Showing posts with label Susan Brooks. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Susan Brooks. Show all posts

Friday, June 1, 2018

The Tale Of The U.S. House Ethics Committee

Bookmark that tale.

I am waiting for my volley.


There was only one referral in 2018 to the Office of Inspector General of the U.S. Department of Justice.




Do not be mean to my Sweetie. Period.

Voting is beautiful, be beautiful ~ vote.©

Saturday, January 20, 2018

Public Service Has An Ethics Committee Obligation To Clean Up The Messes It Makes

First it comes out that U.S. Representative Patrick Meehan of the House Ethics Committee settled his own misconduct case.

It was not even 2 hours later House Speaker Paul Ryan removes him from his committee assignment.

What is interesting is that Meehan went through the advice of House Counsel.

Hmmmm....

The House Office of Compliance refuses to be compliant in releasing any information on its operations to House Ethics.

Hmmmm.....


Image result for waitress serving a meeting
"Hey, I am just here to serve.  You should try it."
Ok, I have an idea.

How about we get House Oversight Committee to hold hearings on the entire operations of House Ethics Committee, considering that its membership has been dwindling in the last few days and  the fact that the majority of its members have engaged in questionable activities with sizeable conflicts of interests, very worthy of public scrutiny of the DOJ.

As a matter of fact, now that I am on the subject of House Ethics, I would be entirely pleasured if I could be in attendance for a House Oversight Committee hearing on the activities of House Ethics over the past 10 years.

We could invite the House Office of Compliance, and, oh, what the heck, let's subpoena House Judiciary, too!

I can walk around serving coffee, tea, or shots of tequilla, which may be a needed staple in these Oversight Committee hearings, when we find out what, exactly, these "Legal Geniuses" (trademark pending) have been doing...or not doing....like ignoring to complaints filed by a U.S. citizen, year after year after year about fraud.

We can even invite the former U.S. Department of Treasury Secretary, Jack Lew, too!

Oh, what fun we shall have!

Or, we can just refer the matter to DOJ, like Ethics has already done in other investigations it has launched.

But hey, what do I know?

I know Perkins Coie still sucks.

#perkinscoiesucks

GOP Congressman Removed From Ethics Committee After Report He Used Taxpayer Funds to Settle Misconduct Complaint

House Speaker Paul Ryan removed Rep. Patrick Meehan from the House Ethics Committee on Saturday following a news report that the Pennsylvania Republican used thousands of dollars in taxpayer money to settle a sexual misconduct complaint against him by a former aide.

Rep. Patrick Meehan is seen in his official portrait for the 112th Congress.
Rep. Patrick Meehan is seen in his official portrait for the 112th Congress.
Ryan told Meehan he must repay whatever taxpayer funds were used to settle the case and, although he has denied the allegations, be investigated by the Ethics Committee, Ryan spokesperson AshLee Strong said in a statement Saturday.

The New York Times first reported Meehan’s settlement.

“Speaker Ryan takes the allegations against Mr. Meehan very seriously,” Strong’s statement read. “The speaker is committed to rooting out sexual misconduct in the House and providing victims the resources they need.”

The statement added that the House is set to pass major bipartisan reform to the way the House handles claims of sexual harassment,” and the speaker will apply these new standards to the allegations made against Mr. Meehan.”

The former aide accused Meehan of making unwanted romantic advances toward her, and when she didn’t reciprocate, he grew hostile, according to the Times, which cited people familiar with her time in the office.

The former aide initiated a complaint with Congress’ Office of Compliance, began working from home and ultimately left her job, the Times reported. She later reached a confidential settlement paid from Meehan’s congressional office fund.

Meehan’s spokesman, John Elizandro, issued a statement saying the congressman denies the allegations.

“Throughout his career, he has always treated his colleagues, male and female, with the utmost respect and professionalism,” the statement read.

“In this case, the employee, represented by counsel, made certain assertions of inappropriate behavior, which were investigated,” Elizandro said. “With respect to resolving any allegation made against the office, Congressman Meehan would only act with advice of House Counsel and consistent with House Ethics Committee guidance. Every step of the process was handled ethically and appropriately. At Congressman Meehan’s request, the congressional attorneys handling the case have asked the complainant’s counsel to release all parties from the confidentiality requirements of the agreement to ensure a full and open airing of all the facts. The congressman is hopeful that they will agree to this request for full transparency.

