|
CORRUPTION UPDATES 11 September 15 to September 23, 2006 The CORRUPTION UPDATES posts corruption news stories from California, the Nation and the World, and gives you the straight story. |
CORRUPTION UPDATE 11
Previous Corruption Updates: Page 10.
Next Corruption Updates: Page 12
Official's Letter Seeks Campaign Aid, Offers Confidential Talks
“The member of O.C.'s transit panel, seeking reelection to the Lake Forest City Council, says he shouldn't have combined both things.”
By Christian
Berthelsen, Times Staff Writer
September 15, 2006
http://www.latimes.com/news/politics/la-me-donate15sep15,1,2206519.story?coll=la-headlines-politics
THE ARTICLE SAYS:
“A member of the Orange County Transportation Authority board sent out a letter this week asking recipients to help raise $1,000 apiece for his reelection to the Lake Forest City Council, at the same time inviting them to hold confidential discussions with him about transportation issues.”
“Richard
Dixon said the link between the conversations and the
contributions hadn't occurred to him and that, in hindsight, he
regretted mentioning the two in the same letter.”
“"I
did not connect those dots when I sent that letter out,"
Dixon said. "I can assure you they have absolutely nothing
to do with each other at all." “
THE COMMITTEE SAYS:
PAY TO PLAY IN OC DENIED BY POLITICIAN AFTER EXPLICITLY LINKING INFLUENCE TO CONTRIBUTIONS:
Let us connect the dots for you Mr. Dixon: political “contributions” are, under the present system, payments for future actions. Mr. Dixon, whether he can admit it or not, was playing the game openly. He, like every politician, links contributions with influence, while denying the link between the two.
Mr. Dixon is guilty of, “conduct unbecoming a fake democracy,” or failing to maintain the lie that there is a separation, a difference, between “contributions” and political influence.
It's hard to believe in Santa Claus, the Cookie Monster, and a separation between bribes and payoffs, so how Mr. Dixon expects us to believe he did anything other than forget not to explicitly, publicly, link his selling influence with collecting “contributions” is beyond understanding. “Linking” the giving of money and taking of favors is the official definition of corruption. That's funny, considering the Acts of giving and receiving are inherently “linked”.
Mr. Dixon is only guilty of bad form. His crime is openly revealing how our “democracy” no longer is based on the people, but on bribery. How embarrassing.
For More on the Crazy World of OC politics Click Here!
A Tight State Senate Race With Loose Purse Strings
“Democrats, Republicans are expected to spend a combined $8 million for the Orange County seat, one of the few that remains competitive.”
By Christian
Berthelsen, Times Staff Writer
September 17, 2006
“The run for an Orange County state Senate seat is shaping up as the most competitive and expensive legislative race in California this year, with both sides girding for a vitriolic political battle”
“Since 1998, it has been held by Democrat Joe Dunn, who is leaving office because of term limits.”
“In one of many states where the electoral map has been drawn to make most legislative races highly predictable, this is one of a handful of those remaining competitive. Because Democrats hold a voter registration advantage of less than two percentage points and an additional 18% of the voters call themselves independents, both parties have targeted the seat as a top priority.”
“Still, the outcome will not change the ideological balance of the Senate, which will remain firmly controlled by Democrats. So the spoils for the victor in this race will primarily be bragging rights.”
THE COMMITTEE SAYS:
SAN DIEGO SENATE RACE DRAWS BIG BUCKS, BUT LITTLE DISTINCTION BETWEEN PARTIES:
This one is ugly. Really ugly. Only because there are no defining issues. Since neither party has been able to monopolize this particular district, both parties are pulling out all of the tricks. Their main trick is to tell us what they think we want to hear, rather than what they believe in.
The same marriage of corrupt political and economic forces that eliminated competitive political races across the State, (the alignment of big money special interests with the political parties), is now narrowly focusing itself to win this race.
We can expect that the pressing problems that Californian voters face will be ignored or mocked by slick, but superficial, media spinning. The character and beliefs of the candidates, if they have either, will be buried under a tidal wave of big-buck special interest sponsored spin and counter-spin. Any honesty in this race is being drowned under a flood of outside special interest money.
Rather than running on ethics or beliefs, both parties are putting up candidates that narrow the difference between the parties. Neither side wins even if they are victorious, because neither side was true to their ideals, if they ever had any. The important fact to note is that the voters are being intentionally offered less of a distinction, less of a choice, by both parties. The side that will win won because they confused the distinctions between the candidates, rather than highlighting them.
The San Diego Senate election demonstrates that the alignment of special interest money and the political parties guarantees that no matter who wins the election, the voter, and our democracy, will be the loser.
