Allegations of fraudulent misrepresentation from Goldman
Sachs? An oil spill that poses a threat to our environment and economy for
generations? Mining operators freely ignoring safety violations and treating
workers as disposable?
Each of these is bad. But perhaps the biggest political
scandal is the one that aids and abets these others -- the pay-to-play system
that buys up Congress, pollutes our political system with special-interest cash
and deep-sixes the kind of bold reform agenda that we voted for and need.
...
Obama Calls For Reforms On Lobbying
MarketWatch - Andria Cheng - May 1, 2010
In the wake of the Supreme Court ruling that lifted a ban on
corporate political donations, Obama said corporations and other special
interests can spend ...
Duty and Honor Huffington Post (blog) -
May 10, 2010
Of the many reasons for public discontent with government
generally and Congress particularly, none is more obvious than the wholesale
movement of former ...
NewsFocus:MN Senator Al
Franken ran on this platform and is helping champion this noble, much needed
bill. It is absolutely criminal that we elect these people to serve us,
then they use their knowledge and insider information to work against us, for
big money and corporate interests. We don't want cops retiring and then teaching
crooks how to break the law and not get caught, so why should we allow
ex-Congressman to help the white collar crooks who bilk the system for billions?
Congress has thus far failed us miserably on 1) health care reform, 2) financial
reform, and 3) Federal Reserve reform. How can we expect them to side with us
when it comes to limiting the immoral lining of their filthy pockets and
campaign coffers? Call them political weasels, scum of the earth, just plain
crooks, or perhaps, all of the above? Hard not to vote for the latter.
Flashback:
Al Franken
Calls for Permanent
Lobbying Ban for Lawmakers
Wall Street Journal - 070908
Susan Davis reports on Senate races.Comedian, author, and
Minnesota Democratic Senate candidate Al Franken
released a new campaign ad in ...
I suspect this won't work without Republican contributors joining the effort,
but
at least they're trying:
A group of 27 major donors is vowing to withhold campaign cash from
lawmakers who stand in the way of legislation that would allow for public
funding of congressional campaigns. Over their careers, the donors
have contributed millions to Democratic candidates -- and, on limited
occasions, Republicans or independents -- but they say they've had it. And
they don't mind if it means a lack of access. ...
(Read
More)
Elena Kagan, President
Barack Obama's latest nominee to the Supreme Court, helped protect the Saudi
royal family from lawsuits that sought to hold al Qaeda financiers responsible
in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks.
The suits were filed by thousands of family
members and others affected by the Sept. 11 attacks. In court papers, they
provided evidence that members of the Saudi royal family had channeled millions
to al Qaeda prior to the bombings, often in contravention of direct guidance
from the United States. ...
Elena Kagan, President Obama's selection for the next
Associate Justice of the Supreme Court, says she supports holding terror
suspects without trial -- indefinitely, in some cases.
Questioned as to whether she'd support the detention of al
Qaeda suspects without access to US laws -- or even a trial to prove their guilt
-- Kagan told Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) last year she backed the Obama
Administration's policy of "indefinite detention." ...
Yeah, I bet the families of the
estimated 100,000-plus innocent civilians who we "liberated" from their
existence on the planet would be more than happy to "pay us back."
Especially considering that no one in Iraq asked for us
to liberate them -- we just did it on our own, illegally and under false
pretenses.
It's true that
Dick Cheney and Co. envisioned using the proceeds from the oil money they
believed would soon be flowing through American auspices in Iraqi oil fields
would cover the costs of the war -- and of course, that money never
materialized, leaving American taxpayers holding the bag.
Funny how Hannity developed a case of amnesia regarding those
facts. ...
NewsFocus: Actually, the number of murdered Iraqis by the US is
1,366,350, and still climbing.
And they should pay us back? Puh-leeez. Hannity, like O'Reilly and
so many other FOX pundits, give Republicans a bad name. He is a pathetic human
being.
George W Bush Releases Memoir Book,
"Decision Points" The Most Unpopular President Ever Puts His Spin On
Eight Tyrannical Years NewsFocus - Op/Ed - 043010
The talk show circuit should
be heating up big time with the upcoming release of George W. Bush's new book,
"Decision Points." It is intended to try and reshape public opinion over the
worst presidency ever in U.S. history. If you plan on reading, you'd better get
your hip waders ready (or perhaps a snorkel) because it's going to get deep.
I sure hope he goes on the Daily Show. (Message to Jon Stewart: Please do not
take it easy on him. Call him out on his lies and deceit and treat him for what
he is, a war criminal.)
Seems that everyone is having fun redesigning Bush's new book
jacket, so we just couldn't resist. Submitted for your amusement, we offer
"Dictator Points."
The pictures displayed should be
obvious. From top-left to lower right... hanging chads and the stolen 2000
election, Andrew Card on 9/11 informing Bush that America was under attack,
George W. Bush sitting idly in a Florida classroom, doing nothing while
America was under attack, the anthrax attacks designed to scare Congress
into voting for the Patriot Act, the Homeland Security scare-meter, er,
terror threat level indicator, NY Post headlines that Bush knew about 9/11,
the unConstitutional Patriot Act, the "Shock & Awe" show as the U.S. invades
Iraq, Abu Ghraib torture, the premature "Mission Accomplished" speech,
Katrina press conference (heckuva job Brownie), Bush showing his contempt
for the media, and last but not least, George W. Bush showing his IQ level.
Click on picture for a larger image.
I watched Erskine Bowles pontificating at the
first meeting of the President's Bipartisan Fiscal Commission, and I just
couldn't get past my visceral reaction: I don't trust any of these people.
And I don't. I mean, Alan Simpson? The man who
likes to talk about "senior citizens driving up to their gated community in a
Lexus"? The man's a weasel, he's always been a weasel. So already I'm
suspicious. Why the hell is he co-chairing this commission, anyway?
And it's beside the point. Pay attention: The
reason Franklin Roosevelt would not allow Social Security to be means-tested is
that the political will to protect it would vanish as soon as it was
perceived as a "welfare" program.
Alan Simpson knows that. They all know
that. They just want to change it under the radar, because if it only goes to
poor people, it's a lot easier to destroy.
NewsFocus:
It should be no surprise to those that visit NewsFocus that one of my favorite
sites is John Amato's CrooksandLiar's.com. There are many good people there
reporting on corruption, but to me, hands down their best reporter is Susie
Madrak. She is a veteran journalist who always seems to have a pulse on the
critical issues that have the most gravitas in this world. She is one of the few
true journalists left that gets the big picture. Kudos to Susie for putting it
out there every day. We need more journalists like her, instead of the
innumerable news lackeys that tow the corporate line.
Placing your political party ahead of your country is treason.
We are not Republicans
and Democrats, we are Americans first.
-NewsFocus
Does The Tea Party Know What They're Whining About? They Rant And Rave About How They're Tired
of Being 'Overtaxed'
It's been said that they should understand the issues much
better. The following story seems to punctuate that point embarrassingly well.
Maybe they should step away from FOX News for a while a become better informed
with, oh say... real facts.
The Tea Party has
been billed as an organic grassroots operation, but a newly uncovered document
obtained by Politico suggests the movement has been successfully co-opted as
a Republican fundraising ploy.
GOP political consultant Joe Wierzbicki
floated the proposal a year ago today to create the Tea Party Express, a
nationwide bus tour to "give a boost to our PAC and position us as a growing
force/leading force as the 2010 elections come into focus." His idea eventually
became one of the best known brands in the Tea Party movement.
The document cautioned planners to be careful
when discussing the ruse to use Tea Parties for political gain. "We have to be
very, very careful about discussing amongst ourselves anyone we include 'outside
of the family' because quite frankly, we are not only not part of the political
establishment or conservative establishment, but we are also sadly not currently
a part of the 'tea party' establishment," Wierzbicki wrote. ...
NewsFocus: If these people
are absolutely so worried about the country and our Constitution, where the heck
were they under the Bush administration when our rights were neutered? Where
were they when we lost habeas corpus? It's a good bet they don't even know
about it, because it's not a Frank Luntz/GOP talking point that they've been
brainwashed and incited to react to. <sigh>
Who funds RightNetwork? Looks like the usual suspects CrooksandLiars.com,
by karoli - 041810 Many of you here and on Twitter asked about who might be
funding
a large-scale venture such as RightNetwork. Given the enormous costs to fund
production and broadcast of a network startup -- especially in the early days --
some fairly hefty money has to be underneath it. So I started digging.
...
Hullabaloo: Radical Auntie A Profile of a Tea Bagger DigbysBlog.blogspot.com,
by digby - Thursday, April 01, 2010
I don't know if you happened to catch Letterman night before last, but if you
didn't you missed an extremely interesting segment in which he interviewed Pam
Stout, the 66 year old Idaho woman who was featured in the recent
NY Times
piece on the Tea Party. She was pretty amazing. ...
These Are People Who Have
Been Spoon Fed Political Lies
It's great they realize we need change, but they need to be
better informed.
In U.S. politics, it's quite often that old adages are proven
true. Today, there's a twist: "if you can't beat 'em, join' em" no longer cuts
it. Instead, the Republican Governors Association figures if you can't beat 'em,
don't join 'em, but do hire an ad firm to pretend you have ...
That's apparently true even if it means embracing
what was once criticized by other conservatives as "pro-terrorist, neo-Marxist
propaganda."
For this batch of Republican governors who
peg themselves as
"the key to a
GOP Comeback", it's not really a big deal to co-opt themes from metaphorical
anti-Bush film "V for Vendetta," though chances are they completely miss the
irony. ...
A
growing number of conservative groups are bankrolling startup news organizations
around the country, aggressively covering government and politics at a time when
newspapers are cutting back their statehouse bureaus.
The phenomenon
troubles some longtime journalists and media watchdogs, who worry about
political biases and hidden agendas.…
NewsFocus: The trouble is, much like their
failed answer to the Daily Show (gads, that show wasn't even funny) they miss
the essence and gist of these productions. Liberal and progressive documentaries
have truth behind them. What are they going to say?...
"This Obama guy is ruining the country. He's keeping too many Bush policies in
place!" <sigh>
Mitch McConnell has rounded up the necessary
votes to block Democrats from bringing Wall Street reform to the Senate floor, a
spokesman for the Senate Minority Leader said on Friday afternoon.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.)
said on Thursday he planned to bring the bill to the floor next week where it
would be debated and amendments added.
McConnell has now persuaded 41 Republicans to vote against debating reform.
... (Read
More)
The
Pentagon Papers Are Public This Time
AfterDowningStreet.org, by
David Swanson - 041610
If a new Daniel Ellsberg were to
release a new pile of Pentagon Papers exposing the lies behind the Afghanistan
War, or even the past few decades of misdeeds by our country in that one, the
result would differ from what happened to Ellsberg in a number of stark ways. No
newspaper would touch it. The whistleblower would go to prison. Little of
substance would be added to what we already know and tolerate. Nobody would be
impeached. And no war would end. ...
Scary New GOP Poll Republican attitudes about Obama
InformationClearinghouse.info, by John Avlon
Two-thirds think he's a socialist, 57 percent a Muslim—and 24 percent say "he
may be the Antichrist." ...
Overruled
Aides who Wanted to "Head Off" a "Series of International Murders"
"We now know that it was Kissinger himself
who was responsible," stated John Dinges, author of
The Condor Years, and a National Security Archive associate fellow.
"He canceled his own order; and Chile went ahead with the assassination in
Washington."
Washington, DC, April 10, 2010 - Only five days before a car-bomb
planted by agents of the Pinochet regime rocked downtown Washington D.C. on
September 21, 1976, Secretary of State Henry Kissinger
rescinded instructions sent to, but never implemented by, U.S.
ambassadors in the Southern Cone to warn military leaders there against
orchestrating "a series of international murders," declassified documents
obtained and posted by the National Security Archive revealed today.
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti -- The earthquake
not only smashed markets, collapsed warehouses and left more than 2.5 million
people without enough to eat. It may also have shaken up the way the developing
world gets food.
