Tag Archives: corruption

James O’Keefe Exposes Apparent Widespread Fraud and Corruption in Ohio Medicaid Offices (Update)

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No one should be surprised at the apparent widespread fraud and corruption modern-day muckraker James O’Keefe and his team at Project Veritas found behind the doors of Medicaid offices in Ohio.

In the video above, O’Keefe and partner Spencer Meads pose as wealthy Russian drug smugglers who visit Medicaid offices in several Ohio counties.  They’re told by government officials that: (1) they should not put their exotic sports cars on the Medicaid application; (2) they should classify their drug business as “babysitting”; and (3) They should go to Planned Parenthood to get free abortions for their underage sisters who perform sex in exchange for drugs.

Watch it and weep — then wait for more episodes of this left-wing bureaucratic tragedy to play out.  Heads should roll.

UPDATE 7/20/11 at 8:41 a.m. Central:  Below are the next two video installments in O’Keefe’s incredible uncover Medicaid investigation.

In “South Carolina Medicaid Irish Terrorist Investigation,” O’Keefe’s character dresses in a kilt and tells government bureaucrats in North Carolina and South Carolina that 25 members of his Irish Republican Army need Medicaid assistance. Employee says, “I don’t know anything,” and “I don’t want to go jail.”

In “NYC Super Mario Medicaid Investigation,” O’Keefe’s character walks into a Medicaid office in New York City and says he is an unemployed plumber. The Medicaid official encourages him not to talk about his illegal mushrooms, and how to account for his illegitimate income with a legitimate source.  Stunning!

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Former Federal Agent Says Greed, Corruption at Center of Battle Over Red-Light Camera Systems

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One man’s battle with corrupt city officials in Scottsdale, Ariz., who, he says, are controlled by executives at one of the nation’s largest red-light camera companies, is highlighted in a new video.

On Tuesday, Neville Cramer, a veteran of almost 30 years in local and federal law enforcement, told an Arizona television talk show host about how he was charged and convicted of a serious crime despite being able to produce evidence proving he was innocent of the charge against him.

Cramer’s story casts a pall on a slew of misleading television spots (below) that, along with a saturation campaign of radio advertisements, are promoting photo-enforcement systems as a means of increasing safety at intersections in Missouri.

According to one report, the ads are being run by the National Coalition for Safer Roads which is, according to the NCSR website, “supported by American Traffic Solutions.”

Red-Light Camera

Locally, Matt Hay doesn’t buy into the ATS message and is actively campaigning against it in Missouri.  Success for his effort is defined on his group’s Wrong On Red Facebook Page as being realized only when the Missouri General Assembly passes legislation that results in a “complete prohibition on all photo-enforcement systems installed or operated by any political subdivision on ANY roadway within the Great State of Missouri.”

For more information about the issue and Hay’s efforts, visit WrongOnRed.com.

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Do Costly Red-Light Cameras Make Us Safer?

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In December 2008, I published a post about so-called “red-light cameras” soon after they were installed in the St. Louis area and, less than a month later, after they were given the old “heave-ho” in Pinal County, Ariz.  Today, I share news from Los Angeles’ KCET about the business of red-light camera tickets.  It will, no doubt, open your eyes and make you wonder if those flashy cameras really make anyone safer as they strive to make everyone poorer.

If you live in Missouri, check out Wrong On Red, a group self-described as a “non-partisan, grass roots coalition of neighbors, veterans, and elected officials from all over the State of Missouri who are concerned about corruption and have come to the realization that Traffic Photo-Enforcement, commonly referred to as Red Light and Speed Cameras, are a snake oil scam.”

FYI: If you enjoy this blog and want to keep reading stories like the one above, show your support by using the “Support Bob” tool at right. Thanks in advance for your support!

