Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez

SHE'S A FUKIN WACKO

oliver clotheshoffe wrote:

SHE'S A FUKIN WACKO

Lock her up. Lock her up.

Ocasio-Cortez hit with new ethics complaint over boyfriend's email account
Perry Chiaramonte By Perry Chiaramonte | Fox News

EXCLUSIVE — A conservative group that filed a complaint with the FEC alleging Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's campaign may have illegally funneled thousands of dollars through an allied PAC to boyfriend Riley Roberts on Thursday lodged a fresh complaint with the Office of Congressional Ethics.

The new filing also concerns the famous congresswoman's boyfriend, but focuses on his use of a congressional email account.

The Coolidge Reagan Foundation, a political nonprofit, alleges in the complaint that the New York Democratic lawmaker used her newly found congressional privileges in an unethical manner when she set up the House email address for Roberts.

“This Complaint alleges Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez improperly converted U.S. House resources to her non-official, personal use by obtaining an official ‘@mail.house.gov’ e-mail address for her boyfriend, despite the fact he was not employed by her congressional office,” reads a line from the complaint obtained by Fox News.

“Moreover, it appears she obtained the e-mail address for him by falsely designating him a ‘staff’ member.”

Attorneys for the foundation allege that Ocasio-Cortez violated restrictions on personal use of House services and equipment—as outlined in the House Ethics Manual. They maintain that the provision of an official House-based email address for Roberts is a violation of rules that prevent outside individuals from having an official account.

“To my surprise, no one else had acted on this information,” foundation attorney Dan Backer told Fox News, “and while media coverage of misconduct is good, [Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez] has to be held accountable.”

“On this matter, only OCE [Office of Congressional Ethics] has the investigative authority to do so.”

20190307 OCE Complaint Re the AOC by Fox News on Scribd:

See Scribf pdf files at https://www.foxnews.com/politics/alexandria-ocasio-cortez-hit-with-third-complaint-this-time-for-beaus-email-address

Officials for Ocasio-Cortez's office did not immediately respond to requests for comment, but the congresswoman made public statements last month when news of Roberts' email account surfaced saying the account was given so he could have access to her calendar.

"Congressional spouses get Gcal access all the time. Next time check your facts before you tweet nonsense," she tweeted.

Asked about the arrangement last month, David O'Boyle, the spokesperson for the Office of the Chief Administrative Officer, told Fox News: "From time to time, at the request of members, spouses and partners are provided House email accounts for the purposes of viewing the member’s calendar."

But Jason Chaffetz, former GOP chairman of the House Oversight Committee, said Ocasio-Cortez' claims don’t stack up.

"It’s totally naïve and inappropriate – you wouldn’t allow it in most companies, let alone the House of Representatives. There should be real consequences,” Chaffetz told Fox News.

The newly filed complaint is the latest to question the operations of Ocasio-Cortez's campaign and congressional office.

It was first reported last month that the allied Brand New Congress PAC paid Roberts during the early days of the Ocasio-Cortez campaign. According to FEC records, the PAC made two payments to Roberts – one in August 2017 and one in September 2017 – both for $3,000.

A week later, the Coolidge Reagan Foundation filed its first complaint with the Federal Election Commission, requesting that the agency look into the payments for potential violations on relevant campaign finance laws that state that campaign contributions “shall not be converted by any person to personal use” and that “an authorized committee must report the name and address of each person who has received any disbursement not disclosed.”

The FEC complaint specifically cites the use of "intermediaries" to make the payments, "the vague and amorphous nature of the services Riley ostensibly provided," the relatively small amount of money raised by the campaign at that stage and "the romantic relationship between Ocasio-Cortez and Riley" in asserting the transactions might violate campaign finance law.

“It’s not illegal for [Ocasio-Cortez] to pay her boyfriend, but it appears that they created some sort of scheme to avoid claiming the money [as a campaign expense],” Backer told Fox News at the time. “What exactly did he do for that money?”

A separate complaint was filed with the FEC from another group alleging that the congresswoman and Saikat Chakrabarti, her chief of staff, apparently violated campaign finance law by funneling nearly $1 million in contributions from political action committees Chakrabarti established to private companies that he also controlled.

