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17:51:23 01/27/12
UHERO: Recession Relapse?
[LESS INFO] 0 VIEWS | ADDED 17:51:23 01/27/12
UHERO: Recession Relapse?
The "Great Recession" may be over but many people still aren't seeing the results in their own wallets. Here with some insight on what all the latest federal reports mean, is Dr. Carl Bonham, from the University of Hawaii Economic Research Organization. From: kitvtv Views: 24 0 ratings Time: 03:29 More in News & Politics
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17:51:23 01/27/12
UHERO: Recession Relapse?
[LESS INFO] 0 VIEWS | ADDED 17:51:23 01/27/12
UHERO: Recession Relapse?
The "Great Recession" may be over but many people still aren't seeing the results in their own wallets. Here with some insight on what all the latest federal reports mean, is Dr. Carl Bonham, from the University of Hawaii Economic Research Organization. From: kitvtv Views: 5 0 ratings Time: 03:29 More in News & Politics
0 Views
20:00:29 01/11/12
Next Stop: Occupy Congress #J17
[LESS INFO] 0 VIEWS | ADDED 20:00:29 01/11/12
Occupation of the United States Capitol on January 17, 2012 will Highlight Corruption in America’s
Political System
Harnessing the considerable power of the Occupy Wall Street movement, protestors from all over the country are being called to participate in "Occupy Congress" next week. It is the next stage in the widespread public protest that began last September in New York.
On January 17th, an Occupy "Call to Action" urges protestors to convene beginning at 9 a.m. EST on the West Front Lawn at Capitol Hill in an effort to bring the movement's message to the doorstep of Congressional lawmakers.
Rallying against corporate greed and corruption, the "99 percent" will arrive on Martin Luther King's birthday weekend to participate in a day of organized protests. According to the Occupy Congress website , the day's activities will include Teach-ins, an Open Mic, a Multi-Occupation General Assembly, Idea Sharing Sessions, and a DC Voting Rights Vigil. The day will end with an "OCCUParty."
"Come to the U.S. Capitol on January 17th to protest the greatest calling of our time: A democracy in crisis," states the message in the video above. The video opens with the words, "You Can't Evict an Idea," referring to the eviction of Occupy Wall Street protestors from encampments in many U.S. cities in recent weeks.
"When members of Congress return from their recess, they will be taught a lesson in what democracy
looks like."
The Occupy Wall Street website describes its mission as "a leaderless resistance movement with people of many colors, genders and political persuasions. The one thing we all have in common is that We Are The 99% that will no longer tolerate the greed and corruption of the 1%." >
Occupy Congress Event Schedule
9am – Converge at West Front Lawn at Capitol Hill
(Meetings with Representatives concurrent)
10 am – Training for volunteers on De-escalation,
Legal Observing, Medical, Direct Action
11 am – Teach-ins and Open Mic start and go all day
12 noon – Multi-Occupation General Assembly
2 pm – Open Activities and Idea Sharing Sessions
*6pm* – Occupy Congress Rally and Protest and DC Voting Rights Vigil
8pm – 11pm - OCCUParty
More scheduling information as well as sign in information if you wish to teach, share an idea, give a speech or a musical performace at Occupy Congress .
2 Views
00:21:44 01/09/12
Timothy Noah & Matt Welch
[LESS INFO] 2 VIEWS | ADDED 00:21:44 01/09/12
Why are righty intellectuals slobbering over Santorum?... The history of GOP Oedipal complexes... Matt is mystified that Romney is poised to win this thing... Why haven't Paul's newsletters driven his young fans away?... The fight on the left over Paul's libertarianism ... Tim tries to fix the recess appointment mess ...
0 Views
05:01:00 01/02/12
Is the Euro Crisis Over?
[LESS INFO] 0 VIEWS | ADDED 05:01:00 01/02/12
William K. Black, Paolo Manasse, and John Weeks discuss the Euro and the danger of global recession
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05:01:00 01/02/12
Is the Euro Crisis Over?
[LESS INFO] 0 VIEWS | ADDED 05:01:00 01/02/12
William K. Black, Paolo Manasse, and John Weeks discuss the Euro and the danger of global recession
6 Views
16:00:56 12/29/11
Mitt Romney's Big Promises - and Bigger Lies
[LESS INFO] 6 VIEWS | ADDED 16:00:56 12/29/11
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In the election of 1928, the Republican Party of Herbert Hoover promised voters "a chicken in every pot and a car in every backyard." (We all know how that turned out.) Now, Mitt Romney is pledging that "If I'm President" every college graduate will be guaranteed a job, Iran will have no nuclear weapons and the United States will dominate the 21st century. And when Romney isn't making fantastic promises about what he'll do when he gets to the White House, he's slandering the current occupant , Barack Obama.
