Tag: payoffs

As TV News puts it…”This story is ongoing”

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The FBI is conducting “law enforcement activity” at the Washington, DC, home of Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska, an ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, according to an FBI spokesman.

The activity is connected to a federal investigation out of New York, the spokesperson said, but could not provide any more information. A source familiar with the matter said the investigation has been “ongoing” but also provided no further details…

Deripaska was sanctioned by the US back in 2018 in response to Russian interference in the 2016 election. The Treasury Department statement announcing the sanctions said he had been investigated for “money laundering, and has been accused of threatening lives of business rivals, illegally wiretapping a government official, and taking part in extortion and racketeering.” Earlier this year, Deripaska lost a lawsuit to have the sanctions lifted…

Deripaska has rejected any link to Russian interference in the 2016 US presidential election that [Robert] Mueller investigated.

Deripaska once loaned [Paul Manafort] $10 million, according to court filings from Mueller’s investigation. [Trump’s campaign manager] Manafort was sentenced to more than 7 years in prison for bank and tax fraud and foreign lobbying-related crimes, but received a pardon last fall from President Donald Trump.

Which is to be expected from the corrupt aiding the corrupt. No doubt, the same would be a promise given to Republicans convicted over the next few years…if and when the Populist Pimp runs, again, in 2024.

McConnell takes Republican hypocrisy to a new level

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Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell has been reminded of his support of the Citizens United ruling after he warned big businesses to “stay out of politics” as they denounced a controversial new voting law in Georgia …

He issued his call for firms to “stay out of politics” as Coca-Cola and Delta Airlines criticized the policy along with other firms. Major League Baseball also announced that it would relocate the 2021 All-Star Game due to be held in Atlanta …

A number of commentators reacted to the Republican leader’s remarks by reminding him of his support for the Citizens United ruling that permitted corporations, unions and other outside groups to spend unlimited sums on elections.

“Mitch McConnell knows corporations are not people—that’s why he’s so quick to silence them,” the End Citizens United campaign tweeted Sunday. “He only considers them ‘people’ when cashing their checks and watching their dark money ads in support of his campaign of voter suppression and gridlock.”

There’s little or no need to fill in the details of McConnell’s hypocrisy. He fits the role of leader of the Republican Party in Congress perfectly. Deciding what they want, taxing American workers and their families to pick up the tab. He knows exactly which class owns his heart and soul. If he had one.

Leading gun owners’ site says — It’s Time to De-Fund the NRA

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❝ The National Rifle Association — America’s oldest civil rights organization — is in an existential crisis today brought on by mismanagement, cronyism, and self-dealing by its leadership. Every week brings forth a new allegation, a new bit of evidence that the the NRA’s leaders are more interested in lining their own pockets and enjoying the perquisites of power than promoting marksmanship, gun safety, and defending the right to keep and bear arms.

Every day this circus continues is a day that the NRA’s credibility as an organization takes another hit. This is a dangerous situation for the organization and for American gun owners because — whatever the reality — the identity of gun owners in this country is tightly linked to that of the NRA.

❝ We’d like to say that the NRA’s leadership has stepped up to the plate in response. We’d like to say they’ve at least mouthed the correct words, made promises of transparency going forward, committed to an independent audit of the books, expressed interest in correcting what were inarguably missteps (even if you believe the leadership is innocent of any actual wrongdoing, missteps in communications and public relations have certainly been made,) and of welcoming fresh blood and new voices to its ranks.

We can’t say any of that, though, because they haven’t.

I have a fondness for sporting firearms that goes back to my youth. I grew up in Connecticut, the arsenal of America in my day. My generation was the first in my family NOT to work sometime or other for a gun manufacturer. The two generations preceding, just about every man and a number of the women did work for one or another gun manufacturer – including a gunsmith who worked on the designs of many of today’s modern military rifles.

None of which diminishes my strong feeling about the need for strict regulatory standards. Above and beyond that, the hustlers and con artists who infest the so-called leadership of the NRA need to go. Time to clean house is overdue.

See how little Trump cares about American Families!

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The dirty details are over here. Education, social services, healthcare, practically everything built over generations to help the American family find a better life for themselves, their children, their neighbors is dismissed out of hand by the fake president.

Apparently, he counts on military voters and, of course, all the corporations getting a bump in profits from his wartime budget. Except, most of his war is on ordinary Americans.

