#misusing official funds

[reasoningdaily]

Two Florida cops — a lieutenant and a detective sergeant — allegedly handcuffed and jailed their 3-year-old son to “discipline” him for having difficulties with potty training.

Daytona Beach Shores police Lt. Michael Schoenbrod told a Department of Children and Families caseworker that he took the boy to headquarters in October and put him behind bars, the News-Journal reported, citing body-cam video.

The child was jailed twice, the first time on Oct. 5 and again the following day, when he was also cuffed, according to the outlet.

“He was crying. I was getting the response I expected from him,” Schoenbrod told the caseworker, the footage from a Volusia County sheriff’s deputy reportedly shows.

He said his son promised to never poop in his pants again after his time in the slammer.

Schoenbrod admitted that he also had resorted to the jail tactic about nine years ago, when he disciplined his then-4-year-old son for hitting a girl in preschool, the newspaper said. Lt. Michael Schoenbrod and Detective Sgt. Jessica Long, of the Daytona Beach Shores Police Department in Florida, allegedly placed their 3-year-old son in jail twice after he had potty-training accidents.Daytona Beach Shores Department of Public Safety

“I took him to the jail and he sat there. And I watched him … and he was crying and everything, and to this day, if you mention, like, that incident, he’s just like, ‘I would never do that again.’ It was effective,” Schoenbrod told the caseworker.

“So that’s why I did it with this. He didn’t hit anybody, but I figured the same thing, discipline. And he didn’t want to go back, so …,” the lieutenant added, according to the report.

It was not immediately clear whether Schoenbrod and Detective Sgt. Jessica Long faced discipline, according to the News-Journal, which said it obtained copies of memos from Public Safety Director Michael Fowler informing the couple about a probe.

The top cop told the paper he would consult with the city attorney before commenting.

Schoenbrod and Long — who live together and have the child together — and their attorney, Michael Lambert, have not responded to the paper’s requests for comments. A Department of Children and Families rep acknowledged a request for comment but did not offer one.

“It’s just disgusting that somebody would drag our family through the mud like this,” Schoenbrod said in the video, while Long could be heard calling the investigation “insane,” the News-Journal reported. Detective Sgt. Jessica Long, the child’s mother, also reportedly faces a professional standards investigation.LinkedIn / Jessica Long

Meanwhile, City Clerk Cheri Schwab said a judge has sealed the records in a March 24 case that lists Schoenbrod “et al.” as plaintiffs and the State Attorney’s Office “et al.” as defendants.

The couple also filed a separate case against State Attorney R.J. Larizza on May 18, but the initial filing and several subsequent motions have been marked as confidential, according to the News-Journal.

Antonio Jaimes, an attorney with the Volusia County Clerk of Court’s Office, told the outlet that the cases “are confidential due to motions for confidentiality filed within the cases.”

But Michael Barfield, director of public access initiatives for the Florida Center for Government Accountability, argued that the internal-affairs documents should be made public.

“A pending motion to determine confidentiality of court records does not have any impact on the city’s IA (internal affairs) investigation,” Barfield told the News-Journal in an email.

“A party cannot make a record that is subject to production under Chapter 119 (of the state public records law) confidential by merely filing a lawsuit requesting confidentiality and then not setting a hearing on the motion,” he added.

A Florida Department of Law Enforcement spokeswoman said she has forwarded a request from the paper about any completed investigation to the public records department for processing. The Daytona Beach Shores Department of Public Safety building.City of Daytona Beach Shores

Former city attorney Lonnie Groot also has reportedly sought records about any officer placing a child in a jail cell, as well as investigations into “alleged child abuse by an officer.”

“This whole matter just does not pass the basic smell test from a transparency and governmental openness perspective,” he wrote City Attorney Becky Vose, the outlet said.

And a former South Daytona police officer who describes himself as a civil-rights activist said that when he requested the findings of the professional standards probe, he was provided an estimate of $3,398.40 − about 40 hours of work at $84.96 per hour — to review and redact the documents. 

“It’s a severe matter of public interest when you have strong allegations of that kind,” Dickinson told the paper. “Rumors are being brought to you by fellow law enforcement … and you want to make sure the stuff they’re saying isn’t true.”

