Capitol Confidential are anonymous sources in the halls of power at the federal, state, and local levels. Big Government double-checks their stories and provides them the cloak they need to reveal the truth.
Capitol Confidential
Dem Memo: ‘Do Not Allow Yourself to Get into a Discussion’ of Health Bill Score
by Capitol ConfidentialMaking the rounds of Democrat Offices on Capitol Hill is a ‘messaging’ memo designed to help Democrat members navigate a politically dangerous environment where the public is united in opposition to their government take-over of health care. Key message:
“do not allow yourself (or your boss) to get into a discussion of the details of CBO scores and textual narrative. Instead, focus only on the deficit reduction and number of Americans covered.”
This goes to the heart of what has been so wrong about the entire health care debate. The whole episode has been legislating by talking points. The Dems make claim about what they intend to do, but never provide any actual legislative text to demonstrate that is, in fact, what they are doing. They say their proposal will ‘crack down’ on insurance companies, yet their legislation would require every American to buy the companies’ product. Every business should face such a ‘crack down.’
The entire memo is below, for your enjoyment/disgust. We doubt you’ll find a better example of the desperation and panic gripping Democrat offices than these two pages.
Email this to a friend | Print |
Share on Facebook
| Tweet this
| 
The Heat is On: Congressman’s Office Says Constituent Calls Are ‘Harassment’
by Capitol ConfidentialYesterday, I decided to call Rep. John Garamendi’s (CA-10) office in Washington, D.C. He’s my representative and I wanted to voice my opposition to the Senate Health Care Bill. I spoke with a female staffer and politely told her that, while I support health care reform, I oppose the Senate Bill because it wasn’t true “reform.” She said the Congressman thinks it’s a good bill and that he campaigned on health care reform. I told her I knew that. I also mentioned that I voted for him. When I tried to give her specific reasons why the Senate Bill would harm our system rather than reform it, she refused to listen. She said she was very busy and hung up on me. Being the persistent person that I am, I kept calling back. Each time I tried to finish my point, she hung up.
I called one more time. This time she said, “If you call one more time, we will notify Capital Police.” I asked why my conduct warranted involving federal law enforcement agents. She said I was “harassing” her. I tried to explain that trying to convince a representative to change his or her vote didn’t constitute “harassment.” Before I could fully explain, she hung up again.
I called back. This time, I asked to speak to her supervisor in order to report her repeated hanging up as well as the threat she made. I was placed on hold. Thinking I was holding for her supervisor, I was shocked when a Federal Agent with the Capital Police picked-up the telephone.
At first, the Agent was curt with me. He claimed I was harassing Mr. Garamendi’s staff by continually calling after being told to stop calling. I asked him when it became a federal crime to lobby a congressman. He said that it wasn’t but it was a crime to “harass” congressional members and staff pursuant to 47 U.S.C. 223. I told him I was an attorney (which I am) and that I would research the statute he had cited.
Email this to a friend | Print |
Share on Facebook
| Tweet this
|
‘Countrywide’ Chris Dodd Proposes Blank Check to Bailout Big Banks
by Capitol ConfidentialIt’s not often that we can give credit to Barney Frank but when it comes to the issue of Financial Reform at least we can say is he was honest enough to put a price tag on the proposed permanent bailout fund. Can’t say the same for Sen. Chris Dodd.
The Frank bill’s price tag for future bailouts was clear — $4 trillion.
Sen. Dodd’s bill proposes the same bailout authority but makes matters even worse — he leaves the check blank. Taxpayers will be on the hook for any amount.
Dodd’s bill gives the Fed “emergency lending authority” to “any “ entity or market utility, program or facility that the Financial Stability Oversight Council determines is or is likely to become “systemically important.”
But don’t worry. They have to report back to Congress why they used this authority within seven days after they use it. But– they only have to disclose who they helped “within one year” and only if they deem that it won’t hurt the “effectiveness of the program”
Still thinking maybe this isn’t a bailout? Well, on page 1306, one of the requirements is that the Fed has to report to Congress “ the expected or final cost to the taxpayers of such assistance.”
Email this to a friend | Print |
Share on Facebook
| Tweet this
|
Carly Fiorina Slams Boxer in New, Outrageous Video
by Capitol ConfidentialToday, at the California Republican Party Convention in Santa Clara, California, Carly Fiorina is debuting yet another outrageous web video—this time slamming Sen. Barbara Boxer, who Fiorina seeks to replace this November. The web video—actually a lengthier “movie”—is featured at a new microsite, www.failedsenator.com.
