Special-interest money and politics: the American way
Published May 15, 2012 | 
AT&T’s massive spending in Sacramento is just one example of the pervasive pattern. And politicians who deny that donations influence their decisions insult our intelligence.
Sometimes an old movie line says it best. Such a line came to mind when I read the Assembly speaker’s assertion that political money doesn’t influence legislative voting.
“I know people love to try to create that impression,” Speaker John A. Pérez (D-Los Angeles) was quoted as saying in a Times article Sunday about AT&T’s wide-ranging lobbying operation.
“But the reality is, that’s not the way things happen. People give money because of whatever reasons motivate them, and we evaluate legislation regardless. I know that that’s a hard concept for some people…. I cannot think of anything they’ve asked me to do.”
“Whatever reasons motivate them”? They’re motivated by sound investment practices. That’s what corporations do. And it pays off, or they wouldn’t continue to invest. In this case, they’re laying money on legislators who make policy decisions that affect the corporation’s bottom line.
The American way — like it or not, and most moneyed special interests do like it.
Reading Pérez’s quote, I was immediately reminded of what Michael Corleone told soon-to-be-snuffed brother-in-law Carlo Rizzi in “The Godfather.” He said:
“Only don’t tell me that you’re innocent. Because it insults my intelligence and makes me very angry.”
My intelligence is insulted — and so is the public’s — whenever a politician claims that political money does not influence politics. Specifically, that it doesn’t sway the public policy decisions of legislators. Or bill signings of a governor.
Democrat or Republican. It’s just human nature.
That’s why the non-donating aged, blind and disabled — the welfare moms and college kids — draw the short straw at budget time. And it’s why the generous public employee unions and corporate interests make out. Contributors usually cash in.
AT&T most often gets its way, as reported in the Times article by Anthony York and Shane Goldmacher.
They wrote that the telecommunications giant hands out, on average, more than $1 million in political contributions each year. Every current member of the Legislature — Democrat or Republican — has received at least $1,000. Chairmen of committees that handle legislation directly affecting the industry receive far more.
“When AT&T gives to every single legislator — liberal and conservative — then you know there’s a problem,” says campaign finance expert Robert Stern, who helped write California’s political reform act in 1974.
You know that AT&T is not handing out money based on a legislator’s ideology, but on his potential for pliability and casting a friendly vote in the Capitol.
But perhaps we should grant Pérez the benefit of doubt. He might actually believe that political money is benign. Conceivably he’s in denial.
“I’m sure Pérez believes that,” says longtime lobbyist George Steffes, whose first Capitol gig was as Gov. Ronald Reagan’s legislative liaison. “He has to believe it for his own good. A legislator who isn’t saying to himself, ‘OK, I’m a crook,’ has to say, ‘It doesn’t affect me.’ Otherwise, he probably couldn’t sleep at night.”
I called Steffes because he’s one of the most respected lobbyists in Sacramento and he’s an avid golfer. He has lobbied for several golf organizations “as a labor of love.”
The centerpiece of AT&T’s lobbying strategy, the Times article noted, is the annual Speaker’s Cup at the world class Pebble Beach golf course on the Monterey Peninsula, where green fees are $495 and an ocean-view room goes for $995. Lawmakers and lobbyists golf, schmooze and typically raise more than $1 million for Democrats.
Tickets average more than $12,000 per person. Goody bags last year included a new iPad. AT&T spent more than $225,000 on the two-day event, the crown jewel of political fundraising in California.
I wanted to know what Steffes the golf addict thought of the tournament.
“I’ve never gone to it,” he said. “I won’t go. It’s another example of something that’s overdone. I think it’s in excess. It’s ridiculous to pay that kind of money…. The level of gifts they give people might be enough to cost everyone their amateur status….
“My personal opinion about the level of things [ATT officials] do is that they’re approaching the rental of government.”
I’ve always considered golf tournaments a great opportunity to socialize and practice civility while playing a terrific sport in a beautifully landscaped park.
“What Pérez could do is put on the golf tournament himself and not be beholden,” Steffes said.
What are other remedies for the stifling influence of special interests on the Legislature?
“There’s no way to prevent it, but there’s a way to reduce it,” Stern says.
You could ban corporate and labor contributions. But that would just expand unaccountable independent expenditure committees, the super-PACs.
Romney…the mask of a psychopath
Published May 12, 2012 | 
Watching Romney give a commencement speech this morning and he’s looking more and more like Bush Jr. to me. His voice, mannerisms and that phony way of looking out at the audience like he cares about them. He doesn’t care and I can clearly see that.
