Wednesday, January 15, 2014
Special Report U.S. Veterans Getting Gassed By Department Of Veteran Affairs
News Up Date ;The Dallas Department Of Veteran Affairs has authorized a group of veterans and related goons to follow harass, stalk and use chemical weapons on veterans using mass transit (Tractor trailers) on Americas highways.
In a wide open massive operation, using the cover of a program designed to target veterans (operation Vigilant Eagle. Dallas Department Of Veteran Affairs utilizing information it has on thousands of veterans with Gulf War Illness and Agent Orange as a result of petroleum and pesticide exposure during combat, is now using nerve gas in the form of out gassing pesticides off the back of massive vehicles on Americas highways.
The Department Of Veteran Affairs which has a reputation for being "passive aggressive with the help of local officials can now "gas" American Veteran's utilizing simple chemicals that when mixed with water "outgas" onto American Veterans that speak out about the Department of veteran affairs.
The American public in general is total unaware that this barbaric, and outlawed practice is being deployed against Americans in the United States.
These chemicals are slowly released from any moving vehicle that places itself in front of the car of the veteran, or the veteran walking and simply sprays repeatedly onto the body of the veteran.
The results over a extended period of time is a slow break down of the immune system of the person being sprayed. This barbaric practice has been outlawed by the United Nations and all civilized Nations
the use of chemical weapons against unarmed or the human population is forbidden in any way what soever.
the American media, is aware of some of the programs that target veterans, but it is not
clear to what extent if any the public is aware of the "gassing" of U.S.Veterans on American soil.
The heinous nature of the use of nerve gas or the "gassing" of human goes back to the days of the nazis and the use of gas on Jews in a horrible , diabolical inhumane, un Godly plan to attack the Jewish people. Acts like these should never be accepted or tolerated by any human beings on the face of the Earth.
Additional information suggests that these contractors, having unique military training and backgrounds are "deployed" utilizing pull travel trailers, rv's and nesting near in parks and at homes of paid supporters or other veterans with in the network.
Once this has been established these "contractors" slowly neutralize the "target" and then move on to the next "trouble making veteran".
They utilize paid criminals and transport in criminals from all over the United States, crime and auto accidents rise when these "contractors" make contact with an American City. Often times these contractors are accompanied by department of veteran affairs "police officers" or "agents" to give the operation a legitimate cover.
Example: these contractors will "swarm" a target to try to get the target angry or to fight back, at that precise moment the contractors will call the Police or local , State Police on the intended target.
Utilizing each other as alibi of good character and that the target was in fact the perp or trouble maker, this is repeated as needed until the target is arrested, or placed in a mental institution.
The use of strong chemicals that harm the nervous system depending on how long the "target" lasts cna cause in most cases collateral damage to by standers, pregnant mothers, elderly who might become confused or disorientated. Often times the organizing of the local criminals "educate " them on the fine art of counter surveillance, tracking, staging elaborate hoaxes, schemes.
The end commentary on this matter is that you have the slow attack not only on the veteran or target, but the Nation as a whole. Now you have a small group of rogues that are for hire that operate above the law.
The final question is how high is the authority that they operate under? and where does the command come from to use chemicals on U.S. Citizens come from?
This nation is crying out for courage and leadership , to be freed from the total and complete tyranny of a small few that have taken it upon themselves the attack Americans with impunity.
If indeed this is the case, then this is no longer America.
And all of its protected rights , indeed its people are on the verge of becoming nothing more than mere serfs, in other words a return to bondage as it once was when this Nation labored under the rules of the British Empire, the question now is which Empire will this Nation succumb to in modern day, due to the ceaseless,tireless erosions and assaults upon the greatness of this republic as a whole that is manifest thru our most precious belonging, the U.S. Constitution. Perhaps we need to take a long hard look at ourselves before it is to late for this great Nation.
God Bless this great Nation
News Update:
The Dallas Department Of Veteran Affairs, has been waging war against Joseph love a veteran located in Washington, D.C. for the last 5 years, temporarily living in Midlothian , Texas.
Joseph Love reports efforts by the Dallas Department of Veteran Affairs to try to gradually, disrupt his daily life and self employment efforts.
The Dallas Department Of Veteran Affairs has been under fire over the years for allegations of poor quality patient care, allegations of retaliation against veterans,various other serious allegations made by veterans against the Dallas Department Of Veteran Affairs
Joseph Love alleges that between the years of 1995- 2000 he was used in illegal drug testing programs conducted at the Dallas Department Of Veteran Affairs.
Joseph Love alleges that the Dallas Department Of Veteran Affairs employees, thru social media, lodges, utilizing local area Police Departments have wages a war against him for at least 7 years or more.
Love states that he has witnessed several Dallas Department Of Veteran Affairs Officials follow and track him using informants stationed in Midlothian Texas, around where he is currently residing.
Dallas Department Of Veteran Affairs employees have been following Joseph Love around Dallas Texas, to places like movie theaters, restaurants, even home depot located in Cedar Hill, Texas.
But Joseph Love stated that local Dallas, Texas Residents are sitting up and taking notice of the illegal activities and attempts to use illegal aliens, foreigns or immigrants from Countries like Albania, that appear to be using Craigs List, E Bay and other electronic means to track and try to harass Joseph Love. If targeted contact EBay, Craigs List Security file complaints , notify the F.B.I sooner or later they will investigate.
WARNING: If you speak up against the government do not use craigs list or ebay they use informants to target you for online fraud to try to drain your finances.
Beware Of Offers to sell you a car, motor home, organized informants will try to target you to commit wire fraud.
Beware the Government knows everything about you and will use anyone to try and drain your financial resources. Do not drink water , food from open sources.
Remember this is the Government and they can try deceive you by giving an illusion that they are many when they are few.
Warning:
Once you contact Federal Oversight Agencies , FBI ,Office Of Special Counsel , CNN or any other investigative agencies. You will be asked to act as bait or in other words as they change tactics, you will be asked to change tactics.
Federal Agencies are now have very creative ways to track and monitor the Department Of Veteran Affairs Police Misconduct. The arrogance of Rogue Cops is legendary. Rogue Cops, are blinded by their belief of being untouchable or all powerful. They are not, thats why they use informants, they cannot be in every place at the same time.
Thus change your tactics, have spare monies stashed and hidden, have safe places to go that they do not know about. Make them spend Government Money, or money from lodges, etc.
IMPORTANT: ALWAYS GATHER DATA: CAR TAGS, TEMPORARY TAGS ETC.
GET FACES ! AS THEY CAN BE RECOGNIZED LATER.
THEY CAN TRY TO CONFUSE YOU. BUT ZERO IN ON THE LEADERS, THE CARS YOU SEE REPEATEDLY, OVER AND OVER.