The FEC complaint asserts that Chakrabarti established two PACs, the Brand New Congress PAC and Justice Democrats PAC, and then systematically transferred more than $885,000 in contributions received by those PACs to the Brand New Campaign LLC and the Brand New Congress LLC -- companies that, unlike PACs, are exempt from reporting all of their significant expenditures. The PACs claimed the payments were for "strategic consulting."

Although large financial transfers from PACs to LLCs are not necessarily improper, the complaint argues that the goal of the "extensive" scheme was seemingly to illegally dodge detailed legal reporting requirements of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971, which are designed to track campaign expenditures.

"It appears 'strategic consulting' was a mischaracterization of a wide range of activities that should have been reported individually," the complaint states.

well she is becoming a thorn in Pelosi's ass

Big con menz, afraid of a young girl!!

Poor lil fellers.

Company founded by Ocasio-Cortez in 2012 still owes $1,870 in taxes
By Isabel Vincent, Melissa Klein | New York Post | Published 1 hour ago

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez wants to pass sweeping tax hikes on the wealthy, but the freshman lawmaker might want to take care of her own unpaid tax bill first.

Brook Avenue Press, a company she founded in 2012 to publish children’s books in The Bronx, owes the state $1,870.36 in corporate taxes, public records show.

The state slapped the company with a warrant on July 6, 2017, two months after Ocasio-Cortez announced her candidacy to run against Democratic incumbent Joe Crowley for the district that encompasses parts of Queens and The Bronx.

The state requires businesses to pay a corporation tax on a sliding scale based on revenue. The minimum payment last year was $25.

“The company probably got numerous letters from the state and probably ignored them,” one New York City accountant theorized.

“The company probably got numerous letters from the state and probably ignored them.”
— A New York City accountant's theory

Public records show the state dissolved the company in October 2016, which can happen when a business fails to pay corporate taxes or file a return.

The state Tax Department won’t comment on individual companies but typically files warrants as a last resort after trying to collect money.

“This is the first we’re hearing of it, and we won’t have any additional comment until we look into it,” Ocasio-Cortez’s spokesman, Corbin Trent, said Saturday.

Brook Avenue Press was set up to “develop and identify stories and literature in urban areas like New York, specifically communities like The Bronx,” Ocasio-Cortez said in a YouTube video posted in October 2011, months before she filed incorporation papers for the company in July 2012.

The company relied on cheap office space in a city-subsidized program to help small businesses in The Bronx.

Called the Sunshine Bronx Business Incubator, the program was housed in a renovated former printing plant in Hunts Point, where rates for office spaces and tech services in 2012 averaged between $99 for a “virtual office” and $275 per month for local start-ups.

Ocasio-Cortez was featured on the city’s website for the incubator, and The National Hispanic Institute named her a social entrepreneur in residence.

“You see a huge return on your investment here,” a 22-year-old Ocasio-Cortez told a reporter in July 2012. “People pay $500 an hour for consulting that we get for free by the water cooler.”

The tax warrant was issued to Brook Avenue Press at the incubator’s address on Garrison Avenue.

But despite her promise to work with “designers, artists and authors that really know the urban story and help develop stories for kids,” The Post could not find any books the publishing house produced.

Last week, Ocasio-Cortez signed on to a bill to tax stock trades and has previously called for a 70 percent tax on incomes over $10 million in order to help finance the Green New Deal, her environmental manifesto calling for “new national, social, industrial and economic mobilization” to save the planet.

OPINIONPublished 1 hour ago
Ocasio-Cortez again proves she's clueless on economics
By Alfredo Ortiz | Fox News

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., exposed her economic ignorance again this week when she argued that bankers should be liable for borrowers' mistakes.

During Capitol Hill testimony from Wells Fargo CEO Timothy Sloan, Ocasio-Cortez contended that if in the event of an oil spill on the Dakota Access Pipeline, which Wells Fargo helped finance, the bank should be held responsible.

"If there was a leak from the Dakota Access Pipeline," Ocasio-Cortez asked rhetorically, "why shouldn’t Wells Fargo pay for the cleanup of it, since it paid for the construction of the pipeline itself?”

"Because we don't operate the project," Sloan responded. "We provide financing to the company that’s operating the pipeline.”

This is getting embarrassing.

Ocasio-Cortez’s point betrays a total naïveté about how financing works. Her contention is akin to claiming that a bank holding a car loan should be responsible if the owner gets into a crash. It's like saying a bank holding a home mortgage should pay to fix the pipes when they burst.