As more details continue to surface about the
checkered safety record of the Massey Energy coal mine where 25 workers perished
Monday, the lavish lifestyle and allegedly cavalier attitude of the company's
controversial chief executive, as described in lawsuits and corporate documents,
are now coming under intensifying scrutiny. ...
Nine Myths About Socialism In The US
InformationClearinghouse.info, by Bill Quigley Glenn Beck and other far right multi-millionaires are claiming that the US is
hot on the path towards socialism. Part of their claim is that the US is much
more generous and supportive of our working and poor people than other
countries. People may wish it was so, but it is not.
Continue
Former Bush Speech Writer
Says GOP Works For FOX David Frum Tells ABC News What Many Americans Already Think
MediaMatters.org - 032310
Frum: "Republicans originally thought that FOX
worked for us, and now we are discovering we work for FOX.
Salon Bashes Kucinich Over Health Care Bill Webzine Misinterprets Congressman's Stance,
Owes Huge Apology
NewsFocus.org, Op/Ed by Tim Watts - 031010
Salon Magazine has attacked Ohio Democratic Congressional icon
Dennis Kucinich for his stance on the pending health care bill, without
understanding his true intent. Reporter Alex Koppleman has totally
misinterpreted Kucinich's position, indicting him as the death vote on
health care, even though it is the farthest thing from the truth.
What Koppleman fails to realize is that this is a bad bill,
period. After all of the bullshit that has transpired with the GOP and blue-dog
conserva-Dems doing everything they could to reward their big campaign
contributors in the health insurance industry, you would think Koppleman might
be able to see the integrity behind Kucinich's position.
Does Kucinich's complaint over the current bill mean that he
is against health care? Not even close. Nothing could be farther from the truth
and Koppleman should know that.
Kucinich, along with Michigan Congressman John Conyers, has
been fighting the good fight for national health care as hard as anyone.
Together, the two have sponsored bill
HR 676, by far the hands down best health care policy for Americans
because, 1) it's free to all American citizens, 2) it covers everyone
and is all inclusive with no deductibles, premiums or co-pays, and 3) will cost
this country
far less than any of the other plans proposed, including the current
plan being debated now.
What Koppleman misses is that this current legislation is not
health care for Americans, but insurance care for the wealthy insurance
companies. Nothing more, nothing less.
This is not our only chance at health care. We can vote
on HR 676 anytime Congress develops a moral conscience and a spine. Kucinich is
merely trying to keep these corporations from ripping us off by standing against
a bad bill that would not be the true help we need. The logic that any bill is
better than nothing is seriously flawed thinking because it caves in to the
demands of the insurance giants and provides far more for them than it does for
you and I. With so much at stake, Koppleman's piece has little merit and fails
to address the deeper issues of this exhausting health debate (fiasco).
To see a hit piece like that, in Salon of all places,
was most disturbing. Perhaps its time to give up on Koppleman instead, or even
Salon, if they want to stand by trash like this.
Meanwhile, back in Clay County, Kentucky, where election officials (including
the county clerk, a district court judge and the school superintendent) were
arrested last year, and are now on
trial accused of having "fix[ed]
elections for decades", a "precinct worker testified...that top election
officers in the county taught her how to change people's choices on voting
machines to steal votes in the May 2006 primary." The vote stealing was
accomplished on ES&S touch-screen electronic voting machines, without the
knowledge of legitimate voters, after they'd left the booth thinking they had
cast their vote.
The scheme also
included Republicans changing their party registration to Democratic in order to
serve as Democratic poll judges and officers on Election Day, as has been
alleged elsewhere (for example, in Ohio in 2004) ...
This Should Be Illegal CrooksandLiars.com, by John
Amato Friday Mar 05, 2010
This marriage between government and the private
sector is destroying America. There needs to be a bill that forbids this
behavior.
Just as Congress enters the final stretch of
the financial regulatory reform effort, one of the Treasury Department's leading
liaisons to the Hill, Damon Munchus, is bailing out to go work for a financial
services lobbying and consulting firm.
Munchus was one of Treasury's chief
negotiators with the House Financial Services Committee. ...
To Hell In A Handbasket
InformationClearinghouse.info, byDavid Michael Green
American government is in the process of imploding, and it won’t be long until
the pathetically minuscule social safety net that we have will be shredded as
well. ...
Senate rejects $250 checks for elderly
InformationClearinghouse.info A measure to give some 57 million
elderly people, veterans and persons with disabilities a $250 check was rejected
by the Senate on Wednesday, a setback for the powerful seniors' lobby.
NewsFocus: They bailed out the rich who
caused this disaster, but Congress has turned on the American people. They have
denied Social Security recipients a cost of living increase for two years, all
the while they accepted one for themselves in 2009 and again in 2010. Now they
turn their corrupt backs on our elderly. How long are we going to take this
treatment from our overpaid, elected officials?
Who are the actual "crazy" people in American politics?
NewsFocus:
What Some People Will Do To Discredit The Truth
Salon.com, by Glenn Greenwald
- 030410 My Salon colleague, Mark
Benjamin,
writes about last night's
Larry King Show -- featuring a debate between Democratic Rep. Alan Grayson and
GOP Rep. Michelle Bachmann -- and does so by repeatedly branding Grayson as
being every bit as "crazy" as Bachmann. Beginning with the article's
headline ("Bachmann and Grayson: A diary of crazy") to his sarcastic description
of "these two towering intellects" to his claim that Grayson and Bachmann are
"the Candy Stripers of Crazy of their parties," Benjamin denigrates Grayson's
intellect and mental health by depicting him -- with virtually no cited basis --
as the Democratic mirror image of Bachmann's rabid, out-of-touch extremism.
This view of Grayson has become a virtual Washington platitude, solidified by
The New York Times' David Herszenhorn's
dismissal of Grayson as
"the latest incarnation of what in the American political idiom is known as a
wing nut." ...
President Obama: Replace Rahm With Me An open letter from Michael Moore MichaelMoore.com, By Michael Moore I will come to D.C. and clean up the mess that's been created around you. I
will work for $1 a year. I will help the Dems on Capitol Hill find their spines
and I will teach them how to nonviolently beat the Republicans to a pulp. ...
Congressional Condemnation of Cheney/Kristol?
Salon.com, by Glenn Greenwald - 030810
One of the most inane acts undertaken by the Democratic Congress
was its formal
and
highly bipartisan condemnation of MoveOn.org's "Petraeus/Betrayus" ad.
Regardless of one's views of that ad, formally opining on the views of private
citizens is not the role of Congress. But since they did that, and apparently
believe that repugnant political campaigns merit Congressional disapproval,
shouldn't there be some form of formal sanction for the far more pernicious and
genuinely McCarthyite attacks on DOJ lawyers from Liz Cheney and Bill Kristol's
"Keep America Safe"? So reprehensible was that campaign that numerous
right-wing lawyers have
vehemently condemned it -- including Ken Starr, David Rivkin, Ted Olsen,
and even (ironically) former
Bush official Cully Stimson -- with
most of them signing a letter decrying it as "a shameful series of attacks"
that are "destructive of any attempt to build lasting mechanisms for
counterterrorism adjudications." ...
Ralph Nader Was Right About Barack Obama
InformationClearinghouse.info, by
Chris Hedges
We owe Ralph Nader and Cynthia McKinney an apology. They were right about Barack
Obama. They were right about the corporate state. They had the courage of their
convictions and they stood fast despite wholesale defections and ridicule by
liberals and progressives.
Continue
Who needs teleprompters when a studio can simply
insert canned laughter?
I've dealt with sound engineering for 30 years, as a film
maker, interviewer, musician, working with master reel to reel tapes/decks at
EMS Music in Seattle in the 80's as a sound duplication engineer, or setting
sound levels for my and other bands in live situations at shows. I won a
Hollywood award for animation in 2000. I know sound. And it's my opinion that
audio portions of Sarah Palin's March 2nd appearance on Jay Leno's Tonight show
were added or amplified, edited before broadcast to make it appear that Sarah
Palin was more welcome than she was.
NewsFocus:
Her line about the media being broken was the best.
"I think that the mainstream
media is quite broken and I think that there needs to be the fairness, the
balance in there. That's why I joined Fox." You can't make this stuff up.
Ron Paul Rocks CPAC Daily
Beast - Feb 20, 2010 Take a back seat, Michele Bachmann and Glenn
Beck: The biggest star of CPAC so far has been Texas Congressman Ron
Paul. Paul was the first speaker to fill ...
Ron Paul wins straw vote at CPAC The Daily
Inquirer - Feb 22,
2010 Ron Paul, a libertarian who has railed against
spending and the Federal Reserve. He was followed by former Massachusetts Gov.
Mitt Romney, while former ...
Libertarian messenger
walks away with CPAC endorsement
Examiner.com - Feb 20,
2010 Ron Paul's Saturday victory at the Conservative
Political Action Conference may signal the tide is turning for libertarians and
slightly against ...
NewsFocus:
The one and only Republican with a real head on
his shoulders. We do not agree on everything, but we agree on the biggest issue,
get rid of the Federal Reserve.
Was Election Rigged In Brown's Favor?
Rocket Science and Diebold Mysteries Rather Than Simple, Observable Democracy in
MA Senate Race Election experts file public records requests; Pre-marked
ballots reported in at least THREE towns
Bradblog.com, by Brad Friedman
- 011910 UPDATED SEVERAL TIMES with
more info on the curious/disturbing issue of ballots reported as being handed
out as pre-marked for Scott Brown. Allegations now of
five different reports from "at
least" three different
jurisdictions. See bottom of article for continuing updates...
Rachel Maddow With More
On GOP Stimulus Hypocrisy
The GOP expects people to not pay attention, or to have a short
attention span.
REPORT: After
Voting To Kill Recovery, 110 GOP Lawmakers Tout Its Success, Ask For More
Money ThinkProgress.org, by
Lee Fang on Feb
17th, 2010
Today marks the one year anniversary of President Obama signing into law the
American Recovery and
Reinvestment Act, better known as the stimulus. As the economy continued to
crater after President Bush left office, Obama’s stimulus sought to provide tax
cuts for
95% of working Americans, funds to buoy cash-strapped state governments, new
construction and infrastructure projects, and other programs to create jobs,
retrain workers, and promote economic activity throughout the country. In
December, the Congressional Budget Office reported that the stimulus had
successfully created up to
1.6 million jobs,
and today, a report shows the Recovery Act will ultimately create
2.5 million jobs. Even the conservative American Enterprise Institute found
that the stimulus had boosted the U.S. economy by
4
percent. ...
No matter how much
Alito may bobble his head in disagreement with the President over the
Supreme Court's recent ruling on Citizens United v. FEC, this is the
next logical step in affirming corporate personhood.
Corporation Murray Hill, Inc. has decided to run for
the Maryland's 8th congressional district seat, one currently held by DCCC chief
Chris Van Hollen. Murray Hill, Inc., will be running as a Republican(s?). From
their
corporate website:
Following the recent Supreme Court ruling in
Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission to allow unlimited corporate
funding of federal campaigns, Murray Hill Inc. today announced it was filing to
run for U.S. Congress and released its first campaign video on
www.youtube.com/user/murrayhillcongress.
“Until now,” Murray Hill Inc. said in a
statement, “corporate interests had to rely on campaign contributions and
influence peddling to achieve their goals in Washington. But thanks to an
enlightened Supreme Court, now we can eliminate the middle-man and run for
office ourselves.”
Murray Hill Incorporated Runs For Congress
This is a piece with a message that should ring loud and clear.
Obama Takes On House Republicans
At GOP Retreat GOP Leaders Now Said To Regret Allowing Video Cameras
Obama
Talks To GOP Members At A House Retreat In Baltimore
Then Obama Takes On The GOP In A Live Q&A Session.
Obama appears to win every single point against the GOP.
