Who Still Doesn't Get It?

[don]

November 15, 2009
In House, Many Spoke With One Voice: Lobbyists’

By ROBERT PEAR

WASHINGTON — In the official record of the historic House debate on overhauling health care, the speeches of many lawmakers echo with similarities. Often, that was no accident.

Statements by more than a dozen lawmakers were ghostwritten, in whole or in part, by Washington lobbyists working for Genentech, one of the world’s largest biotechnology companies.

E-mail messages obtained by The New York Times show that the lobbyists drafted one statement for Democrats and another for Republicans.

Genentech, a subsidiary of the Swiss drug giant Roche, estimates that 42 House members picked up some of its talking points — 22 Republicans and 20 Democrats, an unusual bipartisan coup for lobbyists.

The e-mail messages and their attached documents indicate that the statements were based on information supplied by Genentech employees to one of its lobbyists, Matthew L. Berzok, a lawyer at Ryan, MacKinnon, Vasapoli & Berzok who is identified as the “author” of the documents. The statements were disseminated by lobbyists at a big law firm, Sonnenschein Nath & Rosenthal.

In recent years, Genentech’s political action committee and lobbyists for Roche and Genentech have made campaign contributions to many House members, including some who filed statements in the Congressional Record. And company employees have been among the hosts at fund-raisers for some of those lawmakers. But Evan L. Morris, head of Genentech’s Washington office, said,

“There was no connection between the contributions and the statements.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/15/us...ef=todayspaper

[ricket]

Re: Who Still Doesn't Get It?

In House, Many Spoke With One Voice: Lobbyists’

Caught by their own laziness. Just like high school kids who didnt do their homework and instead cheated off the first legit sounding paper that they came across.

Sadly, the American people will only come to the realization theyve been duped when the currency collapses. Then the mass freak out will result in violent instability and pointless finger pointing on all sides. Meanwhile, the real culprits sneak out the back door without a hint of their guilt.

"Early man walked away, as modern man took control.
Their minds weren't all the same, to conquer was his goal,
so he built his great empire and slaughtered his own kind,
he died a confused man, and killed himself with his own mind."
--Bad Religion

[Starving Steve]

Re: Who Still Doesn't Get It?

For American school kids reading this ( who would otherwise be brainwashed by the U.S. public school curriculum ) and for people who don't live in the U.S, influence-pedalling by members of Congress and vote-buying by lobbyists is LEGAL in the U.S. Congress. The money is funnelled into re-election campaign committees, so as to satisfy the letter of the law. And once the money is laundered through re-election campaign committees, the money can be dispersed in any number of ways.

[thunderdownunder]

Re: Who Still Doesn't Get It?

In Latin its called Quid pro Quo - something for something; that which a party receives (or is promised) in return for something he does or gives or promises.

A Bribe by any other name still smells as sweet to those disciples that compromise their high ideals and values for thirty pieces of Silver.

Who to trust ?

[loweyecue]

Re: Who Still Doesn't Get It?

Government of the sheeple, by the Lawmakers, for the Lobbyists, shall not perish from America. :mad::mad::mad:

[GRG55]

Re: Who Still Doesn't Get It?

Caught by their own laziness. Just like high school kids who didnt do their homework and instead cheated off the first legit sounding paper that they came across.

Sadly, the American people will only come to the realization theyve been duped when the currency collapses. Then the mass freak out will result in violent instability and pointless finger pointing on all sides. Meanwhile, the real culprits sneak out the back door without a hint of their guilt.

"Early man walked away, as modern man took control.
Their minds weren't all the same, to conquer was his goal,
so he built his great empire and slaughtered his own kind,
he died a confused man, and killed himself with his own mind."
--Bad Religion

Laziness? Perhaps.

But more likely a situation where Congresspersons incapable of thinking for themselves, are best off not attempting to speak for themselves either...:rolleyes:

[ricket]

Re: Who Still Doesn't Get It?

Laziness? Perhaps.

But more likely a situation where Congresspersons incapable of thinking for themselves, are best off not attempting to speak for themselves either...:rolleyes:

Same idea ;)

They know they want to say the same thing, but they were too arrogant and lazy to actually figure out a way to produce the same narrative, but with different words. They just happened to turn in the same homework as their classmates with only the names changed!

[Spartacus]

dunno what y'all're complainin about

When oil drilling was the most profitable thing you could realistically do, that's what people did.

When working at the local car factory was realistically the most profitable way to spend your life, that's what you did.


people are SUPPOSED to find the best profit-making opportunities and exploit them

They see a pot of money lying out in the open, ripe for the pickin', they're SUPPOSED to GO GIT IT.

Shearing "the people" is now realistically the lowest-risk, highest- profit thing to do.

Lobbyists, senators, assorted hangers-on ... it's to be expected




(I hope you can all see the standard html <sarcasm></sarcasm> tags around the whole post)