An article about Congress deciding its next pay raise, had this to say about the richest 235 of them:

Senators had a median reportable net worth of $1.79 million in 2008, the last year such data were available, down from $2.27 million in 2007. House members’ median net worth was $645,503 in 2008, down from $724,258 the previous year.

While about 1 percent of Americans are considered millionaires, 44 percent of members of Congress were in that category. Fifty members had wealth topping $10 million.

No wonder Senators and Representatives want to maintain the excessive tax breaks for the mega and ultra rich. They are the mega and ultra rich.

They are not only self-serving, they are protecting the disproportionate income of their rich backers like the Koch Brothers, who are almost as rich as either Warren Buffet or Bill Gates. (Note that the Koch brothers are funding the Tea Party, not Buffet and Gates.)

Whether or not you are happy with our political process since the successful election of 2008, don’t make it worse.

Don’t enable the continuation of the corporate take over of our government by the likes of the Koch brothers. Don’t enable the continuation of the transfer of our common wealth to the mega and ultra rich. Don’t enable the perpetuation of disproportionate tax breaks for the extremely wealthy and allow the extremely wealthy to continue sucking the life blood out of our democracy.

We have to declare, through the 2010 election, that this is not government by the rich, for the rich and of the rich.

Vote against the Joe McCarthy’s of today that are again fomenting fear and habituating hate. Vote against the corporatists and their purchase of our democracy.

Vote for the middle class and pull them back from a future of poverty. Vote to fix a broken education system that only works for the really wealthy. Vote for funding of government services that will protect the middle class from both international and domestic terrorists. Vote for funding of government services that will empower the middle class by rebuilding our infrastructure, providing a basic education for every citizen, and by protecting our Constitution from further erosion.

Vote against Conservatives without Conscience who consider all those not like them the enemy and on their own. Vote against the right-wing authoritarians who rule with an iron fist and their second amendment option. Vote against the Christianists who want to convert our democracy into a strict father theocracy.

Vote to keep change moving, even if slowly, in the direction of democracy and reestablishing the middle class. Vote against the creation of a plutocracy worse than the one our forefathers rebelled against over 230 years ago.

Republican House Leader is Big Tobacco’s and Wall Street’s Best Friend – House Democrats were preparing late last year for the first floor vote on the financial regulatory overhaul when Representative John A. Boehner of Ohio and other Republican leaders summoned more than 100 industry lobbyists and conservative political activists to Capitol Hill for a private strategy session. Mr. Boehner and his deputies told the Wall Street lobbyists and trade association leaders that by teaming up, they could still perhaps block its final passage or at least water it down.

That sort of alliance is business as usual for Mr. Boehner, the House minority leader and would-be speaker if Republicans win the House in November. He maintains especially tight ties with a circle of lobbyists and former aides representing some of the nation’s biggest businesses, including Goldman Sachs, Citigroup and R. J. Reynolds.

They have contributed hundreds of thousands of dollars to his campaigns, provided him with rides on their corporate jets, socialized with him at luxury golf resorts and waterfront bashes and are now leading fund-raising efforts for his Boehner for Speaker campaign, which is soliciting checks of up to $37,800 each, the maximum allowed.

Some of the lobbyists readily acknowledge routinely seeking his office’s help — calling the congressman and his aides as often as several times a week — to advance their agenda in Washington. And in many cases, Mr. Boehner has helped them out. Boehner has a seemingly insatiable taste for the high life: His expenses show that in the past 18 months he has spent $116,000 at three country clubs in Florida, Ohio and Virginia.

Big Business and Wall Street Are Showering Republicans with Money – As the November midterm elections near, more banks, investment firms and hedge funds are giving millions of dollars more to Republicans. The Center for Responsive Politics, in a recent analysis, says the reversal in campaign financial giving began early this year, as the Senate started crafting tougher rules to crack down on Wall Street and has become more pronounced throughout the year. “We noticed a very dramatic shift right around the beginning of this year, which coincided with financial reform,” said Dave Levinthal, spokesman for the Center for Responsive Politics. “This is not just a blip at all; this is a major shift in the opposite direction and one that has persisted ever since.”

Every Senate Republican Has Promised To Oppose Tax Cuts If Wealthy Aren’t Included – A spokesman for Senate GOP Leader Mitch McConnell said Monday that every Senate Republican has pledged to oppose President Barack Obama’s tax-cutting plan. Obama would renew the tax cuts for most people, but let the top income tax rate rise back to almost 40 percent on family or small business income over $250,000. A CNN online poll today show that 73% of respondents favored the president’s plan. But Senate Republicans don’t care about that.

Study Shows Rich Americans Save Tax Cuts Instead of Spending – Hand the wealthiest Americans a tax cut and history suggests they will save the money rather than spend it. Tax cuts in 2001 and 2003 under President George W. Bush were followed by increases in the saving rate among the rich, according to data from Moody’s Analytics Inc.

The findings may weaken arguments by Republicans and some Democrats in Congress who say allowing the Bush-era tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans to lapse will prompt them to reduce their spending, harming the economy.

