Benghazi Document Drop Shows $114 Million for #NC20 Candidate’s Company

Posted on July 6, 2016 by A.P. Dillon

One of the North Carolina General Assembly races this blog followed was the NC-20 House race between Tammy Covil and Holly Grange.

Covil ran a tough campaign, calling out Grange’s company, Osprey Global Solutions, and its involvement in Benghazi.

Covil cited the Special Committee on Benghazi and the discovery of emails between Hillary Clinton and Sidney Blumenthal. Those emails showed Blumenthal going to bat for Grange’s company.  Blumenthal appears to hold a financial interest in Osprey Global Solutions as well.

The Grange campaign responded by firing off a ‘cease and desist‘ letter to the Covil campaign.

As it turns out, in a recent document dump by the House Committee on Benghazi further underscores Covil’s initial claims. Osprey Global Solutions and the very lucrative contracts it would be gaining are also mentioned throughout pages 44 to 50 of the document.

According to the “part 4” report, the “Transitional National Council [TNC]” was  “an opposition group headquartered in Benghazi hoping to emerge as the new Libyan government.”.

The report says that, “At the behest of the Secretary, the United States took the unprecedented step of formally recognizing the Transitional National Government on July 15, 2011,”.  

This allowed for substantial Libyan monies to be unfrozen. According to testimony given, the financial gain would not only be for the TNC and for the defraying of U.S operations in Benghazi.

These unfrozen funds would also benefit private companies:

Benghazi Report - Pg 47RedactedPrivate Gain

Such private companies engaging in Former Secretary Clinton’s humanitarian assistance idea  included Osprey Global Solutions, as the next section of text indicates:

“According to internal company documents, Osprey identified a 300-foot hospital vessel—including a crematorium. Osprey provided to the Libyans details about this hospital ship, even down to the number of physicians on board (16), nurses (40), custodial and kitchen staff (18). Osprey also provided hard figures on how much it would cost to procure the ship, maintain the ship, and acquire medical equipment.” (Page 46-47)

Just how much money would Osprey gain? Around $114 million:

“The total cost in the Memorandum for the first year of Osprey’s services—to include the “multi-purpose 302’ ship”—was $114 million.” (Page 49)

In a related report, the House Democrats on the Benghazi committee mistakenly released a transcript containing information on large payouts  to Blumenthal from Clinton backed groups, including Media Matters, as reported by Free Beacon:

Blumenthal, a close Clinton friend, testified that he made $200,000 a year as a consultant for David Brock’s organizations like Media Matters, Correct The Record and American Bridge. Blumenthal has been criticized for his connections with Libyan business interests while informally advising Clinton at the State Department, leading to allegations he unduly influenced her for monetary gain.

In a Facebook post, Covil responded to the “part 4” report:

Since the local media continues to ignore this scandal, I’ll throw it out there so that people in my district are informed. Everything I said about the Granges was/is true. It’s all laid out in the official Benghazi report in section III, pages 44 through 50. David Grange met with Libyan rebels (the TNC) and Hillary Clinton the day before she and Obama officially recognized them as the acting government. That declaration unencumbered Libyan assets so that Grange and his company could receive the $114 million dollars in services he was offering. In fact, they signed a memorandum
of understanding to that end. The only person he was looking to benefit in this “humanitarian effort” was himself. This meddling in foreign affairs also further destabilized an already fragile nation, which led to the unnecessary murder of four Americans. We know why the media is circling the wagons to protect Clinton, so why would they do the same for a supposed Conservative Republican? You know the answer.

NHC, your District 20 rep-elect is corrupt. Good luck with that.

To date, no media outlet in North Carolina has reported on the involvement of Grange’s husband or their company, Osprey Global Solutions as documented in the “part 4” report.

Posted in A.P. Dillon (LL1885), ELECTIONS, EXCLUSIVE, NCGA | Tagged | Comments Off on Benghazi Document Drop Shows $114 Million for #NC20 Candidate’s Company

2016 Budget Sent To Governor McCrory. See The K-12 Highlights.

Posted on July 5, 2016 by A.P. Dillon

NCGAThe 2016 budget was finally hammered out and send to Governor McCrory on July 1st.

Packed inside are significant funding increases for Education and some interesting tidbits.

First, a look at the money.

The focus here is on K-12 Education.

