ralph Deedsposted 12 years agoin reply to this

        Opinions are like axxholes. Everybody has one.

      3. Hollie Thomas profile image60
        Hollie Thomasposted 11 years agoin reply to this

        Who controls the senate, LCS? Do you honestly believe that they are acting out of complete free will?

    3. WillStarr profile image82
      WillStarrposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      ""The number of shootings of all kinds, murders, drug wars, drive by shootings, accidental shootings, suicides, bar fights, car jackings, and so forth tells me that stricter controls on the manufacture, sale and use of handguns are badly needed. This is possible within the Supreme Court's interpretation of the Second Amendment.""

      Really? Tell what law you would write that would actually stop any of that.

      1. Ralph Deeds profile image66
        Ralph Deedsposted 12 years agoin reply to this

        I would start with repealing all "must issue laws" and confine permits to carry handguns to people who can demonstrate special circumstances and needs to carry a handgun. A gun safety training requirement would be helpful. I would require that all handguns be sold with trigger locks. Large magazines would be illegal. Lists of people with handgun permits would be published on the Internet along with an invitation for anyone to furnish information about the individual that might indicate he should not get a carry permit. Possession of a handgun in a school, church, bar, courthouse or any other public building would be absolutely prohibited. Those are just a few items off the top of my head.  I'm sure that I've barely scratched the surface.

        1. WillStarr profile image82
          WillStarrposted 12 years agoin reply to this

          Not one thing you suggested would have any effect on criminals or crime. It would only affect the law abiding, and not in a positive way.

        2. recommend1 profile image60
          recommend1posted 12 years agoin reply to this

          Wouldn't it be easier to just shoot everyone carrying a gun,  just like the US is doing in Iraq, Afghanistan, and wherever else is currently being trashed at the moment by US forces ?

    4. GNelson profile image59
      GNelsonposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      ALEC is a giant step backward for the middle class and a giant step forward for the 1%.

    5. Xenonlit profile image60
      Xenonlitposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      the best thing is for as many people as possible to expose ALEC and to keep it in the light. The Koch Bros have already demonstrated that they freak out when they are investigated or looked at too closely.

  2. WillStarr profile image82
    WillStarrposted 12 years ago

    "It authored Florida's "stand your ground law" and engineered the introduction of similar laws in a number of other states."

    So you don't think Americans have a right to self defense? They should submit to criminals? You think standing up to thugs is evil?

    Why do I suspect that you are also soft on crime?

    1. habee profile image93
      habeeposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      Will, I believe in standing your ground when you have no chance to escape imminent deadly threats. One problem with FL's law, IMO, is that it's too vague. And in the Trayvon Martin case, Martin was trying to get away from Zimmerman, and Zimmerman was told by police NOT to follow him.

    2. Ralph Deeds profile image66
      Ralph Deedsposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      Of course Americans have a right to self defense. That right was established long ago in English common law. I don't think allowing every Tom, Dick and Harry walk around with a handgun is good public policy. The number of shootings of all kinds, murders, drug wars, drive by shootings, accidental shootings, suicides, bar fights, car jackings, and so forth tells me that stricter controls on the manufacture, sale and use of handguns are badly needed. This is possible within the Supreme Court's interpretation of the Second Amendment.

  3. lovemychris profile image76
    lovemychrisposted 12 years ago

    The problem with stand your ground law is--once they're dead...who can dispute you?

    You become judge, jury and executioner.  WAY too slippery a slope in a country that hands out guns like candy to any deranged individual.

  4. rebekahELLE profile image86
    rebekahELLEposted 12 years ago

    Yes,  NRA lobbyist brought the bill to the attention of ALEC after it was pushed through the Florida legislature while Jeb Bush was governor.  It was a rather extremist NRA lobbyist, Marion Hammer, that presented the legislation to ALEC. It then used it as a model for other states. You have to wonder how one woman has so much power, (no, not really..) I can easily believe the Koch brothers are behind this 'network' of conservative state legislatures which have adopted the bill.
    http://mediamatters.org/blog/201203220019

  5. lovemychris profile image76
    lovemychrisposted 12 years ago

    "FL Rep. Mark Pafford (D) on "stand your ground": "Every year, the NRA gets a gift."