Vietnamese-Americans Back Bobby Schilling in Illinois’ 17th Congressional District Race

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When I learned over the weekend that the Free Vietnamese Mutual Association of Quad Cities will support Illinois Republican Bobby Schilling in his bid to unseat liberal Democrat incumbent Phil Hare in the 17th Congressional District race, I was reminded of a story I published Aug. 19.

Thi Nguyen (a.k.a., Teresa Pershall)

That story focused on the hardships, past and present, endured by Thi Nguyen.  Now going by her American name, Teresa Pershall, she told me some incredible things about the hardship and oppression that accompanied communism in her native Vietnam.  In addition, she drew my attention to hardships she is enduring today as a small business owner in St. Peters, Mo.

An excerpt from that article appears below:

Asked to describe what it was like to live under communism, she said, “It’s a really wonderful life for people who work for the government and a really horrible life for those who work outside the government.”

Comparing government officials to “sticks” who are willing to cover up for each other and accept mediocrity as long as it allows them to enrich themselves, she went on to highlight corruption as one of the biggest problems she saw in Vietnam.

“One stick, you can break it,” she said. “One chopstick, you can break it.  But one-hundred chopsticks, you cannot break.”

In other words, it’s hard to get rid of crooked politicians once corruption becomes the norm.

Though I’ve had no direct contact with the FVMA, I have been told by people in Illinois’ 17th CD that the group is comprised of individuals who, like Pershall, fled their homeland for many of the same reasons as Pershall and eventually landed in the heartland of the United States:  They wanted to escape oppression and enjoy life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

That in mind, it should come as no surprise to anyone that members of the FVMA are backing Schilling, a small business owner with labor union experience, instead of Phil Hare, the man who has been described in the media as having lived a “year of foolishness” and said, among other things, “I don’t worry about the Constitution to be honest.”

Vote responsibly, Illinois!  Your future depends on it!

UPDATE 11/01/10 at 5:23 p.m. Central: Cross-posted at BigGovernment.com.

Will Mexican Truck Drivers With Criminal Records Soon Be Driving on U.S. Highways?

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Though I suspect most Americans paid little or no attention to news about President Barack Obama hosting Mexican President Felipe Calderón for two days last week, I think many will be interested in what results from the meeting between the two elected leaders, especially when they think about the question raised in the headline above.

On May 19, Presidents Obama and Calderón released a joint statement in which they highlighted a trade and transportation plan aimed at achieving a mutually-agreed-upon solution.  Among the premises listed in that plan was the following:

Recognizing that transnational criminal organizations threaten the economies and security of both the United States and Mexico and that both countries share responsibility for the conditions that give rise to these criminal organizations and that allow them to endure, as well as shared responsibility for remedying those conditions

In short, the two made a public acknowledgment of the issue of border security.

Further into the plan, another entry appears under the section, “AREAS OF COLLABORATION“:

The creation, expansion, or mutual recognition of “trusted shipper” programs such as FAST and C-TPAT and “trusted traveler” programs such as SENTRI and Global Entry, allowing enforcement authorities to concentrate their efforts where they are most needed to stop illicit border flows

This time, they acknowledge the need to make crossing the border faster and easier for people who, by completing some paperwork and meeting certain criteria, qualify for special treatment during border crossings.

Now, companies like U.S. Immigration, Visa & Travel of Minneapolis, Minn., enter the picture, complete with an official-looking Department of State seal in their site’s masthead.

Though the graphic above appears prominently on a page on the company’s web site, an explanation of the FAST Pass program renders the red-letter headline somewhat less frightening:

Truckers with criminal records are ineligible for a FAST Pass unless they have received a US waiver and / or a Canadian pardon, which wipes the crime form the records databases but does not delete it completely from central records offices.  A Canada pardon is only recognized in Canada and not in the US. If your crime was committed in Canada or you are resident there and you committed a crime abroad then you must get a pardon to clear your criminal record with the Canadian customs and border protection authorities. If your crime was committed in the US you need to get a waiver of inadmissibility. It takes around a year to get hold of these documents and even then there is no guarantee that you will then get your FAST pass.

