I have written before here of the so-called Progress & Freedom Foundation.
While they claim to be a think tank, I have written here that they are in fact shills for the Bell companies. While outgoing President Ray Gifford doesn’t go that far, he does call his outfit a "conservative-libertarian" and "industry-funded" think tank.
When government goes to such think tanks for advice on policy, instead of (say) academics, what it’s getting is a corporate line, not unbiased advice. It’s like going to a PR company for news. An editor who just prints press releases knows what he or she is doing. So should a Congresscritter who claims a corporate "think tank" is giving policy analysis.
I now have proof that PFF is, in fact, nothing more or less than a paid shill for the Bell companies.
It comes in the form of a press release sent out yesterday for their "Aspen Summit," which claims to be an independent confab on technology politics. The headline says it all:
Telecom Expert Tom Tauke to Speak at Aspen
Tauke is not a telecom expert. He is less of an expert than I am. He is, in fact, the head lobbyist for Verizon, who has a fancy title because that’s how important lobbying is to Verizon. He is a former Congressman who essentially went into PR.
Every single media story that mentions Tauke, from every source, makes its headline mention the fact that he’s a lobbyist. Not an expert, a lobbyist.
Yet when PFF announces he’s speaking to them, he’s an expert.
Game, set, match Mr. Gifford. And anyone who
buys anything in the way of policy from the PFF, on any subject, should
know that all they are being fed are corporate lines, often corporate
lies.