The socialist congresswoman misunderstands the role of credit in the economy. Credit exists to match capital to its most highly valued use. For entrepreneurs and small businesses, this means matching capital in search of ideas with ideas in search of capital. The United States' deep and liquid capital markets are a major reason for its economic productivity and success.

This access to credit allows entrepreneurs and homebuyers to achieve their small business and homeownership ambitions – the American Dream – without the lack of funds standing in their way. This is a big reason why the U.S. has the largest and most vibrant middle class in global history (notwithstanding the conjecture of Ocasio-Cortez and her fellow Democratic socialists). In many countries, you have to be born rich to succeed in business.

If Ocasio-Cortez had her way and lenders were held liable for their borrowers' business decisions, access to credit would dry up because banks would be forced to stop lending to all but the most established clients. Entrepreneurship and economic growth would contract. Economic inequality would increase, because the little guy would lose access to credit.

Ocasio-Cortez overlooks the reality that banks already have built-in liability for their debtors' mistakes. It's called the free market. If a business makes poor decisions and goes bankrupt, the loan will not be repaid and the bank will lose its investment.

Notably, the one area where there aren't consequences to risky lending is when it's done by the government; if Ocasio-Cortez wants to increase government liability for bad taxpayer loans to businesses, we'd support that.

Because they have skin in the game, banks obsessively examine the creditworthiness of their potential clients for potential business mistakes. The natural regulations inherent in the free market prevent banks from making overly risky bets on projects that could, for example, cause significant environmental damage.

Sloan made this exact point in his testimony on Tuesday: "One of the standards that we set in banking (for) any sort of industry that has various reputational issues is to make sure that there's a double check beyond just the normal credit underwriting that we would do."

Yet his bank concluded that the Dakota Access Pipeline was a worthwhile bet: "The reason we were one of the 17 or 19 banks that financed that is because our team reviewed the environmental impact and we concluded that it was a risk that we were willing to take."

This episode fits in with Ocasio-Cortez’s all-time greatest hits of economic ignorance. This album includes her support for a $15 minimum wage that put the coffee shop where she used to work out of business; pursuing a "Green New Deal" that would fundamentally transform the economy and quadruple the national debt; and chasing Amazon out of New York City because she didn't understand how tax credits work.

Of course, Ocasio-Cortez’s biggest economic folly is her general support of socialism – a thoroughly discredited system that the U.S. economy should be moving away from, not toward.

Published 7 hours ago
AOC asks Twitter for advice for furnishing her DC apartment
By Janine Puhak | Fox News

After being sworn into Congress three months ago, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is finally fixing up her new Washington, D.C., apartment.

On Wednesday night, the 29-year-old lawmaker took to Twitter to poll her 3.52 million followers on décor advice for the new digs.

https://twitter.com/AOC/status/1105994467436388355

“Is Instagram still down? Bc after 2 months almost furnitureless in DC I am trying to take you all on the riveting adventure of getting: a chair,” AOC wrote online. “(Also, if you had to start a new apt from scratch, what would be the first 5 pieces of furniture/items you would get? Asking for me)”

Her question prompted over 15,000 replies, ranging from the silly to the snarky and serious.

https://twitter.com/liabl2gomichael/status/1105995263276171265

“Ask Ben Carson. He can probably find you something really nice,” one cynic quipped, referring to the $31,000 dining set controversy involving the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development."

Many more replies at link: https://www.foxnews.com/real-estate/alexandria-ocasio-cortez-asks-dc-apartment-decor-advice-twitter

Other suggestions for the freshman Democrat from New York included an air fryer, a good mattress and a cat, too.

Some, meanwhile, used the opportunity to jab Ocasio-Cortez over their perception of her experience and her stand in politics.

Published 43 mins ago
AOC draws ire ripping ‘your thoughts and prayers’ after Christchurch mosque shootings
By Joseph A. Wulfsohn | Fox News

U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., slammed those expressing thoughts and prayers for the victims of Friday's mass shooting in Christchurch, New Zealand.

Reacting to remarks made by New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, Ocasio-Cortez took to Twitter and invoked other mass shootings that took place in houses of worship.