Rangel Inquisitor Failed to Properly Disclose Transactions Worth Millions of Dollars – Rep. Michael McCaul, one of the richest Members of Congress, appears to have failed to fully disclose dozens of stock transactions worth millions of dollars on his annual financial disclosure reports for 2008 and 2009. McCaul is the ranking member overseeing the ethics trial of Rep. Charlie Rangel, which is set to begin this month. A Roll Call analysis of McCaul’s annual reports found the Texas Republican did not fully detail the 2008 sale of Clear Channel stocks owned by his spouse, Linda McCaul, who founded Clear Channel.

Sean Hannity’s Deceptive’ Video Editing – Last week, Hannity featured a clip of President Obama explaining why he will allow the Bush tax cuts to expire, just as the prior administration had planned. Introducing the video, Hannity called Obama’s words “a rare moment of honesty” that he hopes voters will watch.

“… [Taxes] are scheduled to go up substantially next year, for everybody,” the president said.

Cut back to Hannity: “I know the anointed one will make sure that happens,” he quipped disapprovingly.

But, that’s not really what the president said.

“Under the tax plan passed by the last administration, taxes are scheduled to go up substantially next year, for everybody. By the way, this was by design [by the Bush Administration],” the president explained, in the unedited version of the remarks.

Hannity has repeatedly run a deceptively edited video of Obama speaking abroad in order to smear him as being a president who presents a weak American face. It’s almost a nightly feature of Beck’s show, who uses selective edits to smear everyone from Van Jones to Jim Wallis to President Obama.

Rupert Murdoch’s News Companies Involved in Widespread and Casual Law-Breaking – Rupert Murdoch’s (also owner of Fox News) News of the World paid a private detective to provide hundreds of pieces of confidential information, often using illegal means, a confidential document obtained by The Independent on Sunday has revealed. The wide-ranging extent of the phone hacking and other activities could damage NI’s share price in the long run – and reduce the fortune of its boss, Rupert Murdoch. One senior MP last night complained that the list revealed “a widespread and casual law-breaking” among people associated with NI.

Fox News Uses Repulsive Map of 9/11 Body Parts to Fight Islamic Cultural Center – Rupert Murdoch’s media empire has set what may be a new standard of shamelessness by marking the anniversary of the World Trade Center attacks with the publication of a map of human remains that appears to have been developed for the New York Fire Department in 2002 but was never previously released.

The map, with lurid red dots glowing like puddles of freshly-spilled blood against a dark background, was deployed by the hosts of Fox News’ Fox & Friends on Friday morning.

The map indicates that human remains or traces of DNA were concentrated directly at the former World Trade center site, but there are a few dots further away, including three between 350 and 400 feet — about one and a half city blocks — from the proposed site of an Islamic cultural center. The hosts of the program implied that one and a half city blocks is too close, but that puts the closest parts on the other side of another building that is between the planned cultural center and ground zero.

Help Stop the Evil/Stupid – When you sign the petition below, you use your power as a consumer to encourage businesses and other public places to become Fox Free. When you join, you can also get a FREE TurnOffFox sticker (and that includes shipping — you pay nothing) to help get the word out.

Delaware Republican Chair Threatened With ‘Bullet In The Head’ by Tea Party Republican – The chairman of the Delaware Republican Party received a death threat last week over his support for Rep. Mike Castle (R-Del) over Tea Party challenger Christine O’Donnell in the state’s upcoming Senate primary, a party official confirmed to the Huffington Post. The threat, issued in the form of an email, told chairman Tom Ross that he deserves “a bullet in the head” for backing “political ass-kissing RINO’s” [Republicans in name only].

Skateboarder Thwarts Quran Burning – David Grisham, director of Repent Amarillo, which aims to deter promiscuity, homosexuality and non-Christian worship practices through confrontation and prayer, announced Friday evening a plan to burn copies of the Quran in Amarillo, Texas. Protesters of the burning threw their hands on the grill Grisham planned to use to burn the Quran, someone took his lighter, and a protestor on a skateboard whizzed by Grisham and stole the Quran, leaving him with just lighter fluid. The skateboarder then gave the book to a religious leader from the Islamic Center of Amarillo.

Regards,

Jim

Save NASA From the Tax-Sucking, Pork-Eating, Dream-Murdering Monster – House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer is considering placing HR5781, a NASA reauthorization bill that awards billions to traditional defense-industry corporations, on the House floor for a vote. If enacted, HR5781 would guarantee the US has no manned rocket capability for years. Meanwhile, we will pay Russia billions for rides into orbit. Cheaper and better domestic alternatives exist that will sustain and expand thousands of good paying manufacturing jobs right here in the US, and save taxpayers truckloads of money in the bargain. Make no mistake, the corporate inertia behind HR5781 is huge. But because the bill’s consideration has been moved up unexpectedly, the defense industry lobbyists will have no time to deploy. That means people power can put this lousy bill out of its misery.

Join dozens of Nobel Laureates and NASA astronauts. Call your representative (Contact info here) today and tell them that you oppose HR5781, and tell your representative your are opposed to this bill. Or call the House switchboard to reach any office at 202-224-3121. Please do it right now.

