Reply To: Political Statements
Textbooks normally contain exercises, review questions, etc. to make them useful in teaching a course. You have to pay extra for those.
Also, again, due to the license used for the books, a school can’t use them for courses without paying. And there’s nothing wrong with that. Colleges — even government-run ones — make money. They ought to remunerate authors whose work they use.
Some people have a colorful pejorative term for people who refuse to pay for the work of others: they call them “freetards.” I think they’re just being… well, violators of Wheaton’s Law.
As for Fortune: they happen to be right. 501(c)4 organizations like EFF are the trending way for corporations to launder political money, because of a specific loophole: 501(c)4s can lobby, but do not have to report publicly who their donors are. Many claim to be “public interest” organizations when they’re really corporate lobbying shops. Many also create 501(c)3s with interlocking directorates. The 501(c)3 accepts tax-deductible contributions and then, in turn, “donates” them to the 501(c)4. This practice flouts prohibitions against tax-deductible contributions being used for lobbying.
CDT is a spinoff of EFF, founded by a former director, which likewise lobbies for corporate interests. He learned to do this during his tenure at EFF.
In short, EFF and CDT are both part of the latest scheme to launder corporate political dollars and perform “astroturf” lobbying. Citzens need to know this, so they are not suckered into giving them money.