Again, awesome reporting on something we don’t think about much, but should. This is a problem with a Goldilocks solution. A one year ban? Too little. A lifetime ban? Too much. A five year ban? Sounds about just right.
This is about ex-Congresscritters doing "consulting" as a dodge for the criminal penalties inherent in "lobbying". Dunno exactly how the statute is written, but fining the company or person hiring the ex-Congressman a flat million for either lobbying or consulting, should fix the problem. The Revolving Door between DC and industry is a terrible source of corruption for our country.
...and staffers "revolve" all the time. To other Members, to industry, to lobbying firms. They're able to work with staffers which is where the work often gets done. They have the same two-year (Senate) and one-year (Congress) limits. Not sure there's always corruption involved.
I'm not sure that's always true or fair. The "revolving door" usually revolves around oversight or policy experience. And few other potential employees have that. There's a "revolving door" between the military and defense industries, and again, it's usually centered on areas of concentration. I would wish that the "quiet time" be longer, but I am not sure that there's always corruption involved.
This was about an ethically challenged Congressman, engaged in lobbying before the one year window was up, dodging the law by brazenly calling his work "consulting."
And you're right, the Revolving Door isn't *technically* corruption. But the lure of making millions as a lobbyist--instead of the relatively meagre GS-14+ level of government salaries--is a golden carrot that has lured many a Pentagon general officer to bend rules and apply favoritism to benefit specific contractors.
Wow, just wow. While we sleep, our elected and formerly elected members of state and federal legislative branches are just scooping up the bucks. And let's note the irony: a Christian organization with ethics, values and beliefs is this man's corrupted organization of choice. We the people continue to be disappointed in these people who want to serve, but end up serving themselves.
OK, new subreddit, substack or whatever this is: an update on former members of U.S. Congress serving as lobbyists called "What F'ed Up Thing They Did This Week."
All this crap gets more depressing every day.... the irony here is the r's feed this to their magas but only state it's the d's that are doing this...magas eat it up until their state becomes poorer and poorer because of these grifters...cleverly, as well, the regime tells them not to be WOKE which is the one crucial thing they need to be to throw these grifters out of congress..
I was taking a sleeper to task just yesterday for 1). using "woke" as a pejorative and 2). for expressing the belief that blacks just took it over & asking what does woke have to do with color anyway?
That is some clanging dissonance right there. The term was originally “stay woke“ and it originated amongst slavery in the south. When a trusted enslaved person was out running errands with the mule and wagon for the plantation owner, even though he carried papers, his fellow enslaved people would say to him “stay woke” (as in stay safe, be aware of your surroundings). And also when they were running away, and when they were using the underground railroad, “Stay woke“ was the best advice they could give each other to stay alert, and be aware what was going on around them and to try to avoid danger. White people took it over and turned it into a pejorative.
Hahahaha! OK? This christian nationalist accusing black folk of culturally appropriating the term "woke!" Clearly he knows nothing of our SHARED HISTORY and needs to think if it doesn't have a white face it just can't be true.
There were ALWAYS ethical standards - both required & expected - from ALL military personnel, both Officers & enlisted. Why would ethical standards EVER be optional for Congress?? FILTH!!
Wrote my Congresswoman to ask her to support AOC’s legislation. Even if “lifetime” gets compromised to 5 years, it’s a good idea. Let them bring it up again after the mid-terms when we have a good chance of it passing!
This is exhausting, like playing whack-a-mole. We’re in it for the long haul folks.
WHAT! "...the Christian Employers Alliance (CEA), a business group 'whose policy positions are prayerfully established directly by its members, grounded in faith and guided by Scripture.' We have such a anti-Christian group of politicians elected to serve us all in Washington! They know nothing of the meaning behind the New Testament Scripture. All of their hypocrisy and greed give all of the profound teachings of Jesus a truly bad name. I suggest that people who are turned off because of the abuse of using religion as a "cover" learn what the teachings are REALLY saying...feed the poor, do not judge anyone, find wisdom from within. For example, "Let thine eye be single, then they whole head will be filled with truth" is a suggestion to look within, meditate, and don't look for answers from the "world." Groups like CEA are thus more evil than we realize.
