posted November 07, 2010 11:32 AM         

The same network that calls a half term X-official now political pundit "Governor" but scathingly smears a Senator for the simple request of asking to be called by her working title.

Back in the day this would be called- working for the man.

OK enough of my opinions, how about this:==>

The Tea Parties: Deluded and Propelled by Billionaires

The Tea Party movement is remarkable in two respects. It's one of the biggest exercises in false consciousness the world has seen and the biggest Astroturf operation in history.

quote:

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An Astroturf campaign is a fake grassroots movement: it purports to be a spontaneous uprising of concerned citizens, but in reality it is founded and funded by elite interests. Some Astroturf campaigns have no grassroots component at all. Others catalyse and direct real mobilisations. The Tea Party belongs in the second category. It is mostly composed of passionate, well-meaning people who think they are fighting elite power, unaware that they have been organized by the very interests they believe they are confronting. We now have powerful evidence that the movement was established and has been guided with the help of money from billionaires and big business. Much of this money, as well as much of the strategy and staffing, were provided by two brothers who run what they call "the biggest company you've never heard of".

Charles and David Koch own 84% of Koch Industries, the second-largest private company in the United States. It runs oil refineries, coal suppliers, chemical plants and logging firms, and turns over roughly $100bn a year; the brothers are each worth $21bn. The company has had to pay tens of millions of dollars in fines and settlements for oil and chemical spills and other industrial accidents. The Kochs want to pay less tax, keep more profits and be restrained by less regulation. Their challenge has been to persuade the people harmed by this agenda that it's good for them.

In July 2010, David Koch told New York magazine: ["I've never been to a Tea Party event. No one representing the Tea Party has ever even approached me." But a fascinating new film – (Astro)Turf Wars, by Taki Oldham – tells a fuller story. Oldham infiltrated some of the movement's key organising events, including the 2009 Defending the American Dream summit, convened by a group called Americans for Prosperity (AFP). The film shows David Koch addressing the summit. "Five years ago," he explains, "my brother Charles and I provided the funds to start Americans for Prosperity. It's beyond my wildest dreams how AFP has grown into this enormous organisation."

A convener tells the crowd how AFP mobilised opposition to Barack Obama's healthcare reforms. "We hit the button and we started doing the Twittering and Facebook and the phone calls and the emails, and you turned up!" Then a series of AFP organisers tell Mr Koch how they have set up dozens of Tea Party events in their home states. He nods and beams from the podium like a chief executive receiving rosy reports from his regional sales directors. Afterwards, the delegates crowd into AFP workshops, where they are told how to run further Tea Party events.

Americans for Prosperity is one of several groups set up by the Kochs to promote their politics. We know their foundations have given it at least $5m, but few such records are in the public domain and the total could be much higher. It has toured the country organising rallies against healthcare reform and the Democrats' attempts to tackle climate change. It provided the key organising tools that set the Tea Party running.

The movement began when CNBC's Rick Santelli called from the floor of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange for a bankers' revolt against the undeserving poor. (He proposed that the traders should hold a tea party to dump derivative securities in Lake Michigan to prevent Obama's plan to "subsidise the losers": by which he meant people whose mortgages had fallen into arrears.) On the same day, Americans for Prosperity set up a Tea Party Facebook page and started organising Tea Party events.

*************
......Most of these bodies call themselves "free-market thinktanks", but their trick – as (Astro)Turf Wars points out – is to conflate crony capitalism with free enterprise, and free enterprise with personal liberty. Between them they have constructed the philosophy that informs the Tea Party movement: its members mobilise for freedom, unaware that the freedom they demand is freedom for corporations to trample them into the dirt. The thinktanks that the Kochs have funded devise the game and the rules by which it is played; Americans for Prosperity coaches and motivates the team.

