I AM BEYOND PISSED - Did you Donate to Dean? Clark? Kerry? READ THIS

With regard to this site that was referenced in an earlier post:

http://www.fundrace.org/neighbors.php

This is such a fucking invasion of privacy I'm speechless. Because I made the monumental mistake of donating to a political candidate, my NAME, COMPANY, JOB TITLE and HOME FUCKING ADDRESS are now public knowledge. Not just home address, but EXACT COORDINATES of where I live.

I emailed the site and said I'm disturbed and please take my name off and "Michael Frumin" (info@fundrace.org) said to me "Well then you shouldn't have donated to a political candidate...we get our information from the FEC"

So I call the FEC and they tell me this "fundrace" site is illegal as hell, that my information should NOT be in the public domain, and that I should file a complaint w/ the FEC so they can shut it down, but I need it to be NOTARIZED (more hoops to jump through) and that I should also file a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission.

I've never felt so fucking violated in my life.

:grr:

:argh:

Especially if it is illegal, how did fundrace get it's lists? This is nuts.

That's what I'd like to know.

Jesus H. Christ!

:grr: :grr: :mad:

Come and GET me, fuckers!

......Google search for "Jonah Peretti", Brooklyn, New York :evilgrin:
Google search for "Michael Frumin", Brooklyn, New York

On Edit: Added Mike to the fray! Give them a call and let them know how you feel!
Google is your friend! :)

Privacy Statement

The privacy of our customers has always been very important to the Federal Election Commission. We do not require individuals to identify themselves when they come to our offices or contact us by phone. Our concern for your privacy continues in the electronic age. That view underlies our policy, stated below:

* You do not have to give us personal information merely to visit our site.
* We collect detailed information about you (i.e. more than your internet address) like your name, email address, affiliation with a political committee, etc. only if you specifically and knowingly provide it to us.
* When we ask you to identify yourself we explain why at the point of collection (e.g. to download recordkeeping software for electronic filing of campaign finance reports).
* Information is collected for statistical purposes and we sometimes perform analyses of user behavior in order to measure customer interest in the various areas of our site. We will disclose this information to third parties only in aggregate form or as may be required by law.
* We do not sell any personal information to a third party. However, information retained by us may be subject to requests under the Freedom of Information Act.
* We do not enable "cookies." (A "cookie" is a file placed on your hard drive by a Web site that allows it to monitor your use of the site, usually without your knowledge.) Note, however, that when you leave our site through links to other sites they may enable cookies or collect information about you that the FEC does not collect or control.

If you do nothing during your visit but browse through the website, read pages, or download information, we will gather and store certain information about your visit automatically. This information does not necessarily identify you personally. We automatically collect and store only the following information about your visit:

* The Internet domain (such as "xcompany.com" or "yourschool.edu", or "agency.com) and IP address (an IP address is a number that is automatically assigned to your computer whenever you are surfing the Web) from which you access our website;
* The date and time you access our site;
* The pages you visit;
* Whether you successfully received the document or image file you requested;
* The type of browser you are using;
* The site from which you linked to our site;

and

* The size of the document you received.

We use this information to help us make our site more useful to visitors -- to learn about the number of visitors to our site and the types of technology our visitors use. We do not track or record information about individuals, organizations or their visits.

If you contact us by email we may forward the message to appropriate staff in order to review it and respond if necessary. We may retain messages for a period of time to ensure responses and we may delete them when action has been completed.

If you use an online form to receive filing software or register for a conference or for other purposes, information you provide may be retained so that information about changes, upgrades, etc. may be provided where appropriate.

ISP info...

maybe i'm off board here but i've always felt the contributions by corps and lobbying orgs was the problem.

ok ...corps and orgs could hide their contributions by funneling them through individuals so it's important to have the employers info on record. but putting people's addresses on the internet seems excessive.

the threat to people's livelhood and even safety would seem to call out for some interim level of transparancy. i'm a privacy freak. my name and address appears nowhere on the net, until now. if i had known this before i donated, i would have donated differently, small enough contributions that they could be cash but given to many more
candidates.

i bet, right now, there are freeps and maybe even DUers writing nasty notes or cruising neighborhoods, based on this info...

When I lived in California I was the treasurer of a candidate running for local office. Anyone giving more than $99 had to be listed on the campaign statement. (This was why so many gave only $99). And we had to provide occupation and name of employer. This is why many would say self-employed, or retired, or homemaker.

This is actually good for democracy. Especially in California where you have so many measures, you can see who is behind (or against) the ballot measure and see who gives money and how much.

It used to be that one had to go the a county or city office to pour over the statements but recently these statement are scanned and posted online. And you can also see who are the fat cats that give to congress people and to assembly ones.

For over ten years the people of Orange County did not want the Marines base at El Toro to be converted into a commercial 24/7 airport. It took four rounds of ballot measures to finally killed it. While the anti group had donations of thousands of volunteers, across the political spectrum, the pro airport had gazillionaire George Argyros (Bush ambassador to Spain) who gave more that $3 million to finance the battle. Once he went to Spain, his side lost.

a fair use of this info is whether the company is a non-profit (which they don't appear to be) and the fact that it appears on larger donations they MAY have ADDED more info than was required by the FEC meaning they MAY be posting info on the internet that is NOT required by the FEC FOR PROFIT .

the content..only so that others who have donated will see it and join you in filing a complaint. :D

Gotta get the word out about this to get it shut down.

