Ecoterrorism looms as environmentalists now committing crimes in Keystone attacks

Environmentalists aren't just a threat to the economy, they are also a threat to property and human life.

Unhappy that most Americans support the clean, safe Keystone XL jobs project, raging environmentalists are now engaging in a campaign of vandalism and trespassing.  Environmentalists see crime as a civil right.

Environmentalists "have taken to chaining themselves to machinery and trucks in an attempt to stall construction," POLITICO reports.

Those criminals are the nice ones.  There have also been attempts to plant bombs on natural gas pipelines.

Ecoterrorism is a serious problem in the United States.  Because leftists see authority over others as their right they too often resort to violence in order to grasp control.

Environmentalists in the United States have also recently set fire to the homes of medical researchers and destroyed crops and slaughtered animals intended to help develop affordable foods to combat world hunger.

As environmentalism grows increasingly synonymous with violence and terrorism it is important Congress take action to confront the growing threat of environmentalist terrorism.

House GOP seeks new corporate bailout?

The "fiscal cliff" coming in just days could mean massive tax hikes that kill honest energy businesses.

But Big Wind lobbyists are using the crisis to bail out Gang Green environmentalists.

They want Congress to continue the so-called "Wind Production Tax Credit," a handout created 20 years ago to help the wind energy industry "get off the ground."

Two decades later the wind energy industry hasn't gone anywhere.  Wind energy is a proven expensive failure, but politicians are continuing to hand them political favors while punishing honest energy employers.

Even worse, it appears Republicans will be the ones to bail out failing wind corporations while letting productive energy employers die at the hands of tax hikes and overregulation.

"(M)any House Republicans want to see the credit extended. With 81 percent of wind installations in GOP districts, there are a number of members who are under pressure to ensure the tax break survives," The Hill reports this morning.

It's up to you and I to stop them.  Again.

Please call your Congressman right now at 202-224-3121.

Tell them to REJECT any effort to extend the "Wind Production Tax Credit."

We shouldn't bail out expensive failures while letting affordable energy and good jobs die.  We need to save good jobs and affordable energy.

Call right now.

Sincerely,

Donald Ferguson
Executive Director
American Tradition Partnership

P.S.  Unlike anti-jobs groups like Greenpeace and The Sierra Club, pro-jobs advocate American Tradition Partnership does not seek or accept government funds.  We operate solely on the gifts of good friends like you.  We are are people-powered American grassroots organization, not a cabal of international leftist job-killers.

Help us keep fighting.  Go here to chip in $10 or more today.

Manziel speaks to the media for the first time

“My name is Johnny, and I’ve been playing football since I was six years old.”

UN meeting in Qatar to discuss new global limit on economic activity

United Nations bureaucrats are meeting in Doha, Qatar this week for a new global summit seeking to impose global taxes and caps on carbon dioxide emitted through economic activity.

The Obama administration has kicked off the event by promising aggressive new actions to limit economic activity in the United States.

The Guardian reports Obama representative to the conference Jonathan Pershing tells delegates "the Obama administration has taken a series of steps, including sharply increasing fuel efficiency standards for cars and trucks, and made good on promises of climate financing for poor countries."

The UN has taken past actions to limit carbon dioxide and curb economic activity, but none of these have affected global climate.

Rather than accept the scientific proof human activity is not altering the global climate, UN bureaucrats are using their failure to instead suggest they don't have enough power and are now pushing even more draconian restrictions on economic activity.

Supreme Court orders Fourth Circuit to hear challenge to ObamaCare

A key, and controversial, component of ObamaCare could soon be ruled upon by the Supreme Court.
The United States Supreme Court this morning ordered the U.S. Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals to hear a lawsuit brought by Liberty University challenging the constitutionality of ObamaCare's mandate forcing employers to finance their employees' birth control.

Liberty claims that mandate violates their constitutionally-guaranteeed right of free exercise of religion by forcing them to finance activities that conflict with their faith.  I agree.

When the Supreme Court last year ruled (incorrectly I believe) that ObamaCare's requirement all Americans buy health insurance or face a fine was constitutional under Congress' power to levy taxes, the court did not rule on whether the "contraception mandate" violated First Amendment protections of religious exercise.