Many are going to start seeing Romney as the bully they knew and despised in school. The bully who pulled girls’ hair, stuck their foot out to trip other kids, beat them up with a gang looking on, and terrorized the kids throughout the school year who were weaker than them and could not defend themselves.
I read where Romney let a blind teacher run into a closed glass door.
It has come out that Romney was not disciplined for his bullying. This signifies he was not loved at home. Parents who love their children discipline them to assimiliate into society as caring, contributing people. All the money in the Romney household could not buy real love for him. Children who are not loved learn to hate others and destroy. They require intense psychotherapy. The worst thing is for society to treat them as normal and allow them to lead others. Dangerous.
This is the worst type of psychopath as they age and get in leadership positions to control, use and abuse others. There are differences between a sociopath and psychopath. The main difference is that “the psychopath is callous, yet charming. He or she will con and manipulate others with charisma and intimidation and can effectively mimic feelings to present as “normal” to society. The psychopath is organized in their criminal thinking and behavior, and can maintain good emotional and physical control, displaying little to no emotional or autonomic arousal, even under situations that most would find threatening or horrifying. The psychopath is keenly aware that what he or she is doing is wrong, but does not care.”
We saw psychopaths in the Bush Administration that took us into wars they fabricated, watched Katrina victims suffer without acting quickly to rescue them, watched them break this nation economically and send us into a Depression, watched as they convinced us we needed to bail out Wall Street who got themselves into that mess and proved they really didn’t need a bail out, watch the GOP ruthlessly create laws across the nation to privatize and reduce benefits for citizens who badly need it at this time, watch as they continue to neglect the infrastructure as this nation crumbles and so on. And with no guilt or shame whatsoever, we watch as they obstruct this President who is trying to fix what they have broken.
We now have a psycophathic candidate who wants to be president. A vulture capitalist who ended jobs in order to capitalize on the corporation (Bain). A man who puts his wealth in no less than 8 offshore accounts to keep from reporting taxes. A man who pays little taxes on what he claims as income and refuses to disclose his latest tax returns until right before the election. A man who wants to make the 1% even wealthier than they are now, at the expense of 95% of us who are already struggling and suffering. And we would pay for this!! A man who takes credit for the auto industry bail out and success, while he is on record saying it was a bad idea to bail them out. A man who would strap his dog to the top of the car and ride for miles and miles while the dog vomits, craps on himself and runs away. A man who would laugh at this while his wife said on national TV, “the dog loved it.” A man who is a serial liar. Always has been, always will be.
This country is riddled with psychopaths at every level. It is exactly how a psychopath could rise to power. We need leaders who are mentally sane and care about the people. Leaders who can help this nation heal from the insanity around us.
The people of this country and the world would be destroyed if Romney governed this nation. He would finish the job of the previous psychotic Bush Administration. Please tell others to vote accordingly.
The Psychopath — the mask of sanity
http://www.cassiopaea.com/cassiopaea/psychopath.htm
Sociopathy vs. Psychopathy
http://blogs.psychcentral.com/forensic-focus/2010/07/sociopathy-vs-psychopathy/
Posted in Bush, George Bush, GOP, Government, Medicare, Romney, Social Security, Wall Street, Willard Mitt Romney | 
government, mental illness, President, psychopath, Romney | 
Leave a commentIs Anyone Looking at Congress?
Published May 7, 2012 | The US Congress has been in session approximately 45 days in four months. We have three equal branches of government. The Congress is the primary third of our government structure. Congress was granted the most power in our Constitution. So what do they do? They work 3 days on and 4 days off. They take a week off for every holiday and when they are in Washington, what do they do? Stand in front of television cameras and blame the President for everything that is wrong in the country. We the people pay each of these people $165,000 per year (565 of them) to do what? Govern. When are we going to see them govern?
It is extremely unfair to blame all the nation’s ills on the President when the Congress doesn’t do their job. Without the Congress, nothing can get done. When are Americans going to wake up and see this for what it is? We have a do nothing Congress who is squandering their responsibilities to the people of this country. I suggest we throw the bums out and start over.
This statement was posted by Alicia Reid at Facebook
SIGN PETITION: Impeach Congress!
Our lazy do-almost-nothing Congress
President Obama launched his official campaign for re-election today
Published May 5, 2012 | President Obama launched his official campaign for re-election today with stops in Columbus, Ohio, and Richmond, Virginia. The two states are expected to be swing states in the 2012 election.
