Taxpayer dollars being laundered through NGOs and going to anti-gun groups

[bradsteen]

------
The shootingnewsweekly article is obviously biased pro gun. They cite DataRepublican which is also obviously biased pro gun. Shootingweekly is only making a claim using datarepublican, "data" but the problem is I cant replicate the same data there. The burden of proof is on the one making the claim, and so far Crackpipe is correct they have not provided evidence.

Appropriate evidence would be another unbiased source, on the subject saying the same thing. At the very least, each and every one of us should be able to replicate the same results on datarepublicans website. Crackpipe is right to be skeptical.

Agreed. Personally, I wouldn't be surprised if someone gets sued for defamation over calling it "laundering" of taxpayer funds. That implies criminal activity, of which there is no evidence provided. If they discover communications that imply a coordinated effort to funnel tax dollars to entities through intermediaries with the intent to obscure the source, then you would have a legitimate criminal conspiracy for which people can be prosecuted. Maybe that's happening and the FBI is already investigating and they just aren't saying anything to prevent compromising that investigation.

However, the information presented does not show that. It shows entities who have received taxpayer funds, and transfers they have made to other entities. It provides no context for why the transfers were made, which is frankly the most important thing missing from the data. NGOs often collaborate to raise funds or host conferences about subject matter they both are involved in. $20k transferred from Tides Center to Everytown could be paying for consulting, hiring a speaker for an event, payment for a portion of costs related to a conference they hosted together (i.e. venue rental), or even a donation to reduce tax liability (if they aren't tax exempt).

No, this looks to me a lot like a case of the administration feeding the base. They're trying to whip up a frenzy about corruption to get public opinion to support the sweeping changes that are being made. That concerns me, because it seems an awful lot like what the Chinese do when they want to get influential citizens and elected officials to toe the line - they launch anti-corruption campaigns to purge those most dangerous to those in power. When the executive branch is driving major changes there's plenty of opportunity for overreach, which may include impacts to constitutional rights. Doesn't matter who's behind the Resolute desk, government actions should always be viewed with a critical eye.

 

[Provincial]

Academia keeps trying to get government to finance studies of "gun violence." We all know what the results of such a study will be.

Here is a short Youtube presentation about how Academia spends our tax money:

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=shFUDPqVmTg


Note the level of disrespect for the taxpayer.

"Gun violence" studies would yield just as little valuable information. It would just be another "bubble."

 

[Koda]

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[Stomper]

Evidence or not.... there's WAY too many feeding off the government taxpayer funded money-trough!

 

[oremike]

I wonder what would happen if someone would look to see how many project managers there are in government that don't have any projects to manage and supervisors with no one to supervise. You can find them in any lunch room playing Cribbage at 1:15 in the afternoon.

 

[Jay Walk]

Needs more proof before he believes that there is waste, fraud and abuse.

 

[CrackPipe]

Needs more proof before he believes that there is waste, fraud and abuse.

View attachment 2038176

No one on here is claiming there is not waste fraud and abuse. I was questioning the broad list of evidence free claims that are being made that appear to be an excuse for shutting down government departments that were created by congress. At it's core, this is a 2A issue as it is about supporting the Constitution, which is a package deal.
It goes without saying that there will be waste, fraud and abuse in these organizations, but think critically about that for one minute... in a government department, there is an inspector general who's job it is to find waste, fraud and abuse.
Why were they the first people that were fired?
Why were they fired in clear violation of the law?
Do you know what an actual audit looks like?
Do you know what an actual investigation looks like?
They certainly don't involve a group of high-school graduates taking over government computer systems containing our personal sensitive data.
Those running them certainly don't publicly state "CFPB RIP".
Some of the claims that have been demonstrated false.
Many of the actions from DOGE have all the red flags of a distraction and that makes me skeptical of the claims and the mortifications behind them.
Read what the judges are saying in the decisions challenging these actions.
Yes I am skeptical and yes, I want some evidence before I believe a claim, especially someone who has made demonstrably false statements on the same subject.
And all that makes me VERY nervous about what their plans are for our 2A and other Constitutional rights... especially what one Reagan appointed judge wrote.

 

[Idaho44]

Wagons in the hills with guns, pits of guns dug up dating to the 1800's. Why wait until 2025 to "discover waste, fraud etc."? Makes great "news" coverage, to justify one's role in the job market!

 

[Andy54Hawken]

Waste and fraud occurring within the government....yep.
Money being used to fund and further agendas...agendas not related to said project or anti 2nd Amendment...yep again.

With that said....
When you have a tree that is overgrown and in need of trimming...
You don't just take the hedge clippers and start cutting willy nilly .
You gotta have a plan ...and do some thinking / research first.

