Tag: Lobbyists

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?

A Vote For Hillary

Today is the much anticipated “Big Day”…..at least for the media……will Super Tuesday” be a make or break day?

Would like to address the GOP race…….LOL…..why would I even talk about a bunch of infantile antics of what use to be adults…..so when they start acting like responsible adults I will refrain from saying anything other than negativity………

Lots have been said about Hillary’s connections to Wall Street….of course she denies that it will have any effect on her presidency…..

Let’s take a look at her campaign manager…..shall we?

 

Yeah….she will be the candidate for change.  If you believe that then you need to share whatever crap you are smoking….

I really wish she would flush the line “we are all in this together” (and voters are buying this bullsh*t) down the toilet…..I do not appreciate millionaires trying to sound like they have any idea what the rest on us humans go through……it is just sickening……I really get overwhelming urge to take a shower after listening to her speeches…..just when does a millionaire really care about anything or anyone beyond wealth and power?

That is not rhetorical……I want a solid answer to that question……

Your turn!

Lobbyists: Scourge Of The Hill

How many times have you written or heard or read…that there needs to be something done about these damn lobbyists?

Personally, I think we need to lock them all in a dog pit and let them fight to the death….but that is just me…..

I have heard many people ask if there is anything we can do about Congresspeople becoming lobbyists…..actually there is some sort of law on record that they have to wait “x” amount of years before they can become one….sort good….but how can we stop them from cashing in on the big bucks from special interests?

Since the MSM will not talk about this I guess it is up to me to bring it out into the open…..

Senators Al Franken and Michael Bennet introduced a bill this month to ban the outrageous practice of former members of Congress cashing in as big money lobbyists.

The bill, the Close the Revolving Door Act, also:

  • Increases penalties for breaking the Lobbying Disclosure Act
  • Extends the ban on congressional staff becoming lobbyists, from only one year to six
  • Gives the public better online access to information about who lobbies Congress

Sign the petition: Tell Congress to pass the Close the Revolving Door Act to ban Senators and Representatives from ever becoming lobbyists.

Petition to Congress:
Serving in Congress shouldn’t be a tryout for a high-paying career as a lobbyist. Pass Senators Al Franken and Michael Bennet’s Close the Revolving Door Act without delay and ban members of Congress from becoming lobbyists.

See what you learned today……you learned that there are people in Washington that are actually working when in town and Sen. Franken and Bennett are two of those people…..

Next time you feel like bitching about the lazy bastards in DC….remember there are some that actually go there to work…..think Franken and Bennett……

Israel’s $100 Million Gamble – The Unz Review

The US sends multi-billions to Israel in the form of aid……and now with the upcoming vote on the Iranian nuke deal Israel is going into full opposition mode…….the lobby will be spending millions to political ‘friends’ to try and defeat the deal…..I ask of all the money spent to try and defeat the deal…..how much of that cash will be supplied by the American taxpayer?

The American people need to realize that they nor Israel are the center of the universe…..this deal effects more than the neocons in either country…..keep on mind…..if the deal goes South there will be NO one to blame but Israel and its lackeys……..whatever happens after that is on their heads and their heads alone!

The world sees the benefit of this deal, the positive benefits, everyone but the whores that Israel pays to do their bidding…….

Time for Israel to man up and join the human race…….

 

Israel’s $100 Million Gamble – The Unz Review.

Tides of Unreason by Justin Raimondo — Antiwar.com

Since news of a military take over of Texas is not in the news…..I guess I will have to find other stories of interests…….

Does it seem that the world is topsy turvy?  Well my friend….it is!

For all you ComiCon fans…..remember Bizarro World from the Superman series?  Guess what?  You are living it!

 

Tides of Unreason by Justin Raimondo — Antiwar.com.

AIPAC Is the Only Explanation for America’s Morally Bankrupt Israel Policy | Stephen M. Walt

I have been an opponent of politicos that take their cash and lead from AIPAC…..a bunch of Zionists that would like nothing better than the complete elimination of all Palestinians……

Americans need to know just what these people are about and we should avoid them like the plague…….period!

