A History of Liars: The American Politician (Volume One)

This is the last in a three-part series.

Alan J. Yeck

Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission

This is the mother of all corruption. First, understand that ‘Citizens United’ is not an organization that actually wants citizens to unite, or is looking out for your best interest. The name was chosen as a decoy. It’s intent was corporate ownership of our government and that is what this decision has allowed.

In a 5-4 split decision, the Supreme Court invalidated a provision in the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act that prohibited unions and corporations from giving money to election campaigns. Justice Kennedy, speaking for the majority, said that the corporations and unions had their First Amendment right of free speech violated. The government argued that the ban, for over 100 years, had helped to fight corruption but Kennedy said that “…the anticorruption interest is not sufficient to displace the speech here in question.” Their faulty assumption was that corporate spending would be transparent and incorruptible – both terrible assumptions that have been proven completely wrong. 

The Justices that dissented called the decision “profoundly misguided…the ruling threatens to undermine the integrity of elected institutions across the nation.” Justice Stevens also wrote that this ruling would greatly increase the influence and power corporations have in determining the winners in elections. Since his retirement, Stevens has advocated for a constitutional amendment to overrule the Court’s decision. The Citizens United ruling opened the flood gates for corporations, extremely wealthy individual donors, and special interest groups to buy politicians, political parties, and remove the people of the United States from the legislative process. 

Super PACs

Remember PACs can contribute directly to a candidate’s campaign but there are restrictions on how much they can raise, and contribute ($5,000 per year, per election) but a new beast was created in 2010. A federal appeals court, citing Citizens United, ruled in the case of Speechnow.org v. FEC, that as long as they don’t give directly to candidate’s campaigns, outside groups had no limit on the money they could raise or spend in influencing election results — promoting a candidate and/or smearing another.

These new Nazi U-Boats used against American democracy are called Super PACs. The icing on the corruption cake is that while Super PACs have to disclose where their money came from, the questionable non-profits that donated that money to the Super PACs do not (this is called dark money). This means that China and/or Wells Fargo can give billions to these shady non-profits to ensure their candidates get elected, and there’s no way to trace the money to them. Once elected, the politician will vote how they’re told to vote by their corporate masters. This is our system. Are you disgusted?

According to OpenSecrets.org, as of January 10, 2021, 2,276 groups organized as super PACs have reported total receipts of $3,164,953,623 and total independent expenditures of $2,141,181,831 in the 2019-2020 cycle. Almost 80% of all that money came from the top 100 donors. The average citizen donates somewhere in the $50 range thinking it’s helping their candidate. 

How do we undo this web of lies and money? 

It is highly unlikely that the Supreme Court will reverse their decision. Egos in black robes grow old with no consideration or reflection to the average citizens on their decisions. We have to take control and it won’t be an easy task. 

1) Publicly funded elections. This allows the average person (non-millionaire) to run against the millionaires because they are given the same amount to spend. 

2) Empower a new, legitimate, Federal Elections Commission with public oversight. Give teeth to the body that is supposed to oversee elections and allow the people to monitor what they are doing with full disclosure throughout. 

3) Strengthen disclosures. Every penny should be accounted for and transparent to the citizens as to where it came from.

4) Amend the Constitution to end corporate, union and dark money systems that have arisen since the Citizens United case.

Call to action

All of these steps will require our attention to who is running for office and active participation in asking their support for the above changes. If they promise to do these things in exchange for our vote, then vote for them. If they do not commit to these (why do you think that would be? Hmmmmm?) don’t vote for them. Stop pulling that party lever, whatever party you may support, in a system that is completely broken and corrupt.  

It’s time to take back our democracy – for all of us. 

This is the final article in a three-part series by Alan J. Yeck reflecting on the state of the American political system, its challenges and the far-reaching effects it can have.

Read Part 1 Here

Read Part 2 Here

We have the power to change American politics back to a system that serves the people, not the politicians. Contact your representatives and ask them to listen to these facts and national narratives.

A History of Liars: The American Politician (Volume One)

Alan J. Yeck

This is the second part of a three-part series.

Campaign Finance Corruption

Corruption in government, be it a monarchy (kings and queens), a dictatorship (North Korea) or a democracy, has always been, has always existed. Corruption in the United States government has always been, has always existed. The difference today is that information is more easily available in a much quicker time frame. Don’t confuse this with misinformation or disinformation, which is actively used by politicians and political parties to deflect from their own corruption. While there are scandals, which are corrupt, what we’re going to focus on is specific to campaign financing or who is paying for our elected officials to vote one way or the other. Hint – it’s not you or me.  

