The slime (Koch) Bros.are at it again

Koch Bros. slogan

I watched a recent video of Charles Koch playing the "philanthropic entrepreneur" who claims to do what he does for the good of America. But he and his brother, David, do what they do entirely for the sake of Koch Industries' bottom line. They are pouring more money into the 2018 election and particularly to, "...drive Trump's tax plan through Congress." USA Today reports that James Davis, a top official in Koch's Freedom Partners Chamber of Commerce, says, "The group plans to throw 'the full weight of the network' behind the campaign with the goal of passing a tax overhaul this year."

Translated, that means this group will shore up every Republican that is beholden to this family already, having done their bidding since put there by the Kochs, to make sure they are reelected in the midterms. It takes money, and they have it readily to spend to make sure they get what they want, and will do just about anything to get the job done. Back in 1989, "Investigators told a special Senate committee that a Wichita, Kan., company (Koch Industries) has been stealing oil from Indian lands for at least the last three years." Total value was $31.1 million. Just one example.

This is only one of several devious and illegal shams these brothers have pulled on the American public. If you are really interested in their illicit activities, read Sons of Wichita by Daniel Schulman. I couldn't put it down once I started. It reveals a trail of congressional investigations, and "Under the nearly five-decade reign of CEO Charles Koch, the company has paid out record civil and criminal environmental penalties," according to Rolling Stone. And here's one of the worst...

"...in 1999, a jury handed down to Koch's pipeline company what was then the largest wrongful-death judgment of its type in U.S. history, resulting from the explosion of a defective pipeline that incinerated a pair of Texas teenagers."

Yet following an incident such as this, Charles Koch will go on TV with his syrupy shit professing he can't imagine why the American public could think anything but the fact that the Koch brothers are just magnificent benefactors to all. Either this man is too stupid to realize what he does is wrong, or else he doesn't give a damn. Probably a combination of both. The Kochtopus is one of the most influential of the conservative gangs with grassroots minions in 36 states and backup operations in data processing. There are 550 ultra-wealthy donors that finance the goings on.

USA Today says they "...plan to spend $300 million to $400 million on policy and political campaigns ahead of the 2018 elections." Progressives say, we have to counter that with people who will vote for the good of the country, not for billionaires like the Koch brothers. There are only three companies that rank among the top 30 polluters of America's air, water and climate: ExxonMobil, American Electric Power and Koch Industries. Its subsidiary, Georgia Pacific alone, dumps more pollutants into the nation's waterways than General Electric and International Paper combined.

Although the Kochs deny direct funding of the tea Party, they, especially Charles, are known to be the kingpins behind the movement. Rolling Stone says it this way...

"The Koch family's lucrative blend of pollution, speculation, law-bending and self-righteousness stretches back to the early 20th century, when Charles' father first entered the oil business."

When Charles Koch took over from his father, the business flourished, because he didn't hesitate to bend or even break the law to make a buck. It was cheaper to let the Texas pipeline go without maintenance, explode and horrendously kill two teenagers then pay a court charged fine of $296 million. The Kochs appealed and later settled out of court. The dirty dealings of Charles Koch are well documented in Daniel Schulman's book, Sons of Wichita, and the Rolling Stones article, above. It will take a massive Progressive movement in 2018 to stop the Kochs and all conservatives. 

Political Satire: More never-ending Tea Party stupidity

The Tea Party brain

There is just no end to the idiocy of this organization. You have to wonder how a group with double-digit IQs can hang around so long; probably because there are so many people out there with double-digit IQs. I am talking about the Tea Party, of course, more specifically their continued derision of Barack Obama. Apparently, these blockheads don't know he is out of office, no longer in the White House. Not in a policy-making capacity anymore, and probably doesn't give a damn what the Tea Party thinks or says about him. But they still keep grinding it out. Why?

Because of headlines like this, "BIZARRE: Obama’s CULT Manual FOUND, Claims ‘Clouds Will Part’ When He and Michelle Return," that encourage those double-digits to read their crap and give up their money. The Tea Party has been bankrolled from the beginning by the Koch Bros., David and Charles, guilty repeatedly of favoring their business interests over human life and the general well-being of consumers. The Tea Party follows suit by favoring their ultra-conservative credo and driving issues that benefit their group at the expense of the country. No matter, it will always be stupid.

