WARNING TO ALL MERCHANTS: PayPal will screw you

Recently a person purchased a download course from us and one minute later complained to PayPal that someone had “compromised” his email account – using the the same email account he used to purchase the download one minute earlier. PayPal, depsite being provided with evidence that the person had complained from the same email account … Read more

Grasstops, an excerpt from the new book Persuading Congress by Joseph Gibson

“Grasstops”

an excerpt from the new book

PERSUADING CONGRESS:
A Practical Guide to Parlaying an Understanding of Congressional Folkways and Dynamics into Successful Advocacy on Capitol Hill
by Joseph Gibson
Published by TheCapitol.Net

In his new book, Persuading Congress, Joseph Gibson says that “grassroots efforts have limited utility for most issues,” due to the difficulty of mobilizing large numbers of personal responses to members of Congress. Members respond to personal stories but are numb to mass mailings, duplicate emails, or scripted phone call campaigns.

Gibson offers an alternative strategy in this excerpt. “Grasstops” refers to getting VIPs to pitch a member of Congress for you. TheCapitol.Net has made this excerpt available for free use. More information about the book, “Persuading Congress,” and author Joseph Gibson, follows the excerpt. Thank you.

See the “Grasstops” excerpt by Joseph Gibson

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“Pigs in a pen deliver lesson about freedom”

The problem is that a plain fence can be so boring. So let’s dress it up, say with a little placard over the gate. Perhaps we should inscribe fancy words on it, too. What comes to mind is an expression often attributed to a wise Frenchman named Alexis de Tocqueville, who wrote about the American … Read more

Testifying Before Congress by William LaForge

Testifying Before Congress
Testifying Before Congress

Testifying Before Congress

A Practical Guide to Preparing and Delivering Testimony before Congress and Congressional Hearings for Agencies, Associations, Corporations, Military, NGOs, and State and Local Officials

By William N. LaForge

As a practical guide to assist witnesses and their organizations in preparing and delivering Congressional testimony, this book is designed for use by anyone or any organization called upon to testify before a committee of the United States Congress, and for those who are providing assistance in preparing the testimony and the witness.

This book can serve as a guide through the unique maze of the Congressional hearings process for virtually any witness or organization, including especially federal departments and agencies, the federal judiciary, members and staff of the legislative branch itself, associations, corporations, the military service branches, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), private and voluntary organizations (PVOs), public interest entities, state and local governmental officials and institutions, and individuals who are chosen to appear as a witness before Congress for any reason on any topic.

2010, 450 pages
Hardbound, $77
ISBN 10: 158733-172-1
ISBN 13: 978-1-58733-172-5

Softcover, $67
ISBN 10: 158733-163-2
ISBN 13: 978-1-58733-163-3

Available from your favorite bookseller. For more information, see TestifyingBeforeCongress.com

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Glossary of Legislative Terms: “Minority, Supplemental, and Additional Views”

See Supplemental, Minority, and Additional Views (CongressionalGlossary.com)     Courses Congressional Operations Briefing – Capitol Hill Workshop Drafting Federal Legislation and Amendments Writing for Government and Business: Critical Thinking and Writing Custom, On-Site Training Drafting Effective Federal Legislation and Amendments in a Nutshell, Audio Course on CD Congress, the Legislative Process, and the Fundamentals of … Read more

Joint Explanatory Statement of Managers (CongressionalGlossary.com)

From the Congressional Glossary – Including Legislative and Budget Terms Joint Explanatory Statement of Managers Portion of the conference report providing the history, explanation, and intent of the conferees. The conference report and joint explanatory statement are two distinct documents. The conference report contains a formal statement of the procedural actions the conferees took and … Read more

The Crisis in Public Sector Pension Plans

New Jersey’s defined benefit pension systems are underfunded by more than $170 billion, an amount equivalent to 44 percent of gross state product (GSP) and 328 percent of the state’s explicit government debt. Depending on market conditions, the state will begin to run out of money to pay benefits between 2013 and 2019. The state’s five defined benefit pension plans cover over 770,000 workers, and more than a quarter million retirees depend on state pensions paying out almost $6 billion per year in benefits. Nationwide, state pensions are underfunded by as much as $3 trillion, approximately 20 percent of America’s annual output.
This path is not sustainable. In order to avert a fiscal crisis and ensure that future state employees have dependable retirement savings, New Jersey should follow the lead of the federal government and the private sector and move from defined benefit pensions to defined contribution pensions. While significant liabilities will remain, the first step to addressing the pension crisis is capping existing liabilities and providing new employees with more sustainable retirement options.

“The Crisis in Public Sector Pension Plans: A Blueprint for Reform in New Jersey,” by Eileen Norcross and Andrew Biggs, Mercatus Center, June 23, 2010
Also see

Underfunded Pensions, Pension Dumping, and Retirement Security
Underfunded Pensions, Pension Dumping, and Retirement Security

Underfunded Pensions, Pension Dumping, and Retirement Security:
Pension Funds, the Pension Benefit Guarantee Corporation (PBGC), Bailout Risks, Impact on the Federal Budget, and the Pension Protection Act of 2006

Compiled by TheCapitol.Net

    Although the PBGC’s liabilities are not explicitly backed by the full faith and credit of the federal government, Congress could face political pressure to bail out the PBGC at taxpayer expense should the agency become financially insolvent.

