The Progressive.com managed to get a copy of ALEC’s agenda for its 41st annual meeting in Dallas.
ALEC wants to eviscerate Medicaid, support fracking, and expand charter schools in hopes of destroying America’s great public school system.
All for the corporations and the 1%, nothing for the people.
They are shameless.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
“The bill would give charter schools carte blanche to operate without being “subject to the state’s education statutes or any state or local rule, regulation, policy, or procedure relating to non-charter public schools within an applicable local school district…”
What a great rule for publicly-paid contractors! What could possibly go wrong there?
This will be introduced and rubber-stamped in Ohio within the year. Count on it. The only question is which corrupt clown in the statehouse will pretend they “drafted” it.
“Campbell Brown suit cites John Stossel as an authoritative figure on education”
It’s a circle now. Media figures cite other media figures as authorities.
Do you think Campbell Brown gets more media coverage because she worked on cable tv? Helen Gym is an education activist in Philadelphia. I never see her promoted nationally like this. Why is that?
I never heard of Campbell Brown until I read about this lawsuit:
http://www.npr.org/blogs/ed/2014/07/28/336050469/teacher-tenure-challenge-spreads-from-california-to-new-york
John Stossel? A number of years ago, I saw a book in the store that he’d written about education. The naive arrogance of the uninformed is astounding when it comes to education. If Stossel is an authoritative figure on education, then maybe one of us could be cited as authoritative figures with regard to media…
Isn’t John Stossel a medical reporter? (I mean, a reporter who reports on medical issues, not one who has any medical training.)
Dienne,
John Stossel talks ignorantly, on many subjects.
“The “Resolution in Support of Post-Release Supervision of Offenders” expands parole, or post-release supervision”
This is a way to extract more money in fees from offenders, post-release. Actually, offenders family members, because offenders on post-release supervision often can’t work. It’s basically an extortion racket where the poorest people pay fees to keep a family member out of jail.
Does anyone in ALEC know how to make money without sucking it out of a public system? What happened to ‘the private sector”? I thought these guys were such big capitalists. They’re advocating more court-ordered fees going to private companies?
We might want to look at what America’s Premier Business Schools are teaching. Taking 10% off the top on court-ordered fees isn’t an innovative business plan.
Cory Booker lost my respect, when he decided to fight the pipeline to prison, while supporting the pipeline to corporatized education.
ALEC is the enemy of the 99%, including both families and small business. Sacrificing education to them will further embolden them and give them more resources to destroy American democracy.
Cory Booker lost my respect when he brought Cami Anderson to Newark. He neglected to do anything about the street shootings. He was preoccupied with self promotion.
Chiara, thanks for hitting these points. The greed and cruelty of the ALEC agenda knows know bounds. Giving charter schools carte blanche with our public dollars? Haven’t we had enough stories of lawlessness, fraud and corruption where charter schools have carte blanche funding? What, so we can have more kindergarten classrooms with 100 students?
And banning people from receiving Medicaid if other insurance is available?
The cost of my annual premiums for family coverage HMO are $5,000 + a year. My school district kicks in $15K. My share alone of premiums consumes about 15 percent of my salary – and that’s before any co-pays, denials of service, etc. Meanwhile, health insurance CEOs make $20 million + a year. I support Single Payer for all.
If there’s karma for corporations, ALEC and its ilk are overdue for it.
I agree on Medicaid but the post-release profiteers are particularly egregious because the penalty for violating probation is JAIL.
They’re pushing a system where if you can’t pay you are imprisoned.
That’s a business plan? Debtors prisons? Really? What are they teaching in MBA school?
Agreed. The use of post-release profiteering schemes kick people down instead of helping to mainstream them back into society.
Our justice system has gone awry – affluenza defenses and financial slaps on the wrist for the rich and the corporations; imprisonment, debt and disenfranchisement for the rest of us. Our business schools fail to examine the moral hazards of rapacious capitalism. The privatizing of schools is just another tool in the oligarchs’ tool box.
Koch-funded curriculum is taught in both high schools and colleges.
The term, “social Darwinism”, has been used to describe course content, in amorality.
Plans for the takeover of government, by business, is not taught. It is the product of politicians and judges, who either oppose democracy (e.g. Lewis Powell memo and Reed Hastings Youtube video) or, who are self-serving.