We deserve to know where the money is coming from for public office.

Only medical and private transactions are kept from public view...just as it shoud be.

employees for specific companies? I ask because, friends of mine were told to donate to Liebermans campaign, two thousand a piece....in fact all the directors etc. for this metals group contributed. This sort of thing makes me uncomfortable, this is why I think the info should remain public, but it should allow you to research donations by specific companies...then we'll get an accurate picture of "why" specific manufacturers/corporations support these people.

I'm on there and so is my Mom. I love how they always put the burden on us in order to opt out of something. Why isn't the FEC going to investigate this. Since you notified them and they said it was illegal maybe they should just go do their job. Also found out from that site that I'm surrounded by repugs who now know who and where I am. Lovely.

even though the FEC woman looked at the site and was like "Oh my God they so can't do that...that's terrible."

...information to penalize or reward employees based on their personal political affiliation? What about someone seeking a job and not getting it because of their political affiliation?

What about targeting by people in power against those who do not agree with them? What about the IRS agent who decides he should audit/investigate someone on this basis?

In this format, with full address & name with GEO codes and neighborhood searches, it is terrible.

Heck, I am a full $2K dem donor in a neighborhood full of Bush contributors. I don't like this at all.

some bozo lawyer in my neighborhood donated 6000 to * - 2000 in his own name another 2000 in his wifes name and another in his kids name. disgusting.

And here I am, thinking you're pissed as I am that the Kings/Pacers game isn't on TV tonight. x(

The games ESPN are showing suck.

Back to the topic: I looked at that site earlier, found out most of my "friends and neighbors" here behind the Reagan Country Curtain gave the max to GWBush. :grr:

Sacramento Channel 10 at 4:30.

I have to go to a sports bars and compete for a TV with the bracketology nutcases.

You're luckier than both of us. :hi:

i'm a lakers fan in sacramento and it's WORTH IT!

and found someone with the same name as me donated to Bush. She's a "Homemaker/Student" and she lives in Almo, KY. This is pretty messed up.

I'm going to call the ones near me who are attorneys :) Maybe that'd be a good start?

Any one of us could publish it.

Sorry, democracy cannot be both participatory and annonymous.

Unique ID's could be assigned to each individual (primary key) and only the name and city/state for instance need be disclosed to the general public, if that is necessary at all, which I question (the street address and employer could remain confidential to protect the privacy of individuals.)

Elected officials could have access to check the full records, and an individual could have access to their own full record.

There are a number of reasons why disclosing this information might be detrimental to an individual's livelihood and even their safety.

We have a right to give to political parties but we also have a right to privacy.

Essentially this is giving up the privacy of our vote.

It doesn't have to be as black and white as you paint it.

For instance, our income tax returns are not published on websites - yet. These laws have to be enforced, too. So shouldn't this data be published, by your reasoning?

"Elected officials could have access to check the full records"

I'm sure the Bush admin would get right on it. Talk about letting the fox guard the hen house...

Contact the Electronic Frontier Foundation.

But did you look at the map?

http://www.fundrace.org/citymap.php

WE ARE SO SCREWED. *terrified*

You DID know that Bush raised more money, right?

It's similar to the map republicans like to use showing the total land mass that went to bush in 2000 rather than the actual # of people who voted for him. Sure, it looks impressive but it means nothing unless of course Diebold is now counting votes by cows :)

although I must admit that looking through the Bush donors near my address, I found some usefull information. For instance, a $2000 donation from the owner of a car dealership that I _had_ done business with in the past.

Individual Search:
Search for contributions made by individuals using contributor name, city, state, zip code, principal place of business, date, and amount.
http://www.fec.gov/finance_reports.html

also give out complete home addresses?

I didn't see street address at the FEC site, did you?

:kick:

next to it was a long number which was a link. Clicking on that opened a scanned image of the original paperwork, which contained my home address. I was able to see it for lots of other names I looked up, too.

....but these people are nuts, they are posting way too much personal informaion...that has to be illegal!

This fundrace site lists your street address whereas FEC only lists your town. There is a difference.

I will be calling all of the attorneys in my area on this list this weekend that donated to Democratic candidates to inform them of the existence of this list...We'll see where it goes from there...

You can tell them who I donated to and how much, but don't you fucking dare publish my home address!!!! :mad:

to Clark and Dean and Kerry, in fact I'm damned proud, I nevertheless feel that it's no one's business. In some parts of the country, you could be firebombed for supporting certain candidates! My husband would never let me put a political bumpersticker on our car when we lived in north Florida, that's for sure. Anyway, for some reason, I am not listed at this website, even though my donations have all been done with a credit card. I feel for those of you who are listed, please keep us posted about how to complain about this invasion of privacy.

at the FEC website, only not quite so neighborhood friendly and no street address.

http://www.fec.gov/finance_reports.html

click on individual search.


