tagged w/ birther
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by Zach Carter, Media Consortium blogger
The economy is terrible. Jobs are nowhere to be found. Wall Street bonuses are through the roof. But mainstream business journalism is still praising the con-men who created this mess, yet attacking anybody who takes real solutions—like government spending to create jobs—seriously.
Whatever corporate journalists say, the American economy will not recover until policymakers and the media acknowledge the mistakes of the past and move forward with a new economic agenda focused on middle-class prosperity, rather than financial evisceration by elites.
Creating jobs is key
As Annie Lowrey notes for The Washington Independent, while President Barack Obama’s economic stimulus package has dramatically slowed the pace of job losses, it hasn’t been enough to make a serious dent in the unemployment rate, which currently stands at 9.6 percent. Without a serious new set of stimulus measures, we’ll see that rate stay near double-digits for years to come.
But the stimulus package is not the only policy relevant to the economic recovery. The financial excess that sparked the Great Recession was not an accident, and much of it was straightforwardly illegal—even by the remarkably weak regulatory standards of the past decade.
As I emphasize for AlterNet, under President George W. Bush, bankers got away with all kinds of frauds. They’re continuing to get away with them under Obama. The allegations of wrongdoing range from cooking the books to the outright laundering of hundreds of billions of dollars in drug money.
Crime always pays
But you wouldn’t know it from reading a recent Washington Post op-ed by Reuters’ business editor Chrystia Freeland, which defines Wall Street problems exclusively as the product of government inadequacies, not deregulation. And of course, bank regulations were wholly inadequate in recent decades. Bankers lobbied hard for those rules, and pounced on the middle class once they were enacted. But Wall Street didn’t just win weak rules, they routinely violated rules that crimped profits. Crime always pays until you get caught. If bankers know they can caught and avoid punishment, they have no incentive to obey the law when doing so would crimp their bonuses.
And those bonuses are still wild and wonderful for corporate elites. As Sam Pizzigati emphasizes for Yes! Magazine, CEO pay last year was an astonishing four times higher than during the years of elite dominance shepherded by President Ronald Reagan. This kind of pay isn’t good for the economy. It’s a waste of resources that could be going to rank-and-file workers.
Business journalists skewing facts
The editorial pages of major newspapers aren’t the only places where preposterous business journalism pops up. As Kevin Drum notes, you can also read it on the pages of major mainstream business magazines.
In a blog post for Mother Jones, Drum takes down one of the worst articles on both Obama and business that has yet been written. It’s by right-wing writer Dinesh D’Souza, and it reads like a combination between a Birther conspiracy theory, a coded racist rant and a completely incoherent assault on reasonable economic policy.
Without citing any evidence, D’Souza calls Obama, “the most antibusiness president in a generation, perhaps in American history,” and goes on to blame this attitude on the “anticolonialist” views of Obama’s Kenyan father. One might expect this kind of garbage to be running in white nationalist newsletters, but as Drum highlights, the article was published in Forbes magazine, a thoroughly mainstream conservative business rag (don’t confuse Forbes with Fortune, which uncovered the Enron scam).
Obama’s baby steps
Obama could make outrageous attacks like D’Souza’s easier to defend if he proposed a set of bold, new policies to combat the recession. Instead, as William Greider highlights for The Nation, Obama is going for half-measures that will make things a little less worse, but won’t really put the economy back on track. His recently proposed tax cuts for small businesses and $50 billion in infrastructure spending will indeed create jobs– just not enough of them.
We need a robust government plan to create jobs, which means lots of spending for government hiring, expanded benefits for the unemployed, and robust government investments in the national infrastructure. All of these things will cost money, but if we don’t put people back to work, the resulting lack of economic growth will make the federal budget deficit far worse than the jobs spending will.
Helping the middle class isn’t “antibusiness,” it’s common-sense economics. If all of our economic policies are geared toward throwing money at the rich, we’ll just watch rich people hoard most of that money. Repairing our economy requires repairing the middle class. That means lots of jobs—and in a deep recession, only the government can provide those jobs.
This post features links to the best independent, progressive reporting about the economy by members of The Media Consortium. It is free to reprint. Visit the Audit for a complete list of articles on economic issues, or follow us on Twitter. And for the best progressive reporting on critical economy, environment, health care and immigration issues, check out The Mulch, The Pulse and The Diaspora. This is a project of The Media Consortium, a network of leading independent media outlets.by Zach Carter, Media Consortium blogger
The economy is terrible. Jobs are nowhere... more
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http://www.govtrack.us/congress/billtext.xpd?bill=s110-1375
The MOTHERS ACT is a bill before Congress, already passed by the 110th House of Representatives with only 3 "no" votes, which sets up a nation-wide "education" campaign to encourage "antidepressant" drugs and other psychiatric drugs to women who are expecting or have recently given birth.
