“The rich get richer and the poor get babies.”
It was true then, it is true now.
The reason we only have two large political parties is for the convenience of the oligarchs. It makes it easier for them to to divide and conquer. Two parties per se results in a natural tug of war---which once again the oligarchs win. Just who are these oligarchs? Glad you asked. They are usually not the fools names and faces you see on Youtube, your IPod, Smart Phone or television either. Think Charles and David Koch among others.
Consider this;
The Brothers Koch: Rich, Political And Playing To Win
Chances are you've never heard of Charles and David Koch. The brothers own Koch Industries, a Kansas-based conglomerate that operates oil refineries in several states and is the company behind brands including Brawny paper towels, Dixie cups, Georgia-Pacific lumber, Lycra fibers and Stainmaster carpet. Forbes ranks Koch Industries as the second-largest privately held company in the U.S. — and the Koch brothers themselves? They're worth billions.
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=129425186
Covert Operations
The billionaire brothers who are waging a war against Obama.
http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2010/08/30/100830fa_fact_mayer
Ego and the need to influence must be very intense indeed….
Meg Whitman is now the biggest self-funding candidate in history
As the Los Angeles Times' Anthony York notes, the California GOP gubernatorial nominee contributed another $15 million to her campaign on Tuesday. That means that Whitman, who came by most of her wealth during her tenure as CEO of eBay, has spent $119 million of her own cash on the race -- almost $10 million more than previous record-holder Michael Bloomberg, who ran up his $110 million tally during his successful 2009 re-election campaign.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/yblog_upshot/20100915/el_yblog_upshot/meg-whitman-is-now-the-biggest-self-funding-candidate-in-history
US homes lost to foreclosure up 25 pct on year
In all, banks repossessed 95,364 properties last month, up 3 percent from July and an increase of 25 percent from August 2009, RealtyTrac said.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100916/ap_on_bi_ge/us_foreclosure_rates
Midterms 2010: What you need to know
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/special/politics/2010-midterm-analysis/?wpisrc=nl_pmpolitics
E-Mails Show Treasury Knew Bank Championed by 2 Lawmakers Was Weak
http://www.propublica.org/blog/item/internal-emails-show-treasury-knew-bank-championed-by-reps.-frank-and-water
GOP plans to replace health-care overhaul if it controls Congress, but with what is unclear
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/09/19/AR2010091904982.html?wpisrc=nl_politics
Census: 1 in 7 Americans lives in poverty
WASHINGTON – The ranks of the working-age poor climbed to the highest level since the 1960s as the recession threw millions of people out of work last year, leaving one in seven Americans in poverty.
The overall poverty rate climbed to 14.3 percent, or 43.6 million people, the Census Bureau said Thursday in its annual report on the economic well-being of U.S. households. The report covers 2009, President Barack Obama's first year in office.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100916/ap_on_bi_ge/us_census_poverty
Poverty Rate In U.S. Climbs
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=129914145
1 in 7 Americans Lived in Poverty in 2009, New Census Data Show
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/rundown/2010/09/poverty-uninsured-rates-rise-as-recession-continues.html
Super Rich Drive Income Inequality
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=130052776
Senate Democrats again fail to pass campaign disclosure law
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/09/23/AR2010092304578.html?wpisrc=nl_pmpolitics
compassionate conservative Christians? Please……..
Inside C-Street, The House That Hoped To Transform America
C-Street has been described as a spiritual frat house. It’s run by The Fellowship, the secretive Christian organization whose mission is to transform the world by offering spiritual guidance to American and world leaders. But recently, members of The Fellowship have been scandal-plagued and the organization has faced media scrutiny.
http://www.hereandnow.org/media-player/?url=http://www.hereandnow.org/2010/09/rundown-920/&title=Inside
C-Street, The House That Hoped To Transform America
http://www.hereandnow.org/media-player/?url=http://www.hereandnow.org/2010/09/rundown-920/&title=Inside C-Street, The House That Hoped To Transform America&segment=2&pubdate=2010-09-20
and to just about anything and everything else, too…
C Street: The Fundamentalist Threat to American Democracy
http://www.amazon.com/Street-Fundamentalist-Threat-American-Democracy/dp/0316091073
Special Election Series: San Antonio Congressman Lamar Smith
Rep Smith says that regarding the economy; “San Antonio is doing better than state---the state better than country” but if that is really so, it is also only marginally so and that’s with all the freebies to conglomerates including tax breaks, cheap labor, chump change to workers, and the poor and/or hostile working conditions of a misnamed “right to work state” more appropriately termed “a free to fire at will state.” Now that’s sad.
