Sunday, April 22, 2012

Brick TeeVee and ALEC, ISSA and the War on Women!



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ALEC, ISSA and the War on Women We begin with our MEDIA WATCHDOG DESK and Gavin Aronsen at MoJo Are Campaign Ads Coming to PBS? Last Thursday, the 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco struck down a seven-decade-old ban on political ads on noncommercial TV and radio stations. Not surprisingly, the prospect that Elmo and the Dowager Countess now might have to share the airwaves with attack ads prompted a mild freakout.
Former PBS board member and American Enterprise Institute resident scholar Norman Ornstein told Reuters that the decision might "fundamentally change the character of public television and radio." The court's one dissenting judge similarly warned that the ruling could "jeopardize the future of public broadcasting." Craig Aaron, president and chief executive of Free Press, told the Los Angeles Times, "Viewers don't want to see Sesame Street being brought to them by shadowy Super PACs." But such concerns may be premature. .... The decision, which only affects the 9th Circuit's nine-state jurisdiction, prevents the government from prohibiting PBS or other noncommercial stations from broadcasting political ads, but it does not force the stations to do it. Noncommercial stations remain exempt from the "reasonable access" rules spelled out by the Communications Act of 1934, which threaten to revoke commercial stations' licenses if they reject ads from candidates for federal office. (Antiaborton foe and presidential candidate Randall Terry has been testing these access rules with his gory campaign ads.) Yet in the case of public TV stations, the decision whether to air a candidate's ad appears to be up to them. Any PBS station that did air a campaign ad could be opening up the floodgates for more ads, since competing candidates could then request equal ad time at the same price as their opponent. What about the specter of third-party attack ads running during Sesame Street? According to an FCC spokeswoman, the court's ruling does not open the door for ads from super-PACs, which the commission views as commercial advertisers. That interpretation, however, appears to run counter to Judge Carlos Bea's majority opinion, which did not distinguish between ads from candidates or advocacy groups. So that may remain a matter for the courts. If an appeal is rejected, the FCC could turn to the Supreme Court. If it doesn't, or if no appeal is filed, the 9th Circuit will soon issue a mandate enforcing the decision—at which point public TV stations in Western states and Alaska could begin airing dueling campaign ads—assuming there are candidates who think that spots during Antiques Roadshow are the best bang for their advertising bucks. We assume that NPR stations fall under the umbrella of PBS and per this ruling MAY begin airing paid political ads as well. It's bad enough huge corporations *underwrite* NPR but on top of that the only SANE radio outlet in MANY markets all across Amerika is an NPR affiliate (the rest of radio talk are dominated by Hard Right & "Christian" demagogues) but listeners are already subjected to airing many political ads during Morning Edition and All Things Considered ostensibly as "news" aka *free* ads. So put up your most outrageous ad you can imagine, even on the internets! ME and ATC will cover it and play it, maybe for the "titilate" factor or the "outrage" factor, but always as "context". Free advertising! Read more on this ruling over at WhoWhatWhy.com and Russ Baker Will Political Ads Destroy Public Broadcasting’s “Uniqueness”? ... But here’s the sad truth: With a few notable exceptions, big public broadcasting (let us distinguish the national PBS/NPR from community-based entities) is a lot less educational than it would like us to believe. True, it contains “thought-provoking” material delivered by dulcet-toned broadcasters and a charming, southern-inflected host with lightly tousled hair, and people seemingly disagreeing in the politest of manners. But the content of these broadcasters is just about as influenced by commercial interests and dominant cliques as the more “vulgar” commercial broadcasters. .... Public broadcasting regularly pulls its punches—and has gotten steadily worse in recent years. You can blame attacks from the Right, which periodically threaten to eliminate government support of PBS and NPR. But, in fact, public broadcasting has always been, to some extent, an arm of the establishment. By creating an aura of thoughtfulness, it has essentially lulled the public into complacency. .....
From the WaPo GSA scandal: Jeff Neely declines to testify at start of first House hearing “Mr. Chairman, on the advice of my counsel, I respectfully decline to answer based upon my Fifth Amendment constitutional privileges,” Jeff Neely said in response to several questions about his role with GSA and whether he was involved in planning the October 2010 conference. .... Chairman Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) briefly recessed the hearing after Neely declined to testify and ordered the Neely and his attorney to a side office. When the hearing resumed, Issa said it was the first time in his congressional career that a witness had declined to testify..... Let's step back a bit and put this in perspective. COST OF WAR vs. the GSA "scandal": By round numbers the cost of war in Iraq is over $8,000,000 every HOUR; in Afghanistan it's over $5,000,000 every HOUR and counting. (Source CostOfWar.com.) Back in 2011 there was a Commission: Up to $60B wasted, lost in Iraq and Afghanistan As much as $60 billion in war support and rebuilding contracts in Iraq and Afghanistan has been lost to waste and fraud, according to a congressionally appointed commission investigating wartime spending since 2008. "As much or more waste may develop as U.S. projects turn out to be unsustainable by Iraq and Afghanistan governments," said Mike Thibault, a co-chair of the Commission on Wartime Contracting and former deputy director of the Defense Contract Audit Agency. .... Rep. John Tierney (D-MA6), ranking member of the National Security, Homeland Defense, and Foreign Operations Oversight Subcommittee, said he plans to introduce legislation next week based on the commission's recommendation to create a permanent inspector general for contingency operations. The special inspectors general for Iraq and Afghanistan are temporary positions. That bill H.R. 2880: Contingency Operation and Emergency Oversight Act of 2011 was introduced on September 9, 2011 and now sits as "Referred to the Subcommittee on Government Organization, Efficiency, and Financial Management" whose "Ex Officio" is none other than the Richest Congressman Evah DARRELL ISSA who may know a thing or three about stealing things. Why the big to-do about a mere $800,000 by the GSA which amounts to pocket change for military contractors' fraud, graft and waste of upwards of $60,000,000,000? Contact ISSA HERE and ask him why the GSA "scandal" is so important when he's had over SIX MONTHS to move H.R 2880 out of committee! (Be creative when filling out the form, heh). You might want to reference Issa's Open Secrets page CAREER PROFILE (SINCE 1989) - Top Contributors for some background, too. NPR's Peter Overby reports on ALEC Conservative Group's Charity Status Draws Questions Yum Brands, the company that owns Taco Bell and Pizza Hut, says it's the latest corporation to break ties with the American Legislative Exchange Council — a group that brings state lawmakers and corporate lobbyists together to write legislation. Liberal groups are pressuring corporations to abandon ALEC, and a dozen companies have now dropped out. This week, ALEC did some damage control. It said it is shutting down its task force on public safety and elections, which wrote controversial measures on voter ID, "stand your ground" and immigration reform. But another issue remains. ALEC is a 501(c)(3)charity under the tax code. That means it's not supposed to do any "substantial" lobbying — and its donors get a tax write-off for their contributions. As a 501(c)(3)charity — similar to the Red Cross or a religious congregation — ALEC is allowed to do some lobbying. The rule of thumb is up to about 20 percent of the budget. But on ALEC's annual tax returns, where it asks if the organization engaged in any lobbying activities, ALEC officers check "no." Marcus Owens, a tax attorney and the former head of the Internal Revenue Service division on tax-exempt organizations, says it seems that "what ALEC does is either lobbying, or it isn't. And it appears to be all of what ALEC does. So it's kind of ... a zero-sum game here." Owens says there's a precedent for this case from the 1990s, when he was at the IRS, and it isn't one that would be good for ALEC. In 1995, congressional Republicans asked former Rep. Jack Kemp, R-N.Y., to lead a commission on fixing the tax law. At the rollout, Senate Majority Leader Bob Dole of Kansas said the mission was a complete overhaul of the tax code. "That's why we have asked Jack to re-examine the over 9,000-page federal tax code, to start with a blank piece of paper and design a system that is flatter, fairer and simpler," he said at the time. The commission had a financing problem of its own. The Republicans wanted the private sector to pay for it. Potential donors wanted the tax deduction — something they'd get only if the commission were a 501(c)(3) charity. The commission applied to the IRS, which said no. The commission went to court and lost, then went to appeals court and lost again. Owens says the commission couldn't get 501(c)(3)status because it fell into the IRS definition of an "action organization." "An action organization does not qualify for tax-exempt status," Owens says. "The regulations define an action organization as one whose purposes can only be achieved by legislation." That's the argument that the