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FairSearch.org Hammers Anti-Google Message

If you keep track of Hill publications and websites, you’ve probably noticed a flurry of ads from FairSearch.org this month casting Google as a big, bad player in the online marketplace.

The coalition of 17 Internet and tech companies, which includes Microsoft, Expedia and Hotwire, has been pushing an ad campaign that asks “Can you trust Google?” Specifically, FairSearch.org wants to take Google to task for what it calls its unfair practices of directing traffic toward its own products rather than competitors.

Google, for its part, maintains that it does allow competition, and if users don’t like it, they can easily switch search engines.

FairSearch.org spokesman Ben Hammer describes the coalition as “a collection of companies and businesses that have been concerned that Google is engaged with specific practices that hurt competition in the market, lower consumer choice and make it harder for entrepreneurs and innovators to put their products in front of consumers and let them pick the winners.”

FairSearch.org’s latest ads have appeared online and in print publications. Hammer declined to provide details on the campaign, including cost or duration.

But the Federal Trade Commission is wrapping up its investigation into Google for anti-competitive practices, with a decision expected by year’s end. And last week, FTC Chairman Jon Lebowitz spoke at two major anti-trust conferences.

FairSearch.org has paid $90,000 to Glover Park Group so far this year, according to data from the Center for Responsive Politics.

And although companies will fight hard against each other on one issue, they’re fine to coalesce around another. For instance, FairSearch.org members TripAdvisor and Expedia are also a part of newly launched The Internet Association. And guess which behemoth is also a part of that trade group? Google. Frenemies much?

via Homepage http://influencealley.nationaljournal.com/2012/10/fairsearchorg-hammers-antigoog.php

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New Romney Ad Jabs Obama for Failing to ‘Stand Up’ to China

 

 

GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney is redoubling his assault this week on President Obama’s China policies, with a new TV ad out Monday that blames Obama’s failure to “stand up” to China for the loss of two million American jobs.

via Homepage http://www.nationaljournal.com/2012-presidential-campaign/new-romney-ad-jabs-obama-for-failing-to-stand-up-to-china-20120924

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Mitt Romney’s Undelivered Speech: I’ve Never Believed in ‘Makers and Takers’

The Wall Street Journal editorial page published excerpts of what it calls a “draft” of a speech provided to the newspaper by the Romney campaign at some point in the past, but apparently was never delivered by Mitt Romney. In it, Romney touches on the same topics that drew criticism this week, but goes in the opposite direction, saying that he has “never believed” that Americans are divided between “makers and takers.”

“You’ve probably also heard some people—some even in my own party—divide Americans between ‘makers’ and ‘takers,’” the speech reads. “As if half the country wants to live off the other half. I’ve never believed that. That’s no different from the kind of divisive politics that the President practices when he pits the wealthy against everyone else.”

The speech also takes note of those on food stamps, disability and the unemployed: “This is a national scandal. Not because those fellow Americans are free-loaders, but because they aren’t able to get a good job that pays enough to be self-sufficient and lets them fulfill their human potential. “

via Homepage http://www.nationaljournal.com/2012-presidential-campaign/mitt-romney-s-undelivered-speech-i-ve-never-believed-in-makers-and-takers–20120919

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Report: Third Victim of Libyan Attack a Former Navy SEAL

Former Navy SEAL Glen Doherty was identified as the third victim in the attack that killed four Americans in Libya, the Boston Globe reports.

Doherty was killed in the U.S. consulate in Benghazi; U.S. Ambassador to Libya Chris Stevens and two others also died. The Winchester, Mass., native was 42.

He served on the security detail for the ambassador, and was killed while helping the wounded, his sister, Katie Quigley, told the Globe. Doherty served in the SEALs for seven years before joining a private security company. While in the Navy, he served in Iraq and Afghanistan.

via Homepage http://www.nationaljournal.com/nationalsecurity/report-third-victim-of-libyan-attack-a-former-navy-seal-20120913

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Amid Foreign Policy Crisis, Romney Picks a Big Fight

Mitt Romney has picked a big fight fraught with political risks amid an ongoing foreign policy crisis with heartbreaking and murderous consequences for the U.S. diplomatic corps.

And by the end of the day on Wednesday he walked straight into a forearm shiver from the commander-in-chief – one that may leave a mark and intensify scrutiny of Romney’s foreign policy qualifications.

“Governor Romney seems to have a tendency to shoot first, aim later,” President Obama told CBS in an interview conducted by correspondent Steve Kroft. “And as president one of the things I’ve learned is you can’t do that. It’s important for you to make sure that the statements that you make are backed up by the facts. 

via Homepage http://www.nationaljournal.com/whitehouse/amid-foreign-policy-crisis-romney-picks-a-big-fight-20120912

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Democrats Widen Enthusiasm Gap

Democrats are now significantly more engaged by the presidential race and view it more favorably than Republicans, according to a Pew survey published on Wednesday.

