March 12, 2011 · 9:25 am

Michael Moore: The Smug Wealthy Have Gone Too Far — And We’re Finally Fighting Back | Economy | AlterNet

Michael Moore can be a little over-the-top for me sometimes, but this time he’s pretty much on target….

From Michael Moore via AlterNet:

Contrary to what those in power would like you to believe so that you’ll give up your pension, cut your wages, and settle for the life your great-grandparents had, America is not broke. Not by a long shot. The country is awash in wealth and cash. It’s just that it’s not in your hands. It has been transferred, in the greatest heist in history, from the workers and consumers to the banks and the portfolios of the uber-rich.

Today just 400 Americans have more wealth than half of all Americans combined.

Let me say that again. 400 obscenely rich people, most of whom benefited in some way from the multi-trillion dollar taxpayer “bailout” of 2008, now have more loot, stock and property than the assets of 155 million Americans combined. If you can’t bring yourself to call that a financial coup d’état, then you are simply not being honest about what you know in your heart to be true.

And I can see why. For us to admit that we have let a small group of men abscond with and hoard the bulk of the wealth that runs our economy, would mean that we’d have to accept the humiliating acknowledgment that we have indeed surrendered our precious Democracy to the moneyed elite. Wall Street, the banks and the Fortune 500 now run this Republic — and, until this past month, the rest of us have felt completely helpless, unable to find a way to do anything about it.

More:   Michael Moore: The Smug Wealthy Have Gone Too Far — And We’re Finally Fighting Back | Economy | AlterNet.

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March 12, 2011 · 9:22 am

How Does the Drug Industry Get Away with Broadcasting Those Deceptive Ads? | | AlterNet

I will never understand how this was allowed to happen-allowing Drug Companies to advertised directly to consumers.

Well, I guess I do understand how it happened:  Money.

Donations to Politicians and ad revenue for  the TV Networks.

I hate Big Pharma….

They are simply evil…

These are two of a never-ending barrage of pharmaceutical advertisements known as direct-to-consumer (DTC) ads that bombard Americans day in and day out.  Such ads are permitted only in the U.S. and New Zealand. They are intended to provoke an individual consumer to request a specific prescription drug from their doctor. In 2009, the pharmaceutical industry spent an estimated $4.5 billion on such advertising. Total 2007 U.S. pharma industry sales were $315 billion.

DTC ads give viewers the illusion that they can and should be their own doctor; they are designed to make viewers believe that they can and should prescribe for themselves. By fostering a false sense of demand for prescription-required drugs, DTC drug ads undermine the real knowledge that doctors should have when, in consultation with the patient, a treatment plan is established.

via How Does the Drug Industry Get Away with Broadcasting Those Deceptive Ads? | | AlterNet.

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March 11, 2011 · 7:37 pm

Daniel Craig? Who’s Daniel Craig?

A little Friday evening amusement from the BBC with Daniel Craig and Catherine Tate…

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March 11, 2011 · 5:54 pm

Absolute power: An examination of Art Pope’s dominance – Independent Weekly

While everyone is watching Washington and Wisconsin, we need to keep our eyes out here in North Carolina as well…

The rich are trying to buy North Carolina as well…

This is not a coincidence…

Former legislator, millionaire, political insider, Art Pope is a public figure and one of the most powerful people in North Carolina.

This project of the Independent Weekly and Facing South, the online magazine of the Institute for Southern Studies, analyzes both the extent of Pope’s influence and its ramifications for public policy.

In short, Pope and the organizations he finances are shaping how North Carolinians live. As Chris Kromm reports, the Pope family—through the John William Pope Foundation—has been funneling millions of dollars into a network of conservative research, media and legal centers. Pope’s groups have larger ambitions to shift public opinion and the political debate toward a pro-business, anti-government agenda.

That’s being played out in the Republican-dominated Legislature. Those lawmakers and their regressive agenda for social services, education, the environment and tax policy are brought to you largely by Pope and Pope-backed groups.

We’ve also scrutinized the Pope Foundation’s tax documents and found that, despite his groups’ persistent calls for public accountability, the foundation itself failed to file timely tax returns for eight years. Pope’s excuses? Hurricane Fran. Single fatherhood. For eight years.

via Absolute power: An examination of Art Pope’s dominance | News Feature | Independent Weekly.

