When Money Makes Law, We All Pay The Price

[Snowbound]

How the mere possession of wealth makes the law in the United States- if
you can pay enough people, you can easily suppress the voices of the
truly committed, and right and wrong mean nothing. It's hard to conceive
of a case where any corporate entity (most of which do not even pay
taxes on their company profits) with thinking management would not stoop
to such slimy-but-legal tactics as noted below to protect its interests.
It is also a substantial argument in favor of the Republic's desperate
need for regulatory protection against such measures.

<http://www.forbes.com/feeds/ap/2008/02/26/ap4700632.html>

Comcast Corp. (CMCSA) on Tuesday acknowledged hiring people to fill
seats before the start of a contentious federal hearing on how the
company manages its broadband network, allowing its employees to take
those seats when the filled-to-capacity hearing started.

Many people were turned away before Monday's Federal Communications
Commission hearing at Harvard Law School, leading critics to accuse
Comcast of stifling debate over the company's practice of favoring some
forms of Internet traffic over others.

Comcast said it hired people to hold seats only after an advocacy group
called Free Press urged its backers to attend.

[...more]