THIS INFORMATION CAN BE USED IN CIVIL SUITS AGAINST THE ROGUE COP'S OR GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES.
THEY HAVE PEOPLE THAT RAT ON THEM TOO!
LASTLY, VETERAN SERVICE ORGANIZATIONS ARE FILLED WITH SNITCHES, THE FEDS ARE TARGETING THESE SO CALLED NON PROFITS!
THEY SEEK ALL INFORMATION ON MEMBERSHIP, THE CLOCK IS IN FACT TICKING ON THESE ROGUE ORGANIZATIONS.
Pray, do not let their attempts to break your God Spirit affect you!
Psalms: 91
Love states that a few African Americans ,relatives of Dallas Department Of Veteran Affairs employees are attempting to bait Joseph Love by following him around in Dallas, Texas. Dallas Department Of Veteran Affairs employees have browsed the medical files of Joseph Love and have attempted to try to utilize personal knowledge contained in these medical records against him.
However, Joseph Love recently stated that he is has received steady confidential information from person working inside the Department Of Veteran Affairs that seem to paint a picture of desperation , and near panic from Dallas Department Of Veteran Affairs Officials. The Dallas Department Of
Veteran Affairs Officials are afraid of being arrested by Federal Officers, for among other things conspiracy, violation of Federal Labor Laws, Claims Fraud and Tampering, Conspiracy to commit murder and assault and other serious charges.
Sources from within the Department Of Veteran Affairs have confirmed that Dallas Department Of Veteran Affairs Officials have destroyed medical records and files of Joseph Love in an effort to prevent his medical ma practice from being fairly heard at the Board Of Veteran Affairs located in Washington, D.C.
Board Of Veteran Affairs employees have been holding his claim up using agents that work for the Disabled American Veterans a non profit and closely aligned veterans service agency that solicits money from the general public.
Love alleges that the Disabled American Veterans Shane Lierman has been working with the Department Of Veteran Affairs to illegally block the mal practice claim of Joseph Love.
Joseph Love stated that the Dallas Department Of Veteran Affairs employees are losing the public relations side of their vendetta and their heavy handed tactics are being seen by all of Dallas, Texas.
Joseph Love stated that this was/is his goal, to shine a bright light on those that would use Government funds to try to target and harass veterans that speak out against the Department Of Veteran Affairs, and that his monthly reports to Federal Officials regarding the identity of those individuals that are actively trying to harass and intimidate him.
See more proof of Dallas Department of Veteran Affairs employee misconduct.
next posting
Joseph Love
Author Of Hunted
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Saturday, December 28, 2013
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
Your request is being processed... Whole Foods Racist Announcement Mimics Walmart Case
EDGEWATER, N.J. — Police in northern New Jersey say a 14-year-old girl grabbed a supermarket microphone and announced, "All blacks leave the store."
The case is nearly identical to what happened on two occasions at a southern New Jersey Walmart.
Edgewater police say the new case is being investigated as a possible "copycat" situation. They say they were called after the girl made the announcement over the Whole Foods Market's public-address system Saturday afternoon.
The girl, whose name was not released because of her age, is charged with bias intimidation and harassment.
In the Walmart case, a 16-year-old boy faces the same charges after police said he twice ordered all blacks to leave the store.
Dancing With The Devil
This morning on moaning JOe : 4 White men laughing 1 Black man Eugene Robinson (poor Tiger Woods) meanwhile Pro Football Quarter back gets a complete pass, (wink,wink) Joe crows! all the women are calling me saying Tigers loss was a victory for women (huh?) But what about the white quarter back? the alleged serial rapist? where is the blanket press coverage on any white athlete? can we have some kind of news parity?
(1) Nora O'Donnell,Chuck Tod's school of shilling (conservative shill) same ole same, criticize Obama, etc. (hair weave needs tightening)
(2) Andrea Mitchell : Serious sometime real journalist, married Allen Greespan (yes THE Allen Greenspan, she advises Joe: Hey Scott Browns election was A FLUKE! (priceless) Joe, speechless.cant tolerate his dream (wet) being disturbed, Micca where are you??? think Joe is going to break down and cry.
Serious , poor Joe crows every morning on time like a country rooster, he preens and stares into the camera. Oblivious that his political house of cards is falling as fast as he builds them: Joe gets chills down his legs, when N.J. Gov. says he is cutting and laying off etc, yada,yada, the same ole con, same ole story,
here is the time line:
It goes like this Repubs get elected crowing we are the guardians of fiscal responsibility! Republicans, race bait, divide country, get into office, Republicans start a WAR somewhere, somehow, they love war!
cut, cut, entitlements! they crow! no entitlements! war debt is going ballistic, pentagon budget ballistic! Repubs, are elated!
Republicans , now bug eyed with power, crow: we are invincible! we have a permanent majority! Republicans are REAL MEN! wOw!
But...then, no, wait, no..no..see, we nooo,YES WE CAN don't unite! YES WE CAN! don't come together!YES WE CAB awww man! we are OUT of power?? (huh)
Enter Barack Obama:
Poor Joe, he is floored, he is in "shock" but wait, wait, we have Carl Rove! Fox Cable, he will save us da..da...more race baiting, YOU LIE! screams JOE WILSON..
Tea Party! created by the Repubs, Repubs pretend that they are separate group! (LOL)
Angry people (white) wear guns , scream nigger! racist signs, pretend that its not true(racist hand book deny deny) if caught blame the other guy.
Kooks wack jobs, roam the halls of congress, yelling screaming (where did they get the gas?) Bush had em all broke.
Sadly, Joe and others like them Dems included, do not quite get it! the country has been permanently damaged! Corporate America OWNS America! Corporation owns the Senate, the Supreme Court (repubs) they own it all!
The (middle class) is finished, Fox Cable, Joe, Beck, Limbaugh, Chuck Todd, Lieberman, etc..all do not understand, its over, yeah they might actually win an election. But then what?
Republicans are hoping to get back in power, just in time take credit for Obama's economic policies.
It would be funny if it was not so tragic! Repubs have used this same script over and over, now for decades, poor Joe, he crows REAGAN! IS IN NEW JERSEY!
Joe, Joe, my man, Regan is dead. we are now in the future, facing a deceptive and fearless foe (terrorist) you guys have created the perfect storm now, for REAL CHANGE. You have bankrupted the country, destroyed the savings on the middle class, destroyed the schools , roads (all on your watch) while managing to destroy and re-build an entire country (Iraq)
Now Joe, you sit there, face hanging out, grinning, hoping and praying that he American people will stay sleep long enough, for you to fool them again? you praise Hillary Clinton, wonder why? you tried to send Harold (call me) Ford to New York? Joe, Joe, tsk.tsk..your slip is hanging,Joe and the clock is ticking, the sand is running out.
