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debrahnesbit · 5 years

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What Comes Next for Canadian Digital Policy Under a Liberal Minority Government?

In the closing months of the last Liberal majority government mandate, I spoke to a government official about the lessons learned from the prior four years. Their response? If we knew then what we know now, we would have moved much faster on policy. The four years moves very quickly and if you don’t manage to lay the groundwork and introduce proposed legislation within the first 12 – 24 months, it becomes very difficult to enact given competing policy priorities, demands on committee time, Senate review, and a myriad of other challenges.

As I think about what comes next for Canadian digital policy under the new Liberal minority government, those words strike me as more relevant than ever. Even if the government runs more like a majority than a minority (which certainly seems likely on digital policy as no one is forcing an election over privacy or wireless pricing), the same ministers return to their portfolios (which may or may not happen) and the same committee structures return largely unchanged (which will not happen since that INDU chair Dan Ruimy was not re-elected), picking up where the government left off in June will not be easy. Further, the Liberal platform provides the roadmap for future reforms, but moving rapidly on these issues – particularly given expectations that a minority government’s mandate may run shorter than a majority – suggests that quick wins will be preferred to extensive legislative reform.

So what are likely next steps on digital policy?

During the election campaign, I wrote an op-ed comparing the Liberal and Conservative proposals and discussed the various platforms on my podcast in a conversation with OpenMedia’s Laura Tribe. There are at least six areas of potential focus with considerable overlap between them: telecom and broadband, privacy, culture, tech company regulation and taxation, copyright, and international policy.

Telecom and Broadband Access

The telecom file garnered considerable attention during the campaign as most parties (Conservatives excluded) took turns promising to lower wireless and Internet costs. I also wrote an op-ed on wireless policies, summarizing the Liberal plan as:

Meanwhile, the Liberals launched their own proposal over the weekend with a promise to cut prices by 25 per cent over the next four years. Rather than relying on price caps, the party says it plans to work with the carriers “to offer plans comparable to global prices, plus an unlimited family plan”, create new competition by mandating wholesale access for new mobile virtual network operators (MVNOs) that pay for access to existing networks but offer their own pricing and plans, and set-aside future spectrum to make it easier for new entrants to enter the marketplace.

The op-ed identifies several ways to make the plan more effective, including greater certainty on the telecom policy direction, fully opening the market to competition, rejecting new fees on wireless and Internet services, and use affordability as a foundation for telecom policy.

The likely outcome is that the government will wait for the CRTC’s MVNO process to take shape and monitor pricing data over the next 24 months. When combined with reform recommendations from the Broadcasting and Telecommunications Legislative Review Panel (report due in January 2020), the government is unlikely to introduce major changes until for at least one year, likely two. It will be too late for a major overhaul by that time, but assuming change is desired, quick wins would include expanded MVNO competition, the 3500 MHz spectrum auction that is viewed as essential for 5G implementation, and naming a new CRTC chair in 2022 when the term of current chair Ian Scott comes to an end.

As for broadband access, the Liberal approach is well established with programs designed to provide funding for rural broadband initiatives and a commitment to universal, affordable broadband access by 2030. Given the timeline, major changes from the current path would be a surprise.

Privacy

The Liberal platform identifies its Digital Charter, introduced earlier this year, as the basis for future reforms. The Charter envisioned privacy reform post-election, including changes to consent standards, stronger enforcement, and data portability. The platform also promises a new Data Commissioner, though it remains unclear how that role would intersect with the federal privacy commissioner.

While the document provides a reasonable starting point for discussion, further consultation seems likely before any new bill is tabled at the House of Commons. Indeed, the best case for privacy reform would be for formal consultations based on the Digital Charter to wrap up by the fall of 2020 with legislation introduced before the end of the year. Privacy reform can be contentious, however, and slipping into 2021 is a distinct possibility. If that happens, there is a real risk that the legislative clock will run out on the bill before it can be enacted as heavy lobbying on virtually any significant reform is a near-certainty. Should that happen, pressure from the European Union on the adequacy of Canadian privacy law is likely to intensify.

Culture

The Liberal platform devoted a specific section to culture, promising to strengthen the CBC’s regional mandate, open up the CBC digital platform for journalism startups and community newspapers, and increase Telefilm funding. Yet the most important – and likely contentious issue – involves Internet companies:

move forward, in our first year, with legislation that will take appropriate measures to ensure that all content providers – including internet giants – offer meaningful levels of Canadian content in their catalogues, contribute to the creation of Canadian content in both official languages, and promote this content and make it easily accessible on their platforms.

This commitment is notable for the inclusion of a timeline (first year of the mandate), who it covers, and the flexibility in the requirement. While something is coming in the first year – the government will presumably wait for the final report from the Broadcasting and Telecommunications Legislative Review Panel in January 2020 before acting – the specific language is somewhat ambiguous, stating it will ensure meaningful levels of Canadian content, contribution to the creation of Canadian content, and promotion of that content. Further, it applies solely to content providers, thereby excluding Internet and wireless providers from its ambit.

Companies such as Netflix could argue they already meet these standards given that they offer considerable Canadian content, spend hundreds of millions on productions each year in Canada, and promote that content on their platforms. It goes without saying that cultural groups would like the government to ignore data that indicates record investment in production in Canada and to mandate commitments that go far beyond current expenditures in the form of contributions to funding programs. There is a risk in doing so, however, since the USMCA might allow the U.S. to retaliate with measures of “equivalent commercial effect.” The net effect could be hundreds of millions of retaliatory tariffs or measures against Canadian goods and services.

Tech company regulation and taxation

As I noted during the campaign, the Liberal platform marked a dramatic shift in approach to technology companies, shifting from an emphasis on innovation to regulation. The platform features several technology regulation proposals, including a promise to introduce new legal requirements “that all platforms remove illegal content, including hate speech, within 24 hours or face significant financial penalties.” The policy, which borrows from similar rules in Germany, is intended to put pressure Internet platforms to more aggressively remove online content. The platform also promises greater labour protections for people who work through digital platforms, though most of those workers will fall under provincial jurisdiction.

The Liberals have also promised to address taxation, though their proposals also provide some flexibility. The platform commitment states:

make sure that multinational tech giants pay corporate tax on the revenue they generate in Canada. We will also work to achieve the standard set by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) to ensure that international digital corporations whose products are consumed in Canada collect and remit the same level of sales taxation as Canadian digital corporations.

According to the Parliamentary Budget Officer costing exercise, the corporate tax proposal would take effect on April 1, 2020 with a three per cent tax on targeted advertising services and digital intermediation services with global revenues of over $1 billion and Canadian revenues of more than $40 million. This would cover search and social media services, but the scope of “digital intermediation services” is uncertain. For example, it seems unlikely to cover a content provider such as Netflix.

As for digital sales taxes, those are likely coming but only after international standards are developed. In fact, the Liberal platform commits only to working with the OECD to establish a standard, not actually implementing digital sales taxes.

Copyright did not figure prominently in any major party platform and only made an appearance in the campaign toward the very end with the CBC’s ill-advised lawsuit against the Conservative Party. The lawsuit is unlikely to dissuade parties from using copyright works in their campaign materials, but may succeed in demonstrating the importance of a robust fair dealing provision in the law. Indeed, expanding the fair dealing provision was one of the recommendations of the copyright review.

Having just completed the review, the government is unlikely to prioritize major reforms early in its mandate. The review recommended many reforms (as well as further study of some issues) but a copyright overhaul would be difficult in a minority government environment. In fact, the most notable copyright issue may arise from the potential ratification of the USMCA. Should that trade deal proceed, Canada has two years to implement copyright term extension with the prospect of adopting innovative approaches that meet the treaty requirements and safeguard large portions of the public domain by instituting a registration requirement. That approach would be consistent with the copyright review recommendation and will receive attention as the deadline for implementation gets closer.

International Policy

The Liberal platform references several international policies that intersect with digital issues. As noted above, there is a commitment to work with the OECD to develop global standards on digital sales taxation. Similarly, the technology company regulation rules around content moderation and takedowns are derived from international discussions with countries such as Germany, France, and New Zealand.

In a commitment that would bring a smile to my late colleague Ian Kerr, the Liberals also promise to support a ban on lethal autonomous weapons:

take a leadership role in ensuring the ethical use of new technology, by developing and supporting international protocols to ban the development and use of fully autonomous weapons systems;

The commitment is consistent with its earlier emphasis on ethics and artificial intelligence. While there is much work to do to bring other countries on board, it suggests that Canada hopes to play an important role in developing emerging global technology policies.

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syrtissolutions · 6 years

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A MEDICAID EXPANSION ROUND-UP

During the course of the 2016 Presidential campaign and shortly after entering office, President Trump was set on repealing the ACA's provisions for Medicaid expansion. As a matter of fact, President Trump and the supervisor of The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), Seema Verma, are presently considering waivers to the Medicaid program that the prior administration rejected. In spite of the Trump administrations unsuccessful efforts to reform Medicaid on the federal level, a number of states are making attempts to expand their programs. Below is a summary of states in various stages of expansion discussions.

STATES THAT ARE CONSIDERING MEDICAID EXPANSION

Nebraska:

Over the last six years, any attempts to expand Nebraska's Medicaid program have failed because of the Republican leadership. Republican Governors, Pete Ricketts and his predecessor Dave Heineman both argued that the state could not afford to expand Medicaid. In addition, they think that expanding Medicaid would favor able-bodied citizens as opposed to low-income residents, for whom the program was designed.

However, that may all change this November at the polls. Right now, there are several healthcare associations and advocacy groups in the process of gathering signatures from citizens to secure a proposal under the Insure the Good Life Petition. Having seen the effectiveness of Maine's ballot initiative, proponents in Nebraska are gaining confidence that they will generate a similar result. In order for the proposal to be featured on the ballot, a total of 85,000 signatures from registered voters are required by July 6, 2018. According to Insure the Good Life planners, citizens have been receptive to the idea of expanding Medicaid.

Idaho: Despite opposition from the Republican-leaning legislature, Idaho activists are seeking to expand their Medicaid program to 78,000 residents under the ACA with a ballot initiative. Expanding the program would serve to cover Idahoans who fall into a coverage gap because they make too much money to be eligible for Medicaid but not enough to be given subsidized health insurance in the exchange.

In order to get on the November 6th ballot, advocacy groups had to secure a minimum of 56,192 signatures from 18 districts around the state by May 1, 2018. The advocacy groups submitted the signatures before the deadline and say they have the required threshold needed to land a place on November's ballot. At this point, the signatures will need to be authenticated by county clerks before June 30th, in order for the expansion proposal to be voted on.

While expectations are high among supporters, implementation of expansion will fall on the governor and state lawmakers; additionally, they have the authority to overturn voter-passed initiatives. Republican candidate, Rep. Raul Labrador will oppose the expansion initiative if he is elected. According to Labrador," I think that they need to be informed about what Medicaid expansion would do for the state. If you look at every single state that has expanded Medicaid, they're spending more money than they expected to spend ... and that's taking away money from all the other needs."

Utah: Despite having the available federal funding and the states Republican Governor, Gary Herbert's ( R - UT) support of Medicaid expansion, there has been enough resistance from the state legislature in Utah to prevent any expansion momentum. Supporters of expanding Medicaid in Utah pushed back by passing a ballot initiative much like Maine's.

Aside from that, Governor Herbert also endorsed the HB472 bill. The bill seeks authorization from the federal government to expand his states Medicaid program to 100% of the federal poverty level (FPL) while also implementing work requirements in order to deal with the coverage gap. Expanding that states program to 100% of the FPL would extend coverage to 72,000 residents by 2020 instead of 150,000 under 138% FPL. If the bill successfully passes, Utah's out of pocket costs would be far less than if their program expanded to 138% FPL.

Arkansas proposed a similar plan that would have capped eligibility at poverty level instead of 138% of the FPL. CMS did not sign off on the request and it is unlikely that CMS will support the governor's bill since the federal government has only approved these types of requests under the condition that states expand to 138% of the FPL.

