NewsTrust - Lobbying - Most Recent Stories

KO Computer

Thu, 19 Jan 2012 00:00:00 -0800

Daily Show - By Jon Stewart - Jan. 19 (Comedy News) - Wikipedia goes dark for 24 hours in protest of SOPA, raising the question: do they expect us to go to the library like a common masturbator? ... If SOPA passes, people who stream copyrighted content could go to jail for five years.

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Web Piracy Bills Invite a Protracted Battle

Mon, 16 Jan 2012 00:00:00 -0800

New York Times - By Jenna Wortham, Somini Sengupta - Jan. 16 (News Report) - The Obama administration’s statement of opposition to antipiracy legislation let the technology industry claim a victory, but few in Silicon Valley or Hollywood consider the battle over.

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Barack Obama's campaign says it doesn't accept lobbyist donations

Wed, 04 Jan 2012 00:00:00 -0800

PolitiFact - By Louis Jacobson - Jan. 04 (Fact Check) - In late December, President Barack Obama’s re-election campaign made a fundraising pitch that, among other things, touted the measures his campaign is taking to distance itself from lobbyists: "We don't take a dime from D.C. lobbyists or special-interest PACs -- never have and never will." A reader pointed out this claim and asked us if it’s true. First, we checked with the Obama campaign, and a spokeswoman confirmed that the campaign does not accept money from federally registered lobbyists, either making direct donations themselves or serving as "bundlers" who solicit and package donations from others. To enforce that policy, the campaign continually reviews the federal lobbyist registry. On the surface, the Obama campaign’s claim seems plausible. But we think it’s important to add some context about how this pledge is phrased. A key issue is how you define the word "lobbyist."

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For Hire: Lobbyists or the 99%?

Fri, 16 Dec 2011 00:00:00 -0800

publicampaign.org - Dec. 16 (Special Report) - This report builds on a recent report on corporate tax dodging by Citizens for Tax Justice by examining lobbying expenditure data provided by the Center for Responsive Politics. We also look at publicly available data on job creation, federal campaign contributions, and executive compensation, to understand how these corporations have been spending their cash.

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Proposed lobbying rules upset business groups

Fri, 02 Dec 2011 00:00:00 -0800

USA Today - Dec. 02 (News) -

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Bank spending on lobbying on pace to hit record high again this year

Fri, 02 Dec 2011 00:00:00 -0800

www2.journalnow.com - Dec. 02 (News) -

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Gingrich Gave Push to Clients, Not Just Ideas

Wed, 30 Nov 2011 00:00:00 -0800

New York Times - By MIKE McINTIRE, JIM RUTENBERG - Nov. 30 (News Report) - Newt Gingrich is adamant that he is not a lobbyist, but in the eight years since he started his health care consultancy, he has made millions of dollars while helping companies promote their services.

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Congress: Trading stock on inside information?

Wed, 16 Nov 2011 00:00:00 -0800

CBS News - By Steve Kroft, Ira Rosen, Gabrielle Schonde - Nov. 16 (Special Report) - Washington, D.C. is a town that runs on inside information - but should our elected officials be able to use that information to pad their own pockets? As Steve Kroft reports, members of Congress and their aides have regular access to powerful political intelligence, and many have made well-timed stock market trades in the very industries they regulate. For now, the practice is perfectly legal, but some say it's time for the law to change.

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Republic, Lost (my favorite version)

Wed, 26 Oct 2011 00:00:00 -0700

YouTube - By Lawrence Lessig - Oct. 26 (Opinion) - In an era when special interests funnel huge amounts of money into our government—driven by shifts in campaign-finance rules and brought to new levels by the Supreme Court in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission—trust in our government has reached an all-time low. More than ever before, Americans believe that money buys results in Congress, and that business interests wield control over our legislature.