[if-you-fan-a-fire]

"LEARNS ONTARIO POLICE CAR DRIVEN BY PREMIER'S SON," Toronto Star. April 9, 1943. Page 2. ---- Drew Wants to Know About Frequent Week-End Trips to Oshawa ---- ALL-NIGHT RUNS --- "There are 360 entries in one year where Mr. Conant has taken out police cars." declared George A. Drew, opposition leader, today as the public accounts committee examined the log detailing the use of provincial police cars by the attorney-general and premier. The period under review was the fiscal year ending March 31. 1942.

"It is very hard to determine the amount of mileage," added Mr. Drew, "One entry. for a station wagon, covers three weeks. Others from one to five days."

Inspector F. Hales. superintendent of the police garage on Surrey Place, said he could give no information as to what use the cars were put once they left the garage.

The entries showed that in some cases the authority cited for use of the car was Mrs. Gordon Conant. wife of the premier and the driver in two instances was a son, Roger Conant.

"Here we have a police car. taken out March 21, by Roger Conant, and it was out all night," said the opposition leader.

"That might be a telephone call from the office that Mr. Conant wanted it and Roger would get it?" James Cooper, government counsel, asked Inspector Hales.

"That's possible." replied witness.

"Then why wasn't the customary practice followed of entering Mr. Conant's name as the driver?" asked Mr. Drew.

Seeks Explanation "On March 21 and March 27, we have an entry showing Roger Conant took a police car out and it remained out all night. Any explanation for that?" asked Mr. Drew.

"No." was the reply.

"The thing that is clearly revealed, and I have read only a few entries, that on frequent week-ends cars were taken out destined for Oshawa," said the opposition leader. "These were police cars and station. wagons. In the absence of any explanation I can't understand why this occurred."

Witness was unable to give any explanation.

"Here's another entry, March 26, destination Niagara Falls, authority Mrs. Conant. driver, J. E. Cook. I don't understand how a police car could go out on any authority, but that of a department official." remarked Mr. Drew. "Who would you! say was the passenger""

"Mrs. Conant," was the reply.

"Yes, but the car might have left the garage to pick up Mr. Conant," interjected Mr. Cooper.

"Possibly." replied the inspector.

[l3irdl3rain]

this whole gofundme thing has turned into a giant nightmare and I’ve learned my lesson about raising the funds before actually having said procedure done. I’ve got some ideas about what to do going forward but just wanted to throw them out to the masses before I send out any official gofundme update.

Gofundme won’t help me refund the money because it’s already transferred to my bank account. I think someone could probably report me on there for misusing funds but I don’t think that would look good for me? That’s a last resort if I can’t figure out how to get this solved. Idk if there’s any actual repercussions for that for me but I do not think I want that.

I can’t contact everyone who donated individually bc gofundme doesn’t tell me everyone’s email / phone number. However I’m thinking I could send out an update and give my own contact info? And then I could give people the option for what they want done with their money. I could offer a refund through PayPal, donate it to another person’s animal related gofundme me or a rescue, or I could set it aside for my other pet related costs.

I had said in the gofundme that any money not put towards Persephone’s treatment would be set aside for future pet expenses. But that was when I thought I’d have maybe $100 extra or something small. Not when I potentially might not be using ANY of the money for her.

Idk guys this is a nightmare for me lol. Because I would hate for people to feel like I swindled them. So I’m just throwing shit out there to see what you folks think.

[forgedbondspod]

And we're live! Our crowdfunder for the show is officially launched on indiegogo

I'm so excited to be able to share this show with yall and your support helps me pay the phenomenal cast I have because gods yall they're amazing. Tiers go from $5 to $200 and include things such as doodles, early access to episodes, stickers and postcards, and me reading myths of your choice! The bulk of the funds go to my cast, with a bit budgeted for the platform fee and the physical perks. I don't take a cut of this money at all! My cast for this show is absolutely astounding and I can't wait for yall to hear what they've been working on

This story is a misuse of my degree. It's a love letter to the gods. It's a dozen love stories in a trenchcoat. It means the absolute world to me and I hope yall will join me in making this show possible

[semidecentpoet]

What gets me ab western mainstream news coverage of the genocide in Palestine—besides the obvious lack of morality—is that it’s, frankly, shit journalism.

(For context, I’m a journalism major with a focus in print reporting. This is literally what I’m going to school for.)

(Forgive me if this is slightly disorganized. Harder to write when I’m pissed.)

My instructors tell me ab the importance of active voice over passive voice all. The. Time. There’s a difference, for example, between “More than 30,000 Palestinians have been killed” and “Israel has killed more than 30,000 Palestinians.”