While the governor's administration would like to get approval for the bill, Utah voters will also have an opportunity to weigh in at the ballot boxes in November to fully expand Medicaid to the 138% FPL.

Virginia: In February, The Virginia House of Delegates voted and approved a budget adopting ACA Medicaid expansion along with work requirements for enrollees. However, Virginia's Senate budget didn't include arrangements for expansion. Due to the split support for Medicaid expansion, the Virginia legislature was unable to finalize a budget. Because of this, the implementation of Medicaid expansion and Virginia's FY 2019 budget are currently deadlocked. It has been almost two months since Virginia's General Assembly adjourned without consensus.

On May 14th, the Senate met for a special session to discuss a spending plan and the Senate Finance Committee will proceed with work on the budget today. The entire Senate will reconvene on May 22. In order for Virginia to expand its Medicaid program, there will need to be a majority vote in both the House and Senate. If Virginia lawmakers cannot come to an agreement by June 30th, the state will experience its first government shutdown.

LEGISLATIVE DEADLOCK IN MAINE DESPITE ADOPTING MEDICAID EXPANSION

Maine's Medicaid program, MainCare, was approved for expansion last November through a ballot initiative. Voters supported the expansion by 59%. However, for 80,000 low-income citizens who would have been eligible for coverage, the state missed the state plan amendment submission deadline to CMS (April 3, 2018). The legislature is currently facing a deadlock as a result of Governor LePage's (R) resistance to expansion.

After the vote, the governor declared, "this fiscally irresponsible Medicaid expansion will be ruinous to Maine's budget."

Under the law, it is estimated that Maine would spend $55,000,000 yearly on the program and the federal government would cover at least 90% of the cost of MainCare's new enrollees. LePage asserts that the cost of the expansion is double the amount estimated by the state legislature and refuses to implement the plan unless his stipulations are met.

LePage's stipulations include:

• That taxes will not increase • Stabilization money funds won't be utilized • The funding mechanism will be ongoing • Waiting lists for the disabled and elderly are fulfilled prior to Medicaid eligibility expansion.

As a result of Governor LePage's resistance, Maine Equal Justice Partners (MEJP) has submitted a lawsuit against DHHS for failure to act. MEJP argues that the administration is refusing residents coverage that is mandated by law. They are afraid that an estimated 70,000 low-income residents seeking coverage will not be able to enroll by the next deadline, July 2, 2018. Maine's State Attorney General, Janet Mills, declined to represent the governor in the lawsuit. Even so, she did permit LePage's request to seek outside counsel for representation in the case.

The landscape of Medicaid is changing as reformists submit waivers and implement work requirements. Additionally, Republican leadership across the country is resisting Medicaid expansion, strongly believing that it goes against the programs original purpose. In spite of the GOP's opposition, there is a tremendous amount of activity amongst expansion advocates to expand their state's Medicaid programs. Through ballot initiatives, voters are stepping out in front of their legislatures to voice their support for expansion at the polls this coming fall.

Click here to discover more.

#medicaid expansion #syrtis solutions #virginia medicaid expansion #nebraska medicaid expansion #utah medicaid expansion #maine medicaid expansion #idaho medicaid expansion

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lovesimos · 6 years

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Looked at Michael Jackson from a wider perspective, as he throws into the New Millennium, it is noted he was no longer the man who shared the podium with the then president of the United States, Ronald Reagan; ten years later, aside the new artistic maturity and quality of production contents, he was “poorer”.

The New Economy of Internet, the dot.com, the iPod, the cell phones and the Palm Pilot was the 1990s American illusion led by private-sector spending and private-sector employment. In the attempt to exploit the services arising from investment and speculation, Michael Jackson’s revenue streams became financialized from 1995 onwards. It was a fashionable exercise for many others wealthy Americans. It was a way to stay relevant through the transition of the American Economy from Industrial Capitalism to the financialized Bubble Economy that around 2000 lead the world into what the “Great Recession”.

Finance is a discipline often confused with accounting but contrary to the boring accounting entries, study the processes of monetary flows can be pretty creative. And in mid ’90 “finance” got creative.

Maybe too much… In the wake of the New Economy financial institutions began marketing mortgages-backed securities and sophisticated derivative products at unprecedented levels.

In just a few years, they doubled the amount of money and debt in the economy. Lending large sums of money, especially into the property market, pushed up the price of houses along with the level of personal debt.

One form of financial creativity apparently suitable to Michael Jackson came straight from Wall Street: the David Bowie bonds is the best example of securitization of intellectual property of that time. Michael Jackson didn’t have the opportunity to jump on that wagon even if it was reported he had thought about many times. Unfortunately, he was already entangled in something more conservative and maybe not planned at best for his personal and corporate need.

How it all began:

In November 1995, after the merger of ATV catalogs with Sony Publishing catalogs, Sony Venture Capital Corporation – an investment arm of Sony Corporation – issued to Bank of America a bank guarantee in favor of Michael Jackson to facilitate corporate loans and serve fresh working capital.

The guarantee amount was of abt 148 million of dollars. Media reported that Michael Jackson had received about 90 million from the transaction reached with Sony and its affiliated. To reach 50% membership in the newborn Sony/ATV, Sony had to put on table 115 million. That shows how valuable the about Michael Jackson’s 4000 songs was, compared to Sony Publishing. Mr. Branca confirmed.

In a deposition of February 2017 during the trial with IRS, Mr. Branca summed up Sony/ATV rules and provisions, if it wasn’t for some crucial omissions, due to his “labile memory”.

Exhibit B of Sony/ATV Operating agreement describes the ownership percentage by catalog and country, no amount mentioned. (equalizing partnership).

Six and a half million annual payment guaranteed to MJ, providing all other company expenses paid.

Sony Music Entertainment operated the company at a cost of 10% higher than any other publishing company and 50% of these hefty expenses was for Michael Jackson account.

The shareholders could not buy each other… for 10 years which lapsed in December 2005.

As already described in other blogs Sony made substantial cash injections but inside the company (Sony/ATV) not to Michael Jackson. And by the minute the company became operative, Sony Music Entertainment (SME) started charging the company (Sony ATV) with administrative expenses and other extraordinary cotillons.

Sea of pink petals at Kyoto

It should also be clarified that Sony itself did not collect money under the petals of Kyoto trees but they were borrowing from banks, like Michael Jackson. Make this kind of exercise – purchase new catalogs for company project expansion and the heavy operating costs of the company, generated huge company liabilities, resulting in a lower market value of the whole catalog and good tax benefits. And Michael Jackson handled half of all of it. The term “merge” means to combine or join together, and that’s what happened between ATV catalogs & Sony publishing.

There were rumors that later in 1997 MJ yielded another 2% of his foreign catalogs to Sony and therefore the Joint-Venture situation would be reversed. There are NO documents either amendments in the “operating agreement” that confirm the transaction. All the loans describe a 50% membership by both parties.

On this other hands, it should be clear by now that when search informations on Michael Jackson, we mostly find hacked and manipulated news. In synthesis bull shits spread around by whom had interested to put down MJ reputation. An evil quirk that Sony must’ve developed within the company’s compliances.

Michael Jackson financial “pressure” as Mr. Branca called it, was lawsuits against him piled up in between ’92 and ’94.

L.A. Gear filed a $10 million suit against Michael Jackson and his companies, accusing him of fraud and breach of contract in a deal for a failed line of sneakers. Promoter Marcel Avram sued for $20 million for cancelling his “Dangerous” world tour. A Chilean promotions company sued for $5 million for cancelling two concerts of the Dangerous Tour, one in Chile and another in Peru. Smith-Hemion Productions sued the Jackson family for the musical benefit show “Jackson Family Honors”. All lawsuits settled around 1994.

Most of the issues came from Evan Chandler blackmail and extortion. MJ had to pay a reported estimate amount of circa 20 million of dollars, not to mention the huge amounts disbursed to lawyers and investigators. It was enough to burn almost his entire business and career and the weight of the whole period crashed his soul and his confidence.

The (Never Neverland) 115 million

Unlike talent or genius, stupidity cannot be hidden and the urgency of manifestation belongs to its nature: Zia Modabber, an attorney that despite being fired by Michael Jackson for negligence due to the incompetent preparation about the Avram lawsuit appeal in 2002, still works for MJ Estate, involuntarily confirms that between 1995 and 1998 not even a shadow of this 115 cash got into Michael Jackson coffers, apart from the incomes of the History Tour and the related album.

If he had received 115 million on his bank accounts, what was the reason to borrow almost immediately the first 90 million? He would not have such a “burn rate” issue. He would have cleared out the old and the pending matters and started off with a clean slate. Instead, as I can see from documents and testimonies, he merged his ATV shares against a guaranteed loan. In The Operating Agreement NO trace of CASH if not for 13 million representing 2 years of guaranteed advance and few others amounts not related to the Joint & Venture.

Although Sony intentions and plans are clear, I don’t know what Mr. Branca had in mind suggesting him not to sell. True is that the value of Sony ATV raised up sharply in the next few years – as well the corporate company debts – but sometimes – having seen how things developed between Sony & MJ – “a small amount of cash on the nail rather than a large amount sometime in the never-never future” is the best choice.

It looks as Michael Jackson entourage didn’t plan based on his corporate need and standard of life or worst they planned on volatile instruments or other deals fallen through. However, looking back to the amounts and dates of Bank of America loans, correspond likely to a financial project built around a table, with all the participants interested to exploit the publishing catalogs the same fashion of commodities and derivates. (Sony included).

Alternatively, it was been a long range of “operations” finalized to corner him and to strip away his assets. Or something in the middle – sometimes it start with the best intentions and then the targets change course – However, these loans were not opened to cover the holes of a pathological big spender as media, books, biographers keep claiming.

The Loan Guaranteed BY 50% of Sony/ATV

In 1995 the company “owner of ATV catalogs was MJ LLC, a Delaware limited company. The loan term had a due date December 2005.

Note: a long-term loan provides working capital to a business it can use to purchase assets, which can then create additional income for the business. A company takes on long-term debt to obtain immediate capital. A long-term loan provides higher loan amounts, a lower interest rate, involve collateral submission, repayment in installments and tax benefits.

Between 1995 and 1998 there were three restated and consolidated loan amendments due to amount increase and documents revision. The structure of Michael Jackson business undergone to various modifications and some new trusts were created. The loan of 140 million consolidated in 1998 bore a Prime Rate of interest at 6.16% per annum.

Before you think Michael Jackson touched the entire amount, a bitter interlude needs to be open which is not the bank interest rate but the commissions Michael Jackson “vultures” team used to take. In this period, “the chosen ones” able to grab “candies” happened to be Mr. Lee & Mr. Branca, at least.

The documents tell that Mr. Branca, as per agency agreement with Michael Jackson, among other things, used to pocket 5% of the principal amount of the loan. Besides it, he was entitled to take directly by Sony/ATV as follows:

5% of all MJ “guaranteed advance”

5% of all MJ “excess of cash flow”

5% of the “Put Price” amount, if the clause would ever exercised.

To facilitate the 1998 loan documentation, he “generously” waived the direct payments from Sony until September 2005, to reclaim the whole “package” – principal capital and accrued interests – duly at the expiring date by issuing a UCC lien for 50 million of dollars over all Michael Jackson publishing assets.

Business is business: especially in the United States and Michael Jackson was a smart businessman, no doubt on this; but here there is a deep consideration to make: these two were friends once.

Why Mr. Branca needed to reiterate his very existence in Michael Jackson life in that way and at the very time when MJ was already up to his neck in it? It was not about the money. It would make little sense. Mr. Branca got away with 13.5 million – not with the original amount requested – and without making additional troubles.

So what it was: a revenge? Power affirmation? (you fired me but I exist). Or he was part of the already in motion mechanism to open the bankruptcy procedure and compel MJ to sell off all to Sony? The contract enforcement was a means, the motivations might be others. Who thinks Mr. Branca made this action for greed is a naïve, narrow mind. These people do not need money and do not sue for money. Power, revenge and favoritisms are much more likely.

