Soldiers For Peace International: Guns

Cross posted from…...

SOLDIERS FOR PEACE INTERNATIONAL

OUR MISSION IS TO JOIN INDIVIDUALS AND GROUPS WORKING IN DIFFERENT WAYS TO ENSURE THAT OUR CHILDREN LIVE IN A RATIONAL, SUSTAINABLE WORLD. WHEN ENOUGH PEOPLE ABANDON THE BELIEF THAT WAR IS INEVITABLE,IT WILL BECOME UNTHINKABLE. WAR IS CONDUCTED FOR CORPORATE EMPIRE. THEREFORE,THE FIRST STEP TO ENDING WAR IS ENDING CORPORATE CONTROL OF THE US GOVERNMENT. ALL SOCIAL JUSTICE EFFORTS LEAD TO THE END OF WAR, THE ULTIMATE INJUSTICE. THOSE WHO WORK FOR JUSTICE ARE SOLDIERS FOR PEACE.

SUNDAY, JANUARY 13, 2013

GUNS AND THE COMING REVOLUTION

I swore I was not going to write about the gun debate that has followed the latest mass murder. It seemed an exercise in futility. Trying to convince people that they are wrong on gun control is like trying to influence their views on abortion. Attitudes and opinions are fixed on the issue. There is little chance that one more opinion will change them. Recently, the conversation took an interesting turn, one that is new to the ongoing debate on gun control. The idea that we have to have personal weapons to fight our own government went from being a fringe idea to a mainstream argument, defended by conservatives and many pro-second amendment liberals.

It has been obvious to every thinking American for some time that something is terribly wrong with our current government. If we could agree in what that was we might be able to fight it without resort to guns. The nation is nearly evenly divided between those who fear a socialist takeover and those who believe that the problem is growing corporate dominance of government to the extent that it is leading to fascism, if it has not already arrived. If we do not come to a common understanding of what has gone wrong with the US system of government, it is likely that the incidence of political violence will continue to increase until we are subject to a violent crackdown by the very police state that so many of us fear.

The argument that America is being taken over by socialists is laughable on its face. With the social safety net under attack and a bailout of the medical insurance industry being passed off as “near-universal health care,” nothing could be further from the truth. Funneling taxpayer dollars to corporations that ship jobs overseas, those that profit from denying needed health care and those that manufacture weapons for insanely expensive wars for corporate Empire is in fact a form of corporate welfare serving the interests of the rich over those of the American taxpayer. That is worth fighting a revolution over, but one that can only succeed if it is done so through nonviolent, democratic action. That is impossible if we cannot come to a consensus on how democracy works and how best to achieve it.

It is easy to define democracy. The word translates literally as “government of the People.” That means government of, by and for the People. Not some people, but all people in the United States. If we cannot achieve consensus on what is best for all the people, we cannot create a government of the People. Instead, those who wield power over the government will continue to divide us until they ultimately conquer us. Those calling for revolution understand that it is our inalienable right and responsibility to resist a government that has become tyrannical. A government that is not for the People but for corporations and the wealthy individuals that control it cannot be said to be democratic.

Who then is the tyrant who dares challenge democracy in the US and the world? Many claim it is President Obama. On one side the radical Right argues that he intends to impose a socialist government that will dictate to the People. On the Left, the claim is made that there is no difference between Obama and George Bush in the arena of foreign policy and that he has been far too willing to sacrifice the interests of the People for the corporate interest that in fact wields control over both parties by virtue of controlling the corporate media and thereby the nature of political discourse. In fact, the blame lies squarely with a Congress that has abdicated its authority to an imperial Presidency, regardless of who is the figurehead in the White House in matters of war and peace. 

If we truly want a democratic revolution, the Left and Right must first agree on goals, lest the US become another failed state, at best degenerating into a power struggle between the leaders of the revolution but far more likely to result in the consolidation of power by those who control the police state. As the response to Occupy has shown, these are the powerful banking and oil industries that colluded with agents of the police state in infiltrating and undermining this popular movement. The only way to overcome the power of those who control the levers of government is to united around the idea that together we can create a government of, by and for the People only by ending the power of corporations and the rich to choose who we have to pick from to represent us in Congress. 

There is evidence that there will be a mass movement to hold candidates for Congress accountable to the People by making them declare whether they will support a constitutional amendment to ban corporate campaign expenditures and limit individual donations to influence the outcome of elections. There is a parallel movement to accomplish the same bylegislative changes to address corruption ofgovernment by monied interests, though many doubt that such an effort can succeed. Even if it does succeed in the short run, there is always the risk that a future Congress can be corrupted by the influence of the rich and powerful, while a constitutional amendment will ensure that future Congresses will not be able to hand the US government back to corporate interests.

Those who argue that we cannot reform government by working with politicians are missing the point: If we make support for a constitutional amendment the litmus test for candidates for Congress, we can and will elect a Congress that will put the interests of the People over those of the corporate interests that currently control it. This is the first step to electing a Congress that will work for peace through cutting the strings of those who manipulate US policy to wage endless war for corporate Empire while subjugating a population that is becoming increasingly aware of the threat this poses to its own freedom. 