Fiorina grabbed headlines—good, bad and ugly—with her infamous “Demon Sheep” video earlier this year. Following the release of that video, her campaign pledged that more would be on the way. This latest offering, which is already being dubbed the “Boxer Blimp,” takes Boxer to task for her record in the Senate. California Republicans say that is something that has been little examined in the course of previous campaigns, but which is essential to highlight in a year where the three-term Senator’s approval ratings are lagging while California’s economy remains on proverbial life support.
Email this to a friend | Print |
Share on Facebook
| Tweet this
|
U.S. Should Not Yield to ‘European Outrage’ over Tanker Deal
by Capitol ConfidentialNorthrop Grumman has announced it will not compete for the contract to build the U.S. Air Force’s new refueling tanker, stating that the specifications of the RFP were unfair. Northrop’s partners in Europe are lashing out at the United States. One French official said this week, “I can assure you that there will be consequences” for the United States. The Euros were planning on using Northrop as the American face of their plane, but the fact remained that most of it would have been built in France and to many observers that seemed like a bad deal for out of work Americans. In fact, EADS/Airbus, who would have actually built the plane Northrop was proposing, was counting on the American taxpayer-funded refueling tanker to help its financial situation.
Meanwhile, an advocacy organization called Build Them Both is urging President Obama to step in “fix” it all. “Build Them Both urges President Obama to step in and – with the stroke of a pen – hire each company to build its proposed new tanker. This will put 100,000 Americans to work, provide the Air Force more tankers more quickly and offer massive taxpayer savings over building only one,” says the group’s spokesperson Carrie Giddins, who is also a Democratic political operative.
Build Them Both, which does not disclose its funders, further argues that the United States should yield to French threats and “European outrage.”
But the “build them both” solution would actually be the worst of all possible ideas. It would, in fact, be a terrible deal for taxpayers. The costs of building two tankers would be astronomical, costing taxpayers more upfront and long term. Designing and building two separate refueling tankers would require two separate sets of specifications. It would also require training two separate groups of pilots and maintenance crews and developing and maintaining distinct resupply networks. Its important to note that Northrop’s partner EADS/Airbus was proposing to build a completely different plane; which would require its own hangars, air base taxiways and landing strips. All of these considerations carry enormous costs.
Email this to a friend | Print |
Share on Facebook
| Tweet this
|
California Regulators: Climate Change a Bigger Threat than Felons
by Capitol ConfidentialThe California Air Resources Board (CARB) is known for its relentless pursuit of initiatives to combat pollution and emissions it deems harmful, including carbon dioxide. However, one of its efforts designed to counter climate change has the agency attracting incoming fire, with critics charging that CARB is more concerned about the prospect of global warming than protecting the public from felons.
At issue is a CARB measure known as the “Cool Cars” rule that requires the application of certain additives to window glass. The theory behind the mandate is that reflective windshields will prevent cars from overheating, and thus reduce reliance on air conditioning, which affects how much fuel is burnt by a car. Proponents of climate change theory attribute changes in temperature to human activity, including the burning of fossil fuels, whereas skeptics charge that such theory amounts to a load of hot air.
What is certain in the debate over this mandate is that CARB’s action has a lot of people hot under the collar: While the glaze ostensibly prevents excess solar heat from entering cars, critics say it also seriously degrades the signal sent by a whole host of electronic devices, including GPS navigation systems, cellular phones and—perhaps most critically— ankle monitoring bracelets worn by felons, which utilize GPS technology.
Email this to a friend | Print |
Share on Facebook
| Tweet this
|
National ID Card Being Considered By Senators
by Capitol ConfidentialAs Senators Lindsey Graham (R-SC) and Chuck Schumer (D-NY) are working on a Senate version of comprehensive immigration reform and it includes a very controversial idea. There is a provision in the draft bill to force all Americans to possess a biometric ID card. Sources on Capitol Hill confirm to Big Government that the idea of a national ID card is part of the comprehensive immigration reform bill being negotiated between Graham and Schumer.
Laura Meckler of the Wall Street Journal reports:
Lawmakers working to craft a new comprehensive immigration bill have settled on a way to prevent employers from hiring illegal immigrants: a national biometric identification card all American workers would eventually be required to obtain.