OH Yea I live in Bush Country heh.

searched for Michael Dell.. reads like a whos who of people I hate. I'm glad I have a Compaq.

I wish I had $200 to give away like that.

Al Sharpton says what needs to be said. He says it with wit, wisdom and clarity. Money given to Sharpton's campaign is well spent, even if you have to scrape for it.

I just checked my Zip Code and it gave the HOME address of an associate who is a retired superior court judge and now is a private arbitrator.

I called him and not only is HIS HOME INFO in there..OTHER arbitrators info is in there and THEY ARE LIVID...the significance of this is that arbitrators do NOT reveal their home addresses because it may target them for retribution by unhappy litigants.


they have notary publics in their office and are acting on it today...HE IS PISSED..thanks for the head's up. :D

Fuck I love DU

I need a :beer: NOW

I need the name of the person at the FEC..they are acting right now

for peeking at the freeps anymore.

i am really relieved. on the other thread, it seemed everyone thought this was fine and dandy.

You guys rock. Talk about kicking ass and taking names.

Gawd I love you guys and DU :grouphug:

I've contributed several times to Clark and Kerry but my name didn't come up. But, the server is a bit overloaded. I found a few neighbor names whose donations surprised me!

To expect privacy when you do a public record act is not smart.

And the two have been linked. But anybody who looks up a name in one can just go to mapquest for the other info.

I looked up my Mom & my friend on mapquest (both have unlisted phone #'s) and they did NOT come up. My Mom is listed at FEC site but if someone tried to look up her address on mapquest they wouldn't find her street address. With this fundrace site people now can see her street address.

So if I look up your mom on the FEC and get her address, I can plug it into mapquest.

easier to read. The information was already available to anyone, now it's just compiled in a graphical manner.

What information are they adding that the FEC does not publish?

I found my contributions, including my home address and employer on the FEC website.

has an issue with it then I have to assume there is a problem..>FWIW..his HOME address is NOT published at the FEC site.

or at least there should be between having a public record of donations and making the record so dam public and accessible.

i doubt an employer would take the time to go to some office and research his employees or that some drunken freep would bother. but last night on fox and this am on cspan, the site was announced for what i believe was waaaay to casual a purpose.

even the way it's marketed...as a way to find out who your neighbors support has nothing to do with campaign finance ABUSE!!!!

was expecting the government to handle things right.

We have a right to give to political parties. We also have a right to privacy. There's no reason why one should exclude the other.

nobody has the right to give campaign contributions anonymously.

This is not a new law. It's been like this for a very long time, and for good reason. I can't believe people are upset about it now.

Nobody is upset that donating is public record and reported to the FEC.

People are upset that their HOME ADDRESS and PLACE OF EMPLOYMENT are now floating around the Internet without ANY WARNING OR DISCLOSURE at the time of donating.

The FEC site does not list home addresses. This other site does. I'm hardly the only one pissed off about this.

that the FEC DOES show home addresses!!!!!! Just click on the transaction # next to the donations!

I have nothing to get "through my head". I understand exactly what you're saying, and I just disagree vehemently.

Your name and address are how you are identified. You must be identified to contribute to a campaign. It's very simple. Donating money to a political campaign is NOT a private transaction. It is a very public one, and all the details SHOULD be public.

I know you're not the only one pissed off, but I'm endlessly bemused by the sudden outcry. As far as I know, this has been the law for over 20 years. Your address and place of employment were available on the internet long before this website appeared... right on the FEC's website. And before it was on the web, anybody could go look it up.

Not a damned thing has changed, except one guy made it an easier database to search.

Personally, I'm THRILLED this information is readily available. It's a great tool against corruption.

I'm more worried about being targeted for retribution by insane Republinazis.

Just in case noone told you yet today.

;)))))))))))))))))))))))

on the list for my city. nope, they will NOT be happy about that!

My husband's "boss" (banking lawyer) gave to Dean! I'd have guessed he was a Republican.

I love this list, however I wish I was the only person on earth who had access.

I'm there, but I don't care who knows who I gave money to.

It is. THIS is the upside and downside of open government and big databases.

some of our business isn't a bad thing! Also knowing who your friends are in these tough times when we may need them if Bush wins, is also not a bad thing.

However, I think having this easily available on a website does raise questions for the future. OTOH, we want Contributions Public for Corporations and Special Interests but we don't want to reveal our own secrets.

This is a tough one. Privacy vs. Disclosure. :shrug:

contributing to the *wrong* political party/candidate. The danger exists for individual contributors to be harassed at work and home.

Search the individual donors at www.fec.gov. You will find the same info. Fundrace made it easier.

I couldn't find those.

I'm not in the database, but all my neighbors are (surprising amount of hefty pledges), and they almost all supported DEAN!!!!!

around 80%.

like her a bit more now that she donated to Dean.

BTW, did anyone else notice that the lion's share of $2000 donations are for the idiot-in-chief?

