COMMENTARY

Peter Burgess

Chris Dodd left the Senate and a few weeks later became the head of an important industry group. Others with political connections swarm around the halls of Congress

Chris Dodd is the Chairman and CEO of the Motion Picture Association of America, one of the largest and most significant supporters of SOPA and PIPA, the Internet censorship bills in the United States Congress. The MPAA, under the guidance of Chris Dodd, has lobbied Congress with enormous sums of money while trying to rush these dangerous bills through Congress.

Just this past year, the former Senator who preached 'No lobbying, no lobbying' just before leaving his position, did just that [see http://bit.ly/dgJ1NA]. [Read more in TVM ... open file 2155] He joined one of the most powerful lobbies in the country, lobbying for two of the most controversial bills in recent memory: SOPA and PIPA.

Since Dodd has taken over the MPAA, they have come out in full force against net neutrality, claiming it hinders efforts to combat piracy. With nothing but their profit margins in mind, the MPAA and other powerful lobbies in the entertainment industry set out to fight piracy by any means necessary. For them, this meant assuring the passage of two bills widely regarded as the acts of Congress that would destroy the Internet as we know it. When the Internet took to protesting the actions of Congress and the associated lobbies with mass blackouts of major websites across the web, including sites like Google, Wikipedia, Reddit, WordPress, and Craigslist, the MPAA fired back with a ludicrous statement from Chris Dodd himself [http://bit.ly/yA69sq]. The message begins: 'Some technology business interests are resorting to stunts that punish their users or turn them into their corporate pawns'. Dodd goes on to say that the blackouts around the Internet are an 'abuse of power'. He called them 'dangerous'. He called them 'a gimmick'. He took one of the most positive and historic cases of activism in recent times, and called it a dangerous, irresponsible 'gimmick', and an 'abuse of power' designed solely to attack the people who are trying to do what is right for the country.

I'll tell you what's an abuse of power, Mr. Dodd. The MPAA and all of the other pro-SOPA, pro-PIPA lobbies trying to force these bills down the throats of Americans who are uniting in historic opposition, by throwing your cash at Congress and hoping they do your bidding. You are attacking our Constitutional rights to free speech, and the will of the People whom the government must answer to. Anonymous is fully aware of your actions and your intentions, Mr. Dodd. And we will not remain silent while you seek to dismantle the Internet and the Constitution in the face of opposition from the People.

Name: Christopher John Dodd, Jr.
Birthdate: May 27, 1944
Age: 67
Religion: Roman Catholic
Party Affiliation: Democratic Party
High School: Georgetown Preparatory School, Bethesda, MD
University: BA English Literature, Providence College (1966)
Law School: JD, University of Louisville School of Law (1972)
Occupations: US Senator, Connecticut (1981-2011), US Congressman, Connecticut 2nd (1975-80)
Current Position: Motion Picture Association of America Chairman & CEO (2011-Present)

Wife: Jackie Marie Clegg Dodd
Age: 49
Religion: Mormon
High School: Orem High School, Orem, UT
University: BA Communications and Political Science, Southern Utah State College (1987)
University: MA National Security Studies, Georgetown University
Occupation: Clegg International Consultants LLC Managing Partner (2001-Present)

Children: Grace Dodd (10), Christina Dodd (8)

Address 1: 8 7th Street Northeast, Washington, DC 20002-6022 Phone Number: (202) 548-6040 Property Value: $997,000 [http://bit.ly/A7wfpb]

Address 2: 53 Main Street, East Haddam, CT 06423-1305 Property Value: $453,400 [http://bit.ly/ynBXN0]

Motion Picture Association of America Corporate Offices:

Washington, D.C. 1600 Eye St., NW Washington, D.C. 20006 Phone: (202) 293-1966 Fax: (202) 296-7410

Los Angeles 15301 Ventura Blvd., Building E Sherman Oaks, CA 91403 Phone: (818) 995-6600 Fax: (818) 285-4403

New York 200 White Plains Road 1st Floor Tarrytown, NY 10591 Phone: (914) 333-8892 Fax: (914) 333-7541

Chicago 1010 Lake St. Suite 422 Oak Park, IL 60301 708-660-0481 Phone: (708) 660-0481 Fax:(708) 660-0484

Dallas 1425 Greenway Dr. Suite 270 Irving, TX 75038 Phone: (972) 756-9078 Fax: (972) 756-9402

Sao Paulo, Brazil Rua Jerônimo da Veiga, 45, Conj 121/122, 12º Floor Jardim Europa, São Paulo, S.P 04536-000, Brazil Phone: 011-55-11-3667-2080 Website: www.mpaal.org.br

Brussels, Belgium Motion Picture Association Brussels office Avenue des Arts 46 box 8 B - 1000 Brussels Phone: +32 2 778 27 11 Fax: +32 2 778 27 00/+32 2 778 27 50

Mexico City, Mexico Lafontaine #42 Chapultepec Polanco Mexico, 11560 DF Phone: 011-5255 5280 6878/5281 6090

Singapore #04-07 Central Mall No. 1 Magazine Road Singapore 059567 Phone: +65 6253 1033 Phone: +65 6255 1838 Website: www.mpa-i.org

Toronto, Canada 55 St. Clair Avenue, West Suite 210 Toronto, ON M4V 2Y7 Phone: (416) 961-1888 Phone: (416) 968-1016 Website: www.mpa-canada.org

MPAA Email: ContactUs@mpaa.org

Other Contact Info: Website: http://chrisdodd.com Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/SenChrisDodd Twitter: http://twitter.com/SenChrisDodd YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/user/SenChrisDodd Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/SenChrisDodd Miscellanous: http://www.peekyou.com/chris_dodd/229085828 Collapse this post

Dodd forswears a lobbying career by Deirdre Shesgreen ... August 30, 2010
Read more ... open file 2155