Posted on 12/19/2008 12:25:19 AM PST by hoosiermama
Edited on 02/09/2012 7:04:21 AM PST by Admin Moderator. [history]
Thanks for bringing this to my attention. For researching later.
Thanks for inspiring me to start it.....
“Lobbyists Find Detour Around Latest Ethics Rules (Pay to Play thru State Balls)”
More: Pay for play with lobbiest already in DC. A lot to cross reference
From:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2166793/posts
AND WSJ:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123215275270792215.html
Lobbyists and corporations have found an opening in the latest congressional-ethics law that allows them to pay for special access to lawmakers and members of the incoming Obama administration during next week’s inaugural festivities.
President-elect Barack Obama was a vocal champion of rules enacted last year that prohibit companies and lobbyists from buying anything worth more than $10 for lawmakers. But well-heeled interests have found a way to circumvent the ban by partnering with “state societies” that are throwing parties to celebrate Mr. Obama’s inauguration.
These Washington-based nonprofits, whose members include lawmakers, congressional aides, lobbyists and executives from a given state, aren’t subject to the ethics law — even though their social and charitable activities are paid for with corporate money.
State societies’ parties will help lobbyists skirt rules. Above, a 2005 inaugural ball sponsored by Texas State Society.
......
Hawaii, Mr. Obama’s birthplace, has invited companies and lobbyists who pay as much as $25,000 into a roped-off VIP lounge at its Tuesday night affair, where they can mingle with influential policy makers. Among the drawing cards: Hawaii Sen. Dan Inouye, the new chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, and Gen. Eric Shinseki, a Hawaiian tapped to lead the Veterans Affairs Department.
Takers so far include Lockheed Martin Corp., which gave $25,000 for access to the party. Jeff Adams, a spokesman for Lockheed, said: “I can confirm that Lockheed Martin is co-sponsoring some of the unofficial inaugural events.”
Gen. Shinseki and Mr. LaHood canceled their appearances at the galas after The Wall Street Journal contacted the transition team about them. Obama spokesman Tommy Vietor declined to comment on the balls.
State societies didn’t seek an exemption to the ethics rules, but fall under exceptions that permit lawmakers to attend corporate-sponsored events if they are “widely attended” and considered part of a lawmaker’s “official duty.” Lawmakers also can accept free attendance at charitable events.
.................
The Illinois society gave more than a dozen companies and lobbying firms that paid as much as $55,000 the option to have dinner with an “honored guest” — including No. 2 Senate Democrat Richard Durbin and other members of its congressional delegation — “on a first-come, first-served basis.” Mr. LaHood planned to speak at the event, before he canceled. Sen. Durbin has the ball on his schedule but, an aide said, “If he makes it there he’s not going to spend more than a few minutes.”
The American Road Transportation Builders sponsored the event for the “positive connections” and because one of its lobbyists sits on the Illinois society’s board, said David Bauer, a senior vice president for government affairs for the group. “It could be perceived as something that it’s not,” meaning an effort to influence lawmakers, Mr. Bauer said.
A Motorola spokeswoman said that as an Illinois-based company and state-society member, the telecommunications-equipment maker has served as a sponsor since 1997. An Exelon spokesman said the energy company’s sponsorship “is an extension of its commitment to the development of sound public policies concerning energy, the environment, and a number of other issues at the federal, state, and local levels.”
.....................
MORE RE: BHO/ DC Pay for Play THrowing the MSM under the bus.
Fox News Reports “Pay for Play” Inaugural Events
Here:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2166960/posts
There are also some other events that have been bought and paid for that millions of Americans will not be able to see as BHO has received money for exclusive rights. One of these programs is right on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial
Simply amazing! Where does Zero fit in with all this corruption in Chicago?
FOr example.
There was no way that Burris was going to be investigated.
BUrris was receiving $5,000/month from a company call Loop.
Loop was run by Jim Reynold, one of bo best friends and his BIL Craig Robinson.