"I Won't Let Iran Get Nukes"
Governor Romney's guarantees start with Iran and its nuclear program . In a November 10, 2011 op-ed in the Wall Street Journal, Romney pledged, " I won't let Iran get nukes ." Or as he put it 10 days earlier during a GOP national security debate : >
"If we re-elect Barack Obama, Iran will have a nuclear weapon. If you elect me as president, Iran will not have a nuclear weapon."
As to how he'll ensure that outcome, Romney explained that "If you want peace, prepare for war." And despite occasionally acknowledging the complexity of a strike against Iran and even the questionable possibility of success, Romney told the Wall Street Journal this weekend how he would get it done: >
So what would he do about it? "I do not have a top secret security clearance at this stage to be able to define precisely what kinds of actions we could take." But he adds that "the range includes something of a blockade nature, to something of a surgical strike nature, to something of a decapitate the regime nature, to eliminate the military threat of Iran altogether."
No U.S. Decline in Romney's "American Century"
Romney's promise to "eliminate the military threat of Iran altogether" is just part of his larger assurance that the 21st century will be another " American Century ." Pretending that the rise of India, China and Brazil doesn't inevitably entail the relative loss of U.S. power and influence, Romney announced in his October address at The Citadel : >
"This century must be an American Century. In an American Century, America has the strongest economy and the strongest military in the world. In an American Century, America leads the free world and the free world leads the entire world...As President of the United States, I will devote myself to an American Century. And I will never, ever apologize for America."
Not content to rest there, Romney accused President Obama of "waving the white flag of surrender": >
"An eloquently justified surrender of world leadership is still surrender. >
I will not surrender America's role in the world. This is very simple: If you do not want America to be the strongest nation on Earth, I am not your President. >
You have that President today."
Two months later, Mitt Romney repackaged his promise and his slander at the December 15 Republican debate in Sioux City, Iowa: >
"Our president thinks America is in decline. It is if he's president. It's not if I'm president. This is going to be an American century."
As for Romney's charge that President Obama "went around the world and apologized for America," the Washington Post Fact Checker deemed it a Four-Pinocchio lie .
A Job for Every College Graduate
At an event in New Hampshire last week, Governor Romney's pandering went from the sublime to the ridiculous. There, Mitt pledged President Romney would deliver full-employment for all American college graduates: >
"What I can promise you is this -- when you get out of college, if I'm president you'll have a job. If President Obama is reelected, you will not be able to get a job. That's the reason I will hopefully get young people who are in college is to say, You know what, I understand what it takes to get jobs in America."
As the record shows , not so much. After all, as the Los Angeles Times recently documented, Romney's "Bain Capital often maximized profits in part by firing workers." That's why FactCheck.org , the Washington Post Fact Checker and Fortune all refused to vouch for Romney's claim that "In those hundreds of businesses we invested in, tens of thousands of jobs net-net were created."
Obama "Has Not Created Any New Jobs"
If Mitt Romney can't prove his boasts about his own job creation record, neither can he justify his blatant lie about President Obama's : >
"25 million people are out of work because of Barack Obama. And so I'll compare my experience in the private sector where, net-net, we created over 100,000 jobs." >
"I'll compare that record with his record, where he has not created any new jobs."
Sadly for Mitt Romney, the Bush recession began in December 2007. As ThinkProgress rightly noted, "The private sector has added 2.3 million new jobs since March 2010, and it took the Obama economy one year to create more jobs than the economy under President Bush did in eight." As The Economist explained earlier, the recession was not at its deepest just as Barack Obama was entering office, but far worse than official statistics revealed at the time. Romney might also want to check with former McCain economic adviser Mark Zandi as well as the non-partisan CBO , who concluded that the Obama stimulus program "added up to 0.9 million jobs in 2009, 3.3 million jobs in 2010 and 2.6 million jobs in 2011."
Obama's Debt Exceeds All Previous Presidents Combined
Mitt Romney didn't just lie about Barack Obama's jobs record. At the Sioux City debate, he got President Obama's contribution to the federal debt all wrong as well: >
"We all understand that the spending crisis is extraordinary, with $15 trillion now in debt, with a president that's racked up as much debt as almost all of the other presidents combined."
Of course, we don't all understand that, because it's not true . After Ronald Reagan tripled the gross national debt and George W. Bush doubled it again, Uncle Sam's red ink totaled almost $11 trillion when Barack Obama took the oath of office.
Obama is "Taking over 100 Percent" of Health Care
In his desperate quest to win over conservative Republican primary voters, Mitt Romney has turned his back on his signature achievement which he once boasted was a health care model for the nation. And to do it, Romney has been lying for months by telling voters "Obamacare is about taking over 100 percent of the people's insurance in this country."