Political Satire: Mitch McConnell loves Obamcare

Elaine Chou had just been approved as Donald Trump's Transportation Secretary and her husband, Mitch McConnell was elated; along with a GOP Congress and a new figurehead in the White House he was sure he could control. Yes, Donald John was elected to the office but McConnell knew he was the real savior of the Republican Party now. He had never had this kind of power, and was just glad that he had found his source of long term stamina in the last few years to keep him going. It was the only way he had had the drive to fight against Barack Obama's second term. Damn those blacks.

McConnell grabbed his bottle of Mexican vitamins and took two; the dosage was six a day. God forbid anything happen to the doctor in Mexico City who supplied him. Heading back to the Senate chamber, his cell phone rang and it was doctor Gonzales who was excited, exclaiming that he wouldn't be able to supply the Senator any longer with his precious supplement.

"What do you mean? I pay you a fortune for the capsules. Do you need more money? I can always call the Koch brothers for a loan."

"No, no, something called Obamacare. Federales just raided my shop and took everything. I am ruined and all because of you."

"What did I do," he was desperate now.

"The Mexican President is a good friend of Barack Obama and when he found out what I was doing, he had me raided."

McConnell knew he would waste away and be unable to fulfill his duties of Majority Leader without his beloved Mexican vitamins. Even his wife didn't know. "Just sit tight. I'll take of this."

As he strode onto the Senate floor, he approached the podium and called for order. "Ladies and gentlemen of the Senate." Only a handful were there, all Democrats. "After a long discussion with my staff, I have decided that this body will vote to continue Obamacare, and I would heartily recommend to Speaker Ryan that the House do the same." Obamacare was kept by both houses.

That night he heard the sound of a text on his phone and when he checked, former President Obama said, "Now we're even. Any more of your crap and I'll tell Elaine."

Read more...

Political Satire: Charles Koch sneaks into White House and...

The Koch brothers laughing at us poor 99% schmucks

Charles Koch of the lurid team of Donald and Charles Koch refused to endorse Donald Trump for the 2016 election, instead, using the dark money underground to funnel money into the Republican presidency. It worked, but when the Kochs expected the admiration of the newly elected U.S. overlord, its majesty snubbed them simply because they had announced publicly earlier they didn't particularly cotton to Donald John.

So old Charley of the Koch pipeline that exploded and burned two teenagers alive, decided to sneak in to the White House one evening and mess up Donald John's hair. He could do that because of the $400 million he has committed for election 2018. But once inside, Bill Clinton, who had a secret door to a hidden room, popped out and tackled Charlie, thinking he was Trump. Melania rushed from the Lincoln bedroom to thank Bill with hugs and kisses in her Frederick's of Hollywood crotchless nightie. Donald John looked on from the door of the WH master bedroom and commented, “Hey, Bill, when you’re a star, they let you do it. You can do anything,” which immediately brought back memories of his Oval Office.

Read more...

The wealthy have taken away the American Dream

In the past, the American Dream provided that 90% of children could expect to earn more than their parents. In the last 50 years that has dropped to 50%. And that's not all, "...the bottom 50% of the American population earned an average of $16,000 in pre-tax income in 1980. That hasn't changed in over three decades." By comparison, the wealthy earned on average $428,000 in 1980, but today average $1.3 million a year. That's close to a 300% increase, where the have-nots remain stagnant. In other words, what Bernie Sanders was saying during his Presidential campaign was all true.

I have several friends who are Republicans, not necessarily have-nots, but certainly not even close to the top 1%, who don't seem to worry about this inequality. Some have commented that the rich should be rewarded because they worked for it but that brings up the question of how many were given their wealth...like Donald J. Trump. And then there's the suppression of those of us working stiffs by the corporations supported by the conservative GOP. Pew Research says from 1971 to 2015...

"...the nation’s aggregate household income has substantially shifted from middle-income to upper-income households, driven by the growing size of the upper-income tier and more rapid gains in income at the top."

There's more...

Fully 49% of U.S. aggregate income went to upper income households in 2014, up from 29% in 1970. The share accruing to middle-income households was 43% in 2014, down substantially from 62% in 1970.

CNN Money says that wages aren't going up for the bottom 50%, that inequality has grown and is on track to widen further. And the government, who is supposed to be the friend of the poor, isn't helping...