Meet the filibuster's cousin: The hold
By ANDREW TAYLOR, Associated Press Writer
Last Updated 5:37 pm PDT Sunday, September 17, 2006
http://dwb.sacbee.com/24hour/politics/story/3374841p-12416605c.html
“Welcome to the world of the Senate "hold," a first cousin of the better known filibuster. It's where a simple threat by a single stubborn senator to talk ad nauseam - at least until 60 senators declare enough - can bottle up a nomination or popular bill for months. A fax or letter is all that is needed.”
“It's so easy that at any given time hundreds of such holds are in effect.
To some, holds are proof the system is broken. Any senator who lodges one can do it anonymously, effectively becoming the secret assassin of a bill or nomination.
"The current use of holds is the most corrosive thing going on in the Senate right now," said Sen. Trent Lott, R-Miss., the former GOP majority leader. "The attitude around here has become, 'How can we keep anything from happening.'" “
“Wyden and Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, have been on a decade-long fight to make senators who place holds identify themselves. Wyden and Grassley won an 84-13 vote this year to end the practice of secret holds.”
THE COMMITTEE SAYS:
THE CORRUPT COUSIN OF THE EARMARK: THE “HOLD”:
This is bad reporting. The “hold” has no relationship to the open, honest, opposition to legislation that the filibuster represents. The “Hold” is the twisted sister of the “earmark”.
Democracy requires open government. The basis of open government is the election of representatives by their own voters, rather than as props for parties constructed of a Frankenstienian collection of special issue groups and opportunistic politicians funded by shadowy special interest contributions. Open elections must be followed by an open legislative process. “Holds” and “earmarks” are the products of a closed system where corruption is allowed to thrive.
We cannot allow secret “holds”, last minute “earmarks”, or deceptive “gut and amends” to continue polluting our legislative process. The source of these corrupt practices can be found by finding the beneficiaries of these corruptions: the special interests. The way the special interests pay for their corrupt “holds”, “earmarks”, and gutting of our polity is by bribing party and politician, across the whole political spectrum.
If we want to have honest, open procedure, we must have honest, open politicians. That will be impossible until we really have clean democratic elections. The first step, eliminating special interest bribery, is the biggest, and hardest step. But it will restore to us a treasure: a voter controlled democracy. Our democracy.
O.C. Transit Official Cancels Fundraiser Amid Controversy
By Christian
Berthelsen, Times Staff Writer
September 16, 2006
http://www.latimes.com/news/politics/la-me-donate16sep16,1,2665273.story?coll=la-headlines-politics
“A board member of the Orange County Transportation Authority canceled a planned political fundraiser Friday, one day after questions were raised about a solicitation he sent out offering confidential discussions on transit policy while at the same time seeking donations to his campaign.”
“In
a letter mailed to the roughly 40 lobbyists and consultants who received the original solicitation, Richard Dixon, the
OCTA board member and mayor of Lake Forest, said that its
contents were misconstrued. He said he did not mean to
suggest that recipients needed to "pay to play."”
“"Let
me assure you this was never my intent, and to apologize for
offending anyone," the letter said. "I think the best
way for me to set the record straight is to cancel my
fundraiser." The event will not be rescheduled.”
THE COMMITTEE SAYS:
PAY TO PLAY IN OC: FUNDRAISER CANCELED AFTER PUBLIC LINKING OF PAY FOR PLAY:
The solicitation of funds from, “...the roughly 40 lobbyists and consultants...”, and the denial, “...not mean to suggest...pay to play”, stretches the limits of credibility for intelligent observers.
The first reports about Mr. Dixon's solicitation of bribery, as reflected in the first article of this page, above, did not mention that Mr. Dixon offered his services directly to “lobbyists and consultants” as this report did. Shame on Mr. Dixon. And shame on the LA Times for the omission.
Your shame, Mr. Dixon, is in not being honest. First, by trying to sell yourself to the special interests, and Secondly, by denying it after you were caught. Let's honestly identify the problem, Mr. Dixon.
You tried to sell yourself because that's what it takes to obtain, and maintain political office. Then you tried to lie your way out when you were caught. We all know that this system is rotten. Few can find a solid ethical basis to guide the needed clean up. It's called democracy.
Let's clean up this corruption with democracy: Let's limit contributions to voters, only voters, and prevent political corruption from humiliating people like Mr. Dixon, and making millionaires out of people like Mr. Abramoff.
2 Tied to Abramoff Paid White House 100 Visits
“Records reveal regular meetings over five years with Grover Norquist and Ralph Reed.”
