Tag: Grassrootsdempolitics

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Little Known FBI’s Race-Based Surveillance

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There have been numerous media reports about a very troubling practice by the FBI to designate Black activists as “Black Identity Extremists”, an often bogus designation which is then used to justify subjecting the said activists to all levels of surveillance–private, local, state, federal and even military surveillance in major cities like Houston, LA, Chicago, New York and others. The rationale, a bogus one, is that a “Black Identity Extremist” or BIE is more likely to attack law enforcement officers and thus needs to be placed under 24-hour surveillance.

The controversy surrounding this program, beyond its prima facie racism, centers around the ease with which a Black activist could end up in this designation. Several media reports have said that even mundane activities like organizing or attending a Black Lives Matter rally could in the eyes of the FBI qualify a Black activist as a BIE subjecting them to unjustified long-term government surveillance, the fruits of which could be used in their criminal prosecution. Needless to say, Black activists who support/sympathize with Black Lives Matter on social media (Twitter, Facebook) can also very easily be designated as BIEs. Simply put, this is a very serious problem that is yet to garner the mainstream media attention it deserves.

Yours Truly has ranted and raved about the lack of mainstream media attention surrounding this seemingly–let’s face it–racist surveillance by the FBI for quite a while now, wondering when House Democrats would take up this serious issue with the justice department.

Well, it turns out Rep Sheila Jackson-Lee (R-TX) did indeed raise this issue with then U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions at a House hearing on November 14, 2017. Rep Jackson-Lee asked Sessions; “My question is, as I hold up the poster dealing with the report under your jurisdiction–Black Identity Extremists. It is interesting to me that you are opposing [meant targeting] individuals who are opposing lethal force, similar to the attack on Reverend Dr Martin Luther King on Cointelpro, but there seems to be no report dealing with the tiki torch parade in Charlottesville chanting ‘Jews will not replace us’. Why is there an attack on Black activists versus any report dealing with the Alt Right and the White Nationalists?” AG Sessions responded that he was not aware of the report.

Cointelpro which Rep Jackson-Lee referenced in her questioning was a controversial and secret surveillance program the FBI deployed on Black civil rights activists in the 60s, most notably, on the Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr. Historians agree that the primary reason the FBI ran Cointelpro on Black civil rights activists was to scare them into silence. This is precisely why when Black activists hear about “Black Identity Extremists” they are immediately reminded of stories they’ve read about Cointelpro and are justified in questioning whether the FBI has indeed reverted back to its 1960s tactic of stifling Black dissent.

Bottom line the “Black Identity Extremist” debate is one that begs for serious mainstream media attention. The mainstream media and indeed members of Congress must not remain silent as a section of the population is unjustly subjected to heightened levels of government surveillance all in an effort to stifle their first amendment compliant political speech. At moments like these, Martin Niemoller’s famous words come to mind; “First they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out because I was not a socialist, then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out because I was not a trade unionist, then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out because I was not a Jew. Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak for me.”

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Prosecutors Subpoena Epstein’s Pilots

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CNN reports that prosecutors have subpoenaed the personal pilots of accused child sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein in a move clearly aimed at corroborating victims’ accounts and possibly charging other actors.

It has been known for decades that Epstein befriended a lot of very powerful people and it was just a matter of time before prosecutors started digging into who among them accompanied Epstein on his illicit missions. The flight logs maintained by Epstein’s personal pilots are of course the perfect place for prosecutors to be digging for such information.

According to CNN reporter Kara Scannell, the relationship between Epstein and billionaire Leslie Wexner (the CEO of L Brands–the parent company of Victoria’s Secret), has attracted the attention of prosecutors.

Appearing on the Saturday morning edition of CNN’s NewDay, Kara Scannell said, “There are new details emerging about the relationship between L Brand’s CEO Leslie Wexner and Epstein. The New York Times is reporting how Epstein leveraged his relationship with the billionaire behind Victoria’s Secret for money and access to young aspiring models. According to The Times, Wexner gave Epstein power of attorney over his finances allowing Epstein to sign Wexner’s tax returns, borrow money in his name, and buy and sell properties. The financial ties between the men were also intertwined. According to The Times, Epstein bought at least two properties from Wexner including the New York mansion. Epstein also allegedly leveraged that friendship to gain access to women. According to a Santa Monica police report obtained by CNN, one woman said she met with Epstein in a California hotel room believing she was interviewing for a job as a Victoria’s Secret catalogue model but once inside, the woman alleges Epstein groped her…”

