Look-Alike Web Sites Hoodwink Republican Donors 294
Hugh Pickens writes "Shane Goldmacher writes that a network of look-alike campaign websites have netted hundreds of thousands of dollars this year in what some are calling a sophisticated political phishing scheme. The doppelgänger websites have the trappings of official campaign pages: smiling candidate photos and videos, issue pages, and a large red "donate" button at the top and exist for nearly three-dozen prominent GOP figures, including presidential nominee Mitt Romney, House Speaker John Boehner, House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, and donation magnets such as Reps. Michele Bachmann of Minnesota and Allen West of Florida. The only difference is that proceeds from the shadow sites go not to the candidates pictured, but to an obscure conservative group called CAPE PAC run by activist Jeff Loyd, a former chairman of the Gila County GOP in Arizona. 'The only thing they are doing is lining their pockets and funding their own operation,' says Republican political strategist Chris LaCivita. CAPE PAC has a strong Web presence, with over 100,000 followers on Twitter and 50,000 on Facebook and its business model is to buy Google ads — about $290,000 worth, as of the end of June — to promote its network of candidate sites whenever people search for prominent GOP officials. A search for 'Mitt Romney,' for instance, often leads to two sponsored results: Romney's official site and CAPE PAC's mittromneyin2012.com. Once on a CAPE PAC site, users would have to notice fine print at either the top or bottom of the page revealing that they were not on the official page of their favored politician. A dozen donors, including some experienced Washington hands such as Neusner, had no idea they had contributed to the group before National Journal Daily contacted them. 'It confused me, and I do this for a living,' says Washington lobbyist Patrick Raffaniello. 'That's pretty sophisticated phishing.'"
Just goes to show you... (Score:4, Funny)
But hey, at least this way, they weren't going to as horrible of a cause.
Re:Just goes to show you... (Score:5, Funny)
No, no, what happened is The Free Market (blessed be Its holy name) has decided that these fraudst--sorry, intrepid businessmen at CapePac deserve that money in the marketplace of ideas.
After all, that's the decision that these sucke--sorry, customers have unwittingl--I mean willingly made.
Re:Just goes to show you... (Score:5, Insightful)
No, no, what happened is The Free Market (blessed be Its holy name) has decided that these fraudst--sorry, intrepid businessmen at CapePac deserve that money in the marketplace of ideas.
After all, that's the decision that these sucke--sorry, customers have unwittingl--I mean willingly made.
I really don't think that anyone has been "hoodwinked", or that these are fraud or phishing sites. These are PAC sites. This is what PACs do, they accept donations and essentially spend that money any way they see fit. Ostensibly, like the fine print says, they use that money to oppose various candidates like the president, or support other candidates (often it seems that supporting a candidate actually means running ads opposing another candidate, rather than ads that highlight why your man should get the job).
Anyway, my point is that this is not malware, or phishing, or an "attack", or fraud. This is American politics. So really the post I'm replying to is right on target, sarcasm or not - this is the system that we have deliberately made for ourselves.
Re:Just goes to show you... (Score:4, Insightful)
Sounds like a business plan. I think I would like to start a PAC PalinForPresident2016.com Also the activities would be centered around traveling on a yacht around the world, as a "Good Will Tour".
(Of course I mean Michael Palin, I'm not *that* evil.)
Re:Just goes to show you... (Score:5, Informative)
If by "liberal", you mean "Allen Greenspan", then yes. He famously, privately averred that the government shouldn't prohibit fraud, that the marketplace would sort it out more efficiently.
So, like most conservatives, you have no fucking idea what you're talking about.
Re:Just goes to show you... (Score:5, Insightful)
If by "liberal", you mean "Allen Greenspan", then yes. He famously, privately averred that the government shouldn't prohibit fraud, that the marketplace would sort it out more efficiently.
So, like most who claim to be conservatives, but are actually the furthest thing from it, you have no fucking idea what you're talking about.
FTFY.
Don't fall into the trap of politically motivated hyperbole - Republicans are just as liberal as Democrats, albeit in a different way. Of course, being a 'liberal' or 'conservative' leaning individual has absolutely nothing to do with economics, although I doubt many of the corporate media viewers realize that.
Ideology aside, there's a slight issue with Republican's claim to support the concept of a 'free market economy' - namely, that they don't.