By
James Gerstenzang, Times Staff Writer
September 21, 2006
“WASHINGTON
— Republican activists Grover Norquist and Ralph Reed have visited the White House more than 100 times since 2001,
according to documents made available by the White House on
Wednesday.
The documents were released in response to
litigation intended to make public the participation in White
House meetings by people associated with convicted lobbyist Jack
Abramoff.”
“All told, nine people associated
with Abramoff or others linked to recent corruption scandals
paid 236 visits to the White House from 2001 to the beginning of
2006, according to the records.”
“The account
of the visits fleshes out well-established connections
between figures in the Abramoff scandal and the White House.
But it also suggests the regularity of White House meetings
involving Norquist, president of Americans for Tax Reform, and
Reed, former executive director of the Christian Coalition, who,
like Norquist, has long been active in conservative politics.”
“A Senate investigation reported in June that Abramoff worked with Norquist and Reed to help fund an Indian tribe's lobbying on gambling issues.”
(The
article goes on to directly link these visits to the White House
with meetings between Bush and Abramoff, Norquist, Reed, and a
host of other convicted political miscreants.)
THE COMMITTEE SAYS:
NORQUEST AND REED, AND A ROGUES GALLERY OF THIEVES, CONSULTING AT WHITE HOUSE WHILE ALL PARTIES WORKED FOR ABRAMOFF:
Ah, this article describes, but will not identify, the true and ultimate “Axis of Evil”: Wealth and Political Power combined with the justifying forces of Theology and Philosophy, all aligned to steal our democratic rights. That, my fellow friends of democracy, is the true “Axis of Evil”.
Our corruption directly spews from this unholy marriage of individual wealth, corporate wealth, and the power of special interests drawn together within a putrid framework of political connections and power, wedded to the false purveyors of spurious theologies and philosophies which justify them raping our democracy. These “players” are tied together by a web of corrupt self-interest. The only antidote to this festering corruption is democracy.
The next logical step for these political criminals is to use this UNAMERICAN MARRIAGE OF ILLEGAL POWERS TO TAKE AWAY OUR CIVIL LIBERTIES, monopolize their political position, and search us without warrants, arrest and hold us without cause, and tell us they are protecting us from the dangers of our own freedoms.
Unless we
can strike them down first, with democracy as our most deadly
weapon against this Axis of Evil.
Read more about Abramoff and his corrupt crew
Sheriff's Donors Target of State Probe
“The attorney general looks into an advisory group that gave money to Lee Baca's campaigns and offered to assist in department inquiries.”
By Stuart Pfeifer,
Times Staff Writer
September 16, 2006
“The
state attorney general is investigating Los Angeles County
Sheriff Lee Baca's Homeland Security Support Unit, a group of
local businessmen who volunteered to assist the department with
investigations and donated money to the sheriff's political
campaigns. The department has
suspended the unit, which had about 50 members, pending the
outcome of the state investigation and its own internal affairs
review”
“The tire salesman (Gary Nalbandian) who runs the homeland security group
has said members helped raise money for charity, but the group
was not registered as a nonprofit.”
“Members of
the Homeland Security Support Unit were issued photo
identification cards bearing Baca's signature and the Sheriff's
Department's star-shaped emblem. “
“The
Homeland Security Support Unit was one of three organizations
operated by Nalbandian, who also oversaw the San Bernardino
County district attorney's "Bureau of Justice" and the
Riverside County sheriff's "Executive Council."”
“Members
of the three groups donated more than $150,000 to the political
campaigns of Baca, Ramos and Doyle, campaign records
show, leading some to question whether the badges and
credentials were issued as political favors.”
THE COMMITTEE SAYS:
LA SHERIFF BACA, RIVERSIDE SHERIFF, AND SAN BERDO DA SET UP SECRET ARMY OF CORRUPT CONTRIBUTORS:
If you have followed the corruption updates, you've seen you can BUY politicians, laws, regulations, and judges. You can even buy a fortune, (cheaply!), prestige, and get a bunch of luxury gifts, yachts, a house with furniture, luxury vacations, assorted trips, and world-class golfing junkets.
Now, apparently, you can buy authority itself. I mean the authority of an official police badge. You need no training or authority from government. You just need to be the political friends of the sheriffs and D.A. you “contributed” $150,000 to. But this may go yet further. Politicians sell the publics authority and money. What do Sheriffs and D.A.s sell?
Ominously, when the police are bribed, the bribery creates a kind of weird police power or authority, in this case to a group that seeks authority to do “investigations,” you have started down a path that has led to death squads around the world. Or maybe this is just the classic case of buying police protection, or favoritism. Will the Sheriffs arrest their “friends?” Will the DA properly charge, his “friends,” if he charges them at all. Maybe their “friends” will come in handy some day, to investigate YOU.