In February 1999 there was another change in the Michael Jackson Trust structures. The company MJ LLC merged into the newly constituted MJ-ATV Publishing Trust.

On December 2000, there was an additional amount added to this loan in the principal amount of 45 million. The loan bore Prime Rate of interest at 7.14% per annum.

On September 30, 2002, a third loan of principal amount of 11’650 million. The loan bore prime rate of interest at 1 month LIBOR + 2.00% per annum. With it, there was the second amendment reinstated and consolidate loan and agreement for a whole 200 million. A fourth loan by September 2005 was already planned in the loan agreement.

Why going from a fixed rate on a fluctuating one? Because in 2002 the LIBOR rate was lower than the US prime rate and although floating there was good chances of speculation.

With a hedging contract, the risks of an increase in rates should limit the damage.

These two videos are a general introduction suiting who’s not involved in such activities but wish to have a rough understanding. In short: Libor + spread rate, the hedge contract costs, the amendments cost and banks services: everything for MJ accounts. Absolutely normal, just financial practices. Banks always covers themselves. However, Michael Jackson’s Bank of America loan was really overcollateralized. Here the details:

Collaterals pledged

MJ-ATV Trust pledged to Bank Of America all MJ ATV’s rights, titles, and interest in Sony/ATV. That meant all the economic interest in Sony/ATV, all distributions, all deposit accounts, including the interest-bearing the cash collateral account. All security accounts and investment accounts, all notes, certificates of deposit, deposits, accounts, checks.

Account Collateral: all interests, dividends, cash, instruments and other property from time to time received and receivable.

All the rights to the Hedge Contract Agreement.

The right to exercise the “put option” set forth in Section 7. 9 of the Operating Agreement of Sony/ATV

Debtor’s Covenants

Until full payment of all obligations under the loan, MJ-ATV Trust could not, without the prior written consent of Bank Of America sell, lease, assign, trade, dispose or transfer any portion of its assets.

MJ/ATV Trust had to agree, that payments in connection with Sony ATV Operating A could be made directly to the Cash Collateral Account. All payments received by the MJ ATV in connection with the Operating Agreement had to be received in trustier the benefit of the Bank, be segregated from other funds and be forthwith paid over to the Bank in the same loan as received.

MJ ATV had obligations to maintaining the cash collateral and investment accounts. Had to perform and observe any term provision of Sony ATV Operating Agreement to be performed relating to the collateral company. Had to deliver to the bank all the financial statements relating Sony ATV, inform if he received any “guaranteed advance” or “Excess guaranteed advances” specifying the amount.

If an event of default occurred where MJ-ATV failed to pay in full when due principal or interest due, Bank Of America had the right to resort to any or all of the Collateral and to exercise any the rights of the secured party. At its discretion, the bank could sell MJ/ATV’s interest in Sony/ATV within commercially reasonable terms .

If the MJ ATV would have failed to pay the outstanding principal amount and the interests of the Loan at maturity date, the Bank had the right, at anytime from and after December 21, 2005, and within to February 21, 2006 (the “exercise Period’), to exercise the Put Option under Section 7.9 of the Sony ATV Operating Agreement, causing MJ ATV to sell to the Sony Music Publishing his Membership Interest .The Bank would have received the entire Put Price.

Apart from the old infos I read in countless of “investigations”, articles and books trying to give reasons to it not knowing about some crucial contracts clauses, in real Sony played long with MJ.

The bank had Sony involved to pay the principal loan amount, only in case MJ would have defaulted. But it is crystal clear that the whole loan focused on the expansion project and the grown on value of Sony/ATV which is a classic financial speculation.

The documents tell that MJ never touched the “guaranteed distributions” in 10 years due to the bank agreement. That’s why Mr. Branca talks about “a forced saving“.

However “someone” touched those moneys, or did not transfer sufficient amounts, since too often there was never enough to cover the interests. And this is not an opinion. There are at least four key testimonies, of which one of the MAN himself, who say money is missing.

The profits of the exploitation of Sony/ATV would have been a successful outcome for Michael Jackson only if the distributions would have been equally allocated among the shareholders. It wasn’t like that at all.

“Just as taking out a new loan creates money, the repayment of bank loans destroys money… Banks making loans and consumers repaying them are the most significant ways in which bank deposits are created and destroyed in the modern economy.” (Money Creation in the Modern Economy, Bank of England p3-4)

Sources:

Transcript MJ Estate v/s IRS John Branca – Zia Modabber – teammichaeljackson.com

Unfinished Business – Judith Hamera

Sony/ATV Operating Agreement – BOA Security Agreement 98/2002

The Road to America’s Economic Meltdown – Raymond Beresford Hamilton

Michael Jackson and Bank of America Ten Years Loan Looked at Michael Jackson from a wider perspective, as he throws into the New Millennium, it is noted he was no longer the man who shared the podium with the then president of the United States, Ronald Reagan; ten years later, aside the new artistic…

#assets #atv #bank of america #bankruptcy #Contracts Hedging #fake news #IRS #LIBOR #Loans #Long terms Loan #media bias #michael jackson #Michael Jackson Legacy #sensationalism #sony #tabloids #The Estate of Michael Jackson #trial #truth

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georgecoomes47-blog · 6 years

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One health and fitness trainer attempted to offer me his instruction solutions as if I was actually an amateur to exercise exercises. In order for the freezing injunction to be given there must be actually a considerable root cause of activity reasonable in England as well as Wales. The necessary distribution has to begin on April 1 of the year after switching 70 1/2. In reality, in these locations making use of Authorized Staff Only" indications may be found to communicate the same information. There are lots of business variants when it concerns such indicators and symbolic representations - the health & safety check in a building internet site will certainly be actually various from those that remain in location in a dock. Managers who pay attention to the progression of documents may do generally more than any instruction course or interference can.

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ramialkarmi · 6 years

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Lawsuit based on a surreptitiously recorded phone call claims Google doesn't refund advertisers who spend money on fraudulent clicks (GOOG)

Google is being sued by an ad management company, AdTrader, that claims it does not refund advertisers whose money is spent on invalid or fraudulent clicks.

The lawsuit is based in part on a surreptitiously taped phone call, in which a Google employee explains why AdTrader is being kicked off its DoubleClick Ad Exchange system.

In the call, the exec says Google will refund AdTrader's advertisers for money spent on clicks that were in violation of Google's rules, the suit alleges.

AdTrader claims its clients received nothing.

A web advertising company named AdTrader, whose staff surreptitiously recorded a phone conversation with a Google executive, claims in a class-action lawsuit that Google does not refund money to advertisers when it discovers that those advertisers have spent money on fraudulent or invalid clicks.

If the suit is successful it could put Alphabet, Google's parent company, under pressure to repay hundreds of millions of dollars to advertisers whose money was spent on websites that Google later deemed broke its rules.

Google did not immediately respond when asked for comment.

Google is likely to fight the case. The company has an incentive to remove bad actors from its systems in order to make its sure its ad inventory is of high quality, to keep advertisers coming back for more.

The search giant has suffered for years from unfounded rumours that it retains money spent through its ad placement systems on websites that break its rules. The company often has difficulty explaining publicly why it kicks publishers off its platforms because to do so would offer clues to nefarious operators on how to avoid Google’s scam detection efforts.

Nearly $500,000 - gone

About $80 billion of Google's $90 billion in annual revenue comes from advertising sales. Put very simply, Google provides a massive set of platforms through which advertisers pay to place their ads on thousands of available websites. Advertisers simply pick what type of people they want to target — by gender or location, for instance — and Google automatically places those ads on websites that fit the bill. Similarly, Google allows website publishers to offer their empty ad space for sale on those systems. That business is so lucrative, and so complicated, that ad management companies have sprung up to assist advertisers and publishers to get the best deals.

New Jersey-based AdTrader is one of those companies. Its staff came to believe there was a financial discrepancy in their payments from Google, the US federal lawsuit claims, when they taped a phone call with Google's Dublin-based director of online partnerships, Anthony Nakache. In the call, Nakache allegedly says that $477,578 paid by advertisers that ran on sites that fell afoul of Google's rules would be refunded to AdTraders’ advertising clients, according to the suit. What Nakache did not know, AdTrader claims, is that AdTrader was acting as both a buyer and a seller of ad space for its clients and was thus able to check whether that $477,578 actually arrived in its clients' accounts.

The money was never received from Google by the clients, the suit claims, and AdTrader ended up reimbursing its clients for the sum.

On May 19, 2017, Google informed AdTrader in an email that its DoubleClick Ad Exchange (AdX) account was suspended, and $477,578 in ad sales accrued in it would be withheld. The company was also kicked off the AdX platform. Google’s email was not specific as to why AdTrader was banned, but it mentioned that placing ads on sites with “misguided navigation” issues, such as “Linking to content that does not exist,” as an example of the violations AdTrader could have committed.

The secretly recorded call

Over the next five days, AdTrader scrambled to find out why Google was withholding its cash. On May 24, 2017, someone on AdTrader’s staff began recording a phone call with Google’s Nakache. The Google employee was in Ireland and the AdTrader employee was out of the US at the time, so US privacy law did not apply to the call, the lawsuit states. According to a transcript prepared for the lawsuit, the conversation went like this:

AdTrader: All of the money is going to be refunded to advertisers?

Nakache: Yes.

AdTrader: Does that mean that every single impression and every single click for all of our publishers has been…

Nakache: Exactly. Everything in the account, the account is in violation of our policy, advertisers have been impacted, and as a result we have made the decision to refund all the advertisers and all the revshare from Google. ***

AdTrader: So, every single advertisers who has bought a single impression for the past two months from any of our publishers will get their money back? Is that correct?

Nakache: Yes. ***

AdTrader: I see. OK, so we are not going to receive anything unless the appeal is successful we will not be paid anything.

Nakache: No, the money is going to be paid back to the advertisers.

AdTrader: So, whether the appeal is successful or not, we will still not receive the payment, is that correct?

Nakache: Yes.

Puzzled, AdTrader asked its other clients if they had ever received a refund from Google. None of them had received any money, the suit alleges.

The plaintiffs do not say how much money they believe Google withholds from publishers each year. Google doesn't break out how much revenue runs through its various online ad products, which include DoubleClick Ad Exchange, DoubleClick Bid Manager, AdWords, AdSense, and others. So it is difficult to estimate how much money is at stake if Google loses or settles the case.

Billions potentially at stake

Google has hundreds of different apps and platforms that generate its sales, but it breaks down those revenues into only five large segments. Some products, such as AdX and Bid Manager, can be used to buy Google ads in more than one segment.

Google earned $15.5 billion last year from its "Google Network Members" segment, which includes web publishers, according to its annual report.

It is not clear what percentage is spent through AdX, or what percentage is taken by Google in disputed circumstances. Brian Wieser, a senior research analyst at the Pivotal Research Group who has covered Google for years, believes $14 billion might run through the system that AdTrader was using. But he calls that a “crude guess” because “it’s difficult to know with much precision.”

Separately, Google said in August that it would refund 7-10% of total purchases back to advertisers after it had discovered invalid clicks on ads bought in Q2 2017 through DoubleClick Bid Manager.

Another suit has been granted class-action status

The AdTrader allegations bear a resemblance to a similar set of allegations that surfaced in 2014, when Google was accused by at least seven web publishers of wrongly taking millions in ad fees their sites had earned using Google's AdSense program. The sites all claim they were following Google's strict advertising rules, and some say they were encouraged by Google's sales employees to continue what they were doing. But then their AdSense accounts were suddenly cancelled, and all the money in their accounts removed. Google denied their appeals and gave little detail on what prompted the cancellations.

Three companies sued. One of them, Free Range Content Inc., persuaded a federal judge in Northern California to grant its lawsuit class-action status in July of this year. That suit now covers all AdSense publishers in America from 2013 onwards who may be owed money, according to the ruling. The class likely includes thousands of customers. The case is ongoing. Google denies the allegations.

