Your daily dose of news and tidbits from the world of money in politics:
FEC NO LONGER ENFORCING ELECTION LAW?: Following an August story on OpenSecrets Blog chronicling organizations skirting Federal Election Commission disclosure laws, the Campaign Legal Center and Democracy 21 sent a letter to the FEC begging one question: Who is enforcing FEC law if the FEC isn�t?
The letter focuses on contention over �reasonable interpretation� of what constitutes �express advocacy� in the context of a statement by the FEC that an advertisement urging the public �help� a candidate is not express advocacy, since it does not directly tell the public to �vote for� a candidate.
While the letter cites OpenSecrets.org data, the Center for Responsive Politics remains neutral on the issue.
The groups are seeking clarification and a legal explanation, given that advertisements not demonstrating express advocacy are not subject to laws requiring public disclosure of advertising funding.
Meanwhile, a new report by non-profit advocacy group Public Citizen delves deeper into campaign finance information disclosure in the wake of the January Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission Supreme Court ruling. The report contends that the identities of the people and organizations behind political advertisements are becoming less clear, particularly among �Republican-oriented� groups.
The report shows the percentage of groups reporting donors decreasing from 98 percent and 97 percent in 2004 and 2006, respectively, to 49 percent in 2008 and only 32 percent thus far in the 2010 election cycle.
�The Supreme Court has unleashed a flood of new corporate spending on election ads and the public can�t even tell who is behind a given ad,� explained David Arkush, director of Public Citizen�s Congress Watch division, in a Wall Street Journal article.
LADY GAGA AND HARRY REID TEAM UP: What do Lady Gaga and U.S. Sen. Harry Reid (D-Nev.) have in common? Hint: not fashion sense. Still, the pair teamed up earlier this week via Twitter to voice support for the repeal of the military�s �Don�t Ask, Don�t Tell� policy for gay service members.
Reid began the correspondence with a tweet saying �@ladygaga There is a vote on #DADT next week. Anyone qualified to serve this country should be allowed to do so.� The pop star responded by writing �God Bless and Thank you @HarryReid, from all of us, like u, who believe in equality and the dream of this country. We were #BORNTHISWAY.�
While there is no record of Gaga herself making campaign contributions to Reid, the senator has done well fund-raising with her colleagues in the television, movies and music industry, who have donated $436,250 to Reid during the 2010 election cycle.
From 2009-2010, Reid is second to only U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) in campaign contributions from people and political action committees associated with this industry.
BLOOMBERG�S PERSONAL CAMPAIGN CONTRIBUTION RECORD BROKEN: New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg may be notable for massive contributions to his own campaigns, but this billionaire media mogul-turned-politico�s record for the largest personal campaign contribution in U.S. history has been shattered by California gubernatorial candidate Meg Whitman, a Republican.
The San Francisco Chronicle reported another $15 million donation Tuesday, bringing Whitman�s total personal contributions for the 2010 governor�s race to $119 million. A recent Rasmussen poll shows Whitman, former chief executive officer of eBay, slightly ahead of Democratic challenger Jerry Brown, the state�s former governor and current attorney general.
Bloomberg set the former record of $108 million in personal contributions in his mayoral re-election bid last year, when he spent about $185 per vote, as OpenSecrets Blog previously reported.
Have a news tip or link to pass along? We want to hear from you! E-mail us at press@crp.org.
Each day, Inc.'s reporters scour the Web for the most important and interesting news to entrepreneurs. Here's what we found today:
Hats off to Ron Conway. Angel investor Ron Conway, whose prolific portfolio has included Google and PayPal, wrote a scathing e-mail to the super angels involved in what's now being referred to as "Angelgate," and, yes, TechCrunch got a hold of it. When Michael Arrington crashed a secret meeting of angels this week and later wrote that they could be conspiring to cap startup valuations, he mentioned that "a couple of the attendees are saying they were extremely uncomfortable with the direction the conversation was going." Apparently, a partner at Conway's investment firm, David Lee, was one of them. In the e-mail, Conway calls fellow investors "driven by self serving factors around ego satisfaction and 'making a buck.'" He goes on to basically kick ass and takes names ... or rather, drops names. He writes that some fellow investors' actions are "despicable" and specifically calls David McClure out for blogging about the ordeal and causing "embarrassment" for Silicon Valley. Conway also defends David Lee, saying he was "uncomfortable with both gatherings." Conway drives the point home, writing that he wants to disengage, with all the e-mail recipients. "Lets agree to disagree and not have to even engage in any idle chit chat or discussion of any sort….ever." Wow.