Loop was involved in the Pay-to-play corruption in Philly PA (Mayor Street and his paramour....One of the primary witnesses/defendants died shortly after indictments of pancreatic cancer)
Get the picture....He's usually one step away?????
FROM:
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/I/ILLINOIS_GOVERNOR_ADVISOR_B?SITE=FLTAM&SECTION=US
CHICAGO (AP) — A partner in a prominent, Washington-based political consulting firm is among those secretly recorded discussing ways Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich can cash in on President Barack Obama’s old Senate seat. Frederick S. Yang, a top executive at Peter D. Hart Research Group Associates, is identified by prosecutors in the Blagojevich criminal complaint as “Advisor B,” Michael D. Ettinger, a lawyer representing the governor’s brother, said Thursday. Robert Blagojevich, who has not been charged with a crime, runs his brother’s campaign fund.
The Hart firm has represented dozens of Democratic governors and members of Congress. The revelation that a key executive at the company was captured on FBI wiretaps working with the governor could embroil one of the nation’s most respected and influential polling and consulting groups in the Blagojevich scandal.
......
In a Nov. 7 recorded conversation characterized by prosecutors, Yang told Blagojevich he “should leverage the President-elect’s desire to have ‘Senate Candidate 1’ (Jarrett) appointed to the Senate seat in order to get a head position” with a union organization called Change to Win.
Ettinger and other defense lawyers believe they can show Blagojevich’s actions, and those working with him, were not criminal, just part of ordinary horse-trading in politics. Ettinger said prosecutors have many secretly recorded tapes that could shed more light on the Blagojevich’s actions, including as many as 50 taped conversations with his brother.
.....
Yang also participated in a Nov. 12 call where the formation of nonprofit organization was discussed, with the hope that Blagojevich could hold a high-paying position. Yang suggested the union job would lead to less questions and scrutiny for Obama, the complaint states.
“Advisor B stated that he likes the ... idea, but liked the Change to Win option better because, according to Advisor B, from the President-elect’s perspective, there would be fewer ‘fingerprints’ on the President-elect’s involvement with Change to Win,” the complaint says.
Yang noted that Change to Win already has a revenue stream, meaning Blagojevich “won’t have stories in four years that they bought you off.”
Garin-Hart-Yang represents 12 senators, 18 House members and six governors, while Hart Research conducts public opinion polling for a number of major media organizations, according to the firm’s Web site.
The union organization that figures in the complaint, Change to Win, is a 6 million-member coalition of unions that was started in 2005. Its members include the Service Employees International Union, the Teamsters and the United Farm Workers of America. Tom Balanoff, an official at SEIU’s Local 1 in Chicago, has been identified as the SEIU official mentioned several times in the Blagojevich complaint, including being identified as “an emissary” for the appointment of Jarrett.
SEIU is listed as a client of Peter D. Hart Research, which has conducted surveys for Change to Win, according to a union news release.
Sleaze You Can Believe In!
Yang suggested the union job would lead to less questions and scrutiny for Obama, the complaint states
Yup, that caught my eye like a 50ft-tall neon sign.
An interesting gem from Dems_R_Losers. Thanks again.
David Axelrod was chief strategist for John Street’s campaign for Mayor of Philadelphia.
THANKS
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-blagojevich-23jan23,0,7887434.story
Blagojevich told the Tribune and other media that he would like to call on Rahm Emanuel, the former Chicago congressman who’s now Obama’s chief of staff, to testify. He said Emanuel could help provide a defense because in a television interview last weekend he “made it clear nothing inappropriate” was said in their conversations about naming someone to Obama’s former U.S. Senate seat.
(snip)
Rikeesha Phelon, spokeswoman for Senate President John Cullerton (D-Chicago), called the governor’s remarks an attempt to “muddy the distinction between a criminal court process and the Senate impeachment proceeding and rules.”
Legislators said they expect that the impeachment trial could wrap up by the end of next week, especially because Blagojevich isn’t expected to put up a defense.
