#lobbyist

GIZMODO:

Meta Gives Trump $1 Million for Inauguration as Latest Round of Ass-Kissing Commences

Zuckerberg also presented Trump with a pair of Meta Ray-Bans.

He was kind of a legend.

He was one of the most successful lobbyists I ever worked with. Not in terms of making money, but in terms of getting bills through the legislature.

Which was amazing. Because his clients were mostly small-time not-for-profits. Stuff like youth services, after school programs, access to healthcare.

Good causes. With shoe-string budgets.

They couldn’t field an army of volunteers to help a friendly legislator. Much less write a check.

And yet, year after year, he got their bills passed. With support from both parties.

When I asked him how he did it, he laughed. Then told me, “I don’t do anything. I just make sure they never forget us. Because if they remember us, they’ll do the right thing.”

As I learned, that wasn’t spin.

Whatever was happening, whatever the issue was – even if there wasn’t an obvious connection to the small-time not-for-profits he represented – he kept his clients visible. He made sure they were part of the conversation.

That really was his secret sauce.

I bring this up, because it reminds me of what Jesus shows us in today’s Gospel.

Jesus is explaining the way that He does things. Jesus is modeling for the Apostles (and for us) how to make sure that you do the right thing.

What’s the constant in today’s Gospel? Jesus is always looking to God, thinking about God, following God’s lead.

“The Son cannot do anything on His own, but only what He sees the Father doing. For what He does, the Son will do also.”

That’s the point of it, the thread that runs through it all.

Jesus isn’t all about Himself. And yet, Jesus never loses sight of who He is. That sounds like a contradiction, but it isn’t.

Jesus never loses sight of who He is, because Jesus never loses sight of Whose He is.

Jesus is always looking to God, thinking about God, following God’s lead, defining Himself in terms of God and His relationship with God.

Which is both a glimpse into the inner life of the Holy Trinity, and the recipe for our lives.

How do you and I do that? We follow the model that Jesus gives us.

We make a habit out of looking to God, thinking about God, following God’s lead, whatever the issue is – even if there isn’t an obvious connection – defining ourselves in terms of God and our relationship with God.

That’s the secret sauce, the recipe for doing the right thing in all things.

When JR was commissioned to design the cover of a Time magazine issue on "Guns in America" he decided to create The Gun Chronicles, an interactive video mural featuring 245 individuals with a range of views on the topic, including hunters, gun collectors and industry lobbyists, BLM activists, shooting victims, and ER teams that treat victims of mass shootings. Working with videographer Tasha Van Zandt and cinematographer Hunter Nolan, JR and his team made stops in Dallas, St. Louis, and Washington D.C. Participants were invited to share their individual views, describe their own experiences, and come together in person for the exhibition of the finished mural in each city. Their accounts are accessible on the project's website.

Hear JR talk more on Gun Chronicles and see more from JR’s career in JR: Chronicles through October 18.

Before CENTCOM, Austin was the 33rd vice chief of staff of the United States Army from January 2012 to March 2013, and the last commanding general of United States Forces – Iraq Operation New Dawn, which ended in December 2011. He retired from the armed services in 2016 and joined the boards of Raytheon Technologies, Nucor, and Tenet Healthcare thereafter.

On 7 September, two U.S. troops were killed and nine wounded in an incident at an Iraqi military base. The incident is under investigation by Iraqi and U.S. forces, but it is believed that an Iraqi soldier opened fire on U.S. forces.[299]

On 8 September, the U.S. Army announced the arrival in Iraq of the first specifically-designated Advise and Assist Brigade, the 3d Armored Cavalry Regiment. It was announced that the unit would assume responsibilities in five southern governorates.[300] From 10 to 13 September, Second Advise and Assist Brigade, 25th Infantry Division fought Iraqi insurgents near Diyala.

According to reports from Iraq, hundreds of members of the Sunni Awakening Councils may have switched allegiance back to the Iraqi insurgency or al-Qaeda.[301]

In October, WikiLeaks disclosed 391,832 classified U.S. military documents on the Iraq War.[302][303][304] Approximately, 58 people were killed with another 40 wounded in an attack on the Sayidat al‑Nejat church, a Chaldean Catholic church in Baghdad. Responsibility for the attack was claimed by the Islamic State in Iraq organization.[305]