EFF on New Senate FREEDOM ACT

JULY 29, 2014 | BY NADIA KAYYALI

The New Senate USA FREEDOM Act: 

A First Step Towards Reforming Mass 

Surveillance

Earlier today, Senator Patrick Leahy introduced a revised version of his USA FREEDOM legislation, the USA FREEDOM Act of 2014, which focuses on telephone record collection and FISA Court reform. While this bill is not a comprehensive solution to overbroad and unconstitutional surveillance, it is a strong first step. EFF urges Congress to support passage of the bill without any amendments that will weaken it.

The new legislation contains a number of key changes from the gutted House version of USA FREEDOM:

The USA FREEDOM Act of 2014 will end bulk collection of phone records under Section 215

EFF, along with other groups, made it clear that we would not support any legislation that did not effectively end bulk collection of call detail records. The Senate version of USA FREEDOM achieves this goal, by limiting collection to instances where there is reasonable suspicion that a “specific selection term” is associated with international terrorism.  

The House version of USA FREEDOM used murky language around the phrase “specific selection term,” in particular, raising concerns that a “specific selection term” could include an entire zip code or other similarly broad terms. For purposes of collection of call detail records where there is reasonable suspicion, the Senate version continues to use the definition that a specific selection term is an “individual, account, or personal device.” However, for any other purpose, the term must narrowly limit the scope of a request for information, and cannot include a broad geographic region or an entire electronic communications service provider.

The USA FREEDOM Act of 2014 makes significant improvements to the FISA Court

The new USA FREEDOM makes two key changes to the secretive FISA Court process. First, we were pleased to see that it creates a special advocate position that will serve as an amicus in the court and is intended to advocate for civil liberties and privacy.

Second, it directs the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, in consultation with the Attorney General, to declassify “significant” FISA Court opinions. We would have preferred that this process be overseen directly by the Attorney General, with input from the FISA Court itself.  On the other hand, the new USA FREEDOM bill actually defines “significant” (the original USA FREEDOM bill did not), and this definition includes any novel interpretation of “specific selection term.”  

The legislation also makes several other improvements.  When USA FREEDOM was originally introduced, we were concerned that it would codify “about” searches—the practice of searching for any communication that references a target, in addition to communications to and from a target. We were deeply concerned that this controversial practice would be written into law, and glad that the Senate version removes any reference to that form of searching.

The new legislation also has some small improvements to the initiation and judicial review procedure for national security letters—secretive FBI orders for data that are accompanied by gag orders—as well as pen register and trap-and-trace devices. The bill creates new reporting requirements for the government—including a requirement that the government estimate how many U.S. persons have been affected by backdoor warrantless searches of information collected under the authority of  Section 702 of the FISA Amendments Act. And finally, the bill creates a new option for companies to report on national security requests.

What the USA FREEDOM Act of 2014 doesn't do

First and foremost, the USA FREEDOM Act of 2014 does not adequately address Section 702 of the FISA Amendments Act, the problematic 2008 law that the government argues gives it the right to engage in mass Internet surveillance. We remain committed to reform of Section 702. We intend to pursue further reforms to end the NSA’s abuse of this authority.

The legislation also does not affect Executive Order 12333, which has been interpreted by the NSA to allow extensive spying both on foreigners and U.S. citizens abroad. Strictly speaking, we don’t need Congress to fix this—the President could do it himself—but legislation would ensure that a later President couldn’t reinstate 12333 on her or his own.

The legislation may not completely end suspicionless surveillance. With respect to call detail records, it allows the NSA to get a second set of records (a second “hop”) with an undefined “direct connection” to the first specific selection term.  Because the “direct connection” standard is vague, the government may seek to construe that phrase to mean less than reasonable suspicion.

Finally, as with all legislation up to this point, the new USA FREEDOM continues to exclude meaningful protections for the rights of non-U.S. persons.