good-government group Common Cause made when it asked the IRS to investigate ALEC last summer.... Audio at the link! Next Tiffany Hsu at the LA Times follows up with ALEC dismantles controversial task force after exodus of members Pressure from critics of "stand your ground" gun laws caused many ALEC members to abandon the group, pushing it to shutter its Public Safety and Elections task force Tuesday. The American Legislative Exchange Council, or ALEC, said it is shutting down a task force that helped draft voter ID and “stand your ground” gun legislation after major firms such as Coca Cola and Kraft cut ties with the conservative group. In eliminating the ALEC Public Safety and Elections task force, organization leaders said they would be “redoubling our efforts on the economic front” and taking its eye off issues unrelated to jobs, markets and competitiveness. “While we recognize there are other critical, non-economic issues that are vitally important to millions of Americans, we believe we must concentrate on initiatives that spur competitiveness and innovation and put more Americans back to work,” the group said in a statement Tuesday. .... Lobbying group and major ALEC foe Common Cause called the task force closure “an important victory” and said that major companies such as McDonald’s, Wendy’s and Mars had recently also backed away from ALEC. But Lisa Graves, executive director of the Center for Media and Democracy, said ALEC’s announcement was a “PR maneuver to try to distance itself from its record of extremism.” ALEC, which supports ideals of free markets and limited government, slammed critics for their “bullying, intimidation and threats.” Last week, Executive Director Ron Scheberle said that calls for ALEC members to jump ship amounted to an “intimidation campaign” by “the liberal attack machine.” STOP. Here is yet another example of a hard-right group "playing the victim" even voicing irrational concern for one of their imaginary conspiratorial foes. ALEC's own website even brags "Unique. Unparalleled. Unmatched." Really? John Nichols chimes in with ALEC Disbands Task Force Responsible for Voter ID, 'Stand Your Ground' Laws ...The decision to disband the task force appears to get ALEC out of the business of promoting Voter ID and “Stand Your Ground” laws. That’s a dramatic turn of events, with significant implications for state-based struggles over voting rights an elections, as well as criminal justice policy. But it does not mean that ALEC will stop promoting one-size-fits-all “model legislation” at the state level. Indeed, the disbanding of the “Public Safety and Elections” task force looks in every sense to be a desperate attempt to slow an exodus of high-profile corporations from the group’s membership roll. ..... In many cases, the corporations that have quit ALEC have suggested that—while they were comfortable working with the right-wing group in order to advocate on behalf of tax and regulatory policies that are favorable to their business interests—they are ill at ease being drawn into debates about issues such as voting rights and gun control. ALEC’s decision to disband the Public Safety and Elections task force—which worked on those issues—cannot be seen as anything other than a response to the pressure the group has felt as high-profile corporate members have been quitting it on an almost daily basis. While the group is not acknowledging as much, its statement on the disbanding of the task force speaks volumes. ..... While this is a dramatic development in the struggle to expose and challenge ALEC’s one-size-fits all assault on local and state democracy, it should be remembered that ALEC remains a prime proponent—via task forces working in other areas—of state-based assaults on labor rights, environmental protections and public education. “Dozens of corporations are investing millions of dollars a year to write business-friendly legislation that is being made into law in statehouses coast to coast, with no regard for the public interest,” explains Bob Edgar of Common Cause. “This is proof positive of the depth and scope of the corporate reach into our democratic processes.” ColorOfChange Executive Director Rashad Robinson promised that the group's advocacy would continue. .... "Now that these companies are aware of what they've supported, what will they do about it? If ALEC's corporate supporters will not hold the institution accountable for the damage it has caused nationwide, then the ColorOfChange community will hold them accountable." MORE JOHN NICHOLS! Not Just Labor Rights; Scott Walker Is Also Dismantling Women's Rights ... The list of reasons for voting Walker out of office is so long that it is hard to imagine what more could be added to it. But there is the matter of what the governor’s critics refer to as “Scott Walker’s War on Women .” Because Walker signed anti-choice laws enacted by legislative Republicans who do not believe women can or should make decisions regarding their own bodies, Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin has decided to suspend providing certain basic health services to women. Among other things, Planned Parenthood will stop providing drugs to women for abortions in the first nine weeks of pregnancy—a method the provider says are used in about a quarter of the abortions it provides in Wisconsin. Why? The law signed by Walker criminalizes a physician’s failure to follow specific protocols laid out by the the anti-choice legislators—and interest groups—that drafted the legislation. “In just one year, we have seen how women can lose ground in their health care options as a result of who holds power,” explains NARAL Pro-Choice Wisconsin executive director Lisa Subeck. Specifically, Subeck is referring to Act 217—a law that, she correctly notes, adds unnecessary and intrusive restrictions for abortion providers and subjects physicians to felony criminal penalties. “It is unacceptable that women in Wisconsin are losing health care options because Governor Walker has enacted a law that is hostile to abortion providers, and that means women in Wisconsin will suffer,” says Subeck. “This is what happens when out of control politicians like Scott Walker practice medicine without a license and interfere in the relationship between doctors and their patients. In the end, it is women who lose out.” She’s right. So, too, is state Representative Chris Taylor, when she argues that “this is indicative of what is to come from Scott Walker and legislative Republicans. They will stop at nothing to make abortion and birth control illegal in every circumstance.” And in Ohio State Rep Nina Turner is correct also when she said "Memo to Republicans: The war on women is real," Sen. Nina Turner (D., Cleveland) said. "... Since they declared war, we are going to make sure that we are on the battlefield. …" reports Jim Provance at the Toldeo Blade in Ohio GOP acts to cut Planned Parenthood funding level Ohio House Republicans have enlisted in the national GOP's "war against women" by moving to severely cut -- if not eliminate -- funding for Planned Parenthood, Democrats charged on Wednesday. ... Democrats adopted the "war against women" narrative being used by supporters of President Obama. GOP members of the Ohio House Finance and Appropriations Committee on Tuesday amended one of Gov. John Kasich's midbudget review bills to place Planned Parenthood and other independent health clinics at the bottom of the priority list when it comes to distributing $9.7 million in federal family planning money. ... It's unknown how much those clinics would receive under the proposed bill after public health departments, federally approved community health clinics, and private community health clinics are funded in that order. "These extreme attacks on women are not going to be tolerated in this state," Rep. Teresa Fedor (D., Toledo) said. "We're standing with our sisters to say that government has no business in reproductive health in Ohio." .... There's more from Laura Bassett at HuffPo Planned Parenthood In Ohio, Wisconsin Loses Battles ... Defunding Planned Parenthood through Ohio's budget bill is a way for GOP lawmakers to pass the measure without having to vote on a separate bill, which would likely cause controversy. The Planned Parenthood amendment, introduced by Republicans in the House Finance Committee on Tuesday, puts family planning clinics that provide abortions in the bottom tier of priority for Title X funds, making it more likely that the state will run out of money before it can provide any funding to Planned Parenthood. The amendment further prohibits federal funds from the Minority HIV/AIDS Initiative, the Violence Against Women Act, the Breast and Cervical Cancer Mortality Prevention Act and the Infertility Prevention Project from going to Planned Parenthood or any other family planning clinic that provides abortions. The GOP-controlled House is expected to vote on the budget bill next week and pass it, with the amendment attached. "This House seems to stop at nothing to attack women and their reproductive rights, and in this case, their access to basic health care and cancer screenings," State Rep. Kathleen Clyde (D-Kent), a member of the House Finance Committee, told HuffPost. "It's just a very tough legislature to be a part of." Planned Parenthood Affiliates of Ohio said that of its 37 health centers, only three perform abortions, and none of the $1.7 million it receives in federal funding annually is used to pay for abortions. .... Guess who else is getting back in on The War on Women? Laurie Goodstein at NYT tells us how the Vatican Reprimands a Group of U.S. Nuns and Plans Changes The Vatican’s assessment, issued on Wednesday, said that members of the group, the Leadership Conference of Women Religious, had challenged church teaching on homosexuality and the male-only priesthood, and promoted “radical feminist themes incompatible with the Catholic faith.” The sisters were also reprimanded for making