[AmGreatness] Fox News is reporting that a former fundraiser for Barack Obama repeatedly misused funds from his non-profit organization for both political and personal use before the organization went bankrupt.
Dixon Slingerland is accused of taking the funds from the California-based non-profit, the Youth Policy Institute, and spending them on a "lavish" lifestyle and "partisan political contributions" before the YPI filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy.
In the filing, YPI asked Slingerland to repay approximately $1.7 million back, which the organization says is an amount that was gradually stolen over the course of five years. He worked for YPI for 23 years and earned roughly $400,000 per year before he was fired from the organization.
Slingerland's fundraising efforts have included the 2013 campaign of Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, a broad donation to Democratic congressional candidates in 2018, and raising $743,000 for Barack Obama between both the 2008 and 2012 election cycles.
Slingerland called the accusations "extremely misleading," and claimed that he has "made several attempts to meet with YPI leadership to resolve any and all issues," but that "YPI has refused to engage in discussions" regarding the allegations. He did admit to "a handful of expenditures mistakenly made" with his business credit card at YPI, but did not elaborate further.
#5
Dixon Slingerland is accused of taking the funds from the California-based non-profit, the Youth Policy Institute, and spending them on a "lavish" lifestyle and "partisan political contributions" before the YPI filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy.
Laundering AmeriCorps money ($40m per year) thru a non-profit? How innovative.
AmeriCorps is a voluntary civil society program supported by the U.S. federal government, foundations, corporations, and other donors engaging adults in public service work with a goal of helping others and meeting critical needs in the community.""
YPI (the children) is one venue. I hate to ask, but could there possibly be others ?
#8
I wouldn't want to be the CPA's who did the audit on this 'non-profit' - failing (or otherwise) to detect a seven figure fraud will not redound well to them - goodbye professional CPA licenses, at a bare minimum.
"The data involved in the initiative encompasses lab results, doctor diagnoses and hospitalization records, among other categories, and amounts to a complete health history, including patient names and dates of birth."https://t.co/RdD3vVfozg
#2
Grant every citizen perpetual copyright of their personal information that can not be legally waivered. Then, like minimum wage, let the legislative bodies set the rate those who use or gather or sell the information pay the copyright holder for it.
#6
I don't see how this is not a huge HIPAA violation.
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
11/12/2019 10:12 Comments ||
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#7
It’ll make single payer Medicaid for all soooo much easier. “You are taking more than your fair share of treatment, you are not productive enough to spend money on— so sorry, here is an aspirin to help you feel better.”
#10
If these shitty oligarch-wannabes get hold of our medical info, we are well and truly f---ed as a nation.
Personal liberty will have no meaning at all.
These people and their companies literally profit from selling every piece of your behavioral information they can get their eyes upon. This is far more disturbing than anything happening in the Swamp.
#13
Google et al exist upon a little commodity called electricity. Cut it and cut them. Doesn't seem to be too far off for those in Calimexico. Nice grid you have there, terrible is something happened to it. Blame climate change. Heh.
#14
Ah, the fresh voice of a contrarian
(not Erb!)
Epic, Cerner, McKesson, Press Gainey, et. al., are all monolithic legacy EHR mgmt systems built through acquisition and glueware. Founded on the cashflow premise that efficient successful medicine comes from streamlining workflows.
There is not a REAL 2 sigma median statistical patient. Any chronic illness treatment MUST integrate co-morbidities. If Google can BIGDATA tens of millions of medical records, maybe we can get patient centric medicine instead of managing the institutional ADT and LOS reimbursement cycles.
#15
OK, Skid, then let Google manage the unified database as a contractor to a newly-created public utility that will maintain a strict separation of all health data from all commercial use by Google or anyone else of that database and its contents.
I hear you re the Shitshow that is management of medical data, but this is a problem of TRUST.
There is utterly no reason that we can or should trust Google with such sensitive data-- unless we create Ft. Knox-quality trust, privacy and security around this data and keep Google from figuring out ways to make $$$$ off of the data itself.
They can earn a management fee, I suppose. But no use of the data whatsoever by Google.
#16
There is not a REAL 2 sigma median statistical patient. Any chronic illness treatment MUST integrate co-morbidities. If Google can BIGDATA tens of millions of medical records, maybe we can get patient centric medicine instead of managing the institutional ADT and LOS reimbursement cycles.
I’m sure that was someone’s bright idea in the beginning. But Google has built up such a legacy of distrust, and there are those within the company and without who would choose to be untrustworthy with the data, that it will be hard for them to do only the good thing without giving in to the temptation to organize the peasants for their own good...as they already do with their search algorithms.