“At 1st I thought of saying, ‘Imagine being told your house of faith isn’t safe anymore.’ But I couldn’t say ‘imagine.’ Because of Charleston. Pittsburgh. Sutherland Springs,’” Ocasio-Cortez wrote.

The congresswoman was referencing the 2015 Charleston shooting at the Emmanuel A.M.E. Church that left nine dead, the 2017 Sutherland Springs shooting at the First Baptist Church that left 27 dead, and the 2018 Pittsburgh shooting at the Tree of Life Synagogue that left 11 dead.

“What good are your thoughts & prayers when they don’t even keep the pews safe?” she asked.

That sparked plenty of backlash on social media.

Videos and Twitter comments at https://www.foxnews.com/politics/aoc-draws-ire-ripping-your-thoughts-and-prayers-after-christchurch-mosque-shootings

Published 1 day ago
Ocasio-Cortez does push-ups to pass time during 'boring' hearing recess
By Paulina Dedaj | Fox News

U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez took to social media Friday to show her followers how she dealt with what she deemed a “boring” hearing.

The New York Democrat posted a video on Instagram showing she and Rep. Jimmy Gomez, D-Calif., doing push-ups during a recess the day before.

“I admit, sometimes hearings get a little boring,” she wrote. “We had a recess and I needed to get my head back in the game, so Rep. @jimmygomezca and I did some pushups to get the blood pumping.”

Ocasio-Cortez, wearing heels and a suit, can be seen going push-up for push-up with Gomez until the pair completed five repetitions.

Someone can be heard saying, “Alright, back to work” as Ocasio-Cortez stands up.

Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., is also seen in the video cheering Ocasio-Cortez on.

“Don’t judge me, I def fell off the workout wagon and am trying to get back on again.” she added to her post.

It was not clear what specific hearing Ocasio-Cortez was taking an exercise break from.

Videos at https://www.foxnews.com/politics/ocasio-cortez-does-push-ups-to-distract-during-boring-hearing-recess

LOL...I said it right after she got elected...She will not run again because she will be bored out of her mind...That and the dems are going to primary the hell out of her...They will make her go away..

Published 15 mins ago | Last Update 14 mins ago
AOC defends Green New Deal, says narrative being 'manipulated' by Trump, other critics
By Joseph A. Wulfsohn | Fox News

U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., appeared on a late-night comedy talk show Thursday night but was stone-cold serious in her defense of the Green New Deal, the cornerstone of her progressive agenda.

When asked by “Late Night” host Seth Meyers if President Trump’s claims that “cows farting” and “hamburgers” would be outlawed were true, Ocasio-Cortez firmly answered “No.”

“I think it’s good to see how these narratives are manipulated," Ocasio-Cortez said, "because they’re trying to say that the Green New Deal is about what we have to give up, what we have to cut back on, when in fact the Green New Deal itself is resolution to be more expansive.

"They’re trying to say that the Green New Deal is about what we have to give up, what we have to cut back on, when in fact the Green New Deal itself is resolution to be more expansive."

“It is to be able to generate more," she continued, "and to make sure that we’re investing in working-class Americans so that we all can afford to have more in life, so that an affordable apartment isn’t a dream but a norm and that health care is a right and not a privilege."

The self-described Democratic socialist stressed that the Green New Deal she introduced in February “is not a bill,” but a “resolution” that doesn’t require the president’s signature.

"If we passed a resolution in the House, it doesn’t go into the Senate and it doesn’t go to the president," she explained. "It is a House resolution. It is a declaration. It is an intentional, vision document. ... Listen, if we’re going to make progress, we need to declare our North Star, and our North Star is 100 percent renewable energy, it’s Medicare For All, it’s tuition-free public colleges, it’s investing in technology and renewable resources and electric vehicles. ... The resolution of the Green New Deal is the vision of what we need to accomplish in the next ten years."

Ocasio-Cortez's plan has received some pushback recently, including from the AFL-CIO and a co-founder of the environmental group Greenpeace.

In a letter last week to Ocasio-Cortez and Green New Deal co-sponsor U.S. Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass., the AFL-CIO asserted the Democrats' plan would cause "immediate harm" to union workers and their families.

Earlier this month, Greenpeace co-founder Patrick Moore criticized the plan as "completely crazy," telling Ocasio-Cortez, "You would bring about mass death."