Liberty's original case was dismissed by the Supreme Court when the Court ruled ObamaCare's insurance mandate was constitutional.  Liberty appealed to the Court to hear the case, citing the fact the employer and contraception mandates had not been ruled upon.  The Court agreed and this morning order the Fourth Circuit, based in Richmond, to hear the case.

The Fourth Circuit could hear the case next spring.  It has a reputation for ruling quickly, issuing a ruling in appeals cases in an average of just seven months.

Obama admin suggests stamping out alcohol consumption through 'calorie taxes'

The Taliban deemed alcohol a threat to public health.

As more cities and states seek to expand their control over what citizens eat and drink through 'soda taxes,' the federal government issued a study last week suggesting people who drink alcohol be subjected to the same controls.

The government study, conducted over four years through interviews with more than 11,000 American adults, claims that while soda and other sugary drinks are responsible for six percent of the average adult's calorie consumption, alcoholic beverages account for a nearly identical five percent.

"We've been focusing on sugar-sweetened beverages. This is something new,’" said Cynthia Ogden, an epidemiologist with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and a study author, tells the Associated Press.

The "Center for Science in the Public Interest," a special interest group dedicated to expanding governemnt controls on food consumption and other private behavior, is already using the findings to agitate for new government controls on alcohol labeling.

Anti-calorie activists like the CSPI are already using the study to push for federal regulations mandating calorie labeling on alcohol, along with punitive taxes on those who drink an alcoholic beverage.

"Health officials should think about enacting policies to limit alcoholic intake...said Margo Wootan, director of nutrition policy for the Center for Science in the Public Interest," the AP reports.

‘‘In New York City, it was smart to start with sugary drinks. Let’s see how it goes and then think about next steps,’’ Wooten crowed.

The federal government outlawed alcohol entirely in 1919 through a constitutional amendment, but repealed it in 1933 after prohibition led to a violent and bloody black market. 

But as with most government prohibition efforts, bureaucrats are finding it easier to control behavior through punitive taxation than criminalization.

In 2009 the Obama administration proposed a federal tax on calorie-loaded beverages as part of an effort to socially engineer the nation's health.  It was dropped after heated citizen opposition.

See Gang Green get 'Axed'

You can help expose the radical agenda of Gang Green with just one click.

Filmmaker J.D. King is currently working on "Axed,"  a documentary detailing how, in the name of "being green," our liberties, our private property rights, and our standards of living are constantly being chopped at and splintered away.

This could be a very powerful weapon as we turn the tide of public opinion against Gang Green's central planners.

King will document stories of individual Americans and natural resource based companies who are being sacrificed on a green altar. We also plan to meet with historians and experts on the subject.

As you can imagine Hollywood isn't too happy about "Axed," so no studio will fund it.

But we are.

I need you to go here and chip in as little as $5 to help King get "Axed" produced.

You may give more if you like, and I strongly recommend it.

ATP has no association or relationship with J.D. King or "Axed."  I just want to see Gang Green exposed for millions to see.

Do it now.  King only has three more days to get the film funded.

So go here to chip in $5 or more.

Sincerely,

Donald Ferguson
Executive Director
American Tradition Partnership

Obama spent $29 million digging 'just a big hole in the ground'

In a mad rush to churn out "shovel ready" projects for his "stimulus" bill before voters decided on his re-election, President Barack Obama spent $29 million building an Alaskan port that was missing something simple.

Electricity, running water and a road allowing people to reach it.

For $29 million dollars the American people got "mostly just a big hole in the ground, local radio station KUCB reports.

Usually the federal government will not fund port construction if there is no infrastructure to support the port, the Army Corps of Engineers tells KUCB.

“Yes. It’s not normal. And it has prevented the construction of harbors in the past, when that supporting infrastructure is not there," says Steve Boardman, head of the Corps’ civil projects division.

Building a road to reach the port won't happen for at least another two years, and that will come at a cost of $11 million per mile.  So far no one is willing to offer any money to build a road to reach "Port Obama."

Even if "Port Obama" is ever connected to a road, or to electricity, or to running water, there's no guarantee anyone will even want to use it.  The harbor will have 58 slips.  But locals only own five boats.

Originally posted at the Libertarian National Campaign Committee.

Postal Service posts $15.9 billion loss, and growing

The U.S. Postal Service will post a $15.9 billion net loss for the 2012 fiscal year, more than the $15 billion they had predicted.

