Revealed: ALEC Security Apparatus Partners With Local Police To INTIMIDATE MEDIA

[Segami]

Transparency is ALEC's poison, society's antidote

DETOUR #1: Intro to ALEC

If you are familiar with ALEC (the American Legislative Exchange Council) and its "business model", feel free to skip this introduction.

If, on the other hand, you've never heard of ALEC, or you've heard of the organization but aren't familiar with their operations, you should continue.

ALEC's genius has always been its unique ability to pair eager state lawmakers (ALEC's "legislative members&quot with top-tier corporate lobbyists ("corporate members&quot .

ALEC's legislative members join at no cost. Corporate members provide the vast majority of the organization's operating budget.

ALEC commits the lion's share of their annual budget to two annual meetings. ALEC "scholarships" are provided to legislative members to cover their costs of attendance (airfare, hotel, etc.) Often, the legislators know which corporate member provided funding for their scholarship.

At the summits, ALEC legislators and their corporate benefactors can meet privately. What happens behind the locked doors is anyone's guess, but when the doors open, there's a good chance the legislators will emerge with a bill written by (and for) their corporate sugar-daddies.

What do the legislators and lobbyists do when they aren't drawing up corporate dream legislation? It's hard to say: Invariably, the escort services near ALEC's events share ALEC's obsession with secrecy.

Early last month, the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) held its most recent policy summit at the Hyatt Regency in Washington DC. I was there to cover it for StarkReports and FossilAgenda.com.

It turned out to be a tough gig. Surprisingly tough.

Don't get me wrong - I had kept up with ALEC's ascent to the apex of Evil Mountain. I knew they were reeling from negative publicity - as victims of their own success. Trayvon Martin (RIP) and the Newtown massacre each came to be identified with ALEC's pro-gun/Stand Your Ground agenda. As Americans learned how their newly-elected Tea-Party legislators were working hand in glove with ALEC, the secrecy-obsessed organization struggled with its growing notoriety. Don't misunderstand the situation though: The bad press did nothing to slow ALEC's legislative blitzkrieg assault on unions, public schools, elderly and minority voters, low-wage workers, and clean energy.





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http://crooksandliars.com/2014/01/revealed-alec-security-apparatus-partner