"Executive accused of campaign fraud; Channeling funds to 4 congressmen" by Jonathan Saltzman and Casey Ross, Globe Staff | September 1, 2010
A top executive of the developer behind the failed $800 million Columbus Center project in Boston was charged yesterday in federal court with illegally funneling $12,000 in campaign contributions to four Massachusetts congressmen.
Related: Boston Blight
In more ways than one.
Federal prosecutors said that Martin Raffol, 54, executive vice president of the residential arm of WinnCompanies, engaged in a scheme to conceal money the company donated in an attempt to win support from congressmen in a position to help its projects.
Whose toes did he step on because this is SOP down there?
Raffol is accused of persuading WinnCompanies contractors to give donations to the congressmen and then secretly reimbursing those firms, which hid the true source of the money. Federal law prohibits companies from directly donating to political candidates. Raffol was also charged with witness tampering in allegedly telling one WinnCompanies vendor to lie to authorities if questioned....
In addition to the $12,000 to the four congressman — Representatives Barney Frank of Newton, Stephen F. Lynch of South Boston, Michael E. Capuano of Somerville, and William D. Delahunt of Quincy — prosecutors said Raffol illegally directed more than $30,000 in contributions to candidates running for state and local offices in Massachusetts....
So he has infected the whole body politic, huh?
Related: Boston Globe Censored Briefs: Barney Frank Exhales Fart Mist
Barney Frank Banks on Marijuana
Sunday Globe Censorship: Barney Frank Tells Gays to Go F*** Themselves
Slow Saturday Special: Labor Lynch Mob in Massachusetts
Slow Saturday Special: Capuano the Crook
How about turning them all out, Massachusetts?
The charges are an outgrowth of the federal corruption case against former state senator Dianne Wilkerson, according to the charging document. The Boston Democrat pleaded guilty in June to taking $23,500 in bribes in 2007 and 2008 allegedly in exchange for helping one businessman get a liquor license and to help pave the way for a commercial development in Roxbury. She awaits sentencing.
See: Memory Hole: Wilkerson Wimps Out
The former senator was also an ardent supporter of Columbus Center, the megaproject in a corner of her district that promised to reconnect the Back Bay with the South End through a six-building complex over the Massachusetts Turnpike. After Wilkerson was arrested in October 2008, Arthur Winn, former WinnCompanies chief executive, acknowledged to the Globe that he had given her $10,000 several years earlier, in 2004, when the former senator was struggling to pay outstanding tax debts.
Winn said the money was not meant to influence Wilkerson’s public support of Columbus Center, but was a gift to help a “close friend.’’ The contribution was not illegal....
WinnCompanies is a prominent developer and manager of affordable-housing complexes around the country that often sought and used taxpayer subsidies, grants, and public assistance....
Another LOOTING OPERATION under the cover of HOUSING HELP!
During its lobbying for Columbus Center, WinnCompanies persuaded Governor Mitt Romney to call President George W. Bush’s former chief of staff, Andrew H. Card Jr., to help with his request for federal funds.
Also see: The Difference Between Deval Patrick and Mitt Romney
Do you ever need a Republican in that office, Massachusetts!
Like how the Globe DISTORTS the PAST?
WinnCompanies later lost control of Columbus Center to its business partner, the California Public Employees’ Retirement System, which itself lost the right to build the project on state land after defaulting on its lease....
Oh, so NOW the CALIFORNIA PENSION SYSTEM OWNS this LOSER!?!?
Related: The California "Crisis"
Also see: Slow Saturday Special: California's Total Recall
No wonder the state is bankrupt!
Related: Weymouth contractor may be witness in campaign fraud case
Are you looking forward to this election season?
"Election season goes into top gear; 3 gubernatorial rivals, legislative hopefuls run hard" by Frank Phillips, Globe Staff | September 6, 2010
A strong anti-incumbent mood among the national electorate that is threatening Democratic control of Congress has shaken the party here in Massachusetts.
And if THIS PLACE is s***ting bricks.... !!
Internal polls by Democratic candidates show deep pessimism over the direction of the state. Voters’ perceptions of Patrick, while far better than they were a few months ago, are dangerously low for an incumbent governor.
Better hope those RIGGED VOTING MACHINES kick in, huh?
Also see: Globe's Governor's Race: Checking the Polls
How come the Globe never tells you the whole truth?
Virtually unknown Republicans are posing serious challengers to incumbent veteran Democrats.
Goodbye, House!
Still, state Democratic leaders are not convinced they are facing the sort of tidal wave that many predict will hit the party across the country....
