Saturday, December 31, 2011

Happy New Year 2012!

Sending out the old and bringing in the NEW

Have a Wonderful, Prosperous, Safe, and FREE 2012!

Friday, December 30, 2011

Col. Craig Roberts Discusses Oklahoma City Bombing Investigation Inconsistencies (Video)

Col. Craig Roberts talks about what really happened on the day of the Oklahoma City bombing, and how the FBI confiscated all video footage of that days' event, and still refuses to this day, to turn over this key evidence. Additionally, he talks about mysterious deaths and disappearances of witnesses, including police officers, and people closely associated with the bombing.


Wednesday, December 21, 2011

B. Hussein Obama Signs National Defense Authorization Act Into Law (Video)


Do you suppose cows have any idea what’s coming as they’re marched down the chute? Or do they stare with bovine indifference at the tail and hind quarters in front of them, until they’re suddenly – and very briefly – startled by the man with the nail gun?

Perhaps Americans will – likewise too late – ask themselves What Happened in the very near future. Perhaps just after the midnight knock comes and they are taken away into the night.

It is not an exaggeration.

America is now on the cusp of becoming a state that does exactly such things; things exactly like the things done by 20th century horror shows such as Nazi Germany or Stalin’s USSR. Literally. Not “this is where it might lead” or “the tendency is similar.” Exactly, literally, the same thing. The only difference is that it awaits being done on a mass scale. But the power to do it openly – brazenly – has been asserted.

And is about to be sanctified by law.

The National Defense Authorization Act will make it official. It will confer upon the executive branch and the military (increasingly, the same things) the permanent authority to snatch and grab any person, U.S. citizens included, whom it decrees to be a “terrorist” – as defined or not by the executive or the military -  and imprison them, indefinitely, without formal charge, presentation of evidence or judicial proceeding of any kind. These “detainees” will have neither civilian rights in the civil court system, nor – crucially – even the minimal rights to due process and decent treatment conferred upon prisoners of war. (And we are allegedly “at war,” are we not?)

The language of the bill specifically includes American citizens “caught” within the borders of the United States – aka, the “battlefield.” It is claimed by sponsors that only those awful them – you know, the enemies of freedom The Chimp and his successors like to reference as they systematically gut our freedoms – need worry. But read the actual document, and be afraid. The wording is such that any shyster lawyer for the government will be able to draw up a memorandum at some point in the near future equating, say, criticism of the federal government’s policies in the Middle East with “substantially supporting” the enemies of the United States. As defined by the United States.

That is, as defined by the government.

At its whim. At the personal discretion of whomever happens to be the Maximum Leader, or even one of the ML’s duly appointed minions.

As the always excellent Matt Taibbi of Rolling Stone recently observed, what happens when some nutjob who attended a few Tea Party meetings tries to bomb a federal building? Will the Tea Party itself – and anyone who “substantially supports” it be thus transformed into an “enemy combatant”? How about the OWS protestors? How about this web site – and this author – which have on several occasions called bullshit on the federal government’s usurpations and follies? How hard will it be, really, to describe such actions – such thoughts expressed in an article or an interview – as “substantially supporting” whatever the government decides amounts to “terrorism” or the threat thereof against itself?

Surely, the door is now wide open for such an interpretation by some John Woo or Dick Cheney waiting in the wings. Prospective jefe Newtie is practically turgid at the prospect of getting his hands on such power. And there is no longer (or soon won’t be) any legal means available to contest a one-way trip to Treblinka in Topeka – or wherever it is they will send you.

Taibbi writes: “The really galling thing is that this act specifically envisions American citizens falling under the authority of the bill. One of its supporters, the dependably-unlikeable Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, bragged that the law ‘basically says … for the first time that the homeland is part of the battlefield’ and that people can be jailed without trial, be they ‘American citizen or not.’ New Hampshire Republican Kelly Ayotte reiterated that ‘America is part of the battlefield.’ ”

Graham further stated: “It is not unfair to make an American citizen account for the fact that they decided to help Al Qaeda to kill us all and hold them as long as it takes to find intelligence about what may be coming next. And when they say, ‘I want my lawyer,’ you tell them, ‘Shut up. You don’t get a lawyer.’ ”

The key thing being, it is entirely up to the government to decide what constitutes “helping” al Qaeda. It can be nothing more than a vague assertion. Indeed, no evidence of any kind whatsoever is necessary to “hold them as long as it takes” in order to “find intelligence” (not defined, either) by any means it wishes to employ.

As Taibbi notes: “If these laws are passed, we would be forced to rely upon the discretion of a demonstrably corrupt and consistently idiotic government to not use these awful powers to strike back at legitimate domestic unrest.”

The Fuhrer (oops, President Obama) is about to sign this latter-day Enabling act and when he does, it will mark the moment that America’s coffin is nailed shut. The corpse has been on view since 9/11. But there was always some hope that, perhaps, it might be jolted back into life. Now we know the awful truth. Death is permanent.

And it’s coming for us.

Article by Eric Peters

Monday, December 19, 2011

The 30 US Corporations That Spent More On Lobbyists Than They Paid In Federal Taxes

These 30 companies have paid a combined negative $10.6 Billion in taxes over the last 3 years while reaping massive profits...in other words they have received tax return checks despite earning a combined $163.7 Billion! Their highly paid lobbyists have bribed Congress to give them tax breaks the average US citizen would steal for.

