Dear Friend,

Through the stories of these every day Americans it is clear that we need to take the "For Sale" sign off the Capitol Lawn.

These interviews with Jim Kalbach, a farmer, Dominica Cibilich, an oyster fisherwoman and Chuck Nelson, a coal miner, show how hard-working people often pay a life-changing price when corporate money buys off politicians.

As long as politicians are accountable to these corporations and lobbyists who finance their campaigns, they are never going to be accountable to the people who elect them.

The only way to make Congress accountable to working Americans is to have Fair Elections, where a coal miner's voice can be heard as clearly as the owner of that mine.

It's time to take the "For Sale" sign off the Capitol Lawn. Pass Fair Elections NOW!

Yours,
Robert Greenwald and the Brave New Foundation team

It was no surprise to us that Fox News left its viewers largely in the dark about the fact that its parent company, News Corp., donated an unprecedented $1 million contribution to the Republican Governors Association, a campaign operation that aims to elect Republican governors and defeat Democratic candidates.

We at Media Matters for America decided to do something about it. Hundreds of you stepped forward and agreed to help us fund an ad telling Fox News viewers the truth: that Fox is just a political operation disguising itself as a news network.

Fox News rejected the ad three times. Only after it was confronted by another news outlet did Fox agree to run it.

It will cost approximately $35,000 to air the ad on The O'Reilly Factor next week. Will you put us over the top?

Fox is posing as a news operation -- even as it actively engages in political campaigning through lies, distortions, activism by its hosts, and now a huge direct contribution from its parent company to a Republican campaign arm. You now have a chance to add a rare 30 seconds of truth.

Eric Burns
President,
Media Matters for America

One of my cycling buddies just sent me this. After laughing for ten minutes I simply had to blog it. So lets get along. And do not forget, before you vote in November get my book “As I See It: Class Warfare The Only Resort To Right Wing Doom”.

NEXT SEASON ON DANCING WITH THE STARS 
     For those of you who believe everything you see on the computer.

(This is one of the best photo shop jobs I've seen... Too funny)

The timidity of Democrats never ceases to amaze me. Actually, it isn’t timidity at all. It is simply a disregard that all politicians have for the middleclass. It is our fault that we allow them to play these games. While the middleclass does not have the wealth of the super-rich, one vote from the rich is equivalent to one vote from the middleclass. There are a hell of a lot more in the middleclass. Until the middleclass educate itself to the reality of our economy as opposed to the fallacies that we have been fed about how it operates for decade, Democrats and Republicans will continue to take the middleclass for granted. Middleclass America is simply too gullible and easily convinced to vote against their interest.

I’ve written a  book “As I See It: Class Warfare The Only Resort To Right Wing Doom” that details this and present solutions. Everyone should read this before voting in November. We must stop being snowed. BTW, you can find the book at one of my websites http://bit.ly/bY5hwd .

WASHINGTON — Democrats in Congress are poised to play a leading role this month in thwarting their party's effort to raise income tax rates on the wealthy.

Tax cuts enacted in 2001 and 2003 expire at the end of this year. President Barack Obama and Democratic congressional leaders have been eager to extend the breaks for individuals who earn less than $200,000 annually and joint filers who make less than $250,000. Those who earn more would pay higher, pre-2001 rates starting next year.

However, a small but growing number of moderate Democrats are balking at boosting taxes on the rich. Many face electorates that recoil at the mention of any tax increase. Some represent areas that are loaded with wealthier taxpayers. Further, some incumbent senators who don't face voters this fall are reluctant to increase taxes on anyone while the economy remains sluggish.

Without their support, the push to raise rates on the rich probably will fail.

"The economy is very weak right now. Raising taxes will lower consumer demand at a time when we want people putting more money into the economy," said Sen. Evan Bayh, D-Ind., who isn't seeking re-election.

Democratic leaders still vow a big effort this month to boost the top tax brackets, now 33 and 35 percent, back to 36 and 39.6 percent, the rates that were in effect in the 1990s. Both House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., who faces a tough re-election fight, want a vote before the election Nov. 2.

"We still expect to have a bill on the (Senate) floor at some point in September," Reid spokesman Jim Manley said. "Whether Republicans will allow us to pass anything is a whole other story."

"The speaker and the president have been clear they want to extend the middle-class tax cuts because they have the greatest economic benefit," Pelosi spokesman Brendan Daly said.

CONTINUED

Democrats unlikely to repeal tax cuts for the rich | McClatchy

As See It: Class Warfare The Only Resort To Right Wing Doom  is an essential read. Going forward it is imperative that when we go into the voting booth that we are educated voters.

