NewsFocus: Due to IRS rules, BlackBoxVoting.org is unable to discuss specific candidates, however, NewsFocus can. The particular candidate mentioned in the story is none other than Mitt Romney. Seems kind of crooked now that you know these individuals helped organize the political caucus process for these states, especially since Romney was alleged to have won each of them.
 

VOTING FRAUD DURING THE 2012 GOP PRESIDENTIAL CAUCUSES

Horrified with the way the US government uses the Patriot Act against its own people, two senators have been trying to make these practices public for years. Tired of being ignored, they're now taking their fight against secret programs to public.

Two US senators wrote the attorney general of the United States this week, urging the federal government to give the American public evidence explaining how the Patriot Act has been interpreted since signed into law in 2001.

In a joint letter to Attorney General Eric Holder sent Thursday, Senators Ron Wyden (D-Oregon) and Mark Udall (D-Colorado) plead with the government to provide the American people with the facts behind what the Patriot Act can let America’s top investigators do. The lawmakers, who have rallied for disclosure of these details for more than two years, say citizens would be “stunned” to learn what the government believes it can get away with under the law. ... (Read More)
 

Judge Napolitano Gets The Boot From FOX

Me thinks the good judge irritated the powers that be with speeches like this.

This guy would be a great choice for Attorney General, then Supreme Court Justice.
 

THERE IS A SOLUTION!

WHEREAS THE FIRST AMENDMENT TO THE UNITED STATES CONSTITUTION PROVIDES THAT:

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

BE IT RESOLVED THAT WE, THE NINETY-NINE PERCENT OF THE PEOPLE of the UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, in order to form a more perfect Union, by, for and of the People, shall elect Delegates in the spring of 2012, and convene a NATIONAL GENERAL ASSEMBLY the week of July 4, 2012 in the City Of Philadelphia to prepare and ratify a PETITION FOR A REDRESS OF GRIEVANCES on behalf of the Ninety-Nine Percent of the People of the United States to be served upon the United States Congress, United States Supreme Court and President of the United States prior to November 6, 2012.

I. In the Spring of 2012, the People shall elect two Delegates, one identifying as male and one identifying as female, by democratic vote, from each of the existing 435 Congressional Districts, to represent the People at a NATIONAL GENERAL ASSEMBLY. Voting is through a secure online system and provided by Votenet Solutions.

II. The newly elected Delegates shall meet electronically, or in person if possible, to confer and write the PETITION FOR A REDRESS OF GRIEVANCES. The Delegates alone, in consultation with their constituents will be responsible for the content of the final petition. 

III. During the week of July 4, 2012, the 876 delegates will meet in Philadelphia for a National General Assembly (NGA) to ratify and sign a final petition on July 4th for a redress of grievances. The ratified PETITION FOR A REDRESS OF GRIEVANCES will be signed by the Delegates during a ceremony at Independence Hall the afternoon of July 4, 2012.

IV. The ratified petition will be presented to all 535 members of Congress, the 9 members of the Supreme Court, the President of the United States and each of the political candidates seeking federal public office in the November 2012 general election. Candidates will be asked to respond to the petition, and their responses will be shared with the voting public.

V. The National General Assembly gives the 113th Congress, President and the Supreme Court reasonable time to act upon and redress the grievances listed in the petition. If the grievances are not redressed to the satisfaction of the NGA, delegates reconvene to organize a new grassroots campaign for political candidates who publicly PLEDGE to redress the grievances. These candidates will seek election for all open Congressional seats in the mid-term election of 2014 and in the elections of 2016 and 2018. ... (Read More)
 

WASHINGTON -- The organizers of a major conservative conference here over the next three days are trying to widen participation in a straw poll, a not-too-subtle attempt to give a Republican presidential candidate other than Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas) a chance to win.

For the past two years, Paul has won, by large margins, a straw poll of attendees at the annual Conservative Political Action Conference. The results have been something of an embarrassment for CPAC, organized by the American Conservative Union, which comes from a more traditional conservative point of view than Paul's libertarian-tinged version.

This year, the American Conservative Union and CPAC are moving from paper ballots to electronic voting that will be accessible from a computer or a handheld device, said Al Cardenas, the conservative union's current president. He told The Huffington Post that he hopes this will increase the number of attendees who participate in the straw poll. ... (Read More)
 

Ron Paul In 2012

Don't believe the corporate mainstream media bullshit... he CAN win!

Hacking Democracy (Must See Documentary!)

WE MUST GET RID OF ELECTRONIC VOTING! IT HAS BEEN CORRUPTED!

Foreign Company Buys US Election Reporting Firm
Recipe for Vote Fraud: Global Internet Voting Firm Buys U.S. Election Results Reporting Firm
BlackBoxVoting.org, by Bev Harris - 011512

In a major step towards global centralization of election processes, the world’s dominant Internet voting company has purchased the USA’s dominant election results reporting company.

When you view your local or state election results on the Internet, on portals which often appear to be owned by the county elections division, in over 525 US jurisdictions you are actually redirected to a private corporate site controlled by SOE software, which operates under the name ClarityElections.com. ... (Read More)

SCYTL Acquires SOE Software, Becoming the Leading Election Software Provider

NewsFocus: THIS IS AN OUTRAGE!!! First they shoved HAVA down our throats. Then Diebold merged with ES&S. Now we get this, US election voting results are funneled through a foreign company in Italy. Folks, we no longer control the election process. This should piss off every single American. Write your Congressman and tell them we want our votes counted the legal way. Give us back paper ballots and an accountable election trail so we can verify elections. It worked very well for two hundred years. It's the only way for "We the People" to maintain the integrity of our elections.
 

Is The Mainstream Media A Watchdog For The People
Or A Lapdog For The Elite?

The US Media is controlled and has failed us miserably. See: Media Control

US Protesters 'Occupy' Lawmakers' Washington Offices
AFP - 120811

WASHINGTON — Around 1,000 demonstrators assembled at US lawmakers' offices on Thursday as part of a "Take Back the Capitol," action targeting corporate America's influence in Washington's corridors of power.

Protesters -- many of them labor-union activists who support the Occupy Wall Street movement that began in New York in September -- aimed to highlight that 13.3 million people are unemployed in the United States, and urge lawmakers to shun cuts to unemployment benefits and focus on job creation.

"You have the moral imperative to support those who are slipping," rabbi Erica Asch told demonstrators, standing alongside priests during an ecumenical ceremony near the US Capitol.

Protesters then chanted slogans under the windows of House Speaker John Boehner's office. Around 100 of them headed inside and reached the speaker's closed door, but they left five minutes later without incident.