Ciao to unlimited data? Verizon recently announced that it expects to start charging wireless customers on the amount of Internet data they use. Robert Chang, writing for the The Wall Street Journal, notes that "the wireless industry has struggled to balance the increasing demand for data capacity with unlimited plans that limit how much revenue carriers can generate from their subscribers." In other words, corporations like Verizon are having a hard time squeezing pennies from the unlimited monthly data plans. The announcement follows Apple's decision to halt sales of unlimited data plans to new customers, and replace it with two service plans that have monthly caps. Customers who go over their limits are charged. But could Verizon be shooting itself in the foot by reducing smartphone Internet use, which could be potentially tapped for revenue streams itself?
Is Obama's small business program falling on deaf ears? The $30 billion in federal lending the president pledged yesterday was supposed to aid struggling small businesses with easier credit and other incentives to grow and hire new workers. But what if businesses don't want the money? Today the AP reports feedback from a number of small businesses and community bank that show reluctance to participate due to concerns about expansion and heightened scrutiny. "We have taken a strategic decision not to have our primary regulatory, the government, also be a partner in our bank," said William Chase Jr., CEO of Triumph Bank in Memphis. Many businesses have also frozen plans to expand since the recession in 2008, and don't intend to borrow until customers and revenues grow as well. Additional fears arise from the strings attached to TARP funding, when participating banks had to later cut dividends to shareholders and limit compensation. While the government has promised fewer regulations this time around, many still balk at the program's ability to change the rules at any time.
Five myths about Facebook. As The Social Network premieres in New York, and Facebook does damage control in Silicon Valley, David Kilpatrick, author of The Facebook Effect: The Inside Story of the Company That is Connecting the World writes in the Washington Post about common misconceptions. Before you get too excited, remember, these are myths, not secrets. Example: "Facebook keeps changing to help sell advertising." Sure, there are tweaks over the use and display of personal data, but it's more about staying nimble than pleasing advertisers, Kilpatrick writes.
Need a job? Just text it. Fast Company reports on Assured Labor, a MIT offspring company that connects low-income job-seekers with employers over mobile SMS. The employment service, created by Harvard and Sloan School of Management students, launched in Mexico this week. Check out what the company's founder and CEO has to say here.
U.S. seeing rising discrimination complaints from Muslim employees. Even before the dispute over the planned construction of an Islamic center in Lower Manhattan erupted, more and more Muslim workers were filing religious discrimination complaints with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, The New York Times reports. "Although Muslims make up less than 2 percent of the United States population," the Times writes, "they accounted for about one-quarter of the 3,386 religious discrimination claims filed with the E.E.O.C. last year." The Times says that Islamic groups expect the 2010 numbers to set a new record. Complaints range from verbal taunts from co-workers like "terrorist" and "Obama," to employers prohibiting Muslim women from wearing head scarves.
The classy way to handle rejection. On his blog, venture capitalist Fred Wilson has some advice for any young company dealing with the anger and frustration of being turned down by investors. Rather than sending an expletive-laced e-mail to the firm that turned you down, Wilson says it is better in the long run to handle the rejection with class. "You need to thank the investor for taking a look," he says. "You need to keep the relationship intact for the next time you want to raise money." Wilson admits that it isn't easy to maintain composure after being told no, but he says, "I always make myself feel better by saying to myself 'this deal is going to be huge and the best revenge will be when they are kicking themselves for saying no.'"
More from Inc. magazine:
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robert shumake
BAD <b>NEWS</b> - Very Demotivational - The Demotivational Posters Blog
BAD NEWS YOUR DAD NEVER LOVED YOUSubmitted by: DarkShinkei5.
Movie <b>News</b> Quick Hits: 'Transformers 3' is Now 'Transformers: The <b>...</b>
He's been talking about filming it for years, but now Kevin Smith is finally able to reveal the first image from his new film,
Knight Science Journalism Tracker » Blog Archive » Science <b>News</b>: A <b>...</b>
Science News's enterprising reporter Ron Cowen got it after he looked through the program and abstracts of the Amer. Astronomical Assoc's Division of Planetary Sciences meeting underway in Pasadena. He saw a session devoted to the birth ...
robert shumake
BAD <b>NEWS</b> - Very Demotivational - The Demotivational Posters Blog
BAD NEWS YOUR DAD NEVER LOVED YOUSubmitted by: DarkShinkei5.