Under the pre-text of halting illegal immigration, Congress may consider forcing citizens to carry an ID card as a condition of citizenship. For those who mistrust big government and treasure freedom, this idea should be revolting and a shocking example of a bad idea run wild. American citizens’ freedoms have been eroding over the past few years, yet this idea is much more than an erosion of rights. It is an all out assault on the idea that Americans have a natural right to be free of government monitoring. (more…)
Email this to a friend | Print |
Share on Facebook
| Tweet this
|
Bob Corker’s Bailout Bureaucracy
by Capitol ConfidentialIt appears that the Bailout Bob Corker continues to ignore the pleas of his conservative allies and constituents and is close to reaching a deal on establishing a new consumer regulatory bureaucracy that in the words of Sen. Dodd, will be like one we have not seen before. Corker has told CNBC that the last stick point is not the principle of new regulation — he has capitulated on that point — but “administrative issues.”
The legislation includes Corker’s pet project, a “strong resolution mechanism for unwinding troubled companies.” News to Corker: For over 200 years, America had such a mechanism — it was called bankruptcy. But “unwinding” troubled companies is a code word for BAILOUT. The Federal Government, via the Federal Reserve, would be empowered to break-up, subsidized and bailout companies. As House conservatives warned during the House debate, enactment of the bill would establish bailouts as the official policy of the United States for decades to come. That’s why the House bill authorizes $4 trillion for the Federal Reserve.
Adding insult to injury, Reuters also reports that the Corker “reform” bill does not address the main culprit in the financial crisis — Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. It does not address the issues associated with Community Lending that encouraged banks to lend to people who could never pay back their loans. It does not address ACORNS. All it does it layer more Washington bureaucracy on top of existing Washington Bureaucracy. Nice work, Bob.
Email this to a friend | Print |
Share on Facebook
| Tweet this
|
EPA Set to Give Ethanol a Big Boost?
by Capitol ConfidentialIn the midst of a drive by Washington’s powerful ethanol lobby to expand what critics often deride as an artificially created, and government aided and promoted market for “fuel made from food,” the top administrator from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Wednesday testified before the Senate Interior and Environment Appropriations Subcommittee, telling lawmakers the agency will make a final determination late summer on allowing higher levels of ethanol to be blended into gasoline.
The ethanol industry is currently petitioning the EPA for a waiver to increase ethanol blends in gasoline from 10 percent to 15 percent, in order to create a larger market–and artificial demand–for the fuel source.
Administrator Lisa Jackson said the agency’s decision awaits completion of Department of Energy (DOE) tests on ethanol—namely, how higher ethanol blends might adversely affect vehicle engines, a long-running concern of automakers and the marine leisure industry, among others—which she expects to receive by May. “We expect that once we get that additional data, and it will be publicly available, the EPA will be in a position to move toward a final decision on the waiver, late summer in the time period,” Jackson said in response to a line of questioning by ethanol booster Senator Ben Nelson of Nebraska.
Email this to a friend | Print |
Share on Facebook
| Tweet this
|
Dodd Praises Corker for Trying to Create Powerful Independent Agency, ‘Like We’ve Never Had Before’
by Capitol ConfidentialFriday night on National Public Radio, a fitting place to announce an unprecedented growth in federal power, Sen. Chris Dodd praised his partner in crime Sen. Bob Corker for working together to create an “independent, autonomous, rule- writing entity, unlike anything we’ve ever had before.” That is exactly why Tea Party activists from across the Volunteer State gathered in front of Corker’s office this past week to protest his back room dealmaking.
Why would Corker ignore his constituents and abandon all conservative principles to work for legislation that earns him praise from Chris Dodd of all people? Here’s why.
The big banks and Wall Street firms support the President’s Financial Reform package. The House passed bill contains the mother of all bailouts — a $4 trillion authorization for the Federal Reserve to continue to bailout firms for decades to come. In fact, as conservatives in the House reminded us when the Obama/Frank bill was on the floor, this bill makes bailouts the permanent policy of the US government. And who gets those bailouts? The same banks and firms that support the bill. And who does Wall Street rain campaign contributions on? None other than Bailout Bob Corker.
Corker has raised over $3 million from Wall Street and related firms since being elected to the Senate. That’s a lot for a freshman Senator. It seems like Wall Street is finally getting a good return on their investment.
