In April of this year the Heritage Foundation held one of their regular "closed" meetings in Dallas/Ft. Worth TX. This meeting was Titled:
"Ideas and Strategies That Will Lead the Way"
and was held to help with their "funding" for the strategies and objectives for the coming year.
I wanted to demonstrate clearly how all of these folks below are connected to ALEC. Each name highlighted takes the reader to an article, document or video showing the connections and interactions between all of these folks. It is always the same names coming together as a group to present a unified and cohesive force aligned against Progressive values and politics. These are the "professors", "Strategists", "lawyers", "think tanks" and "Economists" who provide the "science" and other "facts" in support of Conservative initiatives. Tell a lie, tell it often enough and have each member of your cabal do that over and over...and the public begins to believe the lie.
Short Diary - just want to provide you with the face and activities of those on the other side of the political divide - way on the other side. Information on this kind of meeting, the names of those attending, subjects being discussed and the corporations funding or sponsoring this event helps clarify what Progressives are up against. It also brings clarity and focus to the vast wealth and influence that is concentrated in this battle over democracy itself. This group of individuals, foundations, institutes, "professors", "scientists" and Lobbyists identified below represent the core of the cabal funded with Koch, Scaife, Coors, Olin and DeVos money. If you find the time, Google, DogPile, Bing or use another search engine and input Koch + the individual names, organizations, Institutes and see for yourself how interwoven this cabal is.
WARNING! "XXX" Obscene picture near end of diary.
Agenda
Ideas and Strategies That Will Lead the Way
Thursday, April 28, 2011
8:30 am
Early Registration Opens
Welcome and Continental Breakfast
Hosted by the Dallas/Fort Worth Committee for Heritage
10:00 am
Exhibit Area Opens
12:00 – 1:30 pm
Opening Luncheon and Presentation of The Salvatori Prize for American Citizenship
Bridgett Wagner
Director, Coalition Relations, The Heritage Foundation, Master of Ceremonies
Danny Wettreich
Chairman, Dallas/Fort Worth Committee for Heritage, Welcome Address
Edwin Meese III (pg. 14)
Ronald Reagan Distinguished Fellow in Public Policy and Chairman, Center for Legal and Judicial Studies, The Heritage Foundation
Matthew Spalding (Tea Party Convention with ALEC)
Vice President, American Studies and Director, B. Kenneth Simon Center, The Heritage Foundation
1:30 – 1:45 pm
Coffee Break and Bookstore
Tech Lab Opens - Ask the Experts
Sponsored by AT&T (ALEC Pvt. Enterprise Board Member)
1:45 – 3:00 pm
Strategy Session I-A
Innovations in Education Reform and How We Can Get Washington Out of the Way
Jennifer Marshall
Director, Domestic Policy Studies, Richard and Helen DeVos Center for Religion and Civil Society, The Heritage Foundation, Moderator
The Honorable Pete Hoekstra (Introducing ALEC Tax Legislation)
Visiting Distinguished Fellow, The Heritage Foundation
Matthew Ladner (Author of ALEC Report Card on Education)
Director of Policy and Research, Foundation for Excellence in Education
William Mattox
Resident Fellow, The James Madison Institute
Strategy Session I-B
Advancing Health Care Freedom
Nina Owcharenko (ALEC Conference attendance)
Director, Center for Health Policy Studies, The Heritage Foundation, Moderator
John Goodman (Report Contributor on Healthcare w/ALEC)
President and Founder, National Center for Policy Analysis
Christie Herrera (ALEC Dir. Health and Human Services Task Force)
Director, Health and Human Services Task Force, American Legislative Exchange Council
The Honorable John Shadegg
Visiting Distinguished Fellow, Government Studies, The Heritage Foundation
Workshop I
Major Gifts Fundraising: Building a Successful Program
John Von Kannon (linked to Scaife and ALEC funding)
Vice President and Senior Counselor, The Heritage Foundation, Moderator
William Sturtevant
Senior Principal Gifts Consultant, University of Illinois Foundation and Author, The Artful Journey: Cultivating and Soliciting the Major Gift
3:00 – 3:15 pm
Coffee Break and Bookstore
3:15 – 4:30 pm
How Conservatives Can Navigate the Media Landscape
Rory Cooper
Director, Communications, The Heritage Foundation, Moderator
Erick Erickson
Editor, RedState.com; CNN Contributor, and Host, “Erick Erickson Show” WSB Radio in Atlanta
Kevin Madden
Executive Vice President for Public Affairs, JDA Frontline
Strategy Session II
A Call for Reform: Reining in Spending and Tackling the Debt
Stuart Butler
Distinguished Fellow and Director, Center for Policy Innovation, The Heritage Foundation, Moderator
Alison Fraser (VA. Tea Party Convention with ALEC and usual suspects)
Director, Thomas A. Roe Institute for Economic Policy Studies, The Heritage Foundation
Clark Judge
Managing Director, White House Writers Group, Inc.
