February 21, 2014

Keystone XL Fight Pointless, Says ‘Green’ Pundit at Fossil Fuel-Funded Think Tank

RobertSiegel

Yesterday, NPR’s Robert Siegel invited Paul Bledsoe — whom he introduced only as a former climate change advisor to the Clinton administration — to discuss why the Obama administration should go ahead and approve the Keystone XL pipeline. Bledsoe has appeared across the media in recent days promoting a theory that the Keystone XL will
Continue Reading >>>

February 20, 2014

Palantir Hires Former Congressman to Oversee D.C. Operations, Doesn’t Register Him as a Lobbyist

WAMP

“The air is fresher outside of Washington,” said Zach Wamp, a Republican politician after he left his seat in Congress. Wamp told reporters that he would not pursue a career in lobbying. Instead, he founded a firm that he said would focus on “business development” in Chattanooga, Tennessee. But like many other former officials, leaving
Continue Reading >>>

February 19, 2014

Media Companies Lobby for Trans-Pacific Partnership

tppcoverage

Earlier this month, Media Matters for America published a short research note revealing that most major cable and broadcast news outlets have largely ignored the controversial Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal. Media Matters’ “transcript search of CBS Evening News with Scott Pelly, ABC’s World News with Diane Sawyer, and NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams from August 1, 2013 through
Continue Reading >>>

February 18, 2014

Obama Must Not Coddle For-Profit Colleges Facing Fraud Probes

Michelle+Obama+President+Mrs+Obama+Visit+Troops+r08x1hV2L2Kl

The Obama Administration’s “gainful employment” rule, aimed at protecting students from predatory career colleges, has gone from the Department of Education to the White House Office of Management and Budget, which is holding meetings with interested parties. These include representatives of our coalition of student, veterans, civil rights, consumer, and other groups seeking a strong
Continue Reading >>>

February 18, 2014

Comcast-Funded Latino Groups Celebrate Comcast Merger

Comcast chief executive Neil Smit (left) and Brent Wilkes (center). Smit has been tapped to lead the merger between Comcast and Time Warner Cable.

While many community advocates expressed skepticism about the proposed merger between Comcast Corporation and Time Warner Cable, a certain subset of Latino organizations immediately celebrated the deal. The “United States Hispanic Chamber of Commerce (USHCC) congratulates Comcast for its planned acquisition of Time Warner Cable,” proclaimed a press release sent to reporters last week. “Comcast is
Continue Reading >>>

February 18, 2014

Refineries Seeking Canadian Tar Sands Quietly Finance Pro-Keystone XL Advocacy

afpm

The Consumer Energy Alliance has played a key role in building support for the Keystone XL pipeline. The group sponsored a pro-pipeline study, provided letters used by members of Congress to endorse the project, mobilized thousands of petitions to the State Department, and even created the website “BuildKXLNow.org.” David Holt, president of CEA, portrays his group
Continue Reading >>>

February 17, 2014

Obama Admin’s TPP Trade Officials Received Hefty Bonuses From Big Banks

Stefan Selig

Officials tapped by the Obama administration to lead the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade negotiations have received multimillion dollar bonuses from CitiGroup and Bank of America, financial disclosures obtained by Republic Report show. Stefan Selig, a Bank of America investment banker nominated to become the Under Secretary for International Trade at the Department of Commerce, received more
Continue Reading >>>

February 14, 2014

Pro-Keystone XL Labor’s Short Term Strategy: Fund Union-Busting

keystoneunions

Several construction labor unions have decided to lend their support to the Keystone XL. Though critics charge that the pipeline will lead to a drastic increase in carbon emissions, the unions, including Laborers International Union and the International Union of Operating Engineers, have endorsed the project in exchange for several thousand short-term jobs and only 35
Continue Reading >>>