{"id":2650034,"date":"2026-08-26T15:36:01","date_gmt":"2026-08-26T19:36:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/utm_sourcerssutm_mediumrssutm_campaignamerica-is-becoming-an-empire-of-fraud-and-shameless-crony-grifting\/"},"modified":"2026-08-26T15:50:40","modified_gmt":"2026-08-26T19:50:40","slug":"utm_sourcerssutm_mediumrssutm_campaignamerica-is-becoming-an-empire-of-fraud-and-shameless-crony-grifting","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/utm_sourcerssutm_mediumrssutm_campaignamerica-is-becoming-an-empire-of-fraud-and-shameless-crony-grifting\/","title":{"rendered":"America Is Becoming An Empire Of Fraud and Crony Grifting"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">20<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Futm_sourcerssutm_mediumrssutm_campaignamerica-is-becoming-an-empire-of-fraud-and-shameless-crony-grifting%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2650034&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>The article highlights numerous instances of government officials misusing public funds for personal or non-essential expenses, such as extravagant travel, entertainment, and questionable consulting or training activities abroad. In Kentucky, a school district faced scrutiny over excessive charges on credit cards, including trips to Australia justified as beneficial for staff training. Meanwhile, investigations into the districtS superintendent revealed intimidating tactics and legal threats against critics. The piece also discusses California&#8217;s political landscape, where legislators and officials, despite being in positions of power, engage in misconduct, such as backing unpopular tax hikes, using campaign funds improperly, or indulging in opulent travels abroad. Notably, Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara\u2019s extensive foreign trips and the close ties between NGOs and government agencies raise concerns about accountability and misuse of funds. The article emphasizes that these behaviors exemplify a broader decline in institutional integrity,with officials prioritizing personal gain over responsible stewardship of taxpayer dollars. It concludes with commentary from Chris Bray, a senior federalist reporter, underscoring the disconnect between public officials\u2019 actions and the financial stability of the institutions they are supposed to serve.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>Last year in Kentucky, a Republican state senator read a list to a school superintendent: hotel, hotel, ice cream, musical theater tickets, hotel again, first-class air travel, hotel, trip to Australia. Officials with school district credit cards racked up <em>hundreds of thousands of dollars a month<\/em> in often-insane charges that had nothing to do with educating children. Apparently the <a href=\"https:\/\/galthouse.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Galt House<\/a> is quite a draw for public officials who have access to other people\u2019s money.<\/p>\n<figure>\n<p><span><\/p>\n<blockquote data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Ensuring tax dollars are used properly educating KY students is a top priority of mine. With the passage of legislation last yr requiring full transparency of school financials, we are well on our way! <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/l6WBoEBLod\">pic.twitter.com\/l6WBoEBLod<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Lindsey Tichenor KY Senate 6 (@tichenor4ky) <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/tichenor4ky\/status\/2091865655523897522?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">August 24, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><\/span> <\/p>\n<\/figure>\n<p>The hearing took place as Fayette County Public Schools warned that the district had run out of money and needed more revenue. <\/p>\n<p>Responding to the list of his own credit card charges, the superintendent <a href=\"https:\/\/www.kentucky.com\/news\/politics-government\/article312130974.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">said<\/a> that the Australia trip had been \u201cfor himself and some other staff to examine best practices throughout the world to help students in emotional crisis.\u201d A lot of very useful staff training for local public agencies turns out to happen on other continents, because of the educational value of the Australian emotional perspective. <\/p>\n<p>A year later, that legislative hearing still echoes in continuing <a href=\"https:\/\/www.kentucky.com\/news\/local\/education\/article316502928.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">litigation and investigations<\/a>. A <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wkyt.com\/2026\/08\/19\/investigation-superintendent-intended-intimidate-state-rep-with-fabricated-legal-threats\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">story published last week<\/a> describes a very strange \u201c7-Minute Walkthrough\u201d in which the now-retired superintendent strolled around <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/peggy-flanagans-school-board-record-undercuts-claims-in-bitter-senate-primary\/\" title=\"Peggy Flanagan\u2019s school board record undercuts claims in bitter Senate primary\">school district headquarters<\/a> and slid threatening messages hinting at legal action under the doors of his internal critics.<\/p>\n<p>We\u2019ve arrived at the quite comfortable assumption that your government job is supposed to pay for your hotel bar tab and your tickets to see <em>Wicked<\/em>, and no one is so supposed to complain. Why are your critics being so mean about it?<\/p>\n<p>As always, California leads the way into the moral abyss. Republicans matter very little in the state legislature, where Democrats have supermajorities in both houses. So it caused some surprise this year when the then-minority leader in the Assembly, Heath Flora, supported two Democrat tax measures that they could have passed without him. May 21 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ocregister.com\/2026\/05\/21\/republicans-rise-in-support-of-sales-tax-increases-in-california\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">headline<\/a>: \u201cRepublicans rise in support of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/local-taxes-can-increase-now-with-law-eliminating-illinois-grocery-tax-in-2026-washington-examiner\/\" title=\"Local taxes can increase now with law eliminating Illinois\u2019 grocery tax in 2026 - Washington Examiner\">sales tax increases<\/a> in California.