“If Congress fails to act, there could be postal slowdowns or shutdowns that would have catastrophic consequences for the 8 million private sector workers whose jobs depend on the mail,” Art Sackler, co-coordinator of the Coalition for a 21st Century Postal Service, told Bloomberg News.

The Postal Service’s financial losses stand to grow even worse.  Revenue is shrinking as mail volume continues to drop, but employee costs are growing.  The USPS retirement account, previously estimated to hold a surplus that could cover losses, has come up $17.8 billion short.  The USPS has been defaulting on annual payments into the fund of around $5 billion.

USPS proposals to grow revenue and cut losses consist mainly of ending Saturday delivery and eliminating offices and branches, which will not stop the bleeding and could have a detrimental effect on the economy.

But not everyone in the USPS is seeing a loss. “(A)ll but one of the top five executives for the nation’s mail service had an overall compensation increase this year,” The Washington Times reports.
Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe saw his overall compensation grow from $384,229 in 2011 to $512,093 in 2012.  Chief Information Office Ellis Burgoyne’s total compensation exploded more than $270,000 last year to $510,505 in 2012.

Making matters worse is the fact you stop the wasteful spending by getting rid of mail delivery.  The economy depends on it.

Here's a better idea: Repeal federal laws granting the Postal Service a monopoly on first class, or “non-urgent” mail delivery.

Force the USPS to compete with FedEx, UPS and other parcel delivery companies.  Not only will it make the USPS undergo needed employee compensation reforms, it gives Americans an “escape hatch” should the Postal Service harshly cut back on service and/or increase rates.

Originally posted at the LNCC.

Pew study finds media practially campaigned for Obama

A study by the highly-respected Pew Research Center finds in the final days of the presidential election the mainstream media gave glowing coverage to Democrat nominee Barack Obama, and harshly negative coverage to Republican nominee Mitt Romney.

“During this final week, from October 29 to November 5, positive stories about Obama (29%) outnumbered negative ones (19%) by 10 points,” Pew reports. “Only during the week of his nominating convention was the treatment in the press more favorable.”

The mainstream media did not extend that courtesy to Romney.  “For Mitt Romney in the final week, the tone of coverage remained largely unchanged from the previous two weeks. Negative stories in the press outnumbered positive ones 33% to 16%,” Pew reports.

Not only did the mainstream media focus its Romney stories on the negative, they focused their attention on burying voters in positive stories on Obama at a level nearly unseen in previous elections.

“After receiving roughly identical levels of coverage for most of October, in the last week of campaigning Obama was a significant presence in eight out of 10 campaign stories compared with six in 10 for Romney – one of the biggest disparities in any week after Labor Day,” Pew finds.

Originally blogged at Congressman Steve Stockman.

Obama administration proposes scrapping limits on national debt

The Obama administration Friday proposed eliminating the "debt ceiling," allowing the federal government to increase spending and borrowing without limit.

CNS News reports journalist Al Hunt, host of Bloomberg TV's “Political Capital,” asked Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner if he believes “we ought to just eliminate the debt ceiling.”

“Oh, absolutely,” Geithner chimed.

It would be up to Congress to eliminate the debt ceiling.  Republicans and Democrats agreed last year to raise the debt limit by $2.4 trillion to a record $16.394 trillion.  "As of the close of business on Thursday, the Treasury had only $154.3 billion of that $2.4 trillion in new borrowing authority left," CNS reports.

Spending cuts the cure for budget, economic woes

The only way to avoid a “fiscal cliff” and relieve budget pressures in a way that grows the economy is to make serious spending cuts, says Washington Examiner writer Veronique DeRugy.

“(S)uccessful debt reduction measures are mostly made of spending cuts rather than a mix of spending cuts and tax increases,” writes DeRugy.

DeRugy points to two budget sectors that are driving deficits and in need of deep reform, entitlements and government workforce costs.

DeRugy also argues for spending cuts over tax hikes, citing research by Obama advisers showing a tax hike equaling one percent of GDP reduces GDP by three percent and the fact private investment have more confidence in spending curbs over tax hikes — giving the economy a shot of badly-needed confidence.

You may read DeRugy’s full column at http://washingtonexaminer.com/give-spending-cuts-a-chance/article/2513583#.UKf-GYWXKGg.

Originally posted at the Libertarian National Campaign Committee.

The United States are 'center-libertarian'

The conventional wisdom has long held the United States are a “center-right” nation.
But the results of last weeks elections are challenging that notion.

