The Iranian Web of Influence in the United States
By: Hassan Daioleslam
On March 21, 2008, the U.S. Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) announced its decision to penalize three Iranian-connected companies as "they knowingly exported three U.S. origin aircraft to Iran in violation of the Export Administration Regulations (“EAR”) and are preparing to re-export three additional U.S. origin aircraft to Iran in further violation of the EAR."1
The principal firm among these is Balli Group PLC based in London. Iranian brothers Vahid and Hassan Alaghband own the company. Balli owns a private bank and numerous major enterprises inside Iran with strong ties to the Iranian regime. It is well understood that no company can reach the Balli's success and status in Iran without direct support of Mafia Dons inside the mullah’s circle of power. The ramifications of selling a few used aircrafts to Iran transcends beyond the criminal act of a few merchants circumventing international sanctions to make hundreds of millions of dollars. It is a symptom of the broadening of the Mullah’s web of influence in the US.
Five years ago, the Iranian regime tried to buy an aircraft through its London based proxies. At that time, Congressman Bob Ney was bribed by two international felons to introduce legislation to dissolve the US sanctions and facilitate the sale of a VIP airplane to Iran to be used by Hashemi Rafsanjani.2-3-4
Eventually, Bob Ney ended up in prison. The Syrian arm dealer, Fouad Alzayat, is sued in British courts by the Iranian regime. Some $80M of the Iranian people’s money evaporated in the process.
Similar to Ney and his circle, the Alaghband brothers are also accustomed to legal problems. After they bought out Klockner AG in Germany in 2001, Vahid was jailed in 2003 and later, a German court fined them €4M and handed down suspended jail sentences (2005). The Alaghband brothers waived their right to appeal.5-6
While this time around, the outcome of their encounter with US law enforcement is not that rosy, the Alaghband brothers, in previous occasions, have been more successful in circumventing the sanctions.
Shockingly, Balli Group represents the US Corporations Xerox and Caterpillar in Iran, and has numerous partnerships with other US corporations. How could US companies enter the Iranian market while there are now more sanctions against Iran than there were a decade ago? These companies have profited from the loopholes in the sanction laws. Their actions have been possible because of the lack of political will in the US in enforcing the sanctions and closing its loopholes. The indifferent and unconcerned attitude in the US roots back to the efforts of the Iranian lobby in the US for the past decade.
In 1997, many US corporations, including Caterpillar, came together and started to fight the ILSA (Iran Libya Sanction Act). This fight reached its summit in 2001 when the Act came back to the Congress for its renewal. It passed by a large majority in the Congress and the Senate, and was extended for years. In the midst of despair, Bob Ney came up with an encouraging and visionary idea:7
The ILSA vote doesn’t look very promising, but that doesn’t mean the struggle should stop on this entire issue. It is a matter of education and re-education and people getting together and forming a citizen’s lobby to make sure those members of Congress and their offices are educated on this issue.”
A year later, Ney's Iranian advisor, Trita Parsi, became the president of an organization called the National Iranian American Council (NIAC). As I have explained in detail,8 Parsi and his Iran based partner Siamak Namazi, unmasked a roadmap in 1999 to create an Iranian lobby in the US to influence the Congress.
To this date, NIAC has not diverted a bit from the roadmap. Namazi, along with his father, brother and sister, are notorious proprietors of numerous key enterprises in Iran facilitating the mullahs’ financial and business affairs. The NIAC’s role in lobbying for relieving pressure off Tehran’s rulers, under the disguise of empowering Iranian-Americans, is now well exposed. Even the Iranian pro-government newspaper Aftab, described these activities as the "Iranian lobby" acting as the regime's "unofficial diplomacy."10
In addition to this "classic" lobbying effort, mullahs have now focused on using the mafia web of businesses connected to them to influence the US policies towards their interests. Naturally, some American businesses which see financial benefits in dealing with Iran and entering Iran’s markets have not resisted lining up with Iran’s financial Mafia.
To recruit Iranian-American executives of the US companies as new members to its web, the Iranian regime, has undertaken a new initiative spearheaded by Siamak Namazi in Tehran. In June 2007, the newly founded organization called the "International Association of Iranian Managers (I-AIM) held a major workshop in Tehran.10
Abbas Maleki, the Iranian deputy foreign minister under Rafsanjani, advisor to the Supreme Leader and one of the chief organizers of Iranian lobby in the US, was one of the key speakers. Hassan Alaghband from Balli group was another key speaker and one of the main supporters of the event. Namazi is certainly a known figure in the Mullah’s lobby machinery in the West. Following the trails from this meeting leads to the discovery of the broadening web of influence of mullahs in the US involving some new players and many of the familiar faces of the Mafia web.11
The Iranian lobby in the US is financially fed by sources that are conspicuously tangled with Tehran’s interests. One jaw dropping example: Vahid Alaghband (the elder brother) is a major donor (among very few) and an "ambassador and supporter extraordinaire" of US based Parsa foundation.12 -13-14 This group has, in turn, been a principal financial supporter of NIAC in 2007. It is, indeed, a small world!
Certainly there is strong evidence than the Mullahs’ web of influence in the US, including a number of lobby organizations, business interests and pseudo-academics are hard at work to reduce pressure on Tehran and buy them time to pursue their aspiration to gain hegemony in the region and the world. The unavoidable end result may be a catastrophic war between Iran and the US. To prevent that war, we must stop the Iranian lobby and their American cohort enterprises. This is not the case of a smuggler helping a mullah get an airplane ride. This is a matter of national security and the interest of the Iranian and American people.
Notes:
1- http://www.bis.doc.gov/news/2008/bis_tdo03212008.html
2- Bob Ney's plea agreement: http://www.usdoj.gov/opa/pr/2006/September/06_crm_622.html
3- Iranian newspaper: http://baztab.com/news/24835.php
4- Iran versus Fouad ALzayat in British court http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/law/article3505782.ece
5- Vahid Alaghband's 11 month prison: http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000100&sid=aEodr6ltrnoQ&refer=germany
6- Vahid and Hassan Alaghband sentenced for fiduciary duties: http://www.kloeckner.de/investor/en/pm.php?type=pm&id=92&year=2005
7- Ney told AIC in a June 2001 speech. http://www.american-iranian.org/pubs/aicupdate/05262005.html
8- Iran's Oil Mafia: http://www.frontpagemag.com/Articles/Read.aspx?GUID=b30e945b-5f1f-4a57-a7aa-f4975d12fc4c
9- Aftab Newspaper, http://www.aftabnews.ir/vdccpoq2biqpp.html
10- I-Aim 23-28nJune event: http://www.i-aim.org/content/en/video-entrepreneurship/video-entrepreneurship%20.aspx
11- I-Aim 23-28nJune event: http://www.i-aim.org/content/en/video-entrepreneurship/video-entrepreneurship%20.aspx
12- Parsa's major donors:
http://www.parsacf.org/honor-roll/honor%20roll/avicenna/?searchterm=vahid%20alaghband
13- Vahid Alaghband, Ambassador and … EVENING PROGRAM
14- Parsa donation to NIAC: http://www.parsacf.org/grant-seekers/past-grantees
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Sunday, September 27, 2009
OBAMA WAS ONLY CERTIFIED AS ELIGIBLE BY THE DNC IN HAWAII! NOT IN THE OTHER 49 STATES
The Theory is Now a Conspiracy – III
DNC Failed to Certify Obama as Eligible in MOST States!
By JB Williams Friday, September 25, 2009
When I first became aware that the Democratic National Committee prepared, signed and notarized two slightly different Certification of Nomination documents for the Obama-Biden ticket in the 2008 election, I was shocked and after verifying both documents as real, I wrote about it in The Theory is Now a Conspiracy and Facts Don’t Lie released on September 10, 2009.
The question was obvious – Why TWO different DNC Obama certification documents, and why did one have proper certification of constitutional eligibility in it, while the other had that certification deleted?
The Obama camp had been using the defense that the DNC had properly vetted and certified Obama’s eligibility for months. Judge after judge had used that claim and the fact that Obama’s COLB (Certification of Live Birth) had been “Snoped – FactChecked – blogged and twittered” as “legal proof” that Obama was eligible for office, despite the very real fact that Obama has never released any authenticated proof on the subject.
