For more than a week, a group called United for Clean Power has run an extensive online advertising campaign arguing the reconciliation package negotiated by Senators Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Joe Manchin (D-WV), which contains historic investments in clean energy, doesn't go far enough. The ads, which have run on social networks like Facebook and at the top of prominent publications like Politico, urge progressive Democrats in Congress to "demand environmental justice
It would seem that there should be a way to legally derail their Non Profit status and expose them for what they really are...
Does the FCC regulate advertising?
When consumers see or hear an advertisement, whether it's on the Internet, radio or television, or anywhere else, federal law says that ad must be truthful, not misleading, and, when appropriate, backed by scientific evidence.
Is there anything left of the FCC after the Trump administration?
Ohio SoS is apparently not that interested in doing his job in representing all the people when it comes to enforcing business regulations...according to most reviews when Googled. So I am not convinced that contacting him would do anything other to alert those for whom you might not want to...
I fear the IRS is too busy, understaffed, under funded and have not achieved any major headway in reining in most any of the biggest offenders in any meaningful way, that have been so much more egregious that I fear that would be a waste of time and energy. Some of Trump's charities yes but because they were slam dunks and see those results of NYAG's determination to close it down...https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-46611178
Yet... still no one that I am aware of has been effectively punished just forced to redirect their illegal activities elsewhere.
Read remaining if you have time...as it is perhaps a waste of time in accordance with "tilting at windmills"?
I think one possible option would be a reset of our political/business system such that anyone who wants to... will be given amnesty at some point in time. All pending cases will be dropped and offenders given 30 days to rearrange their businesses and activities. They get to start fresh. Those with the most amount of ill gotten gains have the most to loose and the most funds to protect against their losses if they choose to. It will be up to them to provide 50% of those gains to the government to disburse to non affiliated individuals earning less than 100k or something along those lines. A basic redistribution of wealth...or the other 2 choices are to continue along the path that we are on...or... always be under the threat of a revolution which, if it were to occur, will possibly accomplish the mistaken concept of the redistribution of wealth without the reality and be much more of a waste of time, resources, and inflict more suffering and pain on those most vulnerable as evidenced in all past revolutions. The wealthy will always be protected. Accept that reality, and provide everyone with a choice...less grief and keep 50% of their booty vs risking the loss of all and jail time if they don't accept the terms or the confusion of a possible revolution? Along the lines of the foreign tax amnesty program. Of course this would rely on the effectiveness of the enforcement... which we already have evidence of it's inability to perform effectively in certain areas of concern. It may be a reality that we are stuck with repeating historical events that continue to force us to circle the drain as a species? For proof check out the latest updates on the largest Nuclear facility in Europe and the latest update of the Doomsday Clock ...https://thebulletin.org/2022/03/bulletin-science-and-security-board-condemns-russian-invasion-of-ukraine-doomsday-clock-stays-at-100-seconds-to-midnight/?utm_source=ClockPage&utm_medium=Web&utm_campaign=DoomsdayClockMarchStatement
There are those that say we will survive all of this...but what if we don't, as a possible option, as we continuously never learn from our mistakes. Too many worldwide celebrate/espouse to the Republican Trumpist schism and authoritarian rule as a result of rampant corruption and lack of historical education and independent comprehensive intellectual/critical long term planning with moralistic/evolutionary goals.
Agreed, but I wouldn't consider this an especially sophisticated effort. "Your Democrat colleagues"? An immediate tell. Republicans can't help themselves; deviation from the dictated terminology is unimaginable.
Oh my! I have seen this ad for a week in Politico NY and wondered why ‘The Squad’ would allow their pictures to be used - just seemed odd and weird! I should have written to you Judd right away! But you have done a great job today. Thanks!
I will contact the Congress women and ask why they haven’t objected to this campaign. Hmmm?
ps. When I saw the quote using the word Democrat instead of the proper Democratic - well that was a dead giveaway! The right - wing can cheat and lie, but they do it badly!
Katie, isn't it possible that some of the Congress-people's pictures have become "stock photos" on the internet that can be sort of copied and pasted? The Squad is undoubtedly super busy, and they may not have had anyone pull their coats to let them know about the ads. Good that you will be contacting them!! Bravo!