Movie <b>News</b> Quick Hits: 'Transformers 3' is Now 'Transformers: The <b>...</b>
He's been talking about filming it for years, but now Kevin Smith is finally able to reveal the first image from his new film,
Knight Science Journalism Tracker » Blog Archive » Science <b>News</b>: A <b>...</b>
Science News's enterprising reporter Ron Cowen got it after he looked through the program and abstracts of the Amer. Astronomical Assoc's Division of Planetary Sciences meeting underway in Pasadena. He saw a session devoted to the birth ...
robert shumake
Your daily dose of news and tidbits from the world of money in politics:
FEC NO LONGER ENFORCING ELECTION LAW?: Following an August story on OpenSecrets Blog chronicling organizations skirting Federal Election Commission disclosure laws, the Campaign Legal Center and Democracy 21 sent a letter to the FEC begging one question: Who is enforcing FEC law if the FEC isn�t?
The letter focuses on contention over �reasonable interpretation� of what constitutes �express advocacy� in the context of a statement by the FEC that an advertisement urging the public �help� a candidate is not express advocacy, since it does not directly tell the public to �vote for� a candidate.
While the letter cites OpenSecrets.org data, the Center for Responsive Politics remains neutral on the issue.
The groups are seeking clarification and a legal explanation, given that advertisements not demonstrating express advocacy are not subject to laws requiring public disclosure of advertising funding.
Meanwhile, a new report by non-profit advocacy group Public Citizen delves deeper into campaign finance information disclosure in the wake of the January Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission Supreme Court ruling. The report contends that the identities of the people and organizations behind political advertisements are becoming less clear, particularly among �Republican-oriented� groups.
The report shows the percentage of groups reporting donors decreasing from 98 percent and 97 percent in 2004 and 2006, respectively, to 49 percent in 2008 and only 32 percent thus far in the 2010 election cycle.
�The Supreme Court has unleashed a flood of new corporate spending on election ads and the public can�t even tell who is behind a given ad,� explained David Arkush, director of Public Citizen�s Congress Watch division, in a Wall Street Journal article.
LADY GAGA AND HARRY REID TEAM UP: What do Lady Gaga and U.S. Sen. Harry Reid (D-Nev.) have in common? Hint: not fashion sense. Still, the pair teamed up earlier this week via Twitter to voice support for the repeal of the military�s �Don�t Ask, Don�t Tell� policy for gay service members.
Reid began the correspondence with a tweet saying �@ladygaga There is a vote on #DADT next week. Anyone qualified to serve this country should be allowed to do so.� The pop star responded by writing �God Bless and Thank you @HarryReid, from all of us, like u, who believe in equality and the dream of this country. We were #BORNTHISWAY.�
While there is no record of Gaga herself making campaign contributions to Reid, the senator has done well fund-raising with her colleagues in the television, movies and music industry, who have donated $436,250 to Reid during the 2010 election cycle.
From 2009-2010, Reid is second to only U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) in campaign contributions from people and political action committees associated with this industry.
BLOOMBERG�S PERSONAL CAMPAIGN CONTRIBUTION RECORD BROKEN: New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg may be notable for massive contributions to his own campaigns, but this billionaire media mogul-turned-politico�s record for the largest personal campaign contribution in U.S. history has been shattered by California gubernatorial candidate Meg Whitman, a Republican.
The San Francisco Chronicle reported another $15 million donation Tuesday, bringing Whitman�s total personal contributions for the 2010 governor�s race to $119 million. A recent Rasmussen poll shows Whitman, former chief executive officer of eBay, slightly ahead of Democratic challenger Jerry Brown, the state�s former governor and current attorney general.
Bloomberg set the former record of $108 million in personal contributions in his mayoral re-election bid last year, when he spent about $185 per vote, as OpenSecrets Blog previously reported.
Have a news tip or link to pass along? We want to hear from you! E-mail us at press@crp.org.
Each day, Inc.'s reporters scour the Web for the most important and interesting news to entrepreneurs. Here's what we found today:
Hats off to Ron Conway. Angel investor Ron Conway, whose prolific portfolio has included Google and PayPal, wrote a scathing e-mail to the super angels involved in what's now being referred to as "Angelgate," and, yes, TechCrunch got a hold of it. When Michael Arrington crashed a secret meeting of angels this week and later wrote that they could be conspiring to cap startup valuations, he mentioned that "a couple of the attendees are saying they were extremely uncomfortable with the direction the conversation was going." Apparently, a partner at Conway's investment firm, David Lee, was one of them. In the e-mail, Conway calls fellow investors "driven by self serving factors around ego satisfaction and 'making a buck.'" He goes on to basically kick ass and takes names ... or rather, drops names. He writes that some fellow investors' actions are "despicable" and specifically calls David McClure out for blogging about the ordeal and causing "embarrassment" for Silicon Valley. Conway also defends David Lee, saying he was "uncomfortable with both gatherings." Conway drives the point home, writing that he wants to disengage, with all the e-mail recipients. "Lets agree to disagree and not have to even engage in any idle chit chat or discussion of any sort….ever." Wow.
