Let’s see how Alec Baldwin sort of quitting public life will work out

Evan Agostini/Invision/AP

In yet another essay ripping many individuals and institutions in existence, actor and MSNBC alum Alec Baldwin announced that he is sort of quitting ‘public life.’

After blasting Joe Scarborough (“neither eloquent nor funny”), Rachel Maddow (“a phony”), MSNBC and FOX News (equally “full of s–t”), segments of conservative media (“Hate Incorporated”), the media at-large (“superfluous at best and toxic at its worst”), New York City (“I just can’t live in New York anymore”), and America in general (“more f—ed up now than it’s ever been”), Baldwin bid adieu to his public persona in a piece for New York Magazine. Partially.

“It’s good-bye to public life in the way that you try to communicate with an audience playfully like we’re friends, beyond the work you are actually paid for. Letterman. ‘Saturday Night Live.’ That kind of thing,” Baldwin wrote. “I want to go make a movie and be very present for that and give it everything I have, and after we’re done, then the rest of the time is mine.”

Despite professing a continued desire to keep acting, Baldwin actually said in an interview for Vanity Fair last July that he’d love to quit if the circumstances were right.

“I’d love to if I could, yeah. That would be the greatest thing in the world,” he told the magazine.

In that same interview, Baldwin said he would “never” use social media again, saying it’s “all a waste of time.” He also announced he’d stop tweeting in July 2012, and his account was deactivated in December 2011 after he melted down on an American Airlines flight. Yet to this day, he tweets under @ABFalecbaldwin for the Alec Baldwin Foundation, where he mixes personal anecdotes, infrequent political quips, and plenty of pictures.

So maybe he’ll find his way to Letterman’s desk-side someday yet.

Red Alert Politics

Let’s see how Alec Baldwin sort of quitting public life will work out

The Trouble With Alec Baldwin’s Response To Dylan Farrow’s Sexual Abuse Allegations Against Woody Allen

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The Trouble With Alec Baldwin’s Response To Dylan Farrow’s Sexual Abuse Allegations Against Woody Allen

Google Moves Right by Funding ALEC and Heritage Action

TRANSCRIPT:

JESSICA DESVARIEUX, TRNN PRODUCER: Welcome to The Real News Network. I’m Jessica Desvarieux in Baltimore.

Corporate-funded American Legislative Exchange Council, or what it is more commonly known as, ALEC, is holding a conference celebrating its 40th anniversary through December 6. But the guest list may be running a little thin this year, as ALEC is losing some corporate friends. But it’s also gaining some new ones, like Google. Google has been funding right-wing groups like Heritage Action and ALEC, which is known for drafting some draconian laws in education and right-to-work policies which undermine collective bargaining.

Now joining us to discuss how Google is cozying up to the right is Nick Surgey. He is the director of research at the investigative reporting group the Center for Media and Democracy.

Thanks so much for joining us, Nick.

NICK SURGEY, DIRECTOR OF RESEARCH, CENTER FOR MEDIA AND DEMOCRACY: Thanks, Jessica.

DESVARIEUX: So, Nick, I’m sure people are hearing this story and saying, isn’t this just business as usual, corporations cozying up with ALEC? Or is this really more of a political statement, having Google supporting groups like ALEC?

SURGEY: Yeah, and I think for almost any other corporation that would probably be true. A lot of corporations fund both sides, and they’re unembarrassed about that. But, you know, Google has for many, many years, really since its conception, held itself up to be a different sort of Corporation. They spend a lot of time and effort and cash trying to project this progressive image. You know, they talk about the fact that they don’t do evil, and over their history they’ve funded a lot of progressive groups, a lot of progressive causes. They’re investing more than $ 1 billion in renewable projects–they like to tell the world about that–renewable energy projects.

So it’s very surprising that they are funding these groups on the right. And it is something that’s new. It seems to have happened about 18 months ago. They hired a former two-term Republican member of the House from New York, who was seen as a pretty liberal Republican in New York, but it was New York. And she was hired–and The Times, The New York Times at the time said that she was hired to lavish money from Google on selected Republicans. And that seems to be what has happened. But those selected Republicans turned out to have been some of the most extreme elements of the right wing of the Republican Party.

DESVARIEUX: And why this shift? I know you mentioned this is something new. But what sort of legislation would Google be interested in backing?

SURGEY: Well, you know, I mean, that’s difficult to tell. Google is transparent voluntarily. They do announce to the world the groups that they’re funding. And so in that sense, you know, that’s honorable. But they don’t announce how much money they’re giving and they don’t tell people why they’re funding these groups. And some of these groups certainly do have sort of tech freedom issues that they may be interested in.

ALEC for much of its 40-year history has worked to advance legislation that rolls back environmental protections, and there’s a number of bills that are on the agenda at the conference that you mentioned that’s happening just a few blocks away from me here in Washington, D.C. There’s a couple of bills that roll back the ability of the EPA to both regulate greenhouse gas emissions, and also to regulate fossil fuel power stations. There are some new antiunion bills.

