Why can't the American public nominate their own candidate for president? It turns out we can, and are doing so for the first time in American history.
If the last 12 years have revealed anything, they have shown beyond reasonable doubt that both Status Quo political parties in the U.S. are hopelessly, ruinously corrupt and thus beyond any reform or redemption. We all know why: it now takes millions of dollars to run costly mainstream media election campaigns, and the only source for contributions of that scale is the financial/corporate Elite.
It doesn't matter how you arrange the taxonomy of the financial aristocracy that rules the nation or how you subdivide it--old money, new money, family money, corporate money, etc.-- the bottom line is these campaign contributions are viewed by the aristocratic donors as investments that yield gargantuan returns in tax breaks, subsidies, bailouts, sweetheart contracts, "get out of jail free" cards for the shadow banking system, and so on.
In Social Fractals and the Corruption of America [12](February 8, 2012) I wrote:
Clearly, the tax code is both legal and completely skewed to the very wealthy and politically powerful. $100,000 is still a fairly significant contribution in politics, and if that contribution ends up yielding a tax break that gains the donor $1 million in lower taxes, then that donation earned a 10-fold "return on investment."
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DelMarVa's Premier Source for News, Opinion, Analysis, and Human Interest Contact Publisher Joe Albero at alberobutzo@wmconnect.com or 410-430-5349
Monday, February 20, 2012
Supreme Court Blocks Montana Campaign Finance Ban
The U.S. Supreme Court has blocked the Montana Supreme Court's decision in December upholding the state's century-old ban on corporate political spending.
The ruling Friday evening sets up a possible full-blown U.S. Supreme Court rematch over the 2010 Citizens United decision that allowed unlimited corporate campaign spending. It came in response to an application submitted last week by American Tradition Partnership, a conservative interest group that says it fights "the radical environmentalist agenda," and two companies, seeking to have Montana's ban struck down. A five-member majority of the U.S. Supreme Court in Citizens United declared that corporations' independent spending in elections does not corrupt -- or even appear to corrupt -- the political process.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/02/17/supreme-court-montana_n_1285804.html?ref=politics
The ruling Friday evening sets up a possible full-blown U.S. Supreme Court rematch over the 2010 Citizens United decision that allowed unlimited corporate campaign spending. It came in response to an application submitted last week by American Tradition Partnership, a conservative interest group that says it fights "the radical environmentalist agenda," and two companies, seeking to have Montana's ban struck down. A five-member majority of the U.S. Supreme Court in Citizens United declared that corporations' independent spending in elections does not corrupt -- or even appear to corrupt -- the political process.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/02/17/supreme-court-montana_n_1285804.html?ref=politics
Arizona Debate Matters For GOP's Final Four
Washington (CNN) -- In no particular order, here are four things you should watch in this week's desert debate: Ron Paul, Rick Santorum, Mitt Romney, Newt Gingrich.
The final four have not shared a stage in almost a month: Not since Romney won Florida, Nevada and Maine. Not since Santorum triumphed in Minnesota, Missouri and Colorado. Not since Paul won -- well, Paul won nowhere, though he told me on CNN's "State of the Union," "It all depends on how you measure winning. ... The bottom line is who is going to get the delegates ... and we think we're doing pretty good."
Also not winning anywhere since the last debate is Gingrich, who retains his down-but-never-out storyline. The former House speaker promised recently, "I have been front-runner twice. I suspect I'll be the front-runner again in a few weeks."
It is at least arguable that since the last debate on January 26, Gingrich has faded and Paul has hit a ceiling. Still, all four Republican presidential hopefuls have jointly suffered from an increasing Republican anxiety about the field.
Authority To Place Speed Cameras Around Salisbury - LOOK OUT
Joe
Sometimes I go about my daily business as usual and then something of such magnitude comes about that it just takes my breath away.
First it was the authority to place a single speed camera in Fruitland. Then - they expanded it to in front of Bennett High School. Then, Salisbury Middle School:
While looking at the County Council briefing book - I am stunned at what is being planned in and around Salisbury.
http://www.wicomicocounty.org/council/agenda_minutes/Brief%20Book.PDF
Here is an excerpt of the proposed locations:
Sometimes I go about my daily business as usual and then something of such magnitude comes about that it just takes my breath away.