They are so delusional it's sad.
The Democrats are counting, in part, on their theory....
They MUST BE TURNED OUT!
You can NOT have people as IRRESPONSIBLE as this in CHARGE!!
And I guess SOME "THEORIES" are more valid than OTHERS, huh?
The gubernatorial race is shaping up to be largely a referendum on Patrick, who was elected by a healthy margin in 2006 after running a strong grass-roots campaign. He faces a strong challenge from Baker, a former health insurance executive and a top state official under two Republican governors in the 1990s.
A new poll Friday showed Patrick maintaining a slim lead over his GOP rival.
Please remember the Globe picked Coakley by double-digits on election day.
Related: Insurgents vs. Incumbents
Not that the Globe is biased or anything.
Though a distant third in the polls, Cahill, the state treasurer, remains an x-factor, and Republicans are worried about him spoiling Baker’s chance for victory....
I would be MORE WORRIED about the MACHINE that takes the BALLOT!
Since the last gubernatorial election in 2006, the number of independent or third-party candidates in Massachusetts has increased significantly. Four years ago, two independents and a Socialist Workers Party candidate challenged the all-Democrat US House delegation.
If they are running again in your district give it to them.
All incumbents out!
This year there are 10 independents running for congressional seats.
Similarly, four years ago, 14 independent or third-party candidates ran for the state Legislature. This year there are 36.
Whether Patrick will be swallowed up by an anti-incumbent backlash is not clear....
And reading the agenda-pushing, pro-Democrat Boston Globe isn't going to help.
Related: In Southie race, youth is setting the tone
And how is this translating nationally?
"Obama proposes $50b for roads, rails; Plan would create government bank" by Sheryl Gay Stolberg and Mary Williams Walsh, New York Times | September 7, 2010
Shouldn't we already have on per the Constitution instead of the monstrous, economy-destroying Fed?
MILWAUKEE — With Democrats facing an increasingly bleak midterm election season, President Obama used a speech at a union gathering on Labor Day to call for an “infrastructure bank,’’ which would be run by the government but would pool tax dollars with private investment, the White House says....
The concept has lately been gaining traction in policy circles and on Capitol Hill.
And eventually, YOUR TAX DOLLARS will only be for the WARS, Wall Street, Israel, and to fund the lavish lifestyles of the politicians who f***ed you, America.
Indeed, some leading proponents of such a bank, including Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, Republican of California; Governor Ed Rendell, Democrat of Pennsylvania; and Michael R. Bloomberg, the independent mayor of New York, would like to see it finance a broader range of projects, including water and clean-energy projects....
All the more reason to NOT LIKE the IDEA!!
Good thing Arnold is leaving.
Related:
"Governor Ed Rendell said in ordering a hiring freeze last September, “In the current uncertain economic climate, we must be especially prudent stewards of Pennsylvania’s resources.’’ Since then, Pennsylvania has brought in more than 1,000 new employees, including a fiscal director making $128,000, a press secretary earning $84,000, and seven clerk typists at salaries from $24,000 to $28,000"
Doesn't have the nickname "Dirty Eddie" fer nuthin'!Also see: Paying a Mayor's Ransom
He couldn't have put that towards the roads, huh?
They say such a bank would spur innovation by allowing a panel of experts to approve projects on merit, rather than having lawmakers simply steer transportation money back home....
Yeah, that will go over real well in Congress!
And make sure you guys sig heil der fuhrer and his panel of experts, too!!
But the notion of a government-run bank, indeed a government-run anything, is bound to prove contentious during an election year in which voters are already furious over bank bailouts....
Yeah, can we GET THAT MONEY BACK because the BANKS we gave it to DIDN'T NEED IT, KEPT IT, and TOOK IT AS BONUSES!
Oh, right, lying government says they paid us back.
Representative Pat Tiberi, an Ohio Republican who is on a Ways and Means subcommittee that held hearings on the bank this year, warned that “federally guaranteed borrowing and lending could place taxpayers on the hook should the proposed bank fail.’’
How many hooks you hanging on, taxpayers?
*****
Tiberi, in an e-mail last week, said he agreed that the nation’s road and communications networks needed to be improved but was concerned about creating another company like Fannie Mae that might need bailout....
Related:
“They’ve cleared the decks to use Fannie and Freddie as a vessel for whatever they want.... taking troubled mortgage investments off banks’ books.... Obama’s budget blueprint also excludes the $6.3 trillion in liabilities of government-controlled Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and delays for a second time a decision on restructuring the mortgage finance companies"
Yeah, chew on that for a while as they set up the "infrastructure" bank.
