Like most of Paul's articles these are very thought provoking. But there's more to be said. It's certainly true that right-wing organizations have out-organized us, but they have a lot more money and that's really what it comes down to. We certainly need better organizing, but we have to face reality. And the reality is encouraging as well as depressing, because there ARE serious cracks in the armor of our enemies and serious divisions among them that cannot be papered over.
With respect to the Tea Parties and especially the summer's town-hall meetings, a key corporate titan appears to be Koch Industries of Wichita, Kansas. Fred Koch (pronounced "coke") founded the company in 1940 as an oil business but it has expanded into natural gas, pharmaceuticals, fertilizer, and many other areas. He helped create the John Birch Society in the late 1950s and died in 1967. His two sons who run the business now, David and Charles, have foundations that donate millions to conservative and libertarian causes and groups, including notably the Cato Institute. One Koch-funded group used to be called Citizens for a Sound Economy. It became Americans for Prosperity (AFP) in 2003, a group that has advocated limited government and opposed climate change legislation. Earlier this year, Americans for Prosperity launched a Web site called Patients United Now, which ran frightening television ads opposing health care reform (showing, for example, a Canadian woman who supposedly couldn't get treatment for a brain tumor in her native country). . . . The AFP helped distribute signs and talking points at a town-hall event hosted by Virginia Congressman Tom Perriello. . . .
This dovetails very nicely with corporate lobbying groups whenever there is a need to block progressive reforms:
It isn't just conservative (c)4 groups that backed the town halls. America's Health Insurance Plans, or AHIP, is the enormous lobbying organization for private health insurance companies headed by Karen Ignagni, who makes frequent television appearances discussing health care. According to ThinkProgress's Lee Fang, AHIP mobilized 50,000 of its employees to attend town-hall meetings and otherwise lobby against the inclusion of a public health insurance option in the reform. AHIP's effort was coordinated by Democracy Data & Communications (DDC), which has helped various corporate clients set up front groups. DDC is headed by B.R. McConnon, who was once an employee of the Koch-funded Citizens for a Sound Economy.
This one-two punch is what's really effective. Normally, business and conservative groups are subsumed into the Republican party. However, in 2008 something new happened that hadn't happened since 1965: an actual "liberal" Democrat took office with the intention of enacting some progressive legislation -- and he was popular!
You see the immediate result. The instant that Obama tried to operate within the institutional framework that existed up till 2008 he found himself fighting an unprecedented coalition of business groups who refused to be bought off, and right-wing political activists like Grover Norquist.
The following is the basis for a letter to every U.S. representative and senator, and to the executive branch, regarding health care reform (or any other issue important to the left). It's meant to put the politicians on notice of what we demand, and what the consequences will be if they don't do as they're told.
Bear in mind something that should be plain to everyone reading this: the politicians are supposed to be working for Us, the People of the United States. We do not work for them. With that in mind, here is a letter on health care reform that can be applied to practically any issue of importance to the left.
The American Nazi Party, the Fascists, and the Ku Klux Klan Had A Party Last Week-end.
The American neocons, right-wingers, the Nazis, the Fascists, the white Aryan Nation clowns, the separatists, the secessionists, the Texans (or a big chunk of them), the white southerners (or a big chunk of them), the morons, the born-agains, the Aramagedenists, the We-Love-Sarah-Palinists, the Friends Of The Drug Addict On The Radio, that drunken lunatic Glenn Beck, all the rent-boys from Rupert Murdoch's Whorehouse, every Methbrain with a Microphone, all had a big party this week-end in Washington D.C. They didn't lynch anyone, but they're getting close.
The party of Neville Chamberlain did nothing, as always. I mean the Democrats. They were too busy out collecting bribes and shaking down the insurance industry, selling their votes, betraying the public, starting new wars, and firing people like Van Jones. The party of Neville Chamberlain is too corrupt to actually do anything at all in response to this gathering storm. Of course it's us, the citizens, who will suffer the effects of the tidal wave of armed lunacy beginning to overtake our nation.
For some bizarre reasons, we now hear the right-wing screaming that there is something evil about the word "czar," and if Obama appoints any "czar," then he too must be bad. I'm reminded of the Tsar Nicholas. The Romanovs. Remember that in the final days, Alexandra was enthralled with Rasputin, the privileged associates of the court mostly spent their time drinking, drugging and having orgies while the peasants gathered with pitchforks in the streets, hungry, angry, with no hope or direction. The Romanovs and the 5% of the richest people in the country owned most of the wealth, while 95% went hungry. But the rich people ignored the poor.