First it was the authority to place a single speed camera in Fruitland. Then - they expanded it to in front of Bennett High School. Then, Salisbury Middle School:
While looking at the County Council briefing book - I am stunned at what is being planned in and around Salisbury.
http://www.wicomicocounty.org/council/agenda_minutes/Brief%20Book.PDF
Here is an excerpt of the proposed locations:
Gas Prices Soar After Iran Cuts Supply
It doesn’t look like the pain at the gas pump will be easing anytime soon since prices have soared in the past month due to tension in the Middle East.
Iran cut off oil to European countries, as a pre-emptive strike for the European Union's tough new sanctions over its nuclear program.
As a result, over the past month, gas prices have soared 18 cents a gallon, and it might get even worse.
Hundreds Of Cars And Trucks Crash As Snow Falls Across Virginia
RICHMOND, Va. (WTVR) - State Police responded to nearly 1,000 traffic accidents as snow fell across the Commonwealth Sunday into Monday morning, according to Virginia State Police spokesman Sgt. Thomas Molnar.
Molnar said on Sunday state troopers responded to 881 crashes and 456 calls for disabled vehicles. Nearly 230 of those crash calls occurred in and around Richmond, Virginia.
Monday morning state police responded to more than 40 crashes in metro-Richmond.
Presidents' Day 2012: Sarah Palin Releases Video
Sarah Palin celebrated Presidents' Day by releasing a video on the website of her political action committee, SarahPAC.com.
"We stand today at the symbolic crossroads of our nation's history, and all around us are monuments to those who have sustained us over the years in word or deed, the towering presence of the great emancipator who secured our union at the moment of its most perilous time," she says as images of monuments, presidents, Americana and herself appear on the screen.
How Citibank Dumped Lousy Mortgages On The Government
A lawsuit, which Citibank just settled for $158 million, reveals how the bank pushed risky loans onto the government's books.
Citigroup agreed yesterday to pay $158 million to settle a lawsuit [1] over bad loans that the bank passed on to the Federal Housing Administration to insure. The whistle-blower who originally brought the case, Sherry Hunt, an employee of Citi's mortgage department, said the company actively undermined the process that was supposed to check for fraud in order to push through reckless loans and get higher profits.
The suit itself makes for good reading [2]. We've pulled out the juiciest bits, and explain just what Citi appears to have been doing.
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Citigroup agreed yesterday to pay $158 million to settle a lawsuit [1] over bad loans that the bank passed on to the Federal Housing Administration to insure. The whistle-blower who originally brought the case, Sherry Hunt, an employee of Citi's mortgage department, said the company actively undermined the process that was supposed to check for fraud in order to push through reckless loans and get higher profits.
The suit itself makes for good reading [2]. We've pulled out the juiciest bits, and explain just what Citi appears to have been doing.
More
Ruling Class
"Those who formally rule take their signals and commands not from the electorate as a body, but from a small group of men. This group will be called the Establishment. It exists even though that existence is stoutly denied. It is one of the secrets of the American social order... A second secret is the fact that the existence of the Establishment - the ruling class - is not supposed to be discussed."
-- Arthur S. Miller
George Washington University Professor of Law
-- Arthur S. Miller
George Washington University Professor of Law
The Tea Party Isn’t Dead
It should come as no surprise that there’s been a lot of talk in the mainstream media recently about the “death of the Tea Party.” This is an old narrative that the establishment and its media allies have tried several times already, and those of us in the movement know to ignore it by now. But with so many grassroots Conservatives finding themselves frustrated with their choices of presidential candidates, this seems like a moment to affirm our strength and plot our course to take this country back.