The Education Lottery funds were altered accordingly, with the final dollar amount of $591,713,703:

                                                                               FY 2015‑2016                        FY 2016‑2017
Non-instructional Support Personnel                   $ 310,455,157                        $ 314,950,482$ 372,266,860
Pre-kindergarten Program                                      78,252,110                                 78,252,110
Public School Building Capital Fund                    100,000,000                             100,000,000
Scholarships for Needy Students                           30,450,000                                30,450,000
UNC Need‑Based Financial Aid                             10,744,733                                     10,744,733
TOTAL                                                               $ 529,902,000            $ 534,397,325 $ 591,713,703

Under section 8.30, the General Assembly has dictated to the Department of Public Instruction (DPI) specific items they cannot use to make mandated budget reductions.  These programs include the Excellent Public Schools Act, Read to Achieve Program and the North Carolina School Connectivity Program.  This speaks to Dr. Atkinson’s little funding shell game  she played earlier this year

Section 8.30 also instructs DPI to pay $50,000 to “the Office of Administrative Hearings to be allocated to the Rules Review Commission, created by G.S. 143B‑30.1, to pay for any litigation costs incurred in the defense of North Carolina State Board of Education v. The State of North Carolina and The Rules Review Commission,”.

Teacher compensation is located under “PART VIII. PUBLIC SCHOOLS,  SECTION 9.1.(a).

Highlights:

  • Exp Increase 2016-17An average 4.7% raise for teachers, has  an experience-based step increase in it.
  • Step increases range from 2.0% to 13.1%.  (See increase dollar amounts in the chart to the right.) The highest percentage, 13.1% occurs for teachers with 15 years experience . This represents a $5,250 increase in pay, taking a teacher earning $45,250 to a salary of $50,000.
  • The step increases represent $190,947,111 in recurring funds.
  • Average 1.5% salary increase for school-based administrators. Translated to dollars that’s $8,443,728 in recurring funds.
  • 0.5% nonrecurring ‘bonus’ for school-based administrators. Translated to dollars, that’s $1,610,575.
  • $17,242,627 in ‘non-educator merit bonuses’.
  • State retirement contributions increased.
  • There is a one-time 1.6% cost-of-living adjustment for retirees.

A comparison between last year’s budget and this one, as well as salary comparisons can be downloaded from DPI.

Now for the interesting tidbits.
Included in the budget a project where the Friday Institute will be ‘modernizing’ the Financial and Business Services Division of DPI. This is interesting given that the Attorney General is now investigating a case where a Charter school was closed yet DPI failed to recover funding.

SCHOOL BUSINESS SYSTEM MODERNIZATION

SECTION 8.15.(a)  The State Board of Education shall collaborate with the Friday Institute for Educational Innovation at North Carolina State University (Friday Institute) to develop a plan to modernize the systems used by the Department of Public Instruction, Financial and Business Services Division, to manage and deliver funds and technical support services to local school administrative units and charter schools. This process shall include modernization of the Division’s systems for student information management, financial and payroll information, human resources information, and capital and repairs and renovations planning information.

Deadlines for this collaboration with Friday Institute:

  • “May 15, 2017, the State Board of Education shall report to the Joint Legislative Education Oversight Committee on the plan developed in accordance with this section for modernization of the systems used by the Financial and Business Services Division.”
  • “October 1, 2017, the Department of Public Instruction, in collaboration with the Friday Institute, local school administrative units, and charter schools, shall issue a Request for Proposal to outside vendors and entities for implementation of the plan.”

Included in the budget is a “pilot program” to “raise the high school drop out rate from sixteen to eighteen”.  Superintendent Atkinson has stated several times in the past she thinks students should be compelled to stay in school until they are 18 years old. It looks like she is getting her wish.

This pilot is to be carried out in Hickory Public Schools, the Newton‑Conover City Schools, and the Rutherford County Schools in the 2016‑2017 school year.

The section pertaining to this program has no less than 8 subsections. The second of which has disturbing implications.  Here is the section, emphasis added:

SECTION 8.21.(b)  For the purposes of implementing the pilot program authorized by this section, a local school administrative unit that is participating in the pilot program shall have the authority to provide that, if the principal or the principal’s designee determines that a student’s parent, guardian, or custodian, or a student who is 18 years of age, has not made a good‑faith effort to comply with the compulsory attendance requirements of the pilot program, the principal shall notify the district attorney and, if the student is less than 18 years of age, the director of social services of the county where the student resides. If the principal or the principal’s designee determines that a parent, guardian, or custodian of a student less than 18 years of age has made a good‑faith effort to comply with the law, the principal may file a complaint with the juvenile court counselor pursuant to Chapter 7B of the General Statutes that the student is habitually absent from school without a valid excuse. Upon receiving notification by the principal or the principal’s designee, the director of social services shall determine whether to undertake an investigation under G.S. 7B‑302.

