Sharyl Attkisson

Untouchable Subjects. Fearless, Nonpartisan Reporting.

Sharyl Attkisson

Are donations for veterans going to telemarketers instead?

The Center for Public Integrity reports a majority of donations to a veterans' charity is going to telemarketers.

The founder of Circle of Friends for American Veterans, Hampton, reportedly managed to use the charity to pay himself 75,000 in the first half of 2017.

Circle of Friends for American Veterans was founded in 1993 by Brian Hampton in Falls Church, Virginia according to the Center for Public Integrity. In 2015, Hampton had acquired another nonprofit and reportedly raked in $340,216 total in less than a decade. The Center for Public Integrity says this is in part due to Outreach Calling, a telemarketing company run by a man banned from fundraising in New York and who remains under investigation.

Hampton, a veteran himself, says he hires telemarketers because it's the cheapest and easiest way to fundraise:

Over the course of 24 years, I have tried every other fundraising technique known to me in over four decades with fundraising experience, most of them over and over again, with different variations... None of those efforts produced revenue remotely close to the revenue generated by telemarketing.

Brian Hampton, founder, Circle of Friends for American Veterans (to Center for Public Integrity)

Hampton claims that fundraising without the help of telemarketers was "was grueling, inefficient work." He also says that leaving most of the grunt work to telemarketers frees up his time for charitable work, such as running a shelter for homeless veterans in Washington, D.C.

You can read the Center for Public Integrity's article on the issue here: Charity money going to telemarketers.

Fight improper government surveillance. Support Attkisson v. DOJ and FBI over the government computer intrusions of Attkisson's work while she was a CBS News investigative correspondent. Visit the Attkisson Fourth Amendment Litigation Fund. Click here.

After Starbucks incident: Few feel threatened by police presence

The following are recent poll results from ScottRasmussen.com

Was Starbucks out of line to ask six police officers leave when a customer claimed the sight of them made him feel unsafe?

Seventy-nine percent (79%) of respondents said it was wrong.

Twenty-one percent (21%) of voters nationwide believe that request was appropriate.

Overall, 87% of voters do not feel threatened when they encounter police officers.

57% of voters say they feel safe when they encounter police officers while (30%) experience say they don't have feelings one way or another.

Thirteen percent 13% say they feel threatened.

Dunkin' Donuts and illegal immigrants

Dunkin’ Donuts recently removed franchise rights from owners who failed to use the E-verify system to discourage franchise owners from illegal immigrants or undocumented workers.

Sixty-four percent (64%) of voters believe Dunkin’ Donuts’ actions were justified.

Seventeen percent disagree and 19% are not sure.

Overall, 80% favor the law requiring use of an E-Verify system to ensure that people hired are legal residents of the United States.

Legal and illegal immigration

ScottRasmussen.com says "these results are broadly consistent with a vast collection of data showing that eight out of ten voters believe illegal immigration is bad for the United States (eight-out-of-ten also believe that legal immigration is good)."

Other data shows that most voters do not believe in an "open borders" policy allowing anybody who wants to live in the U.S. to do so. But 21% of voters effectively support an open borders policy.

Nationalism

Most voters, 57%, have a favorable opinion of the terms “Nationalism” and “American Nationalism.” Most believe nationalism embraces such attitudes as Patriotism, Love of the U.S. Constitution, Individual Freedom and Equality.

Some critics of nationalism attribute a number of negative attitudes with the term such as racism and sexism.  However, voters tend to reject such views.

ScottRasmussen.com
Fight improper government surveillance. Support Attkisson v. DOJ and FBI over the government computer intrusions of Attkisson's work while she was a CBS News investigative correspondent. Visit the Attkisson Fourth Amendment Litigation Fund. Click here.

Jeffrey Epstein's background and wealth

The Epoch Times has compiled some interesting background on accused child sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein.

Reporters have had difficulty substantiating his reputed status as a billionaire and the source of his wealth.

The following are excerpts from The Epoch Times article. A link to the full article follows.

...For a man reputed to have been managing at least $15 billion—all for billionaires—it would seem all but impossible that Epstein wouldn’t be known to the Wall Street trading desks. Additionally, Epstein reportedly employed no portfolio managers or analysts, telling people that he handled the entire investment side of the business himself, with all other employees being purely administrative.

Epstein, for reasons unknown, was also reported to be highly selective when it came to his clients. In the New York Magazine article, famed mergers and acquisition lawyer Dennis Block said that he once sent Epstein a $500 million client, only to have Epstein turn the client down. Block noted: “Both the client and I were amazed. But that’s Jeffrey.”...

