Bureau of Industry and Security

[rossana <rossana at comodinoposta.org>]

*ll presidente Barack Obama ha nominato Amanda Simpson - una donna 
transessuale che ha lavorato per l'azienda bellica Raytheon per più di 
30 anni - come Consigliere Tecnico del Dipartimento Commercio 
dell'Industria e Sicurezza per controllare l' esportazioni della 
tecnologia militare degli Stati Uniti.

Bureau of Industry and Security
http://www.bis.doc.gov/news/2009/bis_annual_report_2008.pdf

Bureau of Industry and Security:* President Barack Obama nominated 
Amanda Simpson -- a transgender woman who has worked at military 
contractor Raytheon 
<http://www.opensecrets.org/pacs/lookup2.php?strID=C00097568&cycle=2010> 
for more than 30 years -- for a post within the Commerce Department's 
Bureau of Industry and Security, where she will monitor the exports of 
U.S. weapons technology, ABC News reports 
<http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/amanda-simpson-transgender-presidential-appointee-begins-work-commerce/story?id=9477161&page=2>. 
Simpson served as a delegate pledged to Obama's 2008 Democratic Party 
presidential rival Hillary Clinton 
<http://www.opensecrets.org/pres08/summary.php?cid=N00000019&cycle=2008> 
during the Democratic National Convention, and in 2006, she lost a bid 
for a seat in the Arizona state legislature as the Democratic Party's 
nominee. At Raytheon, she helped convince the company to add gender 
identity and gender expression to its equal employment opportunity 
policy. She is the first openly transgender person appointed by 
President Obama. A Center for Responsive Politics review of federal 
campaign contribution records shows she contributed $500 to Rep. 
Gabrielle Giffords 
<http://www.opensecrets.org/politicians/summary.php?cid=N00027829&cycle=2010> 
(D-Ari.) in 2006, and $573 to the Democratic Party of Arizona in 2008.

*DITCHING THE "SCARLET L" OF LOBBYING:* Arthur Delaney at the 
/Huffington Post/ writes about 
<http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/01/06/lobbyings-new-frontier-no_n_411639.html> 
two former lobbyists desire to ditch the "scarlet L" associated with 
their trade. Brien Bonneville 
<http://www.opensecrets.org/lobby/lobbyist.php?lname=Bonneville%2C+Brien&id=Y00000283490&year=2009> 
and Larry Mitchell 
<http://www.opensecrets.org/lobby/lobbyist.php?lname=Mitchell%2C+Larry&id=Y00000075320&year=2009>, 
Delaney writes, have moved on from their lobbying shop KSCW Inc. 
<http://www.opensecrets.org/lobby/firmsum.php?lname=KSCW+Inc&year=2009>, 
which reported $1.2 million in earnings this year through September, and 
founded a new "non-lobbying entity": K Street Research. "We're not 
lobbying. We're doing policy research," Bonneville told the /Huffington 
Post/. "We're almost like a small newspaper," he added. And with the new 
name and new duties, they will assist clients with research - without 
the disclosure requirements of registered lobbyists. At least on ethics 
lawyer told the /Huffington Post/ that this is a very, very fine line. 
"If Corporation XYZ hires Research Firm A to prepare materials to 
support the in-house lobbying of Corporation XYZ, the expenses are 
required to be reported by the corporation regardless of whether the 
research firm separately meets the requirement of a lobbying firm," said 
Ken Gross 
<http://www.opensecrets.org/revolving/rev_summary.php?id=11639>. And 
CRP's Communication Director Dave Levinthal said the new effort still 
smelled like an attempt to influence the legislative process. "This is 
definitely an effort to help private interests to navigate political 
channels to their benefit," he said. "Whether it's called lobbying in 
the traditional sense of lobbying or something else, the goal is similar 
if not the same."

*WHAT NEXT FOR DODD, DORGAN & THEIR SEATS?:* The dust is still settling 
from the recent announcements of Democratic Sens. Byron Dorgan 
<http://www.opensecrets.org/politicians/summary.php?cid=N00004615&cycle=2010> 
(D-N.D.) and Chris Dodd 
<http://www.opensecrets.org/politicians/summary.php?cid=N00000581&cycle=2010> 
(D-Conn.) that each would retire at the end of the term and not seek 
re-election. In Connecticut, Democratic Attorney General Richard 
Blumenthal 
<http://www.courant.com/news/politics/hc-richard-blumenthal-chris-dodd-0106,0,2997693.story> 
has announced he will enter the fray in Dodd's absence. In North Dakota, 
Republican Gov. John Hoeven is expected 
<http://www.politico.com/blogs/scorecard/0110/Hoeven_planning_to_run_for_the_Senate.html> 
to enter the ring, and the North Dakota Democratic Party has reached out 
to 
<http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/01/ed-schultz-north-dakota-dems-have-asked-me-to-run-for-senate.php> 
former Prairie State resident Ed Schultz, the progressive MSNBC host who 
was a local broadcaster in Fargo for more than a decade, to see if he 
might run for Dorgan's seat. Use OpenSecrets.org's congressional race 
profiles <http://www.opensecrets.org/races/index.php> to track the money 
race <http://www.opensecrets.org/races/summary.php?id=NDS1&cycle=2010> 
in each state 
<http://www.opensecrets.org/races/summary.php?id=CTS2&cycle=2010>. Kate 
Sheppard at /Mother Jones/ notes 
<http://motherjones.com/mojo/2010/01/will-revolving-door-take-dorgan-coal-country> 
that Dorgan, himself, mentions a desire 
<http://dorgan.senate.gov/newsroom/record.cfm?id=321298> to work in the 
private sector on energy policy after he leaves office, and she asks if 
the coal lobby will be Dorgan's next home. Dodd, meanwhile, has yet to 
specify what's next in his future. Where do you think Dodd and Dorgan 
will end up?

http://www.topix.com/us-house/gabrielle-giffords/2010/01/the-scarlet-l-sens-chris-dodd-and-byron-dorgan-move-along-and-more-in-capital-eye-opener-january-7