It's way past time to curb the people in our society who replace our democratic rights with their self-interest, and carry badges and do “investigations” based on no more authority than the hubris of their corruption, and the favors they purchased with this corruption.
Read more Articles about Political Badges
IN BRIEF/ NEVADA
Republican to Return $11,000 in Donations
From Times Wire Reports
September 18, 2006
“Republican gubernatorial candidate Jim Gibbons has agreed to return $11,000 in campaign donations after Democratic opponent Dina Titus complained to the Nevada secretary of state's office that some donations exceeded the legal limit. “
THE COMMITTEE SAYS:
NEVADA GOV CANDIDATE FORGETS THERE ARE CONTRIBUTION LIMITS IN NEVADA:
Like many politicians, Mr. Gibbons just forgot there were rules, ethical rules, that governed our democracy. It's easy to forget, since our democracy is based on wealth, rather than democratic principals, or the voters.
Payment to Lewis Aide Is Cleared
“House Ethics panel says the nearly $2 million in severance Jeffrey Shockey received from his former lobbying firm broke no rules.”
By Tom Hamburger,
Times Staff Writer
September 22, 2006
http://www.latimes.com/news/politics/la-na-shockey22sep22,1,4924583.story?coll=la-headlines-politics
“WASHINGTON
— The House Ethics Committee on Thursday cleared a
longtime aide to House Appropriations Committee Chairman Jerry
Lewis of any breach of rules for accepting a nearly $2-million
payout from his former lobbying firm.
The aide, Jeffrey
Shockey, received $1.96 million in severance payments when he
left Washington-based Copeland Lowery Jacquez Denton & White
to return to work for Lewis (R-Redlands) as deputy staff
director of the Appropriations Committee. Federal
investigators are examining the relations between the firm,
which specialized in appropriations matters, and Lewis.”
THE COMMITTEE SAYS:
CONGRESS AGAIN PROVES IT HAS NO ETHICS
REVOLVING DOOR AND MASSIVE PAYOFFS FEATHER THEIR NESTS
Well, no surprise here. The House “ethics” committee is the most lame, weak, neutered, and completely unethical body in Congress. Imagine, if you can, the pressure of keeping up the pretense that there are any ethics in Congress. This is the heaviest load that the ethics committee must suffer under.
Under present law, unethical behavior is normal and acceptable. Heck, when bribery is legal, ethics are wounded and retreating, under fire, from the battlefield.
It is impossible for politicians to continue to Pretend to be ethical. Keeping up ethical appearances is becoming increasingly difficult as the foul policy and legislation these politicians, parties, and their special interest masters comes home to roost. The imminent failure of our public institution has not slowed our politicians, and their special interests sponsors, robbery of our treasury, our HONOR, and our democratic institutions.
A pliant and dishonorable ethics committee is required to continue this charade.
Only clean elections will produce clean candidates, and give us a shot at making ethics important again.
Angelides Inspires Growing Concern
As the candidate fights to clarify his message, donations fall short. Unions may decide to spend their campaign money elsewhere.
By Michael Finnegan
and Dan Morain, Times Staff Writers
September 23, 2006
“Given
the state's caps on donations to candidates, a prime source of
hope for Angelides is independent spending on his campaign by
supporters. Sacramento real estate tycoon Angelo Tsakopoulos,
who with his family spent more than $8 million on TV ads for
Angelides in the primary, could try to ride to the rescue
again.
But since the June primary, neither Tsakopoulos nor
organized labor, another longtime source of big money for
Angelides, has invested heavily in his push to unseat
Schwarzenegger”
“In addition to qualms over whether Angelides can win, some unions face pressure now to steer money elsewhere, to propositions or to the national battle to win Democratic control of Congress.”
THE COMMITTEE SAYS:
BIG DEM CONTRIBUTORS REALIZE ANGELIDES A LOSER; STOP BRIBES AND PAYOFFS AS BAD INVESTMENT, LOOKING FOR BETTER DEAL FOR THEIR MONEY:
Angelides is so pathetic he's not even worth bribing. Even his biggest bribers have lost faith in this corrupt party hacks' ability to pay them back with corrupt political favors and influence.
Heck, it looks like the Democrats have more in common with Arnie than Angelides.
Search the Corruption Database to find out about related articles
Try searching under Angelides, or California.
Previous Corruption Updates: Page 10.
Next Corruption Updates: Page 12
Contact Us: Committeefordemocracy.org