Joe, the dad thing is you cant even see it coming, you and Newt, Sarah , Limbaugh,et al are so angry, so caught up that you cannot even hide your anger.
The country be damned! we want power! race baiting? got it right here! Macca (former Sen.Allen Virginia ) was just the beginning, we will say or do anything to get power!
Texas Gov. (Rick good hair Perry , screams succeed! Virginia Gov. bellows we honor the Confederacy (huh) where did that come from?
Carl Rove, still believes that he is "Grendel?" Fox Cable still thinks its a news organization and not the political arm of the Repub party.
Poor Joe, he can hardly control his glee, and that other guy Mike? this, clown is actually starting to believe the crap that flows out of his mouth?
Mike thinks like joe that they can some how capitalize on anti Obama , some say (racist) sentiments, that have appeared in as Mike says in certain areas of Penn. *chuckle* he like Joe believes that racist or bigoted sentiments will carry these States?
My question is this: did you not hear the N.J. Gov. say the head of the N.J. teachers union has prayed for his death?
Joe , do you not know that in your thirst for ,reclaiming power you have truly awakened the beast? Joe, I tell you what , the beast is loose and its hungry. Poor Joe, you wont see it coming again, but this time Joe, its over for your party,when you guys get elected and start that Reagan crap again . The same beast that you let loose on Obama, is waiting on you Joe, personaly , I think the Repubs need to heed the warning of that other conservative from Texas. Whats his name? he is always warning your party that you need to be responsible? Ron Paul! yeah that guy , Joe he gets it.
Meanwhile , Joe stop praising Secretary Clinton , its starting to look ..like..well, er..aww heck,can anyone tell yahoo ,Google to add Obama to the spell checker, I got Obediah? is that like a old slave name or something? chess anyone?
(1) Nora O'Donnell,Chuck Tod's school of shilling (conservative shill) same ole same, criticize Obama, etc. (hair weave needs tightening)
(2) Andrea Mitchell : Serious sometime real journalist, married Allen Greespan (yes THE Allen Greenspan, she advises Joe: Hey Scott Browns election was A FLUKE! (priceless) Joe, speechless.cant tolerate his dream (wet) being disturbed, Micca where are you??? think Joe is going to break down and cry.
Serious , poor Joe crows every morning on time like a country rooster, he preens and stares into the camera. Oblivious that his political house of cards is falling as fast as he builds them: Joe gets chills down his legs, when N.J. Gov. says he is cutting and laying off etc, yada,yada, the same ole con, same ole story,
here is the time line:
It goes like this Repubs get elected crowing we are the guardians of fiscal responsibility! Republicans, race bait, divide country, get into office, Republicans start a WAR somewhere, somehow, they love war!
cut, cut, entitlements! they crow! no entitlements! war debt is going ballistic, pentagon budget ballistic! Repubs, are elated!
Republicans , now bug eyed with power, crow: we are invincible! we have a permanent majority! Republicans are REAL MEN! wOw!
But...then, no, wait, no..no..see, we nooo,YES WE CAN don't unite! YES WE CAN! don't come together!YES WE CAB awww man! we are OUT of power?? (huh)
Enter Barack Obama:
Poor Joe, he is floored, he is in "shock" but wait, wait, we have Carl Rove! Fox Cable, he will save us da..da...more race baiting, YOU LIE! screams JOE WILSON..
Tea Party! created by the Repubs, Repubs pretend that they are separate group! (LOL)
Angry people (white) wear guns , scream nigger! racist signs, pretend that its not true(racist hand book deny deny) if caught blame the other guy.
Kooks wack jobs, roam the halls of congress, yelling screaming (where did they get the gas?) Bush had em all broke.
Sadly, Joe and others like them Dems included, do not quite get it! the country has been permanently damaged! Corporate America OWNS America! Corporation owns the Senate, the Supreme Court (repubs) they own it all!
The (middle class) is finished, Fox Cable, Joe, Beck, Limbaugh, Chuck Todd, Lieberman, etc..all do not understand, its over, yeah they might actually win an election. But then what?
Republicans are hoping to get back in power, just in time take credit for Obama's economic policies.
It would be funny if it was not so tragic! Repubs have used this same script over and over, now for decades, poor Joe, he crows REAGAN! IS IN NEW JERSEY!
Joe, Joe, my man, Regan is dead. we are now in the future, facing a deceptive and fearless foe (terrorist) you guys have created the perfect storm now, for REAL CHANGE. You have bankrupted the country, destroyed the savings on the middle class, destroyed the schools , roads (all on your watch) while managing to destroy and re-build an entire country (Iraq)
Now Joe, you sit there, face hanging out, grinning, hoping and praying that he American people will stay sleep long enough, for you to fool them again? you praise Hillary Clinton, wonder why? you tried to send Harold (call me) Ford to New York? Joe, Joe, tsk.tsk..your slip is hanging,Joe and the clock is ticking, the sand is running out.
Joe, the dad thing is you cant even see it coming, you and Newt, Sarah , Limbaugh,et al are so angry, so caught up that you cannot even hide your anger.
The country be damned! we want power! race baiting? got it right here! Macca (former Sen.Allen Virginia ) was just the beginning, we will say or do anything to get power!
Texas Gov. (Rick good hair Perry , screams succeed! Virginia Gov. bellows we honor the Confederacy (huh) where did that come from?
Carl Rove, still believes that he is "Grendel?" Fox Cable still thinks its a news organization and not the political arm of the Repub party.
Poor Joe, he can hardly control his glee, and that other guy Mike? this, clown is actually starting to believe the crap that flows out of his mouth?
Mike thinks like joe that they can some how capitalize on anti Obama , some say (racist) sentiments, that have appeared in as Mike says in certain areas of Penn. *chuckle* he like Joe believes that racist or bigoted sentiments will carry these States?
My question is this: did you not hear the N.J. Gov. say the head of the N.J. teachers union has prayed for his death?
Joe , do you not know that in your thirst for ,reclaiming power you have truly awakened the beast? Joe, I tell you what , the beast is loose and its hungry. Poor Joe, you wont see it coming again, but this time Joe, its over for your party,when you guys get elected and start that Reagan crap again . The same beast that you let loose on Obama, is waiting on you Joe, personaly , I think the Repubs need to heed the warning of that other conservative from Texas. Whats his name? he is always warning your party that you need to be responsible? Ron Paul! yeah that guy , Joe he gets it.
Meanwhile , Joe stop praising Secretary Clinton , its starting to look ..like..well, er..aww heck,can anyone tell yahoo ,Google to add Obama to the spell checker, I got Obediah? is that like a old slave name or something? chess anyone?
