Scottsdale - Home of the big guns and pepper spray!

Having just come back from Scottsdale for the ALEC protest - based on my experiences there -

this doesn't surprise me one damn bit.

Ariz. gun club offers Santa shoot

Want to improve the caliber of your family’s Christmas card this year? How about having your picture taken with Santa Claus and your choice of machine guns?

Read more here

Oh, my...................................

Scottsdale PD Assault Themselves with Sticks at ALEC Protest

While I was in Phoenix for the N30 protest against the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) later that night I heard news reports (which I cannot find links to at this time) that stated the reason that the police resorted to using pepper spray was that the protestors assaulted police with “sticks with nails in them” – swinging the sticks with nails over a police barricade at the officers.

I did find this on FDL

Phoenix police alleged protesters assaulted them with nail-filled sticks. That is basically police speak for when we were doing “crowd control” we were touched by the sticks holding up protesters’ signs. The Fire Department was on the scene to wash out the eyes of those pepper sprayed

  ...  which happens to be more truth then opinion .

This is the best video out there.  If you look at this video starting at about minute 3:36 you will clearly see that the police officers caused  the attack on themselves when they pulled apart the protest ALEC signs, the signs started falling apart and falling down and then the police pepper sprayed the protestors for police stupidity.

I was interviewed at the protest and the reporter asked me what I thought about the protestors actions – I told the reporter it wasn’t the protestor actions I was concerned with  - it was the police over-reaction that I found troubling.

Take a look for yourself.  This video is harder to watch - but take a look at the police presence.
As they say on the video “This is what a police state looks like!”

Miranda (DEM-AZ) Another ALEC Liar - becausehehasto

A newspaper article out of Arizona noted that they had found the name of a Democrat that was published in a 100 page report distributed by PFAW at the Arizona American Legislation Exchange Council (ALEC) days of protest.

The PFAW report noted that ALEC  2011 Task Force Public Safety and Elections included the following members:

Senator Steve M. Smith (R) District 23

Representative Richard Miranda (D) District 13

Representative David M. Gowan (R) District 30

Representative John Kavanagh (R) District 8

Representative Steve R. Urie (R) District 22

The reporter tried to do his best at  reporting and contacted Richard Miranda about his inclusion in the report.  The response the reporter got from Miranada was

(I should note that the PAW report listed one Democrat as an ALEC member, state Representative Richard Miranda. But when I called Miranda to confirm this, he stated that PAW's info was not current, and that he had not participated in any ALEC events for "at least ten years." He said he was not attending the ALEC convention, and was not sympatico to ALEC's cause.)

Honestly folks - do you think that PFAW would publish someones name in that report and publicly distribute in Arizona if they didn't have legitimate supporting documentation?

WELL Miranda evidently thinks he is dealing with ALEC secrecy from ten years ago and now it doesn't work anymore.

In addition to him being outed by PFAW he was outed in July when the ALEC annual meeting attendance request that was sent out to Arizona legislators by Debbie Lesko was leaked to the press.  In the letter Lesko sent out showing that the legislators would be reimbursed up to $1900 to attend the annual meeting Lesko included a list of current ALEC members.  That list noted that Miranda's ALEC membership expired  on 12/31/2010.  From the original spreadheet, included with Debbie Lesko's request to attend the meeting::

101379

LM

Rep.

Richard Miranda

12/31/2010

Well folks - here the skinny on membership dues.

The important thing to remember is that ALEC members don’t pay ten years worth of dues at one time.  They pay them by the year ($50), or by two years ($100) or they become a legacy (lifetime) member for $5,000 (in one, two or three installments).

ALEC Members Lie!

Richard Miranda thought he could do another bit of ALEC misinformation when he spoke with the reporter.

   I'm not at the current ALEC meeting,

   I don't attend ALEC meetings

   - therefore I am not an ALEC member lie.

Sorry Miranda - the logic does not work - when you are a dues paying member of ALEC who is on the 2011 Public Safety and Elections taskforce.

(I should note that the PAW report listed one Democrat as an ALEC member, state Representative Richard Miranda. But when I called Miranda to confirm this, he stated that PAW's info was not current, and that he had not participated in any ALEC events for "at least ten years." He said he was not attending the ALEC convention, and was not sympatico to ALEC's cause.)

Miranda is not sympatico?
Bullshit - he helps run the damn organzation by paying dues and
working on the Public Safety and Elections TaskForce.

PUBLIC SAFETY AND ELECTIONS [TASKFORCE]

To develop model policies that reduce crime and violence in our cities and neighborhoods, while also developing policies to ensure integrity and efficiency in our elections and systems of government. (Source:  ALEC Rich States, Poor States 2010)

Public Safety and Elections TaskForce that has introduced some of the following items:

      Resolution in Support of the Citizens United Decision

      Resolution Opposing Taxpayer Funded Political Campaigns

AND from the PFAW Report

ALEC: American Legislative Exchange Council: The Voice of Corporate Special Interests in State Legislatures

Voter ID and Election Laws

ALEC is directly tied to the emerging trend among state legislatures to consider voter ID laws. Using false allegations of “voter fraud,” right-wing politicians are pursuing policies that disenfranchise students and other at-risk voters,--including the elderly and the poor--who are unlikely to have drivers’ licenses or other forms of photo ID. By suppressing the vote of such groups, ALEC’s model “Voter ID Act” grants an electoral advantage to Republicans while undermining the right to vote. In addition, ALEC wants to make it easier for corporations to participate in the political process. Their Public Safety and Elections taskforce is co-chaired by Sean Parnell of the Center for Competitive Politics, one of the most vociferous pro-corporate election groups, and promotes model legislation that would devastate campaign finance reform and allow for greater corporate influence.