public statements that “disagree with or challenge the bishops, who are the church’s authentic teachers of faith and morals.” During the debate over the health care overhaul in 2010, American bishops came out in opposition to the health plan, but dozens of sisters, many of whom belong to the Leadership Conference, signed a statement supporting it — support that provided crucial cover for the Obama administration in the battle over health care. The conference is an umbrella organization of women’s religious communities, and claims 1,500 members who represent 80 percent of the Catholic sisters in the United States. It was formed in 1956 at the Vatican’s request, and answers to the Vatican, said Sister Annmarie Sanders, the group’s communications director. Word of the Vatican’s action took the group completely by surprise, Sister Sanders said. .... “I’m stunned,” said Sister Simone Campbell, executive director of Network, a Catholic social justice lobby founded by sisters. Her group was also cited in the Vatican document, along with the Leadership Conference, for focusing its work too much on poverty and economic injustice, while keeping “silent” on abortion and same-sex marriage. “I would imagine that it was our health care letter that made them mad,” Sister Campbell said. “We haven’t violated any teaching, we have just been raising questions and interpreting politics.” ... Over at CrooksAndLiars.com karoli picks it up Updated: Vatican Smacks Down Catholic Nuns For Daring To Care About Poor People ... Oh my, perish the thought. Focusing on helping the poor and needy. [cue sarcasm] How could church leaders possibly justify helping the poor and needy when there are abortions to be stopped and gays to hate? [end sarcasm] Fear not, nuns. The Bishops will save you. They have a plan. It looks like this: [....] Archbishop J. Peter Sartain of Seattle may have some difficulty whipping the nuns into shape, since he can't even seem to get the churches in his diocese to bow to his edicts. Here's what feels so deeply hypocritical to me about the Vatican's smackdown, and make no mistake, it was a hard smackdown. Just yesterday, those very same bishops criticized the Ryan budget (and the House of Representatives for passing it), saying:
    “Major reductions at this time of economic turmoil and rising poverty will hurt hungry, poor and vulnerable people in our nation and around the world,” the Rev. Stephen Blaire, bishop of Stockton, Calif., and the Rev. Richard E. Pates, bishop of Des Moines, wrote for the conference. “A just spending bill cannot rely on disproportionate cuts in essential services to the poor and vulnerable persons; it requires shared sacrifice by all.”
Dang it. There they go caring about the poor and stuff. I don't see a word in there about same sex marriage or abortion or birth control. Just poor folks. I guess that means it's totally all right for bishops to care about poverty and the downtrodden, but God forbid that women should do it? Well, Pope forbid, anyway. ... Because raising taxes a teeny smidge in order to sustain these programs is simply out of the question! Pope-in-waiting Grover Norquist has said it, and therefore it's so. .... Update: Oh, those bishops were busy boys Wednesday. Right after I finished this post, I heard they actually compared President Obama to Hitler! Is that a case of "I'm rubber, you're glue" or what? Daily KOS
    "The Church will survive the entrenched corruption and sheer incompetence of our Illinois state government, and even the calculated disdain of the President of the United States, his appointed bureaucrats in HHS, and of the current majority of the federal Senate. . . . Hitler and Stalin, at their better moments, would just barely tolerate some churches remaining open, but would not tolerate any competition with the state in education, social services, and health care. In clear violation of our First Amendment rights, Barack Obama – with his radical, pro abortion and extreme secularist agenda, now seems intent on following a similar path."
What did they put in the bishops' Communion wine, anyway? Go to the CBC for "As It Happens" The Friday Edition for an interview with Sister Simone Campbell. And Stephanie Mencimer talks about Sex and the Vatican City in the May/June issue "We haven't posted this article on MotherJones.com yet. But you don't have to wait to read it! We'd like to give you the opportunity to view—right now. When you sign up for Mother Jones' email updates, you'll be given free, instant access to this article (as well as every other story from our current issue)." David Zucchino and the Los Angeles Times report U.S. troops posed with body parts of Afghan bombers An American soldier says he released the photos to the Los Angeles Times to draw attention to the safety risk of a breakdown in leadership and discipline. The Army has started a criminal investigation. .... The 82nd Airborne Division soldiers arrived at the police station in Afghanistan's Zabol province in February 2010. They inspected the body parts. Then the mission turned macabre: The paratroopers posed for photos next to Afghan police, grinning while some held — and others squatted beside — the corpse's severed legs. A few months later, the same platoon was dispatched to investigate the remains of three insurgents who Afghan police said had accidentally blown themselves up. After obtaining a few fingerprints, they posed next to the remains, again grinning and mugging for photographs. Two soldiers posed holding a dead man's hand with the middle finger raised. A soldier leaned over the bearded corpse while clutching the man's hand. Someone placed an unofficial platoon patch reading "Zombie Hunter" next to other remains and took a picture. The Army launched a criminal investigation after the Los Angeles Times showed officials copies of the photos, which recently were given to the paper by a soldier from the division. "It is a violation of Army standards to pose with corpses for photographs outside of officially sanctioned purposes," said George Wright, an Army spokesman. "Such actions fall short of what we expect of our uniformed service members in deployed areas." .... The soldier who provided The Times with a series of 18 photos of soldiers posing with corpses did so on condition of anonymity. He served in Afghanistan with the 82nd Airborne's 4th Brigade Combat Team from Ft. Bragg, N.C. He said the photos point to a breakdown in leadership and discipline that he believed compromised the safety of the troops. He expressed the hope that publication would help ensure that alleged security shortcomings at two U.S. bases in Afghanistan in 2010 were not repeated. The brigade, under new command but with some of the same paratroopers who served in 2010, began another tour in Afghanistan in February. .... Times Editor Davan Maharaj said, "After careful consideration, we decided that publishing a small but representative selection of the photos would fulfill our obligation to readers to report vigorously and impartially on all aspects of the American mission in Afghanistan, including the allegation that the images reflect a breakdown in unit discipline that was endangering U.S. troops.".... Read the rest and see the pictures. One wonders if the LA Times will now be scorned like wikileaks or come under fire from the DOJ as Obama targets journalists in the War on Journalists (read this item at Salon by By Jesselyn Radack filling in for Glenn Greenwald). The National Journal reports on the Obomber Administration's reaction to the LA Times pictures Panetta: Graphic Photos 'Absolutely' Violate Military Regulations, Core Values Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said on Wednesday that the conduct of U.S. soldiers posing with the dismembered bodies of Afghan suicide bombers in photos published earlier that day "absolutely" violates the military's regulations and core values. He pledged to continue an investigation into the troops' alleged misconduct. ... "This is not who we are. ... This is war. And it's ugly and violent. ... [The photos] will be used by The Enemy to incite violence. ... We regret that they were published." STOP. Anybody remember Lynndie England? Uh-huh. What did Powell say at the time? We go to the BTV Wayback Machine! MSNBC 5/17/2004 Abuse scandal ‘terrible’ for U.S., Powell concedes In a commencement address at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, N.C., Powell said the furor over U.S. abuse of Iraqi prisoners at the Abu Ghraib detention facility was a recurring theme at an international economic conference he attended in Jordan over the weekend. He said he told the foreign leaders: “Watch America. Watch how we deal with this. Watch how America will do the right thing.” Yes do watch! From Pete Yost, Associated Press via HeraldNet.com 9/26/10 Supreme Court to rule on Abu Ghraib amends Fending off demands that he resign over the Abu Ghraib prison scandal, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld told Congress he had found a legal way to compensate Iraqi detainees who suffered “grievous and brutal abuse and cruelty at the hands of a few members of the United States armed forces.” “It’s the right thing to do,” Rumsfeld declared in 2004. “And it is my intention to see that we do.” Six years later, the U.S. Army is unable to document any payments for prisoner abuse at Abu Ghraib. Nor can the more than 250 Iraqis or their lawyers now seeking redress in U.S. courts. ... The Army added that U.S. Forces-Iraq looked at its records and could not find any payments to former detainees. The Army also cannot verify whether any such payments were made informally through Iraqi leaders. Well wouldn't ya know NINE MONTHS LATER 6/27/11 Human Rights First announced Abu Ghraib Torture Victims Denied Their Day in Court In a decision that runs contrary to the United States’ treaty obligations and moral standing, the U.S. Supreme Court, with the support of the U.S. government, told 250 alleged victims of torture inflicted by U.S. private military contractors at Abu Ghraib and other sites that they cannot seek a remedy against the perpetrators in U.S. courts. Today, the Court declined to hear the case of Saleh, et al. v. Titan Corporation, et al. a civil suit brought by Iraqi detainees alleging torture, abuse, and sexual violence by U.S. private contractors CACI and Titan (now L-3 Services) who provided interrogation and translation services at the notorious Iraqi prison. .... “This decision, which was supported by the Obama administration, informs the world that the United States of America has no intention of obeying its moral and legal obligation to provide enforceable remedies to victims of sadistic acts of torture alleged to have been committed by military contractors,” said Human Rights First’s International Legal Director Gabor Rona. .... Rona concluded, “Last week on the International Day in Support of Victims of Torture, President Obama proclaimed that the United States ‘will remain a leader in the effort to end torture around the world and to address the needs of torture victims.’ Nothing undermines the credibility of the United States as a voice for human rights and for respect for the rule of law more than its hypocritical dismissal of the suffering of torture victims at the hands of the U.S. government and its agents.” To recap, then-Secretary of State Colin Powell says "Watch how America will do the right thing" and his buddy then-Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld proclaims "It’s the right thing to do" the whole affair winds up thrown out in court by a brutal activist SCOTUS who blantantly ignore International Treaties the U.S. has signed and must obey per the U.S. Constitution's Article VI, paragraph 2: "...all Treaties made, or which shall be made, under the Authority of the United States, shall be the supreme Law of the Land". So when White House Press Secretary Jay Carney says “The president certainly shares in the defense secretary's opinion that this should be investigated and those held responsible will be held accountable” remember the recent U.S. history on cases like these. Here are two articles that we didn't get to include in BTV last week. Killing the competition: How the new monopolies are destroying open markets by Barry C. Lynn at Harpers and Matt Taibbi Why Obama's JOBS Act Couldn't Suck Worse and his follow-up Yes, Virginia, This Is Obama’s JOBS Act A number of people, many of them enthusiastic supporters of President Obama, wrote in to complain about my last piece about the JOBS Act. The gist of many of these letters was that the new deregulatory law could in no way be described as "Obama's JOBS Act." "This was a Republican bill, birthed by Eric Cantor in the House, and driven by overwhelming Republican support," wrote in one emailer. "All Obama did was sign it. It’s totally dishonest to call it an Obama bill." Okay, let’s talk about that. But first, a quick note on the bill itself, since I think some people misunderstand the objection to the bill.... Also read this long piece Free $10 Million Loans For All! and Other Wall Street Notes and a MUST-WATCH Talking Gangster Banks with Max Keiser! Good Item! Every now and then the GOPhers just blurt out the craziest nonsense like Mitt Headroom did last week while addressing the NRA. We go to Bob Parry at ConsortiumNews.com for the latest GOPher CANARD Romney’s Upside-Down Constitution! Mitt Romney’s “liberty speech” to the National Rifle Association on Friday demonstrates how central the Right’s false narrative of the nation’s founding will be in the November elections, as Republicans depict Barack Obama as alien to the nation’s First Principles. Essentially, the Right’s narrative holds that the Framers of the Constitution were hostile to a strong central government (for anything but national defense), rejected a federal role in addressing the nation’s economic problems (leaving that to the private sector), and supported a system in which the states were very powerful. None of these points are true, of course, at least not for the Constitution. .... Washington’s view on the need for a vibrant central government was not universally held by the Founders, but it clearly represented their dominant sentiment since Madison’s Commerce Clause did become part of the Constitution, which was ratified by the states. Ratification consigned the Articles of Confederation, with their “independent” states and weak central government, to the dustbin of history. But Mitt Romney and today’s American Right would have you believe that a different history occurred, that somehow the Articles of Confederation are the Constitution and that the Founders were not the practical men that history shows us they were but rather anti-government zealots. Romney’s NRA speech showed how the Right’s false narrative will be repeated again and again, making it the equivalent of truth for the ill-informed and weak-minded. ... Do read all that we skipped for Parry's excellent discussion on why the Founding Founders designed a strong central government and replaced the Articles of Confederation with The Constitution. After reading this you will be able to explain to your wingnut friends and family members how wrong they are about "States Rights". This may lead them to question more about what they thought they knew according to other teabagger memes! (Or they may just wallow in their cognitive dissonance, heh.) And as the GOPhers seem to have coalesced around Mitt "Max Headroom" Romney read The Dark Side of Mitt Romney - The Meaning of Mitt by Michael Kranish and Scott Helman at Vanity Fair Mitt Romney has long been a front-runner for the G.O.P. nomination—even if no one really knows who he is. Digging into the candidate’s record as a Mormon leader, his business deals at Bain Capital, and that infamous car trip with the family dog strapped to the roof, Michael Kranish and Scott Helman pierce the Mitt bubble in an adaptation from their new book, The Real Romney, to find that the contradictions, question marks, and ambivalence go deeper than his politics. Of course it's been TWO YEARS since the explosion on the oil rig Deepwater Horizon which drilled on the BP-operated Macondo Prospect. WashingtonsBlog has a very good item you need to read 2 Years After the BP Oil Spill, Is the Gulf Ecosystem Collapsing? Way too much to snip and also includes a video with Dahr Jamail who has been covering this from the get-go. We close with Prairie2 and The good, the bad and... well, you know ... Major corporations are talking openly about the new Hour Glass Market with product development and marketing strategies aimed at the rich at the top and the vast bulk of the population at the bottom. The tiny center of the glass is the soon to be non-existent middle-class. Of course in this plan, the flow of wealth defies gravity and moves steadily upward. Don't let the right-wingers tell you that this is all "natural and unavoidable" or that nothing can be done. The Revolutionary War was all about throwing the corporations off this continent. The Progressive Movement and the New Deal were all about taking power away from the people who are screwing you now. None of this is happening by accident. The billionaires have spent billions over the last 60 years to re-write history, invent new economic theory and create public policy. They used to be treated like cranks, that crazy Reagan with his Voo Doo economics. Now they are treated as the "serious people" in the room and given great deference, of course they pay the people very well who show them this deference in the media. They also pay people with guns and badges to enforce this doctrine if proper deference is not shown to them in the streets. I'm not even going to get into the "well, you know" aspects of all this. Of course the navel-gazers on the Sunday Talkies will glaze over all this while they discuss the $800,0000 chump change. Who else but DARRELL ISSA with fellow cro-magnon PETER KING on Meet the David to bray on about the GSA? Wait! KIETH OLBERMANN will be on This Snufagopolis as part of The Roundtable! The Smiley & West Show are on Face the Bob (see DN! for a great interview, below). Throw bricks at JOEMENTUM on Fake Snooze and Face the Bob and MARCO POLO RUBIO on State of the Candy while DAVID AXELROD gets the WH limo to State of the Candy and Meet the David to tell us how scary the GOPhers are (don't get us wrong: the GOPhers are mostly bat-shit crazy psychopathic neo-fascists bent on destroying American democracy so Axelrod's alternative looks a wee bit better, yet nearly as damaging). Leave all that behind and check out Ring of Fire with more ALEC coverage with MoJo's ANDY KROLL, ROBERT GREENWALD and his new film "KOCH BROTHERS EXPOSED" and on their website an interview with THOMAS FRANK, MATT TAIBBI and GONZALO LIRA on MAX, ERIC MONGOLIS on AntiWar Radio plus the PBC SHOW with JOHN STAUBER with more on ALEC and JAMES BAMFORD on another Boiling Frogs episode with SIBEL EDMONDS. Watch all of DN!'s Friday show all about the "growing state surveillance" in the U.S. and so much more! The Brick TeeVee Crew will be occupying the garden on Sunday, more accurately prepping the garden and cleaning out last year's flotsam and jetsam. If we get enough cleared out we may even plant some things like BEANS! And The Crew has been loving the late-nite Tribe West-Coast swing where they're 7-1 tying a team record from 1988 for "best first road trip of the season"! Nice! The Crew gives huge a tip-of-the-hat to the White Sox's Phil Humber who threw baseball's 21st perfect game against the Seattle Mariners on Saturday. And on the Venerable Fenway Park's 100th Birthday the Yankees spoiled the party with a 6-2 win and then followed that up to come from NINE RUNS DOWN to beat the Red Sox again on Saturday 15-9! Catch Sunday Night Baseball for C.C. Sabathia vs. Dan Bard for a possible Yanks Sweep! Enjoy your Sunday and occupy somewhere! (psssst - check the job jar)