Why would Google kick publishers and ad managers off its system, when it needs those companies to generate the ad inventory Google's own revenues are dependent on? AdTrader claims in the suit that it has discovered an answer.

Balint Torok, a strategic partner manager based at Google in Dublin, told AdTrader that some companies appear on Google’s radar when they reach a certain revenue run-rate, for instance $4-5 million, the suit claims. AdTrader’s own employees believed that at that level, its clients might be creating enough revenue that Google would want to cut out the middleman and work directly with them, the suit alleges.

A few days after Google terminated AdTrader on May 19, it contacted one of AdTrader’s most important clients, a video game highlights company called DingIt, to begin a direct relationship, the suit claims.

SEE ALSO: This company says it lost $1 million because it didn't follow Google's rules

AND: Google sued over conspiracy theory that it defrauded thousands of publishers of ad money

NEXT UP: This man is furious at Google for taking hundreds of thousands of dollars from his AdSense account

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: What happens when vegetarians eat meat for the first time

#Tech Insider #Arab #Entrepreneurship #sillicon alley insider

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everettwilkinson · 7 years

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BUCKLE UP: A crazy December is ahead — WH wants 44B more in disaster aid — TRUMP on ‘Frankenstien’: ‘Where do his hands go in pictures 2, 3, 4, 5 & 6 while she sleeps?’ — MATT BRAVO to S-3 – B’DAY: Jarrod Agen

BET YOU’LL HEAR ABOUT THIS TODAY — BULLETIN at 5:06 a.m.: “BAGHDAD (AP) – Ministry of Defense says Iraqi forces backed by U.S.-led coalition liberate last Iraqi town held by Islamic State group.”

Good Friday morning. YES, THAT WAS A BIG WIN YESTERDAY FOR HOUSE REPUBLICANS. But don’t get too comfy. DECEMBER is going to be really, really, really brutal. Spending caps deal. Government funding. Potential legislation to deal with the expiration of DACA. Action to prop up the health care law. And now, we hear that THE DEBT CEILING could be part of the mix in the final month of the year, as well. Treasury says Congress has until January to lift the debt limit, but some say if Congress is going to slap together a big package, the debt limit might as well be included. No one really wants to raise the debt limit in an election year, anyway. But the negotiations have to be going really well for the debt limit to be included. It’s not a must-pass at the end of the year, and it could just as easily slip to 2018. In other words, Republicans tell us they won’t let the debt limit be a bargaining chip for Democrats who are trying to get a DACA deal.

Story Continued Below

WE ALSO HEAR Congress will pass a short-term government funding bill in time for the Dec. 8 deadline, kicking the deadline toward the end of the month in time for a large spending deal. OH YEAH — THE WHITE HOUSE has made it clear they want tax reform done in December as well. Whoever wins the Alabama Senate race will join the chamber toward the end of December, too. THIS COULD EASILY BE the most consequential legislative month in years.

BASICALLY, what we’re trying to tell you is don’t make plans you absolutely can’t cancel.

**SUBSCRIBE to Playbook: http://politi.co/2lQswbh

THE TAX REFORM TIMELINE — PROGRESS FOR THE GOP — The Senate Finance Committee approved its overhaul of the tax code last night along party lines 14-12. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is expected to put the bill on the floor after the Thanksgiving break.

— COINCIDENTALLY, last night was TAX PROM — an annual get together of all the tax policy wonks in town. Vice President Mike Pence attended.

MORE DISASTER FUNDING NEEDED — “White House seeks at least $44 billion in third disaster request,” by John Bresnahan, Seung Min Kim and Sarah Ferris: “The White House will ask Congress on Friday to approve at least $44 billion to help storm-ravaged communities in Texas, Puerto Rico and Florida, according to three sources privy to the request. It would mark the third aid installment in three months. Congress has already approved $52 billion in response to the spate of hurricanes that killed 260 people and caused hundreds of billions of dollars in damage.

“The latest request falls short of what local officials had sought for their recovery, though the White House is expected to send additional aid proposals in the coming months. Texas had asked for $61 billion for reconstruction, and Puerto Rico has sought $96 billion.” http://politi.co/2zPri3G

NEXT POLICY MOVE AFTER TAX REFORM, per Nancy Cook … The White House “is overhauling the welfare system through an executive order. The Deputy Director of the White House’s Domestic Policy Council, Paul Winfree, laid out the argument for this idea during a panel at the Heritage Foundation on Thursday morning. Winfree said that tweaking the welfare system very much excited President Trump. Already Winfree and another member of the Domestic Policy Council had drafted the order, which would give states more flexibility in structuring their welfare programs and direct federal agencies to make regulatory changes.

‘The president wants to lead on this,’ Winfree told the audience. ‘We are devoting lots of resources to it.’ POLITICO’s Andrew Restuccia wrote back in October that the White House was considering an executive order that would instruct federal agencies to review low-income assistance programs.”

— PER STEVEN OVERLY: “AT&T has hired attorney Daniel Petrocelli, who once represented President Donald Trump, in preparation for a potential legal battle with the DOJ over the company’s mega-merger with Time Warner, an AT&T spokesman confirmed to POLITICO. Based in Los Angeles, Petrocelli currently leads the trial practice at O’Melveny and Myers. He defended the president in the lawsuits over the Trump University real estate seminar program.”

PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP on SEN. AL FRANKEN (D-MINN.) — @realDonaldTrump at 10:06 p.m.: “The Al Frankenstien picture is really bad, speaks a thousand words. Where do his hands go in pictures 2, 3, 4, 5 & 6 while she sleeps? …..” … at 10:15 p.m.: “.And to think that just last week he was lecturing anyone who would listen about sexual harassment and respect for women. Lesley Stahl tape?”

— Lesley Stahl? WaPo: “The ‘Lesley Stahl tape’ Trump mentioned in his second tweet refers to a [1995] New York Magazine story about a ‘Saturday Night Live’ writers discussion where Franken suggests a joke about raping Lesley Stahl, a ‘60 Minutes’ correspondent.

“Franken is quoted in New York Magazine as saying: ‘And, “I give the pills to Lesley Stahl. Then, when Lesley’s passed out, I take her to the closet and rape her.” Or, “That’s why you never see Lesley until February.” Or, ‘When she passes out, I put her in various positions and take pictures of her.’” http://wapo.st/2j3Mfjh … The NYMag story http://nym.ag/2hxUrIj

— TRUMP still has not weighed in on the allegations against Roy Moore. (By the way: “Poll: Moore trails Jones in Alabama Senate race,” by Steven Shepard. http://politi.co/2zPkJhs)

THE NEW WORLD ORDER — “Capitol Hill consumed by sexual harassment issue,” by Elana Schor, Seung Min Kim and Kevin Robillard: “The national conversation about sexual harassment has hit the clubby halls of the Capitol with a vengeance. Democrats faced their own internal reckoning on Thursday when Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.) apologized to a radio anchor who said he forcibly kissed and groped her in 2006. Once a potential presidential hopeful, Franken quickly submitted to an ethics committee investigation.

“The Franken bombshell came amid a deluge of news coverage in recent days of Alabama Senate Roy Moore, accused of harassing or sexually assaulting multiple young women. Earlier Thursday, the chief of staff to a House lawmaker leading the charge against sexual harassment in Congress resigned in the face of sexual misconduct allegations by former aides. And earlier this week, a pair of female lawmakers said there are several current members of Congress who have sexually harassed women.

“On a day when the House passed the most far-reaching tax bill in decades, and when jurors in New Jersey deadlocked in a corruption trial involving a sitting senator, Robert Menendez, Capitol Hill was consumed instead by the issue of sexual harassment. And it prompted a rare bout of soul-searching in an institution not exactly known for that. Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), a leading advocate for Congress’ recent shift from voluntary to mandatory sexual harassment training, said it was depressing that such a move was even necessary. ‘That’s a sad commentary, you know, that you have to do it,’ Grassley told reporters.” http://politi.co/2hE6sQ7

— “Gillibrand Says Bill Clinton Should Have Resigned Over Lewinsky Affair,” by NYT’s Jennifer Steinhauer: “Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, Democrat of New York, who holds Hillary Clinton’s former seat, said on Thursday that Bill Clinton should have resigned the presidency after his inappropriate relationship with an intern came to light nearly 20 years ago. Asked directly if she believed Mr. Clinton should have stepped down at the time, Ms. Gillibrand took a long pause and said, ‘Yes, I think that is the appropriate response.’ But she also appeared to signal that what is currently considered a fireable offense may have been more often overlooked during the Clinton era.” http://nyti.ms/2AOfjTb

— MATT DIXON and MARC CAPUTO in Tallahassee: “Six former Florida Democratic Party staffers and consultants say that current party chairman Stephen Bittel has created an unprofessional workplace environment for women that includes persistent inappropriate comments, leering at young women and even inviting them on his private jet. The women, who were reached independently by POLITICO Florida and insisted on anonymity out of fear for their jobs, said Bittel never inappropriately touched or threatened them.

“But he made them feel so uneasy that they didn’t want to be alone with him due to his body language, suggestive remarks and even the breast-shaped stress squeeze-ball he has been known to keep on his desk. Depending on the circumstance and the person discussing Bittel, they said he would make references about women cooking dinner, showing their breasts, their age, whether they wanted to ride on his plane, come to his hotel room or if they thought he was attractive. ‘There was a lot of boob stuff in his office,’ said a woman who was a fundraiser years ago and had to interact with him. ‘I was told by other women not to go into his bathroom. I was warned.’” http://politi.co/2iqwHXt

HILLARY CLINTON talks sexual harassment with NowThis http://bit.ly/2hxEmCm

****** A message from Chevron: When an endangered butterfly was found near a Chevron refinery, we protected the habitat and still plant the only thing they eat—buckwheat. Watch the video: http://politi.co/2ArIBXv ******

JOSH DAWSEY in TRENTON: “Regrets? Chris Christie Has a Few”: “Chris Christie had some thoughts on how I should write this article. ‘You should break out of leading with ‘the most unpopular governor in galactic history’ and all this other shit that everybody hits F2, F3, F4 [on and] bang, bang, bang, the paragraphs flip in,’ the outgoing New Jersey governor said on a recent afternoon, tapping his conference room table like a keyboard. ‘You should do something different.’ …

“In the longest interview Christie has given in years, as he dropped oyster crackers into a large vat of chili, he said the story of his rise and fall had not been told accurately. He was never as good as depicted—nor as bad. ‘I never felt 78, and I don’t feel the 22,’ he said of his approval ratings. ‘What I hope at the end of the day is that this really is about my eight years, and the bridge stuff is part of that, and the Trump stuff is part of that, but it’s only a part.’” http://politi.co/2zJixuf

— FUN: “Christie’s generous interpretation of Trump’s treatment of him even extends to his own ouster. Two days after Trump’s surprise win, Steve Bannon and Christie were seen arguing for several hours in a glass office in the transition headquarters in New York. Bannon was firing him as chair of the transition, and Christie wasn’t taking the news well. He wanted to know who was behind it, and he suspected Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, whose father he had prosecuted as U.S. attorney.

“‘Oh, I asked,’ Christie said, referring to Bannon. ‘He didn’t answer. But [based on] subsequent conversations I’ve had with the president, I just don’t believe this was the president’s decision.’ Aides later threw his transition materials in wastebaskets.

“Christie … insists he holds no grudges. He said the president had made a smart decision to get rid of some aides — he named Bannon and Reince Priebus — and said others would be soon to go. Chief of staff John Kelly, he said, was doing much better. He declined to take a shot at Kushner when asked about the Trump son-in-law’s diminished White House role. ‘I would never underestimate Jared’s ability to be involved in whatever he wants to do be involved in,’ Christie said.”

JOHN BRESNAHAN — “Menendez faces Senate ethics probe after mistrial”: “The Senate Ethics Committee will resume its investigation into Sen. Bob Menendez, a move that came just hours after a mistrial was announced in the New Jersey Democrat’s bribery and corruption case. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) had called for an ethics probe of Menendez as soon as a mistrial was declared by U.S. District Judge William Walls. The deadlock in the criminal proceedings was a huge legal victory for Menendez, who grew emotional as he spoke about the case with reporters.

