While corruption in Congress is nothing new (see: Lincoln), with the rise of modern lobbying things have reached impressive new proportions, as chronicled on OpenSecrets, Maplight, and other well-researched online voter resources.
I. MPAA, RIAA Get Republican Staffer Fired
One of the most active lobbying influences in Washington D.C. have been media corporations, represented by trade groups like the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) and Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). Recent estimates indicate that big media paid 10 percent of members of Congress's total reelection budget in the previous election cycle -- and the payments almost paid off as big media's Orwellian SOPA (Stop Online Piracy Act) was only struck down in the eleventh hour amid a storm of citizen lashback.
Now comes word that a top traditional conservative (or in some source's words "Libertarian-leaning") staffer on the Republican Study Committee (RSC) has been terminated for his stance on copyright reform.
The fired staffer's name is Derek Khanna, and he turned heads in mid-November when he authored a pro-reform memo [background], which was thoroughly vetted and published by the RSC, a key advisory body to the conservative wing of federal Republican Representatives in Congress.
In the memo (available below), Mr. Khanna argued that punishments of up to $150,000 USD per work for private citizens found guilty of filesharing are grossly out of line with reality.
Republican Study Committee Intellectual Property Brief
Sources: The Washington Examiner, ArsTechnica, TechDirt
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