"The U.S. tax system is supposed to help the poor. Yet even after-tax income shows that the bottom 50% averaged just $25,000 a person in 2014, according to the latest data. That's just a touch above the $20,000 someone in the bottom half earned way back in 1974 (after adjusting for inflation)."

What makes all this worse is the fact that those in the top 1% not only laud their wealth over the lower echelons, but also use it to screw them further by buying elections. I'm talking about the Koch brothers. 

Trump honed incendiary style from National Rifle Assn.

For years the National Rifle Assn., led by Wayne LaPierre, has railed against a government that suppresses its people and denies them their constitutional rights. Of course, the opposition has always been designed to protect their precious 2nd Amendment, a part of the Constitution that should have been done away with or at least modified significantly. Something that obviously could never happen under a Donald Trump presidency or Republican controlled Congress.

A recent post on this subject pointed out how the emphasis on state elections will probably increase in the next four years, while pointing out the high amount of gun violence the U.S. suffers annually from too many guns. At one point Trump said, “I support the ban on assault weapons and I also support a slightly longer waiting period to purchase a gun.” The Trace article also said that during the election, "...Trump adopted an incendiary message that matched the NRA’s own."

When the NRA heard Trump's repeated rhetoric that the 2nd Amendment was sacred, something that must be protected at all costs, the decision was made to pump $30- million into ads that supported Trump. It started with 5-million NRA members, then picked a rural population the NRA has been appealing to for years, all ramrodded by the huge ad campaign both for Donald Trump and against Hillary Clinton. It worked. Trump was elected but can the NRA really depend on his fickle nature?




The fact is that almost all of the Republican hierarchy shunned Trump in the early stages, as well as further into the campaign. Special interest groups ignored him; do the Koch brothers come to mind? Even the conservative press was caught off guard by his zany antics. Sociologist Scott Melzer, author of the 2012 book "Gun Crusaders: The NRA’s Culture War," told The Trace:

"The gun group and its candidate speak to 'this white rural conservative population that feels left behind by economic shifts and cultural shifts. These changes pose a threat to their identity.'”

Wayne Lapierre wasn't able to beat Barack Obama but he was successful defeating Hillary Clinton. I continue to wonder how long a gullible American public will buy the NRA's bullshit. Meanwhile, it accepts 12,000+ gun deaths a
year, over 3,000 of them children. Thank you America.

For those of you on the fence for Bernie Sanders...

The must-win Wisconsin primary is coming up next Tuesday and this state is an example of how people have come to know and believe in Bernie Sanders giving him the momentum he needs to win the Democratic primary. Once proudly liberal, the Koch Bros.-driven Scott Walker has brought the state to one marred by deteriorating job growth whose middle class has declined more than almost any other state in the nation. This according to Pew Research Center.

But help is on the way and the folks of Wisconsin seem ready to replace Walker's backward conservatism with a new Progressive Revolution. Bernie Sanders trailed Hillary Clinton by as much as 53 points back in October. Today a Marquette University Law School poll shows him ahead of Clinton by 4.3 points (49.2-44.9). That's an uncanny 57 percent surge in just six months. So, for those of you on the edge, come on over.

Bernie Sanders Talks Obscene Wealth

In Iowa on Saturday Bernie Sanders talked about the obscene wealth in America. He was referring to billionaires like the KOCH Bros. that just keep taking but never really giving in return. Yes, I know about the KOCH family foundations but what they offer there is far smaller than what they suck out of this nation. And part of their philanthropy is no doubt to benefit their many conservative causes which lobby against issues like universal health care and climate change. KOCH industries is the top water polluter in the U.S. with three lobbying organizations that have a key influence on U.S. public policy, which accounts for a bought and paid for Republican Congress and some Democrats.

Here are the wealthiest in the U.S., but with distinct differences in character. There is Bill Gates, #1 at $79.4 billion followed by Warren Buffett #2 at $68.9 billion, then Oracle founder and former CEO, Larry Ellison, $54.5 billion. These three are followed by the dregs of billionaires, Charles and David Koch worth $41.6 billion each. And then comes the difference. Don't know much about Ellison but do know that Bill Gates and Warren Buffett have both pledged half of their fortunes to charity. And they have done it without attempting to take over the political reins of the United States and run it as a part of KOCH Industries. And that is what Bernie Sanders was talking about to large crowds this last Saturday in Iowa.