BRICK TEEVEE ALERTS!©
Democracy NOW!
Monday, April 16, 2012 Tuesday, April 17, 2012 Wednesday, April 18, 2012 Thursday, April 19, 2012 Friday, April 20, 2012 GRITtv »»» GRITtv @ www.grittv.org with Laura Flanders »»» FEATURED SHOW Can 'Caring Across Generations' Change the World? Ask anyone. We all have our “care stories.” What we don’t tend to have is a plan for what we’ll do when someone we love needs care, or when we ourselves turn out not to be invincible. We don’t have a plan, and neither does our government, and yet a crisis looms »»» Jeffrey Sachs: Population Controller? In a March 1 op-ed in the Washington Post Columbia economist Jeffrey Sachs made his pitch to be the next president of the World Bank promising to “lead the bank into a new era of problem-solving.” John Cavanaugh and Robin Broad have laid out a raft of righteous concerns about Sachs’s candidacy. The “solutions” Sachs proposes to poverty, they point out, can be summed up in the not very-new words: “aid” and “trade.” As if that wasn’t bad enough, there’s Sachs’s other favorite problem solver: population control. That’s taking us to a new era, alright: right back to the nineteenth century of Thomas Malthus. Read the full article at The Nation.
BRICK TEEVEE SPORT!©
»»» MLB Sunday TBS Rangers @ Tigers 1:05 pm et
»»» MLB Sunday Night ESPN Yankees @ Red Sox 8 pm et
»»» NASCAR on FOX Live from the Kansas Speedway! Coverage begins at 1 pm et
»»» NBA on TNT Thursday double-header Knicks @ Hornets 8 pm et then Spurs @ Warriors 10:30 pm et
BRICK TEEVEE ACTION!© The 1st Amendment is Our Permit Our permit to occupy is The First Amendment. Quickly sign the following statement which will be delivered to mayors, police chiefs and major media across the country:
    Our permit to occupy public squares and parks is in The First Amendment, which affirms "the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances." When people across the Middle East occupied public squares, leaders in Washington mostly cheered those protesters and warned Middle Eastern governments not to use force to clear them. Those other societies don’t have a First Amendment. Yet Washington affirmed the universal right to assembly and protest. We do have a First Amendment. The force being used to clear nonviolent protesters from public squares in our country is unacceptable. It must stop.
October2011.org Sign the Petition to Get the 99% Deficit Proposal Heard in Congress
    Please SIGN THE PETITION in support of the "99%'s Deficit Proposal" and plan direct actions to tell the Super Committee that the 99% have better solutions to our nation's crises. You can plan your own action at your Congressmember's office or join us in Freedom Plaza in Washington, DC for marches to Capitol Hill. Check our calendar for announcements.
 VotersForJustice.org OUR GOAL: TO EMPOWER voters with facts and perspectives necessary to decipher the spin, obtain the truth, and support candidates that best represent their interests and values.
NET NEUTRALITY! SaveTheInternet.org A Push for Privacy in the Wake of the Carrier IQ Controversy Remember Carrier IQ, the company that makes the secret spying software that’s installed on more than 140 million phones? You know, the software that can record our most sensitive personal data? ... Thanks in part to the 22,000 people who joined Free Press’ call for a congressional investigation, some of those questions are closer to being answered and mobile users are closer to being protected. The protection comes in the form of a bill from Massachusetts Rep. Ed Markey. Markey released a draft of a bill called the "Mobile Device Privacy Act" that would require phone companies to disclose to users just what is being done with all of their data. If the bill passes, an opt-out provision would go into effect a year later and would require companies to allow users to opt out of data-collection schemes like the one developed by Carrier IQ........
CAMPAIGN FOR AMERICA'S FUTURE American Majority Rejects Washington Austerity Consensus – And We Demand Media Coverage by Roger Hickey, President, Campaign for America's Future: No more silent majority. The Campaign for America’s Future is joining with the Center for Economic and Policy Research (whose Co-Director, Dean Baker blogs regularly about economic bias in the media) and with FAIR (Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting) to monitor the media’s coverage and representation of the American Majority views as they go into covering the big deficit fight. But we want to enlist YOU too. Send us accounts of unbalanced coverage in the national media and in your local newspapers and television. Call up reporters, editors, assignment people and tell them when they are under-representing the views of the American Majority. We should have at least half the experts, pundits, quotes and real people represented in their coverage. In a debate as important as the one we are going into, we can’t allow the media to ignore the American Majority. Much more at www.ourfuture.org
MOVE TO AMEND! www.movetoamend.org SIGN HERE NOW! Also visit Rep Alan Grayson's site www.savedemocracy.net And Alan Grayson is running again in FL-8! Help out at CongressmanWithGuts.com
SUPPORT THE TROOPS WHO REFUSE TO FIGHT See CourageToResist.org and Bradley Manning Support Network UPDATE! Kevin Zeese on ANTIWAR RADIO Kevin Zeese March 22, 2012: Kevin Zeese, Executive Director of VotersForPeace and Co-Chair of Come Home America, discusses his article "Dismissal Is the Only Option in Bradley Manning Case;" the prosecution’s withholding of government damage-assessment reports, which could help disprove Manning’s "aiding the enemy" charge; statements from President Obama and Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Martin Dempsey (last paragraph) that bolster an "unlawful command influence" defense; and whether Judge Col. Denise Lind will rule fairly, resisting the government pressure and bribes that accompany cases of this magnitude. Kevin Zeese is the Executive Director and co-founder of VotersForPeace . He also served as the Executive Director of Democracy Rising, is an attorney, and a long term peace advocate. He took a leave from VotersForPeace for most of 2006 while he was running for the U.S. Senate in Maryland. Zeese was a founding member of the Montgomery County Coalition Against the War in Maryland and has worked with various non-profit organizations on peace, justice, and democracy issues since 1978.
DONATE YOUR OLD CELL PHONES TO T.J. MARTELL FOUNDATIONHelp save lives. Donate your old & used iPhone, Blackberries, Droid and other phones to help the T.J. Martell Foundations fund life-saving cancer & AIDS research. For more information, go to www.tjmartellfoundation.org
CELLULAR PHONE TASK FORCE EDUCATION, ADVOCACY, SUPPORT at CellPhoneTaskForce.org The Cellular Phone Task Force is dedicated to halting the expansion of wireless technology because it cannot be made safe. We provide: education to the public concerning electromagnetic pollution (electrosmog); advocacy for an electromagnetically cleaner environment; support for individuals disabled by radiation from wireless technology and other sources.