The outside investors would expect a competitive return on their money, so many of the completed projects would have to charge fees, taxes or tolls....
So WTF, Americans?
You will PUT UP the MONEY for the LOAN and then have to PAY OFF INVESTORS -- a fancy word for Wall Street firms like the Goldman Sachs looters -- through INCREASED FEES and TAXES?
And this is supposed to HELP YOU?!!
The proposal comes after weeks of scrambling by a White House desperate to give a jolt to the lackluster recovery....
And desperate to hold onto Congress.
But if the projects did not raise enough money, the Treasury might get stuck paying back the investors....
And WHO is Treasury in this case, TAXPAYERS?
Related: Obama targets R&D credit
I don;t want anymore tax giveaways to well-connected interests and corporations that waste it, 'bomber!
"Congressional generosity funded by big firms" by New York Times | September 6, 2010
WASHINGTON — Representative Joe Baca has achieved near-celebrity status in his suburban Los Angeles district, as much for his record of giveaways — Thanksgiving turkeys, college scholarships, spare boots for firefighters — as for anything he has done in Congress.
That generosity is made possible by the Joe Baca Foundation, a charity his family set up three years ago to aid local organizations. The Joe Baca Foundation also helps the Democratic congressman run something akin to a permanent political campaign.
Don't they say charity begins at home?
Joe Baca T-shirts and caps are given out at the charity’s events, local newspapers mention the charity’s donations, and cable stations show appearances by Baca and his family at functions his foundation supports.
Oh, the MSM is on his side? What a shock!
But unlike most private foundations, little of the money comes out of Baca’s pocket. Instead, local companies and major corporations that have often turned to Baca’s Washington office for help, and usually get it, are the chief donors.
A review of federal tax records and House and Senate disclosure reports found at least two dozen charities that lawmakers or their families helped create or run routinely accept donations from businesses seeking to influence them. The sponsors — AT&T, Chevron, General Dynamics, Eli Lilly, and others — contribute millions annually in gifts ranging from token amounts to a check for $5 million.
Some change, huh?
Despite rules imposed in 2007 to curb the influence of special interests in Congress, corporate donations to lawmakers’ charities have continued, thanks to a loophole....
This is the CLEAN CONGRESS that Pelosi proposed?
FAILURE, Madame Speaker -- and FAILURES should NOT BE REWARDED!!
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Related:
"Party committees spend roughly two-thirds of the money they take in on the care and comfort of committee staffs and on efforts to raise more funds, with lavish spending on limousines, expensive hotels, meals, and tips.... vast sums are consumed with limited accountability.... hefty expenditures in categories such as “office supplies’’ and “tips’’ that consume tax-exempt party funds.... pamper prospective donors with luxurious getaways and gifts... 59 percent of total Democratic revenue of about $100 million.... There is a class of [political] donors who expect to be wined and dined and who expect to have gala receptions.... spending on charter flights, limousines, entertainment, food, and beverages at party headquarters"
Yup, politics is ONE BIG PARTY, huh?
And the Repugs are no better:
"Golf and tennis fees were paid, whitewater rafting and trout fishing guides were contracted, and limo drivers and photographers were hired. Flowers worth about $1,300 decorated tables filled with food.... RNC’s expenditures for office supplies during the same period topped $773,000... including jelly beans for Steele’s office and thousands of dollars’ worth of liquor and wine"
See what your campaign contribution is being used for?
"Obama fights a cut for wealthy; Pushes to keep tax breaks for middle class" by Mark Arsenault and Donovan Slack, Globe Staff | September 9, 2010
WASHINGTON — President Obama, whose party is facing a potential midterm disaster under relentless Republican assaults on his economic record, launched an ambitious effort yesterday to cast Democrats as populists who want to end tax breaks for the wealthiest Americans but save them for the middle class.
Well, you know, you had TWO YEARS to DO THAT and NOW -- just as the ELECTION APPROACHES -- you want to make it about taxes.
Well, TAXES and YOUR TAX-INCREASING BUDDIES ain't going to get it done for you!
We NO LONGER CARE what the RICH PAY when WE ARE GETTING PASTED!!
It is time to GET RID of a SLEW of TAXES and RETURN the federal government to its RIGHTFUL and REDUCED ROLL!!!
At stake are billions of dollars of Bush-era tax cuts set to expire at the end of this year unless Congress takes action....
Related:
"Lawmakers are expected to quickly resume their fight over whether to renew soon-to-expire tax cuts enacted a decade ago under President George W. Bush, though they may not act until after the November elections"
Also see: Obama to Keep Bush Tax Cuts
Yeah, the word disingenuous comes to mind.
