Dark Money

Recently, I was made aware of a new film by Kimberly Reed, an independent film maker residing in New York City.  The title of the film is Dark Money and it addresses the issue of corporate and foreign money being used to fund political contests at both the state and federal levels.  In 2010 the U. S. Supreme Court ruled in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission that: “Political spending is a form of protected speech under the First Amendment and the government may not keep corporations or unions from spending money to support or denounce individual candidates or elections.”   This decision opened to the proverbial lid of Pandora’s Box.  The decision allowed entities to set up 501(c) 6 organizations as a means of protecting the sources of money received, as well as not providing any data to show how the money was spent.  Hence the term “Dark Money” was born and continues to thrive.  Not only have  these types of organizations been used by corporations, but they have become a popular source of funding for colleges and universities. 

An article, “How the University of Alabama System funneled $1.4 million through a ‘dark money’ web”, appeared in AL.com back in August 2016. Also, another media source, Inside Higher Ed, included in their August 10, 2016, issue an article, “A University System’s Back Channel Way of Lobbying State Officials”.  This article was also referencing The University of Alabama.   At the time, I wrote a Letter to the Editor of The Tuscaloosa News, raising questions about the content of the article.  The paper chose not to publish the letter, but what I wrote included the following:

“Each of these media outlets addressed a growing phenomenon amongst colleges and universities to side-step the prohibition of not-for-profit organizations from engaging in political activity.  This is being done by forming 501(c)6 organizations, which allows them to funnel money into Super PACs for the purpose of lobbying state legislators.  The University of Alabama System is a member of the Alabama Association for Higher Education (AAHE) and has given substantial sums of money to this organization which then provides money to Innovation PAC.  Allegedly, there are 9 members of this association; however, when questioned, officials associated with the AAHE or the university’s system office have avoided identifying the other members. As reported in the Al.com article, the principal architects of the Alabama Association of Higher Education were Bill Jones, the former lobbyist for the University System and Robert Witt, the retiring Chancellor of the System.  What is being done is not illegal, but there is a reason the funds are referred to as “dark money”.  The practice undermines the law that allows organizations to be not-for-profit entities and makes a mockery of the principal of transparency.”

The ability to “hide” the donors and identify the beneficiaries of the funds creates an environment of mistrust and a blatant lack of confidence in the political process.  Indeed, elections are being bought and there is no greater evidence of this than the involvement of the Koch brothers in the use of “dark money”, primarily in providing funds to higher education to promote their rightwing political agenda. 

The cap

Typically, when I travel, I wear a cap with a distinct “A” on it denoting the University of Alabama.  I have had numerous expressions of “Roll Tide” directed my way because of the cap.  Recently, my wife and I were on vacation in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, and went over to Teton Village to ride the tram to the top of the mountain.  The weather turned a bit dicey as the wind picked up and it began to rain.  Due to the change in the weather, we decided that the tram was no longer an option, so we ducked into a small café and bar.  Settling in at the bar, we noticed that there was one other couple and upon seeing my cap, the lady let out a “Roll Tide”.  As we talked, we learned that they were from Fairhope, Alabama.  We spent some time visiting with our new-found Tide supporters.  On this same trip we were leaving the Rocky Mountain west and flying back to Birmingham.  As we were going through security at the Denver airport, the TSA person asked where we were going and commented about the cap.  Similarly, on the plane a young lady made note of the university that I, obviously, supported.

A couple of years ago, my wife and I spent a week driving through the State of Oregon—a state that neither of us had visited.  One evening we were driving through a small coastal town looking for a place to have dinner.  We stopped at a restaurant that was on the shore but could not get a reservation.  As we left the restaurant, I heard “Roll Tide” which was spoken by a fellow I knew who had recently retired from the university where he had been a Professor of Statistics in the business school.  We chatted for some time and left to find another place to have dinner. 

Last year we were on a cruise through the Caribbean and going through the ship’s gift shop when we heard, “Roll Tide”.  We recognized that the person making the statement was a businesswoman from Tuscaloosa.  There would not have been any sense of recognition if it were not for the cap.  I also recall on another cruise to Alaska; a fellow began talking with me about the upcoming football season.  This discussion would not have occurred if I was not wearing the cap.  He was from Missouri and the University of Missouri had recently become a member of Southeastern Conference; therefore, he wanted to discuss their chances in the new conference.

I have come to realize that the cap fosters these exchanges and they would not occur if there was no cap.  The term “Roll Tide” is a unique greeting that is spoken in a variety of contexts within the state of Alabama as well as throughout the world.  It replaces a “hello” as a greeting and there is never any mystery about what is being referred to when the phrase is used.  I will continue to wear the cap as I travel, and I am certain that there will be other situations that generate a “Roll Tide”.