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March 11, 2011 · 5:43 pm

Dem Senator: Republicans brewing ‘toxic tea’ that will ‘bring shame to our country’ | Raw Replay

All I can say is “Amen”…..

Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ) on Thursday excoriated Republicans for taking their cues from the tea party movement, which he deemed to be pushing “dangerous” spending cuts that will “create pain for our children” and “shame” America.

“Here in Congress, tea party activists have seized control of the Republican side of the aisle—and it is far from a tea party for lots of jobless people and those qualified to study in college but unable to pay the freight,” Lautenberg said.

“Now that they are in power, we see they’re brewing Toxic Tea—a dangerous concoction that will create pain for our children and bring shame to our country.  We know that cutting critical programs now brings sky-high prices later—in more illnesses and a less-educated society. So we look at the future and we say we must invest in our children, our environment and medical research. But every time, they say: ‘No.’”

The New Jersey Democrat tore into the slew of Republican spending cuts, which include deep cuts to education, medical research, and women’s health services.

via Dem Senator: Republicans brewing ‘toxic tea’ that will ‘bring shame to our country’ | Raw Replay.

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March 11, 2011 · 5:41 pm

Sanders introduces millionaire surtax to slash deficit | The Raw Story

Okay…81% of Americans favor this, but it doesn’t have a chance in hell of passing in Congress…

So much for representative democracy for anyone except the Rich and the Oil Companies….

WASHINGTON – As Democrats and Republicans battle over how much spending should be cut to bridge the budget shortfall, one senator is focusing on the other side of the equation: revenues.

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) on Thursday afternoon introduced a bill (pdf) that would establish a surtax on millionaires and strip tax deductions for oil companies — a proposal he claims would cut the deficit by about $50 billion.

The Emergency Deficit Reduction Act would accomplish this by raising taxes by 5.4 percent on annual income over $1 million.

Congress has yet to pass a budget to fund the government for fiscal 2011, approving three continuing resolutions to avoid a shutdown. The latest expires March 18. The Senate rejected the Democratic and Republican proposals Wednesday.

A NBC/Wall Street Journal poll found late February that 81 percent of Americans believe a surtax on millionaires is an acceptable way to close the budget shortfall.

Yet in Congress, the quest is a lonely one. Though leaders of both parties admit the deficit is a pressing problem, none have advanced tax increases to trim the gap. And the outspoken Vermonter isn’t pulling any punches.

Republicans, Sanders fumed, want to balance the budget “solely on the backs of the middle class and some of the most vulnerable people in this country.” Democrats, he added, aren’t “serious” about deficits if they ignore revenues.

via Sanders introduces millionaire surtax to slash deficit | The Raw Story.

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March 11, 2011 · 5:37 pm

Trend or Fluke-Independents Want the Government to Do More, Not Less

It will be interesting to see if this trend holds…

A clear majority want more government intervention, not less…

This will make the Tea Party Crowd crazy since it is coming from the Murdoch owned, Republican leaning Wall Street Journal’s poll.

All the publicity about the good programs the GOP is trying to cut may be making people realize how much good the government actually does…

I hope the trend holds…

From the Cook Report and the National Journal:

However, in the latest NBC/WSJ poll of 1,000 adults (including 200 by cellphone; overall margin of error plus or minus 3.1 points), conducted from February 24-28, 51 percent of respondents said the government-should do more and 46 percent said the government was doing too much. One could conclude that the antigovernment bandwagon certainly isn’t picking up speed.

More important—and I have to give NBC Political Director Chuck Todd credit for pointing this out to me—independents shifted significantly. In the February survey, 47 percent of independents said the government was doing too much, compared with 60 percent who said so last October. Independents who said the government should do more jumped 13 points, from 38 percent to 51 percent.

via NationalJournal.com – The Cook Report: Trend or Fluke? – Friday, March 11, 2011.

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March 11, 2011 · 5:26 pm

Monkey in woman’s bra makes waves at Amherst courthouse | GoDanRiver.com

Only in Virginia….

Authorities said a woman entered the Amherst County Courthouse on Thursday morning with a tiny monkey tucked into her bra, dressed in diapers and a pink and white dress.

The unusual event occurred when the woman arrived for a hearing in Juvenile and Domestic Relations court.

Officials said they had no idea the woman had the monkey until the she went into an office for a routine procedure to fill out court-related paperwork.

