First, be sure to read Zeno’s work over at Halfway There. Zeno’s writing will make your mouth water, your pupils expand, your pulse quicken, your hands go all Galvanic on you, and otherwise get your attention — but in this case, his topic is important, too. Zeno explains the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) with a peek inside ALEC’s sumptuous, legislator-seducing red tent. He’s got documents from ALEC, secured through not completely legitimate means (but neither are they illegal), and he lays the group bare. It’s not a pleasant sight if you’re not fond of adipose tissue and necrosis.
Second, at Desmogblog you should check out John Mashey’s work on loose political organizations joined to politically oppose scientists learning about global warming, to oppose publication of findings about global warming, and to oppose government action to do anything to stop global warming. Interestingly enough, Mashey informs me, the current cast of malefactors in Wisconsin, appear earlier as malefactors in the discussions and actions about global warming. Coincidence?
And then stay tuned. There is more to come on the issue of the Republican Party’s rebirth of McCarthyism, and the witch hunt they wish to conduct against historian Bill Cronon, I’m sure.