“With incoming New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy (D) and other top state officials pledging their loyalty to him — and Menendez suddenly looking like an incumbent ready to announce his reelection rather than a criminal defendant trying to avoid prison — the ethics probe means Menendez will still have this case still hanging over him well into 2018.” http://politi.co/2j1yxxh

RUSSIA WATCH — “Special Counsel Mueller Issued Subpoena for Russia-Related Documents From Trump Campaign Officials,” by WSJ’s Rebecca Ballhaus and Peter Nicholas: “Special counsel Robert Mueller’s team in mid-October issued a subpoena to President Donald Trump’s campaign requesting Russia-related documents from more than a dozen top officials, according to a person familiar with the matter. The subpoena, which requested documents and emails from the listed campaign officials that reference a set of Russia-related keywords, marked Mr. Mueller’s first official order for information from the campaign … The subpoena caught the campaign by surprise.” http://on.wsj.com/2zHZQHw

— “Does cooperating witness have info on Flynn tie to Turkey?” by NBC News’ Tom Winter and Julia Ainsley: “A gold trader who is close to Turkish President Recep Erdogan is now cooperating with federal prosecutors in a money-laundering case, according to two sources with knowledge of the matter, and legal experts say prosecutors may be seeking information about any ties between the Turkish government and former National Security Advisor Mike Flynn. Reza Zarrab, a dual Turkish-Iranian national … is now out of jail and speaking to prosecutors — a move President Erdogan had been desperately hoping to avoid.” http://nbcnews.to/2j0Gov2

HMM … — “Papadopoulos claimed Trump phone call and larger campaign role,” by Josh Meyer: “George Papadopoulos claimed last year that Donald Trump telephoned him to discuss his new position as a foreign policy adviser to his presidential campaign and that the two had at least one personal introductory meeting that the White House has not acknowledged. Papadopoulos also claimed that he’d been given a ‘blank check’ to choose a senior Trump administration job and authorized to represent the candidate in overseas meetings with foreign leaders, and at a campaign event in New York.” http://politi.co/2hBj2fb

TELL US MORE! — “Russian ambassador says he won’t name all the Trump officials he’s met with because ‘the list is so long,’” by CNBC’s Tucker Higgins: “Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak said on Wednesday that it would take him more than 20 minutes to name all of the Trump officials he’s met with or spoken to on the phone. ‘First, I’m never going to do that,’ he said. ‘And second, the list is so long that I’m not going to be able to go through it in 20 minutes.’ Kislyak made the remarks in a sprawling interview with Russia-1, a popular state-owned Russian television channel.” http://cnb.cx/2zPkSl0

GREAT REPORTING — “The Questionable Math Behind Manafort’s Extravagant Home Renovations,” by Bloomberg’s Polly Mosendz, Patrick Clark and Michael Smith: “The federal indictment of Paul Manafort, President Donald Trump’s former campaign chairman, accuses him of laundering millions in foreign payments to pursue a ‘lavish lifestyle’ in the U.S., especially in the Hamptons, where he has a house. What it doesn’t explain — or highlight — are the stratospheric payments he made to home improvement companies when his renovation work was estimated at far less.

“Special Counsel Robert Mueller, in his indictment, says that a Hamptons firm got $5.4 million in wire transfers from Cyprus over 71 payments. But building permits over the same period examined by Bloomberg show that renovations by Manafort’s Hamptons’ contractor were estimated to cost $1.2 million. That’s less than a quarter of what was ultimately sent — an apparent discrepancy that could draw scrutiny from investigators.” https://bloom.bg/2hyXShM

JARED UPDATE — “Kushner got emails about WikiLeaks, Russia in 2016, lawmakers say,” by Kyle Cheney: “Jared Kushner received emails in September 2016 about WikiLeaks and about a ‘Russian backdoor overture and dinner invite’ and forwarded them to another campaign official, according to a letter to his attorney from the bipartisan leaders of the Senate Judiciary Committee. Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and ranking member Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) said Kushner failed to turn over the relevant documents when they asked for them last month.

“‘We appreciate your voluntary cooperation with the Committee’s investigation, but the production appears to have been incomplete,’ the pair wrote in a letter dated Thursday to Kushner’s attorney, Abbe Lowell. … In a section of the letter titled ‘Missing documents,’ Grassley and Feinstein said Kushner had handed over some materials but omitted communications that mentioned some of the people connected to the investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 election.” http://politi.co/2AWOsFF

–“Kushner still waiting on permanent security clearance,” by Josh Dawsey: “Jared Kushner is still working with an interim security clearance 10 months into President Donald Trump’s administration, according to White House officials and others with knowledge of the matter. The top adviser and Trump son-in-law, who joined Trump for part of his Asia tour this month, has continued to work on sensitive foreign policy issues and other matters while his application for a permanent clearance remains under review.” http://politi.co/2j1krMt … The letter http://bit.ly/2mz6fPR

FOR YOUR RADAR — “Keystone pipeline leaks 210K gallons of oil in South Dakota” – AP/Amherst, S.D.: “TransCanada Corp.’s Keystone pipeline leaked an estimated 210,000 gallons of oil onto agricultural land in northeastern South Dakota, the company and state regulators said Thursday, but state officials don’t believe the leak polluted any surface water bodies or drinking water systems. … Discovery of the leak comes just days before Nebraska regulators are scheduled to announce their decision Monday whether to approve the proposed Keystone XL oil pipeline.” http://bit.ly/2iqHcdv

TRUMP’S FRIDAY — Trump will host NCAA national championship teams. He is having lunch with VP Mike Pence and will meet with Secretary of State Rex Tillerson.

THE JUICE …

— FIRST IN PLAYBOOK: MATT BRAVO, floor director to House Majority Whip Steve Scalise (R-La.), is joining S-3 Group. He will start working at the firm in 2018. “Matt Bravo has been a critical part of our Whip Office team from the start, and as floor director he has helped bring about many hard-earned legislative victories to the benefit of the American people,” Scalise said in a statement. “In more than a decade working on Capitol Hill, Matt has developed strong relationships with members of Congress and staff on both sides of the aisle, and while his counsel and friendship will be missed, I know Matt’s experience and expertise will serve him well in the next phase of his career.”

Bravo has worked in floor operations for more than a decade serving as coalitions director for Rep. Fred Upton (R-Mich.) while he was chairman of the Energy and Commerce Committee and as a floor assistant to then-House Majority Leader and Whip Eric Cantor (R-Va.).

— UPDATE: KIMBERLEY FRITTS is starting her own lobbying firm. Via Theo Meyer: “Tony Podesta stepped down as the Podesta Group’s chairman last month and tapped Fritts as his successor. But negotiations with Podesta to turn over control of the firm broke down, and Fritts quit last week, saying she’d start a new firm instead. Many of the Podesta Group’s top lobbyists are following Fritts to the new firm, Cogent Strategies, along with at least 15 clients, according to a person familiar with the firm’s plans. Fritts is still looking for office space for the firm.” http://politi.co/2A5Kr4q

HOLIDAY PARTY SCOOPLET — FIFTH HARMONY, the multi-platinum-winning girl group, is headlining the annual holiday charity benefit Dec. 12 at the 9:30 Club co-hosted by MUSICIANS ON CALL, RIAA and SPOTIFY. Chicago-based DJ JERZY will be the opening act.

TV TONIGHT — PBS’ “WASHINGTON WEEK” — Jackie Calmes, Nancy Cordes, Jeremy Peters and Ed O’Keefe.

PHOTO DU JOUR: Sen. Bob Menendez fights tears as he speaks to reporters outside the Martin Luther King Jr. Federal Courthouse in Newark, N.J. after U.S. District Judge William Walls declared a mistrial in Menendez’s federal corruption trial on Nov. 16. | Julio Cortez/AP Photo

IMPORTANT — “FCC Relaxes Media Ownership Rules in Contentious Vote,” by Variety’s Ted Johnson: “Broadcasters will be allowed to combine with a newspaper in the same market, and could be allowed to own two of the top four stations in a city, as the FCC on Thursday relaxed a series of long-standing media ownership regulations. The new rules, passed in a 3-2 vote, may be challenged in court, but if they survive, they will mark the most significant changes to media ownership regulations in a generation. They could lead to further consolidation and mergers among broadcasters, who have long argued that they need greater scale to compete with cable and internet companies for local ad dollars.” http://bit.ly/2zO9gyH

FROM MARK PRESTON — Museum of the Bible President Cary Summers joins CNN senior political analyst Mark Preston on his SiriusXM show, “Full Stop with Mark Preston” this weekend to talk about the opening of Washington new half-a-billion-dollar, 430,000 sq. ft. museum dedicated to the Bible. The show airs Saturday at noon and Sunday at 5 p.m. on SiriusXM POTUS 124. CLIPS FOR PLAYBOOKERS: Historical accuracy http://bit.ly/2inKq15 … Hobby Lobby’s affiliation http://bit.ly/2jwNrQc … President’s Bibles http://bit.ly/2mxOUXv

K-FILE STRIKES AGAIN — “Homeland Security’s head of community outreach resigns over past controversial comments on black community, Islam,” by CNN’s Andrew Kaczynski: “Rev. Jamie Johnson resigned Thursday as the head of faith-based and neighborhood partnerships at [DHS] after a CNN KFile report revealed inflammatory past comments he made about the black community and Islam. In past radio appearances, Johnson had said the black community was responsible for turning major US cities into ‘slums’ and argued that Islam’s only contribution to society was ‘oil and dead bodies.’” http://cnn.it/2A75m7g

THE CABINET — “Watchdog says Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke failed to properly document travel,” by WaPo’s Lisa Rein and Drew Harwell: “Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke has failed to keep complete records — and in some cases, kept none at all — of his travel since taking office, the agency’s watchdog told department officials this week, saying that management of Zinke’s travel was ‘deficient’ and lacked oversight. A rare alert Deputy Inspector General Mary Kendall sent to the secretary’s office Wednesday, obtained by The Washington Post, said her investigation into allegations of improper travel practices by Zinke has been stymied by ‘absent or incomplete documentation for several pertinent trips.’ Interior lawyers and ethics officials also have not shown evidence to investigators that they have been able to ‘distinguish between personal, political and official travel’ or cost-analysis documents to justify his choice of military or charter flights, Kendall wrote.” http://wapo.st/2AXBQ0S

****** A message from Chevron: This is a story about DOERS, butterflies, and buckwheat. In ’75, the endangered El Segundo Blue butterfly was found near a Chevron refinery. We protected the habitat and planted the only thing they eat—buckwheat. We’re still planting and keeping an eye on our littlest neighbor. Watch the video: http://politi.co/2ArIBXv ******

NYT MAGAZINE COVER STORY – “The Uncounted,” by Azmat Khan and Anand Gopal (print headline: “The U.S.-Led Battle Against ISIS is Killing Far More Iraqi Civilians Than the Coalition Has Acknowledged”): “Our own reporting, conducted over 18 months, shows that the air war has been significantly less precise than the coalition claims. Between April 2016 and June 2017, we visited the sites of nearly 150 airstrikes across northern Iraq, not long after ISIS was evicted from them. We toured the wreckage; we interviewed hundreds of witnesses, survivors, family members, intelligence informants and local officials; we photographed bomb fragments, scoured local news sources, identified ISIS targets in the vicinity and mapped the destruction through satellite imagery.