IKEA to Invest Billion Dollars in the Environment

The Scandanavians are in the news for investing big in cleaning up the environment. IKEA, based in Sweden, announced it will spend one billion euros (1.13 billion dollars) over the next five years to address climate change. While in the U.S. a Think Progress analysis found that "over 58 percent" of congressional Republicans refuse to accept the science of climate change. Go figure. IKEA's decision was partially the result of a survey taken last year with the finding that 41% of the store's customers think the company “takes social and environmental responsibility.” Now that's a refreshing change to some American companies that simply concentrate on polluting the environment.

Forbes magazine has published an article with 11 U.S. companies that are considered best for the environment. Among them are Seventh Generation and Go Lite, but there is also the other side...our country's big polluters. Just recently Environment America released "Polluting Politics" a report that analyzes spending on federal lobbying and campaign contributions by companies releasing the most toxic chemicals into U.S. waterways. Guess who tops the list of water polluters who spend the most politically to prevent environmental policies? KOCH Industries. But they are just one; others include Tyson Foods, Dept. Of Defense, Cargill, U.S. Steel and Phillips 66. And these are only water polluters.

The environment has taken a series of hits that many climate scientists have said we cannot recover from if we don't do something now. With a GOP Congress that won't pass any laws opposed by big business, there is little hope we will ever clean up this mess.

Money Should be Drummed Out of Politics

"We have all seen how the influx of big money distorts our agenda, limits competition, and undermines democracy. With Fair Elections, the power rests with voters, not special interests.” This was said by former New Jersey Senator Bill Bradley who now chairs Americans for Campaign Reform. One only needs to mention the Koch Bros. to confirm how money is buying GOP elections today. Their budget for 2016 is $889 million. But Democrats are doing the same thing and in a Politico piece they were accusing Republicans in 2014 when in fact they actually finished ahead among the biggest donors. George Soros is a billionaire liberal but OpenSecrets.org says:

"When it comes to the combination of institutional lobbying, 527 group donations and PAC expenditures, Koch Industries far out-spends Soros’ hedge fund and think tank, $57.4 million to $12.8 million. Most of this money is attributable to lobbying expenditures."

Enter Bernie Sanders who calls big money a wholesale purchase of political power. In May he called for “a political revolution” against “the billionaire class.” He has vowed never to accept PAC money and The Guardian reports:

“For the last 30 years I’ve been standing up for the working families of this country,” he said, “and I think I’m the only candidate who’s prepared to take on the billionaire class which now controls our economy and increasingly controls the political life of this country."

MSNBC says the, "2016 presidential election will be defined by big money more than any other in recent history." Won't it be dramatic when this little-known candidate who has these radical views on giving the country back to the people, snubbing his nose all along at the mega bucks is elected? Everyone will know who Bernie Sanders is then.

How to Dump the Rich for the Poor

There is a new Progressives report out that details how "to dismantle, reverse and fix how the laws and policies governing the American economy are rigged to benefit the wealthiest individuals and largest corporations." The poster boys should be the Koch Bros. A conclusion is “The American economy no longer works for most Americans…" then it tells what is causing this followed by policy changes to fix the problem. You can read the full report here. The study refutes those who say "government has shackled the free enterprise system and hobbled business" and that the "risk takers and job creators deserve the wealth." Their findings are based on the fact that the 1 percent are just getting wealthier while workers' wages remain stagnant. The 37 ways are all spelled out in the article which you should read but here are some highlights:

• End “too big to fail” by imposing additional capital surcharges on systemically risky financial institutions and breaking up firms that cannot produce credible living wills.
• Restructure CEO pay by closing the performance-pay tax loophole and increasing transparency on the size of compensation packages relative to performance and median worker pay and on the dilution as a result of grants of stock options.
• Provide health care cost controls by allowing government bargaining.
• Raise taxes on capital gains and dividends.
• Reform monetary policy to give higher priority to full employment.
• Raise the nationwide minimum wage and increase the salary threshold for overtime pay.
• Reform immigration law to provide a pathway to citizenship for undocumented workers.
• Invest in young children through child benefits, early education, and universal pre-K.