Unholy politics

Thankfully, we get a bit of a reprieve from the inane political commercials that permeated the televisions in the homes and businesses throughout the state in the months preceding the state’s primary elections.  The most blatant and distorted ads can be attributed to Ainsworth’s bid to become the Republican nominee for Lt. Governor.  It is most interesting that in his initial commercial prior to the primary, he is sitting in a church pew in front of a stained-glass window holding what is presumed to be a Bible.  He then lays claim to the inerrant contents of the Holy Book by stating that it has all the answers for any problem confronted by humankind.  Now fast-forward to his commercials prior to the runoff between him and Twinkle Cavanagh.  His ads are a litany of mean. vicious, and deceptive claims about Cavanagh, yet he continues to lay claim to be a “Christian, conservative, gun owner.”  In a recent article, Unholy Bible Belt politics, written for Al.com by Dana Hall McCain, she makes a very salient point when referring to an admonishment from the Bible that we are not to bear false witness against our neighbor, and to do so is “an affront to the God they trot out like a mascot.”  The unholy politics rampant prior to the primaries and the runoffs was not limited to the Lt. Governor’s race.

The races for Attorney General, Agriculture Commissioner and Supreme Court Justice were also prone to including statements that were questionable.  For example, Troy King claimed that Steve Marshall was really a Democrat running as a Republican.  To support this claim, the ad asserted that Marshall even had an Obama bumper sticker on his car.  When confronted about this, King stated that someone told him about it and he continued to use the claim even though Marshall denied that this was true.  The examples of offensive and unsubstantiated ads are legion and seem to be a clear case of the end justifying the means.  “Win at any cost” is the mantra that politicians for whatever office seem to follow.  I know that Alabama is not the only state where such antics occur, but these are the ones that I am aware of and are offended by.  I do believe that outside of the Bible Belt, politicians are not going to be touting their religious beliefs in effort to sway the electorate.  Unlike what we have been witness to for the past six or so months, they may refer to issues and their position on those issues.  There is a great deal that Alabama politicians ought to reference when it comes to issues, including education, prison conditions, health care for the poor, infrastructure problems, tax reform, reform of the archaic state constitution, to mention a few of the areas that are subject to discussion and debate. 

The voter turnout for the primaries on July 17, was pitifully and embarrassing low.  Only 12.7 percent of the registered voters went to the polls.  It should be noted that there were no significant Democratic runoffs, and this could be a partial explanation for the low turnout; however, it is conceivable that many registered voters simply were fed up with the debased nature of the ads that folks were subjected to at all hours of the day and night.  Is it possible that people were saying enough is enough and that --to demonstrate their angst-- they simply did not vote? 

Now that we have a bit of a reprieve from the television onslaught of those vying for state positions, we unfortunately, have the same kind of intrusion into our homes by ads for Kavanaugh’s nomination for the U.S. Supreme Court.  Recently, it was reported that several conservative camps, including the Koch brothers, were collectively, spending millions of dollars to promote Kavanaugh’s nomination and admonishing those watching to let their Senators know of their support for this nomination.  I can never recall this level of promotion for a Supreme Court nominee and it demeans the significance and importance of the role of a Supreme Court Justice.  There is no shame and, once again, we witness the end justifying the means.

Game of kings

Earlier today I waited for my friend to come to the house so that we could go out and play golf.  This is a masochistic experience we engage in a couple of days a week.  Occasionally, I also join a group of “seniors” on Saturday.  Golf is a game that was developed by some sadistic individuals, originally in a land across the pond.  It is referred to as the game of kings, and the somewhat modern version of the game dates to the 15th century.  It was at around age 50 plus that I decided to give the “ole game” a try and I must confess that it has been the most difficult endeavor I have ever tried to undertake.  Not only are the rules a bit strange, archaic and at times, arbitrary, but the game itself is one hell of a challenge.  To make the effort to develop some measure of self-respect, I took a few golf lessons.  In these lessons I learned that to be worth a damn, it starts with how you hold the club.  A contortionist would no doubt be the most able person to follow the “club-holding” instructions.  My attempts proved to be a bit futile, so I took the approach made famous by Frank Sinatra and “did it my way”!  Another lesson focused on the way you stand and “aim” where you are going to hit the ball.  This lesson was a complete failure on me and to this day, I confuse anyone who has the gall to join me for a round with how I stand; yet often the ball does go where I think I wanted it to go.

Stroking the little dimpled ball is also an art that few can master.  Contacting the ball can be influenced by that damn grip and how you hold your arms, twist your body, consider the velocity of the wind, elevation and the singing of the birds.  The point being that the number of variables that come into play in the stroke and follow-through are legion.  You damn well better not talk, cough, sneeze, clear your throat, or move more than a fraction of an inch and do so in complete and utter silence.  There are multiple aspects to the game of golf and I am just touching the surface of all that the game entails. Equipment is so, so critical.  Manufacturers of the equipment are regularly coming out with a better driver, putter and every other club to make you begin to approach the ability of Jack Nicholas and Tiger Woods.  I’ll never forget an Assistant Pro at a country club telling a friend, “Mr. Moyer, you can’t buy a game”, but that did not stop Mr. Moyer from buying every new version of a club that was made and most piled up in his garage.  Well, I fell victim to the manufacturer’s harangue and dropped around $2000 for some “good equipment”, but the Assistant Pro was right, “Mr. Crow, you can’t buy a game”!  The ball, another critical component.  That little dimpled sphere is also subject to multiple variations.  The number of dimples, the configuration of the dimples, the softness or hardness of the core and on and on.  A frigging ball we are talking about, not a surgical instrument.

