173 cases of alleged interstate voter fraud in Florida & Maryland

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True the Vote (TTV), the nation’s leading voters’ rights organization, today announced new research findings of interstate voter fraud in Florida and Maryland. Florida and Maryland state election authorities and the U.S. Department of Justice were formally notified of 173 cases of voters casting ballots simultaneously in both states during federal elections.

“These 173 cases represent True the Vote’s continued effort to expose the fragility of our absentee voting systems,” True the Vote President, Catherine Engelbrecht said. “Last year Pew Research found that 2.75 million Americans were registered to vote in more than one state. We are unfortunately continuing to see the consequences of that startling statistic. True the Vote calls on Florida, Maryland and federal officials to investigate our latest research.”

Key Facts & Data Points

  • Voters were identified matching full name, date of birth and residential address.
  • True the Vote was able to study federal voting histories from 2006 to 2012.
  • Cases of double voting by cycle
    • 2012: 10
    • 2010: 9
    • 2008: 17
    • 2006: 137
  • Most common Florida counties (cases)
    • Escambia (28)
    • Clay (10)
    • Duval, Pinellas, Volusia (9)
  • Most common Maryland counties (cases)
    • Anne Arundel (33)
    • Montgomery (18)
    • Prince George’s (17)
  • 11 individuals double-voted in multiple federal election cycles.
  • 12 married couples were identified double voting, some in multiple cycles.

Federal and state laws were potentially violated as a result of these activities. Federal law, specifically 42 U.S.C. § 1973i(e) clearly states that voters cannot cast more than one ballot in the same election.

True the Vote’s research follows a series of similar findings in Florida, Ohio, New York and Rhode Island, triggering criminal investigations between the states in late 2012. TTV coordinated its research with Annapolis-based Election Integrity Maryland.

Copies of the research referral letters to the U.S. Department of Justice, Florida Secretary of State and the Maryland State Board of Elections have been made available to the public.

RELATED:

Letter to DOJ Election Crimes Division (Scribd)
Letter to Florida Secretary of State (Scribd)
Letter to Maryland State Board of Elections (Scribd)

ABOUT TRUE THE VOTE:

True The Vote (TTV) a nonpartisan, nonprofit grassroots organization focused on preserving election integrity is operated by citizens for citizens, to inspire and equip volunteers for involvement at every stage of our electoral process. TTV empowers organizations and individuals across the nation to actively protect the rights of legitimate voters, regardless of their political party affiliation. For more information, please visit www.truethevote.org.

Voto Honesto (TTV) es una organización sin fines de lucro, no partidaria, enfocada en preservar la integridad en las elecciones y operada por ciudadanos para ciudadanos, ara inspirar y equipar a voluntarios para envolverse en cada una de las etapas del proceso electoral. TTT capacita a organizaciones e individuos a través de la nación para activamente proteger los derechos de los votantes legítimos, sin importar a que partido político perteneces. Para más información, por favor visite  www.votohonesto.org.    

Bipartisan coalition finds lack of transparency and accountability for Enterprise Florida bonus plan

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The independent government watchdog group Integrity Florida, Progress Florida and The Tea Party Network are raising concerns about the lack of transparency and accountability for a $700,000 bonus plan being considered by the board of directors of Enterprise Florida. Enterprise Florida is a taxpayer-funded entity created by the Florida Legislature that operates as the state’s commerce department.

In a letter to Governor Rick Scott, Attorney General Pam Bondi, Chief Financial Officer Jeff Atwater and Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam, who all serve on the board of directors of Enterprise Florida, the bipartisan group states:

“Secretary of Commerce Gray Swoope and his staff at Enterprise Florida are seeking your approval of a proposal to allow them to exceed one million dollars in bonus pay within the last twelve months. On September 13, 2012, the Enterprise Florida board of directors voted in favor of $497,500 in bonuses for Secretary Swoope and his staff.

On August 8, 2013, the Enterprise Florida board will consider a proposal for an additional $630,000 bonus pool just for the staff and a separate, yet to be disclosed, bonus package for Secretary Swoope. Secretary Swoope’s last bonus of $70,000 was approved at the September 2012 Enterprise Florida board meeting, despite the item never appearing on the board agenda. Secretary Swoope’s proposed 2013 bonus is not on your August 8 meeting agenda, which was just published online on August 2, less than a week before your upcoming vote on the bonus plan, an agenda item buried on page 26.”

The letter notes, “There are also major flaws in the Enterprise Florida bonus criteria, including allowing the staff to count jobs promised towards their jobs created goal. Basically, the Enterprise Florida staff negotiates agreements with companies promising jobs in exchange for subsidies, then counts pledges that companies might create jobs in the future as performance that merits bonuses. Jobs promised by Enterprise Florida board member companies who negotiate incentive deals with Enterprise Florida staff are also allowed to be counted towards the staff performance goals for their bonuses, which clearly presents a conflict of interest.”