The protesters staged sit-ins at other lawmakers' offices in an attempt to secure meetings with their elected representatives, centered on jobs and the economy. ... (Read More)

'99 percent' drop in on DC power players

Protesters fill the hallway outside of the offices of US Senator Scott Brown (R-MA) on Capitol Hill in Washington on December 6, 2011.
 

Just Imagine If The Democrats Would Have Picked The People's Choice, Instead Of Picking A Candidate Supported By The Banks

Dennis Kucinich, like Ron Paul, was far and away the choice of the people in 2008.
The problem was, the banksters didn't like either of them because they both wanted
to do away with the corrupt Federal Reserve cartel that has now ruined this country.

Congress Got Richer While We Got Poorer
12 Facts About Money And Congress That Are So Outrageous That It Is Hard To Believe That They Are Actually True (But They Are)
TheEconomicCollapse - 110811

Do you want to get rich? Just get elected to Congress. The U.S. Senate and the House of Representatives are absolutely packed with wealthy people that are very rapidly becoming even wealthier. The collective net worth of the members of Congress is now measured in the billions of dollars. The people that we have elected to the House and Senate are absolutely swimming in money. 

Unfortunately, it is not easy to get elected to Congress. In this day and age you generally have to be heavily connected to those that are very wealthy to get into Congress because it takes gigantic amounts of cash to win campaigns. But if you can get in to the club, you pretty much have it made. 

The numbers that you are about to read are very difficult to believe and they should deeply sadden you. They show that Congress has become all about money. Congressional races are mostly financed by wealthy people, most of the people that we elect to Congress are very wealthy, and they rapidly get wealthier after they are elected. All of this money has turned our republic into something far different than our founding fathers intended.

The following are 12 statistics about money and Congress that are so outrageous that it is hard to believe that they are actually true....

#1 The collective net worth of all of the members of Congress increased by 25 percent between 2008 and 2010.

#2 The collective net worth of all of the members of Congress is now slightly over 2 billion dollars.  That is "billion" with a "b".

#3 This happened during a time when the net worth of most American households was declining rapidly.  According to the Federal Reserve, the collective net worth of all American households decreased by 23 percent between 2007 and 2009.

#4 The average net worth for a member of Congress is now approximately 3.8 million dollars.

#5 The net worth of House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi increased by 62 percent from 2009 to 2010.  In 2009 it was reported that she had a net worth of 21.7 million dollars, and in 2010 it was reported that she had a net worth of 35.2 million dollars.

#6 The top Republican in the Senate, Mitch McConnell, saw his wealth grow by 29 percent from 2009 to 2010.  He is now worth approximately 9.8 million dollars.

#7 More than 50 percent of the members of the U.S. Congress are millionaires.

#8 In 2008, the average cost of winning a seat in the House of Representatives was $1.1 million and the average cost of winning a seat in the U.S. Senate was $6.5 million.  Spending on political campaigns has gotten way out of control.

#9 Insider trading is perfectly legal for members of the U.S. Congress - and they refuse to pass a law that would change that.

#10 The percentage of millionaires in Congress is more than 50 times higher than the percentage of millionaires in the general population.

#11 U.S. Representative Darrell Issa is worth approximately 220 million dollars.  His wealth grew by approximately 37 percent from 2009 to 2010.

#12 The wealthiest member of Congress, U.S. Representative Michael McCaul, is worth approximately 294 million dollars.

So how are members of Congress becoming so wealthy? ... (Read more)

No, It Is NOT "Legal" For Congress To Insider-Trade -- The SEC Should Launch Investigation Immediately

FULL DETAILS: How Congress Insider Traders Abused The Public's Trust During The Financial Crisis

THE CONGRESS INSIDER TRADING SCANDAL IS OUTRAGEOUS: Rep. Spencer Bachus Should Resign In Disgrace

Sen. Feinstein Loaded up on Biotech Stock Just Before Company Received $24 Million Gov’t Grant (Can you say insider information?)

Members of Congress Are Amazing Investors -- Now Here Are Their Favorite Stocks
 

Flashback: Bush Insider Who Planned To Tell All, Killed In Plane Crash

NewsFocus Op/Ed: We knew it all along, but now there is conclusive proof. Where is the lying corporate media on this one? How about it ABC, CBS, and NBC? Have you got the guts or the integrity to "sack up" on this one? Highly doubtful when all the major anchors are shills for the CFR and the Bilderberg Group.

America had better take notice of this. As for the allegedly "fair & balanced" FOX News, don't even hold your breath on this one. Roger Ailes is as dirty on the Bush stolen elections as anyone. He should be in prison with Bush I and II and Cheney as well.
 

Texas Congressman Ron Paul wants to defend the U.S. Constitution, along with our inalienable rights.

Why Does The Media Go Out of Its Way To Censor Ron Paul?
A Second Place Finish In Iowa GOP Straw Poll Goes Virtually Unnoticed
NewsFocus, by Tim Watts - 081611

The Iowa Republican straw poll has once again called into question the media's roll in manipulating public opinion. After finishing a very close second to poll winner Michele Bachman, the media has totally ignored Ron Paul in favor of much lesser candidates.

Even though Paul was only 152 votes from winning the top spot, the corporate news media, and even the Republican party, talked of much farther distant candidates instead.

Paul's finish with Bachman was essentially a near tie. He had a 2-to-1 lead over his next closest rival, former Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty, and a 6-to-1 lead over Texas Governor Rick Perry, but you wouldn't know it from listening to the corporate owned news media, or the Sunday morning pundit shows. Paul's Iowa finish was, for all intents and purposes, essentially dismissed out of hand by the news media. ...

(Read More... Media Censoring Ron Paul)
 

WE NEED RON PAUL FOR PRESIDENT
Ron Paul, Dennis Kucinich, Jesse Ventura, Now There's An Administration!
NewsFocus, by Tim Watts - 080411

We were promised "change" but we got more of the same, the shaft! Obama has been nothing more than Bush III. We don't need another Bush or a Clinton in our government. We need people of integrity leading this country. If I can't have Dennis Kucinich for President, then I'm voting for Ron Paul. My dream ticket would be Paul & Kucinich in the oval office, with Bernie Sanders as Secretary of State, Jesse Ventura as the Secretary of Defense, Ralph Nader as Transportation Secretary, Russ Feingold as head of Labor, possibly Bob Barr as Attorney General, Cynthia McKinney for Department of Education, and Elizabeth Warren as head of the Department of Commerce. Now there would be an administration that would kick the "powers that be" to the curb! It's time for a revolution folks. Forget the bad politics of Democrats versus Republicans. Get out of the left-right trap. Vote for what is best for America!

