Wednesday, January 5, 2022

Zuckerberg Group Poured $3.7 Million into Mississippi Elections

The Mark Zuckerberg-funded Center for Technology and Civic Life dumped $3.7 million in grants to  Circuit Clerks and Election Commissions in 31 Mississippi counties in 2020.  The organization states its mission is to "increase civic participation by modernizing the engagement between local governments and the people they serve.  

 CTCL's 2020 Form 990 states CTCL spent $354 million of Zuckbucks on funding public elections last  year to "modernize engagement."  The grants generated controversy.  The Wall Street Journal editorialized yesterday: 

More than a year later, we’re still getting information about the huge private money that underwrote official government voting efforts in 49 states. Much is still unknown, but lawmakers already know enough to ban this practice.

A nonprofit called the Center for Technology and Civic Life, or CTCL, funded by Mark Zuckerberg, says it gave $350 million to nearly 2,500 election departments in the course of the 2020 campaign. Last month it posted its 990 tax form for the period, with 199 pages listing grants to support the “safe administration” of voting amid Covid-19. Some conservatives see this largess of “Zuckerbucks” as a clever plot to help Democrats win.

CTCL “consistently gave bigger grants and more money per capita to counties that voted for Biden, ” says an analysis by the Capital Research Center....

 Yet even under the purest motives, private election funding is inappropriate and sows distrust....

 This isn’t how elections should be run, especially in the current era of partisan mistrust. Some states, including Georgia, Arizona and Florida, have already moved to prohibit donations to election offices. But Democratic governors in Wisconsin, Pennsylvania and North Carolina have blocked bans or restrictions....  Editorial

Hinds County received the largest grant, $1.7 million, in Mississippi.  The "free money" was little more than flypaper for the corrupt.  WLBT reported: 

A further review of expenses incurred under Johnson’s leadership shows that thousands of dollars in grant and election funds were also spent to purchase writing pens, food for poll workers, home projection systems, big-screen TVs, subwoofers (video) and other home appliances....

County documents show that $5,398 was spent to purchase two 85-inch Smart TVs, while $738 went to two home or office projectors, $35,900 went to buy 10,000 ink pens to give voters on Election Day and $62,000 was spent to provide breakfast and lunch for approximately 612 poll workers on Election Day.

Broken down, that $62,000 comes to $101 per person. As for the ink pens, the amount spent on the Election Day giveaway is about $12,000 more than the county’s per capita income of $23,734.

Meanwhile, the firm brought on to provide those meals, Innovative Concepts 50, was formed only two days before the commission issued a requisition for the Election Day food... article

However, Desoto County puts its grant to much better use.  The editorial reported: 

DeSoto County, Miss., population 185,000, went 61% for President Trump, and it received $347,752. The county installed plastic shields, bought more voting machines to prevent lines, and hired workers to sanitize equipment. “This money was a hu   ge help,” a spokeswoman says, since “none of these items were budgeted.”

Kingfish note: The legislature should ban such grants.  No private money whatosever should win up in public elections.  Period.   There is a reason there are tighter restrictions on campaign finance for judicial elections.  The same reasons should apply to such grants.  



19 comments:

Anonymous said...

I voted for the Facebook-ChiCom-approved candidate and my social credit score went up! Hail Fauci!

Clean-A-Bit Quality Service said...

I received $8,042 of this money for my cleaning business. All I had to do was purchase a leaf blower from Home Depot and blow off the sidewalks at two polling places. My sister helped me get this contract since she belongs to one of the churches used as a polling place and her husband lined the parking lot at another. This money help a great deal during the covid.

Anonymous said...

Reminder that Zuck has visited every state in the US on a tour to see America. His time in MS should be somewhere in his FB history. I can only assume that he made decisions based on the impressions and observations but still confined to his political bias.

Anonymous said...

And look what they got! Are you happy Zuckerberg? Try doubling down next time.

Anonymous said...

They got fleeced on hinds. The fix has been in for years there

Anonymous said...

3.7 that they know of. Trying to turn us blue. Explains all those 4 x4 f250s parked in front half the circuit clerks in the sip.

Anonymous said...

$3.59 pens? All my pills have ever used are cheap BIC pens. They got some nice bulk pens for that much!

Anonymous said...

Zuckerberg is cut out of the same mold as George Soros. Low life!

Anonymous said...

Wait a sec…wasn’t one of the allegations in the Russian collusion hoax that thousand (not millions) of dollars of misleading Facebook ads were purchased in an effort to tamper with our elections? Yet the Zuck can openly pour millions into one state in an effort to influence its elections…and no one bats an eye.

Anonymous said...

You got money you can contribute to your cause too, haters going to hate !

Anonymous said...