If we keep in mind that 80% of both self-identified conservatives and liberals are opposed to Citizens United, citizens can unite to take back America for the People. The Pledge to Amend campaign is the way to join the Left and Right in the common cause of finally achieving democracy in America and the world. If we succeed the last, best hope for Mankind shall not perish from the Earth. Recent history has shown that democracy cannot be imposed at the point of a gun. If we come to understand that, there is yet hope that we can create it through the will of the People, using the democratic process that is at the heart of the freedoms for which so many have died.  

POSTED BY RICK STAGGENBORG, MD 

Connect the Dots USA Nails "Entitlements Vs"Earned Benefits"

Cross posted from Connect the Dots USA
Previous TPI  Connect the Dots USA post

Please do not call my earned benefits “entitlements”, as if I am some loathe from a Mitt Romney 47% hidden talk to rich people.

One last point from 1936…..life for the GOP never changes.

Connect the Dots USA

Connect The Dots USA

As we have seen in previous posts on this FB page, Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid are three very different programs with very different funding challenges. They should not be lumped together into the pejorative-sounding “Entitlements” umbrella. Progressives, please stop using that word and reinforcing the BIG CONservative framing. Instead, you should reply, “Are you talking about our beloved earned benefit and insurance programs — Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid?”

Remember, Social Security does not add a dime to the deficit; can pay full benefits until 2033 with no changes; and can pay full benefits for 75 years by simply scrapping the unfair wage cap and collecting the tax on income over $113,700. Easy peasy!

The gold standard for fixing Medicare and Medicaid is by going Medicare-For-All and getting young, healthy people into the same risk pool as older, sicker people. That’s insurance 101. If you really want to save money, cover everyone, and get more bang for your healthcare buck, kick out the greedy, for-profit insurance middleman that adds nothing of value for the 20% they skim off.

In the meantime, let’s watch for the improvements after the Affordable Care Act goes more fully into effect on January 1st 2014. As a bridge to Medicare-For-All, we should push for a Medicare-Early-Buy-In-Option so anyone who wants to ditch greedy private insurers can buy into the existing Medicare program.

We thank Connect the Dots USA for their exemplary work.

Big Oil: Exxon Debunked and Continued Subsidies!

We often read and hear about the strikingly low profits Big Oil receives on a per gallon sold basis (e.g., seven cents per gallon).  More often than not I read it while battling with Ring-wing sycophants about issues related to oil subsidies.  All such interaction are short-lived based on the solid entrenchment of those who actually believe that oil companies need subsides and that those same companies earn meager profits.  Oh, the tribulations of the sycophant! 

Last Summer Media Matters has published a piece that debunked the ‘false mantra’ of meager profits and the impact of federal taxes. Of particular interest, the Media Matters piece was based on an OP-ED from the (Ruppert Murdoch owned) Wall Street Journal. Now is that a surprise?  

Media Matters and the very flawed WSJ OP-ED.

The WSJ OP-ED and debunked Exxon talking points brings issues to point of discussion.  The dirty business of tax subsidies and influential peddling by Big Energy lobbyist and congressional takers.  

We are offering a few visuals to ward off the prospect of losing the point in verbiage.  And, frankly, if you visit the TPI from time to time  you know we love our visuals.

All visuals are based on 2011 and 2012 data. Data from 2012 has not yet become readily available via quick resources such as Google.

Fossil Fuel Subsidies in the US

2.4 billion in Subsidized taxes for Big Oil and President Obama’s FY 2012 budget proposal! 

Big Oil profits

Center for American Progress  (February 2012)

Think Progress  (May 2012)

Ka-Ching: A Round-Up Of Big Oil’s Mighty 2012 First-Quarter Profits

By Climate Guest Blogger on May 2, 2012 at 10:27 am

by Daniel J. Weiss and Rebecca Leber

Together the big five oil companies—BP, Chevron, Conoco Phillips, Exxon Mobil, and Shell—earned a combined $33.5 billion, or $368 million per day, during the first quarter of 2012.

Recall that these companies made a combined record profit of $137 billion in 2011, mostly due to high oil and gasoline prices. Their ongoing huge earnings mean that these companies do not need $24 billion for a decade’s worth of tax breaks, particularly since the three American companies pay relatively low effective federal tax rates.

    

Annual Lobbying 

Open Secrets

Oil & Gas

Big Energy: 6th among top lobbying industries

Oil & Gas

$1,362,323,516

Industry Profile, 2012

Year:   2012″) 2011″) 2010″) 2009″) 2008″) 2007″) 2006″) 2005″) 2004″) 2003″) 2002″) 2001″) 2000″) 1999″) 1998″) 

Total for Oil & Gas: $138,297,451
Total Number of Clients Reported: 195
Total Number of Lobbyists Reported: 764
Total Number of Revolvers: 459 (60.1%)

Bill Moyers Dot com  Tracking Political contributions Oil and Coal (October 2012)

In the last two years, Speaker of the House John Boehner has received the most – over $800,000. And since 1999, two Texas Republicans — Senator John Cornyn, chair of the Senate Finance Subcommittee on Energy and Natural Resources, and Representative Joe Barton, chairman emeritus of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce — have each accepted more than 2 million dollars in contributions from the industry.

