Tag: Corruption

It’s Good To Be A SCOTUS Associate

We all have seen the reports about the underhanded money making of our Supreme Court judges and now a new one has come up….this one is about conserv judge Alito…..

The supreme court justice Samuel Alito gained up to $2.9m from his fossil fuel interests between 2005 and 2024, a new review of financial disclosures shows.

The analysis from the non-profit advocacy group and judicial watchdog Court Accountability, shared exclusively with the Guardian, found that even at the lowest range of estimates, Alito gained almost $400,000 from his oil and gas interests since being tapped for the high court by George W Bush in 2005.

The findings come as the supreme court prepares to take up a case in which the oil companies Suncor Energy and Exxon asked the justices to find that federal law prevents subnational governments from filing lawsuits against fossil fuel producers for the climate-warming effects of their products.

The supreme court said this month it will hear oral arguments in the case on 5 October, the opening day of its new term. The Trump administration, which is siding with the oil companies, has asked for 10 minutes of argument time. Court Accountability and other groups have called for a Senate committee to investigate Alito, the sole supreme court justice with holdings in energy companies, and said he should recuse himself.

He and the court rejected those calls.

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/aug/11/samuel-alito-oil-gas-assets-supreme-court-analysis

And he sits on the highest court in the nation and makes judgements on any legal actions brought against oil companies….this puts him up there with the corruption of Thomas.

SCOTUS is getting more corruptible by the session….and in doing so is destroying most modern laws….

When rationalizing its alarming injection of politics into legal decision, conservatives on the John Roberts Supreme Court are dumping years of legal analysis and precedent in favor of historical arguments. In essence, legal theory appears to be taking back seat to what law in America used to look like, says Florida International University philosophy Associate Professor Eric Scarffe.

They’re using history, said Scarffe, to do what judicial philosophy long has not: remove judgment from judging.

“Rather than promoting judicial restraint, … key cases reveal how the ‘history and tradition test’ has been weaponized to enable one of the most radical revisions to this nation’s constitutional order since the New Deal,” argued Scarffe. “It has been used not only to overturn previous decisions and precedent, but also to fundamentally shift the way the Court engages in judicial review.”

Courts traditionally weigh interests, assess evidence, and openly confront competing constitutional values. But cases like the Wolford v. Lopez, which the court used to strike down Hawaii’s restrictions on carrying firearms on private property that is open to the public, the court made a decision based entirely upon whether a sufficiently similar restriction existed at some point during the nation’s founding.

https://www.alternet.org/roberts-court-reform-politicized/

The judges now are nothing more than political hacks and do not deserve the positions they have been given…

It is beyond time for some massive Supreme Court reforms and changes.

Or we continue to have these hacks destroy the Constitution one ruling at as time.

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

What The Hell Is “Anti-Weaponization Fund”?

I have been hearing this term, anti-weaponization fund, a lot in recent days…..but just what the Hell is it and how does it work?

Thanx to Axios we can have our answer….

President Trump sued his own administration, settled and will now spend $1.776 billion of taxpayer money to pay people who say the government targeted them politically.

Why it matters: The “Anti-Weaponization Fund” turns a personal Trump settlement into a new government program, shields decisions on who gets the money from the courts and limits information about what the public knows about where the funds go.

The backstory: Trump sued the IRS and Treasury in January for $10 billion over the 2019 leak of his tax returns. The settlement gives Trump, his sons and the Trump Organization a formal apology but no money, and it bars the IRS from auditing Trump’s past tax returns.

  • Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, Trump’s former criminal defense lawyer, created the Anti-Weaponization Fund with the Treasury Department’s Judgment Fund.

How it works: The attorney general will handpick the five-member commission that decides who will collect money from the fund, which ends in December 2028.

  • Those decisions can’t be appealed or challenged in court. The settlement does not require public disclosure of payouts.
  • The settlement lets the fund spend part of the $1.776 billion on itself, including staff, travel and facilities. The Justice Department and the White House did not answer Axios’ question about whether there is any cap on those costs.

There is so much more….

https://www.axios.com/2026/05/20/trump-anti-weaponization-fund-judgment-fund-explainer

Donny spends more time with the court systems than he does running the country….and when he does focus on the country he is running it into the ground.