From Dictionary.com:
free market
noun
an economic system in which prices and wages are determined by unrestricted competition between businesses, without government regulation or fear of monopolies.
In layman's terms, no rules, no regulations, no subsidies, no tax breaks - it's survival of the fittest spreadsheet, with absolutely zero interference from the government.
No part of any Republican or Democrat economic plan supports a free market per the definition of the term. Granted, that's not necessarily a bad thing.
Re:Just goes to show you... (Score:4, Insightful)
FWIW:
1) Unrestricted would mean no prohibition on fraud.
2) Unregulated would mean that those who obeyed rules to avoid fraud would be penalized in comparison to those who broke those same rules.
OTOH, I don't trust the government, either. This leaves me sort of betwixt and between. Both the large corporations and the government are essentially powers that I cannot fight. If either is given free reign, then my life will turn into slavery, or possibly just abject poverty. The government is less interested in impoverishing me, and possibly less interested in enslaving me....except as a favor to their corporate supporters.
I find it quite impossible to support either side. For now, all I can hope is that the powers-that-be start feuding. This will keep anything good from getting accomplished, but it also prevents anything bad from getting accomplished. Unfortunately, the last decade has shown that the two sides are able to agree on accomplishing evil, even when they can't agree on doing anything good.
Re:Just goes to show you... (Score:4, Interesting)
A miority government spends most of their time squabbling and crying about the other 2 factions. Most of the individual parties pet projects never make it anywhere. If anything actually important comes, they have to work together to get the law passed. If you don't work with the opposition, there is another party who will. If nothing important is happening, then they just propose bill after bill after bill, and none of them ever make it any where.
A minority government is the best way to get the least government for your tax dollars.
Republicans, the other white meat (Score:5, Insightful)
This is the basic problem that I have with 'free market' proponents. Without the former, how do you prevent the latter? People have demonstrated time and again, that given the chance to acquire and abuse power, they will.
Oo, let me have a go! (Score:5, Insightful)
People have demonstrated time and again, that given the chance to acquire and abuse power, they will.
Can I play the FTFY game?
Governments^WCorporations have demonstrated time and again, that given the chance to acquire and abuse power, they will.
People are both the antidote, not^Wand the poison.
We could just as well say that " any organization made up of people has demonstrated at some time that, given the chance to acquire and abuse power, they will."
Some people are well-adjusted and will not willingly harm others of their own volition. Other people are sociopathic maladjusted dangers to others, who strive only for their own personal gain.
Many of us exhibit both sets of behaviors, among others, depending on the circumstances and overall context.
That said, when choosing whether to grant power over me to a government that is, at least ostensibly, representative, or to a company that is, at least ostensibly, interested primarily in making a profit while minimizing (and often externalizing) costs, I'll choose the government. At least I have some way of influencing governmental decision-making, even if I'm not a shareholder.
Re: (Score:3)
That said, when choosing whether to grant power over me to a government that is, at least ostensibly, representative, or to a company that is, at least ostensibly, interested primarily in making a profit while minimizing (and often externalizing) costs, I'll choose the government. At least I have some way of influencing governmental decision-making, even if I'm not a shareholder.
You have just as much means of influencing corporate decision making, perhaps more.
If you do not like a new law that your local government enacts, you have three basic options. Move where it isn't the law, live with it while trying to get them to change their mind (and you are one vote out of thousands or millions), or violate the law and be subject to arrest and imprisonment/punishment.
If you do not like a corporate policy, you have two options. Live with it and buy stuff from them, or object and not de
Re: (Score:3)
If you do not like a corporate policy, you have two options. Live with it and buy stuff from them, or object and not deal with them. Notice that the second option here is not available to you when dealing with governments.
So when Caterpillar's manufacturing plant dumps its waste oil in my lawn, my choice is to suck it up or cancel my order of 50 bulldozers? Oh wait, I'm a programmer, I don't buy bulldozers. Not everything can be rendered into a financial transaction. At some point you're going to have to
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The major problem - One of the major problems, for there are several. One of the many major problems with governing people is that of whom you get to do it; or rather of who manages to get people to let them do it to them.
To summarize: it is a well-known fact that those people who must want to rule people are, ipso facto, those least suited to do it.