“Rep. Meehan believes there must be real reform to the process for resolving complaints so that those who are truly wronged are given a fair forum to be heard and vindicated, and those accused are provided with an ability to respond to baseless accusations,” Elizandro’s statement continued. “The public to whom elected officials are answerable must be provided with a true sense of the facts and circumstances involved.”

Alexis Ronickher, who represented Meehan’s accuser, said in a statement that Meehan has asked her client to waive confidentiality “so he can deny well-grounded allegations knowing full well that his former staffer prizes her privacy above all else. Mr. Meehan demanded confidentiality to resolve the matter, presumably so that the public would never know that he entered into a settlement of a serious sexual harassment claim.”

“Now that it has become public — due to no fault of my client’s — he has flouted his legal obligations and is speaking publicly,” Ronickher said. “We will not allow our client to be victimized twice by this man. If he further violates the confidentiality strictures he insisted upon and he agreed to, he will leave our client no choice but to seek legal recourse on her behalf.”

The latest allegations against a sitting member of Congress surfaced the same week that a bipartisan group of House lawmakers unveiled a long-awaited plan aimed at tackling the way workplace complaints — including sexual harassment — are handled on Capitol Hill and holding lawmakers personally liable for settlements.

Under the current process, settlements reached after parties go through the Office of Compliance’s system are paid out through a US Treasury fund. However, the settlement between Meehan and his former aide was paid out of his office fund, not the Office of Compliance, according to the Times.

Sexual harassment and accusations of inappropriate behavior led to the departures of three lawmakers in recent months: Sen. Al Franken, a Minnesota Democrat; Rep. Trent Franks, an Arizona Republican; and Rep. John Conyers, a Michigan Democrat.

Franken, who left Congress earlier this month, has said that some of the allegations against him were “simply not true.”

Conyers settled a wrongful dismissal complaint in 2015 after allegedly sexually harassing a staffer.

Conyers denied wrongdoing in that case, but acknowledged that there had been a financial settlement to that complaint, before he announced his retirement.

Franks has denied ever having “physically intimidated, coerced, or had, or attempted to have any sexual contact with any member” of his congressional staff.

Several other lawmakers have abandoned re-election bids in light of accusations of harassment or misconduct, including Nevada Democratic Rep. Ruben Kihuen and Texas Republican Rep. Blake Farenthold.

The House Ethics Committee launched investigations into Franks, Conyers, Farenthold and Kihuen.

Both Farenthold and Kihuen remain under investigation by the committee.

Kihuen has repeatedly denied allegations that he sexually harassed a female campaign staffer. Farenthold has denied engaging in regular verbal abuse of his staff.

A former local prosecutor, Meehan has been a vocal supporter of domestic violence victims. He is also a member of a bipartisan congressional task force to end sexual violence and has sponsored legislation requiring reporting of sexual violence.

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Saturday, November 25, 2017

U.S. House Committee On Ethics Statement of the Chairwoman Susan Brooks & Ranking Member Ted Deutch Regarding Representative John Conyers, Jr. 11-22-2017

STATEMENT OF THE CHAIRWOMAN AND RANKING MEMBER OF THE COMMITTEE ON ETHICS REGARDING REPRESENTATIVE JOHN CONYERS, JR.

Pursuant to Committee Rule 7(g), the Chairwoman and Ranking Member of the Committee on Ethics (Committee) determined to release the following statement:

The Committee is aware of public allegations that Representative John Conyers, Jr. may have engaged in sexual harassment of members of his staff, discriminated against certain staff on the basis of age, and used official resources for impermissible personal purposes. The Committee Rule 18(a), has begun an investigation and will gather additional information regarding these allegations.

The Committee notes that the mere fact that it is investigating these allegation, and publicly disclosing its review, does not itself indicate that any violation has occurred, or reflect any judgment on behalf of the Committee.