More opposition to the House bill:

NASA’s Constellation Hallucination and the Congressional Money Drug, Rick Tumlinson

“In the coming weeks some in Congress will try to kill America’s future in space as they desperately work to prop up the tax sucking, pork eating dream murdering monster known as the Constellation rocket program. Right now a bought and paid for cabal of hypocritical puppets in the House and Senate are trying to prop up this corpse of a dead end plan to go to the Moon and Mars that not only failed to deliver on President Bush’s promise of a permanent U.S. presence in space, but continues to eat the budgets of the very exploration it was meant to support.”

Commercial Space in Jeopardy – T Minus 18 Hours

“The Space Frontier Foundation (SFF) called attention today to the latest battle taking place in the US House of Representatives that holds enormous implications for the future of spaceflight. In the next 18 hours, the House leadership will decide whether to allow a vote on the pork-laden House version of the NASA bill or instead pass the better Senate compromise. The SFF asks all commercial space supporters to contact their Congressman. Encourage them to vote ‘No’ on HR 5781 and allow a vote on the Senate version.”

Short-Fuse Opportunity To Support NASA Reform

“We have a chance to head off HR.5781 at the pass over the next 24 hours. The House will be back in session starting next Tuesday 9/14, and is scheduled to remain in session through the first week of October. Only legislation formally placed on the House Calendar will be considered, and the contents of the Calendar will be decided before the end of this week, by Steny Hoyer, the House Majority Leader.”

The 700 Club (for Billionaires) – A $700 billion, 10-year windfall for the wealthiest Americans who need it least. With both parties generally supporting the continuation of middle class relief already on the books, that’s the difference between Republicans and Democrats when it comes to making the expiring Bush tax cuts permanent. At a time of record income inequality and massive budget deficits, how do you justify a $700 billion plus tax cut for the wealthiest Americans? The Tragically Rich?

Republican Wants to Take Away Preventative Health Care – Tucked away in the corner of this year’s health reform bill was money for disease prevention initiatives, including programs to prevent and reduce tobacco use — the leading cause of preventable death, something that costs us $96 billion a year in health care costs. The bill expanded Medicaid coverage for smoking-cessation treatments, too. Everyone agreed it was a sound investment in reducing health care costs. But, Republican Sen. Mike Johanns of Nebraska wants to gut this provision. Click here to protest the move.

Insurance Companies Spreading Misinformation About Their Unjustified Rate Increases – President Barack Obama’s top health official on Thursday warned the insurance industry that the administration won’t tolerate blaming premium hikes on the new health overhaul law. “There will be zero tolerance for this type of misinformation and unjustified rate increases,” Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said in a letter to the insurance lobby. “Simply stated, we will not stand idly by as insurers blame their premium hikes and increased profits on the requirement that they provide consumers with basic protections,” Sebelius said.

Not Debating Your Opponent: It’s a Republican Thing – Looks like Sharon Angle has been taking lessons from Rick Perry.

Sharron Angle’s last-minute decision to pull out of a planned debate has angered long-time Nevada political journalist Jon Ralston. “Earlier today, Sharron Angle’s campaign agreed to accept our invitation to debate Harry Reid on ‘Face to Face’ in an hour-long live broadcast from Reno on October 21st. Within hours of Reid accepting, Angle’s campaign called to say, well, it’s backing out now,” Ralston said on the local news show “Face to Face” Thursday. He then played a older clip of Angle when she said she would like to have a debate on the show with Reid.

Jesus Said What?
Number of times Jesus condemns divorce: 4
Number of times Jesus condemns adultery: 9
Number of New Testament verses condemning the rich: 20+
(Before this, I hadn’t realized that Jesus had prophesized Newt Gingrich. – JLV)
Pastor Dan

Regards,

Jim

How This Past Monday Became the Worst Labor Day in the Memory of Most Americans – Economists Emmanuel Saez and Thomas Piketty examined tax returns from 1913 to 2008 and discovered an interesting pattern. In the late 1970s, the richest 1 percent of American families took in about 9 percent of the nation’s total income; by 2007, the top 1 percent took in 23.5 percent of total income.

It’s no coincidence that the last time income was this concentrated was in 1928. I do not mean to suggest that such astonishing consolidations of income at the top directly cause sharp economic declines. The connection is more subtle.

The rich spend a much smaller proportion of their incomes than the rest of us. So when they get a disproportionate share of total income, the economy is robbed of the demand it needs to keep growing and creating jobs.

What’s more, the rich don’t necessarily invest their earnings and savings in the American economy; they send them anywhere around the globe where they’ll summon the highest returns — sometimes that’s here, but often it’s the Cayman Islands, China or elsewhere. The rich also put their money into assets most likely to attract other big investors (commodities, stocks, dot-coms or real estate), which can become wildly inflated as a result.

Here’s the point. Policies that generate more widely shared prosperity would lead to stronger and more sustainable economic growth — and that’s good for everyone.