And there’s a bill that’s goes after country-of-origin labeling, so when American consumers know where their products come from, they’re able to make an informed decision. And this is very much seen as a threat to particularly the Canadian pork industry, and they’ve been pushing back quite significantly, and this bill has popped up on the agenda at ALEC. You know. I mean, it’s entirely against the interests of American consumers. Americans want to know where their products are from. And when they do, they tend to buy American. And ALEC is actually pushing legislation or deciding on whether they should push this legislation tomorrow. They’re going to take a vote on it. That is against the interests of what most consumers want.

DESVARIEUX: Okay, Nick. I’m going to bring up the other side. Isn’t this just a expression of free speech? Why shouldn’t Google have the right to put their money where they want to?

SURGEY: Well, Google does, of course, and that’s fine. But for an organization, for a corporation that’s worked so hard to promote this progressive image–. You know. And I know people that work for Google, and, you know, they’re very progressive, and they believe strongly that they work for an organization that really does respect the values that they talk about, that they don’t do evil, that they–you know, $ 1 billion invested in renewable projects is not just a symbolic investment. That’s a huge amount of money. And so it’s almost unthinkable, I think, a year and a half ago that Google would be spending money on groups like Heritage Action, who are really one of the most extreme groups operating in national Republican politics. They whole sway over so many elected officials and really were driving the agenda to try and shut the government down and keep it shut down in order to try and get a full repeal of the Affordable Care Act. And that angered a lot of Republicans. And Google has helped fund that effort by providing resources to Heritage Action.

DESVARIEUX: Just really briefly, Nick, does Google fund left-wing groups as well?

SURGEY: It does, yeah, it does, and it has done for very many years, you know, and it appears to be continuing to do that. So what’s new is that now Google is funding both sides. It’s going to be difficult for them to continue to say that they are truly a progressive Corporation at heart when they’re doing now the same as every other corporation does, which is that they fund everyone because they want to try and influence legislation that benefits their bottom line. And that’s regrettable.

DESVARIEUX: Alright. Nick Surgey, thank you so much for joining us.

SURGEY: Thanks, Jessica.

DESVARIEUX: And thank you for joining us on The Real News Network.

Truthout Stories

Google Moves Right by Funding ALEC and Heritage Action

Alec Baldwin Stalker Found Guilty

Alec Baldwin Stalker Found Guilty
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(AP) – A Canadian actress has been convicted of stalking Alec Baldwin in New York City. A Manhattan judge issued the verdict today, finding Genevieve Sabourin guilty of stalking, attempted aggravated harassment, harassment, and attempted contempt of court. The judge sentenced Sabourin to six months in jail. That’s on top of 30 days she already received for disrupting court proceedings. Click for more on the crazy trial.

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Woman accused of stalking Alec Baldwin ordered to jail for contempt

• NEW: Defendant ordered to spend 30 days in jail for interrupting proceedings


• Genevieve Sabourin, a Canadian actress, is charged with stalking Alec Baldwin


• She showed up at his house during his engagement to his current wife, Baldwin says


• She also allegedly sent him e-mails

(CNN) — [Breaking news update, posted at 11:12 a.m. ET]

A Canadian woman charged with stalking actor Alec Baldwin was held in contempt of court Wednesday morning for repeatedly interrupting proceedings in a New York City courtroom a day earlier.

Genevieve Sabourin, who had been scheduled to testify Wednesday in her defense, has been ordered to serve 30 days in jail. It was not immediately clear Wednesday morning whether she still would testify. She continued to make outbursts Wednesday, according to CNN’s Nischelle Turner, who was in the courtroom.

[Earlier version, posted at 2:48 a.m. ET]

Teary Alec Baldwin denies romance with alleged stalker; she yells ‘you’re lying!’

(CNN) — It could have been a scene from one of his movies.

A teary Alec Baldwin denying a romance with a woman he described as a stalker. The woman heckling “you’re lying!” as he testified in a New York City courtroom.

Except this was real life.

Genevieve Sabourin, a Canadian actress, is charged with stalking Baldwin and his wife. She says she’s not a stalker, but an ex-girlfriend of the “30 Rock” television star.

But during a court hearing Tuesday, Baldwin said she imagined the relationship, and she sent him numerous e-mails and voice mails along the way. CNN obtained copies of the e-mails.

“I am less than 10 minutes away from you tonight. Say ‘I do’ to me,” one e-mail says.

In another e-mail, she said she was ready to get married.

“I need to start my new life with my new name … in my new country, help my newly husband, you!”

In another e-mail, she admits defeat.

“I may have lost all the battles to win your heart over in the past two years, but I’ve learn (sic) so much,” it says.

Wiping away tears, Baldwin said Sabourin’s stalking has made him anxious and worried for his safety.

She showed up unannounced at his New York home in March last year, ruining his engagement to his now-wife, Hilaria Baldwin, the actor said.