Two-thirds of Democrats find the campaign “interesting” compared with only half of Republicans, while 68 percent of Dems find it “informative,” compared with just under half of Republicans, according to survey, conducted over the weekend by the the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press.

The most dramatic divergence since June is in the percentage of Democrats and Republicans who find the campaign too negative. The proportion has fallen 12 points for Democrats, to 42 percent, while it has shot up 9 points for Republicans, to 63 percent. 

via Homepage http://www.nationaljournal.com/2012-presidential-campaign/democrats-widen-enthusiasm-gap-20120912

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No Drama Spending Bill Glides Through Rules

In the latest sign that a stop-gap spending measure could sail through Congress before the end of next week, the House Rules Committee on Wednesday devoted less than 10 minutes to the legislation that would fund the government for the next six months.

A room usually fraught with tense exchanges and snide one-liners (doled out during the committee’s many late-night meetings) saw the top Republican and Democrat of the House Appropriations Committee speak briefly about their bill before being lauded by three Rules Committee members for their efforts. No leading questions, no terse remarks, just some pats on the back before the committee moved on to other business.

The bill’s $1.047 trillion annual rate represents an increase of about $8 billion over current spending levels. Conservatives, though, support the bill – in fact, they pushed for leadership to take it up now rather than risking the possibility that it could become tangled up in larger discussions about taxes and other spending if the measure were to be left for the post-election lame-duck session.

Republicans want to avoid allowing Democrats to use the threat of a government shutdown as leverage against them in the debate over the Bush-era tax cuts and sequestration. So conservatives agreed to a spending increase, despite having passed a fiscal year 2013 budget that would cap spending at $1.028 trillion.

Congressional leadership announced a deal at the end of July on the bill, which contains no policy riders and cannot be amended on the floor. The Senate is expected to vote on it next Thursday.

via Homepage http://influencealley.nationaljournal.com/2012/09/no-drama-spending-bill-glides.php

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Today’s Influence Ads: Hustler Magazine Wants Romney’s Tax Returns

Hustler Magazine has a new ad today announcing that the publication and Larry Flynt are offering a cash reward of up to $1 million for information about Mitt Romney‘s unreleased tax returns, bank accounts and business partnerships. The magazine claims it wants to publish the information.

The International Franchise Association‘s new ad calls for extending all current tax rates in order to promote job growth; the Bipartisan Policy Center‘s new ad warns against automatic across-the-board cuts and tax rate increases as a way to deal with America’s long-term fiscal situation; and the Renewable Fuels Association‘s new ad cautions against waiving the Renewable Fuel Standard, claiming that doing so could slightly decrease grocery bills but would increase the amount Americans spend on gasoline.

American College of Rheumatology, American Society for Radiation Oncology, CIT Group, Univision, WellPoint, Women in Government Relations and Zurich also have new ads out today.

Those with continuing ads, per Kantar Media’s Washington Eye, include: Altria, American Society For Radiation Oncology, Bell Helicopter & Boeing, BP, Chevron, Goldman Sachs, McDonald’s, Musicians On Call, Northrop Grumman, Nuclear Energy Institute, Ogilvy and WTOP.

via Homepage http://influencealley.nationaljournal.com/2012/09/todays-influence-ads-hustler-m.php

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Taliban Threaten to Kill Britain’s Prince Harry

Just days after the British Crown announced that Prince Harry was headed to Afghanistan to man helicopters for four months, the Taliban announced that it would do everything in its power to kidnap or kill the 27-year-old prince, Reuters reports.

“We are using all our strength to get rid of him, either by killing or kidnapping,” Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid told Reuters.

Queen Elizabeth’s grandson, known as “Captain Wales” in the military, is stationed in the volatile Helmand province, at the forefront of NATO’s fight against the Taliban.

via Homepage http://www.nationaljournal.com/nationalsecurity/taliban-threaten-to-kill-britain-s-prince-harry-20120910

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Let’s Not Block Akin’s Bid, Let’s Fix the System

Like many people, I have a number of thoughts and questions related to the blowup over GOP Rep. Todd Akin’s outrageous remarks recently about rape and abortion and women. Let me first say that if I was a Missouri voter, I would likely vote for a third-party candidate or write in someone else in November.

A throng of Republican leaders have called on Akin to resign his nomination so he can be replaced. As of Tuesday evening, Akin has refused. Why should he resign? Did he do something illegal or unethical? His cardinal sin to most of the Republicans calling on him to drop his bid was that he was honest and stupid and said out loud what he believes, thus endangering the GOP’s prospects of picking up the Missouri Senate seat. So the pursuit of political power is paramount in this equation.

But where were these same Republican leaders in 2008 when Sarah Palin created the same scenario with her outrageous comments? I didn’t see any of them asking John McCain to drop her from the ticket. There were no calls for her to be replaced on the ballot.

via Homepage http://www.nationaljournal.com/columns/common-sense/let-s-not-block-akin-s-bid-let-s-fix-the-system-20120821