This is right out of the playbook of FPL/NextEra Energy, Florida's monopolistic energy supplier. They have used political donations and dark money contributions to shady organizations and PR firms to fight rooftop solar, to fund "ghost" candidates to run against incumbents who speak their mind against FPL policies, and to cynically manipulate public opinion to maximize their profits. The list of their nefarious practices is long. They have sweetheart deals on rates approved by the "in-their-pocket" FL Public Service Commission, but they apparently believe that they can never be rich enough, no matter whether they have to lie and cheat and use disinformation to manipulate public opinion and the votes of legislators. This has been covered by several newspapers, including the Orlando Sentinel: https://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/os-ne-matrix-llc-fpl-utilities-climate-change-20220727-y3ava6jmzzar3ep6a67jcgg3gu-story.html
Judd, there is just so much of this crap out there now. In Washington (State) we have 6 state senator seats in swing districts that are being targeted by the "Washington Leadership Council". If you google the name, you get a website that tells you pretty much....nothing. No list of board members, no "Who we are", nada. They are running a huge paper campaign (as in paper in your snail mail EVERY day against my state senator). On one of the flyers they listed their top 3 donors, and right away I saw that one of them was Altria. Altria? The West Coast isn't exactly tobacco country (LOL), so they must want Republicans in the Legislature in order to lower their corporate tax rates.
But at an event this weekend our state senator said that the GQP spent $15k on some flyers with an error in the database, so that they were all sent to residences in the "3rd District" instead of the "30th District". That district is 260 miles away from us, over by the Idaho border. (LOL)
I'd like to laugh more at all the BS going on, except as a woman and a senior, every single GQP vote on women's reproductive health is impairing my health; I'm so furious that I'm probably going to grind my teeth down to nubs. I'm just keeping my fingers crossed that a massive women's vote in November will send a message to the GQP that being white guys voting on legislation limiting women's reproductive health in any way is going to bring you down.
After reading about United for Clean Energy, I would surmise this group is a wolf in sheep’s clothing trying to sabotage the reconciliation bill before the elections in November. By not answering questions, preferring to text rather than face to face interviews or being ambiguous in their answers only tells me they are hiding their true intentions. I am not buying it.
Thank you for the excellent reporting. I was skeptical at first, as I receive so much spam, junk & other emails attempting to pass as newsworthy reports. But I believe, that being tied in with Robert Reich, you're the real deal. Your reporting appeared to be credible, so I subscribed annually. We need the truth more than ever, after 4 years of the trump/ bannon/ stone/ fox $#!+show. I was crazed during those 4 years, reading too many news stories to count, researching names & backgrounds, in an attempt to sort through the lies vs truth out here. Good to have another source of news, who does not subscribe to " alternate facts." I've shared on my fb page. Truth is the only sword worthy, of cutting through & shredding the darkness being spread of lies & " alternate facts."
Yes, I agree with other commentators. Your investigation tracking this Pseudo Climate action group and your other journalistic investigations are so incredibly valuable. Thank you!
You know what would be great? A flow chart showing the connections so that people don't get confused and lost in a lot of text. A picture is worth a thousand words and while I love your words, this was confusing to follow!
All the rightwing shenanigans aside, this 400B is way too little too late. Everyone is lying about the seriousness of the crisis and counting on technology that doesn't exist yet--not even conceptually. Buckle up. It's going to get real over the next 15 years.
Oh, I was so in hopes of dying before the worst of the Climate Crisis hit, but it looks like I might still be here to either drown or starve or burn or whatever. Or just die from the Stupidity/Insanity Virus that the Republicans keep inserting into the the body politic. I worked for a major university Physics dept., and close by was Atmospheric Sciences....they were trying to get the national attention as far back as 1985-90. The fossil fuel industry and its propaganda drowned out a lot of warnings.
It would seem that there should be a way to legally derail their Non Profit status and expose them for what they really are...
Does the FCC regulate advertising?
When consumers see or hear an advertisement, whether it's on the Internet, radio or television, or anywhere else, federal law says that ad must be truthful, not misleading, and, when appropriate, backed by scientific evidence.
Is there anything left of the FCC after the Trump administration?