The bipartisan coalition recommends the following remedies:

Ensure Enterprise Florida complies with the law. We urge you to consider delaying the August 8 vote on the Secretary of Commerce and Enterprise Florida staff bonuses until you are able to assure taxpayers that the organization’s operating budget is in compliance with the requirements of Florida Statutes Section 288.904(2)(a).

Increase transparency. We encourage the Enterprise Florida board of directors to be more transparent about its practices by posting online complete agendas of all meetings of the board and board committees at least a week in advance, posting online minutes immediately following meetings and providing online access to audio or video recordings of all committee and board meetings in a timely manner online.

Increase accountability. We encourage the Enterprise Florida board of directors to protect Florida taxpayers with a more accountable process for staff performance recognition and awards that avoids conflicts of interest. Any incentive compensation plan for the Secretary of Commerce and Enterprise Florida staff should be based on actual results that benefit Floridians rather than promises alone.

The letter is signed by Mark Ferrulo, Executive Director of Progress Florida, Dan Krassner, Executive Director of Integrity Florida and Catherine Baer, Chair of The TEA Party Network.

RELATED COLUMNS:

Enterprise Florida’s plan for $630K in staff bonuses catches flak

Florida education chief changed Indiana grading formula to benefit charter school

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WDW – FL reported that Florida Commissioner of Education Tony Bennett recently recommended “the continuation of the transition safety net provision that prevents schools from dropping more than one letter grade in a given year.” It appears changing school grades is part of Commissioner Bennett’s modus operandi.

The Associated Press reported, “Former Indiana and current Florida schools chief Tony Bennett built his national star by promising to hold “failing” schools accountable. But when it appeared an Indianapolis charter school run by a prominent Republican donor might receive a poor grade, Bennett’s education team frantically overhauled his signature “A-F” school grading system to improve the school’s marks.”

In one email, Bennett wrote, “They need to understand that anything less than an ‘A’ for Christel House compromises all of our accountability work.”

In another, he wrote, “This will be a HUGE problem for us.”

The charter school’s founder, Christel DeHaan, has given more than $2.8 million to Republicans since 1998, including $130,000 to Bennett, according to the AP. DeHaan told the AP that she never asked for any special treatment.

Bennett told the Times/Herald Monday that Christel House was among the top-performing charter schools in Indiana. If it hadn’t earned an A, that meant something was wrong with the entire grading system, he said.

“It had nothing to do with politics,” he said.

RELATED COLUMNS:

Florida’s “padded” school grades show “unprecedented declines”

Online Survey: Which of the Ten Commandments do politicians violate most?

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Daily headlines report on politicians who have fallen from grace. From San Diego to New York the list grows. The sins committed are always used for political gain by political opponents. Religion has become politicized and politics has become a religion for some.

Americans are questioning the morality of our elected officials.

The Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI) and the Brookings Institute released their 2013 Economic Values Survey. PRRI and Brookings state, “Our new research shows a complex religious landscape, with religious conservatives holding an advantage over religious progressives in terms of size and homogeneity,” said Dr. Robert P. Jones, CEO of Public Religion Research Institute. “However, the percentage of religious conservatives shrinks in each successive generation, with religious progressives outnumbering religious conservatives in the Millennial generation.”

The PRRI and Brookings note, “Religious progressives are significantly younger and more diverse than their conservative counterparts. The mean age of the religious progressive population is 44 – just under the mean age in the general population of 47 – while the mean age of religious conservatives is 53. Twenty-three percent of Millennials (ages 18-33) are religious progressives, while 17 percent are religious conservatives. Among Millennials, there are also nearly as many nonreligious (22 percent) as religious progressives. Conversely, 12 percent of the Silent Generation (ages 66-88) are religious progressives, while 47 percent are religious conservatives. One-in-ten (10 percent) of the Silent Generation are nonreligious.”

Are politicians merely a reflection of us?

The Torah Exodus 20 contains the Ten Commandments. Please take our online survey and pick the commandment you see being violated the most by politicians.

To view the results of the survey click here.

2 Timothy 3:1-11 BOOKS

“But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God— having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with such people.”

See it at YouVersion.com: http://bible.us/31/2ti.3.1.books

RELATED COLUMNS:

Do you live in on of America’s “Most Sinful” cities or one of the “Saintly Cities”?

Fact Check: Does the Bible really support rape and polygamy?

Alert: Feds to spend $8 million in Florida to sell Obamacare

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The Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) reports it has 46 awards totaling $8,052,533 to sell the Affordable Healthcare Act in Florida.

The DHHS website states, “Florida has 48 health centers with 410 sites that served 1,136,458 patients last year, 43.65 percent of them uninsured. With their Outreach and Enrollment funding, the health centers listed below expect to hire 163 new workers, who will assist 158,160 people with enrollment into affordable health insurance coverage.”

This is government promoting government.