Richard Miranda -  another ALEC liar - becausehecan.

Richard Miranda - another ALEC liar - becausehehasto.

ALEC members lie to the press

ALEC members lie to their consituents.

ALEC members hide from public view.

Ask yourself - why do ALEC members need to lie?

There is something inherently wrong in the fact that ALEC members do not proudly state their ALEC membership.

ALEC membership is like membership in the Klu Klux Klan

something that has be be hidden..

If ALEC was as decent and upright as ALEC tries to make the media and the public believe...

their members would not lie about their affiliation with ALEC

    ALEC would distribute publicly their list of members

    Their members would publish their affiliation with ALEC

    Their members would be proud to tell us who the members of ALEC are

    The members would proudly place the ALEC log on every piece of literature
       written about them and on every piece of ALEC "model legislation" they
       introduce.

There is something REALLY REALLY wrong

with ALEC being a member of ALEC

or ALEC members wouldn't hide it.

This is a nasty, nasty organization and we have to get rid of it!

We have to make sure that ALEC members

are not re-electectd. elected or appointed to state and federal positions.

PowerLine Steps Forward to Defend Poor Ol' ALEC

Yesterday afternoon there was an interesting entry on the PowerlIne blog by John Hinderaker, coming to the rescue of poor ol' ALEC (American Legislative Exchange Council) down in Scottsdale.  For those of you not familiar with Powerline or HInderaker – I will give you a little history.

PowerLine  (my emphasis)

 “Power Line is an American political blog, providing news and commentary from a conservative point-of-view.” (wiki)  “A 2007 memo from the National Republican Senatorial Committee described Power Line as one of the five best-read national conservative blogs.” (wiki)  “It was originally written by three lawyers who attended Dartmouth College together: John H. Hinderaker, Scott W. Johnson, and Paul Mirengoff.”  (wiki)

Some Interesting History About Powerline

“Earlier this month, when TCF Financial Corporation chief Bill Cooper declared that he was yanking all of the bank's advertising from the Star Tribune, he wasted no time staking out the moral high ground.  …  Specifically, Cooper was irked by an end-of-the-year Strib column that attacked a local right-wing blog called Power Line.”)  (City Pages article, 1/26/2005 – well worth the read for more insight on TCF)

Then there is some interesting history about John Hinderaker

That’s right, kiddies: John Hinderaker, ALEC’s fair-haired cabin boy, has a wee bit of a disclosure problem:

Hinderaker is an attorney for the law firm Faegre and Benson. Despite his previous role handling “ethics and professional responsibility” for Faegre, he has failed to disclose in his Koch-friendly blogging that Koch is a major client for his firm. Faegre represented Koch Industries in cases related to Koch’s theft of oil (using the famed “Koch Method” of manipulating oil data) in Texas and North Dakota, in cases against Koch’s own employees regarding Koch’s speculative weather derivatives business and an environmental whistleblower case, and in a case against a Koch subcontractor. In an ongoing case, Hinderaker’s firm represents Koch Industries in a class action suit brought by a group of plaintiffs regarding oil Koch allegedly stole from wells in Oklahoma. In addition, Hinderaker has defended the Bradley Foundation after we profiled the group and its support for Gov. Scott Walker (R-WI). Hinderaker never disclosed that he is a fellow of the Claremont Institute, a front that has received over $3 million from the Bradley Foundation.

And then there is this excerpt from Hinderaker’s blog entry from 12/01/11

I wrote here about the Left’s bizarre attack on the American Legislative Exchange Council (“ALEC”), a good government group whose purpose is to “advance the Jeffersonian principles of free markets, limited government, federalism, and individual liberty, through a nonpartisan public-private partnership of America’s state legislators, members of the private sector, the federal government, and general public.” The Left, apparently preferring that legislation be uninformed by input from people who actually understand the subject matter, is trying to stamp out ALEC.

Thus, the once-respectable Common Cause put out a call for leftists to demonstrate against ALEC’s four-day meeting in Scottsdale, Arizona. And it wasn’t just Common Cause; that organization was joined by People for the American Way, the Center for Media and Democracy, the Arizona AFL-CIO, AFSCME, the American Federation of Teachers, the Arizona Education Association, and Progress Now. In the event, that seemingly formidable lineup of leftists turned out a mere 200 or so people–many of them Occupiers, others no doubt paid union goons–to demonstrate at the Westin Kierland Resort where the ALEC conference took place. But those 200 weren’t fooling around–they were there to be pepper sprayed!

