Tag: Lobbyists

Warren On The Rise

Biden has been the Dem front runner for the 2020 nomination but in the last week or so Warren has been gaining on Uncle Joe…..and in a new poll in Iowa she has zipped past Biden….

There is a new top dog in Iowa polling, with Sen. Elizabeth Warren having put the nation’s former No. 2 politician Joe Biden firmly into the No. 2 spot: She now leads him 22% to 20%, marking the first time the former vice president has trailed in the Des Moines Register/CNN/Mediacom Iowa Poll, CNN reports. That’s up seven percentage points for Warren and down three for Biden. Bernie Sanders trails at 11%, but is the only other candidate in double digits; the Vermont senator, however, has dropped five percentage points since the last poll in June

So with the rise in the polls she will be lots of scrutiny that may have been missed while she was an also ran…..

So let me begin this scrutiny……

Warren has said she wants lobbyists out of the governing process…..or does she?

Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Elizabeth Warren hired a Planned Parenthood lobbyist to a key role in her presidential campaign Tuesday, just one day after Warren announced a plan that would “end lobbying as we know it.”

Warren unveiled an anti-corruption plan Monday that would introduce a “cooling off” period for lobbyists before they can serve in government roles and would prohibit active lobbyists from donating to political campaigns, a practice Warren called “legalized bribery.”

“The fundamental promise of our democracy is that every voice matters,” Warren’s plan states. “But when lobbyists and big corporations can buy influence from politicians, that promise is broken. The first thing to do to fix it is to end lobbying as we know it.”

The next day, Kimberly Diaz Scott, who registered as a lobbyist for the Florida Alliance of Planned Parenthood Affiliates as recently as January 2019, announced that she was leaving the organization to head up Warren’s campaign in Florida.

Read the original article.

A perfect example of how Democrats lying and deceive the voter….and yet still can find people that will vote for liars….why?

Be Smart!

Learn Stuff!

VOTE!

“Lego Ergo Scribo”

Speaking The Truth!

Personally I want representatives to speak the truth….but that is impossible in some cases in DC…..and thwe biggest one is criticism of AIPAC as Rep. Omar has learned….

Omar singled out AIPAC, one of the most influential lobbying groups in Washington, as the source of those donations.

Omar’s comments touched upon a long-running, and particularly ugly, thread of the anti-Semitic movement — that Jewish money fuels backing for Israel in the United States and elsewhere. A freshman Democrat, Max Rose of New York, said, “Congresswoman Omar’s statements are deeply hurtful to Jews, including myself.”

And the American-Israel Public Affairs Committee is a non-profit that doesn’t donate directly to candidates. AIPAC, however, does relentlessly push a pro-Israeli message on Capitol Hill and inside the executive branch, and its members donate to pro-Israel lawmakers and candidates while seeking to defeat those it considers a threat to U.S.-Israeli relations.

(Politico)

And then the mental midget Kevin McCarthy had to put his babble into the discussion…

Omar has come under fire from House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) and other Republicans over her comments criticizing Israel, both remarks made since her election to Congress and long before she even began her political career.

McCarthy and other Republicans have pressed Speaker Nancy Pelosi (Calif.) and top Democrats to “take action” against Omar and Tlaib, saying he would do so if the GOP were the majority party.

McCarthy added: “Anti-Semitic tropes have no place in the halls of Congress. It is dangerous for Democrat leadership to stay silent on this reckless language.”

He, slow McCarthy,  made my point for me….does he know what antisemitism actual is?  Apparently NOT!  And they trust this slug to count votes…..(insert raucous laughter)

Speaking truth is not antisemitism!

Does AIPAC spend a lot of money on Congress?  You bet your ass it does!

Please someone call these moron d/bags out on the lies they spread!

I pray these brave women continue to speak out and putting these old white a/holes in their place……Pelosi needs to grow a pair and step up to these women’s defense….and NOW!

