Comedy Central’s Indecision is a website where political humor rules.  On this site, they take serious topics and turn them into hilarious jokes. For example, you could read about how “Democrats are avoiding the National Convention like the Plague” and “U.S. wakes up in an Alternate Reality where Obamacare is not killed”.

They have a blog with similar stories as well, covering the presidential campaign and many other topics.  The most recent post (as of this writing) was the Top 5 Best reactions to the Supreme Court ruling on Obamacare.

Indecision also has a Video tab where you’ll find videos where hosts Jared and Jordan talk about politics and a Photo tab leading to a page with funny photos of political figures.

Indecision has an app for iPad and iPhone that can keep you up to date with their hilarious news.  My favorite feature on the site is the Caption Challenge. You may add your own caption to a photo and the funniest one is chosen to represent that photo or picture.

This is just scratching the surface of the Indecision site.  Go check it out for yourself!

Have a good weekend and we’ll see you next time.

The Kentucky Legislative Ethics Commission has submitted a recommendation to the legislative research commission for several changes to the code of legislative ethics.

The recommended changes include:

• requiring employers of lobbyists to report the cost of advertising supporting or opposing legislation that appears during a session of the general assembly, if the cost is paid by an employer of lobbyists or a person affiliated with an employer;

• prohibiting employers of lobbyists and PACs from making campaign contributions to legislative candidates or legislators during a regular session of the general assembly, and prohibiting lobbyists from directly soliciting contributions for an election campaign of a legislator or legislative candidate;

• repeal the provision allowing each lobbyist and employer to spend up to $100 annually on food and beverages for each legislator and his or her immediate family, and prohibit lobbyists and employers from paying for out-of-state travel, food, or lodging expenses for legislators or candidates; and

• limiting the interaction between lobbyists and candidates who have filed to run for election to the general assembly, who are currently not subject to the $100 limit on food and beverage or prohibition on receiving anything of value from a lobbyist or employer.

There are six of us in all.

Joanna Kamvouris sits beside me, to the right. She smiles brightly and works hard. She doesn’t go by any nicknames, so Joanna it is. A soon to be sophomore, Joanna studies journalism at Kent State University. While in high school, she reported for The Richfield Times and the Bath Country Journal, though she considers working here—at State and Federal Communications, Inc.—her first real job.

“It has given me a chance to experience the working environment of an office . . . to work among a close group of employees, observe meetings, and bond with some of the staff here. I am so thankful,” she said. Joanna is responsible for helping with communications. She said she was nervous to begin, but slowly things started feeling more familiar. “There is still so much that I have yet to learn!”

Everyday Joanna packs a lunch of peanut butter and jelly on wheat, Wheat Thins or cheese crackers, a granola bar and a bottle of water. One time she and I walked together, around the corner and across Market Street, to join her Great Uncle—Evangelos—for lunch at his restaurant, the Western Fruit Basket. She had a gyro and I had salata.

Both houses of the New York state Legislature recently passed a bill aimed at lowering procurement costs for municipalities. Senate Bill 5525 authorizes state municipalities to piggyback off existing public contracts entered into by the federal government, any state, or any municipalities within those states.

New York state municipalities will still have to abide by state contracting rules when utilizing this piggybacking ability. Therefore, the original contract must have utilized competitive bidding when necessary and the municipalities must still comply with the laws regarding minority and women owned businesses as well as any preferred source requirements.

The bill will now head to Governor Andrew Cuomo’s desk where he will decide whether to sign it into law or veto it.

Photo of the New York State Capitol by UpStateNYer on Wikipedia.

As cars and crowds pass by the offices of State and Federal Communications, a vibrant flower arrangement sits peacefully on the corner of South Summit and East Mill Street. At a glance, this may seem like just an ordinary arrangement of white, green, purple and red plants growing from a large, blue pot. But this delicate flower arrangement represents the pride of a company and the intricate beauty of its surrounding city.

Through a program sponsored by the Downtown Akron Partnership, State and Federal Communications, under President and CEO Elizabeth Bartz adopted a flower pot to decorate outside the company building. The Keep Akron Beautiful program is sponsored to plan and maintain flower arrangements throughout the city of Akron.

On June 2, ambassadors representing the Downtown Akron Partnership decorated a large, concrete flower pot in front of the building. That’s when IT Assistant Ken Kelewae of State and Federal Communications along with his wife, chose the arrangement of flowers to plant in the pot.

“My wife helped me in choosing the color arrangements of the plants to put in the pot,” Kelewae said.  “I painted it a solid color and topped off the pot with a layer of soil before I planted.”

Every morning an ambassador from the Akron Partnership makes a quick stop at State and Federal Communications to water the adopted flower arrangement.  Kelewae, along with his co-worker, IT Assistant David Jones, checks on the plants daily and gives them extra water toward the end of the day on Fridays.

“We wait until after 10:00 a.m. every day to check on the plants and make sure they’ve been watered,” Kelewae said.

