The FEC Is Alive!

Not only is the Federal Election Commission finally bringing its campaign database search engine up to date, but it is actually looking like it is a real organ of law enforcement within the Executive Branch!

via GIPHY                               Proof of Life Announcement for the FEC

FEC Approves Amended Audit Division Recommendation Memorandum, Approves Advisory Opinion, and Agrees to Commence Work on Party Rulemaking

May 25, 2017

WASHINGTON – At its open meeting today, the Federal Election Commission approved an Amended Audit Division Recommendation Memorandum and an advisory opinion, and reached consensus to begin drafting a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on political party rules.

At the start of the meeting today, Chairman Steven T. Walther noted that, in view of external events, questions have been raised with respect to the role of the Federal Election Commission concerning allegations of foreign influence in the American political process. The Chairman asked the Staff Director and other members of the staff to develop a web portal that will assemble all campaign finance information, advisory opinions, enforcement matters, and existing educational materials in this area in order to facilitate a better understanding by members of the public. He also noted that the Commissioners unanimously agreed last September to direct the Office of General Counsel “to prioritize cases involving allegations of foreign influence.” He also called upon the Office of General Counsel and other Commission staff to apply their resources, including providing adequate staffing, to continue to fulfill that priority and to further the agency’s regulatory, educational, and enforcement work in this area.

Audit Division Recommendation Memorandum on Ted Cruz for Senate. Prior to the meeting, the Commission approved on tally an Audit Division Recommendation Memorandum on Ted Cruz for Senate, covering financial activity between January 18, 2011, and December 31, 2012. The memorandum disclosed a finding and recommendation related to the reporting and disclosure of candidate loans.

Resubmission: Audit Division Recommendation Memorandum on the Colorado Republican Committee. The Commission approved the resubmitted Audit Division Recommendation Memorandum on the Colorado Republican Committee, covering financial activity between January 1, 2011, and December 31, 2012, as amended at the table. The memorandum disclosed findings and recommendations related to the misstatement of financial activity, rephorting of apparent independent expenditures, recordkeeping for communications, and failure to itemize debts and obligations.

For those who do not remember or know about my stunning revelation of War Chest seeking FEC approval to use campaign contributions to invest in the markets, well, here is your friendly reminder because, below, is the ruling.

War Chest Seeks FEC Approval To Engage In Campaign & Tax Fraud

Considering the current IRS structural status of campaign committees and all sorts of Political Action Committees (PAC), the ruling to allow War Chest to utilize 

Advisory Opinion 2017-02 (War Chest, LLC). The Commission issued an advisory opinion  in response to a request from War Chest, LLC. The Commission concluded that the requestor may provide political committees with a web-based deposit program but that the political committees participating in the program may not use the requestor’s trust account or sub-investment money market accounts as campaign depositories. Political committees participating in the program would deposit funds into an account; the funds would subsequently be transferred to money market deposit accounts at banks insured  with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC).

REG 2014-10, Implementing the Consolidated and Further Continuing Appropriations Act, 2015, and REG 2016-03, Political Party Rules. The Commission directed the Office of General Counsel to commence drafting a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking with respect to political parties, in response to two petitions for rulemaking and a resolution introduced by Commissioner Lee E. Goodman.

FEC Response to War Chast Campaign Finance Invesstment Program by Beverly Tran on Scribd

On a side note.  I have a sneaky suspicion that this War Chest, LLC was set up by someone who works in D.C. who has had their hands in the campaign cookie jar for quite some time and is seeking a new route to skim campaign money since their side income has been substantially cut.  

That is all I am saying for now.

Voting is beautiful, be beautiful ~ vote.©

Dark Money In Texas Child Welfare Just Got Darker

I am going to need a bit of assistance in understanding the logic behind this budget.

On the one hand, Texas women and children, mostly of the darker persuasion, live in poverty.

On the other hand, Texas has a serious problem with the rate of children being put into its child welfare system.

Zerwas called saving abused or neglected children one of the most critical functions of government, and said “we can’t get lost in the statistics on this.” 

The Texas Department of Child and Family Services has asked for more than $1 billion in additional funds to make basic improvements to the child welfare system, including more staff to investigate child abuse. Lawmakers in both chambers have proposed allotting $325 million of that — less than one-third of what the agency says it needs.
Zerwas said his colleagues should scrutinize the agency’s request to make sure all that additional funding is needed. 

Texas leaders have largely remained quiet about whether they’ll provide more resources to that system, even among widespread reports of its failures. 

Now, instead of ameliorating the policies which have created the conditions of child poverty, the State of Texas is going to dump more money into a child welfare system which has demonstrated itself, year after year, to be ineffective.

Wait!  I retract the aforementioned statement.

Texas is jacked when it comes to the efficacy of its Medicaid programs, which, of course deals with child welfare; therefore, the state has demonstrated itself to extremely efficient in allowing Medicaid fraud in child welfare to flourish.

And, here we are, once again, with these same lobbyists (funded through Medicaid dollars from fraudulent billing of privatized child welfare programs) and elected officials (whose campaigns were funded from fraudulent billing of privatized child welfare programs) getting another billion dollars to be pumped into its jacked child welfare system.

A Quick & Dirty Texas Road Map of Dark Money from Child Welfare

Well, if you are just as bewildered as I when it comes to the budgetary logic of Texas, I shall assume you, too, are in need of a bit of assistance in understanding the logic of this budget.