The 37 points demonstrate what this group of Progressives thinks will improve the working man and woman's financial future in the U.S. What do you think?

BERNIE SANDERS SMACKS KOCH BROS. ON SOCIAL SECURITY

Bernie Sanders has issued a three-prong assault on the Koch Bros., who he calls the poster boys for the 1% wealthy, re. their ongoing assault against Social security. First, they want to increase the retirement age to 70. Now, let's see, would their efforts be in behalf of the SS program to help it survive? Hell no, it's to save Koch Industries billions from the 60,000 people they employ in the U.S. Put it off as long as possible and maybe some of these nice employees will die before reaching age 70. Second and third, they scream that SS is going broke and that it needs to be privatized. Again, are they coming to the aid of one of America's institutional benefits? Hell no once more. The savings and potential revenue for something like this would be enormous for Koch Industries. What is interesting about the video with this article is that it exposes many of the secret lobbying groups supported by, who else, the Koch Bros. Watch it! 

BERNIE SANDERS DOESN'T WANT THE "VULGAR" BILLIONAIRE BUCKS

Presidential contender Bernie Sanders says he neither needs nor wants the tainted money that comes from billionaire donors like the Koch Bros. I believe him, and here's why. In a post yesterday, we uncovered some 30-million potential Progressives in this country. There are another 40-million Democrats, not necessarily Progressive, but most of whom don't want to see another Republican president. If you hit all 70-million for $5.00 twice, that's more than Barack Obama spent on reelection in 2012. For those of you who question my numbers, sure, all 70-mil won't give but with $5.00 as a standard, the range could be anywhere from $1.00 to $100 or more and the total amount could be even higher. Sen. Sanders actual words about the issue were, "Frankly, it is vulgar to me that we're having a war of billionaires." This is the kind of statement Progressives have been looking for for years. Now that you have it, run with it.

LIBERALS NEED TO WAKE UP AND DO THE RIGHT THING-3

Alterman asks, "Why do such smart guys say such stupid things?" He traces the answer back to the source of power in this country. The Koch Bros. who plan to spend $900 million on the 2016 Republican presidential nomination. Casino magnate Sheldon Adelson who gave $150 million to the GOP in 2012. Rupert Murdoch with his networks and newspapers spreads malicious rumors like Barack Obama is a secret Muslim and undocumented alien who hates white people. Eric Alterman says in his The Nation article that conservatives don't even bother to offer ideas rather, "...they’re making calculated attempts to undermine our democracy, exploiting and manipulating a public that has decreasing resources for the kind of reliable information that would lead to a pragmatic 'liberal' response."

If this doesn't piss you Progressives off, nothing will, and if not we will go through 2016 just like past elections skipping the vote. 

KOCH BROTHERS ALLIES/BIG DONORS POUT OVER THEIR IMAGE

The Koch Brothers and their minions of moneybags are taking heat, so supporters, like USA Today, are trying to clean up their image by saying things like, "The American Dream is simply too far out of reach for far too many people." Now who the hell do they think made it unreachable? The administration of George W. Bush squandered this "Dream" started with Bill Clinton during his presidency, saying as late as June of 2014, the middle class is the key to ending poverty. Keep the middle class healthy and it will pull up the country. All the Koch Brothers and their followers are interested in is to build wealth in the upper 1% of incomes and to hell with the rest.

Billionaires impel Social Democracy

Let's take a look at two recent stories on CNN. One, "The richest person in all 50 states," which lists Bill Gates from Washington at the top of the list followed by Warren Buffett from Nebraska. Conservative dirty money king, David Koch, is fourth. Gates comes in at $81.5 billion with the lowest from the state of Wyoming at $340 million.

The second story, "Over 48 million Americans live in poverty," which is self-explanatory by the title, sort of makes you wonder about the first story. "The official poverty line was $23,283 last year for a family of four," according to the article, which is defined by a conservative as "discouraging." Just discouraging? It looks more like a tragedy to me, and that still takes into consideration the philanthropy of these billionaires and millionaires.

I am not a socialist but to those 48 million souls in poverty, a Social Democracy might be very appealing.

