Beau Hodai: ALEC's persona non grata

The Indigenous call-out in Arizona to resist ALEC

(November 2011)

Inside ALEC: Naked Contempt for the Press and Public in Scottsdale

TRUTHOUT.org

Wednesday 11 January 2012

 

by: Beau Hodai, PRWatch | Report 

"Mr. Hodai had a history at the conference--not a very pleasant history. He was considered to be a persona non grata..."

-- Westin Kierland General Manager Bruce Lange to Olivia Ward of the Toronto Star.

Evicting the Press, Part 1: Meet Mr. Black

Scottsdale, Arizona--A suburb awash in money and golf courses, set against the backdrop of the jagged mountains surrounding Phoenix.

I was sitting in a sports bar of the Westin Kierland Resort and Spa, swapping journalism stories with Olivia Ward of the Toronto Star on one of the bar's overstuffed leather couches. Over the course of an hour, the bar filled with conventioneers from the American Legislative Exchange Council's 2011 States and Nation Policy Summit (SNPS). (A new story on Westin's connections to other ALEC corporations is available here.)

My assignment was to cover the 2011 SNPS, taking place at the resort from November 29 through December 2. ALEC had refused to grant me media credentials. Nevertheless, I was a paid guest at the resort.

Most of the ALEC members trickling into the bar were fresh from the ALEC "Holiday Gala." As drinks were consumed and new rounds were ordered by guys with ALEC badges, the place began to take on a distinct "Animal House" vibe.

Ward and I were just about to head to our rooms for the night when I saw Phil Black, director of Kierland's security team, approach two uniformed police officers just outside the entrance to the bar. The cops had arrived an hour earlier, glanced at Ward and me, then stationed themselves by the door.

Black entered the bar and headed straight towards me. "Would you mind coming with me, sir?"

Once outside the bar, we were joined by the cops and I was shuffled up the stairs.

"What's this all about?" I asked with Black facing me; a cop to either side, just behind me.

"We understand that you've attempted to enter ALEC events and been asked to leave numerous times," said Black.

This was not true. I had been on my best behavior. And, I had known, since my first meeting with Black the night before, that I was being watched.

Police with a Photo Array of Personas Non Grata

The previous night, I had passed by some cops. When I glanced back I caught one of the cops staring, a look of intense and painful concentration on his face, at a sheet of paper. The paper displayed an array of photos. As was later explained to me by a cop working the resort, it was a photo array of personas non grata provided to the cops via ALEC.

Moments later, after passing the cluster of cops, I was flagged down by a man who asked me who I was, why I was in Scottsdale, where I was from, what line of business I was in.

I gave vague answers and asked who he was.

"Oh, I'm with the hotel," said Black. "Have a nice stay."

Uniformed Police as Bouncers

The next night, I had wandered back into the ballroom where a swirling galaxy of well-dressed lawmakers and lobbyists were hobnobbing, some with neat single malts in hand. There was no indication posted anywhere that this party was limited to ALEC members. Nevertheless, I had been tailed through the ballroom by a cop. As I stepped outside for a smoke, I heard a voice behind me.

"Sir, are you part of the delegation?" It was a uniformed police officer later identified as Phoenix Police Department (PPD) Sergeant Lowe. I explained that I was not a member of ALEC, but that I was a guest at the resort. Lowe explained that the party was private and asked me to return to resort common areas.

Making my way to the door, Lowe in tow, I was approached by two women with resort security.

"Hi ... you're the one on the motorcycle, right? You're with ALEC? You're a guest at the resort? Just so you know, this is a private function, so we just ask that all our regular guests stay in the main area... Okay?"

No problem. I left.

"The ALEC People Don't Want You Here ..."

So, when Black accosted me at the bar the following night and claimed I had been asked to leave numerous ALEC events at the hotel, I explained that this was the extent of my one and only 'incident' and nodded to Sgt. Lowe over my left shoulder. "Ask him," I said.

"Nevertheless," said Black. "The ALEC people don't want you here ... and we understand that your reservations were made under false pretenses."

I asked Black why--given the fact that I had not been accused of any crime--I was surrounded by armed, uniformed cops. Were Phoenix police usually engaged in evicting hotel guests who were suspected of having made hotel reservations under supposedly "false pretenses?" Must be a slow night....

And, how could a person even make a hotel reservation under false pretenses, I asked. I had given the front desk my valid photo driver's license and my credit card for incidental expenses. I was planning to stay in the resort for two days and those two days had been paid for by the Center for Media and Democracy (CMD).... "False pretenses?"

Black would not elaborate further, limiting his conversation only to statements emphasizing the resort's urgent need for me to vacate the premises immediately.

Black said that he would--with the help of these nice police officers--escort me up to my room and help me pack.

I was, as Sgt. Lowe explained, being "trespassed"--which meant that I was being formally advised that I was not welcome on Kierland property. If I returned, or refused to leave following this advisory, I would be arrested and charged with criminal trespassing.

ALEC's Corporate Connections 

ALEC bills itself as being the nation's largest bipartisan legislative membership organization, dedicated to the advancement of "federalism" and "Jeffersonian ideals."

The simple reality of ALEC is that the organization serves as an intermediary, a conduit through which roughly 2,000 state legislators (the vast majority of which are Republicans) are connected with legions of lobbyists representing more than 300 global and national corporations.