Aimee Allen's Incredible Ron Paul Anthem Theme Song

Allen knocks this one out of the park. The uncensored version is here.
 

Last night, under the influence of a terror campaign by Obama and his British and Wall Street backers, a majority of the US House of Representative signed off on a Hitler coup against the U.S. Constitution. Under this coup, the Congress will, as a first step, no longer have the power to decide on matters of spending—a specific violation of Section 1 of the nation’s governing document. And that’s just the beginning.

The specific measure which will eliminate the power of the Legislative Branch, is called by Obama the “Super-Congress.” The SuperCongress will be composed of a 12-person board drawn from the Senate and the House, evenly split between Republicans and Democrats. This board’s immediate mandate would be to decide upon $1.5 trillion in budget cuts, both from entitlements (Social Security and Medicare) and defense. The proposals are required to be submitted by Nov. 23 of this year—and to be submitted to an up or down vote, with no filibuster allowed, within the month. ... (Read More)
 

Obama Budget Betrayal Q and A
DailyCensored, by Michael Collins - 072211

This president will never do a single thing to oppose the agenda of the ruling financial elite unless, of course, members of the ruling elite tell him to oppose something meaningless just for the sake of appearances.

Question: Why did President Obama put Social Security and Medicare on the table in the budget negotiations when 80% of the people oppose cuts to these programs?

Answer: The president is not in office to represent those people. He was selected, funded and carried over the finish line by corporate America. Look at the appointment of Wall Streeter Timothy Geithner, the bailouts, and the failure to prosecute any of the crooks who caused the current recession. He’s serving the people who put him in office. Those people don’t need Social Security and Medicare. ... (Read More)
 

9/11 Lawsuit Thrown Out By Judge Who Is Bush Cousin
Gallop Suit Named US Officials, Dick Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld, Richard Myers
NewsFocus, Op-Ed by Tim Watts - 050111

The outrageous conduct of the Bush family regarding the hindrance of a proper 9/11 investigation has now continued into the U.S. court system. A lawsuit filed by former Pentagon employee April Gallop was cavalierly tossed out of court, with the reasoning that the suit was “not plausible” and was the “the product of cynical delusion and fantasy.” To add insult to injury, a legal admonishment was made to the prosecuting attorney for bringing forth such a suit. One of the three sitting judges just coincidentally happened to be John Mercer Walker, Jr., the first cousin of former President George H.W. Bush and the first cousin once removed of George W. Bush. How convenient.

Gallop filed her original first lawsuit on December 15th, 2008, but a New York District Court threw the case out. She then appealed to the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals.

(Read more of this piece on the 9/11 News page...)

Justice Denied: US Court Throws Out April Gallop's 9/11 Case Against U.S.Officials
Extraordinary Conflict of Interest: Bush Cousin Presides Over Federal Court 9/11 Case
Bush court dismisses 9/11 suit against Bush officials, orders sanctions

Bush Cousin Presides Over 9/11 Suit Against Cheney, Rumsfeld, Myers
Global Research, by Craig McKee - April 12, 2011

Note: April Gallop's lawsuit went ahead this week with George Bush's cousin sitting in judgment. He'll play a major part in deciding whether the case goes forward or dies. (http://truthandshadows.wordpress.com)

No, it’s not a joke. (Read More Here)

And BTW... 81% of Americans Do Not Believe US Government Story Regarding 9/11.
The CBS/New York Times Poll: 53% Say hiding something... 28% Say mostly lying.
 

First a note on the use of hyperbole: People often think I’m using hyperbole when I talk about “financial terrorism,” our descent into “neo-feudalism,” the “two-Party oligarchy,” our confirmed “banana republic” status or the fact that President Obama is a “bankster puppet.” I’m aware that most people will think I’m being overly extreme, but in these extreme times, all these terms are technical descriptions of our unfortunate political reality. Career wise, I would be better off, over the short-term, if I censored this harsh reality and used more delicate language, but I’m not interested in making a career out of this, or being accepted into some status quo supporting groupthink organization. I’m here to sound the alarm. So I have much respect for people who are also speaking bold truth to power, whatever the consequences may be. Fortunately, more people are starting to speak up. ... (Read More)
 

George Carlin Talking About The American Dream

This is the way it is folks. Carlin Had this one right on the money.

JFK Secret Societies Speech
This Is The Speech That Got Kennedy Killed By The Banking Cartel
NewsFocus, by Tim Watts - 080111

This is the courageous speech by President John F. Kennedy that got him murdered in cold blood on a Dallas street in public view. This speech begins in a light hearted fashion, but after five minutes JFK gets serious and down to business, exposing the secret societies and the hidden cabal that runs our country and this world. He was assassinated shortly afterward. No American President has ever had the guts, the spine, nor the balls to stand up to this crooked cartel since Kennedy.

The Full Speech

Kennedy exposes the secret societies and the criminal cabal behind our world.

The Edited Speech

This shorter edit contains the crux of the threat that JFK tried to warn us of.
 

The American Truth Network (Click for more info)

The memo—called, simply enough, "A Plan For Putting the GOP on TV News"— is included in a 318-page cache of documents detailing Ailes' work for both the Nixon and George H.W. Bush administrations that we obtained from the Nixon and Bush presidential libraries. ... (Read More)
 

Ethics is only a problem in politics... if you have some. -NewsFocus

NewsFocus: A New Oath For "We The People"
Serving Legal Notice To Those Who Oppress Us

We have never voted to rescind our Constitutional rights. Remember that.

To the illegitimate "powers that be," consider yourself served.

Former CIA Agent Glenn Carle Reveals Bush Admin Effort to Smear War Critic Juan Cole
Democracy Now! - 062211

Former top CIA counterterrorism officer Glenn Carle has revealed the Bush administration sought damaging personal information on Juan Cole, an academic and prominent critic of the Iraq war, in an attempt to discredit him. Carle says the Bush White House made at least two requests for intelligence about Cole, whose blog "Informed Comment" rose to prominence after the Iraq invasion. Carle refused to carry out the request. In a joint interview, Carle and Cole join us to discuss the explosive revelation and why Cole is now calling for a congressional investigation. "I think I was targeted because this was a propagandistic administration … full of people who thought they could pull the wool over the American people’s eyes," says Cole. "The Bush administration was starkly at odds with the intelligence community as a whole—the CIA, in particular, and the National Intelligence Council even more so," Carle says. “I do know the context of tension and hostility between the Bush administration and the intelligence community, and more broadly, any critic of their policies.” ... (Read More)
 

Doing this once was bad enough, but twice should bring the revocation of their license.