Then we find out that the DNC did NOT certify Obama as eligible under Article II – Section I of the Constitution, in 49 of 50 states. The DNC had only filed such certification in the state of Hawaii, Obama’s alleged birth place. The other 49 states received a Certification of Nomination which did NOT certify Obama as constitutionally eligible for office.
This story caused a firestorm of interest, comment and speculation across the web, leading Bob Unruh at World Net Daily to ask, What does Pelosi know about Obama’s eligibility?
On September 15, I released a follow up report, The Theory is Now a Conspiracy—II in which I was able to provide answers to many of the questions swirling around the two DNC docs.
Both docs were real and both docs had been filed with Election Commission offices
Only the doc filed in Hawaii certified Obama as constitutionally eligible
Nancy Pelosi did in fact sign both documents, indicating awareness
Both documents had been used before by the DNC, in 2000 and 2004
Different states have different state statutes on the matter
But the Constitution is clear, and the DNC ignored it
More interesting however, is the news I got back from a document and handwriting expert, a graphologist, which asserted the following in a detailed analysis of both documents.
In short, the answer to Bob Unruh’s question at WND seems to be yes, Nancy Pelosi knew that she was signing a false statement on behalf of Obama. But she also knew that this false statement of eligibility would only be filed in Hawaii, which has a very specific state statute that requires that each party certify the constitutional eligibility of their candidates, using specific text.
It further appears that this Certification of Nomination which includes text concerning constitutional requirements is the basis for statements made by Hawaii officials, who have proclaimed that Obama is a “natural born citizen” on the basis that Nancy Pelosi said so in her false Certification of Nomination.
After all, NO actual birth certificate has ever been released by Obama. A COLB, which anyone born anywhere in the world could purchase from Hawaii in 1961, in fact at least two different COLB’s from Hawaii, are all that has been offered by Obama.
http://canadafreepress.com/index.php/article/15127
DNC Failed to Certify Obama as Eligible in MOST States!
By JB Williams Friday, September 25, 2009
When I first became aware that the Democratic National Committee prepared, signed and notarized two slightly different Certification of Nomination documents for the Obama-Biden ticket in the 2008 election, I was shocked and after verifying both documents as real, I wrote about it in The Theory is Now a Conspiracy and Facts Don’t Lie released on September 10, 2009.
The question was obvious – Why TWO different DNC Obama certification documents, and why did one have proper certification of constitutional eligibility in it, while the other had that certification deleted?
The Obama camp had been using the defense that the DNC had properly vetted and certified Obama’s eligibility for months. Judge after judge had used that claim and the fact that Obama’s COLB (Certification of Live Birth) had been “Snoped – FactChecked – blogged and twittered” as “legal proof” that Obama was eligible for office, despite the very real fact that Obama has never released any authenticated proof on the subject.
Then we find out that the DNC did NOT certify Obama as eligible under Article II – Section I of the Constitution, in 49 of 50 states. The DNC had only filed such certification in the state of Hawaii, Obama’s alleged birth place. The other 49 states received a Certification of Nomination which did NOT certify Obama as constitutionally eligible for office.
This story caused a firestorm of interest, comment and speculation across the web, leading Bob Unruh at World Net Daily to ask, What does Pelosi know about Obama’s eligibility?
On September 15, I released a follow up report, The Theory is Now a Conspiracy—II in which I was able to provide answers to many of the questions swirling around the two DNC docs.
Both docs were real and both docs had been filed with Election Commission offices
Only the doc filed in Hawaii certified Obama as constitutionally eligible
Nancy Pelosi did in fact sign both documents, indicating awareness
Both documents had been used before by the DNC, in 2000 and 2004
Different states have different state statutes on the matter
But the Constitution is clear, and the DNC ignored it
More interesting however, is the news I got back from a document and handwriting expert, a graphologist, which asserted the following in a detailed analysis of both documents.
In short, the answer to Bob Unruh’s question at WND seems to be yes, Nancy Pelosi knew that she was signing a false statement on behalf of Obama. But she also knew that this false statement of eligibility would only be filed in Hawaii, which has a very specific state statute that requires that each party certify the constitutional eligibility of their candidates, using specific text.
It further appears that this Certification of Nomination which includes text concerning constitutional requirements is the basis for statements made by Hawaii officials, who have proclaimed that Obama is a “natural born citizen” on the basis that Nancy Pelosi said so in her false Certification of Nomination.
After all, NO actual birth certificate has ever been released by Obama. A COLB, which anyone born anywhere in the world could purchase from Hawaii in 1961, in fact at least two different COLB’s from Hawaii, are all that has been offered by Obama.
http://canadafreepress.com/index.php/article/15127
Thursday, September 24, 2009
OBA-HUSSEIN GAG ORDER -- YOU ARE FORBIDDEN TO TELL THE TRUTH!
By David S. Hilzenrath
Washington Post Staff Writer
The federal government has ordered health insurers to stop telling Medicare beneficiaries that proposed health reform legislation could hurt seniors and jeopardize their benefits.
The government might take enforcement action against insurers that have tried to mobilize opposition to the legislation by sending their enrollees "misleading and confusing" messages, a senior official of the Department of Health and Human Services said in a memo Monday.
The mailings in question urge enrollees to contact their congressional representatives and protest the legislation, the memo said.
A spokesman for America's Health Insurance Plans, the industry's main lobbying group, issued a statement Tuesday criticizing what he described as the government's "gag order."
"Seniors have a right to know how the current reform proposals will affect the coverage they currently like and rely on," AHIP spokesman Robert Zirkelbach said.
Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the Senate's Republican leader, denounced the HHS order as an attempt to squelch free speech.
"We cannot allow government officials to target individuals or companies because they do not like what they have to say," McConnell said.
"Is this what we believe as a Senate -- that this body should debate a trillion-dollar health care bill that affects every American while using the powerful arm of government to shut down speech?" McConnell said.
McConnell noted that Humana, an insurer at the center of the controversy, is based in his home state. The company has been a large contributor to McConnell, donating $112,452 over his career, according to Eric Schultz, communications director for the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee.
As an alternative to traditional fee-for-service Medicare, Medicare beneficiaries have the option of enrolling in health plans managed by private insurers, which are known as Medicare Advantage plans. The government has been grossly overpaying those health plans, according to President Obama, members of Congress, and a variety of analysts.
Proposed health reform legislation would sharply reduce funding for Medicare Advantage plans, and the insurance industry has been battling to prevent that from happening. The bill unveiled last week by Sen. Max Baucus (D-Mont.), chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, would directly cut payments to Medicare Advantage plans by an estimated $123 billion over 10 years, and it would indirectly reduce funding for those plans by another $15.6 billion, according to the Congressional Budget Office.
The big insurer Humana triggered the HHS crackdown with a letter to Medicare enrollees claiming that health reform proposals could hurt "millions of seniors and disabled individuals" who "could lose many of the important benefits and services that make Medicare Advantage plans so valuable." The letter was sent in envelopes marked "important information about your Medicare Advantage plan -- open today!"
HHS wrote to Humana last week instructing it to stop the mailings, and it wrote to all Medicare Advantage plans Monday, saying "such communications are potentially contrary to . . . federal law." The government regulates communications between the health plans and their members.
Baucus had urged HHS to crack down on the mailings.
"It is wholly unacceptable for insurance companies to mislead seniors," he said in a Monday news release. "The health care reform bill we released last week strengthens Medicare and does not cut benefits under the Medicare program -- and seniors need to know that," he said.
The AHIP spokesman countered that if the proposed cuts are enacted, "seniors will face premium increases, reduced benefits, and, in some parts of the country, will lose access to their Medicare Advantage plan altogether."
Humana spokesman Tom Noland said beneficiaries "deserve to know the impact that funding cuts of the magnitude being discussed would have on benefits and premiums."
McConnell said it was a "common sense conclusion" that the proposed cuts in payments to Medicare health plans would lead those plans to reduce benefits.