Background on campaign finance reform in the U.S.

Before we had our own country to corrupt, in 1757, George Washington ran for a seat in the House of Burgesses for the Virginia Colony – kind of like today’s equivalent of a state legislator. He threw a big party for potential voters with lots of alcohol and great food. Washington was elected to the seat and then almost immediately the House of Burgesses passed an act prohibiting candidates from giving any sort of “reward” like food, drink or cash in exchange for a vote.

Now let’s jump to the 1904 presidential election. Incumbent Republican President Theodore Roosevelt was running against Democratic nominee, Alton B. Parker. To make sure he won the election, he raised over $2 million in campaign contributions from corporations (that would be the equivalent of $59 million today – a record amount at that time). Teddy won but not without a scandal from his corporate fundraising. In response to the scandal Roosevelt called for legislation to ban corporate contributions to future candidates. Ha! Roosevelt signed into law the Tillman Act in 1907 which banned corporate donations but the Act had no teeth, no enforcement provisions were included so politicians just crawled on their bellies around it. 

A few years later in 1910 the House passed the Federal Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) that required candidates to disclose both campaign spending and the sources of all contributions. The Senate passed an amendment in 1911 requiring the same and also placed limitations on spending for all congressional candidates. Sounds great, right? ‘Sound’ as in an empty gong though.

After Henry Ford lost a senate race to Truman Newberry in 1918, Ford charged that Newberry violated the spending limit laws of the Federal Corrupt Practices Act by raising over $100,000 for his campaign. Newberry was convicted in 1921 but his conviction was overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court (Newberry v. United States) who struck down spending limits. The Court ruled that the Federal Corrupt Practices Act was unconstitutional because the Constitution does not grant Congress the authority to regulate political parties or federal primary elections. This was the fertile soil of corruption that today’s mighty, corrupt political beanstalk grew from. 

Legislation continued through the mid-1900s trying to limit the political influence corporations could wield, as well as the growing unions and trade associations. In the 1940s, Congress passed the Smith-Connally and Taft-Hartley Acts banning labor unions from contributing directly to political campaigns. This is the true birth of our corrupted political system today – not the Act but the response to it.

Labor unions then created Political Action Committees or PACs and the effects have been complete destruction to our democracy. 1) because PACs were not unions, per se, PACs could contribute money to candidates and still be within campaign finance guidelines, and 2) PACs were not required to follow the political advertising and spending laws that the candidates had to follow. They could spend as much as they wanted to advertise and promote their candidates to their members and the public in general without ever giving a dime directly to the candidate’s campaign. 

In an attempt to truly reform campaign finance laws (or at least give the appearance of doing so), in 1971 Congress passed the Federal Election Campaign Act (FECA – not be confused with FECA-L matter which is another mainstay of Congress). This defined how much money candidates could spend on their campaigns. Again, toothless.  They created the Act but did not appoint a body to enforce it. Think of a law that establishes the speed limit at 65mph but law enforcement doesn’t have any authority to pull someone over doing 100mph. Another great job by our elected morons. Later, in 1974, after the Watergate scandal, they refined FECA to create today’s bi-partisan Federal Election Commission (FEC) which is supposed to enforce campaign finance laws but has become non-functioning in recent years.   

The following year, Sen. James Buckley (R-NY) sued the FEC (Buckley v. Valeo) arguing that limits on campaign spending violated free speech rights. In 1976 the Supreme Court agreed and the Act was amended which meant politicians had unlimited campaign spending. The Court also found that the provision restricting the amounts candidates could spend from their personal funds, unconstitutional. This has very much created a system where an honest citizen who wants to serve their community and country must raise tremendous amounts of money, or already be a millionaire. Currently over half of the members of Congress were millionaires. Do you think a millionaire or career politician, who is also a millionaire, represents you? 

This is the second article in a three-part series by Alan J. Yeck reflecting on the state of the American political system, its challenges and the far-reaching effects it can have.

We have the power to change American politics back to a system that serves the people, not the politicians. Contact your representatives and ask them to listen to these facts and national narratives.

Looks like I picked the wrong week to quit sniffing glue.