Baldwin, wife Hliaria introduce daughter Carmen

Days later, she allegedly crashed an event the actor was hosting at New York City`s Lincoln Center.

Baldwin has admitted they had dinner once in 2010, but said that was it. They met through a mutual friend, he said.

Both Baldwin and Sabourin worked on the 2002 flop “The Adventures of Pluto Nash.” Baldwin has also appeared in numerous other movies, including “Along Came Polly.”

Unlike the actor, who didn’t say a word about the case to reporters, Sabourin is basking in the media spotlight. She grinned widely as she shared her side of the story with a group of reporters.

“I’m not gonna take a reduced plea for a crime I have not committed,” she said.

Sabourin has been arrested several times, including late last year for violating a court order by allegedly sending a series of tweets to Baldwin and his wife.

She was released from jail after a judge rejected a prosecution request for bail.

If found guilty, she faces up to a year in prison.

She testifies Wednesday.

Baldwin launches Twitter rant against journalist

CNN’s Pamela Brown contributed to this report.

CNN.com Recently Published/Updated

Woman accused of stalking Alec Baldwin ordered to jail for contempt

Google: Doing Evil with ALEC

Google Inc. is now aligned with the notorious ALEC.

Quietly, Google has joined ALEC — the American Legislative Exchange Council — the shadowy corporate alliance that pushes odious laws through state legislatures.

In the process, Google has signed onto an organization that promotes such regressive measures as tax cuts for tobacco companies, school privatization to help for-profit education firms, repeal of state taxes for the wealthy and opposition to renewable energy disliked by oil companies.

ALEC’s reactionary efforts – thoroughly documented by the Center for Media and Democracy — are shameful assaults on democratic principles. And Google is now among the hundreds of companies in ALEC. Many people who’ve admired Google are now wondering: how could this be?

Well, in his recent book “Digital Disconnect: How Capitalism Is Turning the Internet Against Democracy,” Robert W. McChesney provides vital context. “It is true that with the advent of the Internet many of the successful giants — Apple and Google come to mind — were begun by idealists who may have been uncertain whether they really wanted to be old-fashioned capitalists,” he writes. “The system in short order has whipped them into shape.”

McChesney adds: “Any qualms about privacy, commercialism, avoiding taxes, or paying low wages to Third World factory workers were quickly forgotten. It is not that the managers are particularly bad and greedy people — indeed their individual moral makeup is mostly irrelevant — but rather that the system sharply rewards some types of behavior and penalizes other types of behavior so that people either get with the program and internalize the necessary values or they fail.”

Google has widely mythologized itself as some kind of humanistic techno-pioneer. Obscured in a fog of digital legend is the agenda that more than ever is transfixed with maximizing profits while capitalizing on anti-democratic leverage of corporate power. Google’s involvement in ALEC is consistent with the company’s mega-business model that relentlessly exploits rigorous data-mining of emails, online searches and so much more.

Yet image-conscious companies can be skittish about public pressure. That helps to explain why dozens of firms withdrew from ALEC during the last year.

A few days ago — when my colleagues at RootsAction.org sent out an email alert about news of ALEC’s connection with Google as well as with Facebook and Yelp — more than 25,000 people quickly signed a petition urging those companies to “stop funding ALEC.” Several thousand of the petition signers added comments that can be read online along with the petition.

Those comments reflect widening comprehension of Google and the significance of its alignment with ALEC. Here’s a sampling:

“I expected better. Maybe that was naive.”  James C., San Jose, CA

“What happened to your big pledge? ‘Don’t be evil’? Guess it was just words…”  Lois W., Sun City, AZ

“Better check your definition of EVIL — look it up on Google…”  Armando A., Vista, CA

“Please don’t fund tyranny. You were supposed to be one of the good guys.”  Ernest W., Easthampton, MA

“Your credibility is fading associating with this kind of scum.”  John B., Easton, CT

“You are subverting the wishes of your clients/users while undermining democracy.”  Vincent G., Sioux Falls, SD

“Shame on you. Think about what the majority of your users want instead of the ‘rich’ guys.”  Karen B., Westminster, CO

“If you continue to support ALEC, I will along with countless others, discontinue use of ALL your products and services!”  Ronald P., Milford Center, OH

“Quit helping to Destroy our democracy.”  Kevin B., Lynnwood, WA

“Corporate power is corrupting this nation’s ability to have a decent governing system.”  Jean and Jesper C., Louisville, KY

“What is wrong with Google acting like the one tenth of the 1%? Too much filthy lucre has covered their conscience.”  Doug Y., Albany, CA

“Google! How could you do this? Don’t you realize this organization stands for ALL the wrong things? I’m sure most of your employees would not want to belong to ALEC. Please reconsider for their sake and that of all of us.”  Judith S., Carbondale, IL

“If you sleep with dogs, you get fleas.”  Robert J., Fern Park, FL

“Shame! We thought you were supposed to be a tool for the people, not a tool for the corporations!”  Sharon T., Irvine, CA