Your request is being processed... Tea Party Health Care Protests: N-Word Feud Still Rages After Video Discredited
Three Democratic congressmen – all black – say they heard racial slurs as they walked through thousands of angry protesters outside the U.S. Capitol. A white lawmaker says he heard the epithets too. Conservative activists say the lawmakers are lying.
What does the video show? Not much. Indeed, new interviews show that a much-viewed YouTube recording cited as evidence by conservatives was actually shot well after the time in question.
It was March 20, near the end of the bitter health care debate, when Reps. John Lewis, Andre Carson and Emanuel Cleaver say that some demonstrators, many of them tea party activists, yelled the "N-word" as the congressmen walked from House office buildings to the Capitol.
Stung by the charges of racism, conservatives and tea party activists insist it never happened. And one of them is offering big money if anyone can prove it did.
With so many media and citizen cameras at the demonstration, any epithets would have been caught on tape, says Andrew Breitbart. He's the web entrepreneur who released the video of ACORN workers counseling actors posing as a pimp and prostitute, and has pledged $100,000 to the United Negro College Fund if anyone provides proof of the epithets.
"It didn't happen," said Breitbart, who wasn't there. "This is 2010. Even a racist is media-savvy enough not to yell the N-word."
The dispute pits the lawmakers – one of them, Lewis, is a leader and survivor of 1960s civil rights battles – against conservatives determined to counter claims of racism within the predominantly white and middle-aged tea party movement. The criticism has proven a distraction to a nascent movement pushing a unified message of fiscal conservatism and limited government.
The issue still echoes in the media and blogosphere.
A fourth Democrat, Rep. Heath Shuler of North Carolina, who is white, backed up his colleagues, telling the Henderson (N.C.) Times-News that he heard the slurs.
A reconstruction of the events shows that the conservative challenges largely sprang from a mislabeled video that was shot later in the day.
Breitbart posted two columns on his Web site saying the claims were fabricated. Both led with a 48-second YouTube video showing Lewis, Carson, other Congressional Black Caucus members and staffers leaving the Capitol. Some of the group were videotaping the booing crowd.
Breitbart asked why the epithet was not captured by the black lawmakers' cameras, and why nobody reacted as if they had heard the slur. He also questioned whether the epithets could have been shouted by liberals planted in the crowd.
But the 48-second video was shot as the group was leaving the Capitol – at least one hour after Lewis, D-Ga., and Carson walked to the Capitol, which is when they said the slurs were used.
Questioned about using a video on his Web site from the wrong moment, Breitbart stood by his claim that the lawmakers were lying.
"I'm not saying the video was conclusive proof," he said.
Lewis declined to discuss the issue with The Associated Press. Asked whether the epithet was used, his spokeswoman said: "Yes. Congressman Lewis did hear the N-word yelled from the crowd."
Carson described leaving the Cannon House Office Building for votes and bumping into Lewis in the elevator. They chose to walk outside to the Capitol, rather than through the underground tunnels.
Conservatives say Democrats staged a march through a hostile crowd to instigate a reaction. Carson said there was no such plan: It was just the first day of spring.
Soon after leaving Cannon, "I hear someone say it," said Carson, a former police officer. "You see one or two tea party people kind of look at him, and then you hear it again as we're walking. Then we walk across (Independence Avenue), and that's when it starts getting deeper."
Carson said he heard it coming from different places in the crowd. "You heard it in spurts, in the midst of 'Kill the bill. Kill the bill.'"
"One guy, I remember he just rattled it off several times. Then John looks at me and says, 'You know, this reminds me of a different time.'"
Cleaver, D-Mo., was walking a distance behind Carson and Lewis. He says he heard the epithet and was spit on. Capitol police handcuffed a man after Cleaver said he was spit on, but Cleaver told reporters that he did not want to press charges. No arrests were made. The moment was captured on video; debate continues over whether it shows any spitting.
In a separate case, Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass., who is gay, said he was called "faggot."
On Fox News, Bill O'Reilly discussed the issue on four of his shows, beginning March 22. The first segment led with clips from the 48-second video and featured Dana Loesch, a radio talk-show host who accused the congressmen of fabricating their claims.
O'Reilly said, "Just because it's not on tape doesn't mean it's fabricated." A spokeswoman said O'Reilly thinks that something happened, but is not sure exactly what.
A few days later, Rep. Michele Bachmann, R-Minn., told an audience, "No witness saw it, it's not on camera, it's not on audio."
Only 22 seconds of video have emerged from the time in question, filmed by Lee Fang of the liberal American Progress think tank. His YouTube clip – labeled as being filmed about five minutes after the crowd rushed Lewis and Carson – has been posted by Breitbart and dozens of blogs accusing Democrats of lying.
Fang told the AP he was standing "pretty far away" across Independence Avenue from the Cannon building when he saw the crowd erupt, so he hurried over. Fang did not hear the epithet, but he said he believes it was used. "The hatred was palpable," he said.
Conservatives insist the absence of racial epithets on Fang's video and the 48-second clip show there was no hate.
"If it didn't happen on YouTube," says a regretful Fang, "it didn't happen at all."
___
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Howard Stern and woman with Negroe dialect
Note: The elongated head on this dude,I mean thru history the world has had to tolerate nose pickers like this , going back to the stone ages.
David Duke spoke about this type of guy, elongated head (wennie looking) anglo saxon...type, thinks that money gets him a pass.....dude , I would NOT want to wake up and be you ....I would kill myself.
David Duke spoke about this type of guy, elongated head (wennie looking) anglo saxon...type, thinks that money gets him a pass.....dude , I would NOT want to wake up and be you ....I would kill myself.
Monday, February 15, 2010
The Pundit Candidate: How Cable News Networks Are 'Being Taken Advantage Of' By Future Candidates
The fairness doctrine? Well you can just kiss all that goodbye. Seems to me that the only clear route to "change" anything is thru the projection of power!
I do not see any "power" being projected onto nobody in this "white house" the only "power" I see are the rapid departures of "anyone the republicans "reject" and say no to .
Never have I seen a more docile leadership, while it was refreshing to see the a couple of people try and speak out against the republican leadership. It would be a great start to see more of this administration stand up, stand tall before the American people.
Thats why I miss former President George Bush, he STOOD UP for what he believed in!
I wish that the Democratic Leadership, would hold press 2 3 times a week , en masse, all of them. Stand before the people and say " we will fight to the last man jack" for you!
The message! it was ..how you say it? to , civilized! yeah, and we are currently fighting for the very life and soul of this nation, and we are "civilized and dignified" while the other side are using EVERYTHING THEY GOT!
Democracts ..well its starting to look like the 'charge of the light bregade"
Lord, how I long for the real Democracts , that would take no bull......
well, thats it for me, back to my bowl of turnip soup.
