DeVos Alterra Lie

Nice (4.00 / 2)

WTG DemWave.

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by: wizardkitten @ Mon Oct 02, 2006 at 20:34:05 PM CDT

Echo'd! (4.00 / 1)

Big hollerback for MichLib fact-checkers!

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by: quaker21 @ Mon Oct 02, 2006 at 21:18:40 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

thanks for helping hold him accountable right away (n/t) (4.00 / 1)

Check out my mediocre blog.

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by: nirmal @ Mon Oct 02, 2006 at 20:42:51 PM CDT

Bad Investment? (0.00 / 0)

Dick DeVos (R-Amway) tried to explain away his ties to Alterra by claiming that it was a "bad investment."

Bad investment?

Not sure what makes this more problemmatic for Team Amway Guy--either Dick is not the succesful business person that he claims, or he cares more about the money he lost than the senior citizens were abused.

-  DeVos.  DeRoche.  DeLay.  DeSame. -

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by: DemWave @ Mon Oct 02, 2006 at 21:06:00 PM CDT

Alterra went bust (4.00 / 1)

In 2003, a federal bankruptcy judge approved the Emeritus Corporation's acquisition of Alterra. Emeritus's F.E.B.C.-Alt Investors unit agreed to pay $76 million for 100 percent of the revamped company. Bondholders of Alterra and other unsecured creditors stood to receive as much as $23 million.

Emeritus' headquarters are in Seattle. It is traded on the American Stock Exchange under the symbol EMC.

Link:

http://query.nytimes...

Please read "Out of Iraq: A Practical Plan for Withdrawal Now" by George McGovern and William R. Polk.

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by: Hy Dudgeon @ Mon Oct 02, 2006 at 21:15:01 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

I caught that (4.00 / 1)

Dick didn't seem to have much remorse for the seniors. It was just a "bad investment".

Cold.

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by: wizardkitten @ Mon Oct 02, 2006 at 21:21:02 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

Former Alterra Chairman Jerry Tubergen Really Supports DeVos (4.00 / 5)

Jerry Tubergen, as former Alterra Chairman and DeVos Family business manager (he's the President and CEO of the DeVos family holding company RDV Corporation) has given the maximum financial contribution allowed under Michigan law to the Amway Guy.

According to Secretary of State Terri Lynn Land (R-Amway Guy's Back Pocket), on December 15, 2005, Jerry Tubergen gave $3,400.00 to Dick DeVos for Governor. 

Interestingly, support for the Amway Guy apparently is a Tubergen family affair:

- On the same date, 12/21/2005, Marcia Tubergen gave the maximum $3,400.00 to DeVos for Governor.  She reported her occupation as "HOMEMAKER".  Odd given that she reported her address as "500 GRAND BANK BUILDING 126 OTTAWA AVE NW GRAND RAPIDS MI 49503-0000".  That's not a residential address.  The "homemaker's" reported address is the address for the headquarters building for the DeVos Family holding company, RDV Corporation.  That's not the address of the Tubergen home in Ada at "1911 EGYPT VALLEY NE ADA GRAND RAPIDS MI 49503-0000" as reported by Jerry Tubergen.  (She's a homemaker in an office building?)

- On 12/15/2005, a Brittany Tubergen also gave the maximum $3,400.00 to DeVos for Governor.  She reported her occupation as "STUDENT".  She too listed her address as 126 Ottawa Ave NW-- the RDV Corporation address.

- On 12/28/2005, a Jenna Tubergen also gave the maximum $3,400.00 to DeVos for Governor.  She also listed her occupation as "STUDENT" and the RDV Corporation headquarters as her address.

- On 12/18/2005, an Ashley Tubergen also gave the maximum $3,400.00 to DeVos for Governor.  Like Brittany and Jenna, Ashley also lised her occupation as "STUDENT" and the RDV Corporation headquaters as her address.

So, the homemaker and students earned all of the money used for the contributions on their own?  They were never directed to make these contributions by Jerry Tubergen or the DeVos family?  Really?

How many homemakers do you know with $3,400.00 to burn on a contribution to billionaire Dick DeVos's camnpaign for governor?

How many students do you know with $3,400.00 in their pocket who would willingly choose to spend it on some 50 year-old Republican running for governor?

Is this credible?

More importantly for Team Amway Guy, is this legal?  Did the DeVos family or their holding company CEO Tubergen attempt to evade Michigan campaign finance laws by laundering money through Tubergen's family members?

