Berman Exposed: Latest News Stories

Bill seeks to end sobriety checkpoints

lfarber — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 12:02:12 -0500

For different reasons, a bill doing away with sobriety checkpoints in New Hampshire has the backing of both constitutionally minded lawmakers and a D.C. trade group representing alcohol-serving restaurants.

House Bill 1452 would eliminate the sobriety checkpoints organized by local police departments to catch drunken drivers. A hearing on the bill is scheduled for 11 a.m. Thursday in Room 204 of the Legislative Office Building.

House transportation bill expected to go after drunken driving

lfarber — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 12:00:34 -0500

A bill to be introduced Tuesday that provides for the long-term reauthorization of federal transportation programs is also expected to include language that would offer states millions of dollars in incentives for imposing tough penalties on first-time drunken drivers.

Restaurant Owners, MADD May Clash Over Transportation Bill

lfarber — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 11:55:57 -0500

A small provision in the upcoming transportation bill could fuel a big brawl between restaurant owners and opponents of drunken driving.

Both chambers are expected to introduce reauthorization bills this week with financial incentives for states to require that convicted drunken drivers use ignition interlocks — devices that require drivers to blow into a tube to test their blood-alcohol level.

Center for Union Facts Steps Up $10 Million Ad Campaign Backing Broad Anti-Union Bill

lfarber — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 11:38:49 -0500

This commercial, which aired during one of this month’s presidential debates, is one of four in a new campaign from the anti-union Center for Union Facts. CUF pledged last month to spend $10 million on the campaign, which promotes a new “Employee Rights Act” introduced in Congress by Utah Senator Orrin Hatch and South Carolina Congressman Tim Scott.

Animal welfare groups united in their cause

lfarber — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 09:31:32 -0500

Washington lobbyist Rick Berman is well known as a front man for smearing the reputations of public interest groups (“Humane Society, shelter group at odds,” Dec. 22). His latest target is The Humane Society of the United States because we are the greatest threat to animal abusers and his industry paymasters. Berman and his so-called “Humane Society for Shelter Pets” falsely try to define animal welfare work as just one narrow category of writing checks to local pet shelters, which do important work and take in 6 million to 8 million dogs and cats each year.

Humane Society targeted by pro-shelter campaign

lfarber — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 09:52:33 -0500

The Humane Society of the United States says it's under attack by a new group that's trying to starve it of funding by urging donors to send money to local animal shelters instead.

The society has long been a thorn in the side of some in agriculture with its undercover investigations and campaigns against animal cruelty. It claims the new group is the brainchild of conservative public relations executive Rick Berman, who spearheaded an earlier campaign against it, and that it's supported by big agricultural interests.

What’s in a name? Beware of astroturfing.

lfarber — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 09:33:50 -0500

Too bad the season of giving has to coincide with the season of questionable charities, but I guess we’ll never be rid of unreformed Scrooges, poised to cash in. Generous animal lovers shouldn’t be fooled by one particular humbug who’s trying to undermine the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS), a champion for sweeping changes in animal conditions for almost 60 years.

Rick Berman's Anti-Labor Front Group To Launch $10 Million Ad Campaign

lfarber — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 09:14:45 -0500

A D.C.-based front group representing corporate interests will be rolling out a $10 million national advertising campaign next week to promote legislation that would likely weaken unions.

Tis the Season for Collaboration, Not Combat

lfarber — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 11:32:42 -0500

It's happened again. And just a little more than a few weeks before Christmas. A new non-profit organization called the Humane Society for Shelter Pets (HSSP) was formed by the Center for Consumer Freedom (CCF).

The latter is run by Rick Berman, who has battled such "tyrannical" organizations as Mothers Against Drunk Driving, and who seems to have a personal vendetta against the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS). He is using HSSP to create a veritable public coliseum over his claim that HSUS does not support shelters or shelter animals.

More Deception from Con Man Richard Berman

lfarber — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 09:37:28 -0500

Rick Berman is the king of charity fraud. He sets up phony front groups to do the dirty work of bad actors in industry. He takes their money and then takes on their critics. He runs “charitable” organizations, like the Center for Consumer Freedom (which fights The HSUS), the American Beverage Institute (which fights Mothers Against Drunk Driving), and the Center for Union Facts (which attacks public employees and unions), yet his groups don’t feed one animal, shelter one homeless person, or provide any other tangible social service.

Letter: Pacheco's $10 minimum wage bill is a worthy effort

lfarber — Mon, 21 Nov 2011 10:09:53 -0500

Sen. Marc Pacheco, D-Taunton, demonstrates real concern for the well-being of Massachusetts workers by supporting a $10 state minimum wage.

