The Soapbox

Can We?

Fri, 12 Nov 2010 21:45:29 -0800

“Capitalism” and “the Free Market” are defined by the right to make a profit. That means that our economic system is defined as “businesses should make as much money as they can.”

But think about that. That means that purpose of business in the United States is “to make a profit.” And because our economy is based on shopping, that means their profits have to come from the people who buy stuff from them.

That’s us.

However, if those businesses aren’t paying a living wage to their employees (that’s us), or hiring more employees (that’s us), then we don’t have any more money to give them.

But we keep giving it to them anyway. We put it on credit cards, and our interest actually gives them even more.

Then, because we have so many corporations, it means all of us are basically handing our money over to a relatively few business owners. Willingly.

We do it because we’re Americans, and we believe in the American Way.

Yes, we can?

No, we don’t.

Here are the Names of Who Are Buying Our Elections

Thu, 21 Oct 2010 21:47:07 -0700

Top Companies Aid Chamber of Commerce in Policy Fights
New York Times
Prudential Financial sent in a $2 million donation last year as the U.S. Chamber of Commerce kicked off a national advertising campaign to weaken the historic rewrite of the nation’s financial regulations.
Dow Chemical delivered $1.7 million to the chamber last year as the group took a leading role in aggressively fighting proposed rules that would impose tighter security requirements on chemical facilities.
And Goldman Sachs, Chevron Texaco, and Aegon, a multinational insurance company based in the Netherlands, donated more than $8 million in recent years to a chamber foundation that has been critical of growing federal regulation and spending. These large donations — none of which were publicly disclosed by the chamber, a tax-exempt group that keeps its donors secret, as it is allowed by law — offer a glimpse of the chamber’s money-raising efforts, which it has ramped up recently in an orchestrated campaign to become one of the most well-financed critics of the Obama administration and an influential player in this fall’s Congressional elections.
They suggest that the recent allegations from President Obama and others that foreign money has ended up in the chamber’s coffers miss a larger point: The chamber has had little trouble finding American companies eager to enlist it, anonymously, to fight their political battles and pay handsomely for its help.
And these contributions, some of which can be pieced together through tax filings of corporate foundations and other public records, also show how the chamber has increasingly relied on a relatively small collection of big corporate donors to finance much of its legislative and political agenda. The chamber makes no apologies for its policy of not identifying its donors. It has vigorously opposed legislation in Congress that would require groups like it to identify their biggest contributors when they spend money on campaign ads.
Proponents of that measure pointed to reports that health insurance providers funneled at least $10 million to the chamber last year, all of it anonymously, to oppose President Obama’s health care legislation.
“The major supporters of us in health care last year were confronted with protests at their corporate headquarters, protests and harassment at the C.E.O.’s homes,” said R. Bruce Josten, the chief lobbyist at the chamber, whose office looks out on the White House. “You are wondering why companies want some protection. It is pretty clear.”
The chamber’s increasingly aggressive role — including record spending in the midterm elections that supports Republicans more than 90 percent of the time — has made it a target of critics, including a few local chamber affiliates who fear it has become too partisan and hard-nosed in its fund-raising.
The chamber is spending big in political races from California to New Hampshire, including nearly $1.5 million on television advertisements in New Hampshire attacking Representative Paul W. Hodes, a Democrat running for the United States Senate, accusing him of riding Nancy Pelosi’s “liberal express” down the road to financial ruin.
“When you become a mouthpiece for a specific agenda item for one business or group of businesses, you better be damn careful you are not being manipulated,” said James C. Tyree, a former chairman of the Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce, who has backed Republicans and Democrats, including Mr. Obama. “And they are getting close to that, if not over that edge.”
But others praise its leading role against Democrat-backed initiatives, like health care, financial regulation and climate change, which they argue will hurt American businesses. The Obama administration’s “antibusiness rhetoric” has infuriated executives, making them open to the chamber’s efforts, said John Motley, a former lobbyist for the National Federation of Independent Business, a rival.
“They’ve raised it to a science, and an art form,” he said of the chamber’s pitches to corporate leaders that large contributions will help “change the game” in Washington.
As a nonprofit organization, the chamber need not disclose its donors in its public tax filings, and because it says no donations are earmarked for specific ads aimed at a candidate, it does not invoke federal elections rules requiring disclosure.
The annual tax returns that the chamber releases include a list of all donations over $5,000, including 21 in 2008 that each exceed $1 million, one of them for $15 million. However, the chamber omits the donors’ names.
But intriguing hints can be found in obscure places, like the corporate governance reports that some big companies have taken to posting on their Web sites, which show their donations to trade associations. Also, the tax filings of corporate foundations must publicly list their donations to other foundations, including one run by the chamber.