Email this to a friend | Print |
Share on Facebook
| Tweet this
|
Exclusive: Pentagon Lawyers Push Back Against Holder’s GITMO Attorneys
by Capitol ConfidentialSome Defense Department lawyers are worried. Actually, quite a few of them are. They see a train wreck coming with the Obama administration’s evolving Guantanamo Bay detainee policies. Since it is DOD lawyers tasked with much of the footwork for administration decisions, they see firsthand how disorganized, inept, and ideologically extreme the handling of the issue has been. The DOJ, now thoroughly politicized and partisan under Eric Holder, is lock step with Obama’s White House on the issue, and is thoroughly at odds with its legal counterparts in the DOD. At a time when former Guantanamo Bay detainees are battling US forces in Afghanistan, and Jihadists are resurgent worldwide, the country can ill afford the administration’s criminalizing of admitted terrorists or of enemy combatants captured in battle against US forces.
What DOD lawyers are worried about are second-order effects. Namely, the unanticipated consequences of decisions made without due consideration or examination of facts. They are deeply concerned that the administration’s political appointees making decisions on the issue are as likely to be chosen for ideological purity as they are for their acumen on applicable laws. The political appointees are perceived by many in the DOD as caring more for their political ideological creed than for the safety of US citizens, or for the responsible stewardship of tax dollars. It is Leftist canon that Guantanamo Bay be closed, the risks and consequences be damned. Every policy decision pursuing that goal equates to thousands of man hours for DOD lawyers and millions of dollars.
DOD attorneys, including prosecutors and defense attorneys of all political stripes, are of the opinion that closing Guantanamo Bay is an illogical and irresponsible political move made without the facts, and one that will cost billions. No stateside facility has the resources Guantanamo Bay does. As for which stateside facility should replace Guantanamo, the administration cannot make up its mind. As Obama’s minions position for optimum political influence, they have flitted from military sites in Leavenworth, Kansas and Charleston AFB, South Carolina, to civilian facilities in Standish, Michigan and Thomson, Illinois.
The MSM has been telling Americans less that the truth on the detainee issue. Americans have not been told how well thought out was the construction of Guantanamo Bay. Its courtroom was designed by the William and Mary Law School – it is state of the art, capable of handling testimony involving top secret evidence. It has a media center. As for the detainees, forget the horror stories that represent the disinformation tactics of terrorist sympathizers who aim to sway public opinion. Detainees receive the best in medical and dental care. They have daily access to soccer fields. They have exercise areas that overlook the Caribbean, books and movies, as well as a menu where they can choose from several entrée’s cooked to Islamic Halal standards.
They are not tortured and they never were.
Email this to a friend | Print |
Share on Facebook
| Tweet this
|
Study: Net Neutrality Bad for Innovation, Investment and Consumers
by Capitol ConfidentialA study released Tuesday by the American Consumer Institute contains some bad news for proponents of net neutrality. Whereas advocates of “open internet” rules often argue that the institution of the policy is necessary to preserve innovation and would benefit consumers, the study finds that “new Internet regulations, including those now under consideration by the FCC, would restrict technology advances, innovation and job growth.”
The study further notes that “broadband network providers are a leading source of both innovation and new investment in Internet infrastructures.” Innovation and investment are often seen by tech policy observers as integral efforts that will help ensure that a broader base of consumers benefits from high-quality broadband service.
Study co-author Larry F. Darby explicitly tied proposed net neutrality regulations to a likely diminution in “motive” that would, under present circumstances, propel Internet companies to innovate and invest. Said Darby, “All indications are that these well intended regulations would dampen both incentives and opportunities for firms in the Internet ecosystem to continue to invest and to embed new technologies in core networks on which downstream applications and content providers depend.”
Email this to a friend | Print |
Share on Facebook
| Tweet this
|
Corker, Bailouts and a New Federal Bureaucracy: One Indisputable Fact
by Capitol ConfidentialLet’s be clear, the creation of a federal Consumer Financial Protection Agency (CFPA) is a liberal’s dream. The agency would have the power to regulate businesses of any size. The House passed legislation, authored by Barney Frank, would as Rep Jeb Hensarling (R-Texas) put it in remarks before the House Financial Services Committee “create a brand new, large draconian federal agency with new sweeping powers.”
The bill came to the Senate where Senator Shelby stood strong on principle and won. Negotiations broke down and the Democrats’ big government dream was all but dead. No new agency and (on this issue at least) no new vast government powers.
