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PORTLAND, Maine — Stephen King and his wife have made a donation to a Maine group advocating for stricter gun control laws. King says the gift was "five figures" but doesn't want to say more about it because "charity's supposed to be a private thing." The Coalition for a Safer Maine says King is a gun owner and a defender of the Second Amendment who supports expanded background checks on gun sales and a ban on the sale of high-capacity ammunition magazines.....

Out-of-state donors have apparently been very generous to one of the candidates for Governor of Virginia. Even though he claimed recently that three-quarters of his campaign contributors are Virginians, new campaign finance reports show that Democrat Terry McAuliffe has gotten nearly 80-percent of his money from donors outside Virginia. The nonpartisan "Virginia Public Access Project" found that in the first quarter of this year, McAuliffe accepted nearly 700-thousand dollars from labor unions and other groups in DC. Another one-point-two million came from donors in New York, Chicago, and L-A -- and the effort was helped by former president Bill Clinton.

EDITED EXCERPT Obama promises “a frank and intimate discussion, will answer questions and take a photo,” at a $32,400 per couple fund-raiser. But Obama has annoyed Dem insiders. “It’s like ‘Lord of the Flies’....he's cannibalizing donors.” Others expressed fund-raiser fatigue: “It is stunning that he's back. We’d like to see some results for the money we’ve already given." The invite explains to Dems: “You may ask why the fund-raiser and the reason is twofold....we've built a large campaign operation melding a 2 million grass-roots army of volunteers with ground-breaking technology . . . We can’t let Republicans catch up. The...

During his fundraisers in California, President Obama explained that it was more important than ever to win a Democratic majority in the House of Representatives in the upcoming elections. Obama singled out House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi D-Calif. as the reason he flew out to California for a fundraiser. “She has been an extraordinary friend of mine, but more importantly, she’s a friend to working families all across the country each and every day,” Obama said about Pelosi. “I could not be prouder of her, and I expect that she is going to be once again the Speaker of the...

Hillary Clinton left the State Department nearly two months ago, but she still needs a staff to keep up with the considerable business of being Hillary Clinton. A half-dozen people now work for the former secretary of state and Democratic presidential candidate in a tiny corporate space on Connecticut Avenue in Washington, in what is called her "transition office." Transition to what, Mrs. Clinton and her aides have not yet said. But the question hovers over her every move and has frozen in place the very early -but for some potential candidates, very important - presidential maneuvering on the Democratic...

Hillary Clinton left the State Department nearly two months ago, but she still needs a staff to keep up with the considerable business of being Hillary Clinton. A half-dozen people now work for the former secretary of state and Democratic presidential candidate in a tiny corporate space on Connecticut Avenue in Washington, in what is called her “transition office.” Hillary Clinton Looks Ahead Transition to what, Mrs. Clinton and her aides have not yet said. But the question hovers over her every move and has frozen in place the very early — but for some potential candidates, very important —...

With red state Democratic Senators remaining skittish about embracing Obama’s gun proposals, at least two top Democratic donors are stepping forward and vowing to withhold any and all future financial contributions from any Democrats who don’t support the centerpiece of Obama’s plan: Expanded background checks. The move underscores the rising importance of gun control as an issue in Democratic politics — and the rising frustration in some Democratic circles with elected officials who continue to regard gun politics as a third rail, at a moment that presents a real opportunity to achieve serious reform, with a policy that enjoys near...

WASHINGTON -- Chicago congressman Danny Davis and an aide took a trip to Sri Lanka last year that was paid for by the Tamil Tigers, a group that the U.S. government has designated as a terrorist organization for its use of suicide bombers and child soldiers, law enforcement sources said. Davis' seven-day trip came under new scrutiny this week following the arrests of 11 supporters of the organization on charges of participating in a broad conspiracy to support the terrorist group through money laundering, arms procurement and bribery of U.S. officials. The five-term Democratic congressman said he was unaware that...

Link "Pakistan told Indian officials to look into all aspects, including an LTTE or Al-Qaeda connection. Pakistan also informed India that some of the terrorists appeared to be South Indians and looked like LTTE cadres. India investigated every angle," the official said. London's Pakistani High Commissioner in an interview told BBC over the weekend that some of the terrorists looked very much like South Indians. From Sir Lanka Ministry of Defence ....... A little known terror outfit "Deccan Mujahideen" has claimed responsibility for the attacks. Anti-terrorist operations are continuing as Indian security forces take on the formidable mission to...

President Obama announcing his run for President in 2007 in Springfield, IL: "And as people have looked away in disillusionment and frustration, we know what's filled the void. The cynics, and the lobbyists, and the special interests who've turned our government into a game only they can afford to play. They write the checks and you get stuck with the bills, they get the access while you get to write a letter, they think they own this government, but we're here today to take it back. The time for that politics is over. It's time to turn the page."