He told supporters in Ohio and Virginia, “If people ask you what this campaign is about, you tell them it’s still about hope. You tell them it’s still about change. You tell them it’s still about ordinary people who believe that in the face of great odds, we can make a difference in the life of this country.”
President Obama won both states in 2008. A recent poll by Quinnipiac University has Mitt Romney and President Obama tied in Ohio, and in Florida, another key swing state.
If you didn’t catch it he came out swinging and on fire!!
Watch the full video here>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
President Barack Obama Ohio State
Ready for the Fight: Rolling Stone Interview with Barack Obama
Published April 25, 2012 | 
The president, in the Oval Office, discusses his job, the opposition and the coming campaign
We arrived at the White House on Easter Monday, the South Lawn overrun by children and their parents enjoying the annual Easter Egg Roll. This was the fourth time in the past four years that we had sat down for an extensive interview with Barack Obama, but the tenor and timing were markedly different than the previous conversations. This time he was focused on the campaign, his thinking dominated by the upcoming battle for a second term.
The president was more somber than in our past interviews – and less inclined to depart from the handful of themes he had been concentrating on in recent weeks. He avoided discussing Mitt Romney, even when asked a direct question, and focused primarily on the very real constraints he operates under as president, from the intransigence of Congress to the dilemma of America’s anti-drug laws. He also seemed intent on summing up the arguments he’ll soon be taking out on the campaign trail, making clear that he plans to run on his remarkable record of accomplishments: extending health insurance to 32 million Americans, staving off a major economic collapse, rescuing the auto industry, reforming student loans, ending discrimination against gay soldiers, pulling U.S. troops out of Iraq, killing Osama bin Laden, and passing one of the largest middle-class tax cuts in history.
The hourlong discussion was the longest and most substantive interview the president has granted in over a year. When executive editor Eric Bates and I joined him in the Oval Office, he began by signaling his staff to push back his schedule. “Just call Secretary Clinton’s office and tell her we’re going to be about 10 minutes late,” he said.
“Twenty minutes,” I suggested.
“Fifteen,” he said with mock sternness.
And so goes this great interview. It’s long, but worth the read. President Obama is clearly in charge and focused for the battle ahead. There is some great insight into how he views the challenges ahead, and it’s clear he is fully in control of this campaign and the next four years ahead, should he win…and he intends to win. And how does he view himself?
My hair is grayer, and obviously you get dinged up and bruised in this job. But my confidence in the American people is stronger than it was when I came into office, and my determination to do right by them and make sure that every morning, I wake up trying to figure out, “How do I improve their prospects?” That determination burns brighter than it did back in 2008.
Thank you, Mr. President. The Obama 2K12 Supporters, as well as groups and individuals around the nation, are determined more than ever to see you get reelected and complete your great mission of work!
Free $10 Million Loans For All!
Published April 22, 2012 | 
Reblogged from Rolling Stone | Matt Taibbi…
- I hope everyone saw ex-Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation chief Sheila Bair’s editorial in the Washington Post, entitled, “Fix Income Inequality with $10 million Loans for Everyone!” The piece might have set a world record for public bitter sarcasm by a former top regulatory official.
Under my plan, each American household could borrow $10 million from the Fed at zero interest. The more conservative among us can take that money and buy 10-year Treasury bonds. At the current 2 percent annual interest rate, we can pocket a nice $200,000 a year to live on. The more adventuresome can buy 10-year Greek debt at 21 percent, for an annual income of $2.1 million. Or if Greece is a little too risky for you, go with Portugal, at about 12 percent, or $1.2 million dollars a year. (No sense in getting greedy.)
Every time I watch a Republican debate, and hear these supposedly anti-welfare crowds booing the idea of stiffer regulation of Wall Street, I wonder how many audience members know that Bair’s plan is more or less exactly the revenue model for all of America’s biggest banks. You go to the Fed, get a buttload of free money, lend it out at interest (perversely enough, including loans right back to the U.S. government), then pocket the profit.
Considering that we now know that the Fed gave out something like $16 trillion in secret emergency loans to big banks on top of the bailouts we actually knew about, you might ask yourself: How are these guys in financial trouble? How can they not be making mountains of money, risk-free? But they are in financial trouble:
- We’re about to see yet another big blow to all of the usual suspects – Goldman, Citi, Bank of America, and especially Morgan Stanley, all of whom face potential downgrades by Moody’s in the near future.