[American Thinker] Heh US Attorney John Durham is running an investigation into the Russia hoax that has been almost airtight. A fragment of information on his activities, however, comes our way via Australian media.
Alexander Downer’s meeting with George Papadopoulos at the Kensington Wine Rooms in 2016 played a key role in providing a rationale for an FBI investigation of the Trump campaign, including FISA warrants allowing wiretapping. At the time, Downer was the Australian High Commissioner (ambassador) to the UK, and had been Australia’s foreign minister earlier, a very senior diplomat to be entertaining a young Trump campaign volunteer.
The meeting, also attended by Aussie diplomat Erika Thompson, elicited the information from Papadopoulos that he had been told by mysterious Maltese Professor Joseph Mifsud that the Russians had a trove of Hillary Clinton’s missing emails. When that information was duly passed along and reached the US, it became justification for investigating "collusion with Russia."
Over last weekend, Downer sat for an interview with Sky News of Australia, and via paywalled News Corp newspapers, we learn:
Former Australian foreign affairs minister Alexander Downer has reportedly told a US investigator he did not try to bring down Donald Trump during the 2016 US presidential election.
"Try to bring down" is language to could hide a lot of other activity.
US Attorney John Durham, tasked with investigating the origins of the probe into Russian influence in the election, is understood to have interviewed Mr Downer in London last month and reviewed a confidential Australian diplomatic cable to clarify Australia’s role, The Australian reports.
Mr Durham is also believed to have interviewed Australian diplomat Erika Thompson, who arranged and attended the Downer-Papadopoulos meeting.
He is understood to have asked Mr Downer whether he knew Joseph Mifsud, the Maltese academic who told Mr Papadopoulos the Russian government had "dirt" on Hillary Clinton.
Posted by: Frank G ||
11/12/2019 14:34 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[11132 views]
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He was raised in Chicago by Weather Underground leaders Bill Ayers and Bernardine Dohrn before studying law at Yale. He later won a Rhodes Scholarship and worked for Venezuela’s now-deceased socialist President Hugo Chávez before coming to San Francisco.https://t.co/iCrDiYMbNq
He was raised in Chicago by Weather Underground leaders Bill Ayers and Bernardine Dohrn before studying law at Yale. He later won a Rhodes Scholarship and worked for Venezuela’s now-deceased socialist President Hugo Chávez before coming to San Francisco.
#1
Someone needs to organize a "pee-in" in front of City Hall
Posted by: Rex Mundi ||
11/12/2019 11:23 Comments ||
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#2
Cop-killer's son, an equally vicious cop-hater, admirer of Hugo Chavez and leader of "F--- the Cops!" chanting mobs, wins District Attorney election. Also a grad of one of the country's most elite universities. Feted by the media.
#3
Boudin has stated he will, upon taking office, issue a 'no arrest' policy for public urination, drunkeness, prostitution, soliciting and a few other 'life style' issues.
I'm sure the tourism board is thinking real hard about their job just now.
Posted by: lord garth ||
11/12/2019 12:45 Comments ||
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#4
So Yale and Rhodes Scholar are now a meatball prize.
#5
Kathy Boudin coupled with David Gilbert and had a spawn. Because Kathy and David were convicted cop-killers and in prison, their off-spring was raised by Bill Ayers and Bernardine Dohrn (chums and neighbors of community organizer BHO). The child later became DA in San Francisco without ever having tried a case.
#8
Here's the supposed "injustice" that the red diaper baby's baby seeks to rectify:
Trials and sentencing
Gilbert, Weems, and Clark were the first of the Brink's robbers to go to trial. Because the BLA was known for attempting to break their members out of prison (as in the case of Assata Shakur), massive security precautions were undertaken, turning the courthouse in Goshen, New York into a heavily armed compound. The job of presiding over what was expected to be an arduous and potentially dangerous trial was assigned to Judge David S. Ritter who tried to balance ensuring the rights of the unpopular defendants with keeping the peace in the courtroom while they used unconventional approaches to making their case. All three defendants declined assistance from defense lawyers and chose to represent themselves.
Their contention was that since they did not recognize the authority of the United States, the government had no right to put them on trial. Throughout the trial, they repeatedly disrupted the proceedings by shouting anti-US slogans, proclaiming to be "at war" with the government and refusing to respect any aspect of the US legal system. They called the robbery an "expropriation" of funds that were needed to form a new country in a few select southern states that ideally would be populated only by African Americans.
When it came time for the defendants to present their case, they called only one witness, Nathaniel Burns (Sekou Odinga), who had already been convicted of multiple bank robberies. He said that his organization was "fighting for the liberation and self-determination of black people in this country." Burns testified that the killings were suitable because the three victims had interfered with the "expropriation." In his view, the theft of money was morally justified because those funds "were robbed through the slave labor that was forced on them and their ancestors." After his testimony, he was praised by the defendants and led out of the courtroom to serve his 40-year federal prison sentence.