Don’t Count on Rick Perry for Help, Don’t Even Expect Him to Return Your Calls – The mayor of Hidalgo, Texas, John David Franz, supported Rick Perry throughout most of his career. But, when Hidalgo needed Rick Perry, he wasn’t there to help. Mayor Franz tried repeatedly to get a meeting with Rick Perry about helping the city with its water problems, but Perry never answered. In contrast, Bill White reached out to Mayor Franz and the City of Hildalgo, and text is now supporting Bill White for governor.

Texas Commission on Environmental Quality Says OK to Pollute in Some Creeks – In 2007, chicken company Pilgrim’s Pride discharged more than 1.5 million pounds of toxic pollution from its Mt. Pleasant processing facility into Tankersley Creek. The creek feeds into the Lake O’ the Pines, a popular swimming spot in northeast Texas that saw several beach closures this summer due to high bacteria levels. The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality has implemented new rules that would allow even more health-threatening bacteria into waterways where people aren’t likely to ingest the water. That means if people like to wade, but not swim in a creek, it can stay polluted.

America’s Crumbling Infrastructure Causes Delay in Space Shuttle Assembly – On Wednesday, a 24-inch water main broke near the 52-story space shuttle vertical assembly building, cutting off the water supply to the shuttle launch facility at Cape Canaveral, Fla. The shuttle Discovery was slated to move from its maintenance hangar so engineers could attach the shuttle to its external tank and twin solid rocket boosters. “The center is closed down – only open to essential personnel,” said Kennedy Space Center spokesman Allard Beutel. The shuttle transfer was postponed to Thursday.

Contractor Providing Unqualified Interpreters to U.S. Troops in Afghanistan – More than one quarter of the translators working alongside American soldiers in Afghanistan failed language proficiency exams but were sent onto the battlefield anyway, according to a former employee of the company that holds contracts worth up to $1.4 billion to supply interpreters to the U.S. Army. “I determined that someone — and I didn’t know [who] at that time — was changing the grades from blanks or zeros to passing grades,” said Paul Funk, who used to oversee the screening of Afghan linguists for the Columbus, Ohio-based contractor, Mission Essential Personnel. “Many who failed were marked as being passed.”

“There are many cases where soldiers have gone out into the field and have spoken to elders [who] handed messages to the interpreter that a possible ambush three miles up the road would occur. The interpreter cannot read the message and they are attacked,” Funk said. “We’re talking about soldiers lives here.” U.S. Army officials confirmed they are investigating the company.

Last Week, Republicans and Pundits Were Shrieking, But Now … – Last week, Republicans and pundits were shrieking about the Gallup poll’s generic ballot being at minus 10 for Democrats. Now, the Gallup poll’s generic ballot is tied, but the Republicans and pundits are still shrieking as if nothing has changed. Time for us to get serious about educating the public. Make some calls and knock on some doors. Don’t believe their bull.

Last Week, Republicans and Pundits Were Shrieking, But Now … (part 2)

Last week, Republicans and pundits were shrieking about the trade deficit and jobs.

This week,

commerce department figures showed on Thursday that a surge in exports narrowed the US trade gap in July, raising hopes that economic output could accelerate in the second half of the year as global demand picked up. The trade deficit fell 14 per cent to $42.77bn, . It was the sharpest decline in 17 months and exceeded economists expectations, thanks to a jump in US exports.

Separately, government figures showed that new claims for jobless benefits fell more than expected last week, offering a rare bright spot for the labour market.

But the Republicans and pundits are still shrieking as if nothing has changed. Don’t believe their bull.

Focus on the Family Supports Bullying – The conservative evangelical parachurch organization, Focus on the Family, has launched an attack on the Safe Schools Improvement Act, which is designed to help prevent and respond to bullying in schools. This bill has widespread support from educators, administrators, civil rights organizations and the National PTA. The legislative bullying by Focus on the Family highlights the type of intolerance and ill-informed divisiveness that contributes to the harassment in schools that this legislation seeks to prevent.

Restoring Horror – The “official” scientific estimate claimed 87,000 people attended Glenn Beck’s “Restoring Honor” rally in Washington, D.C. But, Beck said it was at least 500,000. After all, would you believe something that was scientific? Then, Michele Bachmann said that the rally couldn’t have been less than one million people, which means that she doesn’t believe Glenn Beck or science.

And the magically-multiplying number of people was just one of the miracles at the rally. Beck found Divine Providence in a flock of geese that flew in formation over the crowd. “I think it was God’s flyover,” Beck told his Fox News viewers the week following the event.

Now we know that Beck’s idea of restoring honor is to make stuff up.

Another Republican Role Model – Republican candidate for Stark County, Ohio, treasurer goes berserk during campaign speech.

Regards,

Jim

Confused Tea Party People – The Tea Party people say they’re angry about socialism, but maybe they’re really angry about capitalism. If there’s a sense of being looked down upon, it’s that sense of failure that’s built into a system that assures everyone they can make it to the top, but then reserves the top for only a tiny fraction of the strivers. Capitalism is also a system that lives off of change. When people say this isn’t the America they grew up in, they’re right. Nobody gets to grow old in the America they grew up in.