Corporations pony up enough cash to help pay the travel, room, and dining expenses of hundreds of state lawmakers at luxury resorts through "scholarships" facilitated by ALEC. After closed-door meetings between lobbyists and politicians voting as equals on "model legislation," politicians often return to their home state to introduce those bills covering almost every area of law.

For ALEC’s winter meeting in sunny Arizona, corporate sponsors included dozens of global corporations, such as AT&T, Time Warner Cable, State Farm Insurance, Johnson and Johnson, the American Bail Coalition, Diageo, UPS, Exxon Mobil, American Petroleum Institute, Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. and AstraZeneca-- to name a few. ALEC’s operations are also underwritten by billionaires Charles and David Koch (who control Koch Industries, including "Koch Companies Public Sector").

ALEC has come under increased scrutiny in recent years in the media due to its tremendous influence over dramatic changes to the law being pushed in states across the country. Public awareness of ALEC jumped dramatically this past summer after the In These Times investigation of ALEC’s "Publicopoly" and the Center for Media and Democracy's detailed exposé of ALEC model bills, legislators, and lobbyists through ALECexposed.org, after a whistleblower came forward.

And, as a result of growing public malcontent with lawmaker malleability in the face of corporate greed, lawmakers attending ALEC events have been met ever more frequently by members of the public voicing their displeasure with the organization’s role in facilitating the cozy relationship between politicians and corporations.

The 2011 States and Nation Policy Summit was no exception to this trend.

Outside: Public Dissent Met with Pepper Spray

On November 30, the first full-fledged day of the conference, rows of police in full riot gear stood along along Kierland's eastern gate, providing a living buffer between the public and the guests at the posh hotel. Helicopters swarmed above the resort. Flanking both entrances were assembled a couple hundred protesters decrying undue corporate influence over elected lawmakers. These protesters were from several activist groups loosely united under the banner of "Occupy ALEC"--in most part an offshoot of "Occupy Phoenix" and a group known as "AZ-Resist."

Inside the resort ALEC conventioneers gathered for lunch and a speech by ALEC alum and Arizona Governor, Jan Brewer.

Brewer welcomed the conventioneers to Arizona, “the state too strong for any union sponsored boycotts to bring down! And their presence is so eloquently so in demonstrating.

They're out there ... they're out there," said Brewer scornfully. "Anyway, thank you all for coming today. And thank you to all you from the business community, I certainly thank you for your private sector sponsorship."

Recently retired Louisiana State Representative and outgoing ALEC national chairman, Noble Ellington, claimed the protests showed ALEC was doing something right:

"It is just so exiting and I hope you feel the same way that ALEC is on the move," drawled Ellington. "We've got things goin' our way and we're bound to be doing something right, or we wouldn't have the helicopters flying around and the demonstrators..."

Uproarious applause.

"Would you join with me in thanking Novartis for this luncheon today? They have been some really good friends to ALEC and we thank them so much..." said Ellington.

ALEC Director of Communications Kaitlyn Buss then sang the national anthem.

By the time Buss hit her high note, "For the land of the Freeeeeeeeee...," Phoenix police officers were treating protesters outside to the second round of pepper spray of the day.

Betsy Schuler, a former school teacher, was pepper sprayed as officers were moving barricades into the crowd. Schuler said an officer reached over the barricade and started pepper spraying the non-violent protesters. Schuler got a face full of the stuff. The officer, recalled Schuler, stood behind police barricades, smiling smugly.

Schuler was a part of a delegation of Unitarian Universalists who had joined the protests as peacekeepers.

According to Phoenix Police Department spokesman Sgt. Trent Crump, the first of a series of confrontations between the police and the protesters had occurred a few hours earlier that morning.

According to Bret "Buddha" Cary, a small business owner and an organizer with Occupy Phoenix, a group of anarchists had brought a large black canvas banner ("Shut Down ALEC") supported by a framework.

The anarchist moved toward the front of the protests and put the banner between the police and the protesters.

At first, police tried to push the banner back with their own barricade. Eventually, an officer reached over the police barricade and grabbed hold of the banner, tearing it apart. The cop then began throwing pieces of the banner back at the protesters.

A protester screamed, "No! No! No!" as pepper spray was sent out in bright orange streams to the crowd.

Cary and others tried to obtain the name of the officer who had reached over the barricade and grabbed the banner but the officer would not divulge his name and retreated to Westin grounds, smiling smugly at the protesters from a distance. Following the incident, Cary filed a complaint with PPD internal affairs. He has received no response to his complaint.

Inside: Public Dissent Met with Laughter

By the time Arizona House Majority Whip and ALEC Public Sector Chair, Rep. Debbie Lesko, kicked off her remarks on the Novartis stage, several protesters had been placed under arrest and loaded into paddy wagons.

"We have some critics--we saw a few of them outside--because a group recently wrote a large report criticizing ALEC," said Lesko ("ALEC in Arizona: The Voice of Corporate Special Interests in the Halls of Arizona’s Legislature," by Common Cause and People for the American Way). "And so, what better way is there to explain Arizona's involvement in ALEC by reading right from that very report?! So, here we go..."

"'Arizona has one of the highest concentrations of ALEC legislators of any state in the United States.'"