In a September 15, 2011 interview with CNN's Wolf Blitzer , Romney made the same charge: >
"The Massachusetts plan was crafted for Massachusetts, for the needs of 8 percent of our population that didn't have insurance, not for the 92 percent that did. Obamacare is a plan that takes over 100 percent of the people in the country and their health care, and that's one of the reasons why people don't want it."
Sadly for Mitt Romney, repetition of a lie doesn't make it any more true.
The Affordable Care Act passed by Congress and signed by President Obama in the spring of 2010 targets the 17 percent of people (over 50 million people) who are uninsured . As Politifact explained in deeming Romney's fraud another "Pants on Fire" lie: >
According to the Census Bureau, the percentage of Americans without health insurance nationally was slightly under 17 percent in 2009, the year Obama began pushing for the bill. According to a Congressional Budget Office estimate, the number was about the same in 2010, when the measure was signed into law. Other estimates have pegged the national number at about 15 percent.
As Henry Aaron, a senior fellow with the centrist-to-liberal Brookings Institution right noted, comparing 8 percent to 17 percent "would have been apples to apples" when it comes to the impact of the individual mandate at the center of both the Massachusetts and national plans. Sadly, Politifact concluded, Romney was guilty of "a felony case of comparing apples and oranges."
Romney "Will Reverse President Obama's Massive Defense Cuts"
During that same "American Century" speech in October, Governor Romney pledged: >
"I will reverse President Obama's massive defense cuts. Time and again, we have seen that attempts to balance the budget by weakening our military only lead to a far higher price, not only in treasure, but in blood."
Sadly for Romney, as Steve Benen pointed out, defense spending has not only gone up every year of the Obama presidency . It is higher than it ever was when George W. Bush sat in the Oval Office.
Of course, Romney's confusion over matters of war and peace are hardly new. In an April op-ed for the Manchester Union Leader, Mitt forgot about the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan as he denounced President Obama for "one of the biggest peacetime spending binges in American history."
Obama's "Equal Outcomes" and "Entitlement Society"
Last week, the Romney campaign rolled out what may well become the meta-theme and meta-lie for the 2012 general election race.
After President Obama declared in his Osawatomie, Kansas address that Republican trickle down economics "never worked," Romney struck back. Just not with the truth: >
"Just a couple of weeks ago in Kansas, President Obama lectured us about Teddy Roosevelt's philosophy of government. But he failed to mention the important difference between Teddy Roosevelt and Barack Obama. Roosevelt believed that government should level the playing field to create equal opportunities. President Obama believes that government should create equal outcomes. >
"In an entitlement society, everyone receives the same or similar rewards, regardless of education, effort, and willingness to take risk. That which is earned by some is redistributed to the others. And the only people who truly enjoy any real rewards are those who do the redistributing -- the government. >
"The truth is that everyone may get the same rewards, but virtually everyone will be worse off."
By raising the mythical red menace of communism and falsely attributing it to Barack Obama, Romney in the words of Paul Krugman had introduced " The Big Lie " into his " Post-Truth Campaign ." While Andrew Sullivan announced "Mitt Romney is a big, fat liar," Steve Benen lamented that "Romney, allegedly the responsible one in the Republican field, has been reduced to lying uncontrollably." And while Greg Sargent in the past had expressed amazement at "Mitt Romney's casual, effortless falsehoods," New York Magazine's Jonathan Chait explained that Romney's red scare rose to a whole new level of duplicity: >
"This isn't just a casual line. In eight sentences, Romney asserts over and over again that Obama wants to create "equal outcomes" and give everybody the "same rewards." This is nuts, Glenn Beck-level insane. Restoring Clinton-era taxes is not a plan to equalize outcomes, or even close. It's not even a plan to stop rising inequality. Obama's America will continue to be the most unequal society in the advanced world -- only slightly less so. The alternative proposals accelerate inequality even further."
Of course, as the proliferating profiles from the Wall Street Journal , the New York Times , the Washington Post and others show, Mitt Romney is no stranger to inequality. Legendarily cheap and analytical , as a Harvard Business School student Romney gave a presentation to his classmates that "proved the value of family time based not on emotion but on yield." Two Romney quotes - " I love business " and " I love data " - seem to sum up the man.
As for loving the truth, that for Mitt Romney is apparently another matter altogether.
(This piece also appears at Perrspectives .)