Below is a list of the healthcare centers which received awards:

Health Center City Award Amount
BANYAN COMMUNITY HEALTH CENTER, INC. Miami $62,146
BOND COMMUNITY HEALTH CENTER, INC. Tallahassee $138,189
BORINQUEN HEALTH CARE CENTER, INC. Miami $258,243
BREVARD HEALTH ALLIANCE INC., THE Melbourne $152,401
BROWARD COMMUNITY AND FAMILY HEALTH CENTERS, INC. Hollywood $124,835
CAMILLUS HEALTH CONCERN, INC. Miami $94,926
CENTRAL FLORIDA FAMILY HEALTH CENTER, INC. Sanford $297,546
CENTRAL FLORIDA HEALTH CARE, INC. Avon Park $184,081
CITRUS HEALTH NETWORK, INC. Hialeah $131,831
COLLIER HEALTH SERVICES, INC. Immokalee $176,623
COMMUNITY AIDS RESOURCE Miami $87,809
COMMUNITY HEALTH CENTERS OF PINELLAS, INC. Saint Petersburg $205,102
COMMUNITY HEALTH CENTERS, INC. Winter Garden $298,063
COMMUNITY HEALTH OF SOUTH FLORIDA, INC. Cutler Bay $603,291
ESCAMBIA COMMUNITY CLINICS, INC. Pensacola $173,884
FAMILY HEALTH CENTER OF COLUMBIA COUNTY, INC. Lake City $87,028
FAMILY HEALTH CENTERS OF SOUTHWEST FLORIDA, INC. Fort Myers $237,882
FLORIDA COMMUNITY HEALTH CENTER, INC. West Palm Beach $173,653
GENESIS COMMUNITY HEALTH, INC. Boynton Beach $64,918
HEALTH CARE DISTRICT OF PALM BEACH COUNTY Lake Worth $409,878
HEALTH, FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF Port St. Joe $81,880
HEALTH, FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF Tallahassee $76,534
HEALTH, FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF Jacksonville $173,939
HEALTH, FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF Lake Butler $71,727
HEALTH, FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF Spring Hill $105,662
HEALTH, FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF Sarasota $171,544
HEALTH, FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF Kissimmee $166,877
HEALTH CARE CENTER FOR THE HOMELESS, INC. Orlando $168,637
HEART OF FLORIDA HEALTH CENTER, INC. Ocala $121,414
JESSIE TRICE COMMUNITY HEALTH CENTER, INC. Miami $265,635
MANATEE COUNTY RURAL HEALTH SERVICES, INC. Parrish $394,379
MIAMI BEACH COMMUNITY HEALTH CENTER, INC. Miami $209,480
NORTH BROWARD HOSPITAL DISTRICT Fort Lauderdale $93,353
NORTH FLORIDA MEDICAL CENTERS, INC. Tallahassee $162,719
NORTHEAST FLORIDA Pierson $121,524
PANCARE OF FLORIDA, INC. Panama City $95,971
PINELLAS, COUNTY OF Clearwater $75,434
PREMIER COMMUNITY HEALTHCARE GROUP, INC. Dade City $138,189
PROJECT HEALTH, INC. Sumterville $106,938
RURAL HEALTH CARE, INC. Palatka $176,205
RURAL HEALTH NETWORK OF MONROE COUNTY FLORIDA, INC. Key West $61,970
SUNCOAST COMMUNITY HEALTH CENTERS, INC. Ruskin $253,040
TAMPA FAMILY HEALTH CENTERS, INC. Tampa $398,284
THE SULZBACHER I M CENTER FOR Jacksonville $105,783
TREASURE COAST COMMUNITY HEALTH, INC. Fellsmere $134,987
TRENTON MEDICAL CENTER Trenton $158,099

Zimmerman Aftershock: NBC lawsuit, calls to investigate State Attorney Corey

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The name George Zimmerman is sending aftershocks across the state of Florida and the nation.

Since his acquittal on all charges stemming from the self defense shooting of Martin many actions and counter actions are anticipated. Among them: the lawsuit against NBC for “yellow journalism” and calls to investigate Florida State Attorney Angela Corey‘s misleading affidavit of probable cause, which had not disclosed significant exculpatory details.

Both are interrelated and deal with telling the truth.

In the first instance NBC employees (recently fired) selectively edited the 911 call that aired.

The Washington Post’s Erik Wemple reports Zimmerman attorney James Beasley stated that he and his team were eager to resume the [NBC] suit, which had been put on hold due to the beginning of the criminal trial. With that out of the way, they now intend to proceed. “We’re going to start in earnest asap, we just have to get the stay lifted which is a ministerial act,” Beasley said via email. Beasley did acknowledge that while Zimmerman’s victory in his criminal trial could be helpful to this civil suit, it was not a guarantee that he would win his defamation case.