“We also visited the American air base in Qatar where the coalition directs the air campaign. There, we were given access to the main operations floor and interviewed senior commanders, intelligence officials, legal advisers and civilian-casualty assessment experts. We provided their analysts with the coordinates and date ranges of every airstrike — 103 in all — in three ISIS-controlled areas and examined their responses. The result is the first systematic, ground-based sample of airstrikes in Iraq since this latest military action began in 2014. We found that one in five of the coalition strikes we identified resulted in civilian death, a rate more than 31 times that acknowledged by the coalition.” http://nyti.ms/2zOYwjJ … The cover http://politi.co/2jx4Yrp

HOLLYWOODLAND — “Comcast Has Approached 21st Century Fox About an Acquisition,” by WSJ’s Dana Mattioli, Keach Hagey and Ryan Knutson: “New suitors are circling 21st Century Fox Inc., affirming that the media empire built by Rupert Murdoch is now in play. Comcast Corp. has approached the media company to express interest in buying a substantial piece of it, according to people familiar with the situation. Verizon Communications Inc. is also kicking the tires on Fox assets … And Sony Corp.’s entertainment unit has also informally approached Fox … The takeover interest in 21st Century Fox gained steam after news last week that Walt Disney Co. recently held talks with the company but failed to reach a deal.” http://on.wsj.com/2A6Pstp

MEDIAWATCH — “BuzzFeed Set to Miss Revenue Target, Signaling Turbulence in Media: Prospects for a 2018 initial public offering by the high-profile publisher now appear remote,” by WSJ’s Amol Sharma and Lukas I. Alpert: “Digital publisher BuzzFeed is on track to miss its revenue target this year by a significant amount, the latest sign that troubles in the online-ad business are making it tough for new-media upstarts to live up to lofty expectations. BuzzFeed, one of several digital-media outfits that have grown quickly in recent years, had been targeting revenue of around $350 million in 2017 but is expected to fall short of that figure by about 15% to 20%.” http://on.wsj.com/2zLbD7K

— ELIZABETH DREW is joining The New Republic as a contributing editor. Drew wrote for The New Yorker for 19 years and in 2014, she reissued her book “Washington Journal: Reporting Watergate and Richard Nixon’s Downfall.” … BENNY JOHNSON is joining the Daily Caller as a reporter at large. He was most recently at IJR.

SPOTTED: Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) in first class on a three-and-a-half hour delayed Virgin America flight from DCA to SFO. The plane landed at SFO at midnight in California. … Rep. Mike McCaul (R-Texas) last night at Marx Cafe listening to local band “Dan Smith Trio” … Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) at DCA yesterday.

OUT AND ABOUT — The Federalist Society last night held their second annual Antonin Scalia memorial dinner at Union Station. Josh Gerstein’s write-up — “Gorsuch takes victory lap at Federalist dinner” http://politi.co/2j0VrVR

SPOTTED: Justice Neil Gorsuch, Justice Sam Alito, Attorney General Jeff Sessions, Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), Labor Secretary Alexander Acosta, EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt, Sens. Mike Lee (R-Utah), Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska), Ben Sasse (R-Neb.) and Luther Strange (R-Ala.), Kellyanne Conway, Don McGahn, George Will, Maureen Scalia, Reverend Paul Scalia, David McIntosh, Don Willett, Leonard Leo, James Taranto, Josh Hawley, Ken Paxton, Lee Dunn, Suhail Khan, Lexi and Kian Hudson, Erin DeLullo, Greg Mueller, Keith Appell, Garrett Ventry and Travis Burk.

— STEVE CLEMONS and EMILY LENZNER of The Atlantic hosted a night of hot chocolate, mulled wine, s’mores and ice skating on top of the Watergate hotel at Mel’s Rink, named after Melanie Kohn — the late ice hockey-loving daughter of Marc Kohn. SPOTTED: Rep. Mark Takano (D-Calif.), Hogan Gidley, Rakel and Jacques Cohen, Jordan Amb. Dina Kawar, Shawn Turner, Mike Castellano, Jane Mayer, Bill Hamilton, Michael Schmidt, Ben Chang, Orson Porter, Matt Wuerker, Adrienne LaFrance, Andrew Trueblood, Josh Eastright, Christina Sevilla, Kevin Baron, Jeff Dufour, Kara Ross, Patrick Mellody, Marissa Mitrovich, Fabrice Houdart, Tara McKelvey, Guneev Sharma, Meghan Dubyak, Gloria Dittus, Javier Palomarez, Robb Harleston and Lyndsay Polloway.

— ADFERO hosted a party last night to celebrate the opening of its new office. SPOTTED: Jeff Mascott, Gary Nuzzi, Greg Crist, Christin Baker, Katie McBreen, Jon Tripp, Kristen Smith, Jeff Solsby, Matt Wright, Margaret Zeigler, John Brandt, Megan Whittemore.

SUNDAY SO FAR – CBS’ “Face the Nation”: Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) … Rep. Jackie Speier (D-Calif.). Political panel: David French, Jen Jacobs, Ruth Marcus, and Ed O’Keefe

–ABC’s “This Week”: Panel: Matthew Dowd, Lanhee Chen, Stephanie Cutter, and Megan Murphy

— NBC’s “Meet the Press”: Panel: Bob Costa, Rich Lowry, Joy Reid and Amy Walter.

–CNN’s “State of the Union”: Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) … Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.)

–“Fox News Sunday”: Panel: Jason Chaffetz, Jessica Tarlov, Jason Riley, Juan Williams. Power Player: Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.)

WEDDING — EMILY POMERANZ, the associate director of major gifts and special events at NARAL Pro-Choice America and an OFA, DNC and DSCC alum, married ROB KEITH, who works at the Wilderness Society, in a candlelit service at Christ Church in Alexandria Nov. 11. “The ceremony included a bagpiper and a reading of an excerpt from Justice Kennedy’s opinion in the 2015 marriage equality decision.”

BIRTHWEEK (was yesterday): Madalene Milano, partner at GMMB

BIRTHDAY OF THE DAY: Brian Jones, partner at Black Rock Group. A book he’s been reading recently: “I recently finished ‘Season of the Witch: Enchantment, Terror and Deliverance in the City of Love,’ by David Talbot. The book chronicles how San Francisco was transformed from a scrappy immigrant town to one of the great cities of the country (and arguably the world) during a period of cultural turmoil in the 1960s, 70s and early 80s. As someone who lived in San Francisco for four years, the book shed some serious light on the city I came to know in the mid 1990s and also illustrates how a prolonged period of societal upheaval and angst can be overcome and ultimately lead to a better era.” Read his Playbook Plus Q&A: http://politi.co/2mxjWil (hat tip: Michael Meehan)

BIRTHDAYS: Jarrod Agen is 40. He celebrated with coworkers last night at Old Ebbitt, with a “long overdue” date night with his wife tonight and then having some friends over for bowling at Truman Bowling Alley in the EEOB on Saturday … former House Speaker John Boehner is 68 … Charmaine Yoest, assistant secretary of public affairs at HHS … NBC News president Noah Oppenheim … Amb. Susan Rice, former Obama National Security Adviser, is 53 … Lorne Michaels is 73 … Fox News’ Chris Stirewalt … Paul Lindsay … Arielle Mueller, press aide to Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), is 2-5 (h/t Megan McKinley) … Anna Karl … Howard Dean is 69 … Sen. James Inhofe (R-Okla.) is 83 … Sen. Pat Toomey (R-Pa.) is 56 … U.S. Amb. to China Terry Branstad is 71 (h/t Blake Waggoner) … Quartz’s Chase Purdy … Halie Soifer … Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf is 69 … Denver Peacock … HuffPost global editorial director Howard Fineman … Rick Dunham is 61 … Mike Ricci, communications director for Speaker Paul Ryan, celebrating tax reform passage in the House with Ty Ricci (h/t Ryan comms team) … Politico’s Helena Bottemiller Evich …

… Isaac Baker, partner at AKPD … Linda Moore, president and CEO of TechNet, Clinton WH staffer for all eight years, and original DLC field director. She’s celebrating at the #Clinton25 reunion in Little Rock (h/t Kiki McLean) … Diana Aviv, CEO of Feeding America (h/t Jon Haber) … Christy Osler … Harry Jaffe (h/t Cathy Merrill Williams) … NAM alum Lea Anne Foster … WSJ’s Felicia Schwartz is 26 … Ralph Posner, EVP at JDA Frontline … Chris Sloan … Kellie Boyle… Lucas Fleischer, alum of 270 Strategies … Gordon Whiting … Laurie Norton Moffatt … Pew’s Erika Compart … Marty Reiser … Russ Grote, managing director at Hamilton Place Strategies … Johnny VandeHei … Michele Tasoff, supervising talent producer of Chelsea Handler on Netflix … Edelman’s Elisa Vitalo … journalist Martin Fackler … Alex Gallo … Greg Croft of ABC News … Carly Montoya … Owen Baynard … TPM managing editor David Kurtz … Andrew Hinkebein … Mike Defilippis … Ada Waelder … Michael Maloof … Allison Hayward … Michael Ostrolenk is 47 … Gary Duff (h/t Teresa Vilmain)

SUBSCRIBE to the Playbook family: POLITICO Playbook http://politi.co/2lQswbh … Playbook Power Briefing http://politi.co/2xuOiqh … New York Playbook http://politi.co/1ON8bqW … Florida Playbook http://politi.co/1OypFe9 … New Jersey Playbook http://politi.co/1HLKltF … Massachusetts Playbook http://politi.co/1Nhtq5v … Illinois Playbook http://politi.co/1N7u5sb … California Playbook http://politi.co/2bLvcPl … London Playbook http://politi.co/2xfDPuK … Brussels Playbook http://politi.co/1FZeLcw … All our political and policy tipsheets http://politi.co/1M75UbX

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houstoninsurance1-blog · 7 years

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How to Find the Best houston Homeowners Insurance Rates

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For many individuals a good HO-A amended coverage would have been a good way to go. I'd suggest obtaining rates from 2 or 3 firms that are dependable. Ensure the protectionis possess the security you desire. Replacement-cost survey is an essential element to have. You can frequently broaden the obligation area of the plan for a little up charge and that I recommend getting the max which is frequently around $ 500,000. Also have your adviser clarify coverage that is optional is. Choices could be things such as additional security for high dollar jewelry, cash collections, weapon collections, etc...

Just how much is homeowners insurance? This is actually the often asked query when homeowner insurance is mentioned. Homeowner insurance's expense is dependent upon a great deal of industry elements.

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Homeowner principles

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What type of insurance if the homeowner be trying to find?

Its simple enough to find these quotes, since residence coverage is something that is a prerequisite. Lacking it could be risky and too costly, this can be an absolute must have. Because it is a support that's of excellent demand, it'sn't difficult to find.

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everettwilkinson · 7 years

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HOUSE TAX VOTE TODAY … TRUMP to the Hill, where he’ll see the GLORY of HC-5 — RON JOHNSON comes out against GOP tax plan — HANNITY: Let the people of Ala. decide on Moore — CORNYN, MURPHY make gun database deal

Good Thursday morning. BIG DAY — HOUSE REPUBLICANS have their tax bill on the floor. PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP heads to HC-5 — their Capitol basement meeting room — to hold a rally, of sorts, for the House tax bill. He’s scheduled to talk around 11:30 a.m. SPOILER ALERT: the House will pass their bill quite easily. Democrats won’t vote for it. The ease with which this is getting through has surprised some House Republicans. We don’t expect Trump to appear publicly with any lawmakers at the Capitol, though. OUR QUESTION: Will Trump have Republicans to the White House to celebrate like he did with the health care bill before it exploded in the Senate? … Rachael Bade and Heather Caygle with more on the state of play in the House http://politi.co/2juEqXW

— FOR WHAT IT’S WORTH: This is a big internal victory for Speaker Paul Ryan, House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, House Majority Whip Steve Scalise, Rep. Patrick McHenry, the chief deputy whip, and Ways and Means Chairman Kevin Brady. But it’s just the first step. Reconciling this bill with whatever comes out of the Senate will be another tricky test.