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost
Sunday, February 14, 2010
In Black Caucus, a Fund-Raising Powerhouse
In Black Caucus, a Fund-Raising Powerhouse
By ERIC LIPTON and ERIC LICHTBLAU
Published: February 13, 2010
WASHINGTON — When the Congressional Black Caucus wanted to pay off the mortgage on its foundation’s stately 1930s redbrick headquarters on Embassy Row, it turned to a familiar roster of friends: corporate backers like Wal-Mart, AT&T, General Motors, Coca-Cola and Altria, the nation’s largest tobacco company.
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Congressional Black Caucus members at a gospel event at the September 2007 conference.
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Caucus members accepting a donation to the foundation from Eli Lilly, the pharmaceutical giant and a major contributor.
Soon enough, in 2008, a jazz band was playing at what amounted to a mortgage-burning party for the $4 million town house.
Most political groups in Washington would have been barred by law from accepting that kind of direct aid from corporations. But by taking advantage of political finance laws, the caucus has built a fund-raising juggernaut unlike anything else in town.
It has a traditional political fund-raising arm subject to federal rules. But it also has a network of nonprofit groups and charities that allow it to collect unlimited amounts of money from corporations and labor unions.
From 2004 to 2008, the Congressional Black Caucus’s political and charitable wings took in at least $55 million in corporate and union contributions, according to an analysis by The New York Times, an impressive amount even by the standards of a Washington awash in cash. Only $1 million of that went to the caucus’s political action committee; the rest poured into the largely unregulated nonprofit network. (Data for 2009 is not available.)
The caucus says its nonprofit groups are intended to help disadvantaged African-Americans by providing scholarships and internships to students, researching policy and holding seminars on topics like healthy living.
But the bulk of the money has been spent on elaborate conventions that have become a high point of the Washington social season, as well as the headquarters building, golf outings by members of Congress and an annual visit to a Mississippi casino resort.
In 2008, the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation spent more on the caterer for its signature legislative dinner and conference — nearly $700,000 for an event one organizer called “Hollywood on the Potomac” — than it gave out in scholarships, federal tax records show.
At the galas, lobbyists and executives who give to caucus charities get to mingle with lawmakers. They also get seats on committees the caucus has set up to help members of Congress decide what positions to take on the issues of the day. Indeed, the nonprofit groups and the political wing are so deeply connected it is sometimes hard to tell where one ends and the other begins.
Even as it has used its status as a civil rights organization to become a fund-raising power in Washington, the caucus has had to fend off criticism of ties to companies whose business is seen by some as detrimental to its black constituents.
These include cigarette companies, Internet poker operators, beer brewers and the rent-to-own industry, which has become a particular focus of consumer advocates for its practice of charging high monthly fees for appliances, televisions and computers.
Caucus leaders said the giving had not influenced them.
“We’re unbossed and unbought,” said Representative Barbara Lee, Democrat of California and chairwoman of the caucus. “Historically, we’ve been known as the conscience of the Congress, and we’re the ones bringing up issues that often go unnoticed or just aren’t on the table.”
But many campaign finance experts question the unusual structure.
“The claim that this is a truly philanthropic motive is bogus — it’s beyond credulity,” said Meredith McGehee, policy director at the Campaign Legal Center in Washington, a nonpartisan group that monitors campaign finance and ethics issues. “Members of Congress should not be allowed to have these links. They provide another pocket, and a very deep pocket, for special-interest money that is intended to benefit and influence officeholders.”
Not all caucus members support the donors’ goals, and some issues, like a debate last year over whether to ban menthol cigarettes, have produced divisions.
But caucus members have attracted increasing scrutiny from ethics investigators. All eight open House investigations involve caucus members, and most center on accusations of improper ties to private businesses.
In Black Caucus, a Fund-Raising Powerhouse
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(Page 2 of 4)
For instance, Representative Danny K. Davis, Democrat of Illinois, once backed legislation that would have severely curtailed the rent-to-own industry, criticized in urban districts like his on the West Side of Chicago. But Mr. Davis last year co-sponsored legislation supported by the stores after they led a well-financed campaign to sway the caucus, including a promise to provide computers to a jobs program in Chicago named for him. He denies any connection between the industry’s generosity and his shift.
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Growing Influence
The caucus started out 40 years ago as a political club of a handful of black members of Congress. Now it is at the apex of its power: President Obama is a former member, though he was never very active.
Its members, all Democrats, include the third-ranking House member, Representative James E. Clyburn of South Carolina; 4 House committee chairmen; and 18 subcommittee leaders. Among those are Representative Charles E. Rangel, chairman of the Ways and Means Committee, and Representative John Conyers Jr., chairman of the Judiciary Committee.
There are hundreds of caucuses in Congress, representing groups as disparate as Hispanic lawmakers and those with an interest in Scotland. And other members of Congress have nonprofit organizations.
But the Congressional Black Caucus stands alone for its money-raising prowess. As it has gained power, its nonprofit groups — one an outright charity, the other a sort of research group — have seen a surge in contributions, nearly doubling from 2001 to 2008.
Besides the caucus charities, many members — including Mr. Clyburn and Representative William Lacy Clay Jr. of Missouri — also have personal or family charities, which often solicit donations from companies that give to the caucus. And spouses have their own group that sponsors a golf and tennis fund-raiser.
The board of the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation includes executives and lobbyists from Boeing, Wal-Mart, Dell, Citigroup, Coca-Cola, Verizon, Heineken, Anheuser-Busch and the drug makers Amgen and GlaxoSmithKline. All are hefty donors to the caucus.
Some of the biggest donors also have seats on the second caucus nonprofit organization — one that can help their businesses. This group, the Congressional Black Caucus Political Education and Leadership Institute, drafts positions on issues before Congress, including health care and climate change.
This means, for example, that the lobbyists and executives from coal, nuclear and power giants like Peabody Energy and Entergy helped draft a report in the caucus’s name that includes their positions on controversial issues. One policy document issued by the Black Caucus Institute last year asserted that the financial impact of climate change legislation should be weighed before it is passed, a major industry stand.
Officials from the Association of American Railroads, another major donor, used their board positions to urge the inclusion of language recommending increased spending on the national freight rail system. A lobbyist for Verizon oversaw a debate on a section that advocated increased federal grants to expand broadband Internet service.
And Larry Duncan, a Lockheed Martin lobbyist, served on a caucus institute panel that recommended that the United States form closer ties with Liberia, even as his company was negotiating a huge airport contract there.
The companies say their service to the caucus is philanthropic.
“Our charitable donations are charitable donations,” said David Sylvia, a spokesman for Altria, which has given caucus charities as much as $1.3 million since 2004, the Times analysis shows, including a donation to a capital fund used to pay off the mortgage of the caucus headquarters.
Elsie L. Scott, chief executive of the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation, acknowledged that the companies want to influence members. In fact, the fund-raising brochures make clear that the bigger the donation, the greater the access, like a private reception that includes members of Congress for those who give more than $100,000.