The jury was not convinced by Burns' reasoning and at the end of the trial, it took the jury only four hours of deliberation to return a verdict convicting all three defendants of armed robbery and three counts of murder. When the verdict was announced, Clark, Gilbert and Weems refused to appear in court. They remained in the basement holding cells, drinking coffee and railing against, what they perceived to be, a racist court system. "I don't think any interest is served by forcing them to be here," said Judge Ritter.
Rockland County D.A. Kenneth Gribetz told reporters: "Our goal is to see that these people, who have contempt for society and have shown no remorse, will never see the streets of society again!" Judge Ritter apparently agreed. On October 6, 1983, he sentenced each defendant to three consecutive twenty-five year-to-life sentences, making them eligible for parole in the year 2058.
After the trial, Weems claimed, "As to the seventy five years in prison, I am not really worried, not only because I am in the habit of not completing sentences or waiting on parole or any of that nonsense but also because the State simply isn't going to last seventy five or even fifty years." He died in prison from AIDS in 1986.
Gilbert and Clark remain in prison. In September 2006, Clark was granted a new trial by a judge in a district court on grounds that she had no representation at trial. On January 3, 2008, the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, in a unanimous decision, reversed the district court's judgment granting a new trial. The Second Circuit panel noted that she chose to represent herself and defaulted any claim by failing to appeal until after the time for appeals had expired.
Unlike their fellow robbers, Boudin and Brown attempted to mount a legal defense. Boudin hired Leonard Weinglass to defend her. Weinglass, a law partner of Boudin's father, arranged for a plea bargain and Boudin pled guilty to one count of felony murder and robbery, in exchange for a single twenty year-to-life sentence.
She was paroled in 2003. However, Brown was unable to reach any deal that would spare him a life sentence. Since he had nothing to lose by going to trial, he decided to have one. At his trial, he claimed to have only had a minor participation in the robbery and had not fired a weapon at anyone. The jury was not convinced. In addition to being caught in the escape attempt with the other robbers, witnesses identified him as a participant in both shootouts. He was sentenced to 75 years to life in prison. ...
Legacy
In 2004, the Nyack post office was officially renamed after the two police officers and the Brink's guard who were killed in the shootout.
In 2008, Kathy Boudin was appointed as an adjunct professor at Columbia University School of Social Work, prompting a 2013 governmental condemnation of the university's action and a call for her termination as professor.
Buck was later convicted of multiple charges related to the Brink's robbery and other crimes and sentenced to 50 years in a federal prison. She was released from prison in July, 2010, and died of cancer in August, 2010. Williams (Shakur), the alleged ringleader of the group, was the last one to go on trial on charges related to the robbery. In 1988, he received a 60-year prison sentence. He has a parole release date of 2016.
Legacy
In 2004, the Nyack post office was officially renamed after the two police officers and the Brink's guard who were killed in the shootout.
In 2008, Kathy Boudin was appointed as an adjunct professor at Columbia University School of Social Work, prompting a 2013 governmental condemnation of the university's action and a call for her termination as professor.
WASHINGTON (AP) ‐ Defense Secretary Mark Esper said Monday that an Army officer has no reason to fear retribution for testifying before Congress in the impeachment inquiry of President Donald Trump.
Esper was asked about potential retribution for Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman during a trip to New York City. The defense secretary said the Pentagon "has protections for whistleblowers" who report waste, fraud or abuse.
He said Vindman or any other whistleblower "shouldn’t have any fear of retaliation," according to a transcript of the exchange released by online publication Defense One.
Vindman is the Ukraine specialist at the White House’s National Security Council who was on the July 25 phone call between Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymr Zelenskiy. Vindman testified about concerns that Trump was delaying military aid to the Eastern European country while pressing the country to investigate his political rivals.
That phone call, and Trump’s request for a "favor" from Ukraine are the basis of the impeachment inquiry.
According to the Defense One transcript, Esper was asked what he would tell service members who might wonder if Vindman’s career is in jeopardy and whether their own careers would be at risk if they blew the whistle on waste, fraud or abuse.
Esper responded by saying the Pentagon "has protections for whistleblowers -- they’re guaranteed in law. And he shouldn’t have any fear of retaliation. That’s DoD’s position," referring to the Department of Defense.
#1
This 'protection for whistleblowers' thing. Isn't it something detrimental to military or intelligence directives ? Does it even extend to the relationship between an O-5 and the CinC ?
#4
Unless it is something new, the military does not have a "whisleblower" program, per se. The correct venue for issues of concern is the 'chain of command,' Inspector General, Waste Fraud & Abuse Hotline, or Staff Judge Advocate (SJA).
