February 9, 2016

Hillary is insisting that if Bernie beats her by over 9%, then Bernie WINS!!!

Thank you Hillary. I'm glad you said that actually.

February 9, 2016

Bobby Mook, Clinton Campaign Mgr. "Bernie has some explaining to do" re: Martha's Vineyard

Bernie "raising 100s of thousands of dollars from establishment lobbyists for his Senate
campaign in Vermont".

Chuck Todd: "well, i guess he will need to answer to that" ..

When is Bernie going to put this one to rest, in the graveyard of bogus & ridiculous attacks
on Bernie by Hillary people, now about those Martha's Vineyards gigs.

My understand it that those were raising money for ALL US Senators the Democrats want
to see RE-ELECTED, that there were many sources of funds (not just corporate lobbyists),
and that by participating, Bernie was actually supporting other Dems, running for US Senate
and not just his own campaigns.

Do I have this ^ wrong? Is there some big 'scandal' here? Seems to me if Bernie had NOT
participated he'd be pilloried for "not being a loyal Democrat".

February 9, 2016

CNN: Clinton announcing a "single-digit loss will be a win" for her. nt

February 9, 2016

Rachael's Pre-election Day Show: ALL about Yuuge interview w/Hillary. Bill attacks Bernie,

Clinton comments, Clinton responds, Clinton this, Clinton that..... wow.

Are NH voters really that gullible? To fall for this last-minute M$M hard-sell?

I guess we shall see.

ON EDIT: Rachael did say later on Larry O'Donnell's show that she'd asked
Bernie to be on too, but he declined re: prior commitments and all. So there
is that. PLUS during that 4-way conversation with Rachael, O'Donnell and
David Corn, Hillary was fairly even-handed and not Bernie-bashing at all.

So I'm trying to be fair here, with my little update.

February 8, 2016

Clinton News Network is working overtime on steroids today

Blitzed had Jeff Weaver on for a few brief moments, just long enough to pepper him with
curve-balls and accusatory questions, which Weaver never quite caught up to, then BOOM,
interview over ... NEXT UP: Hillary Clinton campaign guy for 10-12 minutes of Bernie-bashing,
Wolff sets it up, Clinton shill goes on about how horrible Bernie is, Wolf sets up again... etc.
etc. And it was brutal 1/2-baked nonsense coming from Camp Clinton.

Frankly I couldn't take more than 2 minutes into the Hillary guy, but I did get my kitchen
cleaned up waiting for it to be over.

Did anyone else catch that, just a few minutes ago on CNN?

February 8, 2016

Capitalism, Slavery, Racism and Imprisonment of People of Color Cannot Be Separated

Capitalism, Slavery, Racism and Imprisonment of People of Color Cannot Be Separated
By Mark Karlin * Sunday, 07 February 2016 * Truthout | Interview

Slavery didn't end; it evolved. That's the powerful argument made in Slaves of the State by Dennis Childs. Ever since a clause in the 13th Amendment allowed for enslavement as "punishment for crime," the groundwork has been laid for the prison industrial complex to function as the 21st century equivalent of chattel slavery. Order your copy of this eye-opening book by making a donation to Truthout today!

The following is an interview with Dr. Dennis Childs, author of Slaves of the State: Black Incarceration From the Chain Gang to the Penitentiary.

Mark Karlin: Can you summarize the tragic irony of the 13th Amendment's "exception clause"?

Dennis Childs: Yes, what I describe in the book along these lines is something that prisoners, activists and scholars from Angela Davis to Assata Shakur have spoken about for years - the fact that what is indisputably the most progressive document in US legal history, the 13th Amendment of the US Constitution that freed African slaves, actually reinstituted enslavement through racial, capitalist, misogynist imprisonment. The language of the amendment states, "Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as punishment for a crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist in the United States."