A meaningful first step

The USA FREEDOM Act of 2014 is a real first step because it creates meaningful change to NSA surveillance right now, while paving the way for the public to get more information about what the NSA is doing. We believe that this legislation will help ensure that the NSA reform conversation in Congress continues, rather than shutting it down. That’s why we urge Congress to support the Senate version of USA FREEDOM and pass it without any changes that will weaken its provisions.  

Please help us pass this bill. Speak out today.

NSA Spying

PATRIOT Act

Pen Trap

Citizen Justice Over the NSA Surveillance State Moves Forward

What Crack Cocaine Teaches Us About NSA Reform

07/31/2014

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NSA

By Laura W. Murphy, Director, ACLU Washington Legislative Office 

This piece originally ran at POLITICO Magazine.

This week, Patrick Leahy, the Democratic Senator from Vermont, introduced a revised version of the USA Freedom Act, a bill to finally start pulling the reins on America's out-of-control surveillance state. The ACLU supports the measure, though it is not a perfect bill. To understand why, it helps to think about something seemingly unrelated: crack cocaine.

During the first term of President Ronald Reagan's administration, hysteria over the crack "epidemic" led Congress to enact strict sentencing laws that punished crack offenses much more severely than powder cocaine—at a 100 to 1 ratio. Two pennies worth of crack would land you as much jail time as half a kilo of powder.

The ACLU thought that was wrong, and so started fighting that fight in the early 1980s. It took us more than two decades, but in 2010 we finally had a compromise reform bill on the floor that actually stood a shot at passage. Unfortunately, it didn't eliminate the disparity altogether, but only reduced the ratio to 18 to 1.

Reform advocates were at a crossroads. Maximalists urged opposition despite the fact the bill would, in a very real way, make life better for thousands of people and begin to reduce the severe racial and ethnic inequality in our prison system. Pragmatists, fearing that opposition to the bill would preclude any reform at all, urged support.

It was a painful compromise, but the ACLU ultimately supported the bill. It passed, astoundingly, with overwhelming support in both chambers.

And then something amazing happened. Conservative lawmakers, concerned about government waste, increasingly came to the table to support criminal justice reform. Liberals realized they could vote their conscience on criminal justice without accusations of being "soft on crime." It has not been easy and there have been many steps backward, but in recent years, we've seen greater public opposition to mandatory minimum sentences and real movement on things like reducing penalties for low-level drug offenses.

Which brings us to the USA Freedom Act. It's not a perfect bill. As with virtually any law, there are ambiguities in the text, which, in this case, could be read abusively to allow the collection of a large amount of sensitive information on many innocents.

But it is a vast improvement on the legislation that passed the House in May, which was weakened at the last minute, leading many privacy advocates and technology companies to pull their support. Leahy's bill would reduce the overall amount of private information being collected by the National Security Agency and other government agencies, which would, much like the Fair Sentencing Act, pay real privacy dividends for real people.

Passing the USA Freedom Act would also present a clear inflection point in the surveillance debate. For almost 20 years, going back even before the Patriot Act to a 1996 law passed in the wake of the Oklahoma City bombing, the freight train has resolutely barreled toward unchecked surveillance authority. Here, the proponents of surveillance reform who pulled support can take a lot of credit for the progress made in the Senate, which will give them real leverage in the next fight.

In Washington, progress begets progress. It's exceedingly rare that a maximalist strategy on any issue—from reproductive freedom and LGBT rights to immigration reform and pay equity—succeeds in creating immediate, dramatic change. To give just one example, the Civil Rights Act of 1964, often and rightly seen as the watershed in the movement, wouldn't have passed Congress without the groundwork laid by the weaker civil rights acts of 1957 and 1960.

That said, as with all of these examples, it's crucial not to rest on any laurels. Not only should Congress pass the USA Freedom Act, but much more needs to be done to address the erosion of checks and balances on government surveillance and other national security authorities.