.....Astroturfing is now taking off in the United Kingdom. Earlier this month Spinwatch showed how a fake grassroots group set up by health insurers helped shape the Tories' NHS reforms. Billionaires and corporations are capturing the political process everywhere; anyone with an interest in democracy should be thinking about how to resist them. Nothing is real any more. Nothing is as it seems.

propelled by billionairs

---

I heard the phrase ".."just don't get it"... quite allot this week, why is that these people "just don't get it?

The last several days many of us have been reading the analysis of last Tuesday's election.
One that I heard has stayed with me.

The report said that the Independents have flipped their vote three times in a row now.

*****

posted November 07, 2010 12:45 PM         

the post node shared talks about the destruction of the NHS i have talked about a lot of times. it did not come from socialism getting too heavy for itself but from profit-minded corporations taking it apart bit by bit. the so-called "privatisation" of the NHS was the beginning of its ruin. and the "private" companies that bought it have not made it more efficient but LESS. before thatcher even rich people were HAPPILY using it. then the private insurance people came in, and at first the deal was cheap and as sweet as the national. now private insurance there is as expensive and limited as it is here and the money syphoned OUT of the NHS has left it a pale shadow of its former self. even so the care most people get in england is as good as here despite the stories highlighted and magnified by the tabloid press you quote so often.

once again, obama is no socialist. he is pretty centrist, and that lost him as many votes as the rightwing smear job you have been taking part in.

but not to worry. truman was supposedly dead in the water in 46. reagan lost control of his congress too. now obama has some experience under his belt in the hot seat we will see what he is made of.

posted November 07, 2010 12:48 PM         

Why would I hate a 'thing'? I do not hate capitalism, business, commerce, or any 'thing'.

Kat, you saved me a whole lot of time,
and you also said it much better than I probably would have.

posted November 07, 2010 12:59 PM         

"Working against your own best interests"...Node

Does this ring a bell for you Node...katatonic?

"For over a year now I have been wondering why some people are [seemingly] enjoying a fight FOR corporate interests, and big business in general."...Node

I have seen a general loathing of Corporations and business here before...by you Node and you katatonic.

I just chose to make an issue of it this time...because of the title you chose for this thread.

posted November 07, 2010 01:03 PM         

Do you need more coffee or-what?

posted November 07, 2010 04:29 PM         

let's look at just a COUPLE of pieces of evidence. lets see...

"obama hates corporations" that is why he LOANED money to GM, who not only recovered their stride but are repaying that loan with a hefty bit of interest. how hateful, and what a poor INVESTMENT of tax dollars that was!

"obama hates corporations" that is why he did NOT break up the big banks and companies who led the lemming-jump off the financial cliff.

and while we're at it it was HATEFUL and disgraceful for people to photoshop pictures of W as hitler or whatever it was, i missed it...but pics of obama with bones thru his nose, neither hateful NOR racist of course. because jwhop etc have decided obama is an enemy of the people. but let obama mention enemies among the people and he is a TRAITOR!!

posted November 07, 2010 05:04 PM         

Really, I've come to the conclusion that you're really anti-civilization.

You're against all progress...except for the Progressive Socialist movement which is really regressive all the way back to the 5th rate 19th century moron bloviator Karl Marx.

All those you rail against make things a modern society cannot do without and especially our Western societies.

I'd love to send all you anit-civilization types back to 18th century America.

posted November 07, 2010 05:20 PM         

hell, without GE we would have access to the FREE energy tesla accessed.

i believe that the government (which is also top heavy with corporate money now) is the people. not just YOUR people, jwhop, but mine too. go tell richard branson how deathly the british form of socialism has been for his business. but with government you have a VOTE. little insignificant thing that it is, it is what keeps the power in the hands of the people. of course it can be misused, and the people can be fooled.

posted November 07, 2010 05:24 PM         

I'll bring the perfumes...we'll need something good smelling at the end of the day.

posted November 07, 2010 05:51 PM         

who is the rhetorician around here, hmm?