Uproarious applause.

"'At least 50 of the 90 legislators now serving in the legislature are ALEC members....'"

More uproarious applause.

"Yay Arizona," said Lesko. "Two-thirds of the Republican leadership in the Arizona House and Senate are ALEC members and the last three Arizona Senate presidents--including the current one--all served in ALEC roles."

Lesko did not mention that Senate President Russell Pearce had just been thrown out of office in a special recall election. Pearce had been criticized for pushing through the controversial SB 1070 immigration bill, for sitting on the ALEC Public Safety and Elections Task Force alongside Corrections Corporation of America (CCA), the nation's foremost operator of private immigrant detention and prison facilities, the scandal surrounding the Fiesta Bowl and his ties to special interest lobbyists, among other things.

"Way to go Arizona!" shouted Lesko.

Uproarious applause.

Earlier that morning, Ezra Kaplan, a college student and Arizona resident, was one of those arrested and charged with criminal trespass.

Kaplan was working as part of the media chain for the Occupy ALEC protest.

Arrested while Trying to Film, Taunted by Infiltrator

“There were several gentlemen sitting on the ground, kind of locking arms in peaceful protest. At one point, two officers decided to pick up a metal barricade and slant it down on top of [the seated protesters], pushing them to the ground, trying to get them to move," said Kaplan.

Kaplan entered the area between the banner and the police line and to capture this brutality on film.

Kaplan was taking pictures as police suddenly moved their barrier toward protester banners. Kaplan was caught between the two lines.

"I was basically standing there, with my hands above my head, peacefully and calmly talking to the officers, telling them 'I'm trying to get out,'" said Kaplan.

Kaplan says he was pushed to the ground by police "with a knee on my head and a knee on my neck," and cuffed by no less than three officers. As he was laying on the ground with officers on his back nonsensically shouting, "Stop resisting!" he looked up and saw a man in plain clothes. "Yeah, stop resisting, Ezra," the man taunted.

Kaplan was at a loss as to how this man knew his name. His name had not yet been taken by police, and he had not yet been booked for any alleged crime. (According to Kaplan, the police took his camera and continue to hold his camera as "evidence.")

Police spokesman Crump later said police action had been directly informed by real-time intelligence obtained from plainclothes PPD personnel interspersed through the crowd. 

Crump claims these plainclothes officers reported that protesters were engaging in “illegal activity” behind the banner:

"They were doing things like shaking paint cans, and they were using poles to stick them under the pedestrian walkway gate that we put up. And they were trying to do that hiding behind those banners. And so those banners were pulled down when they tried to [push police barriers]. And that is when pepper spray was deployed at those who were the ones engaging in aggressive behavior."

Protesters have uniformly stated that the crowd had no poles or sticks until after police reduced their banners to a mass of rubble (consisting mainly of poles and sticks).

According to Crump, the Phoenix Police Department has made over 100 arrests and expended nearly $250,000 in overtime pay to officers since the outset of Occupy Phoenix and related protests in mid October.

Native Americans and Others Protest ALEC State Co-Chair Salt River Project

 photo credit: Censored News

On December 2, an additional 12 protesters were arrested by Tempe police on trespassing charges during a related protest at Salt River Project (SRP) offices in Tempe, Arizona.

SRP Manager of State Government Relations Russell Smoldon serves on ALEC’s corporate board and is the ALEC Arizona private sector chair, tasked with extracting donations from lobbyists and their clients to pay for “scholarships” for ALEC legislators.

From the Novartis stage at the ALEC luncheon, Smoldon lobbied his fellow lobbyists:

"[Gov. Brewer is] the author of a new book. And every time I speak, I am required to put in this plug," said Smoldon. "Her new book is entitled, 'Scorpions for Breakfast.' If you go to JanPAC.com--J-A-N-P-A-C-dot-com--you can contribute to the governor's PAC, which will do great things for America. And, for a $100 contribution, you will get an autographed copy of the book from the governor."

Evicting the Press, Part 2: Rejoining Mr. Black's Inquisition

Hodai: "Surely you can see this is an odd time to be kicking someone out..."

Black: "That's one person's opinion. This is a 24-hour business."

Hodai: "That's a hell of a statement."

I was, by no means, the only reporter in attendance at the ALEC conference to face near arrest or harassment by police.

Almost Arresting a Reporter After He Interviewed Protesters?

Bob Ortega, of the Arizona Republic, stepped outside the Westin's eastern gate on the morning of November 30 to scope out the ALEC occupation. Ortega was one of the few reporters to be credentialed by ALEC for coverage of the conference.

Following the incident where the police tore down the protesters’ banner, Ortega attempted to return to the conference. He was stopped by police in riot gear, pepper spray in hand, at the Westin gate.

The cops told Ortega that he could not enter the grounds. Ortega showed them his ALEC-issued press credentials, identified himself and identified the paper he represented.

"I don't care who you are, turn around and leave or you're going to be arrested," retorted one of the officers.

Ortega persisted in arguing his point, explaining that he had permission from both ALEC and Kierland security to attend the conference-- at which point a cop grabbed him by the arm from behind.

"Okay, you've been warned," said the cop, who commenced to march Ortega off to a waiting paddy wagon.