When the woman referred to a daughter, a puzzled official asked where the daughter was and the woman pulled the monkey out of her bra.

Officials confirmed the incident, from the commonwealth’s attorney, Stephanie Maddox, to deputies who were working in the courthouse. They did not identify the woman.

“You couldn’t make up something like this,” Maddox said.

But it was no big deal, the woman said later, because her tiny marmoset turns seven weeks old today and is, in the parlance of monkeys, an infant who needs constant attention.

“I can’t understand why the deputy didn’t see her — she was peeking out” from the cleavage of her blouse, she said.

The woman contacted The News & Advance late Thursday afternoon after seeing a story about the monkey online. She wanted to explain why she took the creature, named Cara, into the courthouse. The woman’s identity is being withheld for family reasons.

via Monkey in woman’s bra makes waves at Amherst courthouse | GoDanRiver.com.

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March 11, 2011 · 5:23 pm

Sarah Palin: “Grit My Teeth” Over HBO Film – Washington DC RNC | Examiner.com

This should be fun…

I just don’t know if someone as smart as Julianne Moore can play someone as dumb as Sarah Palin.

This will truly be a test of how great an actress she really is….

RNC DC Examiner reported earlier this week that HBO is planning a film on the 2008 John McCain-Sarah Palin presidential campaign:

But Palin will not be the beneficiary of any revenue nor is she certain to be enamored by the performance. The network has decided to adapt the 2008 campaign book “Game Change” into an original film.

Academy Award nominated Julianne Moore will play the role of Sarah Palin. The book by Time’s Mark Halperin and New York magazine’s John Heilemann does not feature a faltering image of Pain and, if anything, the then governor is reported to be entirely clueless about basic historical and geographical facts, and somewhat erratic.

The book, Game Change, describes the former Governor of Alaska as having wild mood swings caused by her sudden rise to fame and describes her at one point as being in a ‘catatonic stupor’. […] According to the book, it was then that Steve Schmidt, Republican campaign chief, turned to the experts he had recruited and said: ‘You guys have a lot of work to do. She doesn’t know anything.’ (Daily Mail.)

The author presciently added, If the film follows the lines of the book on which its based, Palin and her supporters may soon be feuding with HBO over what will be a critical presentation of the Republican.

In Palin’s first statement about the film it is clear that the former Alaska governor is wary about what portrait HBO may present. Jokingly Palin said, “Well, I am all about job creation, and I guess I could provide some of these gals who pretend like they’re me some job security.” But then added that she’ll watch the film with great reservations: “I’ll just grit my teeth and bear whatever comes what may with that movie.”

via Sarah Palin: “Grit My Teeth” Over HBO Film – Washington DC RNC | Examiner.com.

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March 9, 2011 · 10:48 pm

ThinkProgress » Schumer’s Deficit Reduction Steps: Millionaires Tax, Prevent Corporate Tax Dodging, Cut Wasteful Subsidies

Of course this will fail…

It makes too much sense for Congress to pass it….

 

First, Schumer revived his proposal from last year to institute a surtax on millionaires and billionaires. “I must say I noted with interest that in last week’s Wall Street Journal-NBC poll, the most popular proposal to reduce the deficit — out of 23 options surveyed — was a surtax on millionaires and billionaires,” he said.

Schumer also promoted closing the tax gap by cracking down on tax dodging and income sheltering by big corporations. “There is much we can do in the tax code to crack down on cheaters and vastly improve compliance,” he said. “Any credible deficit plan should tackle the so-called ‘tax gap’ — the gap between taxes owed and taxes paid — which has gotten as high as over $300 billion a year this past decade.”

He also advocated cutting the wasteful subsidies that are handed out every year to industries, including the oil and gas industries, that don’t need them. Schumer expanded on these ideas in an interview today with ThinkProgress:

“All these kinds of subsidies should be on the table, but the one that sticks out like a sore thumb is oil and gas because the entire rationale for it is gone. It was passed, I think, when the price of oil was $17 a barrel, we had low production, and now of course, the price of oil is $100 a barrel. The subsidy, in economic terms, doesn’t mean anything other than to make some people wealthy who are already wealthy.”

via ThinkProgress » Schumer’s Deficit Reduction Steps: Millionaires Tax, Prevent Corporate Tax Dodging, Cut Wasteful Subsidies.

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