You want to know who owns Congress? The top 100 money givers list.

[IChing]

We are talking about major money here folks in the 10s and 100 of millions of dollars.

. The Center for Public Integrity compiled a list
of the top 100 money-givers to Congress
between 1998 and 2005,
and telcos, oil, war and of course health and drug companies dominate the list.

Here are a few of its findings:
telecommunications

* Verizon Communications Inc. $81,870,000
* SBC Communications Inc. $58,035,037
* AT&T Corp. $53,349,499
* Sprint Corp. $47,276,585
* BellSouth Corp. $33,732,827
* Qwest Communications International Inc. $24,523,480

"Defense"(war) industry examples

GE. $94,130,000
Northrop Grumman Corp. $83,405,691
Edison Electric $82,000,000


So next time you wonder why big business always seem to get their way with the feds,
just look at those numbers. They're buying the best Congress money can buy.

Reported Lobbying between 1998-2005

Chamber of Commerce for the U.S.A.............................$204,614,680
Altria Group Insurance ..................................................$101,220,000
General Electric Co.........................................................$94,130,000
American Medical Association........................................$92,560,000
Northrop Grumman Corp.............................................. $83,405,691
Edison Electric Institute..................................................$82,866,628
Verizon Communications Inc..........................................$81,870,000
Business Roundtable.......................................................$80,380,000
American Hospital Association & State Affiliates..............$79,205,772
Pharmaceutical Research & Manufacturers of America.....$72,720,000
National Association of Realtors......................................$68,810,000
ExxonMobil Corp..............................................................$59,672,742
SBC Communications Inc...................................................$58,035,037
Freddie Mac -....................................................................$57,740,000
Boeing Co..........................................................................$57,258,310
Lockheed Martin................................................................$55,373,840
AT&T Corp.........................................................................$53,349,499
Fannie Mae (Federal National Mortgage Association)..........$50,777,000


The rest of the list is here: http://www.publicintegrity.org/lobby/top.aspx?act=topcompanies

[Kerrytravelers]

1. A government for the people by the people.

Sure is reflected by this donation list, isn't it. :eyes:

[0007]

11. ....and they hide behind the constitution while picking our pockets

and then they have the nerve to tell us we're the government.

[saigon68]

2. All of these companies are controlled by less than 5000 people

[Oversea Visitor]

3. Maybe a 100% tax on corparate contribution would solve the problems

And contribution cannot be treated as expense hence hehe no tax break either get added back as profit hahaha.

[Iowa]

4. Legal bribery...

Labor and trial lawyers are hardly a drop in the bucket - the list is completely dominated by corps. Furthermore, "...the amount spent to influence federal lawmakers is double the amount of money spent to elect them." This is why we have DINOs. It's the corps against the people - money vs. democracy.

Thanks for posting this, IChing.

[OneBlueSky]

5. well . . . there it is, in black and white . . .

the reason we've abandoned corporate regulation . . . the reason for pharmaceutical and healthcare costs . . . the reason for usurious interest rates on credit cards . . . the reason for exploding oil prices with no investigations . . . the reason for the US not supporting Kyoto or limiting emissions . . . the reason for ALL of it . . .

our government is bought and paid for, to the extent that the people have absolutely no say in what's happening in this country . . .

and that includes electing their representatives . . . even THAT function is completely controlled by corporations . . .

we're in deep shit, imo . . .

[formercia]

6. Here's something that will set off your weird shit-o-meter

Chamber of Commerce for the U.S.A.............................$204,614,680

http://www.smom.org/bulletin.htm

ORDER OF MALTA, Federal Association
Bulletin – November 30, 2004

October 21 – 22, 2005 – INVESTITURE WEEKEND – Washington, DC -- Please make a special note of this very important change. Investiture Weekend, plagued by hurricanes and other problems the past five years, will be moved to third weekend in October. The Investiture Mass will be on Saturday, October 22nd at 10:00 AM at St. Matthew’s Cathedral. The Annual Dinner will be held that evening, once again in the Hall of Flags in the United States Chamber of Commerce Building.

The Chamber of Commerce is and has been a front for the Knights of Malta, one of the funders and promoters of the takeover. This is how they funneled money to the Congress. Now let's see who they gave money to.

[formercia]

10. Here are the cut-outs they used to distribute the money:

http://www.publicintegrity.org/lobby/profile.aspx?act=clients&year=2003&cl=L001043

Chamber of Commerce for the U.S.A.............................$204,614,680

[formercia]

7. self-delete

dupe

[formercia]

14. Look how they use law and lobbying firms as cutouts

that way the donors can superficially disguise the source of the donation yet remain legal by disclosing the money trail in a required government form.

[flpoljunkie]

8. Thanks. Government of, by and for the special interests, not the people.

[Jacobin]

9. The best government money can buy

[raccoon]

12. Thanks for posting this.

If this country ever was for the people, it sure isn't any more.

[formercia]

13. kick...n/t

[formercia]

15. The usual suspects....

The Knights of Malta play a powerful role in this
scenario. In the 1930's General Smedley Butler was
recruited to help take over the White House. He was
told that he was needed because of his general
popularity with the military. General Butler blew the
whistle and named several prominent Americans as part
of the plot. At the top of the list was John J.
Raskob, who was a founding member of the U.S. branch
of the Nights of Malta. He was board chairman of
General Motors. He was, at the time, U.S. Treasurer of
the Knights of Malta. Congressional hearings were held
to investigate the plot, but none of those named
including Raskob, was ever called to testify and
nothing ever came of the hearings. Although you will
find this in the congressional records, you will never
find it in any history book anywhere.