Ortega narrowly escaped arrest by convincing one of the cops to check with hotel security before sending him off to Maricopa County Jail.

Renting a Real Cop?

This brings us to the interesting arrangement between PPD, Kierland and ALEC.

A few days before the conference, ALEC Senior Director of Membership and Meetings Chas Cirame sent out an advisory to conference attendees stating that, due to planned protests at the event, ALEC would be hiring additional security personnel to protect conference attendees. Cirame advised attendees to wear their ALEC identification badges at all times at the resort.

I had been on the lookout for additional security to see what firm of private spooks ALEC would employ. I had no idea ALEC had actually rented themselves real cops.

As was explained by Black during my eviction: all of these PPD officers on the Westin’s grounds--uniformed and armed--were actually off-duty and being paid, as one cop put it, "really well," to help ALEC and Westin keep undesirables out of the hair of conference attendees.

These were true 'rent-a-cops'-- the best money could buy.

Badgering a Reporter about a Talk over Drinks?

While Sgt. Lowe, another cop and Black supervised me packing in my room, two other officers harangued Ward outside the bar, wearing PPD uniforms but not disclosing that their services were rented for the night.

"Do you know this man? Do you know this man," a rented cop demanded of Ward, referring to me.

"Do you know this man? Do you know this man???" he continued.

Channeling the persona of her British mother, Ward let loose a fusillade of indignation:

"What do you mean? How dare you ask me such a question?! Are you putting me up on some sort of morality charge?! I am a Canadian citizen. Are you telling me that in the Westin hotel, I am not allowed to sit with a man to whom I am not married?!? I have continually attended meetings [at the conference] where I have been told that this is the land of the free and that Arizona is one of the free-est states in the union. So, what is going on here? Why are you asking me these questions?!"

"So, you know this man?" said the cop.

The officers eventually abandoned this cutting-edge line of interrogation and told Ward was told she was "free to go."

Claiming a Reporter "Presented a Threat?"

Ward later received somewhat more cogent answers to her questions from the resort’s General Manager Bruce Lange:

"Mr. Hodai was considered to be a persona non grata from the conference," Lange told Ward ("America's Secret Political Power," Toronto Star, December 17, 2011). "Not by the hotel, not by the police. ... He clearly presented a threat to the conference, based on his history."

Lange did not elaborate as to what "history" he was referring to.

Lange could not be reached for comment.

When asked why Ward had been interrogated by police under contract with the Westin during my eviction, Kierland Director of Communications Stephanie Dowling parried with this spin:

"Our main objective, our goal with anything--and we certainly understand everyone's concerns in this situation--is to protect our property and our guests, regardless of what organization they represent. That includes our friends from the media and everyone else. The safety and security of our guests is our number one priority--so, if there was any reason, or any situation that might have affected that--that would drive [hotel security's] reasoning behind asking someone to leave."

When asked what threat to the "safety and security" of conference attendees a reporter like me posed, Dowling declined to discuss the matter further, stating that the hotel would never compromise the privacy of a guest by discussing that guest's eviction with the press.

Hodai: "Well, I tell you what: I am that guest and I give you permission to speak to me, as a member of the press, about what happened."

Dowling: "Well, I do really appreciate you calling..."

It should be noted that Black later flatly denied he had ever said ALEC did not want me on the premises.

Evicting a Paying Hotel Guest Whom ALEC Did Not Want Nearby

According to Dowling, the argument that my reservation had been made under "false pretenses" stemmed from the fact that my reservation had initially been made under a different name. The Center for Media and Democracy had openly reserved a room at the Westin for its Executive Director, Lisa Graves, reserved with a CMD credit card. This reservation was later openly changed (by Westin personnel, at the request of CMD) to my name and pre-paid by CMD. There was nothing false or misleading about this process.

According to Dowling, the reservation was also problematic because it had been made as part of the "ALEC block."

CMD had clicked through to the hotel through an open reservation portal from the ALEC website. The portal did not require ALEC membership or ALEC approval and was open to anyone.

According to Dowling, during the conference ALEC personnel reviewed the hotel reservation roster and identified me as being "not part of the conference.” Dowling asserted that according to ALEC, CMD had falsely claimed to be a member of ALEC at the time the reservation made. CMD unequivocally denies this assertion and notes that it made no such statements to any Westin personnel.

A Mere "Miscommunication?"

"I don't know where the miscommunication came from. I do know that that was the information that we were given by ALEC," said Dowling.

When asked if it is standard Westin practice to throw paid guests out on the street in the middle of the night due to "miscommunications," Dowling asserted that Westin would never do such a thing without good cause and without alternative accommodations offered.

No such accommodations were offered in my case--unless those other accommodations were at the Maricopa County Jail.

And, just as the Westin has been unable to elaborate on what "safety" threat I posed to the ALEC conference, at least some of the cops involved in the eviction seemed to know that the situation was absurd. They knew I had committed no crime. These were just guys working on their off time, looking to take home a little more pay.

This was not true of Sgt. Lowe. He was committed to the notion I posed an imminent threat to the safety of the conference, not that I was being booted and threatened with arrest because I was a journalist who had caused some discomfort to the powers of the hour due to my past reporting on ALEC.

You've Been "Trespassed"

As I was being escorted from my room to the curb, Lowe asked for my ID--purportedly to file a report detailing how I had been "trespassed."