When Thomas Steyer — a San Francisco billionaire and major Democratic donor — discusses climate change, he feels as if one of two things is true: What he’s saying is blindingly obvious, or insane. It’s a somewhat shocking statement for someone who’s in the running to succeed the cerebral Steven Chu as energy secretary. Granted, he’s a long shot — the leading contender is MIT professor Ernest Moniz, who served as the department’s undersecretary during the Clinton administration — but his backers say his strength lies in combining business savvy with an activist’s passion. But it’s not as if Steyer,...

I received the info below from FNC’s Thomas Firth but it caught my attention so I thought I would post it. Note that Facebook played it both ways (also giving to Repubs, including Gov Romney) but gave generously to President Obama (numbers below.) Why does Facebook give to both political parties? Just in case Republicans won and they would then want a cozy relationship with the Republicans…and because it can (it has a ton of money.) Note also the info about its lobbyists…check out the jobs they held before became lobbyists for Facebook. Read and tell me what you think.

A controversial donor with ties to prominent Democrats who is under investigation by the FBI may not have the qualifications he claims. The resume of Dr. Salomon Melgen, a Florida-based ophthalmologist and controversial Democratic donor, boasts medical education and experience at Harvard University, Yale University, and the University of Missouri. But none of those schools says it can find any record of Melgen, who claims to be a Harvard alumnus, the former chief resident of the University of Missouri’s ophthalmology department, and a former Yale intern. Questions concerning Melgen’s background are also coming to light. According to his biography, posted...

A Christian church and school in Florida are devastated after they said Wounded Warrior Project refused to accept their fund raising effort because it was “religious in nature.” “We were heartbroken,” said Wallace Cooley, pastor of Liberty Baptist Church and Academy in Fort Pierce, Fla. Cooley said they had already paid a $100 registration fee to raise money for the Wounded Warrior Project and were about to launch the campaign when they received an email from the organization. The church had planned on taking up a special offering on the last Sunday in February and students were collecting money from...

The biggest donors in the Republican Party are financing a new group to recruit seasoned candidates and protect Senate incumbents from challenges by far-right conservatives and Tea Party enthusiasts who Republican leaders worry could complicate the party’s efforts to win control of the Senate. -snip- The Conservative Victory Project, which is backed by Karl Rove and his allies who built American Crossroads into the largest Republican super PAC of the 2012 election cycle, will start by intensely vetting prospective contenders for Congressional races to try to weed out candidates who are seen as too flawed to win general elections.

Foes of same-sex marriage are laboring to pay the tab for an epic legal case now before the U.S. Supreme Court, as the movement suffers from fundraising shortfalls that could sap its strength in future battles. ProtectMarriage dot com, the advocacy group defending a California gay marriage ban now under review by the high court, showed a $2 million deficit in its legal fund at the end of 2011 - the third year in a row that expenses exceeded donations, federal tax records show.... "Unless the pace of donations starts to pick up right away, we could soon be forced...

A former director of the Minneapolis FBI office sent a letter this week to members of the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee denouncing B. Todd Jones' performance as U.S. attorney in Minnesota as they prepare to consider his nomination to director of the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF). Donald E. Oswald, 54, a self-declared Democrat and supporter of President Obama, said he felt "morally compelled" to alert the committee about what he describes as Jones' "atrocious professional reputation within the federal law enforcement community" in Minnesota. "He was, and still remains, a significant impediment for federal law...

FBI agents late Tuesday night raided the West Palm Beach business of an eye doctor suspected of providing free trips and even underage Dominican Republic prostitutes to U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez, D-N.J. — who has denied what he calls the “fallacious allegations.” Agents gathered at the medical-office complex of Dr. Salomon Melgen, a contributor to Menendez and other prominent politicians, to start hauling away potential evidence in several vans. The investigation is believed to be focusing on Melgen’s finances and the allegations about Menendez’s trips and contact with prostitutes. A spokesman for Menendez could not be reached for comment, nor...

Only in its first week of operation, the Obama campaign 501(c)4 is soliciting financing from major corporations like Lockheed Martin, Citi, and Duke Energy, ....

Because accepting donations from those distasteful, money-grubbing corporations is just not acceptable --- except, you know, when you really need the money.In 2008/2009, President Obama’s inaugural committee (amidst much self-promoted fanfare, I might add) decided to buck precedent and announced that they would not be accepting corporate donations or individual donations in excess of $50k in a grandiose display of thwarting special interests.Now, of course, the situation is quite different --- worn-out donors and a still-"recovering" economy mean that the inaugural committee is totally okay with corporations and the wealthy possibly ingratiating themselves with Team Obama. It is what it...