Domain ID:D101904301-LROR
Domain Name:FUNDRACE.ORG
Created On:29-Oct-2003 07:34:33 UTC
Last Updated On:29-Dec-2003 03:58:40 UTC
Expiration Date:29-Oct-2005 07:34:33 UTC
Sponsoring Registrar:R91-LROR
Status:OK
Registrant ID:GODA-04374935
Registrant Name:Jonah Peretti
Registrant Organization:Eyebeam R&D
Registrant Street1:540 West 21st St
Registrant Street2:12th Floor
Registrant City:Brooklyn
Registrant State/Province:New York
Registrant Postal Code:11201
Registrant Country:US
Registrant Phone:+1.6462624442
Registrant FAX:+1.7182225621
Registrant Email:jonah@eyebeam.org
Admin ID:GODA-24374935
Admin Name:Jonah Peretti
Admin Organization:Eyebeam R&D
Admin Street1:540 West 21st St
Admin Street2:12th Floor
Admin City:Brooklyn
Admin State/Province:New York
Admin Postal Code:11201
Admin Country:US
Admin Phone:+1.6462624442
Admin Email:jonah@eyebeam.org
Tech ID:GODA-14374935
Tech Name:Jonah Peretti
Tech Organization:Eyebeam R&D
Tech Street1:540 West 21st St
Tech Street2:12th Floor
Tech City:Brooklyn
Tech State/Province:New York
Tech Postal Code:11201
Tech Country:US
Tech Phone:+1.6462624442
Tech Email:jonah@eyebeam.org
Name Server:GW.DATAGRAM.COM
Name Server:NS.CONTAGIOUSMEDIA.ORG

:)

:kick:

Seemingly a liberal with much NPR, alternet, Nation, and other background:

http://xenia.media.mit.edu/~peretti/

The Poster Boy of Guerilla Media:

http://www.alternet.org/story.html?StoryID=12276

My Nike Media Adventure:

http://www.thenation.com/doc.mhtml?i=20010409&s=peretti

not a dick.

even though I gave to Dean five times through his website.

But seriously, this is a good thing. We WANT transparency in political donations. The same rules that apply to major contributors apply to us. I am glad this is not secret.

the address being listed. Sure, maybe some people did use a business address, but I'm sure a lot of people didn't think about it. These addresses could be used for a lot of bad purposes, the least being nasty letters, the worst having EVERYBODY knowing where someone lives who can afford to give $2000 away. This isn't safe.

I'm glad people don't give a shit about their own privacy...I guess I'm different that way. OK so I'm a political neophyte and this is the first time I've donated...I would have appreciated there being some kind of "by the way, here's what happens when you donate" warning on Clark's site. I don't think that's too much to ask.

Clark supporters who had no problem with Acxiom and CAPPS II screaming about their contributions being part of the public record. One word: "hypocricy."

by a lot of progressives and others interested in campaign finance reform. Secrecy is usually not desirable in political donations. Most of us may think of this as affecting rich contributors, but there seem to be a lot of ordinary people who are donating the maximum.

There should be a warning about the precise address being public information, and a way to restrict it to a city or zip code. But a political contribution is, and should be, a public act.

I wonder how happy he'll be that his HOME ADDRESS is listed on the web....

I have sent these scumbags a nasty e-mail and will follow up with the FEC....:mad:

Don't give Big Brother another excuse to hide information from us.

As an aside, smart folks clearly used their business addresses.

and was actually disappointed that I wasn't listed. Now that I think about it, all the different info they listed on people was kinda creepy.

I did notice that the vast majority of Dubya supporters in my area were either business owners or attorneys. People that could afford to send $2000.

Nice to know that I am MOSTLY surrounded by Dems.

I 'm in shock...

I live in Manhattan and I did find several Hollywood actors I had no idea were anywhere near me. They all donated to the good guys (damn Hollywood liberals!). I also found that the guy who used to be the Commissioner for my sons' Little League donated $2,000 to bush*. I feel dirty for looking through the list, like some kind of peeping tom.

I'm not seeing the problem. I can get all this information from the FEC website, and yes, including home addresses if I click on the transaction number - a scanned copy of the original paperwork is shown, including addresses.

We KNOW when we give that this is public information - and it SHOULD be public information! Does anybody here really think we're better off with anonymous political contributions?

And I don't remember any of this shit being stipulated when I donated.

WITHOUT providing that information. That should've been a hint.

They list town and zipcode...

you can't donate more than $50 without providing an address.

It doesn't have to be a HOME address - it can be a mailing address.

...a valuable public service.

My only complaint is that they dont have enough options in their search features so I can drill further or slice & dice the data in different ways.

It looks like you can do the same thing here:
http://herndon1.sdrdc.com/fecimg/advindsea.html
...right from the FEC website.

There is a bunch of different information you can search here:
http://www.fec.gov/finance_reports.html

And it looks like you can download entire databases here:
http://www.fec.gov/finance/newftp1.htm

According to this page
http://www.fec.gov/pubrec/prguide1.htm#PersonalComputer
.. the only restriction on use is that you can't use the information to solicit contributions...

"Any information copied from such reports or statements may not be sold or used by any person for the purpose of soliciting contributions or for commercial purposes, other than using the name and address of any political committee to solicit contributions from such committee. 2 U.S.C. §438(a)(4). "

On Edit: I see other people posted this same information between the time I read the thread and wrote the post!