More recently, I’ve had instructors tell me to be more skeptical of official sources (e.g. police), fact-check their claims and get alternative sources whenever possible.

But, from what I’ve seen, a lot of outlets seem to just take Israel’s word as fact without searching for further evidence. For example, when Israel made that claim—with no real evidence—ab the 40 beheaded babies and it was everywhere. And then they said they can’t confirm shit, and now these outlets have to backpedal.

And of course, on top of the blatant misuse of language (beyond just active vs passive voice) and the false/unsupported reporting, there’s the lack of reporting.

I don’t see western mainstream outlets quoting the assholes who call Palestinians “human animals.”

I don’t see them pointing out the sickening abundance of social media posts of Israelis celebrating the genocide, of IDF posing in front of the rubble of what once was Gaza or with the undergarments of the Palestinian women and girls they raped.

I don’t see them setting their headlines ablaze with the countless historic holy sites Israel has destroyed, mosques and churches alike that were some of the oldest in the world. (But when Notre Dame was on fire—)

I don’t even see the context of the more than 75 years of Israel’s bullshit leading up to now.

Where is the coverage of the entire families Israel have wiped out? Where is the coverage of how Israel treats its hostages? Where is the coverage of the Palestinian people’s injuries, physical and mental, and the reason for the lack of proper medical aid?

Countless children in Gaza have to undergo amputations in unsanitary environments without anesthesia. Where’s the coverage?

Who is asking Biden the important questions? Like, if you’re trying so hard for a ceasefire, why has the United States vetoed United Nations resolutions for an immediate ceasefire three times since Oct. 7? Why a temporary ceasefire instead of a permanent one?

How ab Israel’s attack on Rafah during the Super Bowl?? Rafah the designated safe zone?? While airing a $7 million ad?? During what is arguably the most famous and most-watched sports event in the U.S., which has given billions of dollars in support of Israel’s genocide?? How are these outlets not blowing up????? This is a U.S.-funded slaughter during a national event???? Is this not newsworthy enough for you??????????????

Maybe they include some of these things in their articles. But when and if they do, is it a full-fledged story or just a brief?

Is it toward the top of the page or buried lower? (Journalists typically use the inverted pyramid style, which means the most important information in a story is at the top.)

I understand that, as journalists, we have to be objective. But this is not objective reporting. It is clearly biased in favor of Israel. If it were any other country, any other people under siege, this would all look a lot different.

On the topic of objectivity, I’ve heard a few arguments along the lines of, “We can’t pick a side.” But is there truly more than one side to this crisis?

One instructor of mine has said that “both sides” is a false dichotomy, meaning there are rarely ever exactly two sides to any given issue. Sometimes that means there are more than two sides, and sometimes that means there is really only one.

Coincidently, an example he gave of only one side was the Holocaust in Nazi Germany. Even though there are assholes who say otherwise, it was real. It happened. It was wrong. There’s no other way to look at it.

Ik that journalists bending objectivity and imposing morality in reporting is a relatively recent and controversial debate within the media industry.

But.

If we do some actual goddamn reporting—take the numbers and the quotes and the experiences caught on video and add them all together—we start to paint a pretty clear picture of who is the victim here. And who is responsible for the atrocities.

Just bc our government supports Israel does not mean Israel perspective is on equal footing with, much less more important than, Palestine’s.

When Palestine’s death toll is roughly 30 times that of Israel’s, there’s only one side.

This is some pretty shit journalism.

I’d look forward to hearing from other journalists/student journalists what they think ab coverage of the genocide.

Personally, I’m a little heartbroken that some of these outlets I’ve looked up to and dreamed ab being a part of someday have been so lacking in their coverage—to say the least. Especially since journalism is so important and is supposed to be a major means of holding people in power accountable for their actions.

Life’s bitter irony, I suppose.

Free Palestine.

[pommunist]

Thoughts on Quackity’s stream

Q saying that he’s doing the stream in english instead of spanish and saying it’s because people were upset that the previous statements were in spanish. Obviously I’d like for him to speak about these important things in the language of his choice, but I feel like he misunderstood that the issue most people had was actually not the language but the lack of subtitles + official translation. And this issue still stands when he speaks english btw.

