June 27, 2012

I Don't Care if Karl Rove is Gay

I care about the outing of Valerie Plame, which put the lives of U.S. agents and their contacts abroad in jeopardy.

I care about the exit polls that did not match the vote tallies in 2004 Ohio.

I care about the death of J. H. Hatfield.

I care about Don Siegelman.

I care about the Nixon era CREEP-y dirty tricks that Rove played back ion the early 1970s.

I care that he used Katrina to ethnically re-engineer Louisiana and that he used the Katrina relief fund as a political slush fund.

I care that he participated in the Big Lies that lead us to war in Iraq.

I care that he fired hard working federal attorneys and replaced them with political hacks.

But, I don't care whom he sleeps with. The GOP slimes with sex. I am a Democrat.

June 27, 2012

Seven Things Holder Can Do to Save Our Democracy (Because the Corporate Media Sure as Hell Won’t)

Disgusting. Once again, the GOP publically, gleefully boasts that it plans to “win” (read “steal”) the next election by denying citizens their right to cast a lawful vote. In 2000, we saw then Governor Jeb Bush hire a firm to create a bogus felons list in order to keep African-Americans from voting for Al Gore. When they could not find enough felons in Florida, they stripped the voting rights of Floridians who had names similar to felons living in other states. We now know that Gore won in Florida. However, those suppressed votes gave Bush the ability to hand the decision to the SCOTUS which broke the law by ruling on Bush V. Gore based upon the identity of the parties in the case. Who can forget O’Connor’s whine about how she wanted to retire but could not unless a Republican got to choose her successor?

Think back to 2000. How many of you ever considered the possibility that Bush Sr.’s idiot son could be elected president? That must be why we failed to stand up and declare “Hey, something rotten is going on in Florida. Lawful voters are being stripped of their rights.” Who cared if a few thousand people, mostly Black were disenfranchised? It is only news if a white person’s vote is stolen. It only became news when a whole bunch of (mostly white) people saw their own votes lose all meaning in the face of the stolen election.

In retrospect, the Department of Justice should have been all over Florida, its governor and secretary of state. Since nothing was done, 2004’s election suppression in Ohio was a cakewalk. Never mind that the second time around we were ready for it ---we paid attention in Ohio. We questioned the reliability of paperless voting. Bush/Rove controlled the Department of Justice, meaning that the American people were powerless to do anything but hate Bush/Rove with a passion that lead to the 2006 upset.

Now, the GOP is getting ready to steal another election. Who here really believes that the American people want to dump Obama for a sadistic, snooty, job-killing, silver spoon fed rich boy? But if we allow ourselves to be complaisant as we were in 2000, 2000 will happen all over again---

Back in 2000, election theft of such brazen magnitude was inconceivable. No one took the warnings from Florida seriously. This time, we have no excuse. A crime is being committed. It does not matter if the scale of each apparent Voting Rights Act violation seems small—a Congressman here, a veteran there. It does not matter how big a lead Obama gets in the popular poll. Unless we are willing to defend the voting rights of every American citizen, we might as well flush our own votes down the toilet.

That is where the Department of Justice comes in. As I understand the Voting Rights Act anything that deliberately infringes upon you right to vote---and that includes your right to cast the vote and have it tabulated and counted into the total of votes cast---is illegal. Thanks to an act of Congress in 1982, anything that “accidentally” infringes upon those same rights of a subset of the population (like having ballots only in English) is also illegal.

So, I propose that---

1.The Department of Justice review the results of the voter disenfranchise efforts from 2000, 2002, 2004 etc. Where there has been a pattern of systemic voter disenfranchisement, the fed’s should step in and analyze the current system of voter registration, enrollment, disenrollment, polling place access, polling place equipment (including the number of lost votes that are expected with the technology in place) and potential for election fraud in advance of the fall elections. Part of the DOJ’s job is to prevent violations of the law, and if there is probable cause, they need to act.