Washington Post Staff Writer
The federal government has ordered health insurers to stop telling Medicare beneficiaries that proposed health reform legislation could hurt seniors and jeopardize their benefits.
The government might take enforcement action against insurers that have tried to mobilize opposition to the legislation by sending their enrollees "misleading and confusing" messages, a senior official of the Department of Health and Human Services said in a memo Monday.
The mailings in question urge enrollees to contact their congressional representatives and protest the legislation, the memo said.
A spokesman for America's Health Insurance Plans, the industry's main lobbying group, issued a statement Tuesday criticizing what he described as the government's "gag order."
"Seniors have a right to know how the current reform proposals will affect the coverage they currently like and rely on," AHIP spokesman Robert Zirkelbach said.
Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the Senate's Republican leader, denounced the HHS order as an attempt to squelch free speech.
"We cannot allow government officials to target individuals or companies because they do not like what they have to say," McConnell said.
"Is this what we believe as a Senate -- that this body should debate a trillion-dollar health care bill that affects every American while using the powerful arm of government to shut down speech?" McConnell said.
McConnell noted that Humana, an insurer at the center of the controversy, is based in his home state. The company has been a large contributor to McConnell, donating $112,452 over his career, according to Eric Schultz, communications director for the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee.
As an alternative to traditional fee-for-service Medicare, Medicare beneficiaries have the option of enrolling in health plans managed by private insurers, which are known as Medicare Advantage plans. The government has been grossly overpaying those health plans, according to President Obama, members of Congress, and a variety of analysts.
Proposed health reform legislation would sharply reduce funding for Medicare Advantage plans, and the insurance industry has been battling to prevent that from happening. The bill unveiled last week by Sen. Max Baucus (D-Mont.), chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, would directly cut payments to Medicare Advantage plans by an estimated $123 billion over 10 years, and it would indirectly reduce funding for those plans by another $15.6 billion, according to the Congressional Budget Office.
The big insurer Humana triggered the HHS crackdown with a letter to Medicare enrollees claiming that health reform proposals could hurt "millions of seniors and disabled individuals" who "could lose many of the important benefits and services that make Medicare Advantage plans so valuable." The letter was sent in envelopes marked "important information about your Medicare Advantage plan -- open today!"
HHS wrote to Humana last week instructing it to stop the mailings, and it wrote to all Medicare Advantage plans Monday, saying "such communications are potentially contrary to . . . federal law." The government regulates communications between the health plans and their members.
Baucus had urged HHS to crack down on the mailings.
"It is wholly unacceptable for insurance companies to mislead seniors," he said in a Monday news release. "The health care reform bill we released last week strengthens Medicare and does not cut benefits under the Medicare program -- and seniors need to know that," he said.
The AHIP spokesman countered that if the proposed cuts are enacted, "seniors will face premium increases, reduced benefits, and, in some parts of the country, will lose access to their Medicare Advantage plan altogether."
Humana spokesman Tom Noland said beneficiaries "deserve to know the impact that funding cuts of the magnitude being discussed would have on benefits and premiums."
McConnell said it was a "common sense conclusion" that the proposed cuts in payments to Medicare health plans would lead those plans to reduce benefits.
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
YOUR OBAMA GOVERNMENT AT WORK - Good Grief!
Alan Note: this is how your Obama government handled relatively tiny "cash for clunkers" and you want them to handle our Health Care? Are you as nuts as they are?
YOUR GOVERNMENT AT WORK
Stung! Undercover celeb exposes Obama fiasco
'Milk it, baby – It's free money': You won't believe what happens inside Cash for Clunkers operation
By Chelsea Schilling
While President Obama delivers speeches praising the alleged success of Cash for Clunkers, a former rebate processor for the federal program – also working undercover for WND – is calling it "complete chaos."
After the federal "Cash for Clunkers" program ended Aug. 24, the Department of Transportation reported that nearly 700,000 clunkers were taken off the roads and replaced by more fuel-efficient vehicles. Rebate applications worth $2.877 billion were submitted by the 8 p.m. deadline. The Transportation Department hired federal employees and private contract workers to process the rebates vouchers so car dealers would be compensated.
Former White House aide Kathleen Willey was hired as an employee with Vangent Incorporated, a company that provides information technology management and business process outsourcing services to the public and private sectors. Its clients include federal agencies such as the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, the U.S. Departments of Defense, Education, Health and Human Services, Justice and Labor and the U.S. Office of Personnel Management.
But what her employer did not know was that Willey, the author of the book, "Target: Caught In the Crosshairs of Bill and Hillary Clinton," was also taking notes on all she observed and experienced for WND.
Kathleen Willey helped send President Clinton to the White House in 1992. Little did she imagine how the Clintons would repay her. Get Willey's explosive hit, "Target: Caught in the Crosshairs of Bill and Hillary Clinton," at WND's Superstore!
Vangent, based in Arlington, Va., secured a contract from the Department of Transportation in late August and earlier this month to handle 300,000 applications – or nearly half of all Cash for Clunkers vouchers.Vangent Vice President Eileen Rivera told WND the company hired at least 4,000 temporary employees in Chester, Va., Tampa, Fla., and London, Ky.
No work history needed
Willey processed the Cash for Clunkers vouchers at her position in Chester, Va. She attended a job fair on Aug. 31 and was hired through Astyra Corp., a minority-owned staffing company.
"We were told that we would be working on the Cash for Clunkers programming, examining all of the documents that the government had received from dealers all over the country," Willey told WND.
She said many of the applicants had never even heard of the Cash for Clunkers program.
"We were not asked for any prior work history," Willey said. "The job description was listed as data entry and called for the ability to type 30 words per minute. There were no job requirements actually listed on the application."
The form requested direct deposit information, signature on a confidentiality agreement and background check, tax information and two forms of identification.
Willey said, "Some people did not have two forms, and I heard one recruiter say, 'We will work with you on that.'"
She asked a woman who interviewed her what she would need to do before beginning her new position.
"When I asked if I needed to take any kind of test, the answer was, 'No,'" Willey said. "She told me to report for work the next day at 4:30 p.m. When I asked if I had to pass a background check before I started, she said, 'No.'"
However, Rivera said, "That's absolutely not true. Every single temporary employee who was hired went through a background check. If the background check did not clear, then they were released. They were not allowed to work on this program."
Barefoot and foul-mouthed employees
Willey said she was the only non-minority applicant in the room. While human resources required a strict dress code for the position, she said she was shocked by the clothing and conduct of other candidates who were interviewed:
I was the only one dressed for a job interview. Everyone else had on jeans and T-shirts. Most women wore flip-flops. One woman was barefoot. The women were dressed extremely unprofessionally, in jeans and very revealing tops. A lot of them wore T-shirts that barely covered their stomachs. What I noticed most were the foul mouths of everyone around me.
The next day, Willey reported that as many as 300 new employees attended orientation for new positions with Vangent.
"One of the first things we were told was that Cash for Clunkers will help the environment," she said.
One supervisor told the group, "The president has passed a good bill to do something good for the American people, but this program is a 'moving target.' Rules are changed daily."
A Department of Transportation webinar instructor repeated the statement about the program being a "moving target."
"He was obviously with the administration because he told us that the Cash for Clunkers program was a huge success for the country as well as the environment," Willey said. "He told us that we are dealing with 'three times the business in one-third of the time.' He also told us repeatedly that we were going to have to 'get out of our comfort zones' and be flexible.'"
She said she knew of only two professional trainers who had been brought in by the Department of Trainsportation to train everyone – supervisors, managers and employees. The supervisors and managers frequently contradicted one another and talked to the employees as if they were "in the first grade." The recruits were told they would soon receive photo identification badges.
A paycheck to do 'absolutely nothing'
The following day, on Sept. 2, employees waited outside from 4:30 p.m. until 6 p.m. to get into the building.
"Once inside, we waited another 30 minutes to sign in 'so we would get paid,' Willey recalled. "I noted that it was written on the piece of paper that our work day started at 4:30. We then waited in line at the 'badge table' to get our badges. When I got there, I had no badge. I finally got to my desk at about 6:45 p.m., where I sat with nothing to do until 10 p.m."