Now, and I believe that’s all that need to be said about this : Anyone who goes out of their way to spread Q’s personal information and/or uses it to threaten and harass him are proper freaks and I will never stand for that. I’m sorry that he is fearing for his safety, no one deserves to go through that.

I know that there are many people who perceived him stepping down from his position as a way to avoid his responsibilities and I can definitely see where they’re coming from but I personally see it as a good thing. Obviously because safety comes first and if taking a step back can stop him from being put in harm’s way, absolutely a great decision. And also because this may allow people who are more capable of handling this position to be put in charge.

I’m also glad that he’s taking actions against the people who were misusing his funds and who enforced a toxic work environment. We don’t know anything about these people so I won’t talk much about it but I hope they face the consequences of their actions.

Also good that it was clarified that that one problematic person has not been involved with the project, I think everyone is relieved to know that someone unsafe was not a part of it. Although, while he was right to warn people not to spread misinformation (this is true for everything btw do your research !), I don’t like how he said to be mindful about the intentions of people who raised the question, because a lot of them had genuine concern about it being a possibility and this could have been a very serious and dangerous thing if it had been true.

It’s good that he acknowledged that he didn’t properly address the issue of xenophobia against brazilians the first time and apologised for it. However I don’t like how he took the time to address that it was specifically brazilians who were being targeted, but didn’t address that it was mostly his own community who was responsible for it, which led to another wave of hate and bigotry towards brazilian fans on twitter. However I’m not brazilian myself and it’s only up to them wether they choose to accept his apology or not.

He talked about how he is usually a private person regarding these situations and to be honest I’ve always admired the fact that he doesn’t engage publicly with drama. Drama, except this isn’t drama, it goes way beyond what this word means.

Him saying he was ready to handle it privately but that it was made public before that is just so hypocritical to me, because we know from the many admins statements that they had tried to bring attention internally to some of the problems but it was either ignored, or actually impossible from them to have communication with the higher hierarchy. So saying what he said just puts the blame on the admins who came out with their stories for this whole situation taking the proportions it has taken.

And great that he’s saying that there has been some restructuring made within the team, and hopefully these changes will only leave the studios with competent people who are good intentioned towards everyone involved. I won’t like though, I fail to see how asking for everyone’s feedback and taking it into account to make these changes wasn’t an option. Also the fact that this restructuring ended up causing them to massively letting go of all the twitter teams as well as some other admins is still an issue.

Like he can deny that he purposefully put his stories above those of other ccs, say that he does have passion for the project and was involved in its creative development, which I’m not trying to imply he’s lying about btw, but not address the main issue of the admins situation ? Not a word about or for them ? But instead you use your plateform to talk about your role in the lore knowing these are talking points discussed by the admins and community. What good does that do except for your own image ? What do you think your fans are going to do if not go and harass the people who have made these claims ? Meanwhile people will discuss these topics that are so far removed from the main issue and focus less on what the admins went through.

I’m not saying this was intentional, I’m not saying he’s directly guilty of any disgusting behaviour that some of his fans are guilty of, but as an influencer with an audience as large as his is, you have a certain responsibility to try your best to prevent these things happening.

If you think I’m exaggerating, that it couldn’t be that bad, just know that since the stream :

Admins who spoke up are receiving hate again and Léa is getting the worst of it as you can imagine. Like I mentioned before, there has been a resurgence of xenophobic tweets against the brazilian community. French qsmptwt accounts and others who took a stance for the admins are also being insulted/harassed again. Léa, Lumi (Pomme admin) and Shade (Dapper admin) have all had some of their private info leaked. There has even been a call to mass report Nat_Ali’s, the streamer who conducted Lea’s interview, twitch channel.

—————

And because still he didn’t do it and I want to end on a positive note, some thanks are in order

Twitter admins, thank you for making every stream accessible to everyone, allowing us to follow what went on when we could watch and to rewatch the best moments. Thank you for adding your own comments to the clips, and for making all the funny memes, you gave a heart to these accounts. Thank you as well for being the ones to collect fanarts for the museum, for giving many people an opportunity to appreciate the wonderful talent of the community.

Writers, thank you for coming up with such amazing and intriguing stories, and making us pull our hair out theorising about them ! I wish you were given the space and creative freedom to develop them more and make them flourish.