“After 32 straight losses for same-sex wedding laws, four states approved marriage-equality proposals last week. Two other states legalized marijuana for recreational purposes. Wisconsin elected the first openly homosexual U.S. senator in history, Tammy Baldwin,” The Los Angeles Times reports.

“But Americans appear to remain more receptive to conservative viewpoints on spending, debt and the size of government. A bare majority, 51%, of voters last Tuesday told exit pollsters that government should do less, with 43% saying it should do more.”

The Times comes to a promising conclusion:

“A more precise verdict would be that the majority of the country remains slightly right of center when it comes to supporting lower spending, decreased debt and smaller government.  But America appears to have shifted left of center in allowing more liberal policies on drugs and the institution of marriage. So, left on social issues and right on economics. If you eliminated the desire to tax the rich, it would sound like we had a center-libertarian nation.”

Obama announces new environmentalist attacks on the economy

President Barack Obama is so committed to the Gang Green agenda he held his first press conference in eight months to announce he would seek new job-killing limits on the amount of harmless carbon dioxide power plants produce.

"(E)nvironmentalists are hopeful that Obama will fashion a muscular agenda through existing administrative powers, such as expanding on rules that the Environmental Protection Agency has begun rolling out," The Hill reports.

"EPA has already floated draft carbon standards for new power plants, and a second-term agenda could include standards for existing plants, and regulations that address other large emitters."

Obama's dangerous anti-prosperity agenda is why American Tradition Partnership is seeking a roll call vote on the REINS Act, a common sense reform requiring any proposed federal regulation costing more than $100 million to be approved by Congress and signed by the President before it may be enacted.

Attack your opponent early - and often

This spring the Obama campaign was at a crossroads.

They had expected to be flush with cash pumped in by the online fundraising machine that helped Obama shatter fundraising records in 2008.

They had expected Mitt Romney to emerge from the Republican primaries irreparably damaged — defined in the minds of voters as an out-of-touch “vulture capitalist” who couldn’t relate to average voters.

Instead the Obama campaign was nearly broke, and most voters still hadn’t made up their mind just who Mitt Romney was.

Rather than wait, Obama and adviser David Axelrod went all in, gambling the campaign’s money on an early onslaught of attack ads that caught the Romney campaign by surprise.

Romney failed to react, eventually costing him the election as he was unable to shake the caricature the Obama campaign had painted of him.

You should do the same.

Don’t hesitate to attack your opponent.

In fact, relish it.

Voters may say they hate “negative advertising” but consultants keep doing it for one reason — it works.

And if your opponent has voted to raise taxes, explode spending, waste public funds, engage in unethical official behavior or other things that disqualify him in your mind, voters have a right it know that.

The earlier you bring it up, the better your odds will be of knocking him back on his heels.

That’s not to say you should call your opponent names, mock his or her physical appearance or bring up issues about his or her marriage or family.

Those are personal attacks.  And they often end up damaging you and helping your opponent.

Voters have a right to know why you are the best candidate, as well as why your opponent does not deserve to be in public office.

Attack your opponent early.

Attack your opponent often.

Attack your opponent with enthusiasm.

Most importantly, stick to the issues and make your attacks credible, believable and fully researched and documented.

My rule is “if Grandma would hate what I said more than what he did, don’t do it.”

Our freedom wasn’t won by people playing nice and sitting around a table “debating” each other.

Freedom must be fought for, and that’s how we will win it back.

How Obama did it

No President had ever won re-election with unemployment over eight percent.

But Obama coasted to a re-election victory last week.

How did he do it?

Simple.  As a former community organizer the Obama White House understands voter identification and mobilization like no other.

They understand you don’t need a majority of the people behind you to win — all you need is to get more people to the polls than the other guy.

That starts with identifying everyone who supports you.  The Obama campaign made that priority number one.

“Obama’s campaign probably spent $200 million to $250 million — a quarter of every dollar collected — to create a state-of-the-art voting profiling operation that allowed it to more accurately assess the electorate than standard polling,” POLITICO reports.

“Like generals with good intelligence, Obama campaign officials could move resources quickly around the battlefield — like the late deployment of volunteers to critical Cuyahoga County in Ohio.”

As he laid out in his 2005 book, Obama campaign manager David Plouffe took simple neighborhood-level political organizing and replicated it by an exponent of thousands to carry Obama to two historic election wins.