SNL Predicted Alexandria Ocasio Cortez in 2012

Published 1 hour ago
AOC mocks critics of Green New Deal's estimated $93 trillion price tag: ‘They sound like Dr. Evil’
By Joseph A. Wulfsohn | Fox News

U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., blasted critics of her signature policy proposal, the Green New Deal, saying they sounded "like Dr. Evil," referring to the character from the "Austin Powers" movies.

The freshman congresswoman pitched the policy plan to the country Friday in an hourlong town hall-style special on MSNBC.

Ocasio-Cortez refuted GOP lawmakers and conservative pundits who claimed that the Green New Deal is a “socialist” fantasy that would take away “cows” and “hamburgers.” She told MSNBC host Chris Hayes that she “100 percent” expected such a response but didn’t predict that they would take it to an “eleven.”

“I didn’t expect them to make total fools of themselves,” Ocasio-Cortez told the roaring Bronx crowd. “Frankly, I expected a little more nuance and I expected a little more concern-trolling.”

Hayes, the host of MSNBC's “All In,” then referred to the “Frequently Asked Questions” document that was released during the rollout of the Green New Deal that included references to “farting cows” and guaranteed economic security to those “unwilling to work.” The FAQ page was quickly pulled after it began circulating online.

“Do you think you guys rolled it out the right way?” Hayes asked.

“What I will say is that I definitely had a staffer who had a very bad day at work and did release a working draft early, so I get that’s what they’re seizing on,” Ocasio-Cortez responded. “But really, what we need to do is have a serious conversation and even in those draft versions, what they were talking about is really about the fact that we need to innovate on our technology, you know? Obviously, I had a staffer, you know, released a document that talked about cow flatulence.”

“Which is an issue!” Hayes said, defending the congresswoman. “I just want to say, it sounds ridiculous, but it really is an issue.”

Ocasio-Cortez, a self-described Democratic socialist, dismissed the “label” that the Green New Deal is “socialism,” telling Hayes that climate change “is a problem of market failure externalities in our economics.” She also mocked concerns over the cost of the Green New Deal, which a GOP think tank has estimated to be about $93 trillion.

"They sound like Dr. Evil," U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez says of those who criticize the potential cost of the Green New Deal, referring to the movie character played by Mike Myers.

“They wave this wand and they say, ‘Oh, it’s gonna cost, you know, a bazillion dollars.’ Like, they sound like Dr. Evil, like ‘100 million dollars,’” Ocasio-Cortez continued. “How about we start by fully funding the pensions of coal miners in West Virginia? How about we start by rebuilding Flint? Let’s just start now.”

OPINION | Published 2 hours ago
Andy Puzder: What Ocasio-Cortez doesn't understand about minimum wage
By Andy Puzder | Fox News

Surprised with the high price of a croissant at New York City’s LaGuardia airport, New York Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (AOC) had an insight. So, on Monday she tweeted that:

"Croissants at LaGuardia are going for SEVEN DOLLARS A PIECE Yet some people think getting a whole hour of personal, dedicated human labor for $15 is too expensive??"

It may (or may not) come as an even bigger surprise to the charmingly irrepressible AOC that, ironically, LaGuardia’s minimum wage is part of the reason those croissants cost so much in the first place.

Let’s start with a point of agreement. Clearly, $7 is a lot to pay for a croissant. Any traveler can tell you that even food products without a fancy French name are expensive at most airports, including LaGuardia. But, the question should be: Why does a simple croissant cost so much?

For one thing, there is a captive audience at airports – so to speak – and little competition from offsite vendors. It’s not like it’s easy to leave the airport to get something to eat at a reasonable price while waiting for your flight. Could the real problem be greedy capitalists taking advantage of a situation with limited competition and overcharging for products while they oppress the working class in their spare time? Well, no; that’s not it.

The actual explanation is far less nefarious. As someone who ran a company with airport restaurant locations, I can tell you that airport rents are high; really high. Airport owners know they are leasing sites with a captive and generally more affluent audience. The rents reflect that reality. LaGuardia, one of the busiest airports in the country, is no exception.

But LaGuardia isn’t owned by greedy capitalists. It's government owned. New York City owns LaGuardia and leases it to the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey for operations purposes. Airport owners – in this case, a government – are well aware of their superior negotiating position and that the busier the airport is, the higher the rent they can charge. So, to justify opening a retail business at LaGuardia, or any busy airport, businesses have to charge more to cover their costs. Otherwise, they lose money and it makes no sense to keep the business open.