There is absolutely no question that Epstein’s very close personal and business relationship with Wexner raises a lot of eyebrows and prosecutors are justifiably curious about it. Is Wexner so ensnared by Epstein’s illicit conduct that he felt compelled to bow to his demands? Has Epstein been blackmailing Wexner using potentially compromising behavior the two have engaged in together over the years? These are the kind of questions beginning to pop up regarding the relationship between Epstein and Wexner and undoubtedly, there will be similar stories about other rich people Epstein dealt with, the most anticipated one being his relationship with Trump. CNN pointed out that Wexner’s camp has denied any involvement with Epstein regarding the child sex trafficking allegations.

Bottom line, as troubling as the allegations involved in Epstein’s child sex trafficking case are, his case presents a major test for the U.S. criminal justice system. For decades the charge has been levelled against the U.S. criminal justice system–that it is a two tier system that holds poor suspects to a very harsh standard while extending a lot of leniency to rich and powerful suspects, often times for more egregious crimes. Epstein’s case is clearly one where very rich and powerful people have committed horrific crimes against the most vulnerable victims–children. Will the U.S. criminal justice system rise up to the occasion and “throw the books” at the rich suspects or will it be the usual “slap on the wrist” treatment the public has become accustomed to? Only time will tell or as Trump famously says, “We’ll see what happens.”

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Trump Admin Set To Cut Food Stamps For 3 Million Families

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UNITED STATES – MAY 7: Supporters listen as Rep. Donald McEachin, D-Va., holds a news conference with faith leaders to “urge lawmakers to reject proposed cuts to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) in the Farm Bill” on Monday, May 7, 2018. (Photo By Sarah Silbiger /CQ Roll Call)

A troubling Bloomberg piece (shared by Yahoo) says the Trump administration is set to do away with a provision that allowed most states to automatically enroll welfare recipients for food stamps, a move that will lead to more than 3 million poor households losing their food stamps. This is especially troubling given the fact that the Trump administration not only enjoys record Evangelical support but also recently gave extremely generous tax cuts to the wealthiest of Americans, some of whom have recently confessed to some sections of the media that they don’t even know what to do with the extra money–the quintessential war on poverty. As expected, several 2020 presidential candidates have already jumped on this issue.

As it currently stands most states automatically enroll people who qualify for other federally funded welfare programs into food stamps, and rightfully so. In most states for example, people who qualify for federal housing are also automatically enrolled for food stamps. It is this “automatic enrollment” by states that is at issue, with the Trump administration moving to put an end to it. The argument by the Trump administration is that automatic enrollment is leading to a lot of people getting food stamps even though they don’t meet the federal qualification standards. This they argue, is wasteful and you guessed it–a strain on the national debt. Yeah, the same Trump administration which vigorously pushed for deficit-busting tax cuts for the rich is now worried about food stamps for the poor.

Bottom line folks, valid policy differences arise between fiscal conservatives and economic liberals all the time and a forceful argument can be made that the Trump administration is perfectly within its rights to move in and streamline the criteria for determining who qualifies for food stamps. The problem for the Trump administration however and the record number of Evangelical Christians who support it is that it is very hard to defend a policy that strips millions of poor families of food stamps because of worries about the national debt when just recently you supported a trillion dollar tax cut for the wealthiest Americans knowing full well it would put a huge dent on the national debt. This is the epitome of either cruelty, greed, or both.

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Trump Admin Set To Cut Food Stamps For 3 Million Families

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A troubling Bloomberg piece (shared by Yahoo) says the Trump administration is set to do away with a provision that allowed most states to automatically enroll welfare recipients for food stamps, a move that will lead to more than 3 million poor households losing their food stamps. This is especially troubling given the fact that the Trump administration not only enjoys record Evangelical support but also recently gave extremely generous tax cuts to the wealthiest of Americans, some of whom have recently confessed to some sections of the media that they don’t even know what to do with the extra money–the quintessential war on poverty. As expected, several 2020 presidential candidates have already jumped on this issue.

As it currently stands most states automatically enroll people who qualify for other federally funded welfare programs into food stamps, and rightfully so. In most states for example, people who qualify for federal housing are also automatically enrolled for food stamps. It is this “automatic enrollment” by states that is at issue, with the Trump administration moving to put an end to it. The argument by the Trump administration is that automatic enrollment is leading to a lot of people getting food stamps even though they don’t meet the federal qualification standards. This they argue, is wasteful and you guessed it–a strain on the national debt. Yeah, the same Trump administration which vigorously pushed for deficit-busting tax cuts for the rich is now worried about food stamps for the poor.