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God Supports The AT&T T-Mobile Merger - AT&T's Merger Support Hijinks Still Making Waves

Fri, 14 Oct 2011 00:00:00 -0700

dslreports.com - Oct. 14 (Opinion) - Using lobbyists, hired consultants, fake consumer groups, think tanks and an unlimited number of advocacy groups willing to repeat whatever they're told in exchange for cash donations -- AT&T has created a "sound wall" of support for their planned acquis

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HuffPost Goes Deep On Google : CJR

Tue, 27 Sep 2011 00:00:00 -0700

Columbia Journalism Review - By Greg Marx - Sep. 27 (Editorial) - The Huffington Post trio of Ryan Grim, Zach Carter, and Paul Blumenthal dropped their 6,800-word take on “Google, Microsoft, and the War for the Web” Sunday night, and like all of HuffPost’s deep dives, the piece was chock-full of good reporting. Among the nuggets of news large and small: • Google’s influence-buying spree has pushed the number of lobbyists in its employ up to ninety-three, spread across eighteen firms. (An antitrust investigation of the company led by the Senate Judiciary Committee is jokingly known as the “Leahy Full Employment Act,” after committee chairman Pat Leahy.) And the company’s new commitment to bipartisanship means that not only GOP-aligned lobbying shops but conservative think tanks like Heritage Foundation and AEI are now getting Google cash.

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Spreading Freedom: Google And The War For The Web

Sun, 25 Sep 2011 00:00:00 -0700

Huffington Post - By Ryan Grim, Zach Carter, Paul Blumenthal - Sep. 25 (Special Report) - [Google] is now giving money to the Heritage Foundation, the American Enterprise Institute, the Competitive Enterprise Institute, the Republican Governors Association, the GOP firm The David All Group, Crossroads Strategies, the Republican Attorneys General Association and the Republican State Leadership Committee, among others. On Thursday, Google and Fox News cosponsored a Republican presidential debate.

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Corruption? 5400 Lawmakers Have Become Lobbyists in the Last Decade

Tue, 13 Sep 2011 00:00:00 -0700

AlterNet - By Julianne Escobedo Shepherd - Sep. 13 (Special Report) - More proof that Washington is corrupt? A new Legistorm study reveals there is a "revolving door" between Congress and lobbying firms, showing that almost 5400 lawmakers have jumped from the government to lobbying firms in the last decade.

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Of Dystopias and Alphas

Sun, 21 Aug 2011 00:00:00 -0700

New York Times - By Maureen Dowd - Aug. 21 (Opinion) - Why can’t the president who promised revolution set the Washington schedule rather than bow to it?

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Medicare cost-cutting board is under fire - The Washington Post

Fri, 12 Aug 2011 00:00:00 -0700

Washington Post - By N. C. Aizenman - Aug. 12 (Investigative Report) - Known as the Independent Payment Advisory Board, or IPAB, it has been touted by President Obama as an essential tool for curbing Medicare spending over the long term. Comprising 15 health-care experts to be appointed by the president and confirmed by the Senate, the IPAB will have unparalleled authority to make cuts to the health insurance program for the elderly if yearly spending exceeds the law’s targets by as soon as 2015. Congress could overrule the panel, but only if it musters a super-majority in the Senate or comes up with an alternate plan that saves the same amount.

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Mitt Romney Raised More Campaign Cash From Lobbyists Than All Other 2012 GOP Candidates Combined

Wed, 10 Aug 2011 00:00:00 -0700

Huffington Post - By Paul Blumenthal - Aug. 10 (News Report) - While other GOP presidential candidates race to win Saturday's Ames Straw Poll, Mitt Romney is quietly racking up support among Washington power brokers and heavyweights in the Republican party. His early lead in fundraising with lobbyists, Wall Street donors, and bundlers who raised money for George W. Bush and Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) is testament to this strategy. According to disclosure reports filed at the end of July, 61 registered lobbyists and five lobbyist-linked political action committees contributed $137,650 to Romney's campaign between Jan. 1 and June 30, 2011. The former Massachusetts governor raised more money from lobbyists during this period than all of his competitors combined.