Enjoy the POLITICAL FOOLEYS, folks!!
“This isn’t to punish folks who are better off — God bless them,’’ the president said....
That tells you ALL YOU NEED to KNOW about Obama's WORLD VIEW, Americans!
He DOESN'T CARE ABOUT YOU! He cares about HIS CLASS and its CAMPAIGN CONTRIBUTIONS!
Btw, last time I checked my BIBLE the Lord DOES NOT BLESS THEM!
HE says THEY AIN'T GETTING IN to the KINGDOM of HEAVEN -- and if they are there then I would rather go the other place.
So far this election season, unemployment and the slow pace of the nation’s economic recovery have been the dominant campaign issues, to the detriment of Democrats. Polls suggest that an angry electorate is looking to vent its frustration, which puts Democrats’ control of the House and possibly the Senate in jeopardy....
The HOUSE is GONE and the Senate is hanging by a thread!
With his aggressive and often baldly partisan speech, Obama also continued to pound on his recent campaign theme that Republicans will return the country to “the same failed policies that ran our economy into a ditch.’’
In showcasing the tax issue, Obama is seeking to turn the argument over the economy away from the hard employment numbers in a series of weak job reports and toward the emotional issue of economic fairness....
Then WHY DIDN'T YOU REPEAL it SOONER?
And LET'S FACE IT: After the election the Congress will EXTEND THEM because the economy will be EVEN WORSE THEN!
And things are NOT WELL inside the White House, either!!
"An Emanuel exit may begin wider shake-up
WASHINGTON — The expected departure of chief of staff Rahm Emanuel to run for mayor of Chicago is likely to mark the beginning of a wider White House shake-up, officials said yesterday, one aimed at helping the administration regain its footing in the aftermath of expected Democratic losses in the midterm elections and positioning President Obama for a 2012 reelection fight.
I'm sorry, but this is the THING YOU DO when you WIN ANOTHER TERM -- not HALFWAY THROUGH your ONE-TERM PRESIDENCY!
This is a White House IN CRISIS!
Such a reorganization is not unusual at this point in a presidency and particularly in a White House such as Obama’s, which has been running full-out for two years — grappling with two wars, a financial crisis, and an ambitious policy agenda.
I'm sorry that the NEWSPAPER feels it MUST LIE TO YOU, Americans!!
So what was Bush doing after 9/11, huh?
Those invasions and occupations based over lies were on cruise control? Why no shake-up?
Heck, people were PROMOTED for FAILURE!
Good way to keep 'em quiet, huh?
Many of its key players have begun to let it be known that they are burned out and looking for an exit or a new role.
It is called RATS DESERTING a SINKING SHIP!!
The stresses have also exposed weaknesses in a White House operation that many in Washington have come to regard as too insular.
Isn't that the SAME THING they said about BUSH!!
Related: 2006 All Over Again
Yup, time to change sides again so the show can go on!
Especially for those who also were involved in Obama’s two-year campaign, “this is sort of the end of year four, not necessarily the end of year two,’’ press secretary Robert Gibbs told reporters traveling yesterday with Obama....
I thought the White House lies would stop when we voted for change. Silly me.
The chief of staff is not the only top official whose days appear to be numbered.
Anything that gets that Zionist terrorist and Mossad mole out of the White House is a good thing.
Also expected to leave at some point after the election is chief political strategist David Axelrod....
Your kidding!
Both broke, huh?
Meanwhile, the economic team, which has been beset by infighting as it grapples with the nation’s biggest concern, has not been a picture of stability....
Because NO ONE wants to be BLAMED for the COMING COLLAPSE of the AmeriKan economy and ALL the LIES that were told beforehand!!
"Democrats could lose grip on strong Senate majority
WASHINGTON — Quirks in state election laws could reduce Senate Democrats’ majority after the November election, making the always-difficult task of legislating during a possible lame-duck session even tougher.
Yeah, after we reject them they will go DEFY the WILL of the PEOPLE EVEN FURTHER!!
I expect FILIBUSTERS to be used in FULL FORCE, Repugs!!
The terms of Democrats Roland Burris of Illinois, Ted Kaufman of Delaware, and West Virginia’s Carte Goodwin, all appointed to their seats, will expire with the Nov. 2 elections. None is on the ballot, and their successors could take office that month instead of in January, when winning candidates are normally seated, state election officials said....
:-)
Lawmakers plan to return to Washington next week for at least three weeks before leaving to campaign....
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