What we have today is a what seems to be a typical - Republican how-to story
Pay no taxes
Leverage Cheap Labor
Take jobs away from Americans
Take jobs away from Americans
But throws in some
Sex Trafficking
But throws in some
Republican Immigration Hypocrisy
While they are
Destroying America
And as always – with ties to the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC).
Lets start here:
Anschutz has $7.5 billion and got his start in oil and gas. He remains a board member of the American Petroleum Institute (API) which President George W. Bush’s Energy Secretary credited for Bush’s decision to kill the Kyoto Protocol in 2001.
American Petroleum Institute (API) - known ALEC Member
In spring 2009, Anschutz bought the rightwing Weekly Standard from Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp. and the rightwing Washington Examiner, despite reports that these have “little hope of making any money.”
The deal was probably penned at an ALEC member since both are members.
In 2002, Anschutz gave $4.4 million to law schools and charities only when forced to as part of a deal in which New York
He probably chose to give to law schools that are part of a right-wing conspiracy and breeding ground meant to destroy our legal system as chronicled in an article by the Voter Legislative Transparency Project.
Anschutz also sold $1 billion in Qwest shares before they tanked, but avoided the charges that stuck to Qwest CEO Joe Nacchio. In recent months, however, Anschutz lost a case charging him with selling $375 million in oil company shares as part of a tax dodge. The IRS wants $144 million. Every little bit helps, right? But Anschutz is appealing.
Oh – those nasty Republicans – always out to make a buck – regardless of how it is done. That's what you call pulling yourself up by your illegal bootstraps.
Then go here
The Anschutz Company is a holding company and operates through its subsidiaries The Anschutz Corporation, Anschutz Investment Company, Xanterra Parks & Resorts, Inc., and The Anschutz Exploration Corporation. The company's subsidiaries involves in energy, transportation, media, communications, professional sports, agriculture, entertainment, and real estate businesses. The company also engages in oil and gas exploration, and production. In addition, it involves in gathering, blending, transporting, storing, and distributing crude oil in the western United States and Canada Denver , Colorado
About us
Anschutz Exploration Corporation has active oil and gas projects in Montana , Wyoming , Colorado , New York and Texas
Drilling, fracking and cutting off mountain tops. And by the way - they are located in Colorado - which makes the Rockies a viable exploration site for them also.
Then go here
The Anschutz Family Foundation
Member of ALEC
Listed in the 1992, 1993, 1997 and 1998 ALEC Annual Meeting Booklet
Anschutz Corporation
Member of ALEC
1997 and 1998
Anschutz Corporation
VICE CHAIRMAN level supporter of the 1997 ALEC Annual Meeting
FRANKLIN CLUB level supporter of the 1998 ALEC Annual Meeting
Not only a member – but also a sponsor of the ALEC meetings. Probably still is in some way – but because of the secretive nature of ALEC and the Republicans – we can never really know where the funding comes from for all the Republican / ALEC nastiness that occurs.
And now we will get down to the background of the story
Yesterday I reported on how the Republicans are taking their LIES to the big screen, using movies to spread their dishonesty. In that entry there is this quote from an article:
Parent trigger laws are being pushed by organizations like the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), which Walden Media owner and oil billionaire Philip Anschutz helps fund (Walden Media is one of the producers of “Won’t Back Down”). Though deeply unfortunate, it is not surprising that the film depicts teachers and unions in such a false and misleading way. Anschutz’s business partner is on record saying that he intends to use Walden Media (which also produced the equally misleading “Waiting for ‘Superman’”) as a way for him to promote their values.
Last week I started to write (but never finished) an entry about how private sector “concessionaires” are taking over the management (full management - not just food/lodging, in some cases) of our state and national parks and the dangers that are involved with having the private sector involved in our public commons.
At that point I was not aware Anschutz and his nastiness as a “concessionaire” through his company, Xanterra Parks & Resorts, Inc., in our national park system.