This punitive exception represented legal cover for what, in Slaves of the State, I describe as an overall system of public-private neoslavery from the chain gang, to the prison plantation, peonage and the convict-lease system - the last of which represented an outright genocidal system where private corporations such as US Steel would work prisoners in industries ranging from turpentining, to coal and iron mining, to agricultural production. The death rates at convict-lease camps were absolutely staggering, reaching as high as 50 percent per annum. But, as I argue in the book, the exception clause ushered in a system of neoslavery that continues to submit prisoners to conditions that amount to a collectivized situation of "living death," or what Mumia Abu-Jamal defines as "slow death" under the prison industrial complex (PIC).

Mark Karlin: Let's start historically. How did the "exception clause" allow for the reinstitution of many Black people into slavery through incarceration in the years after the Civil War was over?

Dennis Childs: Speaking historically, it is actually improper to speak of a single exception clause since the punitive exception goes at least as far back as the Northwest Ordinance in 1787 (and since prison slavery itself, going as far back as Roman antiquity). Specifically, the Northwest Ordinance contained a provision outlawing slavery in the territories of modern-day Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin and Minnesota, but also contained a provision allowing for the enslavement of a person upon "due conviction" by law. This punitive exception then extended right up to the eve of the Civil War through various "Black Codes" and "Black Laws" in Northern and border states from Maryland to Indiana to Ohio, all of which allowed for the public auctioning of Africans (both free and slave) for "crimes" such as simply stepping foot in one of these "racially restrictionist" states, fleeing from a master or burning down a jail.

Much Much More: http://www.truth-out.org/progressivepicks/item/34726-capitalism-slavery-racism-and-imprisonment-of-people-of-color-cannot-be-separated

February 7, 2016

MoJo: Hillary Clinton Says the Best Way to Rein in Lobbyists Is to Shame Them

Hillary Clinton Says the Best Way to Rein in Lobbyists Is to Shame Them
Yet no other candidate has received more money from lobbyist bundlers than the former SoS.
by Russ Choma * Sat Feb. 6, 2016 * Mother Jones

Asked at a town hall meeting at New Hampshire's Henniker College how to handle the increasing role of moneyed interests in Washington, Hillary Clinton told supporters that lobbyists should be exposed and publicly called out.

"Maybe use social media? Maybe make a concerted effort to really call these people out all the time, get some social pressure on them, get people to know their names," ... "We've got to try new tactics, we've got to go after them and we have got to have tougher laws," Clinton said.

But Clinton is not entirely clear of ties with lobbyists. Presidential campaigns are required to report how much money they have raised with the assistance of bundlers—supporters who fundraise on behalf of a candidate—who are also registered lobbyists. Out of all the presidential candidates, Republican or Democrat, Clinton has raised the MOST money—$717,000—from lobbyist bundlers. The next closest is Marco Rubio, who has raised $676,000 with the help of lobbyists.

http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2016/02/hillary-calls-for-lobbyist-shaming-new-hampshire

February 7, 2016

Matt Taibbi: Vampire Squid goes to bat for Hillary Clinton

The Vampire Squid Tells Us How to Vote
Lloyd Blankfein charges for investment advice — but his political wisdom is free
By Matt Taibbi * Rolling Stone * February 5, 2016

Lloyd Blankfein, Chief Executive Cephalopod of Goldman Sachs, issued a warning about the Bernie Sanders campaign this week.

"This has the potential to be a dangerous moment," he said on CNBC's Squawk Box.

The Lloyd was peeved that Sanders, whom he's never met, singled him out in a debate last week. "Another kid from Brooklyn, how about that," he lamented.

He ranted about how frightening it is that a candidate like Sanders, who seems to have no interest in "compromising" with Wall Street, could become so popular.

Read more: http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/the-vampire-squid-tells-us-how-to-vote-20160205#ixzz3zVzVgR00

February 7, 2016

No ‘Artful Smear’: Clintons Were Paid $153 Million in Speaking Fees, Analysis Shows

No ‘Artful Smear’: Clintons Were Paid $153 Million in Speaking Fees, Analysis Shows
By Lauren McCauley * Feb 7, 2016 * Common Dreams/TruthDig

There has been a lot of talk in recent weeks about the speaking fees paid to presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, and an analysis published Saturday sheds some light on exactly how much Wall Street and other major corporate powers ponied up for the former Secretary of State and her husband, President Bill Clinton.