Anyway the Fund and Blanche…..

The nomination of Todd Blanche to be the next permanent attorney general has foundered in part over a controversial “anti-weaponization fund.” On Friday, President Trump offered a strong defense of the fund, which could further complicate Blanche’s road to confirmation, reports CNN. Blanche, the acting AG, has said the fund is “dead,” but GOP Sens. Thom Tillis and John Cornyn want a written guarantee he won’t revive the $1.8 billion measure. Critics call it a slush fund for Trump allies.

In his Friday post, Trump insisted the fund wouldn’t benefit him personally, but would compensate “victims of government abuse,” per Reuters. The president stopped short of saying the fund should be revived, but his lengthy defense of it may give further ammo to other senators wary of its resurrection. Trump also insisted that Blanche, “a good man, should be immediately approved” as AG. On Thursday, the president floated the idea of temporarily withdrawing the nomination until Tillis and Cornyn leave the Senate in January. The fund stems from Trump’s settlement of a lawsuit with the IRS, another source of controversy, and GOP senators on Thursday blocked an attempt to modify that deal.

Donny is so full of shit…he does NOTHING that does not benefit him….PERIOD!

Then acting AG issued a edict….

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche issued an order Sunday evening formally rescinding plans to create a $1.8 billion fund meant to compensate allies of President Trump.

The order came after Republican Senators Thom Tillis and John Cornyn threatened to block Blanche’s confirmation for the permanent position to lead the Justice Department.

“The Attorney General’s May 18, 2026 Order establishing the Anti-WeaponizationFund (“Fund”) is rescinded and shall have no force or effect,” the order states.

“For the avoidance of doubt, nothing in this Order is intended to contradict or otherwise be contrary to prior representations by the Department of Justice that the Fund is not operative. No Members were appointed; no funds were transferred; no process for receiving claims was established; no claims were paid. Nevertheless, several frivolous lawsuits have been filed challenging the Fund, and at least one court has declined to dismiss those claims as moot,” it continues. “This Order establishes, beyond any doubt, that there is no Fund.”

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/todd-blanche-anti-weaponization-fund-order/

Wassup with this?  I do not trust this turn.

Enough said.

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

How Deep Is The Rot?

The ‘rot’ I refer to in this post is that of AIPAC and the Democrats.

Addressing a reported Israeli government-funded online influence campaign aimed at sabotaging the administration’s diplomatic efforts, a furious Vance accused “certain elements within the Israeli government” of actively trying to derail peace negotiations and manipulate American public opinion. He went so far as to target the operators behind the foreign-backed campaign, telling them directly to “go to hell.”

Yet, even as fierce criticism of Israel reaches the very apex of American politics, a profound, schizophrenic rupture divides Washington. While the American public, influential media personalities, and top-tier politicians are openly turning against Israel’s unbridled violence, the traditional power structures continue to toe the line.

This is explicitly evident in Congress, where establishment politicians remain busy acting as defense contractors for Tel Aviv. Lawmakers are quietly pushing forward with Section 219 of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2027. Far from distancing the US from the ongoing regional bloodbath, this legislation aims to permanently integrate and synchronize the US and Israeli militaries under a joint “Defense Technology Cooperation Initiative.”

This institutional blind spot is why the entire alliance is beginning to look utterly ridiculous.

https://original.antiwar.com/ramzy-baroud/2026/07/28/is-it-just-about-aipacs-money-or-does-the-us-israel-rot-run-far-deeper/

The rot runs deep….AIPAC money speeds the rot….

But to me the silliest notion is that Israel is a democracy…that statement is laughable…

There are numerous myths espoused by Jewish and non-Jewish supporters of Israel that deny the violent displacement of Palestinians from Israel in 1948 as well as support for the belief that the June 1967 six-day war was preemptive. The worst of the mythologies deal with whether Palestinians left their homeland “voluntarily” in 1967—there was nothing voluntary about it. The myth heard most often, however, is cited by members of Congress—the contention that Israel is a democracy—indeed, the “only democracy in the Middle East.”

Israel was not a true democracy from the outset in 1948, since more than one-fifth of Israel’s citizens were subject to military rule based on Britain’s mandatory emergency regulations. These regulations denied Palestinians basic human and civil rights. Palestinians were subject to the rule of local Israeli military governors who were in a position to destroy their lives and their livelihood. Some of this pressure was alleviated in the late 1950s, only to worsen in the wake of the Six-Day War in 1967.