To understand NBC’s alleged “yellow journalism” perhaps the following quotes from from a former Monitor/NBC Radio reporter are useful. The comments were sent to WDW – FL by Don Blair, former Monitor/NBC Radio news commentator and Florida resident. Blair’s last broadcast for Monitor/NBC Radio was in 1989. Blair was responding to a column posted by WDW – FL and wrote in a series of exchanges referring to Zimmerman: “Probably that a cold blooded murderer has been set free.” … “Is he immune from a drive-by shooting?  I don’t think this man can look forward to a long…or longer life from here on out.  I will drink to his death…hopefully a painful one.” … “I’ll say it again.  I will drink a toast the day that miserable bastard is gunned down.” Similar comments were made by others on social media sites. One of the defense attorneys referred to the media as “mad scientists“. Some in the media “cry foul” on the verdict.

While Blair’s comments do not reflect on the current management or employees of NBC or its affiliates, there is a lesson to be gotten from his mind set regarding the Zimmerman case.

Florida State Attorney Angela Corey

The second issue are calls for an investigation of State Attorney Angela Corey for the misleading affidavit which lead to charge of second degree murder against Zimmerman.

Multiple emails to WDW – FL state, “Please write to Governor Scott and request that he immediately order a full and comprehensive investigation into the actions of State Attorney Angela Corey during the entire George Zimmerman arrest and trial.”

William A. Jacobson from Legal Insurrection reports:

In early April 2012, Florida State Attorney Angela Corey decided not to take the George Zimmerman case to a Grand Jury, opting for the filing of a Criminal Information which then was presented along with an Affidavit of Probable Cause.  The Court found probable cause for the charges.

It turned out, once pre-trial discovery was exchanged, that the affidavit upon which probable cause was found had not disclosed a lot of significant exculpatory details.  There was no mention of the significant injuries to Zimmerman, or of John Good’s eyewitness account that Martin was on top of Zimmerman hitting him Mixed Martial Arts style.  All the Affidavit said on the subject of the physical confrontation was that there was “a struggle.”

Read more.

Eliott C. McLaughlin from CNN reports:

The George Zimmerman investigation was hijacked “in a number of ways” by outside forces, said the former police chief of Sanford, Florida.

Bill Lee, who testified Monday in Zimmerman’s second-degree murder trial, told CNN’s George Howell in an exclusive interview that he felt pressure from city officials to arrest Zimmerman to placate the public rather than as a matter of justice.

“It was (relayed) to me that they just wanted an arrest. They didn’t care if it got dismissed later,” he said. “You don’t do that.”

Read more.

The shock waves from the Zimmerman acquittal are just now being felt. Stay tuned, it will be a bumpy ride.

RELATED VIDEO: Prosecutors address the media after the verdict. Corey states Zimmerman “profiled” Trayvon Martin. Listen carefully to the media questions and statements by Corey.

Public buses: The poster child for government waste

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scat logo

Sarasota County Area Transit logo

Florida has many public transportation systems. The most common are buses. Public bus systems rarely pay for themselves. Rather they are heavily subsidized by the federal, state and local government. The system that WDW – FL analyzed was the Sarasota County Area Transit bus system or SCAT. SCAT is one of the better run bus systems for a medium sized Florida county.

After reviewing the data provided to WDW – FL  (available to the Sarasota County Commissioners) by SCAT our analysis found:

SCAT in FY 2013 lost $22.59 million (operating minus fairs). The loss was covered by federal ($3.2M), state ($2.6M) and local ($16.8M) taxpayer revenues. SCAT lost $1.02M per route or approximately $7.28 per passenger.

To break even the county would have to raise the fees by approximately $7.50 per passenger.

To determine if this system was cost effective and to aid our analysis we asked a series of questions about SCAT to Sarah Blanchard, AICP from SCAT. Blanchard provided us with the following answers.

1.     How many passengers annually by year for the past 5 years?

See PowerPoint Ridership below:

For a larger view click on the image.

2.     What is the cost of salaries, benefits and retirement costs in the numbers?

Salaries and Fringes are identified in the following table.

 

FY2007

FY2008

FY2009

FY2010

FY2011
Salaries & Fringes $9,819,784  $10,675,148  $10,996,414  $11,111,303  $10,988,695

 

3.     Are SCAT personnel under the Florida Retirement System or a 401k plan?

Yes. All SCAT personnel are under the Florida Retirement System (FRS). NOTE: The FRS Investment Plan is a “defined contribution retirement plan” qualified under Section 401(a) of the Internal Revenue Code.

4.     What are the rider fees over the past 5 years?

See below PowerPoint Total Operating Revenues by Funding Source. The area in green represents Farebox, Passes, and Services.

operating revenue slide

For a larger image click on the slide.

5.     What is the capital costs over the past five years?

Capital costs for the past five years are identified in the following table.

Capital

FY2007

FY2008

FY2009

FY2010

FY2011
Federal Funds $4,474,463  $383,876

 $1,999,171

 $862,937

 $8,133,077
State Funds $190,238  $333,915

 $76,880

 $254,732

 $549,652
Local Funds $1,784,090  $332,768

 $1,144,849

 $672,506

 $2,049,307

 Total

 $6,448,791  $1,050,559

 $3,220,900

 $1,790,175

 $10,732,036

 

6.     What do hybrid buses cost versus normally aspirated buses?

The following pricing is extracted from most recent SCAT Purchase Orders for buses. These are average pricing and represent base price plus amenities.