From species of Sedum to the snow-white leaves of the Dusty Miller plants, State and Federal Communication’s adopted flower pot provides a colorful contrast to the brick buildings and black pavement along Summit Street.

“I think as active as Elizabeth is in the city and with the Chamber, it just shows how we’re involved and that we care how things appear,” Kelewae said.

Ren walked away with an exasperated look on his face. It was really loud. Joanna and I turned towards each other. We were just told by one of our superiors to leave work in the middle of the day, and to go outside. It was beautiful outside. Well, yeah. We nodded, in agreement. Of course we’ll go outside.

So we went. And we walked. We did laps around the building, maybe 8 to 10 of them. At 5’3” and with Joanna at 5’5” we noted how many steps we must have taken due to our short strides. We discussed our excitement for Walking, Part 2 to begin.

State and Federal Communications, Inc. was in the middle of its health initiative: Walking, Part 1. The staff is divided into three teams and provided with a pedometer. The team with the most steps wins. There is also a chart that translates other physical activities into steps, so those who do the rowing machine at the gym, for example, still get credit for being active. Signs of encouragement are posted all over the office: Keep on Walking, they remind us. On day one we were told to watch out for Team Myra: Myra Texas Walkers. They were in the lead. Apparently, Myra runs marathons with the same ease that most run through the drive thru. I can’t compete with that sort of mastery, I thought. But I did just run my first 5K. And with my little legs? They might finally be worth something.

Tiny steps, I said. For the win.

Campaign Finance

“Campaign money case could propel more deregulation” by Jack Gillum on CBS News.

“Inquiry Looks Into a Shield for Donors in Elections” by Nicholas Confessore in The New York Times.

“Social Fundraising Platform Rally Grows With A New Round of $7.9 Million” by Sarah Lai Stirland in TechPresident.

“Will Ct. now see gusher of campaign bucks?” by Ken Dixon in the Connecticut Post.

Lobbying

“K Street Files: Lobbyists Prep for SCOTUS Ruling” by Kate Ackley in Roll Call.

“Lobbying World” in The Hill.

“The lion’s aide on K Street” by Kevin Bogardus in The Hill.

“Hawaii professional employer organizations to form lobbying group” by Lynn Nakagawa in the Pacific Business News.

Government Ethics

“Outsider Privy to Ethics Case” by Amanda Becker in Roll Call.

Georgia: “Candidates late, confused on filing requirements” by Crystal Tatum in the Newton Citizen.

From the State Legislatures

“Cook, Rove, Zandi Address Legislators at June 2012 Leaders Meeting” by Alex Fitzsimmons on NCSL’s The Thicket.

Illinois: “Illinois lawmakers consider expulsion of Rep. Derrick Smith” by The Associated Press in the State Journal-Register.

Oklahoma:  “Oklahoma elections: Most incumbent House members win contests” by Michael McNutt in The Oklahoman.

Open Government

“R.I. open-government advocates hail improvement to public-records law” by Karen Lee Ziner in the Providence Journal.

“Public stations may get OK for political ads” by David Bauder (Associated Press) in The Washington Times.

“After winning right to spend, political groups fight for secrecy” by Joseph Tanfani and Melanie Mason in the Los Angeles Times.

Alaska: “Federal government role in Alaska elections questioned” by Becky Bohrer in the Anchorage Daily News.

District of Columbia: “Embattled DC Mayor Gray to propose campaign finance reforms in bid to end ‘pay to play’” by Ben Nuckols (Associated Press) in The Washington Post.

Minnesota: “Lobbying is a big business in Minnesota” by Jennifer Brooks in the Star Tribune.

Minnesota: “High court ruling throws state campaign law into doubt” by Corey Mitchell in the Star Tribune.

Texas: “Cruz-Dewhurst battle pits D.C. and Austin lobbyists” by Priya Anand in the Houston Chronicle.

Vermont: “Vermont Officials Criticize Federal Ruling On Campaign Finance” by Bob Kinzel on Vermont Public Radio.

We were told to leave the office, for sanity’s sake. Everyone was running around in a bit of a panic. Some people had left work early. Ren Koozer—Executive Director of IT—looked me dead in the eyes, and then towards Joanna. Go take a walk, he said, and motioned towards the door. Just get out of here. This is nuts.

It was week two, day four for the interns at State and Federal Communications, Inc.—your compliance information source for campaign finance, lobbying, procurement and ethics laws.* Located in downtown Akron, it felt very adult getting dressed in a suit and parking in the designated lot behind the building. Two weeks previous, we had been given key codes and access cards, getting us into rooms that felt exclusive and elite. Inside, we were situated very comfortably, each with our own desks and computers. Everyone was warm, and helpful. Things were starting to feel comfortable.