Click on Letter to the left under the video to read more, or scroll down...
Over 9,000 individuals across the United States and around the world have signed this petition to stop The MOTHERS Act, a screening and treatment bill which will increase the number of pregnant and new mothers taking psychotropic drugs.
Organizations currently trying to stop The MOTHERS Act include:
ICFDA: International Coalition For Drug Awareness; The Law Project for Psychiatric Rights; ICSPP: International Center for the Study of Psychiatry and Psychology; NARPA: National Association for Rights Protection and Advocacy; AHRP: The Alliance for Human Research Protection; COPES: Coalition Of Parents Enduring Suicide; The Elizabeth Torlakson Foundation; CHAADA: Children and Adults Against Drugging America; MADNAP: Mothers Against Drugging the Nursing And Pregnant; Consumer Wellness Center; Parents for a Label and Drug Free Education; Texans for a Safe Education; Whitaker Health Freedom Foundation; WoodyMatters; www.wildestcolts.com Supporters; www.adhdfraud.com Supporters; AbleChild; Green Body and Mind; LifeDynamics; Global Suckling Initiative; babywhys.org Supporters; The Wellness Institute
Please consider the following four points of contention with regard to this bill:
1) The MOTHERS Act will assuredly increase prescriptions for antidepressants for both postpartum and pregnant mothers. Based on the FDA's MedWatch Adverse Events Reporting System data, over the past four years the estimated number of antidepressant-caused infant deaths and injuries was as follows:
* 4,360 babies born with serious or life-threatening birth defects
* 4,160 babies born with potentially fatal heart defects or heart disease
* 2,900 spontaneous abortions
* 3,000 premature births
http://www.govtrack.us/congress/billtext.xpd?bill=s110-1375
http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/stop-the-dangerous-and-invasive-mothers-act/
2) New Jersey's 2006 Postpartum Depression law requires medical providers to screen women for mental disorders. Under the impetus of this new law, some New Jersey women were forcibly taken to hospitals in police cars from their homes or doctor's offices for simply mentioning depressed feelings or calling the state's PPD hotline (See full text of the Star-Ledger article at http://www.netpowwow.com/unite011109/ppdcriminals.htm).
3) The namesake of the bill is Melanie Blocker Stokes, a mother who jumped to her death from the 12th story of a Chicago hotel at 3 ½ months postpartum, following months of treatment including four hospitalizations, at least four different drug cocktails, and electroshock therapy. Only after she was treated with drugs documented by the FDA to cause suicidal ideation did she jump out of that window.
4) Numerous victims have spoken out against this bill, including many who currently have pending lawsuits against drug companies for deaths and birth defects. In addition, there are literally thousands of antidepressant birth defects and suicide lawsuits pending. States are suing drug manufacturers for illegal marketing of psychotropic drugs, and the State of Alaska is being sued for drugging children in state care. If the Federal Government sponsors another drugging program, it is simply asking for lawsuits to be filed, as more mothers are injured and more babies killed.
What could possibly justify the risks that The MOTHERS Act poses to unborn babies and their mothers? Please speak out and ask the 111th Congress not to be the group to pass this bill to increase infant deaths via fatal birth defects and unwanted, drug-induced spontaneous abortions. Considering the many lives of helpless unborn babies at stake, we must all UNITE to kill this legislation.
http://www.uniteforlife.org/
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Petition text (what you are signing):
We the undersigned protest any passage of any bill in the U.S. Congress to screen and promote psychiatric drugs to pregnant and new mothers, and particularly to H.R. 20 and S. 324, The MOTHERS Act. This bill endangers mothers and children and puts the public at risk.
For more information we urge you to read current research concerning the dangers of drugs for all people, especially unborn and newborn babies at http://uniteforlife.org/. There you can learn more about the FDA-confirmed doubling of suicides on antidepressant drugs as well as the tremendous risks for unborn children, including spontaneous abortion, stillbirth, preterm birth, serious and often fatal heart and lung disorders in newborns, SIDS, and numerous other effects including inducing violence against others.
Furthermore we urge you to conduct an investigation into antidepressant drugs and consider passing a ban on any future government-endorsed mental health screening or psychiatric drug promotion efforts, as well as banning government funding for development of new antidepressant drugs.
Thank you for putting the well being and safety of the American people above all else.
http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/stop-the-dangerous-and-invasive-mothers-act/
http://www.govtrack.us/congress/billtext.xpd?bill=s110-1375http://www.govtrack.us/congress/billtext.xpd?bill=s110-1375
The MOTHERS ACT is a... more
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DefKid
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Champaign mayor on Obama: “I don’t think he’s American …
By DAVID MERCER
GateHouse News Service
Apr 16, 2010
CHAMPAIGN…When a man with a video camera at a tea party protest asked Champaign Mayor Jerry Schweighart what he thought of President Barack Obama, the three-term Republican didn’t hesitate.