0 Views
22:15:19 12/19/11
Experts Say China's Economy Looks Grim for 2012
[LESS INFO] 0 VIEWS | ADDED 22:15:19 12/19/11
Experts Say China's Economy Looks Grim for 2012
For more news and videos visit ☛ english.ntdtv.com Follow us on Twitter ☛ http Add us on Facebook ☛ on.fb.me Experts for the Chinese regime predict a slowdown for the country's economic growth next year, dropping to the lowest levels since 2001. As economic concerns grow, so too does social unrest. The global economic recession is taking its toll on China's economy. New research released on Thursday by senior researchers for the Chinese regime shows a slowdown in its exports, although it could still achieve seven to eight percent of economic growth in 2012. [Yu Bin, Development Research Center of the State Council]: "Unless the global economy doesn't see a deep recession, we predict next year China's exports will grow around 10 percent. I don't think there is much chance of a reduction in exports next year overall, but it is possible that over a particular month, or several months, there may be negative growth." Experts say China's economic growth will drop in 2012. [Yu Bin, Development Research Center of the State Council]: "We think there is a high possibility that China's potential growth could drop by 20 or 30 percent next year." Growth in Chinese exports and imports slowed in November. Strikes and protests have rocked the nation in recent months as factories close down or relocate. China's economic growth has slowed for three straight quarters and many forecasts see it dipping in 2012 to below 9 percent for the first time since 2001. The Chinese regime has ... From: NTDTV Views: 2 0 ratings Time: 01:47 More in News & Politics
49 Views
02:00:00 12/08/11
Has the West Lost its Mojo?
[LESS INFO] 49 VIEWS | ADDED 02:00:00 12/08/11
As the West's recession drags on and China produces the majority of the world's economic growth, is the West's sojourn as top dog over?
5 Views
00:00:00 11/18/11
UFCW Workers Prepare for Upcoming Battle with Giant and Safeway
[LESS INFO] 5 VIEWS | ADDED 00:00:00 11/18/11
Members of the United Food & Commercial Workers Local 400 are preparing and training in advance of a collective bargaining fight with grocery chains Giant and Safeway in Maryland, Virginia and the District of Columbia. The current contract ends in March of 2012, but the union has requested an early start to negotiations, only to be rejected by the grocery chains. The fight looks to be a tough one: >
“Yes, there are reasons to expect that negotiations will be difficult,” [UFCW Local 400 President Tom] McNutt said. “What’s happened in Southern California this year is a perfect example,” he added.
McNutt said contract talks in California earlier this year were characterized by sharp tensions, including threats of a strike or lockout. A coalition of union locals there struggled for nearly a year with three large grocery chains in the area—including Safeway—over wages, health care benefits and pensions, he said.
“We need an early start to avoid the problems we saw in California. I’m hopeful Giant and Safeway will agree before it is too late,” McNutt said.
The corporations are saying that they are facing tough times and that concessions will be necessary from the employees. But the facts show otherwise : >
Giant, which is owned by Royal Ahold NV, a Netherlands-based company, raked in profits of $29.5 billion euros, up 4.4 percent from last year’s total sales. The company’s CEO, Dick Boer, made $2.7 million euros in total compensation last year and CFO Kimberly Ross received nearly $3 million euros. The bulk of Ahold’s profits are generated by the company’s unionized American workers. Last year, Safeway also survived the recession with an increase in sales to $41.5 billion dollars, which meant the company and its shareholders enjoyed $1.2 billion in profits, while CEO Steve Burd’s compensation increased to nearly $11 million.
Meanwhile, half of the employees at these companies make $10 an hour or less. President McNutt recently rallied the members for the coming battle: >
“We’ve got to stand together as one,” Local 400 President Tom McNutt told the stewards, “because we’re up against greedy, amoral multinational corporations that care about nothing other than their bottom line, and we’re up against global economic and domestic political forces arrayed against us.
“That might sound intimidating, but we can do it,” McNutt said. “Because there is strength in numbers and power in our collective will.
“We’re looking to you to engage our members one on one, to hold meetings among all your sisters and brothers at your store, and to fully participate in all union-wide events, too,” McNutt explained. “Talk to our members, listen to them, engage them, motivate them, energize them, activate them. Help them understand how we’re all in this together, and how much of a profound difference in their lives they will make by playing an active role in this round of bargaining.
“For we are family,” he said. “One big family. Just like family, we’ve got to have each other’s backs. We’ve got to treat an attack on one like it’s an attack on all. And we’ve got to always put our family first.”
Hundreds of UFCW members recently went through training seminars to prepare them for the organizing efforts for rallying co-workers and public support for the negotiations.
27 Views
00:00:00 11/18/11
UFCW Workers Prepare for Upcoming Battle with Giant and Safeway
[LESS INFO] 27 VIEWS | ADDED 00:00:00 11/18/11
Members of the United Food & Commercial Workers Local 400 are preparing and training in advance of a collective bargaining fight with grocery chains Giant and Safeway in Maryland, Virginia and the District of Columbia. The current contract ends in March of 2012, but the union has requested an early start to negotiations, only to be rejected by the grocery chains. The fight looks to be a tough one: >
“Yes, there are reasons to expect that negotiations will be difficult,” [UFCW Local 400 President Tom] McNutt said. “What’s happened in Southern California this year is a perfect example,” he added.
