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29 Dec 2011 13:17

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Tech: D’Addario founder speaks out against perceived support of SOPA

  • In the last few days, we have seen countless comments on various forms of social media and received many email messages, both pro and con on this issue. While the D’Addario family is committed to protecting its trademarks and family name, that commitment does not take priority over our respect for the U.S. Constitution and our right to free speech under the First Amendment.
  • D’Addario & Company, Inc. founder Jim D’Addario • Discussing his company’s perceived support of SOPA, as a result of having been placed on an alleged list of supporters of the act. D’Addario (which makes great guitar strings that sound really good with Cm7 chords) has dealt with numerous counterfeiting issues in the past (“7 out of 10 sets of D’Addario strings sold in Chinese music stores are fakes!”), and when his company signed onto a list asking for further help in fighting against counterfeiting, his company did not assume the result would be SOPA. We spotted his letter because he cited our defense of the companies on a list distributed by the Chamber of Commerce, but we think  — again — it’s worth pointing out that when D’Addario and other companies signed onto the list, they were asking for something far different than SOPA. Protest with care. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

03 Sep 2011 12:49

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Politics: Obama presses Congress to pass job-saving transportation bill

  • Right away, over 4,000 workers would be furloughed without pay. If it’s delayed for just 10 days, we will lose nearly $1 billion in highway funding that we can never get back. And if we wait even longer, almost 1 million workers could be in danger of losing their jobs over the next year.
  • President Barack Obama • Speaking in his weekly radio address about the importance of passing the Surface Transportation Bill — a bill that funds the construction of highways, bridges and so on — before the end of the month. If not, he claims it could cost thousands of jobs, if not more. The AFL-CIO and Chamber of Commerce —a.k.a. unions and big businesses — both support the bill. But Republicans, of course, take issue with the way Obama is framing the debate. Sigh. JUST WORK, GOVERNMENT! source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

26 May 2011 11:18

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U.S.: Supreme Court sides with Arizona on immigrant worker law

  • 5-3 states can take away business licenses, the SCOTUS says source
  • » Obama and the Chamber of Commerce, together at last: In a decision in a case that put two longtime adversaries on the same side of a losing battle, the Supreme Court backed an Arizona immigration law that encourages employers to verify their workers — or they could lose their business license if they knowingly hire undocumented immigrants. We don’t know if we agree with the Supreme Court’s decision on this case — especially because it could lead to a number of copycat laws as a result of this. (By the way, in case you were wondering: Justice Elena Kagan didn’t vote in the case, as it came up while she was still Solicitor General.)
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

08 Feb 2011 14:30

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Politics: Barack Obama makes his tax pitch to the business community

  • Another barrier government can remove is a burdensome corporate tax code with one of the highest rates in the world.
  • President Barack Obama • Speaking to the Chamber of Commerce, the President reiterated his State Of The Union pledge to cut the corporate tax rate. This plan writ large may not cause too much angst to his liberal supporters, provided that the reciprocal promise he made, eliminating loopholes in said corporate tax code, also sees some motion. Chamber of Commerce head Thomas Donahue called it  “a good change in tone.” source
Posted by Chris Tognotti • 0 Comments • Permalink

07 Feb 2011 20:20

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Politics: Obama tries mending profitable fences with Chamber of Commerce

  • If there is a reason you don’t believe that this is the time to get off the sidelines — to hire and invest — I want to know about it. I want to fix it.
  • President Barack Obama • Speaking to the Chamber of Commerce today about the business role in building an economic recovery. Obama’s meeting with the organization was an attempt to mend fences. “I’m here in the interest of being more neighborly,” he said. “I strolled over from across the street, and, look, maybe if we had brought over a fruitcake when I first moved in, we would have gotten off to a better start. But I’m going to make up for it.” The speech, which balanced profit-making motives with Obama’s desire to see business actually hire people, didn’t go over very well with some. Just listen to this jerk: “I think it’s a little outside the bounds to suggest that if we hire people we don’t need,” said Buffalo Supply executive Harold Jackson, “there will be more demand.” We think Harold Jackson is full of crap. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

24 Jul 2010 12:04

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Culture: The Yes Men say “Yes, man!” to Bittorrent distribution of their film

  • The Yes Men are being sued over this action, and see P2P as the best and only way this material will get seen. They’re calling for it to be copied as far and wide as possible …
  • A note from VODO • Regarding The Yes Men’s use of their Bittorrent distribution service to get their latest movie, “The Yes Men Fix the World,” out to the rest of the world. Why the need for Bittorrent? Because they pretended to be members of the Chamber of Commerce, as per their status as well-known culture jammers. And the lawsuit is creating legal headaches for them – which VODO will help them get around. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

21 Jan 2010 23:09

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U.S.: Two big spenders that benefit from the Supreme Court decision

  • $36.4
    million     the amount the Chamber of Commerce (which represents businesses) spent on political campaigns in 2008, mostly Republican Senate campaigns
  • $30.7
    million     the amount the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (a major union group) spent on mostly Democratic campaigns source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 
 
 
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