Tag Archives: politics

March 1, 2011 · 7:37 pm

Is Fox News Chairman Roger Ailes Going to Jail? | | AlterNet

Please, let one of my dreams come true!

In short, the Times report has managed to shock everyone. It’s shocked media insiders for the sheer recklessness of Ailes’ behavior. It has startled Fox News critics (like myself) who are amazed how cavalierly Ailes would counsel an employee to break the law. And the report has shaken Ailes loyalists who can’t believe the Machiavellian Fox News chief was so sloppy in his execution.

So yeah, this story is kind of a big deal and it has immediately been pushed to the head of the line in terms of pending Fox News troubles for 2011, right in front of Glenn Beck’s ongoing caliphate conspiracy madness and the conservative attacks it has sparked on him,

Indeed, the Times report would mean that Ailes and Beck, Fox News’ fiercest lightning rods, have quickly morphed from assets to liabilities.  We know Beck’s increasingly a liability because, thanks to his incendiary, hateful rhetoric, he’s unable to retain virtually any nationally recognized advertisers. And that’s been the case for almost a year-a-half now. No only are advertisers steering clear of Glenn Beck, but ratings continue to decline. That is not a formula for cable news success.

But even more scandalous is the specter of Ailes, who runs Fox News as his personal fiefdom, being thrust into the spotlight for potentially breaking the law; for allegedly telling an employee to lie to federal investigators.

via Is Fox News Chairman Roger Ailes Going to Jail? | | AlterNet.

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March 1, 2011 · 7:37 pm

ThinkProgress » House GOP Says ‘So Be It’ To Taxpayers, Votes Unanimously to Protect Big Oil Subsidies

Anyone still doubt the GOP- and most of Congress- is bought and paid for by special interests?

House Republicans voted in lockstep this afternoon to protect corporate welfare for Big Oil, even as they call for draconian cuts to programs that everyday Americans depend on each day.  As the House of Representatives moved toward approving a stopgap resolution to avert a government shutdown for another two weeks, Democrats offered a motion to recommit that would have stripped the five largest oil companies of taxpayer subsidies, saving tens of billions of dollars in taxpayer funds.  The motion failed on a vote of 176-249, with all Republicans voting against (approximately a dozen Democrats joined the GOP). A similar vote two weeks ago to recoup $53 billion in taxpayer funds from Big Oil was also voted down, largely along party lines. The former CEO of Shell Oil, John Hoffmeister, recently said Big Oil doesn’t need subsidies “in face of sustained high oil prices.”  From 2005 to 2009, the largest oil companies have made a combined $485 billion in profits.

via ThinkProgress » House GOP Says ‘So Be It’ To Taxpayers, Votes Unanimously to Protect Big Oil Subsidies.

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March 1, 2011 · 7:36 pm

John Edwards Is Out of Sight, but Not for Long – NYTimes.com

The next chapter of this sad saga is yet to come….

This is an unending soap opera….

Almost a Shakespearean tragedy…

Or at least, a modern “Dynasty”….

Or probably more like “Flamingo Road”….

Over the past few weeks, people in this tight-knit university community have not seen much of John Edwards.

They used to. He would hang out on a metal stool at Bowbarr, a short walk from the environmentally friendly condominium complex where he moved after details of an extramarital affair sent him from the family home.

He would swing into Crook’s Corner, a legendary Southern restaurant, for an order of fried oysters to go, talking to anyone around and looking like the polished but approachable Democratic presidential candidate he once was.

After his estranged wife, Elizabeth Edwards, died of cancer in early December, the chef at Crook’s Corner, Bill Smith, would slip in an extra dessert for their children.

“We all just feel for him, no matter what he’s done,” Mr. Smith said. “And you know there is more to come.”

That “more” is the possibility that a federal grand jury in Raleigh could soon hand up an indictment against him in a case centering on campaign finance practices.

One issue is whether Mr. Edwards knew that some of the millions of dollars given by at least two wealthy donors was being used to help support — and hide, some contend — Rielle Hunter, the campaign videographer with whom he had a prolonged affair, and the daughter they conceived.