“They are trying to get the attention of the C.B.C. members,” Ms. Scott said. “And I don’t think there is anything wrong with that. They’re in business, and they want to deal with people who have influence and power.”
She also acknowledged that if her charity did not have “Congressional Black Caucus” in its name, it would gather far less money. “If it were just the Institute for the Advancement of Black People — you already have the N.A.A.C.P.,” she said.
Ms. Scott said she, too, had heard criticism that the caucus foundation takes too much from companies seen as hurting blacks . But she said she was still willing to take their money.
“Black people gamble. Black people smoke. Black people drink,” she said in an interview. “And so if these companies want to take some of the money they’ve earned off of our people and give it to us to support good causes, then we take it.”
Big Parties, Big Money
The biggest caucus event of the year is held each September in Washington.
The 2009 event began with a rooftop party at the new W Hotel, with the names of the biggest sponsors, the pharmaceutical companies Amgen and Eli Lilly, beamed in giant letters onto the walls, next to the logo of the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation. A separate dinner party and ceremony, sponsored by Disney at the National Museum of Women in the Arts, featured the jazz pianist Marcus Johnson.
The next night, AT&T sponsored a dinner reception at the Willard InterContinental Washington, honoring Representative Bobby L. Rush, Democrat of Illinois and chairman of the House subcommittee that oversees consumer protection issues.
(Page 3 of 4)
The Southern Company, the dominant electric utility in four Southeastern states, spent more than $300,000 to host an awards ceremony the next night honoring Ms. Lee, the black caucus chairwoman, with Shaun Robinson, a TV personality from “Access Hollywood,” as a co-host. The bill for limousine services — paid by Southern — exceeded $11,000.
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A separate party, sponsored by Macy’s, featured a fashion show and wax models of historic African-American leaders.
All of this was just a buildup for the final night and the biggest event — a black-tie dinner for 4,000, which included President Obama, the actor Danny Glover and the musician Wyclef Jean.
Annual spending on the events, including an annual prayer breakfast that Coca-Cola sponsors and several dozen policy workshops typically sponsored by other corporations, has more than doubled since 2001, costing $3.9 million in 2008. More than $350,000 went to the official decorator and nearly $400,000 to contractors for lighting and show production, according to tax records. (By comparison, the caucus spent $372,000 on internships in 2008, tax records show.)
The sponsorship of these parties by big business is usually counted as a donation in the caucus books. But sometimes the corporations pay vendors directly and simply name the caucus or an individual caucus member as an “honoree” in disclosure records filed with the Senate.
(The New York Times Company is listed as having paid the foundation $5,000 to $15,000 in 2008. It was the cost of renting a booth to sell newspapers at the annual conference.)
Foundation officials say profit from the event is enough to finance programs like seminars on investments, home ownership and healthy living; housing for Washington interns; and about $600,000 in scholarships.
Interns and students interviewed praised the caucus.
“The internship for me came at a very critical moment in my life,” said Ervin Johnson, 24, an intern in 2007, placed by the Justice Department. “Most people don’t have that opportunity.”
Still, Ms. Scott, the foundation’s chief executive, said that members of the caucus’s board had complained about the ballooning bills for the annual conference. And some donors have asked that their money go only toward programs like scholarships. She blamed the high prices charged by vendors mandated by the Washington Convention Center.
Legislative Interests
The companies that host events at the annual conference are engaged in some of the hottest battles in Washington, and they frequently turn to caucus members for help.
Internet poker companies have been big donors, fighting moves to restrict their growth. Caucus members have been among their biggest backers.
Amgen and DaVita, which dominate the kidney treatment and dialysis business nationwide, have donated as much as $1.5 million over the last five years to caucus charities, and the caucus has been one of their strongest allies in a bid to win broader federal reimbursements.
AT&T and Verizon, sponsors of the caucus charities for years, have turned to the caucus in their effort to prevent new federal rules governing how cellphone carriers operate Internet services on their wireless networks.
But few of these alliances have paid off like the caucus’s connection to rent-to-own stores.
Some Democrats in Congress have tried to limit fees charged to consumers who rent televisions or appliances, with critics saying the industry’s advertisements prey on low-income consumers, offering the short-term promise of walking away with a big-screen TV while hiding big long-term fees. Faced with rules that could destroy their business, the industry called on the caucus.
In 2007, it retained Zehra Buck, a former aide to Representative Bennie Thompson, Democrat of Mississippi and a caucus member, to help expand a lobbying campaign. Its trade association in 2008 became the exclusive sponsor of an annual caucus foundation charity event where its donated televisions, computers and other equipment were auctioned, with the proceeds going to scholarships. It donated to the campaigns of at least 10 caucus members, and to political action committees run by the caucus and its individual members.
It also encouraged member stores to donate to personal charities run by caucus members or to public schools in their districts. Mr. Clay, the Missourian, received $14,000 in industry contributions in 2008 for the annual golf tournament his family runs in St. Louis. The trade association also held a fund-raising event for him in Reno, Nev.
“I’ll always do my best to protect what really matters to you,” Mr. Clay told rent-to-own executives, who agreed to hold their 2008 annual convention in St. Louis, his home district. Mr. Clay declined a request for an interview.
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On a visit to Washington, Larry Carrico, then president of the rent-to-own trade association, offered to donate computers and other equipment to a nonprofit job-training group in Chicago named in honor of Mr. Davis, the Illinois congressman who in 2002 voted in favor of tough restrictions on the industry.
Mr. Davis switched sides. Mr. Carrico traveled to Chicago to hand over the donations, including a van with “Congressman Danny K. Davis Job Training Program” painted on its side, all of which helped jump-start a charity run by Lowry Taylor, who also works as a campaign aide to Mr. Davis.
In an interview, Mr. Carrico said support from caucus members came because they understood that his industry had been unfairly criticized and that it provided an important service to consumers in their districts.
While some caucus members still oppose the industry, 13 are co-sponsors of the industry-backed legislation that would ward off tough regulatory restrictions — an alliance that has infuriated consumer advocates.
“It is unfortunate that the members of the black caucus who are supporting this bill did not check with us first,” said Margot Saunders, a lawyer with the National Consumer Law Center. “Because the legislation they are supporting would simply pre-empt state laws that are designed to protect consumers against an industry that rips them off.”
The industry’s own bill, introduced by a caucus member, has not been taken up, but it does not really matter because the move to pass stricter legislation has ground to a halt.
“Without the support of the C.B.C.,” John Cleek, the president of the rent-to-own association, acknowledged in an industry newsletter in 2008, “our mission in Washington would fail.”