@ 10:40 I don't bat an eye because it is his, or their, money. It's none of my business. He made it, it's his, and he should be able to spend it.

He did not make a nickel of it off of me. As a personal matter, I loathe the little twerp, and all he stands for. Likewise Joe Biden, Joe Stalin, Joe Sixpack, Hilary Clinton, and Donald Trump.

Of course do-gooder Yankees want to "civilize" the Magnolia State. It's been going on since before the Civil War. The bright spot is that they haven't made much progress. The bad part is -- let's face it -- on paper, at least, we seem a pretty backward state.

The business of finding Chinese Communist plots, and poor pitiful Dr. Fauci, and other lamebrain conspiracies behind, or supporting, political initiatives is just, well, not real sharp. Helps nobody except them, because it underscores the entrenched stupidity of many, so-called "conservatives."

Anonymous said...

I don't know 9:44, "Zuckerberg is cut out of the same mold as George Soros. Low life!"

Not exactly. Soros barely survived being Jewish in Hungary during WWII, essentially by posing as a Christian. In 1947 he emigrated to England, penniless, where he once accepted 40 pounds Sterling from a Quaker charity while he pursued two degrees from the London School of Economics. He worked at menial jobs through college. In 1956 he moved to New York, worked as a arbitrage trader, and ended up a billionaire.

Zuckerberg came from a middle class Jewish family in Westchester County. His dad was a dentist and he had a Star Wars theme bar mitzvah. He went to Phillips Exeter and Harvard -- where he purloined the Facebook concept from the old paper undergrad "slambook" model and became a media mogul.

I have no use for these fellows' political, religious, or other views, I am sure (I do not know what they think). Call them my political enemies. I do not think they are "low life," nor cut "from the same mold." One started behind the 8-ball, the other was a Harvard boy. I do not depersonalize the opposition. Mainly because it is stupid to do so.

If one goes out and makes a billion dollars, in my opinion, one should be able to spend or give it away however one wishes. If I had a billion bucks, I'd fund a Nathan Bedford Forrest theme park. One of the "attractions" could be the Fort Pillow shooting gallery where the targets would have blue uniforms and waive white flags.

Anonymous said...

There is a video of Zuckerberg throwing a spear with shooting style earmuffs on. He may be book smart but little to no walking around sense. We would have been a lot better off if the Wilklevoss twins would have ended up with Facebook.

Anonymous said...

@5:19am - Bravo sir, bravo.

Anonymous said...

Why are people okay with one person putting his thumb on the scale of our elections? Zuckerberg's point of view does not matter more than ours. He should get one vote like the rest of us; instead, he used almost $500 million to exert influence on the Presidential elections. Do you really believe his "generosity" was pure in nature? If Trump spent $500 million to influence the November 2022 elections, would you be okay with it?

Anonymous said...

Yawn.

Anonymous said...

I would love to hear your views on Citizens United if you distrust private funding with relation to elections.

Anonymous said...

Do any of us really believe Ol Zuck even knew this chump change was going to Mississippi ? Lol, now he may be a bit upset one of his money minions is using his millions to fund these elected folks across the country with REALLY NICE rides cause woke. Dude has to go to congress every 2 weeks to splain things.

Anonymous said...

We report the News we make the news we are the news. Nothing could go wrong could it?


Recent Comments

Search Jackson Jambalaya

Subscribe to JJ's Youtube channel

Archives

Trollfest '09

Trollfest '07 was such a success that Jackson Jambalaya will once again host Trollfest '09. Catch this great event which will leave NE Jackson & Fondren in flames. Othor Cain and his band, The Black Power Structure headline the night while Sonjay Poontang returns for an encore performance. Former Frank Melton bodyguard Marcus Wright makes his premier appearance at Trollfest singing "I'm a Sweet Transvestite" from "The Rocky Horror Picture Show." Kamikaze will sing his new hit, “How I sold out to da Man.” Robbie Bell again performs: “Mamas, don't let your babies grow up to be Bells” and “Any friend of Ed Peters is a friend of mine”. After the show, Ms. Bell will autograph copies of her mug shot photos. In a salute to “Dancing with the Stars”, Ms. Bell and Hinds County District Attorney Robert Smith will dance the Wango Tango.

Wrestling returns, except this time it will be a Battle Royal with Othor Cain, Ben Allen, Kim Wade, Haley Fisackerly, Alan Lange, and “Big Cat” Donna Ladd all in the ring at the same time. The Battle Royal will be in a steel cage, no time limit, no referee, and the losers must leave town. Marshand Crisler will be the honorary referee (as it gives him a title without actually having to do anything).