By Alan J. Yeck

Just when I thought the political fruit cake couldn’t get any nuttier, I woke to the news that Hillary Clinton, in a discussion with Nancy Pelosi, shared her own conspiracy theory that President Trump called Vladimir Putin on the day of the riot at the Capital. I find myself going back and forth between being entertained by the moron platform (well used by both parties) to really pissed off that this is even in the news. Maybe it’s true, maybe it’s not? That’s why we wait for facts before holding public hearings. I don’t like Trump but I don’t like Biden either. I don’t like any of them and this is just another example of ‘why.’ Their intense, personal hatred of Trump comes first and foremost, well before issues that are affecting and destroying the American people on a daily basis. Vengeance is mine, says the Lord…and Hillary and Nancy. Don’t you wish they were that consumed with the fraudulent, student loan industry? Don’t you wish they spent their energy on campaign finance reform, or healthcare, or a distribution plan for the COVID vaccine? Don’t you wish all of them had their heads out of their asses and actually worked for the welfare of the American people? I do.

The next WTF moment came with two commercials on the networks; one was about TV news personality, Katie Couric, being interviewed by the news, about Trump. The other promo was about the news, interviewing CBS News White House correspondent, Major Garrett, on Trump. This is what we do now – the news interviews the news and makes it news when it’s not news at all. Again, I’m not defending nor supporting any of the politicians including Trump, but is it a surprise, to anyone in the country, how the mainstream news networks loathe Trump? I’m not saying they don’t have good reason – I’m saying they are news networks and not gossip tabloids (or shouldn’t be gossip tabloids). If you also loathe Trump do you need more loathing ammo? If you support Trump, does this ease your fears as we transition to a new Biden administration? Maybe try reporting on how much money from Super PACs go to which politicians? How about where the thousands upon thousands of lobbyists spend their time, and money, in Washington? How about using the power of the press to bring real, lasting change to a country desperately needing it, by real reporting and not a vendetta agenda. Do you understand that as you also seek your pound of old, white, flabby, flesh that you only create more mistrust in what you report on?  The only difference between you and The National Enquirer is…nothing. Except I did see Elvis in an Asheville head shop so the Enquirer’s reporting on that was true. 

Please follow us at AltRaged and like our Facebook page (although they continue to censor our ads).

“Here, take it. Take it, Georgie.”

–Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi addressing the American people.

The latest federal stimulus package, or how Congress gives more to the ultra-wealthy while trying to appear that they actually give a shit about the American people. 

By Alan J. Yeck

As I write this, the discussions are taking place in Washington as whether to give a $600 stimulus check or a $2,000 stimulus check. To me, as a citizen, at this point the dollar amount is the least of our concerns. We have a government that has spent the last nine months doing absolutely nothing other than campaign rhetoric and arguing with each other as many Americans continue to suffer. It doesn’t matter what political side you may fall on because there is no victory for the people.

The latest 5,593 page federal relief stimulus package was delivered to Congress just before they voted on it. This gave lawmakers a very, very short amount of time to read the equivalent of Stephen King’s “IT” five times over (which at least in his story evil is defeated), which means it is unlikely they read it at all. This $2.3 trillion package, of which only $900 billion is in response to the pandemic is shameful. SHAMEFUL. It  includes a whole treasure chest for those with the most treasure already. 

Senator Mitch McConnell leads Senate in checking with their boss on stimulus plan.

Some citizens are on the edge of ruin and $600, or $2,000 will do absolutely nothing to save them. Others do not need the money but they’re sending it anyway. This is their brilliant plan? Nine months to come up with this – ready, shoot, aim. The government has the capability to dig deeper into the data and target the aid to make the biggest impact. To identify our fellow citizens that need the most help is certainly possible, unless you’re our government today. Good job, Nancy. Good job, Mitch. Now let’s celebrate the holidays.

There has always been dysfunction with our political leaders but it was never a job requirement until the last few decades. My late uncle, John Malloy, told me about growing up in Chicago in the 1930s. Politicians were corrupt then – kickbacks for contracts, payoffs for votes…but the people had public parks, and swimming pools and  libraries… everyone knew the politicians were taking a little extra on the side but they took care of the people. Today, they take it all and the people are abandoned. That was 30 years ago when he told me that and it’s only gotten worse.

We have been conditioned to believe that ‘the lesser of two evils,’ and/or ‘better than nothing,’ are legitimate, acceptable positions. We have been told these lies for so long that we’ve started to believe them but the ‘lesser of two evils’ is still evil and less, and something that is ‘better than nothing’ is not actually better.

We, me and you, pay around $4 billion a year for congress operating expenses and this is what we get in return. Zero leadership, zero ethics, zero compassion, zero understanding. Nine months to put together a real plan using real data and this is the best they could do for us? Shame on them all. 