According to Obama adviser Jim Messina one Columbus, Ohio woman told him: “I know everybody in my neighborhood — the ones that will always vote, the ones who don’t — and what it takes to get them to vote,” the woman, a committed Obama volunteer since 2007, told him. She added, with a chuckle: “They just shipped in a Romney staffer a couple of weeks ago. … Who do you think is going to win around here?”

Do you know your neighborhood?

House will vote on overturning environmentalist ban on inhalers for sick kids

“Republicans are expected to call up H.R. 6190, the Asthma Inhalers Relief Act, on Tuesday. The bill would allow the sale of about 1 million remaining Primatene Mist inhalers, despite a ban on the sale of this product since the end of 2011,” The Hill reports.

“Primatene Mist had been used by asthma sufferers for decades, but it was banned under the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer, and also the Clean Air Act…The House Energy and Commerce Committee approved the bill by voice vote in August and said passage would allow the remaining 1 million inhalers to be sold.”

Since House rules must be suspended to bring up the bill, a two-thirds majority is needed to pass.

According to the Asthma and Allergy foundation asthma accounts for one-quarter of all emergency room visits in the U.S. each year, with 1.75 million emergency room visits.

There are more than 3,300 deaths due to asthma each year and asthma is indicated as “contributing factor” for nearly 7,000 other deaths each year.  Environmentalists still banned inhalers to treat attacks.

Democrat congressman whacks reporter in face during lecture on civility

Be sure to "like" this video on YouTube.  Democrats are trying to get YouTube to censor it.

In this video former Congressman Nick Lampson, the Democrat nominee for Congress in Texas' Fourteenth District, fields a question from a reporter on civility and tolerance. 

When the reporter asks Lampson if Democrats hold any responsibility for uncivil behavior Lampson says no, then slaps the camera back into the reporter's face.

Environmentalists illegally electioneering in Montana

Three "Gang Green" organizations, the League of Conservation Voters (LCV), Montana Conservation Voters and the political action committee "Montana Hunters and Anglers Leadership Fund" are illegally electioneering for the Libertarian candidate in the state's U.S. Senate race, hoping to throw the election in favor of unpopular Sen. Jon Tester (D-Mont.)

“Jon Tester and his liberal allies realize that Tester cannot win this election on his own, so they have engaged in illegal, deceptive practices in a desperate attempt to trick conservative voters,” Montana Republican Party spokesman Chris Shipp said Wednesday as the group filed suit in federal court alleging the groups failed to disclose their activities.

As pretty much the only group in Montana that obeys the law, ATP offers cash rewards for information leading to the arrest and conviction of Montana officials.

"The Montana GOP cited the PAC’s recent $146,358 mailing expense and a previous $410,000 contribution from LCV to the PAC as the basis for its complaint. It also noted the Hunters and Anglers PAC has ties to Tester and Sen. Max Baucus (D-Mont.)," The Hill reports.

ATP Responds to Frontline’s False Claims

American Tradition Partnership Responds to Frontline Story’s False Claims of Campaign Finance Violations
Coordinated smear campaign by political opponents revealed

October 30, 2012 –American Tradition Partnership (ATP) responded late Tuesday evening to the false claims of improper political activity alleged in this evening’s broadcast of “Big Sky, Big Money” on PBS’s Frontline.

“This is simply the latest unsubstantiated, well-coordinated attack on American Tradition Partnership, brought on by opponents of the work we do to educate grassroots citizens about important issues related to the environment, energy, and economic growth,” said Donald Ferguson, Executive Director of ATP. “Aside from wild conspiracy theories and willful misreadings of applicable campaign finance and nonprofit laws, tonight’s Frontline story simply revealed what most Montanans and Americans already knew: that radical anti-growth environmentalists aren’t the only ones who are free to organize, raise money, and communicate with the public on important policy topics.”

The Frontline story, as well as coordinated articles appearing online at the web sites of leftist groups ProPublica and the Center for Public Integrity, relies heavily on stolen documents . The documents apparently made their way from a car thief to a ‘meth house’ in Colorado, into the hands of Democratic Party operatives, and from there to the Montana Commission on Political Practices (COPP). ATP has not been allowed to see the documents to verify their authenticity, but has been able to confirm that many of the documents are not ATP-related but instead are connected with other clients of the consultant as well as an independent campaign consulting business owned by the consultant’s wife.