After I wrote this draft news has come that she had issued an apology…..

Omar did tweet a statemement Monday saying, among other things, “I unequivocally apologize,” but she added that she stands behind her criticism of “the problematic role of lobbyists in our politics,” including AIPAC.

She did what the cowards of the DNC wanted….so it is DONE!

The mash up was nothing but a diversion…..but the truth that will not be said……the Dems are bought!

https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/sorry-democrats-your-nra-is-spelled-aipac_us_59d62c62e4b0666ad0c3cb12

The MSM has shown exactly who controls their content especially on this issue.

Why did the media not fact check her statement for accuracy?

I know why!

It would be too embarrassing when the truth came out…..that is why!

But let me introduce you to the Israeli Lobbying scheme…..

https://ifamericaknew.org/us_ints/introlobby.html

Electronic Intifada obtained and published the four-part series, but it did so during the week of the midterm elections, and the documentary did not get a lot of attention then.

In it, leaders of the pro-Israel lobby speak openly about how they use money to influence the political process, in ways so blunt that if the comments were made by critics, they’d be charged with anti-Semitism.

https://theintercept.com/2019/02/11/ilhan-omar-israel-lobby-documentary/

Further Reading:

https://splinternews.com/everyone-is-dumb-1832517641

Business As Usual

The US is giving the Saudis as much cover as it can without being too overt…..the Saudis story changes daily kinda like the story about their airstrike on a school bus full of children…..Trump sends in the uber Neocon, Pompeo, to get to the bottom of the Khashoggi affair…..that is a laugh…..Pompeo went before the cameras in KSA smiling like a Chesshire (?) Cat…..

Mike Pompeo continues to urge patience with the Jamal Khashoggi case: The US secretary of state says he has advised the White House to give Saudi Arabia “a few more days” to complete its investigation into the journalist’s disappearance. At that point, “we can make decisions about how or if the United States should respond to the incident,” Pompeo told reporters Thursday. “There a lot of stories out there,” and “we just are going to allow the process to move forward, allow the facts to unfold.” But after meeting with Pompeo and President Trump to discuss Pompeo’s visit to Saudi Arabia and Turkey earlier this week, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin announced Thursday he is pulling out of a high-profile investor conference he had planned to attend in Saudi Arabia next week. No other government officials will attend in his place, CNN reports.

17 days after the murder and they still need more time to “investigate” (that is code for cover-up)……

Of course Our Dear Supreme Leader made it a point to tell the media that he has NO financial projects in Saudi Arabia…..that may be true but what about the Saudis in the US?

Trump & Saudi Business: •1991: Sold yacht to Saudi Prince •2001: Sold 45th floor of Trump World Tower to Saudis •Jun 2015: I love the Saudis…many in Trump Tower •Aug 2015: “They buy apartments from me…Spend $40M-$50M” •2017: Saudi lobbyists spent $270K at Trump DC hotel…..(FOX News Research)

Plus the day that Pompeo goes to KSA and a hundred million bucks is sent to the US……

When US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo flew into Riyadh to discuss the disappearance and likely death of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, Saudi Arabia transferred $100m to the State Department for US efforts against the Islamic State (IS) group, the New York Times reported late Tuesday.

While the funding was approved earlier in the summer, critics have viewed the timing of the transfer payment with suspicion.

“The timing of this is no coincidence,” a US official told the New York Times.

The US State Department envoy for the anti-IS coalition said in a statement on Wednesday that they “expected the contribution to be finalized in the fall time frame”.

https://theantimedia.com/saudi-arabia-transfers-100-million/

Seriously?  Or is that a bribe payment?