Roleplayers, thank you for having done such a wonderful job giving life to all these characters I hope you know how deeply they are loved by us the viewers. Mentions spéciales : Lumi, merci pour Pomme, merci pour avoir représenté notre pays, notre langue et notre culture pendant tout ce temps, on aurait pas pu rêver d’une meilleure ambassadrice 🍎♥️. Léa merci pour tout ton travail, tes illustrations, tes personnages, et aussi toutes tes refs purement fr ahah. Merci et bravo d’avoir osé parler surtout, on est avec toi 🐰💓.

Thanks to all the builders, devs, artists, translators, sound designers, everyone who has been a star in the qsmp constellation and has worked to make it such a great time for us viewers.

[jeffrey-anderson]

Gotham City's Reliance on Playboy-Billionaire Bruce Wayne

Playboy, billionaire, philanthropist. Bruce Wayne - or Brucie, as those who read the Gotham Gazette may know him by - is a common sight in Gotham newspapers. For good or for bad, he will be there. Some recent headlines (pictures attached) that Wayne has found himself at the forefront of would be a shock if it were anybody else, but since it’s Gotham City’s favourite wealthman, nobody bats an eye.

See this? Apparently - according to search statistics from Gotham City - this charity is nothing to applaud. 

Here in Gotham, I’ve noticed we seem to have this thing about normalizing things that would be otherwise insane in other places - of course, I can’t speak without being a hypocrite. As a Gothamite myself, it’s much too frequently that I find myself irritated instead of horrified that there’s been an explosion on a subway line, exasperated instead of aghast that man-bats are delaying the buses. But I digress.

In the first newspaper headline I’ve included, we can see Wayne’s incredibly generous donation to Klimate and Kryptonite, a charity dedicated to areas affected ecologically by aliens or other space matter. Everywhere else - anyone else - this 1.5 million donation would have caused a ripple of turning heads and discussion about change. But on that Sunday? Nothing. Nada. Bruce Wayne’s support of our city’s ecosystem is deep-seated - and far too little talked about. If you’ve ever been to a hospital here in Gotham (I’m assuming you have, we have the highest mugging rates in the USA) you’d notice that there is a distinctive ‘W’ logo on almost every piece of medical equipment in the hospital. Yep, that’s him again. Wayne Biotech plays a fairly large piece in supplying medical equipment at prices cheaper than most competitors - because as the man said himself, ‘healthcare should be affordable if not free’. 

Take a step back for a second and picture Gotham without Bruce Wayne. Medical prices would be sky-high; innocent citizens would be in crippling debt over minor accidents, unable to leave poverty. The waterways and skies would be clogged with even more trash than there already is. Buildings destroyed by terrorists like the Joker would take at least three times as long to rebuild.

This leads me to my next point. Why are our actual city officials not doing anything?

Yeah, you already know the answer. Corruption. 

In the last three years, six highly-ranking members of either the GCPD or the city government were fined or arrested for misuse of funds, money laundering or taking bribes. The rampant fraud that is occurring among the people we are meant to trust with our city creates a power vacuum that is only filled by crime. Yes, the Wayne Foundation (and Wayne’s parents’ charities, the Thomas and Martha Wayne Foundation respectively) are doing tremendous amounts of work to help provide free healthcare and shelter while simultaneously countering social issues. It’s good, of course, but doesn’t anybody get the feeling that maybe our government-sanctioned officials should be the ones fixing these problems, not charities?

Crime is running rampant, and our political leaders are too lazy and too compliant to respond.

We need to make a push for change. Protest (in ways that are helpful, not harmful - we don’t need another supervillain running around Gotham trying to ‘help’) for our rights to have honest authorities. Talk about the change you want to see in our city, and spread the word. We are no longer standing by for lazy and corrupt government officials to do what they want with Gotham. We can no longer stay stagnant.

-Jeffrey Anderson

[valictini]

(Anon from previous ask)

What doesn’t sit right with me is that Quackity said during a stream that there was no volunteer positions within his studios. Wouldn’t that mean that he or his team would have budgeted in order to account for admins payements even before the last merch drop ?

Even if you assume he wasn’t much involved in the behind the scenes workings of his company, didn’t know how many people exactly were working under it, it’s impossible to ignore the eggs admins, he literally played with them for months (putting aside Chunsik who joined much later, that makes 10 eggs who have been around for 6 months/an entire year).

Then if volunteers were never supposed to exist, wouldn’t they have budgeted in order to have enough money to pay AT LEAST these ten people every month ? Even if there was indeed a bad apple higher up who was misusing the funds before, this shouldn’t be an issue now.