The employees waited for their user IDs and passwords to access the Car Allowance Rebate System, or CARS. Meanwhile, they were being paid $14.71 an hour "to do absolutely nothing," Willey said.
"There was not a supervisor to be found," she said. "Because I was bored to death, I read a newspaper and a book."
At 10 p.m., more than five hours after signing in, she said the employees were still being paid to remain idle. Willey and another employee went to find a supervisor.
"When we finally found one, we told her we wanted our user IDs and passwords so we could get to work, but she was too busy ordering out," she said. "At 10:20 p.m., we finally tracked down someone who had a list of our user IDs and passwords. I tried to get in and was ultimately locked out of the system. At 11:30 p.m., I found another supervisor and told her my problem. She told us she would look into it, but we couldn't find her again. We were told to go home at midnight, but that we should put 12:30 a.m. on our timesheets."
Rivera told WND, "It's very likely that she went through four or five hours of training. There was about two or three hours of onboarding to make sure that they were familiar with what they were about to be doing. A lot of employees all had to be trained at the same time, and there were different waves of that process that were going on."
Willey stopped by the security room to request her badge before leaving. A woman told her the badges were ready but that she could not have hers yet.
"I told her that we were told that we would have to wait another hour and a half the next day to get in, and I asked if she would reconsider giving them to us," Willey recalled. "She told me, 'No, because there were four bags of them,' and she didn't want to go through the bags. I asked if we could look ourselves or help her look because we wanted to get into the building to start working, but she again said, 'No.' When I asked why, she said, 'No.'"
More trouble with federal CARS system
On Sept. 3, Willey said she waited almost two hours to get into the building and collect her badge.
"Once again, I was unable to sign in to CARS," she reported. "My desk was filthy. On my way to the bathroom to get paper towels to clean my desk, I went in search of a supervisor to ask for help with signing in. When I finally found one, he told me that he couldn't help me and I should go to the other side and look for help. I finally found one who took my name and said he would check on it and that he would be back."
Willey went to the restroom to gather paper towels to clean her desk. When she arrived, she said she was shocked at the condition of the facility.
"I found overflowing toilets and vomit all over the floor," she said.
At 9:15 p.m., Willey was still waiting for help to access the CARS system.
"Despite all of my efforts to find help, I found myself sitting at my desk with absolutely nothing to do," she said. "Most everyone around me seemed to have no problem with that. I finally started reading my newspaper while I waited."
Suddenly, she said, a supervisor appeared and admonished her for reading at her desk.
"When I tried to explain to her that there was no work and that I had nothing to do but stare at a blank screen, she ordered me to put my paper away," Willey said. "When I asked her if she would help me get into the system, she told me she could not. I folded my newspaper and put it on my desk. She reappeared and yelled at me to remove it from the top of my desk, saying that newspapers, books, etc., are not allowed on your desk."
Another supervisor appeared to help the employees with the computer problem.
"I finally got in, but was immediately locked out again," she said. "She was gone and could never be found again. My friend and I finally figured out by ourselves how to get in and stay in."
Once in the CARS system, employees were told to send an e-mail requesting assignments. Willey waited for work until 11:50 p.m., when she approved her first transaction. She ended the shift and left work only 50 minutes later.
Free money!
During a 37.5-hour work week, Willey reported actually working only 14 hours – but she was paid for more than 37 hours of work.
"Two of those nights, I had no work at all," she said. "On those two evenings, when I left, I complained to two different supervisors and I got two different responses: 'Milk it, baby!' and 'Free money!'"
YOUR GOVERNMENT AT WORK
Stung! Undercover celeb exposes Obama fiasco
'Milk it, baby – It's free money': You won't believe what happens inside Cash for Clunkers operation
By Chelsea Schilling
While President Obama delivers speeches praising the alleged success of Cash for Clunkers, a former rebate processor for the federal program – also working undercover for WND – is calling it "complete chaos."
After the federal "Cash for Clunkers" program ended Aug. 24, the Department of Transportation reported that nearly 700,000 clunkers were taken off the roads and replaced by more fuel-efficient vehicles. Rebate applications worth $2.877 billion were submitted by the 8 p.m. deadline. The Transportation Department hired federal employees and private contract workers to process the rebates vouchers so car dealers would be compensated.
Former White House aide Kathleen Willey was hired as an employee with Vangent Incorporated, a company that provides information technology management and business process outsourcing services to the public and private sectors. Its clients include federal agencies such as the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, the U.S. Departments of Defense, Education, Health and Human Services, Justice and Labor and the U.S. Office of Personnel Management.
But what her employer did not know was that Willey, the author of the book, "Target: Caught In the Crosshairs of Bill and Hillary Clinton," was also taking notes on all she observed and experienced for WND.
Kathleen Willey helped send President Clinton to the White House in 1992. Little did she imagine how the Clintons would repay her. Get Willey's explosive hit, "Target: Caught in the Crosshairs of Bill and Hillary Clinton," at WND's Superstore!
Vangent, based in Arlington, Va., secured a contract from the Department of Transportation in late August and earlier this month to handle 300,000 applications – or nearly half of all Cash for Clunkers vouchers.Vangent Vice President Eileen Rivera told WND the company hired at least 4,000 temporary employees in Chester, Va., Tampa, Fla., and London, Ky.
No work history needed
Willey processed the Cash for Clunkers vouchers at her position in Chester, Va. She attended a job fair on Aug. 31 and was hired through Astyra Corp., a minority-owned staffing company.
"We were told that we would be working on the Cash for Clunkers programming, examining all of the documents that the government had received from dealers all over the country," Willey told WND.
She said many of the applicants had never even heard of the Cash for Clunkers program.
"We were not asked for any prior work history," Willey said. "The job description was listed as data entry and called for the ability to type 30 words per minute. There were no job requirements actually listed on the application."
The form requested direct deposit information, signature on a confidentiality agreement and background check, tax information and two forms of identification.
Willey said, "Some people did not have two forms, and I heard one recruiter say, 'We will work with you on that.'"
She asked a woman who interviewed her what she would need to do before beginning her new position.
"When I asked if I needed to take any kind of test, the answer was, 'No,'" Willey said. "She told me to report for work the next day at 4:30 p.m. When I asked if I had to pass a background check before I started, she said, 'No.'"
However, Rivera said, "That's absolutely not true. Every single temporary employee who was hired went through a background check. If the background check did not clear, then they were released. They were not allowed to work on this program."
Barefoot and foul-mouthed employees
Willey said she was the only non-minority applicant in the room. While human resources required a strict dress code for the position, she said she was shocked by the clothing and conduct of other candidates who were interviewed:
I was the only one dressed for a job interview. Everyone else had on jeans and T-shirts. Most women wore flip-flops. One woman was barefoot. The women were dressed extremely unprofessionally, in jeans and very revealing tops. A lot of them wore T-shirts that barely covered their stomachs. What I noticed most were the foul mouths of everyone around me.
The next day, Willey reported that as many as 300 new employees attended orientation for new positions with Vangent.
"One of the first things we were told was that Cash for Clunkers will help the environment," she said.
One supervisor told the group, "The president has passed a good bill to do something good for the American people, but this program is a 'moving target.' Rules are changed daily."
A Department of Transportation webinar instructor repeated the statement about the program being a "moving target."
"He was obviously with the administration because he told us that the Cash for Clunkers program was a huge success for the country as well as the environment," Willey said. "He told us that we are dealing with 'three times the business in one-third of the time.' He also told us repeatedly that we were going to have to 'get out of our comfort zones' and be flexible.'"
She said she knew of only two professional trainers who had been brought in by the Department of Trainsportation to train everyone – supervisors, managers and employees. The supervisors and managers frequently contradicted one another and talked to the employees as if they were "in the first grade." The recruits were told they would soon receive photo identification badges.
A paycheck to do 'absolutely nothing'
The following day, on Sept. 2, employees waited outside from 4:30 p.m. until 6 p.m. to get into the building.
