Tripping down rabbitholes (Congress edition, starring Mike Pence, special guest appearance by Maxine Waters and Robert Gates; cameo by Masons going to court w/ Knights Templars)

Okay, here's hoping for clarity... this is all sorts of odd ("odd" as being defined as politicians and their pet projects which they derive funds despite them being called "charities".)

Stumbled upon Stanford University's list of Congress' Non Political Organizations-- which to me seems like an oxymoron, but whatever. Congress can be "non-political", I guess.

So, this epic list contains everything from Andrew Jackson's Council of the Boy Scouts of America (complete with ties to Former CIA head honcho, Robert Gates) to a couple Mike Pence-associated private Christian schools, A handful of Planned Parenthood clinics, Maxine Water's Employment Preparation Center, and infamous Georgetown University, home of "CIA U."

Out of all the linkies to various NPO's (most of which seem to be listed as non-profit charities) the ones relating to Vice-President of the United States, Mike Pence seemed interesting.

Let's start with the Baseball Stadium Fund, Inc; supposedly a non-profit to furnish little league teams with equipment. Their non-profit status was revoked due to not filing proper paperwork for three years in a row. The building listed as the address for the non-profit charity has been put up for sale; 6 bedroom party house (hey, it's got a wetbar) and it's within easy access to Lake Michigan. And literally, a stone's throw from the state border.

Per Stanford's database, Mike Pence and his wife are/were officers in this charity.

Also listed at that address is Shinn, Inc which has been in business for 21 years. Now here's the thing about Shinn, Inc. Per Linkedin, it's public relations and communications... but other sites list it as construction.

One of the names associated with the Baseball Stadium Fund is one Cheryl Young. Bizapedia has many entries with Cheryl Young, from Zion Community Church (in Florida), to a non-profit called "Train Up A Child" (Mississippi based), something called Young and Sweet, Inc, Young and Beautiful Products, all the way to Tmy Entertainment, which its address is also associated with a day care center among other things. It's a common enough name, in that there are more than one Cheryl Young.

Directing our attention back to Pence, we find he's a board member of the Indiana Lion's Eye Bank, which deals with the transplantation of corneas and whatnot. Summed up as this:

Nothing says "non-profit" quite like taking 5 mil a year, and having 10 mil in assets.

Oh, did I mention they are a confirmed government contractor? Their parent company, Keralink International, does business with the Department of Defense, who just so happened to be their biggest contract.

Personally, I think its funny that Bizapedia has the Eye Bank listed it's first category as a financial entity/investments rather than healthcare. Guess the Devil is in the details.

I find all this interesting, knowing that Pence is a Deep State darling; I find it interesting that Stanford's database tells us what politician is tied to what charity and "non political organizations" and what organizations are indeed considered charities.

For example, the Council of Foreign Relations just so happens to be considered a charity. Per their entry on Guidestar,

Mission
The Council on Foreign Relations, founded in 1921, is a national membership organization and think tank with headquarters in New York, offices in Washington, DC, and programs that extend across the country. Its widely respected and influential research staff - - with backgrounds in government and scholarship in most international subjects - - regularly meets with Council members and other leaders and thinkers. These exclusive sessions, known as study groups or roundtables, form the Council s intellectual core. The aim is to provide insights into international affairs and to develop new ideas for US foreign policy, particularly national security and foreign economic policy. Council Fellows produce books, articles, manuscripts, and op-ed pieces and regularly contribute expert commentary on television and radio. The Council also publishes FOREIGN AFFAIRS, the leading periodical in the field. This magazine has been host to the most important articles about world affairs in this century.

The database, imho, has some gaps.

Listed are a mere handful of people.

Muckety has a LOT more people listed.

Let's look at Jay Rockefeller.

The Paid Honorarium for a gathering of faiths caught my attention. So I looked it up.

Whatcha know, it's a government contractor that oversees several schools; in fact, the Treasury Department paid fees for an advisor's son to attend the boy's school, St. Albans. Why is the Treasury Department paying private school fees?

As fascinating as it all happens to be (at least to me) is that while clicking through, many of these listed politicians are associated with various fraternities, such as: Ancient Arabic Order of the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine, Grand Encampment of Knights Templar of the USA, and Ancient Free & Accepted Masons. Sometimes, a single politician has many fingers in as many fraternaties.

He's a Moose and and Elk, NRA and NAACP, an Eagle, a 33 degree Mason and a Knight Templar... he's a busy frat boy.

When I think Knights Templar, I think wealthy religious warriors... and so when googling my lead, I found a court case involving the Grand Encampment of Knights Templar of the USA and Conference of Grand Masters of Masons in North America.

Yup, you read that right. Legalese isn't my strong suit, so I'm having some trouble trying to understand why they're in court in the first place-- something about personal injury?

I think this database has potential in telling us what "charities" to look at and target with attention, such as the Council on Foreign Relations, which isn't known for it's philanthropy, but for it's legacy of elite families and occasional think tanks.