In order to comply with Committee Rule 7 regarding confidentiality, out of fairness to all respondents, and to assure the integrity of its work, the Committee will refrain from making further public statements on this matter pending completion of its review.



‘Tis better to be vile than vile esteemed,
When not to be receives reproach of being,
And the just pleasure lost which is so deemed
Not by our feeling but by others’ seeing.
For why should others’ false adulterate eyes
Give salutation to my sportive blood?
Or on my frailties why are frailer spies,
Which in their wills count bad what I think good?
No, I am that I am, and they that level
At my abuses reckon up their own;
I may be straight, they they themselves be bevel.
By their rank thoughts my deeds must not be shown,
Unless this general evil they maintain:
All men are bad, and in their badness reign.


The Bard, , Sonnet 121

Voting is beautiful, be beautiful ~ vote.©

Friday, October 13, 2017

CONYERS: Statement of the Honorable John Conyers, Jr. for the Markup of H.R. 2228, the “Law Enforcement Mental Health and Wellness Act of 2017”

Dean of the U.S. House
of Representatives
John Conyers, Jr.
I am proud to cosponsor H.R. 2228, the “Law Enforcement Mental Health and Wellness Act of 2017.”  This bill would provide support for law enforcement agencies to protect the mental health and well-being of law enforcement officers. 

At the outset, we must recognize that law enforcement officers have a special role in our communities, with exceptional responsibilities to serve and protect.  In the performance of these duties, they see, encounter, and experience events that the rest of us would run from, but they do not. 

Law enforcement officers respond to horrendous situations that are both dangerous and stressful, and oftentimes life-threatening, as they find themselves in harm’s way while protecting the communities they serve.

For example, some recent tragedies which law enforcement officers have responded to include in June 2016 when 49 people were killed and 53 others wounded by a gunman at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando, Florida; one month later when a gunman killed five officers and wounded another nine officers along with two civilians in Dallas, Texas; and just this month when a gunman in Las Vegas killed 58 innocent citizens and injured nearly 500 others.

And, of course, law enforcement officers must respond to the calls related to violence of many kinds in our communities every day. 

In many cases, these traumatic situations remain with officers long after the threats are reduced and the communities they serve have gained a renewed since of safety.

However, members of law enforcement are left to face the continued trauma from their daily work, which can be difficult to process and impossible to forget.

That is why this bill is necessary. 

H.R. 2228 seeks to help create and improve mental health and wellness services for law enforcement officers.

The bill provides support for law enforcement agencies by requiring reports on mental health practices and services that can be adopted by law enforcement agencies and establishes peer mentoring mental health and wellness pilot programs within law enforcement agencies.

H.R. 2228 would also provide support for mental health programs by developing educational resources for mental health providers regarding the culture of law enforcement agencies and therapies for mental health issues common to law enforcement.

This measure would also provide support for law enforcement officers by reviewing existing crisis hotlines, recommending improvements regarding these crisis hotlines, and researching the effectiveness of annual mental health checks for law enforcement officers.

With this legislation, we in Congress can help better provide for and protect the mental health, safety, and wellness of all law enforcement officers as they unselfishly protect each of us daily.

For these reasons, I support this bill and ask that my colleagues join me in doing so today.

115th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 2228

To provide support for law enforcement agency efforts to protect the mental health and well-being of law enforcement officers, and for other purposes.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
April 28, 2017
Mrs. Brooks of Indiana (for herself, Mrs. Demings, Mr. Collins of Georgia, Mr. Pascrell, and Mr. Reichert) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

A BILL
To provide support for law enforcement agency efforts to protect the mental health and well-being of law enforcement officers, and for other purposes.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the “Law Enforcement Mental Health and Wellness Act of 2017”.
SEC. 2. SUPPORT FOR LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES.

(a) Interagency Collaboration.—The Attorney General shall consult with the Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to submit to Congress a report, which shall be made publicly available, on Department of Defense and Department of Veterans Affairs mental health practices and services that could be adopted by Federal, State, local, or tribal law enforcement agencies.