2. If a single eligible voter is found to have been stripped from the rolls in a state, this should be grounds for forcing that state to prove that other voters have been stripped from the list lawfully. If they cannot prove it, the voter is reinstated.

3. In states which require voter ID, the federal government should identify those at risk---mostly the elderly , disabled and poor who do not drive (hint, check Medicare and Medicaid rolls)---and either issue free ID or require that states provide free ID.

4. In order to detect—and deter-- tabulation fraud, the feds need to put their own exit pollsters in place, to assure that no one flips a switch after the votes are cast and before they are counted. In 2004, we learned that we cannot rely upon the corporate media or private pollsters to keep our elections fair. Google "reluctant responders" if you do not believe me.

5. Federal law enforcement officials need to be at high risk polling places on election day to make sure that no one physically interferes with our right to vote. That includes dispersing any local law enforcement officials who decide to set up roadblocks near minority polling places, as Florida police did in 2000. In addition, the feds need to be standing by the phones at a 1-800 number, ready to act if reports of suppression come in from other precincts. Again, in the past we relied upon the press to police the polls. We can no longer do that. You never know what kind of deal the GOP candidate has cut with the MSM. Maybe CBS needs another exemption from media share regulations. Maybe Rupert Murdoch has been promised immunity from prosecution.

6. Speaking of prosecution, those who deliberately change election results should be prosecuted. Those who are thinking about changing election results should know that they will be prosecuted. Regardless of the election outcome. A crime is a crime.

7. The federal government needs to run public services announcements (in Spanish as well as English) telling voters their rights and also telling them where to call when those rights have been trampled upon.

If the DOJ does not act, here is what will happen. Going up to the election, Obama will be in the lead. Then, on election day, Romney will suddenly pull 4-5 crucial percentage points out of his ass. The press will declare that Romney’s upset victory is due to massive corporate spending. They will say that polls are no longer reliable in the post Citizens United America. Another stolen election will be laid at the door of the SCOTUS which could not care less if its legacy is trashed----again. The press will cover up any evidence of voter suppression or election fraud. The corporate masters of the big newspapers and television news stations will light up fat cigars and daydream about all the money they are going to make once Romney reduces their workers to serfs….

June 22, 2012

Seven: The Deadly Sins of Romney Super Pac Supporters

1. Lust:

You thought I was going to include Sheldon Adelson under the Greed entry? That would be too easy.

We all know about Adelson, because he wants us to know about him. He flaunts his wealth and his massive Super Pac giving. The billionaire casino mogul who spent $30 million on Republican candidates in 2008 and who will spend much more than that this time around has made himself highly visible—possibly on the advice of his attorneys. You see, he is under investigation by the DOJ and the SEC for making illegal foreign bribes in connection with his Macao casino. And we all know that the best way to push a bad Google story down is to fill the search engine with lots of other news that says, in effect, you are just a good old fashioned American billionaire who wants to eliminate the unions that are keeping you down (to the tune of $25 billion). Plus, if he owns the next president, that is as good as a Get Out of Jail Free card.

Now, making illegal bribes in foreign countries may be the best and easiest way to do business in said foreign companies. But do you have to fill your casino with prostitutes to keep a competitive advantage?

The Venetian-Macao, a casino owned by the Las Vegas Sands Corporation, was also the subject of a reported "sex-trade crackdown" that occurred in 2010 on the same day Adelson arrived on the island for meetings with government leaders in Macau, according to published accounts in 2010. Chinese press reported that authorities found more than 100 prostitutes inside the casino.

http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/bribes-chinese-mob-ties-alleged-casino-gingrich-money/story?id=15455918&page=2#.T-OZupLX4UU

More on the prostitution ring---110 women and 22 pimps---that operated out of Adelson’s Macao casino until the government decided to step in.

http://travel.usatoday.com/hotels/post/2010/12/100-women-arrested-on-prostitution-charges-at-macaus-venetian/134424/1

Adelson wants you to know that he is a greedy bastard who hopes to add to his $25 billion by cutting the wages and benefits of the janitorial workers in his casinos. He probably does not want you to think about how casinos make money----by keeping gambling customers inside the casino. And the best way to keep customers from going elsewhere is to make sure that they can get their food, booze and sex on the premises.