  6. maxoxam41 profile image64
    maxoxam41posted 12 years ago

    Nothing surprising there. What bothers me is that people don't react.

    1. Mighty Mom profile image77
      Mighty Momposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      The first reactions that come to mind are not very positive. Or legal.

  7. lovemychris profile image76
    lovemychrisposted 12 years ago

    Ooops, sorry--
    All but Olympia Snow. Last Moderate left--on her way out: Now it's all Tea Baggers. Owned by Koch.
    Deal with it!

    1. habee profile image93
      habeeposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      I'm sorry to see Snow leaving. We need more moderates in the R party.

      1. Ralph Deeds profile image66
        Ralph Deedsposted 12 years agoin reply to this

        And Americans for Progress is trying to defeat two other principled Republican senators, Philip Lugar from Indiana and Orrin Hatch from Utah. I wouldn't call them moderates, but they are decent senators who are willing to work with Democrats in the national interest.

        1. Ron Montgomery profile image61
          Ron Montgomeryposted 12 years agoin reply to this

          "Richard" Lugar. He's a decent man, the kind that used to make me respect the Republicans.

          1. Ralph Deeds profile image66
            Ralph Deedsposted 12 years agoin reply to this

            Yep. Thanks for the correction!

        2. habee profile image93
          habeeposted 12 years agoin reply to this

          Agreed.

    2. Hugh Williamson profile image76
      Hugh Williamsonposted 12 years ago

      I'm puzzled at the lack of media coverage and lack of political dissent being expressed, while ALEC is being (seemingly) quietly rushed through. That makes me wonder if there's a Washington consensus that it may be needed very soon.

      Does Washington expect some sort of major dust up shortly? Is Israel ready to have a go at the Iranian nukes? N. Korea...?

    3. lovemychris profile image76
      lovemychrisposted 12 years ago

      Stop giving guns to crazy people and drunks!

    4. WillStarr profile image82
      WillStarrposted 12 years ago

      Nobody 'gives' guns to crazy people, and I don't understand the 'drunk' reference.

      Gun buyers have to pass a background check, and that has been in place for years. Please know what you are talking about so you don't look so foolish.

      1. Ron Montgomery profile image61
        Ron Montgomeryposted 12 years agoin reply to this

        Do buyers at gun shows have to pass a background check?  How about if an idividual sells to another individual with no dealer involved?

      2. Ralph Deeds profile image66
        Ralph Deedsposted 12 years agoin reply to this

        All kinds of criminals and mentally ill people like Rick Perry are walking around with guns. The background checks aren't working.

    5. lovemychris profile image76
      lovemychrisposted 12 years ago

      So how do people like Loughner and Zimmerman get guns?

      I could go on and on and on about idiots owning guns....How they do it?

      and stop with the personal insulting --I know its hard for people on the right, but please try, mmmmmkay?

    6. WillStarr profile image82
      WillStarrposted 12 years ago

      "Do buyers at gun shows have to pass a background check?"

      Yes.

      1. Quilligrapher profile image75
        Quilligrapherposted 12 years agoin reply to this


        A short answer that is not only untrue but also grossly misleading. In most states, only licensed dealers at gun shows are required to perform background checks. None of the many ‘private’ dealers who attend these shows perform any checks beyond the buyer’s residency.
        In December 2010, Jared Lee Loughner shot Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-AZ), a federal judge, a nine-year-old girl, and sixteen other people in Tucson, AZ with a semi-automatic pistol equipped with an illegal high-capacity magazine. About two weeks later, investigators attended a Crossroads of the West gun show in Phoenix, AZ “to see if they could purchase guns and high-capacity magazines without background checks. New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg (R/I) announced the findings at a news conference…indeed the investigators got their weapons easily.