References

MacMillan, Douglas, Peter Whoriskey, and Jonathan O’Connell. 2020. America’s biggest companies are flourishing during the pandemic and putting thousands of people out of work. December 16. Accessed December 28, 2020. https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/2020/business/50-biggest-companies-coronavirus-layoffs/.

The Killing of American Education

An Introduction, by Alan J. Yeck

The U.S. spends almost double that of anywhere else in the world on higher education and that’s before the interest charges are shackled upon the students. Nine million Americans are either in default, deferment or forbearance on their student loans with a million more each year. These students are Democrats, Republicans, African American, Caucasians, Latinx, Asian, Native American, young, old, married, divorced, LGBTQ, fathers, mothers…every single demographic that exists. It’s not a political party issue – it’s blatant criminal activity by our elected officials, their collection agencies and the Department of Education. They have created a life-long debt sentence for these students for their own profit at the cost of our country’s future.

This paper will discuss politicians and politics but is not pro Democratic Party or Pro Republican Party. The reality of today is that all politicians are arrogant, self-serving  assholes and all have damaged our country in pursuit of their own wealth building agendas.

The student loan debt crisis didn’t just appear. The warning sirens have been blaring for over a decade with the causes of it going further back than that. The subprime mortgage crisis was also seen years before but again, the people that could have changed it, the politicians, chose to do nothing until it was too late and then they bailed out the firms to the tune of $30 trillion.  That same year Goldman Sachs paid out record bonuses to the very people who caused it. Why was this allowed and why is the student loan debt allowed? Because nasty, rotten, bankers, brokers, collection agencies, politicians and billionaires are making a great deal of money off of the dreams and misfortunes of students and the mismanagement of higher education (again allowed). Shame on them all. A pox on them all. There are solutions beyond the news bites and campaign rhetoric but solutions don’t pay as well.

Forced to compete in the higher education war for a job. Now I’m crushed with the weight of student loan payments and no end to the payoff. I’ve been forced to withdraw from contributing to my retirement fund so that I can make the enormous monthly payments. On a 50k loan, I’ll (if I don’t expire first) will have paid over 250k for this loan. By the way, my annual income will never match the debt I’ve accrued in order to compete for a professional hire career! I think it’s important to note that community colleges had not yet molded programs to support a full-time employee who would be taking full-time credit hours. This forced many adult college bound students into the private college sector. These colleges continue to price-gauge adult students with inflated credit hour costs, books, and fees. My best option would be to quit working all together! I’ll never see the light of day, so why bother making a good living? I support student debt forgiveness!   Jennifer   November 25, 2019  Columbus (https://studentdebtcrisis.org/read-student-debt-stories/)

The student loan debt crisis is not new. It wasn’t like a tornado that pops up with the warning sirens giving only minutes of notice before it destroys everything in its path. It has been in the making since the 1970s and touched down on land over a decade ago. It was seen then – sirens blaring and it was projected to get worse. The narrative never changed – do not ignore this or very bad things will happen – and it has. Our elected officials didn’t just ignore it but instead they have actively, albeit quietly, ensured the system remained broken and has supported the loan “servicing” agencies in pushing their boots harder on the necks of borrowers for their own profits.

These numbers, including our $1.7 trillion student loan debt figures are always increasing so this is a snapshot of the first quarter of 2019 –

Federal loan borrowers in repayment: 18.6 million.

Federal loan borrowers with loans in deferment: 3.4 million.

Federal loan borrowers with loans in forbearance: 2.7 million.

Federal loan borrowers with loans in default: 5.2 million.

11.3 million American citizens cannot make their payments. Twenty-five percent of all borrowers will go into default and that’s where the true ugly begins. At this point interest begins to quickly pile on and can double, triple, quadruple…more from the original loan amount.

Once in default, the loan is sent to collections – this is also the point where the power finance players make their money. With the blessing of congress and the courts, wages are garnished, social security payments are garnished, tax refunds are taken in full, you are no longer eligible for deferments or forbearance, and your credit is ruined. This can also cost you your job, or prevent you from future employment. This will last until the loan is paid back or until death (except private student loans where they can come after the estate).

How we reached this point can be very confusing (intentionally designed) so I’m going to attempt to deconstruct the main areas that facilitated the fraud and the areas that keep it going and growing. All of these issues have been previously reported by numerous journalists but have not always tied the relationships together of higher education, politicians, collection/servicing agencies, financial institutions, billionaires, the department of education and other branches of the federal government, and how they worked and continue to work together to commit such a monumental deception on the American public. 

