Iran, Israel, and COVID, OH MY! Cindy Sheehan dissects the current attacks in Iran (Cindy on The Bitter Truth w/Abe Abdelhadi)

 

 

Aug 3, 2020

Friend of the show, longtime activist and host of Cindy Sheehan’s Soapbox, Cindy Sheehan (http://cindysheehanssoapbox.blogspot.com/) joins us to dissect the burgeoning situation with Israel and Iran. She gets into the legal issues that Benjamin Netanyahu is having in Israel that is leading to escalating tensions with Tehran that are paid for by the U.S. taxpayer. Is Netanyahu attempting to drag the U.S. into a war it can’t fight without launching nukes they deny having? Can the U.S., the world’s newest 3rd world country, handle another war? Example after example, she points out the chickens coming home to the roost. She’s also working against the COVID Eldercide in California (https://justiceforcovid19eldercide.com/).

 

You can still be a Bitter Pill or a Spoonful of Sugar by visiting patreon.com/thebittertruth for details!

 

 

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An Appeal to Mothers (Part one: Following the Money Trail) by Guest Blogger Lynn Petrovich

Over the past 20 years, as a Certified Public Accountant, I’ve prepared thousands of tax returns – both for private, paying clients - as well as pro bono clients at tax clinics at the Jersey Shore. 

As I’ve met with taxpayers, I’ve noticed, particularly over the last decade, a growing number of families with children facing chronic illnesses: Allergies, diabetes, emotional problems, rage, autism, seizure disorders, Asperger’s Syndrome, and an unbelievable explosion in cases of very young children fighting cancer.

In fact, in my hometown, recently yet another 3-year-old was diagnosed with a brain tumor, bringing the number of pediatric cancer cases over the past few years, in my community of 27,000 residents, to twenty.

When I was growing up in the 60s and 70s, I did not know any kids with cancer.

When my daughter was growing up in the 80s and 90s, we didn’t know any kids with cancer.

So, what is going on?

As I’ve listened to parents (mostly moms) talk about their children’s conditions, they are emotionally, physically, and financially exhausted; the expense of treating cancer is enormous, evidenced by the medical bills. From what I have witnessed, out-of-pocket cost for treating pediatric cancer in America runs between $150,000 and $250,000, or more…even if you have insurance.

During this crisis, some parents take time off from work, reduce work to part-time, and/or lose their jobs.  When jobs are lost, often health insurance goes as well.  Today, with massive unemployment due to governor-ordered state shutdowns, isolation, and 24/7 mainstream media hype and fear, the stress is even greater. 

With or without health insurance, parents dig into pensions, 401(k)s, savings, home equity, paychecks (taking money allocated for rent and utilities) and borrow from family, friends, and neighbors.  (One tax client, even though he was “fully” insured, was forced to take out over $100,000 from his 401(k) to pay for his child’s treatment at a hospital in Philadelphia – CHOP (more on that later.)  This was money, tax-deferred and earmarked for his family’s retirement – and which was fully taxable to this father of a young pre-teen fighting lymphoma - at the combined federal and state rate of 30%.)

While the media is rabidly focused on Covid-19, which has not been proven to be a threat to children, cancer – and other chronic, debilitating illnesses - have been destroying their bodies by the tens of millions for over a decade.

Additionally, because the US does not have universal, free, equitable, accessible health care, a Pandora’s Box of unconscionable suffering opens up.  And that gap is very quickly commandeered by the profiteers.

The uniquely American health care system is based on profit.
And a diagnosis of cancer means big money…with many hands in the pot.

In fact, in 2017, I followed $360,000 raised by a local merchant who held a 5K run.  The money was donated to a NJ children’s charity called The Valerie Fund, an organization which has been in operation since 1977.

The Valerie Fund, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit entity, (they are exempt from paying sales, income, and property taxes) pulls in big money and is connected to the most powerful hospital conglomerates in NJ.  

I reviewed the publicly filed information, Form 990s, for the (then) most recent year ended 12/31/15. I wanted to follow the path of how money raised under the guise of helping children with cancer, was spent and to whom.

What I found, led me on an investigative journey of no less than two dozen nonprofit health care entities in New Jersey and Pennsylvania and a review of over 2,000 pages of documents. 

Attached a spreadsheet (Exhibit A) showing the money trail of how donations for children with cancer often ends up being spent on everything but families of children with cancer.  All of the entities involved in the transfer of money are 501(c)(3) nonprofit entities.

Below are the bullet points of my findings (along with updated financial information):

-Between 2012 and 2015, The Valerie Fund – whose mission statement is “to provide support for the comprehensive health care of children with cancer and blood disorders” - accumulated over $5 million in profit, tax free.  Surplus as of 12/31/15 was $8.6 million. (Update: surplus as of 12/31/18 was over $11 million; profits for 2016 through 2018 were $2.7 million or 16% of revenue.)