Bottom line folks, valid policy differences arise between fiscal conservatives and economic liberals all the time and a forceful argument can be made that the Trump administration is perfectly within its rights to move in and streamline the criteria for determining who qualifies for food stamps. The problem for the Trump administration however and the record number of Evangelical Christians who support it is that it is very hard to defend a policy that strips millions of poor families of food stamps because of worries about the national debt when just recently you supported a trillion dollar tax cut for the wealthiest Americans knowing full well it would put a huge dent on the national debt. This is the epitome of either cruelty, greed, or both.

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What Happened At Trump & Epstein’s “Calendar Girls” Party In 1992?

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In the midst of Jeffrey Epstein’s child sex trafficking scandal and the growing questions about his ties to President Trump, a New York Times bombshell today revealed that in 1992, Trump and Epstein hosted an exclusive “Calendar Girls” party at Maralago that had 30 attendees, with Trump and Epstein being the only men.

At any other time this could have been dismissed as just another irrelevant story about Trump’s well known past. However given recent revelations in Epstein’s indictment by the Southern District of New York which portray him as someone who serially sought out under age girls for sex, this “Calendar Girls” party at Maralago takes a whole new meaning. Specifically, it is now incumbent upon the New York Times journalists who wrote this bombshell piece to go back and find out who these “Calendar Girls” were and more importantly, what Trump and Epstein did at this party.

All too often the mainstream media stumbles upon a very good story only to walk away from it without sufficient follow up. This “Calendar Girls” story is a perfect example of a consequential story that deserves a follow up.

Bottom line, given Epstein’s troubling record of molesting young girls, the public deserves to know whether the 1992 “Calendar Girls” party at Maralago was yet another scene of Epstein’s numerous crimes.

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Trump’s Mar-a-Lago Implicated In Epstein’s Sex Trafficking Scheme

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The Miami Herald reports that a ruling by a federal appeals court in New York(2nd Circuit) has dramatically increased the chances that documents related to Trump’s friend Jeffrey Epstein’s sex case will soon be unsealed. Importantly, some of the documents at issue could draw a direct link between Epstein’s sex trafficking scheme and Trump’s Mar-a-Lago Hotel.

According to the Miami Herald piece, one of Epstein’s key accomplices in the sex trafficking scheme, a British socialite named Ghislaine Maxwell, recruited then 16 year old Virginia Roberts Giuffre who was working at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago spa to become a masseuse for Epstein. Giuffre alleges that she was later made to engage in several sex acts by people in Epstein’s circle including famous Harvard University professor Alan Dershowitz. According to Giuffre, Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell used the masseuse pitch to lure numerous other underage girls as young as 13, into their sex trafficking operation where they were sexually assaulted by influential people in Epstein’s circle.

British Socialite Ghislaine Maxwell pictured above with Jeffrey Epstein

After Virginia Roberts Giuffre’s explosive allegations, Ghislaine Maxwell called her a liar. Guiffre sued Maxwell in 2015 for slander. Maxwell settled the lawsuit in 2017 resulting in Guiffre getting paid millions. It is documents in this settled lawsuit that the Miami Herald and other U.S. media houses want unsealed, and appear close to victory. Ghislaine Maxwell is opposing release of the said records. Apparently the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals has given Maxwell until March 19, 2019 to show cause as to why documents in the lawsuit should not be made public.

If the federal appeals court goes on to unseal these documents, which at this juncture appears a certainty, this would be devastating news for Trump’s Mar-a-Lago hotel, especially if multiple minors from the hotel were channeled into Epstein’s sex trafficking operation.

Bottom line, as Yours Truly said in an earlier post, the Epstein sex case is one that begs for sunlight. It is in everybody’s interest, including Epstein, that everything involved in his sex trafficking scheme be exposed even if that means granting him immunity from prosecution in return for his testimony. Simply put, Epstein’s victims should not be denied justice simply because Epstein’s sex trafficking scheme may have implicated powerful politicians from both sides of the political divide.