2009, 319 pages
ISBN: 1587331535 ISBN 13: 978-1-58733-153-4
Softcover book: $19.95
For more information, see 1534Pensions.com
RL34443, RS22650, R40171, RL34656, GAO-09-207, RL33937

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Glossary of Legislative Terms: “Hopper”

See Hopper (CongressionalGlossary.com)     Courses Congressional Operations Briefing – Capitol Hill Workshop Drafting Federal Legislation and Amendments Writing for Government and Business: Critical Thinking and Writing Custom, On-Site Training Drafting Effective Federal Legislation and Amendments in a Nutshell, Audio Course on CD “Congress, the Legislative Process, and the Fundamentals of Lawmaking Series” a Nine-Course … Read more

“Persuading Congress: How to Spend Less and Get More from Congress: Candid Advice for Executives”

Persuading Congress
Persuading Congress

Persuading Congress
How to Spend Less and Get More from Congress: Candid Advice for Executives

By Joseph Gibson

    Persuading Congress, by Joseph Gibson, is a a practical book, packed with wisdom and experience. For less than the cost of a cab ride to the airport, you can learn how to stop wasting your time when you visit Washington.
    What happens in Congress affects all of our lives and extends into every corner of the economy. Because so much is at stake there, businesses and other interest groups spend billions of dollars each year trying to influence legislation.
    Yet, most of these efforts are doomed to futility from the outset. Only a small percentage of the bills introduced in Congress actually become law, and most interested parties do not fully understand why those few bills succeed. More importantly, how to get Congress to do what they want remains a mystery to them.
    This book will help you understand Congress. Written from the perspective of one who has helped put a lot of bills on the president’s desk and helped stop a lot more, this book explains in everyday terms why Congress behaves as it does. Then it shows you how you can best deploy whatever resources you have to move Congress in your direction.
    Because you have limited time, this book sticks to the basics and its chapters are short so that it can be digested rapidly.

2010, 150 pages
Hardbound, $27
ISBN 10: 158733-173-X
ISBN 13: 978-1-58733-173-2
Softcover, $24
ISBN 10: 158733-164-0
ISBN 13: 978-1-58733-164-0
For more information, see PersuadingCongress.com

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“Some Tips for Kagan’s Hearings — Be Prepared”

The Senate Judiciary Committee is set to commence its confirmation hearing on June 28 to consider the nomination of Solicitor General Elena Kagan to replace Associate Justice John Paul Stevens on the Supreme Court. As many experts predict, Ms. Kagan may pass the Senate test with flying colors en route to confirmation.

Leaving the substance and content of her testimony to her White House handlers, and ideology and judicial philosophy aside for a moment, I would focus Ms. Kagan’s attention on the two major roles and responsibilities of a hearing witness: to present effective and compelling oral testimony that makes the case for her confirmation and to be responsive in answering questions posed to her by the committee.

The Senate hearing will be Ms. Kagan’s chance to make the record, correct misperceptions, refute inaccuracies, and frame and advance the merits of her nomination in terms she chooses. If she follows a few well-tested and time-honored cardinal rules as a hearing witness, she stands a good chance of “wowing” the committee, and eventually the full Senate, with the delivery of substantive and skillfully presented testimony and answers to questions and an engaging demeanor as a witness. Here is a list of top-tier tips for consideration:

Some Tips for Kagan’s Hearings — Be Prepared, by Bill LaForge, Roll Call, June 10, 2010
Coming this summer:
Testifying Before Congress: A Practical Guide to Preparing and Delivering Testimony before Congress and Congressional Hearings for Agencies, Associations, Corporations, Military, NGOs, and State and Local Officials

Testifying Before Congress
Testifying Before Congress

Testifying Before Congress
A Practical Guide to Preparing and Delivering Testimony before Congress and Congressional Hearings for Agencies, Associations, Corporations, Military, NGOs, and State and Local Officials

By William N. LaForge

    As a practical guide to assist witnesses and their organizations in preparing and delivering Congressional testimony, this book is designed for use by anyone or any organization called upon to testify before a committee of the United States Congress, and for those who are providing assistance in preparing the testimony and the witness. This book can serve as a guide through the unique maze of the Congressional hearings process for virtually any witness or organization, including especially federal departments and agencies, the federal judiciary, members and staff of the legislative branch itself, associations, corporations, the military service branches, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), private and voluntary organizations (PVOs), public interest entities, state and local governmental officials and institutions, and individuals who are chosen to appear as a witness before Congress for any reason on any topic.

2010, 475-plus pages
Hardbound, $77
ISBN 10: 158733-172-1
ISBN 13: 978-1-58733-172-5
Softcover, $67
ISBN 10: 158733-163-2
ISBN 13: 978-1-58733-163-3
For more information, see TestifyingBeforeCongress.com
Also see

Supreme Court Nominations
Supreme Court Nominations


For more information, see SCOTUSNominations.com

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