Paramour rights… the 21st Century version “The term ‘Paramour Rights’ was first used by Zora Neale Hurston, to describe the practice of white men fathering children by black women whether they were married or not. The practice, she observed, began prior to the Civil War, and was reinforced afterwards by Jim Crowe legislation that prevented marriage between people of different races.” From Ask A Word
Consider where the candidates get their campaign funding before you vote. Imagine the voter as being pre civil war “black women” and the campaign contributors the pre civil war “white men” the “children” as legislation and the politicians as “Jim Crowe.” The following information was taken from opensecrets.org on 2/29/08. My first interest was the Maine district one senate race. Below are currently hold federal offices. Republican Senator Collins is being challenged by Democratic Congressman Allen. For me the decision is easy.
Susan Collins: Republican incumbentDeloitte Touche Tohmatsu' Deloitte & Touche is one of the remaining Big Four accounting firms and once offered its clients one-stop shopping for accounting, consulting and other financial services. But the collapse of Enron and its resulting fallout for the accounting industry forced the firm to rethink its business strategy. In spring 2002, Deloitte & Touche announced it would spin its consulting business into a separate company. Like other firms, however, the company has continued to lobby against bills that would strengthen oversight of the industry and further restrict the auditing/consulting relationship between firms and their clients. Yet the industry’s troubles continue to mount. In September 2002, federal investigators began to probe Deloitte & Touche for its role in a bookkeeping scandal at Adelphia Communications, one of the firm’s biggest clients. $17,500. MBNA CorpMBNA Corp is the nation’s top credit card company and one of the world’s biggest finance companies. The company was also the biggest campaign contributor to the Bush-Cheney ticket during the 2000 election cycle and has been one of the Republican Party’s most generous contributors over the last decade. For the last five years, MBNA has been pressing lawmakers to pass legislation that would make it harder for individuals to file bankruptcy—a bill that, if approved, stands to earn MBNA at least $100 million in additional revenues each year, according to press reports. The bank also has lobbied against legislation to protect consumer privacy rights and was a leading proponent of banking deregulation. $85,250. Blue Cross/Blue Shield
Through its 45 local chapters, the Blue Cross/Blue Shield Association provides health care coverage to more than 80 million people. Blue Cross/Blue Shield also has a contract with the federal government to review and process Medicare claims. The association is lobbying Congress to make it harder for the government to penalize companies if their employees defraud the Medicare program and process false claims. Local Blue Cross chapters have paid about $340 million to the federal government to settle Medicare fraud charges since 1993. $29,500. GlaxoSmithKline
GlaxoSmithKline is one of the world’s leading pharmaceutical companies, the producer of best-selling drugs like the antidepressant Paxil and the asthma drug Flovent. Like others in the industry, the company’s contributions have skyrocketed in recent years as Congress has debated whether drugmakers should face increased federal regulation, including proposed price controls on the cost of popular prescription drugs. At the same time, GlaxoSmithKline and others have lobbied for patent extensions on their drugs, thus preventing generic knockoffs that could be more affordable for consumers from entering the market. The company also has pressed for grants for increased research and development into new drugs, increased trade with China and lax rules for prescription drug advertising. $11,999. (even the amount appears sketchy to me.) Tom Allen: Democratic challenger Intl Brotherhood of Electrical Workers
The International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) is an AFL-CIO-affiliated labor union representing more than 750,000 electrical workers nationwide. Like other unions, IBEW closely monitors legislation that would affect the rights of its workers, from health care reform to proposed changes in collective bargaining rules. However, its agenda can vary from the broad issues, like deregulation of the nation’s energy markets, to the very specific, as in funding for Amtrak $15,250.
Air Line Pilots Assn
The Air Line Pilots Association represents more than 66,000 pilots at 43 airlines in the United States and Canada. The association lobbies primarily on aviation safety and played a prominent role in the spate of airline security bills that flooded Congress after the September 11 terrorist attacks. The association pushed to arm pilots and supported legislation that made airport baggage screeners federal employees. $15,000.
American Assn for Justice
Formerly the Association of Trial Lawyers of America (ATLA), this group of plaintiffs' attorneys and others in the legal profession now goes by the name of the American Association for Justice (AAJ) and boasts 56,000 members worldwide. A lobbying heavyweight, the association has been battling any attempt at tort reform, including recent proposals to cap awards in medical malpractice lawsuits. AAJ also lobbies Congress on any legislation that may inhibit the ability of consumers to bring lawsuits, particularly against health care providers, asbestos companies or insurance companies processing claims related to terrorism. The association favors Democrats, who oppose most attempts to initiate tort reform. $10,250.
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