Look for Oligarchs Attack on Workers to Continue

During the 2010 midterms, several far-right U.S. Senate candidates said they either wanted to slash the minimum wage or eliminate it altogether. Each of these candidates, incidentally, lost. The Republicans’ hostility towards the minimum wage hasn’t gone away. Michele Bachmann, for example, has argued that eliminating the minimum wage would eliminate unemployment entirely. Bachmann conceded she’d consider eliminating the policy as president as part of her efforts to crush “expansion of government.”

Their cockamamy theory is that instead of a company paying 4 workers $10 per hour, it would be better to pay 8 workers $5 per hour or even better in the regressive party's mind, 16 workers making $2.50 per hour. I've been saying this for months. Their plan to lower unemployment is to abolish minimum wage. Then they can bring back the jobs they've farmed out to third world countres while making the United States one. If their goal is accomplished, non-union companies can start slashing wages of current employees who are making a fair wage and/or threaten their job security if they fight back with the ability of cheap labor. Do you think maybe this is the long term goal of all the union busting? Anyone who thinks it can't happen here isn't watching what this SCOTUS is doing.

Such a radical change would be unpopular, and the idea is so far from the American mainstream, there aren't any polls even asking the question. The problem is the current Teapublican Party doesn't care about what the American people want. They don't care if their position is unpopular. Look no further than Ayn Rand fan boy Paul Ryan's "bold and couragious" budget proposal. It screws future Medicare recipients and further slashes taxes for the wealthy while raising the debt! Teapublicans only care about their strict ideology

I wonder if others in the GOP field will go on the record supporting this as well? Or they'll just pull a Gov. Scott Walker (R-WI). Run on balancing the budget and then spend every waking moment destroying unions with the help of the billionaire Koch Brothers, or as I prefer, Koch-roaches. Meanwhile, the idiotic voters who elect these fascists because
"the gays are out to get them," are chanting, "U.S.A., U.S.A." like a bunch of indoctrinated zombies.

People need to put down their iPods and stop playing Warcraft and start paying attention to what the plutocrats are up too, damn it.

Koch Brothers Caught Telling Thousands of Employees How to Vote

The Nation magazine has revealed that Koch Industries sent a letter to most of its 50,000 employees dated October 4, 2010, just prior to the November mid-term elections, strongly advising them on whom to vote for and warning them of the dire consequences should they choose to vote otherwise. As a result of the Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission ruling last year, corporations are now legally allowed to pressure their workers to adopt their political views. Koch Industries is run by the billionaire brothers, Charles and David Koch, who have helped bankroll the Tea Party movement and dozens of other right-wing causes, including the recent attacks on public sector employees and unions going on in many states. Let's not forget the prank call Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker took when he thought he was speaking to David Koch, which revealed what they were actually up to. It doesn't matter that the caller was fake, the intentions of these hard right politicians being funded by the Kochs and other wealthy donors is not. Then last week when Walker was called in front of congress, thinking he was going to be greeted as a hero by the Republican congressional majority, the Democrats actually took no mercy on him when they forced him, under oath, to admit that his union busting bill does nothing for Wisconsin's budget.

I don't think this story is getting as much coverage as it should be. A friend of mine thinks this right wing hysteria we're on right now is just a bump in the road, part of a cycle. I'm not so sure. In the past, there wasn't a 24/7 right wing propaganda network spewing nothing but ideological talking points. Our media wasn't entirely owned by five large corporations controlling the information we have access to. We didn't have a majority right wing SCOTUS. And while I obviously wasn't there during the last big fight between the people and the corporations, I'm willing to bet even the timid ones who didn't get directly involved weren't actively working against their peers to help the oligarchs as we have today. Today they call themselves Tea Party Patriots and are well-funded by the likes of the Koch Brothers. They know nothing of the original tea party patriots or they'd be fighting the oligarchy, not fighting for them. This current crop of lost souls either doesn't know what the Boston Tea Party was actually about or just don't care --- they're still enraged that the black guy won.

Democracy Now's Amy Goodman interviews journalists Mark Ames and Mike Elk of The Nation magazine. Their interview begins at the 32:48 mark in the video.
The Nation article is linked below video.


The Nation Big Brothers: Thought Control at Koch

GOP Goal: Bake Sales vs Billionaires

Rachel Maddow did this outstanding report about how the alleged Wisconsin budget problem is a canard to distract from the real Republican goal of destroying labor unions to remove election spending competition - and ultimately the Democratic Party itself. Thom Hartmann said today that he believes this scheme was hatched a couple weeks ago at the multi-billionaire Koch Brothers Retreat for the far right. It seems the governors and other politicians were given their instructions and this is the beginning of of what looks like attacks on organized labor with their eye on the big trophy - The Democratic Party's demise.

I'm very proud of these Wisconsin workers and there are reports that today, similar protest over similar legislation have broke out in Ohio. There are also reports that paid Tea Party thugs lead by right wing freak Andrew Breitbart (best known for his unscrupulous editing skills) are on their way to WI to start trouble with the folks who have been peacefully protesting for their rights.