To summarize the summary: anyone who is capable of getting themselves made President should on no account be allowed to do the job
Re: (Score:2)
Alan Greenspan. If you're going to accuse somebody of not knowing what they're talking about, it behoves you to avoid such simple errors.
Re:Just goes to show you... (Score:5, Informative)
Depends what nationality he is. His is spelt correctly for British English, yours is spelled correctly for American.
Re:Just goes to show you... (Score:4, Insightful)
So the "famous" statement is a recollection of one person from a lunch in 1996 which Greenspan denies. I don't know why I'm defending Greenspan here because he has certainly not been the free market champion but here is another quote from him from the first Google result:
"An area in which more rather than less government involvement is needed, in my judgment, is the rooting out of fraud. It is the bane of any market system. Indeed, Washington would do well to divert resources from creating new regulations to greatly stepping up the enforcement of anti-fraud and anti-racketeering laws1."
Re:Just goes to show you... (Score:4)
>>>I provided the link, you may debate the veracity of the source, but whether or not you believe he said it, a number of people do
A number of people also believe vaccines cause autism, that the government is seeding the clouds with poison, and the economy is on the brink of another 2008-style crash. Doesn't make any of these 4 things true.
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You're wrong. A free market requires some impartial body as protector of rights and arbiter of when rights have been broken.
A free market, in a nut, REQUIRES the rule of law to be a free market. It requires a commonly accepted standard of property rights and an adherence to trading to mutual benefit. If people are allowed to hold you at knifepoint, then it is not a "free" market, it is naked savagery calling itself commerce. If people are allowed to commit fraud (and mind you, we are talking ACTUAL FRAU
Re:Just goes to show you... (Score:4, Insightful)
Re:Just goes to show you... (Score:5, Insightful)
When will people look beyond the letter and actually see the candidates? Then maybe will will get some better ones.
Unlikely, if they had vision that good, they'd look beyond the candidates too, and see they have identical donors, so there's not much difference.
What is different is the PR campaigns. One side wants to primarily use the government tactics (which has merged with big business) to destroy the middle class, and the other side wants to primarily use big business tactics (which has merged with the government) to destroy the middle class.
Personally I used to be a fan of having big business destroy my class, but then the bible thumpers and extremists took over and kicked all the normal people out, so now I lean toward having the government destroy my class. Right or wrong, assisted suicide is illegal on an individual medical basis; however on a national basis its not only legal but compulsory. Oh well.
Re:Just goes to show you... (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Just goes to show you... (Score:4, Insightful)
Re:Just goes to show you... (Score:4, Informative)
Blind skepticism is little better than blind faith.
Since your name suggest you chose the right editor, I'll assume there is hope for you.
When you say "they have identical donors" that simlply isn't true. The billionaires that make up Crossroads GPS are not donating to Obama's campaign or PACs, and LGBT PAC is not spending money saying nice things about Romney. There is a choice. If you're in the 1%, or an ultra-conservative religious enthusiast, Romney will undoubtedly have your back. If if you're.. well... everyone who doesn't care to see the desires of the ultra-conservatives and the wealthy prioritized above the rest of us, then it would seem Obama is a clear choice.
If you want to cut out all the bullshit, take two good examples. Read the 2010 Affordable Care Act (as passed)
http://www.healthcare.gov/law/full/ [healthcare.gov]
And then Read the Paul Ryan budget (which Romney claims is very similar (if not identical) to his):
http://budget.house.gov/uploadedfiles/pathtoprosperity2013.pdf [house.gov]
These are outstanding examples of what each camp would like to do with your money. You can read into the past versions if you like. The orignal Obama Care included the highly controversial Public Option, and the original Ryan plan turned Medicare into Vouchercare. Both were bad ideas if you ask me, but they have since adapted their plans.
If your argument could be amended to: "Both sides are far too influenced by money and special interests." Then I would wholeheartedly agree and highly recommend this book by Lawrence Lessig on how we should go about fixing this problem:
http://www.amazon.com/Republic-Lost-Money-Corrupts-Congress--/dp/0446576433/ [amazon.com]
Re:Just goes to show you... (Score:5, Insightful)
This is why I find the flaming and ranting and social polarization so flat out ridiculous...