2. Pride

Pop quiz. Which long time GOP strategist and fund raiser thinks that he is the Smartest Man on Earth? So smart that he skipped college, because, hey, you cannot improve upon perfection. If you answered Bush’ s Brain, Karl Rove, don't be too proud of yourself, because Rove is an object lesson in how you know what goes before the fall.

We know that Karl Rove is raising Super Pac money for Romney, because the two of them are going to celebrate their “victory” in advance. The location---a luxury resort in Utah. The guests of honor? Rove, Mittens and all those SuperPac donors who are not supposed to be coordinating their efforts with the candidate.

so if you're having a meeting about a victory, you know, strategy and you have the campaign and people in the super p.a.c. there it would seem according to common sense descriptions to be coordination of some type
http://video.msnbc.msn.com/martin-bashir/47908990/#47908990

For a self-proclaimed genius, Karl Rove manages to make some pretty dumb decisions. Like putting himself and his candidate and the big money donors in a smoke filled (luxury) back room for all the world to see. But Karl Rove suffers from an excess of pride. He thinks that no matter what law he breaks he can never get caught. Won't it to be great having another president who takes advice from a sociopath?

3. Wrath

The rich are allowed to spend their money any way they want, but why on earth does Romney supporter Harlan Crow, Texas real estate tycoon like to fill his back yard with the statues of infamous dictators like Stalin and Mussolini? Collecting WWII memorabilia is fun, but how many people boast of having an original Adolph Hitler painting and an autographed copy of Mein Kampf? What about Romney has captured the attention of this guy who is fascinated by some of history’s most notorious villains? I will admit that forcibly cutting the hair of a possibly gay fellow student and grinding your grandson's face into a platter of whipped cream is a good start towards becoming a jack booted fascist, but no way Mittens is up there with those other guys---not yet.

http://www.nytimes.com/2003/07/02/arts/collecting-despots-assassins-and-such.html?pagewanted=2&src=pm

http://trailblazersblog.dallasnews.com/2012/06/churchill-roosevelt-and-hitler-oh-my-welcome-to-texas-mitt-romney.html/

4. Gluttony

Donald Trump and Mitt Romney, BFFs. Watch the video (warning, may induce hunger pains in the unemployed who do not qualify for food stamps).



“Steak. It’s my favorite food.” Trump

“Anything that fills my empty belly, it’s my favorite food” Unemployed America.

5. Envy

Envy starts as sibling rivalry. And no wealthy Romney Super Pac donor knows more about sibling rivalry than Charles Koch.

There has been so much scheming, name-calling, and backstabbing among these guys that J.R. Ewing might feel outdone. Bill tells of a homosexual blackmail attempt by Charles against Freddie to get his stock at a cheap price. (Charles vigorously denies it.) Freddie was partially disinherited by his father in a dispute over a missing $700. And for family harmony, you can't beat Bill's subpoenaing his mother onto the witness stand a few months after she'd had a stroke.
Snip
Why are these grown men behaving so badly? To vastly oversimplify, Bill believes that in 1983 Charles tricked him into selling his shares in the family firm for half a billion dollars less than they were worth. (Bill got only $470 million.) Charles denies it. He says he is reluctant to attack his brother publicly. Nonetheless, he paints Bill as greedy, lazy, incompetent, neurotic, and vindictive.

http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/fortune_archive/1997/02/17/222188/index.htm

Then there is Dallas rich man Harold Simmons who sued his own daughters over their trust funds.



http://www.dmagazine.com/Home/D_Magazine/2010/February/Harold_Simmons_Is_Dallas_Most_Evil_Genius.aspx

If two of Romney’s biggest financial backers treat their own families like this, how are they going to treat the rest of us once they own the office of the president?