Exclusive: How corporations secretly move millions to fund
political ads RawStory.com, by
Brad Jacobson - February
4th, 2010
The Supreme Court’s seismic January ruling that corporations are free to spend
unlimited amounts of their profits to advertise for or against candidates may
have been the latest shakeup of campaign finance – but gaping holes already
allow corporations to spend enormous sums without leaving a paper trail, a Raw
Story investigation has found.
Campaign finance experts confirmed that though disclosure rules remained intact
in the new Supreme Court decision, there are effective methods to circumvent
them. ...
WASHINGTON -- Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-OH) on Wednesday said the
Massachusetts election was a "wake up call" for Democrats and that his party had
better change course or it could suffer devastating losses come November.
"People elected Democrats in 2008 to change the
country's direction," he told Raw Story in a nearly hour-long interview.
"And the same entrenched interests that George
Bush could not shake, this current White House is having great difficulty in
shaking. One could suggest they might be more entrenched than ever."
Kucinich staunchly defended liberalism but
alleged that Democrats are not behaving like liberals. ...
Supreme Court Campaign Finance Ruling Angers Many
SCOTUS Allows Corporations Free Spending In U.S. Elections
NewsFocus: Is This The End Of Democracy
As We used To Know It?
Real health care reform has been tossed aside Seacoastonline.com -
Dec 21, 2009 ... a party that is not subservient to big insurance and
big pharma like our two existing parties are. We urgently need campaign finance
reform!
And a Center
for Responsive Politics analysis shows these industries, which aggressively
fought to water down Democrats’ plans for new regulations and oversight, have
long lined the pockets of lawmakers who voted against the bill.
Members of the House who voted against the measure collected 70 percent more
from
commercial banks since 1989, on average, than those supported it. And they
raised an average of 50 percent more from credit
and finance companies than the bill's supporters, CRP found.
Crossing Wall Street OpenSecrets.org, by Lindsay Renick
Mayer, Michael Beckel & Dave Levinthal - 111609 (Note: For the most up-to-date charts and downloadable
spreadsheets that go with this series, check out our
finance policy tools page.)
As the United States continues
digging itself out of a recession, the nation is poised to re-emerge in a
dramatically altered financial climate. And after years of enjoying relatively
little regulation, commercial banks, credit companies, hedge funds and
securities and investment companies are facing the most extensive overhaul by
the federal government since the Great Depression.
That could spell retribution for those who are jobless, broke and have lost
their homes to predatory lending, albeit 14 months after headlines announced the
onslaught of an economic recession and one year after voters elected a new
president to lead them out of the gloom.
But if a lack of money is the crux of the economy's troubles right now, the
abundance of money pouring into the political sphere may, in part, mean that
sweeping change doesn't look so...sweeping. There's no doubt about it: Despite a
moribund economy, the financial industries that have enjoyed relatively little
regulation over the years continue pouring big money into ensuring the
government's control over them remains limited. ...
Two lawmakers introduced a bill this week aimed at
adding an amendment to the US Constitution, which would allow Congress and the
states to regulate political expenditures by corporations.
The amendment bill is in response to a recent
landmark Supreme Court ruling, Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission,
which struck down several longstanding prohibitions on corporate political
contributions, saying legislative measures to control such spending infringed
upon corporate First Amendment free speech rights.
Please see this report by Truthout's Kyle Berlin about a similar bill
introduced in the House earlier this week.
Washington DC - Senator Chris Dodd (D-CT)
announced today that he will be introducing a constitutional amendment in the
coming days to reverse the Supreme Court’s recent decision in Citizens United v.
Federal Election Commission. The decision overturned 100 years of precedents to
come to the unjustified conclusion that corporations deserve the same free
speech protections as individual Americans.
“Money is not speech,” said Dodd. “Corporations
are not people. And in the wake of one of the most radical decisions in the
Supreme Court’s history of campaign finance jurisprudence, a constitutional
amendment is necessary to fully restore the trust and voice of the American
people. If corporations – foreign as well as domestic – are allowed even greater
and more direct influence over our elections, our democracy as we know it will
cease to exist. I won’t stand for that. I urge my colleagues, and the American
people, to join me in defense of democracy by supporting this amendment and
other interim steps to mitigate the damage done by this decision.”
In the wake of last week's sweeping 5-4 Supreme
Court ruling, which struck down several longstanding prohibitions on corporate
political contributions, Democratic lawmakers are proposing legislation to
counter some of its effects.
Perhaps the most politically promising proposal
is the Fair Elections Now Act, a bill introduced which aims to blend small-donor
fundraising with public funding as a means of reducing the pressure of
fundraising from large contributors.
The story for which The
BRAD BLOG was awarded a
2010 Project
Censored award for "Excellence in Investigative Journalism" is "censored" no
more. From the February 2010 issue of Maxim hitting mag racks this
week...
The February 2010 issue hits
newsstands this week, and should be available on the Internet soon, featuring a
detailed investigative feature on the mysterious death of Mike Connell, the
George W. Bush/Karl Rove/GOP "IT Guru"
described as a
"'High IQ Forrest Gump" for his proclivity to be at the scene of so many
Bush/Rove/GOP crimes over the years.
The 3,500-word Maxim piece was penned by
British investigative journalist and author Simon Worrall after a year or so of
digging, following the
startling tragic
death of Connell in December of 2008. The long-reliable Republican IT
entrepreneur was on his way home from D.C. to his company's Christmas party near
Akron, Ohio, when his single engine Piper Saratoga plunged from the sky for
reasons that remain unexplained to this day. ...
The Woman Democrats Need
MichaelMoore.com, by Ethan Porter (Boston
Globe)
January 24th, 2010 On the day after Tuesday’s electoral loss,
the Obama administration brought an unfamiliar face to the White House -
Elizabeth Warren, the Harvard Law professor noted for her staunch advocacy on
behalf the middle class and fierce criticism of the bank bailouts. Perhaps the
administration will take a more aggressive approach to Wall Street, along the
lines of what Warren wants. But for Democrats to truly take ownership of the
economic crisis, Warren will need to play a more prominent role. Not just her
ideas, but the force of her personality is needed. ...
How loud do the alarms have to get? There is an
economic emergency in the country with millions upon millions of Americans
riddled with fear and anxiety as they struggle with long-term joblessness, home
foreclosures, personal bankruptcies and dwindling opportunities for themselves
and their children. ...
The question for Democrats is whether there is
anything that will wake them up to their obligation to extend a powerful hand to
ordinary Americans and help them take the government, including the Supreme
Court, back from the big banks, the giant corporations and the myriad other
predatory interests that put the value of a dollar high above the value of human
beings. ...
SENATE BURGLARY: CIA DOMESTIC BLACK-OP TEAM ARRESTED ALL 4 INVOLVED IN SENATE HOMELAND SECURITY BREAKIN
CIA “NOC” AGENTS; CIA PROGRAM MAY HAVE TRAINED DOMESTIC “DEATH SQUADS” VeteransToday.com,
by Gordon Duff STAFF WRITER/Senior Editor
Last week’s breakin at
Senator Mary Landrieu’s office in the New Orleans Federal Building was more than
it seemed, much more. All of the 4 arrested had been trained by the CIA and,
possibly, Israel. One arrested, Stan Dai, is listed as an Operations Officer
of the Department of Defense Irregular Warfare Program and a known expert and
lecturer on, not only surveillance but explosives training, assassinations and
“false flag operations.” If you wanted a plane to crash, an enemy to get sick
and die or a building to blow up, Dai would be the man to know how to make it
happen. Problem is, his skills were being used as part of a criminal conspiracy
inside the United States against members of our own government.
Activist filmmaker arrested in senator's office msnbc.com -
012610
NEW ORLEANS - A conservative filmmaker whose undercover
videos shone a spotlight on alleged corruption by the liberal activist group
ACORN was arrested with ...
Makers of ACORN 'Documentary' Sued in Federal Court CrooksandLiars.com,
by Susie Madrak Monday Jan 25, 2010 7:00am
Remember, James O'Keefe's partner on an
abortion documentary stopped working with him. She said he edited the video in a
misleading way to make it look like things happened that didn't. (Imagine that!)
Anyway, now he and his newest collaborator can
explain to a federal judge why he broke Pennsylvania's wiretap laws:
The Philadelphia-office director of the
anti-poverty group ACORN filed a civil lawsuit late Thursday in federal district
court alleging that two conservative filmmakers
violated state law when they recorded an interview with her without her consent
and then disseminated it. ...
(Read
More)
The most effective kind of propaganda - as any propagandist will
tell you - is the kind that is almost completely invisible, cloaked in the argot
of objectivity or worse, in the argot of a political ideology antithetical to
the propaganda's message itself.
We can discount over-the-top press releases from the national
Republican or Democratic parties because we know they are propaganda - we know
that the parties both have ideology/substance-free motives for attacking the
other party, and thus will cite anything they can to attack the other party. We
know, in short, that they are propaganda.
But it's harder to detect and filter the invisible propaganda,
and the most pernicious of invisible propaganda comes from what New York
University professor Jay Rosen aptly calls The
Church of the Savvy - that is, from Washington reporters and pundits (both
liberal and conservative) who produce "news analysis" that is skewed by their
own highly subjective, ideological and self-interested views of what is
"politically realistic." ... (Read
More)
Learn To Speak Tea Bag
The tea bag movement could be a good thing, if they had
their facts straight.
NewsFocus: This should not
be decided by any political party. This regards our right to fair
elections, thus "We the People" should be involved.
Call and write a good Congressman or Senator,
if you can possibly find one. (Suggestions, Dennis Kucinich, Ron Paul, Al
Franken, Bernie Sanders, Marcy Kaptur, Alan Grayson, Brad Sherman, or perhaps
John Conyers. Good luck elsewhere.)
Obama ends Bush
secrecy policy, launches ‘declassification center’ WH releases all visitor logs for first time ever RawStory.com - Wednesday, December 30th, 2009
In an
executive order issued Tuesday, President Barack Obama ended a Bush-era
policy that allowed the head of the US's intelligence agencies to have the final
word on the declassification of documents.
The order also establishes a
National Declassification Center whose job it will be to streamline the process
of declassifying documents -- an important change to the US's process of freeing
up information, given that there is a backlog of more than 400 million documents
stretching back all the way to World War II, according to the White House.
The order establishes for the first
time that "no records may remain classified indefinitely," explained William H.
Leary, the National Security Council's director of records and access
management, in a
posting at the White House blog. ...
Gingrich’s New Contract With America: ‘Our Commitment Should Be
Simple…We’re Repealing’ Health Care
ThinkProgress.org,
By Faiz Shakir 121209
Yesterday, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich stumped for
Ethan Hastert, the son of former House Speaker Dennis Hastert and candidate for
Illinois’ 14th congressional district. Gingrich, of course, was the architect of
the Republicans’ “Contract
with America” in 1994 that helped the GOP regain the majority. Now, Gingrich
is apparently rallying Republicans behind a new “contract” with Americans — a
pledge to take away their health care.
You know, I'm beginning to wonder if the refusal to operate in
good faith isn't
a form of official malfeasance. Because voters should impeach these senators
for simply refusing to do their jobs - like voting for this bill, which funds
their unemployment benefits ...
U.S. taxpayers are
spending more than $40,000 per month on office space, staff,
cell phones and a leased SUV for former House Speaker Dennis
Hastert, even as he works as a lobbyist for private corporations
and foreign governments.
The payments are
perfectly legal under a federal law that provides five years of
benefits for former speakers — but only if Hastert never
makes use of his government-funded perks in the course of his
lobbying work. Ethics experts say that sort of separation is
hard to maintain.
NewsFocus: MN Senator Al Franken Wants Congress Banned From Becoming
Lobbyists Due To Extreme Conflict of Interest, Unfair Misuse of Insider Info
Franken's anti-rape
amendment becomes law
RawStory.com, by
Stephen C. Webster -122109 Over
the unexplained objections of 30 Republican Senators, an anti-rape amendment
authored by Senator Al Franken (D-MN) became law Monday with President Obama's
signature on the Department of Defense Appropriations Act, 2010.