(Lowe never filed any such report with PPD. The only report detailing the activities of off-duty law enforcement in relation to this incident are maintained by Westin. Westin declined to disclose any portion of these reports.)

Lowe said it struck him as odd that I would carry an audio recorder. He said individuals in law enforcement carried recorders, "such as I am recording this entire conversation with you," showing me a little silver recorder tucked into his utility belt.

Lowe went on to assert that the only non-law enforcement people he knew of who carried audio recorders were those who were expecting trouble.

I explained that reporters routinely carry recorders--that this was not a violation of law.

"Do you, by any chance have journalistic credentials," asked Lowe.

ALEC had refused to credential me, despite my long-standing work as a reporter.

"Most folks who claim to be journalists, if they stumble on a story are actually able to say 'hey, I have media credentials,'" explained Lowe. "If they are carrying a recorder, they are carrying credentials at the same time. You see my dilemma?"

I did not see his dilemma.

"My dilemma is believing your story," Lowe retorted. "You understand that?!"

He was getting red.

Outside, I waited for Graves to pick me up at the curb, where she too would be threatened while attempting to take photos of the evicting officers. Waiting with me were Lowe, three other rented cops, along with Black and two members of his resort security team. Seven Westin Kierland security personnel in all--at least four of them with guns--all working at the behest of ALEC, all for one reporter. I was flattered.

Another AZ Regent profits from prisons: DeConcini and CCA

I posted details on the whole CCA board awhile ago, but this one bears repeating DeConcini is also (in addition to  Anne L. Mariucci) on the AZ Board of Regents, and will help select the next University of Arizona president...

---from Corrections Corporation of America---

 

Dennis DeConcini

Dennis DeConcini, the former U.S. Senator from Arizona, was elected as an independent member of CCA's Board of Directors in February 2008. Senator DeConcini currently serves as a Director of Ceramic Protection Corporation, a publicly traded company listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange.

He is a partner in the law firm of DeConcini McDonald Yetwin and Lacy in Tucson, Arizona, which he co-founded in 1968. DeConcini also is a Principal in the lobbyist consulting firm Parry, Romani, DeConcini & Lacy P.C. in Washington, D.C. Senator DeConcini served three terms, from January 1977 through January 1995, representing the State of Arizona in the United States Senate. As Senator, he served on the Senate Appropriations Committee, where he chaired the Subcommittee on Treasury, Postal Service and General Government.

He also served on the Subcommittees of Defense, Foreign Operations, Energy and Water Development, and Interior and Related Agencies. Prior to his service as a U.S. Senator, DeConcini served one elected term as the County Attorney for Pima County, Arizona.

He also is a member of the Arizona Board of Regents, a position to which he was appointed in 2006 by Arizona Governor Janet Napolitano, and serves on the Board of Directors of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.

Senator DeConcini received his B.A. from the University of Arizona in 1959 and his L.L.D. from there in 1963. He also is a member of the Arizona Board of Regents, a position to which he was appointed in 2006 by Arizona Governor Janet Napolitano, and serves on the Board of Directors of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. Senator DeConcini received his B.A. from the University of Arizona in 1959 and his L.L.D. from there in 1963.

 -----------from the Tuscon Citizen-----------

Here's the Tucson Citizens' Three Sonorans' reporting on the significance of DeConcini's role on the AZ Board of Regents from August: 

UA Presidential search committee headed by CCA board member and former SALC president

by DA Morales on Aug. 16, 2011, under Immigration news

The puzzle becomes clearer as more pieces are put together.

One co-chair of the UA presidential search committee is the former SALC president, and the other is a board member of CCA, the Corrections Corporation of America, member of ALEC and one of the groups behind SB1070.

Arizona’s plan for the future seems to be less education funding and more prison funding. We knew this was true of the Republicans, but also of the Democrats?

Consider Arizona’s former Democratic Senator, Dennis DeConcini, who has the Border Patrol’s port of entry in Nogales named after him.

Corrections Corporation of America, the nation’s largest provider of corrections management services to government agencies, announced today that Dennis DeConcini, the former U.S. Senator from Arizona has been elected as an independent member of CCA’s Board of Directors.
“Senator Dennis DeConcini has a distinguished career serving the state of Arizona and the U.S. government,” said William F. Andrews, chairman of CCA’s Board of Directors. “We are extremely pleased to bring Dennis onto our Board. His extensive knowledge and understanding of government, coupled with his experience with other directorship positions, make him ideally suited to help lead management’s initiatives to enhance government’s utilization of public/private partnership in corrections.”

The press release goes on to say:

Senator DeConcini, age 70, is a partner in the law firm of DeConcini McDonald Yetwin and Lacy in Tucson, Arizona, which he co-founded in 1968. DeConcini also is a Principal in the lobbyist consulting firm Parry, Romani, DeConcini & Lacy P.C. in Washington, D.C.

The law firm may look familiar as it is the same law firm that TUSD has hired to defend it against Huppenthal’s ruling which demands the immediate end of Ethnic Studies in Tucson or else TUSD will be faced with 10% budget cut.

Talk about a win-win situation. If the appeal goes down, the likelihood of making more profits for the largest private prison corporation in America increases, and Dennis DeConcini still wins.