6. Sloth

This poster child for idle rich laziness is the candidate himself. Vietnam War draft dodger, Mittens Romney. His wife, Ann “has never worked a day in her life”. The Romneys were able to honeymoon in France for two years---

“The last vacation we had there walking around the city of Paris and walking not just the Champs-Elysees but also over to the Jardin of Luxembourg and around the city.”

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2012/04/23/romney-gushes-over-life-in-magnificent-paris/

----while the rest of us were juggling college and a McJob.

Now, I am not saying that Romney never gets any work done. When he isn’t being jetted to his next bus photo op or relaxing in one of his million dollar vacation homes, he is thinking up ways to piss off hard working Americans, such as by telling stay at home moms that they should get off their lazy butts and get a job. Because, apparently, it takes one to know one.

7. Greed

Do I even need to go there? Every donor who is forking over huge sums of cash is hoping to get fed at the public trough---like the Koch Brothers who make money cutting down publicly owned trees to sell through Georgia Pacific and who graze their cattle on public land and who were paid by W. to stockpile oil in the Strategic Oil Reserve in order to raise the price of their own oil. Companies like the Kochs’ and Enron have proven that the best way to get rich(er) in America is to buy a political candidate. This year, they greedy elite are lining up to buy a piece of the GOP nominee.

June 13, 2012

For the 51% Who Do Not Believe that the GOP Engineered This Recession...

Congratulations! 49% of Americans have been paying attention. They know that Republicans have set up roadblocks to prevent economic recovery for political gain. However...

Since the GOP and its CEO supporters have actively bragged about their efforts to cut jobs, limit cash flow and in general make our lives living hell, I have to wonder about the other 51%. Maybe they are too broke to afford a newspaper or cable or Internet access. Maybe each day for them is a struggle just to get by. If you know someone who has been hit so hard by the recession that politics has become and unaffordable luxury, please share the following. Because none of us---especially those who are victims of the recession--can afford not to vote this year.

For the 51% Who Do Not Believe that the GOP Engineered This Recession I submit the following into evidence:

1. “People Without Homes Will Not Quarrel With Their Leaders”

From the family that got its financial start selling the Union Army weapons that blew up in soldiers’ faces:

Capital must protect itself in every way...Debts must be collected and loans and mortgages foreclosed as soon as possible. When through a process of law the common people have lost their homes, they will be more tractable and more easily governed by the strong arm of the law applied by the central power of leading financiers. People without homes will not quarrel with their leaders. This is well known among our principle men now engaged in forming an imperialism of capitalism to govern the world. By dividing the people we can get them to expend their energies in fighting over questions of no importance to us except as teachers of the common herd.
-J.P. Morgan

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2010/03/01/841940/--ldquo-People-without-homes-will-not-quarrel-with-their-leaders-rdquo-J-P-Morgan

Correction: Note that Morgan's son and namesake was a Hitler backer (along with Prescott Bush) and a member of the coup that tried to get rid of FDR.

2. Anatomy of the Murder of the American Dream

The Bush administration actively aided the Banksters as they created the mortgage meltdown crisis. In 2004 the FBI said that mortgage fraud was rampant in this country. Bush’s response? Prevent state attorney generals from prosecuting the criminals involved.
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0911/63214.html

When Eliot Spitzer tried to warn Americans in a Washington Post editorial called “Predatory Lenders Partner in Crime”

When history tells the story of the subprime lending crisis and recounts its devastating effects on the lives of so many innocent homeowners, the Bush administration will not be judged favorably. The tale is still unfolding, but when the dust settles, it will be judged as a willing accomplice to the lenders who went to any lengths in their quest for profits. So willing, in fact, that it used the power of the federal government in an unprecedented assault on state legislatures, as well as on state attorneys general and anyone else on the side of consumers.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/02/13/AR2008021302783.html

he was targeted by the Bush DOJ for malicious prosecution in the press---accusations that never panned out into actual criminal charges.