“It would be very interesting to know just how several media outlets were able to view stolen documents in the custody of the Montana Commission on Political Practices but no attempt was made to return them to their owners”, said Ferguson. “This looks to be just another example of corruption at the Commission and by the political establishment, who are enraged that the public are being told the truth.”

The head of Montana’s COPP is a direct appointee of the governor, unique among all states. The past three Commissioners have all been political allies of the current governor, including his campaign attorney and treasurer. One of the three was forced to resign this summer after engaging in illegal activities as Commissioner. Current Attorney General and Democratic gubernatorial nominee Steve Bullock has been repeatedly embarrassed in recent months by numerous losses to ATP and other citizens and groups as Montana’s unconstitutional campaign finance laws have been successfully challenged.

“Our success in challenging radical environmentalists and the grossly unconstitutional campaign finance system they and their allies rely on to stifle debate has won us some very powerful enemies,” Ferguson said. “While we’d prefer to see recognition for our hard work come in some form other than baseless smears and hysterical innuendo on national television, we’re proud of our efforts to educate grassroots citizens.”

Earlier today a judge blocked further release of the stolen documents. ATP has also notified state and federal law enforcement authorities about the illegal transfer and possession of stolen goods that was apparently undertaken by Democratic Party officials as well as the staff of Frontline, ProPublica, and the Center for Public Integrity.

"The COPP has held these documents for over a year and a half.  If there was any evidence of wrongdoing, why have they not acted on anything or made any accusations? The fact they reviewed the documents and refused to do or say anything proves, once again, ATP always obeys the law," said Ferguson.

"Additionally, if they've held these for over a year and a half the only reason to release them now is too coordinate with Attorney General Bullock's campaign for governor.  That is a crime," said Ferguson.

READ ABOUT CPI'S HISTORY OF UNETHICAL AND ILLEGAL SMEARS

* ABC News: Politico: CPI's Reporting Involved Possible Misdemeanor,
Paid Source http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/politico-cpis-reporting-involved-misdemeanor-paid-source/story?id=15087648#.UJB2SIWXKGg
(Source of false ATP attacks committed crime, violated journalistic
ethics)

* Washington Post: Center for Public Integrity changes its story
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/right-turn/post/center-for-public-integrity-changes-its-story/2011/03/29/gIQAX1ur6J_blog.html
(Source of false ATP attacks takes payoffs in exchange for reporting)

* POLITICO: Tuna and turmoil at CPI
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1211/69763.html (Source of false
ATP attacks committed crime)

* PBS Defends Use of Convicted Felon as Expert on Documentary
http://www.mrc.org/node/40532 (Source of false ATP attacks has history
of relying on convicted felons for reporting)

UPDATE: Bullock failed to track child predators, little progress seen after audit

After a government audit reveals one in four convicted sex offenders in Montana is not properly listed in the state Sexual or Violent Offender Registry run by Attorney General Steve Bullock [previously reported in the MT Statesman], little progress has been seen in correcting the problem. 

Under Bullock, more than one in four convicted sex offenders have eluded the sex offender registry.

1,289 convicted sexual or violent offenders are currently living in Montana communities, with parents and law enforcement unaware of their current location.

Bullock admitted his failure to the Audit Committee. “The buck stops here for running the registry,” Bullock confessed.

Bullock is legally responsible for notifying local law enforcement when an offender fails to update their address.

A follow up audit is scheduled to be released at the end of October.

Bullock took cash from corporations under investigation for fraud, bribery

Attorney General Steve Bullock is under investigation for taking a contribution to his campaign for governor from a New York corporation under investigation in 34 states for fraud.

Publishers Clearing House came under investigation in 2009 when it violated a 2001 settlement on charges of defrauding consumers.  When attorneys general in 34 states began investigating and seeking charges, PCH cut an illegal corporate check to Bullock, the documents states.

Bullock did not investigate his donor.  PCH eventually admitted they committed fraud and paid out $34 million.

Likewise, GSK also faced investigations in multiple states and cut checks to officials, including Arkansas.

“In 2006, Arkansas Medicaid restricted its coverage in off-label use of Advair by requiring that patients try another medication first.” the Arkansas Times reports.’

