Friday, December 14, 2018

5 Things on a Friday: Follow the Money

This is kind of a last-minute effort.  Happy Friday!

This feels like it's been a long week, no?


1. In Guilty Plea, Acknowledging a Russian Plot to Infiltrate the U.S. Right (NY Times)
On Thursday, Ms. Butina, 30, pleaded guilty to a single charge of conspiring to act as a foreign agent in a deal with federal prosecutors. In doing so, she acknowledged that her activities were motivated by more than mere personal conviction.
As part of the deal, Ms. Butina admitted to being involved in an organized effort, backed by Russian officials, to open up unofficial lines of communication with influential Americans in the N.R.A. and in the Republican Party, and to win them over to the idea of Russia as a friend, not a foe.
But also:
Prosecutors had already been forced to back off the most salacious accusations against Ms. Butina — that she used sex as spycraft — and acknowledged in court filings this week that she genuinely wanted a graduate degree, and was not simply posing as a student to live in the United States. They also dropped accusations of her being in contact with Russian intelligence agencies, and that she was only using Mr. Erickson to gain access to other influential Americans.
Ms. Butina’s lawyers had strenuously objected to the earlier portrayal of their client, and the plea deal was likely to provide her defenders with new fodder to argue that her activities look sinister only to those who see the world through the outdated lens of the Cold War. For all of the headline-grabbing talk of a flame-haired Russian spy seducing unwitting Americans that followed her arrest, they say, Ms. Butina hardly lived her life in the shadows.
I’m not sure what the law is in a case like this, but it sounds like she’d have been in the clear if she’d simply registered as a lobbyist.  Granted, this is still a felony conviction on a serious charge, but man, it sounded a lot worse when it first kicked off.
2. Trump Inaugural Fund and Super PAC Said to Be Scrutinized for Illegal Foreign Donations (NY Times)
Federal prosecutors are examining whether foreigners illegally funneled donations to President Trump’s inaugural committee and a pro-Trump super PAC in hopes of buying influence over American policy, according to people familiar with the inquiry.
The inquiry focuses on whether people from Middle Eastern nations — including Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates — used straw donors to disguise their donations to the two funds. Federal law prohibits foreign contributions to federal campaigns, political action committees and inaugural funds.
This is kind of where we are, right?  I mean, this piece goes right along with the first one.  The whole deal focuses on the unofficial levers our system leaves open to steer the American political machine.  That’s the hack.  Foreign governments figured out that they can control American politics simply by purchasing the politicians.
Alas, when Americans do it, it’s legal.  There was probably a way to set up legitimate domestic subsidiary companies that would have made these specific cases legal as well, though nothing can make them less disgusting.
3. Sondra Locke, frequent co-star in Clint Eastwood films, dead at 74 (Fox News)
Born Sandra Louise Smith — she would later take on a stepfather's last name and take on the stage name Sondra — Locke grew up in Tennessee, where she worked at a radio station and appeared in a handful of plays before winning a nationwide talent search in 1967 to be cast opposite leading man Alan Arkin in the movie adaptation of Carson McCullers' 1940 novel "The Heart is a Lonely Hunter."
Ms. Locke grew up in Shelbyville, Tennessee, a year ahead of my mother.  In fact, my mom bragged about beating Locke out for a part in the local high school play until literally the day she died.
4. Chargers vs. Chiefs final score, takeaways: Rivers' incredible comeback puts L.A. back into AFC West race (CBS Sports)
To get to a point where they actually have a real chance to steal the division crown away from a Chiefs team that has led the division for the entirety of the season, the Chargers erased a 14-point deficit in the final eight minutes and didn't take their first lead until the final seconds, which is when Rivers pulled off a game-winning touchdown and two-point conversion out of thin air. With a 29-28 win in front of an initially raucous, eventually stunned crowd at Arrowhead Stadium, the Chargers denied the Chiefs a chance to win the AFC West.

 Wow!

5. Week in Review
This week wasn’t quite as frantic as some others have been, but it still feels like I’ve got a lot of stuff out there.

 -- Sunday - Quick Thoughts: Army-Navy 2018
 -- Tuesday - #SBRLLR: Swim, Bike, Run, Live, Love, Repeat
 -- Tuesday night - Option Offense Play of the Week: Army-Navy (AFF)
 -- Thursday - CFB Roundtable: Top 6 Games of Bowl Week 1 (AFF)
 -- Thursday night - 2018 Bowl Week 1: Army/Navy #3PEAT and Bowl Predictions (AFF Podcast)
 -- Predicting Every 2018 Bowl Game (AFF)
Did you get all that?
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That's all, folks.  Enjoy the weekend.
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