Then Sen. Corker entered the fray and took it upon himself to negotiate a deal to revive the CFPA with the master of the financial crisis Sen. Dodd.
Before Corker got started, Shelby spokesperson Jonathan Graffeo warned that “Republicans on the committee have several principles upon which they’ve tried to negotiate with Dodd, to no avail” and that “If (Corker) adheres to those principles, he will likely find himself at an impasse as well.”
Email this to a friend | Print |
Share on Facebook
| Tweet this
|
The Bob Corker Bailout Sellout
by Capitol ConfidentialWhile the media and most of the public are consumed by the health care death march, the Senate is deep in negotiations to pass a sweeping re-regulation of the financial sector. As the public knows, ObamaCare is an attempt to regulate 1/6th of the US economy. The financial ‘reform’ proposal, though, will impact the other 5/6ths of the economy. In many respects, the financial services ‘reform’ is much more damaging to the economy and our future competitiveness. Worse, its passage is being aided by Bob Corker.
Sen. Bob Corker (R-TN) has snatched defeat from the jaws of victory with his complete capitulation and total surrender on the Financial Services bill. The bill, passed by the House with a $4 trillion bailout provision, making bailouts the permanent policy of the United States government, was on it’s last legs until Corker came to the rescue. Now the Washington Post and other are reporting that Corker and ethically-challenged, retiring Sen. Chris Dodd (D-CT) are on the verge of a deal to breathe life back into the regulatory and bailout scheme.
Let’s be clear – the President and the hard left want this bill. David Reilly of Bloomberg described the measure as Barney Frank’s $4 trillion gift to the banks. Reilly wrote:
Here are some of the nuggets I gleaned from days spent reading Frank’s handiwork:
– For all its heft, the bill doesn’t once mention the words “too-big-to-fail,” the main issue confronting the financial system. Admitting you have a problem, as any 12- stepper knows, is the crucial first step toward recovery.
– Instead, it supports the biggest banks. It authorizes Federal Reserve banks to provide as much as $4 trillion in emergency funding the next time Wall Street crashes. So much for “no-more-bailouts” talk. That is more than twice what the Fed pumped into markets this time around. The size of the fund makes the bribes in the Senate’s health-care bill look minuscule.
Email this to a friend | Print |
Share on Facebook
| Tweet this
|
ISPs to FCC: Don’t Bypass Courts, Classify Broadband as Phone Service
by Capitol ConfidentialIn a strongly-worded 14-page letter to Federal Communications Commission (FCC) chairman Julius Genachowski, the nation’s largest internet service providers Monday cautioned the agency that reclassifying broadband internet services from an “information service” to a “telecommunication service” would have “far-reaching and destructive consequences,” including deterring continued broadband investment and innovation.
The “extremist” move to regulate internet service in a similar manner to telephone service, which some observers called a transparent, albeit indirect ploy to enact net neutrality, “would be untenable as a legal matter, and, at a minimum, would plunge the industry into years of litigation and regulatory chaos,” the letter read.
Signed by Verizon, AT&T, Time Warner, and Qwest, among others, the letter comes amid an important federal appeals court decision in the larger net neutrality debate, in which a ruling against the FCC would likely derail the agency’s quest to institute “open internet” regulations.
Email this to a friend | Print |
Share on Facebook
| Tweet this
|
Vice President Biden’s Ever-Changing ‘Depression Expression’
by Capitol ConfidentialVice President Biden keeps recycling his unemployment speeches – except he keeps confusing the suburbs of his hometown of Scranton:
1. On October 19, 2009, he used Minooka:
My pop — my grandpop used to say — there was a suburb of Scranton called Minooka. He said, “When the guy in Minooka’s out of work, it’s an economic slowdown. When your brother- in-law’s out of work, it’s a recession. When you’re out of work, it’s a depression.” Well, it’s a depression — it’s a depression for millions of Americans, through no fault of their own.
2. On October 30, 2009, he used Dickson City:
My grandpop used to have an expression. We’re from Scranton. He’d say — and I mean this literally. It wasn’t viewed as a joke. He said, “Joey, when the guy in Dickson City,” a small town above Scranton, “is out of work, it’s an economic slowdown. When you’re brother-in-law is out of work, it’s a recession. When you’re out of work, it’s a depression.” And it’s a depression for millions of American people.