"Once inside, we waited another 30 minutes to sign in 'so we would get paid,' Willey recalled. "I noted that it was written on the piece of paper that our work day started at 4:30. We then waited in line at the 'badge table' to get our badges. When I got there, I had no badge. I finally got to my desk at about 6:45 p.m., where I sat with nothing to do until 10 p.m."
The employees waited for their user IDs and passwords to access the Car Allowance Rebate System, or CARS. Meanwhile, they were being paid $14.71 an hour "to do absolutely nothing," Willey said.
"There was not a supervisor to be found," she said. "Because I was bored to death, I read a newspaper and a book."
At 10 p.m., more than five hours after signing in, she said the employees were still being paid to remain idle. Willey and another employee went to find a supervisor.
"When we finally found one, we told her we wanted our user IDs and passwords so we could get to work, but she was too busy ordering out," she said. "At 10:20 p.m., we finally tracked down someone who had a list of our user IDs and passwords. I tried to get in and was ultimately locked out of the system. At 11:30 p.m., I found another supervisor and told her my problem. She told us she would look into it, but we couldn't find her again. We were told to go home at midnight, but that we should put 12:30 a.m. on our timesheets."
Rivera told WND, "It's very likely that she went through four or five hours of training. There was about two or three hours of onboarding to make sure that they were familiar with what they were about to be doing. A lot of employees all had to be trained at the same time, and there were different waves of that process that were going on."
Willey stopped by the security room to request her badge before leaving. A woman told her the badges were ready but that she could not have hers yet.
"I told her that we were told that we would have to wait another hour and a half the next day to get in, and I asked if she would reconsider giving them to us," Willey recalled. "She told me, 'No, because there were four bags of them,' and she didn't want to go through the bags. I asked if we could look ourselves or help her look because we wanted to get into the building to start working, but she again said, 'No.' When I asked why, she said, 'No.'"
More trouble with federal CARS system
On Sept. 3, Willey said she waited almost two hours to get into the building and collect her badge.
"Once again, I was unable to sign in to CARS," she reported. "My desk was filthy. On my way to the bathroom to get paper towels to clean my desk, I went in search of a supervisor to ask for help with signing in. When I finally found one, he told me that he couldn't help me and I should go to the other side and look for help. I finally found one who took my name and said he would check on it and that he would be back."
Willey went to the restroom to gather paper towels to clean her desk. When she arrived, she said she was shocked at the condition of the facility.
"I found overflowing toilets and vomit all over the floor," she said.
At 9:15 p.m., Willey was still waiting for help to access the CARS system.
"Despite all of my efforts to find help, I found myself sitting at my desk with absolutely nothing to do," she said. "Most everyone around me seemed to have no problem with that. I finally started reading my newspaper while I waited."
Suddenly, she said, a supervisor appeared and admonished her for reading at her desk.
"When I tried to explain to her that there was no work and that I had nothing to do but stare at a blank screen, she ordered me to put my paper away," Willey said. "When I asked her if she would help me get into the system, she told me she could not. I folded my newspaper and put it on my desk. She reappeared and yelled at me to remove it from the top of my desk, saying that newspapers, books, etc., are not allowed on your desk."
Another supervisor appeared to help the employees with the computer problem.
"I finally got in, but was immediately locked out again," she said. "She was gone and could never be found again. My friend and I finally figured out by ourselves how to get in and stay in."
Once in the CARS system, employees were told to send an e-mail requesting assignments. Willey waited for work until 11:50 p.m., when she approved her first transaction. She ended the shift and left work only 50 minutes later.
Free money!
During a 37.5-hour work week, Willey reported actually working only 14 hours – but she was paid for more than 37 hours of work.
"Two of those nights, I had no work at all," she said. "On those two evenings, when I left, I complained to two different supervisors and I got two different responses: 'Milk it, baby!' and 'Free money!'"
Monday, September 21, 2009
IS EVERY SENIOR OBAL OFFICE POSITION HELD BY TERRORISTS, COMMUNISTS OR COMMUNITY ORGANIZERS?
http://biggovernment.com
Sept. 21, 2009
Don Loos
BigGovernment.com continues to wake-up America to Obama Administration relationships with ACORN and Big Labor. BigGov’s latest story highlights Presidential Advisor Valerie Jarrett’s crew member Buffy Wicks who is the former political director of forced union dues financed WakeupWalmart.com (Wakeup). In the conference call, Wicks highlighted the important role United We Serve (Serve.gov) has in President Obama’s Organizing America strategy. See Dana Loesch’s article about Serve.gov directing volunteers to ACORN.
The Obama campaign boastfully promoted Wick’s moniker, “Buffy the Wal-Mart Slayer” that highlights her community organizing experience with Wakeup’s efforts to increase costs for Wal-Mart and the prices for its customers. However, the Obama White House press release tones down Wicks past position:
Buffy Wicks, Deputy Director of the White House Office of Public Engagement. Wicks has a long history in grassroots organizing and civic engagement. Most recently she was the Director of the Renew America Together effort, the call to service issued by then President-elect Obama. She also served on the Obama for America campaign in a variety of roles, including California Field Director and Missouri State Director, and helped develop the national grassroots field strategy. She has also worked in the labor movement, fighting for better health care and wages for disenfranchised workers. She is originally from California and graduated with a double major in Political Science and History from the University of Washington.
Sept. 21, 2009
Don Loos
BigGovernment.com continues to wake-up America to Obama Administration relationships with ACORN and Big Labor. BigGov’s latest story highlights Presidential Advisor Valerie Jarrett’s crew member Buffy Wicks who is the former political director of forced union dues financed WakeupWalmart.com (Wakeup). In the conference call, Wicks highlighted the important role United We Serve (Serve.gov) has in President Obama’s Organizing America strategy. See Dana Loesch’s article about Serve.gov directing volunteers to ACORN.
The Obama campaign boastfully promoted Wick’s moniker, “Buffy the Wal-Mart Slayer” that highlights her community organizing experience with Wakeup’s efforts to increase costs for Wal-Mart and the prices for its customers. However, the Obama White House press release tones down Wicks past position:
Buffy Wicks, Deputy Director of the White House Office of Public Engagement. Wicks has a long history in grassroots organizing and civic engagement. Most recently she was the Director of the Renew America Together effort, the call to service issued by then President-elect Obama. She also served on the Obama for America campaign in a variety of roles, including California Field Director and Missouri State Director, and helped develop the national grassroots field strategy. She has also worked in the labor movement, fighting for better health care and wages for disenfranchised workers. She is originally from California and graduated with a double major in Political Science and History from the University of Washington.
Saturday, September 19, 2009
OBAMA CRASHING AND PROBABLY BURNING
Dr. Barack JEKYLL and Mr. Obama HYDE
The backlash is sharp as voters learn that Obama is not the man they thought he was.
By Victor Davis Hanson
No one imagined that Barack Obama, during his first nine months in office, would be falling in the polls even faster than George W. Bush did prior to 9/11. We all knew what Obama’s weaknesses were as he came into office — a lack of experience in foreign affairs, little knowledge of how private business works, and poor judgment concerning the extremist company he had kept in the past.
But given the unhappiness over the war, the September 2008 financial meltdown, the animosity toward Bush, and the lackluster Republican campaign, millions of moderates and conservative Democrats were willing to give the unconventional Obama a chance.
Voters wanted political change — anything other than the status quo. They warmed to the idea that in their generation America would elect its first black president. When the most partisan member of the U.S. Senate started sounding like the least partisan, they believed him.
There was a sense of reassurance that Obama was a healer. He was a transcendent figure that would bring us together at home and make us better liked, and perhaps thereby more secure, abroad. People assumed that his easy rhetoric was not a result of studied preparation or superficial style, but a natural reflection of honesty and sincerity. So Obama was elected and enjoyed quite a 90-day honeymoon in an atmosphere of promised transparency and togetherness. A “god,” a Newsweek editor called him.
Now nearly half the country is not merely distrustful of him, but increasingly viscerally angry at him as well. Actually, “him” is a construct: At times there seems to be no “him.” Instead, the people don’t know whether the kindly Dr. Barack is their president, or his unpredictable double, Mr. Obama.