Only kidding.

and found out who many of my neighbors contributed to, what they do for a living, and how much they contributed. Having this information made me aware of the businesses I would not continue to support as a result of there political affiliations. Also, the republicans were out spending democrats by almost ten times the amount. (they seem to have more money) I will join you in writing a complaint to the FEC and the FTC. I will also contact everyone on this search now that I know who they are, and maybe a by product of this for you, would be to transfer some stress to others. (Republicans first!):think:

I too have identified a large number of business owners who have donated money to Bush.

They will never again get my business.

I've also found businesses that have donated to Democratic candidates. That's where I'll be spending my money.

How about sending some truth info to the Bush donors in your area?

the fine print. That's why I didn't show up.

eom

Buckley v. Valeo, 424 U.S. 1 (1976) — Campaign spending may not be limited, but contributions may be, and the identity of contributors may be required to be disclosed, and anonymous contributors prohibited.


Article via findlaw.com

http://supreme.usatoday.findlaw.com/supreme_court/briefs/00-1737/00-1737.mer.ami.brennan.pdf

thanks to that site.

One of the supporters of the moron who contributed bucks to his "effort" is the owner of a very big auto dealer francise in my area. They'll never get any of my business, and neither will some other local business owners.

I know many people listed. And IT DOES
list you home address. Wow.

by law. The FEC itself makes this information available. The only thing this website does is make it a little bit easier to find the info.

wow, I can't believe people are a) surprised by this and b) upset by it.

Public information on campaign contributions is a GOOD thing.

I did a search for a certain, very common, last name. Mainly because I have a lot of relatives with this last name. I noticed something with all the Dubya donations... there are literally pages of $2,000 donations to him and very few small donations. And many, many, many from homemakers/retired/students. How do all of these people afford this? It just seems fishy to me.

I noticed this too Tolania, boy this is fascinating.

Bankers are going to hell.

$2,000 for hubby, $2,000 for wifey, $2,000 for each kid. That way they can give $10,000 or so and stay under the $2000 limit.

Both parties pull that line of family members donating. Perfectly legal. And you can do it each cycle (including promaries). If we want real shame how about the fact the GOP riase more in small donations than Dems? or that Dems only outraise GOP in the big million dollar and up accounts. Maybe Dean's short but influential campaign has started to address that?

You're really slowing it down, and I have a few more names I want to check out! ;)

My name is not there, nor are several other people who have given money to Clark (I know, because I handled their checks).

Despite the entertainment value, I'm glad that you have brought this to people's attention - it's clear from the posts before mine that this will be addressed proto. edit: that would be pronto (damn, I always have typos!!!)

give a month or two.

Warning: Too many connections in /vol/extra/sites/site26/web/neighbors.php on line 134

Warning: MySQL Connection Failed: Too many connections in /vol/extra/sites/site26/web/neighbors.php on line 134
We are terribly sorry.
So many people are coming to the site that our database cannot handle it for the moment.
Please try again soon (like very soon. how about right now?).

I did some research at the FEC site, trying to find addresses of people who donated in Florida. I was interested in Florida for obvious reasons. At that time there wasn't a way to get the person's address so I had to track it down by other means. I came up with so many dead ends. I was convinced something wasn't right down there at that time and I still am.


Cher

all of this info is already public knowledge. It is a good idea for the FEC to keep track of all this, otherwise the GOP would be even more funded by every big-ass corporation.

employment should be made public. It could put some people in danger. I mean if I had children I would be worried now if my name had been published because I live in a Repbulican majority community. If someone didn't like that I contributed to the Democratic candidate, and they were mentally off center, I certainly don't want them knowing where I live or work. As a matter-of-fact they don't need to know my name. I think assigning numbers to donors in a given zipcode should be sufficient for compiling stats.

:kick:

and I agree that a lot needs to be transparent, but there are some things that have to be balanced. Imagine if you had to strip down naked in the airport before you are allowed to board a plane. It surely would guarantee safe flights, but I doubt if the airlines will be getting much business except from exhibitionists. Right now I don't think I will donate anything until I feel that I won't have someone arriving at my door to proselytize or worse.

Notice how many people won't give their business to a company/individual that donates to the "enemy"? It is definately not something everyone should expose themselves to, but to my knowledge the retributions have overall been minimal, this public disclosure has been around for quite awhile. I have not heard of violence being directed at someone because of their contribution, I could be wrong and would like to learn more.

it's another thing to have the info presented in a way that any drunken freep can amuse himself on a boring saturday night or for an employer to use it as he decides who gets promoted or laid off.

others I KNOW gave to Dean and Kucinich. I'm not listed and neither are the people I know! Yet, I'm listed on the FEC site, for my donations and not on this new web site? Uh Oh...doesn't sound like this is legit.

What gives? I donated online, not by check. Does this website just have the check info? Something is very strange there. Also, when you hit on the site does it have "Spyware" that takes your name and keys it into the FEC site so that the next time you go on it CAN Have your info?

Just beware of it. Might be another Bush/Freep place spreading disinformation, or they don't have their "act together" or it's "Spyware." :shrug:

I donated online as well.

