By now, you probably know that the Teapublican presidential nominee earned hundreds of millions as one of the founders of Bain Capital. But how much do you know about how a venture capital company works?
(Hint: It uses roughly the same tactics that made the Mafia one of the most hated crime syndicates on Earth.)
Dont believe me? Take a look at Matt Taibbis fine article in Rolling Stone magazine.
In 1934, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) was given the power to license wire and broadcast communications, demanding that licensees prove they operate in the public interest. Not long afterward, the FCC implemented The Fairness Doctrine, which required licensees to present issues of public importance and do so in a manner that was deemed honest, equitable and balanced.
Unfortunately, the Fairness Doctrine was eliminated in 1987, following years of attacks by the political right beginning with Richard Nixon and Spiro Agnew. Since then, our media has failed on almost every level except for generating massive amounts of money.
Its no coincidence that, following the end of the Fairness Doctrine, broadcast stations and networks have been swallowed up by large media conglomerates. To maximize profits, the new owners diminished long-established news-gathering organizations, such as the once-proud CBS News which was home to legendary newsmen like Edward R. Murrow, Douglas Edwards, Walter Cronkite, Eric Severeid, and far too many others to mention.
At the same time, radio was hijacked by blathering, angry wingnuts such as Rush Limbaugh and Glenn Beck. And the newspaper industry has been virtually replaced by on-line news sites that provide a few headlines with little depth or context.
The result of all this is that we no longer have in-depth reporting, especially with regard to politics. TV networks are filled with human interest and are almost devoid of “public interest.” The most popular cable news network is little more than a megaphone for Teapublican talking points. Radio is filled with conservative lies. And newspapers have redirected their efforts toward local news gathering.
(Ironically, Rolling Stone, Mother Jones and Vanity Fair, which were once special interest magazines, are now doing more in-depth investigative reporting on national and international issues than nearly all of the so-called news media combined.)
It is precisely this news void that has allowed the Republican Party, the Tea Party and its unscrupulous candidates, such as George W. Bush, Richard The Dick Cheney, Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan to become serial liars. And were all paying a price for it through tax cuts for billionaires and tax subsidies for large corporations, resulting in enormous deficits and endless wars of choice.
What can you do about it?
For one thing, you can ask your Congressional Representative and Senators to reinstate the Fairness Doctrine. You can demand your state universities teach students that journalism is more than mere reporting; it’s a never-ending search for the truth. You can call out candidates whenever you hear them lie. And you can support the few media left that actually practice real journalism.
Contrary to the belief of the conservative majority of our Supreme Court, corporations are most definitely not people. They are not born. They are created by lawyers.
In fact, corporations have little in common with most living, breathing people. They do, however, have a great deal in common with Mitt Romney.
Like many large corporations, Romney seems to lack a moral compass. Like many large corporations, Romney has extracted as much money as possible from society while giving back little in return. And like many corporations, Romney evades taxes and any sense of responsibility to the common good.
Romney has spent the past four years sucking up to billionaires and big corporations, including all of Wall Street, in order to win election. Want a tax policy that rewards the wealthy and punishes the poor? Romney will give it to you. Want an energy policy that rewards Big Oil and Big Coal while destroying our planet? No problem! Want a foreign policy that will bully the world and fuel our defense industry? Of course! Want a social policy that forces narrow-minded religious values on women? Sure!
No presidential candidate has been so beholden to the wealthiest and most powerful in our nation. If Mitt’s elected, you can be sure they will be rewarded handsomely.
The rest of America, and the planet, will pay for it dearly.
Under the new GOP platform, every fetus will be protected or avenged, and womens reproductive systems will be controlled by the people who know best male politicians and churches.
Under the GOP, our borders will be secure. Those foolhardy enough to cross will be shot or imprisoned. And Latinos will never be without papers.
Under the GOP, the military will be made more powerful to protect American interests. So our corporations will be free to extract resources and money from anywhere on the planet.
Under the GOP, billions of dollars for Social Security and Medicare will be liberated from the evil governments control to earn profits for corporations. The power to decide who lives and dies will be returned to those who know best – large insurance companies and PhRMA.