NEIGHBORS KNEW OF LAS VEGAS COUPLE'S KILLING PLANS

Walmart Las Vegas shooting

What is it the American public can't understand about "I just might go out and do a mass killing?" The dialogue was similar in what the killers Jared and Amanda Miller told their neighbor,
Krisa Koch, before the killings. Their actual words were "the couple had told her they were going to carry out an attack." Koch said, " she thought they were 'crazy,' so she dismissed what they said." And then the woman the pair of murderers was staying with, Kelley Fielder, "She said she saw the pair leave the home early Sunday carrying weapons and ammunition." Good God, what does it take when there are killings like this daily in the newspapers and on television and the radio. Are these people just stupid or is this an extension of the American public's dismissive nature of the shootings taking place throughout the U.S? Either way it's pathetic.

DOES LIMITING CAMPAIGN CONTRIBUTIONS REALLY INFRINGE ON THE 1ST AMENDMENT?

I say no and here's why. Democracy is a form of government in which all eligible citizens participate equally—either directly or indirectly through elected representatives—in the proposal, development, and creation of laws. The key word here is citizens participate "equally." How can anyone compete against secret big money the likes of which is fostered by the infamous Koch brothers. Yes, I have one vote as does any American citizen but what good is that vote if Congress is already bought by the Bobbsey Twins? And it's not just conservatives who pull this trick; Democrats are also guilty. So did the Supreme Court screw up? I think so in their zeal to protect 1st Amendment rights. As with the numerous quirks from the interpretation of the 2nd Amendment, did the Founding Fathers envision giving the right to billionaires to rig elections?

The ALEC conspiracy broadens

The American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) has been called a “bill churning mill” primarily due to the fact that, of the nearly 1,000 bills it presents to state lawmakers each year, 20 percent become law.  Some of them verbatim, right out of ALEC’s factory.  Marvin Meadors writing for the Huff Post likens it to the “evil law firm” in the movie The Devil’s Advocate, a 1997 film in which a lawyer finds out his new boss is Lucifer himself.

I can see how the Koch brothers, David and Charles, would be considered the devil reincarnated by consumers because everything these two concoct ends up flying in the face of the average American citizen.  Things like the “stand your ground” laws (Castle Doctrine), voter id laws, voucher programs for private schools that dilute public education, anti environmental bills, anti-immigration legislation, anti-worker laws, and the list goes on.

But the Koch brothers aren’t in this alone; their cronies are some of the largest corporations in the U.S., all of which depend on the very consumers ALEC laws are designed to oppose.  Companies like Wal-Mart, Kraft, State Farm, Exxon/Mobil, Verizon, AT&T, Bayer, GlaxoSmithKline, not to mention Koch Industries and there are more.  These back-stabbers are joined by over 2,000 of your state legislators who pretty much do just what ALEC tells them to.

And then there is the National Rifle Assn., which brought the “stand your ground” law to ALEC, who along with the NRA got it passed in Florida in 2005, which then went on to another twenty-something states.  It is the basis on which George Zimmerman shot and killed black teen ager Trayvon Martin in Florida recently, and the possible answer to why justifiable homicides are increasing at an alarming rate in the states that have passed this law.    

ALEC was actually founded by conservative Paul Weyrich, also the founder of the Heritage Foundation to defy liberal think tanks.  He was one of the earliest to marry conservatives to evangelicals, joining Jerry Falwell to found the Moral Majority.  Weyrich actually said: “I don't want everybody to vote. Elections are not won by a majority of the people.”  He continues, “As a matter of fact, our leverage in the elections quite candidly goes up as the voting populace goes down.”

His underlying meaning, above, becomes quite clear when you consider the voter-id laws that ALEC is proposing under the guise of stopping voter fraud that are actually meant to discourage voting by the poor and ethnic minorities. 

But there is probably nothing more profound in ALEC’s privatization efforts than its crusade to turn America’s prisons into private enterprise.  Its model legislation has been responsible for an explosion in prison population.  Laws like “three strikes,” mandatory minimum sentencing laws, and “truth in sentencing” that does away with or limits parole.  As crime fell dramatically in the 1990s, the prison population grew by a half-million inmates, as just one example.     



Gov. Brewer fills private prisons



And where do we go for the most glaring examples of ALEC’s privatization of prisons?  Why Arizona of course.  I did a post on this in February, “Private prisons another example of big business exploiting states,” which related the conspiracy going on between Gov. Jan Brewer’s office, Sheriff Joe Arpaio and the Republican state legislators to bring in companies like Corrections Corp. of America (CCA), and guarantee to keep their cells filled for profit.