Palestinians living in the West Bank and Gaza never received equal treatment from any Israeli government. Israeli settlers in the West Bank who commit crimes are tried in Israeli courts, if they are tried at all, while Palestinians are tried in Israeli military courts. Currently, there are seven million Jews living in Israel and Palestine, and an equal number of Palestinians in the same space. The apartheid governments of Israel make it certain that there will not be equal rights, let alone true democracy, for both Jews and Palestinians.

https://www.counterpunch.org/2026/07/21/the-mythology-of-israeli-democracy/

The sooner the world faces reality the sooner this crap can end.

Oh sorry I digress….let’s return to the ‘rot’….

This rot has been in the GOP’s heart since the beginning….and now the Dems are just as rotten as the GOP, that is for the most part…..the coward that is the leader of the Dems, Jeffries is ass deep in the influence of Israel….

When House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries sent out a recent “dear colleague” letter, its second sentence cited “the position articulated by… pro-peace organizations like J Street.” The congressman and J Street were opposing an amendment to block $3.3 billion in military shipments and other aid to Israel.

Jeffries contended that the measure was “overly broad.” On the same day, using the same phrase “overly broad,” J Street issued a statement declaring that “we support Leader Jeffries’ decision to oppose the amendment.”

Both Jeffries and J Street respectfully noted that many members of Congress had understandable reasons to back the measure. The next day, July 15, a record 103 Democrats voted in favor of blocking weaponry to Israel.

While attempting to prevent a high number of yes votes, Jeffries and J Street had emphasized mutual agreement to validate a position that amounted to support for arming genocide.

After the House vote, J Street said that “we welcome House Democratic leadership taking a stronger stance on using U.S. leverage to pressure the Israeli government to change course.” But there are no credible reasons to believe that J Street or the “House Democratic leadership” are serious about using U.S. leverage to “change course” in ways that would really impede the genocidal state of Israel.

https://www.counterpunch.org/2026/07/28/how-hakeem-jeffries-and-j-street-teamed-up-for-arming-genocide/

This rot is starting to stink.

I will vote for anybody that wants Israel to be held accountable for the genocide they have committed.

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Fraudsters Can Run Wild

Yesterday I posted about Donny’s new thing of letting corporate bosses have instant access to his babblings of Truth Social so they can run to the markets and make money before the fact….that is disgusting but there is more disgusting stories….

The DOJ is abandoning the Corporate Crime Enforcement stuff.

US President Donald Trump’s Justice Department is systematically taking a softer approach to corporate crime, letting companies and executives that have admitted to wrongdoing off the hook with no charges.

The Wall Street Journal reported over the weekend that “so far this year, 12 companies have pleaded guilty to federal criminal charges. At least six companies have reached deferred prosecution agreements, including refiner Phillips 66 and medical-waste specialist Stericycle, acquired by Waste Management in 2024.” The Journal added that while Acting US Attorney General Todd Blanche and other officials have signaled that the Justice Department is “focusing on prosecuting employees rather than companies, it has also granted leniency or dropped charges against people it accused of wrongdoing.”

“The Trump DOJ’s grotesque retreat from corporate crime enforcement leaves Americans increasingly vulnerable to tainted food, workplace exploitation, environmental destruction, widespread ripoffs, and all-around illegal corporate predation,” said Rick Claypool, a researcher at the consumer advocacy group Public Citizen who has been tracking the fall of corporate enforcement during Trump’s second White House term—which has been rife with corruption and profiteering at the very top.

Claypool called the Trump Justice Department’s lenient approach to corporate criminals “an absolute outrage” and that the trend is “going from bad to worse.”

The Journal lays out several examples of the Justice Department abandoning enforcement efforts against prominent companies. “In matters involving Alibaba, EagleBank, and Abbott Laboratories, the department declined to charge companies even when prosecutors thought executives or managers were involved in the wrongdoing,” the newspaper reported. “In those cases, the department didn’t charge any individuals.”

https://www.commondreams.org/news/trump-corporate-crime-enforcement

This is pathetic that he would allow these pieces of shit have such freedoms…..all this sounds like his buddy Putin’s playbook in Russia for over twenty years.