For the second consecutive time, Republican Congressman Ron Paul has won the CPAC straw poll, and for the second consecutive time, FOX News has gone out of their way to paint Paul in a bad light. In 2008, after winning the CPAC endorsement, FOX buried their microphones in the Romney contingent in order to highlight the cheers for him, but more importantly to accentuate any booing for Paul. This year the crowd response was so overwhelming for Ron Paul, apparently FOX felt it needed to run the old 2008 CPAC footage with their fake deceptive booing.

This looks to many like a rerun of 2008 where the major political parties did everything within their power to deny "we the people" our right to the candidate of our political party. As an integral member of the media team for the Dennis Kucinich Presidential campaign, I watched as the Democratic party did everything they could to run from Kucinich, rather than embrace the overwhelming hands down winner of every liberal and progressive poll. It's a matter of public record.

Look back at the polls. Kucinich was the hands down favorite of Democrats, as was Ron Paul for the Republicans, yet neither candidate was picked by their party. I have written about the extreme lengths that hidden powers went to in preventing Kucinich from the presidential debate, but it wasn't just him that they feared, it was also Republican Ron Paul.

Why would a major political party shoot itself in the foot and choose the much less popular candidate to represent it in any election, let alone the one election for all the marbles?

It all comes down to one thing... money. Actually BIG money. Huge money. And we're talking mega-trillions folks. The biggest target for both Congressmen is the abolishment of the corrupt Federal Reserve. Both Paul and Kucinich are ardent advocates for the dissolution of this private institution that has usurped the sovereignty of this country since 1913. Once you understand this, you will better understand the concerted drive to keep both of these Congressmen of integrity from ever becoming our President.

With FOX News, a known Republican promotional vehicle, going out of their way to flat out deceive its viewers regarding Paul, it's readily apparent how much they fear his candidacy and what it would do to the power structure behind the scenes in this country.

As a media veteran, I understand all too well how our media is controlled. It happens each and every day, on a scale that few could imagine. It's time for the rest of America to wake up and realize that they're being lied to by the corporate mainstream media.

I know one thing for myself right now... if it comes down to a horse race between Obama and Ron Paul, this reporter will be voting for "real change," for the candidate who has the guts to stand up to the Federal Reserve. It's been business as usual for two Presidents now, even though both are from opposing parties.

Well, I for one am tired of the ultra-wealthy bankers controlling our country, starting all of the wars and sacrificing our kids for their own profit. Andrew Jackson freed us from the central banks once long ago. It's time we had another President with the resolve of Jackson, who will stand up to the central banks once again, and free us from their oppressive control.

President Kennedy also tried to fight them, but sadly not with the same results as Jackson. We owe JFK dearly for that. We owe ourselves another candidate like Jackson and Kennedy, someone who will fight to undo the big money power structure in this country. If we don't, it's going to be business as usual, with a further erosion of our Constitutional rights and a continuing downward spiral for America.

FOX News Busted For Faking Ron Paul CPAC Reception

Bad enough they did it once already in 2008, but they did it again this year!
 

Chomsky: Wisconsin Protests May Be Start of U.S. Revolt

From Democracy Now!

Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Seymour Hersh spoke at the Georgetown University's School of Foreign Service in Qatar on Monday, January 17, 2011, where he said that a group of radical neoconservatives, "overthrew the American government. Took it over." He added, "It's not only that the neocons took it over but how easily they did it -- how Congress disappeared, how the press became part of it, how the public acquiesced." ... (Read More)

NewsFocus: The only people who don't know this are those who foolishly still watch FOX news. Extreme far-right Necons give normal conservatives a bad name.
 

Why Is Congress Debating Federal Abortion Funding?
Tax Breaks For The Rich, Plus Corporate Bail-outs - But Damn The Poor Women
NewsFocus.org, by Tim Watts - 020311

Hooray for Jon Stewart and The Daily Show... once again. No one is better at highlighting hypocrisy and bullshit than Stewart, and once again he makes the case perfectly clear, for those who don't understand the game being played. This time it is our esteemed Congress, a Republican led effort, trying to balance our budget by taking money from those who absolutely need it the most.

How is it that anyone in Congress can ever morally conjure the thought to pick on those with the most dire hardships in life?

This time it is victims of rape.

Pious politicians think that by canceling funding, they can save big money towards the deficit, so they are making a huge deal out of this on the Hill. However, correspondent Kristen Schaal points out that there were only 191 cases in one year alone where the Fed had to pay out, so where is all the money that would be saved?

We gave $1.5 trillion in bailouts to Wall Street and the corporate thugs that caused our economic crisis. Then we turned around and gave in to the rich cry babies over keeping their Bush tax cuts for the ultra-wealthy, only after Republicans blackmailed the Senate and said they would vote no to 9/11 first responder's care, unless the fabulously wealthy elite got their tax cuts. And after the rich got theirs, they then said thank you for making them wealthier, by turning on the middle class and the poor, fighting unemployment benefits and social security for those who are not fortunate enough to be born rich with a silver spoon in their mouth.

They really seem to go out of their way to pick on victims of hardship and tragedy, because now they're shamelessly going after rape victims. What sort of moral perversity drives some people to treat other people like this? God only knows.

Absolutely unconscionable and unbelievable... but it's all true. Every single word of it.

You can bet your last dollar that if their rich little "Buffy from the Hamptons" was raped, it would be a different story.

Well, it is a different story, because Buffy's parents can afford to have her taken car of, while less affluent girls of no wealth have no recourse. Would they really force Buffy to endure a second hardship and trauma, by carrying the child from a rapist, or is that just for the poor girls? There are conflicting standards at work here, and of course the Daily Show does an excellent job of pointing out the absolute immoral absurdity of this issue.

Please write your Congressional representatives and tell them to move on to something worthwhile for our country, rather than trying deceptively to make political hay out of nothing. Abortion is the touchiest issue in America. It is not a political issue. It should have nothing to do with left-right politics. It is a moral issue, best dealt with by the girl and her family. Period. End of political discussion.

Respect for the unborn is a noble thought, but that argument fails to meet the moral test when it totally discounts the already pre-existing life that was forcedly, brutally raped and criminally abused.

Until it's your daughter, niece, or even your sister, maybe it's best to leave these things to those who unfortunately have to bear the burden. If they need to make peace with God, that is theirs to do on their own.

If people only had half this much rage for white collar crime, corporate corruption and bought-off politicians. <sigh>

That politics has any role in this is the obscenity.
 

Mr. Issa, a California Republican and the new chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, says he wants to make sure agencies respond in a timely fashion to Freedom of Information Act requests and do not delay them out of political considerations.