Specifically, Congress must next tackle the NSA's use of Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act to scoop up vast quantities of emails, phone calls, text messages and other international communications of individuals suspected of no wrongdoing, and then search them without a warrant. Congress and the president must also reform Executive Order 12333, the Reagan-era measure that governs the collection of intelligence overseas. As some have argued, the significant power claimed under 12333 may be an even greater threat to America's democratic institutions than the programs we've learned about in the past year.

Despite many more battles to be fought on surveillance reform, we must seize the opportunity before us. Since the tragic events of Sept. 11, 2001, the NSA's exponential surveillance buildup seemed like something huge and seemingly unstoppable—driven resolutely forward by fear, congressional and executive branch support, unlimited funding, voter inertia and the shroud of secrecy. But right now Congress has powerful legislation that can chart us on a new course. The oft-heard saying "a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step" applies here. That first step begins with Congress passing the USA Freedom Act.

Read more: http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2014/07/nsa-reform-crack-cocaine-109545.html#ixzz393hPAqO6

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Facebook Censors Naomi Wolf

Facebook Censors Author 

Naomi Wolf On Gaza

August 1, 2014 7:55 pm·

by ?

Jews, Muslims and citizens of the world in general have been following author Naomi Wolf and her comments about the War on Gaza. Since she walked out of her synagogue recently, when they refused to denounce the killing of civilians in Gaza, as a result of recent IDF operations, she has gained a lot of support from fellow dissidents who want to hear what she has to say.

Today, Naomi revealed that Facebook sent her a warning, suggesting her account could be removed, and explaining that they had censored images she posted from her sources in Gaza.

Sex From Scratch (Book Review)

Twenty Lessons From Couples Trying to Create a More Equitable Relationship Balance

Saturday, 02 August 2014 09:55By Eleanor J Bader, Truthout | Book Review

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(Image: Microcosm Publishing)

Sex from Scratch: Making Your Own Relationship Rules, by Sarah Mirk, 

Microcosm Publishing, 160 pages, $12.95.

First, a confession. When I discovered that writer Sarah Mirk was just 27 years old, I laughed, rolled my eyes and scoffed at the idea that she would have anything useful to say about sex, relationships, love or lust. Then I got my comeuppance.  Although I have been in a solidly loving coupling for longer than Mirk has been alive, her sharp eye and ability to interview a wide array of people, makes Sex from Scratch not only engaging, but insightful and entertaining.

The book merges memoir with investigative journalism and interrogates what it means to be romantically successful. It is not meant to address every possible contingency. For example, it does not tackle the innumerable difficulties of single parents who wish to enter the dating fray, nor does it grapple with dating following the death of a partner. In addition, a discussion of ways to handle threats or violence - from date rape to stalking to other forms of harassment - is missing.

Instead, Mirk's goal is to affirm "the idea that everyone should be empowered to have a healthy and happy romantic life that looks however they want it to."  For some, of course, this means marriage, fidelity and children. But not Mirk, for whom this ideal is pretty close to revolting. While she acknowledges that the LGBTQ marriage equality movement has helped shift our understanding of nuptial possibilities, she nonetheless bristles at the unquestioned assumption that everyone wants to find his or her soul mate and live with that person, and only that person, till death tears them apart.

Her research proves that she is not alone. Over the course of two years, Mirk interviewed approximately 100 people - straight, gay, bi, transgender and asexual - a quarter of whom were of color and a few of whom were aged 50 or older. Those in relationships span the spectrum from solidly monogamous to polyamorous. 

The book opens with a chapter about choosing to remain single, and while Mirk concedes that navigating the world alone can be lonely and even scary, she also recognizes that it can be satisfying and exciting.