By ERIC LIPTON and ERIC LICHTBLAU
Published: February 13, 2010
WASHINGTON — When the Congressional Black Caucus wanted to pay off the mortgage on its foundation’s stately 1930s redbrick headquarters on Embassy Row, it turned to a familiar roster of friends: corporate backers like Wal-Mart, AT&T, General Motors, Coca-Cola and Altria, the nation’s largest tobacco company.
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Congressional Black Caucus members at a gospel event at the September 2007 conference.
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Enlarge This Image
Caucus members accepting a donation to the foundation from Eli Lilly, the pharmaceutical giant and a major contributor.
Soon enough, in 2008, a jazz band was playing at what amounted to a mortgage-burning party for the $4 million town house.
Most political groups in Washington would have been barred by law from accepting that kind of direct aid from corporations. But by taking advantage of political finance laws, the caucus has built a fund-raising juggernaut unlike anything else in town.
It has a traditional political fund-raising arm subject to federal rules. But it also has a network of nonprofit groups and charities that allow it to collect unlimited amounts of money from corporations and labor unions.
From 2004 to 2008, the Congressional Black Caucus’s political and charitable wings took in at least $55 million in corporate and union contributions, according to an analysis by The New York Times, an impressive amount even by the standards of a Washington awash in cash. Only $1 million of that went to the caucus’s political action committee; the rest poured into the largely unregulated nonprofit network. (Data for 2009 is not available.)
The caucus says its nonprofit groups are intended to help disadvantaged African-Americans by providing scholarships and internships to students, researching policy and holding seminars on topics like healthy living.
But the bulk of the money has been spent on elaborate conventions that have become a high point of the Washington social season, as well as the headquarters building, golf outings by members of Congress and an annual visit to a Mississippi casino resort.
In 2008, the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation spent more on the caterer for its signature legislative dinner and conference — nearly $700,000 for an event one organizer called “Hollywood on the Potomac” — than it gave out in scholarships, federal tax records show.
At the galas, lobbyists and executives who give to caucus charities get to mingle with lawmakers. They also get seats on committees the caucus has set up to help members of Congress decide what positions to take on the issues of the day. Indeed, the nonprofit groups and the political wing are so deeply connected it is sometimes hard to tell where one ends and the other begins.
Even as it has used its status as a civil rights organization to become a fund-raising power in Washington, the caucus has had to fend off criticism of ties to companies whose business is seen by some as detrimental to its black constituents.
These include cigarette companies, Internet poker operators, beer brewers and the rent-to-own industry, which has become a particular focus of consumer advocates for its practice of charging high monthly fees for appliances, televisions and computers.
Caucus leaders said the giving had not influenced them.
“We’re unbossed and unbought,” said Representative Barbara Lee, Democrat of California and chairwoman of the caucus. “Historically, we’ve been known as the conscience of the Congress, and we’re the ones bringing up issues that often go unnoticed or just aren’t on the table.”
But many campaign finance experts question the unusual structure.
“The claim that this is a truly philanthropic motive is bogus — it’s beyond credulity,” said Meredith McGehee, policy director at the Campaign Legal Center in Washington, a nonpartisan group that monitors campaign finance and ethics issues. “Members of Congress should not be allowed to have these links. They provide another pocket, and a very deep pocket, for special-interest money that is intended to benefit and influence officeholders.”
Not all caucus members support the donors’ goals, and some issues, like a debate last year over whether to ban menthol cigarettes, have produced divisions.
But caucus members have attracted increasing scrutiny from ethics investigators. All eight open House investigations involve caucus members, and most center on accusations of improper ties to private businesses.
In Black Caucus, a Fund-Raising Powerhouse
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Published: February 13, 2010
(Page 2 of 4)
For instance, Representative Danny K. Davis, Democrat of Illinois, once backed legislation that would have severely curtailed the rent-to-own industry, criticized in urban districts like his on the West Side of Chicago. But Mr. Davis last year co-sponsored legislation supported by the stores after they led a well-financed campaign to sway the caucus, including a promise to provide computers to a jobs program in Chicago named for him. He denies any connection between the industry’s generosity and his shift.
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Growing Influence
The caucus started out 40 years ago as a political club of a handful of black members of Congress. Now it is at the apex of its power: President Obama is a former member, though he was never very active.
Its members, all Democrats, include the third-ranking House member, Representative James E. Clyburn of South Carolina; 4 House committee chairmen; and 18 subcommittee leaders. Among those are Representative Charles E. Rangel, chairman of the Ways and Means Committee, and Representative John Conyers Jr., chairman of the Judiciary Committee.
There are hundreds of caucuses in Congress, representing groups as disparate as Hispanic lawmakers and those with an interest in Scotland. And other members of Congress have nonprofit organizations.
But the Congressional Black Caucus stands alone for its money-raising prowess. As it has gained power, its nonprofit groups — one an outright charity, the other a sort of research group — have seen a surge in contributions, nearly doubling from 2001 to 2008.
Besides the caucus charities, many members — including Mr. Clyburn and Representative William Lacy Clay Jr. of Missouri — also have personal or family charities, which often solicit donations from companies that give to the caucus. And spouses have their own group that sponsors a golf and tennis fund-raiser.
The board of the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation includes executives and lobbyists from Boeing, Wal-Mart, Dell, Citigroup, Coca-Cola, Verizon, Heineken, Anheuser-Busch and the drug makers Amgen and GlaxoSmithKline. All are hefty donors to the caucus.
Some of the biggest donors also have seats on the second caucus nonprofit organization — one that can help their businesses. This group, the Congressional Black Caucus Political Education and Leadership Institute, drafts positions on issues before Congress, including health care and climate change.
This means, for example, that the lobbyists and executives from coal, nuclear and power giants like Peabody Energy and Entergy helped draft a report in the caucus’s name that includes their positions on controversial issues. One policy document issued by the Black Caucus Institute last year asserted that the financial impact of climate change legislation should be weighed before it is passed, a major industry stand.
Officials from the Association of American Railroads, another major donor, used their board positions to urge the inclusion of language recommending increased spending on the national freight rail system. A lobbyist for Verizon oversaw a debate on a section that advocated increased federal grants to expand broadband Internet service.
And Larry Duncan, a Lockheed Martin lobbyist, served on a caucus institute panel that recommended that the United States form closer ties with Liberia, even as his company was negotiating a huge airport contract there.
“Black people gamble. Black people smoke. Black people drink,” she said in an interview. “And so if these companies want to take some of the money they’ve earned off of our people and give it to us to support good causes, then we take it.”
The companies say their service to the caucus is philanthropic.
“Our charitable donations are charitable donations,” said David Sylvia, a spokesman for Altria, which has given caucus charities as much as $1.3 million since 2004, the Times analysis shows, including a donation to a capital fund used to pay off the mortgage of the caucus headquarters.
