Transparency International (TI) has this motto: Corruption hurts everyone. Based in Berlin, Germany, TI is a  non-governmental and non-partisan organization with a coalition of more than 90 local chapters throughout the world.

Founded in 1993, Transparency International monitors and reports on international political and corporate corruption. They look at how corruption affects political parties and the election process, lobbying, international trade, defense issues, and government procurement. TI’s work has directed the world’s attention to the problem of corruption and how it affects people, especially the poor. Among its accomplishments, the organization has played a big role in establishing the United Nations Convention against Corruption and the OECD Anti-Bribery Convention.

From TI’s website you can learn many things about the organization and global corruption. My favorite feature is the 2010 Corruption Perception Index. It has an interactive map reporting the perception of government and corporate corruption for people in most nations of the world. Looking at their scale from zero (highly corrupt) to 10 (very clean), I held my breath before I saw the score for the United States. I was happy to find out we earned a 7.1 – pretty clean. I was disturbed to see how many places all over the world fell into the corrupt categories.

In addition to giving us a terrific web design, the people at Transparency International are savvy with social media. TI has put a great deal of engaging information on Twitter, Facebook, Youtube, and their blog. You can even find a podcast and a free iPhone app.

For anyone who cares about the worldwide issues of good government, Transparency International deserves your close attention.

In January, the Pew Research Center’s Internet and American Life Project released the results of a study showing 22% of people who are active on the internet were in some way engaged with political campaigns via social media in the 2010 election cycle. According to the study, people felt that connecting with candidates on Facebook and Twitter allowed them to be more in touch with the campaigns and said it gave them timely information.

The base of people involved in social media activity has grown since the 2008 elections:

“The social networking population as a whole has grown larger and demographically more diverse in recent years, and the same is true when it comes to political activity on social networking sites.” said Aaron Smith, Senior Researcher Specialist and author of the report. “These platforms are now utilized by politically active individuals of all ages and ideologies to get news, connect with others, and offer their thoughts on the issues that are important to them.”

You can find the synopsis of the Pew Center’s study here: “22% of online Americans used social networking or Twitter for politics in 2010 campaign” and the site also allows you to download the entire report.

Picture courtesy of VIA Gallery on Wikipedia.

According to an article in the Indianapolis Star News, Sarah Nagy has been fired as Executive Director of the Indiana Lobby Registration Commission. Nagy had been put on leave since January.

The article states the board voted unanimously and gave no reason for the action.

For the full story, read: “Lobby group fires executive director” from the February 11 edition.

Last December, the U.S. Census Bureau released the results of the 2010 Census. Officially, there are 308,745, 538 people living in the United States. The number is quite important in deciding where federal and state funding will go and also in deciding U.S. congressional apportionment – the process of dividing the 435 congressional seats among the 50 states based on each states’ population as counted in the census.

Wondering how your state fared in the 2010 Census? The U.S. Census Bureau published an interactive map of the census data and the Apportionment data. Our state, Ohio, lost two seats in the U.S. House of Representatives this time around.

The apportionment process is mandated in the U.S. Constitution in Article I, Section 2 and then superseded in Section 2 of the Fourteenth Amendment. By the way, when they first began the apportionment process in 1790, there were 4 million people living in the U.S. and the ratio was 33,000 people per congressional district. Now it is estimated that there are 700,000 citizens per congressional district.

Lobby Comply reader Nancy Messmore pointed me in the direction of the U.S. Census Bureau and the 2010 Census results. As a librarian, she pointed out that the U.S. Census Bureau has a partnership program and the American Library Association (ALA) was one of the key partners. Thanks to this program, the 2010 Census became more of a grassroots effort and less of a top-down government task. Thanks to the partner organizations, the 2010 Census was able to boast of a 74% mail-back participation rate. The ALA offers a great fact sheet for educators (and one for communities) about the census and its importance.

If you are wondering how the U.S. congressional apportionment is calculated, it is easy, really. Here is the formula. Well, alright, maybe not so easy.

Instead, here is a video by the U.S. Census Bureau explaining the process:

Take care and have a good weekend!