i'm not against progress at all, jwhop. i think we should think about progressing to learning to get along with our fellow countries as well as our fellow men....you know, like realizing we are all in the same space together and the chemicals you use on your strawberries (hypothetical) get into my drinking water so it's not just YOUR choice anymore. self-enrichment at the expense of the lower 40 (%) is self-impoverishment. just ask the locals in oakland after the smashup last night...

when america was really chugging along it was on WAY higher tax rates for the top 2% than now. what right do the cream of the financial crop have to whine about an extra percent of their profits when next door someone lies starving? and in DC as i recall it is very much NEXT DOOR, the slums to the high society neighbourhood.

posted November 07, 2010 07:56 PM         

I suspect you're rigth AD. At the end of the day at Frontier House, after all the work in the fields, the cooking on wood stoves, canning, washing clothes in a tub, gathering wood to keep a fire going, feeding all the stock and a thousand other things most people don't know how to do now; there would be a whole lot of smellin goin on.

posted November 07, 2010 08:29 PM         

Why do you insist on the blinders? Why do you insist on missing the point?
Is it perhaps because you just don't get it?
Or is your love for the party so blind that you cannot see that DE-regulation was taken too far? That the free market is a pipe dream because the market has never been free, and should have limits?

Kat and I have made salient points here while you parry with the least common denominator, which is par as well. I have noticed for some time that you pick and pull at a nubbin in the thread until it comes loose and then you run it in another direction that bolsters your own position, a position that --edit edit edit never mind ...and yes I just mixed about 4 metaphors in there, and the rest is a waste of time and bandwidth.

Now where was I, oh, yes it's okay to have enough natural gas in your tap water to light it on fire as long as your bottom line looks good......oops thats another anti corporate thread isn't it?

posted November 07, 2010 09:23 PM         

as to not lasting a year in the 18th century i'd like to see you manage, mr sloganeer. i've lived on the land, so don't come all macho with me.

but as i said, we don't need the multinationals to keep ourselves in lightbulbs or even electricity. i know people who have made tesla coils and transmitted power over many miles. the only reason they don't do more is it is NOT ALLOWED BY GE/govt energy policies. they consider they OWN electricity, even when they are not the providers. THAT is the type of corporate nonsense you will (already are) seeing more and more commonplace as you remove all govt restrictions from the business sphere.

not saying government isn't also corrupt. but the two have to be kept separate and as honest as possible, and what checks do we have on business without some government regulation? even you fall back on the laws designed to keep business honest. when business calls all the shots what good are THEY?

posted November 08, 2010 02:58 PM         

I don't think anyone is suggesting that we have to go back to the 18th and 19th centuries here.

I don't think that multinational corps should be allowed all of the privileges of human beings, flesh and blood, and NONE of the responsibilities. Do I think corporations are evil? Nope. They are not moral, or unmoral, they are A moral. A US senator is a wonderful investment, that you're gonna get great returns on.

posted November 08, 2010 06:13 PM         

"what right do the cream of the financial crop have to whine about an extra percent of their profits when next door someone lies starving?..katatonic

Empty flyblown leftist class warfare rhetoric.

Hmmm, take away petroleum, take away chemical companies and we would be back to an 18th century existence...without the ability to even grow sufficient food to feed ourselves or light our homes.

posted November 09, 2010 12:22 AM         

quote:

---

... Most of these bodies [AFP- Americans for Prosperity, and others listed above] call themselves "free-market think tanks", but their trick – as (Astro)Turf Wars points out "to conflate crony capitalism with free enterprise, and free enterprise with personal liberty.
Between them they have constructed the philosophy that informs the Tea Party movement: its members mobilise for freedom, unaware that the freedom they demand is freedom for corporations to trample them into the dirt. The think tanks that the Koch's have funded devise the game and the rules by which it is played; Americans for Prosperity coaches and motivates the team.

---

There are quite a few bones I have to pick with the Democrats. Many of which I have already discussed in GU. Bottom line? The Dems will fight for Social Services, if not for the Democrats we would not have any of them. Just today I listened to a R-TX member of congress inform his audience that Social Security is not vested, a boldfaced lie. But you have to look to each individuals voting record and allot of voters are doing just that. They have turned into one issue voters and that is the deal make / breaker.