The provision was
sparked by the gang-rape of a 19-year-old Kellogg, Brown & Root
employee by her coworkers in Iraq. After returning to the United
States, Jamie Leigh Jones found she couldn't sue the company
because of a clause in her employment contract.
Franken's amendment
to the Defense Appropriations Act prohibits companies from using
employment contracts to bar litigation over sexual assault or
discrimination.
When the Senate took
up Franken's measure, 30 Republicans voted against it. None
cared to explain why, with some suggesting it's simply not
the government's business to rewrite employment contracts.
...
Palin Earns First Ever Lie of the Year Award CafeSentido.com -
122309
But then also, this lie is rooted in the false claim that
healthcare reform is a plot to ration care. And on top of that, there's the
unsavory fact that ...
Ungovernable
America?
ThinkProgress.org, December 2009
The smarter elements in Washington DC are starting to pick up on
the fact that it’s not tactical errors on the part of the president that make it
hard to get things done, it’s the fact that the country has become ungovernable.
Obama Year One: Betrayal and Failure (Part I)
IntelDaily.com - 122109
Promising change after
eight George Bush and Republican dominated years, Barack Obama won the most sweeping non-incumbent
victory in over 50 years along with congressional
...
Was Snubbing Howard Dean A
Mistake? msnbc.com -
Mark Murray -
121609
Over the past few days, much of the political
psycho-analysis has focused on Joe Lieberman, wondering if his
drubbing in the 2004 presidential primaries and his defeat in
the 2006 Senate primary helped shape his opposition to the
public option and, ...
Move On Trying To Raise One Million Dollars To Help Beat Joe Lieberman
CrooksandLiars.com, by
Logan Murphy Thursday Dec 17, 2009 10:00am
Senator Joe Lieberman is relishing the spotlight as he gleefully
continues
his assault on the American people and our health care. He is bought and
paid for by corporate lobbyists and loves the thought that he, and he alone, can
do so much damage to health care reform -- but he needs to be held responsible
for his actions.
NewsFocus
Op/Ed:
It's way past time to kick this political douche bag to the curb. Send him back
to Israel to care for his real constituents, or let him get onto his new
lucrative lobbying job. America needs Senators and Congressmen with moral
integrity, people that actually give a damn about our country, instead of
protecting a terrorist state.
Palin: Questioning Obama's birth certicate legit
RawStory.com,
Friday, December 4th, 2009 -- 8:32 am
In a radio appearance Thursday, former Alaska governor and
GOP vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin said questions about President
Obama's birth certificate -- a spurious attempt to argue that he's not a US
citizen and thus ineligible for President -- are fair game for debate. ...
Sarah Palin arrived in North
Carolina Sunday by way of Asheville. She was slated to have a
much-touted dinner with
Franklin Graham and his father
Billy. While this is a video made by a fan (so pardon the
drippiness) it does provide a good view of the plane she
arrived on...and the call number. You may also see some
"interesting" dynamics at play:
"Linda, Thought I would let
you know. The plane Sarah flew in to Asheville had the N
number 262SP. The SP does not stand for Sarah Palin but the
plane is owned by
Samaritans Purse. I checked it out at the FAA registry.
Wonder if that plane is being used at Rochester and other book
signing destinations? Samaritan donations being put to good
use to haul Palin's carcass around."
As if that was not interesting
enough, he wrote back later:
Tried to check the flight
activity for this airplane (N262SP) at
Flightwise.com. The flight activity for this plane is blocked
by the owner. Guess he doesn't want anyone to know where he is
flying. ...
Alan Grayson tells Dick Cheney to ‘STFU!’ Raw Story,
Wednesday,
December 9th, 2009 -- 10:57 pm Rep.
Alan Grayson (D-FL), the congressman who gained nationwide fame
after declaring that the Republican plan for health care amounts
to hoping that people "die quickly," has a few choice words --
or, rather, one choice acronym -- for former Vice President Dick
Cheney: "STFU."
For those not
familiar with the expression, that's Internet parlance for "shut
the fuck up."
Grayson made
the comment during an interview on MSNBC's Hardball
Wednesday night. Host Chris Matthews had asked the Florida
congressman about Cheney's comments on Fox News Tuesday, in
which the former VP
called Obama a "radical" and said the president's decision
to bring accused 9/11 plotters to Manhattan to face trial was "a
huge mistake."
"On the
Internet there's an acronym that's used to apply to situations
like this. It's called 'STFU,'" Grayson told Matthews. "I don't
think I can say that on the air, but I think you know what that
means."
Via Steve Benen, some
pretty interesting news that probably will not shock you. So
we're not the only ones feeling less than enthusiastic about
Democratic performance, huh:
The latest Research 2000 poll
for Daily Kos included the usual question on the generic
congressional ballot, with Dems still enjoying a modest edge
over Republicans, 37% to 32%, with 31% unsure. Democratic
numbers were strongest in the Northeast (53% Dems, 7% GOP),
and Republican numbers were strongest in the South (51% GOP,
21% Dems).
But this poll added a new
question to the mix to measure voter enthusiasm: "In the 2010
Congressional elections will you definitely vote, probably
vote, not likely vote, or definitely will not vote?"
The overall results aren't nearly as interesting as the
partisan breakdown. ...
Among self-identified
Republican voters, 81% are either "definitely" voting next
year or "probably" voting, while 14% are "not likely" to vote
or will "definitely" not vote.
Among self-identified
Independent voters, 65% are either "definitely" voting next
year or "probably" voting, while 23% are "not likely" to vote
or will "definitely" not vote.
And among self-identified
Democratic voters, 56% are either "definitely" voting next
year or "probably" voting,
while 40% are "not likely"
to vote or will "definitely" not vote. ...
I really want to know what clients these two take on, so that
I can relentlessly mock their stupidity for hiring the dynamic
duo who brought us into the adventures of invading Iraq and
Afghanistan without any idea of the resources required or
any form of an exit strategy.
President Barack Obama is “getting bad advice from… clowns”
on Afghanistan and “sucking up to the wrong people” on health
care, U.S. Rep. John Conyers told a Detroit radio audience
this morning, ...
What Obama Is Up
Against
TruthOut.org, by Russ Baker - 110209
The first anniversary of Barack Obama's historic election
finds many of his supporters already grousing. Fair enough:
Obama has been more vigorous in some areas than others. But
one essential question goes unasked: How much can any
president accomplish against the wishes of recalcitrant power
centers within his own government? ...
NewsFocus: Do we have the code or not? Sequoia
tried to strip proprietary code before releasing, but some say it didn't
work. We'll see what comes of this.
Rachel Maddow Sets The Record Straight On FOX
News
The hypocrisy is blatant to those that pay attention to this
stuff.
Representative Alan Grayson Fights For Our Health Care
For a freshman Congressman, he sure has some spunk.
Oligarchic Senate Still ‘Treasonous’ After All These Years
InformationClearinghouse.info, by Robert S. Becker
In the 19th Century, aristocratic
deToqueville warned against the “tyranny of the majority.” Dream on.
Today, we face permanent tyranny by operatives speaking for tiny
populations.
Continue
Op-Ed Columnist Daisy Chain of Cheneys New York Times -
Maureen Dowd -
Oct 13, 2009
It's hard to believe that the Bush dynasty, which limped
away in disgrace after smashing our economy and the globe,
has spawned another political dynasty.
Keep America Safe Indict Dick Cheney!
InformationClearinghouse.info, by Scott
Horton
If you enjoy fear-mongering, here’s a not-for-profit organization for you:
Keep America Safe. William Kristol and Liz Cheney are the dynamic duo behind
it.
Continue
Jeez, all we need now is one less liberal to push those damn
Blue Dogs into doing the right thing.
From Rep. Wexler's site:
“Today, I am announcing that I will be accepting the
position of president of the Center for Middle East Peace and will leave
Congress effective in January of 2010." ...
NewsFocus: this is puzzling news to say the least.
Did someone find pictures? This is disturbing and hard to understand.
Voting Monopoly Is Now In Place (Call Your
Congressman Now!) Your Once-Public Elections &
Your Once-Public Elections on ES&S Monopoly Steroids Dear Teabaggers: Here's something REAL you can actually
worry about and/or take action on...
BradBlog.com, By
Brad Friedman on 9/14/2009 2:18PM
As we recently
noted in some detail, Diebold's election division (now calling
themselves Premier Election Solutions) has been purchased by their larger
rival ES&S who, as we described at the time, has a well-established record
for being tops in the election industry, both in size, and when it comes to
thuggish, mafioso-like business tactics. ...
ES&S Before Buying Diebold
ES&S After Buying Dielbold
Source:
BlackBoxVoting.org
Republican Crowd Goes After Senator Lindsey
Graham
Wow! The town hall mentality turns against Republican Lindsey
Graham.
Very good to see some conservatives wake up. Yay for the Ron Paul crowd.
Senate Passes Al Franken Amendment Only Republicans Have The Lack of
Moral Compassion To Vote No, 30 In All, Including Extramarital Affair Senators
John Ensign And David Vitter Post Chronicle -
Mitch Marconi -
100809 Senate passes Franken amendment (VIDEO) - Senator Al Franken
pushed through an amendment on Tuesday that is designed to withhold defense ...
"I love
this country," Franken says.
"But you have to love your country
like an adult loves somebody, not like a child loves its Mommy. And right-wing
Republicans tend to love America like a child loves its Mommy, where everything
Mommy does is okay. But adult love means you're not in denial, and you want the
loved one to be the best they can be."
Democrats Need To Get Out of Bed With
Republicans And Do What They Were Elected For
Will the media ever report about how low in the polling Republicans have
sunk?
CrooksandLiars.com, by
John Amato Saturday Sep 26, 2009 7:00am
We constantly are seeing polling down from the major news
services that follow President Obama's approval ratings and it is an
important stat to keep track of, but can you tell me what the media is not
covering? How low the Republicans have been polling ever since they became
the party of "Waterloo."
The Democratic leaders do have terrible polling
numbers, Nancy Pelosi has a 34% approval rating in
DKOS's new poll and Harry Reid has a 31% approval rating, but let's take
a look at the Republican leadership, shall we?
Active Former Politicians Who Put The People First
Former Minnesota
Governor Jesse Ventura
Former
Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney
Former
Congressman Curt Weldon
Fallen American Politicians and Heroes
President Franklin Delano Roosevelt
President John F. Kennedy
Senator Robert F. Kennedy
Civil Rights Leader Martin Luther King
Senator Paul Wellstone
These people are all true servants of "We
the People" and are bonafide heroes that we can be proud to have fight along
with us in our efforts to resurrect and accomplish the American dream
presented by our founding fathers. Some have already paid a price in this
noble endeavor for which we are eternally thankful. Their sacrifice is fuel
and inspiration for all of us to draw strength from and to place our hope
in. We must forever hold fast to an altruistic due diligence for social
equality and justice for all. Remember, there is no "I" in "We the
People."
(A compilation of the worst representatives
would be pointless, since the list would be far too long for this page. I am
disheartened to have only one Republican on this list.)
After eight years of a tumultuous and arguably corrupt
Bush-Cheney regime, a common theme throughout the 2008 presidential campaign
was simply one word, "change." While all candidates promised to reform the
doings of Washington, one person was able to slickly package and market the
theme of hope and change and turn it into a decisive win in the November election. That
election was a near landslide for Barack Obama, a mandate of sorts for a new
direction in this country, moving away from the draconian ways of the
previous administration.
Along with that win came a thorough drubbing of the
Republican party, but as the GOP has proven time and time again, they don't
die easy. They come back with a vengeance.
Dick Gephardt's Spectacular Sellout
The Nation.com, BySebastian
Jones September 30, 2009
While Gephardt spent most of his twenty-eight years in
national Democratic politics quietly promoting and voting with establishment
interests, he is best known for his friendship with labor and advocacy for
universal healthcare during two presidential runs. ... So why, six years
later, was he on Capitol Hill representing one of the biggest players in the
largest economic crisis since the Great Depression? And further, why was he
recently working for Visa to kill credit card reform, helping Peabody Energy
stymie climate change legislation and consulting for UnitedHealth Group
alongside Tom Daschle to block meaningful healthcare reform? ...