Contrary to critics’ claims, we can expect this proposal to improve the quality of jobs without causing layoffs. This is because such a measure would have a very limited impact on businesses’ overall costs. The evidence shows that employers find ways to adjust that don’t require them to lay off workers, such as nearly imperceptible price increases. Lower turnover by better-paid workers further offsets any cost increase.

From local roots, Bradley Foundation builds conservative empire

lfarber — Mon, 21 Nov 2011 10:07:32 -0500

Less than a week after being elected governor, Scott Walker and his wife met privately with one of the most powerful philanthropic forces behind America's conservative movement.

It wasn't the Koch brothers - the bogeymen for the American left.

On Nov. 8, 2010, the Walkers broke bread at the upscale Bacchus restaurant in the Cudahy Tower with the board and senior staff of the Milwaukee-based Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation.

Congress Considers Increased Financing to Study Alcohol Interlocks

lfarber — Fri, 04 Nov 2011 09:55:55 -0400

Cars that prevent intoxicated drivers from operating them may be rolling a little closer to reality, if only legislatively.

The American Beverage Institute, a restaurant trade association, noted the Senate’s approval this week of an appropriation, by a vote of 60 to 39, that would allot $5 million for further research into alcohol-detection devices known as interlocks.

Humane Society faces smear from lobbyist

lfarber — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 10:22:45 -0400

It’s no surprise that, in his Oct. 22 letter, millionaire lobbyist Rick Berman attacked The Humane Society of the United States. His so-called “Center for Consumer Freedom” is a front group for corporations trying to thwart animal welfare, environmental and other public interest reforms. It is not a consumer protection organization, and it has no social welfare mission.

CCF takes in boatloads of corporate cash, providing anonymity to companies and allowing them to get tax breaks through their “donations” to this phony nonprofit.

Humane Society: We're targeted for the work we do

lfarber — Fri, 28 Oct 2011 09:16:58 -0400

Remember when those slick Washington P.R. operatives wanted us to believe that it’s OK to smoke?

Well, the same shady character who started out raking in big bucks from the tobacco companies is at it again. He’s out there trying to minimize the menace of drunks on our roads, he’s defending mad cow disease as a “low risk,” he’d have us believe that pregnant women shouldn’t worry about mercury in seafood and argues the case that organic food is bad for the environment.

Bill mandating breath-testers for DUI offenders advances

lfarber — Wed, 19 Oct 2011 09:50:36 -0400

The Senate Transportation Committee today approved legislation requiring first-time DUI offenders to equip their vehicles with ignition interlock systems that test their breath for alcohol before allowing the car to be started.

Existing Pennsylvania law requires interlock systems only for repeat DUI offenders.

All should help pay down debt

lfarber — Mon, 17 Oct 2011 11:17:15 -0400

As President Obama said in a Rose Garden speech Sept. 19 about our nation's debt crisis, "it's only right that we ask everyone to pay their fair share."

But if we're going to take seriously the notion of defeating the debt, it's going to take more than rhetoric and we'll all have to chip in — some of us more than others. Salvaging our downgraded economy demands tough sacrifices from all of us instead of a scapegoated few.

Longwell: The new Prohibition

lfarber — Thu, 13 Oct 2011 09:35:11 -0400

Ken Burns' new documentary, "Prohibition," is a big hit for PBS — almost 4 million viewers tuned in last week to see America's premier documentarian tell the tale of a time when Americans had to know a secret knock just to get an after-work cocktail.

What viewers might not realize is that prohibitionists are alive and well today.

Understanding the consequences of changes in the minimum wage

lfarber — Tue, 11 Oct 2011 10:15:57 -0400

When discussing public policy, it's typically easier for those who favor increased burdens on business to dismiss economic arguments to the contrary instead of tackling them head-on.

Back in 1996, when then-President Clinton was arguing for an increase to the federal minimum wage, his chief of staff laughed off complaints from business owners that rely on minimum wage labor: "We're talking about a lousy 90 cent increase," he guffawed.

Educate yourself on what you’re really supporting

lfarber — Tue, 27 Sep 2011 09:30:59 -0400

Mario Batali, the famed ex-“Iron Chef” and restaurateur, has turned his coat and joined up with the radical environmental fringe. Batali now publicly endorses the Meatless Monday campaign and applies this philosophy to his restaurants. 

What’s wrong with going meatless once a week? It sounds like eating in moderation. But the backers of the Meatless Monday campaign have a broader agenda behind the façade of health.  