My whore leans to the left... you're an idiot, everyone knows a whore should lean to the right. Guys, the operative word here is "Whore" someone who sells themselves as a function of performing social acts for pay. The fact yours lean in different directions doesn't alter the fundamental economic reality. America has one party, the Republicrats. Some of them talk blue and some talk red, but when it comes down to the nitty gritty, they are all about the green and everything else is just frosting on a cow flop.
Re:Just goes to show you... (Score:5, Insightful)
What is different is the PR campaigns. One side wants to primarily use the government tactics (which has merged with big business) to destroy the middle class, and the other side wants to primarily use big business tactics (which has merged with the government) to destroy the middle class.
I guess that's why the Republicans and Democrats have spent the better part of two years fighting over rescinding tax cuts for those making over $250k and extending social spending for those making less than $250k.
Maybe you'd like to explain your "destroy the middle class" comment a little further?
Without any context, it just makes you seem ignorant.
Re:Just goes to show you... (Score:5, Funny)
(ahem)
YES, BECAUSE ACTUAL CRIMINALS ARE MORE MORAL THAN THE REPUBLICAN PARTY! LOL! IT'S A JOKE!!!
Inevitable (Score:5, Interesting)
This was inevitable since citizens united. Money=speech and does not necessarily need to relate to a campaign to be used with respect to a campaign. Fraud(is it fraud?) was a completely logical consequence.
Re:Inevitable (Score:5, Insightful)
This was inevitable since citizens united.
I'm sorry, but fraud existed long before the Citizen's United case, and will exist long after. Isn't it common knowledge that one should be very certain of the website one is buying things from/giving money to, and didn't that advice come about not because of SCOTUS but because of existing fraud?
Weren't there any look-alike fraud sites before Citizen's United reaffirmed that people who own corporations still have civil and constitutional rights? I think there were.
There is nothing inherently political about this issue, nor is there anything inherently political about the crime. It being Republicans who are being defrauded doesn't excuse it, and Citizen's United has nothing to do with it.
Re:Inevitable (Score:4, Insightful)
Citizens United did not create fraud. But it did make it a lot easier to perpetuate. So many "social advocacy" groups that no one has ever heard of, no one knows who runs, no one knows who funds, no one knows where the money goes.
Just make a Kittens & Puppies for Christ PAC, set up a web page, post a couple partisan screeds on it, add a DONATE button, and presto: money.
Even better if you actually do a tiny bit of whatever qualifies for advocacy these days and roll the rest into "operating expenses". (So much more civilized than "hookers and blow")
Re:Inevitable (Score:5, Insightful)
Right now corporations are getting mostly the good stuff when it comes to being a person, and the few things they have to suffer with (taxes and some pesky laws), they do their best at bribing politicians to fix. Oh, I mean, donating, not bribing.
Re:Inevitable (Score:4, Interesting)
I was thinking of marrying my ROTH IRA (which is possibly close enough to a corporation to count as one.) and then getting divorced with my ROTH IRA keeping half my assets. Instant 50% of assets shielded from capital gains taxes.
Maybe I'd have to pair up with someone else of similar economic status for it to work, but still...
Re:Inevitable (Score:4, Funny)
If corporations are people, can they get married?
A corporate merger is kind of like marriage. The question is it like a gay marriage or a straight marriage?
Re:Inevitable (Score:5, Insightful)
... before Citizen's United reaffirmed that people who own corporations still have civil and constitutional rights?
Too bad those corporate "citizens" don't have any civil or constitutional responsibilities or have to follow all the same rules we regular citizens do. I sure wish I could live here in Virginia, yet declare my home state to be Delaware and avoid paying state taxes or getting sued here in Virginia.
As far as public corporations, the stock-holders own the companies. Hmm... I don't recall getting to vote my shares whether or not to donate to political parties with any of the companies for which I own stock, so how am I being represented here?
ssssshhh! (Score:2, Funny)
The dirty little secret is that there is less money in fishing for Democrats
Re: (Score:2)
No D presidential primary fight this year.
This is hardly the first political look alike/typosquatter. Remember whitehouse.com?
Re:ssssshhh! (Score:4, Interesting)
More likely age and familiarity with technology.
Republicans tend to skew old.
Re: (Score:2, Informative)
"More likely age and familiarity with technology.
Republicans tend to skew dumb."
I fixed that for you.
Re: (Score:2)
Because they still do it the old-fashioned way. In bags.