Ex-Dem fundraiser sentenced in NYC to 24 years The Associated Press -
Larry Neumeister -
092909
NEW YORK — Former Democratic fundraiser Norman Hsu was
sentenced Tuesday to more than 24 years in prison by a judge who accused him
of funding his fraud by manipulating the political process in a way that
"strikes at the very core of our democracy. ...
The Return Of McCarthyism
Glenn Beck Is Leading the way for the looney tunes.
Glenn Beck and left-right confusion Salon.com, by Glen Greenwald -
Tuesday Sept. 22, 2009 08:23 EDT
Last night during his CBS interview with Katie Couric,
Glenn Beck said he may have voted for Hillary Clinton and that "John
McCain would have been worse for the country than Barack Obama." This
comment predictably spawned
confusion among some liberals and
anger among some conservatives. But even prior to that, there had been
a palpable increase in the right-wing attacks on Beck -- some motivated by
professional competition for the incredibly lucrative industry of
right-wing opinion-making, some due to
understandable discomfort with his
crazed and irresponsible rhetoric, but
much of it the result of Beck's growing deviation from GOP (and
neoconservative) dogma. Increasingly, there is great difficulty in
understanding not only Beck's political orientation but, even more so, the
movement that has sprung up around him. Within that confusion lies several
important observations about our political culture, particularly the
inability to process anything that does not fall comfortably into the
conventional "left-right" dichotomy through which everything is understood.
... (Read
More)
Conservatism: For Dummies
OpenSalon.com, by Paul J. O'Rourke -
SEPTEMBER 19, 2009
What is Conservatism, and how did it become a cover-all
excuse for the inability to think?
If you’re seeking the answer to the first part, don’t ask
anybody identifying as “Conservative.” They don’t know what it really means.
I say that knowing I will be wrong, but only in one out of ten thousand
cases. That is because the answer to the first part –what is it – is “dead.”
The reason it’s dead is because it has become an excuse for those who
have no ability to accomplish intelligent political discourse. ...
Intellectual conservatism, RIP
Salon.con, bBy Michael Lind 092209
I was once a young neoconservative. The word meant something
different then, before it was hijacked by extremists ...
On Sept. 12, a group called FreedomWorks – with
a little help from Glenn Beck at Fox News – organized a “taxpayer” rally
in DC to protest the “irresponsible government takeover of our nation’s
healthcare, devastating new energy taxes, and trillions of dollars in red
ink.” When the mainstream media didn’t pick up on the story, several
conservative bloggers began distributing a photo of protesters clogging the
DC mall. Problem: the photo is from a totally different event.
Michelle Malkin and the anatomy of the 2 million protester lieMedia Matters for America
CNN: There Is A Dark Fringe To These Tea Party Events
When will these people wake up and realize they have been duped by FOX.
Obama leads 2012 foes
Public Policy Polling, Thursday, September 24, 2009
If Barack Obama had to stand for reelection today he'd win by as
much as he did last year, if not more. He leads Mike Huckabee, Mitt Romney, Jeb
Bush, and Sarah Palin by anywhere from 7-15 points in hypothetical 2012
contests. ...
Keith Olbermann Rightfully Nails
This One On The Head
NewsFocus: So far we've seen nothing but support or an
extension of heinous Bush policies and programs. Obama has pandered to the
wealthy and Wall Street, as well as perpetuating a dominance of the Federal
Reserve in the lives of Americans. This isn't the "change" or "hope"
that we were promised. (Congressman Dennis Kucinich in 2012?)
Olbermann Says Obama Will Be
Challenged In 2012 If Public Option Lost Keith once again hits this one right on the
money.
Newt would like to arrange a private dinner with you at
the historic Capitol Hill Club on the evening of October 7, 2009 in
Washington. You’ll
dine privately with Newt at this exclusive venue and he’ll take the occasion
to present you with your well deserved award and have your photo taken
together. (Read
More)
The Real Reason Congressman Joe Wilson Shouted "You Lie" No, It Wasn't A Spontaneous Act, It Was More likely A Premeditated
Act
NewsFocus Op/Ed, by Tim Watts 091009
For South Carolina Repugnant Congressman (R) Joe Wilson
to claim his disorderly conduct during a presidential address was
spontaneous is a disingenuous accounting of his actions. Like the organized
town hall disruptive protests, and like the concerted efforts to lie about
death panels and threats to Medicare, this was once again the right-wing
dirty tricks team employing a calculated effort to save face as Obama
appealed to America in an effort to correct the lies told by key Republicans
on health care reform.
Many were relieved to hear President Obama set the record
straight, but many died in the wool right wingers did not want to
hear the truth. By having a member of their party shout out that Obama was
lying, it gave validation to those who did not want to believe him anyway.
Just like Congressman Boustany's GOP rebuttal after the presidential
address, it too ignored Obama's attempt to correct the malicious falsehoods
that were propagated by the far right. This in essence gives the die-hard
faction of the right an open door to keep their misperceptions of the plan
alive, by giving a false substantiation to their misguided views. There is
thus no reason to believe Obama since their party openly denied his claims
during and after the speech. This has the effect of neutering Obama's effort
to enlighten a portion of Americans that have been deceived by the right.
If someone would have acted this way during any one of Bush's
speeches, which did contain lies, it is safe to say they would have
been immediately tasered and shipped off to a detention facility at
Guantanamo Bay. As repulsive as it was for many on the left, Democrats had
civility and applauded during Bush addresses, even standing for ovations,
something Republicans failed miserably at for President Obama. Way to stay
classy GOP.
Keith Olbermann Sets Joe Wilson
Straight
Way to go Keith! Sick 'em boy!
Joe Wilson Shows The GOP's True Colors
Did Democrats ever stand up and call Bush a liar, even though he was?
During times of
universal deceit, telling the truth becomes
a revolutionary act.
-- George Orwell
The Right Has Gone Absolutely Bat Shit
Crazy The Wing-Nuts Are Proving They Are Hypocrites And Lunatics
Reagan Spoke To The School Kids. So Did Bush Sr. Why So
Worried About Obama?
Keith
Olbermann Exposes The Right-Wing Fear Mongering
The GOP looks pretty damn stupid right about now.
"The story of America isn't
about people who quit when things got tough. It's about people who kept going,
who tried harder, who loved their country too much to do anything less than
their best,"President Barack Obama.
Poll: GOP Unpopular, Majority Still Back Obama
CNN News, By Paul Steinhauser - 040909
WASHINGTON -- Despite the drop in President Obama's
approval ratings, Republican policies are still not as popular as Democratic
policies, according to a new national poll.
A CNN/Opinion Research Corporation survey released Friday
morning indicates the GOP has gained some ground in polls in recent months,
but Democrats still hold the advantage on key issues such as the economy and
health care.
Fifty-two percent of people questioned
say the president's policies will move the country in the right direction.
An equal percentage feel the same way about the policies of the Democrats in
Congress.
What do Americans think of Republican
policies? Forty-three percent say the GOP's policies will move the country
in the right direction. Nearly half of those polled said congressional
Republicans would move the country in the wrong direction. ...
Olbermann Declares War On Beck As Beck eyes more White House
scalps, Olbermann declares war
RawStory.com. by
Daniel Tencer 090709 “Send me everything you can find about Glenn Beck,”
screams the headline of a Daily Kos
diary posting by MSNBC anchor Keith Olbermann.
Keith Olbermann Gives Glenn Beck A Taste Of His Own Medicine
When intelligence meets ignorance. Go get 'em Keith!
Pat Buchanan: Did Hitler Want War?
Why did Warsaw not negotiate with Berlin, which was hinting at an offer of
compensatory territory in Slovakia? Because the Poles had a war guarantee from
Britain that, should Germany attack, Britain and her empire would come to
Poland's rescue.
When Hate Speech And Fear Became King In America
A Historical Look At Political Lying And The
Exploitation Of Fear
HOLDER NAMES TORTURE PROBE PROSECUTOR
BradBlog.com 082409 Conyers, Nadler 'applaud', call for 'broad mandate to
investigate abuses... where[ever] it may lead'. ...
One Documentary That You Need To See To Understand
Our Political Leaders Mindset In Governing You Will Be horrified When You See The Blind Leading The Blind
(Or is that perhaps, the naive leading the ignorant ?)
NewsFocus 083009
The profession of psychiatry has always been
overrated, if not worse than the alleged mental health patients it
incorrectly attempts to diagnose and treat. Combine their myopic research
and flavor-of-the-month whacko theories with politicians seeking to control
the populace and you get what we have, "World Gone Wild."
Please watch this stunning three-part
documentary from award winning producer Adam Curtis as he explores
psychoanalysis and its political misuse in governing.
Computer Scientists Take Over Electronic Voting Machine with New Programming
Technique San Diego, CA, August 10, 2009
-- Computer scientists demonstrated that criminals could hack an electronic
voting machine and steal votes using a malicious programming approach that
had not been invented when the voting machine was designed. The team of
scientists from University of California, San Diego, the University of
Michigan, and Princeton University employed “return-oriented programming” to
force a Sequoia AVC Advantage electronic voting machine to turn against
itself and steal votes. ...
(Read
More)
David Frum Talks About The Out of Control
Right Wing Hyperbole And Vitriol
The right versus left mentality
has got to stop or America is doomed.
Congressman: Obama violating law by not
investigating Bush officials
RawStory.com, By
John ByrneAugust 24, 2009
President Barack Obama will be “violating the law” if his
administration declines to investigate Bush officials for their role in
torturing detainees, a prominent House Democrat said in a little noticed
interview Friday. ...
Conyers calls
for Bush criminal investigation
The Raw Story - 072409
The chairman of the House Judiciary Committee has called for both
a criminal investigation and a blue-ribbon panel to look into "Bush
administration abuses of power and misconduct."
Rep. John Conyers (D-MI) told the National Press Club Friday
that both avenues should be pursued because a criminal investigation would be
done in private, while a blue-ribbon "9/11-type" panel would work publicly and
would create a public record of the Bush administration's actions.
REGRETTABLE FAMOUS PRESIDENTIAL QUOTES IN HISTORY:
I am not a crook. -Richard Nixon
I want you to listen to me. I'm going to say this
again. I did not have sexual relations with that woman.
-Bill Clinton
This boy will not let
you down. -George
Bush Sr.
Too
many OBGYN's aren't able to practice their love with women across this
country. -George Bush Jr.
They said it.
Under George W. Bush's Watch Fact: Many Warnings Unheeded And Thousands Died Needlessly As A Result
9/11 Attacks (over 50 warnings, including August 6th
PDB)
Katrina Disaster (pitiful response with no promised
follow-up for recovery)
Afghanistan War (planned before 9/11 for a natural gas
pipeline route)
Iraq War (planned before 9/11 for oil and strategic
bases in the middle-east)
With both elections openly disputed, 83% of
Americans disapproved of his Presidency.
Only 17% of Americans were purported to still support him at the end of his
two terms.
Party loyalty apparently knows no limitations, or sane humane reasoning.
Editor: I'm not proud of some things from the Clinton
administration, but an extra-marital affair undeniably pales in
comparison to the death and carnage of the Bush II regime. If some find this
simple fact hard to fathom, they are most likely part of that myopic 17%.
WHY ARE THEY FIGHTING HARD TO
SILENCE THIS MAN? You Have To Ask Yourself Why Someone Would
Spend To Quiet His Voice VoteDennis2008.com, by Tim Watts
In
the early going, Dennis Kucinich was in all the Democratic
presidential debates. No one said a word to the contrary about it, at least
not until the people really started to respond, with rousing,
thunderous cheers of support for the message that they were hearing
on the campaign trail.
Then, suspiciously enough, the debate hosts
suddenly slowed the number of questions that were directed towards
the six-term Congressman, sometimes waiting 45 minutes into the
debate before they would even address him, and only then with a
question that some might argue was specifically tailored to steer
his answer, while attempting to neuter his message.