“When fascism comes to America, it will be wrapped in the flag and carrying the cross.”
- Sinclair Lewis, It Can’t Happen Here (1935)

Ed Schultz on the ground defending unions in Wisconsin.

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Restoring American Values That Never Existed

August 28, 2010 will be remembered as nothing more than the day an egomaniac wanted to redefine what that date represents in history. He tried to steal the historical date of Dr. Martin Luther King Jrs. "I Have a Dream" speech at the time we have our first black president. The Faux Networks' very own preacher, Glenn Beck and his klan (reported at as many as 87,000) decided that they've had enough (of that black, guy). Let's not kid ourselves, Beck's little "Restoring Honor" assembly was nothing more than a rally for those who still can't get over the fact that the black guy won. If this was any more than a disingenuous little gathering of pissed off teabaggers, I'd like to see proof of it. If this "awakening" was legitimate, why wasn't what they want honor restored to, made perfectly clear? What topics could they have covered? How about addressing two more than questionable presidential victories in 2000 and 2004? How about questioning the incompetence of George W. Bush when he failed to read any memo's or reports, the latest delivered on August 6, 2001 that warned, "bin Laden Determined to Attack" which led to the largest attack on U.S. soil. How about questioning invading a country that had no ties to Al-Qaeda, but sure had a lot of oil? How about indignation at the SCOTUS ruling that corporations are citizens and can donate as much money to political campaigns as they want thereby deciding the elections? How about how the U.S. violated the Geneva Convention with torture? How about thinking about how far we've fallen as a state-of-the-art country slipping towards third world country status? But no, while most of the Beckerheads obeyed their leader and left most of the signs home, that didn't stop them from blaming liberals for ruining the country even though the last true liberal running the country died November 22, 1963. Oh yeah, but letting terror suspects buy guns is groovy...seriously! One guy suggested that even though Obama hasn't come for his guns...yet, when he does, he'll get them one bullet at a time (if someone said that about Bush, they'd have been arrested). Well, watch the video for yourself and notice the diversity (NOT!):



Since "God" must not have anything to say through Psycho Glenn yesterday, he plagiarized Obama, King and others. Beck's speech was a mishmash of ramblings of a demogogue and sociopath. It wouldn't bother me so much if so many people weren't buying into this garbage. These people believe Obama is a manchurian president (because they saw the movie, not because they understood the meaning) and a whole bunch of other things they don't know the definition of like socialist, marxist, nazi, etc... They believe he's part of The New World Order for christ sakes!
In my mind, when these hateful, undereducated hypocrites say they want to restore "traditional American values" they're saying they want to go back to the 50's (at least). White men in charge of everything; women are to be a chef in the kitchen, a harlot in the bedroom, and an incubator; blacks go back to second class citizenry with separation; gays keep their mouths shut and marry someone of the opposite sex, live miserably just to conform to Becks version of Christianity or Mormonism (since I don't even know what the hell he's selling). And the Hispanics? Well, they weren't such a big issue "back in the day." Let's just go back to Mayberry --- which unbeknownst to them, never really existed. He mentioned that we're a Christian nation and that sends me through the roof. We are not, we are not, we are not! How is it these supposedly strict Constitutionalists can't interpret the god damn first amendment where it clearly states:

"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances."

These people are only strict Constitutionalists for the parts they like. They're the same people who cherry pick the Bible for quotes to justify their hatred of gay folks, but eat shellfish, wear blended clothing, but would be appalled if someone actually stoned their disobedient children to death. You see, when I went to catechism, a sin was a sin, there were none more egregious than others. I still don't believe being gay is any more a sin than wearing blended clothing, so I guess I'm a rebel.  The problem liberals have and always will until we have a true awakening of our own is that we try to do things in a well reasoned, politically correct manner trying to take into account everyone's beliefs. Conservatives are like a giant bulldozer who will wreak destruction on anything they don't like because they just don't care. We must stop being a Prius to their Caterpillar heavy equipment. These teabaggers are taking the country down a road the early settlers and founders clearly did not intend. Furthermore, this is not a grass roots effort. These believers are being played. It's been widely confirmed that the multi-billionaire Koch brothers are funding this anti-Obama movement with Dick Armey heading it up. History needs to be taught to these buffoons. The Pilgrims who left England and came to this land, came here to be free to practice their faith. They were forced to practice the State mandated religion of the Church of England. Now here we are in 2010 and radio clown Glenn Beck, abominable snowbitch Sarah Palin, crazy Michele Bachmann, scary Sharon Angle, fruity Rand Paul and doesn't wear heels Ken Buck want us to recognize Christianity as our national religion. God, if you're up there and listening, don't let them get away with it!

UPDATE: Evidently, part way through the event, Beck asked the gathered honor-reclaimers to take out their cell phones and text "SOF" to #### several times while the C-SPAN camera panned the audience and he teased them with the possibility that this could be the largest number of people to ever do this. After exhorting them to text a few more times he told them they'd just donated $10 to his SOF fund! Their pockets were picked without even a bump! It was masterful, indeed. I wonder how many did it multiple times! Brilliant fleecing of the flock and probably illegal!