Question (Score:3)
This leads to something that has always puzzled me about American political parties -- their legal status. Are they non-profit corporations, or something? Other than the brownshirts, what keeps me from opening up a storefront down the street from the local Republican Party headquarters, and call my place the local Republican Party headquarters, instead -- complete with candidates that I support, fundraisers, etc.?
Re:Question (Score:4, Informative)
Re: (Score:2)
but "friends of the local republican politicians org" would be totally fine?
that's to say, a lot of the pr on stations etc in usa seems to be bought by these support organizations(and not bought by the parties or candidates directly, like over here) - so is it fraud to create one, gather money for it and then just use the money very, very sparingly for the cause?
Re:Question (Score:4, Informative)
That's not fraud, it's completely typical. Not just for political causes, but all non-profits.
Don't forget that 'officer salaries' come off the top of donations.
You do have to file a metric buttload of paperwork every year to stay legal and not get greedy/stupid with the foundation credit cards.
The hard part is, as always, finding the suckers with money.
Re: (Score:2, Funny)
This leads to something that has always puzzled me about American political parties -- their legal status. Are they non-profit corporations, or something?
I think the official status of US political parties is that they exist as "shut the fuck up and stop asking inconvenient questions, citizen, unless you want to wake up tomorrow to find your family and friends 'disappeared' and your freedoms 'inconvenienced'" entities. I think that sort of entity is defined in the tax code under section Go-Fuck-Yourself.9934-EZ.
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Not sure exactly where political parties fit in the maze of U.S. corporate entity classification. But the network of state and local parties that calls itself "The Republican Party" is affiliated with the Republican National Committee, which owns all the IP relating to the GOP "brand". If you start calling your organization "The Republican Party", expect to Hear from their lawyers [politico.com].
The GOP doesn't, to my knowledge, have a Sturmabteilung. If they did, it would presumably wear Red, not Brown.
Re: (Score:3)
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... and the Democratic Republic of North Korea, spring to mind.
To be precise, the country is called the People's Democratic Republic of Korea. That's a bonus second "aren't we nice" adjective (for extra craziness multiplier), and no North (because they maintain that the South is rightfully theirs too).
Re: (Score:3)
no North (because they maintain that the South is rightfully theirs too).
Uh, there's no "South" in the official name "Republic of Korea" either.
This is not a unique case. Recall the Republic of Vietnam ("South Vietnam"), the Federal Republic of Germany ("West Germany"), and the Arab Republic of Yemen ("Yemen") which existed as U.S ally/clients in opposition to the Soviet ally/clients, the Socialist Republic of Vietnam ("North Vietnam"), the German Democratic Republic ("East Germany") and the People's Democratic Republic of Yemen ("South Yemen"). In each of the above cases, one a
Re: (Score:3, Informative)
Incidentally, the word "Republic" comes from a Latin term meaning "the public thing".
Tut. "Republic" comes from "Res Publica" - 'public matters' (matters as in, concerns) in Greek. I'm fairly sure of that source language as Plato (Greek) wrote a book (well, sorta) called 'The Republic'.
Sorry to be such a pedant.
Re:Question (Score:4, Funny)
I'm not bothered by your being pedantic — you can't possibly be more pedantic than I am, as I'm about to demonstrate.
Res publica is Latin [google.com]. I've forgotten most of my High School Latin, but I still know a First Declension noun when I see it.
The Greek name for Plato's dialogue about government is Politeia, which translates as (wait for it!) "Government". When Cicero translated this work into Latin, he titled it Res Publica in order to emphasize the supposed similarity between Plato's imaginary "perfect government" and the Roman Republic. During the middle ages, this was the only version of the book available in Western Europe — few people spoke Greek, and all literate people spoke Latin. Which is why the title in English is The Republic.
Except that they are down due to Godaddy outage! (Score:5, Funny)
Perfect timing (Score:5, Funny)
Perhaps some campaign finance reform is in order?
Re: (Score:3)
Perhaps some campaign finance reform is in order?
It already has been reformed. This is the reform.
Gooses in sauce. (Score:2, Insightful)
Yet the disclaimer was right there at the bottom of the page.
Why do you hate the free market, Neusner?
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BMO
Re: (Score:3)
so long as Neusner is just telling people about the site and why it should not be used, he really isn't be inconsistent.