First of all the left wing attack is not bizarre.  What is bizarre is that flag waving patriots like HInderaker will write shit like this where he refers to ALEC as a "good government group"  when ALEC is basically an organization that is destroying democracy in the United States by selling democratic representation of the people off to the highest corporate sector bidder at an ALEC meeting through the use of scholarships and meeting sponsorships.

Second

Better check ALEC’s webpage Hinderaker – ALEC isn’t touting "individual liberty” anymore.  You have to dig into the bowels of the website now to find any mention of “individual liberty” .  ALEC’s front page proudly displays their intent as
      Limited Government · Free Markets · Federalism

Third

This sentence makes no sense and I copied it directly from his blog.

The Left, apparently preferring that legislation be uninformed by input from people who actually understand the subject matter, is trying to stamp out ALEC.

This could be him telling us that non-ALEC members are writing uninformed legislation.  But, I’m guessing that he is trying to say that the only people smart enough to write legislation are ALEC private sector members and that the rest of us are ignorant slobs who couldn’t put a sentence together if our lives depended on it – let alone write legislation that is of, by and for the people – instead of pro-business legislation.

Fourth

I’d like to thank this Republican insider (“A 2007 memo from the National Republican Senatorial Committee described Power Line as one of the five best-read national conservative blogs.” ) for making this as clear as can be:

“through a nonpartisan public-private partnership of America’s state legislators, members of the private sector, the federal government, and general public.”

Tell me Mr Hindraker – with all your insider information, would you please give us a list of ALL federal government employees who are members (alumni) of ALEC?  Why don’t you give us the list of all past and present federal employees who suck at the teat of the ALEC private enterprise members?

And finally

I was there and none of us in attendance got marching orders to show up from ANY of the organizations that Hinderaker specifically points out in the second paragraph.  That's just Republican trash talk against some "good groups" - 'cause he doesn't know any better - just stupid trash talk - becausehecan.

There were no paid union goons in Scottsdale.  The only truly despicable people that were at the Westin Kierland were legislators on "scholarships" (HAH!) from private sector ALEC members – who are the second most despicable people at the Westin Kierland.  Where in the hell do you come up with that language - union goons? “Union goons” went out in the 1940’s.  I suppose updating your vocabulary to something more modern (aka 21st century) is difficult.

Evidently ALEC can’t fight their own battles with whiny – Much Ado About Everything - press releases anymore.

Now they have to have the right wing bloggers come to their rescue. 

Poor babies.

Grosserode (KS) - On Buying Votes at ALEC meeting

Had to publish this - as it has been on my mind ever since I left Phoenix.

In the Arizona Republic newspaper they had a pretty good article on the protest against the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) which included this:

Lawmakers were aware of the protests but dismissed the protesters' concerns of undue influence.

"They presume that my vote can be bought, and it can't," said Amanda Grosserode, a GOP lawmaker from Lenexa, Kan.

Well, Ms Grosserode - if you were at the swanky Westin Keirland on a "scholarship" - they did indeed buy your vote. 

If ANYONE other than you paid for your food, your lodging, your airfare - they deed indeed buy your vote.

Ms. Grosserode
- ALEC may provide you with "educational" information on
how smart ALEC members are
and how dumb the electorate is
- but believe me 
- NO ONE BUYS OUR VOTE!

ALEC Legislators LOVE Romney

Straight from the mouth of an ALEC "policy advisor" at the ALEC States and Nation in Scottsdale.

This is a read that makes you gag.

Here, at the American Legislative Exchange Council (where I’m a policy advisor) holds its “States and Nation Policy Summit” at a resort in the Phoenix’s super-suburb of Scottsdale, Romney’s name is on everybody’s lips. And this means a lot.

Yeah - it means a hell of a lot since you consider that
1.Newt Gingrich:

ü      Confirmed ALEC Alumni

ü      Was one of the people who worked on the ALEC's 1983-84 Source Book of American State Legislation

ü      Keynote Speaker ALEC's 1994 National Orientation Conference.

ü      Keynote speaker ALEC’s 2007 34th Annual Meeting

ü      Keynote speaker ALEC’s 2008 States & Nation Policy Summit,

ü      Keynote speaker ALEC’s 2009 States & Nation Policy Summit,

ü      Keynote speaker ALEC’s 2009 36th Annual Meeting

ü      Winner of the 1995 Thomas Jefferson Freedom Award

ü      Quoted in the legacy membership brochure ($5,000)

“The remarkable achievements of ALEC’s members... deserve much applause and recognition. Since 1973, ALEC members have been key leaders in state government, responsible for pioneering legislation inspired by the legacy of our honored Founding Father, Thomas Jefferson. For a quarter of a century, through advancing Jefferson’s ideas, you have been stalwart in your effort to revitalize the original American dream as intended by our Founders. ALEC members have helped reinforce my continuing optimism for the future of our great nation. ~ Newt Gingrich

And you consider that
Newt - is polling at the top of the Republican candidates
           while ALEC legislators are meeting in Scottsdale.

Wonder what Newt did to piss off the ALEC members? 
Evidently he's not in their good graces anymore?