Measuring human capital — US works its way from #6 down to #27

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❝ The United States ranks 27th in the world for its investments in education and health care as measurements of its commitment to economic growth, according to the first-ever scientific study ranking countries for their levels of human capital… In contrast, China’s ranking of 44th in 2016 represents an increase from its 1990 ranking of 69th.

❝ “The decline of human capital in the United States was one of the biggest surprises in our study,” said Dr. Christopher Murray, director of the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington. “Our findings show the association between investments in education and health and improved human capital and GDP – which policymakers here in the US ignore at their own peril. As the world economy grows increasingly dependent on digital technology, from agriculture to manufacturing to the service industry, human capital grows increasingly important for stimulating local and national economies…”

❝ “Clearly, China is on an upward trajectory, while the US, without more strategic investments, especially in education, risks falling behind even further,” Murray said.

I’m surprised that someone whose expertise is in education metrics…is surprised. I left structured education institutions decades ago. Curiosity, interest in society and progress, all combine within my lifestyle to keep me in touch with life in changing societies on this small ball of mud called Earth.

Decline in the character and culture of the United States has been visible enough to anyone willing to look critically since the days of McCarthyism, crushing the trade union movement [including buying a number of misleaders], assumption of the mantle of leading imperial power from the Brits while they dug out from the direct impact of World War 2 – all led rather logically, consistently, to the powerful ignoring most of the needs of the American working class. It was sufficient to provide scraps from a table groaning under so much wealth that maintaining power with two plastic political parties as game pieces was more like playing checkers than chess.

National Rifle Association — Follow the money because that’s all they really care about

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The National Rifle Association goes to great lengths (and spends a huge sum of money) to defend the right to bear arms. It is opposed to virtually every form of gun regulation, including restrictions on owning assault weapons, retention of databases of gun purchases, background checks on purchasers at gun shows and changes in the registration of firearms.

The NRA’s influence is felt not only through campaign contributions, but through millions of dollars in off-the-books spending on issue ads. Lobbying expenditures for the National Rifle Association regularly exceed $1.5 million, as the organization’s lobbyists frequently try to exert their influence over government agencies including members of Congress, the Department of the Interior, the Department of Agriculture, and the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau.

Profile for 2014 Election Cycle

CONTRIBUTIONS
$974,152
ranks 239 of 12,337

LOBBYING
$3,360,000 (2014)
$3,410,000 (2013)
ranks 149 of 2,871 in 2014

OUTSIDE SPENDING
$27,024,618
ranks 10 of 138

RTFA for lots of links to details of the how and where these pricks get their money and spend their money.

Thanks, Papa Tom

Canada’s leaving F-35 program boosts costs for other nations, eh?

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How many schools could we build for $412 million – each?

As the Pentagon prepares for Canada’s withdrawal from the F-35 jet program, lawmakers in Washington are raising concerns that the U.S. too will have to cut its numbers of stealth fighters because of increasing costs.

Prime minister-designate Justin Trudeau has promised to withdraw Canada from the F-35 program, saying it has become too costly. When that will happen is still unclear, as the Liberals won’t unveil the cabinet until Nov. 4.

A Liberal government would hold a competition to replace the current fleet of CF-18s and select a cheaper alternative to the F-35…

The Conservatives committed in 2010 to buy 65 of the aircraft but put that on hold because of the increased costs of the jet and allegations that the procurement process was not properly handled.

Before they were defeated in the election, the Conservatives said no decision on the F-35 had been made. But Bogdan told U.S. lawmakers on Wednesday that Canada was scheduled to buy the planes starting in 2017-18.

Harper caught in another lie.

The one-per-cent increase in the cost of the F-35 because of Canada’s decision to pull out of the program appears to be the least of the concerns for supporters of the aircraft.

The program is currently $200 billion over budget. It will cost an estimated $400 billion for the U.S. to buy the 2,443 aircraft it has determined it needs.

This is followed by threats of withholding orders from Canadian firms scheduled as subcontractors.

Trudeau said holding a competition for a new fighter jet would ensure Canadian firms receive work. Under the F-35 program, there were no guarantees Canadian companies would be entitled to a specific amount of work when Canada purchased the aircraft.

Don’t hold your breath waiting for Congress to have as much economic gumption as Canada. The Beltway hacks have a consistent record of voting for hardware even when the Pentagon declares it worthless crap.