They never expected the president to show mastery of economic affairs or reveal much expertise in matters abroad, and accordingly were not disappointed when he did not. His critics concede that he inherited two wars and a dismal economy, though they argue that he may be making these bad situations far worse.
Instead, the real anger from independents arises over disappointment, false merchandising, and hypocrisy. It is real and deep — as is true of any animosity that arises from a sense of betrayal of former trust. You see, it took millions of Americans months of fair and judicious examination to conclude that Obama’s real weaknesses were his once-advertised strengths: He seems not a healer at all; he is not particularly sincere; and he is not especially veracious. Someone other than the man who ran for president is sometimes occupying the Oval Office: The present Mr. Obama looks and sounds like the old Dr. Barack, but he surely does not act anything like the candidate who persuaded America.
When thousands of loud protesters went to tea parties and town halls, the people wanted the self-advertised purple-state Obama, the old organizer, in good nature to laugh that he was being out-organized — not to unleash lackeys to call the concerned activists mobs and brownshirts. When the crude Rep. Joe Wilson shouted, “You lie!” the people wanted their transcendent Obama to remind us all that we should not sound off like either a Joe Wilson or a Van Jones, if we wish to engage in responsible debate. Instead, Obama went back into campaign mode, alleging fabrication on the part of his opponents, even as he fabricated many of his own talking points.
Health care would prove to be Obama’s perfect storm, bringing out all of these disturbing revelations at once. In serial fashion, Obama has accused his opponents of lying and distortion — and yet himself still cannot clearly demonstrate in detail whether our existing health plans will change, whether illegal aliens will be included in his reform, how we are to pay for this new entitlement, and why there is need for revolutionary change in the next 60 days.
Obama has given us several figures on the number of uninsured; they change weekly. There was to be a public option; now there is not; and then there is sort of not one. He knows no more than we do what exactly lies hidden in a 1,000-page plan.
Tort reform? Perhaps; but not likely; or is it suddenly kind of? A bigger deficit? Not by a dime — as if more people can get better coverage (remember no rationing!) at less cost. Billions in waste and fraud will soon be saved to pay the costs — if so, why not right now and banked instead?
In almost every statement on health care, Obama uses the conditional or optative mood (may, could, would, should, etc.). And for good reason: When he resorts to the indicative mood of fact he is rarely being fully truthful. The problem is existential: The American people like their health-care system and want it at most only tweaked. All the invocations of God, threats, distortion, and assigning of guilt over the dead to come cannot make them accept in a democracy what they do not trust or want.
The backlash is sharp as voters learn that Obama is not the man they thought he was.
By Victor Davis Hanson
No one imagined that Barack Obama, during his first nine months in office, would be falling in the polls even faster than George W. Bush did prior to 9/11. We all knew what Obama’s weaknesses were as he came into office — a lack of experience in foreign affairs, little knowledge of how private business works, and poor judgment concerning the extremist company he had kept in the past.
But given the unhappiness over the war, the September 2008 financial meltdown, the animosity toward Bush, and the lackluster Republican campaign, millions of moderates and conservative Democrats were willing to give the unconventional Obama a chance.
Voters wanted political change — anything other than the status quo. They warmed to the idea that in their generation America would elect its first black president. When the most partisan member of the U.S. Senate started sounding like the least partisan, they believed him.
There was a sense of reassurance that Obama was a healer. He was a transcendent figure that would bring us together at home and make us better liked, and perhaps thereby more secure, abroad. People assumed that his easy rhetoric was not a result of studied preparation or superficial style, but a natural reflection of honesty and sincerity. So Obama was elected and enjoyed quite a 90-day honeymoon in an atmosphere of promised transparency and togetherness. A “god,” a Newsweek editor called him.
Now nearly half the country is not merely distrustful of him, but increasingly viscerally angry at him as well. Actually, “him” is a construct: At times there seems to be no “him.” Instead, the people don’t know whether the kindly Dr. Barack is their president, or his unpredictable double, Mr. Obama.
They never expected the president to show mastery of economic affairs or reveal much expertise in matters abroad, and accordingly were not disappointed when he did not. His critics concede that he inherited two wars and a dismal economy, though they argue that he may be making these bad situations far worse.
Instead, the real anger from independents arises over disappointment, false merchandising, and hypocrisy. It is real and deep — as is true of any animosity that arises from a sense of betrayal of former trust. You see, it took millions of Americans months of fair and judicious examination to conclude that Obama’s real weaknesses were his once-advertised strengths: He seems not a healer at all; he is not particularly sincere; and he is not especially veracious. Someone other than the man who ran for president is sometimes occupying the Oval Office: The present Mr. Obama looks and sounds like the old Dr. Barack, but he surely does not act anything like the candidate who persuaded America.
When thousands of loud protesters went to tea parties and town halls, the people wanted the self-advertised purple-state Obama, the old organizer, in good nature to laugh that he was being out-organized — not to unleash lackeys to call the concerned activists mobs and brownshirts. When the crude Rep. Joe Wilson shouted, “You lie!” the people wanted their transcendent Obama to remind us all that we should not sound off like either a Joe Wilson or a Van Jones, if we wish to engage in responsible debate. Instead, Obama went back into campaign mode, alleging fabrication on the part of his opponents, even as he fabricated many of his own talking points.
Health care would prove to be Obama’s perfect storm, bringing out all of these disturbing revelations at once. In serial fashion, Obama has accused his opponents of lying and distortion — and yet himself still cannot clearly demonstrate in detail whether our existing health plans will change, whether illegal aliens will be included in his reform, how we are to pay for this new entitlement, and why there is need for revolutionary change in the next 60 days.
Obama has given us several figures on the number of uninsured; they change weekly. There was to be a public option; now there is not; and then there is sort of not one. He knows no more than we do what exactly lies hidden in a 1,000-page plan.
Tort reform? Perhaps; but not likely; or is it suddenly kind of? A bigger deficit? Not by a dime — as if more people can get better coverage (remember no rationing!) at less cost. Billions in waste and fraud will soon be saved to pay the costs — if so, why not right now and banked instead?
In almost every statement on health care, Obama uses the conditional or optative mood (may, could, would, should, etc.). And for good reason: When he resorts to the indicative mood of fact he is rarely being fully truthful. The problem is existential: The American people like their health-care system and want it at most only tweaked. All the invocations of God, threats, distortion, and assigning of guilt over the dead to come cannot make them accept in a democracy what they do not trust or want.
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
Monday, September 14, 2009
Saturday, September 12, 2009
OBA-MATHEMATICS! FRIVOLOUS LY WASTING YOUR MONEY!
A vehicle at 15 mpg and 12,000 miles per year uses 800 gallons a year of gasoline.
A vehicle at 25 mpg and 12,000 miles per year uses 480 gallons a year.
So, the average clunker transaction will reduce US gasoline consumption by 320 gallons per year.
They claim 700,000 vehicles – so that's 224 million gallons / year.
That equates to a bit over 5 million barrels of oil.
5 million barr els of oil is about ¼ of one day's US consumption.
And, 5 million barrels of oil costs about $350 million dollars at $75/bbl.
So, we all contributed to spending $3 billion to save $350 million.
How good a deal was that ???
They'll probably do a great job with health care though!!
A vehicle at 25 mpg and 12,000 miles per year uses 480 gallons a year.
So, the average clunker transaction will reduce US gasoline consumption by 320 gallons per year.
They claim 700,000 vehicles – so that's 224 million gallons / year.
That equates to a bit over 5 million barrels of oil.
5 million barr els of oil is about ¼ of one day's US consumption.
And, 5 million barrels of oil costs about $350 million dollars at $75/bbl.
So, we all contributed to spending $3 billion to save $350 million.
How good a deal was that ???
They'll probably do a great job with health care though!!
Friday, September 11, 2009
SOVIET TYPE SUPPRESSING * THREATENING DISSENT/INVESTIGATION INTO OBAMA'S ADMINISTRATION AND IT'S ACTIVIST AGENTS LIKE ACORN
State's Attorney Considers Prosecuting ACORN Video Posters
Friday, September 11, 2009
Anne Kramer, Robert Lang and Associated Press
THEY WANT TO PROSECUTE THE VIDEO MAKERS NOT THE CRIMINAL ENABLERS WORKING FOR ACORN!!!!