On this particular day, however, there were five to six strange faces in the office, and they weren’t dressed business casual. Clad in jeans and paint-spotted tees, they bore canvas tool belts around their waists, filled with tools, of course. They passed behind our cubicles by the minute, always smiling and kindly, but noisy nonetheless. They came with ladders, trying desperately to slant them around the sharp angles in the office; they brought sheets of plywood, and plastic, and wooden doors propped against walls not yet attached to anything.

At the moment, they were in the kitchen, across the hall, pounding away at a concrete wall with what sounded like chain saws and sledge hammers. Surely they had plans of mass interior destruction. Home Makeover Goes Corporate. I had my head phones in, trying to drown out the sound, but that only made things worse. The louder they clobbered, the higher my volume had to go. The Mars Volta pulsated through my head phones and into the cochlea; it felt like my ears might implode. I was working on compiling a spreadsheet full of contacts for a conference we were planning. It was hard to alphabetize with all the clamor. I was also supposed to gather rates for our summer outing: Indians vs. Yankees in August. We wanted to purchase a few party favors, but making phone calls was out of the question.

What the men were doing in there, a mere ten feet from my desk, was actually really nice. It was a kitchen they were building. The office already has three of them, two on the first floor and one on the second, but they were making this one, the main one, much larger. Room for more tables was the initiative, so more of us, Elizabeth said, could eat lunch together. Elizabeth Bartz—our boss, the President, the CEO and the head of this home—was initiating a gesture for our comfort and camaraderie. I thought that was really thoughtful, and sweet. But still, we were new here, the interns, and trying to figure out what it is we’re supposed to do. And then do it, well. And maybe we were nervous about it.

The jackhammer grinding into the stone across from our cubicles wasn’t helping.

The United States Supreme Court declined to review a federal appeals case that held New York City’s campaign finance laws are constitutional. Tom Ognibene, a New York republican, challenged the city’s laws saying that the Citizens United decision effectively overruled the provisions.

In December, a federal appeals court disagreed with Ognibene, holding that the city’s rules prohibiting corporate contributions to political campaigns and requiring candidates to disclose all contributions from individuals and organizations were justified to prevent corruption in elections. The appellate court held that the Citizens United decision only applied to independent expenditures by corporations, not to contribution limits.

“In case you missed it: ‘Capitol Assets’ highlights” by Ed O’Keefe in the Washington Post.

“Street Talk: Lobby Shop Ogilvy Now Faces Uncertain Future” by Kate Ackley in Roll Call.

Indiana: “Daniels unsure of lobbying as Purdue” by The Associated Press in the Evansville Courier & Press.

Minnesota:  “Local government units spent $8.3M on legislative lobbying last year” by Brian Lambert on MinnPost.com.

South Carolina: “Ethics hearing for S.C. Gov. Nikki Haley to begin Thursday” by Andrew Shain in the Kansas City Star.

The New York Legislature ended the working portion of its year late Friday night.

Legislative members will now head back to their respective districts to campaign in an election season that will see all 212 general assembly and senate seats up for grabs.

There is a chance that both houses could be called back to Albany for a special session following the November elections, but at this time, that does not appear to be a likely scenario.

The U.S. Supreme Court has invalidated a portion of Montana law which prohibits corporations from making independent expenditures in connection with a candidate or a political committee that supports or opposes a candidate or a political party.

In Western Tradition Partnership v. Bullock, the Court quoted from its prior Citizens United v FEC ruling that “political speech does not lose First Amendment protection simply because its source is a corporation.”

Four of the nine Justices dissented. The dissenting opinion quoted from the dissent in Citizens United, arguing “independent expenditures can be corrupting in much the same way as direct contributions.”

The dissenting opinion also argued the Citizens United ruling should not bar the Montana Supreme Court’s finding “that independent expenditures by corporations did in fact lead to corruption or the appearance of corruption in Montana.”

The dissent continued, “Given the history and political landscape in Montana, [The Montana Supreme Court] concluded that the State had a compelling interest in limiting independent expenditures by corporations. Thus, Montana’s experience, like considerable experience elsewhere since the Court’s decision in Citizens United, casts grave doubt on the Court’s supposition that independent expenditures do not corrupt or appear to do so.”

A federal judge has upheld Vermont’s contribution limits on political action committees. Vermont Right to Life Committee (VRLC) and its related political committee, Vermont Right to Life Committee – Fund for Independent Political Expenditures (FIPE), filed suit alleging that Vermont’s registration, reporting, and disclosure requirements for PACs are too broad and unconstitutional, and that FIPE should not be subject to the $2,000 limit on PAC contributions because it only makes independent expenditures.

The judge rejected FIPE’s claim that it should not be subject to the contribution limits on the basis that there is a “fluidity of funds” between FIPE and VRLC that provides no safeguard against unlimited contributions being used to fund candidate contributions.

Secretary of State Jim Condos applauded the ruling; however, the opinion makes clear that the decision to uphold the $2,000 contribution limit weighed heavily on the facts of the case, in particular the lack of separation between FIPE and VRLC. VRLC plans to appeal the ruling.