Each chapter of the text includes concrete advice - called lessons - that Mirk synthesized from the interviews she conducted. In "Loving Being Single," there are 16 lessons gleaned from folks who've continued to pursue intimate encounters and sexual hookups. Among their recommendations: Build a life you love; respect yourself and your choices; don't assume your problems will magically vanish as soon as you find someone; date people who add value to your life, whether sexually or through a platonic liaison; be intentional about what you want and what your boundaries are; discuss your expectations and preferences; and don't go radio silent by ignoring text messages, phone calls or emails. If you don't want to see someone again, tell them.    

Other chapters cover opting to be non-monogamous; building feminist relationships; avoiding marriage; staying child-free; and knowing when it's time to call it quits.

Some of the advice will seem obvious to anyone who has been in a long-term relationship, nonetheless, Sex from Scratch gives voice to the many ways human beings nurture, and sometimes hurt, one another. The latter is something Mirk knows from first-hand experience. She tells readers about breaking off a loving, and in many ways ideal, relationship when she realized that despite great intellectual affinity, she did not enjoy sex with the man she was then living with. The truth of this wounded both of them, but veracity prevailed, and Mirk came to see the breakup  -  and breakups more generally - as something positive. "Breaking up means the people in the relationship aren't going along with the status quo, unless it's an impulsive and poorly considered mistake," she writes. "It means that y'all are thinking about what you want and need and speaking up about it."

Mirk says the same can be said about having children. While common wisdom assumes that all females have a mothering instinct, Mirk is ambivalent about becoming a parent and notes that she is not unique. In fact, she assails the notion of a biological imperative to reproduce. At the same time, the lessons section of the chapter highlights the importance of discussing this with potential mates. "Not talking honestly with partners about whether you want kids is only going to end badly," she writes. What's more, she is emphatic that avoiding pregnancy is not just a female responsibility. "Statistics show that dudes don't play an equal role in using birth control. But the world would be a better place with fewer unwanted babies if they did. This means inquiring about whether your female partners are on birth control, insisting on using a condom, and considering getting a vasectomy if you're 100 percent sure you never want kids," she writes.

Indeed, Mirk concludes that this is part-and-parcel of forging a feminist relationship. In one of the book's most incisive chapters, she explains that the feminism of my generation -  the feminism her mother reared her to believe in - has given her and her peers "the tools to recognize that the pressure to build relationships around what men want is a sexist expectation that doesn't help anyone. We now have the language to talk about sexism in relationships. We have better role models for what expectations are healthy and the support to strive for more equitable relationships without feeling crazy and alone.  But sexism is both gigantic and subtle."

Indeed, the pervasive division of women into domestic goddesses, mothers and good girls exists alongside depictions of heartbreakers, home wreckers, and sluts - proof positive that feminists are traveling a long, bumpy road. Indeed, try as we might to create truly egalitarian relationships, most of us continue to hit a multitude of cultural obstacles and roadblocks when we try to do so. Still, Mirk posits 20 lessons from couples, queer and straight, that are trying to create a more equitable balance. Among them: Feminism is not just for women since sexism impacts everyone; embrace conflict since it is inevitable; give each other ample space; never fake an orgasm; make sure that both parties are economically self-sufficient because "economic inequity leads to unequal relationships;" and recognize and appreciate the work that each party does, whether it's scrubbing the tub or filling the gas tank. 

Central to all of this, Mirk writes, is good ol' respect, something she believes undergirds all successful human encounters. Her contention that monogamy is right for some but not all is refreshing, as is her personal honesty.  There are no one-size-fits-all remedies here, and no sure-fire recipes for snagging - or for that matter finding - the companions of our dreams. This makes the book realistic, smart and helpful.  Its wisdom will be of great benefit to teenagers and young adults who are trying to figure out dating, sexual attraction and, well, sexuality itself. Of course, conservatives and the religious right will go ballistic if schools hand out copies, but if educators really want an informed student body, they will confront the backlash and make Sex from Scratch an integral part of the sex ed curriculum.    

