obviously wasn't enough
Personally I find it strange that there even are donation as low as $17.5k. Are the millions hidden and the thousands only act as cover?
Google has contributed $17.5k to SOPA sponsor Lamar Smith
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Re: Google has contributed $17.5k to SOPA sponsor Lamar Smith
#12obviously wasn't enough
Personally I find it strange that there even are donation as low as $17.5k. Are the millions hidden and the thousands only act as cover?
There are limits to how much can be given. Most of the huge huge huge donations go to organizations such as the DNC and RNC where the limits are less strict.
Re: Google has contributed $17.5k to SOPA sponsor Lamar Smith
#13obviously wasn't enough
Personally I find it strange that there even are donation as low as $17.5k. Are the millions hidden and the thousands only act as cover?
PAC contributions, see this chart:
http://i.bnet.com/blogs/google-contributions-chart2.jpg
still not a lot considering how large these companies are
Re: Google has contributed $17.5k to SOPA sponsor Lamar Smith
#14I had an idea, but I don't know who to pitch it to or if it's good or bad or has already been done.
It's unfortunate, but our political process is coin operated--this is even more clear since we decided corporations were people and moneys political speech. Someone, perhaps someone here, needs to make an app that lets you see a company's political positions on the fly. If they have physical products, scanning the barcodes could let you know what the company lobbies for and who they support. Said app could do other things, like informing the company how their political meddling influenced your purchase (for or against) and/or recommending an alternative product or service from a company/provider with monetary speech you find more palatable.
Re: Google has contributed $17.5k to SOPA sponsor Lamar Smith
#15Actually it is logical for Google to contribute funds to SOPA sponsors, if influence is indeed being wielded through dollars then this is one of the best options to counteract such legislation in the shorter term. Edit : If I were trying to disrupt SOPA, then one of the most effective ways to do so would be to raise a large conditional donation for Lamar Smith predicated upon him withdrawing support from SOPA as well…
This directly contradicts the GoDaddy saga. Edit: And by this I mean that we (including Google) should be pursuing more or less the same measures that proved effective with GoDaddy, i.e, pressure through boycott. It is not clear whether Google intends to pressure Smith to withdraw support, and in any case it's the wrong path if one considers the amounts Smith gets from the companies that want SOPA passed.
Not at all! Lamar Smith's opinion on these issues is influenced by the people who pay to get face time with him and his staff. I hope that Google is getting what they pay for.
If our democracy can be sold to the highest bidder, it's better for us if the winning bid is made by someone who shares our values. As a recent post said, "It's not ok for the Internet to understand how Congress works."
Re: Google has contributed $17.5k to SOPA sponsor Lamar Smith
#16Actually it is logical for Google to contribute funds to SOPA sponsors, if influence is indeed being wielded through dollars then this is one of the best options to counteract such legislation in the shorter term. Edit : If I were trying to disrupt SOPA, then one of the most effective ways to do so would be to raise a large conditional donation for Lamar Smith predicated upon him withdrawing support from SOPA as well…
This directly contradicts the GoDaddy saga. Edit: And by this I mean that we (including Google) should be pursuing more or less the same measures that proved effective with GoDaddy, i.e, pressure through boycott. It is not clear whether Google intends to pressure Smith to withdraw support, and in any case it's the wrong path if one considers the amounts Smith gets from the companies that want SOPA passed.
GoDaddy explicitly stated that they support the SOPA legislation. Google (and others) took out a full-page ad in the Wall Street Journal denouncing it. It's not the same thing.
Re: Google has contributed $17.5k to SOPA sponsor Lamar Smith
#17Google is too big, and supports too many things, to not in have in some way contributed money to just about everything. Relax and put down thy pitchfork, SOPA hurts them in many ways and they do not want it. If we want to make it a big PR fiasco like like we did for Go Daddy, whom i think the internet was just looking for an excuse to hurt, then we can but why? Bad target, not worth the effort, no efficacy. Right not, on this topic, Google is on our side for a change because SOPA scares them.
*edit s/to/too (and s/too/to) once I saw it, it drove me mad.
Re: Google has contributed $17.5k to SOPA sponsor Lamar Smith
#18Actually it is logical for Google to contribute funds to SOPA sponsors, if influence is indeed being wielded through dollars then this is one of the best options to counteract such legislation in the shorter term. Edit : If I were trying to disrupt SOPA, then one of the most effective ways to do so would be to raise a large conditional donation for Lamar Smith predicated upon him withdrawing support from SOPA as well…
This directly contradicts the GoDaddy saga. Edit: And by this I mean that we (including Google) should be pursuing more or less the same measures that proved effective with GoDaddy, i.e, pressure through boycott. It is not clear whether Google intends to pressure Smith to withdraw support, and in any case it's the wrong path if one considers the amounts Smith gets from the companies that want SOPA passed.
Difference being: GoDaddy very blatantly and explictly supported SOPA (until doing so stopped making business sense). All Google's done here is give money to this member of Congress (which could have been with the intent of for or against); they haven't stated an explicit position (EDIT: they took out an ad against it; though not on their own). We have nothing to judge them on besides these receipts, so I can't rightly condemn or praise them without a more explicit position.
Re: Google has contributed $17.5k to SOPA sponsor Lamar Smith
#19I had an idea, but I don't know who to pitch it to or if it's good or bad or has already been done. It's unfortunate, but our political process is coin operated--this is even more clear since we decided corporations were people and moneys political speech. Someone, perhaps someone here, needs to make an app that lets you see a company's political positions on the fly. If they have physical products, scanning the barc…
People have been repeating this line that corporations have become people and money has become political speech, but that's not what's happened.
Corporations are organizations of people. Money is a tool which can be used for many purposes. Money is sometimes used by organizations of people to engage in speech. That's it. Nothing's changed.
Re: Google has contributed $17.5k to SOPA sponsor Lamar Smith
#20Why?
If you contribute to both sides, you end up with a bought candidate regardless of who wins an election.