I’m sorry for the rant, it’s just that the financial issues argument has felt very inconsistent for me since it was first brought up and I need to air my frustration.

Yeah I feel you anon, I really feel you.

First of all, I believe Quackity said he knew that there were volunteers, but he thought people were eventually hired after a trial. Also, I think the egg actors role was explicitly a volunteer role. Since it was supposed to last for like, 2 weeks, I can understand the reasoning. It should have probably been reevaluated after it was made clear that the eggs would stay longer though.

What still baffles me is that no official structure was implemented for when a new language would be included. I feel like one paid manager per language would have been the BARE minimum, but instead, we got Lumi (with later Lea) carrying the entire french side of the server alone, for months, for free, while also playing an egg.

Honestly, the ONLY way I can see Quackity being fully ignorant of the real state of things is that the administration lied about everything, especially the payment (as in, they showed fake receipts, declared that they paid people when they didn't, and pocketed the difference) AND, critically, that Quackity never checked himself.

This is in the realm of possibilities, and I wouldn't be surprised if it were what actually happened. Doesn't change the fact that it would mean that Quackity was sorely incompetent and naive, and doesn't excuse the real harm that this caused to the volunteers. But hey, at least he had no ill intents.

The fact that in this scenario, he never talked to the admins privately is, again, baffling to me, but seeing how limited the communication seemed to be between admins and ccs, it unfortunately is in the realm of possibilities too.

So here, this is the most generous scenario I can think of for Quackity. Unrealistic ambitions combined with absolute incompetence of how to manage such a big project and blind trust in people that ultimately exploited his ignorance.

Still, the fact that he never hired any HR and never personally checked why, for example, there were languages that were consistently left out of official announcements are a big red flag to me, and a reminder that we just don't know wtf happened. I want to believe he never intended for the abuse, but there are ways he has facilitated it when, as a law student, he should have known better, and people have every right to not trust his intentions.

[radicalgraff]

"Stop Killing Farmers"

Seen in Bulacan, Philippines.

In the Philippines, there have been hundreds of documented killings of peasants, farmworkers, and fisherfolk related to land dispute cases and agrarian reform advocacy since former President Duterte took power in July 2016.

These attacks are not coincidental instances of brutalities, but are part of a systematic program by the most rabid fascist elements in the government.

On December 4th, 2018, the former President issued Executive Order 70, forming the National Task Force to Eliminate Communist Armed Conflict. Since then, this publicly funded task force has released unsubstantiated statements accusing legal organizations and even elected officials of being terrorists. It has consistently red-tagged KMP and other poor people’s organizations as “front organizations” of so-called “communists-terrorists” through press statements, public banners, leaflets, and other activities.

The threats precede arbitrary arrests and killings, followed by more accusatory and mocking statements from officials and government spokespersons.

Memorandum Order 32, in particular, worsened political killings, militarization, and other human rights violations in Negros, Bicol, and Samar regions.

Worse, misuse of the Anti-Terror Law, allows any criticism and opposition to government policies to be construed as acts of terrorism and lead to arrest.

I'm the Philippines, widespread repression and killing of farmers fighting for their right to land is a state policy.

[beardedmrbean]

Tiffany Henyard, the self-anointed "supermayor" of a Chicago suburb, is under fire after she threw an $85,000 party that featured R&B singer Keke Wyatt and rapper J. Holiday last month, but hardly anyone attended, according to media reports. 

Henyard, the mayor of Dolton, Ilinois, has come under heavy criticism for her spending of taxpayer funds for first-class travel, concerts and more. 

"That was a flop," former Dolton trustee Valeria Stubbs, who went to see the mini-concert for herself at the "Taste of Thorton Township" event, told WGN-TV. 

Wyatt was paid $30,000 to sing for 30 minutes. J. Holiday was paid $20,000 for a half-hour set, according to records obtained by the news outlet through the Freedom of Information Act.

The township spent another $6,600 to rent inflatable bounce houses. Other costs included money for comedians, a sound system, staff and equipment. 

In total, the gig costs taxpayers at least $85,769. 

"I was flabbergasted," Lansing resident Jennifer Robertz told the news outlet. "I was pissed off.  That’s my money. That’s the people’s money."

Fox News Digital has reached out to Henyard. 