America is currently at a tipping point. There is an ideological battle between the Left Progressive Liberals and the Right Wing Conservatives.

This book illustrates the massive defects in the Right's policies that have led us to the brink of a precipitous fall over a cliff. The book provides the real narrative that should be the balance between the corporation, the government, and the individual citizen. It dispels the notion of the corporation being inherently more benevolent than the government.

Most importantly the book presents a logical solution to the economic woes of the country. Implemented over time the suggested policy changes would ensure that America lives up to the America we all expect it to be.

This book is an easy read. It will allow you to open yourself and questions all that you thought you new about our economy.

Class Warfare: The Only Resort To Right Wing Doom
Author: Egberto Willies
Pub. Date: 08.31.2010
ISBN: 1453608168

Paperback
Pages: 206
Retail: $14.99
BUY Paperback

eBook
Retail: $9.99
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Disgraceful. The financial sector has pilfered middleclass America three times in the last several years. They created constructs to inflate the economy robbing us blind on the way up. When their legally corrupt financial instruments failed, they forced us to bail them out. After bailing them out they refuse to put these monies to work in America based on false narratives.

When will we as American get that we are continuously being snowed by these titan of finance? When will America drop its gullibility  index and support not only PINO (progressives in name only) but real progressives that work for the well being of all.

I just wrote the book “As I See It: Class Warfare Is The Only Resort To Right Wing Doom” that details these issues and provide a framework that could be a solution. The books home page is at http://bit.ly/cZbZad. Take a look at it.

A hedge fund manager's latest letter to investors has caused something of a stir among financial pundits, drawing comments from Paul Krugman, Andrew Ross Sorkin and others.

The letter, which was penned by Third Point chief Daniel Loeb and first unearthed by Bess Levin at Dealbreaker, contains a host of grandiose, introductory quotes from the likes of Ronald Reagan, Thomas Jefferson and President Obama.

Loeb's main point of contention, however, seems to be with the president. Loeb, who Sorkin notes is a Democrat and was one of Obama's biggest supporters during the 2008 election, contends that the Obama administration "is operating from a playbook quite different from the one we are used to as American business people; a thought that chills all participants in these free markets."

Here's more from Loeb:

As every student of American history knows, this country's core founding principles included non-punitive taxation, Constitutionally-guaranteed protections against persecution of the minority, and an inexorable right of self-determination. Washington has taken actions over the past months like the Goldman suit that seem designed to fracture the populace by pulling capital and power from the hands of some and putting it in the hands of others. For example, a well-intentioned government program gone awry is the new CARD Act that restricts banks from repricing interest rates on borrowers who fail to meet their revolving credit obligations. The effect of this legal prohibition has been to force the banks to raise the interest rate paid by all borrowers, to compensate for losses they are now being forced to take on delinquent borrowers. The effect is a redistribution of wealth from people who pay their debts on time to those who do not.

Sorkin seized on Loeb's comments in his latest column this morning, offering the letter as evidence of Obama's increasingly strained relationship with Wall Street and its big-pocketed donors. (Which prompted Krugman to note that the financiers were acting like "spoiled kids" and that the the most stringent parts of the financial reform bill were killed.)

Loeb, however, didn't entirely let Wall Street off the hook for the financial collapse:

Many people see the collapse of the sub-prime markets, along with the failure and subsequent rescue of many banks, as failures of capitalism rather than a result of a vile stew of inept management, unaccountable boards of directors, and overmatched regulators not just asleep, but comatose, at the proverbial switch. When we hear the chorus of former executives and regulators exclaim that the crisis was "impossible to see coming", while at the same time walking away with millions or going on to greater levels of responsibility in government, it is both puzzling and demoralizing. It is easy to see why so many people have concluded that the entire system is rigged.

At The Baseline Scenario, James Kwak was quick to point out holes in Loeb's implication that capitalism merely needs better participants, not tougher regulation. Here's Kwak:

"...putting the blame on certain categories of people does not somehow absolve 'capitalism.' Our capitalist system-which until recently we considered the best, most pure version in the world-allowed incompetent people to become executives (and to run hedge funds), allowed incompetent people to become directors and to avoid any responsibility for their actions, and allowed companies to swamp regulators with battalions of high-priced lawyers and lobbyists.

Story continues below

Daniel Loeb, Hedge Fund Manager, Blasts Obama Administration's 'Redistribution Of Wealth'

While I give the president kudos for calling out the Republicans on passing the tax cuts for small businesses I think he is way behind the curve in being interventionist in the economy. The titans of capitalism have failed America and it is now time that we use Keynesian economic principles to stabilize this economy. While most have been indoctrinated into believing that big government is bad the reality is big corporations is what is bad as their is no accountability to the masses.