A.L.E.C. Creative Protests in Texas

Protests Greet Lawmakers, Corporate Officials Gathering in Dallas as New Arm of ALEC Is Announced

Saturday, 02 August 2014 09:52By Candice Bernd, Truthout | Report

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Protesters dropped a banner from the upper stories of the Hilton Anatole hotel early Thursday, July 31, 2014, to greet legislators and corporate officials attending ALEC's 41st annual meeting in Dallas, Texas. (Photo: Candice Bernd)

Two grassroots activists from North Texas locked themselves inside the lobby of the Hilton Anatole in Dallas, Thursday morning, as another two dropped a banner from the upper stories of the hotel to greet lawmakers and corporate officials gathered for the 41st annual meeting of the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC).

Joshua Carmona from Dallas locked himself to a tree inside the lobby of the Hilton Anatole as hotel security arrives on the scene. He was removed and released without charges Thursday, July 31, 2014. (Photo: Candice Bernd)

Protesters Whytney Blythe and Joshua Carmona were removed by hotel security, within about an hour after they chained themselves inside, and released without charges.

State legislators and corporate lobbyist members from across the country will sit on task forces designed to review and vote on conservative "model" legislation that will likely travel from the Dallas Hilton Anatole's luxury conference rooms to official state house chambers, as lawmakers often pass off ALEC model bills as their own.

ALEC has generated legislation that advances the interests of its corporate members throughout state legislatures in the United States, as has been well documented, by organizations such as the Center for Media and Democracy. More than 98 percent of the organization's funding comes from corporations and corporate foundations, with the infamous petrochemical billionaire brothers, Charles and David Koch of Koch Industries, serving as some of the organization's largest donors.

ALEC media relations staffers refused to issue a credential to this reporter to attend and cover this week's meeting in Dallas, citing the following specific portion of ALEC's media relations policy:

ALEC does not allow journalists to register as media for the purpose of writing a personal blog, or for persons whose news outlet is funded by an individual; political candidate or party; nonprofit; or activist/lobbying organization.

Truthout meets this criterion however, as a nonprofit whose classification as a 501(c)(3) was granted because Truthout has not affiliated with any political, lobbying or activist organizations, as opposed to nonprofit organizations that engage in political campaigning, widely classified as 501(c)(4) organizations. It remains unclear why this reporter was not granted access to this week's meeting.

Task forces are expected to consider model bills that would make Medicaid unobtainable for many across states and broaden the privatization of public education through the expansion of charter schools.

ALEC's Climate Agenda

ALEC also plans to host panels this week on topics including teaching its members "How to Think and Talk About Climate and Energy Issues," and how to bolster exports of liquefied natural gas (LNG), as well as on the EPA’s proposed carbon emissions rules and GMO food labeling proposals. Speakers include Texas Gov. Rick Perry, Texas Attorney General and Republican gubernatorial candidate Greg Abbott and Newt Gingrich.

Much of ALEC's agenda for this week's meeting is returning to the organization's focus on promoting the extraction, production and exportation of fossil fuels while putting up roadblocks for renewable energy initiatives where it can. LNG exports have come to the forefront as a priority for ALEC during this week's meeting, according Steve Horn a research fellow with DeSmogBlog.

"The two areas that ALEC is pushing . . . are LNG exports and compressed natural gas vehicle model legislation. Both of these have already passed in some state houses, so it's kind of a reverse in a way, where ALEC will take bills they like from other states and introduce them to be templates for the 50 states," Horn said during a press call.

According to ClimateProgress, ALEC has invited a representative from the Nongovernmental International Panel on Climate Change, a group funded by the Heartland Institute, to deliver the group's recent report on questioning the current scientific consensus on the issue of climate change during this week's meeting. The Heartland Institute is well known for openly denying the existence of anthropogenic climate change and questioning the findings of the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.

"We do expect that ALEC will double down this year to try to undermine or even completely undo the EPA's clean power plan," said Aliya Haq, who directs climate change special projects for the Natural Resource Defense Council (NRDC), referring to the EPA's proposal to cut emissions from power plants released last year.