The money used to support Ms. Hunter could be considered campaign contributions if prosecutors can show that Mr. Edwards helped orchestrate donations for that purpose, or that he knew the money would be used to keep the affair hidden so it would not hurt his 2008 presidential candidacy.

Much More:   John Edwards Is Out of Sight, but Not for Long – NYTimes.com.

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February 28, 2011 · 8:06 pm

Is Virginia Republican Congressman Robert Hurt a Vampire?

Just wondering…

Look closely….

Un-retouched picture from his Official Newsletter…

It would explain so much…

He, at least, might want to get a more observant press person…

Or this may just be an attempt to appeal to younger voters- the “Twilight” crowd…

Robert Hurt-R-Va-05

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February 28, 2011 · 7:44 pm

New Budget Campaign Asks ‘What Would Jesus Cut?’ — CNN.com

I don’t agree with Jim Wallis on everything, but he’s doing some great work here….

A coalition of progressive Christian leaders has taken out a full-page ad that asks “What would Jesus cut?” in Monday’s edition of Politico, the opening salvo in what the leaders say will be a broader campaign to prevent cuts for the poor and international aid programs amid the budget battle raging in Washington.

“They’re talking about cutting bed nets for malaria and leaving every piece of military spending untouched,” said the Rev. Jim Wallis, who leads the Christian group Sojourners, referring to Republican spending proposals for the rest of this year.

“Are we saying that every piece of military equipment is more important than bed nets, children’s health and nutrition for low-income families?” said Wallis, whose group paid for Monday’s ad. “If so they should be ashamed of themselves.”

The ad and the broader campaign are aimed mostly at a spending measure passed by the Republican-led House of Representatives that cuts $61 billion from current spending levels, including cuts to Head Start, the Women Infants and Children (WIC) program and international aid programs.

Senate Democrats consider those cuts draconian and won’t pass them.

The faith leaders behind the “What would Jesus cut” campaign are also lobbying the Obama administration to forego proposed cuts to programs like college grants and heating assistance to low-income Americans in the 2012 federal budget.

via New budget campaign asks ‘What would Jesus cut?’ – CNN Belief Blog – CNN.com Blogs.

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February 28, 2011 · 7:41 pm

Eric Cantor Dismisses Report That GOP Plan Would Cause Job Loss

These people are criminally misguided, at best….

More likely, they don’t want an economic recovery in hopes it will make it easier to beat President Obama next year…

And they certainly don’t want more Public Employees…

Another possibility is that they are simply evil….

WASHINGTON — Two weeks after House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) dismissed a question about the possibility of the lower chamber’s spending bill killing government jobs with the words “so be it,” Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) offered similar sentiments.

The Republican plan to cut $61 billion from current spending levels would take a heavy toll on employment, destroying 700,000 jobs by 2012, according to an independent economic analysis by Mark Zandi of Moody’s Analytics. The study, released on Monday, predicted that the GOP bill would slow economic growth by 0.5 percentage points this year.

In his weekly Capitol briefing with reporters, Cantor acknowledged that the Republican stopgap budget bill, known as a continuing resolution or CR, might increase unemployment. But he argued that the government should not be creating jobs if that means creating greater deficits.

via Eric Cantor Dismisses Report That GOP Plan Would Cause Job Loss.

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February 28, 2011 · 7:36 pm

How to Build a Progressive Tea Party | The Nation

Great article from Johann Hari at “The Nation”

Imagine a parallel universe where the Great Crash of 2008 was followed by a Tea Party of a very different kind. Enraged citizens gather in every city, week after week—to demand the government finally regulate the behavior of corporations and the superrich, and force them to start paying taxes. The protesters shut down the shops and offices of the companies that have most aggressively ripped off the country. The swelling movement is made up of everyone from teenagers to pensioners. They surround branches of the banks that caused this crash and force them to close, with banners saying, You As people see their fellow citizens acting in self-defense, these tax-the-rich protests spread to even the most conservative parts of the country. It becomes the most-discussed subject on Twitter. Even right-wing media outlets, sensing a startling effect on the public mood, begin to praise the uprising, and dig up damning facts on the tax dodgers.