As long as he supports a political platform that embraces absolute "caveat emptor" as a matter of faith, he is being completely inconsistent.
The Republicans constantly rail against consumer information and, well, anything that gives the customer (in this case a donor) even a smidge of informed consent.
"There's another old saying, Senator: Don't piss down my back and tell me it's raining."
Re: (Score:2)
but you have misunderstood their point of view.
I completely understand their point of view. It is market anarchism requiring social network effects so that there are always "first victims" before word gets around, but there is no recourse for those "first victims who should have known better." A kind of vicious market Calvinism. That somehow the "invisible hand of the free market" by itself solves things is a point of view based in fantasy logic, troll physics, and feline engineering.
They are all about p
Re:Gooses in sauce. (Score:5, Insightful)
Sure they know full well there will always be first victims. They weigh that against the reality of the government effectively "validating" what is or is not a legitimate PAC or charity.
The fantasy of the free market is pure lessaiz-faire without government at all, but that only worked when you knew everyone and societies were tribes in the jungle with less than 300 people. Because you know for a fact when Timmy caught those 30 bass that he's trying to sell you and that they are his to sell.
We live in a complex society where there are "innovators," to borrow a sociological term, that will exploit the lack of information that would not be tolerated in that 300 person tribe and regulation through government and official standards is the result. Anywhere you see an ineffective government in regards to this you see a hellhole. We need rules so that everyone is on the same page, and that markets are fair along with being as free as possible. Unfair markets are markets where people get tired of being screwed over and eventually say "fuck this" and try to stay out of the market as much as possible. This is what the supposed free-marketers don't get - that in the end, lack of regulation is self-defeating if you want a prosperous market.
They just arenâ(TM)t directly affiliated with the politician whoâ(TM)s picture is on the site.
And that's the problem. If one can't be assured where one's money is going, why donate? Enough of these deceptive PACS and people will simply stop donating even to real PACS. Regulation helps *everyone.*
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BMO
Re: (Score:3)
Sorry, but some of the rules they support allow companies to sue people for accurately describing the products being sold. So hypocrites is what they are.
Here's another old scam for your examination (Score:4, Funny)
Hey just a quick reminder, election day this year for 3rd party candidates has been moved up to Tuesday November 6th so they have extra time to count handwritten "Ron Paul" write in votes and stuff like that... so if you're voting libertarian party, or really any 3rd party, anyone other than -R or -D, PLEASE show up at the polls on Tuesday November 6th, mkay? And if you're voting for a -R or -D then DO NOT show up at the polls until Wednesday November 7th this year. I'd really appreciate your help and if you could copy this to your facebook and G+ and twitter and all that, I'd really appreciate it as a personal favor. Please make sure that any -D or -R voters you know, won't show up at the polls until the 7th, OK?
TLDR is the voting commission has split presidential voting by party to reduce crowds, all 3rd party voters = vote on Tuesday Nov 6th, and D/R voters please don't arrive at the polls until Wednesday Nov 7th!
Re: (Score:2, Informative)
Re: (Score:2, Insightful)
Don't be ridiculous. It's only voter fraud if he's a MINORITY.
Re: (Score:2)
Thus, "Here's another old scam for your examination". There's a million old scams... merely running them online is not very interesting.
I wonder what the internet equivalent is of "stealing neighbors yard signs" and "standing withing 500 feet of the polling place and campaigning" for internet voting and internet fraud.... I haven't figured that one out yet. Fake donation collection and fake voting information is almost too obvious/simple.
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There's a million old scams... merely running them online is not very interesting.
I hate to reply to myself, and contradict myself, but I believe I just invented a new form of voter fraud in the last hour while thinking about this. Unlike all the other example I thought of, this is unique and new to the internet age and never existed before in identical format in meatspace.
Take witches cauldron. Mix in:
1) A decent rootkit to intercept and modify all traffic in and out of a box
2) Deep monitoring and tracking sufficient to categorize a PC as D or R owned (for example, tracking cookies fr
Re: (Score:3)
Uh, ever seen a national politician's website? (Score:4, Insightful)
They go for smooth and polished, and don't look at all like the cluttered, Times New Roman-laden "stopmrobama.com" -- oh, and the fact that your "mittromneyin2012.com" link redirected to "stopmrobama.com", and the page that comes up is all about Obama, and doesn't have the word "Romney" anywhere on it, should also be big hints.