The Anschutz Company is a holding company and operates through its subsidiaries The Anschutz Corporation, Anschutz Investment Company, Xanterra Parks & Resorts, Inc.,
The Anschutz Company … The company also engages in oil and gas exploration, and production.
And now we will get down to the real bones of the story
The Denver Post published this article earlier this year:
Visa program encourages seasonal hiring of foreign students while U.S.
At a time when job creation has top political billing and American high school and college students can't find summer work, more than 2,100 young foreigners are filling seasonal jobs at resorts, farms, amusement venues and national parks in Colorado
The article goes on to state
Nationally, there were 320,805 visas for all categories of J-1 visitors for 2010.
The students often go home empty- handed, according to some placement agencies, because the wages they are paid, combined with what they often must pay employers for housing and food, leaves only enough to pay for travel expenses and their way back home.
This is no better than putting illegals in a shipping container and sneaking them into the country with a promise of a better life and then screwing them over once they are here.
No better to have free labor - give them a paycheck and then make them give it back to you for housing and food. What a bunch of f#cks.
No better to have free labor - give them a paycheck and then make them give it back to you for housing and food. What a bunch of f#cks.
And why – why would this be happening?
It gives tax breaks to employers, including government contractors, and it has been abused by some employers who treat the students like indentured workers. It also has been abused by some agencies that promise jobs, collect fees and leave students without employment.
Among the listed benefits is savings on payroll taxes because employers won't have to pay Medicare, Social Security and unemployment, or provide health insurance.
Another website, SeasonalStaff.org, adds up those benefits and tells employers they will save 7.79 percent on total payroll expenses for each J-1 worker. The site also promises "most of our students will be happy to work for sixty or more hours per week."
Think about it - how many are working in the US - and not paying social security and and Medicare - that means the employer is not paying their match either!
Think about it - tax credits to bring in foreigners in to work in our parks - incouring foreign labor when the US is at an all time high in terms of unemployment.
Think about it un-patriotic Republicans - not hiring Americans - so they can in-source foreign workers to do American jobs.
Evidently immigrant workers are a bad thing - unless they are feeding the profit line of a Republican's income statement.
And it is important to note:
There is no cap on the number of J-1s the State Department can issue in a given year.
And there he is:
Xanterra, a Phil Anschutz-owned, Evergreen-based national park concessionaire, would not give numbers for the international workers it hires. Xanterra has concessions in Rocky Mountain National Park , Yellowstone and the Grand Canyon .
But this is not only happening in
As noted in a publication in 2012 by the US Department of Labor:
RAPID CITY, S.D. -- The U.S. Department of Labor has ordered five companies in South Dakota to pay $124,604 in back wages to 293 workers employed at resorts in the Black Hills after investigations by the department’s Wage and Hour Division disclosed violations of the H-2B temporary nonimmigrant visa program and the Fair Labor Standards Act’s minimum wage, overtime and record-keeping provisions. The division also has assessed the employers more than $79,500 in civil money penalties for willful and/or repeat violations. A willful violation is one committed with intentional knowledge or voluntary disregard for the law’s requirements.
The companies include Mount Rushmore KOA, Xanterra Parks
And there he is again – seems like we have a pattern repeating itself across the United States with these private sector “concessionaires” that are taking over the wholesale management of our state and national parks.
No wonder the Republicans want to get rid of US government watch dog agencies -
Investigators from the division’s Denver District Office found that the companies engaged a common agent, Global Employment Agency, to recruit and hire foreign H-2B guest workers who were primarily from Indonesia and the Philippines
FLSA violations include failing to reimburse some H-2B employees for inbound travel expenses, which caused their hourly wage rates for the first week of work to fall below the federal minimum wage, and not paying proper overtime compensation for hours worked in excess of 40 per week.