The apparent decision not to contest the Senate proceedings marks a stark reversal from comments the governor made after Blagojevich was impeached Jan. 9 that he would fight.
But when the trial begins Monday, neither Blagojevich nor his legal team will be there, Genson said.
“On the state impeachment, it appears he’s not going to do anything,” Genson said. “On the federal case, he’s waiting to see what occurs. . . . He’s going to fight it.”
...
http://www.suntimes.com/news/metro/blagojevich/1386816,CST-NWS-blago20.article
With the governor strapped for cash, his lawyers were looking to his campaign fund for their fees. But prosecutors wouldn’t sign off on lawyers tapping into the Friends of Blagojevich war chest to cover legal expenses for the impeachment. They have agreed that some attorney fees can come out of the fund for the criminal case, though, sources said.
The Blagojevich campaign fund’s latest report showed it had more than $3.6 million in it.
While there’s no formal government order that bans defense lawyers from tapping the fund, prosecutors have filed a notice that they intended to freeze it. Since receiving that notice — which came about a week after the governor’s Dec. 9 arrest on corruption charges, including an allegation he tried to sell an appointment to succeed Barack Obama in the U.S. Senate — Blagojevich’s lawyers have been careful to take money from the fund only with government permission, fearing the money might be seized later, sources said.
...
http://www.suntimes.com/news/sneed/1393502,CST-NWS-SNEED23.article
January 23, 2009
BY MICHAEL SNEED Sun-Times Columnist
Is beleaguered Gov. Blagojevich showing his feminine side?
Sneed hears Blagojevich, who is weighing the possibility of a major media blitz, is keen on appearing on Barbara Walters’ hit ABC-TV show “The View” with its all-woman panel.
Gov. Blagojevich may seek a spot on “The View” with Whoopi Goldberg (from left), Elisabeth Hasselbeck, Joy Behar and Barbara Walters.
(Rich Hein/Sun-Times, ABC)
• • Translation: Word is Gov. Blago, who is being probed by the feds, impeached by the Illinois House and awaiting trial in the state Senate, is considering launching an all-out media attack.
(snip)
• • The backshot: “The governor is weighing offers from multiple media sources — and if he did appear on ‘The View,’ it would probably be in tandem [contingent?] with an interview on ‘Good Morning America,’ which is also on ABC-TV and has expressed interest in him appearing on the show,” a top source said. “He is weighing his offers.”
(snip)
• • The strategy: Sneed hears members of Gov. Blago’s defense team are encouraging him to carpet-bomb the media and take his fight nationwide.
• • The upshot: Blago already plans to appear on WLS-AM’s “Don Wade & Roma” show this morning, which follows an on-air job offer to Blago from WLS-AM program director Bob Shomper on Thursday morning. (Blago was reportedly called Wednesday and told to listen to the radio at 7 a.m. Thursday. That’s when the pitch was reportedly made.)
• • The stumbling block? “The governor would have to quit his job to do the show,” said a Blago source.
(snip)
Stolen! It’s the chicago way!
Roland Burris and Rep. Bobby Rush (speaking)
at a Chicago news conference announcing
Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s appointment of
Burris to the U.S. Senate Dec. 30, 2008.
CBS
________________________________________________________
From David Horowitz’s FrontPageMag.com/DiscoverTheNetworks.org:
PROFILE: BOBBY RUSH:
* Democratic Member of Congress
* Member of the radical Progressive Caucus
* In 1968, went AWOL from the U.S. Army
* Co-founder of the Illinois branch of the Black Panther Party
* In 1969, served six months in jail for an illegal weapons conviction
* Advocates reparations for African Americans
“Bobby Rush has described his involvement with the Black Panthers as part of his maturation process, as a youthful indiscretion that he abandoned immediately after Hampton’s death. He described his role mostly as running the Black Panther Party’s Free Breakfast for Children program.