(b) Case Studies.—The Director of the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services shall submit to Congress a report—
(1) that is similar to the report entitled “Health, Safety, and Wellness Program Case Studies in Law Enforcement” published by the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services in 2015; and

(2) that focuses on case studies of programs designed primarily to address officer psychological health and well-being.

(c) Peer Mentoring Pilot Program.—Section 1701(b) of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 3796dd(b)) is amended—
(1) in paragraph (21), by striking “; and” and inserting a semicolon;

(2) in paragraph (22), by striking the period at the end and inserting “; and”; and

(3) by adding at the end the following:
“(23) to establish peer mentoring mental health and wellness pilot programs within State, tribal, and local law enforcement agencies.”.
SEC. 3. SUPPORT FOR MENTAL HEALTH PROVIDERS.
The Attorney General, in coordination with the Secretary of Health and Human Services, shall develop resources to educate mental health providers about the culture of Federal, State, tribal, and local law enforcement agencies and evidence-based therapies for mental health issues common to Federal, State, local, and tribal law enforcement officers.
SEC. 4. SUPPORT FOR OFFICERS.
The Attorney General shall—

(1) in consultation with Federal, State, local, and tribal law enforcement agencies—
(A) identify and review the effectiveness of any existing crisis hotlines for law enforcement officers;

(B) provide recommendations to Congress on whether Federal support for existing crisis hotlines or the creation of an alternative hotline would improve the effectiveness or use of the hotline; and

(C) conduct research into the efficacy of an annual mental health check for law enforcement officers;

(2) in consultation with the Secretary of Homeland Security and the head of other Federal agencies that employ law enforcement officers, examine the mental health and wellness needs of Federal law enforcement officers, including the efficacy of expanding peer mentoring programs for law enforcement officers at each Federal agency; and

(3) ensure that any recommendations, resources, or programs provided under this Act protect the privacy of participating law enforcement officers.

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Thursday, July 6, 2017

Bob Goodlatte And The Mandela Effect: Why Medicaid Fraud In Child Welfare Funds Campaigns

As the U.S. Judiciary Committee wants to finally set foot into my jurisdiction, let us have a see if they are going to listen to me....or their re-election campaign donors.

In this particular video produced by the House Judiciary Committee, we have what I am calling Propaganda ~ The Mandela Effect.

In short, the Mandela Effect is, according to the latest trend in social media states:
The Mandela Effect refers to a phenomenon in which a large number of people share false memories of past events, referred to as confabulation[13] in psychiatry. Some have speculated that the memories are caused by parallel universes spilling into our own, while others explain the phenomenon as a failure of collective memory.

Now, watch this well-produced video of confabulation from the majority of the Committee, replete with Hollywood-style, happy, laughing child actors, who look like they are not from "The Poors", with featured special guests of those who have contributed to the confabulation of the horrors of human trafficking in foster care and adoption, or rather, the Mandela Effect, below..

I wonder how much money, or even, where the money came from to produce this high quality child abuse propaganda.

Looks like it is FOIA time.



Now, watch to see how the subliminal "blue pinwheel" fundraiser symbol was craftily co-opted into the propaganda video, above.



Now, someone explain to me why the foster care and adoption, Child Protective Services, the entire child welfare industry are excluded from the Committee's nomenclature when it comes to discussing "preventing crimes against children".


If you have made it this far, then, allow me to pose this query:  "How come no one is talking about the financial crimes against children in the child welfare industry?"

The answer is privatization, the multi-billion dollar industry of human trafficking.



In the spirit of fuchsia, I shall provide my 2 cents for the Bills Approved Through the Judiciary Committee.

The Adam Walsh Reauthorization Act of 2017 (H.R. 1188): This bill, authored by Representative Jim Sensenbrenner (R-Wis.), reauthorizes the two primary programs of the Adam Walsh Act—the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act and Sex Offender Management Assistance Program—for five years and makes targeted changes to make the system more efficient and just. These programs help prevent child abuse by ensuring the public has access to information on known sex offenders who may live in their neighborhood.