Meet KIM Waaaaaade at the Entergy Tent. For five pesos, Kim will sell you a chance to win a deed to a crack house on Ridgeway Street stuffed in the Howard Industries pinata. Don't worry if the pinata is beaten to shreds, as Mr. Wade has Jose, Emmanuel, and Carlos, all illegal immigrants, available as replacements for the it. Upon leaving the Entergy tent, fig leaves will be available in case Entergy literally takes everything you have as part of its Trollfest ticket price adjustment charge.

Donna Ladd of The Jackson Free Press will give several classes on learning how to write. Smearing, writing without factchecking, and reporting only one side of a story will be covered. A donation to pay their taxes will be accepted and she will be signing copies of their former federal tax liens. Ms. Ladd will give a dramatic reading of her two award-winning essays (They received The Jackson Free Press "Best Of" awards.) "Why everything is always about me" and "Why I cover murders better than anyone else in Jackson".

In the spirit of helping those who are less fortunate, Trollfest '09 adopts a cause for which a portion of the proceeds and donations will be donated: Keeping Frank Melton in his home. The “Keep Frank Melton From Being Homeless” booth will sell chances for five dollars to pin the tail on the jackass. John Reeves has graciously volunteered to be the jackass for this honorable excursion into saving Frank's ass. What's an ass between two friends after all? If Mr. Reeves is unable to um, perform, Speaker Billy McCoy has also volunteered as when the word “jackass” was mentioned he immediately ran as fast as he could to sign up.


In order to help clean up the legal profession, Adam Kilgore of the Mississippi Bar will be giving away free, round-trip plane tickets to the North Pole where they keep their bar complaint forms (which are NOT available online). If you don't want to go to the North Pole, you can enjoy Brant Brantley's (of the Mississippi Commission on Judicial Performance) free guided tours of the quicksand field over by High Street where all complaints against judges disappear. If for some reason you are unable to control yourself, never fear; Judge Houston Patton will operate his jail where no lawyers are needed or allowed as you just sit there for minutes... hours.... months...years until he decides he is tired of you sitting in his jail. Do not think Judge Patton is a bad judge however as he plans to serve free Mad Dog 20/20 to all inmates.

Trollfest '09 is a pet-friendly event as well. Feel free to bring your dog with you and do not worry if your pet gets hungry, as employees of the Jackson Zoo will be on hand to provide some of their animals as food when it gets to be feeding time for your little loved one.

Relax at the Fox News Tent. Since there are only three blonde reporters in Jackson (being blonde is a requirement for working at Fox News), Megan and Kathryn from WAPT and Wendy from WLBT will be on loan to Fox. To gain admittance to the VIP section, bring either your Republican Party ID card or a Rebel Flag. Bringing both and a torn-up Obama yard sign will entitle you to free drinks served by Megan, Wendy, and Kathryn. Get your tickets now. Since this is an event for trolls, no ID is required. Just bring the hate. Bring the family, Trollfest '09 is for EVERYONE!!!

This is definitely a Beaver production.


Note: Security provided by INS.

Trollfest '07

Jackson Jambalaya is the home of Trollfest '07. Catch this great event which promises to leave NE Jackson & Fondren in flames. Sonjay Poontang and his band headline the night with a special steel cage, no time limit "loser must leave town" bout between Alan Lange and "Big Cat"Donna Ladd following afterwards. Kamikaze will perform his new song F*** Bush, he's still a _____. Did I mention there was no referee? Dr. Heddy Matthias and Lori Gregory will face off in the undercard dueling with dangling participles and other um, devices. Robbie Bell will perform Her two latest songs: My Best Friends are in the Media and Mama's, Don't Let Your Babies Grow up to be George Bell. Sid Salter of The Clarion-Ledger will host "Pin the Tail on the Trial Lawyer", sponsored by State Farm.

There will be a hugging booth where in exchange for your young son, Frank Melton will give you a loooong hug. Trollfest will have a dunking booth where Muhammed the terrorist will curse you to Allah as you try to hit a target that will drop him into a vat of pig grease. However, in the true spirit of Separate But Equal, Don Imus and someone from NE Jackson will also sit in the dunking booth for an equal amount of time. Tom Head will give a reading for two hours on why he can't figure out who the hell he is. Cliff Cargill will give lessons with his .80 caliber desert eagle, using Frank Melton photos as targets. Tackleberry will be on hand for an autograph session. KIM Waaaaaade will be passing out free titles and deeds to crackhouses formerly owned by The Wood Street Players.

If you get tired come relax at the Fox News Tent. To gain admittance to the VIP section, bring either your Republican Party ID card or a Rebel Flag. Bringing both will entitle you to free drinks.Get your tickets now. Since this is an event for trolls, no ID is required, just bring the hate. Bring the family, Trollfest '07 is for EVERYONE!!!

This is definitely a Beaver production.

Note: Security provided by INS
.