ALEC's Misleading Whiny Baby Press Release

I really hate whiny babies.  I work with a lot of whiny babies - Oh poor me - I wish I had a... - everybody's always picking on me.

Today the American Legislative Exchange Council released a two paragraph press release that was no more than being a whiny baby.

Two paragraphs – because their feelings have been hurt.  Nothing about the tragedy in Sanford Florida – just how poor ol’ ALEC had been wronged.

A snip from the ALEC press release –

Contrary to a few politically-motivated and poorly researched editorials and blog posts, the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) today is no longer involved with the private prison industry. Corrections Corporation of America is not, nor is any other private prison company, a member or supporter of ALEC. 

.  We only hope that, in the future, our critics will have similar respect for the facts when they write about us.

Contact: Kaitlyn Buss at kbuss@alec.org or 202-742-8526.

Well the question begs to be asked –

How long have you been no longer involved with the private prison industry?

(And why in the hell are you talking about this topic, today, in your opening sentence?  Misdirection – the leading deception of ALEC misstatements [aka lies] by ALECers.)

Anyway back to the lack of involvement in the prison industry.

Looks like ALEC has taught Ms. Buss how to beat around the bush like a good ALECer.

BUT – if you pull back the branches and look at the facts – there’s a lot of thorns in that old bush she is hiding behind.

1992 American Legislative Exchange Council Annual Report

ALEC'S PRIVATE SECTOR MEMBERSHIP

Corrections Corporation of America

1993 American Legislative Exchange Council Annual Meeting

ALEC's Private Sector Members

Members and Contributors

Corrections Corporation of

America

1997American Legislative Exchange Council's 24th Annual Meeting

ALEC Private Sector Club Members

MADISON Club Member

Corrections Corporation of America

From the 1998 ALEC Business plan:

MADISON CLUB $25,000

17 Members.

Madison Club members receive:

  All publications

  Task Force Qualification Status

  Three contacts on Mailing List

  2 Task Force Voting Memberships

And then there is another $2,500 to belong to a task force.

Historically CCA has been very active with ALEC as shown in this snip form the Prison Payoff Report published in November, 2000 by Western States Center & Western Prison Project.

Prominent among ALEC’s corporate funders are several major stakeholders in prison privatization, including Corrections Corporation of America (CCA), Wackenhut Corrections, and Sodexho Marriott Services, a major stockholder in CCA. CCA, the largest private prison corporation in the U.S., made the President’s List for contributions to ALEC’s 1999 States & Nation Policy Summit. (Sodexho Marriott and Wackenhut also sponsored the conference.)

Representatives from the corporate sector co-chair the task forces that develop ALEC’s model legislation. ALEC’s current Criminal Justice Task Force is co-chaired by Brad Wiggins, CCA Director of Business Development, and Brian Nairin of the National Association of Bail Insurance Companies. Up until April 2000, the Task Force was co-chaired by John Rees, a vice president at CCA.

From the report "American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC)" by the Center on Juvenile and Criminal Justice published in April 2011

The Executive Committee of the Private Sector includes ten people. A brief biographical

statement follows:

Laurie Shanblum – she is the Senior Director of Business Development for the Corrections Corporation of America (CCA). Prior to this she had a thirty-seven year career in juvenile and adult corrections and criminal justice, including both the public and private sectors.

(ALEC, 2011)

They forgot this line from the same ALEC webpage:

Ms. Shanblum has been a member of ALEC since 2003 and is currently on the Public Safety and Elections Task Force.  She is also sits on the Homeland Security Subcommittee.

Private Sector Executive Committee

The Public Safety and Elections (formerly known as Criminal Justice and Homeland Security) Task Force

January 27, 2011

AND
You will find that exact same screenshot on

March 27., 2011 – A year ago today

June 24, 2011

July 24, 2011

AND

October 24, 2008

It has been reported elsewhere that

  …  in 2011 CCA was still listed as on the ALEC criminal justice task force.  In subsequent stories, they claimed they merely observed ALEC meetings

Merely observing ALEC – as an Executive Committee Member – I think NOT!

From the 2009 General Operating Procedures as noted in the 2009 Task Force Operating Guidelines as outlined in the 2011 letter to the IRS about the American Legislative Exchange Council 501c3 status by Common Cause:

Each Task Force shall have an Executive Committee appointed by the Public and Private Sector Task Force Co-Chairs that is appropriate in number to carry out the work product and strategic plan of ALEC and the Task Force. The Executive Committee shall consist of the Public Sector Task Force Co-chair, the Private Sector Task Force Co-Chair, the subcommittee co-chairs, and the remainder will be an equal number of legislative and private sector Task Force members. The Executive Committee will be responsible for determining the operating budget and proposing plans, programs and budgets for the succeeding year in accordance with (Section V (B); determining if a proposed educational activity conforms to a previously approved model bill, resolution or policy statement in accordance with (Section IX (F); and determining if an emergency situation exists that justifies waiving or reducing appropriate time limits in accordance with (Section VIII (1-I)). 

The Public Sector Task Force Co-Chair and the Private Sector Task Force Co Chair, with the concurrence of a majority of the Executive Committee, polled in accordance with Section VIII (F), may schedule a Task Force vote by mail or-fax any form of electronic communication on any action pertaining to policy statements, model legislation or educational activity.

Task Forces may only undertake educational activities that are based on a policy statement, model bill or resolution that has been adopted as official ALEC policy, unless the Task Force votes to undertake the educational activity, in which case the educational activity is subjected to the same review process outlined in this Section. It is the responsibility of the Task Force Executive Committee to affirm by three-fourths majority vote conducted in accordance with Section VIII that an educational activity conforms to a policy statement, model bill or resolution.

And from a 2009 ALEC press release:

The Task Force’s Executive Committee has been developed to serve an advisory role to the Chairmen of the Task Force.

I’m sorry but as an Executive Committee member of the Civil Justice Taskforce she was doing more than just sitting, observing the task force meetings.

Well the question begs to be asked –

How long have you been no longer involved with the private prison industry??

Long enough to mislead the public by trying to totally dismiss the relationship?
I think NOT!

All of them - a bunch of whiny babies - misdirecting the public to try and cover their a$$e$.

What a bunch of ..............................

BTW:  Koch Industries issued a whiny baby press release today also.

Wa - Wa - Wa