Email this to a friend | Print |
Share on Facebook
| Tweet this
|
Clinton Plotting Tea Party Counterattack
by Capitol Confidential
Last week, former President Clinton was rushed to the hospital in New York for an emergency heart operation. Medical experts said the procedure was “relatively routine” and predicted Clinton would make a full recovery and be back to his regular schedule soon. To the public, at least, that schedule revolves chiefly around earthquake relief efforts in Haiti. In fact, some Clinton associates cited the work in Haiti as exacerbating his heart condition. Clinton money man, Terry MacAuliffe, even noted that Clinton’s Haiti work continued right up until the operation:
Democrat colleague Terry McAuliffe said Mr Clinton had participated in a conference call on earthquake relief efforts as he was wheeled into the operating theatre.
We’ll take Terry’s word on that. But, Big Government has learned of at least one other conference call/meeting around this time. A meeting of former Clintonistas and senior Democrat political operatives to coordinate a push-back to the burgeoning tea party movement. Consider it a Democrat party relief effort.
Email this to a friend | Print |
Share on Facebook
| Tweet this
|
Senior Obama Official Steers Sole-Source Contracts to Former Business Associates
by Capitol ConfidentialIt has been reported, a company by the name of PharmAthene, which is closely tied to the late Congressman John Murtha and Tara O’Toole, an Under Secretary at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has received preferential treatment by our good friends in the federal governmenat the expense of Joe Taxpayer.
BIG GOVERNMENT has learned that a little known entity named the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) at the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is adding millions of dollars to a contract awarded way back in 2003 that PharmAthene inherited, rather than conducting a fair and open competition. In government speak, that means PharmAthene is about to get huge sums of additional cash without ever having competed for it. Coverage of this sole-source award has already received significant news coverage and attention from numerous outlets, including Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW).
But it’s not as if PharmAthene is hiding it. They’re actually promoting the fact that they’re getting sole-source contracts that do away with any competition and fatten their bottom line.
According to a recent PharmAthene press release:
Email this to a friend | Print |
Share on Facebook
| Tweet this
|
Google ISP Initiative Raises Eyebrows, Privacy Concerns
by Capitol ConfidentialIn a surprise move yesterday, Google announced via its blog that it intends to enter the internet service provider space, promising to develop experimental “ultra high-speed broadband networks in a small number of trial locations” across the nation.
The move quickly grabbed the attention of some observers of the net neutrality debate, in view of Google’s longstanding backing of the controversial policy. Internet service providers are among the most high-profile opponents of net neutrality, a position that has seen them along with the Communications Workers of America union, many minority and civil rights groups and others pitted on the opposite side of the debate from Google, President Obama, Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Julius Genachowski and far-left groups like Free Press. One telecoms policy expert quipped with tongue-in-cheek that if Google was “serious” about the move, those tracking the net neutrality debate could fairly assume that a shift in the company’s views regarding net neutrality would also be forthcoming. “Last I checked, Google was a big company that likes making money. If net neutrality were instituted, internet service provision—including by Google— could end up looking like a loss-making enterprise,” the expert told Capitol Confidential.
Email this to a friend | Print |
Share on Facebook
| Tweet this
|
Study: Net Neutrality Won’t Increase Jobs
by Capitol ConfidentialNet neutrality supporters have long argued that institution of “open internet” rules is critical for job retention and creation. However, according to some opponents of the proposed policy, a study released on Friday by Entropy Economics undercuts that assertion—just as much discussion in the political world is re-centering on the topic of job creation and as the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) continues to move closer to a decision on controversial, proposed net neutrality rules.
The study, entitled “What Would Net Neutrality Mean for U.S. Jobs?” analyzes comments submitted by companies within the Internet industry to the FCC as of January 15, 2010. It excludes those submitted by trade associations, individuals, and academics, and breaks commenters down into two categories: Supporters and Skeptics. It also attempts to exclude “non-U.S. employees of foreign-based Skeptics” but includes “any foreign employees of Supporters.”
The results are bound to unsettle net neutrality advocates: Even with the filtering out that Entropy conducted, Skeptics—many of whom have expressed concern about the negative ramifications of net neutrality on their businesses— employ nearly ten times the number of employees that Supporters do. More specifically, Skeptics directly employ 1,440,021 workers, whereas Supporters directly employ just 148,936 workers.
Email this to a friend | Print |
Share on Facebook
| Tweet this
|
Follow Us on Twitter
Subscribe via RSS
Got a Tip?