Story Continued Below

**SUBSCRIBE to Playbook: http://politi.co/2lQswbh

BUT … IN THE SENATE

— “Republican Sen. Ron Johnson Opposes GOP Senate Tax Package,” by WSJ’s Siobhan Hughes: “Sen. Ron Johnson (R., Wis.) said he opposes the Senate Republican tax package, becoming the first GOP voice of dissent that, if it gains momentum, could force significant changes or jeopardize the party’s goal to pass the bill before the end of the year. ‘If they can pass it without me, let them,’ Mr. Johnson said in an interview Wednesday, adding that the plan unfairly benefits corporations more than other types of businesses. ‘I’m not going to vote for this tax package.’” http://on.wsj.com/2zGwOIj

— GOP SENATORS TO WATCH … John McCain of Arizona, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, Susan Collins of Maine, Bob Corker of Tennessee

THE BACKSTORY — “How Cotton brought Obamacare repeal back from the dead,” by Seung Min Kim and Jen Haberkorn: “Sen. Tom Cotton was about to enter the White House early this month to discuss immigration policy when he got an unexpected call from President Donald Trump to talk about a different topic. For days, the Arkansas senator had been working behind the scenes to persuade Republicans that reigniting a battle over repealing Obamacare in the tax fight wasn’t as crazy as it seemed. But Trump, still smarting from GOP’s failures to dismantle the law whom Cotton had first pitched on the idea four days prior, needed little persuading.

“‘I am with you 1,000 percent on this,’ Trump told Cotton over the phone. Trump tweeted twice that Republicans should repeal the mandate, putting pressure on the GOP to tuck it into tax reform despite widespread dismissiveness the idea was greeted by at the time. That Nov. 2 conversation illustrated how the GOP rank-and-file methodically coaxed their leadership to embark on what seemed – and could still become – a fool’s errand to try again to take down Obamacare. In a surprise move, Senate Republicans said Tuesday that they would repeal Obamacare’s individual mandate in their tax plan, using the savings to plow into more tax cuts.” http://politi.co/2AJTeFq

THE BIG QUESTION… HOW LONG CAN THIS LAST? — “Conservative outside groups hold fire on tax bill ahead of first vote,” by Nancy Cook: “As Congress rushes to pass the biggest tax reform legislation in three decades, high-powered business and conservative groups are holding fire on provisions they don’t like in order to avoid derailing the vote. The kumbaya attitude emanates in large part from a sense of desperation among Republicans who believe the party needs to show voters and donors a concrete victory ahead of the 2018 midterms or risk losing control of one or both chambers of Congress, say strategists and conservative activists. ‘It is kind of unreal,’ said one Republican lobbyist. ‘People know this is a freight train coming, and they are doing everything they can to get their stuff on it rather than stand in front of it.’” http://politi.co/2jvctiO

IVANKA SPEAKS — “Ivanka Trump says child tax credit ‘not a pet project’,” by AP’s Catherine Lucey: “Trump says she and husband Jared Kushner, a fellow White House adviser, have no plans to return to their old New York City life any time soon. ‘It’s definitely not short-term,’ Trump said.” http://bit.ly/2A2qfR3

— LOOKING TO 2018: “Tax reform may doom Trump infrastructure plan,” by Colin Wilhelm: “The tax reform bill set to be voted on Thursday by the House of Representatives could kill any chance of the Trump administration’s trillion-dollar infrastructure plan ever happening. At best, House support for the plan would signal lukewarm backing among Republicans for President Donald Trump’s ambitions. At worst, the bill would effectively end the funding structure that the administration touts as a way to reach its $1 trillion target and minimize the burden on taxpayers. The House bill ends tax breaks for private activity bonds, a key part of public-private partnerships in projects ranging from roads to low-income housing. The administration has said it wants to leverage those partnerships to reduce the direct cost of the president’s building plan.” For Pros http://politico.pro/2hwszo8

COMING ATTRACTIONS … THE END OF THE YEAR FIGHT — “Republicans stall budget talks for tax reform,” by Rachael Bade and John Bresnahan: “Hill Republican leaders are slow-walking negotiations for a year-end budget deal with Democrats, adamant that tax reform must come first – even if the spending battle drags out until year’s end. Top aides to the ‘Big Four’ – Speaker Paul Ryan, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer – have been engaged in tightly held discussions for weeks, but they remain unable to reach an agreement on a ‘topline’ number for government funding bills for the next year.

“Democrats insist on ‘parity’ in any spending deal; they won’t agree to raise strict budget caps for defense spending without an equal boost to domestic funding. Republicans, so far, refuse to cave on the issue. Pelosi accused Republican leaders of dragging their heels on the matter, suggesting they were trying to push a $5 trillion-plus tax cut package through Congress before they reach a spending agreement, multiple sources said.

“Pelosi also told her colleagues on Wednesday that she won’t sign off on any funding bill that doesn’t increase both domestic and Pentagon funding by the same amount. The California Democrat said she and Schumer have both rejected the latest GOP positions during the leadership-only discussions.” http://politi.co/2z758wR

****** A message from Chevron: Advanced technology is helping us find safer ways to deliver energy. We’re piloting a program that uses drones to monitor tanks and pipelines. Watch the video: http://politi.co/2zydcU4 ******

QUOTE OF THE DAY — CORRY BLISS, executive director of the Congressional Leadership Fund, to Elena Schneider: “There are certainly incumbent members out there who need to work harder and raise more money if they want to win. They’re fundamentally not prepared for how they’re about to be attacked.” http://politi.co/2iZg7xb

2020 WATCH — SPOTTED last night at the Fringetree restaurant at the Westin: Sen. Chris Coons (D-Del.), Martin O’Malley and Pete Buttigieg.

SIREN — “Hope Hicks may hold the keys to Mueller’s Russia puzzle,” by Darren Samuelsohn: “Special counsel Robert Mueller’s team is preparing to interview the woman who’s seen it all: Hope Hicks. She’s been part of Donald Trump’s inner circle for years, first at Trump Tower and then as an omnipresent gatekeeper and fixer who could get emails or other communications directly to the boss during the 2016 campaign. As a senior White House adviser and now as communications director, she’s been in the room for moments critical to Mueller’s probe, which has grown to include the president’s response to the Russia investigation itself.

“Hicks’ history with Trump makes her one of the more useful witnesses for Mueller as he looks for insights into the president’s habits and moods. She also is one of the few people well positioned to recount the president’s reactions at various moments as the Russia scandal has sidetracked his presidency – including the Mueller appointment itself. Mueller’s decision to request an interview with Hicks – who hasn’t been named in any criminal wrongdoing – also indicates he’s reached a critical point in the overall investigation, according to former prosecutors and veterans of past White House investigations. Typically, conversations with such senior level aides are saved for near the end of a probe.” http://politi.co/2mwKekL

TRUMP INC. — “Taxpayers pay legal bill to protect Trump business profits,” by USA Today’s Nick Penzenstadler: “Taxpayers are footing the legal bill for at least 10 Justice Department lawyers and paralegals to work on lawsuits related to President Trump’s private businesses. Neither the White House nor the Justice Department will say how much it is costing taxpayers, but federal payroll records show the salaries of the government lawyers assigned to the cases range from about $133,000 to $185,000. The government legal team is defending President Trump in four lawsuits stemming from his unusual decision not to divest himself from hundreds of his companies that are entangled with customers that include foreign governments and officials.” https://usat.ly/2jv0TnG

S.O.S. … THE LATEST ON MOORE — “GOP leaders weigh drastic plan to save Alabama Senate seat,” by Alex Isenstadt and Eliana Johnson: “Republican leaders are exploring a dramatic remedy to salvage the Alabama Senate seat as fresh polling shows Roy Moore’s prospects fading fast. With less than four weeks until the special election and no sign that the party’s besieged nominee will exit the race, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and his top advisers are discussing the legal feasibility of asking appointed Sen. Luther Strange to resign from his seat in order to trigger a new special election. McConnell aides express caution, saying they’re uncertain whether such a move, one of several options being discussed, is even possible. …

“New GOP polling obtained by POLITICO suggests that Moore is cratering. A survey conducted by the [NRSC] after allegations emerged that Moore had engaged in sexual misconduct with teenagers showed him trailing Democratic candidate Doug Jones by 12 points. Other recent polling has the race closer.” http://politi.co/2iZeWxM

M.I.A. — Republicans expected Trump to address the Moore situation Wednesday, hoping he would exert some pressure on the Alabama Republican to drop out of the race. So far, he’s stayed mum.

— IS HANNITY CHANNELING TRUMP’S THINKING? … @seanhannity at 11:12 p.m.: “I lived in Alabama-love the people. THEY will sort through the issues before them and decide. Not DC, McConnell, or Commentators, THE PEOPLE!”

DOWN BALLOT IMPACT — “Republican Governors Seek to Avoid 2018 Damage From Trump, Moore,” by Bloomberg’s John McCormick: “Republican governors and their donors — still reeling from GOP losses last week in New Jersey and Virginia — are trying to distance themselves from their party’s problems and plot a 2018 strategy to protect their state-level dominance. At the annual Republican Governors Association meeting in Austin, Texas, party officeholders downplayed those defeats and dismissed the political fallout of President Donald Trump’s historically low approval ratings and lack of legislative accomplishments. They brushed aside questions about the potential long-term consequences from growing sexual misconduct allegations that have engulfed Republican U.S. Senate nominee Roy Moore in Alabama. …

“Thirty-six states will hold gubernatorial elections in 2018, with 26 of those now controlled by Republicans. In those races, which often have trickle-down effects on legislative and local elections, Republican candidates will have to decide just how closely to embrace Trump and distance themselves from an unpopular Washington.” https://bloom.bg/2ATPv9i

DRIP DRIP — “Two more women describe unwanted overtures by Roy Moore at Alabama mall,” by WaPo’s Stephanie McCrummen, Beth Reinhard and Alice Crites: “Gena Richardson says she was a high school senior working in the men’s department of Sears at the Gadsden Mall when a man approached her and introduced himself as Roy Moore. … His overtures caused one store manager to tell new hires to ‘watch out for this guy,’ another young woman to complain to her supervisor and Richardson to eventually hide from him when he came in Sears, the women say. Richardson says Moore — now a candidate for U.S. Senate — asked her where she went to school, and then for her phone number, which she says she declined to give …

“A few days later, she says, she was in trigonometry class at Gadsden High when she was summoned to the principal’s office over the intercom in her classroom. She had a phone call. ‘I said “Hello?”’ Richardson recalls. ‘And the male on the other line said, “Gena, this is Roy Moore.” I was like, “What?!” He said, “What are you doing?” I said, “I’m in trig class.”’

“Richardson says Moore asked her out again on the call. A few days later, after he asked her out at Sears, she relented and agreed, feeling both nervous and flattered. They met that night at a movie theater in the mall after she got off work, a date that ended with Moore driving her to her car in a dark parking lot behind Sears and giving her what she called an unwanted, ‘forceful’ kiss that left her scared. … Moore’s campaign did not directly address the new allegations. In a statement, a campaign spokesman cast the growing number of allegations against Moore as politically motivated. ‘If you are a liberal and hate Judge Moore, apparently he groped you,’ the statement said. ‘If you are a conservative and love Judge Moore, you know these allegations are a political farce.’” http://wapo.st/2jtXgyn

— AND MORE …. “New Roy Moore accuser: ‘He didn’t pinch it; he grabbed it,’” by Anna Claire Vollers in AL.com: “A Gadsden woman says Roy Moore groped her while she was in his law office on legal business with her mother in 1991. Moore was married at that time. … According to [Tina] Johnson, he asked questions about her young daughters, including what color eyes they had and if they were as pretty as she was. She said that made her feel uncomfortable, too. Once [legal] papers were signed, she and her mother got up to leave. After her mother walked through the door first, she said, Moore came up behind her. It was at that point, she recalled, he grabbed her buttocks. ‘He didn’t pinch it; he grabbed it,’ said Johnson. She was so surprised she didn’t say anything. She didn’t tell her mother. …

“In 1982, Kelly Harrison Thorp was working as a hostess at the Red Lobster restaurant in Gadsden. She was 17 years old and a high school senior. One day Roy Moore came into the restaurant, and she recognized him. … Thorp said Moore asked her if she’d go out with him sometime. ‘I just kind of said, “Do you know how old I am?”’ she recalled.‘And he said, “Yeah. I go out with girls your age all the time.”’ http://bit.ly/2AMW7oV

— @MooreSenate: “An Open Letter to @seanhannity” http://bit.ly/2yL0sZ2 … @VaughnHillyard: “New–> The Alabama GOP is maintaining its support for Roy Moore. In its steering committee meeting tonight, the prospect of removing Moore as the party’s candidate did not reach the point of a vote.”