But rent isn’t the only reason a LaGuardia croissant cost AOC $7 hard- earned dollars. Another reason is the very policy AOC juxtaposed to the $7 croissant – the minimum wage. According to the Port Authority’s Amended Rules for Implementation of Minimum Wage Policy for Non-Trade Labor Service Contracts – LGA/JFK/EWR, airport concessionaires at LaGuardia have to pay their entry-level workers $13.60 an hour. That’s just the starting wage. Experienced employees surely make more than entry-level employees, and they should. They are generally more productive. But when operating expenses increase, so does the price of a croissant.

When a government – any government – sets the costs of doing business, inevitably those costs increase and so do prices. In September, the starting wage at LaGuardia will rise to $15.60, an amount in AOC’s wheelhouse. So, expect the price of those darn croissants to be even higher come the fall. But no one should be surprised. As the costs of doing business increase, so do the prices businesses have to charge to survive, let alone profit.

Respectfully, it might be wise to withhold complaints about the high price of a product while simultaneously arguing to increase the cost of providing it. But then again, I’m not a Socialist.

Andy Puzder was chief executive officer of CKE Restaurants for more than 16 years, following a career as an attorney. He was nominated by President Trump to serve as U.S. labor secretary. In 2011, Puzder co-authored "Job Creation: How It Really Works and Why Government Doesn't Understand It." His latest book is "The Capitalist Comeback: The Trump Boom and the Left's Plot to Stop It" (Center Street, April 24, 2018).

Published 6 hours ago
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez promotes 'anti-capitalist' streaming service
By Liam Quinn | Fox News

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is putting her political brand behind a yet-to-be-launched socialist streaming service.

Rep. Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., late Thursday shared a video put together by Means TV, which describes itself as “an anti-capitalist on-demand digital streaming platform launching in late 2019.” The group’s website outlines how it plans to grow into being “an anti-capitalist media institution together,” featuring “your favorite Leftist influencers, comedians, writers, organizers, and voices.”

Ocasio-Cortez plugged the video with her own commentary on the ills of the capitalist system.

“How on earth could young people, whose wages are flat, costs of living skyrocketing, experiencing increased social instability via bigotry, addiction, + violence, expected to live shorter lifespans than previous gens dare question the larger economic forces in their lives?!” she tweeted.

The video itself featured comedian Sara June sarcastically explaining how capitalism works, and how to succeed in it.

“Another beautiful day under capitalism, the greatest most functional economic system that has ever existed,” the clip begins, before June spits out a sip from a cup of coffee.

“Under capitalism, there are two ways to make money, and you definitely have to make money. If you’re lucky, you own something like an apple farm, or a glue factory. That makes you the owning class. If you don’t own anything, you’re part of the working class and you make money by selling your labor. You pretty much sell your labor until you retire. Sorry, let’s take that again. You pretty much sell your labor until you die.”

The clip wraps up with the line: “In conclusion, capitalism is a fun and efficient way to consolidate all the world's resources in the control of a tiny group of massively rich individuals at the expense of everyone else.”

Published 2 hours ago
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez slams justice system amid reports of Felicity Huffman’s alleged prison sentence
By Kathleen Joyce | Fox News

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., blasted the justice system amid reports actress Felicity Huffman may get a lighter prison sentence for her part in the college admissions bribery scam.

Huffman, 56, agreed earlier this month that she will plead guilty to one count of conspiracy and fraud for paying a consultant $15,000 disguised as a charitable donation to boost her daughter’s SAT score.

Ocasio-Cortez reacted to a tweet that said though the sentencing guideline is four to 10 months of jail time, prosecutors “will make a recommendation for the lower end of that range and will allow Huffman to argue for a 0-6 month range.”

The freshman congresswoman said the U.S. justice system “criminalizes poverty + disproportionately targets race, yet routinely pardons large-scale crimes of wealth and privilege.”

“Moments like these tell us it’s less a justice system, and more a class enforcement system,” she tweeted.

This is not the first time Ocasio-Cortez has commented on the college admissions scandal. In March, Ocasio-Cortez compared the scandal to political elections.