Here is a campaign finance news item from last Friday. According to an article in the New York Times, the Democratic Party has announced it will not use corporate money for their national convention. The article said there will still be a chance for corporate in-kind contributions, and they can still pay for parties on the periphery of the official event.

For the full story, see “Democrats Promise No Corporate Money for Convention” by Michael Shear in the February 4 issue of the New York Times.

Photo of the 2008 Democratic National Convention by Qqqqqq on Wikipedia.

Here is a heads-up for those following lobbying news in Rhode Island. News Editor Stephen Beale wrote on GoLocalProv that Providence, Rhode Island could be the first city in the state to require lobbyists to register with city hall.

The new rules have sparked a debate between supporters of government transparency and accountability and those who do not wish to inhibit non-lobbying groups from interacting with government.

For the full article, go to “Providence Could Become First RI City to Regulate Lobbyists” on GoLocalProv.com.

Photo of the Providence City Hall by ctman987 on Wikipedia.

President Barack Obama delivered his 2011 State of the Union Address to a joint session of Congress on January 25. If you missed it, it’s not a problem, you can watch an archived video on the White House website. What you may have missed is the “Gov 2.0 style” conversation that surrounded the event.

Gov 2.0 is a term that gets thrown around a great deal to describe the new way government and citizenry can interact through technology. I think the State of the Union Address 2011 is a dramatic example of how far social media has changed the way government operates.

All we have from George Washington’s first State of the Union Address is his manuscript and that is pretty much it – precious as it is.

For the State of the Union 2011, Whitehouse.gov provided live video online (now archived) of the speech, a transcript of the text, and a photo gallery. You can also download it on iTunes.

But it was what happened after the event that we see where Gov 2.0 really came into play. The White House provided the chance for an exchange with the American people. According to Whitehouse.gov: “In the days following the State of the Union Address, President Obama and senior Administration officials held a series of live online events to answer your questions.” Through social media, the White House took in questions from the public and then answered (some of) them.

On the Whitehouse.gov SOTU site you can see a video of President Obama responding to questions. You can see Vice President Joe Biden fielding questions on Yahoo. There are videos of what was a series of live online roundtables with White House policy experts in the areas of the economy, education, foreign policy, and healthcare. Live from the White House,  senior White House officials also answered questions about issues covered in the speech and you can see it on YouTube.

From the website, you can receive email updates regarding the State of the Union address or follow the White House on Twitter and Facebook. Connectivity, it’s all about connectivity.

If you want more, there is plenty out there. One of the coolest websites – stateoftheunion.onetwothree.net has an interactive word cloud that allows you to see exactly how many times a word is used in all of the State of the Union Addresses by all of the presidents. The admirable American Presidency Project offers an easily navigable source of transcripts from every State of the Union Address since George Washington’s first.

That ought to keep you busy. Have a great weekend!

Jim Sedor, editor of News You Can Use, pointed out this article – “Lobbyist for San Manuel Tribe Fined $30,000 by State” from Tuesday’s Riverside Press-Enterprise.

According to the article, lobbyist Frank Molina of Strategic Solutions Advisors was fined $30,000 by the California Fair Political Practices Commission for failing to file lobbying reports. The article states Molina has lobbied for the San Manuel Band of Mission Indians and the Soboba Band of Luiseño Indians, both operating casinos.

News You Can Use is State and Federal Communications’ weekly summary of national news focused on ethics, lobbying, and campaign finance.

Five members of the staff of State and Federal Communications attended the Public Affairs Council National Grassroots Conference in beautiful Key West, Florida last week. It was a great chance to learn more about what is happening in grassroots advocacy, to see old friends, and to make some new ones!

One of the best takeaways from the conference, I think, was the way it presented social media as a tool for grassroots advocacy. The offerings at the conference were not an introduction to social media, nor were they making an effort to convince everyone of the value and importance of social media’s arrival. The sessions this year provided insight into best practices of social media. I witnessed much more dialogue in the sessions as more people are aware of it and using it.

There were other high points as well. We really enjoyed hearing the 2010 Grassroots Innovation Awards Winners – Portland General Electric, the American Heart Association, and American Express – talk about the exciting things they are doing in public relations.