MANDELA EFFECT:  The passage of the Adam Walsh Reauthorization Act of 2017, continues the feel good moment of believing that the U.S. House Judiciary Committee has done something to make them get that warm and fuzzy feeling to go back to their respective home Congressional Districts and solicit campaign contributions from the state sub-contracted administrators, like MAXIMUS, but in reality, yet, in the most dubious manner, blatantly ignores, omit, does not give a flying rat's arse...ignores the other component of the Act, itself, being the Central Registry of Abuse and Neglect Databases.

Alternative, parallel universe:  Instead of running around trying to figure out how to save face, I have provided just about all the background research on the issues in dealing with the Central Registry right here, and it is not pretty, not pretty, at all.


The Child Protection Improvements Act of 2017 (H.R. 695): Introduced by Representatives Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) and Mike Bishop (R-Mich.), this bill ensures that youth-serving organizations have access to national background checks on prospective staff and volunteers through the FBI’s database. Currently, many youth-serving organizations only have access to state-level background check systems.

MANDELA EFFECT:  Youth-serving organizations, otherwise known as child welfare organizations, make lots of pretty, shiny brochures, videos, and have lots of fundraising spectacles that give out awards and financially empower re-election campaigns; therefore, to continue the wonderful work of the tax exempt God, these organizations are given carte blanche when it comes to access to human databases to stop the bad people from doing bad things to kids.

Alternative parallel universe:  These youth-serving organizations are currently engaging in a massive scale of Medicaid fraud in child welfare, but what is even worse, they are about to set up the most complex, predictive behavioral and biomedical modeling system, which obviously has become a technically out of reach when it comes to issues of who is watching the watcher.

But, of course, positing any discussion on regulation would severely cut into those campaign contributions.

How can you do a background if the perpetrator of such behavior has never been caught?

Here is a taste of the structure of these national databases which, of course, will be billed to Medicaid:

Michigan Child Welfare Data Fusion Centers

The New Face Of Child Welfare Fraud: Ashton Kutcher, Databases & Human Trafficking

The Clinton Foundation Launches Another Medicaid Fraud In Child Welfare Initiative


The Targeting Child Predators Act of 2017 (H.R. 883): This bill, authored by Representative Ron DeSantis (R-Fla.), helps protect valuable information used to prosecute and convict child predators. Under current law, law enforcement is able to obtain the IP address of a suspected child predator and then subpoena Internet Service Providers for the user information attached to the IP address. The provider then may notify the user of the law enforcement inquiry, allowing the alleged child predator to destroy critical evidence. Under H.R. 883, Internet Service Providers must wait 180 days before notifying customers in child predator cases, where law enforcement has certified that such notification would endanger a person, cause the destruction of or tampering with evidence, cause flight from prosecution, or cause the intimidation of a potential witness.

MANDELA EFFECT:  Said Act will "help protect valuable information used to protect and convict child predators" and make all the co-sponsors look like superheroes by championing a cause that will save all the poor child victims of online sexual predatory activities.

Alternative parallel universe:  The majority of these child predators that are being targeted are finding their child victims through the human trafficking in foster care and adoption, domestically and internationally, but to discuss this in public would impact campaign contributions from the tax exempt child welfare organizations that have major trust funds and PACs.

Immigrant child sex trafficking victims are not just excluded from these U.S. protections of the Act, they are monetized right back into the U.S. Child Welfare System which will generate revenue to fund political campaigns...

Besides, the U.S. already possesses the capability to execute this task.

The Strengthening Children’s Safety Act of 2017 (H.R. 1842): Authored by Representative John Ratcliffe (R-Texas), this bill makes communities safer by enhancing penalties for sex offenders who fail to register in the national sex offender registry when they have a prior state conviction for a violent crime. It also ensures enhanced penalties for child exploitation crimes apply equally to all dangerous sex offenders.

MANDELA EFFECT:  This micromanagedly formatted, designer piece of legislation obfuscates the scourge of child trafficking making all the bad people register in a national database.

Alternative parallel universe: The foster care and adoption industry is not held accountable in its operations of "maximizing revenues" of human trafficking and false claims as it is exempted and excluded from any form of external scrutiny, not even having to register in a national exclusionary database.

