Articles

Deception & Misdirection
Clinton Cited for Contempt of Court in Sexual Misconduct Lawsuit
Twenty-one years ago—February 16, 1999—U.S. District Court Judge Susan Webber Wright announced to lawyers working a sexual misconduct lawsuit in her courtroom that she was considering the historically unprecedented step…
by Ken Braun on February 21, 2020

Doing Good
Twitter Philanthropy: Free Money
Bill Pulte is the avowed “inventor of Twitter philanthropy,” which he describes as “Giving food, necessities, rent, and more to people in need.” He is now known by many simply…
by Jeremy Lott on February 20, 2020

Doing Good
Twitter Philanthropy: Lessons Learned from Grandpa
“Most people think of [grandpa] as a pioneer in home construction . . . and that’s true,” Bill told Builder magazine, “But what often goes left unsaid was his pioneering…
by Jeremy Lott on February 20, 2020

Doing Good
Twitter Philanthropy: A Tale of Two Charities
The different ways the various Pultes are going about philanthropy appears reflect differences of emphasis, not a rift. The large donation to Notre Dame, where several Pultes but not Bill…
by Jeremy Lott on February 20, 2020

Doing Good
Twitter Philanthropy: The Pulte Team
Pulte has set up an organization and a website for others to join in called Team Giving. The site, just out of beta, features stories and requests for relatively small…
by Jeremy Lott on February 20, 2020

Labor Watch
Official Comment on Proposed Union Transparency Regulation
The Office of Labor Management Standards to adopt the proposed Intermediate Bodies Rule to enable union members to provide scrutiny of their dues spending to the maximum level allowable by…
by Michael Watson on February 19, 2020

Organization Trends
Surprising Advocates of Abortion File Supreme Court Briefs
On March 4, 2020, the Supreme Court will hear arguments in June Medical Services LLC v. Gee, a case that arose from a Louisiana state law that requires doctors who…
by Robert Stilson on February 18, 2020

Green Watch
Exposing the “Dark Money” Behind Hollywood’s Dark Waters
"Dark Waters" is Hollywood’s latest effort to scare moviegoers into voting against their own interests. Yet it is not dominating at the box office and has been largely ignored—some say…
by Hayden Ludwig on February 17, 2020

Podcast
Influence Watch Podcast #109: State Debates Enforcing Workers’ Rights
In this episode, Democrats announce a $50 million campaign to take control of drawing legislative district boundaries, the Pennsylvania Legislature considers legislation to enforce the Supreme Court’s Janus decision and…
by CRC Staff on February 14, 2020

Philanthropy
Playing the Philanthropic “Long Game”
Just as with “pulling the goalie,” properly assess the future, but in this case to “skate to the puck.” Don’t wait to skate—or, again analogizing to grantmaking, to spend.
by Michael E. Hartmann on February 13, 2020