There are many rabbit holes that they want you to get lost in so I’ll address some of those right now. This piece will not explain all the differences between all the various student loans available today – understanding that like a financial aid officer at a college doesn’t change the corruption. It will not explain in-depth how all the financial tools work involved in this industry – understanding that like a broker doesn’t change the corruption. It will not explain the various loan repayment programs and faulty formulas used by the collection/servicing agencies  – understanding these like the Department of Education will not change the corruption. It cannot cover every institution that has operated fraudulently nor al the dirty, immoral, unethical people involved…but I’ll give it the old college try.  

Beware phony advocates for reform that appear to speak on your behalf with partial fixes but do so just to ensure there are no real changes to the system that would result in any financial losses for themselves and the masters they serve. The predatory student loan industry exists because our elected officials are either corrupt themselves,  don’t take the time to truly understand all the complex aspects of the abuse and fraud in the system (they choose to listen to the industry’s own lobbyists instead of their own constituents), or are just plain morons. Regardless, all kill American higher education. The American student loan system – government loansharking enforced with judicial muscle. The mafia never had it so good.

Supreme Court Endorsed Corruption – Citizens United v. FEC

From the “If No One is Around When Democracy Dies, Does it Make a Sound?” Part 4

Super PACs empower the wealthiest donors, and the expansion of dark money through shadowy nonprofits that don’t disclose their donors. On the other hand, we know those being elected are well aware of who is making their donations and what they expect in return. They don’t sell their souls – they sell ours.

“Citizens United.” Doesn’t that sound like a great group to be part of? Doesn’t it sound so American? Baseball, hotdogs, apple pie and Citizens United. Their logo, an eagle head with the red and white flag stripes behind it. Americans united together, working together to the benefit of the people. But it was the exact opposite – the name, intentionally chosen to sound all-American, to keep your defenses down, to let it slide by while it’s intent was nefarious and to the control and destruction of the very people who were fooled by it.

In 2010 there were two landmark decisions that paved the way for the corporate control of our political system; one by the federal appeals court in Washington, SpeechNow.org v. Federal Election Commission, and the other, the U.S. Supreme Court ,Citizen’s United v. Federal Election Commission. Both ruled that the government cannot disallow corporations and unions from making “independent expenditures” for political uses. The Citizens United ruling also struck down FECA’s complete ban on corporate and union independent spending, originally passed as part of the Taft-Hartley law in 1947.

Their insane reasoning? Justice Anthony Kennedy wrote that it would violate their First Amendment right of free speech to limit political spending from corporations. Their decision was based on a complete lack of any type of understanding of human nature, and specifically politicians and the dirty systems they work in. The majority of justices assumed (and you know what happens when we ass-u-me) that independent spending would be transparent and could not be corrupted. They said that by corporations and unions raising and using money for to support campaigns, that it “did not give rise to corruption or the appearance of corruption.”

(Uh, are you shitting me?) This essentially means that Pfizer Pharmaceutical is no different than you for campaign financing (except of course they have $50 billion more cash flow than you). Wait, wait, it gets better – Super PACs have no limit on donations so they can raise and spend unlimited amounts of money from individuals, corporations and unions to advocate for, or against candidates of their choice. Their goal is to influence the outcome of state and federal elections (to put their person in office, the person that will do what they tell them to do, the person that will vote how they tell them to vote).  Wait a minute…isn’t that the people’s job? It used to be but we’re only for appearance now…like the Queen (have you been practicing your wave?).  The dissenting opinion written by Justice John Paul Stevens stated, “At bottom, the Court’s opinion is thus a rejection of the common sense of the American people, who have recognized a need to prevent corporations from undermining self-government since the founding, and who have fought against the distinctive corrupting potential of corporate electioneering since the days of Theodore Roosevelt.” You don’t have to have a law degree or be a judge to understand that truth, and apparently even when you have those things it doesn’t give you anymore wisdom than the thug on the street.  

This is part 4 of the “Democracy Dies” series, covering the corruption surrounding PACS, SuperPACs, and how candidates pay for votes.

To read part 1, go to https://altraged.com/2020/10/23/if-no-one-is-around-does-democracy-make-a-sound-when-it-dies-part-1/

For part 2, go to https://altraged.com/2020/10/28/if-no-one-is-around-when-democracy-dies-does-it-make-a-sound-part-2/

For part 3, go to https://altraged.com/2020/11/12/what-are-pacs-and-superpacs/

What are PACs and SuperPACs?

