Thank you to Political Activity Law blog for bringing this to our attention. As part of its series about lobbying and U.S. politics on Morning Edition, NPR broadcast a story about how a study calculated what money corporations saved through a tax break from the American Jobs Creation Act versus what they spent lobbying on the legislation.
The exhibit that shows the Washington, D.C. that could have been.
What if the nation’s capitol had been built with a giant bronze chicken on top of it? What if the Washington Monument had been built with a giant statue of the first president standing atop? How about a Lincoln Memorial built as a giant pyramid?
This week’s Highlighted Site of the Week is the National Building Museum’s Unbuilt Washington, the official site for the exhibit that shows you “what might have been” in our nation’s capital.
The proposed pyramid-style Lincoln Memorial.
According to the site: “Unbuilt Washington reveals the Washington that could have been by presenting architectural and urban design projects that were proposed but, for widely varied reasons, never executed. … The physical character of Washington, D.C., that we take for granted today is the unique result of countless decisions, debates, successes, failures, reconsiderations, missed opportunities, and lucky breaks. To tourists and residents alike, the city’s greatest landmarks may seem so appropriate, so correct—it is hard to imagine that they could have turned out completely differently. But nothing in the built environment of Washington [or in any other city, for that matter] is predestined.”
You will find an interactive Google map for the sites of the would-be sites and memorials described in Unbuilt Washington.
Don’t miss the exhibit, which runs from November 19, 2011 – May 28, 2012. Here is the National Building Museum’s Twitter feed and Facebook.
“An Act to End Taxpayer-funded Campaigns for Gubernatorial Candidates” was held over from last session, but the Joint Committee voted for a recommendation of “ought not to pass” with little debate.
CivSource reports about the implications for SuperPACs
In response to the Supreme Court’s Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission decision, there are states and cities taking action to deny personhood to corporations. The Montana Supreme Court upheld a ban on corporate spending in local elections and a measure was introduced in the Vermont Legislature calling for a constitutional amendment distinguishing the rights of individuals from those of corporations.
The city councils of Los Angeles, Oakland, Albany, Boulder, and New York City are listed in the article as having passed resolutions – some calling for a constitutional amendment – eliminating corporate personhood, which could affect SuperPAC spending in their jurisdictions.
The National Conference of State Legislatures just published two summaries:
In “NCSL News: New Laws Ring in the New Year,” they list the new laws in the states that take effect as of January 1. Don’t miss the “Elections” section for news about laws in California, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Texas.
NCSL also posted “Top 12 for 2012” by Meagan Dorsch, who lists what she expects to be top issues on the agendas in the state legislatures.
Rod Blagojevich looks ahead to 2012 and sends his supporters a message on Twitter according to this Associated Press article.
Here is a techPresident article about how Google has launched a new elections portal that will allow everyone to follow the caucuses and primaries in a new way in 2012.
FEC Chair Cynthia Bauerly said, “I am pleased to announce the launch of the FEC’s new mobile interface. … I greatly appreciate the efforts of the agency staff who worked on this project, which will further the FEC’s mission of disclosing campaign finance data.”
Here is the FEC’s press release about the new pages.
Bloomberg Business Week has gathered a variety of opinions about the emerging Jack Abramoff redux-as-ethics-teacher phenomenon. The Kentucky Legislative Ethics Commission hired Jack Abramoff to be a speaker on the subject of ethics at their upcoming legislative training and people are reacting.
Elizabeth Bartz, President and CEO of State and Federal Communications, and Howard Marlowe, President of the American League of Lobbyists offered their thoughts. You also can find opinions from Craig Holman of Public Citizen in Washington, Melanie Sloan, the director of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, and even Jack Abramoff himself.
Bartz was quoted saying: “Certainly you want to give people a chance to rehabilitate themselves. But is Jack Abramoff rehabilitated? I don’t think so.”
Politico reports today how – thanks to loopholes – Super PACs are able to keep their donors secret throughout the first four GOP contests: the Iowa caucuses and primaries in New Hampshire, South Carolina, and Florida.
According to the article, some in the Federal Election Commission are calling for a change of the rules to allow for greater disclosure:
The disclosure rules may need to be updated to reflect the rise of super PACs as driving forces in presidential politics, two Democratic FEC commissioners suggested in interviews with POLITICO. “Super PACs are functioning as the alter egos of the campaigns, and their activity was clearly not anticipated when the statutes were put in place,” said Ellen Weintraub, a Democratic FEC appointee. The commission, she said, “should reconsider the regulations about caucuses and disclosure or at least take a hard look at them.”
We have been very busy at Lobby Comply blog this year. Nineteen contributors offered 714 posts of news and analysis regarding lobbyist compliance, campaign finance, government ethics, and procurement lobbying – news from all over the nation.
Since this is the last week of the year, I wondered which blog posts received the most visits, so I ran a content report for the past year. I thought I would share with you what I found. Here are the most-read blog posts of 2011:
The Washington State Redistricting Commission has released a plan for a new map of congressional districts for the state. It must be approved by the Commission by January 1, 2012.
We have many things for which we are thankful at State and Federal Communications. Before the day gets away from us, we would like to thank you for following Lobby Comply Blog.
We have had a great year and look forward to giving our very best service to our clients in 2012. Health and happiness to you and your families.
From all of us at State and Federal Communications, we wish you Happy Holidays!
State and Federal Communications, Inc. provides research and consulting services for government relations professionals on lobbying laws, procurement lobbying laws, political contribution laws in the United States and Canada. Learn more by visiting stateandfed.com.
“Ethics watchdog alleges that Gingrich might have violated lobbying laws” by Rachel Leven in The Hill.
Thank you to Political Activity Law blog for bringing this to our attention. As part of its series about lobbying and U.S. politics on Morning Edition, NPR broadcast a story about how a study calculated what money corporations saved through a tax break from the American Jobs Creation Act versus what they spent lobbying on the legislation.
What if the nation’s capitol had been built with a giant bronze chicken on top of it? What if the Washington Monument had been built with a giant statue of the first president standing atop? How about a Lincoln Memorial built as a giant pyramid?
The Joint Standing Committee on Veterans and Legal Affairs of the Maine State Legislature has killed LD 120, a bill aiming to stop gubernatorial candidates from participating in the state’s clean elections program.
In response to the Supreme Court’s Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission decision, there are states and cities taking action to deny personhood to corporations. The Montana Supreme Court upheld a ban on corporate spending in local elections and a measure was introduced in the Vermont Legislature calling for a constitutional amendment distinguishing the rights of individuals from those of corporations.
“Lobbyist Is Expected to Plead Guilty in Corruption Case” by Benjamin Weiser in The New York Times .The National Conference of State Legislatures just published two summaries:
Bloomberg Business Week has gathered a variety of opinions about the emerging Jack Abramoff redux-as-ethics-teacher phenomenon. The Kentucky Legislative Ethics Commission hired Jack Abramoff to be a speaker on the subject of ethics at their upcoming legislative training and people are reacting.
You can find Politico’s coverage in “Super PACs go stealth through first contests” by Dave Levinthal and Kenneth P. Vogel.
Since this is the last week of the year, I wondered which blog posts received the most visits, so I ran a content report for the past year. I thought I would share with you what I found. Here are the most-read blog posts of 2011:
The Washington State Redistricting Commission has released a plan for a new map of congressional districts for the state. It must be approved by the Commission by January 1, 2012.