But his extraordinary request worries some civil libertarians. It “just seems sort of creepy that one person in the government could track who is looking into what and what kinds of questions they are asking,” said David Cuillier, a University of Arizona journalism professor and chairman of the Freedom of Information Committee at the Society of Professional Journalists. “It is an easy way to target people who he might think are up to no good.” ...

Newstalgia Reference Room: The Freedom Of Information Act - March 30, 1965
From CrooksandLiars.com
 

"We vow not to support President Barack Obama for renomination for another term in office, and to actively seek to impede his war policies unless and until he reverses them," the petition reads. ...

The Petition To Obama
 

How To Translate The State Department Briefing On Egyptian Unrest

Many people understand that this is truly the way it is. Nice job Media4Movement.

WASHINGTON -- In an interview set to air this Sunday, former President George W. Bush said he was done with politics and that he is uninterested in campaigning or raising money for political candidates.

The 43rd president, who has been sparing in his public appearances since leaving the White House, took questions from C-Span this past Monday at a Southern Methodist University forum. Asked whether he was "through with politics," Bush replied: "Yeah."

NewsFocus: Because he sucked the life out of any possible goodwill he ever had, he has no political future anyway. The only two-term President never elected to office. He should be sitting in jail, along with his good buddy 'Dick Vadar.'

Unfortunately, brother Jeb sounds like he is gearing up. (Another puppet for daddy?)

Jeb Bush And The US Addiction To Dynasties
This is all building toward a Jeb Bush-Hillary Clinton race in 2016, isn't it?
Salon.com, by Steve Kornacki - 020111

When it comes to politics, Americans sure seem to like familiar faces and names. There have been 15 presidential elections since 1952, and in all but two -- 1964 and 2008 -- the Republican ticket has included someone named "Nixon," "Dole," or "Bush." And while there's been a little more variety on the Democratic side, it may be mainly the result of tragedy: How many more national tickets would have featured a Kennedy if not for two assassinations and Chappaquiddick?

For a brief moment in the 2008 campaign, it seemed we might be on the verge of something of a post-dynastic era, with Democrats spurning Hillary Clinton in favor of a first-term senator who had been in the Illinois state Legislature just four years earlier, and with the Bush family name in disrepute thanks to George W.'s misadventures. But that was probably an illusion, something we were reminded of earlier this week, when Jeb Bush dropped yet another hint that he sees a White House run in his future.

"If I ran for office, I would be a proud younger brother of George W. Bush and a proud son of George H.W. Bush," the former Florida governor said in Nevada on Monday. As he has done before, Bush ruled out running for president next year, but left the door wide open for 2016. ...

Could Jeb Bush's "Plan Latino" Lead Him to the White House?

NewsFocus: If we were addicted to dynasties, Hillary would have received the nomination. What Jeb fails to realize is, Americans loved "Camelot." The Bush family can try all they want, but they are not the Kennedys, and never will be.
 

John Wheeler III, 66, was last seen Dec. 28 on an Amtrak train from Washington to Wilmington. His body was found three days later, on New Year's Eve, as a garbage truck emptied its contents at the Cherry Island landfill. His death has been ruled a homicide. ...

NewsFocus: Rumors have surfaced that Wheeler may have had information regarding an accidental chemical release that was responsible for the mass wildlife kill-off in Arkansas. He may have been murdered because of insider knowledge over the release of a deadly chemical agent responsible for the death of hundreds of thousands of bird and fish deaths in Arkansas. There is way more to this story than we currently know. You can bet that the cover-up is already underway on this one.

Mass Animal Deaths – Conspiracy Or Coincidence?
 

The decentralized protest group "Anonymous" has a new target: no, it's not a middle eastern dictator, a major bank or even a bit player in the military-industrial complex.

It's none other than tea party financiers Charles and David Koch, who were being targeted, an open letter stated, for their attempts "to usurp American Democracy."

"Koch Industries, and oligarchs like them, have most recently started to manipulate the political agenda in Wisconsin," an announcement posted to anonnews.org declared.

"Governor Walker's union-busting budget plan contains a clause that went nearly un-noticed. This clause would allow the sale of publicly owned utility plants in Wisconsin to private parties (specifically, Koch Industries) at any price, no matter how low, without a public bidding process," they explained. "The Koch's have helped to fuel the unrest in Wisconsin and the drive behind the bill to eliminate the collective bargaining power of unions in a bid to gain a monopoly over the state's power supplies. ...

Covert Operations
The billionaire brothers who are waging a war against Obama
The New Yorker, by Jane Mayer - 083011

With his brother Charles, who is seventy-four, David Koch owns virtually all of Koch Industries, a conglomerate, headquartered in Wichita, Kansas, whose annual revenues are estimated to be a hundred billion dollars. The company has grown spectacularly since their father, Fred, died, in 1967, and the brothers took charge. The Kochs operate oil refineries in Alaska, Texas, and Minnesota, and control some four thousand miles of pipeline. Koch Industries owns Brawny paper towels, Dixie cups, Georgia-Pacific lumber, Stainmaster carpet, and Lycra, among other products. Forbes ranks it as the second-largest private company in the country, after Cargill, and its consistent profitability has made David and Charles Koch—who, years ago, bought out two other brothers—among the richest men in America. Their combined fortune of thirty-five billion dollars is exceeded only by those of Bill Gates and Warren Buffett. ...

The Kochs Fight Back
Politico, by KENNETH P. VOGEL | 2/2/11 4:38 AM EST

RANCHO MIRAGE, Calif. – Faced with an avalanche of bad publicity after years of funding conservative causes in relative anonymity, the billionaire industrialist Koch brothers, Charles and David, are fighting back.

They’ve hired a team of PR pros with experience working for top Republicans including Sarah Palin and Arnold Schwarzenegger to quietly engage reporters to try to shape their Koch coverage, and commissioned sophisticated polling to monitor any collateral damage to the image of their company, Koch Industries. ...

NewsFocus: This right-wing billionaire family is arguably just as responsible for the discourse in America as Rupert Murdoch and FOX News.

Protestors demonstrate against the Kochs' meeting of New World Order billionaires. AP photo

See More On The Koch Brothers Here
 

Self Defense
 
Fiore hits this one right on the money.

This story is shocking at first blush, but could go a long way towards explaining the irrational fear that drives far-right conservative behavior. According to new research from University College of London, the larger the amygdala, the more susceptible the brain is to being scared. Republicans are expected to renounce the study, rather than admit a physically inferior trait. One would think that more study and peer review will come about as a result of the new research, unless of course someone gets too scared of the sociological and political implications. <sigh>

Political Views 'Hard-Wired' Into Your Brain
By Richard Alleyne, Science Correspondent - 122810

Scientists have found that people with conservative views have brains with larger amygdalas, almond shaped areas in the centre of the brain often associated with anxiety and emotions.