Raising minimum wage won't lower poverty

lfarber — Fri, 16 Sep 2011 09:26:26 -0400

The U.S. Census Bureau reported this week that more Americans are living in poverty than ever before measured -- 46.2 million people.

This news was followed by a predictable response from advocacy groups like the National Employment Law Project which suggested that an increase in the minimum wage could help lift Americans out of poverty. And not only that; in a CNN.com op-ed, a policy analyst with the group said that an increase in the minimum wage could boost the economy and create 160,000 jobs.

When a trend is not a trend

lfarber — Thu, 15 Sep 2011 09:10:22 -0400

Outrage is in the air over concerns that companies are hiring only those who currently have jobs. Apparently, the nation is littered with “Unemployed need not apply” signs hanging from storefronts.

Sarah Longwell: Think of money that could be used to boost teachers salaries if there were no unions wasting valuable resources

lfarber — Mon, 12 Sep 2011 09:54:29 -0400

According to a new survey released by the testing organization ACT, three out of four students are not prepared for college. These students will have to take at least one remedial course in math, science, reading or English.

Another new survey, this one from Phi Delta Kappa International (an educators' association) and Gallup, shows that Americans know who to blame for this mess. It isn't teachers: Three out of four respondents have "trust and confidence in public school teachers."

Another view: Group attacking MADD lacks credibility

lfarber — Tue, 06 Sep 2011 10:12:44 -0400

At first glance, an emailed press release seemed unremarkable: another trade group trying to score a couple of points at the expense of an adversary.

But with a second glance, profound tackiness emerged. A group calling itself the American Beverage Institute was hammering at Mothers Against Drunk Driving for not getting as much mileage out of its fundraising efforts as other non-profit groups and for earning comparatively poor scores from two charity ratings organizations.

Mad at MADD

lfarber — Mon, 29 Aug 2011 10:17:55 -0400

Finally, somebody has the guts to take on Mothers Against Drunk Driving.

"Mothers Against Drunk Driving Receives Another 'D' from Charity Rating Guide," shouts the Aug. 24 press release. It notes that the guide's publisher, the American Institute of Philanthropy, "says most highly efficient charities are able to spend 75 percent or more of total expenses on charitable programs. Yet, MADD has spent as little as 61 percent on programs."

Sixty-one percent versus 75 percent? That doesn't sound great, but it doesn't sound awful, either. So why the press release?

Report: Majority of Congress with no education in business

lfarber — Wed, 24 Aug 2011 09:51:53 -0400

Almost 80 percent of lawmakers have no academic background in business or economics, even as Congress grapples with deficits, unemployment and other economic issues of tremendous complexity, according to an independent analysis released Tuesday.

The Employment Policies Institute (EPI) found that only 8.4 percent of lawmakers majored in economics or a related field, while just 13.7 percent studied topics related to business or accounting.

Berman to Industry: Play Offense

lfarber — Tue, 23 Aug 2011 09:25:03 -0400

If it's already a bill, you're probably too late. Or, as conservative public affairs specialist Rick Berman cautioned at CSP's 2011 Outlook Leadership Conference, "legislation does not drive public opinion; public opinion drives legislation."

And liberal groups, he said, have been winning too many battles on issues such as obesity taxes and energy legislation not because the facts line up with their positions, but because they are staking positions early and putting industries on the defensive.

The minimum-wage solution

lfarber — Fri, 19 Aug 2011 11:19:45 -0400

We need jobs.

With a 9 percent unemployment rate and anemic labor market growth, this is one goal on which there's bipartisan consensus. Unfortunately, there's little agreement on how to best accomplish this goal. And there are few issues on which the parties are more diametrically opposed than the minimum wage.

Commentary: Conventional wisdom isn't always wise

lfarber — Wed, 17 Aug 2011 13:17:29 -0400

In a time when seemingly every kind of food or drink has something bad associated with it, you’d think at least water would escape unscathed. But one doctor reported in the British Medical Journal this July that advice to drink 8 glasses of water per day is “nonsense.” And drinking too much water could actually be harmful.

The lesson here isn’t that water is bad or that we shouldn’t drink it. Rather, it’s that the so-called experts on what we eat and drink can change their minds (and often do).

Sloan: Shining Some Light on Berman’s Ulterior Motives

lfarber — Mon, 15 Aug 2011 11:29:56 -0400

The Great and Powerful Oz was really just an old man with theatrical flair, hiding behind a false persona. In much the same way, D.C. public relations Svengali Richard Berman has taken to these pages in disguise — as the executive director of the Center for Consumer Freedom — in a dubious attempt to discredit my organization, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington.

But Berman isn’t just any corporate shill. He becomes anyone you want him to be ... for the right price.