But Bobby Rush served six months in jail for a 1969 illegal weapons conviction and, even after his release, in 1971 his comrades were still describing him as the ‘Deputy Minister of Defense’ for the Black Panther Party in Illinois. In 1992 the socialist magazine In These Times praised fledgling congressional candidate Rush, writing that he ‘has continued to support progressive policies and has never disavowed his Panther past....”
http://www.discoverthenetworks.org/individualProfile.asp?indid=1198
________________________________________________________
From the Maoist Internationist Movement:
[1960s/original] Black Panther Party [BPP] Archives
From the article: REVOLUTIONARY HEROES
“On May 1st, May Day [1969], the day of the gigantic Free Huey rally, two of Alioto’s top executioners vamped on the brothers from the Brown Community who were attending to their own affairs. These brothers, who are endowed with the revolutionary spirit of the Black Panther Party defended themselves from the racist pig gestapo.
Pig Joseph Brodnik received his just reward with a big hole in the chest. Pig Paul McGoran got his in the mouth which was not quite enough to off him.
The revolutionary brothers escaped the huge swarm of pigs with dogs, mace, tanks and helicopters, proving once again that “the spirit of the people is greater than the man’s technology.”
To these brothers the revolutionary people of racist America want to say, by your revolutionary deed you are heroes, and that you are always welcome to our camp.”
Source: Maoist Internationist Movement
Article: REVOLUTIONARY HEROS (May 11, 1969):
http://web.archive.org/web/20041230150623/http://www.etext.org/Politics/MIM/bpp/index.html
7 posted on Friday, January 23, 2009 8:00:42 AM by ETL
Thanks! Enjoying connecting the dots on this thread and add any information you might find...Please provide link and keep it under 300 words.
FROM:
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/chi-ap-il-illinoisgovernor-,0,4825785.story
.....................
Patty,
River Realty, her former employer
Friends of Blagojevich, the governor’s campaign committee
Citizens for Blagojevich, his former committee
Robert Blagojevich, the governor’s brother and campaign chairman
Antoin “Tony” Rezko, former adviser and fundraiser for governor
Christopher Kelly, former adviser and fundraiser for governor
Alonzo Monk, former Blagojevich chief of staff, now a lobbyist
Milan Petrovic, lobbyist and campaign fundraiser
John Wyma, former Blagojevich adviser, now a lobbyist
Paul Rosenfeld, lobbyist
J.B. Pritzker, ...
Gery Chico, former Chicago school board president and one-time U.S. Senate candidate
Doug Scofield, former Blagojevich adviser, now a consultant
Scofield Communications
Valerie Jarrett, ...
David Axelrod, ...
Service Employees International Union
ALSO:
Tom Balanoff, SEIU Illinois president
Change to Win, an SEIU-affiliated activist group
Sam Zell, owner of the Chicago Tribune
Nils Larsen, an adviser to Zell
Thanks for the heads up!
CHICAGO (AP) — A partner in a prominent, Washington-based political consulting firm is among those secretly recorded discussing ways Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich can cash in on President Barack Obama’s old Senate seat. Frederick S. Yang, a top executive at Peter D. Hart Research Group Associates, is identified by prosecutors in the Blagojevich criminal complaint as “Advisor B,” Michael D. Ettinger, a lawyer representing the governor’s brother, said Thursday. Robert Blagojevich, who has not been charged with a crime, runs his brother’s campaign fund.
The Hart firm has represented dozens of Democratic governors and members of Congress. The revelation that a key executive at the company was captured on FBI wiretaps working with the governor could embroil one of the nation’s most respected and influential polling and consulting groups in the Blagojevich scandal.
....snip...
In a Nov. 7 recorded conversation characterized by prosecutors, Yang told Blagojevich he “should leverage the President-elect’s desire to have ‘Senate Candidate 1’ (Jarrett) appointed to the Senate seat in order to get a head position” with a union organization called Change to Win.
....snip....
Yang also participated in a Nov. 12 call where the formation of nonprofit organization was discussed, with the hope that Blagojevich could hold a high-paying position. Yang suggested the union job would lead to less questions and scrutiny for Obama, the complaint states.