As a last resort, they simply quit inviting him.
Not only did they not invite him, but they spent big money on
high priced corporate lawyers to make sure that he didn't get
the chance to speak.
Now why would anyone do that, especially to a
campaign that doesn't have the money to make a major assault on the
media? Why not just let the campaign exhaust itself of money as the
big spenders buy their ticket to stay in the race to the end?
What is it about Kucinich's message that could be
threatening to some? ... (Read
More)
Thom Hartmann: A Day In The Life of Joe Middle Class
Republican
A very good example of how the little guy fights for what's
good for all.
"A Day in the Life of Joe Middle-Class Republican"
Joe gets up at 6:00am to prepare his morning coffee. He
fills his pot full of good clean drinking water because some liberal
fought for minimum water quality standards. He takes his daily medication
with his first swallow of coffee. His medications are safe to take because
some liberal fought to insure their safety and work as advertised.
All but $10.00 of his medications are paid for by his
employers medical plan because some liberal union workers fought their
employers for paid medical insurance, now Joe gets it too. He prepares his
morning breakfast, bacon and eggs this day. Joe’s bacon is safe to eat
because some liberal fought for laws to regulate the meat packing
industry.
Joe takes his morning shower reaching for his shampoo;
His bottle is properly labeled with every ingredient and the amount of its
contents because some liberal fought for his right to know what he was
putting on his body and how much it contained. Joe dresses, walks outside
and takes a deep breath. The air he breathes is clean because some tree
hugging liberal fought for laws to stop industries from polluting our air.
He walks to the subway station for his government subsidized ride to work;
it saves him considerable money in parking and transportation fees. You
see, some liberal fought for affordable public transportation, which gives
everyone the opportunity to be a contributor.
Joe begins his work day; he has a good job with
excellent pay, medicals benefits, retirement, paid holidays and vacation
because some liberal union members fought and died for these working
standards. Joe’s employer pays these standards because Joe’s employer
doesn’t want his employees to call the union. If Joe is hurt on the job or
becomes unemployed he’ll get a worker compensation or unemployment check
because some liberal didn’t think he should loose his home because of his
temporary misfortune.
Its noon time, Joe needs to make a Bank Deposit so he
can pay some bills. Joe’s deposit is federally insured by the FDIC because
some liberal wanted to protect Joe’s money from unscrupulous bankers who
ruined the banking system before the depression.
Joe has to pay his Fannie Mae underwritten Mortgage and
his below market federal student loan because some stupid liberal decided
that Joe and the government would be better off if he was educated and
earned more money over his life-time.
Joe is home from work, he plans to visit his father this
evening at his farm home in the country. He gets in his car for the drive
to dads; his car is among the safest in the world because some liberal
fought for car safety standards. He arrives at his boyhood home. He was
the third generation to live in the house financed by Farmers Home
Administration because bankers didn’t want to make rural loans. The house
didn’t have electric until some big government liberal stuck his nose
where it didn’t belong and demanded rural electrification. (Those rural
Republican’s would still be sitting in the dark)
He is happy to see his dad who is now retired. His dad
lives on Social Security and his union pension because some liberal made
sure he could take care of himself so Joe wouldn’t have to. After his
visit with dad he gets back in his car for the ride home.
He turns on a radio talk show, the host’s keeps saying that liberals are
bad and conservatives are good. (He doesn’t tell Joe that his beloved
Republicans have fought against every protection and benefit Joe enjoys
throughout his day) Joe agrees, "We don’t need those big government
liberals ruining our lives; after all, I’m a self made man who believes
everyone should take care of themselves, just like I have".
Hardball's Lawrence O'Donnell
Corrects An Ignorant Protester
This woman highlights the ignorant discourse whipped up by the
far-right.
Rachel Maddow: Big Money Pulling the Strings of Protests CrooksandLiars.com, by Heather
Thursday Aug 06, 2009 11:00am Rachel Maddow exposes the monied interests
pretending to be "average Americans" who are fueling the outrage at these
"town halls gone wild". First up,
Recess Rally, sponsored by Michelle Malkin, Smart Girl Politics,
Redstate, but also
American Majority, and as Rachel points out, this group is hardly made
up of average Americans even though they tout themselves as being a
non-profit, non-partisan organization.
Instead of appearing in person,
where "extremists" would have "the chance to shout and make YouTube videos,"
Baird said Wednesday, he's holding what he calls "telephone town halls"
instead.
Baird said he's using the new
system because he fears his political opponents may be planning "an ambush" to
disrupt his meetings, using methods Baird compared to Nazism.
"What we're seeing right now is
close to Brown Shirt tactics," Baird, D-Vancouver, said in a phone interview.
"I mean that very seriously."
Limbaugh: Folks, this is
Mussolini-type stuff. This is the President of the United States -- who
cannot deal with opposition, there will not be any, he is going to silence
it -- sending his union thugs out to physically assault, and in some cases
to, in all cases, intimidate average Americans who just want some answers.
Actually, Limbaugh has historical
references exactly reversed. "Mussolini-type stuff" involves organizing gangs of
thugs on behalf of established business interests to assault and intimidate
union organizers. At least, that was what happened when Mussolini did it.
Limbaugh: It's right out of Adolph Hitler's playbook. Now, what are the
similarities between the Democrat Party today and the Nazi Party in
Germany? Well, the Nazis were against big business. They hated big
business and of course we all know that they were opposed to Jewish
capitalism. They were insanely, irrationally against pollution. They were
for two years mandatory voluntary service to Germany. They had a whole
bunch of make-work projects to keep people working, one of which was the
Autobahn. They were against cruelty and vivisection of animals, but in the
radical sense of devaluing human life, they banned smoking. They were
totally against that. They were for abortion and euthanasia of the
undesirables, as we all know, and they were for cradle-to-grave
nationalized healthcare.
David Brooks: Limbaugh health care rhetoric 'insane' CrooksandLiars.com, by
David Sunday Aug 09, 2009 7:00pm Conservative columnist David Brooks thinks Rush
Limbaugh has gone too far in comparing President Barack Obama to Hitler.
Brooks was stunned by the comparison when he first saw it on NBC's Meet the
Press Sunday. "I hadn't seen the Rush Limbaugh thing. That is insane.
What he's saying is insane," said Brooks.
Brooks went on to criticize
Sarah Palin for saying that health care reform would create a "death panel"
to euthanize older Americans. "Again, that's crazy. The crazies are
attacking the plan because it'll cut off granny, and that's simply not true.
That simply is not going to happen," explained Brooks.
Hey, Did You Hear That Democrats Won The Election?!
InformationClearinghouse.info, by David Michael Green
That George Bush, man – what a monster, eh? I mean, could you even have
imagined a president so destructive? It’s actually worse than you thought,
though. Lately, there’s been a spate of fresh revelations about some of the
incredibly disastrous policies that were executed by the Bush
administration.
Read More
What happened to "hope" and "change" we can believe in?
Obama’s Trilateral Commission Team
ProjectCensored.com
Barack Obama appointed eleven members of the
Trilateral Commission to top-level and key positions in his administration
within his first ten days in office. This represents a very narrow source of
international leadership inside the Obama administration, with a core agenda
that is not necessarily in support of working people in the United States.
Obama was groomed for the presidency by key
members of the Trilateral Commission. Most notably, Zbigniew Brzezinski,
co-founder of the Trilateral Commission with David Rockefeller in 1973, has been
Obama’s principal foreign policy advisor. ...
NewsFocus: It
doesn't matter who is in office. These "powers that be" run the show with the
Trilateral Commission and the Council On Foreign Relations (CFR) leading our
international policy. When did we ever elect these people to set U.S. foreign
policy or to run our world for us?
Bill Maher With Another Great Observation
(2:00 mark onward)
The Democrats are the new Republicans. Who stands for us?
How The American Election System Was Stolen
From Us
The Clint Curtis Story
Every American needs
to know the Clint Curtis story on how our U.S. election system was stolen from
us.
Read more here
Bombshell: Rep. Jane Harman Caught on Tape Agreeing to Lobby for Alleged
AIPAC/Israel Spies? Harman was allegedly heard saying she'd 'waddle into' the AIPAC case in
return for support for her bid to become chair of the Intelligence Committee
Alernet, by Jeremy Scahill - April 20, 2009
This is a huge story: Representative Jane Harman, a hawkish, influential
“Blue Dog” Democrat “was overheard on an NSA wiretap telling a suspected Israeli
agent that she would lobby the Justice Department reduce espionage-related
charges against two officials of the American Israeli Public Affairs Committee,
the most powerful pro-Israel organization in Washington,” according to a report
from CQ
Conservative Democrat Alleged To Support
AIPAC For Intel Chairmanship
Democrats willing to call out their own when left is out of line.
UPDATE:
Minnesota court rules in favor of Franken over Coleman Think Progress - Apr
13, 2009
One Response to “Minnesota court rules in favor of Franken over Coleman in
US Senate race.” This race became a farce as soon as the recount started.
...
ED NOTE: Weasel Hypocrisy At Work Flashback- Remember When GOP Fought To Stop FL Statewide Recount
In 2000? Fast Forwardto present... The
GOP fought for a full statewide recount in the Coleman-Franken election. Not
just a few counties as the Dems were only allowed in 2000, but a full
statewide recount. They received their full statewide recount and still lost! Now they want to go to Federal Court to hold the process of seating Franken
up for years. <sigh>
There is a time when the operation of
the machine becomes so odious, makes you so sick at heart, that you can't
take part; you can't even passively take part, and you've got to put your
bodies upon the gears and upon the wheels, upon the levers, upon all the
apparatus, and you've got to make it stop. And you've got to indicate to the
people who run it, to the people who own it, that unless you're free, the
machine will be prevented from working at all! -Mario Savio Dec 2, 1964
Excerpt From A 1964 Speech By
Mario Savio Is Still Very Viable Today
Most Americans do not want a new world order of greed for the uber-rich
Kucinich Wants House To
Investigate Assassination Claims Cleveland Congressman Wants Cheney And
Bush Investigated The Plain Dealer - cleveland.com - 031609
Dennis Kucinich wants the House Oversight and Government
Reform Committee to investigate allegations by investigative reporter
Seymour Hersh that the White House operated an 'executive assassination
ring' during the presidency of George W. Bush. ...
For many years the main argument of corporations and big money has always been
that government has no right in telling business how to operate. A mantra of
the political far right in this country has always been the dissolution of
government as the regulator of big business, heralding a "free market"
system with little or no government oversight, freeing the corporate rule to
"let the markets decide." This is
all we have ever heard for some time, but now that the economy is
collapsing on top of that flawed ideal, along with all the rest of us,
this tired cliché has been exposed as nothing more than what it is,
letting the unscrupulous and crooked run the game the way they want to.
...
The Republican Party's Convenient Patriotism Gee, What Happened To Not Critizing A President In A
Time Of War? Crooks & Liars.com, by Bob Cesca Tuesday Mar 31,
2009
Since the president announced on Friday that he'd be
sending an additional 4,000 troops to Afghanistan, I've heard quite a bit
of far-right undermining of the commander-in-chief while our soldiers are
in harm's way. Just some reminders of what I thought was the rule
regarding this behavior:
"The only ideas that they espouse are ways to
undermine the troops in harm's way and undermine their commander in
chief while they're at war. Your candidates have no idea how to keep
this economy strong."
—Sean Hannity, 10/18/06
"He’s the Commander-in-Chief. And what I find frankly
repugnant about you and some of your fellow Democrats – you have
undermined our president..."
—Sean Hannity, 03/19/06
"You know, Norman, those comments while we are at war,
while troops are in harm's way, while he is the commander in chief, do
you not see the outrage in that?"
—Sean Hannity, 11/12/07
"I have had it with members of your party undermining
our troops, undermining a commander in chief while we are at war..."
—Sean Hannity, 11/05
"You don't criticize the Commander-in-Chief in the
middle of a firefight. That could be construed as putting U.S. forces in
jeopardy and undermining morale."