On WBAL's Shari Elliker Show, calls for an investigation of ACORN.
The activist group ACORN has fired two employees of its Baltimore office who were seen on hidden-camera video giving advice to a man posing as a pimp and a woman posing as a prostitute.
Fox News broadcast excerpts Thursday from the video. The man and woman ask about buying a house and how to account on tax forms for the woman's income. An ACORN employee advises the woman to list her occupation as "performance artist."
Maryland ACORN board member Margaret Williams says in a statement that the employees "did not meet ACORN's standards of professionalism."
ACORN spokeswoman Sonja Merchant-Jones told WBAL-TV that she believes the video may have been altered to make the organization look bad.
The statement also says the video was an "attempt to smear ACORN" and that undercover teams attempted similar stunts in at least three other ACORN offices.
Williams said no tax returns were filed and no assistance was provided.
The Baltimore city state's attorney is considering prosecuting those responsible for taping the ACORN employees on charges that they violated Maryland's wiretap laws.
STATEMENT OF STATE’S ATTORNEYS OFFICE FOR BALTIMORE CITY RELATIVE TO THE ALLEGED BALTIMORE ACORN INCIDENT
Baltimore, MD – September 11, 2009 – We have received inquiries from citizens and the media asking whether the Baltimore City State’s Attorneys Office would initiate a criminal investigation for acts allegedly committed at ACORN offices located in Baltimore. The only information received in reference to this alleged criminal behavior was a YouTube video. Upon review by this office, the video appears to be incomplete. In addition, the audio portion could possibly have been obtained in violation of Maryland Law, Annotated Code of Maryland Courts and Judicial Proceedings Article §10-402, which requires two party consent.
If it is determined that the audio portion now being heard on YouTube was illegally obtained, it is also illegal under Maryland Law to willfully use or willfully disclose the content of said audio. The penalty for the unlawful interception, disclosure or use of it is a felony punishable up to 5 years.
The Maryland state prosecutor's office went after Linda Tripp in the 1990s on two wiretap charges. Tripp was accused of illegally taping a phone conversation with Monica Lewinsky about her relationship with then-President Bill Clinton and disclosing the conversation to Newsweek. Prosecutors decided to drop the case when Lewinsky's testimony was suppressed.
The video was shot by film maker James O'Keefe, who posed as a pimp who said he was going to run for Congress. The video also featured a 20 year old woman who posed as a woman named "Kenya."
The video appears both on You Tube and on the Web site of Andrew Breitbart, a columnist for the Washington Times and Drudge Report.
In the video, O'Keefe and the woman tell the ACORN staff that they are smuggling teenage girls from El Salvador to work as prostitutes. The ACORN staff tells them to list the girls as dependents, on tax returns.
The ACORN staff member tells the pair to train the girls to "keep their mouths shut" about what was taking place.
Republicans have criticized ACORN for campaigning for Barack Obama. The group has also been accused of committing voter registration fraud.
ACORN conducted a massive voter registration effort last year and became a target of conservatives when some employees were accused of submitting false registration forms with names such as "Mickey Mouse."
ACORN has said only a handful of employees submitted false registration forms and did so in a bid to boost their pay.
Today, on WBAL's Shari Elliker Show, Iowa Republican Congressman Steve King called for a congressional investigation into the group, which he says received federal money to support its efforts to help the poor.
Also today, ACORN has fired two workers in their Washington office who were seen on hidden-camera footage giving loan advice to a man posing as a law school student and a woman pretending to be his prostitute girlfriend.
Fox News Channel aired parts of the video and posted it online Friday. It shows a man and woman at the group's Washington office, asking for help in buying a house for her prostitution business. The employees advise her to tell banks that she's a consultant with her own company. They also tell the supposed law student he could buy the house, but to avoid going there because of his political ambitions.
In a statement, ACORN's president of housing and executive director say there will be an internal review.
Friday, September 11, 2009
Anne Kramer, Robert Lang and Associated Press
THEY WANT TO PROSECUTE THE VIDEO MAKERS NOT THE CRIMINAL ENABLERS WORKING FOR ACORN!!!!
On WBAL's Shari Elliker Show, calls for an investigation of ACORN.
The activist group ACORN has fired two employees of its Baltimore office who were seen on hidden-camera video giving advice to a man posing as a pimp and a woman posing as a prostitute.
Fox News broadcast excerpts Thursday from the video. The man and woman ask about buying a house and how to account on tax forms for the woman's income. An ACORN employee advises the woman to list her occupation as "performance artist."
Maryland ACORN board member Margaret Williams says in a statement that the employees "did not meet ACORN's standards of professionalism."
ACORN spokeswoman Sonja Merchant-Jones told WBAL-TV that she believes the video may have been altered to make the organization look bad.
The statement also says the video was an "attempt to smear ACORN" and that undercover teams attempted similar stunts in at least three other ACORN offices.
Williams said no tax returns were filed and no assistance was provided.
The Baltimore city state's attorney is considering prosecuting those responsible for taping the ACORN employees on charges that they violated Maryland's wiretap laws.
STATEMENT OF STATE’S ATTORNEYS OFFICE FOR BALTIMORE CITY RELATIVE TO THE ALLEGED BALTIMORE ACORN INCIDENT
Baltimore, MD – September 11, 2009 – We have received inquiries from citizens and the media asking whether the Baltimore City State’s Attorneys Office would initiate a criminal investigation for acts allegedly committed at ACORN offices located in Baltimore. The only information received in reference to this alleged criminal behavior was a YouTube video. Upon review by this office, the video appears to be incomplete. In addition, the audio portion could possibly have been obtained in violation of Maryland Law, Annotated Code of Maryland Courts and Judicial Proceedings Article §10-402, which requires two party consent.
If it is determined that the audio portion now being heard on YouTube was illegally obtained, it is also illegal under Maryland Law to willfully use or willfully disclose the content of said audio. The penalty for the unlawful interception, disclosure or use of it is a felony punishable up to 5 years.
The Maryland state prosecutor's office went after Linda Tripp in the 1990s on two wiretap charges. Tripp was accused of illegally taping a phone conversation with Monica Lewinsky about her relationship with then-President Bill Clinton and disclosing the conversation to Newsweek. Prosecutors decided to drop the case when Lewinsky's testimony was suppressed.
The video was shot by film maker James O'Keefe, who posed as a pimp who said he was going to run for Congress. The video also featured a 20 year old woman who posed as a woman named "Kenya."
The video appears both on You Tube and on the Web site of Andrew Breitbart, a columnist for the Washington Times and Drudge Report.
In the video, O'Keefe and the woman tell the ACORN staff that they are smuggling teenage girls from El Salvador to work as prostitutes. The ACORN staff tells them to list the girls as dependents, on tax returns.
The ACORN staff member tells the pair to train the girls to "keep their mouths shut" about what was taking place.
Republicans have criticized ACORN for campaigning for Barack Obama. The group has also been accused of committing voter registration fraud.
ACORN conducted a massive voter registration effort last year and became a target of conservatives when some employees were accused of submitting false registration forms with names such as "Mickey Mouse."
ACORN has said only a handful of employees submitted false registration forms and did so in a bid to boost their pay.
Today, on WBAL's Shari Elliker Show, Iowa Republican Congressman Steve King called for a congressional investigation into the group, which he says received federal money to support its efforts to help the poor.
Also today, ACORN has fired two workers in their Washington office who were seen on hidden-camera footage giving loan advice to a man posing as a law school student and a woman pretending to be his prostitute girlfriend.
Fox News Channel aired parts of the video and posted it online Friday. It shows a man and woman at the group's Washington office, asking for help in buying a house for her prostitution business. The employees advise her to tell banks that she's a consultant with her own company. They also tell the supposed law student he could buy the house, but to avoid going there because of his political ambitions.
In a statement, ACORN's president of housing and executive director say there will be an internal review.