If No One is around when democracy dies, does it make a sound? Part 3

By Alan J. Yeck, Founder

Coming out of the our recent election just days ago, the term PACs and SuperPACs need to be defined now as much as ever. What do these acronyms mean? And how are these groups contributing to the fall of American democracy?

Political action committees (PACs)

Traditional nonconnected political action committees –

are prohibited from accepting money from corporations, unions, and associations. These are tax-exempt organizations that raise money in support of candidates and/or specific legislation they want to see pass/defeated. Federal campaigns are regulated by the Federal Election Commission (FEC) and State and local PACs are regulated by the State and local election boards. Nonconnected PACs are required to file quarterly reports with the FEC exactly who contributed the money and how the PAC spent the money. Individuals can donate up to $2,800 per election cycle (primary and general election) for a maximum of $5,600 a year.

• A nonconnected committee does not have a “connected organization”—that is, no corporation or labor organization establishes, administers or raises money for a nonconnected committee.

• All forms of support including money and other things of value received by a nonconnected committee from a sponsoring organization are considered contributions, which are subject to annual limits, prohibitions and disclosure requirements under the Federal Election Campaign Act.

• A nonconnected committee may solicit contributions from anyone in the general public who may lawfully make a contribution in connection with a federal election.

Today the FEC has registered from January to the end of June, 2019, 6,785 federal PACs reporting total receipts of $958.2 million and disbursements of $818.7 million. I want to stress here that PACs themselves are not inherently bad or corrupt. PACs can be a group of social workers trying to improve situations for families or environmentalist concerned with ocean pollution. Nonetheless, there is plenty of room here for layers and manipulation in the political garden of evil. I am confident we can develop a better, completely transparent system of funding political campaigns that honestly informs the voters who exactly is writing the checks, why they’re supporting/defeating, and who they are connected to beyond current reporting requirements. NOTE – The Federal Election Commission who overseas campaign contributions is basically a non-functioning mess right now and it itself needs reform and rehabilitation.

Super PACs – Separate segregated funds (SSFs)

Federal election law refers to a corporate- or labor organization-sponsored political committee as a “separate segregated fund” (SSF), though it is more commonly called a “political action committee” or PAC. As the name implies, money contributed to an SSF is held in a separate bank account from the general corporate or union treasury. A corporation or union that sponsors an SSF is called the connected organization. While corporations and labor organizations are generally prohibited from making contributions in connection with federal elections, the Federal Election Campaign Act (the Act) and Commission regulations permit them to set up political committees, which may raise funds permissible under the Act in order to make contributions to and expenditures on behalf of federal candidates and other committees.

• An SSF always has a sponsoring corporation or labor organization.

• An SSF may generally receive unlimited administrative support from its connected organization, and such support is usually not subject to federal disclosure requirements. The connected organization may use its general treasury funds to pay the establishment, administration, and fundraising costs for the SSF.

• An SSF may solicit only a limited class of individuals who have specific relationships with the connected organization (i.e., stockholders or members and certain employees of the connected organization and their families).

• The connected organization may also exercise control over its SSF. Corporations and unions often adopt bylaws to govern their SSFs, though bylaws are not required under the law and do not have to be filed with the FEC except when requested.

This is part 2 of the “Democracy Dies” series, covering the corruption surrounding PACS, SuperPACs, and how candidates pay for votes.

To read part 1, go to https://altraged.com/2020/10/23/if-no-one-is-around-does-democracy-make-a-sound-when-it-dies-part-1/

For part 2, go to https://altraged.com/2020/10/28/if-no-one-is-around-when-democracy-dies-does-it-make-a-sound-part-2/

If No One is Around When Democracy Dies, Does it Make a Sound? Part 2

The fox passes acts to watch the hen house…

The Tillman Act of 1907 was the first legislation in the United States prohibiting contributions from corporations  and unions to national political campaigns. More regulations were added in 1910, with subsequent amendments in 1925, with the Federal Corrupt Practices Act. This was followed in 1943 with the Smith-Connally Act and again in 1947 with the Taft-Hartley Act. All were focused on regulating union and corporate spending in federal campaigns and public disclosure of donors. While all these Acts were on the books, there was never a government agency tasked with enforcement (similar to having a speed limit sign on a desert highway with no cops).  

In 1971, Congress consolidated its earlier reform efforts in the Federal Election Campaign Act (FECA), instituting more stringent disclosure requirements for federal candidates, political parties and Political action committees (PACs). This was later amended in 1974 to set limits on contributions by PACs, individuals, political parties, and also established the Federal Election Commission (FEC) – the first independent agency that would be tasked to enforce campaign finance Acts.

