Lobbying // Current

Why Does Dunkin' Donuts Lobby The Federal Reserve?

Financial firms have long lobbied the Federal Reserve, high-minded maker of monetary... more

atomiclegion
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5 days ago
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2 comments

A Look at How Members of the U.S. House of Representatives Voted on the Health Care Bill

This link shows a break down of how the members of the U.S. House of Representatives... more

slarabee
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7 days ago
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10 comments

Food lobby mobilizes as soda tax bubbles up

Washington lobbyists have been enjoying a multi-million-dollar sugar rush from the food industry.

Soft drink makers, supermarket companies, agriculture and the fast-food business have poured millions into campaigning against what they fear could be a burgeoning national movement to raise money for health care reform by taxing sweetened beverages.

During the first nine months of 2009, the industry groups stepped up their lobbying in Congress. They have spent more than $24 million on the issue of a national excise tax on sweetened beverages and on other legislative and regulatory issues, according to an examination of lobbying reports filed with the Senate Office of Public Records. The review shows that 21 companies and organizations reported that they lobbied specifically on the proposed tax on sugar-sweetened beverages - which among other things would include sodas, juice drinks and chocolate milk.

About $5 million of the money was spent on a national advertising campaign aimed at Capitol Hill lawmakers and promoting a newly formed coalition called Americans Against Food Taxes . The group bills itself on its website as a coalition of "responsible individuals, financially-strapped families, [and] small and large businesses" but its 400-plus membership list is dominated by industry heavyweights such as Burger King Corporation, Coca Cola, Pepsico and Domino's Pizza.

Many health officials and advocacy groups have argued for years that sugary drinks, particularly those with high-fructose corn syrup, have been key contributors to a rise in obesity rates in the United States, especially among children. Some argue that the time is right for a soda tax, which they say could not only cut consumption but also generate revenue to close state budget gaps and pay for new health care programs.

A proposal for a national excise tax on soft drinks surfaced in a May funding policy options paper during the Senate Finance Committee's deliberations on health care reform. Food lobbyists attacked then and continued their efforts in July when President Obama raised the possibility of a soda tax in an interview with Men's Health magazine. The proposal has not emerged in any of the health care reform bills still in play on Capitol Hill.

But the issue may be gaining traction in some key states. This week, California lawmakers are holding a high-profile hearing in Los Angeles to examine the link between childhood obesity and sugary drinks. In New York, Gov. David Paterson has revived the idea of a sugared beverage tax after a previous proposal was shot down by the legislature earlier this year in the face of industry opposition.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/11/04/soda-tax-mobilizes-food-l_n_345840.htmlWashington lobbyists have been enjoying a multi-million-dollar sugar rush from the... more

atomiclegion
added this
8 days ago
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47 comments

MPAA Propaganda Hits 60 Minutes

The MPAA scored a victory last night when millions of people tuned in to CBS’s 60... more

atomiclegion
added this
12 days ago
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23 comments

Inside Bonner's Climate Letters Forgeries

New documents expose the inner workings of the shadowy astroturf operation that aimes... more

atomiclegion
added this
17 days ago
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0 comments

HOW MUCH HAS THE OFFICE OF HAWAIIAN AFFAIRS HAS PAID TO AKAKA BILL LOBBYISTS?

http://FreeHawaii.Info HOW MUCH HAS THE OFFICE OF HAWAIIAN AFFAIRS HAS PAID TO... more

FreeHawaiiTV
added this
17 days ago
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0 comments

Lobbyists Are Whores

Recently Orlando congressman Alan Grayson has taken a media bashing for calling a... more

Denica_Cassandra
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19 days ago
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3 comments

Billionaires for Wealthcare: Guerrilla Theater: Public Option Annie

Billionaires for Wealthcare is a grassroots network of health insurance CEOs, HMO... more

unimatrix0
added this
23 days ago
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17 comments

Guerillas in Their Midst AHIP Pollster Interrupted By Singing Troupe Of Protesters

Republican pollster Bill McInturff was the keynote speaker on the final day of the America's Health Insurance Plans's state issues conference on Friday morning.