Henyard, a Democrat, has feuded with residents and local officials over her excessive spending and corruption allegations. She recently extended the impasse with the Village of Dolton’s Board of Trustees when she proceeded with a board meeting despite it being postponed by trustees.

At the meeting, she declared that she cleaned up the village despite its finances being plunged into the red.

Henyard has vetoed the board's request to launch a federal investigation into her alleged misuse of funds and also vetoed their hiring of former Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot, who has been tasked with leading a special investigation into the mayor.

In May, the board appointed a mayor pro tempore to serve in place of Henyard should she refuse to execute her duties. Lightfoot’s investigation into the town’s financial situation revealed in a preliminary report that Dolton's general fund balance was $5.61 million in 2022, but by May 2024 the balance had dropped to a deficit of $3.65 million.

Trustees have instituted layoffs and said they are crafting their own budget to try to get the village’s finances in order.

[anonymoushouseplantfan]

1) Harry has previously said that he didn't watch suits and has no idea about Meghan. Now he says that W&k were fans of suits so he knew Meghan/Suits? Which one is the truth?

2) Harry says William forbade him to keep a beard coz he wasn't allowed to have one. It sounds so petty. Did William really do that?

3) Harry couldn't even afford a sofa?? Why did meg had to lay for it?

4) If Harry couldn't even afford such a small item then who was paying for the Cotswold farmhouse that they had rented all through their courtship?

5) Most importantly, what exactly do h&m want in this so called "reconciliation summit"? What are your views Plant? I would be ashamed to show my face in front of my family and friends after such disgrace. They came to jubilee saying they want to honor queen, fine, but they have beef with Charles and William so why come to coronation. In fact if I had so much resentment towards someone I would cut them out clean. No contact ever.

1. No one watched Suits. He’s lying about Will and Kate being fans. He learned of Suits when he googled Meghan. The guy basically watches cartoons, by his own admission.

2. I don’t buy the beard story. Harry flips his narratives about Will several times in the book. First, Will ditches after his wedding and doesn’t my care about him anymore, then Will is over controlling, micromanaging stuff like his beard and wedding location. Both of those can’t be true.

3. Not sure what the deal is with the sofa because they got millions to renovate Nott Cott. Moreover, he has a trust fund Di left him and Meg made money from Suits and marching. They should have been able to buy furniture. Probably they bought a cheap sofa to tie them over until they got the big house.

4. Soho House paid for the Cotswolds cottage. It was a new development where the Soho House owner was an investor and the the Harkles were basically comped their stay in exchange for promoting the development.

5. He wants an official royal connection he can use for merching and reality shows, basically the half-in and half-out he asked for during Megxit. He doesn’t care about his family and just wants to monetize the relationship. He wants this for three reasons. First, they make a lot more merch money with the royal connection, like 200 times as much. The difference is huge. Second, official status gets them onto White House/political events and international events that they can use for their merching and reality shows and Netflix will pay them more money for that. Third, his main product is royal drama and he realizes he’s just recycling old drama now. He needs the reconciliation to create new drama material to sell. Of course, that’s exactly why the family can’t reconcile. They would be trading a five year old fake “royal racist” accusation for new “royal racist” accusations every three months.

His goal is to obtain a made-up post like the Trade Ambassador deal Andrew had that will allow him to set up two/three trips a year he can use for merching and filming. He’ll film each trip for Netflix and he’ll make up some drama about how the family is mistreating him by not giving him royal jewels/private jet/whatever. He’ll also sue the tabloids for some perceived slight. That should bring in enough income to support their lifestyle. Oh, the made-up role should also come with security, and the family should protect him from the tabloids who will be constantly accusing him of corruption and misuse of government funds. Oh, and none of his income should be taxed in the UK. Easy peasy.

[scribblesbyavi]

After working with the government for over 3 years, I've come to realize that much of it is plagued by mismanagement. There are too many unproductive meetings, an excessive focus on non-essential tasks, and a concerning lack of emphasis on return on investment (ROI). The culture is averse to taking risks, and much of the activity is superficial—lots of paperwork and photo opportunities with little real impact. A significant portion of the effort seems dedicated to impressing seniors and ministers to secure funding, rather than delivering genuine public value. This results in the misuse of taxpayer money, often funding unnecessary tours and vacations for officials and their families. The system is burdened by bureaucracy, with little accountability and efficiency. It's disheartening to witness such waste and inefficiency in an institution meant to serve the public good.