In 2002, Congress made major revisions to the FECA in the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act, more commonly referred to as “McCain-Feingold.” However, major portions of McCain-Feingold were later struck down by the Supreme Court on constitutional grounds.  In June 2008, the “millionaire’s amendment,” a section of the act that attempted to provide a fairness through increasing campaign contributions for candidates who were being substantially outspent by opponents using their own personal wealth, was overturned by the Supreme Court in Davis v. Federal Election Commission. Senator McCain consistently voiced concern over campaign practices and their funding.

“Questions of honor are raised as much by appearances as by reality in politics, and because they incite public distrust, they need to be addressed no less directly than we would address evidence of expressly illegal corruption…By the time I became a leading advocate of campaign finance reform, I had come to appreciate that the public’s suspicions were not always mistaken. Money does buy access in Washington, and access increases influence that often results in benefiting the few at the expense of the many.” Senator John McCain, 2002.

B-I-N-G-O! And 18 years later it’s only gotten worse.

This is part 2 of the “Democracy Dies” series, covering the corruption surrounding PACS, SuperPACs, and how candidates pay for votes. To read part 1, go to https://altraged.com/2020/10/23/if-no-one-is-around-does-democracy-make-a-sound-when-it-dies-part-1/

If No One is Around, Does Democracy Make a Sound When it Dies? Part 1

(Part 1 of the Democracy Dies Series)

By Alan J. Yeck, Founder of AltRaged

Show me the money!

For many years I took American democracy completely for granted like the sun rising every morning. I viewed it as impenetrable from outside influence, unbreakable from internal conflicts and impervious to the passage of time. I believed, unwavering, that we were a system of government by the whole population. That my voice, your voice, their voice, all mattered in how we would govern, be governed, and the future of our country. That the words Abraham Lincoln spoke at Gettysburg, “…that these dead shall not have died in vain—that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom—and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth,” explained and justified how so many could sacrifice their lives for this idea of democracy. I love my country and the ideals of justice, and equality and freedom that I believed we were about. All of this is so tightly woven through my very existence as veteran, father, son, and American that to try and separate it from the rest of myself would cause me to break into a thousand pieces. Well, more like a thousand shingles falling from my eyes – and they did.

Communism, fascism, terrorist, extremists, racists, war, depression…none of these can destroy our democracy. The greater the threats the stronger we become – when we see them, when we understand them, we fight them and have never, ever lost. Only democracy, specifically when its citizens are manipulated by its government, can destroy democracy and that’s exactly what is happening. Those we elect to represent us have not only failed to uphold their vows to our Constitution but they have perverted it against us.

Let’s start with the individual – you, me, aunt Fran. There’s an issue that you feel strongly about; immigration, firearm ownership, racial justice, planned parenthood, the arts, taxes, veterans, student loans, healthcare, affordable housing…(insert issue here). We take our thoughts, values, concerns, and needs to the people that we voted to represent us. We receive the automated response to our email, thanking us for contacting them. Sometimes we even receive a letter thanking us for contacting them and that they are working on our behalf for (insert issue here). Thank God we have Senator Shayla and Congressman Cal working hard on our behalf. But  it’s all a lie, a TV show, a bad game that we can never win. After we vote, we fall to the back of the line. There are only three things that matter in Congress; 1) money, 2) time in front of the TV cameras, and 3) money. If you’re not coming with a bag of cash, don’t waste your time. Unless it’s something that will embarrass them; if it’s something that would risk losing their power or money. Otherwise, we don’t matter.

Today’s Congress is probably the most corrupt in U.S. history with all those we elected, red and blue, actively participating in one way or the other (not fighting against corruption is participating in the corruption). This didn’t just happen, or happen with the last administration or the one before that, or the one before that…This series is a brief summary of campaign reform attempts and political action committees. There is much more, both depth and breadth, to be known about these but for our purposes now we will only be focusing on how they have facilitated, and accelerated bribery and corruption while hiding behind our current laws. I do urge you to do more research yourself. They are numerous, and sometimes complicated with plentiful law suits, court cases including the Supreme Court (questionable rulings).

Looking forward to sharing with all of you in the coming days and weeks. As always, should you want to share, please click on the “Submissions” page above and learn how you can contribute to AltRaged.