Still, U.S. and Canadian truckers with criminal records CAN obtain FAST Passes IF they’re willing to do the paperwork and IF they’re willing to wait as long as a year.

After digesting the information above, one question remains about the aforementioned plan being drafted between the U.S. and Mexican governments:  Does anyone truly believe that corruption will not surface among officials in the Mexican government if a FAST Pass system similar to the one already in use between the U.S. and Canada is put into play via the U.S.-Mexico cross-border trucking plan?

“Mexico’s regulatory standards and enforcement on trucks aren’t even remotely equivalent to what we have here,” said Todd Spencer, executive vice president of the Grain Valley, Mo.-based Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association, in a news release issued last month.  “To open the border at this time is insanity from both an economic standpoint and safety.”

And what about U.S. trucking jobs going south?

Dan Little, president of the Carrollton, Mo.-based Owner Operators United, Inc., outlined his concerns in a May 13 letter to Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood which ended with this message:

“Should the cross border program go into effect, thousands of American drivers and trucking companies will be forced out, many ending in bankruptcy. The fall out will be felt throughout the entire country.”

Developing…

UPDATE 5/25/10 at 2:44 p.m. Central: Mexico’s lack of reliable databases and background checks for drivers licenses makes the idea of FAST a joke, says OOIDA’s Norita Taylor, who also points me to an April 22 article, Drugs in the FAST Lane, in the New York Times.

Chicago Political Machine Never Stops Working

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Above (left to right):  Rod Blagojevich, Jesse Jackson Jr., Barack Obama and David Axelrod.

One year ago today, Rod Blagojevich became the first sitting Illinois governor to be impeached and booted out of office by the Illinois Senate for, among other things, allegedly trying to “sell to the highest bidder” the U.S. senate seat once held by Barack Obama.  Now, it seems another Democrat is involved in trouble related to the seat that’s been occupied for almost a year by Roland Burris.

The Chicago Tribune reported yesterday that Democrat Alexi Giannoulias is trying to dampen criticism of what role he may have played in causing problems at the family bank where he worked before being elected state treasurer.  Why did Giannoulias feel the need to “dampen the criticism”?  Because, obviously, he doesn’t want such criticism to harm his effort to win the “hot potato” of a seat.

Isn’t it amazing how, despite troubling economic times, one machine — the corrupt “Chicago Political Machine” — never stops working?  It truly is.

See also: ‘Re-Indicted’ Parody Song Marks One-Year Anniversary of Blagojevich Impeachment

Inhofe Smelled Climate Change Rat Four Years Ago

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Sen. James Inhofe (R-Okla.)

Sen. James Inhofe (R-Okla.)

Just over four years ago, Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.) delivered a speech about global warming on the floor of the Senate.  Today, in light of news that the ranking member of the U.S. Senate Environment and Public Works Committee has launched an investigation into apparent climate change fraud, I share below four of the best excerpts of the Nov. 15, 2005, speech in which Inhofe says the equivalent of “I smell a climate change rat”:

  • I am committed to shining a light on their activities. Global warming alarmists will undoubtedly continue to accuse me of attacking the science of global warming – that is part of their game. But nothing could be further from the truth. I support and defend credible, objective science by exposing the corrupting influences that would subvert it for political purposes. Good policy must be based on good science, and that requires science be free of bias, whatever its conclusions.
  • “Methodologically it is wrong: rubbish.”
  • “I believe the IPCC process is so flawed, and the institution, it has to be said, so closed to reason, that it would be far better to thank it for the work it has done, close it down, and transfer all future international collaboration on the issue of climate change…”
  • It is my solemn hope that the IPCC will listen the words of Drs. von Storch and Stehr and not miss the opportunity to re-establish its credibility. Only then will its work product be useful to policymakers. If the IPCC remains committed to its current path, however, then Lord Lawson’s solution is the only viable one – the IPCC should be disbanded.

Click here to download a pdf of the entire floor speech.