“Happy Sociopath Day to you people!”  Gary S., Big Bear Lake, CA

“Google has evolved to be one of the most unethical corporations in the world!”  Eric K., Montclair, NJ

“This is so obviously evil, and it causes real suffering.”  Terrell S., Seattle, WA

“Don’t you corporate executives make enough money? How much can you spend? Don’t you realize that people have to have money to buy your product? What the heck are you ‘dumb-asses’ thinking?”  Lon K., Waterloo, IA

“Good companies are becoming evil in order to please ALEC and the upper 1%. I thought Google would never need to stoop to that. I’m sadder than sad.”  Linda A., Medina, WA

“ALEC promotes corporate dominance over the democratic processes that our country was founded on. Shame on you!”  Judy D., Port Townsend, WA

“Laws should be written by elected representatives with citizen input, NOT by cookie-cuttered legalese templates created by and for the corporate interests.”  Liz A., Los Angeles, CA

“Noooooo Google! I love you but I will have to abandon you and many of your products should you do this. I really, really, really don’t want to do that! But will…”  Rochelle W., Reading, PA

“ALEC organizes capital to crush people by gaining any all benefits for the wealthy. That has consequences for children, elderly, disabled, veterans, working people — your customers. Please look beyond the near-term bottomline.”  Benita C., Burgettstown, PA

“Greed may be the worst terror facing this country. Greed, of corporations and some individuals, seems bent on destroying our democracy. We have to fight back!”  Anne G., Arlington, TX

“ALEC is evil. Those who fund ALEC are enabling evil. Enough said.”  Monty N., Helena, MT

“Google: Better get your house in order and your priorities straight. Average Americans are in no mood for this crap.”  Lawrence H., Fall Creek, WI

“For a company that loves to talk about the forward thinking way it treats employees, it surely seems acts just like every other ultra conservative corporate giant.”  Andrew W., Pittsfield, MA

“Why such cowardice?”  Mitchell S., Philadelphia, PA

“I knew the Don’t Be Evil mantra would disappear once the big money started flowing in. They’re no different than any other sleazy money-grubbing corporation in the cesspool of greed the USA has become.”  Gill F., Olympia, WA

“Disgusting professional activity on the part of this huge corrupt business. Google is going to have to do a lot of work to earn back the respect of a huge segment of the public; this only one of many recent revelations about Google’s despicable conduct as an entity.”  Susan H., Lafayette, IN

“Big money, big business, big lies.”  Stephen D., Grants Pass, OR

“Please stand for individual’s freedom rather than corporate greed and stop supporting ALEC.”  Carol B., San Rafael, CA

“Your company went from hip and caring to right of Attila the Hun and nasty in a few years…”  Roger W., Montpelier, VT

“ALEC has been a disaster for the vast majority of citizens in Wisconsin and other states. It has become a leading supporter of fascist attacks on women’s sacred reproductive rights.”  Edith M., Milwaukee, WI

“ALEC has done tremendous harm to this country and its political system. Any support for the organization is support for tearing down constitutional government.”  James F., Minneapolis, MN

“Just provide a service and take home your inflated paycheck. Stay out of the rest. And by the way, erase my browsing history, you nosey anti-American hacks.”  Jeff Cole, Tucson, AZ

“If Google and Facebook have any integrity left, please prove it by not funding ALEC!”  Douglas W., Chicago, IL

“ALEC is trying to dismantle our civil society. Do not be part of it.”  Jean Beck, Lynnwood, WA

“Have a heart!!!!!!”  Artalious S., McDonough GA

“ALEC is a big step backwards in human evolution, or a big step toward Big Brother.”  Victoria G., Portland, OR

“Disgusting. More government for the highest bidders.”  Michael P., Morton Grove, IL

“The worst thing about ALEC is its anti-democratic nature which buys votes to override the will of the people. As an information source this should violate your principles.”  Lon H., Ferndale, MI

“When you are as giant as Google, you ALMOST have stomp on us little people. Please please please be with US…”  Jon S., Lafayette, CO

“This is indicative of what happens when the founders of a company grow extremely wealthy. They align themselves more and more with the organizations that will further their agenda of market dominance and profit taking. The support of ALEC by the two founders of Google is particularly hypocritical because of their original pledge to not be evil. Shame on both of you.”  Bruce B., Port Townsend, WA

__________________________________________

Norman Solomon is co-founder of RootsAction.org and founding director of the Institute for Public Accuracy. His books include “War Made Easy: How Presidents and Pundits Keep Spinning Us to Death.”

The post Google: Doing Evil with ALEC appeared first on disinformation.

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Google: Doing Evil with ALEC

Alec Baldwin in talks to host MSNBC show

Actor Alec Baldwin may be getting a weekly show on MSNBC.

The “30 Rock” star is “in discussions” with the network, but they haven’t reached a deal yet, a source familiar with the situation confirmed to POLITICO.

According to Mediate, which first reported the news, Baldwin’s show would air on Fridays at 10 pm.  MSNBC’s Lawrence O’Donnell fills the 10 pm slot on Monday through Thursday, but the network doesn’t currently have a news show during that time on Friday.