These records show that while the chamber boasts of representing more than three million businesses, and having approximately 300,000 members, nearly half of its $140 million in contributions in 2008 came from just 45 donors. Many of those large donations coincided with lobbying or political campaigns that potentially affected the donors.
Dow Chemical, for example, sent $1.7 million to the chamber in the past year to cover not only its annual membership dues, but also to support lobbying and legal campaigns. Those included one against legislation requiring stronger measures to protect chemical plants from attack.
A Dow spokesman would not discuss the reasons for the large donation, other than to say it supports the chamber’s work.
Prudential Financial’s $2 million donation last year coincided with a chamber lobbying effort against elements of the financial regulation bill in Congress. A spokesman for Prudential, which opposed certain proposed restrictions on the use of financial instruments known as derivatives, said the donation was not earmarked for a specific issue.
But he acknowledged that most of the money was used by the chamber to lobby Congress.
“I am not suggesting it is a coincidence,” said the spokesman, Bob DeFillippo.
More recently, the News Corporation gave $1 million to support the chamber’s political efforts this fall; Chairman Rupert Murdoch said it was in best interests of his company and the country “that there be a fair amount of change in Washington.”
Business interests also give to the chamber’s foundation. Its tax filings show that seven donors gave the foundation at least $17 million between 2004 and 2008, about two-thirds of the total raised.
These donors include Goldman Sachs, Edward Jones, Alpha Technologies, Chevron Texaco and Aegon, which has American subsidiaries and whose former chief executive, Donald J. Shepard, served for a time as chairman of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s board.
Another large foundation donor is a charity run by Maurice R. Greenberg, the former chairman of the insurance giant A.I.G. The charity has made loans and grants totaling $18 million since 2003. U.S. Chamber Watch, a union-backed group, filed a complaint with the Internal Revenue Service last month asserting that the chamber foundation violated tax laws by funneling the money into a chamber “tort reform” campaign favored by A.I.G. and Mr. Greenberg. The chamber denied any wrongdoing.
The complaint, which the chamber calls entirely unfounded, raises the question of how the chamber picks its campaigns, and whether it accepts donations that are intended to be spent on specific issues or political races.
The chamber says that it consults with members on lobbying targets, but that it does not make those decisions based on the size of a donation or accept money earmarked to support a specific political candidate.
Endorsement decisions, chamber officials said, are based on candidates’ votes on a series of business-related bills, and through consultations with the chamber’s regional directors, state affiliates and members.
To avoid conflicts of interest, individual businesses do not play a role in deciding on which races to spend the chamber’s political advertising dollars. The choices instead are made by the chamber’s political staff, based on where it sees the greatest chance of getting pro-business candidates elected, chamber executives said.
“They are not anywhere near a room when we are making a decision like that,” Mr. Josten said, of the companies that finance these ads. The chamber’s extraordinary money push began long before this election season. An organization that in 2003 had an overall budget of about $130 million, it is spending $200 million this year, and the chamber and its affiliates allocated $144 million last year just for lobbying, making it the biggest lobbyist in the United States.
In January, the chamber’s president, Thomas J. Donohue, a former trucking lobbyist, announced that his group intended “to carry out the largest, most aggressive voter education and issue advocacy effort in our nearly 100-year history.”
The words were carefully chosen, as the chamber asserts in filings with the Federal Election Commission that it is simply running issue ads during this election season. But a review of the nearly 70 chamber-produced ads found that 93 percent of those that have run nationwide that focus on the midterm elections either support Republican candidates or criticize their opponents.
And the pace of spending has been relentless. In just a single week this month, the chamber spent $10 million on Senate races in nine states and two dozen House races, a fraction of the $50 million to $75 million it said it intends to spend over all this season. In the 2008 election cycle, it spent $33.5 million.
To support the effort, the chamber has adopted an all-hands-on-deck approach to fund-raising. Mr. Josten said he makes many of the fund-raising calls to corporations nationwide, as does Mr. Donohue. (Both men are well compensated for their work: Mr. Donohue was paid $3.7 million in 2008, and has access to a corporate jet and a chauffeur, while Mr. Josten was paid $1.1 million, tax records show.)
But those aggressive pitches have turned off some business executives. “There was an arrogance to it like they were the 800-pound gorilla and I was either with them with this big number or I just did not matter,” said Mr. Tyree, of Chicago.
Another corporate executive, who asked not to be named, said the chamber risks alienating its members.
“Unless you spend $250,000 to $500,000 a year, that is what they want for you to be one of their pooh-bahs, otherwise, they don’t pay any attention to you at all,” the executive said, asking that the company not be identified.
Chamber officials acknowledge the tough fund-raising, but they say it has been necessary in support of their goal of remaking Congress on Election Day to make it friendlier to business.
“It’s been a long and ugly campaign season, filled with partisan attacks and political squabbling,” William C. Miller Jr., the chamber’s national political director, said in a message sent to chamber members this week. “We are all tired — no doubt about it. But we are so close to bringing about historic change on Capitol Hill.”