But his speech on how the health care reform debate was playing among the public was interrupted before it even began. A group of protesters began aggressively cheering McInturff for the work he has done for AHIP (he's a hired pollster for the private insurance lobby and, most infamously, was the force behind the 'Harry and Louise' ads in 1994)

McInturff, initially thinking that the cheering was legitimate, thanked the "AHIP officials" in the back of the room for giving him mental encouragement for his speech. He was not being paid for his appearance, he noted.

And then, the protesters -- dressed in business attire to fit into the crowd -- began singing. A relatively lengthy and harmonious rendition of "Tomorrow" from the musical Annie ensued, only with the chorus focused on government-run insurance. "The option, the option, we must have, the option... " went the rendition, in reference to the public plan.

The whole episode lasted a few minutes before the troupe (around 5 or 6 protesters) was escorted out by security.

McInturff, who remarked earlier that he didn't have a joke to lead off with, pointed to the exiting protesters and said "there's my joke." But while his speech had been interrupted, the pollster actually admitted to being mildly impressed.
Story continues below

"If you are going to have protesters at least you can hire people who sing," he said. "That was very good singing."

The musical was written and performed by Billionaires for Wealthcare, a grassroots network of health insurance CEOs, HMO lobbyists, talk-show hosts, and others profiting off of our broken health care system. A group official writes to say: "We'll do whatever it takes to ensure another decade where your pain is our gain. After all, when it comes to health insurance, if we ain't broke, why fix it?"

Check it out for the lyrics too!Republican pollster Bill McInturff was the keynote speaker on the final day of the... more

atomiclegion
added this
23 days ago
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1 comment

Demonoid: An Interview With Their Ukranian Host

Demonoid is one of the largest BitTorrent trackers on the planet and, unfortunately... more

atomiclegion
added this
24 days ago
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0 comments

OpenSecrets | Washington Lobbying Grew to $3.2 Billion Last Year, Despite Economy - Capital Eye

Really, it's time for election reform!!!!!

GoodGodGuy
added this
1 month ago
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1 comment

Chamber of Horrors!!!

The U.S. House of Commerce is wrong about climate change, health care and everything else. It must be stopped.

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce must be stopped. Here's how to do it.

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce—the self-proclaimed voice of business in Washington—has been wrong on virtually every major public-policy issue of the past decade: financial deregulation, tax and fiscal policy, global warming and environmental enforcement, consumer protection, health care reform …

The chamber remains an unabashed voice for the libertarian worldview that caused the most catastrophic economic meltdown since the Great Depression. And the chamber's view of social justice would warm Scrooge's heart. It is the chamber's right to be wrong, and its right to argue its preposterous ideas aggressively, as it does through vast expenditures on lobbyists and litigation. Last year alone, the chamber spent more than $91 million on lobbying, and, according to lobby tracker Opensecrets.org, it has spent more than twice as much on lobbying(http://www.opensecrets.org/lobby/top.php?showYear=a&indexType=s) during the past 12 years as any other corporation or group.

The problem is, the chamber is doing all this with our money. The chamber survives financially on the dues and support of its members, which are most of America's major corporations listed on the stock exchange. The chamber derives its political clout from the fact that its membership includes these corporations. Yet we—you and I—own the companies that support the chamber and permit it to propagate its views. Our passive, permissive attitude toward the management of the companies we own has enabled the chamber to be one of the primary impediments to the reform of markets, health care, energy policy, and politics that we have all been calling for. It is time for that to change.

