Miner Queries: Sharpening your pitchfork yet?

As we prepare to begin week three of our federal government shutdown over 45’s border wall tantrum, I’d love to know where individuals’ heads are. While we struggle, living paycheck to paycheck, our out-of-touch legislators seem to think we have unlimited savings to tide us over.

And when I say legislators, I’m talking at the state level, too. In Iowa, we’ve continued to elect Republicans to the statehouse who blindly support the agenda of corporate America. This includes stripping many Iowans’ health and mental health care via our Medicaid debacle, strangling funding for public schools, and cutting corporate taxes and thus shifting the tax burden to individuals and local property owners. I suspect many of these state legislators don’t even realize they’re working against the interests of their own communities and constituents. They simply follow the party line without questioning what they’re told.

Years ago, as a school board director, I was engaged in conversation at the statehouse with a former Iowa senator. We were chatting about education and her work as a senator, and she began to tell me about a fabulous retreat she’d been to out of state at a balmy resort. As she was “educated” about various policies, she had plainly been bedazzled by the setting. Her enthusiasm struck me at the time and stuck with me.

Several years later, I began to read about the work of the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC). This group, funded and led by the Koch Brothers, works to write legislation called “model bills,” which they introduce to federal and state legislators at swanky conferences. Although ALEC works to influence legislators of both parties, over the years they’ve determined the Republican party fits their agenda best. The Center for Media and Democracy has researched and published about ALEC’s work at https://www.alecexposed.org/wiki/ALEC_Exposed. Suddenly, a light bulb went off over my head. This legislator, a Republican, had been attending ALEC conferences.

Do we want state laws written by corporate attorneys from who knows where? But that’s what’s been happening. Much of Iowa's recent legislation bears a striking resemblance to ALEC's body of model bills. And thanks to corporate media outlets and shrinking independent media sources, citizens don’t know.

How did this happen? Back in the late 70s and early 80s, Terry Branstad was involved in the initiative to build ALEC. Then, Iowans elected him governor. Iowa’s ability to fund schools and other services for the common good have been shrinking ever since. We’re on the road to Kansas.

Meanwhile at the federal level, in 2016, underinformed Americans were scammed into voting for the current occupant of the White House. And what has the 45^th president done for them? He’s alienated our trading partners and allies, wrecked our markets, and now he’s left thousands of federal workers with no income. Congressional Republicans have been no help.

So, I’m ready to get my pitchfork out and protest. If you want to see any progress, you better, too. Because until GOP politicians can feel our pain, I don’t think they intend to move.

Has lack of participation driven us to the brink?

We live in a society based on participation. Democracy, the form of government our founders chose, requires citizens’ participation for the common good. Yet at every level today, citizens choose to drop out. They may complain, but they refuse to participate.

I see it locally. Churches, civic groups and political parties struggle to find people willing to attend meetings and take part. I see it nationally with the decline in voting and in unions.

Folks, this is by design.

Our lack of participation has allowed a small group of ultra wealthy and connected individuals to work us to the bone for less and less. The more productive we become, the less they pay and the more hours they demand. Meanwhile, our civic institutions are weakened as these same individuals and their constituent organizations tilt the tax code to ensure they pay less and less to support our common infrastructure.

So instead of standing up, yelling and pushing back, we’ve all retreated to our living rooms to watch American Idol or Survivor. We’ve ceased to read about the policies they’ve pushed through not only Congress, but our statehouses. Instead, we keep track of politicians’ selfies and follow celebrity news.

These power brokers work secretively, but via the efforts of a tiny band of persistent scholars and investigative journalists, we are learning about their efforts.

First, the Center for Media and Democracy was blessed with a document dump about the efforts of the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC). This organization was formed in 1973 by corporate conservative activist Paul Weyrich; they’ve had 40 years to build a network and institute their initiatives.