The concentration of wealth, Walton heirs equal to 42,000,000 Americans, portends violent upheaval unless Krugman, Baker and economists like them can convince the oligarchs their wealth is threatened by the trend. The other answer is the return of power to politicians like Eisenhower and FDR. The conservative churches in the red states are a significant roadblock. IMO.
Chiara, Ohio will beat Florida in passing ALEC-written laws only because our legislature only meets for 60 days each year beginning in March. This years session is long over and only a governor-ordered emergency session would bring another. They haven’t resorted to that YET in order to get the ALEC laws on the books but anything is possible here, LOL.
Are the AFT and the NEA brass there leading a massive membership protest against ALEC, drawing public attention to their evil ways? Spreading the word about how this secretive group controls our government, ignoring the will of We the People and the legislators we elected?
Crickets? Buehler? I thought not . . . that might be perceived as militant or critical and we can’t have that what with Randi hobnobbing with Eli Broad and top democrats and Lily hugging Arne Duncan to comfort him after delivering the sternly worded letter.
I love how they carefully select the member to carry the bill. I think they deliberately chose a brand new member to carry the Third Grade Reading Guarantee boilerplate that was adopted all over the US.
It’s like picking the short straw, introducing and defending an ALEC-drafted bill 🙂
I think it’s shameful how they have no pride in or ownership of their work. One of the ALEC bills they introduced still had the ALEC-written caption- the title. They were too freaking sloppy and lazy to re-title it. They had to pull it and invent some catchy name with “Ohio” in it.
Is there any way to destroy ALEC? Suggestions?
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Exactly what crossed my mind reading this post. Exposure, big-time, in the public eye would be the best bet I think. But how?
If only there were things like nationally organized teacher groups, something like a ‘union’ or ‘professional organization’ with millions of dollars, large well-trained staffs, existing publicity departments able to coordinate massive actions of membership . . . .
Instead we have the IRA, NCTE, NCTM, NEA, AFT, etc. collecting their Gates checks, setting up dinner dates with Broad, Gates, the Waltons, Duncan, etc., and appearing with the reformists on TV lending them legitimacy and credence while giving supportive soundbites to the other media organizations.
If teachers were smart they would ask for organizations that would work to protect and defend them and their profession. They would even be willing to send dues money to these organizations to make their work possible.
Oh, wait.
Joe Nashville,
John McNay, the Pres. of the Ohio Conference of the American Association of University Professors (AAUP), is a leader in bringing attention to ALEC. Ohioans were successful in defeating Gov. Kasich’s signature ALEC-inspired anti-labor bill. McNay wrote about it in his book, Collective Bargaining and the Battle of Ohio.
IMO, momentum against ALEC is growing. A first step is to apply heat to our state legislators, when they introduce or support an ALEC
template bill. A second step is to contact all friends and family and inform them about ALEC.
Then go fishing, to regain strength for the next fight.
Wise advice, Linda. I especially like the idea of going fishing! Sounds perfect right now.
That’s inspiring, Linda. Having spent a part of my life in Ohio a few decades ago, I’m still amazed Kasich was ever elected governor. Nobody seemed to take him seriously from what I remember.
I was watching something called “The United States of ALEC.” I think it may be worth a try to figure out some kind of campaign where politicians receive countless messages from voters to tell them that they will lose votes for being part of ALEC.
No, you need to tell ALEC that they will lose money if they try to destroy public education.
Susan, I don’t mean this in an argumentative way, so I hope it isn’t interpreted as such. Please enlighten me as to how ALEC could lose money if we told them they would. I’m confused on how that would happen if we were to make due on such an ultimatum.
Joe Nashville and Chris in Florida,
Hope you enjoyed the quick fishing trip now, read, “A Top-Secret Agreement to Carve Up Public Services” (exposed by WikiLeaks info.), at Truthout, today. In light of the formidable opposition, Duncan seems like a gnat.
The article describes the tactics, goal, target date and players in the massive offensive.
“NY Gets A Vergara Lawsuit (MN, CT, NJ & TN Could Be Next)”
Wow. That’s exciting. I wonder how much the former Obama Administration members are going to make off the PR for all these lawsuits. It was Roberts Gibbs and one other guy who were cashing in on this, right? Will we have whole careers based on putting teachers on trial?
How many states have cut public school funding in the last 6 years under ed reform leadership at the state and federal level? Is it 32 or 36? That’s a lot of public school children! Why no mention of them?