During the last election, I noticed that at the Republican town halls, people complained constantly about immigration. But what they complained most about wasn’t the possibility of lost jobs, or crime. It was that when they called their bank, a recorded message told them to press 2 for Spanish.

They are only vaguely aware of this value system. It is so entwined into their very nature, they cannot step back and define it. But they feel it weakening.

It might be possible for a responsible person to tap into this sense, but none has, so Glenn Beck has.

The Republican Contract on America for 2010 – Republicans promise to not invest in America’s infrastructure. They promise to not spend on anything that will increase America’s ability to compete in the world. No to improvements in roads, railroads, Internet, airports, air-traffic control, etc.

Since the Obama administration’s effort to create jobs was too small to have the large effect that people were hoping for, Republicans promise to end any projects that create jobs.

Republicans promise to extend the Bush tax-cuts for the super–rich (remember that cocaine is expensive), thus adding to the deficit.

Republicans promise to bring back the financial policies that gave us the great recession.

Republicans want to start more wars (Iran, anyone? North Korea?)

Republicans want to mess around with the Constitution.

Some Republicans want to use guns if the vote doesn’t go their way.

Republicans Want to Eliminate Immunizations and Health Screenings from Health Care Law – A new amendment introduced by Senator Mike Johanns (R-NE) would critically weaken key provisions of our new health care law, cutting $11 billion that is allotted for preventive care such as immunizations, health screenings, and elimination of health disparities.

We can stop this amendment in its tracks, but we have to act fast. Please send a letter to your senators and urge them to vote NO.

Republican Role Models – In 2008, Michael Brown, founder of the Brown Hand Center, was awarded a Republican Congressional Medal of Distinction, which included a lunch with Vice President Dick Cheney and a dinner with President George W. Bush. In 2002, he was charged with and later convicted of beating his pregnant third wife with a broken bedpost and pulling her down the stairs by her hair. In 2006, the Texas Medical Board revoked his license after he tested positive for cocaine. He’s been treated for narcissistic personality disorder, bipolar disorder and depression and spent time at an addiction rehab center and court-ordered anger management counseling, according to the medical board and other public records. Two weeks ago, he was charged with felony assault and accused of twisting his fourth wife’s arm behind her back and then, three days later, he forfeited in court any rights to see his children from his third wife.

Another recipient of the Republican Congressional Medal of Distinction is former Springboro, Ohio, city councilman Michael Hemmert, 53, who at the time of the award was undergoing drug treatment in lieu of conviction for cocaine and marijuana charges. As the Dayton Daily News reported, a county judge ordered Hemmert to “abstain from alcohol and drugs, submit to random drug tests and follow other restrictions while on probation for three years.”

Details of Arizona Governor’s Son’s Court Case Mysteriously Sealed – Something funny’s going on with Arizona Governor Jan Brewer’s son’s court case. On January 9, 2009, in a very unusual move, his criminal case files were sealed. Ronald Brewer, 46, was deemed criminally insane in 1990, following a July 1989 arrest and subsequent indictment for the sexual assault and kidnapping of a Phoenix woman.

Those details are not available for public inspection at county Superior Court — even though in a typical criminal case, they probably would be. On January 9, 2009, Superior Court Judge Pendleton Gaines sealed the entire case file at the request of Ronald Brewer’s attorney.
On December 1, 2008, President-Elect Barack Obama nominated then-Governor Janet Napolitano to be the head of Homeland Security. Her successor? Secretary of State Jan Brewer. Brewer assumed office as governor on January 21. The timing is curious.

This marked the first time that Ronald Brewer’s entire file was sealed. Previously, his mental-health files were sealed, which is typical. Criminal cases are rarely sealed, and then, only parts of such a case would usually be kept from the public.

Phoenix Newspapers (a.k.a. the Arizona Republic) filed a motion in July asking the judge to reconsider his January 2009 sealing order. That motion also is under wraps.

Regards,

Jim

Fewer Jobs, Larger Deficits if Republicans Were in Charge – According to a study in Newsweek, the things that Republicans have said they want to do won’t actually boost employment or reduce deficits. In fact, much the opposite. If Republicans were in charge from January 2009 onward—and if they were now given carte blanche to enact the proposals they want to—the projected 2010–2020 deficits would be larger than they are under Obama, and fewer people would probably be employed.

Just this Tuesday, for example, the CBO released a letter saying that Obama’s health-care-reform legislation would “reduce the projected budget deficit by $30 billion over the next 10 years,” while Republican plans to repeal the law would generate “an increase in deficits … of $455 billion … over that [same] period.”

Republicans also want to extend the Bush tax cuts for everybody. According to data compiled by The Washington Post, “the GOP plan would cost $3.7 trillion.”

On jobs, it’s a similar story. The pro-stimulus Obama is ahead of the anti-stimulus GOP by about 2.35 million jobs.

The bottom line, then, is that recent GOP proposals would produce fewer jobs and far larger deficits than the plans Obama has already passed or currently wants to pass.