Do you know about Obama’s SUCCESSES?

Sat, 16 Oct 2010 00:29:04 -0700

It’s odd to me. Obama has passed a number of remarkable, historic, game-changing legislation, but all we hear about are how he’s not all that we hoped he’d be. All we read & see about his wins tell us that they’re actually failures because they’re not the complete governmental reform we hoped to see.

But Obama has implemented more real change than any other president since Lyndon Johnson.

ended preexisting conditions in health insurance, prevented them from dropping you if you get sick, and allowed the self-employed to deduct their insurance premiums,

ended the war in Iraq,

kept the credit card companies from jacking your rates,

funded green energy development,

increased education funding,

prevented complete economic collapse, saved Detroit,

vastly increased the US's reputation worldwide, and got voted in as our first black president.

He may not be all we hoped for, but don't let the Republican conglomerate obscure all the good he is doing. Talk about all the good.

Match every one dollar the opposition is pouring into the campaign with your one voice talking about the GOOD the Democrats are doing.

Gobama! Vote next month (or before!)!

Here’s Rolling Stone’s article explaining: http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/17390/220013?RS_show_page=0

2010 Election Challenge

Sun, 12 Sep 2010 13:28:47 -0700

Senate races are at full boil. Here's the latest from the ground:

Alaska: There's a real race in Alaska - Sarah Palin's backyard. With Palin's help, Tea Party Republicans defeated Sen. Lisa Murkowski - the seventh GOP establishment candidate to fall in primaries. In November, Sitka Mayor Scott McAdams will take on Republican extremist Joe Miller, who wants to kill Social Security and unemployment benefits. The Republicans might find themselves stuck with a candidate who will get Palin's vote, but is simply out of step with the concerns of average Alaskans.

California: A new poll shows Barbara Boxer up four points, so that's a sure call for the right wing to spring into action. The Chamber of Commerce responded by plowing $340,000 into attack ads. In the meantime, Carly Fiorina is being asked why a subsidiary of HP - the company she (badly) led - sold products to Iran and how she could cut 33,000 jobs while accepting a $42 million golden parachute.

Colorado: Michael Bennet is now leading Tea Party favorite Ken Buck by three points after his campaign and the DSCC ran ads highlighting Buck's extreme positions. It seems that Colorado voters might be leery of Buck's opposition to Social Security and federal student loan programs, and his support for repealing the 17th Amendment - which (ironically) lets voters choose their senators.

Connecticut: Linda McMahon has a problem. She's trying to run for the Senate as a savvy businesswoman, but the business she ran - World Wrestling Entertainment - has a, shall we say, unsavory side. McMahon can't escape YouTube clips featuring female wrestlers being mistreated and people with disabilities being mocked and beaten up, not to mention stories about how she treated them all as "independent contractors" to avoid providing benefits. And more than once since the campaign began, there's been word of another former WWE wrestler who's died far too young. Meanwhile, Richard Blumenthal is doing what he does best - working hard for the people of Connecticut.