B R I C K T E E V E E
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image ©2006 arkysue
THEY report. YOU throw bricks. ©
Get your Foam Bricks at ThrowThings.com HERE!
The essential guide for watching government propaganda
IRAQ: 4,486 US Military Dead as of April 21, 2012
AFGHANISTAN: 1,943 US Military Dead as of April 21, 2012
The Obameter: Tracking Obama's Campaign Promises
Considering Democracy: 8 Things to ask your Representative

  • This Week (ABC) anchor George Stephanopoulos
    • Fact Checking ABC's "This Week" at NPR "On the Media" - Jake Tapper, interim host of ABC's "This Week," liked the idea of fact-checking his guests' comments, so he set up a partnership with Politifact, a non-partisan fact-checking organization. See Politifact Statements ABC News 'This Week'
    • Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine
    • Rep. Carolyn Maloney, D-NY
    • ROUNDTABLE: Keith Olbermann, ABC News' George Will, political strategist and ABC News contributor Donna Brazile, political strategist and ABC News political analyst Matthew Dowd, and Wall Street Journal columnist Peggy Noonan.

  • Face The Nation (CBS) Host Bob Schiefer
    • Sen. Joe Lieberman
    • ROUNDTABLE: Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, D-Texas, Rep. Elijah Cummings, D-Md., Sen. Tom Comburn, R-Okla., CBS News Chief White House Correspondent Norah O'Donnell
    • Cornel West and Tavis Smiley

  • 60 Minutes (CBS)
    • The Case Against Lehman - Steve Kroft talks to the bank examiner whose investigation reveals the how and why of the spectacular financial collapse of Lehman Brothers, the bankruptcy that triggered the world financial crisis. James Jacoby and Michael Karzis are the producers.
    • Christians of the Holy Land - Bob Simon reports on the slow exodus from the Holy Land of Palestinian Christians, who say life in the middle of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict has become too difficult. Harry Radliffe is the producer.

  • Meet the Press (NBC) Host David Gregory
    • Meet the Facts at NPR "On the Media" - Last December, NYU professor Jay Rosen proposed something simple yet revolutionary: why don't the Sunday morning chat shows fact check their guests? After "Meet the Press" host David Gregory declined, two college students launched a website to do it for him. One of them, Chas Danner, explains what they're trying to accomplish. See their website MeetTheFacts.com updating soon!
    • Chairman of the House Oversight Committee, Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA)
    • Chairman of the Homeland Security Committee, Rep. Peter King (R-NY)
    • Obama re-election strategist David Axelrod
    • ROUNDTABLE: Washington Post’s EJ Dionne; the New York Times’ David Brooks and Helene Cooper; and NBC’s Chuck Todd.

