Former Senator Chris Dodd Leading The MPAA Support Of SOPA

The liberal Senator Chris Dodd, the Connecticut politician tied to the Countrywide financial scandal and sub-prime mortgage crisis, is now the  Chairman and CEO of the Motion Picture Association of America, Inc. (MPAA) is blasting “Blackout Day”

Tomorrow the main pages of Google, Wikipedia, Reddit and other sites will go dark to protest support for the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA), a piece of legislation in the House of Representatives which is so wide-ranging in effect that it threatens to curb not only piracy and illegal activity, but the method of information use which characterizes the internet.

If SOPA passes, however, the power to shut down web sites in the US will be unprecedented.

The US attorney general could shut down websites by asking courts to order ISPs to block access to them from within the US. And the fine print creates power to block sites — even legitimate sites — suspected or accused of copyright infringement, or those that link to sites that infringe copyright.

Here’s the blast from Senator Dodd:

“Only days after the White House and chief sponsors of the legislation responded to the major concern expressed by opponents and then called for all parties to work cooperatively together, some technology business interests are resorting to stunts that punish their users or turn them into their corporate pawns, rather than coming to the table to find solutions to a problem that all now seem to agree is very real and damaging.

It is an irresponsible response and a disservice to people who rely on them for information use their services. It is also an abuse of power given the freedoms these companies enjoy in the marketplace today. It’s a dangerous and troubling development when the platforms that serve as gateways to information intentionally skew the facts to incite their users in order to further their corporate interests.

A so-called “blackout” is yet another gimmick, albeit a dangerous one, designed to punish elected and administration officials who are working diligently to protect American jobs from foreign criminals. It is our hope that the White House and the Congress will call on those who intend to stage this “blackout” to stop the hyperbole and PR stunts and engage in meaningful efforts to combat piracy.”

Check out State of the Nation and this original post at: http://deskofbrian.com/2012/01/former-senator-chris-dodd-leading-the-mpaa-support-of-sopa/

Most Corrupt Politicians of 2009

Original Post on Desk of Brian: State of the Nation by Brandon Jones at DeskofBrian.com

No real surprises on this list.

 

The same old names just keep showing up over and over again.

 

#1 - Christopher Dodd, recently retired Senator from Connecticut headlines the list as Dodd continued his shady past with backroom deals with Countrywide, Fannie and Freddie Mac and now, undervalued property in Ireland which is leading to a new investigation.

 

#2 - Republican John Ensign (pictured here) ranks number two as Judicial Watch site a NY Times article which aptly summarizes the Ensign scandal:

 

"The Justice Department and the Senate Ethics Committee are expected to conduct preliminary inquiries into whether Senator John Ensign violated federal law or ethics rules as part of an effort to conceal an affair with the wife of an aide."

 

#3 - Barney Frank: Fannie and Freddie Mac -- nuff said to quote Marvel Comic Books.

 

#4 - Timothy Geithner's tax evasion and ties to the AIG corruption lands the Treasury Secretary in the top five.

 

#5 - Eric Holder, the Attorney General arbitrarily decides what to investigate and what to sweep under the rug.

 

#6 - Jesse Jackson Jr./Roland Burris: How much for the Senate in 2010? Seriously, how much?

 

#7 - President Obama and #8 - Nancy Pelosi - nothing needs to be added here.

 

#9 - Recently deceased John Murtha and the PMA seven, a defense lobbyist group that has finally been shut down. Murtha's family was receiving millions along with the PMA earmarks.

 

#10 - Charles Rangel - has he paid his taxes? That's all I'll say.

 

 

The list is hardly shocking. Previously Republicans graced the Top Ten board proving what little "Change" President Obama actually brought to Washington.

 

What interesting is if you look at the older lists, Judicial Watch did a great job of including stories and corruption that we're still discussing today.

 

Same corruption, just with different letters after their names.

 

 

 

2009 Most Corrupt Politician List

 

2008 Most Corrupt Politician List

 

2007 Most Corrupt Politiican List

 

2006 Most Corrupt Politician List

Nanny State Update: Swine Flu

As we officially head into flu season, our politicians are more than happy to trample the Constitution in this age of the "Nanny State"

Reps. George Miller and Lynn Woolsey, California Democrats, have taken the lead to pursue legislature¹ to force "sick pay" from employers if the ill are sent home.

Isn't government intrusion amazing.

Scientifically, the infected swine flu worker will have potentially exposed everyone to the virus when they arrived to work in the first place. This is political posturing for those that don't have or receive sick time. While it's noble on one hand, it's full of holes on the other.

"Sick workers advised to stay home by their employers shouldn't have to choose between their livelihood and their coworkers' or customer's health" - Rep. Miller

Many businesses are making special accomodations for employees to work from home, participate on conference calls etc...to prevent sick workers from infecting the work place.

But do we need the Federal Government involved?

Small business spokewoman Molly Brogan spoke out: "The more restrictive the government is in how businesses can develop their benefits programs, the less flexible business owners can be. If it's paid sick leave, you're paying somebody who's not going to be there and you have to pay somebody to replace them. That has the potential to affect the bottom line for a lot of small businesses."

The government forcing business, small business or otherwise, to run their business a certain way -- well, no surprise there. We could survey GM or AIG executives and workers what that feels like.

One of the public statements (via Homeland Security) reveals that the federal government has strongly recommended that businesses force employees with the flu to stay home and that they adopt flexible sick-day policies allowing staff to work from home if a family member becomes infected.

Robert Herriman's column examines the hysteria surrounding the Swine Flu, media coverage, and the President's declaration of national emergency.

I expect the Congress to use this as a tool to distract from bigger problems and seem sympathetic to those "sick" workers. If they have to penalize businesses with an unconstitutional action to get votes, then they have proven they will. Chris Dodd is set to prevent this action to the Senate as early as today ².



1. http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/hotstories/6701202.html

2. http://www.reuters.com/article/GCA-SwineFlu/idUSTRE5A90KM20091110