Also in regards to Goverment cut backs...
You gotta look at the whole...and not just cherry pick and cut what you don't like or agree with
Our elected officials work for us .....and all of America...not just for who and what they like.
Andy

 

[bradsteen]

Polymarket DOGE tracker dashboard, live updates on every initiative as it's cut.

Polymarket - DOGE Savings Tracker

Stay updated with the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) initiatives. Access real-time news, analyze spending cuts, and track progress towards the goal of reducing federal expenditure by up to $2 trillion with our comprehensive tracker.

polymarket.com

FYI, it's basing calculated "savings" off of twitter posts. So probably better to describe as "expected savings", since we won't have accurate totals until the GAO does their annual report.

 

[Jay Walk]

No one on here is claiming there is not waste fraud and abuse. I was questioning the broad list of evidence free claims that are being made that appear to be an excuse for shutting down government departments that were created by congress. At it's core, this is a 2A issue as it is about supporting the Constitution, which is a package deal.
It goes without saying that there will be waste, fraud and abuse in these organizations, but think critically about that for one minute... in a government department, there is an inspector general who's job it is to find waste, fraud and abuse.
Why were they the first people that were fired?
Why were they fired in clear violation of the law?
Do you know what an actual audit looks like?
Do you know what an actual investigation looks like?
They certainly don't involve a group of high-school graduates taking over government computer systems containing our personal sensitive data.
Those running them certainly don't publicly state "CFPB RIP".
Some of the claims that have been demonstrated false.
Many of the actions from DOGE have all the red flags of a distraction and that makes me skeptical of the claims and the mortifications behind them.
Read what the judges are saying in the decisions challenging these actions.
Yes I am skeptical and yes, I want some evidence before I believe a claim, especially someone who has made demonstrably false statements on the same subject.
And all that makes me VERY nervous about what their plans are for our 2A and other Constitutional rights... especially what one Reagan appointed judge wrote.

Good buddy is retired USFS, the waste is real.

 

[10mm]

Polymarket DOGE tracker dashboard, live updates on every initiative as it's cut.

Polymarket - DOGE Savings Tracker

Stay updated with the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) initiatives. Access real-time news, analyze spending cuts, and track progress towards the goal of reducing federal expenditure by up to $2 trillion with our comprehensive tracker.

polymarket.com

Sat, Feb 15
Voter Confidence in Liberia
$1.50M

A drop in the bucket, sure, but who else has drained the swamp?
Complainers, do You support Any of Your tax dollars going towards this program? The tree is obviously rotten and is a danger to all around. Pruning ain't gunna cut it.
The tree is rotten to the core, a removal is needed to make space to plant a tree of Liberty seedling. So we elected a guy to chop it down. A guy that wants Same Day Voting, Paper Ballots, ID to vote, just like he wants to eliminate Waste, Fraud, and Abuse. The most pro-American guy I have ever seen in the White House. A man who pays a lot of taxes, who wants to Make America Great Again and who also doesn't like to walk on eggshells or tiptoe around.
And he shouldn't have to. Simple goals, with simple solutions. I have always been a fan of the K.I.S.S. method.
So exposing the cheaters getting rich off the shell game is next, I hope. Go Elon!

 

[Jay Walk]

On average, 74 federal employees retire every day, just don't replace them.

Will take over 30 years to reduce the workforce by 1/3.

 

[Koda]

FYI, it's basing calculated "savings" off of twitter posts. So probably better to describe as "expected savings", since we won't have accurate totals until the GAO does their annual report.

yup, again.... "no evidence".

 

[Koda]

Complainers, do You support Any of Your tax dollars going towards this program?

To clarify, I'm not complaining I fully support DOGE.
I'm being skeptical of the shootingnewsweekly article as quite frankly, fake news.

There are two "beliefs" here at play and its important to distinguish the difference between them: What DOGE claims and what the media, influencers, blogs, NGOs claim (shootingnewsweekly website falls into the latter).

I have yet to see DOGE claim anyone is "laundering" moneys. I trust DOGE way more than things I see posted on the internet.

The single most damaging thing one can do to any cause they support is to promote it with something thats not true. Its a really bad pitfall to blindly believe in confirmation bias without confirming its not bias first.

 

[TherealJL]

NGO's and government grants have felt super shady for decades. Political parties have placed members on the boards of NGO's to steer policy, I have very little doubt that they have developed a kickback loop that effectively launders funds and cleanly allows for the money to flow back to lawmakers. If there's a valid rationale for senators gaining wealth exponentially fast I am all ears.

Government employees (in my experience) know that if they don't spend their budget and submit beyond their next FY budget will stay stagnant or possibly drop… there's a built in incentive to "waist" funds

 

[Barefootdog]

Starting in the mid 80's writing grant requests to obtain government funds for a new "non-profit" became an epidemic. It was pretty obvious most of the schemes were money grabs with little to be accomplished and little to no oversight.

