More Republicrap

Ex-Stevens Aide Reports Cable Money
From: Multichannel News
http://www.multichannel.com/article/CA6365375.html?display=Breaking+News

Mitch Rose, a former aide to Senate Commerce Committee chairman Ted Stevens  (R-Alaska), earned $270,000 from the cable industry in the first half of 2006, largely to influence a major telecommunications bill drafted by Stevens, according to congressional records.

The National Cable & Telecommunications Association, Comcast and Time Warner Cable each paid Rose $90,000 for help with the Stevens bill (S. 2686), which is partly intended to expedite cable-TV-market entry by AT&T and Verizon Communications.

In addition to cable, Rose reported earning $80,000 each from the Motion Picture Association of America and Sprint Nextel. The Recording Industry Association of America paid Rose $30,000 for assistance on music-piracy provisions in the Stevens bill.

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Telecom, Cable Interests Channel Donations To Republican Incumbents
From: Technology Daily
http://www.njtelecomupdate.com/lenya/telco/live/tb-OKES1155672762163.html

Officials of dominant telephone and cable TV companies vying for an upper hand in pending telecommunications legislation are contributing heavily this election season to Republican incumbents who share those firms' deregulatory
outlook.

The major beneficiaries of the largesse include Sens. George Allen of Virginia and Conrad Burns of Montana -- both members of the Senate Commerce Committee -- as well as House Speaker Dennis Hastert of Illinois, and House Energy and Commerce Chairman Joe Barton of Texas. All are Republicans.

The most generous contributor from the telecom/tech sector so far during the 2005-2006 cycle is AT&T. Its political action committees have contributed nearly $1.7 million to federal candidates, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.

Meanwhile, AT&T is a strong opponent of so-called network neutrality restrictions that would bar it and other high-speed Internet operators from charging firms for preferential treatment in delivering their content online.

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