But I believe the Saudis have their lie down to something that Our Dear Supreme Leader can use….after all the Saudis are his best customers in his hotels and in his properties that he needs bailing out……

We now have the lie of lies……

Amid a massive wave of international condemnation, Saudi Arabia might be ready to publicly blame somebody for the apparent killing of Jamal Khashoggi—and it isn’t Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. Instead, sources tell the New York Times, Saudi officials are preparing to point the finger at Maj. Gen Ahmed al-Assiri, an intelligence official who serves as an adviser to the prince. The sources say the Saudis plan to claim that Assiri received instructions from the prince to capture Khashoggi for interrogation and the journalist ended up dead after Assiri either misunderstood or exceeded his orders. The Times notes, however, that this explanation would involve admitting that the prince “ordered an operation to abduct a resident of the United States.”

This steaming pile of bovine fecal matter will satisfy Trump but then a simpleton like him is easy to fool……just massage his ego and all will be fine….no matter the crime committed.

They will get away with it!

And now Alt-Right sites are tying Khashoggi to the Muslim Brotherhood among others…..FOX trying to demonize a  murdered journalist……this man went to the Saudi Consulate and was then tortured and killed and he left in pieces in a bag and he IS the bad guy in all this.

It is the lying bastards like these that make me despise the Right…well the Right that is holding Trump’s nuts for him.  These are pathetic assholes!

Plus they will allow the murdering toads in Saudi Arabia get away with torture and murder……this is the government of Our Dear Supreme Leader, Trump the Tool!

Closing Thought–05Apr17

Exploit those veterans!

American veterans have to put up with a lot of crap….from delayed medical to educational issues to homelessness….but in a recent news article I read where they were being exploited by none other than America’s butt buddy, Saudi Arabia.

The DOJ has filed a complaint against the actions of the Saudis during an election…..

A group of 9/11 families and survivors has filed a complaint with the U.S. Department of Justice, suggesting broad misconduct in a lobbying campaign the firm has conducted on behalf of Saudi Arabia.

According to the 17-page complaint, individuals associated with Qorvis MSLGroup violated several provisions of the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) as they worked to weaken a law that cleared the way for 9/11 families and victims to sue the kingdom for its alleged role in the September 11 attacks.

The accusations, leveled by 9/11 Victims’ Families and Survivors United for Justice Against Terrorism, center on a campaign in which lobbyists have flown large groups of U.S. military veterans to Washington to oppose the Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act (JASTA)—without informing those veterans that Saudi Arabia was sponsoring and orchestrating their activities.

Source: DOJ Complaint Filed Over Saudi Lobbying Campaign That Exploited Military Veterans | 28Pages.org

I have said that troops are used like tools and now so are the veterans that gave so much for their country.

Have a good day my friends….tomorrow will be another such day…..chuq

The Kagans, It’s A Family Affair

Washington is a town of movers and shakers…..some move in the oil circle….others move in the financial side of life…..and then there are the Kagans…..a family ass deep in war.

Their candidate of choice in the last election was Clinton, Hillary, they were invested in her hubby too when he ran the world.  Once their candidate was handed her ass they slinked off into the shadows…..and after awhile theyt are back and you can bet that war will soon raise its ugly face yet again.

The neocon royalty Kagans are counting on Democrats and liberals to be the foot soldiers in the new neocon campaign to push Republicans and President Trump into more “regime change” wars,

The Kagan family, America’s neoconservative aristocracy, has reemerged having recovered from the letdown over not gaining its expected influence from the election of Hillary Clinton and from its loss of official power at the start of the Trump presidency.

Back pontificating on prominent op-ed pages, the Family Kagan now is pushing for an expanded U.S. military invasion of Syria and baiting Republicans for not joining more enthusiastically in the anti-Russian witch hunt over Moscow’s alleged help in electing Donald Trump.

Source: The Kagans Are Back; Wars to Follow – Consortiumnews

The roulette wheel is turning….where will it stop…..who gets the lucky roll?

Closing Thought–13Mar17

Drain The Swamp!

I know all the Trumpy supporters are thrilled that he is “draining the swamp” in DC as he promised in his campaign rhetoric…..my problem is…..who represents this “swamp”?

