Sunday, November 28, 2010

OUTRAGED BY OUR FOREIGN POLICY

I'm sorry that I'm a day late in publishing this post. I received a DVD of a film called "Hijacking Catastrophe" a couple of days ago; and I watched that film last night.
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Watching that 2004 documentary was difficult and made me sick to my stomach.
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The fact that we are continuing the BUSH DOCTRINE and the NEOCON agenda (accelerated by George W. Bush), and also continuing Wolfowitz 's PNAC philosophy, is unreal, and I think, a recipe for disaster (according to Chalmers Johnson). READ SYNOPSIS of the film AT FILM.COM



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If you look up the word NEOCON, use the Britannica and U.S. History Encyclopedia ... it appears that Wikipedia has been corrupted by those who wish to place blame largely on Liberals (both Political Parties are to blame for our foreign policy).
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December 1, 2010 [WikiLeaks Cables Reveal U.S. Tried to Thwart Spanish Probes of Gitmo Torture and CIA Rendition]

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See above video at:
Ann Jones on "War Is Not Over When It's Over: Women and the Unseen Consequences of Conflict" (September 30, 2010)
http://www.democracynow.org/2010/9/30/ann_jones_on_war_is_not
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SEE AMY GOODMAN'S INTERVIEW WITH CHALMERS JOHNSON: "NEMESIS; THE LAST DAYS OF THE AMERICAN REPUBLIC", FEBRUARY 27, 2007


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(Above Video) Amy Goodman talks with Noam Chomsky, November 30, 2010
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Open Left:: Know-nothings learn nothing from Wikileaks Treasure Trove. Noam Chomsky shows how to read. by Paul Rosenberg, December 1, 2010
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CHOMSKY: OBAMA CONTINUES BUSH POLICY (NOVEMBER 5, 2009)

BUSH DOCTRINE
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REAGAN DOCTRINE
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NEOCON
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HIJACKING CATASTROPHE
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CHALMERS JOHNSON
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HOWARD ZINN
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VAN JONES
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NAOMI KLEIN
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NOAM CHOMSKY
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JODY WILLIAMS
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SCOTT RITTER
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JEREMY EARP
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SUT JHALLY
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Timeline of Oil and Violence in Afghanistan

Benjamin Barber - uttered these solemn words: "The damage we have done to ourselves on the way to protect ourselves"

The Warfare State

Trans Afghan Pipeline

Michael Klare - "Resource Wars"

Patriot Act

Kevin Danaher & Medea Benjamin - Co-founders: Global Exchange

Zia Mian - Research Scientist at Princeton University

Norman Solomon - Institute for Public Accuracy

Richard A. Clarke

Robert Jensen, Professor of Journalism at the University of Texas at Austin College of Communications

Benjamin Barber

Mark Crispin Miller

Max Wolff - Department of Economics, University of Massachuetts

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Pentagon whistleblower Lt. Colonel Karen Kwiatkowski.

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Wolfowitz's PNAC philosophy
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TERRORISM
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Project for the New American Century (PNAC)
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DICK CHENEY
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PAUL WOLFOWITZ
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DONALD RUMSFELD
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JEB BUSH
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DAN QUAYLE
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WAR ON TERROR
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SEPTEMBER 11 ATTACKS
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SADDAM HUSSEIN
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THE CO-PRESIDENCY OF BUSH AND CHENEY
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LADIES AND GENTLEMEN: THE REAL GEORGE W. BUSH BY STEPHEN PIZZO (OCTOBER 27, 2005)
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"Blowback, The Costs and Consequences of American Empire" by (the late) Chalmers A. Johnson (read more about Chalmers at Alternet)
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IRAN-CONTRA AFFAIR
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[By the way, ... we're getting tired of certain people always wanting to keep tabs on who we are and what is said on this blog. SEE "ABOUT US" PAGE

We don't mind people who are seriously interested in what we have to say (even though it is often critical of politicians, political parties, and/or foreign policy and other policies), ... we just have a problem with people who want to block what we have to say. Unfortunately, George Orwell's society is becoming more and more a reality for the majority of us.