It would be illegal for RDV Corporation to increase payments to Tubergen in expectation that he would make contributions to the DeVos for Governor campaign.  Under MCL 169.254, corporate contributions to political campaigns are prohibited:

(1) Except with respect to the exceptions and conditions in subsections (2) and (3) and section 55, and to loans made in the ordinary course of business, a corporation, joint stock company, domestic dependent sovereign, or labor organization shall not make a contribution or expenditure or provide volunteer personal services that are excluded from the definition of a contribution pursuant to section 4(3)(a).

(2) An officer, director, stockholder, attorney, agent, or any other person acting for a labor organization, a domestic dependent sovereign, or a corporation or joint stock company, whether incorporated under the laws of this or any other state or foreign country, except corporations formed for political purposes, shall not make a contribution or expenditure or provide volunteer personal services that are excluded from the definition of a contribution pursuant to section 4(3)(a).

(3) A corporation, joint stock company, domestic dependent sovereign, or labor organization may make a contribution to a ballot question committee subject to this act. A corporation, joint stock company, domestic dependent sovereign, or labor organization may make an independent expenditure in any amount for the qualification, passage, or defeat of a ballot question. A corporation, joint stock company, domestic dependent sovereign, or labor organization that makes an independent expenditure under this subsection is considered a ballot question committee for the purposes of this act.

(4) A person who knowingly violates this section is guilty of a felony punishable, if the person is an individual, by a fine of not more than $5,000.00 or imprisonment for not more than 3 years, or both, or, if the person is not an individual, by a fine of not more than $10,000.00.

And if Tubergen was seeking to avoid contribution limits by funneling money through his wife and daughters, that also appears to be prohibited by Michigan law.  MCL 169.231 provides:

(1) A contribution that is controlled by, or made at the direction of, another person, including a parent organization, subsidiary, division, committee, department, branch, or local unit of a person, shall be reported by the person making the contribution and shall be regarded for purposes of contribution limits as a contribution attributable to both persons.

(2) A bundled contribution or a contribution that is delivered as part of a bundled contribution shall be regarded for purposes of contribution limits as both a contribution attributable to the bundling committee that delivered the contribution and a contribution attributable to the individual making the contribution.

Any lawyers out there care to speculate on whether they believe Jerry Tubergen is evading contribution limits and Michigan law?

Such questionable campaign finance practices on the part of DeVos Family business manager (consigliere?) and
former Alterra Chairman Jerry Tubergen, are bound to increase scrutiny regarding his activities managing Alterra nursing homes and the DeVos Familiy investments.  Billionairess Betsy, Daddy Dick, and Dick's siblings cannot be happy.

- Dick DeVos:  The more you know the worse it gets. -

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by: DemWave @ Mon Oct 02, 2006 at 22:30:35 PM CDT

DemWave... tearing it up! (4.00 / 2)

Woah!  Way to go!  If I could, I'd give you a 10 rating!

How many students do you know with $3,400.00 in their pocket who would willingly choose to spend it on some 50 year-old Republican running for governor?

Shyeah.  For real.  This student managed to shell out $70 for Granholm.  Over a year.  Oh, and I bought a t-shirt.

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by: quaker21 @ Mon Oct 02, 2006 at 22:44:29 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

Tubergen clan contributions (0.00 / 0)

should be investigated. Maybe Mark Brewer could file a complaint or call for an investigation into this. It would also serve to publicize the tie-in between Devos and Alterra that weasle eyes claims doesn't exsist.

The end of the human race will be that it will eventually die of civilization.

 - Ralph Waldo Emerson

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by: michmark @ Tue Oct 03, 2006 at 08:36:54 AM CDT

[ Parent ]

DeVos Family Controlled Alterra Board? (4.00 / 1)

It is already documented above that former Alterra Chairman Jerry Tubergen was in the employ of the DeVos Family as President and CEO of DeVos Family holding company RDV Corporation, but what about other board members?

Robert Haveman, reported to be an Alterra Board member and Vice-Chairman here, also served as secretary of the Eagle Foundation of Holland, Michigan, which was created by Prince Family.  That's "Prince"-- as in Betsy "Prince" DeVos.  Not clear if there is any relationship between Engler Department of Community Health and failed Iraqi Health Minister James Haveman.

Just a coincidence that a large publicly traded company like Alterra had connections to the DeVos family, or was the DeVos family in control of Alterra?