The State Policy Network is a related organization, also now under the microscope thanks to the Center for Media and Democracy’s stinktanks.org web site. This group works to publish the phony research of fake think tanks; of course, said research supports corporate initiatives and is camouflaged to fool gullible pundits and media outlets.

And speaking of the media, most corporate media in the U.S. (network and cable radio and TV stations and large metropolitan papers) are owned by a handful of corporations. It is the owners who shape the perspective and tone of news reports, and they make sure it protects their interests. News consumers must remember that – always.

Organizations like Fairness and Accuracy In Reporting (FAIR) monitor news reports continuously to highlight the most egregious instances of bias and untruth. And if you enjoy satire, John Stewart’s Daily Show, Stephen Colbert’s Colbert Report, and The Onion also catch many of the media’s worst cases of misinformation.

But again, citizens must participate in the process. It’s a simple thing. Pick a group and attend a meeting. Be willing to help with an event. Talk to someone new, and listen to them, too. Engage.

This is how the 99% will take back their country – by barreling through the divisions these secretive special interests have erected between us. When we stop accepting just what they give us and demand better, everything will change. When we stand up for the interests of people instead of shilling for corporate interests by parroting anti-union, anti-worker, anti-tax rhetoric, our representatives will start changing their votes. When we inform ourselves based on facts instead of reacting in anger at swirling internet rumors, they’ll begin to lose their power.

Americans have done this before; we can do it again -- if we are willing to participate.

Can we focus government on the common good?

In Book Two of The Lord of the Rings, Theoden King of Rohan wastes away on his throne as evil threatens to destroy his kingdom. At his right hand, a bent and scrawny man referred to as Wormtongue whispers directions in his ear. Bewitched, Theoden and his country flounder and begin to fail.

In the U.S. and Iowa, we have our own corporate version of Wormtongue whispering in our state politicians’ ears. It’s called the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC).

As I learned when I was a school board director, even in the statehouse, schools were battling larger organizational interests – some corporate and some ideological. I also learned these groups often twisted the information they provided legislators, stretching or altering reality (if not outright lying) to serve their own interests.

It was later I heard about ALEC. According to the Center for Media and Democracy’s ALEC Exposed web site (www.alecexposed.org), ALEC is a consortium of wealthy corporate directors and legislators who meet to craft legislation in secret. Most of this legislation is written by corporate attorneys to benefit these same corporations. Then it is introduced to member legislators via conferences at luxury resorts. Records show 98% of ALEC’s funding comes from corporations, corporate foundations and corporate trade groups. And while organized as a non-partisan, non-profit entity, it currently lists only one Democrat out of 104 legislators in leadership positions.

Founded in 1973 by Conservative political strategist Paul Weyrich, ALEC has introduced hundreds of corporate-written bills in statehouses across the nation. A recent episode of Moyers and Company noted Weyrich’s plan to focus on building an entrenched network of corporate, conservative state legislators.

And the plan has worked. Moyers’ program highlighted a couple of ALEC model bills that have been passed in several states. One is the Virtual Schools Act, written by lobbyists for K12 Inc. and Connections Academy, the two leading national corporations developing online schools. Not coincidentally, these two companies operate Iowa’s two pilot online academies in conjunction with local school districts.

I say not coincidentally because the ALEC Exposed web site lists our governor as “involved in its formative years.” It also lists a number of current and former legislators as members of the organization. Additionally, Progress Iowa released an updated list of Iowa politicians earlier this year.

As two state legislators from Wisconsin and Arizona noted on Moyers’ program, while corporations have every right to advocate for their interests, they should not do it in secret under a tax status that specifically prohibits lobbying. Both legislators have been working to shed sunlight on ALEC’s work in their states. Meanwhile, ALEC not only claims it does not engage in lobbying, the group declares outright that it is not subject to the Freedom of Information Act.

So who represents our interests? Do Iowans want their laws written in secret by corporate lobbyists from who knows where? Because ALEC will continue to work behind the scenes, whispering in our representatives’ ears unless we raise our voices and votes to focus government on the common good -- instead of the corporate good.