Instead of the fake populism of the Tea Party, there is a movement based on real populism. It shows that there is an alternative to making the poor and the middle class pay for a crisis caused by the rich. It shifts the national conversation. Instead of letting the government cut our services and increase our taxes, the people demand that it cut the endless and lavish aid for the rich and make them pay the massive sums they dodge in taxes.

This may sound like a fantasy—but it has all happened. The name of this parallel universe is Britain.

More:   How to Build a Progressive Tea Party | The Nation.

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February 27, 2011 · 1:13 pm

FOX NEWS BOSS ROGER AILES TO BE INDICTED???

If only this is true!!!

From Henry Blodget

Last week it was revealed that legendary FOX News boss Roger Ailes allegedly told underling Judith Regan to lie to federal investigators to protect Rudy Giuliani.

Regan reportedly has a tape of the telephone call in which Ailes urged her to do this.

If this story is true, and the telephone call is clear, Ailes would obviously be exposed to obstruction-of-justice charges.

And now the scuttlebutt is that Ailes will in fact be indicted.

Here’s financial commentator Barry Ritholtz:

Someone I spoke with claimed that Ailes was scheduled to speak at their event in March, but canceled. It appears that Roger’s people, ostensibly using a clause in his contract, said he “cannot appear for legal reasons.”

I asked “What, precisely, does that mean?”

The response: “Roger Ailes will be indicted — probably this week, maybe even Monday.”

If the scuttlebutt is true, THIS will be the trial of the century.

via FOX NEWS BOSS ROGER AILES TO BE INDICTED???.

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February 26, 2011 · 9:10 pm

Does the U.S. Really Have a Fiscal Crisis? – NYTimes.com

Another excellent article on the economy and the deficit in the NY Times…

I wish the truth got as much publicity as the lies and misinformation campaigns….

The United States faces some serious medium-term fiscal issues, but by any standard measure it does not face an immediate fiscal crisis. Overly indebted countries typically have a hard time financing themselves when the world becomes riskier — yet turmoil in the Middle East is pushing down the interest rates on United States government debt. We are still seen as a safe haven.

Nonetheless, leading commentators and politicians repeat the line “we’re broke” and argue that there is no alternative to immediate spending cuts at the national and state level.

Which view is correct? And what does this tell us about where our political system is heading?

Our main fiscal issues are three (see my testimony to the Senate Budget Committee earlier this month).

Link to full article:   Does the U.S. Really Have a Fiscal Crisis? – NYTimes.com.

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February 26, 2011 · 10:28 am

Richard T. Hughes: Revelation, Revolutions, and the Tyrannical New World Order

Very interesting article about alternative interpretations to Revelations and the way it is interpreted by Glenn Beck and the Radical Christian Evangelicals….

This is a brief excerpt but it’s really worth clicking the link and reading the entire article…

The truth is, rapture theology is not only unbiblical; it is anti-biblical. For rapture theologians focus on the hate and violence inspired by the “new world order,” all the while ignoring the biblical vision of “a new heaven and a new earth” that brings not hate, but self-giving love; not oppression, but comfort; and not violence, but enduring peace.

But we can also measure rapture theology by the biblical vision of the kingdom of God.

According to the Bible, the kingdom of God exalts the poor at the expense of the rich. But rapture theology exalts only Christians — and fundamental, born-again Christians at that — at the expense of everyone else.

According to the Bible, the kingdom of God promises justice for the oppressed. But rapture theology promises greater oppression for those who don’t conform to the prophetic timetable the rapture theologians have imposed on the biblical text.

According to the Bible, the kingdom of God resists imperial powers. But rapture theology exalts imperial powers as long as they conform to an imagined prophetic script.

And according to the Bible, the kingdom of God nurtures the paths of peace. But rapture theology celebrates apocalyptic violence.

If American Christians were committed to the biblical vision of “peace on earth, good will toward men,” they could contribute immeasurably to the growth of world peace.

But in order for that to happen, they must first abandon their fascination with the “new world order” — an idea that is alien to the biblical text — and work instead on behalf of two ideas that are central to the biblical message: “the kingdom of God” and the final realization of that kingdom in “a new heaven and a new earth.”

via Richard T. Hughes: Revelation, Revolutions, and the Tyrannical New World Order.

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