Thursday, July 14, 2011

ALEC (American Legislative Exchange Council) Exposed - 800+ Pieces of State & Federal Legislation Meant to Boost Corporate Profits at Our Expense

It is no longer conservative vs. liberal, republican vs. democrat. It's the rich vs. the rest of us. Give me a break - undermining social security is good for us? Getting rid of the minimum wage is good for us? Privatizing everything is good for us? Undoing pollution rules is good for us? We are being pounded with "get government out of the way" when we should be saying, "let's take back the government from the rich and make it work!"

More tax breaks for the rich?? Come on - enough! We need to tax the rich more and then SPEND the money here in the U.S. rebuilding our infrastructure, greening our energy, providing healthcare, building up our public education... That's how to put people back to work in good jobs that pay a LIVING WAGE. Once and for all let's get it right! Trickle-down does NOT work - never has, never will.

Take a look at this CommonDreams article, ALEC Exposed: A Nationwide Blueprint for the Rightwing Takeover. Here's an excerpt

“Never has the time been so right,” Louisiana State Representative Noble Ellington told conservative legislators gathered in Washington to plan the radical remaking of policies in the states. It was one month after the 2010 midterm elections. Republicans had grabbed 680 legislative seats and secured a power trifecta—control of both legislative chambers and the governorship—in twenty-one states. Ellington was speaking for hundreds of attendees at a “States and Nation Policy Summit,” featuring GOP stars like Texas Governor Rick Perry, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich and House Majority Leader Eric Cantor. Convened by the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC)—“the nation’s largest, non-partisan, individual public-private membership association of state legislators,” as the spin-savvy group describes itself—the meeting did not intend to draw up an agenda for the upcoming legislative session. That had already been done by ALEC’s elite task forces of lawmakers and corporate representatives. The new legislators were there to grab their weapons: carefully crafted model bills seeking to impose a one-size-fits-all agenda on the states.

Go to the ALEC Exposed Website.

Take a look at the legislators, funders, corporations... If any of this gives you any ideas about how maps might tell a story, drop me a note from any page on MapCruzin.com. Maybe we can put something together!

Mike Meuser

GIS Project Development, Data Research and Custom Shapefile Creation
Free GIS Software, Shapefiles, Maps and Tutorials
Free GPS, Aerial, TOPO Maps and News

If you have data, GIS project or custom shapefile needs send me an email

Premium Shapefiles: ZipCode, Indian & Federal Lands, School Districts, Tornadoes, Dams, Climate Change & Global Warming


Sunday, July 10, 2011

GIS for Home Schoolers, Students, Job Changers

GIS is a wonderful way to visualize trends and connections in data that might otherwise not be so obvious or might be missed altogether. GIS can be learned by young and old, school students and home-schoolers. For those already in a career, GIS can add extra value to your position. If you are new to GIS, I've prepared a brief introduction.

Next, consider learning the basics of GIS with the free Learn2Map GIS Tutorial and Shapefile Atlas. It includes free GIS software and access to free GIS shapefiles.

Once you have completed the tutorial, you can find free GIS software applications and free GIS shapefiles at MapCruzin.com.

You can check out some of the things we have done with GIS at Maptivist.com.

Mike Meuser

GIS Project Development, Data Research and Custom Shapefile Creation
Free GIS Software, Shapefiles, Maps and Tutorials
Free GPS, Aerial, TOPO Maps and News

If you have data, GIS project or custom shapefile needs send me an email

Premium Shapefiles: ZipCode, Indian & Federal Lands, School Districts, Tornadoes, Dams, Climate Change & Global Warming