Where are those elected cowards we call Democrats in all this corruption?

Well most are sitting in their offices counting the cash lobbyists throw at them….what I am saying in case you missed it….the Dems are NO better than the GOP when it comes to corruption.

I have said my piece.

I Read, I Write, You KNow

“lego ergo scribo”

Is There Hope?

As the midterms inch closer and closer…..the common thought is there will be a blue wave in November.

Will that change anything?

Nope just a few faces in Congress and the usual banter will stay and nothing will get done…..as usual.

Let’s be real….the Dems lose voters every time they open their mouths….this op-ed says it all….

https://www.cincinnati.com/story/opinion/contributors/2026/06/15/democrats-wont-win-elections-by-talking-down-to-people/90459752007/

The Dems have nothing to offer the voter at this time other than to replace some MAGA twats…

What will that accomplish for the next two years?

No seriously….what will that accomplish?

Even as Democratic party leaders retreat into caution, empty rhetoric and procedural theater amid the rise of fascism in the United States, many ordinary Americans have stopped waiting for them. Across the country, including in my Chicago neighborhood, people have begun organizing among themselves to protect our immigrant neighbors and friends from state violence enacted by ICE, with measures including rapid-response phone trees, volunteers monitoring ICE and vulnerable neighborhood areas, mutual aid funds for detained neighbors, and community groups sharing legal resources and safe shelter.

These efforts are emerging not because the Democratic party has suddenly discovered courage and principle, but precisely because it has not. People are stepping in where their political representatives have cowered, choosing to defend their neighbors directly rather than waiting for permission from institutions that have proven unwilling to act. These acts are small, improvised and often invisible outside the communities within which they occur, but they reveal something essential: democracy does not begin with politicians and institutions that promise to save us. It begins when people decide they will not abandon one another. Following that instinct – to build the care and protection we need ourselves rather than defer to a thoroughly corrupted two-party system – is essential for broader democratic renewal. If that spreads, if Americans insist that good government grows from the bottom up rather than the top down and refuse to let grassroots movements be co-opted for politicians’ careers that put party loyalties over care for people in need, then the possibility of a real democracy may yet live.

It is no secret that I have not found anything the Dems have done in the last few decades as good for the people they claim to represent…..yes there was ACA but Obama let the industry write that act so who do you think it would benefit the most?

There is the problem….special interests have the final say on most legislation….we are not the major concern just to keep them happy and the loot pouring in.

We need a change….PERIOD!

Change is NOT coming just more of the same hollow promises and the same corruption that infest DC.

The Dems problems are bigger than the local stories in the news these days….

It will be tempting for Democrats to blame the Graham Platner mess on the inept vetting of a single candidate. But the editorial board of the New York Times argues that the fiasco illustrates a larger problem for the party, and not just in Maine. Democrats keep pouring their hopes into compelling personalities instead of a clear governing agenda, the editors write. “The next charismatic outsider will struggle to succeed if there is nothing solid beneath the charisma,” they warn. “Personality is not a platform.” The editorial points to a pattern: a self-described “big tent” party with remarkably little open debate over what it actually wants to do on major issues.

On immigration, for example, Democrats oppose President Trump’s aggressive tactics, but what do they propose beyond that in terms of who should be allowed in, and how? The same lack of clarity is found on housing costs, public education, the coming disruption from artificial intelligence, and more. Voters, including many Democrats, see a party they describe as weak or ineffective, a notion reinforced by a vague post-2024 “autopsy” that dodged specifics. The Democratic Party, in short, needs a message more than a messenger. “It is a party still hoping a contender will spare it the harder work of deciding what it stands for.”

Read the full piece.

Your establishment Dems have a new plan for the party, Promise To America, and it is the same spineless crap they have been feeding the population for decades….

Centrist Democratic politicians, upset by the wins of Democratic Socialists in the recent primaries, have issued a statement of their convictions. Called “The Promise to America,” it sounds good, responding to many of the problems we face. But they are empty promises, even if well-meant.