Right. Reporting them to the Ohio secretary of state and the IRS are the first two steps.
Ohio SoS is apparently not that interested in doing his job in representing all the people when it comes to enforcing business regulations...according to most reviews when Googled. So I am not convinced that contacting him would do anything other to alert those for whom you might not want to...
I fear the IRS is too busy, understaffed, under funded and have not achieved any major headway in reining in most any of the biggest offenders in any meaningful way, that have been so much more egregious that I fear that would be a waste of time and energy. Some of Trump's charities yes but because they were slam dunks and see those results of NYAG's determination to close it down...https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-46611178
Yet... still no one that I am aware of has been effectively punished just forced to redirect their illegal activities elsewhere.
Read remaining if you have time...as it is perhaps a waste of time in accordance with "tilting at windmills"?
I think one possible option would be a reset of our political/business system such that anyone who wants to... will be given amnesty at some point in time. All pending cases will be dropped and offenders given 30 days to rearrange their businesses and activities. They get to start fresh. Those with the most amount of ill gotten gains have the most to loose and the most funds to protect against their losses if they choose to. It will be up to them to provide 50% of those gains to the government to disburse to non affiliated individuals earning less than 100k or something along those lines. A basic redistribution of wealth...or the other 2 choices are to continue along the path that we are on...or... always be under the threat of a revolution which, if it were to occur, will possibly accomplish the mistaken concept of the redistribution of wealth without the reality and be much more of a waste of time, resources, and inflict more suffering and pain on those most vulnerable as evidenced in all past revolutions. The wealthy will always be protected. Accept that reality, and provide everyone with a choice...less grief and keep 50% of their booty vs risking the loss of all and jail time if they don't accept the terms or the confusion of a possible revolution? Along the lines of the foreign tax amnesty program. Of course this would rely on the effectiveness of the enforcement... which we already have evidence of it's inability to perform effectively in certain areas of concern. It may be a reality that we are stuck with repeating historical events that continue to force us to circle the drain as a species? For proof check out the latest updates on the largest Nuclear facility in Europe and the latest update of the Doomsday Clock ...https://thebulletin.org/2022/03/bulletin-science-and-security-board-condemns-russian-invasion-of-ukraine-doomsday-clock-stays-at-100-seconds-to-midnight/?utm_source=ClockPage&utm_medium=Web&utm_campaign=DoomsdayClockMarchStatement
There are those that say we will survive all of this...but what if we don't, as a possible option, as we continuously never learn from our mistakes. Too many worldwide celebrate/espouse to the Republican Trumpist schism and authoritarian rule as a result of rampant corruption and lack of historical education and independent comprehensive intellectual/critical long term planning with moralistic/evolutionary goals.
The Republicans have ALWAYS been way better than the Democrats at behind-the-scenes scamming like this.
Destroying things is far easier than building things
which is why I never vote GOP!
Excellent reporting, Judd and Kyle!
As usual, I haven't read this anywhere else. Don't know their sources, but this is important news.
Agreed, but I wouldn't consider this an especially sophisticated effort. "Your Democrat colleagues"? An immediate tell. Republicans can't help themselves; deviation from the dictated terminology is unimaginable.
Oh my! I have seen this ad for a week in Politico NY and wondered why ‘The Squad’ would allow their pictures to be used - just seemed odd and weird! I should have written to you Judd right away! But you have done a great job today. Thanks!
I will contact the Congress women and ask why they haven’t objected to this campaign. Hmmm?
ps. When I saw the quote using the word Democrat instead of the proper Democratic - well that was a dead giveaway! The right - wing can cheat and lie, but they do it badly!
Katie, isn't it possible that some of the Congress-people's pictures have become "stock photos" on the internet that can be sort of copied and pasted? The Squad is undoubtedly super busy, and they may not have had anyone pull their coats to let them know about the ads. Good that you will be contacting them!! Bravo!