Will guns protect us from government?

Since the events in Newtown last December, I’ve engaged in a number of conversations about public safety, specifically about how to responsibly regulate gun ownership. And I’m always amazed at the people who are convinced we need those guns to protect ourselves from our own government.

First, if we are truly a democracy, “we the people” are ultimately the government. So to paraphrase a Frank Zappa song, “If government is the problem, then we’re the problem . . . and maybe even a little ugly on the side.”

Next, these folks never seem to acknowledge that weapons rarely have been the key to resisting government tyranny. Plenty of bloodless coups have occurred via the use of other means. And I propose that, to some degree, folks who are paranoid about our government have already missed the boat.

Why? While they were watching FOX News, a handful of mega-wealthy corporate moguls bought up our press and rigged our system via campaign contributions and lobbying and have already taken over the government.

And to add insult to injury, via groups like the National Rifle Association (NRA) and the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), they’ve been taking citizens’ membership and purchase dollars to write laws that further decrease our ability to get ahead and lead a secure life. Not only do we serve their interests when we unquestioningly consume the information they present, but we pay the bill for them when we pay our dues or purchase their products. How’s that for a deal?

Government is just the straw man they’ve set up to take the blame while they shift our tax dollars to offshore accounts and steal our resources. We’ve been lulled to sleep with their slogans and infotainment, and we mutely accept that nothing we do can change it.

Poppycock!

The power of people uniting for action has always countered these powerful minorities. Why do you think corporate powers hate unions?

As one reader noted in a response to an earlier column, less than 10 percent of workers belong to unions today. But when media repeats the same tired stories of egregious union workplace requirements without providing the context of labor history in this country, people come to view unions negatively. The more isolated workers feel, the easier it is for business to limit wages, benefits and health and safety regulations. If workers fear losing their job, they’ll be easier to control. And these lowered expectations then extend to other workers in non-union industries.

So you can holler about keeping your guns to fight the tyranny of the government. But I say you’ve already lost the battle to the real power in the U.S. – corporate special interests. And your guns won’t protect you from that – only a united and well informed populace willing to speak up will.

What is the right to work?

Last week as my usual Christmas baking frenzy got underway, the mailman delivered a small box from my brother in Texas. Inside was a stack of CDs — or as I termed them, “music to bake by.”

One of the CDs was Americana artist Dave Alvin’s Eleven Eleven, which includes a song called, “Gary, Indiana 1959.” Written from the viewpoint of a former U.S. Steel employee, the middle of the song reflects much of Middle America today.

“Now the years disappeared in the blink of an eye.
And I feel like a stranger in a world that isn’t mine.
Now my dear wife died, and my kids all moved away
‘cause there ain’t nothin’ here to make ‘em want to stay.
‘Cause the factories are in ruins; decent jobs hard to find,
and you can’t get a break no matter how hard you try.
‘Cause the big boys make the rules; tough luck for everyone else,
and out on the streets it’s every man for himself.”

This song echoes events in Michigan as Gov. Rick Snyder attempts to destroy unions via a “Right to Work” law. Like so many Corporate Conservative maneuvers, Right to Work laws are deceptively named. They have nothing to do with workers’ rights. Instead, they are designed to protect corporate political power and profits by gutting unions.

How? These laws do away with unions’ right to ask non-union members to help pay for the collective bargaining unions conduct to benefit ALL workers — union or non-union. Because the bottom line is, all workers at an organization benefit from the pay, benefits and protections union contracts provide. Employees who do not wish to belong to the union don’t have to pay union dues, simply the portion that covers the cost of bargaining. It’s only fair.