She pointed to a previous annual meeting last December, in which ALEC members participated in workshops on how to obstruct the EPA's proposal months before the actual proposal was released. The NRDC tracked resolutions and bills from ALEC that emerged in state houses, after the meeting, designed to obstruct a state's ability to reduce carbon pollution. ALEC's environmental task force agenda for this week's meeting includes a new draft resolution opposing the EPA's clean power plan.

"That new draft has rhetoric like, 'the regulation of electricity is a sovereign state function' . . . there's a lot of kind of blustery language that they'll be pushing again once state legislators get back into swing," Haq said during a press call.

Protesters Greet ALEC in Dallas

As lawmakers schmoozed with corporate officials during the day's panels and luncheons, hundreds of protesters lined the streets outside the Hilton Anatole to oppose ALEC's agenda on issues ranging from labor rights, environmental policy, political spending, public education and health care.

Organizers greet ALEC attendees during a rally outside the Hilton Anatole Wednesday, July 30, 2014. (Photo: Candice Bernd)

Organizers erected a giant inflatable pig to represent ALEC during a rally outside the Hilton Anatole Wednesday, July 30, 2014. (Photo: Candice Bernd)

A coalition of activists, including many union organizers and grassroots groups, under the banner "TEXposeALEC" arranged buses for up to 500 demonstrators, who rendezvoused at the Hilton Anatole for a rally Wednesday afternoon, themed "Don't Mess With Texas." Demonstrators also attended ALEC's welcome reception at Eddie Deen's Ranch later on in the day.

"[ALEC] is going to continue to push an anti-worker narrative," said Pamela Reséndiz, mobilization coordinator with the Dallas AFL-CIO. "Whether it's right to work, or whether they're trying to take away pensions from workers, or whether it is to cut out overtime pay . . . their policies affect everyone, regardless of whether you're in a union or not."

But as protesters rallied outside, ALEC officials inside revealed new plans to expand their organizations reach at the local level.

ALEC Could Be Coming to Your City Soon: 

The American City County Exchange

ALEC announced Wednesday the launch of a new offshoot that will apply ALEC's modus operandi of courting legislators with corporate lobbyists to draft model bills advancing corporate interests - to the local level.

This new arm of ALEC, the American City County Exchange (ACCE), held its first meeting Wednesday at the Hilton Anatole. ACCE will work in conjunction with ALEC to influence elected representatives in city and county council positions, while ALEC focuses on state legislatures. The Guardian reports:

IN ACCE’s very first workshop under the simple title:"Privatization" - though in the final version the wording had been sanitized into: "Effective Tools for Promoting Limited Government."

A later workshop scheduled for Thursday is called: "Releasing Local Governments from the Grip of Collective Bargaining."

The Guardian also revealed through internal documents last year that ALEC started work on a "prodigal son project" meant to regain corporate donors that fled their affiliation with ALEC in the aftermath of George Zimmerman's not guilty verdict in the shooting of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin. ALEC public relations image took a massive hit for its promotion of "stand-your-ground" laws across the United States.

But as ALEC works toward expanding its reach at all various level of government, progressives are beginning to forge a counterpart to ALEC with their very own legislative policy network, albeit using a different set of tactics entirely.

A Progressive ALEC?

A Progressive ALEC could be in the birthing stages with the announcement of a merger of the American Legislative and Issue Campaign Exchange (ALICE) and the Progressive States Network. The groups hope to build an organization that would move progressive policies through state legislatures.

"For nearly a generation, conservatives have outpaced us at the business of movement-building in states. They have focused hard on it, poured resources into it, and have been ruthlessly efficient at it. Starting now, we will do the same," wrote Nick Rathod, executive director of ALICE, and Iowa State Sen. Joe Bolkcom, board chair of Progressive States Network, in a joint statement.