Our politicians in D.C. are like the Romanovs -- they've got most of the wealth, along with their friends, they live incredibly privileged lives, they apparently spend much of their time out having sex with non-spouses, drinking, drugging, finding new places to hide their money, then show up occasionally in public to "run" for the offices which are purchased for them by their wealthy corporate sponsors. That means the rest of us are the peasants. And this angry mob that has begun to assault the public represents the fascist portion of the peasants. What will the Democrats do to protect us, or represent us? They do nothing. They do nothing to help us, the people who got them elected. How can they be so blind, so silent? Or do the Democrats secretly want the lunatics out marching in the street because it gives them an excuse to do nothing?
(Try to figure out what these people have in common, what is their issue? "Madam Speaker, Kiss Our Astroturf." What does that mean? They hate Pelosi because she's female and in a position of power? "Congress Enslaves America." What is that supposed to mean? "Audit the government." Where were these people when Bush was running up the debt, starting wars, cutting taxes for rich people? If they are really fiscal conservatives, opposed to debt, why weren't they out marching against the Wall Street Bailouts? Why are they opposed to their neighbors getting affordable healthcare? What are they talking about? What unifies them except their hatred of Obama?)
Meanwhile, there is a gathering storm in this country of fascists, murderers, mercenaries, assassins, racists. They have guns. They are threatening violence against any citizen who opposes them. It's not surprising they would believe that it's okay to just kill people if you don't like them, since that's exactly the motto of our federal government.
What do these people share in common? What is their unifying bond? Look at some of the photos below. Old white people, mostly. Their signs are a confused muddle. Some say Obama is a Communist. Some talk about a health care program meaning that we need more coffins ready. Some talk about redistributing wealth. They're a mess. There is no unifying theme. Some may be anti-abortion. So what is it that really unifies these people?
Ask Jimmy Carter what's going on. It's racism. These people who proudly wear T-shirts describing themselves as an angry mob are against Obama because he's black. They don't even know what any of his proposals are. If they understood his health care proposal, they would understand that it's the same thing the Republican Baucus supports: doing nothing at all to help the citizens. Typical Republican policies. But the people in the photos below are stupid. They have no idea what's going on. Ask any one of them to explain anything that Obama has done or proposes, and they will be unable to answer. Because they are stupid and ignorant. But mostly, they are motivated by racism. They "want their country back," means that they are horrified to see a black man as president. And that's it.
You know what they remind me of? Cult members. They would strap a grenade on their love-handles and throw their bodies on an Obama yard-sign if Bill O'Really told them to. These people are mentally unstable. Cultists. Look out for them, they're not rational and they're armed.
As far as the party of Neville Chamberlain, they think that they can always count on the liberals, progressives, left, to jump in to defend Obama against these attacks, which are so clearly racist. Don't count on it. I'm not jumping. When Obama starts working for me, then maybe I'll show up to defend him. As things stand right now, I could care less.
At least 30% of the country is fundamentally fascist. Obama refuses to support programs on the grounds that he wants everyone to support him. By definition, at least 30% don't, and never will. If Obama is too stupid to realize that, he deserves no support.
But I think he knows exactly what he's doing. He's playing with fire. He's encouraging the angry mobs, the fascists, the racists, the klan, with his polite language and deferential style, calming demeanor. His job is to keep us distracted while the leadership in the Democratic party is in the background hauling in the loot, the bribes from the insurance and war industry. It doesn't look like the Democrats have any policies or programs to help the people of this country. They are just using their dominant position to get lots of money for themselves. Who is going to protect the rest of us from the angry mobs?
("God Bless America," "I am the mob," "don't tread on me," "term limits"? What does all of this mean? What are these idiots talking about? One thing: they hate Obama because he is black. They are cultists and will do and say as instructed.)
There is a gathering storm. The Democrats are either encouraging the lunatics or, at a minimum, will appease them and do nothing to stop them. What shall we do? With no national party, no national leadership, what shall we do?
A few decades ago, rich people fire-bombed entire neighborhoods in the Bronx. But they weren't called terrorists -- they were called landlords. And nobody did a thing to stop them. My how things have changed in the Bronx.
It's being reported today that there was a "major" FBI sting in New York City, in the Bronx, arresting four men (al Queda in the Bronx?) who reportedly were planning to (1) blow up a Synagogue, and (2) shoot airplanes out of the sky. But they couldn't do anything until the FBI sent in some informant to infiltrate (or create) their "organization" (did they sit around a trash can and drink beers and talk shit every day?). Not only did the FBI "infiltrate" the "organization," but they also (1) offered to provide explosives to be used in blowing up a synagogue, and (2) offered to provide a weapon that could blow airplanes out of the sky. It took the FBI an entire year to get these four losers to participate at all (who knows how much money they were promised), and even at that the FBI had to actually drive the guys to the "scene of the crime," and stand there and instruct them what to do, so they could be arrested. And called "terrorists."