But throughout the years, via corporate control of media and campaign financing, efforts to demonize unions and collective bargaining have paid off. By and large Americans have fallen for these efforts. Union membership has declined, and not coincidentally, worker protections and wages have too. As Colin Gordon, professor of history at University of Iowa, writes on his blog for the Economic Policy Institute: “The wage effect alone underestimates the union contribution to shared prosperity... And unions not only raise the wage floor but can also lower the ceiling; union bargaining power has been shown to moderate the compensation of executives at unionized firms.” [http://www.epi.org/blog/union-decline-rising-inequality-charts/ ]

Many worker protections were won because of hard fought union battles, and today, we take most of them for granted: the 40-hour work week, employee benefits, paid vacation and safety regulations, to name a few. Unfortunately, after years of Corporate Conservative political influence, these benefits are no longer guaranteed.

Snyder’s lame-duck passage of a Right to Work law in Michigan follows a similar drive by Scott Walker in Wisconsin a year ago. In both cases, the initiative has been tied to the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) and Americans for Prosperity, two organizations funded by the Koch brothers and other wealthy corporate moguls. [http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2012/12/michigan-right-to-work-unions.php]

These are the “big boys” Alvin sings about. Their goal is protecting their power and profit, not workers. So we’d best follow Alvin’s protagonist, who sings:

“I still remember where we marched side by side back in Gary, Indiana 1959.”

Because united we stand; divided we fall.

Do we fear the wrong things?

Do we fear the wrong things?

The killing of Trayvon Martin, an African American youth on an errand to buy candy for his little brother in Sanford, Florida, opens up many questions, mostly about what we fear. And does our fear make us vulnerable to other dangers?

I ask because Martin’s death spotlights Florida’s Stand Your Ground Law, which allows anyone who feels threatened to use deadly force. In other words, fear rules. Some version of this law has been passed in 16 states and debated in even more.

Yet I wonder if it’s in the public interest to have an armed populace. Are we safer? And if a family member is killed, you may watch helplessly, just like Martin’s family, as this law allows the killer to walk free without charges or even an investigation.

In addition, the law is based on model legislation, called the Castle Doctrine Act and developed by the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC). ALEC is a secretive corporate-financed organization (Think Koch brothers, Exxon Mobil, and not coincidentally, the National Rifle Association.) that writes corporate-friendly legislation and pushes it through state legislatures nationwide.

The Center for Media and Democracy has done extensive research to expose the work of this influential organization. You can view their work at: http://alecexposed.org/wiki/ALEC_Exposed (Check their list of ALEC politicians for your federal and state representatives.)

Are groups like ALEC using our fears to manipulate us? Fear, or any strong emotion, causes humans to stop thinking and react irrationally. When that happens, we are easily led . . . or misled.

For example, do you fear the government? But in America, aren’t we, ultimately, the government? Don’t we elect and monitor our representatives? Or have we abandoned the process and let corporate and special interests take over without a fight?

Which leads me to ask who really benefits from the Stand Your Ground Law and these other corporate-written model bills? Are they being written as part of some corporate business plan to increase market share and corner public contracts?

For example, will the Stand Your Ground Law help gun dealers and manufacturers sell more guns? Another irony of the Trayvon Martin case is the kerfuffle by Geraldo Rivera over Martin’s hoodie. If, as Rivera claims, only crooks and thugs wear hoodies, why does the NRAstore.com sell a Concealed Carry Hooded Sweatshirt? Check it out for yourself at: http://www.nrastore.com/nrastore/ProductDetail.aspx?c=11&p=CO+635&ct=e

Instead of fearing the young black man or the non-English speaker or the stranger in our community, maybe we should be paying closer attention to the legislation being passed as law in state capitals. Perhaps we should be reading the bills our representatives are debating and demanding our newspapers, TV and radio stations report on the substance of said bills. Maybe we should be looking at where our elected officials get their campaign contributions.

Instead of parking in front of our TV sets, maybe we should be meeting on our front porches and talking. Instead of watching The Bachelor and YouTube videos, maybe we should be reading books, especially history, and daily newspapers or news sites. And we should definitely be asking lots of questions.

Instead of running into our separate corners in fear, we should be meeting and sharing information. Because as the saying goes, “United we stand, divided we fall.”