McNutt said contract talks in California earlier this year were characterized by sharp tensions, including threats of a strike or lockout. A coalition of union locals there struggled for nearly a year with three large grocery chains in the area—including Safeway—over wages, health care benefits and pensions, he said.
“We need an early start to avoid the problems we saw in California. I’m hopeful Giant and Safeway will agree before it is too late,” McNutt said.
The corporations are saying that they are facing tough times and that concessions will be necessary from the employees. But the facts show otherwise : >
Giant, which is owned by Royal Ahold NV, a Netherlands-based company, raked in profits of $29.5 billion euros, up 4.4 percent from last year’s total sales. The company’s CEO, Dick Boer, made $2.7 million euros in total compensation last year and CFO Kimberly Ross received nearly $3 million euros. The bulk of Ahold’s profits are generated by the company’s unionized American workers. Last year, Safeway also survived the recession with an increase in sales to $41.5 billion dollars, which meant the company and its shareholders enjoyed $1.2 billion in profits, while CEO Steve Burd’s compensation increased to nearly $11 million.
Meanwhile, half of the employees at these companies make $10 an hour or less. President McNutt recently rallied the members for the coming battle: >
“We’ve got to stand together as one,” Local 400 President Tom McNutt told the stewards, “because we’re up against greedy, amoral multinational corporations that care about nothing other than their bottom line, and we’re up against global economic and domestic political forces arrayed against us.
“That might sound intimidating, but we can do it,” McNutt said. “Because there is strength in numbers and power in our collective will.
“We’re looking to you to engage our members one on one, to hold meetings among all your sisters and brothers at your store, and to fully participate in all union-wide events, too,” McNutt explained. “Talk to our members, listen to them, engage them, motivate them, energize them, activate them. Help them understand how we’re all in this together, and how much of a profound difference in their lives they will make by playing an active role in this round of bargaining.
“For we are family,” he said. “One big family. Just like family, we’ve got to have each other’s backs. We’ve got to treat an attack on one like it’s an attack on all. And we’ve got to always put our family first.”
Hundreds of UFCW members recently went through training seminars to prepare them for the organizing efforts for rallying co-workers and public support for the negotiations.
0 Views
06:49:22 11/14/11
MLM Companies | Best MLM Business | Make Money Online
[LESS INFO] 0 VIEWS | ADDED 06:49:22 11/14/11
If you're serious about making a realistic monthly income, say over $2000 per month and do not want to spend over $20, then visit www.makemoneyonlinemlm.net. This is a brand new MLM business with the best Commission plan ever. It's a recession proof Business. So check it out and join now to benefit from the brand new MLM business.
1 Views
22:03:28 11/10/11
Session 10 - Masterclass with Paul Taggart
[LESS INFO] 1 VIEWS | ADDED 22:03:28 11/10/11
MASTERCLASS SESSION 10 - Subject : "Reflecting on Longhope Sound" from Paul Taggart's 'Awash with the RNLI' Collection ........................... STEP 11 -- Finishing Off ........................... Firstly, the painting was subtly adjusted through the selective use of tints and glazes. ........................... TINTS to soften detail and increase perceived depth -- these can be seen behind the boat and along the shadow face of the headland; which strengthen the recessive feel of these areas and create a moist, light-filled atmosphere. While purple tints are used here, the rocks in the distance are treated to green tints in their shadows. Pink tints are applied around the brightly lit water reflections, all the way down the right hand side of the painting. Thus, gentle colour mixes (with Zinc white) are diffused into the glow of backlit areas. ........................... GLAZES on the other hand, create richness of colour and enhance textures. Gentle glazes are used on the distant headland; while across the foreground they are used to darken and accent the weed, so that upcoming highlights will have sufficient contrast to make them sparkle. ........................... Following this stage -- final lights, highlights and super-highlights are applied to the foreground; the purpose of which is to pull the weed and rockpools forward. ........................... Weed above the water line, which to this point has been regarded as 'dry', is in fact wet, as it is exposed by the receding tide and as such requires a scattering of highlights to catch the viewers eye. These applied highlights are greatly enhanced by previously established impasto layers. ............................ At this stage brushstrokes are scuffed, laid, dabbed or dripped over the uneven surface. This scattering of light is naturally irregular and the brushstrokes left unblended. ............................ Finally....................................pure white super-highlights are judiciously applied............................