China Posted April 10 Share Posted April 10 On 3/15/2021 at 9:07 PM, China said: Timing Key In Consulting Deal Between FirstEnergy, Regulator Shortly before a utility lawyer and lobbyist was appointed Ohio’s top regulator of electric and power generating companies, he received $4.3 million from top executives at one of the companies whose fortunes would soon be in his hands. In the months that followed, that company — Akron-based FirstEnergy Corp. — won a string of legislative and regulatory victories worth well over $1 billion over time to the company and its subsidiaries, including a nuclear plant bailout that’s at the center of a $60 million federal bribery probe. The bulk of that tab was to be paid by the state’s electricity customers. What investigators at the state and federal levels now want to know is whether Sam Randazzo, the utility lawyer-turned-regulator who has since resigned, helped FirstEnergy in exchange for millions. The payment to a future state official meeting Randazzo’s description received from then-executives of the utilities giant in January 2019 is the subject of an ongoing audit by the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio, which Randazzo chaired from April 2019 to last November, when he resigned under a cloud. Corporate filings from November differed in the descriptions provided to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission of the payment made by fired top officials. FirstEnergy’s board of directors fired CEO Chuck Jones and two other executives weeks earlier for having “violated certain FirstEnergy policies and its code of conduct.” FirstEnergy’s quarterly earnings report said the payment terminated a “purported consulting contract” dating back to 2013. Recent sleuthing by Energy and Policy Institute, a pro-renewable energy watchdog group, unearthed a disclosure in lending documents that suggested Randazzo was paid for future work, creating questions on what actions he might have taken as PUCO chair on behalf of FirstEnergy. Randazzo was involved in other actions while chair that stood to benefit FirstEnergy companies. The most significant was House Bill 6, the $1 billion nuclear bailout bill. Then-Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder, a Republican, and four associates, were arrested and indicted on federal racketeering charges in July, accused of orchestrating an elaborate scheme secretly funded by FirstEnergy to secure Householder’s power, elect his allies and pass the now-tainted bill. The legislation was promoted as a plan to secure the future of two aging nuclear plants then operated by a wholly owned FirstEnergy subsidiary. Documents subpoenaed by the FBI showed Randazzo had a significant role in writing the bailout bill. Calendars obtained by the AP through a public records request further show that Randazzo met with Householder and Republican Gov. Mike DeWine at the Governor’s Residence for an “energy discussion” in April 2019. That was less than two weeks after Randazzo had become PUCO chair and a day later the bailout bill was introduced. He also met in 2019 with both men’s policy advisers, as well as other administration officials. DeWine’s office said in response to a separate records request that there was no further documentation of the meeting. The AP reported Dec. 10 that DeWine in early 2019 disregarded cries of alarm over Randazzo’s close ties to FirstEnergy before appointing him to the commission. DeWine has stood by the decision. Click on the link for the full article Ex-PUCO chairman Sam Randazzo accused in FirstEnergy bribery scheme has died Former Public Utilities Commission of Ohio Chairman Sam Randazzo, who was facing criminal charges over a bribery scandal, has died by suicide. A spokesman for the Franklin County Coroner said Randazzo was found shortly before noon Tuesday in a Columbus warehouse that he owned. Randazzo, 74, of Columbus, was recently accused of accepting $4.3 million from Akron-based FirstEnergy to help the company with a $1 billion bailout for two nuclear plants and regulation that would have cost the company money. He was also accused of embezzling from his clients. He had pleaded not guilty to charges in state and federal court. Click on the link for the full article Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
China Posted April 18 Share Posted April 18 Eric Adams’ legal defense fund drops longtime ally after crude comments One of Mayor Eric Adams’ fundraising entities on Wednesday fired the security and private investigative firm run by longtime friend and donor Bo Dietl shortly after Dietl berated a POLITICO reporter. Dietl’s company was hired to vet donors to Adams’ legal defense trust — a fundraising entity to help pay legal bills connected to a federal probe into Adams’ 2021 mayoral campaign. In January, the organization paid Dietl’s firm just under $13,000 — an expense first reported by the Daily News, whose reporter Dietl reportedly cursed at this week. When asked for comment Wednesday afternoon about the services he was paid to perform for the trust, Dietl told a POLITICO reporter: “Why don’t you do me a favor. Go suck somebody’s dick, because I don’t want to talk to you, OK? You like to suck dick? Go suck dick somewhere.” He then hung up the phone. Less than two hours after being informed of Dietl’s remarks, the trust’s counsel, Vito Pitta, condemned Dietl and told POLITICO he would be let go. “The mayor believes that that language is unacceptable, and that no person should talk to another person in such a disrespectful way,” Pitta said in a statement. Click on the link for the full article Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
