Five More Forged Letters Uncovered From Bonner & Associates' Work for DC Coal Lobby - Read Them Here
Five new forged letters fraudulently sent to Congressmembers have turned up in an ongoing Congressional investigation into the Astroturf campaign launched by the American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity (ACCCE) and it subcontractor Bonner & Associates.
The newly confirmed forgeries were sent to at least three Congressmembers and all fraudulently claimed to represent the views of elderly services organizations and senior centers, including the non-profit Erie Center on Health & Aging.
A total of 13 letters from nine different community groups have now been verified as forgeries, with dozens more letters still being vetted to determine if they were forged by Bonner & Associates, or actually represented the views of the named signers.
ACCCE hired Bonner & Associates in an attempt to scuttle Democratic support for the Waxman-Markey climate and energy legislation approved earlier this summer by the House of Representatives. ACCCE and Bonner have claimed that the first few forgeries uncovered were the work of a rogue temporary employee whom Bonner has since fired, although that person has not been identified to verify this claim. The newly revealed forgeries indicate that the ACCCE/Bonner Astroturf campaign was surely a more highly coordinated effort than even the best and brightest temp could muster.
In addition to Rep. Tom Perriello (D-VA) who received previously confirmed forgeries claiming to represent the NAACP as well as Hispanic and women’s advocacy groups, the new letters were also sent to Pennsylvania Reps. Kathy Dahlkemper (D-PA) and Christopher Carney (D-PA). Roll Call reports that "all three Members represent conservative, Republican-leaning districts and could be vulnerable in the 2010 elections."
These three members have received a total of 58 letters - possibly all forgeries - a matter being investigated by the Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming, chaired by Rep. Ed Markey (D-MA). Chairman Markey has called on ACCCE and Bonner & Associates to verify whether the remaining several dozen letters were also sent fraudulently.
"Weve seen fear-mongering with our nations senior citizens with health care, and now were seeing fraud-mongering with senior citizens on clean energy," said Chairman Markey. "Lately, democratic debate has been deceptively debased by fake facts and harsh rhetoric. We must return to an honest discussion of the issues, and ensure that this sort of campaign does not further poison the well of trustworthy debate."
Read all of the fraudulent letters now received by the Select Committee below, courtesy of EnviroKnow.
[All letter links are PDF documents]
Perriello:
Senior Center Inc., Charlottesville, VA
Creciendo Juntos, Charlottesville, VA [previously made public]
Jefferson Area Board on Aging, Charlottesville, VA [previously made public]
American Association of University Women, Charlottesville, VA [previously
made public]
NAACP-Charlottesville, Charlottesville, VA [5 letters] [previously made
public]
NAACP-1, NAACP-2, NAACP-3, NAACP-4, NAACP-5
Dahlkemper:
Slippery Rock Senior Center, Slippery Rock, PA
Erie Center on Health & Aging, Eire, PA
Butler Senior Center, Lyndora, PA
Carney:
Dunmore Senior Citizens Center, Dunmore, PA
Thanks to EnviroKnow for the PDF copies of the letters.
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Full prosecution including jail time is the only way to stop these shenanigans.
Remember when we were a country of laws? Me neither.
Now we know that any information coming from the coal industry, health insurance industry, oil industry, and all the other big industries are most likely lies. Anyone who takes their word seriously is a fool.
Bonner & assoc has some serious issues. This is low, even for DC politics.
Can we get a law with some teeth in it to prevent impersonating organizations for the purpose of influencing legislation?
Aren't there already laws that could be invoked for the prosecution of these groups, and their investors that are contributing to/organizing this kind of activity? I would think that fraud or slander could be used as vehicles for "adjusting" these agencies' criminal, and downright unethical, practices. Btw...I'm thinking that we should rename ACCCE to DOPES (Destruction Of Planet Earth Squad). Sad to see that these organizations have no conscience regarding their actions, and the destruction of their own offspring's future.