Ciao to unlimited data? Verizon recently announced that it expects to start charging wireless customers on the amount of Internet data they use. Robert Chang, writing for the The Wall Street Journal, notes that "the wireless industry has struggled to balance the increasing demand for data capacity with unlimited plans that limit how much revenue carriers can generate from their subscribers." In other words, corporations like Verizon are having a hard time squeezing pennies from the unlimited monthly data plans. The announcement follows Apple's decision to halt sales of unlimited data plans to new customers, and replace it with two service plans that have monthly caps. Customers who go over their limits are charged. But could Verizon be shooting itself in the foot by reducing smartphone Internet use, which could be potentially tapped for revenue streams itself?
Is Obama's small business program falling on deaf ears? The $30 billion in federal lending the president pledged yesterday was supposed to aid struggling small businesses with easier credit and other incentives to grow and hire new workers. But what if businesses don't want the money? Today the AP reports feedback from a number of small businesses and community bank that show reluctance to participate due to concerns about expansion and heightened scrutiny. "We have taken a strategic decision not to have our primary regulatory, the government, also be a partner in our bank," said William Chase Jr., CEO of Triumph Bank in Memphis. Many businesses have also frozen plans to expand since the recession in 2008, and don't intend to borrow until customers and revenues grow as well. Additional fears arise from the strings attached to TARP funding, when participating banks had to later cut dividends to shareholders and limit compensation. While the government has promised fewer regulations this time around, many still balk at the program's ability to change the rules at any time.
Five myths about Facebook. As The Social Network premieres in New York, and Facebook does damage control in Silicon Valley, David Kilpatrick, author of The Facebook Effect: The Inside Story of the Company That is Connecting the World writes in the Washington Post about common misconceptions. Before you get too excited, remember, these are myths, not secrets. Example: "Facebook keeps changing to help sell advertising." Sure, there are tweaks over the use and display of personal data, but it's more about staying nimble than pleasing advertisers, Kilpatrick writes.
Need a job? Just text it. Fast Company reports on Assured Labor, a MIT offspring company that connects low-income job-seekers with employers over mobile SMS. The employment service, created by Harvard and Sloan School of Management students, launched in Mexico this week. Check out what the company's founder and CEO has to say here.
U.S. seeing rising discrimination complaints from Muslim employees. Even before the dispute over the planned construction of an Islamic center in Lower Manhattan erupted, more and more Muslim workers were filing religious discrimination complaints with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, The New York Times reports. "Although Muslims make up less than 2 percent of the United States population," the Times writes, "they accounted for about one-quarter of the 3,386 religious discrimination claims filed with the E.E.O.C. last year." The Times says that Islamic groups expect the 2010 numbers to set a new record. Complaints range from verbal taunts from co-workers like "terrorist" and "Obama," to employers prohibiting Muslim women from wearing head scarves.
The classy way to handle rejection. On his blog, venture capitalist Fred Wilson has some advice for any young company dealing with the anger and frustration of being turned down by investors. Rather than sending an expletive-laced e-mail to the firm that turned you down, Wilson says it is better in the long run to handle the rejection with class. "You need to thank the investor for taking a look," he says. "You need to keep the relationship intact for the next time you want to raise money." Wilson admits that it isn't easy to maintain composure after being told no, but he says, "I always make myself feel better by saying to myself 'this deal is going to be huge and the best revenge will be when they are kicking themselves for saying no.'"
More from Inc. magazine:
Get this delivered to your inbox.
Follow us on Twitter.
Follow us on Tumblr.
Like us on Facebook.
robert shumake
BAD <b>NEWS</b> - Very Demotivational - The Demotivational Posters Blog
BAD NEWS YOUR DAD NEVER LOVED YOUSubmitted by: DarkShinkei5.
Movie <b>News</b> Quick Hits: 'Transformers 3' is Now 'Transformers: The <b>...</b>
He's been talking about filming it for years, but now Kevin Smith is finally able to reveal the first image from his new film,
Knight Science Journalism Tracker » Blog Archive » Science <b>News</b>: A <b>...</b>
Science News's enterprising reporter Ron Cowen got it after he looked through the program and abstracts of the Amer. Astronomical Assoc's Division of Planetary Sciences meeting underway in Pasadena. He saw a session devoted to the birth ...
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