Tornado Alley (PROG)

[dbleagl]

ALEC and UB 2020 - What a Cluster Pluck
University of Wisconsin Professor William Cronon recently made the news when republican state legislatures demanded access to his work related emails. Cronon is critical of republican Governor Scott Walker's agenda and had recently started blogging about the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), its role in writing legislation used by Scott Walker and others in their union busting agendas.

Professor Cronon is questioning the sudden nationwide appearance of extremist right wing legislation aimed at rolling back voting rights, environmental law, immigration rights, collective bargaining, property rights over civil rights, rolling back healthcare reform. He shines a light on ALEC as the author/main driver of this latest push to roll back hard won middle class rights.

Although ALEC's main emphasis is in rolling back environmental protections, they are heavily invested in education legislation.

State lawmakers and higher education leaders must ... work together to maximize every revenue source available to improve institutional efficiency. - ALEC 10 Questions

ALEC literature discusses their promotion of public/private partnerships as a solution to reform government. These partnerships will utilize public funds, but will remove accountability to taxpayers. Gov Rick Snyder Sellout? Prefabricated Corporate Michigan (Government) Courtesy of Koch & ALEC Excl.

The Empire Center, offshoot of the Manhattan Institute for Policy Research, calls for "Flexibility Reform for SUNY and CUNY". The Manhattan Institute and ALEC have an intimate history. Check out ALEC / Manhattan collaboration in Center for Civic Innovation publication Show me the Money.


It should come as no surprise to anyone that the roots of the UB2020 legislation would be found in a group funded by extremists intent on protecting their profits over the public good; Enron, Amoco, Chevron, Shell, Texaco, Coors, Koch Industries, Nationwide Insurance, Pfizer, National Energy Group, Philip Morris, R. J. Reynolds and others. To be continued ...

Jim Heaney (Buffalo News) spends time reading local blogs each day. “I’m always learning from them. I get a kick out of The Answer Lady. She does her homework and has spunk. I’d like to see more neighborhood blogs like hers." BuffaloSpree.com

http://buffalowatch.blogspot.com/2011/04/alec-and-ub-2020-what-cluster-pluck.html