http://www.tpr.org/programs/thesource.html
Public Citizen
Stunning Statistics of the Week:
• Average amount that senators who voted for TARP and against financial reform received from the financial sector since 2007: $879,803
Most groups broadcasting elections ads violate rules, hide donors' identities
More than two-thirds of outside groups spending heavily on electioneering communications in the 2010 elections are not reporting where they got their money - highlighting a stunning reversal in transparency of money in politics over just the past few years, a new report from Public Citizen shows. Only 32 percent of the organizations broadcasting electioneering communications in the 2010 primary season revealed in their filings with the Federal Election Commission (FEC) the identities of donors funding their advertisements.
Senate GOP marches in lockstep to keep campaign funders secret
On Thursday, every single Republican senator marched in lockstep with the GOP leadership to keep the funding sources of independent campaign ads secret from the public. In a party-line vote, the minority Republican caucus once again employed the filibuster to stop a floor vote on the DISCLOSE Act - effectively casting a cloak over money in politics.
House lawmakers advance public funding of elections
At no time in U.S. history has a congressional public funding bill received so much support and enthusiasm in Congress. The reasons are clear. Poll after poll shows that large majorities of Americans across the political spectrum are fed up with the influence of big money in politics. On Thursday, lawmakers on the House Committee on Administration approved public funding of congressional elections. Now the full House should vote on it.
New loophole? A contribution is not a contribution if it underwrites an election party
It seems as though a new loophole in campaign finance law has been discovered. Or has it? The National Republican Congressional Committee and the National Republican Senatorial Committee are asking supporters to give between $2,500 and $10,000 to underwrite a party on the night of elections. It's not a fundraiser, they say, so it's not subject to campaign finance restrictions. One expert called it "a little too cute by half." Another said that it sounds illegal.
Anticipating Republican gains, businesses shift donations
Apparently anticipating significant Republican wins in November corporations have started giving most of their political donations to Republicans. They had been sending money primarily to Democrats, not unusual since Dems have been in power for two years. Evidently, though, industry honchos think the winds are shifting. Business political action committees representing businesses gave a little more than It seems as though a new loophole in campaign finance law has been discovered. half their $72.2 million in donations to Republicans from January through July. During the same period in 2009, they have 59 percent of their donations to Dems.
Americans for Job Security runs pricey ads but tells FEC it has zero contributions
The pro-business group Americans for Job Security (AJS) has run millions of dollars of broadcast ads in advance of November's elections. But it told the Federal Election Commission that it has received zero contributions. How can this be? The group claims that under an interpretation of FEC rules - an interpretation adopted by the Republican commissioners on the panel - contributions must be reported only if a donor designates his or her money to be used to a specific ad run at a certain time and place. This, of course is rare. And that's the point. Speaking of that group, The New York Times ran a front-page story today in which AJS is a poster child for influencing elections while evading disclosure.
Rove groups' haul: $14.5 miliion in 30 days
Two groups founded by Republican strategist Karl Rove to vacuum up money to then spend on election ads have raked in $14.5 million in just 30 days. The grand take so far this year is $32 million.
Minnesota disclosure law upheld
Minnesota's disclosure law, enacted in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, will stand. A U.S. district court judge denied a request from an anti-abortion group, an anti-tax group and others to suspend the state's new disclosure requirements. In Citizens United, the court gave the green light for corporations to spend as much money as they want to influence elections. Minnesota, along with other states, quickly enacted a law requiring the identities of those paying for campaign ads to be made public.
http://www.citizen.org/Page.aspx?pid=183
Hasta Siempre,
More:
The Conscience of a Liberal
http://www.amazon.com/Conscience-Liberal-Paul-Krugman/dp/0393333132/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1285410134&sr=1-1
http://www.krugmanonline.com/books/the-conscience-of-a-liberal.php
Good Capitalism, Bad Capitalism, and the Economics of Growth and Prosperity
www.amazon.com/Good-Capitalism-Economics-Growth-Prosperity/dp/0300158327/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1285203922&sr=1-1
BILL MOYERS JOURNAL
James Kwak and Simon Johnson Pt 1
PBS
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=itFl9MEHXzo
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