freshwest
freshwest's JournalI run into these kind of kids and it makes my heart nearly break with joy. Thanks...
+1. You'll be interested in this from octoberlib:
Liberal Group to Fight Dark Money…by Raising $40 Million of ItThe group, the Fund for the Republic, recently laid out its plan for 110 donors, fundraisers, activists, and political operatives, who convened over two days in mid-September at the W Hotel in Washington, DC, for an invitation-only, closed-press gathering titled "Crony Democracy." Cohosted by the Democracy Alliance, the conference featured speakers and attendees including House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), Craigslist founder Craig Newmark, investor and progressive activist Jonathan Soros, ex-George W. Bush adviser Mark McKinnon, Stride Rite Corporation founder and major Democratic donor Arnold Hiatt, and Ben Cohen of Ben and Jerry's.
The event had a single goal: convincing well-heeled donors to invest in a $40 million "surge" to combat the flood of big money into American politics. That money, to be raised over five years, according to internal planning documents obtained by Mother Jones, will be funneled through the Fund for the Republic (FFR), a 501(c)(3) charity founded in September 2012. Nick Penniman, a progressive fundraiser who runs the fund and helped organize the "Crony Democracy" event, says his group will dole out those funds to groups involved in lobbying, grassroots advocacy, litigation, and electoral work aimed at strengthening ethics and campaign finance reform laws.
With an eye toward the 2014 and 2016 elections, AFR plans to fund groups working to defeat politicians who oppose campaign finance reform—such as Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.)—and to elect supporters of the cause. Documents provided to Mother Jones say this political work will be funded "primarily" by AFR, which, as a so-called social-welfare group, can engage in electoral activity as long as these efforts don't eat up a majority of the group's money and time.
http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2013/09/democracy-alliance-fund-for-republic-40-million-surge-reform
Soros has threatened to primary any Democrat who doesn't support campaign finance reform.
As far as the brainwashing about tort reform, it is a hostile movement in place many years. Some years ago I went to a clinic to get my meds renewed in a red area. My regular doctor had taken up with them but was out of town.
It was all new, and the so were the doctors, staff, etc. in an 'exclusive area.' Right off the bat, the receptionist tried to get me to sign a tort reform petition as I was waiting. I said was just there for my meds, didn't want to get poltiical.
But I knew just what it was, and would have never signed it. She got abusive, and in all my subsequent visits, she and the doctor who doing my regular doctor's job, all became abusive, making remarks about having to lose money to have Medicare patients and continuing to try to get me to sign. It was very much 'in your face.'
Then I caught them being greedy when I managed to get extra insurance and had an accident. They billed Medicare, my extra insurance and auto insurance and as I looked over the bills, discussing it with the auto insurance it was obvious they were triple billing.
I'd already signed paper for subrogation of the costs and they next tried to bill me, calling me at all hours when I was sick. They made negative posts in my record, trying to make me look bad, and the new doctor even tried to call me and disguise her voice. I let my insurer know, but the calls kept coming. It was a mess.
This is our society on rightwing propaganda. That is, oppressive and abusive over basic things.
I also learned when my doctor returned to town from out of state work, that they were taking her patients to get the fees, refusing to schedule them to see her, so that she had no patients. She soon realized what happpened as her patients began calling her old number and telling them what was going on and they were very unhappy with the new doctor, and would she please come back?
But she was there after making appointments to an empty list of patients. Very shady goings on, very rightwing. They are strangling this country and they are vicious.
Important revelation. Boehner was known for handing out those lobbyist checks on the House floor.
People didn't used to get wealthy, rapidly and without good reason, like McConnell when they went to Congress. The GOP removed ethics and changed the laws to help their donors.
They aren't hiding it now. They are extorting all of the country through the instrument defined to stop them by regulation. The public has had its mind brainwashed very well.
Our only hope is to see if those who are so anti - government, regulation, protections and all the rest see they are losing their country to these unaccountable entities, and not to the Obama bogeyman they've been taught to hate and fear, but to the masters of the people they voted for.
A portion do profit very well directly from this state of affairs. They are not in the dark about what they are doing and will never change their minds.
They will continue to work with these forces to destroy all government as they gladly carry home the spoils of this war.
I believe that Warren will be close to Kennedy in accomplishments. She has said she won't run.
But I'm sure the people posting these are just showing their enthusiasm for her, but more so, the ideas she represents.
It's disturbing to me any of the Northeast would vote for a Koch puppet like Christie.
We're in a different time than the young Kennedys were. They all what they could to make the world a better place.
Warren is a treasure and I thank Obama for talking her into public service. It's a very hard thing going against the status quo.
Kudos to Rachel; Warren on track; I love facts; Austerity is a lie; but...
I don't see Warren being able to debate a wing nut. They are persistent loud mouths and the debates are rigged against the Democrats, as is media.
I can just see some idiot like Christie, Paul, Cruz or another, making cheap shots and telling lies repeatedly, not answering questions, yelling over the voice of reason that she represents, to the roar of the idiots in the audience. And Democrats will get upset when the media says she lost the pissing contest, even though she says the truth.