\u201d (<a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2026\/07\/07\/us-news\/california-gop-leaders-questioned-for-backing-sales-tax-hikes\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">See also<\/a>: \u201cCalifornia GOP leaders questioned for oddly backing Dems\u2019 green light of local sales tax hikes.\u201d)<\/p>\n<p>It turns out that Republican leaders in the California legislature are victims of their own inattention, because they\u2019re <a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2026\/08\/03\/us-news\/ousted-california-gop-leader-heath-flora-had-affairs-with-two-women-at-the-same-time\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">more focused<\/a> on <em>other topics<\/em>: \u201cOusted California GOP leader Heath Flora who backed Dem tax hikes allegedly funded second affair with campaign cash.\u201d Flora is also <a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2026\/08\/02\/us-news\/california-gop-leader-faces-two-ethics-probes-after-backing-tax-hike\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">accused<\/a> of using $11,500 in campaign funds at a single East Sacramento dive bar. <\/p>\n<p>California Democrats are, if anything, somewhat less shy about taking care of themselves. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.insurance.ca.gov\/0500-about-us\/01-commissioner\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara<\/a>, who had no background in insurance when he was elected to that role, has a <a href=\"https:\/\/archive.is\/KniOA\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">taste for foreign travel<\/a> that makes Fayette County school officials look like mere amateurs: \u201cat least 32 trips to 23 countries and territories \u2014 spending over 163 days abroad on state time.\u201d Emotionally wounded, Lara told the Los Angeles Times that an accusation of improper travel expenses \u201creally diminishes me as an individual.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The more common Sacramento story is about the <em>deep intimacy<\/em> between NGOs and government, which raises questions about the term \u201cnongovernmental organization\u201d when they all float on an ocean of government cash. In the current budget, Assemblyman Corey Jackson, an <em>absolute moron<\/em> with a \u201cdoctorate\u201d in social work from an online program, voted this year on a <a href=\"https:\/\/abgt.assembly.ca.gov\/system\/files\/2026-06\/floor-report-of-the-2026-27-budget-june-27-2026_5.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">budget<\/a> that lavishly funds an Inland Empire nonprofit called the Center Against Racism and Trauma (CART).<\/p>\n<figure><\/figure>\n<p>CART does important policy work like holding Zoom calls to complain about racism.<\/p>\n<figure>\n<p><span><\/p>\n<blockquote data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<div lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">\n<p>This is the director of a nonprofit speaking at its flagship annual event.<\/p>\n<p>This is her time to give her best elevator pitch to promote the organization, and this is what she offered.<\/p>\n<p>The month after this event, Newsom finalized a $6 million gift of taxpayer money. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/6HyegicFrR\">pic.twitter.com\/6HyegicFrR<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>\u2014 Laura Powell (@LauraPowellEsq) <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/LauraPowellEsq\/status\/2091952282711863317?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">August 24, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><\/span> <\/p>\n<\/figure>\n<p>The nonprofit was founded by an Inland Empire activist named Corey Jackson, if that name is familiar, shortly before he entered the legislature and began voting to lavishly fund the nonprofit he founded. You can read a long and detailed report on the relationship between Assemblyman Corey Jackson and the important nonprofit founder Corey Jackson <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/LauraPowellEsq\/status\/2091690523048480871\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">here<\/a>, from the California lawyer and journalist Laura Powell.<\/p>\n<p>You look at the decline of American institutions, and the widespread spiral into debt and financial instability, and wonder how it\u2019s all happening. The people who are causing all of that institutional decline don\u2019t share your concern. They\u2019re at the hotel bar, buying drinks with your money. <\/p>\n<hr>\n<p>      Chris Bray is a senior correspondent at The Federalist and a former infantry sergeant in the U.S. Army. He has a history PhD from the University of California Los Angeles, not that it did him any good. He also posts on Substack, at &#8220;Tell Me How This Ends,&#8221; <a href=\"https:\/\/chrisbray.substack.com\/\">here<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Kentucky officials charged thousands on credit cards for trips and entertainment<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2086,"featured_media":2650036,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/tichenor-scaled.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[546],"tags":[5374,84708,61594,6909,36154],"class_list":["post-2650034","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-federalist","tag-america","tag-cronyism-2","tag-empire-2","tag-fraud","tag-political-corruption"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/tichenor-scaled.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2650034","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2086"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2650034"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2650034\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2650049,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2650034\/revisions\/2650049"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2650036"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2650034"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2650034"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2650034"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}