I wept (literally) when I read this headline this past week
on Truthout.
and all I could think about was ALEC, the Koch brothers, TransCanada and how big a mess we are in - because people do not realize how deep ALEC has buried their secret, extremist, pro-corporate members into our government.
The one thing that has puzzled me for the past week is
Why isn’t the American Legislative Exchange Council braying about their XL Pipeline success, publicly – where are the press releases?
Oh yeh, the disastrous things ALEC members are doing to the US and world are suppose to be SECRET!
Shhhhhhhhhh!
After all
ALEC boasts that it has
2,000 state legislators
that support and push ALEC policy
96 members of the US
Congress that support and push ALEC policy
Thousand of ALEC-ers at the state and federal level - legislators and public servants in various state and federal offices and agencies - serving the will of their ALEC Master - the ALEC corporate profit sector members.
ALEC DOES NOT BOAST ABOUT
the number of other state federal officials
who support ALEC policy
which could be a major issue for America.
From the Common Cause documents
American Legislative Exchange Council
Natural Resources Task Force
Beth Jensen
Private Sector Member (M1)
Manager, Government Relations
TransCanada
13710 FNB Parkway
Omaha, NE 68154
Phone: 402.492.3400 FAX:
402.492.7491
Then in
Resolution in Support of the Keystone
1 XL Pipeline BE IT RESOLVED BY THE [INSERT LEGISLATIVE BODY] OF THE STATE OF [INSERT STATE]:
WHEREAS, The United States relies –
and will continue to rely for many years – on gasoline, diesel and jet fuel
despite the recent focus on renewable and alternative sources of energy. In order
to fuel our economy, the United States will need more oil and natural gas while
also requiring additional alternative energy sources such as ethanol and other
renewable energy sources; and
WHEREAS, The United States currently
depends on foreign imports for more than half of our petroleum usage. As the
largest consumer of petroleum in the world, our dependence on overseas oil has
created difficult geopolitical relationships with damaging consequences for our
national security; and
WHEREAS, oil shale deposits in the
Bakken Reserves in Montana and North Dakota and South Dakota are an
increasingly important crude oil resource, with an estimated 11 billion barrels
of recoverable crude oil, and there is not enough pipeline capacity for crude
oil supplies from Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Oklahoma and Texas to
American refineries; and
WHEREAS, Canadian oil reserves contain
an estimated 173 billion barrels of recoverable oil. Canada
is the single largest supplier of oil to the United States at 2.62 million barrels
per day and has the capacity to significantly increase that rate; and 7
WHEREAS, the Keystone XL pipeline
will, when completed, carry 700,000 barrels of North American oil to American
refineries in the Gulf Coast region and construction of the project will create
120,000 jobs nationwide, create $20 billion in economic growth and generate millions
of dollars worth of government receipts; and
WHEREAS, A recent study by the U.S.
Department of Energy found that increasing delivery to American refineries from
Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota and Alberta, as well as Texas and Oklahoma
to American refineries has the potential to substantially reduce our country's
dependency on sources outside of North America; and
WHEREAS, Canada sends more than 99% of
its oil exports to the United States, the bulk of which goes to Midwestern
refineries. Oil companies are investing huge sums to expand and upgrade
refineries in the Midwest and elsewhere to
make gasoline and other refined products from Canadian oil derived from oil
sands. The expansion and upgrade projects will create many new construction
jobs over the next five years and, in [INSERT STATE], substantially add to our
state's gross state product; and
WHEREAS, The same money used to buy
North American oil will likely later be spent directly on U.S. goods and services in contrast
with the money sent to hostile oil-producing governments that is later used to
further anti-democratic agendas. Supporting the continued shift towards
reliable and secure sources of North American oil is of vital interest to the United States and the state of [INSERT STATE].
NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, That we,
the members of the [INSERT LEGISLATIVE BODY] of the state of [INSERT STATE],
support continued and increased development and delivery of oil derived from
North American oil reserves to American refineries, urge Congress to support
that continued and increased development and delivery, and urge Congress to ask
the U.S. Secretary of State to approve the Keystone XL pipeline project that
has been awaiting a presidential permit since 2008 to reduce dependence on unstable
governments, improve our national security, and strengthen ties with an
important ally; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That the Clerk
of the [INSERT STATE LEGISLATIVE BODY] transmit duly authenticated copies of
this resolution to the Speaker and Clerk of the United States House of
Representatives, to the President Pro Tempore and Secretary of the United
States Senate, to the members of the [INSERT
STATE] Congressional delegation, and to
the news media of [INSERT
STATE].
ALEC Boasts that it has
2,000 state legislators that support ALEC policy - which
would include the ALEC policy on the XL pipeline
96 members of the US
Congress that support ALEC policy - which would include the ALEC policy on the XL
pipeline
ALEC DOES NOT BOAST ABOUT
The number of other state federal officials
who support ALEC policy
which could be a major issue for America.
And don’t kid yourself – there are other ALEC-ers
others who support ALEC’s right-wing, pro-corporate,
extremist policies
that we do not know exist
because ALEC
keeps their membership list SECRET!!!!
1994 ALEC Annual Meeting Speaker
J. William Lauderback
Bill Lauderback is an associate
with The Eddie Mahe Company in Washington,
D.C., a political and corporate strategic
communications consulting firm. He has held several positions in the public
sector including serving as a Deputy Assistant Secretary of Energy in the Bush
Administration, Executive Director of the Texas Department of Commerce, and as
Special Assistant to Texas Governor Bill Clements.
2001 Attendee ALEC Annual Meeting
U.S. Secretary of Energy Spencer
Abraham
2007 Natural Resources Task Force Update
At the 2007 Spring Task Force Summit, the Natural Resources
Task Force subcommittees heard many important presentations … The
Natural Resources Task Force heard from Kelly Michael Richard of the U.S. Department
of Energy, who addressed the need for a long-term nuclear waste repository;
2010 American Legislative
Exchange Council
Natural Resources Task Force as
of July 1st, 2010
Greg Williams
Advisor
Director of Intergovernmental
Affairs
U.S. Department of Energy
1000 Independence Avenue,
Washington, DC 20585
Phone: (202) 586-6655 FAX: (202)
586-7314
And because ALEC membership is SECRET
You never know how close ALEC gets to the President - maybe even the Cabinet
 |
| Source: ALEC 2005 Listing "Leaders in the States" |
ALEC members - state and federal - across the US
and around the world
carrying out the mission of ALEC and their corporate profit members.
and around the world
carrying out the mission of ALEC and their corporate profit members.
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