  • State of the Union With Candy Crowley (CNN) At 9 AM ET, Candy talks to the power players: politicians, business leaders and international newsmakers who will make Monday morning's headlines. At NOON ET, Candy wraps it all up with fresh interviews and the best of the earlier hours.
    • David Axelrod
    • Florida’s Republican Senator Marco Rubio
    • Rep. Elijah Cummings
    • Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA)
    • CNN’s Senior Congressional Reporter Dana Bash and Jeff Zeleny of the New York Times

  • HEAD ON RADIO with Bob Kincaid
    HEAD ON
    Headon Radio with Bob Kincaid 6 PM Eastern, 3 PM Pacific, 2300 GMT. Duration: 3 hrs. To be part of Conversation Radio on Head-on Radio, call toll-free (877) 443-2366, or use our Liberal community line at 304-658-3333. Email bob [at] headonradio [dot] com during the show!
    • FRONT PORCH FRIDAY!!!!! Kick back on the front porch with Bob! Plus all the regulars chime in! Listen HERE (mp3) NOW! Amen to the White Rose Society! Donate to Head On HERE! And join Coal River Mountain Watch at www.crmw.net!

  • YOUR GREEN NEWS REPORT
    desi-n-bradlimpballs
    The Green News Report with Brad Friedman & Desi Doyen: 6 minutes of green news, politics, analysis & snarky comment! BOOKMARK greennews.bradblog.com NOW!
    • 'Green News Report' - April 17, 2012 IN TODAY'S RADIO REPORT: Obama calls for crackdown on Wall St. oil speculators --- cue rightwing freakout in 3..2..1..; Taxpayers save lives in latest tornado outbreaks; New rules for frackers; PLUS: Good news for millions who depend on water from the Himalayas.... All that and more in today's Green News Report!
    • IN 'GREEN NEWS EXTRA' (see link): Surprise! Extra CO2 not good for plants after all; Solar energy breakthrough mimics photosynthesis to generate electricity; Los Angeles hailed as 'model of sustainaiblity'?; Grow your own biofuel from a cement kiln; No damage to bird populations from wind farms; Restoring Louisiana coast a national priority; Military conflict over Arctic resources?; Internal docs show dangers from new TX radioactive waste dump ... PLUS: Titanic director James Cameron: "We can see that iceberg ahead of us right now, but we can't turn" ... and much, MUCH more! ...
    • BRADCAST! 'The BradCast' on KPFK/Pacifica: 'What's the Problem With ALEC?' Today, The BRAD BLOG's legal analyst Ernie Canning joined me on KPFK/Pacifica Radio's The BradCast to respond to my question: "What's the problem with ALEC?"
    • BRADBLOG UPDATE: Guest Editorial Series by Ernest A. Canning - Disturbing Questions About Our Government and the So-Called 'War on Drugs' Blocking the Competition: Does Legalization Threaten Covert Funding for the CIA? - [PART 1 of 3] Protecting the Corporations: Saving the Prison Industrial Complex' Slave Labor Pool? - [PART 2 of 3] Failure is Success: The Disastrous 'War on Drugs' Working Just as Planned? - [PART 3 of 3]
    • Visit BradBlog.com to see who counts yer votes! Now up to 9,200+ Election Protection posts! Reference yer background/research at Who's Counting? too.

  • The Peter B. Collins Show PODCAST!
    pbc show
    Listen at PeterBCollins.com!
    The Peter B. Collins Show covers American news and politics from the Left Coast. Veteran talk radio personality Peter B. Collins, based in San Francisco, delivers fresh interviews, commentary and analysis on a range of important topics, with views and voices you don’t often find in the corporate media.
    • Holiday Break and Website Changes
      To my valued listeners: We are making some changes to the website and our terms, effective in January. We will continue to offer free podcasts–my new daily news and commentary. Our in-depth interviews will be available for $1 per episode, or to subscribers who pay $5 per month or more. Loyal listeners who simply can’t afford it should send an email to peter@peterbcollins.com, as we will be offering a limited number of scholarships to our friends who are hurting during these tough times. More information will be posted as we complete the revisions. I’m grateful to each of you for listening and supporting this work, and hope that the new model will enable us to keep it going well into the future. All the best, -pbc
    • PBC Podcast 435 Boiling Frogs: Journalist Pepe Escobar on the Complex Layers and Players in Syria, Iran Preview Clip The inimitable Pepe Escobar of Asia Times returns with a fascinating report on Syria in this Boiling Frogs interview, co-hosted with Sibel Edmonds.
    • PBC Standard Podcast April 16, 2012 Boiling Frogs: James Bamford on NSA’s Massive New Server and Decryption Farm in Utah James Bamford, author of The Shadow Factory and top expert on the NSA, returns in this Boiling Frogs interview, co-hosted with Sibel Edmonds.
    • PBC Standard Podcast April 19, 2012 John Stauber on ALEC’s Pro-Gun, Pro-Corporate Legislative Mill; Anarchist scott crow’s Response to Sentencing of Killer Cops in New OrleansJohn Stauber, retired co-founder of Center for Media and Democracy, on ALEC’s role in fostering right-wing laws; Anarchist scott crow on his FBI harassment, New Orleans after Katrina, and more. From a live bradcast 4/18/12 on KPFK/Los Angeles.

