07 September 19
We need your help folks. When you turn your back on corporate America there is no going back. We put our faith in the public. Reasonable public support does work, complete lack of support doesn’t.
In earnest.
Marc Ash
Founder, Reader Supported News
Founder, Reader Supported News
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PO Box 2043
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Reader Supported News
PO Box 2043
Citrus Hts, CA 95611
06 September 19
Biden Taps Influence Industry Despite Pledge on Lobbyists
Brian Slodysko, Associated Press
Slodysko writes: "Hours after his April campaign kickoff, the former vice president went to a fundraiser at the home of a lobbying executive. And in the months since, he's done it again and again."
Brian Slodysko, Associated Press
Slodysko writes: "Hours after his April campaign kickoff, the former vice president went to a fundraiser at the home of a lobbying executive. And in the months since, he's done it again and again."
EXCERPTS:
That includes roughly $6,000 in contributions his campaign accepted from six federally registered lobbyists, including representatives of Google, aerospace and defense giant Lockheed Martin, and pharmaceutical companies, records show. An additional $5,750 was donated by two lobbyists who had been registered shortly before making contributions to Biden’s campaign, records show.
In at least two instances, donations came from lobbyists with criminal records who have served time in federal prison.
Former Florida Rep. Lawrence J. Smith, a federally registered lobbyist representing the city of Pembroke Pines, gave Biden $1,000 after attending a fundraiser in May. Smith left Congress in 1993 after it was revealed he bounced 161 bad checks. He was convicted months later of tax evasion and using campaign cash to settle a gambling debt.
Maryland statehouse lobbyist Gerard E. Evans gave Biden $2,600, records show. He was sentenced to 30 months in federal prison in 2000 after being found guilty of participating in an elaborate fake legislation scheme that bilked clients out of more than $400,000 in lobbying fees, according to court records.
Excluded from Biden’s pledge are lobbyists who work at the state level and those who lobby, or supervise lobbyists, but do not meet the legal threshold requiring them to register.
Spokesman Matt Hill said in a statement that Biden will “fight the influence of corporations and special interests in our political system, which is why his campaign refuses donations from corporations, their PACs, and federal lobbyists.”
The PAC, which Biden used to finance his political activities after leaving the White House in 2017, accepted at least $113,000 from at least a dozen current and formerly registered lobbyists, in addition to more than 30 others who work in the influence industry, records show. Among them are representatives for Boeing, Apple, the NFL, Facebook, General Motors and the National Association of Mortgage Brokers, as well as other representatives of the big pharmaceutical, tech, telecom and financial services companies, records show.
Moscow authorities refused to issue permits for most of the protests that have taken place in the city this summer, and the police and National Guard put them down brutally. (photo: Sergei Bobylev/Getty Images)
Masha Gessen | A Summer of Unprecedented Brutality in Moscow
Masha Gessen, The New Yorker
Gessen writes: "It's true that the Kremlin has been cracking down on dissent for seven years, and nothing has qualitatively changed in that time, but the arrests continue to multiply, prison terms grow longer, and the brutality becomes more brutal. Once in a while, the cruelty of the authorities comes into sharper focus."
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Masha Gessen, The New Yorker
Gessen writes: "It's true that the Kremlin has been cracking down on dissent for seven years, and nothing has qualitatively changed in that time, but the arrests continue to multiply, prison terms grow longer, and the brutality becomes more brutal. Once in a while, the cruelty of the authorities comes into sharper focus."
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Travelers wait in line at a security checkpoint at Ronald Reagan National Airport on May 24, 2019, in Arlington, Va. (photo: Zach Gibson/Getty Images)
Secret Terrorism Watchlist Found Unconstitutional in Historic Decision
Ryan Devereaux, The Intercept
Devereaux writes: "The 166-page 'Watchlisting Guidance' detailed the process by which the U.S. national security apparatus adds individuals to the Terrorist Screening Database."
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Ryan Devereaux, The Intercept
Devereaux writes: "The 166-page 'Watchlisting Guidance' detailed the process by which the U.S. national security apparatus adds individuals to the Terrorist Screening Database."
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Sen. Sanders walks the picket line with Penford Products workers in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. (photo: Bernie Sanders/Instagram)
Union Leader: We Back Bernie Sanders Because He Has 'Petitioned for American Workers'
Tess Bonn, The Hill
Bonn writes: "A leader at the United Electrical Radio and Machine Workers of America (UE) said that the labor group backed Sen. Bernie Sanders's (I-Vt.) 2020 presidential bid because he has actively taken part in fighting for workers' rights."
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Tess Bonn, The Hill
Bonn writes: "A leader at the United Electrical Radio and Machine Workers of America (UE) said that the labor group backed Sen. Bernie Sanders's (I-Vt.) 2020 presidential bid because he has actively taken part in fighting for workers' rights."
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Aviation operators agreed to stop helping ICE deport immigrants, and as far as human rights researchers and activists know, Boeing Field is no longer used for deportations. (photo: CNN)
This Community Stopped ICE From Using Its Airport to Deport Thousands of Immigrants
Lena Elmeligy, In These Times
Excerpt: "Thanks to local organizing, King County International Airport no longer provides ground support for ICE."
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Lena Elmeligy, In These Times
Excerpt: "Thanks to local organizing, King County International Airport no longer provides ground support for ICE."
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Juan Guaido. (photo: Matías Baglietto/Getty Images)
Venezuela Government Shows Proof of Juan Guaido Leading a 'Criminal Group'
teleSUR
Excerpt: "Venezuela's Vice-President Delcy Rodriguez affirmed Thursday that opposition lawmaker Juan Guaido spearheaded a criminal organization that was transferring national bonds to foreign countries, especially the United States."
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teleSUR
Excerpt: "Venezuela's Vice-President Delcy Rodriguez affirmed Thursday that opposition lawmaker Juan Guaido spearheaded a criminal organization that was transferring national bonds to foreign countries, especially the United States."
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Smog in Los Angeles, California. (photo: Allen.G/Shutterstock)
White House Prepares to Revoke California's Right to Set Tougher Pollution Rules
Coral Davenport, The New York Times
Davenport writes: "President Trump is strongly considering a plan to revoke California's legal authority to set state tailpipe pollution standards that are stricter than federal regulations."
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Coral Davenport, The New York Times
Davenport writes: "President Trump is strongly considering a plan to revoke California's legal authority to set state tailpipe pollution standards that are stricter than federal regulations."
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