...Rumors of blackmail have surrounded Epstein for years. In a 2015 court filing, Epstein accuser Virginia Roberts Giuffre said that Epstein “trafficked” her to “to many other powerful men, including politicians and powerful business executives.”

Epstein required me to describe the sexual events that I had with these men presumably so that he could potentially blackmail them.

Virginia Roberts Giuffre, Epstein accuser

...Epstein reportedly got his start in the financial world while working for investment bank Bear Stearns but abruptly left the firm in 1981 under less than clear circumstances. Some media reports indicate Epstein was forced out. Other reports indicate that Epstein left of his own volition. But whatever the reason behind his departure, Epstein may have kept financial ties with the firm in place.

The Miami Herald reported that “as part of the plea deal, Epstein provided what the government called ‘valuable consideration’ for unspecified information he supplied to federal investigators.” It remains unknown exactly what information was provided by Epstein, but as the Miami Herald notes, “Epstein’s sex crime case happened just as the country’s subprime mortgage market collapsed, ushering in the 2008 global financial crisis.”

According to the Herald’s reporting: “Records show that Epstein was a key federal witness in the criminal prosecution of two prominent executives with Bear Stearns, the global investment brokerage that failed in 2008, who were accused of corporate securities fraud. Epstein was one of the largest investors in the hedge fund managed by the executives, who were later acquitted. It is not known what role, if any, the case played in Epstein’s plea negotiations.”... (Continued)

Read the full article in The Epoch Times by clicking the link below:

https://www.theepochtimes.com/jeffrey-epsteins-ties-to-clinton-and-his-questionable-source-of-wealth_2997016.html

Thank you to the thousands who are supporting the landmark case of Attkisson v. DOJ and FBI for the government computer intrusions.

Montana's Solution: how it could work to solve health care costs for all of us

This has got to be one of the most interesting stories (to me) that I've covered in the past year.

It tells about a Marilyn Bartlett-- a senior citizen who happened to be an expert in the health insurance cost field-- who defied all the odds and took on the insurance companies and hospitals in Montana to fix the state's failing health care system (and in record time).

She was bullied. She was harassed. But she did it. Montana's health care system was going belly up but it's now in the black thanks to these efforts.

Bartlett says it's possible for Congress or the U.S. government to do much the same on a national level, but they're not even talking about it. The proposals typically discussed in Washington D.C. don't touch upon the successful strategies Bartlett used. It would require taking on major industries, but she says it's doable.

Watch the remarkable story by clicking the link below.

http://fullmeasure.news/news/cover-story/montanas-solution

Thank you to the thousands who are supporting the landmark case of Attkisson v. DOJ and FBI for the government computer intrusions.

Trump: Unbeatable or easily defeated?

The following poll results are recent findings by ScottRasmussen.com.

Who can beat Donald Trump?

Republicans tend to see President Trump as unbeatable in 2020 while nearly half of Democrats say anybody can defeat him.

Seventy-five percent (75%) of Republican voters, 39% of Independents and 18% of Democrats believe it doesn’t matter who Democrats nominate for president because none of them will beat Donald Trump.

However, 49% of Democrat voters, 34% of Independents and 24% of Republicans say the opposite: it doesn't matter who Democrats nominate because any of them will beat the president.

Taken together, 41% believe no Democrat currently running will beat the president; 36% believe any of them will.

Confidence in the economy

Confidence in the economy remains strong, according to ScottRasmussen.com.

Thirty-six percent (36%) of respondents say the economy is getting better.

Twenty-four percent (24%) say it is getting worse.

Sixty-eight percent (68%) of Republicans say they think the economy is getting better while 6% think it's getting worse.

Among Democrats, (17%) tend to believe it is getting worse.

And regarding Independents, 30% say things are getting better while 26% say worse.

For more polling data click the link below:

https://scottrasmussen.com

Fight government overreach and double-standard justice by supporting the Attkisson Fourth Amendment Litigation Fund for Attkisson v. DOJ and FBI for the government computer intrusions. Click here.

True North: Persevering in the Pursuit of Justice

If you are able to get to Washington D.C. anytime from July 29 through Aug. 1 this year and you're interested in whistleblower issues, think about attending the Eighth Annual Whistleblower Summit and Film Festival.

This year's theme is: "True North: Preserving in the Pursuit of Justice."