Despite Warren's level of commitment and her competence, I can't see her as electable. For that matter, I don't see Hillary as electable, either, unless the Democrats show up in numbers like they did for Obama in 2008. I don't see that happening.
I am more impressed with Hillary after some of her resume was posted here. But we have a troglodyte segment of this country that will NEVER accept either of these women no more than they accepted THAT MAN being BLACK in THEIR WHITE HOUSE. Good gawd, what a huge disappointment it's been.
It sickens me to see the depths that this nation has been brought down by the great teacher, media. And just how close these fascists are to winning. Even here at DU we are not immune to their BS. Because we get our info from the poisoned river of billionaire media.
But seeing Maddox and Warren talking to each other, so self-aware, able to understand the past, present and future of what we could be as a nation is uplifting. I refuse to watch television media but am grateful DUers take the time to post Maddox and other good videos here showing there is a change in the wind, even if not reflected in MIC media.
When Warren said Social Security cuts are off the table, what a relief to so many people. Still, the dreaded tax word was avoided, as usual. Proving the Koches and Grover still stifle the national conversation.
BTW, anyone catch that elephant in the banner holding his beggar cup out and these words?
SPARE SOME CHANGE?
Is it a slap at Democrats or Republicans?
Anyway, the focus must be on 2014 still. That is how the House will be cleaned as Warren says. We can't forget this. And we can't afford to let the status quo continue.
Thanks for posting.
'Beware the wrath of a patient man.' ~ IrishAyes
Or
Beware the fury of a patient man. ~ John Dryden
I doubt that Harry Reid has ever forgotten anything.
Thanks for the transcript of Reid's remarks.
I'm concerned about it because of what the GOP will do if they get a majority. Irrelevant then...
But if they do, we can kiss Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, ACA, EPA and every other thing that came from or grew out of the New Deal goodbye forever.
These fascists are not playing around and they are very close to dividing this nation up into little Koch kingdoms. Complacency or bickering is not the answer to 2014.
Lose that and there are red states aplenty who can and will call for a Constitutional convention to repeal all the amendments after the 10th. All they need is 38 states with GOP majority in their state houses to overrule the millions of us who don't live in those states, while they grind their own citizenry under crony capitalism and theocracy.
The nihilism of the right and the left will meet under the guise of rooting out their special demons, welcoming a new way of doing things, or so they think. Only to be swept away by media propaganda, by, for and of the rich only. We see this more and more, they won't stop while the ultimate prize they want, the federal government is up for grabs. Which is what a Constitutional convention does.
Americans have lived under those protections such as the 14th enshrined, Birthright Citizenship, Due Process and Equal Protection Under the Law, with they entail and the laws that have been based on them. Those go all the way through women's right to vote, and have been in place for so long they believe they are a written in stone. The GOP wants the Articles of Confederation back.
Even the first ten amendments did not end slavery, period, but the Tenthers don't care. The first ten did not allow full suffrage. They did not allow women any control of their bodies. It did not allow direct elections. The GOP does not want that, they want the rich and powerful to be in charge of that process. These facts are conveniently left out in diatribes about privacy and civil liberties.
The left is in denial, thinking that cheering media mockery was sufficient. It never was, it was added into politics to divide and not find solutions. They ignored the clear voices from the right on their intentions, national personhood laws, right to work laws with no minimum wage, voting rights, regulations, ending all the social safety net.
Both extremes now revel in the destruction of the old ways they mock, as Democrats comfort themselves with the notion 'wiser heads will prevail' and walk away from their civic responsibility. They have decided they don't need to show up in local and state elections to affect regional policy and then the national policy.
One example of many, charter schools and other regressive institutions didn't come out of D.C., no matter who wants to point the finger there. D.C. is reacting to the reality on the ground in the states, being voted in by supporters of theocracy and maniacs put in state office in yearly and the midterms.
The 2010 midterm virtually destroyed this nation, and those put in office by propaganda have not slowed their agenda, as the money keeps pouring in to buy new adherents. Those who didn't vote for reasons they have now forgotten, still point fingers upward, and it changes nothing.
Reid has been rightfully afraid of changing the rules. He is not a coward, he is a realist. He has seen these maniacs up close; we only see glimpses. This is a clever form of treason in slow motion and Reid gets no help from the sleeping public who doesn't vote to replace these demagogues.
Ryan's plan is close to reality, with calls for a Constitutional convention. The GOP will rewrite the nation's legal framework according to the ALEC model. It will be full fascist rule, nowhere to turn for redress. People will be forced to deal with those who expect a bribe to be paid to do anything. For those without the money to bribe, they will get nothing and likely lose all they have.
People have been asleep at the ballot for too long, falling for the media tactics and not voting, being distracted by anything to demoralize us. We haven't seen anything yet and it is coming. If we lose in 2014, that's it for me, I won't even bother to talk about any of it anymore.
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Member since: Fri Dec 10, 2010, 11:36 PMNumber of posts: 53,661