        Bloomberg played the disturbing videos at the press conference — first showing a gun purchase with no background check, and then showing a purchase of a gun even after the undercover investigator told the vendor “I probably couldn’t pass” a background check — and then blasted gun show sellers who “continue to flout the law” by selling weapons to people who “have no business buying them.” Bloomberg said the footage highlights the need for a “better system that respects the Second Amendment while upholding the laws designed to protect innocent Americans.” (1)

        Anyone who claims that background checks are performed at gun shows, or that there is no need for further controls, should just watch this video:

        http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rWfGE93L … r_embedded

        Opposition to stricter controls coming from the NRA, gun manufacturers, and enthusiasts is making it harder to keep guns out of the hands of the wrong people. Their reckless, macho, self-serving rhetoric promotes their own interests without expressing any empathy for the many victims of gun violence.


        (1)http://thinkprogress.org/security/2011/ … ?mobile=nc

      2. Ralph Deeds profile image66
        Ralph Deedsposted 11 years agoin reply to this

        My understanding is that gun dealers at gun shows have to do background checks, but not individual sellers who are not registered gun dealers. Moreover, enforcement is lacking.

    7. lovemychris profile image76
      lovemychrisposted 12 years ago

      "The NRA participated in drafting the Castle Doctrine and supporting it through the process," Marion Hammer told Media Matters. Hammer was president of the NRA from 1995 to 1998, remains a member of its board, and is a longtime Florida lobbyist for the group.

      In 2005, Florida Today reporter Paul Flemming reported on the "Stand Your Ground" legislation before it was passed, writing that the NRA "wrote the bill."

      Asked again last week about the NRA's role, Flemming -- now at the Tallahassee Democrat and still covering the statehouse - reiterated that statement.

      "There is no doubt about it. Marion Hammer, the NRA lobbyist here, former president of the NRA wrote the legislation and she would tell you so," Flemming told Media Matters.

      "She is a very powerful lobbyist in the state house in Tallahassee and they pick a number of priorities in the legislature to go after," Flemming explained. "One was a couple of years ago, guns at work, they had the concealed carry previous to that and that year, in 2005, they wanted to take on the Castle Doctrine."


      "You helped elect my brother"--Jeb Bush to the NRA before he signed the law.

      NRA, AARP, AIPAC.....3 most powerful Lobbies. At least they were--don't know if they still are.

    8. Wizard Of Whimsy profile image60
      Wizard Of Whimsyposted 12 years ago
      1. lovemychris profile image76
        lovemychrisposted 12 years agoin reply to this

        "I notice that the anti contraception and anti voting rights bills and anti union bills brought up in the Repub states at much the same time had much the same wording. I think the TPers elected in 2010 were not able to write legislation: hence ALEC "

    9. lovemychris profile image76
      lovemychrisposted 12 years ago

      Yes---they are the shadow gvt we've all heard about.

    10. Wizard Of Whimsy profile image60
      Wizard Of Whimsyposted 12 years ago
    11. lovemychris profile image76
      lovemychrisposted 12 years ago

      There is a song called Shadowland by Crosby Stills Nash and Young...it pretty well says it all: If I remember! Problem is--you have to buy it now to hear it, and thanks to HAPPILLI, I can't punch up the lyrics.
      Anyway--it fits!

    12. lovemychris profile image76
      lovemychrisposted 12 years ago
      1. Wizard Of Whimsy profile image60
        Wizard Of Whimsyposted 12 years agoin reply to this

        Thanks —great cartoon!

        1. lovemychris profile image76
          lovemychrisposted 12 years agoin reply to this

          Yeah...I was actually surprised. So used to being censored everywhere...the gunshots were surprising!

          But it was on the money to my mind.

    13. lovemychris profile image76
      lovemychrisposted 12 years ago

      Ho Hum....

      – The 47 senators voting against the bill have received $23,582,500 in career contributions from oil and gas. The 51 senators voting to repeal oil tax breaks have received $5,873,600.

      – The senators who voted for Big Oil’s handouts received on average over four times as much career oil cash as those who voted to end them.

      – Overall, Senate Republicans have taken $23.2 million in oil and gas contributions. Democrats received $6.66 million.

      – Since 2011, Senate Republicans have voted seven times for pro-Big Oil interests and against clean energy three times.

      getting boring by now....2-by-4, where ARE you?

