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Denver: ATT thanks Blue Dogs Sun. Night

By Ben Masel, Section Diaries
Posted on Thu Aug 21, 2008 at 05:15:34 PM EST
Tags: ATT, Corruption, 1st amendment, Blue Dogs, FISA, Ben Masel, Democratic National Convention, Denver (all tags)
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The SF Chronicle reports on corporate lobbyists taking advantage of a loophole in rules preventing them from throwing lavish parties to "honor"House lawmakers, which exempts parties for groups of Members.

Prominent, a Sunday evening bash thrown by ATT for the "Blue Dogs" to thank them for the FISA amnesty.





Lobbyist parties for lawmakers bend rules

Congress, pledging to clean up Washington's culture of corruption, approved a rule last year to end the practice of lobbyists or their clients throwing lavish events honoring lawmakers at the parties' national conventions.

But the House ethics committee opened a huge loophole in the rule by issuing guidelines in December saying it was fine for lobbyists or their employers to throw parties for a group of House members - just not for a single lawmaker...

...AT&T is among the sponsors of a party celebrating the conservative House Blue Dog Democrats on Sunday night.





Perfect spot for the first appearance of my "STOP GOVERNMENT SPYING" banner.

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St. Paul's yanked our Permit (RNC)

By Ben Masel, Section Diaries
Posted on Fri Aug 08, 2008 at 01:35:39 PM EST
Tags: 1st Amendment, Republican National Convention, Minnesota, St. Paul, FISA, Guantanamo (all tags)
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On March 5th, dailykos denizen norahc (Ben Plunkett) obtained permits in the name of "Swift Students for Truthiness" from the St. Paul Parks Department for use of Hamm's Plaza for non-partisan issue oriented expressive activity on Sept. 3d and 4th, 8AM to 8PM. Planned, a "Shutdown Guantanamo Stop Torture" event the 3d, "Stop Government Spying" on the 4th, both starting at 4:00. I'm co-ordinating the "spying" event.

Hamm's is tiny, not much more than a traffic island, so the limit of 91 in attendance at any time was acceptable.

Yesterday, Ben received a Certified Mail from the Parks Department, dated August 5th, indicating that the permits had been revoked, offering alternative space at Ecolab Plasa or Mears Park, both much less visible. Hamm's is 2 blocks from the Convention site at the Excel Center, and faces the St. Paul Hotel, a major delegate hub. I've just lined up an attorney, we'll be seeking a Temporary Restraining Order directing that the Parks Dept. honor the original permit.

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