On the other hand, they have a smaller anterior cingulate, an area at the front of the brain associated with courage and looking on the bright side of life. ...
 

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The government must once again request a Federal warrant before they can spy on cell phones and email.

In a stunning blow to government eavesdropping on private citizens, US court judges this week have ruled that warrants are required before spying on cell phones and emails. One can only hope that the good news for American rights somehow reaches the good folks at Echelon.

This is undeniably great news for Constitutional rights. Let's see how this translates now once the Patriot Act "sunset clause" comes up for review in February.

Feds Need Warrant to Read E-Mails, Appeals Court Says
PC Magazine - Chloe Albanesius - ‎Dec 14, 2010‎
An appeals court ruled Tuesday that the government must obtain a warrant before it can access e-mails stored by Internet service providers. ...

Federal Court Blocks Gov Attempt To Spy On Cell Phones
Raw Story - John Byrne - ‎Dec 16, 2010‎
The Obama Administration's effort to obtain your location from cell phone towers without a warrant was rebuffed Wednesday by a federal court. ...
 

Republicans Get Nailed On Earmark Hypocrisy

You see? They say one thing and do another. They were just bitching about earmarks only weeks ago.

This could get interesting. (Read More)

NewsFocus: This is outstanding news and should have many shaking at the Fed.

Paul Interviewed After Appointment

Paul is the perfect guy for this job.
 

Rachel Maddow: Bernie Sanders Message On The Rich Ignored By Media

Listen to the facts that Sanders and Maddow deliver on the ultra-rich.

Update! Neutered First Responders Bill Approved
A Slap In The Face: Gutless, Spineless Senate Cuts Settlement For 9/11 Rescuers
NewsFocus, by Tim Watts - 122210

This has got to be one of the largest national embarrassments for any civilized society. Just pathetic.

After much Republican heel dragging, the Zadroga Bill for 9/11 first responders has finally passed. People can rejoice if they want, but when you cut the bill by 1/3rd, how does that accomplish all that the legislation was originally intended for? This Senate vote is shameful, particularly because of a Republican-led effort to block the bill, holding it hostage as a political pawn for increased tax cuts for the super-wealthy, and then for reneging on their promise once they got their tax cuts for the ultra-rich. Apparently the only way Republican Senators would vote for the bill is if they cut it nearly in half!  Instead of the $7.4-billion that was approved by the House in the original bill, the final payout will now be only $4.3-billion, a difference of $3.1-billion that Republican Senators felt the sick and dying 9/11 first responders just didn't need. This despite the fact that our own government said the air was perfectly fit to breathe immediately after 9/11. (EPA head Christie Todd Whitman stated the air was fit to breathe, when in fact it was the equivalent of micro-fine Draino.) Read More...

Senate Republicans Turn Backs On 9/11 First Responders
Let's Make Sure The Rich Get Tax Breaks, But @#%! The Dying 9/11 Rescuers
NewsFocus, by Tim Watts - 121410

That anyone can turn their back on those who volunteered to save other's lives on 9/11 is unconscionable.

Update! Jon Stewart Uses Last Show of 2010 For 9/11 First Responders
(See details and video below this story.)

Just when you thought politics couldn't get more partisan or any uglier, the US Senate, led by the Republican party, voted against the 9/11 First Responders Bill, the Zadroga 9/11 First Responders Act, legislation that would provide those heroic first responders with desperately needed medical benefits and services. Too many are sick and dying, and now they need our help America. In case you don't understand the immoral cruelty being played out on Capitol Hill, let me sum it up for you.

This is about political blackmail, not to mention an extreme moral perversity. You see, the Republicans refuse to vote "yes" on the bill until the Bush tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans are extended. How's that for political bargaining? You deny impoverished, sick and dying 9/11 heroes medical help, just so the filthy rich can get a tax break and make more money. And this is the party that willfully and shamelessly echoes 9/11, any chance it can get, for their own political gain, all the while they claim to be a fundamentalist "Christian-based" party, chock full of "family values." (Read More)

Jon Stewart Makes A Stand For 9/11 First Responders
Daily Show Dedicates Last Program of 2010 To Skewer GOP Over Health Bill
NewsFocus, by Tim Watts - 121610

One thing on almost every politicians personal to-do list, "Do not incur the wrath of Jon Stewart." If you do, it will get ugly faster than you can say, "Please pull my 'Depends' underpants down and spank my fat conservative ass hard on national TV to thoroughly discredit and embarrass me in front of my political constituents and the entire world."

Consider it done.

Republicans do indeed know better, yet somehow the entire party had a group brain freeze when it came to the 9/11 health bill. (Read More)
 

Study: FOX News Makes Voters Stupid
Extended Exposure To Fox News Makes Voters Stupid, University Study Finds
RawStory, by Stephen C. Webster - 121610

It's official: A university study reveals that FOX News dumbs down voters.  (Graphic: NewsFocus)

The troublesome record of spin by conservative television station Fox News has long been a cause for concern to many Americans, who frequently allege that the nation's most viewed "news" network has the effect of dumbing down voters.

Turns out, they were right.

A University of Maryland study (PDF) published earlier this month found that people in the survey who had the most exposure to Fox News were more likely to believe falsehoods and rumors about national and world affairs when compared to those who paid attention to other news outlets. ... (Read More)

You just can't make this up. FOX has no idea where Egypt is. FOX dumbs you down.

(For geographically challenged FOX viewers: The correct location of Egypt)
 

Barack Obama Gets Stockholm Syndrome
 

What is the biggest scandal of 2010 so far?

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 ...

The problem of human lobbying Washington Post
Capitol Hill's limits on lobbying have their limits USA Today
Lobbyist on board? Bill calls for ban Hill Atlanta Journal Constitution
Democratic Senator Jon ester Gets Behind Lobbyist Reform The Hill
Lawmakers Ignore Call To Promise Not To Become Lobbyists Huffington Post
Sen. Jon Tester joins effort to make it illegal for members of Congress to ever become registered lobbyists CrooksandLiars

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 ...

Wall Street Lobbyists: How They "Fix" Financial Reform for the Banks Bnet
Genworth spent $980000 lobbying gov't in 1Q BusinessWeek
Push is on for toughened lobbying reforms Jacksonville.com
Elections should be won, not bought SFGate

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 ...