      1. Wizard Of Whimsy profile image60
        Wizard Of Whimsyposted 12 years agoin reply to this

        https://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/432281_301307843268175_100001668841319_767669_1116413057_n.jpg

        1. lovemychris profile image76
          lovemychrisposted 11 years agoin reply to this

          Sad but true.

    14. Wizard Of Whimsy profile image60
      Wizard Of Whimsyposted 11 years ago

      FYI Department: ALEC Exposed's Lisa Graves Explains History Of The American Legislative Exchange Council on Media Matters Radio . . .


      http://mediamatters.org/mmtv/201203310006

      1. lovemychris profile image76
        lovemychrisposted 11 years agoin reply to this

        Henry Hyde?? That b*st*rd.....it figures.

        Imagine....they started out to oppose people's rights....and now have gotten themselves classified as people!

        "It's a big ole Club, and you ain't in it!"...Imagine the crimes under their belts....Edwin Meese must have been part of it too.

        ohhhhhh, the burn of anger. Must turn it into something positive.

        1. Wizard Of Whimsy profile image60
          Wizard Of Whimsyposted 11 years agoin reply to this

          https://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-prn1/553924_378605215495518_113544412001601_1196699_434284260_n.jpg

          1. lovemychris profile image76
            lovemychrisposted 11 years agoin reply to this

            No sh*t.

    15. lovemychris profile image76
      lovemychrisposted 11 years ago

      This is very interesting....and in here is proof that Geithner was indeed arrested! People were mocking me for stating it, but it was true.

      http://eclinik.wordpress.com/2012/03/11 … -continue/

      1. Ralph Deeds profile image66
        Ralph Deedsposted 11 years agoin reply to this

        wow! That's quite a site.

    16. lovemychris profile image76
      lovemychrisposted 11 years ago

      "Across the country, state branches of the Republican party are making a thinly veiled attempt to disenfranchise the young through “voting reform.” The trick is simple: Require government-issue photo ID before allowing somebody to vote. Eighteen percent of young voters don’t have current photo IDs. Scott Walker in Wisconsin has signed this “reform” into law. So has Rick Perry in Texas. Similar new rules are going forward in roughly thirty other states. Restricting out-of-state IDs is a natural next step, already under way: That way, thousands of college students won’t be able to vote. The Advancement Project, a civil-rights advocacy group, calls the move “the largest legislative effort to scale back voting rights in a century.”

      wanna bet ALEC is involved??

      1. Wizard Of Whimsy profile image60
        Wizard Of Whimsyposted 11 years agoin reply to this

        http://s2.hubimg.com/u/6416449_f520.jpg

        1. lovemychris profile image76
          lovemychrisposted 11 years agoin reply to this

          Hey all you young women....like the freedom you have now to control your own reproductive life? Vote Democratic.
          Hey all you young men....want to be foot the bill for your parents medical care, and skip going to college, unless your folks are very rich?
          Vote Republican.

          Don't buy the Quadrillion Dollar Hype that they are throwing your way!!

          "The burden of the Romney-Ryan budget will be borne by those who can least afford it. Analysis of the Romney-Ryan budget by the non-partisan Center on Budget and Policy Priorities shows that the planned benefit cuts, such as the block granting of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) would primarily affect low-income families with children, seniors, and people with disabilities, and could lead to a significant increase in hunger and poverty.

          In Wisconsin, this translates to cuts of $1.89 billion to SNAP over the next 10 years; 844,000 program enrollees would be at risk of losing vital nutrition assistance at the same time their health care coverage is at risk and drastic cuts are made to public education – the single greatest tool for lifting children out of poverty.

          At the same time, Scott Walker and his Republican Party have slashed a staggering $2.6 billion from public education and more than $500 million from healthcare programs to pay for $2.3 billion in tax giveaways to out-of-state corporations and the super-rich."

          My daughter has seen the light....she has taken for granted the things we all fought for.
          But....if we show them what will be taken away---there really is no choice at all.
          It's self-preservation for them.