How, you might ask, do we own these companies? Public pension funds and mutual funds are the largest owners of equities in the market. They are the institutional shareholders that have the capacity to push management—and the boards of the corporations. Yet the mutual funds and pension funds have failed to do so. They have failed to control the management of the companies they own because the actual owners of those mutual funds and pension funds—you and I—have failed to raise our voices. We haven't even asked questions.The U.S. House of Commerce is wrong about climate change, health care and everything... more

atomiclegion
added this
1 month ago
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0 comments

Ex deregulation Lobbyist to assume position as regulator on CFTC

Even as the American people are starting to fight back at the rich and greedy, it's... more

MetalStorM
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1 month ago
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0 comments

Matt Taibbi Takes An Inside Look at Naked Shorts and How Goldman Sachs Lobbies the Senate

First Amendment for Outstanding Journalism winner Matt Taibbi uncovers dirt on Naked... more

WallStCheatSheet
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1 month ago
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1 comment

Church Advertising with 'Satan' Signs

It's a case of good versus evil in Trenton and there are signs everywhere to prove it.... more

TravG73
added this
2 months ago
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3 comments

How YOU can influence Congress

Doh't let the spoiled brats control the public debate. Learn how to get your message... more

patomalley
added this
3 months ago
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0 comments

Questioning GE's control of NBC and MSNBC

I want to return to the subject of GE's silencing of Keith Olbermann both because there are new facts I've obtained that shed light on what happened here and because this is one of the most blatant examples yet of pernicious corporate control over America's journalism. The most striking aspect of this episode is that GE isn't even bothering any longer to deny the fact that they exert control over MSNBC's journalism. They've brazenly dispensed with the long-held fiction of the sanctity of journalistic independence from interference by the corporate parents that own America's largest news organizations.

Instead, GE is now openly and proudly boasting of their editorial control over the news organizations they own, and publicly rubbing it in the faces of NBC News journalists that they're subservient to GE's corporate agenda. Look at this smug, creepy quote from GE executive spokesman Gary Sheffer explaining in The New York Times why GE issued its gag order preventing Olbermann from criticizing Fox and O'Reilly, all but mocking NBC and MSNBC journalists as nothing more than GE's office of corporate spokespeople:

"We all recognize that a certain level of civility needed to be introduced into the public discussion," Gary Sheffer, a spokesman for G.E., said this week. "We’re happy that has happened."

Why is GE even speaking for MSNBC's editorial decisions at all? Needless to say, GE doesn't care in the slightest about "civility" in general. Mika Brzezinski can spout that people who dislike Sarah Palin aren't "real Americans" and Chris Matthews can say about George Bush that "everybody sort of likes the president, except for the real whack-jobs," and GE executives won't (and didn't) bat an eye. What they mean by "civility" is: "thou shalt not criticize anyone who can harm GE's business interests or who will report on our actions." Thus: GE's journalists will stop reporting critically on Fox and its top assets because Fox can expose actions of GE that we want to keep concealed.

Does anyone need it explained to them why it is so dangerous and destructive to have our political debates controlled by GE executives, sitting in their offices censoring the journalism of our leading media outlets in the name of "civility," code for: you will respect those who can harm us? Our entire political culture is already designed to ensure corporate control of our political institutions. Their lobbyists literally write the laws enacted by Congress and control their implementation. The reason the journalism industry insisted for so long on the ludicrous fiction that corporate parents never violated the sanctity of journalistic independence is precisely because everyone understood why that would be so dangerous. Apparently, they no longer feel a need to maintain that fiction.I want to return to the subject of GE's silencing of Keith Olbermann both because... more

sespian
added this
3 months ago
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2 comments

At Least 3 Members of Congress Received Fraudulent Letters Paid for by Coal Companies

Three Members of Congress have now received fraudulent letters opposing the American... more

nelsonjs
added this
3 months ago
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1 comment

Exxon Outspends Clean-Energy Industry on Washington Lobbying

Exxon Mobil Corp., the biggest U.S. oil producer, spent more on Washington lobbying... more

common_sense_allowed
added this
4 months ago
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0 comments

Fix the economy? Curb corporate America

From: John Talbott

To: Simon Johnson

Subject: Taking Back the Country

Simon,

I think you and I and most economists suffer from an antiquated belief that if we can just figure out exactly what went wrong, policymakers will beat a path to our door to ask our help in enacting necessary reforms. Unfortunately, the world no longer works that way. Our corrupted government, our criminal businesses and banking institutions, lobbyists, special interests, and the corporate controlled media are not interested in fixing this problem. They are making trillions of dollars through a vast scheme that transfers wealth from ordinary American taxpayers and consumers to their corrupt coffers. You are right that if big business thought about it, they should support efforts at restricting lobbying so that growth-oriented government policies could be implemented without the influence of corrupting special interests. But each lobbying corporation is also its own special interest, and so such internal reform is impossible.