Respected Arizona Democrats on the board of CCA, the Arizona Democratic Party having a policy of staying silent on SB1070 and immigration… makes you wonder if it really is a two-headed beast.

POLICE VIOLENCE at Occupy ALEC: N30.

Some scenes of Occupy ALEC actions from independent videographer and activist Dennis Gilman:


c

Protesting ALEC: DAY 1.

I haven't had time to do my own write-up of the ALEC protests, so am stealing it from a comrade. Will post my own with photos once I get my 35mm film developed...which could be awhile, so don't look here for updates soon...

-ALEC protest coverage (and shots) from Modern Times Magazine-

Indigenous and Occupiers marching through residential Scottsdale...

An Amalgam Of Groups, People, Converge On Posh North Valley Resort, Police Use Pepper Spray

By John Guzzon
Modern Times Magazine

Dec. 1, 2011 — Several hundred people converged on the Westin Kierland Resort in North Scottsdale Wednesday to oppose the American Legislative Exchange Council’s States & Nation Summit and were rebuffed from entering the facility by officers from the Phoenix police department.

Phoenix police deployed pepper spray when a handful of the protesters attempted to remove barriers erected at the entrance to the resort and made seven or eight arrests.

View photo gallery

The American Legislative Exchange Council, or ALEC, was launched in 1973, but has become increasingly influential. ALEC’s long-held philosophy is that the private sector should be an ally rather than an adversary in developing sound public policy.

According to ALEC statistics, their task forces have, “considered, written and approved hundreds of model bills on a wide range of issues, model legislation that will frame the debate today and far into the future. Each year, close to 1,000 bills, based at least in part on ALEC Model Legislation, are introduced in the states. Of these, an average of 20 percent become law.”

Read our in-depth article on ALEC

More than 200 protesters assembled at Kierland Park, just northwest of the resort on 65th Street, at 8 a.m., and soon after marched the quarter mile to the resort. Police were at the park as early as 7 a.m. and followed protesters on bicycles, on foot, and in four police vehicles. Other police officers were waiting for protesters at the two entrances to the Westin Kierland Resort on Greenway Road and Kierland Loop.

Pepper spray was used on protesters who attempted to remove the barriers on Kierland Loop. About 20 were treated on-scene by volunteer medics.

A majority of the protesters are also involved with Occupy Phoenix, but Occupy Tucson, AZ Justice Unitarian Universalist Collective and others who wished to join with those groups and others against ALEC were also part of the crowd.

Despite the arrests and use of pepper spray, most of the protesters exercised their first amendment rights without incident.

By 1 p.m., the group made their way back to Kierland park where they ate lunch. By 3 p.m. another group of protesters resumed the protest, led by Occupy Tucson.



Modern Times Magazine was able to uncover little about what was discussed inside the ALEC States and Nation Summit as an application for attendance was rejected. One organization, The Health Care Compact Alliance, however, did issue a press release stating that ALEC had adopted a healthcare compact model legislation that would attempt to take healthcare from the bailiwick of the federal government and place it upon the states.

"States, not the federal government, are in the best position to implement market-driven and patient-centered health care reform," said Christie Herrera, director of the Health and Human Services Task Force of ALEC. "The Health Care Compact Act adds to ALEC's powerful list of tools legislators can use to push back against the unprecedented federal health care law."

The concept of using interstate compacts to return sovereignty to the states was originally developed by the Texas Public Policy Foundation (TPPF), a non-profit, free-market research institute. TPPF was integral in shepherding the Health Care Compact through the ALEC model legislation process, according to the press release.

"Interstate compacts are highly effective in shielding against federal overreach," said Arlene Wohlgemuth, executive director of the TPPF. "The Health Care Compact is a strong solution to many of our country's health care problems, particularly managing Medicaid on a state level."

The Health Care Compact has been introduced in 13 states since February 2011 and has already been adopted in Texas, Georgia, Oklahoma and Missouri. In addition, citizen groups and state legislators in more than 20 states are actively considering the Health Care Compact.

View photo gallery

Some protesters are expected today at the Westin Kierland Resort, but Occupy Phoenix is focusing on a march and protest at 4 p.m. Thursday at Freeport McMoRan Copper & Gold, 333 N. Central Road, in downtown Phoenix. Freeport McMoRan purchased Phelps-Dodge in 2007 and is one of the largest copper and gold producers in the world. It is also a member of ALEC.

The Rev. Jesse Jackson is expected to join Occupy Phoenix on the march and immediately after will hold a press conference at 5 p.m. at Cesar Chavez plaza. He made an appearance at Occupy Phoenix late Wednesday evening.

“Too few have too much,” said Jackson. “‘Occupy’ is really a new name for an old game. It’s a struggle for social justice. It’s a struggle for fairness."

For more information, visit the group's webpage at http://occupyphoenix.net/, the #OccupyPhoenix Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/#!/occupyphoenix, the group’s Twitter page at http://twitter.com/#!/occupyphoenix or catch the livestream at http://www.livestream.com/occupyphoenix.

John Guzzon is editor of Modern Times Magazine.

Sun sets on Chuck Ryan at ADC Legislative Review.