The Global Child Protection Act (H.R. 1862): Authored by Representative Martha Roby (R-Ala.), the legislation combats global sex tourism by closing loopholes that allow child predators to go unpunished for their abuse of children overseas. Specifically, the bill expands the conduct covered for child sexual exploitation cases that involve abuse occurring abroad to include sexual contact. It also broadens the offenses covered in the recidivist enhancement provisions in current law to protect the youngest of child victims.

MANDELA EFFECT: This Act protects the entire world from the global sex tourism industry.

Alternative parallel universe: The U.S. has allowed the global sex tourism industry to become an importation of international tax credits by deregulating the already unregulated industry of foster care and adoption to fund political campaigns and its launder tax exempt revenues.

The Protecting Against Child Exploitation Act (H.R. 1761): Authored by Representative Mike Johnson (R-La.), this bill protects child pornography victims by remedying a federal court ruling in United States v. Palomino-Coronado. This decision allowed a defendant to walk free from production of child pornography charges, despite photographic evidence that he had engaged in sexual abuse of a seven-year-old child, because the court found that he lacked the specific intent to produce child pornography prior to abusing the child. To address this loophole in the law, the Protecting Against Child Exploitation Act adds additional bases of liability to the crime of child pornography production to prevent this heinous crime and bring criminals to justice.

MANDELA EFFECT:  Going down the list of constituency based, designer legislation to protect children makes for a great campaign fundraiser.

Alternative parallel universe: Anthony Palomino-Coronado was 19 years of age, still in high school, when he was prosecuted of producing child pornography, not the sexual abuse.  At no time did it come up in discovery, or maybe it did but was not presented at trial, that perhaps, just perhaps, this person was also a child sex victim or held unmet cognitive and psychological needs.  This legislation allows for the prosecution of, more than likely, juvenile victims of sexual predators, but do not tell that to all the privatized juvenile delinquency institutions because most of the youth incarcerated are being raped, drugged and tortured.

The imperialistic morality parade must keep its tax exempt operations a-flowing.

The Protecting Young Victims from Sexual Abuse Act (H.R 1973): Authored by Representative Susan Brooks (R-Ind.), this legislation requires prompt reporting of suspected cases of abuse, mandatory training, and implementation of policies and procedures for preventing, reporting, and addressing allegations of sexual abuse at amateur athletic governing bodies. It responds to recent allegations of sexual abuse made against personnel involved with USA Gymnastics, USA Swimming, and USA Taekwondo.

MANDELA EFFECT: U.S. Representative Susan Brooks is now, linked with metatags, of prominent internet search key terms regarding sensational main stream media stories which is a great new way of cyber campaigning.

Alternative parallel universe: This legislation has nothing to do with children and youth who are raped, drugged, tortured, and let me not forget to interject being legally kidnapped and trafficked through foster care and adoption programs nor does it provide opportunity for prosecution of these tax exempt child protection organizations that have "profitably" engaged in the filing of false claims allowing these children and youth being raped, drugged and tortured.  I guess no one wants to mention the money involved in the Jerry Sandusky and child welfare sex scandal out of Indiana. ssssshhhhhhhhh.....

Trafficking
 Victims First Act (H.R. 2473): Authored by Representative Ann Wagner (R-Mo.), this legislation, among other purposes, provides training to prosecutors on investigating and processing cases with a trauma-informed and victim-centered approach, and encourages states to provide appropriate services to victims of trafficking. The bill also calls for reports on the implementation of state safe harbor provisions and on how to improve mandatory restitution procedures for victims of trafficking in federal courts.

MANDELA EFFECT: This is the greatest partisan legislation in the history of U.S. lawmaking to help victims of human trafficking.

Alternative parallel universe:  Human trafficking exists through foster care and adoption as there are no civil rights protections for the victims who are either wards of the state, whether residents or non-residents of the U.S., or the original guardians, otherwise known as "The Poors".  All this legislation does is provide opportunity for more cost-reimbursement opportunities to submit child welfare false claims to Medicaid, of course, to fund more political campaigns.

Always remember, it takes a judicial determination to turn on the funding spigot and it takes a village...then pillages the resources.

Stay tuned...on a mission...

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