Elsie L. Scott, chief executive of the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation, acknowledged that the companies want to influence members. In fact, the fund-raising brochures make clear that the bigger the donation, the greater the access, like a private reception that includes members of Congress for those who give more than $100,000.
“They are trying to get the attention of the C.B.C. members,” Ms. Scott said. “And I don’t think there is anything wrong with that. They’re in business, and they want to deal with people who have influence and power.”
She also acknowledged that if her charity did not have “Congressional Black Caucus” in its name, it would gather far less money. “If it were just the Institute for the Advancement of Black People — you already have the N.A.A.C.P.,” she said.
Ms. Scott said she, too, had heard criticism that the caucus foundation takes too much from companies seen as hurting blacks . But she said she was still willing to take their money.
“Black people gamble. Black people smoke. Black people drink,” she said in an interview. “And so if these companies want to take some of the money they’ve earned off of our people and give it to us to support good causes, then we take it.”
Big Parties, Big Money
The biggest caucus event of the year is held each September in Washington.
The 2009 event began with a rooftop party at the new W Hotel, with the names of the biggest sponsors, the pharmaceutical companies Amgen and Eli Lilly, beamed in giant letters onto the walls, next to the logo of the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation. A separate dinner party and ceremony, sponsored by Disney at the National Museum of Women in the Arts, featured the jazz pianist Marcus Johnson.
The next night, AT&T sponsored a dinner reception at the Willard InterContinental Washington, honoring Representative Bobby L. Rush, Democrat of Illinois and chairman of the House subcommittee that oversees consumer protection issues.
(Page 3 of 4)
The Southern Company, the dominant electric utility in four Southeastern states, spent more than $300,000 to host an awards ceremony the next night honoring Ms. Lee, the black caucus chairwoman, with Shaun Robinson, a TV personality from “Access Hollywood,” as a co-host. The bill for limousine services — paid by Southern — exceeded $11,000.
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A separate party, sponsored by Macy’s, featured a fashion show and wax models of historic African-American leaders.
All of this was just a buildup for the final night and the biggest event — a black-tie dinner for 4,000, which included President Obama, the actor Danny Glover and the musician Wyclef Jean.
Annual spending on the events, including an annual prayer breakfast that Coca-Cola sponsors and several dozen policy workshops typically sponsored by other corporations, has more than doubled since 2001, costing $3.9 million in 2008. More than $350,000 went to the official decorator and nearly $400,000 to contractors for lighting and show production, according to tax records. (By comparison, the caucus spent $372,000 on internships in 2008, tax records show.)
The sponsorship of these parties by big business is usually counted as a donation in the caucus books. But sometimes the corporations pay vendors directly and simply name the caucus or an individual caucus member as an “honoree” in disclosure records filed with the Senate.
(The New York Times Company is listed as having paid the foundation $5,000 to $15,000 in 2008. It was the cost of renting a booth to sell newspapers at the annual conference.)
Foundation officials say profit from the event is enough to finance programs like seminars on investments, home ownership and healthy living; housing for Washington interns; and about $600,000 in scholarships.
Interns and students interviewed praised the caucus.
“The internship for me came at a very critical moment in my life,” said Ervin Johnson, 24, an intern in 2007, placed by the Justice Department. “Most people don’t have that opportunity.”
Still, Ms. Scott, the foundation’s chief executive, said that members of the caucus’s board had complained about the ballooning bills for the annual conference. And some donors have asked that their money go only toward programs like scholarships. She blamed the high prices charged by vendors mandated by the Washington Convention Center.
Legislative Interests
The companies that host events at the annual conference are engaged in some of the hottest battles in Washington, and they frequently turn to caucus members for help.
Internet poker companies have been big donors, fighting moves to restrict their growth. Caucus members have been among their biggest backers.
Amgen and DaVita, which dominate the kidney treatment and dialysis business nationwide, have donated as much as $1.5 million over the last five years to caucus charities, and the caucus has been one of their strongest allies in a bid to win broader federal reimbursements.
AT&T and Verizon, sponsors of the caucus charities for years, have turned to the caucus in their effort to prevent new federal rules governing how cellphone carriers operate Internet services on their wireless networks.
But few of these alliances have paid off like the caucus’s connection to rent-to-own stores.
Some Democrats in Congress have tried to limit fees charged to consumers who rent televisions or appliances, with critics saying the industry’s advertisements prey on low-income consumers, offering the short-term promise of walking away with a big-screen TV while hiding big long-term fees. Faced with rules that could destroy their business, the industry called on the caucus.
In 2007, it retained Zehra Buck, a former aide to Representative Bennie Thompson, Democrat of Mississippi and a caucus member, to help expand a lobbying campaign. Its trade association in 2008 became the exclusive sponsor of an annual caucus foundation charity event where its donated televisions, computers and other equipment were auctioned, with the proceeds going to scholarships. It donated to the campaigns of at least 10 caucus members, and to political action committees run by the caucus and its individual members.
It also encouraged member stores to donate to personal charities run by caucus members or to public schools in their districts. Mr. Clay, the Missourian, received $14,000 in industry contributions in 2008 for the annual golf tournament his family runs in St. Louis. The trade association also held a fund-raising event for him in Reno, Nev.
“I’ll always do my best to protect what really matters to you,” Mr. Clay told rent-to-own executives, who agreed to hold their 2008 annual convention in St. Louis, his home district. Mr. Clay declined a request for an interview.
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On a visit to Washington, Larry Carrico, then president of the rent-to-own trade association, offered to donate computers and other equipment to a nonprofit job-training group in Chicago named in honor of Mr. Davis, the Illinois congressman who in 2002 voted in favor of tough restrictions on the industry.
Mr. Davis switched sides. Mr. Carrico traveled to Chicago to hand over the donations, including a van with “Congressman Danny K. Davis Job Training Program” painted on its side, all of which helped jump-start a charity run by Lowry Taylor, who also works as a campaign aide to Mr. Davis.
In an interview, Mr. Carrico said support from caucus members came because they understood that his industry had been unfairly criticized and that it provided an important service to consumers in their districts.
While some caucus members still oppose the industry, 13 are co-sponsors of the industry-backed legislation that would ward off tough regulatory restrictions — an alliance that has infuriated consumer advocates.
“It is unfortunate that the members of the black caucus who are supporting this bill did not check with us first,” said Margot Saunders, a lawyer with the National Consumer Law Center. “Because the legislation they are supporting would simply pre-empt state laws that are designed to protect consumers against an industry that rips them off.”
The industry’s own bill, introduced by a caucus member, has not been taken up, but it does not really matter because the move to pass stricter legislation has ground to a halt.
“Without the support of the C.B.C.,” John Cleek, the president of the rent-to-own association, acknowledged in an industry newsletter in 2008, “our mission in Washington would fail.”
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