“Painting is my passion and sharing that passion gives me enormous pleasure. Although I work in all media, most particularly in my tutorials; nowadays the work produced for Private Collectors is primarily in oils, with watercolours, acrylics and pastels being used when specifically commissioned. ……………………………………………………. Viewers of my tutorials will know that traditional techniques form the cornerstone of my work – which requires time and deliberation. This considered approach means that oil paintings take many weeks, if not months and in some cases, years to produce. ……………………………………………………. Viewers of my work are fascinated to understand the process that I work through to arrive at the finished painting and for this reason we started to produce filmed reveals of some of my paintings, such as ‘Lone Piper’, ‘Bonspiel’ with accompanying narrative – this collection of films will also build. ……………………………………………………. Followers of my tutorials are equally fascinated to get to grips with the traditional techniques, to have a greater understanding of them and so it is we will film a selected number of Masterclasses, focussing on one particular painting at a time. ……………………………………………………. However, to film each and every stroke as I paint would involve a monumental amount of filming and viewing time – which is why the filming will focus on one particular section (perhaps one other), so that you can watch that develop from start to finish. ……………………………………………………. We do hope you enjoy these films and pick up additional hints and tips from my method of working”. ……………………………………………………. [Medium] : Oil Painting on Gesso Panel [Size] : 18
0 Views
17:22:25 11/01/11
Religious Organizations Report Need Continues To Grow
[LESS INFO] 0 VIEWS | ADDED 17:22:25 11/01/11
Religious Organizations Report Need Continues To Grow
The recession is over, but the struggle is not. WISN 12 News reporter Patrick Paolantonio revisits a story he first reported on, two years ago -- religious giving. From: wisn Views: 4 1 ratings Time: 04:09 More in News & Politics
4 Views
00:00:04 10/18/11
Koch Brand Found to Have Cain in It!
[LESS INFO] 4 VIEWS | ADDED 00:00:04 10/18/11
In June of this year, AlterNet quietly published an article about Herman Cain's deep ties to Americans for Prosperity . At the time, no one paid close attention because most people had no idea who Herman Cain was or why they should care. But now that Cain is the current frontrunner of the day in the Republican primaries, it's worth revisiting and re-examining Cain's close relationship to the Koch brothers and Americans for Prosperity.
From the AlterNet article: >
Not only is Cain a frequent speaker at AFP Foundation events, he was also, by his own account, tapped by [Mark] Block to be one of the faces of Prosperity 101 , a workplace seminar program, designed for employers to present to their employees at "voluntary" workplace gatherings where they are told that the legislative initiatives typically embraced by Democrats -- health-care reform, energy reform, higher taxes for the wealthiest Americans -- could so hurt their employers as to force layoffs. The program was set in motion during the lead-up to the 2010 elections. (AlterNet, working in collaboration with the Investigative Fund at the Nation Institute, published an expose on Prosperity 101 last week.)
Mark Block is Herman Cain's campaign manager now. And about Prosperity 101? Here's an excerpt from that expose published in June : >
The idea behind Prosperity 101 is simple: Employers gather employees for a "voluntary" seminar where nervous workers, already sweating in an economy that is shedding jobs, are told that government regulation, unions and tax increases -- even if only on the wealthy -- are bad for their employers, thereby threatening the workers' own livelihoods. Then they're reminded to vote -- for example, in last year's midterm elections. (The Prosperity 101 textbook includes a sample voter registration form from the State of Wisconsin.) And in the program textbook, employee participants are urged to join Americans for Prosperity, which has a history of alliances with GOP candidates.
In the textbook's introduction, Hansen, Prosperity 101's creator, plays on workers' fears of economic insecurity, stirred up by the lingering recession:
'You go to work every day, giving your best efforts in hopes of keeping your job through every economic cycle and every corporate downsizing…Will you be included in the next round of layoffs?… Do you know your job security is not just dependent on your performance?...Prosperity 101(TM) is designed to empower you, the employee, to go beyond your paradigms and look at job protection in a new way.'
It isn't just Herman Cain involved in Prosperity 101, either. The Wall Street Journal 's Stephen Moore and John Fund were also involved. >
In addition to workplace "education", Prosperity 101 is actively involved in voter registration drives in the workplace. From The Nation Institute :
" A key component of Prosperity 101 is working with employers to help them encourage voter registration among their employees, " Hansen, trim and stylish at 52, explained to the crowd. "So when Herman [Cain] first heard the concept here, he said, 'You've come up with the answer to ACORN!'"
Hansen then played the Prosperity 101 promotional video, which features Cain and the Journal's Stephen Moore.
Moore's segment confers a crucial air of legitimacy upon Prosperity 101 by virtue of his post at the world's premier financial newspaper, an affiliation that is highlighted both in the video and in the program's other promotional materials. "Washington is working against employers," Moore tells viewers. "It's working against people who are trying to create wealth and are trying to employ workers."