Our indoctrination is simply exacerbated by those who want to promote small government being so bad at it. I’ve written a  book that I sure hope many read to put some perspective on the level of indoctrination and the results thereof. Please check it out here.

WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Barack Obama exhorted Congress on Monday to make passing a long-languishing small business aid package its first order of business when it returns next month from its summer break.

"I ask Senate Republicans to drop the blockade," Obama said in the Rose Garden after meeting with his economic advisers.

Acknowledging that the economy still remains extremely fragile, the president said he'd also have other specific ideas in the days ahead.

He mentioned extending Bush tax cuts due to expire this year for households making under $250,000 a year, upping the nation's investment in clean energy, rebuilding more roads and highways and tax cuts designed to keep jobs in the U.S.

"My economic team is hard at work identifying additional measures that could make a difference in both promoting growth and hiring in the short term and increasing our economy's competitiveness in the long term," he said.

In a week likely to be dominated by foreign policy, Obama is trying to show he's still minding the economy after his 10-day vacation in Martha's Vineyard.

A string of weak economic reports in recent weeks has fed fears that the economy would fall back into recession, only slightly offset by Monday's government report that consumer spending had increased in July after four down months.

"Every single day, I'm pushing this economy forward, repairing the damage that's been done to the middle class over the past decade and promoting the growth we need to get out people back to work," Obama said in his statement.

Obama said action on the package of small business tax cuts and credit incentives is "one thing we know that we should do" as soon as possible. Republicans have been blocking the bill, calling it misguided.

However, Obama said it was being "held up by a partisan minority that won't even let it get to a vote."

Obama Calls Out Senate Republicans: Pass Small Business Bill

This is how an interview of a president is conducted. No softballs are running from issues; just matter of fact. Whether you agree with the president or not you ask the questions and let him answer. You follow up if you feel he skated the question.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Nothing is more important to Republican politicians these days than jobs and the deficit—at least according to Republican politicians. As House Minority Leader John Boehner put it in a "major economic address" on Tuesday, President Obama is "doing everything possible to prevent jobs from being created" while refusing to do anything at all "about bringing down the deficits that threaten our economy." Elect Republicans in November, Boehner assured his audience, and we will put an end to this insanity.

There's only one problem with Boehner's message: so far, the things that Republicans have said they want to do won't actually boost employment or reduce deficits. In fact, much the opposite. By combing through a variety of studies and projections from nonpartisan economic sources, we here at Gaggle headquarters have found that if Republicans were in charge from January 2009 onward—and if they were now given carte blanche to enact the proposals they want to—the projected 2010–2020 deficits would be larger than they are under Obama, and fewer people would probably be employed. 

The math is pretty straightforward. Let's start with the deficit. According to the Congressional Budget Office, Obama's stimulus plan is projected to increase budget deficits over the next decade by $814 billion. That's a big number. But Republicans opposed the legislation refused to provide an alternative, and now insist that it's been a total failure. So let's be generous and subtract it from their side of the equation. The Obama deficit: $814 billion. The GOP deficit: $0.

Next up is health-care reform. Obama passed it; Republicans want to repeal it "lock, stock, and barrel." The reason, as Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell explained in July, is that "we all know that it's going to increase the deficit." Unfortunately for the GOP, though, nonpartisan experts tend to disagree. Just this Tuesday, for example, the CBO released a letter saying that Obama's health-care-reform legislation would "reduce the projected budget deficit by $30 billion over the next 10 years,” while repealing the law would generate "an increase in deficits ... of $455 billion ... over that [same] period." Factor those figures into the equation and the Obama deficit falls to $784 billion. The GOP deficit, meanwhile, rises to $455 billion. Getting warmer.

The final piece of the puzzle is the Bush tax cuts. Obama wants to extend them for the 95 percent of taxpayers making less than $250,000 a year; Republicans want to extend them for everybody. How will these extensions affect the deficit? Glad you asked. According to data compiled by The Washington Post, "the Democratic proposal would add about $3 trillion to the deficit during the next decade, while the GOP plan would cost $3.7 trillion." That brings the total Obama deficit to $3.784 trillion over 10 years, and its GOP counterpart to—drumroll, please—$4.155 trillion.

CONTINUED

Estimates Say Fewer Jobs, Larger Deficits if Republicans Were in Charge - Newsweek

To the enlightened Glenn Beck is a caricature, someone so dumb and intellectually lacking that we do not take him seriously. Looking at the video a second time got me a bit worried. After-all, Americans tend to be gullible and if this guy gets traction outside his echo chamber he could become a force. We take him lightly at our peril.