Nicholas Thompson (Safety & Security Council meeting with ALEC at FL. House)
Vice President, The Tarrance Group
4:30 – 4:45 pm Coffee Break and Bookstore
4:45 – 6:00 pm
Strategy Session III-A
Leadership at the Local Level: Building a “Seamless City”
Brian Anderson
Editor, The City Journal, Manhattan Institute for Policy Research, Moderator
Rick Baker
Adjunct Fellow, Center for State and Local Leadership, Manhattan Institute for Policy Research
Omar Jahwar
Founder and Executive Director, Vision Regeneration
Robert Woodson
President, Center for Neighborhood Enterprise
Strategy Session III-B
Constitutional Strategies to Advance Federalism
Matthew Spalding
Vice President, American Studies, and Director, B. Kenneth Simon Center, The Heritage Foundation, Moderator
The Honorable Tom Feeney (ALEC Alumni)
Visiting Distinguished Fellow, Government Studies, The Heritage Foundation
The Honorable John Shadegg
Visiting Distinguished Fellow, Government Studies, The Heritage Foundation
Strategy Session III-C
Reining in Public Sector Inc., Promoting Transparency and Reform
E.J. McMahon
Senior Fellow, Empire Center for New York State Policy and Senior Fellow, Tax and Budgetary Studies, Manhattan Institute for Policy Research, Moderator
Josh Barro
Walter Wriston Fellow, Manhattan Institute for Policy Research
Steven Greenhut
Director, Journalism Center, Pacific Research Institute
6:00 – 7:00 pm
Reception
7:00 – 9:00 pm
Robert H. Krieble Dinner
Edwin J. Feulner, Ph.D.
President, The Heritage Foundation, Master of Ceremonies
The Honorable Rick Perry (2010 Speech at ALEC)
Governor of Texas, Opening Remarks
Arthur B. Laffer ALEC Board of Scholars)
Distinguished Senior Fellow of Economics, The Laffer Center for Supply-Side Economics, Texas Public Policy Foundation,and Founder and Chairman, Laffer Associates, Keynote Address
Toast Celebrating The Centennial of Ronald Reagan
Edwin Meese III (See Link above on Meese)
Ronald Reagan Distinguished Fellow in Public Policy and Chairman, Center for Legal and Judicial Studies, The Heritage Foundation
9:00 – 10:00 pm
Dessert Networking Reception
Co-Hosted by The Foundry and RedState.com
Friday, April 29, 2011
7:45 – 9:15 am Continental Breakfast
8:00 – 9:15 am
Plenary Session
Texas Leads: What Can Other States Learn from the Lone Star State
A Discussion with Texas Leaders
Jeff Sandefer
Founder and Master Teacher, Acton, Moderator
Brooke Rollins (Perry, ALEC connections)
President and Chief Executive Officer, Texas Public Policy Foundation
Michael Quinn Sullivan (Supports this candidate along with Meese, Schwartz [ALEC Task Force Adviser/Attorney)
President, Empower Texans/Texans for Fiscal Responsibility
Peggy Venable
State Director, Americans for Prosperity-Texas
9:15 – 9:30 am
Coffee Break and Bookstore
Tech Lab Opens - Ask the Experts
Sponsored by AT&T
9:30 – 10:30 am
New Leaders with a Timeless Message
A Panel Hosted by Libertad.org, The Americano, Hispanic Leadership Fund and Latino Partnership for Conservative Principles
Israel Ortega
Editor, Heritage.org/Libertad, Spanish Media Associate, The Heritage Foundation, Moderator
Sylvia Garcia
Hispanic Outreach Director, Gingrich Communications
Allegra Hewell
Project Director, Latino Partnership for Conservative Principles
Mario Lopez
President, Hispanic Leadership Fund
George Rodríguez
President, San Antonio Tea Party
Workshop II-A
How to Leverage Digital Media to Advance Policy Change: Lessons from the Front lines
Tracie Sharp (2009 ALEC Private Sector Member of the Year - pg 18)
President, State Policy Network, Moderator
Brett Healy
President, MacIver Institute
Drew Ryun (Brother of Ned Ryan also AMA and speechwriter for GW Bush)
President, American Majority Action
Jason Stverak
President, Franklin Center for Government and Public Integrity
Workshop II-B
Fundraising Basics: Meetings, Proposals, and Organization
Nick Reid
Director of Major Gifts, The Heritage Foundation
10:30 – 10:45 am Coffee Break and Bookstore
10:45 – 12:00 pm
Strategy Session IV
Regulate, Legislate and Tax: What Do Liberals Have Planned Next?