- What have you done to DeFeat DeVos today? -

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by: DemWave @ Mon Oct 02, 2006 at 22:58:37 PM CDT

you should post a new diary about all of this! (n/t) (4.00 / 1)

Check out my mediocre blog.

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by: nirmal @ Tue Oct 03, 2006 at 04:08:28 AM CDT

[ Parent ]

The Future...with DICK (Richard Cranium) (4.00 / 3)

First of all I can't believe Devos's "team" didn't prepare him better for this Alterra Healthcare Corp deal.  It "seems" they/He were caught off guard.

Is this what we are to expect in the future if he becomes Governor?  "I just found out..."  Or...to minimalize the problem?  I can see it already..."Playing Dumb".  A good LEADER will take the hit.  A good LEADER will admit fault. A Good LEADER will LEAD by EXAMPLE...what EXAMPLE is DeVos Leading us with?
He already showed us how he will answer our State's problems that are a direct result of his involvement. 

I was hoping the interviewers would have challenged this a bit more then they did. (I suspect they were being "Fair & Balanced")  Governor Granholm brought it up and pushed it a bit.  Then she backed off.  At first I said to myself.."why"?  Then it seemed she was only making him bleed/squirm at first...not going for the jugular.  After all it is the first Debate.  So this makes a bit of sense to me.  She was giving him the rope in which to hang himself with. 

On another note...Any one notice his eyes?  Scary looking eyes.  Psyco-eyes is what Mrs Dood said to me this morning. (We both were in different places last evening...so we didn't watch this together.  However, we have been married long enough to both "see" the same things..hehe)  Even our 15 year old daughter could see this...and on a funny note...Mrs Dood told me our daughter was saying out loud toward the TV set: "Dance Monkey...Dance..." when DeVos was squirming on the Alterra Healthcare Corp issues.  That cracked me up...even a Teenager(sometimes she can be a Mean-ager...but that is another story ) can see the total BullShit.

I just hope this will show our senior voters what they have to expect from Dick DeVos. 

As I said in another thread...I need to view this debate again...I was distracted at the location I was at last night.  In fact I wasn't expecting to see any of this debate at all.(I got lucky with what I did get to see...)  So I just might be posting more on this later...

Benjamin Franklin: "They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety." I WANT MY HABEAS CORPUS BACK!!

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by: Old Dood @ Tue Oct 03, 2006 at 05:08:38 AM CDT

I've mentioned his eyes before (4.00 / 1)

There is something not quite right there. I called them "dead eyes" in a diary.

At times, they are totally blank. Just nothing there. And he rarely blinks.

Other times, when he thinks he is attacking (usually accompanied by that smirk), he does look psycho, like he enjoys being mean.

Spooky.

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by: wizardkitten @ Tue Oct 03, 2006 at 05:45:58 AM CDT

[ Parent ]

Weasle Eyes (4.00 / 2)

Between his beady dark eyes and other physical characteristics it was the consensus at our house that he is definetly part weasle. And did you see him starting to sweat the minute she called him out for lying about not meeting with Honda while she ws in Japan? Feeling guilty Dick?

The end of the human race will be that it will eventually die of civilization.

 - Ralph Waldo Emerson

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by: michmark @ Tue Oct 03, 2006 at 08:31:17 AM CDT

[ Parent ]

Beady Eyes (4.00 / 2)

I can remember my Grandmother telling me long ago not to ever trust anyone with Beady Eyes.  I never knew what "Beady eyes" were until I saw DeVos.

Why Does Saul AnuzAss always lie?

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by: ThatSaul @ Tue Oct 03, 2006 at 08:49:44 AM CDT

[ Parent ]

Ha! (4.00 / 2)

"Dance, Monkey... DANCE!!!"

Oh, those witty 15-year olds. ;D

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by: quaker21 @ Tue Oct 03, 2006 at 11:14:25 AM CDT

[ Parent ]

Good story DemWave! (4.00 / 1)

The local news channels are on it as well.  Channel 4 in Detroit just called bullshit on the "1/2 of 1 percent" line.

Putting conservatives in charge of our government makes about as much sense as GM hiring a CEO who hates cars.

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by: djtyg @ Tue Oct 03, 2006 at 11:49:59 AM CDT

Local news channels... (4.00 / 1)

are continuing to let DeVos get away with saying he didn't have much money or stock in Alterra, so feel free to email your local affiliates with this story.

Putting conservatives in charge of our government makes about as much sense as GM hiring a CEO who hates cars.

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by: djtyg @ Tue Oct 03, 2006 at 17:44:49 PM CDT