Oh, what you wear also comes into play.  You had better emerge onto the course with a shirt that has a collar-yes, a collar.  Obviously, a collared shirt is an important factor in how you play this inane game.  I have been with someone who did not have the required shirt and was forbidden to play on the course.  Anyone who has watched a game of golf on TV will recall that the temperature can be 200 degrees, but every player must wear long pants. Apparently, self-torture is a contributing factor to playing the game of golf.  Now, the peons playing on local courses can wear shorts, but you better have a collared shirt.   

Prior to his passing, I use to play often with my good buddy, Chuckie, and more than on one occasion he would turn to me and say, “Richie, why the hell do we keep trying to play this game?”  I guess we were trying to build character!  It should be noted that we never practiced and then would get frustrated and berate ourselves for duffing a shot or missing a put. 

A question to be raised in any discussion about the game of golf, is why do they build houses around golf courses?  It has been said that the word golf was the only 4 letter word left, hence the name of the game.  The spewing forth of multiple variations of whatever obscenity or profane expression one can think of are regular utterances on any course where the “game of kings” is played.  Incidentally, a rather common explanation for the derivation of the word golf is that it means, “Gentleman only, ladies forbidden”.  This might give some degree of superiority to the “real men” who spend an inordinate amount of time hitting a little ball with a stick that has a big end to it, but it isn’t true.  Anyone for a round of golf? 

Suffer the little children

The cover of the current issue of Time magazine, poignantly captures the inhumane and absurd position that the Trump administration has taken regarding parents and children being separated.  The cover includes the president towering over a two-year old girl from Honduras crying for her mother.  Trump is simply staring down at her showing no emotion or giving any hint of caring.  It should be noted that Trump and the little girl are not in the same location.  She is crying for her mother, who is being dealt with by border personnel.  What the cover does seem to depict is the detachment that the president has from those seeking asylum in this country.  As has been reported over and over, there are 2300 children who have been separated from their families.  Those who have been the victims of separation include infants through adolescents.  These children have done nothing wrong and their only “crime” is that they came with their families to seek a better life.

Indeed, the country is not equipped to take all who seek refuge, but there must be a more human approach to making these decisions.  There is no question that the president has an announced bias toward those crossing into the United States into Texas and Arizona.  In his campaigning he referred to the criminals who will come in to murder, rape, and abuse our citizens, yet not all who risk their lives and the lives of their children can be so described.  There are good and industrious individuals who are escaping the terror that they have been living in, whether in Mexico or various Central American countries.  The inane policy forcing the separation of children from their families has consequences that are inevitable.  As these children seek some sense of emotional attention they can only turn to the other children for this reassurance.  The staff that manage their “care” are prohibited from making any overtures toward these children, regardless of their age.  Consider a one-year or two-year old child who has been ripped from his or her mother, and who seeks caring and soothing attention that only a mother can give; but there is no mother.  It is known that these early years are so important in the emotional development of a child as they bond with their parents.  What will be the consequences of the lack of concern for these kids?  Do we accept the Attorney General’s admonition to the parents, “If you do not want to be separated from your children, don’t bring them with you?”    This is the same Trump administration official who tried to quote the Scriptures for justification for the actions taken by the administration.  Lord help us!

Yes, the president has back-peddled on the separation of the children from their families.  The policy that currently exists allows for families to stay together.  Families will be placed in chain-link cages that mirror the shelters where dogs and cats are held.  The dogs and cats are, probably, treated better.  The cages in McAllen, Texas have euphemistically been referred to as the “Dog Kennel”.  On its face, the new policy tends to suggest a backing down from the “zero tolerance” position enunciated by Trump--but not so fast.  Those who cross the border, illegally” will be charged with criminal entry into the country.  Do not lose sight of the fact that the overwhelming majority of those coming into the country present themselves to border patrol personnel seeking asylum, which is quite legal. 

Although parents and children can be kept together, there remain the over 2000 children that have been separated and are “out there somewhere” in one of 17 states that are housing the children.  Have the almost 1500 “lost” children been located?  How do the parents of those who were separated from them find their child or children?  Per the common practice of this administration, there is no plan for the reunification of the parents and children.  How long will they remain separated?  There are multiple federal agencies involved in this chaos, which accentuates the inevitable inability of the government to act in a timely and efficient manner.  As has been stated, all that has happened is that one bad policy has been replaced by another bad policy.  The sad reality of this mess is that innocent children are the pawns.