Hybrid Diesel Electric 29 – 35 Foot: approximately $585,000 (2011 pricing)

Low Floor Diesel 40 Foot: approximately $422,000 (2010 pricing)

7.     How many buses does the county own?

SCAT owns 121 vehicles (65 Fixed Route, 8 Commuter Buses, 48 Paratransit).

8.     What does it cost annually to operate a single bus hybrid and normally aspirated?

Average cost

2006 Hybrids Cost Per Mile is 0.33

2006 Diesels  Cost Per Mile is 0.24

2009 Hybrids Cost Per Mile is 0.17

2011 Hybrids Cost Per Mile is 0.08

RELATED COLUMNS:

Public Buses and Blackout Windows: What are they hiding behind those Foster Grants?

IG Report: Florida state college presidents living like kings

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Governor Rick Scott requested the Office of the Inspector General to review the compensation for Florida’s twenty-eight (28) State College Presidents. What the IG found in its Report #2013-12 is enlightening given the rising cost of higher education and growing student loan debt to pay for a college degree.

The IG report found:

  •  The total compensation reported for the twenty-eight (28) state college presidents in FY 2012-2013 ranged from $143,866 to $630,157 for a reported total of
    $9,811,292 paid from state appropriated funds, student fees, auxiliary funds, direct support organizations’ funds, grants and other non-state college funds.
  • State college presidents’ reported compensation included some or all of the following:  salary,  annuities,  deferred  compensation,  vehicle  provisions,  housing allowances, major medical insurance premiums, leave, incentives, and other compensation/benefits including annual physical exams, cell phones, internet access, relocation expenses, and memberships/dues.

  • Some college presidents receive post-employment perquisites including but not limited to the transfer of ownership of the vehicle provided by the colleges to the president, computer equipment, one year sabbatical with full pay and benefits, or health insurance for life after employment with the college ends.

The IG reported, “One statute limiting the amount that can be paid for the presidents’ salaries from state appropriated funds. We also noted that each of the twenty-eight (28) state colleges reported compliance with this statute to the Division as required. However, we found that: 1) there were no standardized parameters for boards of trustees to use to determine the reasonableness of the total compensation for the state college presidents or the factors upon which the total compensation is based; and, 2) the forms and amounts of compensation varied across colleges.”

The IG noted, “Instances where the total value of the presidents’ compensation was not readily transparent in that many of the contract terms did not contain assigned values. Some contract terms contained benefits payable to the presidents for life or benefits not yet earned making it difficult to ascertain the full financial obligation on the colleges from these  contracts.”

Concerning severance pay, the IG noted:

The twenty-eight (28) state college presidents’ contracts were reviewed for compliance with Section 215.425, F.S., and we noted that the contract language for severance pay varied across colleges. For example, some of the state colleges have presidential contracts that contain severance pay language if the president separates from the college “without cause”; some contracts address severance pay if the president separates from the college “for cause”; some contracts were silent about the conditions when severance pay was paid; and, some contracts, as written, were contrary to statute because the amount exceeded the limits outlined in statute.

Finally the IG found, “Only eight (8) of the twenty-eight (28) colleges tied the presidents’ contracts to performance.”

Sounds like Florida’s state college presidents are living like kings.

Danger: Public-private partnerships come to Florida

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Governor Rick Scott signed into law HB 85 – Public-Private Partnerships (PPP or P3) on June 27th, 2013. HB 85 states:

Public-Private Partnerships: Provides legislative findings & intent relating to construction or improvement by private entities of facilities used predominantly for public purposes; provides for procurement procedures, requirements for project approval, project qualifications & process, notice to affected local jurisdictions, comprehensive agreements between public & private entities, use fees, financing sources for certain projects by private entities, & applicability of sovereign immunity for public entities with respect to qualified projects; authorizes counties to enter into public-private partnership agreements to construct, extend, or improve county roads; provides requirements & limitations for such agreements; provides procurement procedures; requires fee for certain proposals; revises limit on terms for leases that Orlando-Orange County Expressway Authority may enter.

HB 85 takes effective on July 1, 2013

According to Joan Veon, author, journalist and expert on globalization, “Public- Private Partnerships are one of the most effective tools that are used by the globalists to implement Agenda 21 Sustainable Development, with the goal of destroying the structure of governments that represent the people, and puts profits and resources in the hands of those private interests.”

The below video is by Cassandra Anderson, based on an interview with Veon discussing public-private partnerships.

According to Veon:

The public part of the Public- Private Partnership (PPP or P3) is the government, which becomes corrupted and no longer represents the taxpayers, when it accepts funding from private interests. Further, the government becomes silent against abuses to the public when they have been compromised by PPP business arrangements, and, worse yet, may also sell off resources and utilities that were owned by the taxpayers. The government does this because they are broke and more taxation is unpopular.

