Cruise Law News (CLN) has been cited by lots of newspapers and television stations in the last year. But today I was excited to learn that OpenSecrets.org (Center for Responsible Politics) cited CLN in its blog article about the Carnival Splendor ship fire.
OpenSecrets.org is one of my favorite websites. It is a nonpartisan watchdog organization which tracks money’s influence on U.S. elections and public policy. It shines light on who is funding politicians and the effect of money on the government formulation of policy and laws which affect all of us.
The article below is from the Open Secrets Blog "Carnival Cruise Disaster," which cites Ten Years of Cruise Ship Fires – Has the Cruise Industry Learned Anything?
"News stories continue to trickle in on the nearly disastrous Carnival Cruise voyage that safely embarked in San Diego on Thursday. After an on-board fire disabled the ship, passengers were forced to live two days without the promised luxuries of a Carnival Cruise ship. Fortunately, no one was injured in the fire. The recent fire brings to light the not altogether uncommon occurrence of fires on cruise ships, an event that has made the news more than a few times in recent years. Employees of the parent company of Carnival Cruise Lines, the Carnival Corporation, have contributed modestly during the recent 2010 election cycle — donating only about $317,600 to federal candidates and committees. And the Carnival Corporation itself has spent only $90,000 on lobbying in 2010, with legislative targets including H.R. 802, the Maritime Pollution Prevention Act of 2008 and H.R. 6434/S. 2881, the Clean Cruise Ship Act of 2008. With the media firmly focused on this nightmare voyage, legislators may turn towards the issue of cruise safety but until then, comedians will continue to rib the harrowing experiences of this cruise."
The article also linked to David Letterman’s "Top 10 Things You Don’t Want to Hear While You Are Stranded On A Cruise:"
https://youtube.com/watch?v=uLwiWRF48sg%3Ffs%3D1%26hl%3Den_US%26rel%3D0