Another excellent moment was listening to former U.S. Representative Bill Paxon (R-N.Y.), who spoke at the Friday morning general session. His talk was on the 2010 elections, how they will affect business and public policy, as well as what to look for in the upcoming legislative session.

The conference gave us so much more than we can blog about. We had a great time. We cannot wait until next year!

Thank you very much to the Public Affairs Council for hosting this marvelous conference.

Photo of Elizabeth Bartz welcoming everyone at the Registration/Networking breakfast.

U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown spoke at the Akron Roundtable January Luncheon. State and Federal Communications had the honor of sponsoring the event and we were excited to be in attendance as well!

Senator Brown’s presentation topic was: “Made in Ohio: Why the U.S. Needs a National Manufacturing Strategy”. A great proponent of American manufacturing, Brown spoke about the need for students to be encouraged to study hard in math and engineering. He believes young students would be inspired by having tours of manufacturing plants to find out how things are made.

Brown recognized the economic challenges facing Ohio and the nation. But he pointed out that out of all the states, Ohio is ranked third in the nation in manufacturing and has a long tradition of hard work and innovation. He believes we have every reason to be optimistic about regaining a strong manufacturing future.

We are thankful for the Akron Roundtable for their 35 years of bringing a world of ideas to our town. A big thanks as well goes to Elizabeth Bartz for giving us the opportunity to meet Senator Brown and to hear his presentation.

Photo by Nicolette Koozer.

Elizabeth Bartz and several staff members from State and Federal Communications will be attending the Public Affairs Council’s National Grassroots Conference in Key West, Florida from January 25-28.

The conference is offering an exciting lineup of speakers presenting on grassroots leadership, best practices, and the use of social media.

If you are attending, be sure to stop by and say hello! We would be pleased to see you!

The bill would affect an individual who submits a competitive bid or proposal for a contract as an individual, partner or owner of a privately held business, or board member or executive officer of a business.

They would be prohibited from making a political contribution to a candidate for statewide office, a statewide officeholder, or a specific-purpose committee for supporting or opposing a candidate for statewide office or assisting a statewide officeholder, during the period beginning with the date the bid or proposal is submitted and ending when the contract is awarded to another person or the 30th day after the bidder is awarded the contract.

Further, the same restrictions would be applied to a general-purpose committee established or administered by a corporation. If passed in current form, the legislation would take effect September 1, 2011.

Last week marked the 115th anniversary of the death of Mathew Brady. Many of our readers probably never have heard of Mathew Brady, yet we know some of his photographs very well. Today’s Highlighted Site of the Week, Mathewbrady.com, is dedicated to him.

Born in 1822, Brady is credited with being the father of photojournalism. He took his camera and gear right into the battlefields of the Civil War and took thousands of pictures. So much of what we know about the war we owe to Mathew Brady. In addition to photos of the battles, he created portraits of officers on both the Union and Confederate sides including Ulysses S. Grant, William Sherman, General Custer, Jefferson Davis, and Stonewall Jackson. Brady photographed other notables including King Edward VII of England, Mark Twain, Walt Whitman, and Edgar Allen Poe.

According to the site, Brady photographed 18 United States Presidents, and the most famous from the list would have to be Abraham Lincoln. This is what makes Mathew Brady so familiar to all of us – it was his photographs that were used for the Lincoln five-dollar bill, for Lincoln postage stamps, and the Lincoln penny.

There is a sad irony that Brady, someone so important to our country, had a difficult life and – according to the web site – died alone and penniless in 1896.

Mathewbrady.com is a fitting tribute to this historic photographer. The site offers a biography of Mathew Brady and a history of the processes of photography. Far and away the best feature, however, is the gallery of portraits, which is simply amazing.

Perhaps we all have come to take for granted that we have easy access to 24-hour news with visual coverage from anywhere in the world at a moment’s notice. But for those of us who follow government news and world events, in a way it all started with Mathew Brady. I urge everyone to take a few moments to visit Mathewbrady.com and learn a bit about this truly great American treasure.