Above is the recording of public speakers;

*** Here is the link from the full report and committee meeting ***

I made it to the early part of this meeting yesterday, which was a joint session of the Senate Committee on Public Safety and the House Judiciary Committee. The purpose of the meeting was to receive the Auditor General's Sunset Review of the Arizona Department of Corrections - a process which poses the question as to whether the institution is serving the public and rehabilitating offenders as it is intended to, or whether it is an ineffective waste and should be abolished.

More precisely:

"Established by Laws 1978, Chapter 210, Arizona’s sunset review process requires the Legislature to periodically review the purpose and functions of state agencies to determine whether continuation, revision, consolidation or termination is warranted. Sunset reviews are based on audits conducted by either the Office of the Auditor General (OAG) or a Committee of Reference (COR). Following the audit, a public hearing is held by the COR to discuss the audit and receive testimony from agency officials and the public."

I didn't expect the department to be abolished, of course, but felt it was important to be there anyway. Unfortunately, I learned of this last minute so did a poor job getting folks out for the public hearing section. I was able to log in some of my written comments, for the record, but had to leave before the floor was open to the rest of us to speak. Several folks remained long enough to raise the matter of medical neglect, at least, according to this Cronkite news report below. I don't know if anyone mentioned the high suicide and assault rates, or the fact that the ACLU National Prison Project is about to file a class action lawsuit seeking an injunction to immediately improve the level of medical and mental health care in AZ prisons. It was the matter of security at the private prisons that dominated, though, due to the Kingman escape last summer.

Listening to ADC Director Chuck Ryan give his spiel about how great a job they're doing and how noble his employees are made me more angry with the legislature for failing to do oversight than with him - I expect to hear that kind of propaganda from him. Had I been able to speak, I would have recited the names and stories of the prisoners who died unnecessarily in his custody...perhaps I'll have to save that for another time. I certainly didn't expect that anything I or others might say would result in the abolition of the AZ Department of Corrections.

July 2011 Artwalk: Phoenix, AZ

What was covered by the AG's report, at least, were recommendations for alternatives to adding more prison beds, support for a sentencing commission to review prison alternatives and sentencing reform, and a reassertion of the expectation that a complete cost-analysis is done on the pros and cons of contracting with private prisons before the state proceeds to do more (which the Quakers are having to sue to get compliance on).

But those are just recommendations - I believe it is up to the discretion of the ADC director as to how to proceed, and I haven't seen either of these committees show much leadership in making performance demands of Director Ryan - who not only runs his own ship, but steps in the way of efforts made by our good Rep. Cecil Ash to assemble a sentencing review commission by promoting propaganda designed to frighten ignorant politicians and the public into favoring mass incarceration. If Chuck Ryan and his cronies on the Arizona Criminal Justice Commission threw their support behind Rep. Ash's sentencing commission bill (HB 2664) last session, it would have easily passed the house and senate and been signed into law. Instead the judiciary committee wouldn't even bother to hear it.

As things stand at present, it's entirely up to the ADC Director to study and implement report recommendations for alternatives to incarceration, such as early release for low-risk prisoners, community-based programs for drug and alcohol offenders, build more capacity to have prisoners on home-arrest, and so on. Ryan, unfortunately, has consistently articulated and demonstrated his contempt for prisoners and their families through his policy changes, and that his philosophy for corrections is simply punishment by incarcerating as many people as possible for as long as possible, during which time they have scant opportunities to participate in substance abuse treatment, vocational rehabilitation, mental health, or educational programs (many were abruptly dismantled when he took over).

Anticipating continuing criticisms about deaths in his custody this time, Director Ryan did proudly announce that in the course of two months the department has trained over 8,000 employees in suicide prevention...but that just leaves me wondering how good such mass training in such a short a period of time can possibly be. They train them all in first aid every year, but corrections officers have repeatedly failed to use those skills to prevent the loss of life - as in Tony Lester's and Dana Seawright's cases, when guards just stood passively around watching those young men choke on blood as they were dying. The closest they seem to come to touching a suicide or homicide victim is practicing their CPR on prisoners who are already dead or very near death.

Still grossly lacking from the AZ legislature is a commitment to provide meaningful, ongoing oversight of the Department of Corrections. They seem to be in denial of (or ignorant of) the impending class action suit against them, and of the real shortcomings of leadership that have resulted in arguably thew most horrendous prison conditions in Arizona in the past three decades. They are oblivious or indifferent, it appears, that by failing to keep on top of matters in their own house, they have forced prisoners, their families and advocates to seek help from outside entities - from the ACLU and Amnesty International to the media to the FBI - to investigate their poor conditions and high rates of violence and suicide.

If the state legislature had been conducting oversight all along, lives like Tony Lester's and Dana Seawright's may have been saved despite the incompetence of this administration. Unfortunately, nothing that comes out of this hearing yesterday is likely to stop the prisoner body count from continuing to grow. The rising tide of violence under Chuck Ryan's administration will similarly take a greater toll on ADC employees, who voices are also silenced here. At least two ADC employees have already taken their lives on prison grounds under his administration - one at Perryville, soon after the death of Marcia Powell, and one at Yuma this summer. God knows how many more have died more quietly that way, or have been seriously injured from assaults already as well.