Here is a link to the latest Texas legislative actions on its child welfare system.

The dark money in Texas politics just got darker.

Happy Compassionate Human Trafficking Month!

House passes $218B budget

AUSTIN — After 15 1/2 hours of debate on hundreds of amendments to the Texas House budget, lawmakers in the lower chamber passed the two-year, $218 billion document early Friday.

The House vote included using $2.5 billion from the state's savings account, known as the rainy day fund. State Rep. John Zerwas, R-Richmond, thanked lawmakers for exhibiting "true leadership" with their willingness to tap the fund, "instead of electing to use an unconstitutional transfer from the transportation funding."

On the winning side of the House budget debate were child welfare advocates, who saw funding for foster care and Child Protective Services tentatively boosted; social conservatives, who scored $20 million for the Alternatives to Abortion program; and the lieutenants of House Speaker Joe Straus' leadership team who, in a display of unity, easily brushed aside most challenges from far-right Republicans.

Voting is beautiful, be beautiful ~ vote.©

Will Governor Snyder Release His Transcripts For Dark Money?

It's campaign season and we all know what that means,  dark money!

Dark money is considered backdoor access for major financial conglomerates to manipulate socioeconomic policy development for the purposes of profiting from the poverty industrial complex, otherwise known as privatization.

Unlike the actual vote, the voices being heard are by those who stand to directly profit from an election.

In the case of Moving Michigan Forward, no one knows who is contributing nor what is being done with the money to directly help the people of Flint, except that it is paying for his PR firms whose work so far sucks in crafting a public image legal defense.

This model of dark money is not just in elections, it is also in policymaking of child welfare privatization and thy name is the Michigan Children's Trust Fund.

I wonder if Rick Snyder is going to release the transcripts of his speeches?

Anonymous donors boost Snyder's Flint relief efforts

LANSING — Gov. Rick Snyder has used his nonprofit fund to raise $270,000 for relief efforts related to the Flint water crisis so far this year. But Snyder is not disclosing the names of the individuals and corporations who donated most of the money, despite promises of greater transparency when he shut down his controversial NERD Fund.

Snyder created the Moving Michigan Forward Fund in 2013 in response to widespread criticism of his NERD (New Energy to Reinvent and Diversify) Fund, which had accepted more than $1.6 million in donations from corporations and other donors, with no disclosure about who the donors were and how they might be linked to state contracts or important policy decisions.

"Let’s wind it down and go forward in a fund where all the donors will be disclosed and the information will be online," Snyder told reporters in October 2013.

Of the $295,000 Moving Michigan Forward reported raising in the first three months of 2016, $270,000 was designated for Flint relief, Snyder spokesman Ari Adler said Thursday. But $225,000 — or 76% of the total amount raised in the quarter — came from another Snyder-related nonprofit fund, Making Government Accountable, which does not disclose its donors.

"We don't have true transparency, because the money is being run through other nonprofits that don't really disclose their donors," said Craig Mauger, executive director of the Michigan Campaign Finance Network.

"People are giving to organizations tied to the governor and the public has no idea who they are, how much exactly they're giving, and whether there are any potential returns on that giving."

Making Government Accountable, which Adler said is still active, was formed by Snyder supporters in March 2015 — around the time Snyder was exploring a national tour promoting Michigan's economic comeback and a possible GOP presidential run.

Its donors "are not going to be disclosed because they gave money with the understanding that their information would not be disclosed, in accordance with state law," Adler said.

"No information about MMF needs to be disclosed either, according to state law, but it is (disclosed) because of the governor’s decision to volunteer information and provide more transparency for that fund," he said.

The stated purpose of MMF is reducing the financial burden of state government and improving Michigan's social and business climate.

Early this year, a notice was posted on the MMF website saying every donated dollar designated for the fund's "MMF for Flint" effort would be spent on Flint-related resources, particularly "advocacy efforts aimed to increase awareness of ... where to find water resource sites, bottled water, water filters for individual homes and businesses, replacement filter cartridges, water testing kits and more."

First-quarter donors to MMF who were disclosed include Robert S. Taubman, chairman and CEO of retail giant Taubman Centers, who gave $25,000; Perrigo  director and former CEO Michael Jandernoa and his wife, Susan, who gave $25,000; Jackson-based Alro Steel, which gave $10,000; and Kalamazoo-based scrap processing firm Schupan & Sons, which gave $10,000.

Moving Michigan Forward reported spending just over $179,000 on "Flint outreach" in the first quarter of 2016, including direct mail, telephone town halls, automated phone calls, text alerts and billboards.

Snyder officials earlier said that an out-of-state public relations firm hired to assist with Flint, Mercury LLC, would be paid from the MMF and not with taxpayer funds. Adler said the Mercury LLC expenses are included in "Flint outreach."

Mauger said the lack of detail in the MMF reports make it impossible to tell exactly how the money was spent.

Adler said more than $200,000 of the $225,000 that the Making Government Accountable fund donated to the Moving Michigan Forward fund was earmarked for Flint relief.

Despite the new emphasis on Flint, "the MMF is used for other things, as it always has been, including office travel expenses, etc." Adler said.

In 2015, $350,000 of the roughly $410,000 that Moving Michigan Forward raisedcame from a third Snyder-related nonprofit, Celebrating the Power of Michigan, which is used to finance his inaugural events. Snyder releases a list of the names of inaugural donors, but does not say how much each donor gave.

Voting is beautiful, be beautiful ~ vote.©