Yes I am sure they are readily available. The ad ran for 5 days. Nobody on their staffs saw it? We shall see if I get an answer
This is right out of the playbook of FPL/NextEra Energy, Florida's monopolistic energy supplier. They have used political donations and dark money contributions to shady organizations and PR firms to fight rooftop solar, to fund "ghost" candidates to run against incumbents who speak their mind against FPL policies, and to cynically manipulate public opinion to maximize their profits. The list of their nefarious practices is long. They have sweetheart deals on rates approved by the "in-their-pocket" FL Public Service Commission, but they apparently believe that they can never be rich enough, no matter whether they have to lie and cheat and use disinformation to manipulate public opinion and the votes of legislators. This has been covered by several newspapers, including the Orlando Sentinel: https://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/os-ne-matrix-llc-fpl-utilities-climate-change-20220727-y3ava6jmzzar3ep6a67jcgg3gu-story.html
Judd, there is just so much of this crap out there now. In Washington (State) we have 6 state senator seats in swing districts that are being targeted by the "Washington Leadership Council". If you google the name, you get a website that tells you pretty much....nothing. No list of board members, no "Who we are", nada. They are running a huge paper campaign (as in paper in your snail mail EVERY day against my state senator). On one of the flyers they listed their top 3 donors, and right away I saw that one of them was Altria. Altria? The West Coast isn't exactly tobacco country (LOL), so they must want Republicans in the Legislature in order to lower their corporate tax rates.
But at an event this weekend our state senator said that the GQP spent $15k on some flyers with an error in the database, so that they were all sent to residences in the "3rd District" instead of the "30th District". That district is 260 miles away from us, over by the Idaho border. (LOL)
I'd like to laugh more at all the BS going on, except as a woman and a senior, every single GQP vote on women's reproductive health is impairing my health; I'm so furious that I'm probably going to grind my teeth down to nubs. I'm just keeping my fingers crossed that a massive women's vote in November will send a message to the GQP that being white guys voting on legislation limiting women's reproductive health in any way is going to bring you down.
"Not your uterus? Not your business" .
After reading about United for Clean Energy, I would surmise this group is a wolf in sheep’s clothing trying to sabotage the reconciliation bill before the elections in November. By not answering questions, preferring to text rather than face to face interviews or being ambiguous in their answers only tells me they are hiding their true intentions. I am not buying it.
Thanks for this deeper dive into that group and excellent reporting in partnerships lately.
Depending on what type of Non Profit -
yes there are different categories - I
would think further investigation into
their 401 status is necessary. It's been
a few years since I was a board member
of a Non-profit, but our status did not
allow us to make, or receive, donations
that involved any political issues.
As far as filing for 401 status, or
transferring to another person/group,
it's not as difficult as this woman
professes. It's also not difficult to shut
one down: Donald Trump's.
Excellent work!
Thank you for the excellent reporting. I was skeptical at first, as I receive so much spam, junk & other emails attempting to pass as newsworthy reports. But I believe, that being tied in with Robert Reich, you're the real deal. Your reporting appeared to be credible, so I subscribed annually. We need the truth more than ever, after 4 years of the trump/ bannon/ stone/ fox $#!+show. I was crazed during those 4 years, reading too many news stories to count, researching names & backgrounds, in an attempt to sort through the lies vs truth out here. Good to have another source of news, who does not subscribe to " alternate facts." I've shared on my fb page. Truth is the only sword worthy, of cutting through & shredding the darkness being spread of lies & " alternate facts."
Racing hearts and turning pale - Judd's PI is on your trail!!!
Yes, I agree with other commentators. Your investigation tracking this Pseudo Climate action group and your other journalistic investigations are so incredibly valuable. Thank you!
You know what would be great? A flow chart showing the connections so that people don't get confused and lost in a lot of text. A picture is worth a thousand words and while I love your words, this was confusing to follow!
All the rightwing shenanigans aside, this 400B is way too little too late. Everyone is lying about the seriousness of the crisis and counting on technology that doesn't exist yet--not even conceptually. Buckle up. It's going to get real over the next 15 years.
Oh, I was so in hopes of dying before the worst of the Climate Crisis hit, but it looks like I might still be here to either drown or starve or burn or whatever. Or just die from the Stupidity/Insanity Virus that the Republicans keep inserting into the the body politic. I worked for a major university Physics dept., and close by was Atmospheric Sciences....they were trying to get the national attention as far back as 1985-90. The fossil fuel industry and its propaganda drowned out a lot of warnings.