    17. Wizard Of Whimsy profile image60
      Wizard Of Whimsyposted 11 years ago

      Meanwhile . . .

      http://www.bartcop.com/ryan-budget-120402.jpg

      1. lovemychris profile image76
        lovemychrisposted 11 years agoin reply to this
        1. Wizard Of Whimsy profile image60
          Wizard Of Whimsyposted 11 years agoin reply to this

          http://s2.hubimg.com/u/6416409_f520.jpg

          1. junko profile image70
            junkoposted 11 years agoin reply to this

            Unregulated capitalism and corporate power will lead to the fall of America. Once the American dream is destroyed there will be no more liberals and conservatives, just poor and hungry people with No constitutional Rights. The Military will offer food for guns because under Marshal Law there will be no right to bare arms. Then the people will see what they supported and allowed to happen and they and their love ones will suffer. I hope I'm wrong, but it look like I'm right,now.

    18. lovemychris profile image76
      lovemychrisposted 11 years ago

      Young women....: HEED!

      "Romney had created "severe problems" for himself by promising to end funding for Planned Parenthood and by supporting the Blunt amendment, which would have allowed any employer -- not just religious institutions -- to ban contraception coverage on moral grounds."

      He also wants to overturn Roe v Wade, and if he wins, he has his hands on the Supreme Court Button.
      Think young women....you do not know what this would mean to you.

      1. lovemychris profile image76
        lovemychrisposted 11 years agoin reply to this

        I just saw him say that "These people over here should not be taxed to take care of you" (Planned Parenthood).....

        Is there some reason that women aren't entitled to tax money?? I mean, we DO pay into it too. Don't we?

        And we do pay for wars, oil and gas welfare, viagra, and the salary Mitt is hoping to collect?


        Is there something about women that makes them undeserving?  Mitt?

    19. lovemychris profile image76
      lovemychrisposted 11 years ago
    20. Wizard Of Whimsy profile image60
      Wizard Of Whimsyposted 11 years ago

      https://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash3/548742_2957571458655_1242563809_32296942_1755658572_n.jpg

    21. lovemychris profile image76
      lovemychrisposted 11 years ago

      "The situation we're creating for young people and future generations is that we're handing them a climate system which is potentially out of their control," he said. "We're in an emergency: you can see what's on the horizon over the next few decades with the effects it will have on ecosystems, sea level and species extinction."

      "We can't simply say that there's a climate problem, and leave it to the politicians. They're so clearly under the influence of the fossil fuel industry that they're coming up with cockamamie solutions which aren't solutions. That is the bottom line."

      http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2 … ate-change

    22. lovemychris profile image76
      lovemychrisposted 11 years ago

      Kill the planet for $$$$

    23. Wizard Of Whimsy profile image60
      Wizard Of Whimsyposted 11 years ago

      https://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/405161_381704478518925_113544412001601_1205665_574013358_n.jpg

    24. lovemychris profile image76
      lovemychrisposted 11 years ago

      "Anything else you’re interested in is not going to happen if you can’t breathe the air and drink the water. Don’t sit this one out. Do something. You are by accident of fate alive at an absolutely critical moment in the history of our planet.” Carl Sagan

    25. Wizard Of Whimsy profile image60
      Wizard Of Whimsyposted 11 years ago

      ALEC Exposed . . . http://youtu.be/iLuJyz-25y0

      1. lovemychris profile image76
        lovemychrisposted 11 years agoin reply to this

        Apparently, Koch is smearing the maker of that film...he sent a tweet out asking people to pass that documentary on.
        And Color of Change...the organization of Van Jones that Beck targeted....they are the ones getting the word out about Koch, and asking businesses to reconsider supporting Koch industries.
        AT and T is next.

        You see----sometimes actions do have consequences...for the better. If Beckles the Evil Clown had just let Jones be Green Czar...he would not have as much time to devote to Color of Change.

        Either way--Jones is trying to making the world a better place. For his children, and all of ours.

        1. Wizard Of Whimsy profile image60
          Wizard Of Whimsyposted 11 years agoin reply to this

          http://home.comcast.net/~wizardofwhimsy/beckfoxpsycho.gif

          1. lovemychris profile image76
            lovemychrisposted 11 years agoin reply to this

            Ahahaha! I liked it when he cried, the best.
            Such a smarm.