Sunday I went hiking with a woman who belongs to a seemingly mainstream Protestant church. When I brought up the concentration camps in Florida and asked if her church wanted to join with mine to stand up against what's going on down there, she said they follow "the Word" which states it's ok for the camps to be happening in order to spread Christ's teachings. I'm like wtaf???? I thought the New Testament was what you referred to, Valerie, but I must have missed the part to which she's referring.
Two term limit for House Representatives and a 5 year ban on lobbying. Of course, this implies some agency enforces the rules, which clearly doesn't happen today.
Four years in the the House is hardly long enough to learn the system which would mean, of course, that lobbyists would have even more influence. Agree five years cooling off.
"On February 27, Mooney participated in a webinar with the Christian Employers Alliance (CEA), a business group "whose policy positions are prayerfully established directly by its members, grounded in faith and guided by Scripture.""
"Further, "evidence and testimony indicate that… Mooney may have offered false testimony and altered his calendar in order to conceal wrongdoing."
Specifically, Mooney "reported at least $17,250 in gift card expenditures to the FEC but provided no details about the ultimate recipient of those funds and maintained almost no underlying documentation for those expenditures." Mooney claimed that the gift cards were only used for campaign expenses, but "[e]vidence reviewed in the instant case indicates that this testimony was false.""
Exodus 20:16 - Thou shalt not bear false witness (aka the Ninth Commandment)
Despite being Capitalized it seems Scripture is more what they'd call "guidelines" just like the Pirate's Code in the first "Pirates of the Caribbean" film. They certainly seem to take it about as seriously.
Q: How many ethical standards would you like to violate?
Alex Mooney: Yes.
LOL!
Again, awesome reporting on something we don’t think about much, but should. This is a problem with a Goldilocks solution. A one year ban? Too little. A lifetime ban? Too much. A five year ban? Sounds about just right.
This is about ex-Congresscritters doing "consulting" as a dodge for the criminal penalties inherent in "lobbying". Dunno exactly how the statute is written, but fining the company or person hiring the ex-Congressman a flat million for either lobbying or consulting, should fix the problem. The Revolving Door between DC and industry is a terrible source of corruption for our country.
...and staffers "revolve" all the time. To other Members, to industry, to lobbying firms. They're able to work with staffers which is where the work often gets done. They have the same two-year (Senate) and one-year (Congress) limits. Not sure there's always corruption involved.
I'm not sure that's always true or fair. The "revolving door" usually revolves around oversight or policy experience. And few other potential employees have that. There's a "revolving door" between the military and defense industries, and again, it's usually centered on areas of concentration. I would wish that the "quiet time" be longer, but I am not sure that there's always corruption involved.
This was about an ethically challenged Congressman, engaged in lobbying before the one year window was up, dodging the law by brazenly calling his work "consulting."
And you're right, the Revolving Door isn't *technically* corruption. But the lure of making millions as a lobbyist--instead of the relatively meagre GS-14+ level of government salaries--is a golden carrot that has lured many a Pentagon general officer to bend rules and apply favoritism to benefit specific contractors.
Don't you think that the corporations will just change the word "consulting"?
Never expect a Republican to respect either ethics or law if it stands in the way of making a buck.
Wow, just wow. While we sleep, our elected and formerly elected members of state and federal legislative branches are just scooping up the bucks. And let's note the irony: a Christian organization with ethics, values and beliefs is this man's corrupted organization of choice. We the people continue to be disappointed in these people who want to serve, but end up serving themselves.
OK, new subreddit, substack or whatever this is: an update on former members of U.S. Congress serving as lobbyists called "What F'ed Up Thing They Did This Week."
Would be interesting to learn what Christian values they support.
All of em. Well, exceptin the ones YOU like!
All this crap gets more depressing every day.... the irony here is the r's feed this to their magas but only state it's the d's that are doing this...magas eat it up until their state becomes poorer and poorer because of these grifters...cleverly, as well, the regime tells them not to be WOKE which is the one crucial thing they need to be to throw these grifters out of congress..
I was taking a sleeper to task just yesterday for 1). using "woke" as a pejorative and 2). for expressing the belief that blacks just took it over & asking what does woke have to do with color anyway?