$153 million, CNN concludes, is the amount the power couple raked in between February 2001 and the launch of Hillary Clinton’s presidential bid in May 2015. What’s more, the Clintons received an average pay of $210,795 for each of the 729 addresses given during that time period. ~snip~

According to the analysis, Clinton collected at least $1.8 million for at least eight speeches given to big banks, while the pair earned a total of roughly $7.7 million for at least 39 speeches to Wall Street. Clinton has glossed over the content of these speeches. When probed by the moderators during the MSNBC debate as to whether she’d release the transcripts, she said she’d “look into it.”

Meanwhile, over 11,000 people have signed a petition calling for the public release of the transcripts and videos of the speeches made to Goldman Sachs. Citing reports that Clinton “used those speeches to make clear that she would let bankers off the hook for their crimes and abuses,” the petition asserts the comments made behind closed doors “is at odds with what she publicly tells the rest of us.”

http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/no_artful_smear_clintons_paid_153_million_20160207

February 6, 2016

Bill Black: “Hillary, the Banksters Committed ‘Fraud,’ Not ‘Shenanigans’”

Bill Black: “Hillary, the Banksters Committed ‘Fraud,’ Not ‘Shenanigans’”
By bobswern * Saturday Feb 06, 2016 * Daily Kos

Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, in her debate with Senator Sanders minutes ago, said that she went to Wall Street and told them to stop their "shenanigans." The context was that she was being asked to respond to the complaint that she was too close to on Wall Street billionaires. She had every incentive, therefore, to demonstrate how tough she would be on Wall Street.

In that context, the best she could muster was the pusillanimous "shenanigans." Here is a typical definition of that word with examples.

1. : a devious trick used especially for an underhand purpose 2. 2a : tricky or questionable practices or conduct --usually used in pluralb : high-spirited or mischievous activity --usually used in plural

Examples of SHENANIGAN 1. students engaging in youthful shenanigans on the last day of school 2. an act of vandalism that went way beyond the usual shenanigans at summer camp.

Hillary cannot bring herself to use the "f" word in the context of Wall Street CEOs leading the largest and most destructive fraud epidemics in history - frauds that made them spectacularly wealthy. A few minutes later, Bernie said that "fraud" was Wall Street's business model.

There Is No "If" -- Systemically Dangerous Banks Pose a "Systemic Risk"
Hillary then said that we should end systemically dangerous institutions (SDIs) "if" they posed "systemic risk" and praised President Obama for supporting Dodd-Frank provisions that provide a convoluted process for doing so that a new president likely could not use effectively. There can be disputes on the margins as to whether the 25th largest U.S. bank is systemically dangerous, but there is no question but that the largest 20 banks in the U.S. pose a systemic risk. There is no question but that President Obama has not, and will not, force a single one of them to shrink to the point that they no longer pose a systemic risk.

I do not think that many people believe that Hillary will force even a single gargantuan bank to do so, but if that is her intent, the word she needs to use is "will" rather than "if." Hillary should say: "If I am elected President I will promptly require the roughly 20 largest banks to shrink to a size where they no longer pose a systemic risk."

Hillary Did Not Take on Wall Street in 2007 -- She Blamed the Victims for Being Defrauded
In the debate tonight, Hillary again claimed that in her 2007 speech to Wall Street she came down on them like a ton of bricks. Hillary's most pointed two sentences in her supposed takedown of the banksters were:


No, the banksters made millions of deliberately fraudulent, not "reckless" loans and they most assuredly "created the foreclosure crisis." Hillary went on to throw the victims of these frauds under the bus -- blaming the foreclosure victims for not understanding the loans the brokers pushed on them.

MORE: http://www.dailykos.com/stories/2016/2/6/1480801/-Bill-Black-Hillary-the-Banksters-Committed-Fraud-Not-Shenanigans