The subsets of this pilot program go on to detail that the onus is on students over 16 and their parents to retain exemptions and that local school boards have the authority to determine who may or may not be excused.

Related Legislation/Documentation:

Posted in A.P. Dillon (LL1885), EDUCATION, June Atkinson, NC DPI, NCGA | Tagged , | 4 Comments

Bill Restoring Right to Sue In State Court Sent to Governor [Update: Gov Signs It]

Posted on July 5, 2016 by A.P. Dillon

Equality NC Director/ Rep. Chris Sgro was unhappy with adjournment being called and that the other 75 representatives in attendance voted to adjourn:

Apparently, Rep. Sgro was unaware one of his non-profit’s biggest complaints about HB 2 was neutered.

House Bill 169 was sent to Governor McCrory for his signature last Friday, July 1st as the legislature adjourned. The bill’s title is, ‘Restore State Claim for Wrongful Discharge’ and is connected to HB 2.

The bill appears to reverse the addition G.S. 143‑422.3 made by  HB 2 by removing the restriction on civil actions at the state level for employment discrimination.  The related language is stricken below:

SECTION 1.(a)  G.S. 143‑422.3 reads as rewritten:

“§ 143‑422.3.  Investigations; conciliations.

The Human Relations Commission in the Department of Administration shall have the authority to receive charges of discrimination from the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission pursuant to an agreement under Section 709(b) of Public Law 88‑352, as amended by Public Law 92‑261, and investigate and conciliate charges of discrimination. Throughout this process, the agency shall use its good offices to effect an amicable resolution of the charges of discrimination. This Article does not create, and shall not be construed to create or support, a statutory or common law private right of action, and no person may bring any civil action based upon the public policy expressed herein.“

The bill also added an entirely new section to G.S. 1‑54.  The addition is number 12, which reads, ” For wrongful discharge in violation of the public policy set forth in G.S. 143‑422.2.“

G.S. 143-422.2 lists the non-discrimination criteria for employers and in part reads, “It is the public policy of this State to protect and safeguard the right and opportunity of all persons to seek, obtain and hold employment without discrimination or abridgement on account of race, religion, color, national origin, age, sex or handicap by employers which regularly employ 15 or more employees.”

The bill states the act would be effective March 23, 2016.

UPDATE: On Monday July 18th, Governor McCrory signed the bill.
The Governor’s statement:

“Today, we have restored the right to sue for discrimination in state courts, which I requested before this year’s legislative session began.  With this action we have now reinstated all statewide non-discrimination policies that were previously in place, meaning North Carolina is now one of 49 states that allows citizens to sue in state court for employment discrimination.

“The issue of gender identity and expression in regards to access to bathrooms, locker rooms and changing facilities is a national issue that will be settled in the courts, in response to North Carolina and 21 other states challenging the federal overreach by the Obama administration.”

Related Documents

Posted in A.P. Dillon (LL1885), LGBTQ Issues, NCGA, Pat McCrory | Tagged , | 1 Comment

4th Circuit Court of Appeals Strikes Again Throwing NC Elections Into Chaos

Posted on July 3, 2016 by A.P. Dillon

In February of this year,  a 3 judge panel from the 4th Circuit Court of appeals threw out the congressional district voting maps just weeks before the state’s primary election.  Maps that had passed muster through multiple challenges were now null.  Lawmakers were given just a handful of days to re-draw the maps.

Judge Roger Gregory and Judge Max Coburn ruled against North Carolina. Judge William Osteen, Jr. dissented.  Sen. Bob Rucho (R-Mecklenburg) and Rep. David Lewis (R-Harnett) were the lead authors of the maps.

This was an unprecedented move and it thrust North Carolina’s elections into chaos. By unprecedented,  I mean that nationally.  No court has ever interrupted a state’s elections that were already in progress before.

This move by the 4th Circuit disenfranchising thousands of voters who had already voted by absentee ballot. At the time of the ruling, over 8,600 absentee ballots had already been requested.

Candidates who had been running against a particular opponent in a particular district, now found themselves either facing someone new or out of the running entirely. The end result was the March primary was moved to June and voters were left confused and frustrated.

Well, the 4th Circuit has done it again.

