May 27, 2016

A Trump versus Bernie debate isn't going to happen unless Bernie is the nominee

I watched Trump blathering about it for a few minutes to the press yesterday. This is his latest gambit to talk about what huge ratings he draws and how a network should donate all of its advertising revenue from debates he appears in to charity. He pulled this stunt 3 or 4 times prior to Republican debates, threatening not to appear unless the network hosting agreed to make a multi-million donation to some charity of his choosing. He sent letters to executives at Time Warner and Fox and they didn't even respond.

This is yet another publicity stunt by Trump designed to get more free media attention.

May 27, 2016

For those who don't recall, Hillary left the Inspector General position at State unfilled

Hillary never filled the vacant IG position at the State Department in 4 years. Now we see why.

May 7, 2016

Bible Thumping Homophobe Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore Suspended again

Judge Roy ordered Alabama justices to ignore the Supreme Court decision legalizing gay marriage. He is now looking at being removed as Chief Justice for the second time in his career. His first removal was after installing and then refusing to remove a monument of the Ten Commandments from the state judicial building in Montgomery. Since his first removal, the voters of Alabama elected him again. That's a pretty good argument against having voters elect judges.

http://www.al.com/news/index.ssf/2016/05/alabama_chief_justice_roy_moor_10.html#incart_big-photo

April 29, 2016

Bernie with United Steelworkers at Carrier plant in Indianapolis

Carrier, a division of United Technologies, is planning on laying off 2100 U.S. workers and moving production to Monterey, Mexico where it will pay workers $3/hour.

http://www.politicususa.com/2016/04/29/bernie-sanders-stands-workers-vows-fight-indiana-carrier-plant-closing.html

Here is a portion of Bernie's statement:

<I’m here today to tell all of you that I intend to do everything that I can to prevent United Technologies from shutting down their plants in Indianapolis and Huntington and throwing 2,100 workers out on the street and moving to Monterey, Mexico, where they will pay workers $3 an hour.

This is not acceptable. This is the kind of corporate behavior that is destroying the middle class of this country – and it has got to end.

The greed of United Technologies is almost unbelievable. You can’t make this stuff up. They have no shame.

This is a company that in 2014 provided its retired CEO, Louis Schenevert, with a golden parachute of $172 million – including a pension worth $31 million. And they apparently got rid of him because he was doing a bad job! Imagine what they would have given him if he was doing a good job.

This is a company that could afford to pay its new CEO more than $14 million in total compensation last year.

This is a company which made a profit of more than $7 billion last year.

This is a company that received $6 billion in defense contracts last year from the taxpayers of this country.

And this is a company that has received more than $58 million in corporate welfare from the Export-Import Bank. That is unacceptable.

This is a company that in 2009 received $121 million in federal tax credits designed specifically to keep green manufacturing jobs in the United States.>

April 29, 2016

The Fed Sends a Frightening Letter to J.P. Morgan and Corporate Media Yawns

The letter referenced in this letter was sent over 2 weeks ago, before the NY primary. Anybody recall hearing anything about it?

http://wallstreetonparade.com/2016/04/the-fed-sends-a-frightening-letter-to-jpmorgan-and-corporate-media-yawns/

<At the top of page 11, the Federal regulators reveal that they have “identified a deficiency” in JPMorgan’s wind-down plan which if not properly addressed could “pose serious adverse effects to the financial stability of the United States.” Why didn’t JPMorgan’s Board of Directors or its legions of lawyers catch this?

It’s important to parse the phrasing of that sentence. The Federal regulators didn’t say JPMorgan could pose a threat to its shareholders or Wall Street or the markets. It said the potential threat was to “the financial stability of the United States.”

That statement should strike fear into even the likes of presidential candidate Hillary Clinton who has been tilting at the shadows in shadow banks while buying into the Paul Krugman nonsense that “Dodd-Frank Financial Reform Is Working” when it comes to the behemoth banks on Wall Street.

How could one bank, even one as big and global as JPMorgan Chase, bring down the whole financial stability of the United States? Because, as the U.S. Treasury’s Office of Financial Research (OFR) has explained in detail and plotted in pictures (see below), five big banks in the U.S. have high contagion risk to each other. Which bank poses the highest contagion risk? JPMorgan Chase.>

April 27, 2016

Poor Tweety. What a public humiliation.

Even with a pay to play scheme on "Hardball", his wife finished 3rd in her Democratic Primary race, which featured the biggest spending of any House race in this election cycle so far.

http://nypost.com/2016/04/27/chris-matthews-msnbc-guests-not-enough-to-help-wife-win-election/

<The Matthews came under scrutiny last month when it was revealed Kathleen got some $80,000 from prominent political figures who have appeared on his show, “Hardball.”

The political-action committee for Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) gave $10,000 to Kathleen’s campaign on June 20, 2015 — two days before Gillibrand appeared on “Hardball.”

Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) contributed $1,000 on Jan. 11, 2016, one day before she was interviewed on the program.

Paul Pelosi, husband of House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), put $1,000 into Kathleen’s coffers.

Kathleen raked in more than $1.5?million.>

April 27, 2016

Just saw that Sestak got beat in PA

He was one who supported Bernie. The POS Chris Hayes asked Bernie about not endorsing Sestak last night and Bernie said he didn't know enough about him. I don't blame Bernie for that at all. You don't endorse people you haven't vetted just because they endorsed you.

April 26, 2016

With friends like this, who needs enemies? Beckel says Hillary could crush Trump "from jail"

April 26, 2016

James Murdoch of Fox and Chris Ruddy of NewsMax are major donors to the Clinton Foundation

Both are on the Clinton Foundation website as donors in the range of $1 million to $5 million. As far as I'm concerned, that makes Fox and NewsMax appropriate sources of information for DU on issues relating to the Clintons. If not, tell the Clintons to give the money back, along with all the money they've taken from crooked scumbags like Frank Giustra and foreign despots.

You made your bed Hillary supporters. Now lie in it.

https://www.clintonfoundation.org/contributors?category=%241%2C000%2C001%20to%20%245%2C000%2C000&page=1

April 22, 2016

Hillary Clinton's SuperPac takes page from Vlad Putin's book

http://www.pastemagazine.com/articles/2016/04/hillary-clintons-super-pac-taking-a-page-from-vlad.html

<Using a tactic called “astro-turfing,” Clinton surrogates like Brock have attempted to advance the concept of the “Bernie Bro,” and to promote the idea that Sanders supporters are little more than a sexist cult. The moderator of the thriving Bernie Sanders for President Reddit page, preparing for an onslaught, recently outlined one common form these attacks take:

1. Create fake accounts

2. Establish that they are Bernie supporters by making them tweet about Bernie

3. Harass journalists and influencers in their @ mentions

4. Have other elites/influencers quote tweet these fake accounts and say they are hurting Bernie’s brand

5. Pitch a story to The Atlantic about the phenomenon of “Bernie Bros”

6.Establish a narrative that Bernie’s supporters are all racist, sexist young males who harass people online.

7. Make it more difficult for Sanders to expand his coalition by tainting the view of said coalition for women, people of color, and anyone who just doesn’t like online harassment/bullying.

Yesterday, Correct the Record announced they’d be taking it a step further. A new initiative called “Barrier Breakers 2016” will use $1 million (for now) to “help Clinton supporters push back on online harassment and thank superdelegates.”

This is a comical definition that does its best to hide the true purpose: Paying online trolls to support Hillary and antagonize Bernie and his supporters in an attempt to level the playing field.>