But there is a darker side that the state doesn’t talk about because it completely refutes Arizona’s original reason for going this route.  It was to save money, which it hasn’t.  A report released in February reveals that the state overpaid its private prisons by $10 million between 2008 and 2010.  And what they received in return was unacceptable including malfunctioning alarm systems, fences with holes in them, inept staffs plus other problems.

In total there were 157 serious security failings across five facilities.  There were some 28 riots, a figure that cannot be confirmed since the prison administration attempted to hide the evidence.  And just this past Tuesday, Arizona’s Dept. of Corrections awarded a $349 million three-year contract to privatize health care for inmates, costing $5 million more than the state paid in 2011.

These are your tax-paying dollars folks, and ALEC makes the U.S. Congress’ pork barrel politics look like kids stuff.  The question is not if, but rather when, ALEC will come up with a new state program to privatize.  How about parks?  Now that’s a possibility.  Fence them all in and charge admission.  But the state must find ways to force more people into the parks for maximum profit of let’s say a company like “Private Parks of America.”

Absurd?  Not at all.  And if progressives don’t get busy on both the national and state levels and dump these conservative lawmakers that worship big business, this country is in for a shock some day when corporations will occupy the White House and the Congress, not individuals.

BREAKING NEWS: Just announced that Coca Cola and Pepsico have severed their ties with ALEC due to pressure from special interest groups.  More on this later. 

States try to legislate unions out of business

I have heard before that there is a cycle between unions and corporate management where one prevails in power for a few years, then the other takes over.  It is clear that big business has been in control for several years now thanks to the support of the GOP.  Labor unions have been diluted by the right to work laws, the latter which seem reasonable if unions are allowed to continue to organize and encourage membership.

Enter the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), headed up by the Koch brothers, and started some 30 years ago to draft state (sometimes national) legislation that favors big business.  You might know it best from its backing of Arizona’s anti-immigration law SB-1070, because ALEC was helping promote private prisons in the state to house the arrested illegals.  Arizona’s mock Governor Jan Brewer supported the private prison movement, as did the Republican controlled state legislature.

The fight over union rights has been going on for some time. A bill passed in Ohio was overturned in a public referendum last year.  Wisconsin passed a similar bill that would eliminate most union collective bargaining rights.  As a result, enough signatures have now been collected to recall Gov. Scott Walker.  He actually went to Arizona to promote corresponding legislation for that state that some have said is even more radical than Wisconsin’s.

Brewer met with ALEC this past December during its meeting in Scottsdale, AZ.  Wisconsin Gov. Walker was also there talking to ALEC groups who were meeting at the Phoenician hotel, one of the poshest resorts in the world.  This bunch of bozos basking in opulence while they attempt to deny working people their rights is yet another example of Republican arrogance in putting the desires of the corporate world ahead of the American public.



Jan Brewer, wicked witch from Arizona



The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) is taking on Brewer and other extreme right-wing lawmakers in retaliation for her assault on their Arizona members.  Her attack is to limit the ability to negotiate of teachers, fire fighters, police and other public service workers.  In their petition they said, “Where you see public workers and unions as a nuisance to get rid of, we see a movement.”  Once again Arizona has opened a can of worms with an ALEC ring in their nose.

The Huffington Post picked up a recent comment from Phoenix TV reporter Brahm Resnik who lists what the proposal includes;

Make it illegal for government bodies to collectively bargain with employee groups.

Public safety unions would be included in the ban.

End the practice of automatic payroll deductions for union dues.

Ban compensation of public employees for union work.

The sham Gov. Jan Brewer also wants to take away all civil-service protection for state employees so she can fire them at will.  Shades of Donald Trump.

Wisconsin’s Gov. Walker made a bizarre statement at the annual Goldwater Institute dinner.  It said that, “…compromising with unions was ‘bogus.’”  If that doesn’t send union members postal, nothing will.  But the Ohio vote proves that the union vote is still important to political elections and can still be persuasive in the outcome.  At this point the GOP has both Hispanics and unions to look out for in November.

One last point.  Recall papers have been filed to recall Gov. Jan Brewer, in some part obviously due to her support of limiting union rights.  You can help by spreading the word and signing the petition if you are an Arizonan.