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The Trump Epstein Connection

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In case you missed it MSNBC’s Last Word with Lawrence O’Donnell yesterday had a segment in which Senator Tim Kaine (D-VA) read in the U.S. Senate, an excerpt from an old Washington Post piece in which Trump is quoted as talking very favorably about his friend and accused child predator Jeffrey Epstein, including their mutual taste for women “on the younger side”.

Trump reportedly said about Epstein, “He’s a lot of fun to be with. Its even said that he likes a lot of beautiful women as much as I do and many of them are on the younger side.”

This of course comes against the backdrop of news reports of a ruling by a federal judge that prosecutors who handled Epstein’s case violated the law by not conferring with his victims before arriving at his super sweetheart deal which saw him avoid jail time.

Naturally after the federal judge’s decision many questions about Epstein’s case are popping up chief among them, whether the public has a right to know more about the details of Epstein’s infamous case. Is it for example in the public’s interest that Epstein disclose the political figures(Democrat or Republican) who accompanied him in his infamous escapades with underage girls? Given the fact that many public officials have been forced to relinquish their seats because of pressure from the #MeToo movement, doesn’t the public have a right to know what public officials, past and present, Epstein hang out with? These are just some of the questions that will need to be addressed after the federal judge’s bombshell ruling.

Bottom line as a wise man once said, “sunlight is the best disinfectant.” It is in the best interests of everybody involved that Epstein come out and explain what happened in his infamous escapades and the politicians who participated in them. Granting him immunity from prosecution in return for his testimony is something that needs to be seriously considered. It however cannot be left unsaid that because there may be very powerful individuals from both political parties implicated in Epstein’s scandal, the public may never get to the bottom of what really happened.

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Paxtons Are A Symbol Of Texas GOP’s Corruption

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Texas Attorney-General and his wife State Senator Angela Paxton

A lot has been made about the corruption of the Trump administration and Republicans generally at the national level, and deservedly so. Very little however is said about the entrenched corruption among Republicans at the state level, especially in so-called “Red States” like Texas that have a GOP trifecta–control of the Judiciary, Legislature and Executive Branch.

Hopefully this bombshell piece by Texas Tribune will open the door to more coverage of the entrenched GOP Corruption in the Lone Star State and other “Red States”

The Texas Tribune piece above goes into great detail about how State Senator Angela Paxton’s new bill opens her up to charges of corruption. So in order to avoid redundancy, Yours Truly will do what he does best–cut to the chase and tell grassroots Democrats what is corrupt/swampy about Senator Paxton’s bill.

You will remember that in 2015, Texas Attorney-General was indicted and charged for violating a Texas securities law–essentially giving investment advice that he was not authorized to give. In Texas, as in many other states, one is required to register with the state board before giving investment advice. Giving investment advice without registering with the state board is a third degree felony in Texas (2-10 years jail). There are many reasons for the state board registration requirement, key among them curbing corruption/self dealing. If I am a major shareholder at a large Texas company, and I am advising someone/ a corporation to make a major investment in the same company, the folks at the Texas state board can easily sniff out the self dealing because they will have records of all my financial entanglements. Simply put, it is a very important anti-corruption measure to have investment advisers register with the Texas state board.

Angela Paxton the wife of Texas AG Ken Paxton ran for office in 2018 and was elected Texas State Senator for Senate District 8(SD 8). One of her first actions as a Texas legislator was introducing Senate Bill 860 (SB860) which among other things, seeks to make it legal for someone to give investment advice without registering with the Texas state board–the same thing her husband is currently in trouble for. It’s not hard to see why the naked self-dealing/corruption that is inherent in Sen Paxton’s SB860 has sparked outrage in Texas. Sadly however, this is just a sample of the kind of entrenched corruption that is commonplace in “Red States” like Texas that never get the mainstream media attention they deserve. Hopefully from here on out the Texas Tribune and other major Texas publications will expose instances of public corruption like the one exhibited by the Paxtons. Yours Truly will certainly make #TexasSwamp a major topic of debate especially as we approach the 2020 elections.

Bottom line if Democrats hope to turn Texas blue, they have to make the entrenched GOP Corruption a key campaign issue in 2020 and beyond. Maybe just maybe this may be the key to Democrats capturing the coveted US Senate seat currently held by John Cornyn in 2020.

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GOP Gutted IRS’ Ability To Go After Rich Tax Cheats

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An investigation by ProPublica has revealed that since 2010 congressional Republicans have systematically gutted the IRS’ budget for the express purpose of dramatically reducing its ability to pursue rich tax cheats, while at the same time ramping up the agency’s ability to go after the working poor who claim earned income credit. If there was ever a classic case of GOP’s war on poverty, this shocking finding by ProPublica certainly is.