So let's see: we've got four probably losers who hang out together and talk trash. Then the FBI, working with some right-wing Republican in Congress decides to "infiltrate," and provide a plan for insurrection, plus provide the weapons. What's in it for the FBI? How actively are the Republicans and the state police (FBI, CIA) working together to re-terrorize (is that a word?) the American public, to justify torture and international war crimes, so there will be no hearings or prosecutions? Would they go so far as to invent evidence? Well.... yes, actually. They already invented evidence to use to invade Iraq. They're actually pretty good at it.
Read the story in the New York Times (link below) and get the details of this absurdity.
Given the well-documented history of the FBI in not just framing people and creating false evidence, but out-right murder, I would never assume anything they say or report is truthful. The fact that this entire "investigation" took a year to complete stinks to high heaven. If these men were such a danger to society, then why were they allowed to roam our streets for an entire year
My guess is that they are four loser-nobodys, low-IQs, just like those dudes from Florida who wanted to make a revolution, and whose demands were that they wanted new boots. People like this are used and manipulated by the state police forces to create a phony crisis. I'll bet anything that these four will be held under some terrorist statute that will prevent their attorneys from providing them with a basic defense to the charges. Or even presenting a defense. You know -- "National Security" and all that. Or maybe this will be a test of the new policy of "preventative detention" by which our government claims they can lock us up forever, without trial. You know. To "protect" us.
If somebody wanted to blow up a building, they could get gasoline and soda bottles. If they wanted to kill people, they could get a gun. This whole story stinks. It's like the FBI came up with some truly bizarre scenario to maximize the level to which the public could be terrorized. I'm betting we'll see three things at work in this phony story: Entrapment, Entrapment, and Entrapment. This will undoubtedly be used by the Republicans to justify their torture and international war crimes, and to support the further elimination of our basic constitutional rights. Will it be used by the Democrats to justify the planned war against Pakistan, and Obama's just-announced policy of preventative detention without trial?
What does the New York Times report in its article on May 22, 2009, titled "N.Y. Bomb Plot Suspects Acted Alone, Police Say"? Here are a few important points.
1. The four men who were arrested are described by local cops as "petty criminals."
2. They were acting alone, not with any terrorist organization. (Until the FBI got involved, anyway).
3. All four men had previously been in prison, for petty crimes.
4. The FBI found these four losers by sending informants into a Muslim mosque, and looking for -- poor people?
5. The "plot" consisted of the FBI informant wooing these men for a year, buying them meals, (did the FBI buy these men the SUV they drove to the "crime scene?") and promising them -- what? Millions of dollars? Even at that, the FBI informant, who told the four men he represented some foreign group, spent an entire year before he could get them to agree to do anything. Even then, the four men did nothing. The FBI gave them something which they said was a bomb, and drove them to a synagogue, then sat there and waited for the men to put the bomb out front. The FBI gave these four men something they said was a missile, and the FBI was supposedly going to drive the men to an airport where they would then shoot down airplanes. The four men did nothing. The FBI apparently planned the crime, got the "weapons," got together their "crew," maybe gave these men an SUV, maybe gave them money, maybe promised them millions. Whose the real criminal here? This is so weak that the case should be dismissed immediately.
6. The U.S. Attorneys' office describes the four as "extremely violent men." That's not what the local cops said -- the cops who know these guys. The local cops said these guys are petty criminals. Not based on their conduct. They didn't do anything except what the FBI informant told them to do. We already know the FBI is extremely violent. But these four men have no reported history of violence of any kind. So why would the U.S. Attorney's office come up with the description of "extremely" violent men? I'm guessing because they're going to be held forever, without a trial. Or maybe with some secret trial.
7. Three of the men are U.S.-born, one was born in Haiti. All four men are being reported by the FBI as being Muslim, although family relatives do not confirm that. For example, Wanda Cromitie is a sister of one of the four men arrested. She said: "she was shocked to learn of her brother's arrest while watching television this morning. She said she was unaware that her brother may have had extreme political views, and that she had last spoken to him about two years ago when she thought he was working at a Wal-Mart or Kmart store. " [Which could make anyone have extreme political views]. "'Right now, to me he's, like, the dumbest person I ever came in contact with in my life,' Ms. Cromitie said. She added that as far as she knew, he was not a Muslim, but said 'they do a little time in jail and they don't eat pork no more.'"
8. The FBI sent informants into a Muslim mosque in the hometown of these four men several years ago at least. "At the Masjid al-Ikhlas mosque in Newburgh where the men first met the F.B.I. informant, they were not considered devoted members, said an imam at the mosque, Salahuddin Mustafa. He also said that the man he believes was the informant showed up about two years ago and started inviting people to meals, where he would talk about jihad and violence.
9. An assistant imam (like a minister or pastor) at that mosque said that one of the four men appeared to be mentally ill. He "often talked in circles, showed signs of paranoia and kept bottles of urine in a messy apartment. 'He has some very serious psychological problems,'" (the assistant iman said.)