-Looking at the 12/31/15 year, The Valerie Fund spent most of its operating cost ($1.9 million or 50.22%) on six grants to nonprofit foundations (the balance of costs were spent on overhead or program services which do not include – to my understanding – any financial support to families of children with cancer, other than “festive” holiday parties, camps, and psychosocial programs. (Update: grants from 2016 thru 2018 totaled $7.3 million – averaging $2.4 million annually to basically the same entities.)


-The six foundations, who received the $1.9 million grant money from The Valerie Fund in 2015, had total, cumulative surplus (as of 12/31/15) over $1.5 Billion. (Update: cumulative surplus of the foundation and hospitals as of 12/31/18 was $2.4 Billion.)

-These six foundations, for years 12/31/15, in turn sent grants to six nonprofit hospitals/education entities which totaled $135,113,541.

-The six nonprofit hospitals/education entities which received the $135,113,541 from the six foundations, as of Form 990s dated 12/31/15 reported:

    -Total cumulative surplus of $18 Billion, annual profits of $1.8 Billion (tax free);

    -Average annual charity “giving” of less than 10% of costs (a paltry 9.6%);

    -Doled out $271 million to large independent contractors – all of which were not     related     to health care or education or helping children with cancer (i.e. management fees or     construction);

    -Paid a total of over $18.3 million to the top 6 executives (average top executive     compensation was just over $3 million).

Of the 2,000 plus pages I reviewed on these nonprofit entities, there was only ONE case that I could find any information – any enumeration – where the nonprofit entities actually stated they financially helped families of children with cancer.  The Overlook Foundation (received grant from The Valerie Fund in 2015 of $441,012).  Form 990, for year ended 06/30/15, Schedule I, Part III, line 1 stated an amount paid for “assistance to families of cancer patients” of $38,997 for 123 recipients.

Uh, that is $317 on average to families of kids with cancer. (They spent more on reimbursing members for expenses of international medical missions - $997.)

But there’s more:

Regarding the six nonprofit entities who received $135 million in grants, the following is itemized from the filed Form 990s for the years stated previously:

-Highest paid executive for Trustees of Columbia University is the Director in Investment Management whose compensation was $7.2 million.  This executive manages almost $6 Billion in equity securities. (Update: as of 12/31/18, Wall Street investments surpassed $10.5 Billion.)

-Compensation reported by the Trustees of Columbia University include first class travel, travel for companions, tax indemnification, housing allowances, and personal services such as maid, chauffeur, chef.

 -In 2012, Barnabas Health, a related entity to three of the nonprofit hospitals, paid its outgoing CEO, Ronald Del Mauro, a severance package worth over $21.6 million.  This was after he was at the helm as Executive Director of Barnabas Health for decades and after Barnabas had settled with the US Department of Justice for $265 million over allegations the organization had fraudulently inflated billing charges under Medicare’s outlier program.

-At Barnabas Health for year ended 12/31/15, among related entities, compensation to top 6 executives totaled $10.6 million, severance payments to 2 former executives totaled $2.8 million.

And there is more:

-According to Newark Beth Israel’s most recent filed 990, the nonprofit organization controls or is affiliated with 51 nonprofit organizations which provide services ranging from fundraising to property management to health care to childcare and staffing services.  Another ten organizations are taxed as partnerships, and another 33 entities are taxed as corporations or trusts providing such services as investments, financing, management, real estate holdings, and insurance.

-Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) is one of the largest pediatric cancer treatment centers in the NJ/PA area.  And in 2015, the CHOP Foundation received $150,039 from The Valerie Fund.  The following information was taken from Form 990s as of 06/30/18 filed by CHOP Foundation and Hospital:

   -Compensation to the hospital CEO was $2.7 million.
   -Severance package to the former CEO exceeded $13 million.
  -The top five independent contractors – who were paid over $4.3 million - are investments bankers and marketing firms.
  -The CHOP foundation reported unrestricted surplus of $1.3 Billion.
  -The Foundation manages an investment portfolio totaling more than $2.1 Billion.
  -Hospital profit (tax-free) for 2017 and 2018 exceeded half a billion.

As you can see most of the money donated to a local children’s charity (52% of expenses were grants) made its way into deep pockets and then into even deeper pockets.
 
So, one must ask, after following this money trail:  Where is the money to help families with children fighting cancer?