SHOT — @MooreSenate: “Dear Mitch McConnell, Bring. It. On.”

CHASER — NRSC executive director Chris Hansen (@tankcat) replies: “Bring It On is a movie about high school cheerleaders”.

DEPT. OF ODD BEDFELLOWS — “Senators forge deal to improve gun background database,” by Seung Min Kim: “A bipartisan group of senators has struck a deal to bolster a federal database used to check the backgrounds of gun buyers in the aftermath of several recent mass shootings. The new legislative push is led by Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn (R-Texas) and Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), two powerful figures in their respective parties when it comes to gun policy. Though their bill has not been formally released, it targets the National Instant Criminal Background Check System, which both senators have said is deeply flawed.

“Their plan is twofold, according to two sources familiar with it: One is to incentivize states to send more information about criminal histories to the system, known as NICS. States usually aren’t required to do so, unless their own laws mandate it or they have to do so to receive federal funding. It would also make sure that federal agencies follow through on their own requirement that they send information to the database. The new plan would beef up the federal mandate and include punishments for agencies that don’t comply, according to one of the sources.” http://politi.co/2hyYJit

CLINTON WORLD — “‘What About Bill?’ Sexual Misconduct Debate Revives Questions About Clinton,” by NYT’s Peter Baker: “The cultural conversation about women, power and sexual misconduct that has consumed the United States in recent weeks has now raised a question that is eagerly promoted by those on the political right just as it discomfits those on the political left: What about Bill? While Fox News and other conservative outlets revive years-old charges against Mr. Clinton to accuse Mr. Moore’s critics of hypocrisy, some liberals say it may be time to rethink their defense of the 42nd president. Matthew Yglesias … wrote on Vox.com on Wednesday that ‘I think we got it wrong’ by defending Mr. Clinton in the 1990s and that he should have resigned. Chris Hayes, the liberal MSNBC host, said on Twitter that ‘Democrats and the center left are overdue for a real reckoning with the allegations against him.’” http://nyti.ms/2hDQ2r5

— “Clinton hits back at possibility of Uranium One special counsel,” by Brent D. Griffiths: “Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has slammed President Donald Trump for suggesting that a special prosecutor investigate her role in the Uranium One deal, a current cause célèbre among conservative commentators and some House Republican lawmakers. ‘Taking myself out of it, this is such an abuse of power and it goes right at the rule of law,’ Clinton told Mother Jones in an interview posted Wednesday night. ‘As secretary of state, I went around the world bragging about America’s rule of law. … If they send a signal that we are going to be like some dictatorship, some authoritarian regime where political opponents are going to be unfairly, fraudulently investigated, that rips at the fabric of the contract that we have that we can trust our justice system.’” http://politi.co/2ALzTnj

WHO MIGHT REPLACE CORDRAY — per Lorraine Woellert, Zach Warmbrodt, and Daniel Strauss: “Republicans are floating a handful of agency critics as contenders for the post, including Cordray’s biggest foe, House Financial Services Chairman Jeb Hensarling (R-Texas. … Keith Noreika, the outgoing acting head of the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, has also been mentioned, along with Todd Zywicki, a law professor at George Mason University. Both have fiercely opposed the bureau’s approach to regulation and enforcement and would face long odds of being confirmed, but could serve as interim directors without Senate approval. Brian Brooks, an executive vice president and general counsel at Fannie Mae who worked with Mnuchin at OneWest Bank, and former Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum are also mentioned as candidates to lead the bureau.” http://politi.co/2iZP7Or

CLICKER — @WardDPatrick: “President Trump stops his speech to search for water cc: @marcorubio” http://bit.ly/2zOlrM8 … @marcorubio: “Similar, but needs work on his form. Has to be done in one single motion & eyes should never leave the camera. But not bad for his 1st time”.

SPORTS BLINK — “NEW YORK (AP) – Max Scherzer of the Washington Nationals wins third Cy Young Award and second straight in National League.”

PHOTO DU JOUR: Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and his wife Louise Linton hold up a sheet of new $1 bills, the first currency notes bearing his and U.S. Treasurer Jovita Carranza’s signatures, on Nov. 17 at the Bureau of Engraving and Printing in Washington D.C. | Jacquelyn Martin/AP Photo

MICHAEL GRUNWALD in POLITICO Magazine, “The IRS Is Building a Safe to Hold Trump’s Tax Returns: Departed tax chief John Koskinen explains why even he can’t see Trump’s taxes—and why we should ‘beware the collapse of the IRS’”: “Koskinen doesn’t share those concerns—not because of his faith in Trump, but because of his faith in the IRS staff and the strict rules governing the integrity of its audits and investigations. Koskinen basically believes the IRS and its professional culture are virtually impregnable to political agendas. He hasn’t spoken to Trump or anyone in the White House in 2017, even though he’s known the president since they negotiated the sale of the Commodore Hotel in New York City in 1975. He’s never looked up Trump’s tax returns—legally, he can’t, and neither can any other IRS employee who isn’t working on them—and says the agency not only keeps them in a locked cabinet in a locked room, but is replacing the cabinet with a safe.” http://politi.co/2hDbk8h

SUSAN GLASSER in the New Yorker: “Karl Rove Has Seen the Enemy and He Is Steve Bannon”: “Yet Bannon, clearly, has got under Rove’s skin. Rove ticked off a list of candidates whom he said showed Bannon’s amazing ‘bad judgment’ and constituted what, to his mind, amounts to a parade of horribles: Grimm, that ‘convicted felon’ from New York; the ‘despicable’ Tom Tancredo for governor in Colorado; the ‘hapless’ Danny Tarkanian, a five-time failed candidate running against Senator Dean Heller in Nevada. ‘These are the people he’s backing and thinks can both win and then govern?’ … The Republican war is on, and Rove is quite clear on just who is the enemy. ‘Bannon is a side show,’ Rove replied after one too many questions about the strategist trying to claim his mantle. ‘Trump is the real issue.’” http://bit.ly/2zMAdTD

BUSINESS BURST — Fortune has named Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang its 2017 Fortune Businessperson of the Year. Also on the list — 2: JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon … 3. Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff … 4. Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos … 5. Ulta Beauty CEO Mary Dillon. http://for.tn/2hDiA3U

****** A message from Chevron: Advanced technology is helping us find better and safer ways to deliver energy to America. We’re piloting a program that uses drones, HD imaging, and thermal mapping capabilities to monitor Chevron wells, tanks, and miles of pipeline. Watch the video: http://politi.co/2zydcU4 ******

DESSERT — “Leonardo da Vinci Painting Sells for $450.3 Million, Shattering Auction Highs,” by NYT’s Robin Pogrebin and Scott Reyburn: “After 19 minutes of dueling, with four bidders on the telephone and one in the room, Leonardo da Vinci’s ‘Salvator Mundi’ sold on Wednesday night for $450.3 million with fees, shattering the high for any work of art sold at auction. It far surpassed Picasso’s ‘Women of Algiers,’ which fetched $179.4 million at Christie’s in May 2015. The buyer was not immediately disclosed. There were gasps throughout the sale, as the bids climbed by tens of millions up to $225 million, by fives up to $260 million, and then by twos.” http://nyti.ms/2A2w1Cd

— NYMag art critic Jerry Saltz: “I’m no art historian or any kind of expert in old masters. But I’ve looked at art for almost 50 years and one look at this painting tells me it’s no Leonardo. The painting is absolutely dead. Its surface is inert, varnished, lurid, scrubbed over, and repainted so many times that it looks simultaneously new and old. … Why else do I think this is a sham? Experts estimate that there are only 15 to 20 existing da Vinci paintings. Not a single one of them pictures a person straight on like this one.” http://bit.ly/2zJFo8X

MEDIAWATCH — “Koch Brothers Said to Back Time Inc. Deal Talks With Meredith,” by NYT’s Sydney Ember and Andrew Ross Sorkin: “Time Inc. is said to be in talks to sell itself to the Meredith Corporation, in a deal backed by Charles G. and David H. Koch, the billionaire brothers known for supporting conservative causes. Talks between Time Inc., the publisher of Time and People, and Meredith, the publisher of Family Circle and Better Homes and Gardens, fizzled this year. The new round of negotiations, motivated by the surprise entry of the Kochs, could lead to a quick deal, according to people involved in the discussions. The Kochs have tentatively agreed to back Meredith’s offer with an equity injection of more than $500 million.” http://nyti.ms/2hAXB1C

— “Matt Drudge jabs Bannon over Roy Moore, prompting internal Breitbart fury,” by CNN’s Oliver Darcy: “In a tweet, Drudge linked to a Daily Beast story that said Bannon recently had second thoughts about supporting Moore. ‘A lesson on leaving politics to the professionals,’ Drudge wrote. … [S]taffers at Breitbart … were seemingly taken aback by Drudge’s jab. ‘Wow,’ wrote Breitbart White House correspondent Charlie Spiering, linking to Drudge’s tweet in an internal Slack message obtained by CNN. ‘Is that accurate?’ ‘FACTUALLY INACCURATE,’ replied Matthew Boyle, Breitbart’s Washington editor. ‘FAKE NEWS. MATT DRUDGE IS PEDDLING FAKE NEWS.’ … ‘Not true. Bannon is not turning on judge moore. Bulls***.'” http://cnnmon.ie/2ildQx2

TRANSITIONS — Adam Kincaid is launching a consulting firm called Cornerstone Solutions. He most recently was special projects director at the RNC and is an NRCC and RGA alum.

BIRTHDAY OF THE DAY: Republican Jewish Coalition executive director Matt Brooks. How he’s celebrating: “Tonight I’ll be having a quiet dinner at home with my wife and son. Definitely a great bottle of wine and cake are on the menu. Friday night my daughter comes home from college and since my wife’s birthday was Tuesday we’ll all celebrate both birthdays at Rasika. All of this though is merely a precursor to what will be a GREAT birthday present, watching the NFL leading Philadelphia Eagles destroy the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday. FlyEaglesFly.” Read his Playbook Plus Q&A: http://politi.co/2AKrmRA

BIRTHDAYS: Elizabeth Drew is 82 … Jay Newton-Small, co-founder and CEO of MemoryWell and a Time and Bloomberg alum (hat tip: Ben Chang) … Hannah Hankins, VP of Civic Advisors … Meg Campbell … Lisa Camooso Miller, partner at Reset Public Affairs … USA Today reporter Fredreka Schouten … Jillian Rogers of DOL … Michael Levi, Obama and CFR alum … Carly Coakley of Blue Engine Message & Media (h/t Matt Moon) … Jim Boyle, partner at Boyle Public Affairs … Kevin Herzik … Michelle Nunn, CEO of CARE USA (h/t Jon Haber) … Adrienne Schweer, SVP of Forbes-Tate Partners and an Ash Carter alum … Caroline Emch … Samir Paul … Ashley Dejean of Mother Jones … Heritage’s Ken McIntyre …

… Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.) is 37 … Melissa Winter, Michelle Obama’s first hire in 2007 who remains her chief of staff in the family office (h/t Katie McCormick Lelyveld, who was Michelle’s second hire) … Michael Smith, executive director at My Brother’s Keeper Alliance … James Joyner … Ron Blackwell … Patrick Ryan is 63 … Dale Pfeifer … Griffith Waller … Shanti Shoji … Jennifer Eileen Giglio … DiAnne Owen Graham … Raul Damas, partner at Brunswick Group … Christopher Kilian Peace is 41 … Paul Rodriguez … Seth Obed … Edelman’s Mike Reuscher … Rachel Cothran … Melody Johnson … Robbi Dickens … Mike Reynard … Marty Ryan … Seth Obed … Paul C. Barton … AARP alum David Pepper … Zerlina Maxwell … Libby Gerds … Jason Perkey (h/ts Teresa Vilmain)

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