The Daily Caller was kind enough to publish my thoughts on this topic, in an Op-Ed titled “The Tea Party Isn’t Dead.” In it, I conclude:
Were the tea party movement a unified bloc, with a D.C. lobbying office, allies inside the establishment elite, and an agenda formed by special interests and big-money donors, the pundits might be correct in pointing out the tea party’s “weakness” in this presidential nomination process. But this assumption ignores how fundamentally the tea party has changed politics…
What the pundits are really saying is not that the tea party has lost its clout, but that the tea party has failed to play the traditional game of Washington, D.C. politics. This condemnation should be a badge of pride for the tea party: it is signal proof of success, not failure.
Read the whole thing here.
The Daily Caller was kind enough to publish my thoughts on this topic, in an Op-Ed titled “The Tea Party Isn’t Dead.” In it, I conclude:
Were the tea party movement a unified bloc, with a D.C. lobbying office, allies inside the establishment elite, and an agenda formed by special interests and big-money donors, the pundits might be correct in pointing out the tea party’s “weakness” in this presidential nomination process. But this assumption ignores how fundamentally the tea party has changed politics…
What the pundits are really saying is not that the tea party has lost its clout, but that the tea party has failed to play the traditional game of Washington, D.C. politics. This condemnation should be a badge of pride for the tea party: it is signal proof of success, not failure.
Read the whole thing here.
Domestic Production Eyed As Gas Prices Head Toward Record-Breaking Height
President Obama's re-elect team defended White House energy policy on Sunday as gas prices shoot toward the $4 mark and beyond, a level that could devastate voters' pocketbooks as well as Obama's chances for a second term.
Nationally, gas prices are $3.53 a gallon, up 25 cents since Jan. 1, and likely headed to $4.25 a gallon by late April. Republicans have demanded more oil production at home, as well as building the Keystone XL pipeline across the middle of the U.S. to allow oil from Canada to reach Texas refineries.
FDA Investigates Whether Inhalable Caffeine Is Safe
The Food and Drug Administration will investigate whether inhalable caffeine is safe or a dietary supplement like one company claims, the Associated Press reports. The caffeine is sold in lipstick sized canisters. Consumers put one end of the canister in their mouths and breathe in, releasing a fine powder that dissolves almost instantly. It's called AeroShot and didn't require an FDA review before hitting the because it's sold as a dietary supplement. Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) says he met with FDA's Commissioner and she agreed to review the safety and legality of AeroShot.
Sex-Changing Treatment For Kids: It's On The Rise
CHICAGO (AP) — A small but growing number of teens and even younger children who think they were born the wrong sex are getting support from parents and from doctors who give them sex-changing treatments, according to reports in the medical journal Pediatrics.
It's an issue that raises ethical questions, and some experts urge caution in treating children with puberty-blocking drugs and hormones.
An 8-year-old second-grader in Los Angeles is a typical patient. Born a girl, the child announced at 18 months, "I a boy" and has stuck with that belief. The family was shocked but now refers to the child as a boy and is watching for the first signs of puberty to begin treatment, his mother told The Associated Press.
Update On Immigration And Customs Shooting
More details emerging on the fatal shooting between Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers in Long Beach, Calif. Sources tell the Associated Press, agent Ezequiel Garcia shot Kevin Kozak six times. Kozak, who survived, is the deputy special agent in command. Kozak had turned down Garcia's request for a transfer. They were about to meet to discuss Garcia's job performance. A third agent shot and killed Garcia. The shootings were the latest in a series of public embarrassments for ICE. Its officers and agents have been arrested for crimes, accused of improper relationships with informants and convicted in embezzlement cases.
Fredericksen To Be Reappointed Tuesday
Joe,
All of the outcry about Fredericksen’s leadership and the unethical actions of some board members had no effect. The board is set to reappoint him on Tuesday. His contract renewal is on the agenda for tomorrow, February 21st, soon after the board meeting begins at 1:30. None of the concerns of the public and parents, the complete lack of respect and confidence of the staff, the culture of fear imposed on employees, the past performance and questionable actions in Minnesota, and his performance here leading WCPS have not mattered to the board at all. They made no request for public input, no attempt to survey staff, no effort to investigate claims, and clearly no intelligent review of his last four years. If you are part of the problem, it is difficult to become the solution.