Greenwood Village, Colo.-headquartered Xanterra Parks and Resorts operates concessions and dining facilities at Mount Rushmore National Park
No wonder he and WalMart are producing the parent trigger movie - they seem to share the same work ethic - for their employees that is.
And then there is this little piece of information – which is why these criminals are turning to the J-1 visas.
And then there is this little piece of information – which is why these criminals are turning to the J-1 visas.
The H-2B program permits employers to temporarily hire nonimmigrant foreign workers to perform nonagricultural labor or services in the United States, but only when qualified U.S. workers are unavailable and the employment of the H-2B workers will not adversely affect the wages and working conditions of similarly employed U.S. workers.
In a recent comment that was posted by an actual worker for Xanterra noted:
The company does not recruit very many Americans anymore. Instead, international students come for three or four months as cheap government subsidized help. Many don’t speak enough English or to be helpful to guests or take direction. As soon as they leave, a major staffing crisis ensues.
Evidently - private sector "concessionaires" are not responsible for supplying AMERICANS towork in AMERICAN parks. You would think with all the immigration crap that the Republicans spew out every day - oh well, what the hell can I say.
And then you have this article from South Dakota and the famous Black Hills - funny how our most prestigious presidents are looking down on this hell hole of employment every day.
And then you have this article from South Dakota and the famous Black Hills - funny how our most prestigious presidents are looking down on this hell hole of employment every day.
Seasonal Black Hills employers said heavy-handed government regulations have forced them to stop hiring temporary unskilled foreign workers and instead turn toward American workers and temporary foreign student workers.
God forbid - an AMERICAN NATIONAL park should employ AMERICANS!
Damn silly of me to think that might cross national park "concessionaires" minds.
There’s that Republican mantra of too much government.
Damn silly of me to think that might cross national park "concessionaires" minds.
There’s that Republican mantra of too much government.
As noted above in this entry – they would rather screw foreign workers than be regulated by the US government hiring American workers - IN AMERCIA.
As a result, government regulations aimed at increasing wages and strengthening worker rights have become too cumbersome for some local employers. “We decided we wanted to go to all of our workers being American,” said Jim Sellars, general manager at Mount Rushmore Resorts, which ceased hiring H-2B workers this year.
Well – isn’t that just so damn patriotic of him.
Only when his cheap labor is taken away – his slave labor – then he will use American workers.
Foreign workers rights organizations have testified before Congress that employers pay guest workers less than they would to local workers and exploit guest workers by not paying overtime, requiring excessive recruiter fees and providing poor working conditions.
Cheap labor – slave labor – foreign labor ignorant on American laws to know what their rights are.
When the government stand up for them – the Republicans get pissed.
When the government stand up for them – the Republicans get pissed.
Some employers won’t abandon the foreign worker game altogether. They are instead moving to the U.S. State Department’s J-1 Summer Work Travel program, which annually allows more than 100,000 foreign college students to work in the U.S.
No – they won’t.
Another way to get indentured workers - cheap labor – slave labor – and screw American workers.
Xanterra Parks and Resorts, which operates concessions and dining facilities at Mount Rushmore National Park, is moving from H-2B to J-1 workers as well, said General Manager Russ Jobman.
Surprised – hell no!
Cheap labor – slave labor – indentured workers -
In one of the worst cases of abuse, a woman told the AP she was beaten, raped and forced to work as a stripper in Detroit after being promised a job as a waitress in Virginia
Cheap labor – slave labor
Indentured servitude
Indentured servitude
Sex trafficking
In August 2011, dozens of workers protested conditions at a candy factory that packs chocolates at the famous company in Hershey , Pa.
Cheap labor – slave labor –
Indentured servitude
Think about that the next time you throw a Hershey bar or kiss or Reese's bar or a York Peppermint Pattie in your mouth.
And the company makes a profit off them forcing them to pay back the corporation what little money they earned in the form of what appears to be extravagant rent prices.
And how could this happen?
It is the stupidity of legislators and government employees who think that the ALEC model of privatization is good for our country.