Lynn Petrovich
Copyright 2020

Part 2: The Rise of Children’s Hospital Conglomerates

EXHIBIT A FOLLOW THE MONEY

Exposing Bill and Melinda Gates with Derrick Broze (SOAPBOX PODCAST AUGUST 2, 2020)

August 2, 2020

GUEST: Derrick Broze

TOPIC: Expose Bill and Melinda Gates Days of Action

DERRICK

Derrick Broze is a freelance investigative journalist, documentary film maker,author, and public speaker seeking to expose corruption, find solutions to the problems that affect all of humanity, and promote localization and decentralization. Derrick is a Houstonian who has survived depression, drug addiction, and prison. Since 2010, he has dedicated his life to improving the City of Houston and the world at large, as an activist, journalist, and radio show host. In 2019, Derrick joined the race for Mayor of Houston. As a Mayoral Candidate, Derrick called for giving away the power of the Mayor of Houston and amplifying the voices of Houstonians. As of 2020 he is the author of 5 books and writer of 5 documentaries. 

To learn more about Derrick Broze read his journey. You can find Derrick’s video reports on The Conscious Resistance or hear him on Free Thinker Radio on 90.1 KPFT Houston.

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CLICK FOR INFORMATION ABOUT THE ACTIONS

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Bill Gates’ Web of Dark Money and Influence – Part 1: Philanthropic Narrative Shaping

by Derrick Broze (Three- PART DEEP DIVE INTO THE CRIMES OF BILL GATES)

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Exposing State-Sanctioned Eldercide (SOAPBOX PODCAST AUGUST 2, 2020)

August 2, 2020

GUEST: MARY VOGT of

Justice For Covid-19 Eldercide

TOPIC: Exposing Eldercide in the Age of Covid

Mary Vogt

Cindy and Mary co-founded Justice for Covid-19 Eldercide to

expose the FACT that at least eight Democrat governors from, California, New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Pennsylvania and Connecticut ordered patients suffering from coronavirus to be housed in Skilled Nursing facilities, insuring the pre-meditated murder of tens of thousands of vulnerable Elders.

Please listen to this show for information and inspiration to help us get Justice!

CLICK ABOVE IMAGE TO GO TO

JUSTICE FOR COVID-19 ELDERCIDE WEBSITE

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FOLLOW US ON FACEBOOK

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Why Does Society Hate Our Children So Much? by Cindy Sheehan

(copy of a Letter to the Editor I sent to my local paper, the Vacaville Reporter--without the links, or picture)

 

 

 

 

As a concerned grandparent of five Vacaville residents, aged 5 to 12, I feel I must write to express my outrage over the continuing measures that give our young residents very little hope in this world.

First of all, I must express that ages 0-25 RARELY get Covid-19 and there have been many credible studies (From the University of Vermont Medical School, Sweden and Germany) that say that even if children do contract it, they do not spread it. The verifiable death rate for that age group is so near zero percent, it may as well be. It seems like the harshest measures are against seniors (who are vulnerable, but are confined with recovering Covid-19 patients in Skilled Nursing facilities, per Newsom's orders) and children, who are the least vulnerable to Covid-19. Why is this?

 

(See:

Kids Rarely Transmit Covid-19, Say UVM Docs in Top Journal

Also: 

"Children act more like a brake on infection" )

Just today, I witnessed at least 16 adults playing doubles tennis on the four tennis courts at Orchard Park. I am not "ratting" them out, I am glad they are doing enjoying free and healthy recreation. However, there was no social distancing (how could there be) and they were not wearing masks, which I also applaud: Breathing fresh air is imperative to our health.

What I do have a problem with, however, is I walked 50 feet to the playground and there is a big notice that it is closed to prevent the "spread of infection." As I already stated, children rarely get Covid-19, and don't spread it, so why is it possible for adults who do get it and do spread it to enjoy a healthy and free recreational activity, but not the children?

Playgrounds are egregiously closed all over the city; basketball hoops have been taken down; twice the police have been called on my grandsons who were practicing baseball with their teams; AND now VUSD is tearing up all of the ball fields at their schools and putting notices on the fences that there is no play allowed on school grounds! Libraries which are a refuge from the heat and a favorite place for my grandchildren to hang out are also closed. The wonderful free programs we enjoyed are tragically gone.

What are our children supposed to do for recreation? Being outdoors is the healthiest place to be, but in this heat, we should be enjoying the community pool like in past years: We could, if we could get into or afford swim lessons, but children can't even swim laps at Walter Graham Aquatic Center until they are 13!

I recently read where Vacaville is considering putting businesses in public parks so they can survive, but the children for whom the playgrounds were designed, cannot use the facilities? Can't anyone else see how backwards this is? Save the parks for profit, but not for play?

Do we want a city, state, nation filled with couch potatoes and ill-educated children?

Is recreation only available to families that can pay to play?