I'm the *last* donor listed in my zip code, but there I am -- name, home address, place of employment, etc.

If you gave after then you wouldn't be on the list.

There's as many Edwards contributors here as Dean contributors in my little part of the PAC NW.

Very strange. I figured I was going to see Dean, Kucinich, and Nader.

I donated too so my info is there and my mother's a notary so I can get the paperwork done this weekend and ship it to the FEC and FTC first thing Monday morning.

:hug:

:toast:

...and to your local Democratic Party HQ...I bet that will get some attention rather quickly.

And I'm sick to punch in my zip code and find so many Bush supporters in my area as well, but the home address thing is TOO MUCH!

We don't publish addresses.

I understand you might be surprised that this data is public, but it really is a good thing. It's been public since the 70s, and is at the heart of the McCain Feingold act.

I think you'll agree we need to know how people like Ken Lay and Charles Schwab are trying to influence politics with their money, but we as citizens can't be selective about it. If they are going to be exposed, that means we need to be as well.

Here is the #1 tip if you want to donate, but not be listed: give up to $199. $200 donations and above get publicly listed.

If you are ashamed in the least about donations you've made, then that is a good indicator that you shouldn't be donating.

Some of us are surrounded by republicans who can be pretty nasty to deal with. Getting fired for your political views via contributions is possible, too.

I'm not ashamed, but I'd rather leave politics out of my personal and work information. My right-wing company doesn't need to know my politics.

could say the public has no right to know about HIS politics.

I disagree. Openness in campaign finance is essential.

Wouldn't you just love to know his affiliations?

...but honestly, anyone with the slightest curiosity can find ALL of this data in a multitude of formats on fec.gov. You have to hunt and peck a little, and you have to know how to make a db out of it, but it is all there. All fundrace.org has done is present it in a somewhat creative way.

My beef is with the FEC for making the exact addresses so easily available. I think the way newsmeat does it is much more appropriate, and is in-line with the way the fec.gov search is displayed.

I also have a serious problem with all the candidates that don't tell you shit about this. I think they have an obligation to tell citizens that their contribution data will be made public.

I realize you may not want to be a guinea pig, but if you got fired as a result of a campaign donation, there are thousands of lawyers who would LOVE to represent you, and millions of us who would like to see bastard bosses like that go down.

newsmeat.com currently has data going back to '98...fundrace.org is only this year.

But I agree with you that the candidates didn't say SHIT about how public the info would be. Fuck 'em all that'll teach me to get involved with politics. Back to sports. Wake me in November.

Who would be better served by allowing anonymous contributions - Dems or Repubs?

These open campaign finance laws are GOOD for progressives.

If you really fear retaliation for a political contribution, then you shouldn't contribute. However, I've never heard of a single case of that occurring.

We are ALL better off when the money trail into campaigns is open and transparent.

There is a reason I'm unlisted. Now any telemarketing/mass mailing schlub can get my address.

List my name? Fine. List my city? Fine. List where I LIVE? Fuck off.

not with that website.

legally protected when it comes to your job. IOW you can be fired legally for your political views.

for small amounts ($25 and above) that were listed, all personal info included.

give up to $199. $200 donations and above get publicly listed.

Not so. I just saw $100 and $150 donations listed at the fundrace site.

was such a bush supporter

I wonder if that's her real address!?

Karl Malone donated $2K to BUSH?! Blech!

deanie/edwards AND gephardt

I hope the FEC does shut them down. I'm lucky in that I haven't been able to donate much to any one candidate or cause, maybe $20 at a time, so I'm not in the database. But lots of my neighbors are.

to read the endless list of people who gave $2000 to bush. mofo idiots. i am glad this list exists - there are quite a few businesses i will no longer support after reading it.

turnabout is not fair play ?

I donated to Clark. Most were big donators . Thats really an invasion of privacy though.

Oh well.... My info is easy to find on the web anyway, and I make no secret of my politics, so I'm not upset. But I can totally understand why others are.

There is no right to privately give money to candidates for office. And that's a really good thing.

I had no problem donating to Wesley Clarks' campaign. I had no problem with his campaign submitting that info to the FEC..I have a HUGE FUCKING PROBLEM when someone else, NOT affiliated with the campaign OR the FEC publishes my HOME FUCKING ADDRESS!!!

Sorry this happened to all of you. This is beyond wrong.

But this is the only way to keep our freedoms by having open records like this.

I guess I wasn't able to scrape together enough. That's the only thing I'd be embarassed over, not about having given in the first place. And I agree it's an outrage to provide so much personal info in one place about donors. It's true that one can find this info about almost anyone with a bit of web searching, but this puts it right at people's fingertips. They don't even have to try.

The name, amount, and job title/place of business, I think are good. You can bet that if and when I ever need any services in my local area, I'm going to plug the name into this site to see who does and doesn't deserve my business. Listing the home address too, is going way too far.

I was surprised and disappointed to see how many $2000 contributions in my zip code went to George W. Bush, but equally surprised to see how many hefty donations there were to Lieberman. Better than sending the money to Dubya, needless to say. A number of Dean and Kucinich contributions caught my notice, some from grad students who, I remember all too well, make practically nothing. My respect to them!