[mariacallous]

After being ousted from the House of Representatives last week, ex-congressperson George Santos has officially joined Cameo, the platform famous for custom messages from celebrities and influencers.

Though Santos has not yet posted anything to his Cameo profile, it advertises a selection of personally recorded pep talks, “gossip,” roasts, and advice messages from Santos himself. These video messages, all promised to be delivered within 24 hours of an order, were initially priced at $75, but the cost has since increased to $200.

A former Santos staffer confirmed to WIRED today that the profile was real, and it is now linked on the former representative’s personal X account. Cameo did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

After winning his Long Island congressional election last year, Santos encountered problems when the North Shore Leader and The New York Times reported that he had allegedly lied about his finances and much of his personal background, including where he went to college and the claim that he had worked for Goldman Sachs. More absurd lies were uncovered, involving claims that his mother had died as a result of 9/11 (she didn’t) and that Santos was the star of Baruch College’s volleyball team (he wasn’t, and he didn’t attend Baruch).

In May, Santos was charged on multiple federal counts of money laundering, identity theft, and theft of public funds. He is set to face trial next September.

Despite these charges, Santos wasn’t expelled until after the House Ethics Committee finished its own investigation in November and claimed that he had misused thousands of dollars in campaign donations. The report said that Santos spent $50,000 in campaign funds to pay off personal debts and made other unlawful purchases, like subscribing to creators on OnlyFans. Representative Max Miller (R-Ohio) has also accused Santos of defrauding him and his mother by charging their personal credit cards.

Santos isn’t the first politician to join the ranks of Chuck Norris, Tay Zonday, and Brian Baumgartner (of The Office fame) on Cameo: Former Alaska governor Sarah Palin and political consultant Roger Stone have their own profiles, both touting nearly five star ratings.

The Biden campaign also experimented with Cameo in the past. In 2020, the campaign partnered with the platform to allow participating celebrities, like Andy Cohen, Mandy Moore, and Melissa Etheridge, to earmark portions of their earnings as donations, according to The Verge.

Until Santos goes to trial, it’s impossible to know whether his donors will ever claw back the money allegedly stolen from them. But unlike Santos’ reported donor fraud, Cameo has a money-back guarantee for scams.

[wumblr]

have you noticed how they didn't do this to nancy pelosi or dianne feinstein or kyrsten sinema or matt gaetz or tommy tuberville or oh hell i can't list all 78 of them

[zvaigzdelasas]

The presidential communications office on Saturday released revised rules for the Philippines’ first sovereign wealth fund, with changes to include granting powers to the president to accept or reject an advisory board’s nominations for top officials.[...]

Rosalia de Leon, the country’s central bank monetary board member and former treasurer who was part of the review group, was quoted in the statement as saying Marcos sought the changes to ensure the fund is “insulated from political influence and considerations and would like to give the leeway to set the qualifications”.[...]

The revised rules empower Marcos to accept or reject nominees for president and chief executive officers, and regular and independent members of the Maharlika Investment Corp, which will manage the fund, the statement said. Philippines Finance Minister Benjamin Diokno told the Reuters NEXT conference in New York this week that the sovereign wealth fund will be fully operational by the end of the year, with an initial capitalisation of around US$2 billion.[...]

Critics fear the fund could be prone to misuse. The sovereign wealth fund of neighbouring Malaysia, 1Malaysia Development Berhad, was engulfed in a multibillion-dollar corruption scandal.

12 Nov 23

[is-the-primate-vid-cute]

Is the Columbus zoo a good zoo to support? Its the only zoo I have access to but I wonder if it has any problems or anything

The Columbus Zoo is slightly tricky. They lost their AZA accreditation due to four zoo officials misuse of funds in 2021, which lost the zoo over half a million dollars. In addition to which, the AZA cited concerns about the zoo having a "long record of intentional and repeated animal transfers with non-AZA members intended to supply baby animals – mainly big cats – for entertainment purposes."

I don't have to tell you that that is terrible news, but things are looking up. Summer of 2022 Columbus Zoo gained ZAA accreditation, which holds weight. They are working on regaining their AZA status, so it appears these issues are on the mend. Ultimately the decision is yours, but I still think they are worth supporting. Go see the animals, ask questions, and get involved! I think it's fair to say that they wouldn't be ZAA accredited if they were still engaging in the shady practices that lpst them their AZA status.