 

AIPAC Is the Only Explanation for America’s Morally Bankrupt Israel Policy | Stephen M. Walt.

Speaking Of Corruption

And that darn pesky Citizens United……….

As I commented….”corruption is corruption, it is not open to gradation”…….we may call it whatever we like but politicians getting money and freebies from PACs is a form of bribery….we can pretend that it is anything but corruption…but if it smells like manure and looks like manure…it is most likely MANURE!

All us dedicated politicos have an opinion on the SCOTUS ruling for “Citizens United”…..basically it legally allows the buying of elections….just as certain as gerrymandering picks the candidates voter…..

There is a law that prohibits law makers from taking gifts and such from lobbyists…just ask Virginia’s governor (he and wife have been charged with illegal gifts)  and attorney general…….but just like ALL laws made by lawyers there is a way around the law…..for instance…….

In 2007, Congress passed measures largely barring lavish lobbyist-funded trips and gatherings. But what the New York Times calls “destination fundraisers” haven’t stopped, and, indirectly, they’re still funded by the lobbyists, who schmooze with lawmakers in places like Napa Valley, Las Vegas, and Bermuda. The money for the trips technically comes from lawmakers’ PACs: The lawmakers sponsor the jaunts and their PACs see donations of $1,000 to $5,000 from the donors and lobbyists who attend; the lobbyists foot their own plane and hotel bill, too. “An informal setting is an effective way to build a better relationship,” says a lobbyist. “It’s a way to get some large chunks of a lawmaker’s time.” Many lawmakers maintain they’re a great way to raise funds and say they bring in tens of thousands after expenses; those on both sides of the aisle hold such events. Among the Times‘ past and future examples are Maryland’s Steny Hoyer (Ritz-Carlton’s Dorado Beach hotel in Puerto Rico), Michigan’s John Conyers (Grammy Awards-tied event at the Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills), Missouri’s Ann Wagner (“Spa Weekend” in Vegas), Minnesota’s Collin Peterson (quail hunting in Georgia), and lots and lots of ski trips (see: Kelly Ayotte, Park City, Utah). At one recent two-day event in Vail, lobbyists got nearly six hours with Kentucky’s Edward Whitfield and other co-sponsors, the Times notes, “time that would be all but impossible to arrange in Washington.”

Bribery is bribery and it is also not open to gradation…….politics has become a wealth generating device and has stopped being how the nation is run…..

Lobbyists–The New Anti-Christ

If you follow my blog with any regularity you will know that I think very little of lobbyists…..I think blackmailers under the guise of civility is a blotch on the otherwise good conduct of the country…….personally, I think that a congressperson should have a waiting period of 10 years before they can do any lobbying……but I digress….

I saw an article that made me sick………

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — As a lobbyist in New York’s statehouse, Stephen Acquario is doing pretty well. He pulls down $204,000 a year, more than the governor makes, gets a Ford Explorer as his company car and is afforded another special perk:

Even though he’s not a government employee, he is entitled to a full state pension.

He’s among hundreds of lobbyists in at least 20 states who get public pensions because they represent associations of counties, cities and school boards, an Associated Press review found. Legislatures granted them access decades ago on the premise that they serve governments and the public. In many cases, such access also includes state health care benefits.

……….

The debate is more about principle than big money, since the staffs of such organizations are relatively small and make barely a ripple in huge state retirement systems. The eight New York associations, for example, have fewer than 120 total employees out of 633,100 current workers in the state’s $158.7 billion pension system.

Still, the issue raises a public policy question as many states and taxpayers struggle to fund their pension obligations required by law.

“There is liability for taxpayers,” said Keith Brainard, research director of the National Association of State Retirement Administrators. “Providing a pension benefit involves some amount of risk for the state and when you provide access to employees of entities that are not in control of the state.”

Unlike state government, for example, these groups aren’t bound by salary restrictions — significant salary increases would result in increasing pension benefits.

These people have way too much influence and way too many benefits that they do not deserve…..

At NO point are lobbyists a government employee……..they are paid by special interests to bribe and blackmail elected official into complying to the wishes of their handlers…….no where is this acceptable….but I guess if enough palms are greased they can do whatever they like……thoughts?