At Comic-Con, the Mayor's villain companions were fictional. This week, they're real

So the corporate prison management companies wrote "model legislation" to grease the wheels for State and local government to privatize prisons (sure it costs a little more, but it's good for corporate profits), and to enhance identification and apprehension - and imprisonment - of undocumented immigrants. Each part of ALEC created model legislation to help their particular interest and as a group, they created legislation to suppress employee pay and rights to organize for benefits because, hey, what corporation doesn't benefit from employees with nowhere else to go to make a living.

But how to put all these wonderful ideas into actual legislation? What to do with a Congress and all those State legislatures and City Councils who think they, not ALEC, should enact legislation? Right on cue, ALEC's fairy godfather appeared and reminded them that all ALEC had to do was click their heels together three times and...hand out some of what ALEC had lots of and legislators wanted, Gifts and Money.

Bribery is such an ugly word, so let's just say what ALEC did was to invite legislators they though amenable, on all-expenses paid junkets to fun places. Food, drink, hotels, temporary companionship, whatever dream a legislator could have could come true. And much like a time-share presentation, all the legislators had to do is meet with the corporate sponsors to hear about the wonders of their model legislation and weigh the various suggested offers of campaign and/or personal support, if only the legislation became the law of their lands.