We do edit this blog continuously. If we think we have new information, we will add it; or if there is wrong information, we will correct it; however, we always post links that help corroborate what we have to say.]
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Thursday, November 25, 2010

HAPPY THANKSGIVING FROM THE CSC

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MAKE SURE YOU CHECK OUT OUR HOLIDAY (VIDEO) PAGE.
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President Obama's Thanksgiving Proclamation:

"A beloved American tradition, Thanksgiving Day offers us the opportunity to focus our thoughts on the grace that has been extended to our people and our country. This spirit brought together the newly arrived Pilgrims and the Wampanoag tribe -- who had been living and thriving around Plymouth, Massachusetts for thousands of years -- in an autumn harvest feast centuries ago. This Thanksgiving Day, we reflect on the compassion and contributions of Native Americans, whose skill in agriculture helped the early colonists survive, and whose rich culture continues to add to our Nation's heritage. We also pause our normal pursuits on this day and join in a spirit of fellowship and gratitude for the year's bounties and blessings.

Thanksgiving Day is a time each year, dating back to our founding, when we lay aside the troubles and disagreements of the day and bow our heads in humble recognition of the providence bestowed upon our Nation. Amidst the uncertainty of a fledgling experiment in democracy, President George Washington declared the first Thanksgiving in America, recounting the blessings of tranquility, union, and plenty that shined upon our young country. In the dark days of the Civil War when the fate of our Union was in doubt, President Abraham Lincoln proclaimed a Thanksgiving Day, calling for "the Almighty hand" to heal and restore our Nation.

In confronting the challenges of our day, we must draw strength from the resolve of previous generations who faced their own struggles and take comfort in knowing a brighter day has always dawned on our great land. As we stand at the close of one year and look to the promise of the next, we lift up our hearts in gratitude to God for our many blessings, for one another, and for our Nation. This Thanksgiving Day, we remember that the freedoms and security we enjoy as Americans are protected by the brave men and women of the United States Armed Forces. These patriots are willing to lay down their lives in our defense, and they and their families deserve our profound gratitude for their service and sacrifice.

This harvest season, we are also reminded of those experiencing the pangs of hunger or the hardship of economic insecurity. Let us return the kindness and generosity we have seen throughout the year by helping our fellow citizens weather the storms of our day.

As Americans gather for the time-honored Thanksgiving Day meal, let us rejoice in the abundance that graces our tables, in the simple gifts that mark our days, in the loved ones who enrich our lives, and in the gifts of a gracious God. Let us recall that our forebears met their challenges with hope and an unfailing spirit, and let us resolve to do the same.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim Thursday, November 25, 2010, as a National Day of Thanksgiving. I encourage all the people of the United States to come together -- whether in our homes, places of worship, community centers, or any place of fellowship for friends and neighbors -- to give thanks for all we have received in the past year, to express appreciation to those whose lives enrich our own, and to share our bounty with others.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this twenty-third day of November, in the year of our Lord two thousand ten, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and thirty-fifth.

BARACK OBAMA"




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Saturday, November 20, 2010

THIS IS THE REAL JOHN BOEHNER

Last Saturday, I gave you my favorite article for that week. From now on, every Saturday, I'll do the same. Today's "fav" article is "John Boehner, A Profile in Corporatism" by Michael B. Keegan [November 4, 2010].

An Excerpt:

"The GOP’s dramatic gains in Tuesday’s midterm election have positioned John Boehner as the presumptive Speaker of the House in the 112th Congress. In his twenty years in Congress, Boehner has been one of the fiercest protectors of Corporate America, and his political and legislative history provide a striking road map for what to expect from his tenure as Speaker.
Following stints in local politics and service in the Ohio State House, John Boehner was elected to the United States Congress in 1990. In his second term in Congress, Boehner helped write the Contract with America and became a stalwart ally of Newt Gingrich, even his “protégé.” Boehner backed Gingrich’s partisan and confrontational style of leadership, and Gingrich elevated him to the position of GOP Conference Chairman. From there, Boehner became the go-to Member of Congress for corporate lobbyists and business interests.
As Conference Chairman, Boehner “met weekly with leading lobbyists to enlist their support and discuss strategy” throughout his four year tenure. During a vote to remove a subsidy to the tobacco industry, Boehner personally handed out checks from tobacco lobbyists and industry PACs to other congressmen on the House floor. At least one Republican colleague, Rep. Linda Smith, blasted Boehner’s actions, saying that “if it is not illegal, it should be.” Since his role in the Republican leadership was closely tied to Gingrich, when Gingrich resigned following the GOP’s 1998 election loss, Boehner was voted out of his leadership position.
After he was forced out of his role as Conference Chairman, Boehner embarked on a plan to regain support among his Republican colleagues. His leadership PAC, called the “Freedom Project,” took in millions of dollars from special-interest lobbyists, and he then used the money to contribute to his fellow Republican candidates. Top contributors include Sallie Mae, Merrill Lynch, R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. and Cincinnati Financial Corp., which helped make Boehner’s leadership PAC one of the best-funded among his peers. The “major sources of financing” for the Freedom Project came from “for-profit colleges and trade schools, and private student lenders,” and as chairman of the House Education and the Workforce Committee, Boehner sponsored “legislation strongly supported by private student lenders to restrict the ability of the U.S. Department of Education to make government student loans less expensive by cutting fees.” Boehner told representatives from student loan companies that he has “tricks up my sleeve to protect you,” and he later helped pass a law to bar individuals from refinancing their student loans.
According to Boehner, “I have a good relationship to K Street and people who lobby us.”
Even Boehner’s landlord is a lobbyist, and the Washington Post writes that his landlord’s “clients — including restaurant chains and health insurance companies — hired him to lobby on issues at the heart of Boehner's work, including minimum-wage increases [he was against raising the minimum wage], small-business tax breaks and tax-free savings accounts to help cover insurance costs.”
In addition to building relationships with corporate lobbyists, Boehner enhanced his standing with the Religious Right. In 2002 Boehner wrote a letter to the Ohio Board of Education urging them to teach intelligent design in public schools, using language derived from anti-evolution activist Phillip E. Johnson. Cyrus B. Richardson Jr., the school board vice president, called Boehner’s letter “misleading” because “it makes it sound like the law says you have to teach intelligent design, when that isn’t in the law.”
He has consistently stood shoulder-to-shoulder with the Religious Right throughout his time in Congress. Boehner voted to ban same-sex couples from adopting children and to repeal domestic partnership laws, he opposed hate crimes laws and the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, and he supported Don’t Ask Don’t Tell and a constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage. On issues regarding reproductive justice, Boehner voted against protecting reproductive health clinics and backed laws which would compel women to go through biased counseling before terminating their pregnancy. In his speech to the Family Research Council’s 2009 Values Voter Summit, Boehner emphasized his steadfast, 100% anti-choice record.
Following Tom DeLay’s resignation as Majority Leader in 2006 after DeLay was indicted on conspiracy charges, John Boehner returned to the GOP leadership and was elected to replace DeLay. From the outset, Boehner pledged to support Republican plans to privatize Social Security, worked against a bipartisan immigration reform bill, and vigorously fought stronger ethics laws. Once elevated to Majority Leader, his leadership PAC received even more financial support from special interest groups. The New York Times found that “Mr. Boehner’s biggest donors include the political action committees of lobbying firms, drug and cigarette makers, banks, health insurers, oil companies and military contractors.” Boehner’s PAC also received $32,000 from casino-owning American Indian tribes with ties to convicted felon Jack Abramoff.
Boehner only deepened his ties to special interest lobbyists and intensified his pro-corporate agenda after the 2006 elections, when Republicans lost their majority and he became Minority Leader. Like the Freedom Project, the “Boehner for Speaker” committee allowed lobbyists to buy significant access to the congressman. Lobbyists were allowed “VIP access” to Boehner and his top aides if they could raise $100,000 worth of contributions or more for the committee. But Boehner’s ties to lobbyists don’t end there: he routinely met with business leaders, particularly from the banking and tobacco industries, at his Thursday Group meetings, spent tens of thousands of dollars “to travel to golf destinations on a corporate-subsidized tab,” and gave business associations a larger platform through his America Speaking Out initiative. In September, the New York Times profiled his close ties with K Street:
He maintains especially tight ties with a circle of lobbyists and former aides representing some of the nation’s biggest businesses, including Goldman Sachs, Google, Citigroup, R. J. Reynolds, MillerCoors and UPS.
They have contributed hundreds of thousands of dollars to his campaigns, provided him with rides on their corporate jets, socialized with him at luxury golf resorts and waterfront bashes and are now leading fund-raising efforts for his Boehner for Speaker campaign, which is soliciting checks of up to $37,800 each, the maximum allowed.
Some of the lobbyists readily acknowledge routinely seeking his office’s help — calling the congressman and his aides as often as several times a week — to advance their agenda in Washington. And in many cases, Mr. Boehner has helped them out.
Special interest groups continue to pay handsomely to gain access to Boehner and his aides. This year Boehner raised well over $7 million and, Fredreka Schouten of USA Today writes, the “industries giving the most to Boehner” include “insurance companies, drug manufacturers and Wall Street firms, all of which now face new regulations adopted by the Democratic-controlled Congress.” In all, the financial and insurance industries have been his top donors, contributing $3.8 million to his political committees.
Boehner’s connections to corporate lobbyists and trade associations greatly influenced his political work. He is big business’s chief advocate on the Hill, and his efforts include “combating fee increases for the oil industry, fighting a proposed cap on debit card fees, protecting tax breaks for hedge fund executives and opposing a cap on greenhouse gas emissions.” Reacting to the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, Boehner agreed with the US Chamber of Commerce that taxpayers should subsidize the cleanup, rather than forcing BP to pay for the entire bill. Boehner has received hundreds of thousands of dollars from oil companies, and fought attempts by Democrats to lift the liability cap in order to make BP pay for the entire cost of the cleanup.
Boehner vehemently opposes greater supervision of the financial industry and worked tirelessly against Wall Street reform, comparing new oversight and regulations to “killing an ant with a nuclear weapon.” When speaking to an “enthusiastic crowd of bankers at the American Bankers Association government relations summit,” Boehner told them to fight regulatory reform and not “to let those little punk staffers take advantage of you.” Before the historic financial reform bill came up for a vote, Boehner “met with more than 100 lobbyists” to strategize their opposition, and after the legislation was signed into law, he immediately called for its repeal.
But while Boehner looks after his friends and campaign contributors on K Street and Wall Street, he voted against recent legislation to increase lending and tax relief for small businesses, voted ‘No’ on the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, attempted to stop extending benefits to unemployed Americans, and vigorously opposed a proposal to bolster and ensure government funding for the medical treatment of 9/11 rescue workers. He also led the opposition to the DISCLOSE Act, which would have made corporations publicly disclose their political contributions and prevent foreign corporations from spending in US elections. ............... "