'It confused me, and I do this for a living,' says Washington lobbyist Patrick Raffaniello. 'That's pretty sophisticated phishing.'
Uh, no. This just proves Washington lobbyists are pretty bad at what they purportedly "do for a living".
regulations would help (Score:3)
However, this is exactly the sort of "there ought to be a law" technically-legal-but-unethical business practice that regulations, at their best, can and do address. Right now this guy is probably protected from a solid fraud case because he puts the disclaimer, albeit in tiny print and in an unlikely place to read it. But regulations could be promulgated that would require any page site that accepts political donations to post disclaimers of proper level of font size, prominence, and in clear language.
Such regulations already exist for, for example, the credit card "box" that clearly, states terms of credit card offers, including the APR, fees, etc. Before the "box" regulations, this info used to be squirreled away, in fine print, obscure language, if it was to be found at all. And like the donors, people often found themselves unwittingly fooled out of real money because they were duped.
Re: (Score:2)
For example, I don't think anyone (even the hardcore so-called "anarchists") would be against a regulation that says, "Don't dump radioactive waste into the rivers. Punishment: Life in prison and all of your assets."
But the clean air and clean water acts, both passed by Nixon(R) are what Republicans have been trying to repeal for 30 years.
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BMO
Re: (Score:2)
Anarchists, like myself, would not be in favor of such "regulation" as it would be codified in a set of rules and enforced by a government agency. We would rather leave it to the individual to intercede in the case of such destructive behavior, by whatever means may be necessary (ranging from discussing the
Re: (Score:3)
"I also emit more carbon dioxide than the chair I'm sitting on,"
and a lot more methane... Lay off the burritos man... we can smell you 3 cubicles over.
Sleaze vs Party (Score:5, Insightful)
Gotta love all the comments so far. Apparently, when it's a sleazeball in your own party, it's just a single sleazeball (or a handful of them, whatever), not representative of the party. But when it's the other party, it's poetic justice.
No, people, fraud is fraud, deception is deception, no matter which politics they put on their front door, and no matter who they defraud.
Re:Sleaze vs Party (Score:4, Informative)
What you don't understand is that the party that rails against regulations is now the victim of fraud.
Which makes the schadenfreude especially sweet.
Why do you hate the free market?
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BMO
Re: (Score:2)
I'm pretty sure even with strict regulation of campaign finance, fraudsters would still use phishing scams like this.
Re: (Score:3)
Re: (Score:2)
What you don't understand is that the party that rails against regulations is now the victim of fraud.
But are they complaining about it?
For the record, I did not RTFA.
Re:Sleaze vs Party (Score:4, Insightful)
>But are they complaining about it?
Yes, it's called hypocrisy.
It's fine if *you* get fucked over with a credit card contract because of tiny print buried on page 42, but woe be unto the person who deceives a Republican donor. Hell hath no fury.
--
BMO
Re:Sleaze vs Party (Score:4, Insightful)
And regulation would have prevented this how?
How about requiring that the destination of the money is in just as bold print at the top of the page as "obama sux"?
You know, informed consent and all that, which is supposedly the basis of a free market. I know what you're selling and you know what I'm giving you in return.
Only thieves think that's a bad idea.
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BMO
Re:Sleaze vs Party (Score:4)
This would actually be an awesome idea. With a law like that, maybe we'd actually have EULAs and such that can be read and understood by an average person in under 15 seconds, which would be an immense improvement.
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>explaining to me what a free market is and what it depends on
I'm not stupid.
However, the free market is only free when all parties to a transaction have equal knowledge.
Then why do the Republicans and other purported free marketers dislike regulation that evens out the knowledge? An informed consumer contributes to a free market and helps weed out the bad companies. Why, for all the tea in China, is this fucking bad according to the Paulites, Randroids, and Republicans?
>this isnt' regulations
>c
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Regulations don't just even out the knowledge. It causes onerous rules that do nothing except for feel good liberals.
Take for example, regulations for ADA, used to get wheelchair access to all public places. Well that causes problems for historical buildings and being retrofitted for ADA compliance. It has ruined many a local landmark business as well, like the Train Hobbiest who opened up his collection in his basement. Along comes ADA police and tells him to build $100,000 retro fit on his house. Now, nob
Re:Sleaze vs Party (Score:4, Interesting)
>hobby
>not a business
>required to spend 100K
That, on its face, is a bullshit figure and I will spell out right now that you are lying.
