Mar 13, 2013
A recent flood of Koch-supported think tanks, junk scientists and astroturf groups from inside and outside of Kansas are awaiting the outcome of a bill this week that could stall progress on the growth of clean energy in Kansas. States around the country, including Texas, Ohio, Missouri and North Carolina are poised to cut back [...]
Feb 28, 2013
The Supreme Court’s ruling on the Affordable Care Act (ACA) allowed states to opt out of the law’s Medicaid expansion, leaving each state’s decision to participate in the hands of the nation’s governors and state leaders. A roundup of what each state’s leadership has said about their Medicaid plans February 27, 2013 Text last updated on Feb. 26, [...]
Feb 7, 2013
Richard Fink has long been one of the Koch Brothers’ inner circle, playing the role of both political strategist and close confidante. Some say the Koch Empire wouldn’t have been nearly as successful without Fink. Without him and his ideas, what is now pejoratively known as the “Kochtopus” probably would not have branched so far [...]
Jan 19, 2013
It wasn’t mere coincidence that a day before N.C. Senate leader Republican Phil Berger (R-ALEC) unveiled a plan to overhaul the state’s tax system that Nebraska’s GOP Gov. Dave Heineman was giving his State of the State address focusing on the same thing. And it’s not just happenstance that the centerpiece of both plans is [...]
Jan 9, 2013
Found these today while researching something else: Ohio – 2011 Scholarship Fund TransCanada Pipelines Limited $1,000.00 South Dakota – 2007 Scholarship Fund TransCanada Pipelines Ltd. $500.00 Which leads me to the following questions – How long has TransCanada Pipelines been involved with ALEC? What level of involvement has TransCanada had with writing ALEC legislation? Is [...]
Jan 1, 2013
editor’s note: This is a fascinating article, a first person account by a conservative ALEC member from New Hampshire. As a conservative, he was involved in the meetings, as opposed to the way ALEC has treated Marc Pocan–keep him away from everything. This is a very significant article for the information and insights into conservative [...]
Dec 30, 2012
A couple of things came together the past two weeks – a press release about a new report that ALEC sent your ALEC legislator – to get them to deregulate mining – and a story about the disaster that was caused by uranium mining that was documented on Common Dreams. I always look at coincidences [...]
Dec 23, 2012
Andre Agassi was a great tennis star and continues to be a celebrity. Lately, he is an education investor. Agassi may have good intentions. He may be trying to help a distressed and poverty riddled community in Las Vegas. Philanthropy and schools mixed with a dash of banker on the side. It’s likely that his [...]
Dec 9, 2012
Michigan leaders, like moths, are mindlessly being drawn to the destructive Right-to-work flame, soon making them the 24th state to enact a bad law which every qualified economist who has seriously studied the subject finds to be destructive to a state’s economy and workforce, while being little more than a short-term political lever at best. The state will join the ranks of: Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, [...]
Dec 6, 2012
Last year, a hydraulic fracturing (“fracking“) chemical fluid disclosure “model bill” was passed by both the Council of State Governments (CSG) and the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC). It proceeded to pass in multiple states across the country soon thereafter, but as Bloomberg recently reported, the bill has been an abject failure with regards to “disclosure.” That was by design, [...]