How can I say that? First, Democrats have been saying similar things for years. Yet despite the rhetoric, the people are hurting. Why? It’s not just because of Trump and the Republicans; it’s because the government—Democrats as well as Republicans—have lost sight of the meaning and implications of our founding principles. It is to those principles that Democrats must dedicate themselves. See my article, “People are Hurting – The U.S. Must Return to Our Founding Principles.”

https://thefulcrum.us/democracy/democratic-party-reform-2677168767

It is a yawn!  Do Not fall for the promise that is nothing more than an appeasement to try and counter the progressive trend.

But there is a glimmer of hope….

Progressive candidates have swept to victory against establishment opponents in Democratic primary races across the US, including on Tuesday, as voters turn out in support of working-class champions who have spurned corporate money and vowed to pursue transformative change at the national, state, and local levels.

The Working Families Party (WFP) celebrated a five-for-five sweep for the US House candidates it backed in California primaries, as Mai Vang, Connie Chan, Aisha Wahab, Randy Villegas, and Angela Gonzales-Torres each advanced to the November general election. As Common Dreams reported, Villegas—who is running to unseat incumbent Rep. David Valadao (R-Calif.)—advanced despite the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee’s intervention in support of his opponent Jasmeet Bains, a corporate Democrat.

https://www.commondreams.org/news/progressives-win-democratic-primaries

We can only hope that this trend continues and that voters are starting to wake up.

You will hear more about WFP in the near future.

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

AIPAC Under Fire

In the past because of their proportional influence over Dem candidates the DNC is offering up a resolution to not accept AIPAC money…

A Democratic National Committee member is proposing a symbolic resolution for consideration at a DNC meeting next month to reject the American Israel Public Affairs Committee’s massive spending on Congressional races.

The measure, sponsored by a young DNC member from Florida, could put party leaders on the spot about the pro-Israel lobbying group’s outsized role in Democratic primaries.

A lobbying behemoth that for decades courted lawmakers on both sides of the aisle, AIPAC has become an increasingly toxic brand in the Democratic Party.

In recent years, Israeli leaders and their backers in Washington have become more closely aligned with Republican politicians. At the same time, however, AIPAC’s super PAC has focused tens of millions in spending on Democratic primary races.

DNC Resolution to Reject AIPAC Funding Puts Democratic Leaders in the Hot Seat

That was in 2024 and they are still trying to lessen AIPAC influence over Dem candidates.

Then in 2026, April to be exact the DNC voted down a resolution….

A Democratic National Committee (DNC) panel voted on Thursday to reject a resolution condemning “the growing influence” of dark money and corporate-backed outside spending in Democratic races, particularly the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC).

At the DNC’s spring meeting in New Orleans this week, the resolutions committee voted to kill the push, which would have been nonbinding, as scrutiny over the pro-Israel lobby grows amid the midterms.

“The use of massive outside spending to support or oppose candidates based on their positions regarding international conflicts or foreign governments raises concerns about undue influence over democratic debate and policymaking, potentially constraining elected officials’ ability to represent the views of their constituents,” reads the resolution, submitted by Florida DNC member Allison Minnerly, pointing out AIPAC in particular for spending some $14 million in the Illinois Democratic primaries last month.

https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/5823840-dnc-aipac-resolution-fails/

So AIPAC keeps it’s control over the funds in DNC…..

There are a few individuals within the DNC that do not want the corrupting money from AIPAC…..

Rep. Ro Khanna has become the first member of the US Congress to sign a “peace pledge” promising to swear off funds from the Israel lobby and block US support for countries that violate human rights.

The pledge was created by the political action committee Citizens Against AIPAC Corruption, which runs the widely shared “AIPAC Tracker” social media campaign that names and shames politicians who receive support from the American Israel Public Affairs Committee and other pro-Israel groups that have spent tens of millions in recent election cycles to influence members of Congress.

Lawmakers who sign the pledge agree not to take money from AIPAC or pro-Israel lobbying groups and promise to make campaign finance reform a key priority.

https://www.commondreams.org/news/khanna-aipac-pledge

At least Khanna is doing the right thing….I will be watching to see who joins Khanna and who keeps their hand out to AIPAC….it will make a difference who I support.

Thoughts?

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

The Real Political Power

This is a look at the real political power in American elections…..AIPAC.

A PAC that has buckets of cash to influence our elected officials in favor of everything Israel.