The Center for Media and Democracy has been in the forefront of exposing ALEC. They’ve posted exhaustive files on ALEC model legislation, sorted by state, reflecting a Herculean effort. A few years ago, a Miami University (Ohio) student provided CMD with important information that shed light on ALEC activities.
There have been on-going campaigns to shame corporate members of ALEC, many of which have been successful. There is a group that regularly e-mails requests that we contact our state legislators concerning ALEC activities. Recently, the issue was a proposed loyalty oath described in The Guardian. My state senator confirmed the existence of the proposal.
PR Watch is associated with CMD. I don’t know if there is a link between them and Sourcewatch but, that site is excellent in identifying political connections.
Because of Lisa Graves steerage of CMD, showing immense courage, I understand her desire to keep a coalition of strength against formidable forces.
“A few years ago, a Miami University (Ohio) student provided CMD with important information that shed light on ALEC activities.”
That was generous of him or her, donating time like that. I’m wondering why volunteers are the only people doing advocacy for public schools.
Is there some reason we’re paying lawmakers? They’re not drafting legislation or acting as advocates. Do they have some other role that “adds value”? Can we just put them on the contractors’ payroll? Skip the middleman?
Chiara,
Again, I am informed by your citations and comments, just the right amount of sarcasm and pique.
“The Secretary, joined by Secretary of Labor Thomas E. Perez, will visit Toledo Technology Academy to host a roundtable focused on job-driven training and the need to redesign and equip high schools to prepare students for careers. School officials, students and local union and workforce leaders will participate in the roundtable. The Academy, a member of the Toledo Public Schools initiative, was recently awarded a $3.8 million grant through the Youth CareerConnect grant program. A short press availability will follow.
Toledo Technology Academy, 3301 Upton Ave., Toledo, Ohio
The Obama Administration re-discovered both public schools and labor. Must be nearly August of an election year in Ohio.
Their position on high school seems to be exactly the same of that of John Kasich. The DC law looks exactly like Kasich’s plan, and Kasich’s plan looks exactly like the ALEC law. Are any of them doing any original work, or can we just put in the ALEC laws and call it a day?
I’m not sure all readers of this blog are up to speed on the mafia-like power of ALEC. The best recent commentary that I have seen actually comes from a British newspaper, The Guardian. ALEC got into a mess when it tried to expand the number of states with laws that enabled the killer of Trayvon Martin to be excused for that deed. ALEC has a new project to accomplish it’s agenda with less exposure to legal eagles and whistle-blowers. ALEC has lost some of its legislators, corporate and foundation sponsors, but it remains the leading source of model legislation for states, especially those where Repulicans are in power and eager to accept ready-to-use legislation, with only a few editorial changes. See http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/dec/03/alec-funding-crisis-big-donors-trayvon-martin
Welp, ALEC is finally doing it. They are finally making life not worth living.
Joe V.
As Daily Kos says, “If they won’t let us dream, we won’t let them sleep.”
Chris in Florida above, @ 10:18 AM–I could not agree with you more–ONE, HUGE NATIONALLY organized group, rather than all these smaller, divided (even from w/in, witnessing what went on at the LA AFT, UFT snubbing/slighting the CTU) organizations. MILLIONS of people, together. There is strength in numbers, always–
especially UNITED numbers. While I wholeheartedly congratulate BATs on this past weekend’s activities & Monday’s march/meeting (so much work, effort & planning–well done!), I sadly have to agree w/Mike Klonsky, who commented on Naison’s post, today, that Arne & company gave the meeting attendees one of those NATO (No Action, Talk Only) back-pats, & that’ll be the end of it. Arne: Well, I came & I listened. I just earned my salary for the year!
My thought: all of our smaller organizations should fold into the N.P.E. (which, after all, has demonstrated some great success in supporting candidates (who have actually been elected against big $$$) for public office.
Oh–P.S.–I hope you Dallas folks had a Texas-sized protest outside of ALEC’s meeting. If you have any info. & video, please share it w/us! (As I’ve mentioned before, when they were in Chicago last July, we clogged the streets but, of course, the corporate-owned media never ran the story.)
The Revolutions like, France 1789, Haiti 1792, Russia 1917, Cuba 1952, and the recent Arab Springs in the Middle East.
Small greedy capitalist groups like ALEC, are only shortening the fuse for the inevitable violent, mass social upheaval that will erupt in the United States by the people who have had enough suffering because of the inequality and instability of the socio-economic system of capitalism.