What will the press release say? Typically you tout accomplishments and strategic vision in such things. “Dr. Fredericksen has led WCPS to four failing years on student achievement tests. He has completely lost the confidence and respect of his staff and alienated the community members with whom he has had contact. But he has been our puppet and supported our own personal motives and questionable actions, so we welcome him back for four more years. We need to hold this ball of yarn together and don’t believe the children of Wicomico County deserve any better than this.”
All of that alone should be enough without the pending legal actions that have already begun. By filing the defamation claim against White, Moses and Messick were smarter than Fredericksen. Then again, that bar is pretty low. Now White, Fredericksen, and others will begin to answer about relationships and communications and they will have to release records so that Fredericksen can no longer ignore timelines on public information requests and lie on responses. The unions will scamper to get themselves removed from the claim arguing that White was acting on his own in conjunction with Fredericksen. Even if Fredericksen wanted to help out his only buddy, White, the board’s insurance plan would not allow it. White will be alone on an island and the unraveling will begin soon and who knows where it will end.
By the time that saga concludes, there won’t be much of a board of education or a Fredericksen around. It makes you wonder what is wrong with the board. Your article on pension bailout is telling. That cost is coming to the local government or board of ed. According to our website, Fredericksen came here at 58 years old and likely a retiree from Minnesota with a pension there. Once the board gives him a new contract, he’ll be vested in the Maryland pension system (5 years). With the cost now about to be paid locally, Wicomico County citizens will be paying for Fredericksen’s pension no matter how long he endures the legal battle facing him. Aren’t we lucky.
We should thank the board for that lifetime bill, especially for a guy who hates Wicomico County and the Shore. From the beginning he has made ongoing weird and defamatory comments about us. He tells people that he is privileged as an educated white man with a doctorate and actually believes that they open lines in Target just for him. Seriously. When he first arrived he commented on going to church here that had a confederate flag so much that staff members checked it out. It was a cemetery marker of a Civil War soldier outside the church. He told a parent, who he didn’t know was an employee, that if she was so concerned about gang activity in schools she should put her kids in private school. Because he had such a difficult time adjusting to here, he once hired a customer relations firm (for one meeting) to help people interact. They left when they realized he was the only one having trouble interacting, but at the preparation meeting one staff member trying to help him said she had to transition when she came here from another state. Fredericksen replied, “Why, because you have a doctorate but not a pickup truck.”
Wow, four more years. Let’s all thank the board. At least we have this blog to detail every aspect of Fredericksen and the board for the next four years. I’m sure they are looking forward to that as well.
All of the outcry about Fredericksen’s leadership and the unethical actions of some board members had no effect. The board is set to reappoint him on Tuesday. His contract renewal is on the agenda for tomorrow, February 21st, soon after the board meeting begins at 1:30. None of the concerns of the public and parents, the complete lack of respect and confidence of the staff, the culture of fear imposed on employees, the past performance and questionable actions in Minnesota, and his performance here leading WCPS have not mattered to the board at all. They made no request for public input, no attempt to survey staff, no effort to investigate claims, and clearly no intelligent review of his last four years. If you are part of the problem, it is difficult to become the solution.
What will the press release say? Typically you tout accomplishments and strategic vision in such things. “Dr. Fredericksen has led WCPS to four failing years on student achievement tests. He has completely lost the confidence and respect of his staff and alienated the community members with whom he has had contact. But he has been our puppet and supported our own personal motives and questionable actions, so we welcome him back for four more years. We need to hold this ball of yarn together and don’t believe the children of Wicomico County deserve any better than this.”
All of that alone should be enough without the pending legal actions that have already begun. By filing the defamation claim against White, Moses and Messick were smarter than Fredericksen. Then again, that bar is pretty low. Now White, Fredericksen, and others will begin to answer about relationships and communications and they will have to release records so that Fredericksen can no longer ignore timelines on public information requests and lie on responses. The unions will scamper to get themselves removed from the claim arguing that White was acting on his own in conjunction with Fredericksen. Even if Fredericksen wanted to help out his only buddy, White, the board’s insurance plan would not allow it. White will be alone on an island and the unraveling will begin soon and who knows where it will end.