Jack Abramoff: A DC Scandal Made for Hollywood The Atlantic

Six Questions for Alex Gibney on “Casino Jack” Harper's Magazine

The official Movie Trailer

 

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. ...

Kagan supported detaining terror suspects indefinitely without trial
RawStory, by John Byrne - 051010

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." ...
 

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.
 

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.)

First look at George Bush's memoirs Guardian UK (satire)

From Bluegal at CrooksandLiars.com... more and better Bush covers at Mock, Paper, Scissors, Fried Green al Qaedas, HuffPo, and Ian David at DU.
 

Who Represents Us? Keeping A Watchful Eye On The Presidential Deficit Commission
CrooksandLiars.com, by Susie Madrak - 043010

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.
 

Tax bills in 2009 at lowest level since 1950 USA Today

Report: Tea Parties Created As GOP Political Ploy
RawStory.com, by David Edwards - 041510

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. ...

UPDATED: Who funds RightNetwork? Looks like the usual suspects

Comcast partners with teabaggers to bring new right-wing broadcast network online

Koch Industries denies funding tea parties, but official filings say otherwise

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.

But wait... there's more! (see directly below)
 

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. ...

And as if all of that isn't enough...

Warning: Conservative Groups Are Funding News Websites
Danger, Will Robinson! Danger!
CrooksandLiars.com, by John Amato - 041510

All left-wing think tanks and high powered groups should take notice of this report because it could have severe consequences for the future of news in the country.

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)
 

Alan Grayson On Bill Maher
 

Kissinger Overruled Aides who Wanted to "Head Off" a "Series of International Murders"
Rescinded Orders To Warn Military Regimes Days Before Letelier Bombing In Washington DC
Agonist.org

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.
 

Massey Energy CEO So Determined To Win, He Financed Campaign For His Own Judge
CrooksandLiars.com, by Susie Madrak - Friday Apr 09, 2010 3:00pm

What a sweetheart of a human being this guy is. Not only did he buy himself the chief justice of his state Supreme Court, he's a poster boy for corporate America who squeezes every last dime out of the workers - even if it kills them:

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. ...

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.

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.

Digby has a great post up detailing the debauchery.

Ryan Grim and Shahien Nasiripour at HuffPo have the whole sordid story:

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. ...
 

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?
 

Rachel Maddow With More On GOP Stimulus Hypocrisy

The GOP expects people to not pay attention, or to have a short attention span.
 

Rachel Maddow Exposes Embarrassing Republican Hypocrisy

Partisan is being kind in describing the GOP's refusal to work with Dems.
 

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.

See the entire 85 minute Q & A session here

Campaign finance experts confirmed that though disclosure rules remained intact in the new Supreme Court decision, there are effective methods to circumvent them. ...
 

"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?
 
Citizens Ruling: An Intellectually Dishonest Power Grab
Washington Post - ‎012210
In opening the floodgates for corporate money in election campaigns, the Supreme Court did not simply engage in a brazen power grab. ...

Manchurian Candidates: Supreme Court allows China and others unlimited spending in US elections GregPalast.com

SCOTUS Gives Corporations Free Speech, and Starts a Civil War Firedoglake (blog)
Supreme Court Decision: More Votes for the Rich Huffington Post
Supreme Court Ruling Is an Invitation to Scandal U.S. News & World Report
The US Supreme Court Sells Out: A Government of, for, and by the Corporations Huffington Post

Supreme Court about to Gut Campaign Finance Laws...and Democracy?
Huffington Post (blog) - Mark Green - ‎Dec 15, 2009‎
Then in the post-Watergate moment in 1974, Congress enacted a strong campaign finance law limiting and disclosing contributions from individuals and PACs. ...

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!

Wall Street's fingerprints evident on financial reform bill
Christian Science Monitor - Gail Russell Chaddock - ‎Dec 22, 2009‎
In all, the finance, insurance, and real estate industries spent a record $475 million on campaign contributions to congressional candidates in the 2008 ...

Campaign Cash From Wall Street Favored Representatives Who Opposed Finance Reform Bill
Center for Responsive Politics - Michael Beckel - ‎Dec 12, 2009‎
On Friday, the U.S. House of Representatives passed its major financial reform proposal by a 223-202 vote. Commercial banks and credit and finance companies stood among some of the fiercest opponents of the bill. 

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. ...

Bill Introduced Calls for Constitutional Amendment to Tackle Campaign Finance Ruling
TruthOut.org by Kyle Berlin - Thursday 04 February 2010

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.

Dodd to Introduce Constitutional Amendment to Reverse Campaign Finance Ruling
TruthOut.org, by NorwalkPlus.com - Thursday 04 February 2010

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.”

Legislation to Counter Supreme Court's Campaign Finance Ruling Gaining Support
TruthOut.org, by Kyle Berlin - Friday 29 January 2010

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 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. ...
 

They Still Don’t Get It
NewYorkTimes, by BOB HERBERT- Published: January 22, 2010

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. ...
 

Watergate-Style Bugging Of Senator's Office

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.

Original reports on the “break-in” were also wrong.  One of those arrested was found blocks away with a covert receiver, managing the office bugs.  The man in the car is identified as Stan  Dai, Operations Officer for the Department of Defense Irregular Warfare Program: ...
 

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.

Gingrich reiterated his call for all Republicans to commit to repealing any form of a health care bill that Democrats might pass before the 2010 elections ...

The 'Party of No' Blocks War Funding To Delay Health-Care Bill
CrooksandLiars.com, byy Susie Madrak Friday Dec 18, 2009 9:00am

UPDATE: Dems broke the filibuster at 2 a.m. EST.

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 ...
 

Former speaker Hastert's pricey perks
Politico.com, by JAKE SHERMAN & JOHN BRESNAHAN | 12/21/09

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.

Reminder: Hastert Accused In DC Turkish Scandal By FBI Translator
Long Running FBI Investigation. No Action Taken Yet By Department of Justice.

NewsFocus: MN Senator Al Franken Wants Congress Banned From Becoming Lobbyists Due To Extreme Conflict of Interest, Unfair Misuse of Insider Info
 

NewsFocus: The right must be bat-shit crazy. The Obama administration is turning out to be nothing more than Bush III.
 

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."
 

Hindsight: If You Want To Understand The 2010 Election, See This...

Poll: 40% of Dems 'Not Likely' Or 'Will Not Vote' Next Year
CrooksandLiars.com, by Susie Madrak Sunday Nov 29, 2009 3:00pm

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. ...