A political junkie and outspoken liberal, Baldwin has shared his views on Twitter, a WNYC podcast called “Here’s the Thing” and a column on the Huffington Post.

Update: A spokesperson for MSNBC said in a statement, “We’re fans of Alec, but we don’t have anything to say regarding the unconfirmed reports.”

Read more about: Alec Baldwin

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Alec Baldwin in talks to host MSNBC show

Cashing in on Kids: 139 ALEC Bills in 2013 Promote a Private, For-Profit Education Model

Despite widespread public opposition to the education privatization agenda, at least 139 bills or state budget provisions reflecting American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) education bills have been introduced in 43 states and the District of Columbia in just the first six months of 2013, according to an analysis by the Center for Media and Democracy, publishers of ALECexposed.org. Thirty-one have become law.

ALEC Vouchers Transfer Taxpayer Money to Private and Religious Schools

News Corp CEO Rupert Murdoch has called public education a “a $ 500 billion sector in the U.S. alone that is waiting desperately to be transformed.”

But this “transformation” of public education — from an institution that serves the public into one that serves private for-profit interests — has been in progress for decades, thanks in large part to ALEC.

ALEC boasts on the “history” section of its website that it first started promoting “such ‘radical’ ideas as a [educational] voucher system” in 1983 — the same year as the Reagan administration’s “Nation At Risk” report — taking up ideas first articulated decades earlier by ALEC supporter Milton Friedman.

In 1990, Milwaukee was the first city in the nation to implement a school voucher program, under then-governor (and ALEC alum) Tommy Thompson. ALEC quickly embraced the legislation, and that same year offered model bills based on the Wisconsin plan. For-profit schools in Wisconsin now receive up to $ 6,442 per voucher student, and by the end of the next school year taxpayers in the state will have transferred an estimated $ 1.8 billion to for-profit, religious, and online schools. The “pricetag” for students in other states is even higher.

In the years since, programs to divert taxpayer money from public to private schools have spread across the country. In the 2012-2013 school year, it is estimated that nearly 246,000 students will participate in various iterations of so-called “choice” programs in 16 states and the District of Columbia — draining the public school system of critically-needed funds, and in some cases covering private school tuition for students whose parents are able and willing to pay. 

But promised improvements in educational outcomes have not followed. “If vouchers are designed to create better educational outcomes, research has not borne out that result,” says Julie Mead, chair of Educational Leadership and Policy Analysis at the University of Wisconsin. “If vouchers are such a great idea,” after twenty years in effect, “they would have borne fruit by now.” 

The ALEC education agenda also fits into the organization’s broader attack on unions: by lowering teacher certification standards and funnelling public money to non-unionized private schools, ALEC undermines teachers unions, which guarantee fair wages and working conditions and are a major political force that have traditionally backed the Democratic Party.

ALEC Education Bills Undermine Free, Universal Public Education

ALEC-influenced bills introduced in 2013 include legislation to:

• Create or expand taxpayer-funded voucher programs, using bills such as the “Parental Choice Scholarship Act” (introduced in three states). Under many state constitutions, the use of public dollars to fund religious institutions has been rejected on separation-of-powers grounds, but the ALEC Great Schools Tax Credit Act, introduced in ten states in 2013, bypasses state constitutional provisions and offers a form of private school tuition tax credits that funnel taxpayer dollars to private schools with even less public accountability than with regular vouchers.

• Carve-out vouchers for students with special needs, regardless of family income, through the “Special Needs Scholarship Program Act” (introduced in twelve states), which sends vulnerable children to for-profit schools not bound by federal and state legal requirements to meet a student’s special needs, as public schools must. A proposal in Wisconsin would have allocated up to $ 14,658 to a for-profit school for each special needs student.

• Send taxpayer dollars to unaccountable online school providers through the “Virtual Schools Act,” introduced in three states, where a single teacher remotely teaches a “class” of hundreds of isolated students working from home. The low overhead for virtual schools certainly raises company profits, but it is a model few educators think is a appropriate for young children.

• Offer teaching credentials to individuals with subject-matter experience but no education background with the Alternative Certification Act, introduced in seven states. The bill is part of ALEC’s ongoing effort to undermine unionized workers and promote a race to the bottom in wages and benefits for American workers.

• Require that educators “teach the controversy” when it comes to topics like climate change — where the only disagreement is political, not scientific — through the Environmental Literacy Improvement Act, introduced in five states.

• Create opportunities to privatize public schools or fire teachers and principals via referendum with the controversial Parent Trigger Act (glorified in the flop film ”Won’t Back Down”), introduced in twelve states. First passed in California, a modified Parent Trigger bill was brought to ALEC in 2010 by the Illinois-based Heartland Institute, which is perhaps best known for controversial billboards comparing people who believe in climate change to mass murderers like the Unabomber Ted Kaczynski.