John Fund
Columnist, The Wall Street Journal, Moderator
James Delingpole
Writer, Journalist and Broadcaster
Stanley Kurtz (Quoted by Paul Weyrich, ALEC Co-Founder)
Senior Fellow, Ethics and Public Policy Center
Workshop III-A
Effective Governance: Getting The Right Board Doing The Right Things
Adam Meyerson
President, Philanthropy Roundtable, Moderator
H. Edward DeBee
President, DeBee Gilchrist and Legal Counsel, Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs
Calvin Edwards
Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Calvin Edwards & Company
Workshop III-B
How to Design an Effective Message and Communications Program
Michael Gonzalez
Vice President, Communications, The Heritage Foundation, Moderator
12:15 am – 1:45 pm
Closing Luncheon
Becky Norton Dunlop
Vice President, External Relations, The Heritage Foundation, Master of Ceremonies
Hon. Jim Jordan (R-OH)
Chairman, Republican Study Committee, United States House of Representatives, Keynote Address
2:00 – 3:30 pm
Breakout Sessions
Transportation
Ron Utt
Herbert and Joyce Morgan Senior Research Fellow, The Heritage Foundation
Wendell Cox
Principal, Demographia
Beyond List Rentals: Finding New Audiences
Jeff Noble
Partner, Themis
3:00 p.m.
Bookstore Closes
__________
If we look at the Education and Healthcare sessions - it has ALEC's fingerprints and influence all over it. Scrolling down you see their influence heavy in each session of this meeting. Transportation had Wendell Cox who wrote several ALEC Model Bills from 1992 through 1995. Of late with the concentration on privatization of transportation, government services and programs, ALEC has brought him back into the mix.
Ever wonder what goes on at such Heritage events - I mean behind the scenes, unreported to the public and definitely NOT covered by the Main Stream Media (God forbid!)? Here's just one glimpse into what is not reported by MSM that demonstrates the power and influence wielded by Heritage, ALEC and other of their affiliates.
Who is that at Thomas' side? Charles Baden and his wife with Pete Geddes of the Conservative FREE Foundation. Baden is President and Geddes a VP of FREE. Does this buddy-buddy "Hug your favorite Justice" scenario bother you? If it does then take another gulp of that drink you're holding...two of the FREE Board Members were also Edwin Meese III and Ken Starr of Whitewater and Clinton Prosecution infamy when t his was taken (Starr is no longer a Board member). Who funds FREE? GE Foundation, ExxonMobil, Claude R. Lambe (Koch family foundations) Foundation, etc., etc.
Do you now have the picture (No pun intended) of the work cut out for Progressives, Moderates and Democrats in general? These cozy as hell snuggles between the judiciary, current and former government employees, agents and representatives - all meeting with one thing in mind - persevering over democracy - should be a wake up call to Progressives that we must come together as one to fight back.
The continued efforts against this cabal with each of us having our own agenda, is simply not working. Until and unless we pool our resources, research and efforts in unison we are doomed to playing a defensive game with them always one step ahead. I'm getting real tired of playing catch-up. That's why we're trying to put together a National Bus Tour to bring information, data, facts, pictures and issues before the public in their home states, towns and neighborhoods - "to your door politicking" - to more Americans to help them understand the importance of each election cycle from here forward. With the facts at hand I believe most would vote ALEC's hard core legislative members to the curb, replacing them with representatives who have the constituent's needs and preferences in mind - not corporate profits.
Please support our National "How Democracy Works" Tour - 2012. In upcoming diaries you will be provided with links to our webpage, learn how to take part in your community and be given the tools you need to fight these bastages.