Beau Hodai's News Articles

Op-Ed

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

by Beau Hodai — January 11, 2012 - 7:23am
  • Topics: ALEC Exposed, Corporations, Ethics, Secrecy

    • "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.

    Guest Contributor

    Publicopoly: ALEC and the Bid to Make Private All That is Public

    by Beau Hodai — August 22, 2011 - 11:16am
  • Topics: ALEC Exposed, Corporations, Democracy, Politics

    • The Center for Media and Democracy is reposting Beau Hodai's examination of the privatization schemes advanced by the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), as part of CMD's effort to report on, and gather reporting about this organization through our ALECexposed.org work. This story was originally published by DBA Press (pdf) and is also available for download through this link. (pdf) You can also jump to the article's source materials directory here.

    Guest Contributor

    “Legislative Laundry” -- Investigative Report on the Mechanics of the ALEC Scholarship Fund

    by Beau Hodai — August 22, 2011 - 10:30am
  • Topics: ALEC Exposed, Corporations, Democracy, Politics

    • The Center for Media and Democracy is reposting Beau Hodai's investigation of so-called "scholarships" funded by corporations to bring state politicians to gatherings of the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), as part of CMD's effort to report on and gather reporting about this organization through our ALECexposed.org work. This story was originally published by DBA Press. You can also download this report in PDF format and you can view documents relating to ALEC scholarship fund activity here.

    News

    Brownskins and Greenbacks: ALEC, the For-Profit Prison Industry and Arizona’s SB 1070

    by Beau Hodai — August 22, 2011 - 10:29am
  • Topics: ALEC Exposed, Corporations

    • (The Center for Media and Democracy is pleased to reprint this illuminating article about the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) and reactionary immigration policies pushed into law in Arizona, as part of our ongoing reporting on ALEC and gathering of reporting about this organization in our work on ALECexposed.org. This story was originally published by DBA Press in June 2010)

    "Beside my brothers and my sisters, I'll proudly take a stand. When liberty's in jeopardy, I'll always do what's right. I'm out here on the frontline, sleep in peace tonight. American soldier, I'm an American soldier..."

    So goes the ringtone on Arizona State Senator Russell Pearce's phone -- as performed by Toby "'cause we put a boot up your ass, it's the American way" Keith. Seconds into any conversation with Pearce on the issue of illegal immigration, you'll find the song fits. Pearce is -- in his mind -- the "American soldier." What's more, just as he sees himself a soldier, Pearce envisions his home to be none less than the front in a war which threatens the very fiber of the nation.

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