It is significant that the Iran-contra episode has
many similarities to the 1930's plot. William Casey
was a member of the Knights of Malta. William Casey,
with the help of Vice President Bush, Anne Armstrong,
and Donald Regan, caused the Presidents Foreign
Intelligence Advisory Board to be emasculated so that
Bush, Casey, North and others could carry out there
dirty deeds without oversight. They had also developed
a plan to suspend the Constitution of the United
States and were preparing to implement the plan when
they were caught. These facts emerged from the
hearings but were suppressed by the committee, Senator
Daniel Inouye of Hawaii. You must understand that
tremendous power was involved in both attempts to
overthrow the United States Government.


http://www.angelfire.com/wa/fatfreddy/secret3.html

[medeak]

16. Here's where phone companies $$$$$ is going!!!!!!!!

Dear MoveOn member,

Do you buy books online, use Google, or download to an Ipod? These activities, plus MoveOn's online organizing ability, will be hurt if Congress passes a radical law that gives giant corporations more control over the Internet.

Internet providers like AT&T and Verizon are lobbying Congress hard to gut Network Neutrality, the Internet's First Amendment. Net Neutrality prevents AT&T from choosing which websites open most easily for you based on which site pays AT&T more. Amazon doesn't have to outbid Barnes & Noble for the right to work more properly on your computer.

If Net Neutrality is gutted, MoveOn either pays protection money to dominant Internet providers or risks that online activism tools don't work for members. Amazon and Google either pay protection money or risk that their websites process slowly on your computer. That why these high-tech pioneers are joining the fight to protect Network Neutrality1—and you can do your part today.

The free and open Internet is under seige—can you sign this petition letting your member of Congress know you support preserving Network Neutrality? Click here:

http://www.civic.moveon.org/save_the_internet/?id=7356-3318455-Defl3mjxgY05YAwLz2bU4w&t=4

Then, please forward this to 3 friends. Protecting the free and open Internet is fundamental—it affects everything. When you sign this petition, you'll be kept informed of the next steps we can take to keep the heat on Congress. Votes begin in a House committee next week.

MoveOn has already seen what happens when the Internet's gatekeepers get too much control. Just last week, AOL blocked any email mentioning a coalition that MoveOn is a part of, which opposes AOL's proposed "email tax."2 And last year, Canada's version of AT&T—Telus—blocked their Internet customers from visiting a website sympathetic to workers with whom Telus was negotiating.3

Politicians don't think we are paying attention to this issue. Many of them take campaign checks from big telecom companies and are on the verge of selling out to people like AT&T's CEO, who openly says, "The internet can't be free."4

Together, we can let Congress know we are paying attention. We can make sure they listen to our voices and the voices of people like Vint Cerf, a father of the Internet and Google's "Chief Internet Evangelist," who recently wrote this to Congress in support of preserving Network Neutrality:

My fear is that, as written, this bill would do great damage to the Internet as we know it. Enshrining a rule that broadly permits network operators to discriminate in favor of certain kinds of services and to potentially interfere with others would place broadband operators in control of online activity...Telephone companies cannot tell consumers who they can call; network operators should not dictate what people can do online.4

The essence of the Internet is at risk—can you sign this petition letting your member of Congress know you support preserving Network Neutrality? Click here:

http://www.civic.moveon.org/save_the_internet/?id=7356-3318455-Defl3mjxgY05YAwLz2bU4w&t=5

Please forward to 3 others who care about this issue. Thanks for all you do.

–Eli Pariser, Adam Green, Noah T. Winer, and the MoveOn.org Civic Action team
Thursday, April 20th, 2006

P.S. If Congress abandons Network Neutrality, who will be affected?
Advocacy groups like MoveOn—Political organizing could be slowed by a handful of dominant Internet providers who ask advocacy groups to pay "protection money" for their websites and online features to work correctly.
Nonprofits—A charity's website could open at snail-speed, and online contributions could grind to a halt, if nonprofits can't pay dominant Internet providers for access to "the fast lane" of Internet service.
Google users—Another search engine could pay dominant Internet providers like AT&T to guarantee the competing search engine opens faster than Google on your computer.
Innovators with the "next big idea"—Startups and entrepreneurs will be muscled out of the marketplace by big corporations that pay Internet providers for dominant placing on the Web. The little guy will be left in the "slow lane" with inferior Internet service, unable to compete.
Ipod listeners—A company like Comcast could slow access to iTunes, steering you to a higher-priced music service that it owned.
Online purchasers—Companies could pay Internet providers to guarantee their online sales process faster than competitors with lower prices—distorting your choice as a consumer.
Small businesses and tele-commuters—When Internet companies like AT&T favor their own services, you won't be able to choose more affordable providers for online video, teleconferencing, Internet phone calls, and software that connects your home computer to your office.
Parents and retirees—Your choices as a consumer could be controlled by your Internet provider, steering you to their preferred services for online banking, health care information, sending photos, planning vacations, etc.
Bloggers—Costs will skyrocket to post and share video and audio clips—silencing citizen journalists and putting more power in the hands of a few corporate-owned media outlets.
To sign the petition to Congress supporting "network neutrality," click here:
http://www.civic.moveon.org/save_the_internet/?id=7356-3318455-Defl3mjxgY05YAwLz2bU4w&t=6

[Lefty48197]

17. Add up the tax cuts that Bush has given to their officers

and then let's compare the tax cuts to the donations to the Republican party, and we'll finally know if it pays to be a Republican political donor.

[nicknameless]

18. SBC recently purchased AT&T and will be using that name (AT&T)

Their combined contributions = $111,384,536

[katinmn]

19. The India nuke deal was payback to GE.