Under the GOP, the wealthy will pay fewer taxes. Corporations will pay no taxes. And the rest of us will have to work harder and longer to make up for it.
Under the GOP, there will be no Environmental Protection Agency and no Endangered Species Act. Nothing to interfere with the profiteering of Big Oil.
Under the GOP, the “sanctity” of marriage will be protected from “sinners” such as gays and lesbians.
Under the GOP, people of color will have their right to vote protected. But only if they have proper ID and are willing to stand in long lines.
Under the GOP, the deficit will be reduced at the expense of the poor. There will be no Medicaid. No public education. No food stamps. No unemployment insurance. No welfare. Charity is only for churches, and today’s evangelicals are only interested in your soul and your fetuses.
If elected to control the White House and Congress, the Guardians Of Privilege vow to Restore America to the 18th century. And if you think Im exaggerating, you definitely havent been paying attention.
1 – Richard Nixon’s Watergate break-in intended to literally steal an election.
2 The Southern strategy in which the GOP embraced racists.
3 The Moral Majority” in which the Party embraced “social” issues.
4 Reagan’s union-busting.
5 Elimination of loan interest deductions resulting in huge tax increases for the middle class.
6 Cuts to capital gains taxes and estate taxes on the wealthy.
7 – Reagan’s Iran-Contra plan which financed Central American death squads.
8 – Deregulation of Savings and Loan institutions resulting in the loss of billions.
9 Gun laws putting military-style weapons in the hands of millions.
10 – $60 million witch hunt and impeachment of President Clinton.
11 Massive voter suppression giving the 2000 election to George W. Bush.
12 Bush’s failure to act on warnings of a 2001 terrorist attack.
13 The Bush tax cuts.
14 The unnecessary and completely unfunded war in Iraq.
15 Swift-boating of Vietnam War Hero, Sen. John Kerry.
16 Richard The Dick Cheney.
17 The outsourcing of our military to corporations.
18 Awarding government contracts to corporations with offshore headquarters.”
19 Deregulation of banks resulting in mortgage fraud.
20 – The Great Recession.
21 – Subsidies and tax breaks for corporations that send jobs offshore.
22 – Fox News Channel and right-wing hate radio.
23 – Unsubstantiated claims about President Obamas birthplace and religion.
24 – The Tea Party.
25 – Sarah Palin, Michele Bachman, Steve King and Paul Ryan.
26 Attacks on womens rights.
27 Attacks on the LGBT community.
28 Plans to repeal The Affordable Care Act.
29 Assaults on Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security.
30 Obstruction of hundreds of President Obama’s appointments.
31 Filibusters.
32 Buckley v. Valeo resulting in a ruling that money is free speech.
33 – Citizens United which gave corporations the same rights as people.
34 Voter ID laws intended to steal the coming election.
35 – Attacks on Public Broadcasting, education and the environment.
36 – Blaming the poor and the unemployed for our deficit.
37 – Blaming teachers and first responders for our deficit.
38 – Trying to balance the budget on the backs of the poor.
39 – Vilifying immigrants to get votes.
40 – The debt ceiling debate.
41 – Embrace of Ayn Rand’s self-centered philosophy.
42 – Lies, lies and more lies.
Learn more in The Teapublican Book of Lies available from Amazon.com and other on-line bookstores
Thats the title of a new book by Donald L. Bartlett and James B. Steele, which I highly recommend. If youd like to learn more, check out this story from NPR. Youll also find a link to a podcast of their interview on NPRs Morning Edition.
These are not exact quotes, but here are a few tidbits I remember from their interview. If you fired all federal employees, youd only cut the annual deficit in half. From a budget standpoint, the US is a military with health benefits.
I believe the book illustrates the true problems facing our nation. As youll see, these problems go well beyond the usual stupifying rhetoric about tax rates and the size of government.
Of course, I also recommend my own book: The Teapublican Book of Lies available at Amazon and other on-line bookstores.
