501(c)3

Feb 4, 2013

Conservative plans to oppose wind power – Using the Conservative Template for PR/Propaganda

This strategy document calls for a national PR campaign aimed at causing ‘subversion … so that it effectively becomes so bad that no one wants to admit in public they are for it’. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ UPDATED …been thinking a lot about this post from earlier today. So much that I’ve changed the title with this update…This [...]

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Oct 30, 2012

IRS to investigate VLTP Whistleblower Complaint re ALEC

Good news – the IRS has accepted the ALEC IRS claim for an award that we filed back in August.  They assigned a master claim number to the case, 2013-000818 and under that two other claim numbers are provided; 2013-000820 and 2013-000821. The letter advises that as soon as they determine whether or not to [...]

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Jun 12, 2012

IRS Denial of Tax Exemption to U.S. Political Group Spurs Alarms

An Internal Revenue Service decision revoking the tax-exempt status of a small political nonprofit organization may foreshadow an investigation into groups such as Crossroads GPS and Priorities USA that spend millions on the 2012 U.S. presidential election. At risk would be the groups’ nonprofit status, which lets them collect millions of dollars from individuals and [...]

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May 29, 2012

Campaign finance board to investigate ALEC

The Campaign Finance and Public Disclosure Board says it will investigate the American Legislative Exchange Council’s lobbying status in Minnesota. The board disclosed the investigation in a letter to Common Cause Minnesota, the local arm of a national group that is asking many states to probe whether the conservative organization has violated its tax-exempt status. [...]

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May 17, 2012

and this is why we call it, The Cabal – Uncovering the Other ALECs

ALEC, though, is not the only “corporate bill mill” playing this game. “Taxpayer-subsidized stealth lobbyists” have upped the ante and skillfully advanced their agendas through bipartisan “trade associations” for state government officials – in particular, the Council of State Governments (CSG) whose multimillion-dollar budget is mostly funded by taxpayers. Through CSG and Friends, lobbyists exploit [...]

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May 1, 2012

Did the American Legislative Exchange Council Give Me the Full Story?

ALEC’s total lack of honesty and transparency has not changed. “I e-mailed ALEC’s new spokesperson Friday to ask how extensively and for how long the council has been tracking its model bills, since the spreadsheet seemed to directly contradict what the group told me last fall. The council responded today with a statement from a [...]

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