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Keyword: payola

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  • Book: Jesse Jackson, Jr., Offered to Arrange a Blagojevich Pardon from Obama

    09/10/2012 10:03:19 PM PDT · by PBRCat · 17 replies
    The Chicago Sun Times ^ | September 10, 2012 | Natasha Korecki
    Chicago Sun-Times reporter Natasha Korecki followed every step of Blagojevich’s downfall. She details his demise in a new book — Only in Chicago: How the Rod Blagojevich Scandal Engulfed Illinois; Embroiled Barack Obama, Rahm Emanuel, and Jesse Jackson, Jr.; and Enthralled the Nation. The book raises the question of whether Jesse Jackson Jr., the congressman son of the famed civil rights leader, plotted to arrange a pardon for Blagojevich from President Barack Obama.
  • More than half of Obama's 2008 big fundraisers have been given administration jobs

    03/09/2012 6:23:13 AM PST · by SeekAndFind · 4 replies
    American Thinker ^ | March 8, 2012 | Rick Moran
    <p>A promise not to hire lobbyists didn't even last 2 months. A promise for sweeping ethics reforms has been all hat no cattle.</p> <p>Big donors considering whether to work the phones raising money for President Obama's reelection campaign might consider the fate of his 2008 bundlers. Many of them, it turns out, won plum jobs in his administration.</p>
  • Dispute over $16 Muffins Heats Up

    09/24/2011 10:52:23 AM PDT · by John Semmens · 36 replies
    The revelation that the U.S. Department of Justice has been paying exorbitant prices for food and drink ($16 apiece for muffins and $8 a cup for coffee) at official functions sparked a heated exchange between Congressional critics and Administration officials. Senator Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) labeled the outlays “extravagant and wasteful. We’re in a recession. The budget is in a big hole. Families have to scrimp and save. What kind of a message does this sort of ‘lord of the manor’ attitude toward federal spending send?” Representative Frank Wolf (R-Va), who chairs the House appropriations subcommittee that oversees the Justice Department,...
  • Behind N.Y. Gay Marriage, an Unlikely Mix of Forces (Super-rich pushed through NY gay vote)

    06/26/2011 5:30:06 AM PDT · by NYer · 98 replies
    NYTimes ^ | June 25, 2011 | MICHAEL BARBARO
    In the 35th-floor conference room of a Manhattan high-rise, two of Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo’s most trusted advisers held a secret meeting a few weeks ago with a group of super-rich Republican donors. Over tuna and turkey sandwiches, the advisers explained that New York’s Democratic governor was determined to legalize same-sex marriage and would deliver every possible Senate vote from his own party. Would the donors win over the deciding Senate Republicans? It sounded improbable: top Republican moneymen helping a Democratic rival with one of his biggest legislative goals. But the donors in the room — the billionaire Paul Singer,...
  • Obama economy good for some people

    06/15/2011 1:45:37 PM PDT · by SeekAndFind · 24 replies
    American Thinker ^ | 06/15/2011 | Ed Lasky
    While America as a whole slides toward unemployment and poverty, certain well-connected people are doing very nicely indeed. Consider Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi and her husband Paul. Kevin Bogardus of The Hill reports:  House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) saw her net worth rise 62 percent last year, cementing her status as one of the wealthiest members of Congress.Pelosi was worth at least $35.2 million in the 2010 calendar year, according to a financial disclosure report released Wednesday. She reported a minimum of $43.4 million in assets and about $8.2 in liabilities.For 2009, Pelosi reported a minimum net worth...
  • Labor chief criticizes Obama (Thug #1, Trumka)

    05/20/2011 1:56:01 PM PDT · by jazusamo · 13 replies
    The Washington Times ^ | May 20, 2011 | Kara Rowland
    The nation’s top labor leader on Friday said President Obama has allowed talk of attacking federal deficits to overrun his message on jobs and economic growth, while hitting Fox News for being anti-union. “I think he made a strategic blunder whenever he confused his stimulus/jobs agenda” by letting deficits dominate the conversation, AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka said of Mr. Obama in response to questions at the National Press Club. The unions have long been a critical component of the Democratic Party base, but Mr. Trumka’s remarks suggested the umbrella labor group could take a more independent stance in 2012. Mr....
  • So How Much Do Public Union Workers Really Make?