Wednesday, September 09, 2009
265 SPEECHES IN 232 DAYS IN OFFICE! MORE THAN ONE A DAY! SOCIALIST THUG GIVES HEALTHCARE SPEECH with PICTURE INTRODUCTION
By Daniel Heller
Oops. I meant, the President. Sorry. But you have to admit the man can easily be confused with our Communist friend Fidel considering Obama has given some 265 speeches in his first 232 days in office. Some of us are still waiting for our mortgages and gas to be paid for by the President. Of course, (priorities, priorities) first comes healthcare.
Okay. His speech tonight: As classy and un-presidential as ever, he attacked and slandered those big, scary private American citizens on the radio such as Glenn Beck and Rush Limbaugh by calling them liars. Then he lied himself to the American people. That is, before he exploited the death of Ted Kennedy as an enchanting endnote to the 45-minute sermon, lecturing us on the moral imperative to seize the means and mode of healthcare production. Short and sweet, the speech was not.
Now, just to be fair, here’s one thing he didn’t lie about: “…under my plan, individuals will be required to carry basic health insurance – just as most states require you to carry auto insurance.” He’s only breaking his campaign promise not to raise taxes on anybody who makes under $250,000 a year here, and reversing his position against a single-payer system while running against Hilary Clinton. (That’s not really a lie. Just politics as usual.) In other words, you will be forced. Or you will be fined. You will face the full strength of the federal police. And if you resist, your life will be ruined. Obama said so much tonight. And we should give him credit for his honesty.
Rhetorically, here’s an interesting truth he used, and then twisted, to support a lie: “consumers do better when there is choice and competition.” So, true. But government price controls do anything but lead to free market competition. They destroy it. (And since when did Democrats start defending market competition and the profit incentive?) Want competition? Allow insurance companies to compete over state lines. Want lower prices? A “loser pays” tort reform would ease pressure off physicians to pay millions of dollars in malpractice insurance annually, the cost of which they pass, legitimately, off to the consumer. Considering we have a government of lawyers, tort reform’s not going to happen.
To top it all off, here’s the biggest whopper: “First, I will not sign a plan that adds one dime to our deficits – either now or in the future.” Sure. Senator Baucus’ healthcare bill only costs $900 billion—and that’s a conservative estimate. It’s more likely to cost over a trillion. Frank Luntz asked whether we want a government that has “the compassion of the IRS and the efficiency of the Post Office” to run our healthcare industry. Add a touch of Obama rhetoric that matches only El Jefe in its long-windedness, and you do start to wonder, should Obama just smoke cigars instead of cigarettes?
Okay. His speech tonight: As classy and un-presidential as ever, he attacked and slandered those big, scary private American citizens on the radio such as Glenn Beck and Rush Limbaugh by calling them liars. Then he lied himself to the American people. That is, before he exploited the death of Ted Kennedy as an enchanting endnote to the 45-minute sermon, lecturing us on the moral imperative to seize the means and mode of healthcare production. Short and sweet, the speech was not.
Now, just to be fair, here’s one thing he didn’t lie about: “…under my plan, individuals will be required to carry basic health insurance – just as most states require you to carry auto insurance.” He’s only breaking his campaign promise not to raise taxes on anybody who makes under $250,000 a year here, and reversing his position against a single-payer system while running against Hilary Clinton. (That’s not really a lie. Just politics as usual.) In other words, you will be forced. Or you will be fined. You will face the full strength of the federal police. And if you resist, your life will be ruined. Obama said so much tonight. And we should give him credit for his honesty.
Rhetorically, here’s an interesting truth he used, and then twisted, to support a lie: “consumers do better when there is choice and competition.” So, true. But government price controls do anything but lead to free market competition. They destroy it. (And since when did Democrats start defending market competition and the profit incentive?) Want competition? Allow insurance companies to compete over state lines. Want lower prices? A “loser pays” tort reform would ease pressure off physicians to pay millions of dollars in malpractice insurance annually, the cost of which they pass, legitimately, off to the consumer. Considering we have a government of lawyers, tort reform’s not going to happen.
To top it all off, here’s the biggest whopper: “First, I will not sign a plan that adds one dime to our deficits – either now or in the future.” Sure. Senator Baucus’ healthcare bill only costs $900 billion—and that’s a conservative estimate. It’s more likely to cost over a trillion. Frank Luntz asked whether we want a government that has “the compassion of the IRS and the efficiency of the Post Office” to run our healthcare industry. Add a touch of Obama rhetoric that matches only El Jefe in its long-windedness, and you do start to wonder, should Obama just smoke cigars instead of cigarettes?
Wednesday, September 02, 2009
VAN JONES PART OF COMMUNIST TAKE OVER OF THE USA BY OBAMA
A WND review of the 97-page treatise found that the manual describes Jones' organization as having a "commitment to the fundamental ideas of Marxism-Leninism."
"We agreed with Lenin's analysis of the state and the party," reads the
manifesto. "And we found inspiration in the revolutionary strategies
developed by Third World revolutionaries like Mao Tse-tung and Amilcar
Cabral."
Cabral is the late Marxist revolutionary leader of Guinea-Bissau and the
Cape Verde Islands.
WND previously reported Jones named his son after Cabral and reportedly
concludes every e-mail with a quote from the communist leader.
STORM's manifesto boasted, "We also saw our brand of Marxism as, in some
ways, a reclamation."
One section of the manifesto described of a vigil that Jones' group held
Sept. 12, 2001, at Snow Park in Oakland, Calif. The event drew hundreds and articulated an "anti-imperialist" line, according to STORM's own
description.
The radical group's manual boasted the 9/11 vigil was held to express
solidarity with Arab and Muslim Americans and to mourn the civilians killed
in the terrorist attacks "as well as the victims of U.S. imperialism around
the world."
"We honored those who lost their lives in the attack and those who would
surely lose their lives in subsequent U.S. attacks overseas," STORM's
manifesto recalls.
The White House did not return multiple WND requests the past few weeks
seeking comment on how Jones was screened for his position and whether the White House knew of his admitted radical past
Speaking to the East Bay Express, Jones said he first became radicalized in
the wake of the 1992 Rodney King riots, during which time he was arrested.
"I was a rowdy nationalist on April 28th, and then the verdicts came down on April 29th," he said. "By August, I was a communist.
"I met all these young radical people of color - I mean really radical:
communists and anarchists.
And it was, like, 'This is what I need to be a
part of.' I spent the next 10 years of my life working with a lot of those
people I met in jail, trying to be a revolutionary," he said.
"We agreed with Lenin's analysis of the state and the party," reads the
manifesto. "And we found inspiration in the revolutionary strategies
developed by Third World revolutionaries like Mao Tse-tung and Amilcar
Cabral."
Cabral is the late Marxist revolutionary leader of Guinea-Bissau and the
Cape Verde Islands.
WND previously reported Jones named his son after Cabral and reportedly
concludes every e-mail with a quote from the communist leader.
STORM's manifesto boasted, "We also saw our brand of Marxism as, in some
ways, a reclamation."
One section of the manifesto described of a vigil that Jones' group held
Sept. 12, 2001, at Snow Park in Oakland, Calif. The event drew hundreds and articulated an "anti-imperialist" line, according to STORM's own
description.
The radical group's manual boasted the 9/11 vigil was held to express
solidarity with Arab and Muslim Americans and to mourn the civilians killed
in the terrorist attacks "as well as the victims of U.S. imperialism around
the world."
"We honored those who lost their lives in the attack and those who would
surely lose their lives in subsequent U.S. attacks overseas," STORM's
manifesto recalls.
The White House did not return multiple WND requests the past few weeks
seeking comment on how Jones was screened for his position and whether the White House knew of his admitted radical past
Speaking to the East Bay Express, Jones said he first became radicalized in
the wake of the 1992 Rodney King riots, during which time he was arrested.
"I was a rowdy nationalist on April 28th, and then the verdicts came down on April 29th," he said. "By August, I was a communist.
"I met all these young radical people of color - I mean really radical:
communists and anarchists.
And it was, like, 'This is what I need to be a
part of.' I spent the next 10 years of my life working with a lot of those
people I met in jail, trying to be a revolutionary," he said.
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