VIDEO…Champaign, Illinois Mayor Jerry Schweighart On Pres. Obama “I Don’t Think He’s American”
“I don’t think he’s American, personally,” the third-term Republican mayor said Thursday in a video that’s been posted on YouTube. “You know, if you’re not willing to produce an original certificate like a birth certificate, then you’ve got something to hide.”Champaign mayor on Obama: “I don’t think he’s American …... more
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(VIDEO) OOPS…Michelle Obama Admits Pres. Obama’s Home Country is Kenya – MAKE THIS VIRAL
Michelle Obama: Kenya is Obama’s Home Count
Infowars.com
April 5, 2010
Obama’s wife admits what many have long suspected — her husband’s home country is Kenya. Does this mean Obama was born in the African country as many have long suggested? Maybe. It should be enough to re-open the “birther” case against Obama.
(VIDEO) OOPS…Michelle Obama Admits Pres. Obama’s Home Country is Kenya – MAKE THIS VIRAL...http://ctpatriot1970.wordpress.com/2010/04/07/video-oops-michelle-obama-admits-pres-obamas-home-country-is-kenya-make-this-viral/
It won’t be, of course, because the establishment media controls the debate over the issue. Even so, the video clip below should be added to the case — that is so long as it remains posted on YouTube.(VIDEO) OOPS…Michelle Obama Admits Pres. Obama’s Home Country is Kenya... more
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Two little girls discuss Tea Party politics while enjoying a lovely tea party.
Funny, yet terrifying how ignorance can pervade and be spun into our daily lives as dialogue that is considered rational and legitimate by so many.Two little girls discuss Tea Party politics while enjoying a lovely tea party.... more
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Tell me where in the U.S. Constitution it says the federal government has the right to force the people to buy health care? This is the essence of the debate over Obamacare.
Opponents say the individual mandate is unconstitutional because the Constitution doesn't grant the federal government power to fine citizens for refusing to purchase goods and services. Ken Klukowski, senior legal analyst with the American Civil Rights Union, explained in a Politico commentary why there is no constitutional basis for the individual mandate.
"People who decline coverage are not receiving federal money, so that mandate can't fall under the spending part of the Tax and Spending Clause," he wrote.
Article I of the Constitution authorizes excise and capitation taxes, and the 16th Amendment created the income tax. However, Klukowski contends that government health insurance cannot be considered an excise, capitation or income tax.
Both the House and Senate health-care bills require Americans to purchase health insurance or pay a penalty.
The House bill establishes a fine based on percentage of a person's income, while the Senate version creates a penalty as a flat fee or percentage of income, whichever is higher. Those refusing to get insurance could be found guilty of a misdemeanor crime, punishable by another fine or even jail time.Tell me where in the U.S. Constitution it says the federal government has the right to... more
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Now, new evidence has come to light whereby Dr. James Manning has declared that Obama never attended Columbia University [New York].
Dr. Manning has hired a team of investigators to comb over every bit of available evidence to validate his declaration.
For the Full Story On Obama Not going to Columbia and More ....Audio Video...http://ctpatriot1970.wordpress.com/2010/02/12/investigators-%E2%80%9Cobama-never-attended-columbia-university%E2%80%9D/
Manning’s investigators conclusively state that:
1) Columbia University will not divulge whether the “alleged” diploma issued was in the name of Barry Soetoro or Barack Hussein Obama. No public record exists regarding the diploma.Now, new evidence has come to light whereby Dr. James Manning has declared that Obama... more
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This latest national edition of the Washington Times features a full-page ad that claims that President Obama is not a natural-born citizen of the United States. The ad was purchased by the anti-Obama website ProtectOurLiberty.org. While the group has placed several birther ads in the Washington Times in recent months, the version that ran this morning contains far more inflammatory imagery — three monkeys, apparently intended to represent the U.S. Congress, courts, and the media.
The hardly intelligible ad copy claims that under a 60-year-old British law, President Obama is a citizen of Britain and “is currently also a British protected person and/or a British citizen to this day.” The Center for American Progress’ Ian Millhiser points out that if this rule were actually applied to the presidency, every foreign nation would have the power to remove the President of the United States simply by granting the president citizenship.
The website promoted by the ad is run by Charles F. Kerchner, Jr., a plaintiff in a birther lawsuit filed against President Obama in New Jersey.This latest national edition of the Washington Times features a full-page ad that... more
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This site rocks. Learn the origin and history of Death Panels and use it to Truth the unbelievers.This site rocks. Learn the origin and history of Death Panels and use it to Truth the... more
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Teresa Whitaker
Published: September 18, 2009
Federal Judge Clay Land may have made good on his threat of sanctions against a lawyer for an army officer fighting deployment on the claim that President Barack Obama was not born in this country. In an order today Judge Land denied a motion for a Stay of Deployment for Captain Connie Rhodes, filed by Attorney Orly Taitz yesterday. The motion was filed after Judge Land threatened sanctions and dismissed the complaint calling it frivolous. Taitz has 14 days to show why a $10,000 penalty as a sanction should not be imposed against her. We tried reaching Taitz. She has not returned our calls.