“‘Arkansas Medicaid determined that this restriction increased appropriate use of Advair and decreased Advair utilization by 25% without adverse impact on patient care,’ the US complaint reads. GSK then allegedly gave an untold sum of campaign donation dollars to an Arkansas lawmaker who introduced legislation to get rid of the restriction.”

"God save political donations," wrote one GSK employee to senior VP Stan Hull in an internal email.
GSK also sent checks to Bullock, which were illegal according to documents filed with the Commissioner of Political Practices.  At the time Bullock was negotiating with drug companies on charges of price-fixing.

Bullock also corporate PAC cash from GlaxoSmithKline on Dec. 15, 2009, Aug. 1, 2011 and June 4, 2012 at twice the legal limit, according to Commission documents.

Bullock Hired Tax Evading Friend To Run Justice Department

Attorney General Steve Bullock gave a top Justice Department job to a friend on legal probation for failing to pay thousands of dollars in state and federal income taxes over a period of years, the Helena Independent Record and other Montana newspapers report.

Bullock hired James P. Molloy to run the Consumer Protection Division despite the fact the Montana Supreme Court placed him on five years legal probation for “professional misconduct.”
Molloy repeatedly failed to pay state and federal income taxes between 1995 and 2005, the Independent Record reports.  He is now one of the state’s highest-paid employees.
“Steve Bullock hired someone who’s basically a felon to protect Montana consumers.  Why is the Attorney General associating with felons, much less giving them plush state jobs?” said ATP Executive Director Donald Ferguson.

Bullock also named Molloy Assistant Attorney General despite the fact Molloy is still on probation by the Montana Supreme Court.

Bullock later put Molloy in charge of arguing a campaign finance case against American Tradition Partnership in front of the same state Supreme Court that put him on probation.

In that case Bullock and Molloy made numerous demonstrably false charges against ATP.  The U.S. Supreme Court handed Bullock another embarrassing loss in that case.

“Bullock paid his felonious friend to tell lies about American Tradition Partnership in front of the same Supreme Court that put him on probation for lying to officials,” said Ferguson.

Bullock and Molloy have been long-time friends, sharing an office in Helena before Bullock’s narrow election as attorney general.  Bullock kept all questions about repeated tax evasions and probation out of the interview process for the job.

According to the Montana Supreme Court’s “Public Discipline List,” Molloy was publicly reprimanded and placed on five years probation effective March 11, 2009.  The case is “PR 08-0438.”
Bullock hired his friend just a few months after the probation for tax evasion was issued.

“As part of his probation, Molloy must provide the court's Office of Disciplinary Counsel copies of his state and federal taxes returns after he filed them,” the Missoulian newspaper reports.

ATP statement on PBS claims

BOZEMAN -- American Tradition Partnership Executive Director Donald Ferguson released the following statement Monday morning regarding bizarre and false claims made by PBS:

With days to go until Montanans vote, the activist group ProPublica has decided to release a misleading, sensationalist story built around personal property stolen from a car and delivered by a meth user to ATP's political opponents.  The story falsely links ATP to individual activities the organization has no connection to.

ATP always has, and always will, obey every applicable law.  As has been the case with every legal issue we have brought forward, this will be decided in ATP's favor for one simple reason - the law is always on our side.  In fact, ATP just won another court case this morning against the Commission on Political Practices for that exact reason.

ATP does not, and never will, tell voters which candidate to vote for.  ATP speaks on the issues, informing voters where candidates stand and of their public records.

Additionally, no candidate has any say or control over what ATP publishes.  I have never met or spoken to virtually all the candidates on the ballot.  Other than sending them a candidate questionnaire I have never communicated most of them.  The story itself admits there is no proof of coordination, and there is no coordination.

Additionally, I seriously doubt stolen property acquired by a meth user and spread around by political activists are true, accurate, unaltered and complete documents.  Earlier this year another liberal group stole documents from another free market environmental organization, the Heartland Institute, and proceeded to engage i forgery and fraud for the purposes of smearing conservatives for political gain (http://spectator.org/blog/2012/02/17/theft-and-apparent-forgery-of).

In the past Frontline has broken into computer databases for a story on tuna fishing and relied on the word of a convicted felon fired from an Atlanta dentistry clinic to smear private dentistry, without informing viewers.  ATP, on the other hand, has always obeyed every letter of every applicable law and eventually won every court case it has ever brought.