Each audience member received a copy of the program's textbook, a slender paperback that features material by Cain and Moore, among others.
Suddenly Herman Cain's "surge" begins to fall into place. The combination of workplace indoctrination and voter registration last year means many workers have a clear idea of who he is, as compared to others. At this point, he may be the single candidate with name recognition.
There's an even larger strategy at work here, coordinated with tea party groups and others who seek to drive a wedge into the African-American community and shave away some of Barack Obama's popularity. They do this by playing the "Cain would be the first 'REAL' black President" card. That initiative has begun and is spreading via conservative radio talkers and tea party groups, who see it as an opportunity to push back on the perception that they're racists.
Think Progress : >
That notion, however, spurred Ingraham to contemplate the GOP’s African-American presidential candidate Herman Cain. In comparing the “blackness” of the two African American politicians, Ingraham wondered whether Cain would actually be 'the first black president' because he doesn’t 'have a white mother, white father.' Therefore, isn’t he the real black candidate ?: >
INGRAHAM: And what happened with Obama is that he gets this job that he’s not qualified for… OK, so [Obama is] Constitutionally qualified for but he’s not really qualified for. And guess who pays the price? All of us. Because we had such a yearning for history. Well I have a question. Herman Cain, if he became president, he would be the first black president, when you measure it by — because he doesn’t — does he have a white mother, white father, grandparents, no, right? So Herman Cain, he could say that he’s — he’s — he’s the first, uh — he could make the claim to be the first — yeah, the first Main Street black Republican to be the president of the United States. Right? He’s historic too.
Listen to it here:
By the way, this really is an issue in the African-American community. Mixed race is another layer to the already-complicated race issue, which is why the Kochs hope it will effectively divide them.
As much as I'd like to shrug Herman Cain off as the newest Republican shiny thing, it's difficult to do when he enjoys the corporate backing of Rupert Murdoch, Charles Koch and David Koch. I expect they will throw as much mud and money as need be to get their guy in the front of the pack. T he Wall Street Journal is moving full-tilt boogie to attack the President on as many fronts as possible, including this ridiculous editorial published yesterday, which once again begins with the even more ridiculous premise that President Obama is a "loner." Ann Althouse joined the echo chamber with her own laudatory review of Cain's Meet the Press appearance yesterday, practically falling over herself in adoration of his heritage: >
Notice how simply and vividly he struck a chord — the classic black American experience — and made it resonate for anyone who works for living. There is a quality of nobility , that fits with the idea of heritage .
The bottom line here is that Charles and David Koch are patient men with a lot of money. Cynical patient men. They will stop at nothing to enrich themselves at the expense of every citizen in this country, including grooming and backing a completely unqualified candidate , extolling his heritage as being "authentic African-American," and positioning him as the guy with the awesome tax plan that will cripple the working poor in this country more than they already are, even as they clamor for it .
David Axelrod may think Cain isn't a top-tier candidate , but David and Charles Koch see that differently. As long as they have the money and resources to pour into his campaign, my suspicion is that he will continue to 'surge', at least until he implodes like the rest of them seem to do.
In the meantime, I expect we will be hearing and seeing a lot more of Herman Cain.
4 Views
00:00:04 10/18/11
Koch Brand Found to Have Cain in It!
[LESS INFO] 4 VIEWS | ADDED 00:00:04 10/18/11
In June of this year, AlterNet quietly published an article about Herman Cain's deep ties to Americans for Prosperity . At the time, no one paid close attention because most people had no idea who Herman Cain was or why they should care. But now that Cain is the current frontrunner of the day in the Republican primaries, it's worth revisiting and re-examining Cain's close relationship to the Koch brothers and Americans for Prosperity.
From the AlterNet article: >
Not only is Cain a frequent speaker at AFP Foundation events, he was also, by his own account, tapped by [Mark] Block to be one of the faces of Prosperity 101 , a workplace seminar program, designed for employers to present to their employees at "voluntary" workplace gatherings where they are told that the legislative initiatives typically embraced by Democrats -- health-care reform, energy reform, higher taxes for the wealthiest Americans -- could so hurt their employers as to force layoffs. The program was set in motion during the lead-up to the 2010 elections. (AlterNet, working in collaboration with the Investigative Fund at the Nation Institute, published an expose on Prosperity 101 last week.)
Mark Block is Herman Cain's campaign manager now. And about Prosperity 101? Here's an excerpt from that expose published in June : >
The idea behind Prosperity 101 is simple: Employers gather employees for a "voluntary" seminar where nervous workers, already sweating in an economy that is shedding jobs, are told that government regulation, unions and tax increases -- even if only on the wealthy -- are bad for their employers, thereby threatening the workers' own livelihoods. Then they're reminded to vote -- for example, in last year's midterm elections. (The Prosperity 101 textbook includes a sample voter registration form from the State of Wisconsin.) And in the program textbook, employee participants are urged to join Americans for Prosperity, which has a history of alliances with GOP candidates.
