This is some information and an announcement about the ALEC National Spring Summit in OKC next Thursday and Friday, May 2 & 3.
The national ALEC summit in OKC is where the ALEC state legislators and ALEC corporate members (mostly registered lobbyists) will be approving the newest batch of nastiness, aka "ALEC model legislation".
When it comes to the new ALEC legislation:
The corporations have a voice and a vote.
The state legislators also have a voice and a vote.
I've often wondered who votes first - the corporations or the legislators.
Since ALEC meetings are not open to the general public and everything they do is secret - we really don't know.
Considering that ALEC corporations provide the money - known as scholarships - for ALEC state legislators to attend the meetings, if the corporations do vote first, then the legislators probably just fall in line and do what their scholarship $$ tell them they were supposed to do - support the corporations who paid for their trip.
After the ALEC corporations and ALEC state legislators approve the new batch of "ALEC model legislation" in their "task force meetings' - then the "ALEC model legislation" will be passed on to their Board of Directors for review and approval as official pro-corporate ALEC policy between now and the ALEC Annual meeting - where they will officially endorse the ALEC "model legislation" - as upcoming legislation that can be introduced in your state..
As I documented in an earlier diary - most of the legislation presented at ALEC meetings is written and sponsored by ALEC corporate members - both for profit and nonprofit, or by ALEC trade association members. Very little of the legislation is written by ALEC legislative members.
The AFL-CIO and the Teamsters are having a rally against ALEC on May 2.
I hope those of you who are in the area, can add your voice and boots to the ground for this effort.
It would also be nice if there were additional rallies - during the day - but I have not found any notices of daytime actions in OKC for the ALEC summit.
If you are not familiar with ALEC (you should be) - please see the following DKos comment for links that will be of assistance to you in learning about the nasty right-wing extremism known as the American Legislative Exchange Council..
For those of you who will be in OKC - making your voice heard against ALEC.
As Thom Hartmann would say:
Good on You!
Have fun!
Hope you make the news (in a good way, of course).
.
.
.