For months, Democrats have touted the foreign policy expertise of President Obama. Sure, he ended the war in Iraq and ordered the capture or killing of Osama bin Laden. But that pales compared to Mitt Romneys international experience.
True, Mitt hasnt dealt with any foreign leaders, but he “saved” the Salt Lake City Winter Olympics and he has years of experience dealing with foreign banks. He not only had a Swiss bank account. He owned several shell corporations in the Bahamas, bank accounts in Luxembourg and more bank accounts in Grand Cayman.
Of course, as a multi-millionaire, Romney is a highly-experienced international traveler. Theres hardly a resort in the world that he hasnt visited. Moreover, while heading Bain Capital, Romney outsourced American jobs to China.
Weve also learned that Mitt founded Bain Capital with funds from powerful families in Central America; the same families who controlled death squads in El Salvador and Nicaragua.
So take that, Democrats. When it comes to experience with foreign currency, Romney is practically another Henry Kissinger.
There are many things we know that are detrimental to our society, but for a variety of reasons (mostly political) we refuse to correct them.
For example, we know that its dangerous to text while driving, but many do it anyway. We know that many military contractors have been found guilty of defrauding the government, yet we continue to reward them with multi-billion dollar contracts. We know that abstinence-only programs do not help prevent teen pregnancies, but we cut funding for sex education and easy access to contraceptives. We also know that early education programs greatly improve a childs future, yet many are trying to defund them.
Similarly, the worlds scientists have warned us of the dangers of climate change caused by man. Still, we refuse to address the problems even when experiencing extreme weather. And we know that mass killings are made possible by unrestricted access to military-style, semi-automatic weapons.
All of these issues could be fixed. It only takes a will to do so. Yet we continue to listen to those who profit from these problems.
We accept the oil industrys arguments that lessening our dependence on renewable energies will be costly and result in lost jobs. We accept the absurd notion of clean coal being marketed by the coal industry. And we accept the fear-based arguments of gun manufacturers and the National Rifle Association that Guns dont kill people. People kill people. That may be true, but semi-automatic weapons with large-capacity magazines make it much easier.
Whens the last time you read about a mass killing committed by a lunatic carrying a single-shot rifle or a 6-shot revolver?
Of course, the NRA argues that there will be less violence when everyone is armed. But if you take your head out of your nether regions, youll discover the obvious flaws in that argument. Do you have to carry a weapon with you at all times? In church? In school? In the swimming pool?
So come on, America, stop limiting your view to your inner colons. Pull your heads out of your butts and start examining the world around you.
Last week, Congress was in an uproar upon finding out that the uniforms for the US Olympic team were made in China. As it turns out, this is not the first time.
Mitt Romney, who counts his experience as savior of the 2002 Winter Olympics among his qualifications to become president, outsourced the uniforms for the US Olympic team to Burma (AKA Mynamar).
But that should come as no surprise to anyone. After all, Mitt outsourced jobs from numerous companies to other countries, just as he outsourced his money to Bermuda, the Cayman Islands, Luxembourg and Switzerland in order to avoid paying US taxes.
Thats the slogan for Governor Mitt Romneys presidential campaign.
Believe in America? Really, Mitt?
Is that why you bought US companies and outsourced their jobs to China, Mitt? Is that why you stashed most of your money in Switzerland, Luxembourg, Bermuda and the Cayman Islands? Did you invest in those tax havens instead of the US because you believe in America?
What of your secretive Sankaty High Yield Asset Investors, Ltd in Bermuda? Did you create that offshore tax shelter because you believe in America?
What of your feeder tax havens in which you funnel money into the US so that you can skip the usual tax, disclosure and regulatory requirements you’d face if you invested directly in the US? What of your investments in blocker corporations in the Cayman Islands and elsewhere allowing you to escape the Unrelated Business Income Tax?
Is that what people who believe in America do?
If you believe in America, Mitt, why are you taking campaign contributions from places like London and Macao?
I believe in America, Mitt. But after looking at your business career and listening to your ever-changing opinions and excuses, I dont believe in you.