“I guess college admissions isn’t that different from elections, where lots of money can buy your spot too. Also an enviro where those make it despite the odds are suspected to not have ‘earned’ it, not truly belong, or assumed to not be able to perform at the same level,” she wrote.

Also charged in the admissions bribery scheme is "Full House" star Lori Loughlin and her fashion designer husband, Mossimo Giannulli. Huffman is slated to enter her guilty plea on May 24.

Fox News denied access to AOC town hall on veterans' health care
Fox News
Published on Apr 18, 2019

Organizers of the Protect Veterans Health Care at the VA town hall in New York featuring Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez tell Fox News that the event was at capacity, but video from inside the building tells a different story. 'Fox & Friends Weekend' co-host and veteran Pete Hegseth sounds off on the rejection

Published 46 mins ago
Ocasio-Cortez impersonator, 8, takes on Green New Deal, socialism in adorable Twitter video
By Stephen Sorace | Fox News

Ocasio-Cortez says she will be limiting use of social media

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., may have a new challenger in the form of an 8-year-old girl whose adorable impression of the progressive has won over hearts and minds on social media.

Ava Martinez poked fun at the freshman congresswoman’s Green New Deal, legislation that calls for a massive overhaul of the nation’s economy and energy use—estimated to cost tens of trillions of dollars.

“Like, I want to talk about, like, climate change. Because, like, there’s no doubt cow farts are making the climate change,” Martinez says, donning Ocasio-Cortez-inspired glasses and red lipstick.



SickenTirade
@SICKENLAW
This sweet, adorable, 8yo actress is not only much cuter than the real #AlexandriaOcasioCortez but she’s also already much smarter too. I asked her to do this video because when #AOC is talking this is what we’re all thinking. We’re better off with this sweetheart in Congress.

https://twitter.com/i/status/1118873752031285248

7:47 AM - Apr 18, 2019
3,486 people are talking about this


“Like, in July, the climate was 96 degrees and in February the climate was 36 degrees. OMG, like that’s a huge change in the climate in”—the mini-AOC looks down to count her fingers—“only four months!”

Social media users praised the impression as “pure gold,” with some suggesting Martinez would make a “much better Congresswoman.”

Martinez’s stepdad, Salvatore Schachter, told the New York Post that the 8-year-old’s resemblance to Ocasio-Cortez was noted amongst family members and thought that doing a video would be fun.

“I thought it would gain attention, because she’s adorable, but not like this,” he said of its over 1 million combined views across two tweets.

Martinez closes out her impression with her thoughts on socialism, saying, “Like, socialism is actually short for social media. I do social media, so I’m a socialist.”

My gal pal works for the VA. She says AOC should move to another country, where anyone who cares what she mutters about might listen to her while they watch paint dry.

_____________________________________________________________________________

Published 5 hours ago
Ocasio-Cortez declares VA ‘isn’t broken,’ already provides top-notch care
By Adam Shaw | Fox News


Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., claimed during a recent town hall event that the Department of Veterans Affairs “isn’t broken" and is actually providing “some of the highest quality” care to veterans.

“All I can think of is that classic refrain that my parents always taught me growing up, is that: ‘if it ain't broke, don't fix it,’" she said in New York, as part of her argument against privatizing aspects of the scandal-scarred agency's work.

"That is the opening approach we have seen when it comes to privatization, it's the idea that this thing that isn’t broken, this thing that provides some of the highest quality care to our veterans somehow needs to be fixed, optimized, tinkered with until we don’t even recognize it anymore," she said, in comments first reported by The Washington Examiner.

"They are trying to fix the VA for pharmaceutical companies, they are trying to fix the VA for insurance corporations, and, ultimately they are trying to fix the VA for a for-profit healthcare industry that does not put people or veterans first," she said. “And so we have a responsibility to protect it.”

Ocasio-Cortez's comments were aimed at Trump administration efforts to expand choice and private health care options in the VA health care system, particularly via the MISSION Act -- signed into law by President Trump last year.

The comments are likely to raise the ire of proponents advocating VA reform. The department was plagued by scandal during the Obama administration -- including secret wait lists, systemic neglect and veterans dying while waiting to see a doctor.