OK SilenceDoGood, it's time to lay cards on the table. You are muddying the waters with lots of other "information", but let's get to the heart of how you feel about the tactics that are detailed in this article.
You seem to be arguing in defense of Bonner & Associates and the ACCCE, so let's get it out there once and for all:
Are you in favor of, and defending, the behavior in this article? A simple yes or no is all that's required.
We'll wait here patiently for an answer.
I am sick to death of mendacity. Our society (with extreme emphasis on our law makers, elected representatives, and industry leaders) is sinking in a swamp of bald faced lies told with apparent impunity. At what point will we be force to assume one cannot believe a word out of any of them?
There is very little honor left in our people.
My friend, as lies and scandals pile up I also am losing any remaining faith in anything but my family. I believe in most elected officials in Washington act honorably until thier first vote. Then the lobbying and influence peddeling and corruption begins. You cannot tell me that votes are not basically for sale. It has been made clear to me, by words and deeds of law makers, that reform will come down on the side of business. We will be lead to believe reform must protect Insurance industry profitability because they are a large part of a recovering economy. The loudest, most told lie is excepted as truth almost always. When the lies are revealed the truth is usually just a footnote.
Sadly javajava, I have to agree. Perhaps Huffpo should add a section titled "Pants on Fire" and start publishing and crediting each. Umm, on second thought, it would be so rapidly filled and updated as to defeat its own purpose.
Waxman-Markey is a terrible bill, too weak on actually effecting proper climate change regulations and it's coupled with a huge giveaway to the coal industry. I hope it is defeated.
About those who stand to make ahelluvalotta money opposing any efforts to stop runaway carbon emissions:
http://www.publicintegrity.org/articles/entry/731/
Money hand-over-fist from the status quo, consequences to our civilization and our children be damned:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2009/jul/26/climate-change-obama-administration
"Power attracts psychotics - always."
Leland R. Erickson
Citizen
The Right doesn't know how to be intellectually honest in debate. Fascists can't think that way, they can only react.
Whatt
Why don't you try and explain how they will lose? Maybe people believe they should be responsible for themself? It is actually all lower income people who will lose if the cap and trade goes through. Think it through companies will not eat the increased cost. It will get passed to the customers in higher energy costs.
Surely forging letters is against the law.
Sue them.
Big Tobacco, Big Energy, Big Pharma, Big Agriculture.... all running our lives. All of them lying to us and all of them need our tax money to stay afloat... the whole game is about how much they can take from us and how little they have to spend to do it.
Liars.
There is no such thing as "Clean Coal".
Know your enemy:
http://www.publicintegrity.org/articles/entry/731/
IMHO what underscores the *psychosis* of the corporate mind is the willful denial of empirical evidence of a trend that could prove ultimately *fatal* to our civilization, if not our species, yet the corporate CEOs and their paid minions simply do not care as long as they can make their next quarter's profits.
"Power attracts psychotics -always."
Leland R. Erickson
Citizen
There is to clean coal!!!
...coal that is left in the ground.
Flood their phones and their fax machines
Bonner and Associates
1101 17th Street N.W.
Washington, DC 20036
202-463-8880-phone
202-833-3584-fax
Aren't you sick to death of this too? I'm tired of bad practices being so easy for the companies who use them. Make it harder for them.
I think we need to flood the Washington, DC coal lobbyists who paid them to do it, American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity (ACCCE):
American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity
333 John Carlyle Street
Suite 530
Alexandria, Virginia 22314
703-684-6292
cleancoalusa.orga.org
No shame at all. When will the average low income republican wake up and understand they are beig lied to everyday buy their party? How much more to they have to learn.... oh I forgot they will never learn about this the only watch Fixed News and thing like this are never reported there.
jansp I couldn't agree more, the very low income rep. stand to lose in so many ways and they don't even have the sense to know it.
ManwithNObrain
Just because you don't like facts does not make them lies.
You need to learn how to reply. And lots of other things too.
More schoolyard scholarship from NoisyNoGood. Take a hike.
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