The million-dollar question is: Why haven't ordinary Americans reacted more passionately and angrily in taking real action to end this systemic abuse? A decade ago, I wrote my first book on the corrupting influence of big business lobbying on our government and concluded at the time that average Americans would not focus on the issue until they had suffered real pain. I concluded that you can't defuse a bomb in America until after it has gone off.

But now the bomb has exploded. Forty million Americans are unemployed, millions have lost their homes, and most have taken a very substantial hit to their incomes, retirement savings and wealth. Why aren't Americans in the streets protesting this corrupt, enormously damaging criminal enterprise? I have traveled enough around America to realize that even though the current situation is enormously complex and not all Americans can describe exactly how the CDO market works, almost without exception every American can relate to you his frustration with how corrupt this government is and how unjust corporate lobbying and special influence in Washington has become. They get it. As a matter of fact, some of my high school-educated friends from my home state of Kentucky understand it a lot better than my Harvard-educated friends from Wall Street.

So I don't think the current challenge is figuring out exactly what caused the crisis. Focusing on what caused this episode will lead to narrow regulatory reform that reminds me that we all now take off our shoes at airports because one crazy fellow had the idea of putting a bomb in his heel. So while reform is needed in subprime mortgages, securitization, derivatives, and even in the magnitude of our financial institutions, none of these get at the fundamental problem: The people of this country are no longer making the rules by which they wish to live. If subprime mortgages hadn't blown up, some other area of highly leveraged bank lending would have eventually imploded. Even if the banking industry hadn't crashed, some other sector of the corrupt business/government criminal enterprise would have. Maybe the ice shelf of Greenland would have collapsed into the North Atlantic, maybe we would have run out of oil, maybe Microsoft's monopoly position in operating systems would have led to a worldwide computer virus shutdown, maybe poor consumer safety standards with China would have led to a global disease epidemic. The point is that when corporations make the rules, the results are not always good for the inhabitants of the planet.

So we don't have to decide today exactly what the reforms will be -- we just need to get corporate America out of our government so that the people can deliberate and make these reform decisions themselves without undue influence from bankers and corporations.

more at link...From: John Talbott To: Simon Johnson Subject: Taking Back the Country Simon,... more

WakeUpPeople
added this
4 months ago
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28 comments

tagged w/ Lobbying

Why Does Dunkin' Donuts Lobby The Federal Reserve?

A Look at How Members of the U.S. House of Representatives Voted on the Health Care Bill

Food lobby mobilizes as soda tax bubbles up

MPAA Propaganda Hits 60 Minutes

Inside Bonner's Climate Letters Forgeries

HOW MUCH HAS THE OFFICE OF HAWAIIAN AFFAIRS HAS PAID TO AKAKA BILL LOBBYISTS?

Lobbyists Are Whores

Billionaires for Wealthcare: Guerrilla Theater: Public Option Annie

Guerillas in Their Midst AHIP Pollster Interrupted By Singing Troupe Of Protesters

Demonoid: An Interview With Their Ukranian Host

OpenSecrets | Washington Lobbying Grew to $3.2 Billion Last Year, Despite Economy - Capital Eye

Chamber of Horrors!!!

Ex deregulation Lobbyist to assume position as regulator on CFTC

Matt Taibbi Takes An Inside Look at Naked Shorts and How Goldman Sachs Lobbies the Senate

Church Advertising with 'Satan' Signs

How YOU can influence Congress

Questioning GE's control of NBC and MSNBC

At Least 3 Members of Congress Received Fraudulent Letters Paid for by Coal Companies

Exxon Outspends Clean-Energy Industry on Washington Lobbying

Fix the economy? Curb corporate America

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