A White House policy of encouraging U.S. government agencies to exclude registered lobbyists from sitting on government advisory boards has irked some business lobby groups. In late September, Norm Eisen, the special counsel to the president for ethics and government

This Thanksgiving season, I am thankful for so many things: my life, family, friends, freedoms, and new job at the . I feel lucky to be working with a team devoted to making a real difference in people's lives as

The (NEI), the peak nuclear industry lobby group in the U.S., is an enthusiastic promoter of the idea of a "". NEI publishes , a blog linking to stories hyping the prospects for an expanded role for nuclear power in

has signed a (pdf) with 's lobbying firm, to "sponsor and organize a peace process to resolve the conflict in Darfur and secure peace throughout Sudan." Under the contract, McFarlane is required to assist the government of Qatar in "facilitating

Last spring, signed a bill into law that raised the tax on roll-your-own cigarette tobacco from $1.10 per pound to a whopping $24.78 per pound. The revenue from the tax was to be put towards expanding children's health insurance programs.

Last week, a humbled canceled its holiday parties and trumpeted a noble new program to mentor and loan to small businesses. The cost, $500 million, made headlines across the country. The program was announced on the heels of an embarrassing

is for his work on behalf of the . It's in French, of course, and in the article he talks about the influence of the insurance industry lobbyists on elected politicians and candidates. I'd translate it for you, but even

The Lansing State Journal is the latest in a to provide a pro-nuclear platform to former Greenpeace activist turned corporate PR consultant, , without disclosing his consultancy with the (NEI). In its Take 5 column, subtitled 'five questions. five answers",

The President of the West Virginia Chamber of Commerce, Steve Roberts, West Virginia's Senators and to "withhold voting to advance national health care reform until the Obama Administration, particularly the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, backs down on its campaign against

New York Times' Gretchen Morgenson does it again in her Sunday column She reviews the damning conclusions of a government report released this week and skewers Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner with information only she could know.

According to the Associated Press, "" (AQAH) is a "secretive" group that organizes "below-the-radar" activities to drum up opposition to health care reform. AQAH is opposed to a government-run public health insurance option, but supports a mandate to require all

The -funded (CMPI) is helping its corporate funders fight health care reform by disseminating misinformation and orchestrating campaigns to generate about health care reform. CMPI arose out of the , a corporate front group that with in the past to

The in the November 14 issue of the New York Times about the extent to which the biotech firm was able to raises the next logical question: To what extent are corporations in the U.S. actually drafting laws and getting

President has announced his intention to nominate as a member of the (BBG). Perino, who is currently Chief Issues Counselor for the global PR firm, , and a commentator on . Perino was spokesman for President between 2007 and 2009.

is one of the veteran climate change skeptics appearing at the Have Humans Changed the Climate? in Brussels hosted by Roger Helmer, a British Conservative Party representative in the European Parliament. Billed as speaking on the topic of "Why can't

America's financial sector has blown a hole in the economy so large that it will take many years to repair. The formal unemployment rate is above 10 percent and underemployment is an astonishing 17.5 percent. Yet last week, calculated that

Back in September 2007 Jeffrey Swartz, the CEO of the outdoor wear company Timberland, said that he didn't want the company's latest (CSR) report to come across as "corporate cologne." Swartz said that he wanted to "seduce consumers to care."

A recently-released report by the (WCI) on how to finance the experimental (CCS) technology for power stations, reminded me of a cartoon from years ago by the Australian cartoonist, Patrick Cook. In the cartoon, a huge bloated budgie (parakeet) with

The (EPI), a front group created by veteran lobbyist , is planning an advertising blitz claiming that healthcare reform is too costly. The ads will run in Nebraska, North Dakota, Arkansas, Louisiana, Connecticut and Maine. "We're putting some serious money

Ahead of the negotiations over a successor agreement to the on global warming, a coalition of groups have unveiled a short list of nominees for The Angry Mermaid Award for the "company or lobby group is doing the most to