The private part of the PPP is often a combination of these entities: * Corporations (usually multinational) * Foundations (like Rockefeller) * Associations * Universities * Any entity with a lot of money * Non-Governmental Agencies (NGO’s). NGO’s are usually environmental agencies, like the Sierra Club and the Nature Conservancy.

The private stakeholder in the business arrangement always has profit as its goal, not service. Service was formerly the role of the representative government. The assets that once belonged to the taxpayers are then transferred to private interests, in a transfer of wealth through the assets, to private parties that seek profit at any price. Frequently, deceit, deception and distortion are used to fleece the taxpayer into this ‘solution’ for governments that are broke.

American local, county, state and the federal governments have gone broke and are ripe for the sale of their assets to PPP’s because of deficit spending, and a lack of economic common sense. John Maynard Keynes promoted deficit spending to Roosevelt as a way to escape the Depression. This results in diluted government and loss of power.

For more information on PPP’s and related topics visit www.womensgroup.org.

IG Report: Millions in tax refunds to illegal aliens to insure “job security” for IRS employees

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The Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration in 2012 conducted an “audit based on information forwarded to us by a U.S. Representative and a U.S. Senator. The information forwarded were complaints by two Internal Revenue Service (IRS) employees alleging that IRS management was requiring employees to assign Individual Taxpayer Identification Numbers (ITIN) even when the applications were fraudulent.”

The audit report titled “Substantial Changes Are Needed to the Individual Taxpayer Identification Number Program to Detect Fraudulent Applications” found in part:

  • IRS management is not concerned with addressing fraudulent applications in the ITIN Operations Department because of the job security that the large inventory of applications to process provides.
  • Management is interested only in the volume of applications that can be processed, regardless of whether they are fraudulent.
  • IRS management has indicated that no function of the IRS, including Criminal Investigation and the Accounts Management Taxpayer Assurance Program, is interested in dealing with ITIN application fraud.
  • In the meantime, there is a potential that erroneous tax refunds are going to non qualifying individuals, allowing them to defraud the Federal Government of billions of dollars.

According to the report, “Some of the deficiencies we raise in our report have been brought to management’s attention long ago. Some were raised in a September 2002 report issued by an IRS-initiated Task Force. However, management has failed to take sufficient action to address those deficiencies.”

The Blaze reports, “The IRS sent more than $46 million in tax refunds to 23,994 “unauthorized” alien workers who all listed the same address in Atlanta, Ga., in 2011, according to an audit report by the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA). However, the Atlanta address that received millions of dollars in refunds was not the only address apparently housing thousands of “unauthorized” aliens. In fact, it wasn’t even the only address in Atlanta that was claiming such a situation.”

CNSNews.com breaks down the report:

The IRS sent 11,284 refunds worth a combined $2,164,976 to unauthorized alien workers at a second Atlanta address; 3,608 worth $2,691,448 to a third; and 2,386 worth $1,232,943 to a fourth.

Other locations on the IG’s Top Ten list for singular addresses that were theoretically used simultaneously by thousands of unauthorized alien workers, included an address in Oxnard, Calif, where the IRS sent 2,507 refunds worth $10,395,874; an address in Raleigh, North Carolina, where the IRS sent 2,408 refunds worth $7,284,212; an address in Phoenix, Ariz., where the IRS sent 2,047 refunds worth $5,558,608; an address in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., where the IRS sent 1,972 refunds worth $2,256,302; an address in San Jose, Calif., where the IRS sent 1,942 refunds worth $5,091,027; and an address in Arvin, Calif., where the IRS sent 1,846 refunds worth $3,298,877.

Illegal refunds to illegal aliens to insure job security. Senator Rand Paul raise this concern when he alluded to a “culture of corruption” where IRS union employees are using their positions to target those against big government so they can keep their jobs. This report appears to provides credence to Senator Paul’s statement.

Book Review: Crime and Incompetence – Guide to America’s Immigration Crisis

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An explosive and unvarnished look at America’s immigration problem. Crime & Incompetence: Guide to America’s Immigration Crisis takes the reader into a world of crime, corruption, and incompetence that politicians and faceless bureaucrats do not want you to know exists.

Investigative journalist Marinka Peschmann’s eye-opening book exposes the dark side of the broken immigration system. Bribery—cash, gifts, or sex—is but one criminal element at the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).

“After reading Crime & Incompetence, Americans will learn how, under the watch of both Republican and Democratic administrations, the USCIS grew into a dysfunctional bureaucracy that substantially contributed to the current illegal alien/undocumented worker crisis; yet somehow, magically, is expected to process a “bipartisan” path to citizenship (a.k.a. amnesty) for roughly 11+ million illegal immigrants,” writes Peschmann.

Peschmann asks, “How can a broken system process millions of illegal immigrants when it can’t process legal immigrants properly? It cannot. As you will see, comprehensive immigration reform is not about compassion—it is a vote-grab at the expense of Americans and lawful immigrants.”

