Template:ALEC News: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 19:26, 29 July 2016

ALEC News

ExxonMobil Top Sponsor at ALEC Annual Meeting

ExxonMobil, facing multiple state investigations connected to its funding of climate change denial, is listed as a top corporate sponsor of the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) annual meeting, taking place this week in Indianapolis, Indiana. ALEC has long promoted climate change denial to state legislators, and promotes a legislative agenda of "model" bills designed to protect the interests of its oil, gas and coal funders.

The ALEC meeting agenda includes discussion of a new "model" bill, designed to block implementation of the Obama administration Clean Power Plan aimed at reducing carbon pollution. Republican Vice-Presidential nominee, Mike Pence is due to speak at the ALEC event on Friday. Read the rest of this item here.

Black Lives, Blue Lives, and the Fight Over Criminal Justice in America

PHILADELPHIA--Two people from Milwaukee took to the national stage at the Republican National Convention (RNC) and the Democratic National Convention (DNC) to present two very different perspectives on one of the most divisive issues of our time, the shootings of unarmed African Americans by police and civilians.

The conventions took place against a backdrop of traumatic news stories. The shooting death of Philando Castile and its dramatic aftermath, live-streamed on Facebook by his girlfriend, sparked national protests. At one protest in Dallas, Texas, five police officers were shot and killed by an African American military veteran who had served in Afghanistan. This was followed by the shootings of police in Baton Rouge. The very next week, Charles Kinsey, an African American caregiver for an autistic adult, was shot by police while he was on the ground with his arms raised. Read the rest of this item here.

ALEC 2016 Agenda Boosts Charters, Coal, and Other Corporate Funders

Indiana Governor Mike Pence
Image: Gage Skidmore CC BY SA 2.0

The American Legislative Exchange Council will push bills to protect failing charter schools, silence political speech, and obstruct environmental protections in the ALEC 2016 agenda introduced at its annual meeting in Indianapolis this week.

ALEC faces renewed public attention as it gears up for the annual meeting, where corporate lobbyists sit side-by-side with state legislators in luxury hotels to vote as equals on "model bills" that then get pushed to become law in states across the country.

As the Center for Media and Democracy has reported, Donald Trump chose an ALEC ally, Indiana Governor Mike Pence, as his running mate, while his party’s 2016 platform was clearly stamped in the Koch-fueled ALEC mold. Read the rest of this item here.