We’ve known this was coming for some time, but the news this week is that the giant money-managing firm BlackRock is talking about moving its business elsewhere. Laurence Fink, BlackRock’s CEO, told the New York Times: “If Moody’s does indeed downgrade these institutions, we may have a need to move some business around to higher-rated institutions.”
It’s one thing when Zero Hedge, William Black, myself, or some rogue Fed officers in Dallas decide to point fingers at the big banks. But when big money players stop trading with those firms, that’s when the death spirals begin.
Morgan Stanley in particular should be sweating. They’re apparently going to be downgraded three notches, where they’ll be joining Citi and Bank of America at a level just above junk. But no worries: Bank CFO Ruth Porat announced that a three-level downgrade was “manageable” and that only losers rely totally on agencies like Moody’s to judge creditworthiness. “A lot of clients are doing their own credit work,” she said.
- Meanwhile, Bank of America reported its first-quarter results yesterday. Despite that massive ongoing support from the Fed, it earned just $653 million in the first quarter, but astonishingly the results were hailed by most of the financial media as good news. Its home-turf paper, the San Francisco Chronicle, crowed that BOA ”Posts Higher Profits As Trading Results Rebound.” Bloomberg, meanwhile, summed up results this way: “Bank of America Beats Analyst Estimates As Trading Jumps.”
But the New York Times noted that BOA’s first-quarter profit of $653 million was down from $2 billion a year ago, and paled compared to results of more successful banks like Chase and Wells Fargo.
Zero Hedge, meanwhile, posted an amusing commentary on BOA’s results, pointing out that the bank quietly reclassified nearly two billion dollars’ worth of real estate loans. This is from BOA’s report:
During 1Q12, the bank regulatory agencies jointly issued interagency supervisory guidance on nonaccrual policies for junior-lien consumer real estate loans. In accordance with this new guidance, beginning in 1Q12, we classify junior-lien home equity loans as nonperforming when the first-lien loan becomes 90 days past due even if the junior-lien loan is performing. As a result of this change, we reclassified $1.85B of performing home equity loans to nonperforming.
In other words, Bank of America described nearly two billion dollars of crap on their books as performing loans, until the government this year forced them to admit it was crap.
ZH and others also noted that BOA wildly underestimated its exposure to litigation, but that’s nothing new. Anyway, despite the inconsistencies in its report, and despite the fact that it’s about to be downgraded – again – Bank of America’s shares are up again, pushing $9 today.
- Speaking of BOA, you can help the bank improve its website….
Posted in Banks | Bank of America, banks, Citi Bank, FDIC, Goldman Sachs, hedge funds, Morgan Stanley, Republican, wall street | Leave a commentVoter Suppression…how the GOP plans to win 2012
Published April 19, 2012 | 
Keith Ellison, Rep (D-MN) was on the Bill Press Show this morning saying to this effect:
At this moment in Minnesota, there are 30,000 people with pending drivers’ license applications. If the election were held today, they could not vote because their current license has expired. So if election day comes and your license has expired (even by one day), was lost or stolen, you will not be able to vote.
And to get an ID, you need an ID.
That’s the GOP’s game plan: to steal the election…to keep 50% of Democrat voters home and get 50% of their people out to vote. That’s it. Simple.
If they can keep 5 million people home, that’s about 100,000 per state, they could win this election. Keeping 11 million people home would be ideal for them. So if you think it’s a slam dunk for Obama to win, think again. Tell everyone you know about this.
There are many people already marginalized like those in nursing homes, and those not tuned in to what’s going on. Many seniors and many poor people don’t drive. In big cities, many minorities rely on public transit. And many young adults, especially those in college, don’t yet have licenses.These people all think they will be able to vote. Somebody better tell them. Please spread the word.
Do you have an extra hour or two a week? We need people on phone banks calling homes to make sure they are registered and will be ready to vote in their local, state and especially federal election in November. We need your help!
https://my.barackobama.com/page/s/become-a-volunteer?source=primary-nav
The Voting System Scorecard serves as a national benchmark that measures state laws and policies in three key areas: (1) voter registration, (2) casting a ballot and (3) young voter preparation. The 21-point scale evaluates each state’s implementation of policies that increase access to the political process.
Rock the Vote’s analysis of the 50 states’ voting systems reveals that young Americans are being left out of the democratic process because of outdated voter registration practices, barriers encountered when trying to cast a ballot, and our country’s failure to adequately prepare them for active citizenship.
With an average national score of just 41% (8.6 out of 21 total possible points), states are not meeting the needs of the rising electorate. Find out more and send the report to your elected officials. Get the stats here.