Excerpt from ProPublica’s 12/11/2018 piece

This troubling ProPublica revelation comes as many working families are getting ready to file their 2018 taxes and yes–claim their earned income credit. It is sickening to learn that as the working poor are looking forward to getting their income tax refunds so they can catch up on their bills, congressional Republicans have primed the IRS to target them with audits, while letting the rich tax cheats avoid IRS scrutiny. This is absolutely sickening and House Democrats and the mainstream media must get to the bottom of this shameful attack on the poor by the GOP.

This chart from the same ProPublica piece says it all. Notice how sharply audits of those who earn $500K or more(typically Republicans) have dropped compared to the other income groups. As the article correctly points out, it is the rich who cheat on their taxes more which means IRS auditors should concentrate more on them as opposed to the poor.

The incoming House Democratic majority owes it to its voters to investigate this troubling state of affairs at the IRS. For the record, the ProPublica piece points out that it is not the IRS that is at fault here but rather congressional Republicans who have made them go after poor filers claiming earned income credit. Nobody is advocating that the IRS turn a blind eye to poor people fraudulently claiming EIC. However it is only fair that the IRS also go after rich tax filers who by far do most of the tax cheating.

Bottom line it is in everyone’s interest that the ability of the IRS to go after all tax cheats, rich and poor, is fully restored. Where, as here, Republicans have turned this powerful agency into a weapon to attack poor working families, while at the same time neutering its ability to go after rich tax cheats, House Democrats have a duty to step in and restore the agency to its full investigative capacity. Specifically, House Democrats must fully furnish the IRS with the tools it needs(experienced auditors) to aggressively go after rich tax cheats. It is simply immoral to have this powerful agency go after poor working families while the rich tax cheats get off scot-free.

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Staggering $40 Million Of Trump’s Inaugural Funds Missing

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President Donald J. Trump’s Inauguration Ceremony, Jan 20, 2017

In case you missed it, a stunning segment on OutFrontCNN with Erin Burnett said that a staggering $40 million dollars of Trump’s inaugural funds have just disappeared. Citing a Pro Publica report, host Erin Burnett said, “We know that they[Trump’s Inaugural Committee] raised $107 million from donors….Of the $107 million, we to this day do not know where $40 million of it went. How is that possible?” Erin Burnett is not alone in her outrage. A lot of Americans are shocked at how this level of public corruption has gone unanswered(no prosecution) for 2 years.

An even more troubling revelation from the bombshell OutFrontCNN segment is that Ivanka Trump who doubles up as Presidential daughter and Adviser apparently was in the middle of the price negotiations between the Trump Inaugural committee and the Trump Organization raising obvious conflict of interest questions–self-dealing. The Trump Organization apparently extremely overcharged the Trump Inaugural Committee for rooms, meals and event space at Trump Hotel in DC and there are emails showing that Ivanka Trump was in on the price negotiations.  

This is hands down one of the biggest stories of the week but it has strangely received very little mainstream media attention. It is mind-boggling how $40 million dollars can just disappear in thin air–outright theft/embezzlement– and two years later nobody is either sitting in jail for it, or fighting a criminal indictment. Can you imagine if this happened under the Obama administration and the Obama family was suspected of having embezzled inaugural funds? 

This is by all objective standards a shocking case of public corruption. But you don’t have to take Yours Truly’s word for it, listen to what Richard Painter, the Ethics Chief under the George W. Bush administration told OutFrontCNN host Erin Burnett; “It’s shocking. Somebody’s stealing money….somebody’s putting money in their own pocket…$40 million dollars unaccounted for, that is a telltale sign of fraud…criminal activity is very likely. If we had seen any amount of money missing in the Bush inaugural committee I would have called people into my office and said I want to find out exactly where that money is, and better find out fast because it could be a crime…”

Bottom line folks when incidents of blatant corruption by public officials go on for this long without any legal consequences, the spotlight shifts from the corrupt act itself to who we are as a society. In this case it raises the question as to whether certain people are above the law. There is absolutely no way that two years after a suspected theft/embezzlement by members of any other previous U.S. administration, one that was widely reported by the mainstream media and has a lot of documentary evidence, would not have yielded indictments already.

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