And it is not only the state and federal legislators who are messed up in ALEC. Various governmental agency employees have been involved with ALEC since the beginning.
And the connection to ALEC
1983 States and Nation Summit
Participants were briefed during the two day conference by Cabinet Members, Administration policy officials and Congressional leaders Including Interior Secretary James Watt;
1984 Annual Meeting
Keynote Speaker The Honorable William Clark. Secretary of the Interior
1989 Sourcebook
Confidential Assistant Agriculture Task Force
Mr. David Crothers
US Dept of Agriculture
Advisor Education Task Force
Ms. Marlene Beck
Associate Director, Office of Private Sector Initiatives
US Dept of Education
Advisor Law & Justice Task Force
Mr. James “Chip” Stewart, Director
National Justice Institute
US Dept of Justice
Advisor – Task Force on State Affairs
Mr. Marshall L Turner Jr, Chief
1990 Census Redistricting Data Office
US Dept of Commerce
Advisor – Task Force on Trade and Economic Development
Mr. Edward H Christ, Director
US Dept of Commerce
Don’t kid yourself – if they were there then – Federal government employees are in the American Legislative Exchange Council – NOW.
We just don’t know how many are involved - cause ALEC keeps all their information secret.
Hell - we don't even have all the names of ALEC legislators - yet!
We just don’t know how many are involved - cause ALEC keeps all their information secret.
Hell - we don't even have all the names of ALEC legislators - yet!
1992 Annual Meeting
ALECs 19th Annual Meeting included an unrivaled line-up of speakers, including: President Bush; Interior Secretary Manuel Lujan;
A quote from his speech included this:
Our economy has become the largest in the world, larger than the second and third combined, because it has been allowed to grow naturally, in relative freedom from government interference. -Interior Secretary Manuel Lujan
Oh my .................
And the 1997 Annual meeting had this keynote speaker
KENNETH LAY has been called by Business Week magazine "The Quiet Man Who is Jolting Utilities." As Chief Executive Officer of ENRON Corp., a Houstonbased energy company that operates nationwide, Mr. Lay has become the most prominent1 advocate in the nation of opening the retail electricity industry to competition. He has directed ENRON since 1985, steering the company through the deregulation of wholesale electric power sales and onto higher revenues. ENRON is now the largest player in the wholesale market. Lay is an economist with a doctorate from the University of Houston
And yes – ENRON was an ALEC member.
And I'm sure he still had contacts/buddies inside the department of Interior.
And I'm sure he still had contacts/buddies inside the department of Interior.
1998 ALEC Annual Meeting (captions of pictures)
Highlights: 1 Annual Meeting Radiothon, Florida Speaker Tom Feeney (left) and Sean Hannity, WABC Radio (right) 2 Florida Representative Bill Anderson at SNPS 2001 3 Jonathan Turley, George Washington University 4 Washington Senator Val Stevens (center) at a workshop 5 Tennessee Representative Steve McDaniel (right) passes the gavel to Oklahoma Senator Jim Dunlap (left) 6 Assistant Secretary of the Interior, Lynn Scarlett
And Federal government Employees are still messed up with ALEC.
Although these are only two who are public – you can bet your sweet butt that ALEC is infused in every department of our Federal government.
2010 ALEC Energy Task Force
Greg Williams
Advisor
Director of Intergovernmental Affairs
Phone: (202) 586-6655 FAX: (202) 586-7314
Public Safety & Elections Task Force
Annual Meeting
August 7, 2010
Attendees:Guests (12)
Rep. Carl Anderson, South Carolina
Rep. Buzz Brockway, Georgia
Del. John Cosgrove, Virginia
Laurie Crehan, Department of Defense
This is why we must make sure that
ALL ALEC members
ALL ALEC members
are identified
and not re-elected, elected –
appointed or re-appointed
appointed or re-appointed
to any office supposedly serving the public
and our commons.
and our commons.
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