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The-Smart-and-Sexy-Story-of-Newspapers

Fri, 22 Jul 2011 00:00:00 -0700

Editor & Publisher - By Gretchen A. Peck - Jul. 22 (News Analysis) - Aristotle pondered the modes of persuasion and determined there were three ways to present an argument. The first, “Ethos,” appeals to the audience with authority and credibility. “Pathos” is an argument that appeals to the audience’s emotions, while “Logos” is the attempt to persuade with logic. With its new marketing campaign designed to promote the newspaper industry at large, the Newspaper Association of America (NAA) managed to leverage all three rhetorical strategies. “The NAA board developed a set of strategies last year,” Mark Contreras, former NAA board chairman, said. “We sent out a survey to all the members of the NAA and asked, ‘What are the two or three issues that newspapers should work on, collectively?’” The responses were painstakingly boiled down to four key industry initiatives, according to Contreras: To better protect intellectual property and better monetize content; to agree upon mobile advertising standards; to provide an industry-wide digital shopping experience, particularly for national advertisers; and to better communicate and promote the full value of the audiences newspapers deliver across all media platforms.

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Law Professors Come Out Against PROTECT IP

Wed, 13 Jul 2011 00:00:00 -0700

techdirt.com - Jul. 13 (Opinion) - Although the problems the Act attempts to address -- online copyright and trademark infringement -- are serious ones presenting new and difficult enforcement challenges, the approach taken in the Act has grave constitutional infirmities, potentially dangerous consequences for the stability and security of the Internet's addressing system, and will undermine United States foreign policy and strong support of free expression on the Internet around the world.

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Industries lobby against voluntary nutrition guidelines for food marketed to kids

Sun, 10 Jul 2011 00:00:00 -0700

Washington Post - By Lyndsey Layton, Dan Eggen - Jul. 10 (News Report) - The food and advertising industries have launched a multi-pronged campaign to squash government efforts to create voluntary nutritional guidelines for foods marketed to children. Calling themselves the Sensible Food Policy Coalition, the nation’s biggest foodmakers, fast-food chains and media companies, including Viacom and Time Warner , are trying to derail standards proposed by four federal agencies. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce has also lent its lobbying muscle to the effort. The guidelines are designed to encourage foodmakers to reduce salt, added sugars and fats in foods and drinks targeted to children. If their products did not meet the standards, foodmakers following the guidelines would refrain from advertising them to ...

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IBM spends $1.2M on 1Q lobbying

Fri, 01 Jul 2011 00:00:00 -0700

Boston Globe - Jul. 01 (News) - IBM spends $1.2M on 1Q lobbying

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NRC and industry rewrite the history of nukes

Wed, 29 Jun 2011 00:00:00 -0700

Associated Press - Jun. 29 (Investigative Report) - As part of a yearlong investigation of aging issues at the nation's nuclear power plants, the AP found that the relicensing process often lacks fully independent safety reviews. Records show that paperwork of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission sometimes matches word-for-word the language used in a plant operator's application.

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High noon for ethanol

Tue, 14 Jun 2011 00:00:00 -0700

The Hill - By Andrew Restuccia, Ben Geman - Jun. 14 (News) - he Senate is slated to vote on Sen. Tom Coburn’s (R-Okla.) plan to eliminate a major ethanol industry tax break and the ethanol import tariff. Ethanol backers are battling the amendment and seeking to pull support from Coburn.

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When Food Kills

Sun, 12 Jun 2011 00:00:00 -0700

New York Times - By Nicholas D. Kristof - Jun. 12 (Opinion) - As we keep feeding our livestock antibiotics, we are creating a breeding ground for bacteria that can lead to untreatable ailments.

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Chevron Banks on Profitable Political Agenda

Thu, 26 May 2011 00:00:00 -0700

Huffington Post - May. 26 (Opinion) - With 43 lobbyists and a federal influence-peddling budget of at least $35 million this past election cycle, Chevron must have an ambitious agenda for the politicians in Washington, DC.

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Obama and the Israel Lobby

Sun, 22 May 2011 00:00:00 -0700

Salon - By Glenn Greenwald - May. 22 (Opinion) - Regardless of Obama's intentions here -- and that remains unclear -- a prerequisite to any meaningful change in U.S./Israel policy is the defeat of those who want to suppress the debate entirely.

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