    03/01/2011 11:10:52 AM PST · by JohnRLott · 83 replies
    Fox News ^ | March 01, 2011 | John R. Lott Jr.
    President Obama lashed out at Republicans Monday for having "denigrated or vilified" public union employees. Without collective bargaining and the ability to go on strike, he said we wouldn't be able to attract "the best and the brightest to public service." Are public employees simply the best and the brightest? Or are we simply lavishing them with much better employment deals than their private counterparts? To measure how attractive a job is, economists study how employees vote with their feet -- that is, comparing the rate at which different categories of employees voluntarily quit their jobs. Over the last six...
  • Labor Sec: Keeping People on Unemployment for Almost Two Years is Gov Moral Obligation

    11/05/2010 1:00:51 PM PDT · by Pacothecat · 65 replies
    THE BLAZE ^ | 11/5/2010
    “Spread the Recovery” Labor Sec: Keeping People on Unemployment for Almost Two Years is Gov Moral Obligation http://www.theblaze.com/stories/%e2%80%9cspread-the-recovery%e2%80%9d-labor-sec-keeping-people-on-unemployment-for-almost-two-years-is-gov-moral-obligation/
  • Brakes put on removal of red light cameras [Houston refuses to give up $10 million cash cow]

    11/03/2010 11:23:21 PM PDT · by smokingfrog · 39 replies
    chron.com ^ | 3 Nov 2010 | JAMES PINKERTON and BRAD OLSON
    Although voters abolished Houston's red light camera system Tuesday, the 70 cameras have the green light to keep recording traffic violations for months as the city weighs a legal strategy for exiting its contract with the firm operating the cameras, city officials say. Anti-camera activists slammed the delay Wednesday, insisting on immediately terminating the five-year contract — whatever the cost - with ATS, the Arizona firm that manages Houston's system. The May 2009 contract has a termination clause that requires the city to provide the company with a 120-day notice of cancellation, a period when the cameras will still be...
  • SHOCK: PA Dem: "We Still Have The Street Money" To Pay For Voters

    10/25/2010 11:44:32 AM PDT · by i88schwartz · 30 replies
    RealClearPolitics ^ | October 25, 2010 | RealClearPolitics
    ANDREA MITCHELL, NBC: "What is the secret here to turn out? In the old days, the old machine days, what we called 'walking around money,' handing out money to get people to vote. Is it still the case? What do you do, what is the magic in Philadelphia? REP. ROBERT BRADY (D-PA): "We still have the street money and we're very knowledgeable." Rep. Brady is also the chairman of the Philadelphia Democratic party.
  • Explosive Report Examines 'Pay for Play' Between Sen. Reid and Arcata Associates

    09/20/2010 10:22:55 AM PDT · by SvenMagnussen · 2 replies
    PR Newswire ^ | Sept. 20, 2010 | Audrey Mullen
    Defense Earmarks Totaling $3.36 million in 2 years in Return for $139,000 in Campaign Contributions LAS VEGAS, Sept. 20 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- 1001 Reasons to Vote Against Harry Reid has issued a detailed and comprehensive report on the cozy relationship between Sen. Harry Reid and Arcata Associates. Arcata is a Las Vegas-based defense contractor controlled by the Wong family whose executives have given close to $139,000 to Sen. Reid and to the Democratic Party. Sen. Reid rewarded Arcata with $3.36 million in earmarked projects in just the past two years. Justice Brandeis once said that sunlight was the best disinfectant, because...
  • News rater, anti-Palin group get govt Gulf work

    federal government hired a New Orleans man for $18,000 to appraise whether news stories about its actions in the Gulf oil spill were positive or negative for the Obama administration, which was keenly sensitive to comparisons between its response and former President George W. Bush's much-maligned reaction to Hurricane Katrina. also spent $10,000 for just over three minutes of video showing a routine offshore rig inspection for news organizations but couldn't say whether any ran the footage. And it awarded a $216,625 no-bid contract for a survey of seabirds to an environmental group that has criticized what it calls the...
  • Meghan McCain Writes that Palin Brought 'Drama, Stress... Panic' to Campaign (Gawd help us)

    Exclusive: Meghan McCain Writes that Palin Brought 'Drama, Stress... Panic' to Campaign Sen. John McCain's Daughter: Sarah Palin's Rise Was 'Too Fast,' 'Too Easy' Aug. 31, 2010— For the first time since the end of her father's 2008 presidential bid, Sen. John McCain's daughter Meghan McCain spoke out about Sarah Palin, writing in a new book that Palin brought "drama, stress, complications, panic and loads of uncertainty" to the losing campaign. Though she writes that during the campaign she wondered if the loss "was Sarah Palin's fault," McCain told "Good Morning America" today in an exclusive interview that Palin was...
  • Aide says Blago hid in bathroom to avoid staff

    07/08/2010 1:07:51 PM PDT · by SkyPilot · 36 replies · 1+ views
    The Southern and AP ^ | 8 July 10 | MIKE ROBINSON AND MICHAEL TARM
    CHICAGO (AP) - Rod Blagojevich hid in the bathroom, ducked into the back room and left the office early to avoid discussing complex issues with his top aides, his former deputy said Thursday at the ousted governor's corruption trial. Former Deputy Governor Robert Greenlee portrayed Blagojevich as disengaged from daily affairs of state, saying Blagojevich spent on average about two to eight hours a week in his office when he was governor. He said that during working hours, the governor generally was at home or attending high-profile events. Greenlee said he would confer with Blagojevich by telephone when they discussed...
  • Lawyers Fight for Profits from John Edwards Sex Tape