Posted in Election, Voting Rights | 2012, elections, registration, rock the vote, volunteer, vote | Leave a commentPresident Obama’s 5-Part Plan To Tackle Oil Market Manipulation
Published April 18, 2012 | 
President Obama is expected to announce a plan to tackle oil market manipulation today.
Obama will make a statement in the White House Rose Garden about the issue at 11 a.m. EDT.
The president has been criticized for doing little to curb rising gas prices. The plan would increase spending for Wall Street enforcement, at a time when Republicans are trying to curb the extent of federal financial regulations.
Obama’s $52 million plan involves strengthening federal supervision of oil markets and increasing fines for market manipulation, according to CBS News.
The plan calls for a six-fold increase in the surveillance and enforcement staff of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission to better monitor and deter oil market manipulation.
It also aims to increase spending on technology to improve surveillance of energy markets, increase civil and criminal fines against firms caught engaging in market manipulation from $1 million – $10 million.
In April last year, President Obama said his attorney general had launched a task force with “Just one job: rooting out cases of fraud or manipulation in the oil markets that might affect gas prices, including any illegal activity by traders and speculators.”
UPDATE: Here is the entire plan from the White House website
______________
The President’s Five-Part Plan Includes:
1. Requesting Immediate Funding to Put More “Cops on the Beat” Overseeing Oil Markets: The President is calling on Congress to pass an immediate increase in funding to support at least a six-fold increase in the surveillance and enforcement staff for oil futures market trading at the CFTC.
2. Funding Critical Technology Upgrades in the Oversight and Surveillance of Energy Market Activity: The President is also requesting that Congress provide the CFTC funding for critical IT upgrades to strengthen monitoring of energy market activity.
3. Substantially Increasing Civil and Criminal Penalties for Manipulation in Key Energy Markets: The President’s proposal includes a ten-fold increase in maximum civil and criminal penalties for manipulative activity in oil futures markets. These heightened penalties will make sure that penalties reflect the seriousness of misconduct.
4. Empowering the CFTC to Raise Margin Requirements in Oil Futures Markets: The President is also calling on Congress to act immediately to give the CFTC authority to direct exchanges to raise margin requirements to address increased price volatility or prevent excessive speculation or manipulation. This authority will help limit disruptions and reduce volatility in oil markets.
5. Taking Immediate Steps to Expand Access to CFTC Data to Better Understand Trading Trends in Oil Markets: These executive actions will allow additional analysis of CFTC’s data to look for patterns and better understand trading activity in energy markets.
CRACKING DOWN ON MANIPULATION IN OIL MARKETS
Details of the Administration’s Five Part Plan
Will The Real Mitt Roney Please Stand Up?
Published April 14, 2012 | Governor Romney has a solid record of pursuing gun control measures to control crime and increase safety. He is vocally supportive of the assault weapons ban, supported a waiting period, and supports registration. While Governor he continued Massachusetts’s history of gun control advocacy.
In 2002, Mitt Romney stated in a debate that he supported the tough gun laws in Massachusetts and that he believed they help protect us and keep us safe. He vowed not to chip away at those laws.
While in office, Governor Romney supported the Brady bill and a waiting period because it was necessary to complete a background check. More recently, he has stated that with the advent of instant background checks, a waiting period is no longer required.
He stated that his views did not line up with the NRA. After initiating his Presidential campaign in 2007, Governor Romney joined the NRA with a lifetime membership. He asserted in a taped speech that he supported second amendment rights for all legal purposes, including the common defense.
In 2004, the federal ban on assault weapons expired. Before that happened, Governor Romney signed a bill to permanently ban assault weapons in Massachusetts. That same legislation also extended the term of a firearm identification card and a license to carry firearms from four years to six years, granted a 90-day grace period for holders of firearm identification cards and licenses to carry who have applied for renewal, and created a seven-member Firearm License Review Board to review firearm license applications that have been denied. Governor Romney later stated that the legislation was good overall for firearms owners because of these provisions. During the discussion over the ban, Governor Romney stated that assault weapons were not for hunting or self defense, but were instruments of destruction.
Governor Romney has been supportive of the second amendment in the general sense while campaigning for the Presidency in 2012, but continued to support an assault weapons ban in the 2008 elections. Since that time, he has stated that he does not believe that the nation wide assault weapons ban should be re-instituted. Read the full article Here
Are YOU Ready to Vote?
Published April 14, 2012 |
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