Republican Senate Nominee Says He Will Eliminate Social Security for Tomorrow’s Americans – Alaska Republican Senate nominee Joe Miller on Larry King Live:

KING: “It is an issue that you well know can be easily demagogued, so I want to deliver a statement. You tell me if it’s fair or not: That anybody in the [Social Security] system or close to the system is fine. We won’t do anything significant to change your benefits. But how about an American born tomorrow or born the day after Joe Miller was sworn in Washington? Would that person perhaps grow up in an America where there is not a federal Social Security program if you got your way?
MILLER: “Absolutely.”

Republican Revenue Hypocrisy – The revenue loss over the next 75 years just from extending the tax cuts for people making over $250,000 — the top 2 percent of Americans — would be about as large as the entire Social Security shortfall over this period (see Figure 1). Members of Congress cannot simultaneously claim that the tax cuts for people at the top are affordable while the Social Security shortfall constitutes a dire fiscal threat.

Some Democrats Balking at Restoring Taxes on the Rich – A small but growing number of moderate Democrats are balking at boosting taxes on the rich. Many face electorates that recoil at the mention of any tax increase. Some represent areas that are loaded with wealthier taxpayers. Three Democratic Senators (Evan Bayh, Ben Nelson, and Kent Conrad) as well as three Democratic Senate candidates (Jack Conway, Robin Carnahan, and Brad Ellsworth) support extending the Bush tax cuts for the wealthy. Last week, a CBS poll showed the public wants Bush’s tax cuts for the wealthy to expire by a 56%-36% margin.

Glenn Beck’s Trouble with the Truth – Out of 17 statements made by Glenn Beck and rated by PolitiFact, one was true, one was mostly true and the rest were bunk.

Beck’s record (as of Aug. 27, 2010):
True 1
Mostly True 1
Half True 3
Barely True 4
False 5
Pants on Fire 3

Fox News Provided Free Political Advertisement for Republican Candidate – Republican candidate John Kasich appeared on a Fox News network program, solicited contributions for his campaign, and Fox News added the graphics “John Kasich (R), KasichforOhio.com” under Mr. Kasich’s image. The Kasich campaign raised more than $21,000 from the FOX News solicitation. This appears to violate two election laws. The first is the prohibition of in-kind contributions in the form free political advertising. The second violation is the failure of Fox News Network to provide a ‘paid for by’ disclaimer on its political advertisement for John Kasich.

Major Human Trafficker is Huge Republican Party Donor Who Fought Illegal Immigration – A business owner indicted for the human trafficking of 400 laborers from Thailand is a frequent donor to the Republican Party and recently waged war against other companies involved with hiring illegal immigrants. The man at the helm is Mordechai Orian, 45, President and CEO of the Los Angeles-based Global Horizons Manpower Inc., a labor contracting group. Five of his affiliates and contractors were also charged in the scheme.

Orian gave tens of thousands of dollars to the National Republican Congressional Committee on eight occasions between 2004 and 2006, according to the election records database Newsmeat. His largest contribution of $11,000 came on July 13, 2006. Orian also gave $2000 to the Republican Party-affiliated Restore America PAC twice in that period. In what now appears to be a twisted irony, Orian at the time presented himself as a moral crusader against illegal immigration.

Discovery Channel Hostage Taker Smuggled, Hated Illegal Immigrants – James Lee, the bomb-laden gunman who was killed by police in the lobby of the Discovery Channel, was once convicted and imprisoned for smuggling illegal immigrants into the country from Mexico. The revelation that Lee had once smuggled illegals contrasts sharply with a hate-filled manifesto he left behind in which he describes illegal immigrants as “disgusting filth” and their children as “anchor baby filth.”

Did you know that… – The words “race car” spelled backwards still spells “race car”?
and…

“Eat” is the only word that, if you take the first letter and move it to the last, spells its past tense, “ate”?
and…

And if you rearrange the letters in “so-called Tea Party Republicans,” and add just a few more letters, it spells: “Shut the hell up you free-loading, progress-blocking, benefit-grabbing, resource-sucking, violent, hypocritical jerks, and deal with the fact that you nearly wrecked the country under Bush and that our president is black.”

Regards,

Jim

Do you wonder why Democrats have gone from a significant victory in 2008 to looking at big losses in Congress in 2010? Do you wonder what it is the Republicans know and what the Democrats need to learn to avoid losing in 2012?

I’ve referenced author George Lakoff in my postings several times, and he has another message for Democrats that could help stop or maybe reverse these trends.

It’s about morale systems – not interest-based arguments.

In the conservative moral system, the highest value is preserving and extending the moral system itself. That is why they keep saying no to Obama’s proposals, even voting against their own ideas when Obama accepts them. To give Obama any victory at all would be a blow to their moral system. Their moral system requires non-cooperation. That is a major thing the Obama administration has not understood.

Lakoff’s solution is:

It is morality, not just the right policy, that excites voters, that moves them to action — that creates movements. Legislative action must come from a moral center, with moral language repeated over and over.