....& I have no problem with that. I dont feel violated one bit. This is a great public service...it provides transparency to the campaign finance.

No problem whatsover.

Maybe I should contact the FEC to say that I support this.

how did these people get my home address? :mad:

just look at little harder.

you---gave---them---your---address . this---has---been---the---law---for---a---long---time.

what are you mad at, yourself or the disclosure laws?


by the way there is a link at the FEC site that will display every contributors address. ( click on the transaction number ) :boring:

I donated to 3 candidates - my name is no where on the 94024 list.

This reeks of propaganda - notice how many 'reds' are on their map?

that people on a politcal web site (of all places) were not aware politcal contributions are public record. Have you been living under a rock for a decade or two? (I believe all contributions have been public record from the 70s onwards) I don't mean to be rude, but this is like getting up tomorrow and saying "Wow, the sky is blue. Never noticed that before"

Seriously - when you are told how much Time Warner gave to a republican where do you think that info comes from? Were you just naive and thought they volunteered that info?

Guess what? Are you registered to vote? If so I can look EVERYTHING up about you address, and if you are in a state that you register party in, even your politcal party. THIS IS PUBLIC RECORD. (I will tell you that SOME states allow you to write and request your info is NOT put on the internet, BUT it will STILL be available to anyone who wants a physical record)

Before you get any movement going to conceal who gave what and EXACTLY who gave what (this info MUST be available in order to prosecute the EXACT person/company that violated finance law) remember this - big donations generally go to the repubs. If you think they are corrupt now you haven't seen ANYTHING yet. Go ahead, let them have anonymous "contributions". When they then have the money to run ad after ad that costs outrageous amounts of money don't bother asking where that money came from.

Hey you know what? Since most of this info is also available to anyone regarding people registered to vote let's go ahead and conceal who is registered to vote as well. After all - the dead should be able to vote, and vote republican. Get the point? This is a GOOD thing.

Oh - and if you want to complain to someone, go write your candidate. Sharpton, Edwards, Kerry, Kucinich, Bush campaigns ALL provide this info. That's where this info orginally came from. Your candidate HAS to provide it under law.

Also - this has been record since AT LEAST the 80s. How many people have been fired/killed/beaten etc because someone looked up how much money they gave to who? Please provide me ONE CASE of this happening. If it hasn't happened in the last 20 years, what makes you think it will happen now?

When I made my campaign contributions I was fully aware that contributions have to be reported (I think there is some sort of cutoff for amount?), ...putting your money where your mouth is is a form of political speech, I think.

This was the whole point of campaign finance reform, to make campaign contributions transparent. This means ALL contributions , not just those of lobbyists and wealthy individuals.

So, I too am suprised at the naivete here. What the site in question does jputs info thats in the public domain in an easy-to-find and read mode.

And voting registration info is also public record..its posted outside of every polling place in both Ohio & Kentucky, and you can see the party registration of your neighbors (D,, R, I), and what elections they voted in (not HOW they voted tho..thats not recorded).

There's some professors in Mississippi right now that would probably say differently.

for their political contributions? Link?

If a person only gives to the Dem candidate, is that not a good indicator of their views, generally speaking? The contributions list could and probably will be used against people.

"could and probably will be used against people."

Ok, got any evidence supporting this claim in the last 20 years?

But that couldn't happen here, right?

when vote fraud helped get Nazis in to power. But that couldn't happen here right?

Hate to tell you - the Nazis didn't get in to power because donation lists were available, but because proper laws designed to prevent election fraud didn't exist. (among other things)

I note you still can't provide any evidence over the last 20 years to support your claims. That speaks volumes alone.

All the while not admitting that the potential for abuse exists when people's personal information is accumulated in this fashion.

potential for abuse exists. However, my point is it has not been a large problem.

I ask you this - cost benefit analysis - which has the greater potential for abuse? Letting the repubs have secret "donations", or revealing personal info so that is not the case? To me the answer is clear.

Edging towards better to have info about the contributors out there, but all it would take for widespread pandamonium is for Dems to be actively targeted. :shrug:

I think you're getting a little out there with the civil war talk, which is essentially what would be the case in your suggestion. :) Yea, if civil war ever started it might be bad for an enemy to have that info. Of course I don't think we have to worry about that in any real situation.

Wrap enough of the politically active Dems up in a defensive mode (having to defend themselves legally, being on no-fly lists, suddenly unemployed, etc., and the momentum against Bush can be slowed.

they are little slow with implementation. Bush only has a short time longer before Kerry is elected in office. Bush had better get on it if this is the plan. (which I seriously doubt, as it would be obvious even to the most radical repub) This conspiracy theory holds little weight. It would require the secret cooperation of so many people it's not even funny.

Cooperating people isn't necessarily a problem. The repubs are organized. They've started trying to interrupt meetings already(Hastert's staff in IL, for instance).

if you want to make a claim that people being fired for campaign donations has been a serious problem in the last 20 years this info has been available then put up the evidence. I say there is none.

