The Goons Behind the Loons
Remember Boss Tweed and Tammany Hall? What a long time ago it was that political machines controlled party nominations and patronage. Ah, the days of yesteryear when machines could put whomever they wanted on the ticket or get any crazy law passed they wanted. For instance, getting a pseudo-doctor or a witch the nomination for Senate. Or, passing a law that allows industries to pollute as much as they want. Wait, what’s that? That’s happening now?
So who are the present day William Tweeds? Let’s start with David and Charles Koch. They’ve got billions and they’re pouring it into the Tea Party, they poured millions into getting Prop 23 passed in California which would repeal the state’s key climate and clean energy laws, they’ve got Supreme Court Justices in their back pockets.
Then you’ve got Joe Ricketts, founder of Ameritrade and owner of the Chicago Cubs, whose poured $600,000 into the Nevada Senate race to defeat Harry Reid.
Then there’s Rupert Murdoch, who ONLY became an American citizen (birthers, where are you?) so he could own American TV stations, who controls the largest, most watched news organization in America, who is pouring money into Republican campaigns because “It is in the best interest of the company“!
And these are the people we know about. According to Democracy 21:
this year, there is a massive infusion of special-interest money into U.S. politics that is secret, not reported. Corporations and other interests will spend more than $250 million of undisclosed funds to affect the outcome of the Nov. 2 national elections.
That’s incredible. I actually don’t oppose corporate spending in elections, but I think there should be total transparency. I think you should know that the owner of the Cubs wants Harry Reid out of office and that he’s willing spend more than half a million dollars to get it done. The only reason we know that fact is because he admitted it. He didn’t hide behind the 501(c)(4) organizations that so many others are hiding behind.
They should have to run at the end of a campaign ad all the disclosures that they require of anti-depressant ads. “This ad was brought to you by David and Charles Koch. They operate under the name Tea Party. Their annual income is in the billions. Listening to what they have to say may cause dizziness, lightheadedness and the inability to vote for the most qualified candidate. You may find out the next morning that you put someone in the Senate who just got their college degree this year. There is no legalized morning after election pill so you’re SOL on that one. Good luck.”
Daily Show: Healthraiser
| The Daily Show With Jon Stewart | Mon – Thurs 11p / 10c | |||
| Healthraiser | ||||
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Republican scare tactics filter into the real debate on health care reform, taking their toll on President Obama’s sales pitch.
Olbermann: Limbaugh Defends the Somali Pirates
Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy
Rush Limbaugh characterizes the shooting of three Somali pirates as a police shooting of three black teenagers, and says they just wanted to surrender but weren’t given the chance.
Charlie Brooker Slams FOX News
Leave it to a British BBC/Guardian commentator to accurately portray FOX News.
Rescue at Sea
SEAL Snipers took out three pirates holding a US sea captain hostage, killing them as they were apparently about to kill the captain. What’s incredible, is right before they were going to shoot the captain, two of the pirates stuck their heads out of the lifeboat’s cabin, making them easy targets for snipers waiting to take them out. From the Washington Post:
The three other pirates, however, showed signs of growing irritation, as the Bainbridge, 18 miles from shore, towed the lifeboat further out to sea, the senior military official said. “They had no promise of money, clearly no passage. The one ticket they had was the captain,” said the official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the matter on the record.
“In the last discussion, they said, ‘If we don’t get what we want, we will kill the captain,’ ” the official said.
Soon afterward, two pirates moved to one of the hatches of the lifeboat and stuck their heads out. The third pirate advanced toward the captain and pointed his AK-47 straight at Phillips’s back, the rifle touching it or inches away, the official said.
U.S. military observers thought that Phillips was about to be shot. SEAL snipers, who were positioned on a deck at the stern of the Bainbridge, an area known as the fantail, had the three pirates in their sights. The on-scene commander gave the snipers authority to fire.
“As soon as the snipers had a clear shot at the guy who had the rifle, they shot him and the other two in the hatches,” the senior military official said.
A member of the Special Operations team slid down the tow line into the water and climbed aboard the lifeboat. Phillips was then put in a small craft and taken to the Bainbridge.
So a Bobcat and Two Men Walk Into a Bar…
It may sound like a joke, but it was a very real incident. According to MSNBC:
A bobcat attacked three people in a community in central Arizona, including two men who were bitten when the animal wandered inside a bar.
Officers called to the Chapparal Bar in Cottonwood arrived to find the bobcat in the parking lot, where they shot and killed it, KVRD-FM radio reported.