The Grand Illusion: The Party Vote

Alan Yeck, Founder

Global corruption rankings are a peculiar thing. The poorest of countries are the least concerned with deception or least equipped to deeply hide their crimes. Their leaders steal, are not accountable, the people know it – repeat every day. It’s happened so long that it isn’t even considered corruption but rather just how business is done, a part of their culture. The masses at the bottom have no way of protest without being imprisoned or murdered by the police and military, who in turn are given an extra bag of oranges for their loyalty to whoever is in change at the moment (even though they protect thieves and killers, they get to keep their guns and uniforms which gives them their own corrupt layer of power above the masses). Often times these leaders are in place for decades, others not so long but they take what they can while they are there, freely giving bags of oranges to the gangs in black riot gear until the new leader is in place. Corruption (and bags of oranges) flows from the top down. Always. 

The Corruption Perception Index ranks 180 countries on the misuse of power for private benefit. The scale ranges from 0 (highly corrupt) to 100 (June Cleaver clean). This year, over two-thirds of the countries scored less than 50 this year with the average being 43. Basically, we’re globally fucked (if you didn’t already know). As I said, corruption in many places is now just part of everyday life but the danger isn’t in corruption itself but the destruction of democracy and human rights. Corruption = weak democracy. Weak democracy = death of justice, freedom, opportunity, hope. It’s not a slippery slope it’s the express train straight to hell.

If you are globally aware, and if not put that on your ‘to do’ list please, when you think of Nigeria (you know, the place where the prince needed money he emailed you and in exchange would give you millions upon his departure) being corrupt, does it surprise you? How about Somalia (with a yo, ho, ho, and a trick-a-la-dee-do…)? Can you name the leaders in either country? Then there’s North Korea (Kim Jong-un), Soviet Union (Vlad the Putin), Syria (Ass-ad) and a cornucopia of other countries/leaders throughout the world that would not surprise you at all for being high on the corruption list. We don’t expect much from the ‘bad guys’ so we’re not surprised when they do terrible, inhumane things. 

In the last Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) 2019: Global Scores, what surprised me is where the U.S. was ranked – 24. “We’re number 24, we’re number 24!” I’ve ordered a big foam hand with 24 fingers (and thumb) to show my pride when we can go back to ball parks.

This means there were 23 other countries that were perceived as less corrupt then us. These included the United Arab Emirates (where everything is completely controlled by a federation of absolute monarchies/sheiks) ranked at 21, and Hong Kong (completely controlled by the communist party of the People’s Republic of China) ranked at 19. Denmark took the top spot (cheese makes everything better). 

One of the things I want you to understand is that for how many we have sent to die around this world in the name of freedom and democracy, we should be in the number one position – the least corrupt on the planet. Should we not?

When I say it surprised me, I don’t mean I thought we would be much higher on the ‘good guy’ list – I thought we would be much lower. Countries that have more resources are sometimes the most corrupt but possess the resources and experience to bury the corruption many layers down, between political rhetoric and gangs in black riot gear getting their own bags of oranges. It’s an intentional deception from those with the most power that our vote will change anything substantially. Whether it’s Kam, Bernie, Don, Mike, Alexandria, Amy, JoeJoe, Larry, Curley or Moe, their parties don’t matter. The system they operate in is broken, corrupt, greedy and neither mainstream group gives a rat’s ass about you or me and it is designed and protected to stay that way. It is bought, lock, stock and barrel by corporate dollars and their wants are at the top of all legislation. The only way to make the United States the place we want it to be is to remove corporate dollars from political influence.

So what do we do next?

1. Ask those running for office if they will either introduce or support a bill that outlaws corporate money donations to political campaigns. 

1. This includes gifts, lunches, vacations, sponsorships… 

2. Ask those running for office if they will either introduce or support a bill that outlaws meeting with lobbyists, outside of a public, recorded, published forum where all Americans can review the conversations. 

If either of those happen then the elected official should be prosecuted with a heavy fines, jail time and removed from office. Fair? If you ask these questions and they answer no (of course it will be a much longer, twisted, answer in the hopes you forgot the original question by the time they get to the end of nonsensical, deceptive rant), then cast your vote to whomever says “yes.” We cannot allow the status quo in American politics to continue and expect anything to get better for anyone. 

Our active duty military has not been called to our streets – yet – and I have the utmost faith that the military leaders would not support that. What I have seen my entire life, is the politicians using law enforcement under the guise of protecting the public when the truth is it’s about protecting them and their financial masters. We must stay vigilant, we must stay awake to see the truth and the ugliness and change it.

The average Nigerian may not have any understanding of what corruption is or how it destroys a democracy. But you do. Fight!