China Posted May 2 Share Posted May 2 Kansas Senate retreats from effort to deregulate pubic hair removal The Kansas Senate’s attempt to override Gov. Laura Kelly’s veto of legislation that would deregulate sugaring, a hair-removal technique, faltered this week after Democrats voiced concerns about giving “sexual deviants” unfettered access to customers’ genitalia. They also raised concerns about the potential for unsanitary conditions and serious health risks that include bleeding, tearing, bruising, ingrown hairs, burns and infection. Sugaring is the practice of removing hair with a paste made from sugar, lemon and water. It is mostly used to remove pubic hair, but also applied to eyebrows, arms, legs and lips. Senate Bill 434 would have eliminated criminal background checks, training, continuing education and inspections for sugaring practitioners by exempting them from oversight by the Kansas Board of Cosmetology. The bill cleared the Senate 38-1 in February and the House 71-52 in March. Kelly said she had “serious concerns” about deregulating the practice when she vetoed the bill last week. “Deregulating sugaring risks contamination, improper infection control, and potential safety issues involving minors,” Kelly said. “I am not willing to undermine the Kansas Board of Cosmetology’s expertise or threaten the long-term health and safety of Kansans who receive sugaring services.” On Monday, Sen. Beverly Gossage, R-Eudora, said she was confused by the governor’s veto message. “All that she mentioned was something to do with concern that this might be a medical issue of some kind,” Gossage said. Gossage, who made the motion to override the governor’s veto, repeatedly said sugaring is “simple.” Click on the link for the full article 🎶Honey Oh, sugar, sugar You are my candy girl And you got me wanting you🎶 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
China Posted May 12 Share Posted May 12 Three Bob Fergusons now running for governor as race takes turn for the weird The number of Bob Fergusons running to be Washington’s next governor grew to three on Friday. A conservative Republican activist threw a monkey wrench into the race by recruiting two last-minute Democratic candidates who share the same name as the party’s presumed front-runner. The newcomers, one from Yakima and the other Graham, will now share the Aug. 6 primary ballot with Attorney General Bob Ferguson. In all, 30 candidates filed in the race. Glen Morgan, a political conservative who has a knack for annoying elected Democrats and their progressive allies, cooked up the maneuver that immediately drew flack from the attorney general’s camp as an attempt to confuse voters. Morgan said this had been in the works for a while as he contacted some of the 53 Washington residents named Bob Ferguson. “Not every one of them wants their name associated with the guy running for governor,” he said. Deciding to file on their behalf “was pretty impulsive” and he said he had to scramble to raise money to cover the filing fee of $1,982.57 for each of the two Fergusons. Morgan provided few details about the individuals. Bob Ferguson from Yakima is a retired state worker and the one from Graham is a military veteran, he said. Neither is politically experienced but both share a distaste for the state executive with the same name, Morgan said. Ferguson, the attorney general, declined Friday to comment. Former governor Christine Gregoire issued a statement on behalf of his campaign calling the last-minute filing a “highly deceiving and potentially illegal” effort to mislead voters. “It’s nothing less than an attack on our democracy,” said Gregoire, a former attorney general who served as governor from 2005-2013. Morgan countered that the only dishonesty is on the part of Ferguson for campaigning as one who will bolster public safety “when everything he’s done in office makes people less safe.” The next important move is in the hands of Secretary of State Steve Hobbs. Typically, in races for partisan offices, ballots contain only candidates’ names and their preferred party. Under state law, if two or more candidates file for the same office with names similar enough to confuse voters, information can be added on the ballot to help differentiate them. Additional information will not be provided for any other candidate. Hobbs must decide what extra wording to add. Click on the link for the full article Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PokerPacker Posted May 12 Share Posted May 12 (edited) Typical Republican attempting to undermine democracy. Edited May 12 by PokerPacker Changed 'overthrow' to 'undermine' 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