By the time that saga concludes, there won’t be much of a board of education or a Fredericksen around. It makes you wonder what is wrong with the board. Your article on pension bailout is telling. That cost is coming to the local government or board of ed. According to our website, Fredericksen came here at 58 years old and likely a retiree from Minnesota with a pension there. Once the board gives him a new contract, he’ll be vested in the Maryland pension system (5 years). With the cost now about to be paid locally, Wicomico County citizens will be paying for Fredericksen’s pension no matter how long he endures the legal battle facing him. Aren’t we lucky.
We should thank the board for that lifetime bill, especially for a guy who hates Wicomico County and the Shore. From the beginning he has made ongoing weird and defamatory comments about us. He tells people that he is privileged as an educated white man with a doctorate and actually believes that they open lines in Target just for him. Seriously. When he first arrived he commented on going to church here that had a confederate flag so much that staff members checked it out. It was a cemetery marker of a Civil War soldier outside the church. He told a parent, who he didn’t know was an employee, that if she was so concerned about gang activity in schools she should put her kids in private school. Because he had such a difficult time adjusting to here, he once hired a customer relations firm (for one meeting) to help people interact. They left when they realized he was the only one having trouble interacting, but at the preparation meeting one staff member trying to help him said she had to transition when she came here from another state. Fredericksen replied, “Why, because you have a doctorate but not a pickup truck.”
Wow, four more years. Let’s all thank the board. At least we have this blog to detail every aspect of Fredericksen and the board for the next four years. I’m sure they are looking forward to that as well.
New Posts to fall below.
Weekly Laser, Fireworks Shows Set For Summer
OCEAN CITY – A weekly laser light and fireworks show will hit the sky downtown this summer as a new series of free events was approved this week.
The Tourism Advisory Board (TAB) presented an update to the Mayor and City Council on its recent meetings where ideas were worked out to bring new events as well as expand existing events with the funds allocated by the town.
TAB Chair Melanie Pursel requested that a summer family entertainment series be approved and funded partially with the remainder of the $300,000 allocated to the board in the fiscal year of 2012. In order to do so, the fund balance of $170,000 will have to be rolled over into fiscal yaer 2013’s to accommodate the entertainment series.
In addition, TAB asked for the council to consider allocating an additional $300,000 in next year’s budget to finish funding the series and in order to continue to study incoming presentations of new events that would add value to the town.
A New Jobs Program For People Trapped In Unemployment
(CBS News) Meet the new underclass -- the four million Americans who have been unemployed for more than a year. With every additional week out of work, their chances of finding a job dwindle. It turns out that many employers don't want to hire the currently unemployed. Enter Joe Carbone , who is determined to return the American dream to the long-term unemployed in Connecticut. And he's succeeding, one job at a time. How's Carbone doing it? Scott Pelley reports.
The following script is from "Trapped in Unemployment" which aired on Feb. 19, 2012. Scott Pelley is the correspondent. Henry Schuster and Rachael Kun, producers.
We've seen some improvement in the job market lately. But there's something stubborn about unemployment. Never in the last 60 years has the length of joblessness been this long. Four million people, a full third of the unemployed, have been out of work more than a year. They've been severed from the workforce. Ben Bernanke, chairman of the Federal Reserve, calls it "a national crisis." To understand what's happening, we went to Stamford, Conn., to see an experiment that might just offer a way back for Americans trapped in unemployment.
More
The following script is from "Trapped in Unemployment" which aired on Feb. 19, 2012. Scott Pelley is the correspondent. Henry Schuster and Rachael Kun, producers.
We've seen some improvement in the job market lately. But there's something stubborn about unemployment. Never in the last 60 years has the length of joblessness been this long. Four million people, a full third of the unemployed, have been out of work more than a year. They've been severed from the workforce. Ben Bernanke, chairman of the Federal Reserve, calls it "a national crisis." To understand what's happening, we went to Stamford, Conn., to see an experiment that might just offer a way back for Americans trapped in unemployment.
More
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