What should be avoided, besides policy-wonk and pure-policy discourse? Again, the answer comes from Neuroscience 101. Offense not defense. Argue for your values. Frame all issues in terms of your values. Avoid their language, even in arguing against them. … Don’t list their arguments and argue against them using their language. It just activates their arguments in the brains of listeners.

Don’t move to the right in your discourse or action. That will just strengthen the conservative moral system in the brains of swing thinkers. Frame your arguments from your moral position.

In addition, beware of the same pollsters and focus-group-dialers who missed Scott Brown’s moral message to the swing-thinkers in Massachusetts and claimed that Martha Coakley would win so handily that she could go on vacation. Just because a message plays well in focus-group-dialing doesn’t mean it will win elections.

Finally, Democrats need a truly effective communication system. They need unified, morally-based framing of issues. They need to train spokespeople all over the country in using such framing and avoiding mistakes. They need to organize those spokespeople. And they need to book them, as conservatives do, on radio, TV, in civic and religious groups, in schools and universities. This is doable, but this late, it will take resolve from the top.

The Obama campaign promoted progressive morale values and won the elections. The Obama administration has resorted to policyspeak and interest-based arguments and has been losing or barely winning.

No Longer the Republican Party of Mount Rushmore — Now the Party of Easter Island – Mount Rushmore. If you’ve only seen pictures, you really can’t fully appreciate the extraordinary achievement the monument represents — carved over 14 years into the side of a mountain. Nor can you really experience the power of its testament to American values.

There are two Republicans on Mount Rushmore. Abraham Lincoln symbolizes America’s commitment to equal opportunity and liberty for all. And there is Theodore Roosevelt — the Republican President who more than any other embodied our commitment to conserve and protect our natural environment and prevent its destruction for short-term commercial profit.

Roosevelt not only championed setting aside National Parks and other protected areas similar to the one we were about to visit. He also took on – and broke up – the “Trusts” — the giant corporate semi-monopolies that dominated America’s economy as it entered the 20th Century.

It is really pretty remarkable to ponder how far the modern Republican Party has strayed from the vision of Lincoln, the Great Emancipator — and Teddy Roosevelt, the Conservationist and Trust Buster.

For decades now, the Party of Lincoln has transformed itself into the Party of Strom Thurmond and Jim DeMint. But the Republican abandonment of the values of Theodore Roosevelt is just as remarkable. The gulf between the vision of Teddy Roosevelt and the Party of “drill baby drill” is as vast as the Grand Canyon.

Now, let’s compare to Easter Island. At its peak, there were apparently about 15,000 people living on an island about nine miles in diameter. When they arrived, the archeological evidence indicates that the colonists found an island loaded with tall trees. The Easter Islanders began gradually clearing the forests — both for agriculture and to harvest wood — shortly after they arrived. According to the archeological record, deforestation reached its peak around 1400 and was virtually complete between the 1400s and 1600. The consequences of deforestation and these other human impacts were starvation, population crash, and a descent to cannibalism — the last major remaining source of animal protein besides chickens. The crisis caused the masses to lose faith in the chiefs and priests, and around 1680 they were overthrown by military leaders. Easter Island’s formerly complex, integrated society collapsed into an epidemic of civil war.

The Easter Islanders destroyed their environment and society with stone tools and their own muscle power. One of the great challenges of the 21st century is to assure that billions of people with metal tools, machines, nuclear energy and exploding technology do not destroy ours. The key to the Easter Island story is not just what can happen to a society, but the human decisions that created the disaster.
The Republican President Theodore Roosevelt instinctively understood this. The modern Republican Party — despite the benefit of an additional century of scientific research — does not.

One question before us in this fall’s election is whether the monument that embodies American values will be the bold carvings on the side of a verdant Mount Rushmore or the statues on a barren, windswept Easter Island. (The above was condensed from a much longer, but worth-reading article.)

Is the Republican Party Looking Out for You? – I understand that Americans are angry. But if they take that anger out by voting for Republicans in November, they will only be making a bad situation worse. In addition to playing into the Republican strategy of obstruction and dishonesty, they would be making it harder for the country to address the real and massive problems facing the country.

The Republican Party is looking out for a select group of constituents, but unless you are an extreme right-wing ideologue or in the top one percent of American earners, Republicans probably aren’t trying to help you.

Will We Reward Bad Behavior?
I’m all for political debate. I think for democracy to work, there has to be a free exchange of ideas, with the best solution to a problem winning the day. But in the current American political environment, we are missing two key elements necessary for our democracy to work. First, thanks to the dissolution of the mass media and the rise of a right-wing propaganda machine (Fox News, Rush Limbaugh, etc.), there is no longer an accepted common set of facts on which to base a debate. Instead, the right wing has decided to use lies and fear-mongering (everything from inventing death panels to questioning the ideological and religious beliefs of the president, including where he was born, to stoking fear of Islam) as a strategic method to win elections.

We used to ponder the learned advise of scientists, statesmen, and great thinkers. Now we watch a rodeo clown.

Will we reward lying, race baiting, fear mongering and hypocrisy by sitting down and letting those that perform these bad deeds run amok and influence voters into voting against their own self interests as well as the well-being of the nation as a whole?