—Bill O'Reilly, 04/04
"Can we do it without distorting their legacies and
pandering to anti-American elites worldwide and using their deaths to
embarrass and undermine our commander in chief?"
—Michelle Malkin, 11/23/05
"On the other hand, if Speaker Nancy Pelosi and the
Democrat Congress are successful in undermining the
commander-in-chief..."
—Tom DeLay, 04/11/07
"And furthermore, one of the fundamental principles we
have in America is that the president is the commander in chief of the
armed forces and attempts to undermine the commander in chief during
time of war amounts to treason."
—Pat Robertson, 12/07/05
I hasten to note that criticizing the president during
wartime is fine. Hypocrisy, on the other hand, isn't. You either
unequivocally support the president in wartime or you don't. You can't
have it both ways, wingnuts.
Bush challenged hundreds of U.S. laws President Bush has
quietly claimed the authority to disobey more than 750 laws enacted since he
took office,
asserting that he has the power to set aside any statute passed by Congress
when it conflicts with
his interpretation
of the Constitution. He did this through the misuse of Executive
Signing Statements. (read
more here)
Diebold Admits
All Their Election Machine Versions Delete Ballots Startling admission made
during public hearing in CA to consider decertification of the company's
voting and tabulation software
Brad Blog, 031709 Admits systemic
audit log failure, same system used for over a decade. Even the audit log system
on current versions of Premier Election Solutions' (formerly
Diebold's) electronic voting and tabulating systems --- used in some 34
states across the nation --- fail to record the wholesale deletion of
ballots. Even when ballots are deleted on the same day as an election.
That's the shocking admission heard today from Justin Bales, Premier's
Western Region manager, at a State of California public hearing on the
possible decertification of Diebold/Premier's tabulator system, GEMS v.
1.18.19.
With Limbaugh, O'Reilly, Hannity and Beck is there
really a liberal media bias?
Examiner.com, by Jon Rapoport - April 4th, 2009
Rush Limbaugh’s robust ratings and the immense success of FOX
News’s Bill O’Reilly, Sean Hannity and Glenn Beck should finally end the out
of touch belief that liberals dominate the media message of this
country. The growth of conservative media, combined with the rapid decline
of the daily newspaper, has definitively changed the media landscape ....
Republicans Say Dems Trying To Divide
Their Party
Let's Compare That Charge With Republicans Trying To Divide
Our Country For The Last Eight Years (Karma has a way of coming around to
bite GOP in the ass)
Poll: Attacks On Rush Limbaugh Are Working San Francisco Chronicle - Mar
13, 2009
Weeks ago, we were among the first to question the strategy of the Dems
attacking Rush Limbaugh. What's the point of attacking a talk-show host who
is ...
Dem Poll: Rush Limbaugh Is a Drag on the Republican Party U.S. News & World Report - By
Paul Bedard, Mar 11, 2009
By nearly 2 to 1, Americans view Rush Limbaugh negatively,
according to a new Democracy Corps poll that pours gas on an
...
Why Do People Listen To Rush Limbaugh? AlterNet - 8
hours ago 031409
AlterNet readers had a lot to say about a recent article
explaining the popularity of Rush Limbaugh. Despite the fact that he
is batshit crazy, ...
'Watchmen': Why Rush Limbaugh isn't gonna like it Entertainment Weekly - Mar
8, 2009
Pretty soon those people -- mighty Rush Limbaugh, perhaps? explodin' Bill
O'Reilly? -- may come to see Watchmen as a ripe target. Me, I think it's
just more ...
It Can Happen Here The Nation. - By Eric Alterman Mar 12, 2009
While it is undoubtedly true that some liberals on some
occasions have underestimated the dangers posed to the United States and its
...
Why is Obama hiding Bush's secrets? Kansas City Star - Mar 12,
2009
Having inherited an undifferentiated mass of legal "war on terror" doctrine
from the Bush administration's constitutional chop shop, President Obama
finds ...
Media Tries to Undermine Obama Agenda Beyond Chron - Mar
10, 2009
Consider a recent showing of Chris Matthews’
Hardball on MSNBC. Matthews has been criticized for pro-Obama
comments, and seems to be using his show to prove ...
Bilderbergers Excite Conspiracists
Politico, Kenneth P. Vogel - March 16, 2009 The highest levels of the Obama
administration are infested with members of a shadowy, elitist
cabal intent on installing a one-world government that subverts
the will of the American people. It sounds crazy, but that’s what a group
of very persistent conspiracy theorists insists, and they point
to President Obama’s nominee for Health and Human Services
Secretary, Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius, as the latest piece of
evidence supporting their claims.
Breaking: Coleman’s unsecured
donor database revealed... Minnesota Independent - 1
hour ago 031109
By Paul Schmelzer 3/11/09 8:12 AM In late January, allegations
were leveled that former Sen. Norm Coleman’s campaign faked the
crash of its website, claiming droves of disenfranchised voters
brought down the server seeking info on whether their votes
...
Hannity Ready To Pronounce Obama's Presidency A Failure News Hounds - Mar 10, 2009
Those “we like America” folks at FOX News were spreading a lot of hate on
last night's (3/10/09) Hannity, “a special on President Obama's first 50
days! ...
The Obama first 100 days halftime report Examiner.com - Mar 10, 2009
All things considered, my halftime verdict is that, as yet another
administration pick withdraws, it is still amateur hour as President Obama
continues to ...
Obama
vs. Limbaugh: Poll finds it's no contest
By Steven Thomma, McClatchy Newspapers 031109
WASHINGTON — The deepening recession is taking a slight toll on
President Barack Obama's standing, but he's still twice as popular as arch
nemesis Rush Limbaugh, according to a new McClatchy-Ipsos poll. ...
Obama spanks Limbaugh (in new poll)Christian Science Monitor
Republican Rep: “Our Goal Is To Bring Down Approval Numbers” For Dems Touted As Wrecking The Country Over Eight
Years, GOP Now Refuses To Help
Who Runs Gov (Plumline) 030909
GOP Rep.
Patrick McHenry, a key player in helping craft the
Republican message, has offered an unusually blunt description
of the Republican strategy right now.
McHenry’s description is buried in
this new article from National Journal (sub. only):
“We will lose on legislation. But we
will win the message war every day, and every week, until
November 2010,” said Rep. Patrick McHenry, R-N.C., an outspoken
conservative who has participated on the GOP message teams. “Our
goal is to bring down approval numbers for [Speaker Nancy]
Pelosi and for House Democrats. That will take repetition. This
is a marathon, not a sprint.”
McHenry’s spokesperson, Brock
McCleary, says his boss is standing by the quote.
POLITICAL CONTROL IN THE US SINCE REAGAN
Year
Congress
House
Senate
President
National Debt
1980
1981
97
242
53
Ronald Reagan
$997 Billion
1982
97
1.1 Trillion
1983
98
269
54
1.3 Trillion
1984
98
1.5 Trillion
1985
99
253
53
Ronald Reagan
1.8 Trillion
1986
99
2.1 Trillion
1987
100
258
55
2.3 Trillion
1988
100
2.6 Trillion
1989
101
260
55
George HW Bush
2.8 Trillion
1990
101
3.2 Trillion
1991
102
267
56
3.6 Trillion
1992
102
4.0 Trillion
1993
103
258
57
Bill Clinton
4.4 Trillion
1994
103
4.6 Trillion
1995
104
230
52
4.9 Trillion
1996
104
5.2 Trillion
1997
105
228
55
Bill Clinton
5.4 Trillion
1998
105
5.5 Trillion
1999
106
223
55
$5.6 Trillion
2000
106
$5.6 Trillion
2001
107
221
50
George W Bush
$5.8 Trillion
2002
107
$6.2 Trillion
2003
108
229
51
$6.7 Trillion
2004
108
$7.3 Trillion
2005
109
232
55
George W Bush
$7.9 Trillion
2006
109
$8.5 Trillion
2007
110
233
51
$9.0 Trillion
2008
110
$10.0 Trillion
2009
111
256
59
Barack Obama
$10.8 Trillion
2010
Key: Democrat|
Republican
From 1975 to 1985 the National Debt was
not exactly to the penny. It was rounded to the nearest million.
*
There were 50 Ds and 50 Rs until May 24,
2001, when Sen. James Jeffords (R-VT) switched to Independent status,
effective June 6, 2001; he announced that he would caucus with the
Democrats, giving the Democrats a one-seat advantage.
**
Independent Sen. Bernard Sanders (VT) gives
the Democrats a one-seat majority.
Santelli Rant Against Obama On CNBC Was
Staged Right-Wing Group
Alleged Behind Publicity Stunt For New Right-Wing Website
Playboy, by
Mark Ames and Yasha Levine
What hasn’t been reported until now is
evidence linking Santelli’s “tea party” rant with some very
familiar names in the Republican rightwing machine, from PR
operatives who specialize in imitation-grassroots PR campaigns
(called “astroturfing”) to bigwig politicians and notorious
billionaire funders.
...
'Republicans
Gone Wild!'
Keith Olbermann examines the Republican
vitriol towards liberal Americans.
Big-$ Corporate Lobbyists Line Up To
Torpedo Obama Proposals Health Care, Agribusiness, Mining and
Defense Groups Raise War Chests to Sway Legislators and the
Public
Wall Street Journal, by Brody Mullins and Scott
Kilman 022609
WASHINGTON -- Industries from health care to
agribusiness to mining that stand to lose under President Barack
Obama's policy agenda are ramping up lobbying campaigns to
derail or modify his plans. ...
Burris admits he tried to raise cash for Blagojevich
Los Angeles Times, CA -
Feb 17, 2009
Carlos T. Miranda / AP “I welcome the opportunity to go
before any and all investigative bodies,” Sen. Roland Burris said. The
Illinois senator says he did ...
TRIMMING THE BUSHES Family
Business at the Watergate
By Margie Burns |
February 15, 2005 Not many, if any, news reports have focused on the
unpublicized connections of this Bush administration's family members with
politically—and financially—sensitive operations. Business Week recently
noted that "dads and sons and other relatives reign so widely in this
administration that there have never been so many family combos in an
administration at the same time." And the British Economist has said that
"George Bush's Washington is a study in family influence." End of storyfew
details.
Obama Makes First Presidential Address To
The Nation
Obama speaks about the state of the economy and the stimulus.
Senator says he tried to raise campaign cash for Blagojevich
Chicago
Tribune - 2 hours ago 021809
By Ray Long, John
Chase and Monique Garcia | Tribune reporters Sen. Roland Burris, D-Ill.,
talks to the media about an affidavit that he filed Feb. 5 with the Illinois
House committee.
Time For Coleman To Do The Right Thing And Admit
Franken Won MN Taxpayers Don't Need A Useless Legal Challenge During The Economic
Crisis
Even Conservative Blogs Are Saying The Road Is Uphill For
Coleman
TPM, By
Eric Kleefeld,
February 6, 2009, 1:53PM
The Coleman campaign appears to have found a genuine example
of a particular type of absentee ballot being treated differently throughout
the state, in their central claim of Equal Protection -- but it seems like
they're effectively fishing for votes for Al Franken.
Twin Cities
IndyMedia Creates New Documentary Film On RNC Protest Abuses New Documentary Film Called "Terrorizing
Dissent" Is Released Independent film production tackles the ugly horror from
the 2009 RepublicanNational Convention. The abuse of power
by authorities against innocent and unarmed citizens is disturbing. ...
Global Energy War: Washington's New Kissinger The appointment of US Marine General James Jones
by Rick Rozoff Global
Research, February 2, 2009
Lost amid the national and international fanfare accompanying
the inauguration of the 44th president of the United States is attention to
the person who is slated to be the next major foreign policy architect and
executor, retired US Marine General James Jones. ...
The Antithesis of Far Right-Wing Conservatism
Historical Figures Who Would Never Entertain What
Today's GOP Already Has Published 010908 Pre-emptive warfare (Bush Doctrine), torture, concentration camps
(detention centers), taking away constitutional rights and freedom,
wiretapping of U.S. citizens, political
assassination and coups against foreign governments, not to mention
suppression of human rights, to name but just a few egregious
examples.