No doubt many of the current NGOs grew out of that period.

I don't know whether any of the executive orders signed by Trump defunded the NGOs facilitating the illegal alien invasion into our country but that should be first on the list. If these groups need funding they should write a letter requesting a few shekels from the Pope or figure heads of the various religious sects. I'd love to sit back and read the rejection letters.

Political activism and advocacy should be grounds for removing the tax exempt status of offending groups including religious groups.

IMHO

 

[MTpockets]

Even a kid can see the fraud and waste.... those cookies are going everywhere.

Edit to add: Didn't read it... really just wanted to use this GIF

 

[bradsteen]

Sat, Feb 15
Voter Confidence in Liberia
$1.50M

A drop in the bucket, sure, but who else has drained the swamp?
Complainers, do You support Any of Your tax dollars going towards this program? The tree is obviously rotten and is a danger to all around. Pruning ain't gunna cut it.
The tree is rotten to the core, a removal is needed to make space to plant a tree of Liberty seedling. So we elected a guy to chop it down. A guy that wants Same Day Voting, Paper Ballots, ID to vote, just like he wants to eliminate Waste, Fraud, and Abuse. The most pro-American guy I have ever seen in the White House. A man who pays a lot of taxes, who wants to Make America Great Again and who also doesn't like to walk on eggshells or tiptoe around.
And he shouldn't have to. Simple goals, with simple solutions. I have always been a fan of the K.I.S.S. method.
So exposing the cheaters getting rich off the shell game is next, I hope. Go Elon!

I'm not saying changes aren't necessary, or that waste isn't happening, or that some of the programs being dropped aren't boondoggles. I AM saying giving one guy a free pass and ignoring any potential breaches of constitutional rights or bypassing the checks and balances that are supposed to protect our system from overreach is bad, because if he is allowed to do it then so can the next guy. That's how we get tyrannical government.

While all this is happening note that Musk is securing contracts for his various companies with the government. At minimum that's a conflict of interest, if not outright corruption. And he's doing this while pointing fingers at other entities that did the same thing and calling them bad. So, how is that not just another example of the fox guarding the henhouse?

If Musk is going to be working on behalf of the government, he should divest himself of his companies and assets linked to those companies (i.e. stock) so there is no potential for conflicts of interest or using the government to serve one's own ends. We would demand that of the D's if roles were reversed, so why are we not doing the same when it's our own guy in the driver's seat?

Also, changes in and of themselves aren't good or bad. It's the outcomes that stem from those changes that determine whether they were good or bad, and that's a determination always made in hindsight. If on Day 1 Trump had demanded a report from every organization under the executive branch detailing what they do, how they do it, why they do it, why continuation of it is important, and (most critically) what's going to break down or stop working if we cut it, then made determinations of what to cut based on that information, I would feel much more comfortable with the cuts. But he didn't do that. His strategy is "cut now, fix later". Maybe that's fine if you're a startup or overhauling a company you purchased, but cutting programs that some people literally depend on to stay alive and saying "we'll fix it later" is irresponsible.

A consequence of the cuts will be private companies stepping in to fill the gap in service these cuts create, and getting paid by your tax dollars to do it. Now, private companies are often more efficient than government, but I have seen many cases (personal experience) where those companies become dependent upon their big client and their actions pivot from serving its needs to protecting and expanding the contract at all costs. This leech-like behavior results in more bloat and waste, and those companies will become just as entrenched as the government agencies they replaced, but instead of being beholden to the taxpayers and elected officials they will be beholden to shareholders.

This again creates a conflict of interest, one that will have far-reaching consequences. Some health insurance companies go out of their way to deny coverage to their customers to reduce costs. Do we want them running the VA? Is that the level of care our service members deserve? Or drug companies willfully creating and marketing medications that will cause other downstream effects that the patient will have to treat with still more medications... Is that who we want running the FDA? Granted, these are extreme examples, but not outside the realm of possibility.

 

[Koda]

I'm not saying changes aren't necessary, or that waste isn't happening, or that some of the programs being dropped aren't boondoggles. I AM saying giving one guy a free pass and ignoring any potential breaches of constitutional rights or bypassing the checks and balances that are supposed to protect our system from overreach is bad, because if he is allowed to do it then so can the next guy. That's how we get tyrannical government.

So far I have not heard of anything illegal Musk or DOGE is doing.

Though I do agree its best he should divest himself of any taxdollar benefits for his business interested that still doesn't mean hes taking advantage of his position. So far all of the cuts Ive heard are ridiculous programs....

https://twitter.com/x/status/1890849405932077378

View: https://x.com/DOGE/status/1890849405932077378