Dare to see big government at its worst. See what legal immigrants have known all along—how devastating life can be at the mercy of unelected bureaucrats while stuck in a broken state-run agency. This could be your future in Obama’s America. Heed Peschmann’s documented warning: should any type of amnesty become law, America will be fundamentally transformed into a one-party nation.

This is a must read for anyone who cares about America’s future.

ABOUT MARINKA PESCHMANN

Marinka, the author of The Whistleblower: How the Clinton White House Stayed in Power to Reemerge in the Obama White House and on the World Stage (One Rock Ink), and Following Orders: The Death of Vince Foster, Clinton White House Lawyer (One Rock Ink), is a freelance journalist. She has collaborated, ghostwritten, and contributed to books and stories from showbiz and celebrities to true crime, politics, and the United Nations.

After freelancing behind the scenes in both the mainstream press and the new media, it was time to step forward. For more information please visit: MarinkaPeschmann.com.

Florida “Watchdog education organization” calls for special session on Common Core

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Sheri Krass, founder of Eye on US Education

Sherri Krass in an email to WDW – FL states, “Eye On US Education (EUSE) a national conservative “Watchdog” education organization, based in the state of Florida, believes in limited government, adherence to our Constitution, and State Sovereignty.”

“EUSE is calling for the Florida legislature to convene a Special Session to consider legislation similar to that proposed in South Carolina. This legislation can be edited to take into account the Florida Constitution. It can be written fairly quickly as it will not be necessary to write it from scratch,” notes Krass.

H 3556 General Bill, By Huggins Summary: Balance of Powers Act

A BILL TO AMEND THE CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, BY ADDING CHAPTER 36 TO TITLE 1 SO AS TO ENACT THE “SOUTH CAROLINA BALANCE OF POWERS ACT”, TO CLARIFY THE COMPACT ENTERED INTO BETWEEN THE STATE OF SOUTH CAROLINA AND THE UNITED STATES, TO ASSERT THE SOVEREIGNTY OF THE STATE UNDER THE SOUTH CAROLINA CONSTITUTION, TO PROHIBIT THE INFRINGEMENT OF THE CONSTITUTIONALLY PROTECTED RIGHTS OF THE STATE OF SOUTH CAROLINA OR ITS PEOPLE BY MEANS OF ANY FEDERAL STATUTE, MANDATE, EXECUTIVE ORDER, JUDICIAL DECISION, OR OTHER ACT DEEMED BY THIS STATE TO BE UNCONSTITUTIONAL, TO CREATE THE JOINT LEGISLATIVE COMMITTEE ON THE NEUTRALIZATION OF FEDERAL LAW, AND TO PROVIDE FOR THE MEMBERSHIP AND DUTIES OF THE COMMITTEE AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES. [Emphasis added]

View full text.

EUSE is calling for a Special Session on the grounds that there is a time-limit before the implementation of both Obamacare and the Common Core Standards. The next regular State of Florida Congressional Session will not meet until March 2014.

“EUSE is sending this to all members of the Florida legislature, to EUSE County Chairs and Conservative/Tea Party/912 organizations throughout the State of Florida,” states Krass.

EUSE is also requesting a meeting with Governor Rick Scott to discuss educational issues and legislation we recommend be enacted concerning these issues.

The Government vs. YOU

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The following column is from the Heritage Foundation:

Every day, more Americans get trapped by big government. In addition to groups targeted by the IRS, upstanding citizens going about their normal lives are suddenly targeted by law enforcement authorities and charged as criminals. Just a few examples:

The following are examples of Floridians caught up in this overreaching dragnet of criminalization:

These are only a few of the shocking incidents The Heritage Foundation chronicles in our new project, USA vs. YOU. Experts at Heritage’s Edwin Meese III Center for Legal and Judicial Studies reveal the stories of 22 people from all backgrounds, races, and income levels victimized by carelessly written laws.

Get the FREE e-book USA vs. YOU now

When criminal laws are created to “solve” every problem, punish every mistake, and compel the “right” behaviors, this troubling trend is known as overcriminalization. Ultimately, it leads to injustice for honest, hard-working Americans at every level of society.

Public interest groups from across the political spectrum recognize how this flood of criminal laws violates our basic liberties. Diverse organizations including the American Civil Liberties Union, the National Association of Criminal Defense Attorneys, the American Center for Law and Justice, and Right on Crime, among others, have joined with Heritage to reaffirm the true purpose of America’s justice system: to ensure public safety and protect the innocent.

When was the last time you saw the ACLU work together with a faith-based group like Justice Fellowship? With USA vs. YOU, the problem is grave enough to bring together unlikely allies. And we’re delivering this bipartisan message just as the House of Representatives has launched a task force aimed at correcting this issue.

This morning, Heritage Senior Legal Fellow John Malcolm will testify at the first hearing of the Overcriminalization Task Force—shining a spotlight on the scope and severity of this threat to our liberties. Ending the practice of trapping our citizens with unnecessary laws will be no easy task, with an estimated 4,500 criminal law offenses and 300,000 criminal regulations on the books.