• Create an appointed, state-level charter school authorizing board through the Next Generation Charter Schools Act, introduced in seven states, which effectively shields charters from democratic accountability. The legislation “would wrest control from school boards, and likewise from the community that elects those school boards,” Mead says, since it takes away their power to authorize charters in the community.

ALEC Corporations Reap the Rewards

Some of the for-profit corporations profiting from the ALEC Education privatization agenda include:

“Amplify,” the newly-created education division of Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp, parent company of Fox News. News Corp is on the ALEC Education Task Force. In 2010, News Corp hired former New York City chancellor Joel Klein to run its education division, which includes the for-profit education company formerly known as Wireless Generation. The firm has big plans for a specialized “Amplify Tablet” that would provide lesson plans, textbooks and testing to cash-in on new “Common Core” required state standards.

K12 Inc., the nation’s largest provider of online charter schools, where low-paid teachers manage as many as 250 students at a time and communicate with their pupils only through email and phone. The corporation, whose CEO Ron Packard received $ 5 million in total compensation in 2011, is on the ALEC Education Task Force and its lobbyist Lisa Gillis has Chaired ALEC’s Special Needs Subcommittee. According to a report in the New York Times, students in K12, Inc. schools often perform very poorly, and some K12 teachers claim that they have been encouraged to pass failing students so that the company can receive more reimbursement from states. K12 receives an average of between $ 5,500 and $ 6,000 for every student on its rosters — the same amount that would be spent for students attending a brick-and-mortar school, despite K12 not having to pay for cafeteria, gyms, busing, or heat and air conditioning — and much of K12′s profits are spent on advertising targeted at increasing enrollment, rather than on investments in education. At K12′s Agora Cyber Charter School, which produces more than 10% of the company’s revenue, nearly 60% of students are behind grade level in math, nearly 50% are behind in reading, and a third do not graduate on time.

Corinthian Colleges is a for-profit college chain that operates campuses under names like Everest, Heald, and WyoTech, in addition to offering degrees online. It has become notorious for aggressive recruiting practices and leaving students unprepared for the job market and saddled with massive student loan debts. In Milwaukee, for example, where a Corinthian Everest campus was financed with $ 11 million in city bonds, just 25% of students found jobs and over half dropped out; the campus closed two years after it opened. Nationally, over 40 percent of Corinthian’s students default on their loans, and only 60% of students complete their coursework. In June, Corinthian disclosed that it is under investigation by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and has been subpoenaed by California’s Attorney General for its recruiting practices and financial responsibility.

Ideological Interests Lift the ALEC Agenda

An array of right-wing nonprofits also promote the school privatization agenda in ALEC.

The 501(c)(4) American Federation for Children and its 501(c)(3) wing the Alliance for Children, for example, have brought an array of privatization bills to ALEC and promoted the legislation across the country. The groups were organized and are funded by the billionaire DeVos family (heirs to the Amway fortune); Richard DeVos has received the ALEC “Adam Smith Free Enterprise Award.” AFC’s top lobbyist is disgraced former Wisconsin Assembly Speaker Scott Jensen, who was convicted of three felonies for misuse of his office for political purposes and banned from the state Capitol for five years (though the charges were later reversed and dropped as part of a plea agreement). Jensen represents the organization on the ALEC Education Task Force and has brought AFC bills to ALEC for adoption as “model” legislation. AFC spent at least $ 7 million electing privatization-friendly state legislators across the country in 2012, but reported far less to state election authorities.

In addition to the DeVos family foundations, the Milwaukee-based Bradley Foundation is one of the top school privatization funders in the country, spending over $ 31 million over the past eleven years promoting “school choice” nationwide, according to One Wisconsin Now; for decades, Bradley has also been a major ALEC funder. The foundation has over $ 600 million in assets and is headed by Michael Grebe, Scott Walker’s campaign co-chair.

Before Milwaukee became the first city in the nation to implement a school voucher program, Bradley bankrolled the groups that laid the groundwork. When the plan was challenged in Wisconsin courts, Bradley funded its legal defense, which included hiring Kenneth Starr — later known for pursuing Bill Clinton over Whitewater and Monica Lewinsky — to represent the state.

Average Americans Pay the Price

Originally promoted as a program for Milwaukee’s low-income students of color to have access to private education, the initial voucher program gained support from some African-American leaders and was pushed by State Representative Polly Williams, a Milwaukee Democrat. But last session, Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker broadened vouchers to families with higher incomes, and in the 2013-2015 budget further expanded the program. “They have hijacked the program,” Williams says. “As soon as the doors open for the low income children, they’re trampled by the high income,” she said. “Now the upper crust have taken over.”

The laws have been sold to poor and minority communities as a way to close achievement gaps, but there is little evidence of success: in Wisconsin, data shows that students receiving vouchers perform no better, and in some cases worse than those attending public schools. Cash-for-kids programs have shown similar results in school districts across the country.

Reports have also emerged in Milwaukee and elsewhere of for-profit schools registering students, keeping them in class until just after the date where enrollment is counted for funding purposes, and then sending them back to public schools. In many cases those students have special needs the voucher schools claimed they could not satisfy.

Six-year-old Trinity Fitzer, who has anxiety and gastrointentinal problems, was attending Milwaukee’s Northwestern Catholic School in the 2011-2012 term on a voucher. After a few months, Northwestern Catholic informed Trinity’s mother that she was being “withdrawn” from the school for “continuing behavioral issues.” The school claimed that “withdrawal is the decision of the parent,” but Trinity’s mother said it was not her decision and “she didn’t have an option.”

Jane Audette, a social worker at Hawthorne Elementary, a public school in Milwaukee, said the school receives several “cast-off” students every year from private schools like Northwestern Catholic. “What has happened over and over with Milwaukee’s Northwest Catholic is they will tell a parent, ‘Your child needs more than we can give your child, so we suggest you go down the street to Hawthorne.’”

And vouchers, testing, and school privatization have in many cases been offered as a substitute for grappling with the persistent structural issues that perpetuate achievement gaps.

“What has been forced on our communities is not reform at all: they are mediocre interventions,” said Jitu Brown, an education organizer for the Kenwood Oakland Community Organization who spoke at Netroots Nation in June. “The only reason that mediocrity is accepted is because of the race of the children being served.“

Privatizing Schools and Other Government Services

Brown puts the education reforms in the context of broader community disinvestment and austerity measures: cutting social programs and closing schools, police stations, hospitals, and other institutions that serve as commmunity anchors, while cherry picking and selling off the better institutions to private players.

And ALEC has played a key role in promoting this agenda. ALEC has sought to shrink the size of goverment by starving states of revenue, voucherizing critical programs like Medicare and Medicaid, and privatizing all aspects of government, from education to foster care to pensions to prisons.

When the ALEC’s cash-for-kids model is put before the voters, it is resoundingly rejected. In 27 statewide referenda on the topic, voters rejected vouchers on average 2-1. But as long as ALEC “models” continue to garner bipartisan support facilitated by corporate campaign contributions or are slipped into state budgets in the dead of night — ALEC will have continued success with the “transformation” of the American educational system into a profit-driven enterprise.

The ALEC Education agenda not only “converts a public good into something private,” says Mead, but private schools “don’t have the same responsibility [as public schools] to serve everybody, which diminishes public access, oversight and accountability.”

“There is that saying, ‘democracy is the worst form of government, except for all the others.’ The public school system is the same way,” Mead says. “It has problems, and can be better, but has served us pretty well for 150 years.”

View the full list of 2013 ALEC education bills here.

ALEC Education Bills, 2013

State	ALEC Bill	State Bill
AL	Founding Principles Act	SB 443
AL	The Innovation Schools and School Districts Act	HB 84
AK	Founding Principles Act	HB 31
AZ	District and School Freedom Act	HB 2496
AZ	Environmental Literacy Improvement Act	SB 1213
AZ	Parent Trigger Act	SB 1409
AZ	Founding Principles Act	SB 1212
AZ	Resolution Supporting Private Scholarship Tax Credits	HB 2617
AZ	The Great Schools Tax Credit (Scholarship Tax Credit) Act	HB 2617
AZ	The Next Generation Charter Schools Act	HB 2494
AZ	The Virtual Public Schools Act	HB 2493
AR	Founding Principles Act	SB 1017
AR	Resolution Supporting Private Scholarship Tax Credits	SB 740
AR	The Foster Child Scholarship Program Act	HB 1788
AR	The Great Schools Tax Credit (Scholarship Tax Credit) Act	SB 740
AR	The Innovation Schools and School Districts Act	SB 66
AR	The Next Generation Charter Schools Act	HB 1040
AR	The Open Enrollment Act	HB 1507
AR	The Special Needs Scholarship Program Act	HB 1897, HB 2260
CA	The Open Enrollment Act	AB 1279
CO	Environmental Literacy Improvement Act	HB 13-1089
CT	The Lifelong Learning Accounts Act	SB 769
DE	The Charter Schools Act	HB 165
DC	The Innovation Schools and School Districts Act	B 20-0310
FL	Alternative Certification Act	SB 1664, SB 1238
FL	Education Savings Account	HB 1251
FL	The Innovation Schools and School Districts Act	SB 1390
FL	The Special Needs Scholarship Program Act	SB 172
FL	Parent Trigger Act	HB 867, SB 862
ID	The Great Schools Tax Credit (Scholarship Tax Credit) Act	HB 227, HB 286
IL	Alternative Certification Act	HB 513, HB 1868
IN	Parental Choice Scholarship Program Act	HB 1003, HB 1001
IN	Parental Rights Amendment	SB 332
IN	The Smart Start Scholarship Program	HB 1003
IN	The Special Needs Scholarship Program Act	HB 1003
IA	Parent Trigger Act	SF 2
IA	The Great Schools Tax Credit (Scholarship Tax Credit) Act	HB 225
KS	Environmental Literacy Improvement Act	HB 2306
KS	Parental Rights Amendment	HR 6010
KS	Public Employee Freedom Act	HB 2123
KS	The Great Schools Tax Credit (Scholarship Tax Credit) Act	HB 2400
KS	The Next Generation Charter Schools Act	SB 196
KS	The Special Needs Scholarship Program Act	HB 2263
KY	Environmental Literacy Improvement Act	HB 269
KY	The Great Schools Tax Credit (Scholarship Tax Credit) Act	HB 66
KY	The Next Generation Charter Schools Act	HB 76
KY	The Special Needs Scholarship Program Act	HB 155
LA	Parental Choice Scholarship Program Act	HB 597
ME	Alternative Certification Act	SP 461
ME	The Next Generation Charter Schools Act	HP 967
ME	The Virtual Public Schools Act	HP 331, SP 391
MD	Parent Trigger Act	HB 875
MA	Alternative Certification Act	H 418
MA	Founding Principles Act	H 513
MA	Parent Trigger Act	H 429
MI	Founding Principles Act	SB 121
MI	The Virtual Public Schools Act	HB 4228, SB 182
MN	The Charter Schools Act	SF 978
MS	Parental Rights Amendment	HC 90, HC 96, HB 496
MS	The Great Schools Tax Credit (Scholarship Tax Credit) Act	SB 2132, HB 1095
MS	The Innovation Schools and School Districts Act	SB 2716, HB 118, HB 787
MS	The Next Generation Charter Schools Act	SB 2189
MS	The Special Needs Scholarship Program Act	HB 1004
MO	Parent Trigger Act	SB 311
MO	Teacher Choice Compensation Act	SB 408
MO	The Next Generation Charter Schools Act	HB 315
MT	Resolution Calling for Greater Productivity in American Higher Education	SJ 13
MT	Education Savings Account Act	HB 357
MT	The Charter Schools Act	SB 374, HB 315
MT	The Great Schools Tax Credit (Scholarship Tax Credit) Act	HB 213
MT	The Special Needs Scholarship Program Act	HB 390
NE	Parental Rights Amendment	LR 42
NV	Founding Principles Act	SB 163
NV	Great Teachers and Leaders Act	SB 407
NV	Parent Trigger Act	AB 254
NV	Parental Rights Amendment	SB 314
NV	The Charter Schools Act	AB 205
NJ	The Charter Schools Act	A 4177
NJ	The Family Education Savings Account Act	A 3959
NM	Local Government Transparency Act	SB 63
NY	Common Sense in Medication Students Act	A 2972
NY	Founding Principles Act	S 2134
NY	Parent Trigger Act	A 3826
NY	Quality Education and Teacher and Principal Protection Act	A 3110
NY	The Special Needs Scholarship Program Act	S 788
NC	Parental Choice Scholarship Program Act	HB 944
NC	Parental Rights Amendment	H 711
NC	The 140 Credit Hour Act	HB 255
NC	The Innovation Schools and School Districts Act	H 960
OH	Founding Principles Act	SB 96
OK	Alternative Certification Act	SB 877
OK	Environmental Literacy Improvement Act	HB 1674
OK	Founding Principles Act	SB 154
OK	Parent Trigger Act	HB 1385
OK	Parental Rights Amendment	HB 1384
OR	Parent Trigger Act	HB 2881
PA	The Great Schools Tax Credit Program Act (Scholarship Tax Credits)	SB 51
RI	The Special Needs Scholarship Program Act	H6131
SC	Parent Trigger Act	S 556
SC	Parental Rights Amendment	S 628
SC	The Charter Schools Act	S 3853
SC	The Open Enrollment Act	S 313
SD	Founding Principles Act	SCR 2
TN	Founding Principles Act	HB 1129
TN	Local Government Transparency Act	SB 2832
TN	Parent Trigger Act	HB 77
TN	The Special Needs Scholarship Program Act	HB 387, SB 486
TX	Parental Rights Amendment	HCR 38
TX	Statewide Online Education Act	SB 1298
TX	Taxpayers Savings Grants Act	SB 29
TX	The Education Enterprise Zone Act	HB 300
TX	The Special Needs Scholarship Program Act	SB 17
VA	Parental Rights Amendment	HB 1642, SB 908
VA	Resolution Supporting Private Scholarship Tax Credits	SB 1227, HB 1996
VA	The Great Schools Tax Credit (Scholarship Tax Credit) Act	HB 1996, SB 1227
WA	A-Plus Literacy Act	SB 5328
WV	The Charter Schools Act	HB 2808
WV	Alternative Certification Act	SB 359
WV	Resolution Adopting the 10 Elements of High-Quality Digital Learning	SB 37
WV	Founding Principles Act	HB 2594
WI	The Family Education Savings Account Act	SB 111
WI	The Special Needs Scholarship Program Act	AB 40

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Cashing in on Kids: 139 ALEC Bills in 2013 Promote a Private, For-Profit Education Model