Again, unless something has changed in the past 20 years, which is entirely possible.
#6
Insubordination. Give him the MacArthur treatment.
Posted by: Lemuel Prince of the Platypi5893 ||
11/12/2019 5:48 Comments ||
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#7
Vindman has nothing to fear for being a whistleblower. However, he is not a whistleblower. He is an officer who disobeyed a legal order. For that alone he should be courtmartialed.
Posted by: Rambler in Virginia ||
11/12/2019 8:33 Comments ||
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#9
Retaliation, no. But personally I'd like a word or two on exactly how and why he somehow does not have to work within the chain of command, you know like EVERYBODY else in uniform.
#11
He's in a position now where anything he doesn't like about his treatment by the Army or DoD will be seen as "harassment" or "retaliation." The military better figure out how to prevent an entire class of guys like this or next thing you know they will be running the place.
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
11/12/2019 10:17 Comments ||
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#12
REMFs are a serious problem in any military, MM.
#13
Pentagon will not retaliate. They will follow the UCMJ and nail him for being a criminal...
Posted by: 49 Pan ||
11/12/2019 13:59 Comments ||
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#14
Vindman decided to become a whistleblower because he disagreed with Trump's policy. Vindman does not make foreign policy. You could say he tried to usurp the Constitutional authority of the President. He ought to be brought up on charges.
#18
How about " Ekalaka Mini-Mutes Radar Site, Carter County, Montana, 45.6667°N -104.3669°W " ...
A friend once told me that Alaska is a "hardship post with double points..." so why not find some place in the CONUS where you have to drive 50+ miles to buy a beer?
h/t Instapundit
[PJMedia] On Saturday, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) claimed that fighting "white supremacy" is a fundamental part of combatting climate change. She also attacked "consultants" who would encourage climate activists to focus on solar panels more than social justice.
[LegalInsurrection] Jeffrey Epstein was accused of being a serial sexual predator who ran a rape ring that included some of the world’s richest and most powerful men and victimized underaged girls.
Everything about Epstein’s supposed suicide stinks to high heaven. From the time he was mysteriously and inexplicably left alone, to the autopsy report.
According to the New York Times, "roughly 15 employees at the Metropolitan Correctional Center where Jeffrey Epstein killed himself in his jail cell have been subpoenaed as the criminal investigation into the events around his suicide intensifies." Epstein's "suicide" might be the last straw?
The final verdict will be that Epstein was murdered by "person or persons unknown."
As for the jailers:
There will be disciplinary action, firings, criminal prosecutions. Some will go to prison for a couple of years.
All of them will stay silent as they and their families will be extremely generously compensated engage in extremely profitable business in the futures market.
#3
March 4, 2018 - Sergei Skripal and daughter Yulia Skripal near fatal poisoning in Salisbury, England, with a Novichok nerve agent known as A-234.... or was it ?
.......Writing in the Moscow daily Komsomolskaya Pravda, Viktor Baranets, a former Russian Defense Ministry official, stated that the Ministry of the Interior knew that any normal riot control agent, such as pepper spray or tear gas, would allow the Chechens time to harm the hostages. They decided to use the strongest agent available. The paper identified the material as a KGB-developed "psycho-chemical gas" known as Kolokol-1, and reported that "the gas had such an influence on [Chechen siege leader Movsar] Barayev that he couldn't get up from [his] desk" Wiki link.
#5
I think money is a much safer incapacitating agent in this case. No chemical traces.
Epstein was an extremely unsympathetic character and if the rumors and reports are true it is not a stretch to estimate that all interested parties who want this to go away would spend a nine figure sum to make it go away.
Epstein had the potential to devastate the private lives of scores of people for whom a couple of millions of $ is nothing.
#11
Where were the men? My spouse rarely goes 20 miles to the grocery without me, and we have paved roads and AAA.
When Mr. Wife was busied arranging our transfer back from Brussels, I took the trailing daughters and ran back to Frankfurt to say goodbye to everyone there. It was our only opportunity — he was told of the transfer nineteen days before it was to take effect. I’m not normally a keen driver, but I have female friends and relations who regularly pack the kids in the car to drive a couple hours to visit the grandparents sans husband.
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
[AmGreatness] Fox News is reporting that a former fundraiser for Barack Obama repeatedly misused funds from his non-profit organization for both political and personal use before the organization went bankrupt.
WASHINGTON (AP) ‐ Defense Secretary Mark Esper said Monday that an Army officer has no reason to fear retribution for testifying before Congress in the impeachment inquiry of President Donald Trump.
Incapacitating agents, human lab rats, Salisbury UK, Epstein, Maxwell....? 