Lobbyists?  Bureaucrats? Pundits?  Who are these mystical political players?

My problem with all this manure is that Trump is calling for many “experts” in the different fields to resign and he is replacing them with the very people that make up the “swamp”……

A Trump campaign aide who argues that Democrats committed “ethnic cleansing” in a plot to “liquidate” the white working class. A former reality show contestant whose study of societal collapse inspired him to invent a bow-and-arrow-cum-survivalist multi-tool. A pair of healthcare industry lobbyists. A lobbyist for defense contractors. An “evangelist” and lobbyist for Palantir, the Silicon Valley company with close ties to intelligence agencies. And a New Hampshire Trump supporter who has only recently graduated from high school.

These are some of the people the Trump administration has hired for positions across the federal government, according to documents received by ProPublica through public-records requests.

Source: Meet the Hundreds of Officials Trump Has Quietly Installed Across the Government – ProPublica

So my dear alt-Right brethren……Trump lied!

I am told that “He Won” and to get over it…..I shall do just that when the idiots admit that they were played like cheap drums.

He is not draining the swamp he is just adding new breed of alligator to the mud.

The slogans were amazing….the actions are as dim as a flickering night light.

Day has drawn to an end for me…..I will be off and will return tomorrow with more shiny objects for you to chase.  chuq

Trump’s First 100 Days–Redux

Like I have said several times….there are some parts of the Trump agenda that I can relate to……for instance the below graphic……..

If this is his agenda then I applaud him in his efforts……..at least in those first 100 days…..

It is too early to say that I will support this president….but this would be a good start….it might be good to restore the public’s faith in the institution of government…..there are qualified people that are not lobbyists…..it will depend what scale is used to judge the person…..my guess is that a rational independent voice will not be welcome in this new administration.

Too much hearsay right now…..I will wait and see if this part of his promise rings true…..and with what it is replaced.

A Fatal Ménage à Trois

It is election time and the stories coming out about the dealings of both candidates is just mind numbing…….we have Mr. trump and his clown doctor’s letter attesting to his health….then there is Clinton and her damn email scandal which is a gift that just keeps giving to Trump.

Most everybody has heard the stories of the Clinton Foundation and its connections to foreign powers, right?  And it has made great fodder for the Trump camp on the campaign trail…….

I have said that this is an election of foreign policy….and a report political menage a trois….that would be Hillary Clinton, the Podesta Group and Saudi Arabia…..the dealings of these 3 are just amazing…..

If I told you that Democratic Party lobbyist Tony Podesta, whose brother John Podesta chairs Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign, is a registered foreign agent on the Saudi government’s payroll, you’d probably think I was a Trump-thumping, conspiratorial nutcase. But it’s true.

The lobby firm created by both Tony and John Podesta in 1988 receives $140,000 a month from the Saudi government, a government that beheads nonviolent dissidents, uses torture to extract forced confessions, doesn’t allow women to drive, and bombs schools, hospitals and residential neighborhoods in neighboring Yemen.

Source: Hillary Clinton, the Podesta Group and the Saudi Regime: A Fatal Ménage à Trois – Antiwar.com Original by — Antiwar.com

Now the interesting part of this report….the Podesta Group has filed as a foreign agent in Washington……but wait….is not John Podesta a biggie in the Clinton campaign?

Does anyone else see the hypocrisy in this?

Is there any doubt what her foreign policy will look like…or for that matter….who will get preferential treatment by her administration?

But don’t worry her White House will be transparent to the people, right?

It’s gonna be a long 4 years.

Is There a 5th Estate?

We have heard all about the 5th column….those traitors that will work behind the scenes to destroy a state and its apparatus…..all those communist agents in the Us back in the 50’s and ’60’s……

Now that communism is dead what are the chances that there are those people working against the country’s best interests….is there any danger?

The questions is…..is there a 5th estate?