China Posted May 13 Share Posted May 13 A statue of disgraced evangelist Billy Graham will be unveiled in the U.S. Capitol On Thursday, a statue of the late Rev. Billy Graham will be unveiled in the U.S. Capitol. Since there’s no good reason it should be going up, it’s worth remembering how and why this is happening. Each state is allowed to request two statues in the Capitol’s National Statuary Hall. In 2018, North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper asked for a statue of former governor Charles Ay**** (an avowed white supremacist) to come down to make room for the Charlotte-born preacher. Legislators in the state actually approved the change in 2015, but the formal request for a statue couldn’t be made until Graham died, which he did, at age 99, in 2018. After that, there was a ten-step process the state needed to go through, but lawmakers slowly checked everything off the list. They hired a sculptor to create a model of the statue, a congressional committee approved of it, etc. The seven-foot bronze statue will show Graham “gesturing toward an open Bible in his hand.” He’ll be standing on a pedestal “engraved with verses from the Bible”—specifically John 3:16 and John 14:6. Because if there’s anything we’ve learned from the Bible, it’s how much God loves idols. Where is the estimated $650,000 cost for the statue coming from? The Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, not state funding. This isn’t really a church/state separation problem, but it raises the question of why the hell anyone would think Graham should be an icon representing North Carolina. After all, he’s the guy who once told President Richard Nixon: “This stranglehold [that Jews have] has got to be broken or this country is going down the drain.” He told Nixon that if he were re-elected, “we might be able to do something” about it. This is the guy who thought people who disagreed with him would burn in Hell for all eternity. This is the guy who said AIDS was God’s punishment for homosexuality. This is the guy who urged people in the state to vote against marriage equality in 2012. This is the guy who responded to Martin Luther King, Jr.‘s “Letter From Birmingham City Jail” by saying that civil rights leaders needed to “put the brakes on a little bit.” Click on the link for more Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ixcuincle Posted May 14 Share Posted May 14 https://apnews.com/article/kansas-city-chiefs-harrison-butker-e00f6ee45955c99ef1e809ec447239e0 KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Kansas City Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker railed against Pride month along with President Biden’s leadership during the COVID-19 pandemic and his stance on abortion during a commencement address at Benedictine College last weekend. The three-time Super Bowl champion delivered the roughly 20-minute address Saturday at the Catholic private liberal arts school in Atchison, Kansas, which is located about 60 miles north of Kansas City. Butker, who has made his conservative Catholic beliefs well known, began his address by attacking what he called “dangerous gender ideologies” in an apparent reference to Pride month, which has been celebrated in June since the Stonewall riots in 1969. He also criticized an article by The Associated Press highlighting a shift toward conservativism in some parts of the Catholic Church. The 28-year-old Butker then took aim at Biden’s policies, including his response to COVID-19, which has killed nearly 1.2 million people in the U.S., according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. “While COVID might have played a large role throughout your formative years, it is not unique,” he said. “The bad policies and poor leadership have negatively impacted major life issues. Things like abortion, IVF, surrogacy, euthanasia, as well as a growing support for the degenerate cultural values and media all stem from pervasiveness of disorder.” 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captain Wiggles Posted May 14 Share Posted May 14 Let me guess. Butker thinks Trump showed tremendously bigly leadership qualities during Covid? 🤣 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larry Posted May 15 Share Posted May 15 3 hours ago, ixcuincle said: “While COVID might have played a large role throughout your formative years, it is not unique,” he said. “The bad policies and poor leadership have negatively impacted major life issues. Things like abortion, IVF, surrogacy, euthanasia, as well as a growing support for the degenerate cultural values and media all stem from pervasiveness of disorder.” 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PleaseBlitz Posted May 15 Share Posted May 15 Harrison Butker is the John Rocker of Mike Vanderjagts. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ball Security Posted May 15 Share Posted May 15 The Butker stuff is in a few threads now. What he said is completely disgusting, yet not surprising. I’m not someone who will say the Chiefs should release him or that the NFL should suspend him. Freedom of speech and all that. He deserves every ounce of backlash and vitriol that comes his way. Some things that surprised me was that I just assumed this was an Evangelical/Christian Nationalist thing. Didn’t realize this was a Catholic thing. I didn’t know that there are Catholic schools in Middle America that charge $43k a year to tell their female students that their way to contribute to society is to pop out kids, stay at home, and make sure dinner isn’t cold. It’s all disturbing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JCB Posted May 15 Share Posted May 15 The Euro far right that allies with MAGA has for decades been super-invested in arch-Catholicism. “Traditionalism,” Opus Dei, or more locally national variants. Plus, it’s worth pointing out that evangelicals only embraced Catholic sexual ethics 5-6 years after Roe, when Reagan told them to sniff the power gap. We’re still living in Reagan’s awful shadow. 2 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheGreatBuzz Posted May 15 Share Posted May 15 9 hours ago, Ball Security said: The Butker stuff is in a few threads now. What he said is completely disgusting, yet not surprising. I’m not someone who will say the Chiefs should release him or that the NFL should suspend him. Freedom of speech and all that. He deserves every ounce of backlash and vitriol that comes his way. Some things that surprised me was that I just assumed this was an Evangelical/Christian Nationalist thing. Didn’t realize this was a Catholic thing. I didn’t know that there are Catholic schools in Middle America that charge $43k a year to tell their female students that their way to contribute to society is to pop out kids, stay at home, and make sure dinner isn’t cold. It’s all disturbing. Visit Ann Arbor, MI. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PleaseBlitz Posted May 15 Share Posted May 15 Swifties are gonna be so confused. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EmirOfShmo Posted May 15 Share Posted May 15 The Good vs. McGuire feud is heating up. Each idiot trying to kiss the Orange Turd's ring. Good has signs up with Good & Orange Turd with his commercials showing the Orange Turd quotes of support from 2022 (before he decided to back Rhonda). McGuire signs with maga on them & commercials showing Orange Turd support. Gotta stay off local TV until June 18th so I don't have to watch this ****show... 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ball Security Posted May 15 Share Posted May 15 22 minutes ago, EmirOfShmo said: The Good vs. McGuire feud is heating up. Each idiot trying to kiss the Orange Turd's ring. Good has signs up with Good & Orange Turd with his commercials showing the Orange Turd quotes of support from 2022 (before he decided to back Rhonda). McGuire signs with maga on them & commercials showing Orange Turd support. Gotta stay off local TV until June 18th so I don't have to watch this ****show... Is there any chance a Dem can beat either one, or nah? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EmirOfShmo Posted May 15 Share Posted May 15 5 minutes ago, Ball Security said: Is there any chance a Dem can beat either one, or nah? Not sure. This was Abigail Spanberger's seat - she's going to run for Governor. She has defeated 2 (3?) maga challengers to hold the spot. But I'm not sure what 2024 looks like without her... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Busch1724 Posted May 15 Share Posted May 15 I thought athletes and celebrities were supposed to keep their views to themselves... 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ball Security Posted May 15 Share Posted May 15 26 minutes ago, EmirOfShmo said: Not sure. This was Abigail Spanberger's seat - she's going to run for Governor. She has defeated 2 (3?) maga challengers to hold the spot. But I'm not sure what 2024 looks like without her... Cool. So, yeah, this could be potentially a competitive seat. BTW, I think Spanberger gets the nomination over Stoney next year. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EmirOfShmo Posted May 15 Share Posted May 15 5 minutes ago, Ball Security said: Cool. So, yeah, this could be potentially a competitive seat. BTW, I think Spanberger gets the nomination over Stoney next year. Stoney already dropped out to run for LG. I suspect VA Dems told him to get out of the way for Spanberger. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ball Security Posted May 15 Share Posted May 15 9 minutes ago, EmirOfShmo said: Stoney already dropped out to run for LG. I suspect VA Dems told him to get out of the way for Spanberger. Oh yeah. I forgot about that. I think Spanberger pulls in the suburban mom vote that went sweatervest’s way in 2021. She’ll be a strong candidate. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ixcuincle Posted May 15 Share Posted May 15 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jumbo Posted May 16 Share Posted May 16 https://sports.yahoo.com/nfl-responds-to-harrison-butkers-commencement-speech-his-views-are-not-the-nfls-135724083.html The Random Bonehead Spotlight isn't quite done with Butkers. I bet Brittany has shared some thoughts with Patrick.😄 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ixcuincle Posted May 19 Share Posted May 19 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larry Posted May 19 Share Posted May 19 Sounds like a filibuster, to me. Kudos for the creativity. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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