There are plenty of reasonable people who will listen to a reasonable message, but we must all help get the message to them. Time is of the essence. Early voting begins in a few weeks.

Regards,

Jim

Five of Seven of Rick Perry’s Chiefs of Staff Have Been Lobbyists – Five of seven of Rick Perry’s chiefs of staff have been lobbyists. Bill White has proposed to prohibit the governor’s senior staff from working on issues related to their former employment for two years. And “when departing, they will be prohibited from lobbying the governor’s office or their state agency for two years,” according to White’s plan.

Rick Perry Lied About Phone Calls From the White House – Texas Gov. Rick Perry, who seems to relish bashing Washington, suggested a complete lack of outreach by President Barack Obama and the White House in a Fox News Channel interview aired July 13. Speaking to anchor Neil Cavuto, Perry said: “We don’t get a lot of calls from this White House.” Asked about his relations with the Democrat’s administration, the Republican governor said: “I have, frankly, never had a call from them.”

On April 29, 2010, according to a press release on the White House website, the president called the governors of states on the Gulf of Mexico, including Perry, “to discuss the BP oil spill situation and assure the governors that the administration will continue to use every single available resource at our disposal in the response efforts.”

An earlier release, from July 6, 2009, says Perry was among five governors to participate in a conference call with Vice President Joe Biden.

According to a White House spokesman, Perry has been invited to be on a call with senior administration officials involved in the response to the oil spill every day since May 4. Perry “has participated on a number of those calls and has been represented by his staff on many more.”

And Perry’s schedule for June 29 has an 8:15 a.m. entry stating “Phone Call: White House Intergovernmental Affairs/BP Oil Spill.”

If the Republican Party Ran a Pretzel Stand … – Don’t pay any attention to the actual pretzels, just believe what we tell you.

Regards,

Jim

Right-Wing Group Tries to Suppress Minority Vote in Bill White Territory – A well-funded right-wing group has emerged in Houston and has begun raising unfounded allegations of widespread voter fraud. A video on their website pictures only people of color when it talks of voter fraud. White people are shown talking patriotically about the need for a million vigilantes to suppress “illegal” votes.

In the video, an unidentified spokesman for “TrueTheVote” says, “If we lose Houston, we lose Texas. And guess what? If we lose Texas we lose the country.” The former Mayor of Houston, Democrat Bill White, is counting on a big turnout in his home town. The recent Harris County voting machine fire and the voter suppression campaign may cause a greatly diminished turnout in the Houston area.

Rick Perry Runs Away From Reporter’s Insurance Questions -Bill White called for prior approval for increases in homeowners insurance rates yesterday, as he visited the homes of Texans who have seen their rates increase for years with no explanation as to why. Governor Rick Perry, when asked about his plan for homeowners insurance rates, ran away from cameras — continuing his campaign’s policy of ducking the hard questions at every turn. Perry declined to talk to a reporter from KWTX-TV about insurance rates. “We got to roll boys, I’m sorry,” the Republican governor said as aides hustled him away.

Texas homeowners pay the second highest rates in the nation, according to the National Association of Insurance Commissioners — an average $1,448 per year. The national average is $822.

Opposition to Muslim Community Center is Aiding Taliban Recruiting Effort – “By preventing this mosque from being built, America is doing us a big favor,” Taliban operative Zabihullah tells NEWSWEEK. “It’s providing us with more recruits, donations, and popular support.” America’s enemies in Afghanistan are delighted by the vehement public opposition to the proposed “Ground Zero mosque.” The backlash against the project has drawn the heaviest e-mail response ever on jihadi Web sites, Zabihullah claims—far bigger even than France’s ban on burqas earlier this year. “We are getting even more messages of support and solidarity on the mosque issue and questions about how to fight back against this outrage.” “The more mosques you stop, the more jihadis we will get,” Zabihullah predicts.

Arson Fire At Mosque Construction Site In Tennessee – Federal officials are investigating a fire that started overnight at the site of a new Islamic center in a Nashville suburb. Ben Goodwin of the Rutherford County Sheriff’s Department confirmed to CBS Affiliate WTVF that the fire, which burned construction equipment at the future site of the Islamic Center of Murfreesboro, is being ruled as arson.

Permit Denied For Mosque in Chicago Area – The city has denied a special use permit that would allow a mosque to replace a shut down hot dog grill. The neighborhood already has a strong Muslim presence. The decision was supposedly based on the need to generate tax revenue although the site has sat vacant for two years.

Republican Senate Candidate Wants to End Social Security, Medicare and Unemployment Insurance – Tea Party-backed Senate candidate Joe Miller spoke against Social Security, Medicare and Unemployment Insurance on CBS’ Face the Nation on Sunday.

Glenn Beck Says: The Heck with Honor, Pay Me First! – According to Glenn Beck’s rally website, “all contributions made” to Special Operations Warrior Foundation (SOWF) will first be applied to the costs of Beck’s Restoring Honor Rally. All contributions in excess of these costs will then be retained by the SOWF.

Regards,

Jim