Q. Are there any limitations on the ADA's barrier removal requirements for existing facilities?
A. Yes. Barrier removal need be accomplished only when it is "readily achievable" to do so.
Q. What does the term "readily achievable" mean?
A. It means "easily accomplishable and able to be carried out without much difficulty or expense."
Q. Will businesses need to install elevators?
A. Businesses are not required to retrofit their facilities to install elevators unless such installation is readily achievable, which is unlikely in most cases.
Q. Must alternative steps be taken without regard to cost?
A. No, only readily achievable alternative steps must be undertaken.
http://www.ada.gov/q&aeng02.htm [ada.gov]
Go parrot your nonsense elsewhere, kid.
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BMO
Re: (Score:2)
Re:Sleaze vs Party (Score:5, Informative)
Carpe PAC (Score:2)
A better name would be Carpe PAC.
How about? (Score:3)
Caveat Stultus.
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Caveat Stultus.
Even better.
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Would describe this as grabbing the balls of the candidates by proxy?
legally, a superpac can have (Score:4, Insightful)
SECRET SOURCES OF MONEY that need not be revealed
does that really feel like something that should be part of your country? democrat, republican, anyone?
where is the outrage about that?
if money from who knows where can influence our politics, i don't know why this story should elicit 1/10th of the concern
if it comes from who knows where, it might as well go who knows where
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SECRET SOURCES OF MONEY that need not be revealed. Does that really feel like something that should be part of your country? democrat, republican, anyone?
They also have secret sources of votes that need not be revealed. Why should my donations to candidates be made a public record when my vote is not? What's to stop a prospective employee from pulling my donation records up when they are going through the hiring process and saying "Oh, he donated to a Democrat/Republican/Libertarian/Green Party candidate, we don't want to hire one of those people."
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I don't think they are listening... PEOPLE, THE MONEY CAN COME FROM ANYWHERE!!! If the Chinese think the Democrats are cramping their style and the Republicans would be willing to cut them a little more slack... here's a billion dollars, don't spend it all in one place. If the global media conglomerates think the Dems are kowtowing just a wee bit deeper than the Reps, here's a billion... remember who your friends are. This is the most morally corrosive, antidemocratic, cynical, destructive to the fabric of
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what you said doesn't mean anything
in reality, the guy with the most money can dominate the media channels and bury the better guy with lies and smears
this is a problem that isn't solved with pithy platitudes. it requires hard work
but i fear the american people will be thrust into poverty before any will get off their asses and care
A wise man once said, "It's all a joke." (Score:3, Funny)
Look-Alike Web Sites Hoodwink Republican Donors
And Actual Democrat Web Sites Hoodwink Democrat Donors...
Don't hate, you'd laugh if it were reversed. [instantrimshot.com]
In other news (Score:3)
So much win (Score:2, Insightful)
One word: Awesome.
I love stuff like this - it's doing to the GOP's constituents what the GOP does to the country on a regular basis.
damn (Score:5, Funny)
There you have it... (Score:2)
There are dishonest, money grubbing, gravy sucking pigs taking advantage of the politically weak minded ... and then there are internet scammers. Man this is like Nazis and Child Molesters in a cage match... who do you boo and who do your root for??? Oh, and for those of you with sensitive skin, I'll add I'd feel not a wit different if the scammers had been doing Democrats instead so there is that.
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Look, it completely undermines any point you make, no matter how valid, if you equate people whose only crime is being uninformed with enemies of the state. Don't do that.
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I would seriously suggest that you check your mental health. Whether you agree with them or not, Tea Party has nothing whatsoever to do with any religious fundamentalism or installing Ayatollahs to run this country so your whole post is a rant of an insane person.
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Is it somehow easier to verify identities outside the Internet? Do you have an in-person identity verification system? Why are you sharing it?
Re:Dang! (Score:5, Funny)
Looks like capepac.org is slashdotted, so I can't donate!
Maybe their hosting is through GoDaddy.
Re:Dang! (Score:5, Informative)
Funny and true! Their name servers show as domaincontrol.com, which is, in fact, GoDaddy.
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This guy has a destiny.