The amount of money these company’s lobbyists slipped under the table averaged out to almost $1 million for each member of Congress. Who said favors come cheap? Citizens take heed…your elected "representatives" are selling their favors for much more than a song…

Wake Up America! 

 General Electric spent the most on lobbying - $84 million - and got the biggest tax breaks - $4.7 million

A report by a corporate watchdog group has revealed 30 major US corporations that spent more money to lobby Congress than they paid in federal taxes in 2008, 2009 and 2010.

Many of the companies are household names -- massive conglomerate General Electric, aircraft maker Boeing and telecommunications giant Verizon Communications, as well as a dozen local utility companies.

Verizon Communications, parent company of the wireless provider, was near the top of the list of lobbying influence and corporate tax breaks

Instead of adding to the federal government's coffers, tax payers actually gave these 30 companies $11 billion in rebates and refunds over three years despite $164 billion in profits, according to Public Campaign, a nonprofit interest group that seeks to reduce the power of corporate money in politics. 

During the same period, these companies spent more than $475 million on lobbyists - both their own staffers and outside firms - and another $22 million on direct contributions to campaigns and parties.

Out of the 30 companies selected by Public Campaign, only one - the package carrier Federal Express - paid any taxes. FedEX shelled out just 1 percent of its profits for the period, well below the minimum corporate tax rate of 35 percent.

The biggest recipient of federal tax breaks was General Electric, which claimed a profit of about $10.5 billion and, instead of paying any taxes, received $4.7 billion in net rebates from the federal government.

Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E), which supplies natural gas and electricity to two-thirds of California, raked in the second-biggest taxpayer payoff with slightly more than $1 billion. Verizon Communication raked in just shy of $1 billion in tax breaks.

These three companies also paid the most for lobbyists. GE spent $84 million, PG&E $79 million and Verizon Communications $52 million.

Public Campaign draws a straight line between the money spent on lobbying and the taxes that these companies avoided.

"At a time when millions of Americans are still unemployed and millions more make tough choices to get by, these companies are enriching their top executives and spending millions of dollars on Washington lobbyists to stave off higher taxes or regulations," the group's report says.

Several major utility companies, which are government-regulated monopolies in their markets, top the list. In addition to PG&E, they include: American Electric Power - an electric company with customers in nine states across the country, Potomac Electric Power Company - the utility provider for Washington, DC and CenterPoint Energy - which operates in six states in the Midwest and southwest.

In all, 12 of the 30 companies on the list are utilities that provide electricity and natural gas to homes and businesses around the nation.

Companies That Spent More On Lobbyists Than They Paid In Taxes

Company
US Profits
Taxes Paid
Lobbying Expense
General Electric
$10.46 billion
- $4.737 billion
$84.35 million
PG&E
$4.855 billion
- $1.027 billion
$78.99 million
Verizon Comm.
$32.518 billion
- $951 million
$52.34 million
Wells Fargo
$49.37 billion
- $681 million
$11.04 million
American Electric
$5.899 billion
- $545 million
$28.85 million
Pepco Holdings
$882 million
- $508 million
$3.76 million
Computer Sciences
$1.666 billion
- $305 million
$4.39 million
CenterPoint Energy
$1.931 billion
- $284 million
$2.65 million
NiSource
$1.385 billion
- $227 million
$1.83 million
Duke Energy
$5.475 billion
- $216 million
$17.47 million
Boeing
$9.735 billion
- $178 million
$52.29 million
NextEra Energy
$6.403 billion
- $139 million
$9.99 million
Con. Edison
$4.263 billion
- $127 million
$1.79 million
Paccar
$365 million
- $112 million
$760,000
Integrys Energy
$818 million
- $92 million
$710,000
Wisconsin Energy
$1.725 billion
- $85 million
$2.45 million
DuPont
$2.124 billion
- $72 million
$13.75 million
Baxter International
$926 million
- $66 million
$10.45 million
Tenet Healthcare
$415 million
- $48 million
$3.43 million
Ryder System
$627 million
- $46 million
$960,000
El Paso Corp.
$4.105 billion
- $41 million
$2.94 million
Honeywell
$4.903 billion
- $34 million
$18.3 million
CMS Energy
$1.292 billion
- $29 million
$3.48 million
Con-Way
$286 million
- $26 million
$2.29 million
Navistar
$896 million
- $18 million
$6.31 million
DTE Energy
$2.551 billion
- $17 million
$4.37 million
Interpublic Group
$571 million
- $15 million
$1.30 million
Mattel
$1.02 billion
- $9 million
$840,000
Corning
$1.977 billion
- $4 million
$2.81 million
FedEx
$4.247 billion
$37 million
$50.81 million
Total
$163.79 Billion
- $10.6 Billion
$475.67 Million

Friday, December 2, 2011

LA Cop Desecrates American Flag at Occupy LA (Video)

Some things never change: The winds and tides, crooked politicians, & LA cops who think they are above the law...especially when masked by riot gear. 
If ever there was a time for a regime change at LAPD central, it is now! 

LAPD officers storm out of City Hall and start evicting the Occupy LA protesters. While they are destroying the occupiers personal belongings, an LA cop rips the American flag.