But unlike ALEC, the group hopes to embrace a more democratic decision making process and a transparent approach, by shunning the use of lobbyists and making their model policy publicly available, according to the Washington Post. The group's database already boasts 1,800 examples of model legislation progressives can get behind.

There's evidence to suggest the group may be forming at an advantageous time for progressive policy in the states. As Congress stalls in raising the minimum wage, a policy backed by a clear majority of Americans, 10 states and the District of Columbia passed minimum wage hikes just this year, according to the Post. It's with examples like this that ALICE and the Progressive States Network hope will spark momentum for their new group's initiatives.

But while there may be possibility for a progressive counterpart to ALEC on the horizon, progressives should keep in mind that ALEC is far from isolated in its scope and influence.

ALEC's Extended Family: The State Policy Network

"It's important to recognize that ALEC is really the center of a network," said Connor Gibson, a researcher with Greenpeace's investigation team, during a teach-in panel attended by many ALEC protesters in Dallas Wednesday.

ALEC played a role in founding the State Policy Network (SPN) in November 1991. SPN extends ALEC's reach far beyond its corporate and legislative members, comprising an ALEC-sponsored family that includes affiliated think tanks and trade associations in every state, as well as national members such as the Heritage Foundation, Americans for Prosperity and the Cato Institute.

The groups are well organized in the way they coordinate to support ALEC’s conservative agenda to promote the privatization of the public sector, to attack renewable energy policies, and public employee unions and policies ALEC opposes.

Gibson said many of the think tanks and organizations involved in SPN are overwhelmingly funded through dark money groups and that some of these organizations disseminate faux news backed anonymously by corporate interests.

One SPN-affiliated organization is the Texas Public Policy Foundation, which has been focused on pushing ALEC's agenda in Texas to undermine public education in the state through the expansion of charter schools.

ALEC's Agenda in Texas

"Texans for Education Reform and some of these other groups are coming at us harder than ever, and ALEC is right in there with them," said Louis Malfaro, who is secretary-treasurer of the Texas American Federation of Teachers (AFT).

The Texas AFT is working alongside other unions and groups such as the Texas Organizing Project to push back against efforts to create "home-rule" charter schools in the Dallas Independent School District, an effort that has been lead by Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings.

But ALEC's agenda is Texas, executed through local legislators, goes beyond the privatization of public schools. ALEC's agenda to eviscerate worker protections in  Texas has taken the form of the state's deceptive "miracle economy," in which Texas created more minimum wage jobs, with little benefits and no upward social mobility, than any other state in the aftermath of the Great Recession.

"Sure, corporations are doing very well here in Texas," Jim Hightower, a former Texas agriculture commissioner, told Truthout. "But the working day people are being driven to the ground, rolling over in the ditch, small businessmen and family farmers too. [Perry] hasn't lifted a finger for them."

Jim Hightower outside the Community Beer Company brewery after a demonstration against ALEC in Dallas Wednesday, July 31, 2014. (Photo: Candice Bernd)

Hightower drew the connection between the dubious Texas "miracle economy" and this week's ALEC conference.

"[ALEC] is a direct pipeline from corporate America into our state legislative bodies, and then, right into law," he told Truthout.

Hightower also spoke about how the ALEC energy agenda greatly impacts oil- and gas-rich Texas, specifically citing a recent announcement by Exxon-Mobil, a long-time member of ALEC, that the company will double the size of its export facilities located at Beaumont and Port Arthur.

"They sell this stuff on the basis that this 'is going to solve our energy-dependence problem,' " he said. "Except that the energy is not going to stay in America, it's going to be exported to China, it's going to be exported to Brazil."

He also noted that claims by oil giants such as Exxon-Mobil that they help to boost the state economy are false because a great majority of the jobs they offer are temporary construction positions.

"There's a rebellion that's building in Texas over this - fracking, the tar sands pipeline, this is mostly happening to people who are a-political, conservative and largely Republican," he said.