Gates Foundation Will Withdraw Support for ALEC Nonprofit

[Tx4obama]

Source: Roll Call

The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation today became the latest backer to withdraw financial support for the American Legislative Exchange Council.

A foundation spokesman told Roll Call that it does not plan to make future grants to the conservative nonprofit, which has come under fire from progressive activists for its support of voter identification laws and other contentious measures.

The foundation, run by the co-founder of Microsoft Corp. and his wife, contributed more than $375,000 to ALEC in the past two years and was the target of an online petition launched today by the liberal Progressive Change Campaign Committee that garnered more than 23,000 signatures in a matter of hours.

“We have made a single grant, narrowly and specifically focused on providing information to ALEC-affiliated state legislators on teacher effectiveness and school finance,” said Chris Williams, the spokesman, noting that the foundation was never a dues-paying member. The foundation advocates for global health initiatives and efforts to reduce poverty.

Read more: http://www.rollcall.com/news/gates_foundation_will_withdraw_support_for_alec_nonprofit-213689-1.html?pos=hln

[KamaAina]

1. Why were they supporting it in the first place?

This may well explain why the Gates Foundation has been supporting union-busting education "reform".

[bahrbearian]

2. to replace Teachers with Software.

[Fearless]

6. +1

[KamaAina]

7. Oh joy. Microsoft Classroom(R).

If you can't boot up the teacher in fifteen minutes, class is canceled.

[HiPointDem]

8. +1. Never fear, though, Gates will find another way to fund ALEC-type moves even if he ain't

funding ALEC. These a***holes never give up.

But good on the folks who brought the pressure. *That's* how you get what you want.

[primavera]

16. That's my fear as well

ALEC may suffer some setbacks in its funding, but all it has to do is open up a different corporation under a different name with a different PO Box and they're back in business again. Then some watchdog will once again have to devote years of investigative work to uncover the same old crimes being perpetrated under the different guise.

[yardwork]

14. Exactly.

[freshwest]

10. ...To promote good little corporate thinkers.

[robinlynne]

3. ooee. now it feels like I did somehting good today. (signed the PCCC petition)

[Walk away]

4. Me Too! Instant gratification! nt

[radhika]

5. Gates is a big fan of corporate-run education...

He and mogul Eli Broad have been leaders (and funders) in the privatization movement.

[freshwest]

11. Yep, privatize everything and then kneel to the new overlords...

[MindMover]

19. ...............

[url=http://www.flickr.com/photos/41483660@N04/6685902115/][img][/img][/url]
[url=http://www.flickr.com/photos/41483660@N04/6685902115/]rde1521l[/url]

[DemocracyInaction]

9. pants down

All these corporate assholes are pretending they didn't know what ALEC was about.....gee, they must have a bunch of over paid dumb tucks advising them....

[freshwest]

12. Agreed. They knew and supported it. Gates just lost that 'knight in shining armor' look.

Most of these Foundations suck.

[lunasun]

13. providing information to ALEC-affiliated state legislators on teacher effectiveness / school finance

= pushing priv. charter schools and teacher / union busting cash was given to ALEC

screw this megalomaniac
and he has all our seeds with Monsanto too!

[iemitsu]

17. gates can afford to withdraw support from ALEC

because they already got the washington state legislature to adopt a teacher pay scheme that ties teacher compensation to student's test scores.

[shagnasty]

18. Now They Can Go After Walmart

When do we go after the real culprets?

I sent my contribution to Color of Change. Your ballot may not count for much but your dollars will speak loudly.

[alcibiades_mystery]

22. +1000

I posted below before I saw your post, but that's exactly right.

[Snarkoleptic]

15. Take action against ALEC here...

http://act.colorofchange.org/sign/alec/?source=coc_website

[glinda]

20. Gates will continue his march forward to hide his agenda.....

http://www.naturalnews.com/035105_Bill_Gates_Monsanto_eugenics.html

[alcibiades_mystery]

21. "teacher effectiveness" is ALEC code for union busting

Who the fuck are they fooling?

[Guy Whitey Corngood]

23. Awwww just when that whole dismantling the pulbic education system was going so well. As stated

above I'm sure they'll find another disgusting beneficiary of their vast amounts of cash.