Delaware: The fight for Joe Biden's old seat just got more interesting. Republicans expected longtime Washington flip-flopper Mike Castle to walk away with the nomination, but Tea Party activists - and Sarah Palin - have different plans. They're supporting Christine O'Donnell, whose main claims to fame are very messy personal finances and a really bad radio interview. The Tea Party Express is investing $250,000 to take out Castle. Once the victor of the GOP infighting emerges, New Castle County Executive Chris Coons will make a strong case for keeping this seat blue.

Illinois: President Obama's old Senate seat has the GOP salivating, and they're getting help to win it. The Chamber of Commerce is up with ads on behalf of Rep. Mark Kirk, who's become best known for a record of fiscal irresponsibility during the Bush years and for continually inflating his resume. Democratic nominee Alexi Giannoulias is running a new TV ad that focuses on how he's stood up to special interests as Illinois State Treasurer. Winning Obama's seat would be the ultimate political trophy for Republicans.  Fight back now! Your donation to the DSCC could help keep the Republicans from claiming President Obama's seat - and bringing his change agenda to a screeching halt. We need grassroots help to keep the Senate blue!   Click here to give $25, $50 or more to the DSCC. Every dollar you give will help Democrats win!

Kentucky: A brand-new poll shows the Kentucky Senate race tied, perhaps because voters don't want what Tea Party darling Rand Paul is selling. Paul opposes the Americans with Disabilities Act and most government spending - excluding what he receives in physicians' Medicare payments, of course. He even wants to end federal antidrug programs that help the state. In contrast, Democrat Jack Conway's been protecting the state's residents as Attorney General and wants to fight for them in Washington - not be the poster child for a radical ideology.

New Hampshire: Delaware isn't the only state where Republicans are still engaged in an intraparty soap opera. In New Hampshire, establishment favorite Kelly Ayotte is coming under fire by - you guessed it - the Tea Party and other conservative activists. The momentum appears to be with Ovide Lamontagne, who's positioned himself as the farthest-right candidate. Meanwhile, Democrat Paul Hodes is ready to take on the eventual winner - but he'll face an avalanche of third-party money.

Nevada: This race remains a dead heat thanks to Karl Rove's American Crossroads and other shady conservative groups pouring in money to save Sharron Angle from herself. She, however, has mostly been in hiding, and it's no wonder. It seems that every time she opens her mouth, something really radical comes out. She suggested that voters might pursue "Second-Amendment remedies" if the November elections don't go their way, that unemployment benefits "have spoiled our citizenry," and that young teenagers who become pregnant after being raped should just turn "a lemon situation into lemonade." She also dissed the state's voters by first agreeing to - and then backing out of - a debate with Harry Reid. Karl Rove's American Crossroads and other shady conservative groups have already begun pouring in money to save Angle from herself.  Fight back now! Candidates like Sharron Angle are not your father's Republicans. They have a radical agenda that we simply must stop. Your donation to the DSCC could help keep the Senate out of their hands. We need grassroots help to keep the Senate blue!  Click here to give $25, $50 or more to the DSCC. Every dollar you give will help Democrats win!

Pennsylvania: Mr. Wall Street Pat Toomey is raking in the campaign contributions from - you guessed it - Wall Street. Just this week, Toomey was named among the top five recipients of Wall Street money. He's also been railing against earmarks while - you guessed it again - conveniently ignoring all the bacon he brought home for private companies as a member of Congress. His Democratic opponent, Joe Sestak, is more interested in policies that benefit all Pennsylvanians - not a select few in the top income brackets.

Wisconsin: The most recent polling shows a tie between proudly independent Democrat Russ Feingold and independently wealthy Tea Partier Ron Johnson. Johnson blames climate change on "sunspots," says he's "glad there is global warming," and calls Social Security "a giant Ponzi scheme." He also recently came under fire for railing against government support for business when his own company received $4 million in government help to expand. Awkward.

Washington: Patty Murray is leading Dino Rossi by five points in recent polling, and Republicans think they can beat her. They've already reserved $2.5 million for attack ads - and that doesn't even count what secretive third-party groups will be pouring in. Rossi opposes closing tax loopholes for corporations that move jobs overseas and wants Wall Street reform to be repealed. Meanwhile, Murray is keeping her focus where it always is: on jobs, jobs, jobs.

Ignore the Republican Fearmongering!

Fri, 13 Aug 2010 23:38:55 -0700

The GOP is pulling out all the stops in Fearmongering you on your way to the polls in November. But you’re smart, and can see through it. And you’re pointing it out to your friends.