What would you like more? MAYBE a few people an election year being fired for donations, or another decade or two of Bush family rule because they suddenly have special campaign "donations". And people yell at greens for princples over reality...

The fact that information exists in the public domain does not necessarily give anyone the right to use it for personal profit.

While I am too lazy to look up the applicable laws and this is not my chosen field, I do believe that the MANNER in which public information is used as on this site with directionals to people's homes and giving information in the data base that is NOT on the FEC's site is ALSO relevent.

In the case of the judge that I contacted, the FEC says RETIRED JUDGE..this site gives his current business contact name and his home address...neither of which is listed at the FEC's site so issues MAY exist.

As I said, the judge I contacted was a retired superior court judge, so I have every reason to believe there MAY be an issue....we will find out soon enough.

There are DATA bases on criminals as well that are information considered in the public domain but the manner in which people USE that DATA can be an issue.

So if you're done lecturing.....

On edit: the judge's info is ALSO listed a OPENSECRETS.org but likewise gives a city, an occupation, a zip code and the candidate's name so I think this company took it a step further and that may be an issue


but I was happy the judge contributed the maximum to "my" candidate :D

2K each to Gephardt, Dean, & Clark.

Neat!

*sniff*

That's beautiful, man.

Love,

Sean "Puffy" Hannity

...he used to be a Congressman in California

with the supporters of campaign contribution transparency. If that makes me any less progressive or not a "true" Dennis kucinich supporter, well then, Ive been called worse. sure, this seems to be an intrusive invasion of privacy, however directly on the FEC website, the title for the button to query:

"Individual Search: Search for contributions made by individuals using contributor name, city, state, zip code, principal place of business, date, and amount."

This is all readily available information, as stated previously if you are registered to vote, this type of information is just as accessible.

it makes you a progressive. Only the repubs and other fascists don't want this info available. That way the CEO of a repub loving corporation can turn his $2000 bush donation in to a $20 million bush donation.

Cripes how do you know those scary GWB college brownshirts won't storm my house or something.

Give me your name and city and I will give you your street address, and possible telephone number and party affiliation. If you object to me being able to pull this information on you maybe you would like Mr. Abraham Lincoln to cast a vote for Bush in november?

You MUST have a street number in order to get a positive identity on a person who broke donation law. Otherwise how do I know you are bob smith of Austin that lives at 34 Tel Street or bob smith of Austin that lives at 55 Walmart Fascist street?

I have NOW found the addresses of famous people.Transparancy is good...but name and zip code should be enough.This country is so polorized that crack pot could be violent to one of us.

the $200 minimum leaves me out.. though I see others with less than $200, maybe it's because I donated just a few days ago. It's probably a good idea to not donate more than that because it goes on the public record -- and this website took advantage of that.

more...
NBA commish David Stern
Dick Gephardt
$2,000

George M Steinbrenner
Bob Graham
$2,000

if your name isn't listed, give it time. they only have the donations up to december of last year listed at this time.

Don King, the boxing promoter - he have $2000 each to Carol Mosley Braun, Dick Gephart, and George Bush. What an odd combination. Covering all his bases?

George Soros
Investor, Soros Funds Management.....(also Buisiness Executive)

Kerry $2K
Graham. $2K
Clark $2K
Dean $1K

..interesting!

Are you embarrassed or something? Who cares? I'd be happy to have my name on the list. Heck I might even donate now.

RC

or maybe the media alert??

You can also go to http://www.publicdata.com

They're a fee based service, but they have the same information. Also, for many states, the driver's license information. And the voter registration. And who lives at the same address.

Then there's http://www.knowx.com that also provides information.

It's all quite legal...

If you enter a county name and the words "appraisal district" in google, you can often find the value of a person's house, and even view an outline drawing of it. That's free.

Privacy? What privacy?

http://www.newmeat.com/

no fee, data from '98-'04

...good...

They'll be offline from expired bandwidth very soon.

Nothing has changed here. You can keep your vote secret but not your money...just as it SHOULD be.

where I sleep. If you don't care, fine.

I do.

You can't hide from a public transaction. I don't see why it's even an issue here. Do you expect all money spent on a candidate to be hidden?

Get real.

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

...information to penalize or reward employees based on their personal political affiliation? What about someone seeking a job and not getting it because of their political affiliation?

What about targeting by people in power against those who do not agree with them? What about the IRS agent who decides he should audit/investigate someone on this basis?

In this format, with full address & name with GEO codes and neighborhood searches, it is terrible.

Heck, I am a full $2K dem donor in a neighborhood full of Bush contributors. I don't like this at all.

I can almost guarantee you my company would not have hired me had they known my political affiliation. Being G.W. Bush fans is a big part of who they are.

...than the dems are to use it against neocons.

It is very creepy. I bet John Asscraft is pleased...

Jennifer Garner
actress
vandalia films, inc.

Dick Gephardt
$2,000

John Edwards
$1,000

Wesley Clark
$1,000

:D

She must be smarter than me. Dumbass I am, filling out the form the way it tells me to.

I just didn't want to post it. It could be a professional address with her management co. or something though.

2 Large to the Bushies. That's pretty funny!