10. Therefore, according to the New York Times, the FBI sent an underground informant into a Muslim mosque, and that informant would invite poor ex-con members out to meals where he would talk to them about violence and jihad. Yes, that's called inciting violence. What exactly did the FBI promise these four men? Money?
11. Actually, these four men were given up by another guy who had been caught in criminal activity, and agreed to be an informant to the FBI in exchange for staying out of prison. This weasel told the FBI that these four losers wanted to attack the U.S. That's how this all began. Or so the FBI claims. Some weasley criminal turned these four guys in so he could stay out of prison. And even at that, it took the FBI an entire year to get these four guys to go along with this ridiculous "plot" to attack a synagogue.
It gets better. The FBI informant actually drove these four losers to the synagogue and watched (or instructed) one of them placing packages (supposedly with explosives) inside cars parked out front. The four bad guys and the FBI who directed the whole "plot" were inside a black SUV. Whose car was this? Did these four men even have a car? The newspaper calls the driver a "cooperator." Is that the same as FBI Informant? The FBI immediately moved in from all sides, including in armored vehicles, smashed in the windows of the SUV (why?) and made the big arrest. Of Al Queda in the Bronx.
The newspaper reports that none of the four resisted at all. Yet the place was swarming with FBI and cops: "'Other police officers, along with members of the Joint Terrorist Task Force, the F.B.I., and the state police, were also on hand, and moved in and took those individuals away.'"
Then to cap it off, we have a new term, "aspiration." The FBI is claiming that these four men "aspired" to be bad guys, but did not have the materials or abilities to do so. Good thing the FBI jumped in to direct, encourage, and pretend to arm them. Entrapment. And a waste of taxpayer money. "A federal law enforcement official described the plot as 'aspirational' - meaning that the suspects wanted to do something but had no weapons or explosives - and described the operation as a sting with a cooperator within the group." Aspirational. They aspire to commit crimes. A "cooperator" in the group: that's the FBI plant who came up with the plan, promised money to the others if they would go along with it, got the phony weapons, and was in charge of the entire bizarre incident. This is a new low.
Here's another good one: "The shadowy figure of the F.B.I. informant is, in many ways, a driving force of the plot laid out by prosecutors." Well yes, driving force. He invented the whole thing. He created it. Delete "in many ways."
So, what's really going on with these two-bit criminals being set up like big-time terrorists? Find some ex-cons including one who's crazy, probably poor and unable to find work. Tell them what to do, pretend to represent some wealthy foreign group, provide them with the pretend weapons, promise them what? Millions of dollars? All set up by the FBI.
Here's the proper role for law enforcement: (1) when there has been a crime committed, they investigate, find evidence, turn it over to a prosecuting attorney who decides whether to file charges; (2) if they hear of a planned crime, investigate that, gather evidence to be used to stop the crime. But it is not the proper role of law enforcement to manufacture crimes, to try to get other people to commit crimes so the law enforcement can act like big shots when they arrest the guys. Which is what appears to have happened in this case.
The government got four losers and set them up to take a fall as some big-time Al Queda in the Bronx. But for what? I'd say it is to (1) re-terrorize the public, make people fearful, (2) convince the public that torture and wars of aggression are necessary, so there should be no hearings or prosecution or punishment of those who committed those crimes, and (3) provide further support for the elimination of the constitutional rights of the citizens of this country.; and (4) maybe test out the new "preventative detention" theory being floated by our federal government, the idea that they can jerk us out of our homes at any time and throw us in prison, without trial, forever. You know -- to keep the country safe.
When it was all over, the bloggers seemed wowed. "All in all, it was an amazing day for Military.com and one I'll never forget," Carroll wrote. "In fact, I'd rank the event a close second to the time I sat in with Cheap Trick. It was that good."
I have no idea why the GOP is having so much trouble with the youth vote.
A new "book" by radio talker Charlie Sykes has inspired Wisconsin's lefty bloggers - and we are legion - to collaborate on this post. We are so technologically advanced that we were able to do it via the Internet, without even having an all-day meeting to try to reach consensus.
Contributors include Jim Rowen of The Political Environment, Michael and Anne Mathias of Pundit Nation, Paul Soglin of Waxing America, Cory Liebman and Scot Ross of One Wisconsin Now, Bill Christofferson and Steve Hanson of Uppity Wisconsin, Jay Bullock of folkbum's rambles and rants, , Joel McNally of 1290 WMCS Radio, Gretchen Schuldt of Milwaukee Rising the Brew City Brawler, and Illusory Tenant.
Quite a distinguished group. Perhaps the most blog brainpower assembled since Thomas Jefferson blogged alone.
Sykes repackaged and expanded on a little schtick he started more than 10 years ago, with what was then called Rules of life for teenagers.