Those who would not support today's conservatism:
Jesus
Mohammed
Mahatma Gandhi
Mother Teresa
The Dalai Lama
Martin Luther King
Nelson Mandela
People who would entertain today's far-right conservative
direction:
Adolph Hitler
Joseph Goebbells
Benito Mussolini
Joseph Stalin
Richard Nixon
Henry Kissinger
Prescott, HW and W Bush
As a research practice, these two groups can be divided by
their thirst for power, their unrestrained greed and their lust for great
wealth. Another ideological divide would be that the top group cares for the
poor and the many, while the bottom group favors the elite and the
privileged.
For the most part, the rich historically have and always will fend for
themselves and their wealth. The moral compass to do what's right for all
seems to
elude many in the upper class. The force that motivates the two groups of
people above is undeniably most dichotomous, with very little, or no shared
common ground. Putting the concerns of money first is blatantly evil, with
no regard for social responsibility. Compassion for the common man is a
virtue long lost with the far right and the ultra-conservatives of today. In
today's ultra-right, sadly for many, avarice is considered a virtue. What a
great many on the right fail to understand is that you cannot have a
beneficent nurturing society with a "winner takes all" capitalistic /
corporate mentality.
Hard to believe the Christian-right supports conservatism.
It would appear that fear itself is enough to get religious fundamentalists
to disregard WWJD.
Neither President Eisenhower (R), nor President Kennedy (D)
would have allowed such barbarism and disrespect to a society.
The first class of historical figures above would never
advocate or condone the principles and policies of the second group of
historical figures. "We the people" means providing for all
people, not just the wealthy elite.
With the events of post 9/11 and the current financial
crisis as a lens, it's quite easy to see what the principles of
ultra-conservatism can do to a free democratic society.
At this perilous point in our history, "we the people" need
a leader who hails from the first category of leaders for a change, as
opposed to the latter aggressive category.
Obama Signs First Piece of Legislation
Washington
Post - 4 hours ago -12909
By Debbi Wilgoren and
Amy Goldstein President Obama this morning signed a law that expanded the
time frame in which workers can sue for discrimination they have experienced
based on gender, race, national origin or religion.
Obama Signs Equal-Pay Legislation
New York Times
Obama Signs Equal Pay Legislation
This is a bill that has been sorely overdue in America.
RNC Chairman calls for shakeup
The Hill 020509 Top staffers at
Republican National Committee told to submit resignations.
New RNC chair Michael Steele lays out early GOP goals
Los Angeles Times Blogs, CA -
Feb 2, 2009
So some of you may have missed the new chairman
chatting with Chris Wallace on "Fox News Sunday." Steele indicates
his early focus will be on recapturing ...
New DNC AD Highlights
Partisanship From GOP On Stimulus
Ad will likely raise a few eyebrows.
Backlash Against Bush Apparent in RNC
Washington
Post - 12 hours ago 012809
By Perry Bacon Jr. As
they begin meeting in Washington today, many members of the Republican
National Committee are focusing their ire against what they considered
George W. Bush's anti-conservative policies and trying to dump the man he
tapped to run ...
Bush backlash seen at RNC meetings
United Press International
Seven Most Horrible Things About
Bush Presidency Commentary: An alternative to
commander-in-chief's view of his time in office By
Rex Nutting, MarketWatch
WASHINGTON - The remarkable thing about
President George W. Bush wasn't that he was a horrible chief executive; it's
that he was horrible in so many ways.
The Greatest Lie of All: 'Bush
Kept Us Safe' Over 4,245 Americans killed by terrorists on Bush's watch,
not including 9/11
BradBlog 012309
If I hear one more
Bush
Legacy con-artist --- or worse, supposed Progressives who brainlessly
buy into the masterstroke of propaganda --- state that "Bush kept us safe"
or "There have been no terror attacks on American soil since 9/11," I think
I may shoot someone, or poison them with anthrax --- just to keep them
safe. To be clear, there were deadly terror attacks --- and on
American soil! --- since 9/11. ...
Obama Should Worry About the Bush Family Tentacles
Undermining His Plans Bush may be gone, but his influence -- and the forces that
put him in office -- aren't.
By
Russ Baker, AlterNet. Posted
January 22, 2009
As George W. Bush leaves office and Barack Obama takes over,
we are in danger of missing the opportunity for change our new president has
promised -- unless we come to grips with what the great historian and
Librarian of Congress Daniel Boorstin called our "hidden history," not just
of the past eight years but of the past half-century and more.
The President Orders Transparency
New York Times, United States -
9 hours ago 012209
In a welcome series of orders, Mr. Obama directed
federal agencies to err on the side of transparency, not the Bush-era
default of secrecy and delay, ...
Obama Overturns Bush Records Secrecy Order By
Cernig Thursday Jan 22, 2009 6:00pm President Barack Obama, in his first full day
in office, revoked a controversial executive order signed by President Bush
in 2001 that limited release of former presidents’ records.
The new order could expand public access to records of President Bush and
Vice President Dick Cheney in the years to come as well as other past
leaders, said Steven Aftergood, director of the Project on Government
Secrecy at the Federation of American Scientists. …
Obama appoints key hotspot envoys
BBC News -
29 minutes ago 012209
US President Barack
Obama has named his two key envoys - to the Middle East, and Pakistan and
Afghanistan. George Mitchell, who negotiated an end to Northern Ireland's
Troubles, has been charged with moving forward the Middle East peace
process.
US economy tops Obama's agenda on first day at White House
guardian.co.uk, UK - 8
hours ago 012109
There is speculation the White House will name the
former senator George Mitchell as his Middle East envoy. Within hours of
taking office, Obama's...
First things first; Obama puts hold on military tribunals
Examiner.com - 5 hours ago
012109
Word came late yesterday that the White House Chief of
Staff, Rahm Emanuel, had put a hold on all of the last minute Bush
Administration regulations to ...
Crowd sings to Bush helicopter, 'Na Na Na Na, Hey, Hey, Goodbye'
An interesting moment from the inauguration
Obama warns of challenges
Reuters -
1 hour ago
By Caren Bohan
PHILADELPHIA (Reuters) - Barack Obama warned on Saturday that America faces
"a time of great challenge" as he launched pre-inauguration festivities with
a special train trip to Washington, where in three days he will become
president of
Dear Mr. President:
Like FDR three-quarters of a
century ago, you're taking charge at a moment when all the old certainties
have vanished, all the conventional wisdom been proved wrong. We're not
living in a world you or anyone else expected to see. Many presidents have
to deal with crises, but very few have been forced to deal from Day One with
a crisis on the scale America now faces ....
Last Sunday President-elect Barack Obama was asked whether
he would seek an investigation of possible crimes by the Bush
administration.
"I don't believe that anybody is above the law," he
responded, but "we need to look forward as opposed to looking backwards."
I'm sorry, but if we don't have an inquest into what
happened during the Bush years - and nearly everyone has taken Obama's
remarks to mean that we won't - this means that those who hold power are
indeed above the law because they don't face any consequences if they abuse
their power.
Let's be clear what we're talking about here. It's not
just torture and illegal wiretapping, whose perpetrators claim, however
implausibly, that they were patriots acting to defend the nation's security.
The fact is that the Bush administration's abuses extended from
environmental policy to voting rights. And most of the abuses involved using
the power of government to reward political friends and punish political
enemies.
FRANKEN SOFTENS ANTI-TORTURE STANCE: IT'S
OK IF IT'S BILL O'REILLY
Citizens for Legitimate Government -
12 hours ago 010808
MINNEAPOLIS – (PTSD News) – Apparent Minnesota Senator-elect
Al Franken said today that he has changed his mind about the
legitimacy of the use of torture. ...
Al Franken Outwits Ann Coulter... Again
New MN Senator will give Republicans something to think about.
Coleman Sues over Minnesota Senate Recount
Results
Sen. Norm Coleman (R-Minn.)
filed a lawsuit Tuesday challenging the
recount results of the Minnesota Senate
race that declared Democrat Al Franken the ...
New Dems worry defense firms
Defense contractors worry Democrats will
leave them out Andrew
McLemore
Published: Friday January 9, 2009
With so many Democrats taking power, defense
contractors are beginning to worry about their funding.
Many in the industry would like to see
an increase in money for the military included in the roughly $800
billion stimulus package proposed by President-elect Barack Obama.
Bush May Be Gracious Toward Obama, but He's Still Divisive
U.S. News & World Report, DC -
21 hours ago 011009
By Kenneth T. Walsh In his final days as president, George
W. Bush remains an extraordinarily divisive figure. My last column, which
focused on Bush's ...
NEW BOOK ON BUSH FAMILY OUT Family of Secrets: The Bush Dynasty, the
Powerful Forces That Put It in the White House, and What Their Influence
Means for America By award-winning investigative
journalist Russ Baker How did Bush happen? How did George W. Bush, of all
people, rise to the most powerful position in the world? This simple
question sparked a five-year investigative odyssey by Russ Baker. What he
found will force us to rethink virtually everything we thought we knew about
the Bush family and its role in shaping recent American history.
In FAMILY OF SECRETS, Baker reveals that Bush, the people
around him, and his policies are but an extreme, very public manifestation
of what his family and its circle have always been about: an interlocking
web of covert and overt machinations on behalf of a small cluster of
elites-social, financial, industrial, military, intelligence-that enabled
the Bush dynasty and propelled George W. Bush to the top.
W. And The Damage Done
The Harm To The Country And The World Is Unprecedented By Vincent Rossmeier and Gabriel Winant 010808 President Bush inherited a peaceful, prosperous America.
As he exits, Salon consults experts in seven fields to try to assess the
devastation.
The $10 trillion hangover: Paying the price for eight years of Bush
By Joseph E. Stiglitz and Linda J. Bilmes In a new article in
Harper’s Magazine, Linda Bilmes and Joseph Stiglitz estimate that the
cost of undoing the Bush administration’s economic choices, from the wars in
Iraq and Afghanistan to the collapse of the financial system, soaring debt,
and new commitments to interest payments and Medicare, all add up to over
$10 trillion.
(
See Democracy Now interview )
Former President Bush Wants Son Jeb For President
The Associated Press - 4
hours ago 010408
WASHINGTON (AP) — Another President Bush? Perhaps so, says
former President George HW Bush, who has already seen one son, George W.,
serve in the Oval ...
Bushisms over the years
The Associated Press -
Jan 3, 2009
President George W. Bush will leave behind a legacy of
Bushisms, the label stamped on the commander in chief's original speaking
style. ...
New info sheds light on GOP IT guru's tragic death New information surrounding the December plane crash
which killed GOP internet consultant Michael Connell casts doubt on some of
the rumors and speculation surrounding his death but doesn't close the books
on the circumstances surrounding the Republican technology star's tragic
end. [ More on Connell airplane
crash ]
Key Witness In Rove Probes Killed
by Michael Carmichael, Center for Research on
Globalization, Canada - 16 hours ago
122108
Mike Connell's untimely death will haunt Karl
Rove and the Republican Party. As the key witness in
investigations into election fraud and the firing of US
attorneys, Mike Connell informed investigators that
he had received death threats.
Bush Insider Who Planned To Tell All, Killed In Plane Crash
PR Newswire (press
release), NY - Dec 20, 2008
WASHINGTON , Dec. 20 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ --
Michael Connell , the Bush IT expert who has been directly
implicated in the rigging of George Bush's 2000 ...
Over
the unexplained objections of 30 Republican Senators, an anti-rape amendment
authored by Senator Al Franken (D-MN) became law Monday with President Obama's
signature on the Department of Defense Appropriations Act, 2010.
In
the early going, Dennis Kucinich was in all the Democratic
presidential debates. No one said a word to the contrary about it, at least
not until the people really started to respond, with rousing,
thunderous cheers of support for the message that they were hearing
on the campaign trail.