Take a look at Boehner’s $800,000 (Click for larger View)

Do you remember Joe Barton?  Barton is the Texas Congressman who after the Gulf Oil spill apologized to BP for probing questions from the Obama Administration. We already knew Barton was stroking the hand that feeds him, but it is good to have a reminder of just how far down the path the GOP has devolved into “money-grabbers”. 

It should be noted Democrats accept energy Industry contributions. While Democrats also accept contributions, it appears the Democrats vote against ‘big energy’ for more often than for the industry. 

Open Secrets

2012

Party Split:	Dems: Repubs: Others:  $4,169,110  $29,517,381  $28,750
All Candidates:	$33,715,241
Incumbents Only:	$19,511,026

House	# of Members	Average Contribution	Total Contributions
Democrats	161	$10,503	$1,691,039
Republicans	241	$57,616	$13,885,435
Independents	0	$0	$0
TOTAL	402	$38,747	$15,576,474
The US House of Representatives has 435 members and 5 non-voting delegates. Totals may exceed 440 due to mid-term replacements.

Senate	# of Members	Average Contribution	Total Contributions
Democrats	40	$26,438	$1,057,526
Republicans	45	$63,865	$2,873,926
Independents	1	$250	$250
TOTAL	86	$45,717	$3,931,702
The US Senate has 100 members. Totals may exceed 100 due to mid-term replacements.

The numbers on this page are based on contributions from PACs and individuals giving $200 or more.

All donations took place during the 2011-2012 election cycle and were released by the Federal Election Commission on Monday, January 14, 2013.

Top Recipients, 2011-2012

Candidate	Office	Amount
Romney, Mitt (R)		$5,381,459
Perry, Rick (R)		$972,874
Obama, Barack (D)		$787,762
Cruz, Ted (R-TX)		$654,070
Dewhurst, David H (R-TX)		$595,946

Additional lobbying information

Dirty Energy Money (How they vote)

The Shameful 47 per cent

Is there any wonder why we continue to subsidize and industry that earns record profits fiscal quarter after fiscal quarter?  Do you have a deeper sense of why when the SOTU Speech moved to comment about oil and gas, Boehner appeared stone faced and super-glued to his chair.

Let’s leave the politicians and the debunked WSJ Op-Ed for a closing second.  

Even more intriguing and tragic is 47% of you rushed to the voting booths to pull a lever or push a button for the GOP.

The Daily GOP Ignominious: Gasoline Prices Fox News Ala Carte

Fox Entertainment and Propaganda Network (Aka Fox News) continues its business model: focused sniping at the Obama Administration with creatively dishonest reporting. Bill Hemmer spoke recently about the recent jump in gasoline prices.  Hemmer is probably the least qualified of all Fox propagandist to speak about fluctuating gasoline prices.  Wait, I made a grievous mistake, Hemmer did not speak about cyclical fluctuation in gasoline prices!  If he and his producers approached the segment with even fleeting mention of cyclical fluctuation, it might have come close to credible and news worthy. 

Instead the propagandists ended the segment with Hemmer throwing the following ‘dog bone’ to Fox viewers while he sauntered to his waiting set stool.

“….when these gas prices go up rarely do they go back down.” Bill Hemmer, Fox News.

Let’s view a chart that provides facts for people who value accuracy in reporting. 

Media Matters

Hemmer said that gas is currently “up 11 or 12 cents over the average where we were a year ago,” then repeatedly emphasized the “drag” rising gas prices could have on the economy before concluding, “When these prices go up, rarely do they go back down.”

But Hemmer’s own chart debunks this claim.  

Read more

After making gas prices a campaign issue for months prior to the 2012 General election, the network was forced to abandon the 2012 mis-information before the election.  Gasoline prices dropped with virtually no mention of ‘gasoline’ during the spring ans summer of last year. 

In February of this year,  Fox producers developed a segment with the inimitable Steve Doocy. In early 2012, campaign mantra and campaign sloganeering focused on extent to which gasoline prices skyrocketed during the Obama Administration. The statement is accurate with an exception for a significant qualifier (unmentioned by the Fox propagandist).  They did not bother to report to their viewers the significant drop in gasoline prices in early 2008 (See St. Louis Fed chart below). During the Campaign debates, President Obama responded to an ill advised gasoline prices strategy from Mitt Romney.  Romney mentioned gas prices among with ares of concern. The president basically responded in accordance with the chart below, gas prices dropped during the nation’s financial crisis.

How Steve Doocy on gasoline prices earlier this month?

Media Matters

The following chart from the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis shows that crude oil and gasoline prices fell sharply in late 2008, just before President Obama took office:

We do not expect better from Fox News.  We should expect much more for the network’s viewers. Gas prices misinformation and manipulation match campaign misinformation broadcast prior to November 2012.  The result of such misinformation may have contributed to the Romney Campaigns failure to develop a concession speech for election night.