....snip....
The union organization that figures in the complaint, Change to Win, is a 6 million-member coalition of unions that was started in 2005. Its members include the Service Employees International Union, the Teamsters and the United Farm Workers of America. Tom Balanoff, an official at SEIU’s Local 1 in Chicago, has been identified as the SEIU official mentioned several times in the Blagojevich complaint, including being identified as “an emissary” for the appointment of Jarrett.
Top Obama aides subject of Blagojevich Subpoenas
From:
http://www.qctimes.com/articles/2009/01/24/news/illinois/doc497a8dee574b2749712532.txt?sPos=3
Sweeping federal subpoenas of Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s administration include requests for records involving David Axelrod and Valerie Jarrett, senior advisers to President Barack Obama.
Among 43 subpoenas released by the Blagojevich administration Friday, one from Dec. 8 seeks notes, calendars, correspondence and any other data that relate to Axelrod, Jarrett and 32 other people and organizations.
..snip...
They include first lady Patricia Blagojevich and her former employer, River Realty; former Blagojevich aides Lon Monk, John Wyma, Christopher Kelly and Doug Scofield; his brother and campaign manager Robert Blagojevich; Chicago Tribune owner Sam Zell; and Tom Balanoff, Illinois director of the Service Employees International Union
...snip....
The 43 subpoenas released Friday under the Freedom of Information Act, plus seven previously disclosed, cut a wide swath through the beleaguered administration, demanding everything from complex hiring records to Patricia Blagojevich’s appointment calendar.
Blagojevich acknowledged in fall 2005 that his office and several cabinet agencies had received subpoenas seeking hiring records, but then he stopped talking about them.
The Better Government Association, a Chicago-based public watchdog group, fought a two-year lawsuit over release of the subpoenas, which it won late last month when Blagojevich’s office turned over five subpoenas BGA sought under FOIA.
U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald’s investigation into Blagojevich hiring practices was reported as early as 2005 and a Fitzgerald letter was released in June 2006 that indicated he had witnesses to ``endemic hiring fraud.’’
...snip....
Thanks Star...Stolen AKA the CHicago style
FROM:
http://therealbarackobama.wordpress.com/2009/01/25/blago-subpoenas-wheres-the-tanning-bed-media-now/
Blago subpoenas — Where’s the Tanning Bed Media now?
January 25, 2009 by Procrustes
*snip*
Lynn Sweet wrote January 24th in the Chicago Sun-Times:
Newly released subpoenas that Gov. Blagojevich fought to keep secret show federal prosecutors are looking at potential criminal wrongdoing that would go beyond charges he already faces — involving everything from state road contracts awarded to campaign donors to his wife Patti’s real estate dealings.
The subpoenas also seek information about any contacts the governor’s administration had with two top advisers to President Obama, David Axelrod and Valerie Jarrett. ...
Jarrett was alluded to in the Dec. 9 criminal complaint against the governor as a potential Senate candidate Blagojevich was considering. Axelrod did not surface in the complaint. Neither is charged with any wrongdoing.
Sweet also states that Fitzgerald’s investigation extends beyond what has been known previously:
“It’s clearly beyond matters in the criminal complaint, which was sweeping in its own right,” said Jay Stewart, executive director of the Better Government Association, whose legal fight forced Blagojevich to make the subpoenas public late Friday.
“It demonstrates the feds have been looking for a long time. And, up to a relatively recent time, they’ve been gathering more information.”
Doug Ross at Director Blue commented
A veritable “who’s who” of Obama staffers, surrogates and affiliates were among those served with subpoenas.
Put simply, within one week of President Barack Obama’s administration taking office, it is already under significant legal scrutiny that will — at a minimum — take precious time away from dealing with the country’s monumental economic and foreign policy challenges.
And, once again, the mainstream media is AWOL, unwilling to report on this very newsworthy story.