 

https://www.commondreams.org/opinion/defending-aipac

 

This PAC should be broken down for what it is…..foreign money in our system for the influence of corrupt politicians.

I believe that AIPAC is too influential and has its tentacles in all aspects of our government…..this can no longer be acceptable.

Any thoughts?

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

What’s That Sucking Sound?

It is the sound of life being sucked out of a once vibrant nation.

In 7 months Donny and his band of thugs has done more damage to this country that anyone before him….economically, socially, and any other topic one would like to explore….all to improve Donny’s fortune….

According to one analyst, President Donald Trump is using the presidency as a vehicle to rapidly enrich both himself and his family at the expense of both tax dollars and the efficacy of federal agencies in five particular ways.

In a Friday op-ed for the Daily Beast, columnist Michael Rothkopf likened Trump to a “vampire.” He argued that world leaders like Trump are in office not to serve the public but to “suck that strength out of the institutions, economies and resources they have been entrusted with protecting and cultivating — and take the wealth, status and influence for themselves.”

“They are parasites. And Donald Trump is our parasite-in-chief,” Rothkopf wrote. “… He is sucking the blood out of our country. If he continues as he has been, when he is done there will be nothing left but the pale, lifeless husk of the America that was.”

…

“It’s not supposed to work that way. But it is where we are,” Rothkopf continued. “… The only comfort we can take is from the knowledge that in the end, sunlight kills vampires … We live in an era in which new social media and mass communication platforms are enabling and empowering all of us to contribute to that process. And that in turn is the only way to truly put a stake through the heart of this blood-sucking regime — that the we, the people, rise up and reject him and those close to him in every election that takes place from now until they are gone.”

https://www.alternet.org/trump-parasite/

Enrichment by billions since taking office….

Donald Trump has leveraged both terms of his presidency to pocket billions of dollars, according to a bombshell report.

A lengthy investigation fromThe New Yorker estimates Trump and his family will have enriched themselves by more than $3.4 billion by the end of his second term, much of it from deals, transactions, and investments that almost certainly wouldn’t have happened if he’d never been president.

…

“The way he pursues every possible avenue for money gives people who provide that money a clear sense that they are going to get something in return,” Wertheimer told the New Yorker. “Almost anyone who sees what’s going on has to assume that this money is buying the President’s favor.”

https://www.thedailybeast.com/the-staggering-amount-donald-trump-is-profiting-from-the-presidency-revealed/

The damage done to this country is extensive and it only took 7 months…..we still have almost 3 and half years for even more damage to be wrought on the nation and its people.

I sincerely hope that all those that voted for this clown get hit the hardest.

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Thieves In Business suits

A change of pace….we will be bombarded with stats and reports for the next few days so let’s try and change the tone.

I know I do go on about the War Department and it’s inflated budget that grows yearly….and I rail about the sycophants with buckets on money that buy off Congress and the White House….the corruption is just getting worse with every admin that comes to power.

For instance one of the preeminent defense industry has just bee caught gouging.

Indictments of arms contractors for corruption and malfeasance are not uncommon, but recently revealed cases of illegal conduct by RTX (formerly Raytheon) are extraordinary even by the relatively lax standards of the defense industry.

The company has agreed to pay nearly $1 billion in fines, which is one of the highest figures ever for corruption in the arms sector. To incur these fines, RTX participated in price gouging on Pentagon contracts, bribing officials in Qatar, and sharing sensitive information with China.

Engaging in illegal conduct on this scale suggests that, far from being an aberration, this behavior may be business as usual for the company. Given the scale of RTX’s malfeasance, the Justice Department should take a close look at the practices of other arms contractors to determine whether these infractions are industry standard.

The company’s approach is reminiscent of the way arms companies did business in the 1960s, when, for example, massive cost overruns on Lockheed Martin’s C-5 transport plane drew fire from internal critics like Ernest Fitzgerald and congressional gadflies, like the-Democratic Sen. William Proxmire of Wisconsin.