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-<h3>[http://www.exposedbycmd.org/2016/07/21/koch-brothers-fingerprints-can-found-gop-convention/ Koch Brothers’ Fingerprints Can Be Found All Over GOP Convention]</h3>
+<h3>[http://www.exposedbycmd.org/2016/07/27/exxonmobil-top-sponsor-alec-annual-meeting/ ExxonMobil Top Sponsor at ALEC Annual Meeting]</h3>
-[[Image:Koch-brothers-money-270px.jpg|270 px|center]]CLEVELAND -- Though the Kochs have indicated they are staying out of the presidential election and Charles Koch has even [http://www.politico.com/story/2016/04/charles-koch-hillary-clinton-republican-white-house-222349 had kind words for the Clintons], their fingerprints are all over the Republican National Convention in Cleveland this week in the form of candidates and the extreme RNC platform.
+[[Image:ExxonMobil-ALEC-logo270px.jpg|270 px|center]][http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Exxon_Mobil ExxonMobil], facing multiple state investigations connected to its funding of climate change denial, is listed as a top corporate sponsor of the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) annual meeting, taking place this week in Indianapolis, Indiana. ALEC has long promoted climate change denial to state legislators, and promotes a legislative agenda of "model" bills designed to protect the interests of its oil, gas and coal funders.
-The Kochs have had their doubts about Donald Trump, early on refusing to share their voter data base with him and spending their money down-ballot after it appeared he would win the nomination. As CMD has reported, the Kochs have been busy investing millions in a [http://www.exposedbycmd.org/2016/05/16/kochs-grassroots-leadership-academy-training-astroturf-army/ faux "grassroots"] ground game in key states. They are hoping to rival labor's mastery in turning out committed volunteer door knockers, by paying an army of teenagers to hit the doors. Read the rest of this item [http://www.exposedbycmd.org/2016/07/21/koch-brothers-fingerprints-can-found-gop-convention/ here].
+The ALEC meeting agenda includes discussion of a new "model" bill, designed to block implementation of the Obama administration Clean Power Plan aimed at reducing carbon pollution. Republican Vice-Presidential nominee, Mike Pence is due to speak at the ALEC event on Friday. Read the rest of this item [http://www.exposedbycmd.org/2016/07/27/exxonmobil-top-sponsor-alec-annual-meeting/ here].
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-<h3>[http://www.prwatch.org/news/2016/06/13115/koch-criminal-justice-reform-report-reentry-follow-money Koch Criminal Justice Reform Trojan Horse: Special Report on Reentry and Following the Money]</h3>
+<h3>[http://www.exposedbycmd.org/2016/07/27/black-lives-blue-lives-criminal-justice/ Black Lives, Blue Lives, and the Fight Over Criminal Justice in America]</h3>
-[[Image:Koch_trojan_horse_reentry270px.jpg|270 px|center]]Charles Koch has taken a high-profile in pushing criminal justice reform. He [https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/charles-koch-this-is-the-one-issue-where-bernie-sanders-is-right/2016/02/18/cdd2c228-d5c1-11e5-be55-2cc3c1e4b76b_story.html recently likened] his own devotion to that of Bernie Sanders.
+[[Image:Tamir-rice-270px.jpg|270 px|center|frame|<center>Tamir Rice</center>]]PHILADELPHIA--Two people from Milwaukee took to the national stage at the Republican National Convention (RNC) and the Democratic National Convention (DNC) to present two very different perspectives on one of the most divisive issues of our time, the shootings of unarmed African Americans by police and civilians.
-In a 2015 interview with [http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2015/04/21/charles-koch-republican-candidates-2016/26142001/ ''USA Today'',] Koch claimed that of the projected $889 million raised by his donor network, the "Freedom Partners Chamber of Commerce," only $300 million would be spent on direct electoral politics, whereas, "A good part of the rest is education and research," Koch said, ticking off university grants and other projects he is supporting, including an overhaul of the criminal justice system. Read the rest of this item [http://www.prwatch.org/news/2016/06/13115/koch-criminal-justice-reform-report-reentry-follow-money here].
+The conventions took place against a backdrop of traumatic news stories. The shooting death of Philando Castile and its dramatic aftermath, live-streamed on Facebook by his girlfriend, sparked national protests. At one protest in Dallas, Texas, five police officers were shot and killed by an African American military veteran who had served in Afghanistan. This was followed by the shootings of police in Baton Rouge. The very next week, Charles Kinsey, an African American caregiver for an autistic adult, was shot by police while he was on the ground with his arms raised. Read the rest of this item [http://www.exposedbycmd.org/2016/07/27/black-lives-blue-lives-criminal-justice/ here].
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-<h3>[http://www.prwatch.org/news/2016/06/13114/peabody-coal-bankruptcy-reveals-extensive-funding-climate-denial-network Peabody Coal Bankruptcy Reveals Climate Denial Network Funding]</h3>
+<h3>[http://www.exposedbycmd.org/2016/07/26/alec-2016-agenda-boosts-charters-coal/ ALEC 2016 Agenda Boosts Charters, Coal, and Other Corporate Funders]</h3>
-[[Image:Danger-climate-denial-sign270px.jpg|270 px|center]][[Peabody Energy]], the world’s largest private-sector coal company, has provided funds to a network of individuals, scientists, non-profits and political organizations espousing climate change denial and opposition to efforts to tackle climate change, according to newly [https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/2859772 available documents] reviewed by the Center for Media and Democracy (CMD/PRWatch).
+[[Image:Mike-pence-cc-by-sa-2.0-gage-skidmore-270px.jpg|270 px|center|frame|<center>Indiana Governor Mike Pence<br><small>Image: Gage Skidmore CC BY SA 2.0</small></center>]]The [http://www.alecexposed.org/ American Legislative Exchange Council] will push bills to protect failing charter schools, silence political speech, and obstruct environmental protections in the ALEC 2016 agenda introduced at its annual meeting in Indianapolis this week.
-Although the documents filed so far do not show the scale or precise dates of funding—they only list current creditors—they demonstrate for the first time that Peabody Energy has financial ties to a very large proportion of the network of groups promoting disinformation around climate change. Read the rest of this item [http://www.prwatch.org/news/2016/06/13114/peabody-coal-bankruptcy-reveals-extensive-funding-climate-denial-network here].
+ALEC faces renewed public attention as it gears up for the annual meeting, where corporate lobbyists sit side-by-side with state legislators in luxury hotels to vote as equals on "model bills" that then get pushed to become law in states across the country.
+As the Center for Media and Democracy [http://www.exposedbycmd.org/2016/07/21/koch-brothers-fingerprints-can-found-gop-convention/ has reported], Donald Trump chose an ALEC ally, Indiana Governor Mike Pence, as his running mate, while his party’s 2016 platform was clearly stamped in the Koch-fueled ALEC mold. Read the rest of this item [http://www.exposedbycmd.org/2016/07/26/alec-2016-agenda-boosts-charters-coal/ here].
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