This time it’s the Wake county School board and Commissioner districts. Another 3 judge panel sent down another 2-1 ruling nullifying the current map (below).

New Wake Cty Board Maps

The 4th Circuit  panel even suggested the coming November elections shouldn’t happen. Part of the ruling says that, “We see no reason why the November 2016 elections should proceed under the unconstitutional plans we strike down today.”

 

Sen. Chad Barefoot (R – Franklin, Wake) is the lead author of the Wake county redistricting map.  Rep. David Lewis (R-Harnett) is also involved. The suit challenging the maps names Barefoot, Speaker  of the House Tim Moore (R- Cleveland)  and President Pro Tempore Phil Berger (R- Guildford, Rockingham).

The 4th Circuit judges involved this time are Judge Roger Gregory, Judge Diana Motz and Judge James Wynn.  Judge Diana Motz dissented. In her dissent she noted more than half a dozen times that the plaintiffs had failed to make their case.

Motz wrote that, “In sum, faced with the heavy burden of proving that assertedly illegitimate “partisanship” constituted the predominant motivation for the presumptively constitutional redistricting plans, Plaintiffs failed to offer any evidence truly probative of legislative intent. Plaintiffs’ experts tendered conclusions that their analyses could not support.”

This ruling by the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals comes as the result of an appeal to a February decision by U.S. Chief District Court Judge James C. Dever III. There were separate lawsuits challenging both the school board and commission maps. These separate suits were consolidated into one case.

Prior to that consolidation, U.S. District Court Judge Terrence Boyle dismissed a lawsuit challenging the school board maps in March of 2014. The suit was brought back in May 2015, however, when a 3 judge panel on the U.S. Court of Appeals sent it back to court.

Dever issued an 108 page ruling, which in part said that, “The court finds that the General Assembly did not engage in invidious discrimination, act arbitrarily, or act in bad faith in enabling the 2013 Wake County School Board Plan or the 2015 Wake County Commissioners Plan.”  Dever also said the maps did not violate the 1 person, 1 vote rule.

This ruling without question has the same disenfranchising effect the congressional ruling had, possibly even worse.

The Wake county school board race has seen a healthy number of candidates filing.  Time, energy and money have all been spent on races that may not happen.

Voters will be deprived of electing the representation they desire. Arguably, unless the legislature appeals and/or redraws the Wake maps,  a Democrat majority school board and a completely Democrat held Board of Commissioners could remain in place for another term.

Current Wake county school board member, Susan Evans, decided to challenge Senator Tamara Barringer (R-Wake) as a result of the new map. Now that the map has been stricken,  it looks like Evan’s may not even have been challenged at all.

The 4th Circuit Court of Appeals is also the same body that ruled the case of G.G. v. Gloucester County School Board could move forward.

That case involved Gavin Grimm, a girl who identifies as a boy, who sued the school district to gain access to opposite sex locker rooms and bathrooms.  The district had made separate accommodations for Grimm at Title IX permits, but that wasn’t good enough.

The 4th Circuit cited the Obama administration’s Department of Education’s non-binding letter on trangender facilities access as the basis for their ruling.

Judge Neimeyer wrote a stinging dissent basically saying that the guidance from the Department of Education was based on interpretation, not actual law. Stating in his dissent that, “The recent Office for Civil Rights letter, moreover, which is not law but which is the only authority on which the majority relies, states more than the majority acknowledges.”

Neimeyer went on to point out that Title IX is not ambiguous, writing that, “Title IX and its implementing regulations are not ambiguous. In recognition of physiological privacy and safety concerns, they allow schools to provide “separate living facilities for the different sexes,” 20 U.S.C. § 1686, provided that the facilities are “proportionate” and “comparable,” 34 C.F.R. § 106.32(b), and to provide “separate toilet, locker room, and shower facilities on the basis of sex,” again provided that the facilities are “comparable,” 34 C.F.R. § 106.33.”

Read more about the G.G. v. Gloucester County School Board decision. 

Related Documents

Posted in A.P. Dillon (LL1885), ELECTIONS, LEGAL, Wake County School Board | Tagged , | 4 Comments

AG Roy Cooper Kills Bipartisan #HB2 Changes

Posted on July 2, 2016 by A.P. Dillon

In case you missed it, WBTV is reporting that North Carolina Attorney General, Roy Cooper, made ‘personal phone calls’ to Democrats involved with the recent attempts to amend HB 2.   Cooper apparently bullied them into dropping their support.