Even in the midst of Covid-19, Vacaville can and should be doing better by its youngest citizens.

Cindy Sheehan

Vacaville, Ca

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Speaking Truth to Empire with Dan Yaseen (JULY 2020 EDITION)

July 2020

https://soundcloud.com/speaking-truth-to-empire/200715-speaking-truth-to-empire-shireen-al-adeimi

 “Speaking Truth to Empire” on KFCF 88.1 independently owned and locally operated since 1975 in Fresno, Dan Yaseen interviews Shireen Al-Adeimi, she is an assistant professor of education at Michigan State University, my alma mater. She received her PhD from Harvard Graduate School of Education.  Having lived through two civil wars in her country of birth, Yemen, she has played an active role in raising awareness about the U.S.-supported, Saudi-led war on Yemen since 2015. Through her work, she aims to encourage political action among fellow Americans to bring about an end to U.S. intervention in Yemen. The topics of discussion include “War, Militarism and the Police State”.

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Dario4America (SOAPBOX PODCAST WITH GUEST, DARIO HUNTER)

July 20, 2020

GUEST: DARIO HUNTER

(Former Candidate for Green Party POTUS, now Independent Candidate for POTUS)

TOPIC: INDEPENDENT/3RD PARTY EFFORTS

CHECK OUT

DARIO4AMERICA 

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State Governors Use Bio-weapons Against our Elders by Cindy Sheehan

"....akin to premeditated murder."

Geriatrician Dr. Michael Wasserman on hearing that Governor Gavin Newsom of California ordered Skilled Nursing Facilities (SNF) to admit Covid positive patients.

Also speaking of the policy, Dr. Michael Wasserman:

"It's naive and and it's ignorant. If I'm a resident or a family member of a resident, I'd be calling my county and state and government officials and screaming at the top of my lungs, asking them, why they are doing this and whether they want to be elected again."

As I  have exposed before, at least seven state governors have ordered SNF to take patients who were diagnosed with Covid 19. Although, I don't feel that the numbers coming from government agencies can ever be trusted and we probably won't know the entire scope of Covid-19 and the fall-out, I consider any death of any Elder resident of an SNF since about the middle of March pre-meditated murder. Besides not being re-elected, these mass murderers should be in prison for their acts.

It's obvious that the only governor that is facing harsh scrutiny for this policy is Andrew Cuomo of New York. He has been very busy covering his behind. New York's health department exonerated itself and Cuomo has reflected blame back on the facilities saying that they could have "disobeyed" his order. Besides Cuomo who has killed over 5300 Elders with his "orders," I feel that the other governors should be put on the hot seat over this:

Newsom of California: 48% (of C19 deaths were in SNF)

Wolf of Pennsylvania: 68%

Walz of Minnesota: 77%

Baker of Massachussetts: 64%

Whitmer of Michigan: 33%

Hogan of Maryland: 61%

Some uncomfortable (for the governors) questions need to be asked:

"Why was this policy put in place when hospital staff were being furloughed for lack of patients and makeshift hospitals and facilities that were empty could have been utilized?"

"Why were regulations on visitors tightened up while standards were loosened in some cases?"

"Why was the advice of doctors, epidemiologists, geriatricians, and Nursing Home Resident Advocates ignored?"

"How much money in health care, Social Security, pensions, and other elder benefits being saved by state and federal governments?"

"Why is this policy continuing in some states?"

"Who will be held accountable for these barbaric policies?"

"What if it were your mother, father, grandmother, or grandfather?"

"What steps are being taken to improve Skilled Nursing Facilities and increase their standard of care?"

"Why are the rest of us in the general population forced to live under harsh measures to 'protect the vulnerable' when your very own policies have contributed to the killing of thousands of them."

If we allow this wanton Eldercide to be forgotten, then we are saying that our Elders didn't matter and we should just forget about them: That, just because they were near the end of life they had become dispensable, "useless eaters," and hyper-vulnerable to the violence of the state. 

Is this how the US honors Elders? With isolation, deplorable living conditions, and bio-attacks in their residences? Is this how we want to be treated?

The entire Covid19 issue, not just the Eldercide scandal, in particular, has exposed the illegitimacy and failure of health care for profit system that ruins the lives of millions here in the U.S. You can bet your last dime on the fact that Covid19 was an economic bubble as much, if not more, than a contagious disease. Billionaire wealth has increased dramatically while our Elders are being hung out to dry.

Consider this: If it's this easy to murder Elders today, how automatic and easy will it be when you (hopefully) enjoy living to be an advanced age? Will you take the pill? Will you accept by government diktat a bio-weapon in the form of a contagious person in the bed next to yours?

If we don't do anything today, will we even have a choice?

Read stories of personal anguish and loss at our website:

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