Poll: Americans prefer Dem policies to GOP
 

Worst Idea Ever
CrooksandLiars.com, by Jason Sigger Thursday Nov 12, 2009 3:00pm
Talking Points Memo notes that former SecState Condi Rice and former NSA Stephen Hadley are joining forces to create a" strategic consulting" firm. May I suggest that this is probably an even bigger farce than former FEMA Director Michael Brown's decision to start a consulting firm on disaster preparedness following his stellar performance during Katrina?

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.
 

NewsFocus: Well... it would be nice to see the Obama administration grow some balls and "sack up" against these powers. With so many from the big money structure within his administration, we'll see if this comes to fruition.
 

Rachel Maddow Sets The Record Straight On FOX News

The hypocrisy is blatant to those that pay attention to this stuff.

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.
 

Representative Alan Grayson Fights For Our Health Care

For a freshman Congressman, he sure has some spunk.

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   

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

Why Is Rush Limbaugh The Biggest Asshole In America? NewsFocus Op/Ed

Lewis Black Calls It Like It Is

Democrats Need To Get Out of Bed With Republicans And Do What They Were Elected For

NewsFocus Salutes Congressional Representatives
Who Work For "We The People"

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.

(Read More)
 

The Return Of McCarthyism

Glenn Beck Is Leading the way for the looney tunes.

The making of Glenn Beck - Pt 1 By Alexander Zaitchik
Glenn Beck becomes damaged goods - Pt 2 By Alexander Zaitchik
 

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 ...
 

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.
 

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!
 

When Hate Speech And Fear Became King In America

A Historical Look At Political Lying And The Exploitation Of Fear

The Trap - Part 1  |  Part 2  |  Part 3

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)

New Hack of Sequoia Voting Machine Changes Votes Undetectably BradBlog.com
Computer scientists reveal new voting machine hack changes votes RawStory.com
 

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.

• 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.

Are Republicans and their thugs killing off the Town Hall as a democratic forum?
CrooksandLiars.com, by David Neiwert Friday Aug 07, 2009 10:00am
Does anyone remember when Town Hall forums were civil affairs that gave citizens a chance to speak freely to their elected representatives in a civil conversation?

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.

Time To Fight Back Against Staged GOP Town Hall Attacks
CrooksandLiars.com, by Logan Murphy Thursday Aug 06, 2009 8:00am
The GOP is in big trouble and as always, they can't win on their policies so they must resort to deceptive tactics to give the appearance of support from average Americans. The astroturfed town hall attacks are beginning to get out of control and it's time for normal, sane people to push back against this attack on Democracy. Below is a list of scheduled town hall meetings held by Democratic politicians, courtesy of Jane Hamsher at Firedoglake.

'Brown Shirts'? Town Hall teabaggers' ranks are indeed riddled with right-wing extremists
CrooksandLiars.com, by David Neiwert Saturday Aug 08, 2009 9:00am
Rep. Brian Baird of Washington (whose district includes Olympia and Vancouver) has announced that, rather than run the risk of intentional disruption by the teabagging invaders at recent town-hall meetings, he is going to take another approach:

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."

Baird's acute observation set off all kinds of predictable whining from the usual suspects on the right.
 

Bill Maher Makes An Astute Point On Obama

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

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

Why Is 'Government' Such A Dirty Word To The GOP?
Government Established as a Servant & Representative of 'We The People'
GOP Gone Wild!
NewsFocus, by Tim Watts 030109

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.

Jindal defends those who want Obama to fail CNN International
Fred Thompson: I want Obama's policies to fail Raw Story
Hannity edits Strasbourg speech: 'Obama attacks America' Raw Story
   

Also, see... Bush Law video here
 

• 9/11 News & Information... Find out what you don't know
• From The Edge (of Reality)... Hard to believe news, but it's all true

Cover-up? Alaska Gov. Palin (R) Says Baby Trig Is Hers ...
This is Bristol's second baby. She had to cover up the first baby because she was too young. ... [ family picture showing Bristol baby bump ]

The Sarah Palin Baby Lie

Proof that the mainstream media doesn't do its job for us.

Palin Lies To Cover-Up Daughter's First Pregnancy
 

Bush Secret Memos- Lifting Bush's Shroud
Coastal Post - ‎21 hours ago‎
During his confirmation hearings in January, Eric Holder promised that if he became attorney general, he would increase the Justice Department's ...
Obama orders review of Bush's signing statements Los Angeles Times
Obama Releases Bush Secrets Ke Alakai

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 ...

Reconciliation commission unlikely to reveal Bush's transgressions
Seattle Times - ‎3 hours ago‎ 031309
Patrick Leahy's exploration of whether a "South African-style Truth and Reconciliation Commission" could answer questions about the Bush administration's ...
 

“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

'Republicans Gone Wild!'

Keith Olbermann examines the Republican vitriol towards liberal Americans.

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.
 

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.

Crowd sings to Bush helicopter, 'Na Na Na Na, Hey, Hey, Goodbye'

An interesting moment from the inauguration

Bush Apologizes: The Farewell Interview We Wish He'd Give

Letterman airs final Bush-ism tribute

Final CBS/NYT Bush approval rating: 22%
Lowest ever for departing president; just 13% approve of Vice President Cheney.

490 Crawford days, 487 Camp David days

Cost of the Bush era: $11.5 trillion and counting
The outgoing administration has presided over 8 years of disasters and crises with some of the biggest price tags the nation has ever seen.
 

Keith Olbermann Takes A Look Back At The Bush Administration

Eight years of bad decisions, greed, lies and incompetence. What a ride.

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.
 

Bush lists accomplishments, failures in office
San Francisco Chronicle - 10 hours ago 011009
A reflective President Bush on Friday acknowledged a number of blunders that have marred his White House years, but he told a small group of Texas reporters that he has "a great sense of accomplishment and I am going home with my head held high.
In Bush presidencies, similarities abound Chicago Tribune
President says he won't miss public spotlight Houston Chronicle

Letterman: Top 10 George Bush Moments

You just can't make this stuff up any better

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.

Karl Rove's IT Guru Dies In Plane Crash

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 ...

Ohio TV station: Was Connell crash an accident or murder?

Mike Connell was warned not to fly before plane crash
Online Journal, FL - 14 hours ago 122208
By Wayne Madsen (WMR) -- WMR has learned from knowledgeable sources in Ohio that Republican Party computer networking guru Mike Connell was warned not to ...
GOP consultant killed in plane crash warned his plane might be ... Raw Story
Federal officials probing plane crash that killed GOP consultant ...

Key Computer Guru For Karl Rove Dies

Rumored to be tied to White House scandals

More on the Mike Connell plane crash on the following page...
 
Mike Connell plane crash webpage