Resorting to bribery has been less prevalent since Sen. Proxmire pushed through the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act of 1977, which was a response to a massive scandal involving the bribery of officials in Japan, Germany, the Netherlands, Indonesia, and Saudi Arabia. The exposure brought about by the scandal – which covered events going back to the 1950s that were not known to the general public until a set of 1975 Senate hearings on the activities of multinational corporations showed the world how bribery was used to sway the decisions of foreign policy makers. This resulted in major consequences, including the conviction of former Japanese Premier Kakuei Tanaka, along with 10 other business people and government officials.

https://responsiblestatecraft.org/raytheon-corruption/

This is disgraceful….if these thieves are caught red handed then they should be fined and sent to the bottom of any future contracts.

I wish I could say this was a one off incident….but it is all too common.

Then there is Boeing, you know the plane maker that has been doing shoddy work, it was also caught gouging….

A new report from a Department of Defense watchdog claims Boeing managed to slip a few pricey items through, reports Reuters, inflating the cost of a dozen spare parts for C-17 transport planes used by the Air Force to the tune of almost $1 million. According to the DOD’s Office of Inspector General report released Tuesday, included in those spare parts were bathroom soap dispensers that ran the military arm nearly $150,000 in unnecessary costs. The markup on the soap dispensers was 7,943%, the report noted—or more than 80 times what similar commercially available dispensers cost, per CBS News.

“The Air Force needs to establish and implement more effective internal controls to help prevent overpaying for spare parts for the remainder of this contract, which continues through 2031,” says Defense Department Inspector General Robert Storch in a statement. He makes the point that “significant overpayments for spare parts may reduce the number of spare parts that Boeing can purchase on the contract, potentially reducing C-17 readiness worldwide.”

Under that contract, Boeing is the entity that buys the spare parts for the C-17 planes, then is reimbursed by the Air Force. The inspector general’s review was spurred by an anonymous tip about the soap dispensers. Boeing, meanwhile, says the spare parts had to be significantly modified to meet military specs, and that it plans to dive into the details in its own written response “in the coming days,” per Reuters. The Air Force says it concurs with the “intent” of the watchdog’s recommendation to “determine whether spare parts prices are allowable and reasonable before payment,” adding that it would seek to recoup more than $902,000, reports USA Today.

These are not solo incidents this practice is all too common and there is little oversight anyone thanks to the GOP and stupidity.

This is taxpayer money and should be reported whenever abuse has been rooted out….but rooting it out seems to be a huge obstacle.

But that is just my wish for this government.

Taxpayer cash side note: 

A new report by the Israeli outlet Calcalist reviewed Israeli military spending on wars since October 7, finding that Washington is funding 70% of Tel Aviv’s military costs. In a little over a year, the US has provided Israel with more than $20 billion in military aid. 

“The scope of American aid since the beginning of the war is about 85 billion shekels… According to official estimates by the Bank of Israel, the total cost of the war is…approximately NIS 118 billion.” It continues, “Therefore, according to a simple calculation, The Americans financed about 70% of the war effort.”

According to the Cost of War Project, the US has given Israel $22.57 billion in military aid since the Hamas attack. Calcalist concludes without US support, Tel Aviv’s war would simply be unaffordable.

https://libertarianinstitute.org/news/washington-is-funding-70-of-israels-wars/

And no one seems to care how much money is being pissed away on these endless wars.

Why is that?

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Resign Now!

This is for that political hack that hides behind legal garments….Clarence Thomas.

We know of this past gifts and bribes but apparently that was only the tip of the iceberg….

Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas took three trips on private jets bankrolled by Harlan Crow that were not disclosed, according to information released Thursday by the Senate Judiciary Committee. The information was contained in documents the billionaire Republican donor had turned over to the committee under subpoena over seven years, the Hill reports. Chairman Dick Durbin, a Democrat, said the committee is still investigating. The latest finding, he said, “makes it crystal clear that the highest court needs an enforceable code of conduct, because its members continue to choose not to meet the moment.”

Elliot Berke, an attorney for Thomas, said the three trips came under the “hospitality exemption,” meaning disclosure wasn’t required. The exemption applies as long as the hospitality is extended by “friends who did not have business before the court,” Berke told CNN. The free travel, all on private jets, per the Washington Post:

  • St. Louis to Kalispell, Montana, and a return flight to Dallas in May 2017.
  • Washington, DC, to Savannah, Georgia, and back in March 2019.
  • Washington, DC, to San Jose and back in June 2021.