The annual, independent whistleblower event attracts the bipartisan, the multi-partisan and the apolitical. It honors the spirit of the brave whistleblowers who often end up sacrificing their careers and personal life to tell uncomfortable truths.

Organizers Marcel Reid and Michael McCray are themselves whistleblowers.

Michael McCray (above) and Marcel Reid blew the whistle on ACORN

Watch the Full Measure story about Reid and McCray blowing the whistle on ACORN fraud.

Reid and McCray organize the summit each year to encourage whistleblowers and speak truth to power at a time when whistleblowers are often ignored, attacked or smeared for going public.

Attendance is free but you must register in advance at Eventbrite.

Find out more about the whistleblower summit by clicking the link below:

Whistleblowersummit.com 

What: "True North: Preserving in the Pursuit of Justice," the 8th Annual Whistleblower Summit.

Where: Washington D.C.

When: July 29-Aug. 1

Register to attend for free here.

Featured whistleblower books

More information from summit organizers below:

The Whistleblower Summit & Film Festival is the intersection between media, politics, culture and entertainment. Whistleblower stories (books and movies) are as American as apple pie. Come to the only Washington, DC film festival with event on Capitol Hill. Rub elbows with famous whistleblowers like Frank Serpico and Jeff Wigand or meet political leaders like Senator Charles Grassley, Representative Elijah Cummings and “Jonestown” survivor, Representative Jackie Speier. There is not free press without news sources. There can be no Congressional oversight without government informants. Whistleblowers are the “Fifth Estate” protecting freedom and liberty.

Over the last twelve years members from the Make it Safe Coalition (MISC) have arranged an assembly of whistleblowers in Washington, DC each year for an annual conference originally known as Washington Whistleblower’s Week. During that time members of the Make it Safe Coalition have passed thirteen laws, including No FEAR and the WPEA, conducted congressional lobby days, provided Continuing Legal Education training, written Op-Eds, published magazines and books, hosted radio shows, provided mentoring and lawyer referrals, penned sign-on letters, submitted amicus briefs, written columns and law review articles, made television appearances, produced plays / theatrical productions, showcased a film series, held protest rallies at the White House and on the National Mall. Whistleblowers have even “occupied” government agencies and hosted both national and regional conferences in: Washington (DC), New York (NY), Baltimore (MD), Atlanta (GA), Chicago (IL), Houston (TX), Los Angeles (CA) and Little Rock (AR). ACORN 8 and the host committee are proud to announce the theme for the Whistleblower Summit this year is True North—Persevering in the Pursuit of Justice

The Whistleblower Summit includes historic panel discussions with distinguished authors of whistleblower books followed by film screenings of “Pillar Award” nominated films and documentaries. Thus “Movie Night” with the whistleblowers was one of the highlights of our annual summit, because it gave whistleblowers, advocates and conference attendees an opportunity to interact with the general public in a relaxed atmosphere that promotes camaraderie and builds broad community support. We are a coalition of individual whistleblowers, grassroots activists, public interest advocates and policy makers. We provide a sense of community and mutual support for whistleblowers or civil and human rights activists. During the conference, we also present the Pillar Award for Human Rights. The Pillar is awarded to notable civil and human rights champions; previous recipients include Representative Elijah Cummings (D-MD), Senator Charles “Chuck” Grassley (R-IA) and Senator Claire McCaskill (D-MO). The Pillar is awarded to politicians, community activists and journalists—including documentary filmmakers.

The Whistleblower Summit recognizes that cinema is a powerful medium for highlighting civil and human rights violations across the globe. It seeks to shine a light on stories of courage and perseverance in the face of injustice, and to encourage individuals to stand together to achieve human rights for all. Consequently, we are pleased to announce the opening of submissions for its annual film festival, which will take place in July 2019. We are looking for films about whistleblowers, the First Amendment or that touch on one or several human rights issues that are connected to our areas of work this includes freedom of expression, women’s rights, discrimination, communal violence, human rights defenders, among other issues. The themes mentioned are not exhaustive, films centered on other civil and human rights issues are equally welcome for submission.

Fight improper government surveillance. Support Attkisson v. DOJ and FBI over the government computer intrusions of Attkisson's work while she was a CBS News investigative correspondent. Visit the Attkisson Fourth Amendment Litigation Fund. Click here.

Propaganda phrases

What's in a name? A look at the use of the phrase "Trump's child separation policy" with a little help from an NPR fact check.