  • Ring of Fire Radio
    rofheader
    Find us at http://ringoffireradio.com and http://goleft.tv/ hosted by Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Mike Papantonio and Sam Seder
    Ring of Fire Radio - GoLeft TV - Robert F. Kennedy, Mike Papantonio, Sam Seder - Politics, Commentary, and News.
    This Week on Ring of Fire! April 20, 2012
    • Documentary film director Robert Greenwald will be here to tell us about his new project – Koch Brothers Exposed.
    • Author Chris Mooney will take us on a spooky journey into the brain of the average Republican.
    • Attorney James Kauffman will tell us why the new JOBS Act could lead to massive amounts of financial fraud.
    • Andy Kroll from Mother Jones will talk to us about the companies that have had enough sense to ditch ALEC.
    • Attorney Henry Garrard will be joining us to talk about a faulty medical device that is ruining the lives of women across America, all because the FDA failed to do their job.
    • Syndicated columnist Karl Frisch joins us for a discussion on the Republican primary season.
    • And Nation contributing writer Ben Adler will tell us what Mitt Romney is doing to erase the extremism that has characterized this year’s Republican candidates.
    • VIDEO! Papantonio: The Billionaire GOP Puppeteers The Republican primary season has seen some pretty intense ups and downs for all of the candidates. At some point throughout the last year, almost every individual candidate has appeared to be a shoe-in for the nomination, only to see their leads erased after a few weeks. What’s causing this constant flux? The answer is simple – Money. Billionaires like Foster Freiss and Sheldon Adelson, and even the Koch Brothers keep doubling down their dollars on their candidate du jour, which results in the wild swings in popularity. And at the end of the day, these billionaires will have the final say in who gets the Republican nomination. Mike Papantonio talks about the billionaires who are pulling the GOP strings with best-selling author Thomas Frank.
    • VIDEO! Papantonio: The ALEC Exodus Mike Papantonio talks with Mother Jones’ reporter Andy Kroll about the continuing ALEC exodus, where brave companies are finally telling the secretive, right wing organization that they have had enough.
    • Support Those Who Support Progressive Media! 2011 has certainly been a great year for Ring of Fire, and we’ve had some great sponsors that have helped support the show throughout the year. We wanted to take the time to personally thank each and every one of them, and we encourage all of our listeners to take the time to support those who have support us.
    • Join our blog at www.ringoffireradio.com. You can now SUBSCRIBE TO OUR PODCAST by clicking on the "Podcast" tab at the top of the Ring of Fire blog. Please help support progressive radio by signing up!
    Ring of Fire Radio Ring of Fire, hosted by Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Mike Papantonio and Sam Seder: Saturdays at 3 o’clock Eastern, rebroadcasts 8-11 et Sunday evenings on Chicago's Progressive Talk WCPT AM & FM and 4 pm et on Sirius/XM 167 featuring The PAP Attack! "We’ll bring you the stories that the mainstream media didn’t feel like reporting this week."

  • Majority Report with Sam Seder Streaming LIVE weekdays 11:30 am et @ Majority.fm!

    • Cliff Schecter on SCOTUS v Obamacare, the Trayvon Martin smear campaign + more [03•30•12]
    • Chris Hayes, Our Failed Elites
    • Allison Kilkenny, Occupy Wall Street Preps May Day & Ed Wytkind, Transportation Bill
    • Ari Berman on SCOTUS & Sam in Vegas
    • 4/20 Cliff Schecter & A Vegas Casual Friday
    • MORE Podcast Interviews at majorityreport.official.fm!

  • On the Edge with Max Keiser Podcasts and more @ MaxKeiser.com!
    maxheaderhiyall
    "HI Y'ALL! Tell the people! Tell the people!"
    WHO IS MAX KEISER? Max Keiser is a financial expert, Prediction Markets analyst, inventor and filmmaker. He is the creator of the Hollywood Stock Exchange (HSX) the first Prediction Market. Max Keiser co-hosts "The Truth About Markets" on ResonanceFM 104.4 in London. He also produces and presents documentary films covering markets and finance for Al Jazeera’s "People & Power" series. Max Keiser started his career on Wall Street in 1983. He is the creator of KarmaBanque a site that enables activists to challenge corporate power.
    • VISIT PirateMyFilm.com!!! Crowd Funding for Pirates!
    • NEW! MaxKeiserTV on YouTube! MaxKeiserTV PLUS here is Max Keiser’s official Facebook page And here is the official Keiser Report page
    • Winner takes all: RT Arabic now crushing Al Jazeera with high ratings. “I think that this is part of the post-Aljazeera era that we have entered.” by maxkeiser - I think this explains the recent hit pieces by Al Jazeera and the New York Times against RT. They simply can’t compete anymore so they’ve resorted to slimeball tactics. Our show, “Keiser Report” is probably the most viewed business and finance show in the world with over 10 million viewers per week. Take that CNBC you ponce! READ The Angry Arab News Service: RT is gaining more viewership in the Arab world
    • Audio: The Financial Crisis and Who Rules America with Max Keiser, Stacy Herbert and Andy Stapanian Max & Stacy interviewed by Danny Schechter on his radio show today in NYC by maxkeiser - READ When the Abuse of Insider Information and Control Grows So Large as to Become the Market BTV jessescrossroadscafe
    • KEISER REPORT [KR276] Keiser Report – Eating Kamikaze Blowfish with Mrs. Watanabe and Peter Schiff!
    • KEISER REPORT [KR277] Keiser Report: Vicious Circle of Bankster Huddles We discuss huddles and cuddles with the Goombahs of Wall Street and the technical violations that cannot be called by name. In the second half of the show Max talks to Rolling Stone journalist, Matt Taibbi, about the Wall Street mafia, their small and big time rackets and the process of writing these crime stories for a wide audience.
    • KEISER REPORT [KR278] Keiser Report: Corpse of Economy & Interview with Alec Empire We discuss Dr Bernanke’s hologram and his real tsunami of money. In the second half of the show Max talks to Alec Empire of Atari Teenage Riot about copyright, Anonymous and free speech and the armed government goons sent to shakedown grannies.
    • ON THE EDGE On the Edge with Gonzalo Lira We interview Gonzalo Lira of the Strategic Planning Group.
    • THE TRUTH ABOUT MARKETS [TaM-359] Truth About Debtflation Download show HERE (mp3)
    • Donate to ResonanceFM here!

  • ANTIWAR RADIO with Scott Horton
    antiwarradio.jpg LIVE (9-11am Pacific, 12pm - 2pm Eastern) Plenty of archives too!
    Listen at antiwar.com/radio
    • Eric Margolis April 18, 2012: Eric Margolis, internationally syndicated columnist and author of War at the Top of the World and American Raj, discusses his article “Cuba Starts to Come Alive ;” hanging out with Ernest Hemingway in pre-revolutionary Cuba; why meaningful reform will be delayed until the “old fossil” hardliners die off; how to liberalize the Cuban economy and property rights while preventing US domination; Midwest agricultural exports not subject to the embargo; how Venezuela filled the Soviet void and saved Cuba from regressing to the pre-industrial age; the outsized political influence of Florida’s anti-Castro lobby; and Cuba’s institutionalized police state.
    • Arash Norouzi April 18, 2012: Arash Norouzi, artist and co-founder of The Mossadegh Project, discusses the Washington Post’s much-delayed admission that Iranian President Ahmadinejad didn’t say Israel should be “wiped off the map;” the context of Ahmadinejad’s speech and the origin of the quote – which compared Israel’s potential collapse to the fall of the USSR, the Shah’s regime and Saddam Hussein; putting an end to the seven year old anti-Iran talking point; and why we shouldn’t hold our breath waiting for other media outlets to admit their mistake.
    • John Feffer April 20, 2012: John Feffer, co-director of Foreign Policy In Focus at the Institute for Policy Studies, discusses his article “North Korea’s Failed Fireworks ;” the UN Security Council’s condemnation of their dual-use missiles (even Iran is able to launch satellites without comment); North Korea’s commitment to spending a big chunk of their meager GDP on a single failed satellite launch; the known unknowns about Kim Jong Un (except he likes basketball); how an increasingly worldly and foreign-educated North Korean elite could open up the “hermit kingdom;” and their blossoming IT and animation industries – aside from the usual mineral and energy extraction.
    • Many more interviews at Antiwar Radio!

  • fauxnews
    • Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-CT)
    • Governor Mitch Daniels (R-IN)

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

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