On Wednesday, Senate Republicans blocked a Democratic bill to require Supreme Court justices to adopt a binding code of conduct, per NBC News

Oh there is so much more to this crook……and the gifts that pay…..

New details of Thomas’ luxury travel emerged from negotiations between the Senate committee—which authorized a subpoena for Crow last year—and the billionaire’s attorneys.

Documents the committee obtained from Crow “revealed travel and gifts that Justice Thomas has failed to disclose to date,” including a May 2017 private jet trip from St. Louis to Kalispell, Montana and a return flight to Dallas; a March 2019 private jet trip from Washington, D.C. to Savannah, Georgia and back; and a June 2021 private jet trip from Washington, D.C. to San Jose, California and back.

Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), the chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said in a statement that “nearly $4.2 million in gifts and even that wasn’t enough for Justice Thomas, with at least three additional trips the committee found that he has failed to disclose to date.”

“The Senate Judiciary Committee’s ongoing investigation into the Supreme Court’s ethical crisis is producing new information—like what we’ve revealed today—and makes it crystal clear that the highest court needs an enforceable code of conduct, because its members continue to choose not to meet the moment,” said Durbin. “As a result of our investigation and subpoena authorization, we are providing the American public greater clarity on the extent of ethical lapses by Supreme Court justices and the need for ethics reform.”

https://www.commondreams.org/news/clarence-thomas-resignation

There so many rotten apples in the SCOTUS basket that it will take a major effort to clean the garbage out.

It is time for Thomas and Alito to resign and make way for some fresh blood….no telling what we would get but anything is better than these two corrupt d/bags.

Alito?

In case you were jerking off and missed the story…..

The fallout continues for Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito over the flying of a symbolic upside-down flag outside his house, a debate possibly complicated by a report of another flag carried by Jan. 6 rioters having been displayed at Alito’s beach house. More:

  • Censure: House Democrat Steve Cohen of Tennessee introduced a motion on Tuesday to censure Alito “for knowingly violating the federal recusal statute and binding ethics standards and calling the impartiality of the Supreme Court of the United States into question,” per the Hill.
  • The symbol: The upside-down flag is widely associated with the “Stop the Steal” movement asserting election fraud on behalf of Donald Trump. Alito says it was his wife, not him, who put the flag up in January 2021, as part of a dispute with a neighbor over political yard signs.
  • From GOP: CNN collects quotes from key Republican senators critical of Alito over the controversy. “Bad decision,” said John Thune. “I don’t know how you explain that.” Lindsey Graham told the outlet “it creates a bad image” and “was a mistake.” However, neither called for Alito to recuse himself from Trump- or election-related cases. Mitt Romey said the flag was “unfortunate and we ought to take a look at it,” but another GOP senator, John Cornyn, said “there are more important things to worry about.” Cornyn is in the mix to be the new GOP Senate leader.
  • Democrats: About 50 House Democrats, meanwhile, called on Alito to recuse himself from two upcoming rulings, one on Trump’s immunity from prosecution and the other on Capitol rioters. “Reasonable people will doubt that you can be impartial in deciding whether Mr. Trump should face criminal prosecution for his actions arising from the ‘Stop the Steal’ movement,” the lawmakers wrote in a letter, per the Washington Post. “This indisputable appearance of a conflict of interest requires that you recuse yourself.”
  • Symbol No. 2: Another flag carried to the Capitol by rioters was spotted at Alito’s vacation house in New Jersey last summer, reports the New York Times, which has photos. The “Appeal to Heaven” flag is a symbol of the “Stop the Steal” movement as well as a plea to make the nation more Christian. It’s also called the Pine Tree flag. Ethics experts again were troubled by a justice taking a public political stance, with one calling it deeply disturbing “when a judge celebrates his predispositions by hoisting them on a flag.” The flag at Alito’s beach house shows up on Google street view.

In case you are not sure4 the judges are suppose to be impartial and these asses fly in the face of justice.

Time for both Alito and Thomas to pack their bags and get the f*ck out of DC…..could we bring back tar and feather as a punishment?

The atmosphere in DC will prevent any change or reform from making the cut….does that not say something about the GOP that fights to keep these slugs on the court

Enough is enough!

Resign Now!

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”