ferguson d bak

fergusond816

ARLINGTON POLOP 2025

ATP’s only staff member, executive director Donny Ferguson, resigned this month to take a job as a staff member for newly elected U.S. Rep. Steve Stockman of Texas.

stunning how these clowns did so much damage!

bizzaroworld:

http://dailycaller.com/2016/02/12/nasa-study-concludes-global-warming-is-actually-slowing-sea-level-rise/

same guy? prolly not

Account Manager at Avidyn Health

LI 719

### Director of Content

Company NameWilliam J. McCarthy & Associates

Dates EmployedOct 2016 – Present

Employment Duration 2 yrs 10 mos

LocationAlexandria, Virginia

- Manage copywriters and create, write, edit and manage direct mail, email and digital fundraising programs unique to WJMA.

- While other direct mail agencies are seeing revenues drop, WJMA is seeing revenues grow.

- While other direct mail agencies are cutting back, WJMA is increasing mail volume.

- WJMA’s growth is from unique issues I developed, and on which only we are mailing.

### President

Company NameDonald E. Ferguson & Associates

Dates EmployedMay 2007 – Present

Employment Duration12 yrs 3 mos

LocationAlexandria, Virginia

- Executive Director of ATP. In 24 months, we used direct mail, one-on-one fundraising, effective media management and grassroots lobbying to grow from a one-state group with a negative bankbalance to a national lobbying organization based in Washington, DC with $500K+ in annualrevenues. We also won a landmark 2010 U.S. Supreme Court case.... See more

ggl 719

Donald E. Ferguson (Donny) - Biography from LegiStorm

https://www.legistorm.com/person/bio/202309/Donald...Ferguson/.../23da8f9afas9.ht...

:{:(style="border-color:#006621;;border-style:solid;border-width:5px 4px 0px;width:0px;height:0px;margin-left:3px;top:7.5px;margin-top:-4px;position:absolute;left:0px"):}:

:{LegiStorm's bio information on :{Donald:(style="font-weight:bold"):}: E. :{Ferguson:(style="font-weight:bold"):}: (:{Donny:(style="font-weight:bold"):}:) including contact information, congressional salary, employment history, education and more.:(style="overflow-wrap:break-word"):}:

Donny Ferguson - Director of Content - William J. McCarthy ... - LinkedIn

https://www.linkedin.com/in/donnyferguson

:{:(style="border-color:#006621;;border-style:solid;border-width:5px 4px 0px;width:0px;height:0px;margin-left:3px;top:7.5px;margin-top:-4px;position:absolute;left:0px"):}:

:{:{Donny Ferguson:(style="font-weight:bold"):}:. President, :{Donald:(style="font-weight:bold"):}: E. :{Ferguson:(style="font-weight:bold"):}: & Associates. Record-breaking fundraiser, organization executive & public affairs manager. Alexandria ...:(style="overflow-wrap:break-word"):}:

Donny Ferguson - Account Manager - Avidyn Health | LinkedIn

https://www.linkedin.com/in/donny-ferguson-1532269

San Antonio, Texas Area - ‎Avidyn Health

View Donny Ferguson's profile on LinkedIn, the world's largest professional community. ... See the complete profile on LinkedIn and discover Donny's connections and jobs at similar companies. ... President, Donald E. Ferguson & Associates.

Donald Ferguson - Wikipedia

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_Ferguson

:{:{Donald Ferguson:(style="font-weight:bold"):}: may refer to: :{Donald Ferguson:(style="font-weight:bold"):}: (politician) (1839–1909), Canadian politician; :{Donald Ferguson:(style="font-weight:bold"):}: (cyclist) (born 1931), American cyclist; :{Donald:(style="font-weight:bold"):}: ...:(style="overflow-wrap:break-word"):}:

DonnyFerguson.com

https://donnyferguson.com/

:{:(style="border-color:#006621;;border-style:solid;border-width:5px 4px 0px;width:0px;height:0px;margin-left:3px;top:7.5px;margin-top:-4px;position:absolute;left:0px"):}:

:{China's economic growth has been slowing down, but it was slowing down before President :{Donald:(style="font-weight:bold"):}:Trump entered the White House, and it will continue to slow ...:(style="overflow-wrap:break-word"):}:

Donny Ferguson | Facebook

https://www.facebook.com/donnyferguson

:{:(style="border-color:#006621;;border-style:solid;border-width:5px 4px 0px;width:0px;height:0px;margin-left:3px;top:7.5px;margin-top:-4px;position:absolute;left:0px"):}:

:{:{Donny Ferguson:(style="font-weight:bold"):}: is on Facebook. Join Facebook to connect with :{Donny Ferguson:(style="font-weight:bold"):}: and others you may know. Facebook ... :{Donald:(style="font-weight:bold"):}: E. :{Ferguson:(style="font-weight:bold"):}: & Associates.:(style="overflow-wrap:break-word"):}:

:{:(style="background-color:#ffffff;"):}:

Donny Ferguson (@DonnyFerguson) | Twitter

https://twitter.com/donnyferguson?lang=en

:{:(style="border-color:#006621;;border-style:solid;border-width:5px 4px 0px;width:0px;height:0px;margin-left:3px;top:7.5px;margin-top:-4px;position:absolute;left:0px"):}:

:{The latest Tweets from :{Donny Ferguson:(style="font-weight:bold"):}: (@DonnyFerguson). Won a shooting contest in North Korea. Brewed beer in the US Capitol. Listed in “7 Must-Follow ...:(style="overflow-wrap:break-word"):}:

Missing: donald ‎| Must include:donald

Donny Ferguson – Americans for a Better Economy

https://bettereconomy.org/tag/donny-ferguson/

Posts about Donny Ferguson written by donnyferguson. ... on Thursday, but said President DonaldTrump was not rushing to decide whether to leave or weaken ...

legistorm

Posted by Garrett Snedeker on July 3, 2013

The first sign of the apocalypse: the phrase "Hail Satan" now appears on LegiStorm.

Late last night, reports emerged from Austin, Texas, where a battle over legislation affecting abortion access is raging, that pro-choice demonstrators attempted to disrupt pro-lifers at the State Capitol with chants of "Hail Satan" to combat pro-lifers' singing of "Amazing Grace".

When video of the occurrence surfaced, "Hail Satan" began trending on Twitter with a number of congressional Twitter accounts erupting with mentions of the event. LegiStorm's Stormfeed captured a total of 20 tweets or retweets of the phrase as of this morning.

Some of the tweeters were not too surprising, such as chief of staff to Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), Chip Roy, and communications director to Rep. Steve Stockman (R-Texas), Donny Ferguson. However, even members and staffers not affiliated with Texas members entered the fray. Rep. Doug LaMalfa (R-Calif.)'s campaign twitter retweeted several posts mentioning the chants, while press secretary to Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), Brian Faughnan, sarcastically offered, "Come on folks, they just meant 'Hail Satan' in a hip, ironic way."

Subjects: Donald E. Ferguson (Donny); Rep. Doug LaMalfa (**R**-CA); Sen. Ted Cruz (**R**-TX); Sen. Ron Johnson (**R**-WI); Former Rep. Steve Stockman (**R**-TX); Brian M. Faughnan; Rep. Chip Roy (**R**-TX)

Ferguson's messaging strategy is one that can "cling tightly to its principle and still fit comfortably in the political mainstream.” - The Kansas City Star

"Freshman representatives usually aren’t able to single-handedly drive the debate on the issues, but most freshmen aren’t quite so media savvy." - Twitchy, "Rep. Steve Stockman to live-tweet SOTU fact-check, install Obama ‘Failometer’"

"(Ferguson) put together one of the most exhaustive responses to a speech [State of the Union Address] we’ve ever seen." - Twitchy, "Rep. Steve Stockman’s office hammers SOTU in live fact-check"

"(Ferguson) should be commended for running an honest, intelligent and issue-oriented campaign and for challenging an entrenched incumbent to grapple publicly with the many difficulties facing this area, especially growing congestion, increasing taxes and educational funding." - The Reston Times

Specialties: Two decades of success in public relations, media relations, communications, campaign management, association management, government administration and grassroots lobbying.

Experience

President

Americans for a Better Economy

March 2015 – Present (1 year 1 month)Washington D.C. Metro Area

The nation's most effective grassroots-powered opponent of the radical environmentalist lobby.

President

Ferguson & Associates

May 2007 – Present (8 years 11 months)

• Former Executive Director of a 501(c)4 lobbying organization dedicated to rational, pro-growth energy and environmental policies. Have won a U.S. Supreme Court case and multiple federal legislative campaigns. Signed up over 250,000 citizens for a grassroots support campaign for approval of the Keystone XL pipeline.

1/12 http://americantradition.org/category/fuelingjobs-com/

• Winning political campaign manager, specializing in federal and state-level competitive and "underdog" races.

• Create and lead winning public relations campaigns for national and international associations and organization. Achieve targeted results and effectively sell your cause and in national print, broadcast and online media.

• Create and lead effective social media campaigns for national and international businesses and non-profits that directly market your message to key audiences, prospects and decision makers and achieve targeted results.

• Create and lead profitable direct mail campaigns for national and international businesses and non-profits and major national fundraising agencies that achieve targeted results.

• Create and lead profitable online fundraising campaigns for international and national non-profits and major national fundraising agencies.

• National, state and local grassroots and access-based lobbying.

• Association management consulting for high-profile and effective national non-profits, growing membership and revenue..

3 recommendations, including:

Hon. Eugene Delgaudio scam artist? homophobe Public Advocate’s phone number is (703) 845-1808, its address is 5613 Leesburg Pike, Suite 17 Falls Church, VA 22041, and its website is http://publicadvocateusa.org/.

President at Public Advocate of the United States, Inc.

Public Advocate of the United States, Inc.Public Advocate of the United States, Inc.Jan 1981 - Present · 44 yrs 1 moJan 1981 to Present · 44 yrs 1 mo

- We defended the Boy Scouts of America before the Supreme Court and before Congress. We defend traditional marriage in Congress and the fifty states

A man of few words and plenty of action and results. No one person has done as much for Texas, for America and the world in...View

Chris Cupit

President, Campaign Marketing Strategies, Inc.

Donny always produces a high-quality product. Very reliable.View

1 more recommendation

Senior Communications & Policy Adviser

U.S. House of Representatives

January 2013 – January 2015 (2 years 1 month)Washington, D.C.

* Responsible for communications, media and messaging strategy.

* The most-covered member of the freshman class.

* Responsible for drafting legislation.

* Responsible for monitoring and managing affairs of:

U.S. House Committee on Agriculture

U.S. House Committee on Education and the Workforce

U.S. House Committee on Energy and Commerce

U.S. House Committee on Natural Resources

U.S. House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure

* Executive Director, Congressional Property Rights Action Caucus

Campaign Manager

Congressman Steve Stockman

March 2012 – December 2012 (10 months)Houston, Texas

* Despite facing three elections, two of which we were not supposed to win, had the lowest Dollar Per Vote of any federal candidate in 2013.

* Won two upset elections despite not filing or setting up the campaign until ten weeks before the election and being outspent 15-to-1 by two different opponents and barely covered in campaign coverage up until the day of the election.

* Won a primary victory on just $23,000, knocking out the Texas Senate President who was picked to win without a runoff and was already meeting with House transition officials. In the runoff, defeated a favored millionaire who spent $750,000 against us.

Texas A&M University

Political Science with teaching certification

1995 – 1998

Activities and Societies: * Award-winning and nationally-published newspaper columnist - The Battalion * Founding Vice-President, Young Conservatives of Texas, Texas A&M Chapter * President, Texas A&M Eagle Forum Collegians

http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/eagle-forum-collegians

LI scrape

Connor Rice

Digital Director at David Trone for Congress

Jayne Townsend

Issue Advocacy Advertising, Public Affairs, Public Relations

Ben Lazarus

Political Director at The Atlas Project

Ryane Ridenour

Senior Digital Strategist at New Blue Interactive

Hon. Eugene Delgaudio

President at Public Advocate of the United States, Inc.

Raymond LaJeunesse

Vice President & Legal Director at National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation, Inc.

Allie Carter

Digital Strategy and Communications

Caroline Wilson

Digital Marketing Coordinator at Ralph Lauren

Judy Gowen

Political Director and Fundraiser

Zach Stewart

Political Director at Americans for Responsible Solutions

3/16

ati

1/12

“The Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) internal watchdog is looking into whether the agency uses separate internal email accounts to conduct government affairs,” The Hill reports.

“EPA’s inspector general said the audit follows on a congressional request. Some lawmakers have pressed EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson for answers on her alleged use of a separate internal email account under the alias ‘Richard Windsor.’”

The bogus email account was uncovered by Chris Horner, American Tradition Institute‘s Director of Litigation.

“Its office of the inspector general wants to know whether the agency’s email practices comply with federal laws. The concern is whether correspondence through internal accounts would show up in a search for federal records.”

...

There were too many other oddities to go into: In February, he sued a Cornyn-affiliated group for libel over their mention of a past felony charge for drug possession that he, himself, had admitted. He spent New Year’s Eve in Manhattan helping to open a Bitcoin exchange. A fake newspaper sliming Cornyn, “The Conservative News,” was sent to mailboxes all over Texaswith language taken verbatim from Stockman’s campaign website. Stockman said he’d had nothing to do with it—but it was issued by a group, Center for the American Future, whose website was registered by Jason Posey, a Stockman long-timer who was fired in 2013 in the wake of campaign finance violations. (The “group’s” website proclaims the newsletters’ independence from any candidate, telling visitors to check back for the “Alaska edition.” We’ll see.)

There’s another part to the question of “seriousness.” Did Stockman’s people believe earnestly in anything they were saying? Or were they, for lack of a better phrase, just fucking around?

We’re unlikely to hear from Stockman on that, but one clue comes from his spokesman, Ferguson. In the early part of the campaign, Ferguson’s Twitter account consisted of a mix of red-meat bumper-sticker slogans, plagiarized Twitter jokes and spin on behalf of his boss. As time went on, things started to go off the rails and the barest pretense that Stockman’s people were trying—or even trying to appear professional—dropped. The bad jokes multiplied. He’d tweet references to the cult British comic character, Alan Partridge, stills from the movie Idiocracy and which schlocky 60’s B-movie he was watching at the current moment. Ultimately it became difficult to tell how much work he was really capable of doing on behalf of his candidate.

With that, plus a number of pivotal state Senate elections won by the Tea Party, the whole chamber, once a check on the legislature’s most stridently conservative measures, appears set to swerve far, far to the right. It would be a shift with consequences for the whole country. Yet much of the national media, on primary night, transfixed by Stockman the clown, wrote that moderates had beaten back their far-right challengers.

Candidates like Stockman are like crack cocaine for the media, which—and I’m certainly including myself here—love a colorful, easy story almost as much as they love eccentric antagonists. But they’re bad for voters too. They’re bad for their party. And they corrode trust and respect in the democratic system. (And we are by no means experiencing a surfeit of either right now.) I hope I never have to write about Steve Stockman again after his congressional term ends in January—God knows what he’ll get up to between now and then, as a lame duck representative with nothing to lose—but I know there’ll be others like him. For some, politics is a racket that’s too good to pass up.

Christopher Hooks is a politics writer for the Texas Observer based in Austin.

Read more: http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2014/03/steve-stockman-texas-good-riddance-104428.html#ixzz32qn7bSfC

For a brief period in February, for reasons known only to God and the Stockman campaign, Ferguson took the rhetorical mud cannon it was firing at Cornyn and directed it, instead, at Slate reporter Dave Weigel. Weigel had emailed Ferguson to ask where Stockman would be campaigning—Ferguson replied that the campaign was “not interested.” Weigel quoted Ferguson, and wrote, accurately, that the campaign wasn’t providing information to reporters. He later released correspondence that confirms his version of the interaction.

Ferguson accused Weigel of lying and misrepresenting his words. He wrote that Slate was less credible than a college newspaper, and accused Weigel of “intentionally faking a quote.” The campaign raised money off the incident, telling supporters Stockman was being mau-maued by the lamestream media, and that Weigel, a pro-Cornyn plant, had gone “berserk.”

Just a day later, I tweeted Ferguson about the incident. His demeanor had changed completely. “I still like Dave Weigel,” he wrote. “The man knows his Simpsons.”

In a way, it foreshadowed the end of Stockman’s pitiful campaign. Early on election night, March 4, media outlets called the race for Cornyn. He had avoided a runoff in an eight-way race.

For three months, Stockman had slimed Cornyn, from dawn till dusk. He lied about the senator’s record and intentions. He Photoshopped him into uncomfortable positions—into flannel pajamas, and into the arms of the president. He sought not just to defeat him but to destroy him and his reputation. When the race was called, it dissipated instantly. He tweeted: “We wish Senator Cornyn best of luck in November and urge everyone to vote for, volunteer for and support the whole Texas GOP ticket. #family”

So, Stockman wasn’t serious—in any way that a candidate could be serious. He wasn’t a serious contender, he wasn’t a serious campaigner and he wasn’t, it seems likely, honest about his intentions or the authenticity of his public persona. Now, having accumulated donations to his campaign purse (as of Feb. 21, he had more than $56,000 in cash on hand, and he couldn’t have spent much in the last two weeks) a few more FEC complaints to contend with and a few more enemies, he’ll be leaving Congress again in January—although, it should be said, the last time Stockman left public office he spent the next 16 years trying to get back. Not even being named an unindicted co-conspirator in a prescription pad fraud ring slowed his relentless drive back toward the limelight.

***

Was all of this entertaining? Absolutely. But why must we, as citizens, be constantly beset by figures like Steve Stockman? They seem to be a permanent feature of our elections now—figures like Alan Keyes, Newt Gingrich, Herman Cain and Donald Trump, joke quasi-candidates whose mere presence sucks up precious oxygen from the democratic process, riding civic institutions to (relative) fortune and (relative) fame. Trump uses the presidential nominating process to feed his unconstrained ego and sense of relevance; Keyes, Gingrich and Cain have all used their failed runs to cash out, selling information about their supporters and trading renown for paid media gigs. Why are we giving these jokers airtime?

The Steve Stockman Show obscured much that was of real importance this cycle. His doomed race drew the lion’s share of national media attention of all the state’s primaries, despite the fact that Texas is in the middle of a critical shift with potentially enormous consequences. For all the talk about Democratic gubernatorial candidate Wendy Davis, the most intriguing dynamic is on the Republican side: State Sen. Dan Patrick, a radio talk show host from Houston, appears the favorite to win the Republican nomination for lieutenant governor. That office leads the Senate, and Patrick has promised to destroy a number of important Senate conventions that foster bipartisanship if he wins.

...

Read more: http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2014/03/steve-stockman-texas-good-riddance-104428.html#ixzz32qm9r84p

Ethics Committee investigating Rep. Steve Stockman

LI BS (oddly no ATI on resume?

Ferguson's messaging strategy is one that can "cling tightly to its principle and still fit comfortably in the political mainstream.” - The Kansas City Star

"(Ferguson) put together one of the most exhaustive responses to a speech [State of the Union Address] we’ve ever seen." - Twitchy, "Rep. Steve Stockman’s office hammers SOTU in live fact-check"

Specialties: Two decades of success in public relations, media relations, communications, campaign management, association management, government administration and grassroots lobbying

Sr Communications & Policy Adviser

Congressman Steve Stockman

January 2013 – Present (1 year 5 months)Washington, D.C.

* Responsible for communications, media and messaging strategy.

* The most-covered member of the freshman class.

* Responsible for drafting legislation.

* Responsible for monitoring and managing affairs of:

U.S. House Committee on Agriculture

U.S. House Committee on Education and the Workforce

U.S. House Committee on Energy and Commerce

U.S. House Committee on Natural Resources

U.S. House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure

* Executive Director, Congressional Property Rights Action Caucus

President

Ferguson & Associates

May 2007 – Present (7 years 1 month)

• Winning political campaign manager, specializing in federal and state-level competitive and "underdog" races.

• Create and lead profitable direct mail campaigns for national and international businesses and non-profits and major national fundraising agencies that achieve targeted results.

• Create and lead profitable online fundraising campaigns for international and national non-profits and major national fundraising agencies.

• National, state and local grassroots and access-based lobbying.

• Association management consulting for high-profile and effective national non-profits, growing membership and revenue..

Campaign Manager

Congressman Steve Stockman

March 2012 – December 2012 (10 months)Houston, Texas

* Despite facing three elections, two of which we were not supposed to win, had the lowest Dollar Per Vote of any federal candidate in 2013.

LI also view

Chris Cupit

President, Campaign Marketing Strategies, Inc.

Jason Posey

Director of Special Projects & Congressional Liaison

Dennis Roberts

Legislative Assistant at U.S. House of Representatives

Kirk & Lisa Clinkenbeard

President at The Westerly Group, Inc.

John Velleco

Director of Federal Affairs at Gun Owners of America

Printus Leblanc

Legislative Assistant at U.S. House of Representatives

Tom Prewitt

Research Director/Senior Legislative Assistant at Congressman Scott DesJarlais, M.D.

Diane Calmus

Legislative Assistant - Rep. Kevin Brady (TX-08)

Doug Molof

Legislative Assistant at US Congress

Adrienne McClellan

Staff Assistant at Office of Congressman Steve Stockman

GOP Poll: John Cornyn destroys tea party challenger Steve Stockman

December 16, 2013

By Anomaly

Rep. Steve Stockman (R-TX) is going to have the sads. Texas Sen. John Cornyn starts out his 2014 primary fight a whopping 44 points ahead of his most prominent conservative challenger, Rep. Steve Stockman, according to private GOP polling obtained.

44 points is huge. But what’s even more interesting is that Stockman considers Cornyn to be a ‘liberal.’

The survey conducted by the Republican firm Wilson Perkins Allen Opinion Research, shows Cornyn held a wide advantage over Stockman, leading 50 percent to 6 percent. According to Politico, Other candidates took 5 percent of the vote, and 39 percent of those surveyed were undecided.

Ted Cruz’s name is becoming toxic.

Cornyn was highly critical of Ted Cruz so Rep. Steve Stockman (R-Texas) announced one week ago that he’ll challenge Cornyn, citing the way the senator “treated his fellow congressmen” as his main reason for joining the race.

Stockman said, “We are extremely disappointed in the way [Cornyn] treated his fellow congressmen and broke the 11th commandment and undermined Ted Cruz’s fight to stop Obamacare. We think he needs to be held accountable for his decisions.”

Stockman went a step further and tagged Cornyn as a ‘liberal’ for his opposition go Ted Cruz.

He said in an email last week, “Dear patriot, You are in a foxhole fighting to save our constitutional Republic… …and the last thing you need is a Republican bayonet in your back. But that’s what liberal John Cornyn has been doing to you every day.”

And now, Cornyn is ahead by such a huge margin, even a ‘liberal’ couldn’t catch up to him.

Politico reports:

Stockman spokesman Donny Ferguson said in an email that the poll is “bad news for liberal John Cornyn,” arguing that it proves “Texans aren’t happy with Cornyn’s record.”

“Cornyn has been in office for over a decade, has spent tens of millions of dollars promoting himself and half of the party doesn’t want him back. Cornyn has nowhere to go but down,” Ferguson said.” We have three months to make our case, and then another three months in a runoff.”

Cornyn campaign spokesman Drew Brandewie countered that Cornyn has a solidly conservative record that he will be touting in the campaign.

“One thing Texans respect is a man who says what he means and does what he says. Senator Cornyn is proud of his strong conservative record and will continue to work hard to earn the support of Texans,” Brandewie said.

How is this poll bad news for Cornyn exactly? Stockman had $32,000 in his campaign account at the end of September. Cornyn has some $7 million on hand.

This year, American Tradition Partnership is as active as ever. It’s suing to try to overturn contribution limits in Montana, so far unsuccessfully. The group sent out mailers attacking candidates before the June primary in Montana, reporting none of them to the state as political expenditures. It later put out a press release saying that 12 of the 14 candidates it backed had won.

For the general election, the group appears to be targeting Montana’s attorney general, Steve Bullock, the Democratic candidate for governor. As attorney general, Bullock fought the partnership’s lawsuits against the state, including the one that ended up in the Supreme Court.

The first issue of the partnership’s Montana Statesman newspaper, dated Oct. 7, which a group press release said was sent to 180,000 voters, featured four photographs on the front page: Three of registered sex offenders, and one of Bullock, accusing him of allowing one in four sex offenders to go unregistered. “Bullock admits failure,” the headline announced. A full-page ad accused Bullock of taking illegal corporate contributions and of “criminal hypocrisy.”

The Statesman’s editor and publisher is none other than Ferguson, the partnership’s executive director, described as an “award-winning newspaper veteran” who has been “commended by other newspapers for his ‘honest, intelligent and issue-oriented’ approach.”

Ferguson didn’t respond to a question about his journalism credentials.

“Conservative group American Tradition Partnership now one of nation’s biggest media outlets,” said a press release on the group’s website, adding that the newspaper would publish “several” editions through Election Day and into 2013.

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/government-elections-politics/big-sky-big-money/mysterious-docs-found-in-meth-house-reveal-inner-workings-of-dark-money-group/

On the day of Lovell’s ruling, American Tradition Partnership posted an announcement on its website declaring, “ATP wins yet another case against Montana politicians.” The organization has become known for its opposition to Montana’s campaign finance laws and is currently engaged in a high-profile battle with Attorney General Steve Bullock over the state’s century-old ban on corporate spending in political races.

“This is a victory for the free speech rights of all Americans, and a loss for Montana politicians trying to squelch the voices of grassroots citizens challenging their power,” Donald Ferguson, ATP’s executive director, said of Lovell’s decision in a statement.

Tutvedt[gop] was discouraged by ATP’s boast that Lovell’s ruling means the state can no longer “prohibit political speech about candidate voting records the state judged ‘false.’” The senator interprets that as a free pass to misrepresent candidates’ records.

Ferguson didn’t return a voice message before the Beacon went to print.

Western Tradition Partnership wants corporations from foreign countries to influence Montana’s elections

Posted in Western Tradition Partnership, tagged Dan Fuchs, Dan Kennedy, dirty politics,Donny Ferguson, Western Tradition Partnership on September 30, 2010 | Leave a Comment »

It comes as no surprise that the shadowy political group, Western Tradition Partnership (WTP), who laughingly touts itself as “grassroots”, wants to corrupt Montana’s elections with their unethical and irresponsible actions. Today in the Billings Gazette, Charles Johnson sheds a little more light on WTP’s intentions, motivations and how they fund their organization.

WTP is the lead plaintiff in the legal challenge to Montana’s ban on corporate spending for candidates. In addition, they also tout their organization’s secrecy as a benefit of giving them money.Just a clarifying note, WTP’s Executive Director, Donny Ferguson lives in Virginia…not really a bastion of “western traditions.” Donny Ferguson is a D.C. insider, he is not a Montanan.

A former employee of WTP [Sarah A?] apparently leaked some materials to the Montana Political Practices Commissioner. WTP believes that a huge benefit to donating to them is that “donations are confidential” and that they don’t have to report names or amounts of any contribution. This comes as no surprise since they make a habit out of secrecy and deception. I personally believe, and I know most Montanans will agree with me, that in a Representative Democracy, there must be openness and accountability for our system to work. I think WTP would feel more comfortable operating in a Communist country.

Here is another gem coming from the presentation

“Our success won’t depend on which party is in power,” the presentation [WTP] said. “Politicians get the message loud and clear when their colleagues get beaten in the ballot box.”

This is another standard operating procedure of WTP: Threaten and intimidate candidates if they don’t turn in their poorly written and edited “surveys” that they send out.

I have left the best for last. The investigator for the State also found that WTP “intends to or has tried to solicit donations from officers of several foreign corporations or their affiliations, including some based in Canada, South Africa and the United Kingdom.”

So, not only do they want to hide their funders from the public and the voter, they want corporations from foreign countries influencing Montana’s elections. That doesn’t sound very patriotic to me.

One thing that the article did not point out is that WTP is directly connected to convicted criminals. See this article about their connection to Colorado political operative Scott Shires.

frontline:

...

Christian LeFer, a strategist for the group in the 2008 and 2010 Montana elections, has denied that the group broke campaign-finance rules, saying he worked “scrupulously” to avoid the possibility of coordination. WTP officials also have said the group does not campaign for particular candidates; instead, they say it educates voters on where candidates stand on certain issues.

WTP, now known as American Tradition Partnership and based out of a post-office box in Washington, D.C., remains locked in an ongoing dispute with Montana campaign-finance regulators, who in October 2010 said the group should disclose its donors. WTP’s lawsuit in that case is scheduled to be heard in March.

In an interview Tuesday, the state’s outgoing governor, Democrat Brian Schweitzer, opined that WTP was a “criminal enterprise.”

“Think about this—you’ve got folks who won’t say who they are, won’t say where they live, run out of a post office box,” Schweitzer said. “Who are these people? They’re clearly violating Montana laws.”

In the 2012 election, much of American Tradition Partnership’s focus in Montana was on the race to replace Schweitzer, who couldn’t run again because of term limits. It funded attacks on Democrat Steve Bullock, the state’s attorney general, sending out two fake newspapersto Montana residents in the final weeks of the race portraying him as soft on child predators.

The Associated Press declared Bullock the winner Wednesday, saying he had eked out a narrow victory over Republican Rich Hill.

As the election unfolded, LeFer and Donny Ferguson, who now runs American Tradition Partnership, posted on Facebook, taking aim at recent coverage of the group.

LeFer posted a message to Ferguson on Facebook on Tuesday night. “‘Sitting back on Election NIght (sic) watching what a difference I’ve made’ – Just paraphrasing from a stolen PowerPoint presentation I’m reading,” LeFer wrote about 8 p.m. Montana time.

Ferguson, whose Facebook page is public, then clicked that he “liked” LeFer’s comment.

Although Ferguson did not reply to requests for comment, his Facebook page showed that on election night he was in Texas celebrating the return of conservative Steve Stockman to Congress, after 16 years out of office. Ferguson, Stockman’s campaign manager, proclaimed, “We’re baaaaaaaaaaack” on his Facebook page and said he autographed a campaign bag next to the signature of Gov. Rick Perry.

Ferguson didn’t mention Bullock, but an earlier post made it clear how Ferguson felt about FRONTLINE’s documentary on WTP, which aired Oct. 30 on PBS.

“I don’t think PBS understands who just just (sic) committed a felony against,” Ferguson wrote on Facebook the day after the broadcast. “I’m not one of these pearl-clutching marshmallow Republican squishes who doesn’t like blood. I go Scottish Texan on people. Calm, cool, collected headhunting. I collect ears and skulls. And most importantly I follow the law and rain helllfire (sic) on those who don’t. The name ‘Donald Ferguson’ translated is (sic) itself is practically a Scottish declaration of war.”

Secretive group that challenged Montana election laws might vanish

HELENA – After four years spent dumping candidate attack ads on Montana elections and leading high-profile challenges to state campaign laws, a secretive conservative organization looks like it may simply vanish.

linked in BS

Media Strategist/Senior Adviser at Congressman Steve Stockman

Campaign Manager at Congressman Steve Stockman

President at Ferguson & Associates

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Texas A&M University

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Donny Ferguson's Summary

Ferguson's messaging strategy is one that can "cling tightly to its principle and still fit comfortably in the political mainstream.” - The Kansas City Star

"(Ferguson) put together one of the most exhaustive responses to a speech [State of the Union Address] we’ve ever seen." - Twitchy, "Rep. Steve Stockman’s office hammers SOTU in live fact-check"

Specialties: Two decades of success in public relations, media relations, communications, campaign management, association management, government administration and grassroots lobbying.

Donny Ferguson's Experience

Media Strategist/Senior Adviser

Congressman Steve Stockman

January 2013 – Present (8 months) Washington, D.C.

* Responsible for communications, media and messaging strategy.

* The most-covered member of the freshman class, despite granting only two interviews.

* Responsible for drafting legislation.

* Responsible for all activity relating to:

Agriculture

Education

Environment

Infrastructure

Labor

Natural Resources

Transportation

* Executive Director, Congressional Property Rights Action Caucus

Campaign Manager

Congressman Steve Stockman

March 2012 – Present (1 year 6 months) Houston, Texas

* Despite facing three elections, two of which we were not supposed to win, had the lowest Dollar Per Vote of any federal candidate in 2013.

President

Ferguson & Associates

May 2007 – Present (6 years 4 months)

• Former Executive Director of a 501(c)4 lobbying organization[ATP] dedicated to rational, pro-growth energy and environmental policies. Have won a U.S. Supreme Court case and multiple federal legislative campaigns. Signed up over 250,000 citizens for a grassroots support campaign for approval of the Keystone XL pipeline.

• Winning political campaign manager, specializing in federal and state-level competitive and "underdog" races.

• Create and lead profitable direct mail campaigns for national and international businesses and non-profits and major national fundraising agencies that achieve targeted results.

• Create and lead profitable online fundraising campaigns for international and national non-profits and major national fundraising agencies.

• National, state and local grassroots and access-based lobbying.

• Association management consulting for high-profile and effective national non-profits, growing membership and revenue..

Profile: Donald Ferguson

Related Entities:

Leader of American Tradition Partnership

Donald Ferguson was a participant or observer in the following events:

December 30, 2011 and After: Montana Supreme Court Rules that State Campaign Finance Ban Stands in Spite of ‘Citizens United’ Decision

The Montana Supreme Court rules 5-2 in the case of Western Tradition Partnership v. Bullock that a century-old law prohibits corporate spending in state and federal elections conducted within the state. The ruling seems to challenge the US Supreme Court’s Citizens United ruling (see January 21, 2010). The case stems from a challenge by a “social welfare organization,” Western Tradition Partnership (WTP, which changed its name to American Tradition Partnership after the original lawsuit was filed), joined by two other corporate entities, toMontana’s 1912 Corrupt Practices Act (CPA). The law banned corporate spending in elections, after two out-of-state copper industry magnates attempted to “buy” the Montana legislature by pouring money into the 1894 state elections. The law declares that “corporations may not make… an expenditure in connection with a candidate or a political committee that supports or opposes a candidate or a political party.”

The Montana Supreme Court finds that the CPA is needed to ensure the integrity of Montana’s elections, and to make sure that citizens and not corporations are running the state. However, the Court acknowledges that its ruling conflicts with the Citizens United decision, though it says that the Citizens United decision allows for restrictions on corporate political speech if the government can demonstrate that the restrictions are as minimal as possible to achieve a compelling governmental interest. The Montana Court rules that because of Montana’s history of corporate vote-buying and the narrow restrictions of the CPA, the law should stand. It also notes that Western Tradition Partnership argued in its original suit that disclosure laws, as opposed to outright bans, would serve the public interest and guard against corruption; however, the organization is currently involved in another lawsuit in which it argues that those same disclosure laws are unconstitutional restrictions of the freedom of speech.

[WESTERN TRADITION PARTNERSHIP V. BULLOCK ET AL, 12/30/2011 pdf file; LOS ANGELES TIMES, 1/4/2012; REUTERS, 6/25/2012; OMB WATCH, 6/25/2012; WASHINGTON POST, 6/25/2012;OMB WATCH, 7/10/2012]

Even one of the dissenters, Justice James C. Nelson, disagrees with the Citizens United characterizations that corporations are legally people,writing: “Corporations are not persons. Human beings are persons, and it is an affront to the inviolable dignity of our species that courts have created a legal fiction which forces people—human beings—to share fundamental, natural rights with soulless creatures of government. Worse still, while corporations and human beings share many of the same rights under the law, they clearly are not bound equally to the same codes of good conduct, decency, and morality, and they are not held equally accountable for their sins. Indeed, it is truly ironic that the death penalty and hell are reserved only to natural persons.”

WTP’s director Donald Ferguson says after the decision that the case hinges on freedom of speech (see January 21, 2010): “The current state law says that if you own a business and you would like to use the resources of the business to speak out about how you see the law, you essentially have to ask prior permission from the state. Under the current regime, the state regulatory agencies and the newspapers basically have a monopoly on information. We’re simply trying to put more free speech in motion.”

[LOS ANGELES TIMES, 1/4/2012; HUFFINGTON POST, 1/4/2012]

Legal Scholars Anticipate Montana Ruling to be Overturned

Paul Ryan of the Campaign Legal Center calls the Montana high court’s ruling “an antidote to the crabbed view of corruption” displayed in Citizens United. Ryan, like many others, anticipates the US Supreme Court will overturn today’s ruling. [HUFFINGTON POST, 1/4/2012] One of those others is law professor Richard Hasen, who writes: “[I]f the Court were being honest in Citizens United, it would have said something like: ‘We don’t care whether or not independent spending can or cannot corrupt; the First Amendment trumps this risk of corruption.’ But the Court didn’t say that, because it would have faced even greater criticism than it already has. So it dressed up its value judgment (no corruption ‘implied in law’) as a factual statement. The Montana Supreme Court called SCOTUS [the US Supreme Court] on this. And when SCOTUS reverses, the disingenuousness of this aspect of CU will be on full display for all.” Hasen is referring to the Court’s finding in Citizens United that independent spending in elections does not legally imply corruption. [RICK HASEN, 1/1/2012]

Appeal to Supreme Court - Attorneys for WTP and the other corporate plaintiffs will appeal to the US Supreme Court on the grounds that Montana is bound by theCitizens United decision and that the decision applies to state as well as federal elections. Attorney James Bopp, in filing the appeal, will say: “If Montana can ban core political speech because of Montana’s unique characteristics, free speech will be seriously harmed. Speakers will be silenced because of corruption by others over a century ago.” The US Supreme Court will quickly issue a stay of that decision. [REUTERS, 6/25/2012; OMB WATCH, 6/25/2012] When the case reaches the US Supreme Court, the name of the plaintiff will change into “American Tradition Partnership,” and the Court’s documentation will reflect that change. The Court will overrule the Montana decision (see June 25, 2012).

After the decision, American Tradition Partnership’s Web site will disappear, but the liberal accountability organization SourceWatch will describe the organization’s parent, the American Tradition Institute, as described in the group’s mission statement: “a public policy research and educational foundation… founded in 2009 to help lead the national discussion about environmental issues, including air and water quality and regulation, responsible land use, natural resource management, energy development, property rights, and free-market principles of stewardship.” ATI and its affiliates are pro-development and against expanded environmental regulation, according to SourceWatch’s documentation, made up of “a broader network of groups with close ties to energy interests that have long fought greenhouse gas regulation.” [SOURCEWATCH, 2012]

Entity Tags: American Tradition Institute, American Tradition Partnership, Donald Ferguson, James C. Nelson, 1912 Corrupt Practices Act (Montana), SourceWatch, US Supreme Court, Paul S. Ryan, Montana Supreme Court, James Bopp, Jr, Richard L. Hasen

Timeline Tags: Civil Liberties

bs January 22, 2013?

ATP, ATI file federal suit to throw out Expensive Energy Mandate

Two citizens’ groups, Morrison resident file suit against Hickenlooper, officials

DENVER – Two citizens’ groups and a Morrison resident filed a federal lawsuit suit Monday in Denver’s United States District Court seeking to have the state’s Expensive Energy Mandate declared unconstitutional.

“The Expensive Energy Mandate doesn’t just kill jobs and drive up prices, it wrongfully interferes with interstate commerce by disrupting the interstate power grid,” said American Tradition Partnership Executive Director Donald Ferguson. “Families and consumers, along with Constitution, are wronged by the Expensive Energy Mandate.”

“Environmentalism demands policies that actually improve the environment in a manner compatible with a healthy economy. The hard facts show that wind energy is not affordable and is not clean,” saidDr. David Schnare, Director the Environmental Law Center of the American Tradition Institute. “As such, wind energy deserves to be put on trial.”

The suit names Governor John Hickenlooper, Regulatory Agencies Department Director Barbara J. Kelley, Public Utilities Commission Chairman Ron Binz, Public Utilities Commissioners James Tarpey and Matt Baker and Public Utilities Commission Director Doug Dean as defendants.

The suit filed by American Tradition Partnership, American Tradition Institute and tech entrepreneur Rod Lueckseeks to overturn the law on the grounds it wrongfully interferes with interstate commerce, violating Article I, Section 8 of the United States Constitution, a clause previous courts have ruled also applies to state legislatures. The suit also argue Expensive Energy Mandates hurt consumers by raising prices for food, energy and goods and destroy jobs.

Commonly called a “renewable energy standard,” Colorado’s law mandates that 30 percent of its electricity come from renewable sources by the year 2020. By mandating the purchase and use of renewables, the Colorado statute discriminates against other less costly, less polluting, safer and more reliable in-state and out-of-state sources of electricity. The Commerce Clause of the U.S. Constitution does not permit a state to impose burdens on the interstate market for electricity, especially when doing so means higher costs and more pollution as is the case under the Colorado law.

The gray wolf not only spreads diseaseslike echinococcosis that can infect humans, inflicts a heavy predation toll on struggling ranchers and has all but wiped out ecologically vulnerable game herds like moose and elk, they have been “introduced” to areas of the United States that are not part of their natural range, disrupting and damaging environment.

That’s why ranchers, farmers and real conservationists around the country are applauding ATP’s victory in our fight to have the invasive, foreign gray wolf removed from the Endangered Species List. Congress voted last week to kick the wolf off the List, the first time a species has been removed through a vote of Congress.

But one Boulder, Colo. newspaper with a history of making up stories to attack ATP didn’t take it so well. In the print equivalent of a temper tantrum in a grocery store aisle, the paper rants:

“Help fight Gang Green!” these forward-thinking individuals proclaim on their websites, calling themselves “a no-compromise grassroots organization dedicated to fighting the radical environmentalist agenda.”

Their latest press release lauds the recent removal of the gray wolf from the endangered species list.

Donny Ferguson, who was WTP’s director of public relations in 2009 and is now listed as ATP’s executive director, acknowledges in the release that his group seeks “the eventual total repeal of the Endangered Species Act. … Thanks to meddling by East Coast environmentalists, wolves are now a fast-spreading predator that kills livestock, spreads disease and is wiping out sensitive natural game herds like elk and moose.”

Their websites also warn that “dozens of radical eco-organizations whose stated purpose is to dismantle the free enterprise system — and our Constitutionally protected rights — through so-called environmental protection have set their sights on robbing Americans of the right to exist, achieve and produce.”

Sorry to have you so rabid. We’ll be sure to send you a nice new rug. Annoy the liberal media. Chip in $10 to...

jimbeeconf spkrrs7@earthlink.net

Retired US Fish & Wildlife Service

Wildlife Biolgist / Refuge Manager/ Law Enforcement Agent

Jim Beers retired from the US Fish and Wildlife Service after 30 years.He served as a wildlife biologist, wetlands biologist, special agent, and refuge manager. After working for the Utah Fish & Game and spending four years as a Reserve Officer in the US Navy, he joined the US Fish & Wildlife Service and was stationed in Devils Lake, North Dakota; Minneapolis, Minnesota; Grand Island, Nebraska; New York City; and Washington, DC.

While in Washington Jim was a Congressional Fellow, the Chief of Operations for the National Wildlife Refuge System, the Program Coordinator for the Animal Damage Control Program, and for his final seven years he was the wildlife biologist in the Central Office who served as Project Officer on nearly all national wildlife projects funded with Pittman-Robertson money. Retired in 1999, Jim Beers holds a Bachelors in Wildlife Resources from Utah State University and a Masters in Public Administration from the University of Northern Colorado. ] crypto http://iwmc.org/home/index.php/IWMC-Information/sharks.html

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Friday, May 4, 2012

American Tradition Partnership Members Hold Off Colorado Utility Rate Hike

“Green” Energy Plan Would Have Hiked Rates by $50 to $100 Million

Denver, CO – With just hours until the General Assembly’s “crossover deadline” when legislation must pass through at least one house of the legislature or be declared dead, American Tradition Partnership (ATP) members lit up Colorado Senate phones and effectively stopped passage of S.B. 178.

If passed, S.B. 178 would force Colorado consumers to purchase an even greater percentage of renewable energy despite studies that showadding wind and solar to the utility grid actually cause more pollution.

Since renewable energy is much more expensive than traditional energy sources like coal and natural gas, S.B. 178 could have raised utility rates across Colorado by an estimated $50-$100 million or 25%.

Donald Ferguson, Executive Director of American Tradition Partnership – a grassroots organization dedicated to protecting property rights and battling environmental overreach stated, “Today’s defeat of S.B. 178 was a huge victory for hardworking Coloradans.”

“S.B. 178 was a last-ditch effort to salvage Colorado’s ‘renewable energy mandate.’ The Colorado Attorney General’s [who?] Office testified the current standard likely violates the U.S. Constitution.

ATP is currently a plaintiff in the lawsuit seeking to overturn Colorado’s Renewable Energy Standard in federal court for violating the Commerce Clause of the United States Constitution. S.B. 178 was designed to overcome the legal complaints brought by ATP.

Currently, 30 states have some sort of renewable energy mandate and Ferguson is hopeful Colorado could be the linchpin in unraveling these schemes across the country, saying “S.B. 178 would have only made the current situation worse.”

Ferguson explained why these green schemes are a bad deal for consumers saying, “Just like the Solyndra scandal, so-called ‘renewable energy’ mandates are just another example of radical environmentalists using government force to line their own pockets at the expense of everyday Americans.

“And perhaps the most maddening thing is that renewable energy mandates do nothing to improve the environment! Even President Obama’s EPA noted that the manufacturing process to create ‘green’ energy installations causes a jaw-dropping amount of pollution. And studies show adding renewables to the grid results in more pollution than running coal or natural gas as baseload power sources.”

“The answer to America’s energy problems is the free market. Government – and especially these schemes pushed by the radical environmentalists are getting us nowhere fast. Just take a look at the price at the pump next time you get gas.”

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

For the court case, see Western Tradition Partnership, Inc. v. Attorney General of Montana.]

American Tradition Partnership (ATP), formerly known as Western Tradition Partnership, is a conservative 501(c)4advocacy group in the United States targeting what it describes as "environmental extremism."[1] ATP has also initiated litigation targeting campaign finance regulations.

The organization's mission, in its own words, is a dedication "to fighting environmental extremism and promoting responsible development and management of land, water, and natural resources in the Rocky Mountain West and across the United States." ATP promotes what it describes as voluntary, free-market solutions to environmental problems as the means to protect both the economy and the environment. It works to achieve its organizational goals through lobbying, public education, and grassroots mobilization.[1]

The group was first registered as Western Tradition Partnership as a 501(c)(4) in 2008.[2][3] In 2009, the group spun off a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, the Western Tradition Institute, which also does business as the American Tradition Institute.[2]

Donald Ferguson, the former executive director of ATP and manager of their Washington, D.C. office, resigned on January 3, 2013, as it continued to suffer adverse rulings in Montana courts over alleged campaign finance violations.[4][5]

Contents [hide]

1 Issues

1.1 National monuments

1.2 Emissions trading

1.3 Utility alternative energy regulation

2 Litigation

2.1 Montana Commissioner of Political Practices

2.2 Western Tradition Partnership, Inc. v. Attorney General of Montana

2.3 Longmont

3 Funding

4 Stolen documents

5 References

6 External links

Issues[edit]

Some prominent issues in which ATP has become involved include:

National monuments

In 2010, WTP filed a Freedom of Information Act request seeking documents related to President Barack Obama's potential use of the Antiquities Act to establish as many as fourteen new national monuments, one of which may include the Vermillion Basin in Colorado, which has significant natural gas and other mineral resources. Republican Congressmen Doug Lamborn and Mike Coffman, both of Colorado, have concurrently introduced legislation to prevent any additional national monuments from being established in their state.[6]

Emissions trading

ATP has strongly opposed legislation creating an emissions trading system in the United States, referring to such proposals as a "cap and tax." An online petition sponsored by ATP states that its position on emissions trading results from skepticism about global warming evidence and fears that such a system would lead to higher energy prices, higher government spending, lost jobs, and other economic costs.[7]

Utility alternative energy regulation

ATP has vehemently opposed Colorado House Bill 1001 which would require public utilities to use alternative energy sources. The group says the proposed law would create job losses and higher utility bills. "The renewable energy standard forces utility companies to buy more expensive utilities, so then they have to cut back on hiring and lay people off," according to ATP executive director Ferguson.[8] American Tradition said the standards were being implemented for the benefit of “politically-connected, higher-priced ‘green’ speculators.” ATP initially planned to overturn the law via ballot initiative but soon turned away from that effort. The group says it will lobby to have the law changed in 2011.[9]

Litigation

Montana Commissioner of Political Practices[edit]

In 2010, the Montana Commission of Political Practices ruled that ATP had broken state campaign laws by failing to register as a political committee or properly report its donors and spending. The commission investigation's revealed that the group had solicited unlimited contributions to support pro-mining, pro-logging and pro-development candidates in Montana and avoided disclosing the contributions.[2]

The opinion issued by Commissioner Dennis Unsworth in October 2010 followed investigation of a complaint filed in 2008 by an attorney from Great Falls. The complaint accused ATP of not properly disclosing financial information related to fliers it released that criticized a state senator. The opinion examined connections between ATP, a small group of political action committees, candidates for public office, and discrepancies in the campaign finance disclosures.[10][11]

In response, ATF filed suit challenging the ruling. The lawsuit alleged a violation of ATP's federal constitutional right to free speech and a state constitutional right to privacy. The suit demanded that all complaints against ATP be dismissed. Montana Commissioner of Political Practices Dennis Unsworth (who issued the contested ruling), the state attorney general, and prosecutors in Cascade and Lewis and Clark counties were named as defendants in the action.[10][12]

ATP criticized Unsworth for exceeding his authority by including names of organizations and individuals in his ruling without presenting any evidence of wrongdoing on their part. "Indeed, the commissioner's opinion itself finds no evidence of coordination," ATP wrote. "Yet, the opinion drags the names of ATP's counsel, the Republican Party, numerous political candidates, persons associated with different organizations, and lawful businesses into the mix and alleges that there is."[10][11]

John Sinrud, a former Bozeman lawmaker who worked with ATP in 2008, accused Unsworth of using a double standard, saying ATP's behavior was legal and that several union and conservation groups heavily involved in Montana politics used similar tactics. "Commissioner Unsworth is selectively going after organizations that do not meet his political muster," he said. "He should just stick to the facts and that's not what he's doing. He's violated his oath of office of being nonpartisan."[10][11]

Western Tradition Partnership, Inc. v. Attorney General of Montana[edit]

Main article: Western Tradition Partnership, Inc. v. Attorney General of Montana

In October 2010, District Judge Jeffrey Sherlock ruled that the Montana Corrupt Practices Act of 1912, which prohibited independent expenditures to influence political campaigns by corporations, is unconstitutional. ATP had challenged the law after the United States Supreme Court's Citizens Unitedruling.[13] WTP was joined in its suit by Champion Painting and the Montana Shooting Sports Association.[14] Ruling Judge Sherlock said he agreed with U.S. District Judge Paul Magnuson, who overturned a similar ban in Minnesota. Magnuson wrote that Citizens United "is unequivocal: The government may not prohibit independent and indirect corporate expenditures on political speech."[15]

In Western Tradition Partnership, Inc. v. Attorney General of Montana, 2011 MT 328, the Montana Supreme Court ruled 5-2 that the broad protections given to corporations in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission do not apply to Montana’s campaign finance laws.[16] The US Supreme Court June 25 summarily reversed the Montana Supreme Court ruling.[17]

Longmont

In 2009, ATP sued the city of Longmont, Colorado, seeking to prevent enforcement of the Longmont Fair Campaign Practices Act (LFCPA). An injunction suspending enforcement of the regulations was granted in October 2009, after as Senior U.S. District Judge Walker Miller held that ATP and its co-plaintiffs would likely prevail.[18] The LFCPA was revised in 2009 after a 2008 special election where a city council member received a $5,000 contribution from the Longmont Association of Realtors. The 2009 changes mandated that contributors' identities, contribution amounts, and other information must be disclosed in campaign advertisements.[18]

The suit was settled out of court in December 2009 with the town paying the plaintiffs $68,500. As part of the settlement, the city agreed to propose changing the contested portions of the LFCPA, which were subsequently repealed by the city council.[19]

Funding

In Western Tradition Partnership, Inc. v. Attorney General of Montana, the Montana Supreme Court concluded that the organization's primary purpose is to allow donors to make unlimited contributions in complete secrecy, though the Office of Political Practices admitted they had no evidence to back up that claim. During the case, Western Tradition Partnership refused to provide information to the court as to its organizations, funding, activities or intent, citing its 501(c)4 status under federal tax law. The court concluded that the group represents "a threat to the political marketplace" and it has operated in complete disregard of the laws of Montana.[20] That ruling was overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court.

Stolen documents[edit]

In 2011, documents allegedly stolen from a car and found in a Colorado meth house revealed the inner workings of WTP/ATC, including possible illegal coordination with Republican candidates. The organization contacted the FBI after Colorado Democrats trafficked the stolen materials across state lines to Montana Democrats. After the FBI was contacted the Montana Commission on Political Practices restricted access to the materials, under which restriction the materials remain "public and reviewable upon request." [21]

References[edit]

^ a b Mission, Western Tradition Partnership

^ a b c Sue Sturgis (2011-10-31). "SPECIAL INVESTIGATION: Who's behind the 'information attacks' on climate scientists?". Free Range Longmont. Retrieved 2011-11-20.

^ "History and Documents (Corporations)". Colorado Secretary of State -. Retrieved 2011-11-20. "20081173078"

^ American Tradition Partnership

^ 'Director of shadowy political group ATP resigns; group faces more legal troubles', Billings Gazette, By Mike Dennison, 4 January 2013

^ Western Tradition Partnership targets Salazar on alleged monument memo, by David O. Williams, The Colorado Independent, 31 March 2010

^ Petition Opposing Cap-and-Trade, Western Tradition Partnership

^ Attack mailer labels Snowmass senator 'The Appropriator', by Troy Hooper, Real Aspen, 8 October 2010

^ Sen. Schwartz Targeted In Mailing For Her Utility Vote, State Bill Colorado, 4 October 2010

^ a b c d Battle intensifies over Montana law, by Matt Gouras, The Spokesman Review, 31 October 2010

^ a b c Opinion meant to "score political points," WTP says, by Daniel Person, Bozeman Daily Chronicle, 22 October 2010

^ Conservative groups sue over campaign finance law, Bozeman Daily Chronicle, 23 November 2010

^ Court tosses ban on corporate donations, by Andy Malby, Belgrade News, 19 October 2010

^ Montana Politics 2010: Corporate Spending, by Marnee Bank, KXLH, 18 October 2010

^ Judge overturns Montana's 1912 ban on corporate campaign contributions, by Charles S. Johnson, Ravalli Republic, 18 October 2010

^ http://electionlawblog.org/wp-content/uploads/MT-expenditures-decision.pdf

^ http://www.scotusblog.com/case-files/american-tradition-partnership-inc-v-bullock/

^ a b Montana-based org. pours cash into conservative coffers in Longmont City Council race, by Jefferson Dodge, The Boulder Weekly, 29 October 2010

^ Longmont campaign finance suit over, by Rachel Carter, The Longmont Times-Call, 6 January 2010

^ Western Tradition Partnership, Inc. v. Attorney General of Montana, 2011 MT 328

^ Documents Found in Meth House Reveal Workings of Dark Money Group

External links[edit]

ATP homepage

Categories: Organizations of environmentalism skeptics and critics

blog capt 816

The Ferguson Forum

19 December 2015

ABC News shuts down its email after Stop Hillary PAC supporters demand they ask Hillary about Benghazi

WASHINGTON - Ahead of the network’s hosting of a Democratic presidential debate, ABC News has shut down the email accounts of its debate moderators after supporters of Stop Hillary PAC demanded they ask Hillary Clinton about her handling of a terrorist attack on Americans in Benghazi.

Newly released emails show that not only did Clinton refuse to deploy a rescue mission organized by General Martin Dempsey, then Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, but American forces may have had an additional two hours to launch a rescue.

“Emails show Hillary Clinton ordered the military to stand down in Benghazi, even though General Dempsey had mobilized forces,” said Dan Backer, SHP’s general counsel. “Holding Hillary accountable means holding the media accountable for being her campaign spokespeople.”

“ABC News would rather be Hillary Clinton’s campaign advisers than a news network,” said Backer. “Rather than ask a candidate a question about her record, they are shutting down email accounts and refusing to do their job.”

14 July 2015

Here's why the Planned Parenthood baby body parts scandal could be a federal crime

Here's what federal law says about selling fetal tissue

42 U.S. Code § 289g–2 - Prohibitions regarding human fetal tissue

(a) Purchase of tissue: It shall be unlawful for any person to knowingly acquire, receive, or otherwise transfer any human fetal tissue for valuable consideration if the transfer affects interstate commerce.

(e)(3) The term “valuable consideration” does not include reasonable payments associated with the transportation, implantation, processing, preservation, quality control, or storage of human fetal tissue.

Here's what California law says about selling fetal tissue

(a) A person may not knowingly, for valuable consideration, purchase or sell embryonic or cadaveric fetal tissue for research purposes pursuant to this chapter.

(b) For purposes of this section, "valuable consideration" does

not include reasonable payment for the removal, processing, disposal, preservation, quality control, storage, transplantation, or

implantation of a part.

In other words, clinics can legally sell aborted fetal tissue at a legally-controlled rate. The idea is to encourage tissue research without creating a profit incentive.

But it's a state crime to sell it for a price above what it costs a clinic to store, keep and ship it.

And it's a federal crime to do that when the tissue is sold across state line or "affects interstate commerce."

Here's what Planned Parenthood said.

On how Planned Parenthood clinics charge researchers for tissue:

Planned Parenthood: "And if they can do a little better than break even, and do so in a way that seems reasonable, they’re happy to do that....Every penny they save is a just pennies they give to another patient. To provide a service the patient wouldn’t get."

Buyer: "Because of the losses in that area."

PP: "Exactly."

On sourcing fetal issue across state lines:

PP: "So, I don’t know your, what you’re thinking as far as range. If you’re thinking about just California, if you’re thinking about just the West Coast, if you’re thinking about bigger regions...."

Buyer: "...for example, StemExpress, they cater to researchers across the country but they’re sourcing material from just Northern California."

Planned Parenthood: "Exactly."

Here's why Planned Parenthood should call their criminal defense attorney

If Planned Parenthood is charging "beyond break even," to use their own words, that may be a state crime.

And if Planned Parenthood sells "beyond break even," to use their own words, across "the West Coast," to use their own words, that may be a federal crime.

08 July 2015

Time's up

Probe uncovers widespread illegal activity by Obama EPA

"Republican lawmakers are demanding a former top Environmental Protection Agency official’s texts and emails that could point to collusion with environmental activist group," The Daily Caller reports.

"Documents show that in 2011, then-EPA Associate Administrator for Policy Michael Goo seemingly used hisprivate e-mailaccount to routinely communicate with outside groups attempting to influence agency policy,"House Science Committee chairman Rep. Lamar Smith wrote in a letter to EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy.

"News reports have shown Goo, who now works for the Department of Energy, has close ties with environmental activists. He communicated with activists using a private email account and set up meetings outside EPA property to prevent them from being public record," The Daily Caller reports.

The messages would indicate the nation's wealthiest environmentalist groups are illegally colluding with Obama officials.

"Another e-mail sent from the Sierra Club to Mr. Goo’s private e-mail account states, ‘[a]ttached is a memo I didn’t want to send in public,'" Smith writes. "Mr. Goo was complicit in the lack of transparency by complying with the Sierra Club’s request because he failed to disclose the e-mail for two years"

No comments:

This major environmentalist claim is a total lie

Everyone from Barack Obama to that patchloui-drenched hippie at Whole Foods loves to claim"97 percent of scientists agree that man-made climate change is real."

One problem.

It's a total lie.

Ross McKitrick, a professor of economics at the University of Guelph, explains the scam:

The most highly-cited paper supposedly found 97 per cent of published scientific studies support man-made global warming. But in addition to poor survey methodology, that tabulation is often misrepresented. Most papers (66 per cent) actually took no position. Of the remaining 34 per cent, 33 per cent supported at least a weak human contribution to global warming. So divide 33 by 34 and you get 97 per cent, but this is unremarkable since the 33 per cent includes many papers that critique key elements of the IPCC position.

Two recent surveys shed more light on what atmospheric scientists actually think. Bear in mind that on a topic as complex as climate change, a survey is hardly a reliable guide to scientific truth, but if you want to know how many people agree with your view, a survey is the only way to find out.

In 2012 the American Meteorological Society (AMS) surveyed its 7,000 members, receiving 1,862 responses. Of those, only 52 per cent said they think global warming over the 20th century has happened and is mostly manmade (the IPCC position). The remaining 48 per cent either think it happened but natural causes explain at least half of it, or it didn’t happen, or they don’t know. Furthermore, 53 per cent agree that there is conflict among AMS members on the question.

So no sign of a 97 per cent consensus. Not only do about half reject the IPCC conclusion, more than half acknowledge that their profession is split on the issue.

So that "97 percent" "consensus" is actually a 50/50 split.

And with the government spending millions researching the conspiract theory, many of the scientists who think man-made climate change wouldn't have a job if they said otherwise.

There are also other scientific questions in play.

* Are global temperatures rising, falling, or staying the same?

* If global temperatures are rising, how much of that is due to the fact we're still emerging from an Ice Age?

* Considering current global temperatures are lower than the average seen over 4 billion years, what is the Earth's "correct temperature," and are we below it?

* If temperatures are rising, is human activity contributing anything whatsoever to it considering the Earth itself produces exponentally more CO2 than humans ever could?

* Would dimishing U.S. CO2 outputs have any effect whatsoever?

The science is anything but settled.

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New Obama rule bans most outdoor grills

Under orders from the president, the EPA has decided to wage war against summer staples such as backyard cookouts and Fourth of July fireworks shows," writes Drew Johnson in The Washington Times.

"Absurdly low ground-level ozone standards are the latest – and likely the most expensive and oppressive – regulations the EPA has proposed adding to its already mountainous list of rules and directives suffocating the American economy.

"Because the proposed ozone standards are set so low, things as harmless as several barbeque grills cooking at the same time in the same area, or even a festive fireworks being launched during an Independence Day celebration, could tip an area already on the brink of surpassing federal ozone thresholds over the edge and into “nonattainment.”

"In an attempt to steer clear of punishment, local lawmakers are likely to respond to the new EPA rules by enacting municipal grilling bans and cancelling fireworks shows from coast-to-coast."

STOP OBAMA! Sign your petition here!

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Environmentalists sue to stop Independence Day

When a small band of environmentalists sued to stop a major California city from celebrating Independence Day, the increasingly radical environmentalist movement managed to perfectly crystallize its agenda.

In 2010, 2011 and 2014, a California environmentalist group sued San Diego and two community charities, demanding fireworks be banned from Independence Day celebrations. The suits claim 20 minutes of aerial fireworks will destroy La Jolla Cove and all life in it.

Even stupider, this tactic successfully shut down San Diego’s 2010 New Year’s Day fireworks celebration. Of the four lawsuits, environmentalists successfully banned fireworks in three.

That’s right. No spleen-splitters. No honkey lighters. No hoosker doos. No hoosker don’ts. No cherry bombs. No nipsy daisers (with or without the scooter stick). Not one single whistlin’ kitty chaser.

Just snakes and sparklers.

If they’re feeling generous.

The environmentalists also walked away with $250,000.00 in cash.

Yes, environmentalists actually believe a small fireworks shows can destroy the planet, and they will sue you and take your money if you express disagreement.

But the real issue here is bigger than a small fireworks show.

You see, environmentalists don’t hate fireworks.

What they despise with a poisonous rage is the concept they celebrate – that government’s power is limited and may be exercised only with the consent of the governed.

While they sue to stop a celebration of the Declaration of Independence, their comrades in Washington are battling to eradicate the concept of government that the Declaration of Independence so eloquently defends.

Stymied on Capitol Hill by popular opposition to boondoggles like last year’s cap-and-tax bill, the Obama administration is increasingly using the unchecked power of regulatory agencies to write and enforce federal dictates, going around Congress to impose the most radical, expensive and job-killing of environmentalist schemes.

Obama is in open defiance of a core tenet of the Declaration of Independence — its statement that government must derive its “just powers from the consent of the governed.”

And Americans have good reason to refuse to give their consent to Obama’s destructive environmentalist agenda.

In all, job creators spent $1.75 trillion to comply with federal regulations in 2008. That’s $15,000 per family just to follow rules that are often written by career political activists in Washington. Since businesses earn revenue from consumers, that $1.75 trillion comes directly from the pocket of cash-strapped consumers.

The costly onslaught of radical rule by regulatory declaration is coming down even harder under Barack Obama’s aggressive environmentalist agenda, as many utility customers, for example, are now finding out.

“Utility giant American Electric Power said Thursday that it will shut down five coal-fired power plants and spend billions of dollars to comply with a series of pending Environmental Protection Agency regulations,” The Hill reported yesterday. “The company’s dramatic plan to comply with the regulations could give Republicans and moderate Democrats ammunition in their ongoing fight against EPA’s efforts to impose new regulations aimed at limiting greenhouse gas emissions …

“The company, one of the country’s largest electric utilities, estimated that it will cost between $6 billion and $8 billion in capital investments over the next decade to comply with the regulations in their current form … The costs of complying with the regulations will result in an increase in electricity prices of 10 to 35 percent and cost 600 jobs, AEP said.”

That’s a 35 percent higher utility bill, essentially a massive federal energy tax, invented and levied on consumers with no vote or even consideration by Congress.

Fully aware that the rule was so fanatical that Congress would reject it, the Obama administration ordered its EPA bureaucrats to impose it instead.

This begs a serious constitutional question: Why are laws no longer made by lawmakers?

That’s what Sen. Rand Paulis asking. His REINS Act (S. 226) requires any proposed federal regulation with an economic impact greater than $100 million to be considered and approved by both chambers of Congress as a resolution and then signed by the president before it can take effect.

In other words, America’s government must derive it powers from the consent of the governed.

Environmentalists may sue to outlaws fireworks, but the thought of letting Americans have a say in laws and regulations affecting them is sending greens into orbit.

That’s why BetterEconomy.org, a grassroots-supported citizens’ group advocating rational energy and environmental policy, is making a recorded vote of the Senate and House on the REINS Act a top legislative priority.

Citizens have a right to have a say in the passage of laws and regulations through their accountable lawmakers, as well as to know whether their elected representative is one of those environmentalist lawmakers opposing that founding principle.

So, who is fighting to block a recorded vote on the REINS Act and deny Americans something as fundamentally proper as their right to have a voice in their government?

The same sorts of people who are suing to shut down celebrations of the document that states that government must draw its “just powers from the consent of the governed.”

Backed by the Obama administration, Public Citizen (which opposed the Senate’s cap-and-tax bill because it didn’t make family electric bills high enough to stop the use of electricity) is one of the leftist special interest groups now on the warpath against Sen. Paul’s REINS Act and groups like BetterEconomy.org.

The group says that allowing lawmakers to make laws, rather than unelected D.C bureaucrats, “would replace a process based on expertise, rationality and openness with one characterized by political maneuvering, economic clout and secrecy.”

No word on whether the members of the group warmed up and stretched before engaging in the logical backflips it takes to describe the closed-door meetings of unelected bureaucrats as “openness” while claiming the public debate and vote of accountable lawmakers before C-SPAN cameras is “secrecy.”

America’s founding belief that the only proper form of government is one that serves with the consent of the governed is a threat to environmentalists’ unpopular and far-out agenda. Not only are they suing to stop our celebration of that declaration, they are waging an aggressive war to expand the power of regulatory agencies and relegate representative government to the history books.

Don’t let them snuff out our freedoms, or our celebration of them. As environmentalism continues to impose heavy costs on the pocketbooks and freedoms of Americans, Sen. Paul’s REINS Act is a simple and common sense move to restore our founding principles.

Donny Ferguson is President of BetterEconomy.org, the nation's most effective grassroots-powered opponent of the radical environmentalist lobby. This column originally appeared in The Daily Caller on July 1, 2011. It has been updated to reflect recent developments.

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Conservative group’s Global Warming Hot Sauce piques environmentalist scandals

Mann-Made Global Warming Hot Sauce available at BetterEconomy.org for just $9.95

“Man-made global warming may be a money-making fraud, but with Mann-Made Global Warming Hot Sauce the flavor is real.”

BUY IT HERE

WASHINGTON -- A conservative advocacy group is letting Americans create fake warming at home with a new line of “Mann-Made Global Warming Hot Sauce.”

“Whether you’re in the kitchen or promoting the environmentalist agenda we’ve all been in a situation where you told people something would be hot, but it’s not,” says Americans for a Better Economy President Donny Ferguson. It doesn’t matter if you’re cooking dinner or the books, because Mann-Made Global Warming Hot Sauce lets you become a climate researcher in your own kitchen. Hide the decline of flavor and instantly create the appearance of warming where none exists.”

“It’s available at BetterEconomy.org for just $9.95. Now you can annoy a liberal while livening up a meal!,” said Ferguson.

“At least we’re honest enough to admit we’re making money by manipulating something to make it seem hotter,” said Ferguson. “Man-made global warming may be a money-making fraud, but with Mann-Made Global Warming Hot Sauce the flavor is real. Just don’t use tax dollars.”

Mann-Made Global Warming Hot Sauce is available at BetterEconomy.org for $9.95 a bottle and comes in five flavors: Climategate Cayenne, Carbon Tax Chipotle, Redistributionist Red Savina, Hide The Decline Habanero and Hockey Stick Jalapeno.

“Environmentalists are being paid millions of tax dollars by left-wing politicians to falsify research and fake data,” said Ferguson. “If your research backs up the fact there is no man-made global warming, politicians cut off the research funds and you lose your job. Politicians paid for this research and dictate what the results must be, so they can use it to agitate for massive tax hikes and schemes to increase their own power.”

The product references several scandals in which scientists paid with tax dollars to prove man-made global warming exists were caught manipulating data to create the appearance of rising temperatures. Among them is the University of Virginia and Penn State University researcher Michael Mann, who exploited what researchers called “a trick” to “hide the decline” of global temperatures.

Unlike most scientists, Mann refuses to disclose how he conducts his research and has sued citizens who asked him to explain why he was manipulating data.

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Democrat official ordered armed paramilitary raids on homes of Scott Walker supporters

Acting on orders from a Democrat district attorney, officers held a 16-year-old boy at gunpoint and told him he was not allowed to speak to an attorney. On another raid they made a woman dress in front of them. They made another woman wake her children so they could hold the family at gunpoint.

Their crimes?

They said nice things about a Republican.

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ISIS isn't the only totalitarian cult that like attacking museums.

Liberals have no organized a mob outside a Detroit museum, demanding they rip down an exhibit Kid Rock paid for because several years ago he once used a Confederate flag in a concert.

This is no way addresses racism, and liberals know this does nothing to address racism.

Liberals love organizing mobs and threatening people because like any totalitarian belief, liberalism requires you to live in perpetual fear of its power, which reaches into every detail of your life and will strike anywhere, anytime, over even the smallest issue.

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30 April 2015

How MLB is whistling past the graveyard on speed of the game

Trying to speed up baseball games is ridiculous. In 2014, the average MLB game lasted three hours and two minutes, a length sportswriters claim kills fan interest.

But games in the NFL, the most popular and profitable sports league in America, last an average of three hours and twelve minutes. That's ten minutes longer than a MLB game.

Of that time, the ball was in play for only 11 minutes. Almost twice as much time, 17 minutes, was spent showing replays.

Of the remaining time, 75 minutes is spent showing players standing around. Commercials take up the rest, a full hour, of the average NFL broadcast. That's six times more time watching commercials than actual game play.

So clearly the problem with baseball isn't the length of games or pace of play, two measures in which they beat the NFL.

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03 September 2014

Bullock's incompetence, corruption may have handed US Senate to GOP and ended the Obama agenda

Who is Montana's Democrat Governor Steve Bullock?

Other than being hideously corrupt, he's the man who may have singlehandledly killed the rest of Obama's presidency and kept the U.S. Supreme Court conservative for another 30 years.

Right now polls indicate if Republicans take the Senate, it will be by one or two seats.

One the seats almost certain to flip from Democrat to Republican is in Montana, which has been held by Democrats for 100 years.

How does a seat go from being held by Democrats for 100 years to, according to political statistician Nate Silver, being a 99% lock to go Republican?

When Senator Max Baucus became U.S. Ambassador to China, Bullock had no shortage of safe Democrat picks to fill the seat.

Instead, he appointed his Lieutenant Governor, John Walsh, despite a raft of past scandals including an Army Inspector General report admonishing Walsh for improper behavior, and employees testifying Walsh ordered them to give state contracts to the highest bidder.

Predictably, one of those scandals popped up. Walsh was caught having had plagiarized his college thesis.

Bullock's appointee to the Senate had to drop out of the race for his own seat.

But Bullock had a chance to redeem himself and back a replacement candidate who could run a competitive race against Steve Daines, and possibly even win.

Instead, he put his weight behind a one-term state representative who had never faced an actual race, or background check.

Amanda Curtis turned out to be a member of a radical socialist group that openly supports cop killers and vows to "overthrow capitalism." She also recorded videos where she mocks Christians and talks about how she wants to physically assault people for having different political views.

Montana's U.S Senate seat has been held by Democrats for 100 years. And Steve Bullock fumbled it away to Republicans. Twice.

If Republicans take the U.S. Senate by one seat, it means none of Obama's proposals will reach his desk and, more importantly, any nominee to any Supreme Court vacancy will not be the liberal activist he wanted.

If that happens, send Montana's bumbling, corrupt Governor Steve Bullock flowers. His incompetence and gross disregard for ethics may have brought an early end to the Obama agenda.

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22 January 2014

Washington Post story tries to pass off Democrat Party leader as a wavering Republican voter

How sleazy is The Washington Post??

Very.

In a story printed today trying to cast Virginia Democrat Jennifer Wexton's 53% showing in a 60% Democrat state senate district as a victory against the Tea Party, the women they quoted, and tried to deceptively cast as pro-Wexton Republican, is actually a Democrat.

Not just any Democrat, Kathy Shupe was a delegate to the Democrat National Convention and an Obama for America team leader.

And she is even listed on Wexton's website as a Democrat leader who endorsed her (http://www.wextonforstatesenate.com/press-releases/democratic-leaders-endorse-wexton-saturday%E2%80%99s-primary)

The Washington Post left all that out to try and make it sound like she and her husband were Republicans.

What else should you expect from a newspaper that ran an utterly fake story about an eight-year-old heroin addict, and accepted a Pulitzer for their fraud?

You may read the story here: http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/virginia-politics/democrats-win-state-senate-seat-in-northern-virginia--and-perhaps-control-of-the-chamber/2014/01/21/6a0eecac-829a-11e3-8099-9181471f7aaf_story.html

UPDATE: Kathy Shupe regularly appears at Loudoun County Board of Supervisors meetings where she attacks Republicans and praises Democrat. Also at those meetings? The same reporter who wrote this story but omitted the fact Shupe is an active Democrat, while repeatedly claiming her husband is a disillusioned Republican.

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21 December 2013

Henry F. Potter is cinema's greatest hero

Henry F. Potter is the hero of "It's A Wonderful Life."

And George Bailey is it's greatest villain.

See, George was handing out home loans to people who couldn't afford to pay them back.

Eventually that's going to catch up to Bailey Building and Loan, which will go under and require a taxpayer bailout.

George's home loans will be taken over by a responsible lender, who will foreclose on the past due mortgages.

That means Bailey Park becomes a depopulated slum, bankrupting Bedford Falls as the town is saddled with hundreds of abandoned properties that aren't generating property tax revenue.

George's naivete created the same dangerous housing bubble in Bedford Falls that wrecked the U.S. economy in 2008.

Mr. Potter, however, only made loans on reasonable terms and to people who could pay, keeping Bedford Falls afloat.

While Pottersville had bars and nightclubs, it also had a stable residential base allowing it to maintain infrastructure and a police force much like Las Vegas.

George, on the other hand, turned Bedford Falls into Detroit.

Which is better-run and a safer place to live, Las Vegas or Detroit?

George's subprime mortgage bubble will also bankrupt Sam Wainwright when the Building and Loan can't repay Sam the money he loaned George keep it afloat.

Sam loaned George $25,000.00, the equivalent of $420,000.00 today. Sam's doing well, but he doesn't have the likes of $420,000.00 just sitting in his checking account.

Sam had to take out that kind of money against his business.

And if Sam Wainwright's business fails because of George's irresponsibility everyone at that soybean factory loses their job, setting off a new round of bankruptcies and foreclosures in Rochester.

George Bailey is an economic leper, infecting all who do business with him.

Henry F. Potter is the only thing keeping Bedford Falls, and apparently much of New York state, out of the mouth of hell.

Henry F. Potter is cinema's greatest hero.

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27 October 2013

Loudoun County Democrats cover a black candidate's face with white paint

Usually vandals paint over the candidate's name. This time Loudoun Democrats targeted a black candidate's face for a literal whitewash.

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#ObamaCare Contractor: I couldn't even create a HealthCare.gov account

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How Cuccinelli blew his advantage in the #VaGov race

Thoughts?

By Norman Leahy and Paul Goldman

Last month, we wrote that Ken Cuccinelli II’s campaign to become Virginia’s next governor needed to raise its game or face certain defeat. Has it done so? Unequivocally, no.

Cuccinelli’s strategists and consultants have doggedly followed a baffling strategy.

Even the best campaigns can lose. But an inept campaign guarantees a loss for an underdog, and Cuccinelli (R) has been the underdog since July. The attorney general’s defenders will undoubtedly refute our analysis, claiming instead that bad luck and strong headwinds have hobbled the GOP effort in Virginia. In our view, his problems went much deeper.

Read the article at http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/how-ken-cuccinelli-blew-his-advantage-in-the-virginia-governors-race/2013/10/25/16d1a9ce-3a80-11e3-b6a9-da62c264f40e_story.html

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Five Phony Public Health Scares

Five Phony Public Health Scares

Health activists, nutrition nannies, medical paternalists, and just plain old quacks regularly conjure up menaces that are supposedly damaging the health of Americans. Their scares range from the decades-long campaign against fluoridation to worries that saccharin causes cancer to the ongoing hysteria over crop biotechnology. The campaigners' usual "solution" is to demand that regulators ban the offending substance or practice. Here are five especially egregious examples of activist misinformation.

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My (Failed) Attempt To Apply for Obamacare

Lene Johansen experiences government-run health care.

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UK Government raids 3D-printed 'gun factory'

UK Government Announces Raid on 3D-Printed Gun Factory, Uses Parts of the Printer as Evidence

Police in the UK city of Manchester have seized a 3D printer and what they have alleged to be 3D-printed gun parts, during a raid on alleged criminal gangs. However, as an eagle-eyed reader has noted, the parts shown off by police are actually spare parts for a 3D printer....

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First #Bitcoin ATM to Go Live Next Week in Vancouver

First Bitcoin ATM to Go Live Next Week in Vancouver

Built by a Nevada company called Robocoin, the machine will trade bitcoins for cash and vice versa. Bitcoin is the world’s most popular digital currency, and it exists only on the internet, but it can be traded for traditional dollars and euros. Though bitcoin began as niche technology embraced mostly by internet geeks, it is gradually spreading not only to everyday people, but into the everyday world.

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Obamacare's Great Medicaid Expansion Swindle

This is bad news. Medicaid, the nation’s health care program for low-income citizens and those with certain disabilities, is expensive. States are not required to participate in the program, but all do, though eligibility requirements differ from state to state. In 2011, states devoted nearly 24 percent (PDF) of total spending to Medicaid—the single largest state expense—despite the fact that there’s little evidence that it actually improves the health outcomes of its beneficiaries.

You got that? One of the major tenets of Obamacare is to expand an existing program that is both hugely expensive and massively ineffective.

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You Can Keep Your Health Insurance Under Obamacare? Not So Much.

President Obama (in)famously said, "If you like your health care plan, you can keep your health care plan" under the Affordable Care Act. As it turns out, not so much. Hundreds of thousands of Americans, it turns out, are receiving letters telling them that their existing coverage just isn't good enough to satisfy the strict rquirements of the Obamacare law, and that they'll have to sign up for new policies. Those new policies come with new stipulations, and new price tags. Which is to say, it doesn't matter if you like your health care plan, since you probably can't keep it.

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You Still Can't Keep (or Afford) Your Insurance Under Obamacare

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Supreme Court agrees to hear gun case on 'straw purchases'

WASHINGTON -- The U.S. Supreme Court announced Oct. 15 it will hear an important case supported by Congressman Steve Stockman (R-TX 36) involving the right of Americans to keep and bear arms — Abramski v. United States. The case challenges the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives’s (ATF) “straw purchase” policyAs consistent with federal law.

“I am grateful that the Supreme Court will review this important case. I felt this case was so important, that I joined with Gun Owners of America and other pro-Second Amendment groups to file an amicus curiae brief urging the Court to grant review,” said Stockman.

“ATF’s policy on so-called ‘straw purchases’ is illegal. No one should be convicted and made into a felon for buying and transferring a gun legally. Congress never passed a law prohibiting such purchases, and the ATF has no authority to create new crimes to plug what it perceives to be holes in the law. This case gives the Court the opportunity to rein in a lawless ATF which has repeatedly exhibited hostility to law-abiding gunowners.”

“It is incomprehensible that ATF and the Justice Department wasted federal government resources prosecuting legal gun buyers for nothing more than simple technicalities on government forms while at the same time they helped in sending thousands of firearms to Mexican cartels. This rogue agency must be reined in,” said Stockman

Mr. Abramski is a former police officer. His elderly uncle wanted to obtain a firearm for self-defense. Mr. Abramski made the purchase at a local gun dealer in Virginia who offered discounts to former police officers. Mr. Abramski passed a federal background check at the gun store in Virginia and then brought the handgun to another gun store in Pennsylvania, where the gun was transferred to his uncle, who also passed a federal background check.

Neither Abramski nor his uncle was prohibited from possessing the firearm. Before making his purchase Abramski asked three federally-licensed dealers how he should go about obtaining a firearm for his uncle. All three agreed the sale was legal.

Nevertheless, because Abramski bought the gun from a federally-licensed dealer, he had to fill out an form stating that he was the “actual buyer” of the firearm. The ATF claimed that Abramski’s uncle was the “actual buyer” and Abramski had made a false statement in filling out the form. Abramski was eventually convicted of a felony.

Federal law does not prohibit one eligible person from buying a gun for another eligible person. It is perfectly legal to buy a gun for an eligible gunowner. The law only prohibits transfers to ineligible people. Neither Abramski nor his uncle was ineligible.

The government charged Abramski with making a false statement on the ATF Form 4473, a form that ATF requires. Had Abramski purchased the firearm from his uncle by private sale not involving an FFL, or made a gift of the gun, he could not have been charged.

Briefs in this case will be due in December 2013 and early next year, and a decision is not expected until the middle of next year.

-30-

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