Some obvious samples from this week:

The pundits crying about 40 million jobs lost? Our jobs were lost during Obama's administration because the economy collapsed right at the END of Bush's administration.

The debate about letting Bush’s tax cuts expire? If we let the Bush tax cuts expire we would reduce the deficit by one third!
Deductible Me: GOP Deficit Hypocrisy | CommonDreams.org
www.commondreams.org

Newt Gingrich just went on TV and called Obama's policies "Socialism", then described modeling our economy after China's...Communism! How can he say it’s the lack of capital gains tax that’s making China’s economy successful? That’s just a difference between the two economic systems, not the defining element. That’s like saying an elephant could be a jackrabbit if it had different ears.

IGNORE the Repub fearmongering! Laugh at them with others.

Legalizing bribery

Sun, 28 Feb 2010 23:10:48 -0800

Dear Congress and the Supreme Court,

I would like to thank you for finally being honest.

The recent Supreme Court decision must have taken a great weight of your shoulders.

Instead of pretending that lobbyists didn’t really influence decisionmaking, and doing everything possible to maintain a veil of propriety...

You no longer have to work that hard to hide it.

Corporate sponsorship of Senators isn’t going to START with this recent legislative decision.

On the contrary. It’s just now been legitimized. You’ve admitted that it happens, and now it’s permitted.

Sirs, you don’t have to hide anymore, or cover your tracks. You can be completely honest when you receive money from Aetna, or Monsanto.

You can now tell us when legislation is made in favor of corporations, since decisions are made on the voters’ behalf, and dollars now count as votes.

Call your Senators to have them sign on

Fri, 26 Feb 2010 14:27:40 -0800

Today I called Ron Wyden to ask him to sign on to the letter from Senators in support of passing a Public Option through reconciliation.

It turns out that he’s a supporter of the Public Option, and has voted for it in the past.

But this current letter is the one being used as a litmus test for whether the Public Option can pass if brought up for a vote. It will only take 51 votes!

Please call your two Senators and urge them to sign on, to put their money where their mouth is. And tell them that you won’t reelect them if they don’t sign on.

Don’t know their numbers? Visit http://www.congressmerge.com/onlinedb/index.htm to get the phone numbers, then add them to your Contacts lists.

I’m a US Stockholder

Sat, 6 Feb 2010 21:31:22 -0800

Tonight it occurred to me that I’m a stockholder in a publicly held corporation.

As an investor, I hire the employees who will do the best job possible for me under my supervision, so that my investment will show a return on investment. I’ve given a significant part of my assets to support an organization that is also in line with my ideals. Because I believe in the intended product, I”m a proud part-owner of the company.

Tonight it occurred to me that I am a citizen in a representative democracy, the United States of America.

As a taxpayer, I trust that my elected officials will do the best job possible for me as a voter, so that my taxes will be put to good use. I’ve paid a significant portion of my income to the IRS, wishing that it was being used for my own wellbeing. Because I believe in The American Dream, I’m proud to be an American.

OBAMA SAID MY IDEA WAS A GOOD ONE!

Thu, 4 Feb 2010 23:32:24 -0800

YouTube had an event where they asked readers to submit questions for an interview with Obama.

I made a 20-second video asking about my idea to create an education program where we can take classes in cooking, nutrition, communication, etc., and get discounts on our health insurance. It’s something some car insurance companies already do.

My question made the cut! They played my video in a segment called “Good Idea or Bad Idea”.

OBAMA SAID IT WAS A GOOD IDEA!

See the video here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9l9hx9WHwuc

I’m at 13:29 to 15:00.

WE can pass Health Care Reform

Thu, 4 Feb 2010 23:29:53 -0800

This past week, we created huge new momentum to revive the public option in the Senate. First, over 225,000 Americans signed a petition demanding Democrats in Congress pass the public option through "reconciliation," which only needs a simple majority to pass the Senate. In response, freshmen Reps. Polis (D-CO) and Pingree (D-ME) took on the cause in a letter to Sen. Harry Reid. Their message: If the Senate passes a public option using reconciliation, then the House will have the votes to pass healthcare reform. ADD TO THE MOMENTUM. CALL YOUR HOUSE REP AND TELL THEM TO SIGN ON TOO! https://writerep.house.gov/writerep/welcome.shtml