            1. Wizard Of Whimsy profile image60
              Wizard Of Whimsyposted 11 years agoin reply to this

              Irritainment!

    26. Wizard Of Whimsy profile image60
      Wizard Of Whimsyposted 11 years ago

      The Senate minority who last week blocked a vote on ending Big Oil subsidies received more than four times the oil and gas contributions than the 51 senators voting to end them. Exxon Mobil, the world’s most profitable corporation, has helped preserve these and other loopholes for oil and gas by building a Washington force tied intimately to conservative lawmakers.

      http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2012 … _fact_coll

    27. lovemychris profile image76
      lovemychrisposted 11 years ago

      Another one bites the dust....another one bites the dust-- hey hey-- another one bites the dust....

      http://www.rollcall.com/news/gates_foun … ml?pos=hln

    28. lovemychris profile image76
      lovemychrisposted 11 years ago

      Intuit and McDonalds the latest to leave ALEC.

      Dominoes baby---they're falling like dominoes.

      Same way advertisers are leaving Russsshhhhhh. The pendulum shifts when freedoms are restored!!

      The Liberal voice, which was silenced for 8 years, has returned. Not to be smeared as anti-American traitor, but as the Real America!!!

    29. lovemychris profile image76
      lovemychrisposted 11 years ago

      Wendy's gone too. Poof!

    30. lovemychris profile image76
      lovemychrisposted 11 years ago

      Occupy Denver

      "2 dpd cruisers and at least 4 officers at occupydenver protest outside ALEC meeting"

      If you read conspiracy literature--they say that Denver is going to be the capital of NWO America.

    31. Wizard Of Whimsy profile image60
      Wizard Of Whimsyposted 11 years ago

      "It looks like we are seeing the beginnings of the breakup of one of the most anti-democratic groups ever to foist itself on the American public. Slowly but surely the wheels are coming off the behind the curtain, under the rock organization known as ALEC as major corporations like Pepsi, Coke and Kraft Foods leave the group. Billing itself as the American Legislative Exchange Council, ALEC has done its best to stay out of the light because the work they do is best done in the dark and behind the scenes. Much like any group that pushes an anti-democratic agenda, they know that once exposed, they will not last long."

      http://www.blogforiowa.com/2012/04/14/r … e-exposed/

    32. lovemychris profile image76
      lovemychrisposted 11 years ago

      "ALEC is no ordinary group but consists of radical right wing advocates who have written a group of laws which are at the ready to be presented to state legislators when the need arises within the states, so they don't have to write their own laws. The ALEC laws are the most radical right wing laws, such as we have seen in Florida with "Stand Your Ground" type laws. These laws were no doubt sold to corporate america to distance it from the like of its source to give it credibility. When the heat hit from the Trayvon Martin case, corporate america began to see that ALEC was no ordinary group. Wake up America, smell the coffee. There is much brewing that needs to be paid attention to."

      "ALEC is rampant in VA, home of Eric Cantor and Bob Mcdonnell[aspiring to be VP]. Va. celebrates the Confederacy. Why can people not see what these people are trying to do?"

    33. Ralph Deeds profile image66
      Ralph Deedsposted 11 years ago

      Businesses bail on ALEC

      Embarrassed by Bad Laws
      Published: April 16, 2012

      A year ago, few people outside the world of state legislatures had heard of the American Legislative Exchange Council, a four-decade-old organization run by right-wing activists and financed by business leaders. The group writes prototypes of state laws to promote corporate and conservative interests and spreads them from one state capital to another.
         
      The council, known as ALEC, has since become better known, with news organizations alerting the public to the damage it has caused: voter ID laws that marginalize minorities and the elderly, antiunion bills that hurt the middle class and the dismantling of protective environmental regulations.

      Now it’s clear that ALEC, along with the National Rifle Association, also played a big role in the passage of the “Stand Your Ground” self-defense laws around the country. The original statute, passed in Florida in 2005, was a factor in the local police’s failure to arrest the shooter of a Florida teenager named Trayvon Martin immediately after his killing in February.