I would suggest the media tread carefully before publishing politically-timed stories built on stolen and possibly forged documents that are unrelated to ATP and distributed by a meth user, politicians and a program with a history of unethical and illegal practices.

Bullock steered $262K in state money to brother, himself; evidence now in hands of FBI investigators

> State, public documents show Bullock’s office gave $262K contract to company owned by his brother — and which pays him rent
> ‘Give it back, Steve’ says Ferguson of Bullock’s corrupt funds, ‘The office of governor could become Steve Bullock’s personal piggy bank’
> Documents now in the hands of FBI’s Public Corruption Unit
> Story and documentation will appear in the Montana Statesman, mailed to 120,000 homes

BOZEMAN — American Tradition Partnership turned over to the FBI’s Public Corruption Unit Sunday several state and public documents detailing how in 2010 Attorney General Steve Bullock’s Justice Department steered a $262,017.38 state contract to an “environmental services” business owned by Bullock’s brother, and which pays rent to a building owned by Steve Bullock himself.

“It appears Attorney General Bullock is handing state contracts to his brother’s company which he personally profits from,” said ATP Executive Director Donald Ferguson. “At best using your state position to funnel cash to your brother and yourself is a serious breach of ethics and the public trust.  At worst Attorney General Bullock may very well have committed a crime.  These are the kinds of dealings the FBI’s Public Corruption Unit investigates, and prosecutes.”

Additionally, Montana Code 2-2-105(4) states “a public officer or public employee may not acquire an interest in any business or undertaking that the officer or employee has reason to believe may be directly and substantially affected to its economic benefit by official action to be taken by the officer’s or employee’s agency. ”

“We encourage a robust and thorough investigation of Mr. Bullock, and we call on Mr. Bullock to cooperate with the FBI,” said Ferguson.  “Mr. Bullock could very well spend 2013 and beyond under FBI investigation, or worse.”

ATP will report the story, and release the documents, in this week’s edition of the Montana Statesman newspaper, which is mailed to 120,000 homes in Montana.  The documents will be available online Monday at montanastatesman.com/bullockdisclosure.

“Give it back, Steve,” said Ferguson of any rent paid to him by Pioneer Tech.  “Unless he and his brother divest themselves of the Hermann Building and Pioneer Tech, as governor Steve Bullock would be free to steer contracts from anywhere in the state government to his brother and himself,” said Ferguson.

“The office of governor could become Steve Bullock’s personal piggy bank.”

“For years ATP’s candidate surveys have asked candidates if he or she or a close relative stands to personally profit off any government ‘green’ program,” said Ferguson.  “No wonder Bullock refused to answer that question.  He would have to reveal his corrupt contract scheme.”

“These kinds of corrupt deals have become Steve Bullock’s calling card,” said Ferguson of Bullock, who was admonished in 2009 by the federal Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit for using his office to engage in the “petty bureaucratic harassment” of a Helena church and whose campaign was last week found guilty by the Commission on Political Practices of passing 11 illegal checks totaling over $15,000.

State documents show in April of 2010 the Justice Department, run by Bullock, awarded a Natural Resource Damage Program contract to an environmental services company, “Pioneer Technical Services” of Butte.  The total value of the contract, according to the documents, was $262,017.38 for eight months of work.

Also known as Pioneer Tech, it is owned by Bill Bullock, Steve Bullock’s brother.  Steve Bullock can be seen on video during a Sept. 2010 state conference praising his brother for creating Pioneer Tech.
“In 1992, in the basement of a house here in Butte, my older brother started a business, Pioneer Tech,” said Bullock.    The tape of Bullock admitting Pioneer’s ownership may be viewed online at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vbi16AtVWC4#t=08m15s.

Not only did Bullock direct state funds to his brother, Pioneer appears to rent office space from Steve Bullock himself.

On its website, www.pioneer-technical.com/offices/offices.htm, Pioneer Tech lists its Helena office as “(Hermann Building) 201 E. Broadway.”

Both Bullock’s 2008 and 2012 state financial disclosure forms list him as an owner of the “Hermann Building” at “201 E. Broadway.”

That means Attorney General Bullock is handing state contracts to a company that pays him rent, personally profiting from a state contractor – who is also his brother.

The scandal may be much larger.  That state contract is just one of several paid out to Pioneer Tech, including what appear to be several more from Bullock’s Justice Department.

The information was sent to the FBI via email Sunday, and will be Express Mailed Monday morning.