What does it all mean? You lost your dream home, because Bush wanted you to. And then, Bush rubbed salt in the wound by handing the Banksters who stole your home a tax payer funded bailout.

3. Capital Went on Strike

In the wake of the bailout that was supposed to boost up the economy by providing credit, the Banksters decided to stage a “capital strike”, meaning they refused to lend money even as small businesses---the ones that make good jobs in the U.S. were desperate for cash.

Zero Hedge: "Total bank reserves with the Fed hit an all time high, surpassing $1 trillion, as banks continue to hoard cash. The amount of extra lending that could have taken place but didn't was $65 billion week over week, or a $130 billion increase in just the past month."

http://blendedpurple.blogspot.com/2009/10/capital-strike.html

4. John Boehner Boasted About the Capital Strike That Was Keeping Unemployment High


John Boehner—who should know what the GOP is up to---said last year that the nation’s job creators had staged a capital strike. No, you did not read that wrong. He admitted—correction, he boasted that business leaders in the US had decided to stop creating jobs.

On September 15, House Speaker John Boehner announced that the nation’s “job creators” — a flattering euphemism for “business owners” — were on strike. This was the proximate cause of the nation’s unemployment woes, Boehner maintained. Until those business owners received the low-tax, deregulated world they wanted, they would continue to keep their wallets in their pockets.

http://www.harpers.org/archive/2011/11/hbc-90008323

Again, you are homeless, jobless, living on your brother’s couch if you are lucky and on the street if you are unlucky, because a bunch of mostly Republican ricvh businessmen do not think that they are rich enough.

5. House Republicans Did Their Part to Keep Americans Unemployed


House Republicans admitted to voting against a jobs bills because they wanted to hurt Obama by hurting the economy.

“’Obama is on the ropes; why do we appear ready to hand him a win?’”

Of course, it was the American worker who was on the ropes at the time when the GOP decided that it would be politically expedient not to lend a hand. So, if you are currently unemployed and out of benefits, the Republican Party is extremely pleased to hear it.
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0911/63214.html

6. Republicans Embraced Fiscal Policies Designed NOT to Help the Economy or Create Jobs

How did the GOP under Bush spend our tax money? On tax cuts for the rich and military spending---the two forms of federal spending that are least effective at improving the economy. Massive tax cuts for the rich which decrease the government’s ability to spend are actually detrimental to the economy. The most effective way to stimulate the economy through government spending? Education, followed by infrastructure and health care. (See the links below). This is old stuff. Every businessman and politicians knows what is good for the economy and what is bad for the economy. So, if the GOP insists upon more tax breaks for the rich and more military spending and less spending on education and infrastructure and health, it can mean only one thing---they are following Grover Norquist’s advice, which is to drain the federal bathtub so that our tax dollars can no longer do us any good. Why does Grover Norquist hate us? He doesn’t. The lobbyist is simply looking out for his alcohol and tobacco customers who do better when we are despondent.

http://www.peri.umass.edu/fileadmin/pdf/published_study/PERI_military_spending_2011.pdf

http://nontrivialpursuits.org/economic_stimulus.htm

7. American Business Leaders Vowed Not to Lend Money or Create Jobs

At least not until Obama is out of office. For example:

A Georgia businessman has an ultimatum for America: Fire President Obama, or he will not hire any more workers.

http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/2011/11/georgia-businessman-refuses-to-hire-until-obama-is-fired/

And he was not the only one. If someone can remember the name of the CEO who called upon fellow business leaders not to create jobs or loan money during the Obama administration, please share it. Hint: I think he said that they would be "traitors" to their class if they didn't do all they could to keep the economy in the toilet.