“Putting our veterans first means making sure they are at the center of any reform efforts. That is exactly what the administration did with the VA MISSION Act -- put the veteran ahead of the bureaucracy," Dan Caldwell, executive director of Concerned Veterans for America, told Fox News when asked about Ocasio-Cortez's comments. "The VA is structured for a veteran population that has fundamentally changed from when it was built. Policy reforms should fundamentally change with the population and the times. When the resources follow the veteran, the veteran wins."

"When resources go to prop up an aging and outdated bureaucracy, the veteran loses. It’s not about ‘fixing’ the VA, rather it is about making sure the focus of the VA is on the veteran, not itself," he said.

Current VA Secretary Robert Wilkie is the fourth secretary to lead the VA in the past four years, while the VA’s $200 billion budget has doubled in the past decade.

Wilkie has since declared the VA to be making “groundbreaking progress,” on accountability, transparency and efficiency while touting the MISSION Act.

"Under President Trump, VA has done more in the last two years than it has in decades in reforming the department and improving care and benefits for our nation’s heroes," he said in a Fox News op-ed in January, before saying there was still work to be done on issues such as suicide prevention.

Ocasio-Cortez’s comments are part of an increasing ideological shift among Democrats questioning the benefits of private health care -- with many now pushing single-payer forms of government-run health care for the population at large.

2020 hopeful Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., this month unveiled his latest Medicare-for-all plan, signed onto by a number of other 2020 hopefuls. That plan would largely abolish private insurance plans -- with Sanders suggesting insurers could be reduced to cosmetic surgery.

"Under Medicare for All, we cover all basic health care needs, so they're not going to be there to do that. I suppose if you want to make yourself look a bit more beautiful, you want to work on that nose, your ears. They can do that," he said.

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez deletes tweet after mistaking a Democrat for a Republican
Rebecca Morin, USA TODAY
Published 9:40 p.m. ET April 25, 2019 | Updated 6:32 a.m. ET April 26, 2019

Democratic socialist Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is the newest political figure everyone loves or loves to hate. From her ‘Green New Deal’ proposal to combat climate change to her clapbacks against Trump and her critics, here’s how AOC danced her way into the spotlight.

Freshman Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez deleted a tweet Thursday after she attempted to call out "older male" Republicans for posing next to a cardboard cutout of her.

The lawmaker wasn't a Republican, though. He was a fellow Democrat.

The Republican Party of Kentucky on Thursday tweeted a photo of Rep. John Yarmuth, a Democrat from the Bluegrass State who chairs the House Budget Committee and has served in Congress since 2007.

In a popular meme format, the New York congresswoman retweeted the Kentucky GOP post, adding: "Nobody: [Silence] GOP: Let’s pose our older male members next to cardboard cutouts of young female legislators."

Full story and video at https://www.democratandchronicle.com/story/news/politics/2019/04/25/republican-democrat-alexandria-ocasio-cortez-twitter-gaffe/3581611002/

Who's been sitting in Pelosi's chair? Democrat Ocasio-Cortez
Reuters Reuters Fri, May 10 9:05 PM MDT


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - In another first for rookie congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the liberal Democrat from New York on Friday became the youngest woman to preside over the U.S. House of Representatives.

Sitting in House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's chair as part of a routine rotation of House members, Ocasio-Cortez took her turn with the gavel and ran the chamber for about an hour. The duty is shared day-to-day by members of the House majority, currently the Democrats.

In the event, Ocasio-Cortez did not have a great deal to do. She presided over "special orders," which are generally short speeches by House members at the end of the day's legislative business, often on issues of concern in their districts.

Ocasio-Cortez, 29, called on members as they rose to speak, once or twice stumbling over their states of origin. "For what purpose does the gentleman from Ohio - um, from Illinois, excuse me, seek recognition?" she said as Representative Sean Casten, a fellow freshman Democrat, took the floor.

"That was my first time presiding. And it's exciting. It's certainly a view. I wish we could, I wish we were allowed to take photos," she told reporters after the session.

Ocasio-Cortez describes herself as a Democratic socialist and is the most prominent member of a group of female Democrats elected to the House for the first time last November, bolstering the party's liberal wing.

She has become a sensation on social media, drawing headlines for dance routines as well as championing the Green New Deal, a package of proposals to tackle climate change.

She is the youngest woman ever elected to Congress, representing New York's 14th district in the Bronx and Queens.