The following are the legislators on the respective committees that heard the auditors' Sunset Review; though not all were present yesterday, all are nevertheless responsible. These are the legislators we should be addressing further concerns about the prisons to, and holding accountable for the consequences of failing to form a sub-committee which would take testimony from prisoners, families and advocates, recommend and empower the department to make reforms, and provide closer legislative oversight of the ADC. Instead of orchestrating meaningful prison reform from within, the state has now set up a situation where changes will have to be ordered by the federal court system - sadly, that is only likely to make a difference after more prisoners and staff lose their lives...

Judiciary House of Representatives Standing Committee
Members	Position
Cecil P. Ash	Member
Tom Chabin	Member
Eddie Farnsworth	Chairman
Doris Goodale	Member
Albert Hale	Member
Jack W. Harper	Member
David Burnell Smith	Vice-Chairman
Anna Tovar	Member
Ted Vogt	Member

Public Safety and Human Services Senate Standing Committee
Members	Position	Staff
Nancy Barto	Member
Rich Crandall	Member
Linda Gray	Chairman
Leah Landrum Taylor	Member
Linda Lopez	Member
Rick Murphy	Vice-Chairman

Invest in Humanity: Divest from Wells Fargo!

Invest in Communities instead: 

Credit Union Locator

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All is Not Well With Fargo: Divesting the Revolution

Monday, 31 October 2011 13:01 Stephen Flohr

Washington, DC--(ENEWSPF)--October 31, 2011

Local community-based immigrant advocacy groups, including VOZ, Oregon New Sanctuary Movement (ONSM), and the Partnership for Safety and Justice, converged in a peaceful demonstration this past Saturday outside of the Wells Fargo building in Portland, Oregon as part of a nationally coordinated effort in support of the National Prison Industry Divestment Campaign. Demonstrations, workshops and other actions were held by partner organizations across the country in the cities of Wichita, New York and Seattle.

Protestors called for the immediate divestment of investments made by Wells Fargo and other major shareholders in private prison corporations such as the Corrections Corporation of America (CCA) and Geo Group Inc., whose business models actively pursue harsher immigrant incarceration policies such as those seen in Arizona, Georgia and more recently Alabama.  The detention centers and prisons that these and other corporations bank on are often plagued with instances of sexual and physical abuse against immigrants who do not have access to legitimate legal recourse due to their status.

Peter Cervantes-Gautshi, (check out his highly censored story, Wall Street and Our Campaign to Decriminalize Immigrants), who was present at the Portland action, stated that “we wanted to show Wells Fargo that this movement is growing and that more and more people are becoming aware of their involvement in using tax dollars to put people in cages. They need to instead invest in creating good jobs for people.”

A delegation of demonstrators also entered the Wells Fargo building in order to inform the manager that failure of the bank to divest its shares from corporations that promote severe incarceration practices and policy will result in a substantial amount of customers closing their accounts. The manager was not present and the delegation was shuffled off to someone who, according to Cervantes, “had little authority and was less than helpful.” The demonstration outside remained lively and spirited as drivers honked in support and pedestrians gave their “thumbs-up” of approval.

Meanwhile in Kansas, Sunflower Community Action (SCA) held a Popular Education Assembly designed to educate the public on the connections between the new wave of anti-immigrant laws, the private prisons that lobby for them, and the bank that provided the investments to make it all possible: Wells Fargo. SCA is calling on Wichita to join people across the country in divesting from, and refusing to do business with Wells Fargo.

The protests are part and parcel of a series of nationwide demonstrations implemented by an impressive network of community organizations who have decided to heed the call for a national month of action. Through educational workshops, nonviolent direct action and concrete strategies for demanding shareholder divestment, the campaign intends to raise public awareness regarding the intricate and nefarious relationship between big business (aka Wall Street) and government within the rubric of the prison-industrial complex.

Previous actions have taken place in cities such as San Francisco, Minnesota and Denver, with more planned next week, including Wichita’s Zombie Crawl later today, where members of Sunflower Community Action, in solidarity with the OccupyWitchita movement, will present a theatrical memoir entitled, “Investments of Mass Destruction.”

These events have been particularly effective in tying together the multitude of seemingly disparate demands (the proverbial “laundry list”) that have come out of the Occupy movement. Organizers and spokespersons have proven adept at demonstrating and highlighting the fact that corporate-government collusion is the root cause of innumerable consequences of misery, inequality and poverty.

I see this campaign as one of the more effective and substantial movements to be explicitly aligned with the “Occupy” sentiment in that its primary participants and organizers are speaking directly to the reality of the most downtrodden and impoverished segment of the 99 percent, particularly the constituent members of our nation’s disenfranchised communities of color.

Yet the campaign also does not ignore the systematic targeting, dehumanization, humiliation and torture of those who aren’t even counted amongst the “official” 99 percent, namely the undocumented whose only ‘crime’ more often than not is earning an honest living through the provision of essential services that the “documented” covet and demand.  Yes, you can tell a lot about a person and a nation based on how they treat the “least amongst us.”

At the core, this divestment campaign isn’t about papers (no, not even the green ones)… it is about dignity and unity. For what good is paper if it can purchase and/or confer the ‘legal’ right to kill, steal, exploit and imprison the innocent and hard-working with impunity? Our solidarity is, and now must prove to be, mightier than the dollar. Divest from corruption. Occupy Everything. Together as one.

Source: www.wagingnonviolence.org