That is some clanging dissonance right there. The term was originally “stay woke“ and it originated amongst slavery in the south. When a trusted enslaved person was out running errands with the mule and wagon for the plantation owner, even though he carried papers, his fellow enslaved people would say to him “stay woke” (as in stay safe, be aware of your surroundings). And also when they were running away, and when they were using the underground railroad, “Stay woke“ was the best advice they could give each other to stay alert, and be aware what was going on around them and to try to avoid danger. White people took it over and turned it into a pejorative.
Hahahaha! OK? This christian nationalist accusing black folk of culturally appropriating the term "woke!" Clearly he knows nothing of our SHARED HISTORY and needs to think if it doesn't have a white face it just can't be true.
There were ALWAYS ethical standards - both required & expected - from ALL military personnel, both Officers & enlisted. Why would ethical standards EVER be optional for Congress?? FILTH!!
Thanks Judd. Once again the rethugs violate the law and walk away.
We are surrounded by selfish, greedy, cheating, lying criminals. They bend the rules, bend the rules, then break them.
All the while pointing their fingers at anyone else and everything but a mirror.
How a former Congressman CONTINUES to game the system.
Wrote my Congresswoman to ask her to support AOC’s legislation. Even if “lifetime” gets compromised to 5 years, it’s a good idea. Let them bring it up again after the mid-terms when we have a good chance of it passing!
This is exhausting, like playing whack-a-mole. We’re in it for the long haul folks.
WHAT! "...the Christian Employers Alliance (CEA), a business group 'whose policy positions are prayerfully established directly by its members, grounded in faith and guided by Scripture.' We have such a anti-Christian group of politicians elected to serve us all in Washington! They know nothing of the meaning behind the New Testament Scripture. All of their hypocrisy and greed give all of the profound teachings of Jesus a truly bad name. I suggest that people who are turned off because of the abuse of using religion as a "cover" learn what the teachings are REALLY saying...feed the poor, do not judge anyone, find wisdom from within. For example, "Let thine eye be single, then they whole head will be filled with truth" is a suggestion to look within, meditate, and don't look for answers from the "world." Groups like CEA are thus more evil than we realize.
Sunday I went hiking with a woman who belongs to a seemingly mainstream Protestant church. When I brought up the concentration camps in Florida and asked if her church wanted to join with mine to stand up against what's going on down there, she said they follow "the Word" which states it's ok for the camps to be happening in order to spread Christ's teachings. I'm like wtaf???? I thought the New Testament was what you referred to, Valerie, but I must have missed the part to which she's referring.
What I'd like to ask that woman is what are some of the ways Christ's teachings are spread in or by throwing people into these concentration camps.
Her thinking makes NO sense, but you must have realized that. Glad you offered her an invitation.
Judd, as A SP pointed out…great reporting on elected officials whose sole purpose is to get rich not represent the people who elected them.
Leonard C” the rich get richer, the poor get poorer and ole black joe keeps picking cotton for your ribbon and bows”
Everything is a grift for these troglodytes. No morals or ethics.
Well sure they have morals and ethics. Yes indeed they do and they are determined to make YOU live by them even if it kills ya!
Two term limit for House Representatives and a 5 year ban on lobbying. Of course, this implies some agency enforces the rules, which clearly doesn't happen today.
Read Laboratories of Autocracy - David Pepper. Term limits alone will not solve the problem.
Four years in the the House is hardly long enough to learn the system which would mean, of course, that lobbyists would have even more influence. Agree five years cooling off.
The major change should be a law that no former member of house or senate has greater access to the floor, chambers or offices than any other citizen.
"On February 27, Mooney participated in a webinar with the Christian Employers Alliance (CEA), a business group "whose policy positions are prayerfully established directly by its members, grounded in faith and guided by Scripture.""
"Further, "evidence and testimony indicate that… Mooney may have offered false testimony and altered his calendar in order to conceal wrongdoing."
Specifically, Mooney "reported at least $17,250 in gift card expenditures to the FEC but provided no details about the ultimate recipient of those funds and maintained almost no underlying documentation for those expenditures." Mooney claimed that the gift cards were only used for campaign expenses, but "[e]vidence reviewed in the instant case indicates that this testimony was false.""
Exodus 20:16 - Thou shalt not bear false witness (aka the Ninth Commandment)
Despite being Capitalized it seems Scripture is more what they'd call "guidelines" just like the Pirate's Code in the first "Pirates of the Caribbean" film. They certainly seem to take it about as seriously.