Occupy Starbuck’s

“They’re inside in the afternoon, tapping at laptops and  nursing lattes. They send emails and organize protests, chat with friends and  warm their hands. It’s been two months now, and no one shows any signs of  leaving. It’s undisputed and undeniable: The Starbucks at 15th and K has been  thoroughly Occupied.”

— “Starbucks near protesters’ compound thoroughly Occupied,” Aubrey Whelan, Washington Examiner

Starbuck’s? $5 lattes are for losers. Real K Street habitués occupy DC Coast, Lincoln DC, Café du Parc, The Prime Rib, Siroc, Bobby Van’s, Georgia Brown’s, Potenza, and BLT Steak. There’s no Wi-Fi at these places, but most have valet parking service.

Related: Occupy DC website

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Image by Mike Licht. Download a copy here. Creative Commons license; credit Mike Licht, NotionsCapital.com

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Shadow Congress

172 former congressmen and senators currently work as Washington lobbyists, according to a perceptive report by Justin Elliott and Zachary Roth of  Talking Points Memo. They work for trade associations and large law firms and as independent influence shapers for industry and monied interests. Not all are officially registered as lobbyists, but they use their influence to shape legislation nonetheless. Former members of Congress have access to Capitol and federal offices denied other citizens.

Retired legislators from 41 states are working as DC lobbyists, and Texas has the most (17). TPM has an interactive map with a list by state, but it is easier to name states without an ex-congressional K Street contingent: Hawaii, Maine, New Mexico, North Dakota, Rhode Island, Vermont, Wyoming, and West Virginia.

 

Image by Mike Licht. Download a copy here. Creative Commons license; credit Mike Licht, NotionsCapital.com

Comments are welcome if they are on-topic, substantive, concise, and not boring or obscene. Comments may be edited for clarity and length.