A few days ago I posted an article about the letter written by 19 members of Congress to Attorney General John Ashcroft asking him to prosecute filesharers as criminals, and asking for very harsh penalties. At the time we only knew who a few of the members of Congress were, I've obtained a copy of the letter, and taken the time to look up the members of Congress who signed the letter, (19 of them) and the contributions they have received from TV/Movies/Music according to opensecrets.org . Remember these are just the contributions to 19 members of Congress, and reflect only the contributions given to these 19 members. They are listed below.

There are others who are in the pocket of the TV/Movies/Music industries. People such as Howard Berman who has received approx. $189,000 from them. Check opensecrets.org for your Senators and Representatives for the money they've received. As I have stated many times before, they need your vote, without it they don't get elected, they lose their power. Their duty is to the constituents of their district, not to the MPAA and RIAA. In addition I've added a couple of graphics that give some insights into the contributions made by these industries to individual politicians, and just how serious the problem is.

The entertainment industry contributed more than $38 million to federal candidates and parties in 1999-2000, a $20 million increase over its giving in the 1996 election cycle.(source Opensecrets.org)