First we have the 3 major estates….the 3 branches of government and then there is the 4th estate, the media…..let me explain a bit better…..

The fourth estate is a term that positions the press (newspapers) as a fourth branch of government and one that is important to a functioning democracy.

The phrase is attributed to Edmund Burke (1729 – 1797), a British politician, as quoted in Thomas Carlyle’s book, “Heros and Hero Worship in History” (1841):

Burke said that there were three Estates in Parliament, but in the Reporters Gallery yonder, there sat a fourth Estate more important far than they all.

We have our 4 estates….is it possible that there could be a 5th estate?

The Constitution provides for three branches of government: the executive, Congress, and the judiciary – but there have been a few additions lately. With the rise of mass communications, common parlance has designated the media as the “Fourth Estate,” because – in theory – it is supposed to act as a “watchdog” on the activities of the other three. (Although in practice, as we have seen, it often doesn’t work out that way.) And as America entered the age of empire, stepping out on the world stage and exerting its power, a development the Founders foresaw – and greatly feared – became a reality: the rise of foreign lobbyists, i.e. the Fifth Estate, as a power in our domestic politics.

Source: The Fifth Estate: Foreign Lobbyists – Antiwar.com Original by — Antiwar.com

Lobbyists have an inordinate amount of influence over our political process…..and now thanx to the foreign powers of wealth….they are starting to determine what is best for this country through their influence over the legislative process.

Most Americans seem to think that they have some say on the process….while they do vote but it is only “gimme” so that the real power can go on unimpeded.

But don’t worry about that…..worry about those damn things that are in the media…..it is just easier that way.

The Saudis Get It Done

Nope this is not about their obvious success destroying the country of Yemen but rather how they have set about on a PR campaign (or as it should be titled a propaganda program)…..

Recently I heard our prez lecture Cuba about political prisoners….that how wrong it was to prosecute those that criticize the government….and yet the Saudis are far more brutal in their punishment of critics of the government and so far not much has been said to criticize them….it is all so pathetic.

Any way I read a piece about the Saudis buying all these high price lobbyists…..

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is adding more American lobbyists to its payroll by hiring BGR Government Affairs, a company founded by former Republican National Committee chair Haley Barbour, according to filings disclosed last week.

The contract provides BGR with $500,000 annually to assist with U.S. media outreach for the Center for Studies and Media Affairs at the Saudi Royal Court, a government entity. The retainer includes the services of Jeffrey Birnbaum, a former Washington Post reporter who once covered the lobbying industry and now works as a lobbyist, as well as Ed Rogers, a former Reagan administration official who now lobbies and writes a column for the Postcalled “PostPartisan.”

The contract is the latest in a buildup over the last two years.

Source: Saudi Arabia Continues Hiring Spree of Lobbyists, Retains Former Washington Post Reporter

So these guys are buying a high priced PR campaign…..and then I saw this piece in Foreign Policy Blogs…..

………the country’s path toward modernization and economic revitalization is still perilous and far from assured. In addition to external threats from ISIS and Iran, the society’s inherent conservatism, problems achieving consensus within the royal family, and the fear of social unrest could all, individually or collectively, slow progress toward reform. Unforeseen developments or further economic turmoil could derail the Saudi reform plans.

Aware of such risks, Mohammed bin Salman, who directs the country’s economic strategy, has surrounded himself with experienced technocrats to reform the economy. The initiatives that have been announced in the last six months look likely to pave the way for a modernization of the Saudi system. To achieve this, he must rely on the support and experience of his father, King Salman, and his cousin, Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Nayef, who is recognized for his effectiveness in security and anti-terrorism matters.

Source: Why We Should Not Abandon Saudi Arabia – Foreign Policy Blogs | Foreign Policy Blogs

Granted the piece is about the economic woes that the Saudis may face thanx for declining oil….it also presses the fact that social reform is on the agenda…..

My thought after reading this was……how much did that piece of “good” news cost the Saudis?