Read the rest of the article HERE

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Rachel Maddow Show: December 14, 2010
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WATCH THE TEA PARTY PATRIOT'S AGENDA (A "WHITE WASH" AGENDA, MAKE NO MISTAKE - YOU MUST "READ BETWEEN THE LINES") ... WATCH
Also read: Will War Between the Religious Right and Libertarians Tear the Tea Party Apart? | | AlterNet by Stephanie Mencimer, November 20, 2010 (originally in "Mother Jones")



Saturday, November 13, 2010

BUSINESS AND JOBS

I read this great article today ("Businesses Do Not Create Jobs", by Dave Johnson, November 11, 2010)
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AN EXCERPT:
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"Businesses do not create jobs. In fact, the way our economy is structured the incentive is for businesses to get rid of as many jobs as they can.

Demand Creates Jobs

A job is created when demand for goods or services is greater than the existing ability to provide them. When there is a demand, people will see the need and fill it. Either someone will start filling the demand alone, or form a new business to fill it or an existing provider of the good or service will add employees as needed. (Actually a job can be created by a business, a government, a non-profit organization or just a person doing the job, depending on the nature of the good or service that is required.)

So a demand creates a job. A person who sees that houses on a block need their lawns mowed might go door to door and say they will mow the lawn for $10. When houses start saying "Yes, I need my lawn mowed" a job has been created!

Demand also creates businesses. The person who is filling demand by mowing lawns for people might after a while have a regular circuit of houses that want their lawns mowed every week, and will buy a truck and a new mower and hire someone to help. A business is born!

Businesses Want To Kill Jobs, Not Create Them

Many people wrongly think that businesses create jobs. They see that a job is usually at a business, so they think that therefore the business "created" the job. This thinking leads to wrongheaded ideas like the current one that giving tax cuts to businesses will create jobs, because the businesses will have more money. But an efficiently-run business will already have the right number of employees. When a business sees that more people are coming in the door (demand) than there are employees to serve them, they hire people to serve the customers. When a business sees that not enough people are coming in the door and employees are sitting around reading the newspaper, they lay people off. Businesses want customers, not tax cuts.

Businesses have more incentives to eliminate jobs than to create them. Businesses in our economy exist to create profits, not jobs. This means the incentive is for a business to create as few jobs as possible at the lowest possible cost. They also constantly strive to reduce the number of people they employ by bringing in machines, outsourcing or finding other ways to reduce the payroll. This is called "cutting costs" which leads to higher profits. The same incentive also pushes the business to pay as little as possible when they do hire. (It also pushes businesses to cut worker safety protections, cut product quality, cut customer service, "externalize" costs by polluting, etc.)

