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ALEC, the NRA, and the Murder of Trayvon Martin
Published: Friday 30 March 2012
The American Legislative Exchange Council, (ALEC) prefers to do its business in secret and since ALEC's founding by Paul Weyrich, former Illinois Republican Congressman Henry Hyde, and conservative activist Lou Barnett, the organization has successfully stayed out of the spotlight.
The American Legislative Exchange Council, (ALEC) prefers to do its business in secret. And since ALEC's founding in 1973 by Paul Weyrich (who co-founded the Heritage Foundation and is widely considered to be one of the Godfathers of the New Right); former Illinois Republican Congressman Henry Hyde; and conservative activist Lou Barnett, the organization has successfully stayed out of the spotlight.
Source Watch, a project of the Wisconsin-based Center for Media and Democracy, described ALEC as a "semi-secretive" organization that "has been highly influential, has operated quietly in the United States for decades, and received remarkably little scrutiny from journalists, media or members of the public during that time." A report by the American Association for Justice, titled "ALEC: Ghostwriting the Law for Corporate America" described the organization as "the ultimate smoke filled back room."
As John Nichols recently pointed out in The Nation, "the shadowy Koch brothers-funded network ... brings together right-wing legislators with corporate interests and pressure groups to craft so-called ‘model legislation.'" And while ALEC is predominantly concerned with cutting tax rates for corporations and wealthy individuals, privatization, de-regulation, and weakening, if not eliminating unions, it "also dabbles in electoral and public safety issues. And ‘Stand Your Ground' proposals have for seven years been on its agenda."
....Investigations surrounding the cold-blooded murder of the 17-year-old Trayvon Martin by a self-styled vigilante, could push ALEC out into the open
The Florida "stand your ground" law, which may allow the killer of Trayvon Martin to walk free, "is the template for an American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) ‘model bill' that has been pushed in other states," PR Watch's Brendan Fischer recently reported. [FOR THE COMPLETE ARTICLE, SEE http://blog.buzzflash.com/node/13399]
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6 comments on "ALEC, the NRA, and the Murder of Trayvon Martin"
July 14, 2012 2:11pm
OK, here is my perception of this. It was the same day or maybe next day, when Cheney got a heart transplant. So i am always putting 2 & 2 together &
come up with a mysterious miracle. Hahaha I do not ignore facts.
Fairy tales, sci-fi, legends, myths have given me more insights of truth than
any polluted news on TV, papers, radio et al in the last 50 years.
June 01, 2012 4:04pm
The Trayvon Martin event has been misused by almost all media.
1. There is no proof that Martin was killed in "cold blood". Zimmerman claims Martin was beating him and when the gun was exposed, Martin tried to get it while threatening to kill him with it. There is some evidence to support that claim.
2. There is no proof that Zimmerman was acting as a "self-styled vigilante". He was doing what his neighborhood watch group expected of anyone whose turn it was to be on watch - he was on the lookout for anything suspicious. The media, who was not on the scene, claimed he chased after and provoked Martin. Zimmerman claimed that after the police dispatcher said he didn't need to continue following, he turned around to go back to his truck. He claimed Martin was the one who confronted him. Again, there is some evidence to support that claim.
3. The "stand your ground law" was not written to support a claim for self-defense after provoking a conflict. It can only be legally used by someone who perceives a "reasonable" threat of serious harm or death. If Zimmerman's claim is true, the law applies. If it is not true, the law does not apply.
July 02, 2012 3:40pm
Perhaps we should all wait to see what evidence and facts come out in court before we make judgements on this case as well as whether the media misused Zimmerman or Martin.
April 28, 2012 3:16pm
Finally the cat is out of the bag.. This needs to stop.
April 12, 2012 4:32pm
ALEC is also a major source of the war on women. For instance, they've long opposed mandated insurance coverage for mammograms and contraception at the urging of their corporate insurance backers. Neither makes financial sense.
Regular mammograms enable earlier detection and cheaper treatment of cancer. Contraception is much less expensive to cover than pregnancy. So why would ALEC and its insurance bankrollers oppose these cost saving strategies and yet fund recreational viagra?
It's sad but true that in 2012, sexism is still so powerful that it even trumps the corporate bottom line.
July 02, 2012 3:35pm
The role of ALEC doesn't stop there......It has made a blue print for states to use for legislation (because our legislators can't do it on their own???). Legislation that promotes the interest of members of ALEC. You can look up the membership of ALEC on line. Among them are the Koch brothers, whose industries cause a large portion of river, stream, ground and air pollution. Naturally, the blue prints for legislation in this area is to keep regulation down so pollution can flourish, and ALEC has been largely successful. There are more areas of legislation in those prepared 'blueprints', too many to go into here. But they have had a negative. impact on the lives of people of this country extremely under reported.
It would be great if everyone with a computer would simply google or use other search engines to really become acquainted with all ALEC does, who supports it and who are its members. Because of one online petition drive, dozens of previous members have already left ALEC, once people became aware of what they are involved in and let companies that were members know their products would be boycotted as long as remained members. you can also look this up online.