Those subpoenaed:
* Patricia Blagojevich, first lady
* River Realty, her former employer
* Friends of Blagojevich, the governor’s campaign committee
* Citizens for Blagojevich, his former committee
* Robert Blagojevich, the governor’s brother and campaign chairman
* Antoin “Tony” Rezko, former adviser and fundraiser for governor
* Christopher Kelly, former adviser and fundraiser for governor
* Alonzo Monk, former Blagojevich chief of staff, now a lobbyist
* Milan Petrovic, lobbyist and campaign fundraiser
* John Wyma, former Blagojevich adviser, now a lobbyist
* Paul Rosenfeld, lobbyist
* J.B. Pritzker, wealthy Chicagoan whom Blagojevich might have considered to replace Obama in U.S. Senate
* Gery Chico, former Chicago school board president and one-time U.S. Senate candidate
* Doug Scofield, former Blagojevich adviser, now a consultant
* Scofield Communications
* Valerie Jarrett, Obama adviser
* David Axelrod, Obama adviser
* Service Employees International Union
* Tom Balanoff, SEIU Illinois president
* Change to Win, an SEIU-affiliated activist group
* Sam Zell, owner of the Chicago Tribune
* Nils Larsen, an adviser to Zell
* The Chicago Tribune
* The Tribune Co., the newspaper’s parent company
* Michael Vondra, owner of asphalt and construction companies
* Gerald Krozel, vice president of a concrete company
* John Johnston, president of Balmoral Park racetrack
* Fred Yang, Washington, D.C.-based Blagojevich consultant
* Garin Hart Yang Research Group, Yang’s firm
* William Knapp, Washington, D.C.-based Blagojevich consultant
* Squire, Knapp & Dunn, Knapp’s firm
* Doug Sosnick, political consultant
Doug Ross adds: “Blago’s ‘Senate Candidate 3;, Jan Schakowsky, was not served with a subpoena, but will have some questions of her own to answer in the days to come.”
***And let’s not forget Rahm Emanuel, reportedly on 21 different taped conversations by the feds — dealing with his boss’ vacant Senate seat!***
As Lynn Sweet indicated, Robert Herguth at Crain’s Chicago Business reported January 23rd that federal authorities have issued subpoenas to the Illinois Department of Transportation “for information on a slew of heavyweight contractors.”
Among others, the subpoena from the U.S. attorney’s office seeks information on:
Teng & Associates Inc., a large Chicago engineering firm whose top executive, Ivan Dvorak, helped throw a Nov. 12 fund raiser for the governor that was referenced in the criminal complaint against Mr. Blagojevich.
Castle Construction Corporation, and its owner, Robert Blum [a long-time associate to Christopher Kelly].
McDonough & Associates, which does engineering work for various government agencies including the tollway and O’Hare International Airport.
Programming Note: Blago is boycotting the impeachment proceedings in the Illinois State Senate on Monday, January 26th. Blogger Bill Baar comments “A ‘fair hearing’ is the only way to bring Blagojevich’s co conspirators to account. The guy wasn’t pay-to-playing by his lonesome.”
PRNewsChannel reports that Blago and his wife will be in New York Monday morning to appear on ABC’s “Good Morning, America” with Diane Sawyer and “The View” with Barbara Walters, as well as Monday evening’s “Larry King Live” on CNN.
Lynn Sweet adds they will also appear on NBC’s Today Show (taped in Chicago) and FOX’s On the Record with Greta Van Susteren/Fox and Friends.
Map . Barack Obama’s Chicago Locations
http://www.communitywalk.com/chicago/il/barack_obamas_chicago_locations/map/190888#0004;@aV
Sex In The Shower Survey:
In a recent survey carried out for leading toiletries firm ‘Brut’, people from Chicago have proved to be the most likely to have had sex in the shower!
In the survey, 86% of Chicago ‘s elite residents, and government official’s (almost all of whom are registered Democrats) said that they have enjoyed sex in the shower.
The other 14% said they hadn’t been to prison yet.
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