In a bizarre twist, News 3 has received a copy of a letter to Judge Clay Land, written by the officer in this case, Captain Connie Rhodes. In it she writes she is shipping out to Iraq and asks the Judge to withdraw the Motion to Stay the Deployment. She denies authorizing Taitz to file on her behalf.
She denies authorizing Taitz to file on her behalf. And yet she turned up in court on Monday...and said nothing about this She signed an affidavit saying she would have been in court on Saturday but her superiors threatened her with a court martial.
Birther letter to judge:
http://static.mgnetwork.com/rbl/pdf/birther_letter.pdfTeresa Whitaker
Published: September 18, 2009
Federal Judge Clay Land may have... more
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Rep. Jean Schmidt (R-OH) spoke at the Voice of America tea party this Labor Day weekend outside of Cincinnati, OH. Following a tense Q&A session — during which, the congresswoman was booed for acknowledging that the Constitution is a living document — Schmidt engaged in a heated conversation with a birther off-stage. At the conclusion of their exchange, Schmidt whispered to the birther, “I agree with you, but the courts don’t.”
Its disturbing to think that the most powerful people in this country -- the ones literally making laws that impact how each of us live -- are actually very, very stupid.
Used to be (once upon a time) our politicians were the selected among the best and brightest. Think FDR, Lincoln, JFK. Now? These days we have "intellectuals" like Sarah Palin and Michelle Bachmann.
The Republicans got what they always wanted. Those "egg head intellectuals" have been run out of Washington and been replaced by.....some of the dumbest citizens in this country With predictably disastrous results!.
Rep. Jean Schmidt is just the latest in a long line of non-intelletuals running the country and saying things like President Obama is secretly a citizen of Kenya and its all apart of a secret master plan to turn us all into communist.
Does anyone else find it terrifig that people this unintelligent can get elected to the absolute highest offices in this country?
Maybe its time to start requiring IQ tests and psych evaluations before we allow someone to run for Congress?Rep. Jean Schmidt (R-OH) spoke at the Voice of America tea party this Labor Day... more
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Birther /börthör/ n. 1. A person who exhibits the audacity to read the U.S. Constitution, and then demands . . . .Birther /börthör/ n. 1. A person who exhibits the audacity to read the U.S.... more
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Glenn Beck says Obama is a racist. Nutters from Lou “Jingo” Dobbs to G. Gordon Liddy say Obama is a closet Kenyan. We have a surplus of ignorant goobs and they're struting their zany stuff.Glenn Beck says Obama is a racist. Nutters from Lou “Jingo” Dobbs to G.... more
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The lawyer, dentist, real estate agent and one the most famous "birther" comes on The Colbert Report. She says even if Obama was born in Hawaii, there's no way he can be President and says Obama's Social Security Number shows he's 190 years old. She also compares the Obama administration to Nazi Germany and says Obama is Stalin.The lawyer, dentist, real estate agent and one the most famous "birther"... more
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Bill O'Reilly slammed the "birther" story Monday night on his show, saying that he had investigated the theory last year and debunked it.
But although he questioned why CNN's Lou Dobbs was still discussing the theory on the air, O'Reilly disagreed with those who would like to see Dobbs kicked off the air, defending his free speech rights in a "spirited" discussion with the Southern Poverty Law Center's president Richard Cohen.Bill O'Reilly slammed the "birther" story Monday night on his show,... more
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Conservative radio talk show host Gordon Liddy was on Hardball with Chris Matthews today to defend the Birther movement who claim that President Obama is not an American Citizen. Chris Matthews takes on the case by first displaying all relevant evidence to prove him wrong. He does give Liddy plenty of time to defend his case. But Liddy still believes that the President is an "illegal alien".
This is very interesting and shows that there are some people out there who, even when faced with concrete evidence, cannot accept the fact that we have the first African-American president.Conservative radio talk show host Gordon Liddy was on Hardball with Chris Matthews... more
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Barack Obama has already proven he's as Hawaiian as Spam cooked in pineapple by producing a valid Hawaiian birth certificate. Despite what crazy ladies at political townhalls screech, the state vouched for it several times and the local newspapers of the time ran the birth announcements. THERE WERE WITNESSES! For Chrissakes, birthers require less proof than that to believe in Jesus!Barack Obama has already proven he's as Hawaiian as Spam cooked in pineapple by... more
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