Experience the stories of Americans like you treated unjustly – download the FREE e-book now

Over the next six months, Members of Congress from both parties will study this issue in depth, hold hearings, and—with the right encouragement—take steps to enact real reform.

Read the Morning Bell and more en español every day at Heritage Libertad.

RELATED COLUMNS:

When “Zero-Tolerance” Makes “Zero-Sense”

Report: Enterprise Florida “operates in a crony capitalist manner”

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A new report from the Reason Foundation titled “Crony Capitalism and Community Development Subsidies” raises the questions “Do community development subsidies actually result in community development? Or have they been captured by vested interests?”

Report authors Anthony Randazzo and Victor Nava reached the conclusion that Enterprise Florida “operates in a crony capitalist manner”.  

According to the Reason Foundation:

“Enterprise Florida is tasked with providing grants, loans, tax incentives and subsidies to businesses it believes will spur economic development in the state of Florida. Seventy-six percent of Enterprise Florida’s budget comes from either state or federal funds, which are then allocated to the specific businesses and projects seeking the funds, but not before 35% of its funds are used on administrative and marketing costs. On its website Enterprise Florida defines economic development as follows: “In a nutshell, economic development focuses limited resources on securing business investment and employment that are either at risk or would not otherwise occur. It works to expand targeted business sectors as the primary means of sustaining a high quality of life while also maintaining a favorable tax environment. Where possible, it targets businesses that are able to pay their employees higher wages, while still maintaining competitive costs for doing business.” It’s this curious definition of economic development that makes the agency susceptible to charges of crony capitalism.

Integrity Florida, a nonprofit watchdog group, has recently leveled charges of crony capitalism against Enterprise Florida. In a recent paper the watchdog group claims that Enterprise Florida not only failed to meet its job creation objective and obtain the required level of private sector support, but it also has the appearance of pay-to-play, apparent conflicts of interest, and displays clear favoritism toward certain companies and industries.  According to the documents obtained by Integrity Florida, Enterprise Florida provided contracts to corporations with ties to Enterprise Florida’s board of directors. Half of Enterprise Florida’s board of directors have also “invested” an average of $50,000 each into Enterprise Florida.  Another potential conflict of interest revealed in the report is the fact that the board has control over staff bonuses, of which nearly $500,000 worth were given out by the board in 2012 ($70,000 alone to the president/CEO).  While it is unclear whether or not these board member investments or staff bonuses factor into deciding which companies receive funding, all the elements for a pay-to-play scheme are certainly there.

Even if a pay-to-play scheme were not the case, Enterprise Florida (like the CRA/LA) still operates in a crony capitalist manner. Its entire operating strategy of “promoting targeted industries” is—in and of itself—crony capitalism, as it has a government-funded organization using taxpayer money to pick winners and losers by favoring certain businesses over others.

In 2012 Enterprise Florida even made deals with eight companies listed as “confidential” in the documents provided to Integrity Florida. It is disconcerting that Enterprise Florida is not only picking winners and losers with taxpayer money, but also doing so without revealing who the winners even are.” 

Read more.

NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden: ‘I don’t want to live in a society that does these sort of things’

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Video courtesy of the Guardian UK newspapers. Click here to read the column on Edward Snowden: the whistleblower behind revelations of NSA surveillance:

Edward Snowden, NSA Whistleblower, is  a 29-year-old former employee of the CIA who has spent the last four years working with the NSA in conjunction with various defense contractors.

Snowden handed over a bulk of highly classified material from the secretive organization to Guardian journalist Glenn Greenwald, who describes the initial set of materials: In a note accompanying the first set of documents he provided, he wrote: “I understand that I will be made to suffer for my actions,” but “I will be satisfied if the federation of secret law, unequal pardon and irresistible executive powers that rule the world that I love are revealed even for an instant.” […] Despite these fears, he remained hopeful his outing will not divert attention from the substance of his disclosures. “I really want the focus to be on these documents and the debate which I hope this will trigger among citizens around the globe about what kind of world we want to live in.” He added: “My sole motive is to inform the public as to that which is done in their name and that which is done against them.”

After copying the last amount of information, Snowden asked for some time off, and disappeared from his domestic life in Hawaii rather mysteriously. He has since been hiding out in a hotel room in Hong Kong.

Snowden is well aware that the United States government will almost certainly arrest and prosecute him: He predicts the government will launch an investigation and “say I have broken the Espionage Act and helped our enemies, but that can be used against anyone who points out how massive and invasive the system has become”. The only time he became emotional during the many hours of interviews was when he pondered the impact his choices would have on his family, many of whom work for the US government. “The only thing I fear is the harmful effects on my family, who I won’t be able to help any more. That’s what keeps me up at night,” he said, his eyes welling up with tears.

President Obama protests the NSA surveillance of Americans in 2006: