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Jackie Chan Slams America As “the Most Corrupt [Country] in the World”

Action star Jackie Chan has once again sparked controversy by branding America the world’s “most corrupt” country in a TV interview . . .

Chan told Phoenix TV that China has been bullied by international powers for a long time and only began making progress in recent years.

Chan added that while China has a corruption problem, so do other nations, including America.

“If you talk about corruption, the entire world – America – has no corruption?” said the actor.

He went on to say America is “the most corrupt [country] in the world” – not China. “Where does this great breakdown [of corruption] come from? It started exactly from the [rest of the] world, the United States … If our own countrymen don’t support our country, who will?” he said.

Read full story HERE.

Prosecutor: SEIU Organizer Committed Voter Fraud in 2011 Wisconsin Supreme Court Election

Prosecutors believe a Service Employees International Union (SEIU) organizer fraudulently voted in a 2011 election in Wisconsin, according to documents provided to the Daily Caller by the Wisconsin-based government watchdog group Media Trackers.

An investigation by the Milwaukee County District Attorney’s Office has led to a subpoena of SEIU’s Washington, D.C. headquarters and has implicated the prominent labor union in a voter fraud case that threatens to lead to criminal prosecution.

Then-SEIU Senior Organizer-in-Training Clarence S. Haynes, who is no longer affiliated with the union and whose whereabouts are currently unknown, voted in the hotly contested April 2011 election for a Wisconsin Supreme Court seat despite not being a resident of Wisconsin and leaving the state shortly after voting, according to an October 19, 2012 affidavit prepared by Bruce J. Landgraf, the assistant district attorney for Milwaukee County.

Haynes, who maintained an official permanent residence in Clearwater, Florida, allegedly voted along with two other SEIU organizers in Glendale, Wisconsin on April 5, 2011 — using a Residence Inn as their official address.

Haynes’ Bank of America debit card was used to make a final transaction in Glendale, Wisconsin on April 11, 2011. He checked out of the Residence Inn on April 18. His debit card transactions from May through August 2011 “appear to be concentrated for the most part in the State of Florida,” according to the affidavit.

Read more from this story HERE.

Christmas for Obama Bundlers

Merry Crony-mas! It’s time to pass out the goodies. While President Obama’s lips champion the middle class, his administration’s old hands are preparing to lavish rewards on the creme de la campaign creme: his wealthiest political donors.

Several media outlets reported this week that the White House is considering fashion doyenne Anna Wintour for a possible appointment as U.S. ambassador to Great Britain or France.

The rumored short list also includes Obama campaign finance chairman Matthew Barzun and investment banker Marc Lasry. The three share one common, er, “qualification”: Each raked in more than $500,000 for Team Obama 2012.

As previously reported in this column, Wintour held multiple million-dollar fundraisers for Obama in Hollywood, New York, London and Paris — raking in the fourth highest amount for the Man of the (Glamorous) People. Wintour’s $40,000-per-plate dinners attracted Hollywood’s biggest leftist celebs.

She went further than just passing around the fashion plate, though. Before Election Day, the fashion world buzzed over the British-born Vogue editor’s behind-the-scenes campaign to intimidate designers into spurning GOP women. Such Chicago-style diplomacy will fit in perfectly with the brass-knuckle-wielder-in-chief.

Read more from this story HERE.

Russian Mafia Whistleblower Found Dead

photo credit: sergio vassio

WEYBRIDGE/LONDON – A Russian businessman helping Swiss prosecutors to uncover a powerful fraud syndicate has died in unexplained circumstances near his mansion in Britain, in a twist to a Russian mafia scandal that has strained Moscow’s ties with the West.

Alexander Perepilichny, 44, sought refuge in Britain three years ago and had been helping a Swiss investigation into a Russian money-laundering scheme by providing evidence against corrupt officials, his colleagues and media reports said.

He has also provided evidence against those linked to the 2009 death of anti-corruption lawyer Sergei Magnitsky, a case that caused an international outcry and prompted the US to push for a bill cracking down on Russian corruption.

Perepilichny, a Russian citizen, collapsed and died not far from his home on an upmarket, heavily protected estate in the county of Surrey, south of London, on November 10.

He is now the fourth person linked to the Magnitsky case to have died in strange circumstances.

Read more from this story HERE.

Video: ‘Favoritism’? Jill Kelley Was Awarded Joint Chiefs’ Second-Highest Civilian Honor in 2011

Jill Kelley, the Florida socialite responsible for outing Gen. David Petraeus’ mistress, Paula Broadwell, in 2011 was awarded the Joint Chiefs of Staff Award for Outstanding Public Service, the Joint Chiefs’ second-highest civilian honor.

The award consists of a silver medal, lapel pin, citation and certificate signed by the chairman, said Navy Cmdr. Patrick McNally, spokesman for the office of the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

The reason for the award? Kelley’s “selfless contributions” and “willingness to host engagements” for politicians, foreign dignitaries, and military leaders.

“You’re connected, you get it. You’re not connected, you don’t get it,” Central Comand’s (CentCom) Coalition Intelligence Center founder Col. E.J Otero, Ret., told FOX 13. “When a senior national representative from the coalition had a visitor from another country coming into town, they would call her — ‘I have General such-and-such. Do you mind if we go and have dinner?’” he added.

Gen. Petraeus recommended her for the award while he was still commander of CentCom, according to the Tampa Tribune. Adm. Mike Mullen signed off on the recommendation.

Read more from this story HERE.

Maryland’s Endemic Corruption: An Object Lesson for the Nation (+video)

AIM Special Report. Maryland is one of the most corrupt states in our nation. Nowhere is this fact more evident than with the state’s treatment of illegal aliens. Maryland politicians have literally become lawless in their efforts to cultivate illegals, and this lawlessness flows downhill from the very top. I will focus on a few of the more egregious examples.

In 2011, we published a report on CASA de Maryland, a Silver Spring-based illegal immigrant advocacy group that parrots ACORN in both its methods and associates—which include the Communist Party USA, FMLN, (a former Salvadoran communist guerilla group, now a political party), ACORN and others. Yet it is one of the most influential organizations in the state.

CASA receives significant state government funding, while Director Gustavo Torres and his wife, Sonia Mora both hold influential positions within that same government. Torres is a member of the Governor’s Council for New Americans and served on Governor Martin O’Malley’s transition team. Mora sits on the Governor’s Hispanic Affairs Commission and manages Montgomery County’s Latino Health Initiative. This is unseemly if not illegal. Torres’ primary source of income is CASA de Maryland, and CASA owes its inordinate influence to its many supporters in state government.

There is no disputing CASA’s influence. At a party to celebrate CASA’s 25 years of operation, Maryland Comptroller Peter Franchot said, “I’d like to say I’m here for Mary Kay and Eliseo [the guests of honor], but when Gustavo Torres calls, I generally get in my car and go over and ask him what he wants.”

Torres’ influence extends to the White House. Former CASA Board member Cecilia Muñoz is President Obama’s Domestic Policy Director. Muñoz, who also worked for the National Council of La Raza, has been a persistent advocate for illegals throughout her tenure. Former CASA Board member Thomas Perez is now Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights in the Holder Justice Department. Many of the odious lawsuits launched by the DOJ have been under Perez’s pen, including suits against states’ voter ID laws, Sheriff Joe Arpaio and Arizona’s anti-illegal alien law.

As quoted by The Washington Post, Baltimore County Delegate Pat McDonough put it bluntly: “Gustavo has created a sanctuary state. The governor does his bidding. The politicians who control power in the State of Maryland do his bidding. … And his success has caused financial and personal heartbreak for the State of Maryland.”

When Frederick County Sheriff Chuck Jenkins cracked down on illegals flooding the county, CASA sued. They claimed that two of Jenkins’ deputies violated an illegal’s civil rights by questioning her, although she had an outstanding warrant and tried to run and hide when she saw them. CASA lost. Sheriff Jenkins stated:

I find it deplorable and disgusting that the groups involved in this lawsuit have tried to defame… the agency and discredit the two involved deputies and drag them through the mud for what is clearly their agenda in attempting to stop and derail the 287 program here in Frederick County.

Paulette Faulkner, an employee of Montgomery County’s Office of Child Support Enforcement, sent an email to Governor O’Malley in 2009, describing routine cases of illegals attempting to collect welfare benefits. She received a stern warning from then Department of Human Resources Deputy Secretary Stacy Rodgers not to complain.

Rodgers, who shares a seat with Torres on the Council for New Americans, told Faulkner to accept CASA de Maryland ID cards as legitimate identification. Faulkner refused, knowing that to follow that order would break the law. A short time later she was fired. She found no support from any legislator and was refused unemployment compensation. In the meantime, an audit revealed some 52,000 welfare recipients using invalid or non-existent social security numbers. A 2011 audit found similar problems.

Last year, Delegate Tony O’Donnell (R-Dist. 29C) proposed HB-28, “Public Benefits — Requirement of Proof of Lawful Presence” which would have addressed the problems identified both by Faulkner and the two audits. The bill reasonably required welfare recipients to prove their eligibility with a valid ID. Help Save Maryland President Brad Botwin and Howard County resident Tom Young both went to Annapolis to testify on the bill’s behalf, each taking significant time off from work to attend the hearing.

Protocol demands that those in favor of the proposed law testify first. In what was characterized as a deliberate slight, the committee chairman, Del. Norman Conway (D-Dist. 38B), instead called a long list of bill opponents, including CASA de Maryland, the ACLU and others. They testified for over an hour, whereupon Del. Conway abruptly ended the hearing and ran from the room, shutting out any possibility of allowing proponents to speak.

Read more from this story HERE.

Media Ignore New Emails Detailing Obama Energy Dept. Corruption

One week before the presidential election, a Congressional committee released Obama administration emails that showed a pattern of political pressure from President Barack Obama and others in his administration. The emails indicate favoritism toward Democrat politicians and donors in the awarding of federal energy loans.

The mainstream media chose not to report on the emails, even though just days before their release, Obama had flatly stated in an interview that politics played no part in awarding the loans.

In the old days of hard-nosed journalism, i.e., before the Age of Obama, if the president was caught lying about his involvement in a government payola scandal, it would have been front page news and led the evening newscasts of the broadcast networks.

Not anymore. Even with the release of an email in which an official says what, in a different media era, would become a catch phrase for administration corruption: “What’s a billion, anyhow?”

Even with the release of emails showing President Obama personally involved in awarding loans.

Read more from this story HERE.

The Top 25 Underreported Democrat Scandals

Harry Reid Rejects CutsThe media has covered many of these scandals, but not to the extent to which they have covered topics like Mitt Romney’s dog on vacation or the GOP presidential candidate’s tax returns:

1. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid is implicated in a breaking scandal, pushing for government funding of the Chinese green energy company ENN Mojave Energy LLC, which is apparently represented by his son. Earlier, Reid was involved in a land swindle that saw him make a reported $700,000. – See Las Vegas Review-Journal, August 3, 2012 and Media Matters, October 18, 2006

2. Solyndra, the now-bankrupt solar energy company, was able to procure $535 million in government loan guarantees. This was after the Obama campaign received over a $100,000 in donations from the “green energy” company, partly bundled for the Obama campaign by major investor and oilman George Kaiser. — See WSJ, September 9, 2011

3. Democratic Rep. Anthony Weiner confessed that he tweeted a bulging-underpants photo of himself to a young woman and admitted to “inappropriate” exchanges with six women before and after getting married at a press conference in New York shortly before resigning. – See Huffington Post, June 6, 2011

4. Former Governor Elliot Spitzer resigned after it was discovered he had engaged in financial transactions with prostitute Ashley Dupre. Spitzer is pictured above holding a press conference with his humiliated wife Silda Wall. Spitzer later landed a short-running show on CNN. – See NY Daily News, June 23, 2010

5. In 2008, John Edwards admitted he had cheated on his cancer-stricken wife, Elizabeth, with former campaign staffer Rielle Hunter during his second presidential campaign. He was later indicted June 2011 on federal campaign finance charges. – See Huffington Post, June 1, 2012

Read more from this story HERE.

Thousands of DHS employees, co-conspirators convicted of corruption, criminal misconduct

There have been 2,527 Department of Homeland Security (DHS) employees and co-conspirators convicted of corruption and other criminal misconduct since 2004, according to a federal auditor. Charles Edwards, the acting inspector general (IG) at DHS, made that revelation in written testimony prepared for an Aug. 1 hearing held by the House Oversight and Government Reform Subcommittee on Government Organization, Efficiency, and Financial Management.

In his remarks, Edwards added that as of July 15, the DHS OIG (Office of the Inspector General) was dealing with 1,591 open criminal cases involving DHS employees and some accomplices. Some cases date back to fiscal year 2004 (Oct. 1, 2003 thru Sept. 30, 2004) although the majority of the open investigations were initiated in the last three fiscal years. The DHS started operating in March 2003.

Once the OIG completes most of its investigative work into employee misconduct allegations, the matter is presented to a U.S. attorney’s office for prosecution. The Department of Justice (DOJ) oversees the various U.S. attorneys’ offices located across the country. A case is considered “open” by the inspector general until all judicial activity is completed.

The thousands of criminal convictions have resulted from the arrest of individuals, both employees and non-employees, associated with components of DHS. These include individuals who either conspired with a DHS employee or were linked to the crime that was being investigated by the IG. The DHS IG’s investigative work has prompted a total of 2,527 convictions of corruption and other criminal misconduct since around the time when DHS began operating.

Among the 2,527 criminal convictions as of July 15, 1,644 (about 65 percent) stem from Federal Emergency Management Agency-related investigations; 358 (about 14 percent) from those linked to the Customs and Border Protection agency; 166 (7 percent) from Immigration and Customs Enforcement-related investigations; and 133 (5 percent) from investigations linked to the Transportation Security Administration. The remaining 226 (about 9 percent) convictions are categorized as “other.”

Read more from this story HERE.

MoveOn.org viciously attacks Rep. Paul Ryan

Courtesy of MoveOn.org, we’ve reproduced one of the latest emails from the lie-filled left’s smear campaign against Rep. Paul Ryan below.

After reading the email, ask yourself how MoveOn can expect anyone outside their ever-shrinking “progressive” echo chamber to take them seriously. Not only are their assertions about Paul Ryan based on misrepresentations, distortions and outright falsehoods, the only “supportive evidence” provided are links to MoveOn.org and other “progressive” sites like Center for American Progress (funded by George Soros), Think Progress, Daily Kos, Huffington Post and The Advocate. There is no question that these sources are solidly biased in favor of “progressives” and are devoted to spreading their propaganda.

If MoveOn’s attack on Ryan  is not a clear cut case of “I’m right because I said so” vapidity, then 2 + 2 does not equal 4.

Incredibly, MoveOn even lies to its own supporters, stating that MoveOn receives “no big checks from CEOs.” Apparently Moveon counts on an ignorant membership unaware of the massive donations received over the years from billionaire George Soros.

In any event, here’s the anti-Ryan email from MoveOn:

Dear MoveOn member,

Paul Ryan is bad for America. He’s anti-choice, and would give big tax cuts for millionaires, while raising taxes on the middle-class. He’s a Tea Party favorite who takes donations from the billionaire Koch brothers, and he introduced one of harshest and most inhumane budgets in recent history. His ideological hero for many years called selfishness a virtue and charity an abomination.

But most people don’t know just how bad Paul Ryan is. So we made this list of 10 things to know about Mitt Romney’s Vice Presidential pick, Paul Ryan. Read it, then click here to share this list as an image on social media, or just forward this email! The future of America is on the line—from a woman’s right to choose to our economy.

10 Things to know about Paul Ryan

1. His economic plan would cost America 1 million jobs in the first year. Ryan’s proposed budget would cripple the economy. He’d slash spending deeply, which would not only slow job growth, but shock the economy and cost 1 million of us our jobs in 2013 alone and kill more than 4 million jobs by the end of 2014.1

2. He’d kill Medicare. He’d replace Medicare with vouchers for retirees to purchase insurance, eliminating the guarantee of health care for seniors and putting them at the mercy of the private insurance industry. That could amount to a cost increase of more than $5,900 by 2050, leaving many seniors broke or without the health care they need. He’d also raise the age of eligibility to 67.2

3. He’d pickpocket the middle class to line the pockets of the rich. His tax plan is Robin Hood in reverse. He wants to cut taxes by $4.6 trillion over the next decade, but only for corporations and the rich, like giving families earning more than $1 million a year a $300,000 tax cut. And to pay for them, he’d raise taxes on middle- and lower-income households and butcher social service programs that help middle- and working-class Americans.3

4. He’s an anti-choice extremist. Ryan co-sponsored an extremist anti-choice bill, nicknamed the ‘Let Women Die Act,’ that would have allowed hospitals to deny women emergency abortion care even if their lives were at risk. And he co-sponsored another bill that would criminalize some forms of birth control, all abortions, and in vitro fertilization.4

5. He’d dismantle Social Security. Ironically, Ryan used the Social Security Survivors benefit to help pay for college, but he wants to take that possibility away from future generations. He agrees with Rick Perry’s view that Social Security is a “Ponzi scheme” and he supported George W. Bush’s disastrous proposal to privatize Social Security.5

6. He’d eliminate Pell grants for more than 1 million low-income students. His budget plan cuts the Pell Grant program by $200 billion, which could mean a loss of educational funding for 1 million low-income students.6

7. He’d give $40 billion in subsidies to Big Oil. His budget includes oil tax breaks worth $40 billion, while cutting “billions of dollars from investments to develop alternative fuels and clean energy technologies that would serve as substitutes for oil.”7

8. He’s another Koch-head politician. Not surprisingly, the billionaire oil-baron Koch brothers are some of Ryan’s biggest political contributors. And their company, Koch industries, is Ryan’s biggest energy-related donor. The company’s PAC and affiliated individuals have given him $65,500 in donations.8

9. He opposes gay rights. Ryan has an abysmal voting record on gay rights. He’s voted to ban adoption by gay couples, against same-sex marriage, and against repealing “don’t ask, don’t tell.” He also voted against the Hate Crimes Prevention Act, which President Obama signed into law in 2009.9

10. He thinks an “I got mine, who cares if you’re okay” philosophy is admirable. For many years, Paul Ryan devoted himself to Ayn Rand’s philosophy of selfishness as a virtue. It has shaped his entire ethic about whom he serves in public office. He even went as far as making his interns read her work.10

If there was ever any doubt that Mitt Romney’s got a disastrous plan for America—he made himself 100% clear when he picked right-wing extremist Paul Ryan as his running mate. Paul Ryan is bad for America, but we can’t beat him if Americans don’t know everything he stands for. Share this list with all your friends by clicking here, or simply forward this email.

Thanks for all you do.

–Justin, Carrie, Steven, Stephen, and the rest of the team

Sources:

1. “Ryan’s Budget, Robin Hood in reverse,” Economic Policy Institute
https://www.moveon.org/r?r=278939&id=48819-18317182-fpqNWbx&t=4

2. “12 Things You Should Know About Vice Presidential Candidate Paul Ryan,” Think Progress, August 11, 2012
https://www.moveon.org/r?r=278662&id=48819-18317182-fpqNWbx&t=5

3.”Ryan Budget Would Raise Some Taxes; Guess Who Gets Hit?,” Off the Charts, April 12, 2012 https://www.moveon.org/r?r=278692&id=48819-18317182-fpqNWbx&t=6
“Middle class could face higher taxes under Republican plan, analysis finds,” The Washington Post, June 19, 2012
https://www.moveon.org/r?r=278693&id=48819-18317182-fpqNWbx&t=7

4. “Statement on Mitt Romney’s Selection of Rep. Paul Ryan for His Vice-Presidential Running Mate,” NARAL, August 11, 2012
https://www.moveon.org/r?r=278694&id=48819-18317182-fpqNWbx&t=8
“Paul Ryan’s Extreme Abortion Views,” The Daily Beast, August 11, 2012
https://www.moveon.org/r?r=278695&id=48819-18317182-fpqNWbx&t=10
“Paul Ryan Sponsored Fetal Personhood Bill, Opposes Family Planning Funds,” Huffington Post, August 11, 2012
https://www.moveon.org/r?r=278852&id=48819-18317182-fpqNWbx&t=12

5. “12 Things You Should Know About Vice Presidential Candidate Paul Ryan,” Think Progress, August 11, 2012
https://www.moveon.org/r?r=278662&id=48819-18317182-fpqNWbx&t=13
“Ayn Rand would have HATED Paul Ryan,” Daily Kos, August 12, 2012
https://www.moveon.org/r?r=278853&id=48819-18317182-fpqNWbx&t=14

6. “Pell Grants For Poor Students Lose $170 Billion In Ryan Budget,” Huffington Post, March 27, 2012
https://www.moveon.org/r?r=278696&id=48819-18317182-fpqNWbx&t=15

7. “Ryan Budget Pads Big Oil’s Pockets with Senseless Subsidies,” Center for American Progress, March 20, 2012
https://www.moveon.org/r?r=278697&id=48819-18317182-fpqNWbx&t=16

8. “Koch brothers have Paul Ryan’s back,” Politico, August 11, 2012
https://www.moveon.org/r?r=278940&id=48819-18317182-fpqNWbx&t=17

9. “Paul Ryan as VP Matches Mitt Romney on Homophobia,” The Advocate, August 11, 2012
https://www.moveon.org/r?r=278698&id=48819-18317182-fpqNWbx&t=18

10.”Paul Ryan And Ayn Rand”, The New Republic, December 28, 2010
https://www.moveon.org/r?r=278699&id=48819-18317182-fpqNWbx&t=19

Want to support our work? We’re entirely funded by our 7 million members—no corporate contributions, no big checks from CEOs. And our tiny staff ensures that small contributions go a long way.

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Michael Fell is a former MCA recording artist from the seminal punk rock era who toured America from coast to coast. Today, he’s a leading voice in the L.A. Tea Party movement, active since the February 2009 inception. Mr. Fell currently chairs the Westwood Tea Party, is a founding member of the L.A. Metro Tea Party Coalition, serves as the Vice Chairman of the Westside Republicans Club in L.A. CA, and is an elected Republican delegate to the L.A. 47th AD Central Committee. He’s been Campaign Manager for a primary winning Congressional candidate, as well as Santa Monica and L.A. City Council candidates. Mr. Fell is a contributing writer for https://conservativedailynews.com/, https://rightwingnews.com/, https://www.hollywoodrepublican.net/, https://beforeitsnews.com, https://www.redcounty.com/, https://www.uspatriotpac.com and, https://westsiderepublicans.com/. His opinions on today’s news events and political climate can be found on his blog: https://mjfellright.wordpress.com/