This obviously works against the interests of the larger society, which wants lots of good jobs with good pay. And businesses, while working to cut jobs and pay less, need other businesses to hire lots of people and pay well, because that is what creates the demand that makes all the businesses work. ..."

Read the rest of the article at:

http://www.ourfuture.org/blog-entry/2010114511/businesses-do-no-create-jobs

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Sunday, November 7, 2010

DEBT KILLS

Republicans love to talk about the deficit; however, they don't seem to mind American families and individuals living in debt, ... enough debt to cause relentless worry, and will psychologically and financially (and perhaps physically) kill you.

Why is it that so many of us are dealing with mounting debt?

Well, thanks to Republicans /conservatives /corporate Democrats /big corporations /big banks /hedge fund managers /and the Feds previous and current policies, speculation and legislation*, the American family and individual (because of these policies/speculation/legislation and low wages) is forced to either work 2 to 3 jobs just to pay for food, clothing, insurance, taxes, shelter, education, health care, transportation, etc.; and/or have to finance these things using credit cards and/or refinance the house (if you have one with equity, and you have good credit); and/or have to do without two or more of the necessities.

This is insane.

Most likely you won't have good health care because you won't be able to afford health insurance; and/or you'll do without a good education for yourself or your children; and/or you'll have no life insurance if a bread winner dies; and/or you may end up homeless, or in substandard housing and drive a beat up (death trap) under-insured automobile (because you won't be able to afford to have that car fixed, or a newer car or other modes of transportation), and etc.

Americans should be outraged ... they should be demanding that corrupt politicians/bankers/hedge fund managers (and others who are responsible for gutting the economy) go to jail, ... and they should be listening to economist Joseph Stiglitz, and professor Michael Hudson, and Max Keiser ... however, what do they do (?), they fire progressive Democrats (like Russ Feingold and Alan Grayson) and hire Republicans.

Again, are you insane?

Anyway, it's a never ending cycle of debt that Republicans/conservatives will not address or fix because they don't want to address low wages, affordable good health care, affordable good education, war and war expenditures, the financial mess on Wall Street, or anything that really matters. They simply want to cut federal spending (which in today's economy has disastrous consequences), repeal health insurance reform legislation, impeach President Obama, and hand everything over to private business and industries and hope for the best. Well, sorry, beside that being a self indulgent, asinine prescription for what ails the economy and Americans, that prescription will not work.**

Maybe I should have called this post, "Debt Kills, and Republicans have no Real Fixes for what ails Americans or the Economy."
In fact, they haven't got a clue how to fix it!

Whenever unbridled "Capitalism 201 Gone Wild" comes to town (and it's been here for way too long), debt becomes the only thing that keeps you and our capitalistic system afloat; however, that debt will eventually kill you (and our capitalistic system) in too many ways to count.

Welcome to America.



Update: November 10, 2010As the Country Falls Apart, It's Time for Our Revolution | | AlterNet by Ted Rall






How the Wealthy Organized to Rip Everyone Else off -- And What You Can Do to Stop It | | AlterNet by Maria Armoudian (Nov. 10, 2010)






Dylan Ratigan, November 8, 2010 / The Great Divergence




Rachel interviews Elizabeth Warren






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Update: Rethinking How Much We Spend (Nov. 18, 2010)

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*New 600B Fed Stimulus Fuels Fears of US Currency (Democracy Now, Nov. 5th 2010 - professor Michael Hudson starts speaking 9 minutes into the above video)



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**Nobel Laureate Joseph Stiglitz: Foreclosure Moratorium, Government Stimulus Needed to Revive US Economy , (Democracy Now, October 20, 2010, Stiglitz starts speaking about 13 minutes into the above video)

Make sure you also watch The Keiser Report.






Wednesday, November 3, 2010

FREE SPEECH AND ALSO REFLECTIONS ON 2010 MIDTERM ELECTIONS


FREE SPEECH TV

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November 3, 2010

MICHAEL MOORE ON 2010 MIDTERM ELECTIONS WITH AMY GOODMAN, DEOMOCRACY NOW

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Election Roundtable Breaking Down the Results with Laura Flanders of GritTv, The Nation's Richard Kim & John Nichols, and Journalist David Goodman


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