      That was apparently the last straw for several prominent corporations that had been financial supporters of ALEC. In recent weeks, McDonald’s, Wendy’s, Intuit, Mars, Kraft Foods, Coca-Cola and PepsiCo have stopped supporting the group, responding to pressure from activists and consumers who have formed a grass-roots counterweight to corporate treasuries. That pressure is likely to continue as long as state lawmakers are more responsive to the needs of big donors than the public interest.

      The N.R.A. pushed Florida’s Stand Your Ground law through the State Legislature over the objections of law enforcement groups, and it was signed by Gov. Jeb Bush. It allows people to attack a perceived assailant if they believe they are in imminent danger, without having to retreat. John Timoney, formerly the Miami police chief, recently called the law a “recipe for disaster,” and he said that he and other police chiefs had correctly predicted it would lead to more violent road-rage incidents and drug killings. Indeed, “justifiable homicides” in Florida have tripled since 2005.

      Nonetheless, ALEC — which counts the N.R.A. as a longtime and generous member — quickly picked up on the Florida law and made it one of its priorities, distributing it to legislators across the country. Seven years later, 24 other states now have similar laws, thanks to ALEC’s reach, and similar bills have been introduced in several other states, including New York.

      The corporations abandoning ALEC aren’t explicitly citing the Stand Your Ground statutes as the reason for their decision. But many joined the group for narrower reasons, like fighting taxes on soda or snacks, and clearly have little interest in voter ID requirements or the N.R.A.’s vision of a society where anyone can fire a concealed weapon at the slightest hint of a threat.

      In a statement issued on Wednesday, ALEC bemoaned the opposition it is facing and claimed it is only interested in job creation, government accountability and pro-business policies. It makes no mention of its role in pushing a law that police departments believe is increasing gun violence and deaths. That’s probably because big business is beginning to realize the Stand Your Ground laws are indefensible.

      http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/17/opini … r=1&hp

    34. lovemychris profile image76
      lovemychrisposted 11 years ago

      Prophetic statement.....

      Remarks By Governor Jeb Bush At The 2003 NRA Annual Meeting:

      "You all should be just as proud of your involvement in the 2000 election, because if it were not for your active involvement, it is safe to say that my brother would not have been elected President of the United States. And things could have been completely different as it relates to the role of the United States in the world."

    35. Ralph Deeds profile image66
      Ralph Deedsposted 11 years ago

      Pressured by watchdog groups, civil rights organizations and a growing national movement for accountable lawmaking, the American Legislative Exchange Council announced Tuesday that it was disbanding the task force that has been responsible for advancing controversial Voter ID and “Stand Your Ground” laws.

      ALEC, the shadowy corporate-funded proponent of so-called “model legislation” for passage by pliant state legislatures, announced that it would disband its “Public Safety and Elections” task force. The task force has been the prime vehicle for proposing and advancing what critics describe as voter-suppression and anti-democratic initiatives—not just restrictive Voter ID laws but also plans to limit the ability of citizens to petition for referendums and constitutional changes that favor workers and communities. The task force has also been the source of so-called “Castle Doctrine” and “Stand Your Ground” laws that limit the ability of police and prosecutors to pursue inquiries into shootings of unarmed individuals such as Florida teenager Trayvon Martin.

      The decision to disband the task force appears to get ALEC out of the business of promoting Voter ID and “Stand Your Ground” laws. That’s a dramatic turn of events, with significant implications for state-based struggles over voting rights an elections, as well as criminal justice policy. But it does not mean that ALEC will stop promoting one-size-fits-all “model legislation” at the state level.



      http://www.thenation.com/blog/167425/al … mailNation

    36. Wizard Of Whimsy profile image60
      Wizard Of Whimsyposted 11 years ago

      https://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash3/576721_416120145082641_205876559440335_1469457_1827947513_n.jpg

    37. Wizard Of Whimsy profile image60
      Wizard Of Whimsyposted 11 years ago

      Former ALEC Supporters Now Find Connection Toxic . .  .

      http://truth-out.org/news/item/8649-for … tion-toxic

     
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