In the textbook's introduction, Hansen, Prosperity 101's creator, plays on workers' fears of economic insecurity, stirred up by the lingering recession:
'You go to work every day, giving your best efforts in hopes of keeping your job through every economic cycle and every corporate downsizing…Will you be included in the next round of layoffs?… Do you know your job security is not just dependent on your performance?...Prosperity 101(TM) is designed to empower you, the employee, to go beyond your paradigms and look at job protection in a new way.'
It isn't just Herman Cain involved in Prosperity 101, either. The Wall Street Journal 's Stephen Moore and John Fund were also involved. >
In addition to workplace "education", Prosperity 101 is actively involved in voter registration drives in the workplace. From The Nation Institute :
" A key component of Prosperity 101 is working with employers to help them encourage voter registration among their employees, " Hansen, trim and stylish at 52, explained to the crowd. "So when Herman [Cain] first heard the concept here, he said, 'You've come up with the answer to ACORN!'"
Hansen then played the Prosperity 101 promotional video, which features Cain and the Journal's Stephen Moore.
Moore's segment confers a crucial air of legitimacy upon Prosperity 101 by virtue of his post at the world's premier financial newspaper, an affiliation that is highlighted both in the video and in the program's other promotional materials. "Washington is working against employers," Moore tells viewers. "It's working against people who are trying to create wealth and are trying to employ workers."
Each audience member received a copy of the program's textbook, a slender paperback that features material by Cain and Moore, among others.
Suddenly Herman Cain's "surge" begins to fall into place. The combination of workplace indoctrination and voter registration last year means many workers have a clear idea of who he is, as compared to others. At this point, he may be the single candidate with name recognition.
There's an even larger strategy at work here, coordinated with tea party groups and others who seek to drive a wedge into the African-American community and shave away some of Barack Obama's popularity. They do this by playing the "Cain would be the first 'REAL' black President" card. That initiative has begun and is spreading via conservative radio talkers and tea party groups, who see it as an opportunity to push back on the perception that they're racists.
Think Progress : >
That notion, however, spurred Ingraham to contemplate the GOP’s African-American presidential candidate Herman Cain. In comparing the “blackness” of the two African American politicians, Ingraham wondered whether Cain would actually be 'the first black president' because he doesn’t 'have a white mother, white father.' Therefore, isn’t he the real black candidate ?: >
INGRAHAM: And what happened with Obama is that he gets this job that he’s not qualified for… OK, so [Obama is] Constitutionally qualified for but he’s not really qualified for. And guess who pays the price? All of us. Because we had such a yearning for history. Well I have a question. Herman Cain, if he became president, he would be the first black president, when you measure it by — because he doesn’t — does he have a white mother, white father, grandparents, no, right? So Herman Cain, he could say that he’s — he’s — he’s the first, uh — he could make the claim to be the first — yeah, the first Main Street black Republican to be the president of the United States. Right? He’s historic too.
Listen to it here:
By the way, this really is an issue in the African-American community. Mixed race is another layer to the already-complicated race issue, which is why the Kochs hope it will effectively divide them.
As much as I'd like to shrug Herman Cain off as the newest Republican shiny thing, it's difficult to do when he enjoys the corporate backing of Rupert Murdoch, Charles Koch and David Koch. I expect they will throw as much mud and money as need be to get their guy in the front of the pack. T he Wall Street Journal is moving full-tilt boogie to attack the President on as many fronts as possible, including this ridiculous editorial published yesterday, which once again begins with the even more ridiculous premise that President Obama is a "loner." Ann Althouse joined the echo chamber with her own laudatory review of Cain's Meet the Press appearance yesterday, practically falling over herself in adoration of his heritage: >
Notice how simply and vividly he struck a chord — the classic black American experience — and made it resonate for anyone who works for living. There is a quality of nobility , that fits with the idea of heritage .
The bottom line here is that Charles and David Koch are patient men with a lot of money. Cynical patient men. They will stop at nothing to enrich themselves at the expense of every citizen in this country, including grooming and backing a completely unqualified candidate , extolling his heritage as being "authentic African-American," and positioning him as the guy with the awesome tax plan that will cripple the working poor in this country more than they already are, even as they clamor for it .
David Axelrod may think Cain isn't a top-tier candidate , but David and Charles Koch see that differently. As long as they have the money and resources to pour into his campaign, my suspicion is that he will continue to 'surge', at least until he implodes like the rest of them seem to do.
In the meantime, I expect we will be hearing and seeing a lot more of Herman Cain.