If Corporate interests, special interests and big business are not subject to the same checks and balances as you and I all is lost.

4 Billion was just spent on a mid term. FOUR BILLION now some say that is good for the economy but that is short term thinking. What kind of money will it be in the 2014 midterm? And from where? Disclosure and transparency right? We were assured of that and that no foreign interests will be represented by the US-SC in
CITIZENS UNITED, Plaintiff,
v.
FEDERAL ELECTION COMMISSION, Defendant.

I say that the 2 billion spent in 2008 will look like jello pudding snacks in 2012.

Policy has been bought since the first politician pooped in his nappies, now the Court made it legal for policy to be bought and paid for. You want to know what Congressional policy will be come January? Just follow the money.

Will it be in your best interests? Not mine.

Mine were shot down when the Congress promised in 2006 that we were to pull out troops, mine were shot down when single payer was never seriously considered, mine were shot down by obstructionists that held the senate hostage, mine were shot down as Guantanamo and black sites remain open, mine were shot down when torture was not investigated in an open trial, you get the drift.

posted November 09, 2010 03:42 PM           

Why do you bother with JWHOP?

Is it just mental exercise?

Kat, you're always trying to tell me
how to direct my arguments more effectively,
but here you are wasting your breath on jwhop;
the most hateful, closed-minded knowflake of all.

And even if you turn him around,
it's not like he has any political power.

posted November 09, 2010 04:01 PM           

These people seem to be doing alright:

An Invitation To Civilization
a messenger is sent into the rain forest
to deliver an invitation to a tribe of indians
who refuse to be part of what some call civilization
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ofGG_PO7gs

posted November 09, 2010 04:16 PM           

quote:

---

"Tigrero"

In 1993, Sam Fuller takes Jim Jarmusch on a trip into Brazil's Mato Grosso, up the River Araguaia to the village of Santa Isabel Do Morro, where 40 years before, Zanuck had sent Fuller to scout a location and write a script for a movie based on a tigrero, a jaguar hunter. Sam hopes to find people who remember him, and he takes film he shot in 1954. He's Rip Van Winkle, and, indeed, a great deal changed in the village. There are televisions, watches, and brick houses. But, the same Karajá culture awaits as well. He gathers the villagers to show his old film footage, and people recognize friends and relatives, thanking Fuller for momentarily bringing them back to life.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0111430/

---

Fuller almost tears up as he reflects on the beauty of the Karaja way of life. No violence, no adultery, no oppression of one by another. The people live in peace, and in harmony with nature. Contrary to what many of us have been told, their way of life is not difficult, and requires less toil than our own. The footage speaks for itself. These are happy people who spend most of their time relaxing in almost Edenic community with one another.

posted November 10, 2010 09:49 AM         

Of course Valus, there is a downside to a "primitive life" mecca for someone like you. You will be required to work...or not eat. Perhaps you can evolve into a breathaholic before you starve.

quote:

---

Just today I listened to a R-TX member of congress inform his audience that Social Security is not vested, a boldfaced lie....Node

---

So Node, "Show me the money". Please direct me to the US government account where all those Trillions of dollars of collected Social Security taxes presently reside. That shouldn't be any problem for you...since you allege Social Security IS vested.

posted November 10, 2010 09:55 AM         

BWAHAHAHA!!!

posted November 10, 2010 10:23 AM           

God put me here for a reason. If everyone who knows the truth abandons this culture, then this culture will remain blind, and pretty soon it will destroy the planet for all of us. I'm doing a service, the value of which can hardly be measured in dollars (to say nothing of the pittance I live on). Funny how up-in-arms you are about that, but you've got nothing but praise for the fatcats who funnel billions of dollars into their private accounts by pulling the wool over your eyes. There, you got attention. You got a little piece of my mind. That's all you get.

Hey Absinthe,