Published on Feb 18, 2014
” CNN’s Drew Griffin reports on his findings that 100 lobbyists are related to members of Congress.”
—
Activist Sues To Have Silver Repay State For Lopez Hush Money Out Of His Own Pocket
” The taxpayers want their money back, Shelly.
An Albany activist is suing Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver over the $103,000 secret settlement he authorized to pay off two former female staffers who accused pervy ex- Assemblyman Vito Lopez of sexual harassment.
The Albany Supreme Court lawsuit argues that the settlement violated the state Constitution.
“The prohibition regarding the use of public funds in aid of private undertakings is very clear,” said small-government activist Robert Schultz, with the We The People of New York group. “Mr. Silver has admitted he did not handle the matter [sex-harassment allegations] properly.”
“The money belongs to the taxpayers of this state and had no business being used for this purpose. Our elected officials take an oath to obey the New York state and federal Constitutions.”
The suit calls for Silver to repay the full sum, plus 10 percent interest, dating to June 2012, “directly from his personal funds” within 20 days.”
—
” I thought of those Canadian Liberal “integrity provisions” passing a TV screen the other day and catching hack bureaucrats from the IRS Small Business/Self-Employed Division reassuring Congress that systems had now been put in place to prevent them succumbing to the urge to put on Spock ears and moob-hugging blue polyester for the purposes of starring in a Star Trek government training video. The Small Business/Self-Employed Division had boldly gone where no IRS man had gone before — to a conference in Anaheim, where they were put up in $3,500-a-night hotel rooms and entertained by a man who was paid $27,500 to fly in and paint on stage a portrait of Bono. Bono is the veteran Irish rocker knighted by the Queen for his tireless campaign on behalf of debt forgiveness, which doesn’t sound the IRS’s bag at all. But don’t worry, debt forgiveness-wise Bono has Africa in mind, not New Jersey. And, as Matthew Cowart tweeted me the other day, he did have a big hit with “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For,” which I believe is now the official anthem of the IRS Cincinnati office.”
” It took Congressman Trey Gowdy of South Carolina to get to the heart of the matter: “With all due respect, this is not a training issue,” he said. “This cannot be solved with another webinar. . . . We can adopt all the recommendations you can possibly conceive of. I just say it strikes me — and maybe it’s just me — but it strikes me as a cultural, systemic, character, moral issue.”
” He’s right. If you don’t instinctively know it’s wrong to stay in $3,500-a-night hotel rooms at public expense, a revised conference-accommodations-guidelines manual isn’t going to fix the real problem.
So we know the IRS is corrupt.”
—
—
This Is What’s Wrong With Albany
” For those who still wonder how Albany works, here’s a short scorecard. Not long after a state ethics commission released a report on the serial sexual harassment by Vito Lopez, it became clear he would have to leave. It also became clear the politicians who enabled him would continue with business as usual.
Right now there’s something of a race regarding Lopez’s departure. The state assemblyman says he’ll resign on June 20. Andrew Cuomo says he should go now or be expelled. Shelly Silver says he’s working on expulsion.
What Lopez did is vile enough. But he couldn’t have got away with it for as long as he did without assistance from the most powerful man in the Legislature, Speaker Silver. Instead of moving to kick Lopez out when two staffers complained of sexual harassment, Silver enabled Lopez by paying the women over $100,000 from public funds to keep them quiet.
Then there’s Gov. Cuomo. The governor says there must be “zero tolerance” for the behavior Lopez showed. But instead of calling for Silver to step down for the coverup, Cuomo is defending him.”
This man is allowed to sit on the board of one of the biggest tort law firms in New York , all the while controlling the very legislation that passes through the state government . Given the leftist proclivities of the “people’s republic of NY” Silver is and has been effectively in control of the state assembly for decades . Is it any wonder that trial lawyers rule the state , to the detriment of honest citizens everywhere ?
1) Find a lawyer – Legal service professional: Sheldon Silver
phone 212-558-5500
fax 212-344-5461
e-mail client relationsWeitz & Luxenberg
700 Broadway
New York, NY 10003Admitted: New York
Law School: Brooklyn Law School
College: Yeshiva University
Member: Speaker, New York State Assembly
Born: New York, NY
2) Amid scandals, new state financial disclosure mandates
“That means that Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver will have to disclose within a narrowed range of income levels how much he earns at Weitz & Luxenberg, the law firm where he is of counsel.
Silver’s relationship with the powerful tort firm has long been an issue, as critics have wondered if it has led to legislation benefitting trial lawyers. The speaker has refused to say how much he earns at the firm.”
3) Sheldon Silver’s law firm digging for gold in “hydro-fracking …
4) NEW TORT STATE: Silver & Luxenberg | Gather
5) BP’s Gulf of Mexico oil spill tragedy to most, but to Sheldon …
6) Lawmaker And Lawyer: No Conflict, Says Silver – New York Times
7) State Officials Hide What Those in City Must Disclose
8) New York: Ethics Laws, Yes, but State Enforcement Non-Existent
—
” Disenchanted members of Gov. Cuomo’s administration, embarrassed by the worsening government scandals and convinced that Cuomo won’t be president, will soon leave their jobs — just as the governor is stepping up plans to run for re-election next year.
Several “significant departures’’ are expected in the coming months, sources told The Post.
“A lot of people are looking to get out. They’re tired and, frankly, it’s not the best place to work,’’ said a source with first-hand knowledge of the situation. “There’s a lot of abuse that’s involved in working for the governor, and more and more people are saying, ‘What do we need this for?’ ’’ the source continued.”
—
” Over the weekend, the New York Times reported that donating $500,000 to the group Organizing for Action will get one quarterly meetings with President Barack Obama. “Giving or raising $500,000 or more puts donors on a national advisory board for Mr. Obama’s group and the privilege of attending quarterly meetings with the president, along with other meetings at the White House,” reported the Times.
Today, Jay Carney was unable to defend this arrangement at the White House press briefing, implausibly stating that the Obama group is somehow not related to Obama:
” When businesses and big government politicians go into “business” with one another, taxpayers lose—big time. It’s called cronyism.
A “crony” is an individual or organization that colludes with politicians to gain unfair treatment, taxpyer-funded benefits, or regulations that the rest of us don’t enjoy. Cronyism occurs because politicians rely on wealthy interests to fund their campaigns, and those donors then seek government goodies or favors in return.
It’s a match made in heaven for cronies and hell for taxpayers. Just as bad, such cronyism erodes economic freedom by destroying the real competition that fuels free market capitalism.
In 2012, the cronies had a banner year, poaching billions of taxpayer dollars to pump up their profits and redistribute their losses.
In 2012, the cronies had a banner year, poaching billions of taxpayer dollars to pump up their profits and redistribute their losses. In other instances, the cronies leveraged their insider connections to evade prosecutions and skirt the laws that apply to the rest of us. Consider just a few of the cronies that got away in 2012.
1. Jon Corzine, former MF Global Chief, New Jersey Governor, and Top Obama Bundler.”
Eric Allie’s Furious Diaper
Newsmax
YouViewed/Editorial 