    07/08/2010 12:23:31 PM PDT · by BarnacleCenturion · 33 replies · 1+ views
    Raleigh News & Observer ^ | July 8, 2010 | Staff
    HILLSBOROUGH, N.C. — During the latest episode of the battle over a sex tape showing ex-presidential candidate John Edwards being less than presidential, Judge Carl Fox stopped with a quizzical look. Rielle Hunter, a campaign videographer with whom Edwards had an extramarital affair and a child, claims the tape is hers and wants it back from Andrew Young, the former Edwards aide who wrote a tell-all book about the politician's quest for the White House. At a hearing in Orange County Superior Court on Wednesday, lawyers for Young argued that Hunter had no claim to it. They contended the video...
  • Houston DPS clerk charged with bribery She's accused of selling licenses to illegal drivers

    07/01/2010 6:52:49 AM PDT · by BradtotheBone · 33 replies
    Houston Chronicle ^ | July 1, 2010 | MIKE GLENN
    A Houston woman who works for the Texas Department of Public Safety used her ready access to state driver's licenses for cash, authorities said. Gracie Gutierrez, 27, remained in custody after she was charged on Tuesday with bribery. Gutierrez is accused of accepting bribes to issue driver's licenses to people who are undocumented and have not taken the written or driving exam, said Donna Hawkins with the Harris County District Attorney's office. Also charged with bribery is Saul Ramirez, 20. Officials said he does not work for DPS. Ramirez was arrested while trying to sell a Texas driver's license to...
  • Dodd: No one will know until this is actually in place how it works

    06/25/2010 11:29:39 AM PDT · by Southnsoul · 62 replies
    The Washington Post ^ | June 25, 2010
    House, Senate leaders finalize details of sweeping financial overhaul By Brady Dennis Washington Post Staff Writer Friday, June 25, 2010; 12:26 PM Key House and Senate lawmakers approved far-reaching new financial rules early Friday after weeks of division, delay and frantic last-minute dealmaking. The dawn compromise set up a potential vote in both houses of Congress next week that could send the landmark legislation to President Obama by July 4. The final and most arduous compromise began to fall into place just after midnight. Sen. Blanche Lincoln (D-Ark.) agreed to scale back a controversial provision that would have forced the...
  • Mystery surrounds Villaraigosa's duties at free-ticket events [L.A. mayor]

    06/24/2010 12:46:16 PM PDT · by La Enchiladita · 15 replies
    L.A. Times ^ | June 23, 2010 | David Zahniser
    At the heart of the current controversy involving free tickets at Los Angeles City Hall, one question stands out: If Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa attended big-time entertainment events because he was conducting city business, why did he not keep better records of those public duties? For weeks, Villaraigosa has argued that he appeared in an official capacity at dozens of concerts, sporting events and awards shows since 2005, from sitting in box seats at Dodger Stadium to attending a 2007 performance by R&B singer Mary J. Blige at L.A. Live. Those duties, he said, exempted him from the law that would...
  • Behind the music: Is there any point in 'buying' your fans? (450,000+ bands compete for followers)

    06/10/2010 11:09:28 AM PDT · by a fool in paradise · 10 replies · 133+ views
    Guardian UK ^ | Thursday 10 June 2010 | Helienne Lindvall
    Companies are preying on desperate musicians by selling them Twitter followers, Facebook fans and even download sales. But only a fool would think this is real success One of the most staggering statistics I took from this year's The Great Escape was that analytics company MusicMetric is currently tracking 450,000 artists. As it's not following every artist out there, we can safely say there are more than half a million competing for your attention. So how are they supposed to get heard? Unsurprisingly, new companies have emerged that are intent on profiting from the increasing desperation of artists and start-up...
  • White House Faces Fresh Questions Over (Illegal) Back-Room Dealmaking

    06/03/2010 3:56:15 AM PDT · by tobyhill · 4 replies · 487+ views
    fox news ^ | 6/3/2010 | fox news
    The White House faced fresh questions over back-room dealmaking after a Democrat acknowledged he had been encouraged by one of President Barack Obama's top advisers to apply for an international development job instead of challenging the candidate whom the president favored in a Senate race. The revelation again called into question repeated promises by Obama to run an open government that was above private political horse-trading. In appealing to voters this election year, Republicans charge that Obama's promise to change the ways of Washington has given way to the craven politics he campaigned against. Former Colorado House of Representatives Speaker...