The changes, in part,  would have allowed for in state legal action with regards workplace discrimination.  Read more about the multiple sets of changes.

Excerpt:

On Your Side Investigates has confirmed a group of up to ten House Democrats had originally signed on to support the bill. A number of people in that group changed their mind, though, after receiving calls from Cooper.

“We started losing Democrats,” the person involved in the negotiations said. “We were told Cooper was making personal phone calls to the ten Democratic members saying if they wanted to be on the team in November they needed to vote against the bill.”

Cooper is the Democratic nominee for North Carolina Governor. His race against Republican Governor Pat McCrory is expected to remain close through the election in November.

On Your Side Investigates has learned of at least four members who received calls from Cooper Thursday, including Representatives Garland Pierce (D-Scotland), Michael Wray (D-Halifax), Ken Goodman (D-Richmond) and Howard Hunter (D-Hertford).

Of the four members who received a call from Cooper, two did not return a phone call or email from On Your Side Investigates seeking comment. One member acknowledged he had a conversation with Cooper Thursday that included discussion of HB2, but would not provide specifics. 

The NC GOP released a statement about Cooper’s involvement:

“This report raises serious questions about the ethics and motivation of Attorney General Roy Cooper. In this case it appears Cooper chose work against the interests of the people of North Carolina and his client, the State itself. Any other lawyer would be disbarred for lobbying against the interest of his client. This is an unconscionable breach of trust that must be addressed” – Dallas Woodhouse NCGOP Executive Director

Roy Cooper Equality NCThis is not the first time Cooper has been caught behind the scenes. Earlier this year, Cooper was nailed by the Wall Street Journal for collaborating with businesses to economically blackmail North Carolina over HB 2.

Meanwhile, it seems the partisan hacks at Policy Watch will no anything necessary in order to protect Roy Cooper, including outright lie:

And they should be called out for it.

Related Reading: That Was Fast: @RoyCooperNC will NOT defend NC Children

Posted in A.P. Dillon (LL1885), ELECTIONS, LGBTQ Issues, NCGA, YWBMTC | Tagged , | Comments Off on AG Roy Cooper Kills Bipartisan #HB2 Changes

Two New Appointees to NC State Board of Ed

Posted on July 1, 2016 by A.P. Dillon

The announcement of two new appointees to the NC State Board of Education sort of flew under the radar yesterday, eclipsed by the NBA/NCGA  antics on HB2.

Senate Joint Resolution 902 created confirmation of two appointments to the NC State Board of Education by the Governor. The resolution names the appointees:

“The appointments of James Todd Chasteen and Amy Bannister White to membership on the State Board of Education for terms to expire March 31, 2023, are confirmed.”

The Resolution passed, 110-1.

The lone “No” vote was Rep. Chris Sgro.  Sgro is also the Executive Director for Equality NC. Perhaps Srgro was confused since the resolution had a “2” in it. Sgro is arguably the only General Assembly member actively using his position at the legislature to further the agenda of his non-profit, but the media seems uninterested in pursuing that.

Apparently, Chasteen will be filling a current vacancy on the board. Ms. White will be taking over for current board member Kevin Howell.

There has been no indication of when the Governor will replace Chair Bill Cobey, who has come under fire by conservatives for lack of leadership. In particular, the unquestioned compliance with the education wishes of Superintendent Atkinson such as Common Core.

There isn’t a ton of  information on these two out there, but here is what I found so far.

About James Todd Chasteen
He is an attorney from the Watauga county who often can be found going by J. Todd Chasteen.

Chasteen currently is the corporate counsel at Samaritan’s Purse. ( Franklin Graham’s Christian international relief organization).

He is a graduate of James Madison University.

His wife’s name is Kim. She runs a private Christian school called Grace Academy, which serves grades K-8.

The Left leaning Policy Watch is upset because Chasteen supported a book being removed from a reading list at Watauga High. The book was not banned, as Policy Watch would have you believed, it was removed from a reading list for sophomores as it contained violent content such as rape, incest and torture.

About Amy Bannister White
White was appointed by Governor McCrory to the NC Commission of Volunteerism and Community Service in 2013.

From 2006 to 2010, White  worked in economic development and membership recruitment for the Garner Chamber of Commerce.

White served on the Wake County School Board from 2001 to 2005.

 

Posted in EDUCATION, NC Board Of Education | Tagged | Comments Off on Two New Appointees to NC State Board of Ed