Recently in Corporate Fascism Category

New York Times

In short, in a nation that holds itself up as a citadel of free enterprise, the government has morphed from lender of last resort into effectively the only lender for millions of Americans engaged in the largest transactions of their lives.

The fight has only just begun. I understand many people believed that the passing of this new FISA law was going to signal the end of our Constitutionally created country. But the passing of a law -- hell, the passing of an amendment -- is not set in concrete. The only thing set in concrete is the existence of the will of the people.

Hope people. Hope. The Fourth Amendment has not been repealed. It is just a law that was passed. They get struck down quite a bit.

I am a little late to the party on this, but I still want to add my two cents: BULLSHIT!

New York Times

WASHINGTON -- The Army official who managed the Pentagon's largest contract in Iraq says he was ousted from his job when he refused to approve paying more than $1 billion in questionable charges to KBR, the Houston-based company that has provided food, housing and other services to American troops.

[snip]

Army officials denied that Mr. Smith had been removed because of the dispute, but confirmed that they had reversed his decision, arguing that blocking the payments to KBR would have eroded basic services to troops. They said that KBR had warned that if it was not paid, it would reduce payments to subcontractors, which in turn would cut back on services.

Nothing but pure avarice. Cheney is simply robbing the treasury for his Saudi buddies. And KBR threatening to not perform services for the troops? Nothing more than extortion. Isn't there some federal law in place for just such an act? Why I believe so. RICO or some such thing.

Bark Bark Woof Woof

In other words, the Republicans, who can't run on their record or rely on the sharp memory of their candidate (Shia? Sunni? Iran? Al-qaeda?) or his plans for revitalizing the economy (ready for more cake?), will do precisely what they're best at: attack their opponent and try to scare the crap out of the electorate without offering anything more than platitudes, nostrums, and the firm assertion that John McCain is most assuredly not George W. Bush; he just plans to do the exact same things he did but without the fake Texas drawl.

There is no doubt whatsoever that the Republicans will do exactly what Mr. Kristol predicts; that's a given, since it's worked so well the last couple of times. But Mr. Kristol's record for predicting the future is also well-known. He's one of the bunch that said that we would be greeted as liberators in Iraq, that the war would last a couple of weeks or months, that it would pay for itself with the oil revenues that we'd get, and that our influence and model of democracy would turn Iraq, Iran, Syria, and Saudi Arabia into the Iowas of the Middle East with freedom and McDonald's springing up on every street corner from Riyad to Damascus. With that kind of record, it really makes you wonder why anyone gives serious attention to anything he says other than to hold it up for mockery and derision.

McClatchy

BAGHDAD -- At least 40 Shiite pilgrims were killed and 60 injured in a suicide bombing south of Baghdad Sunday in what was once known as the Sunni triangle of death.

The bombing in Iskandariyah came as hundreds of thousands of Shiites took to the streets to walk the 50 miles to the holy city of Karbala for Arbaeen. The ceremony on Thursday commemorates the anniversary of the 40th day following the martyrdom of Hussein, the grandson of the prophet Mohammed, a venerated figure in Shiite Islam.

As pilgrims stopped for water and food at a tent set up to serve them along their journey, a suicide bomber walked into the crowd and detonated, killing and wounding many of the pilgrims, said Muthanna Ahmed, spokesman for the police in Babil province. He expected the death toll to rise.

Explain to me again how the I&O* of Iraq has improved Iraqi lives? If we meant to give them the same standard of living and the same level of security as we are blessed to have,,,,,,, well, I guess that means we must have the same number of killings by suicide bombers at Christmas mass, or Easter mass, unless mass is canceled due to strain on the electrical grid causing a shutdown.

Seriously, BushCo™, screwed the pooch when it comes to Iraq. Other than to fatten the pockets of Halliburton and company, this has been a monumental failure.

* Invasion & Occupation

The Daily Brew 
February 10, 2008

As I was watching the returns come in from Maine, where Senator Obama won his forth straight contest since Super Tuesday, I was getting irritated by the fact that the corporate news continues to include the so-called Super Delegates in the reported delegate totals.  As we know, the Super Delegates can change their minds, and there is good reason to suspect they might. Many senior party members are already cautioning the Super Delegates that they should think twice before changing the results, should they eventually show a decisive preference among the voters.  

Reporting the Super Delegates as though their votes were cast in stone has the effect of showing Senator Clinton as "leading" the race, when in fact, Senator Obama has actually won more delegates in the state contests.  This is just one of the myriad of small ways the corporate press use to try to control the outcome of our political process.

Since it is clear that the media is using the Super Delegates to skew the race, I was curious to see how much effect the Super Delegates are having in undermining the voters from their own states.  So I did a quick check to see how many of the Super Delegates were committed to a candidate that lost in their home states.  

What I learned is that there are 42 Super Delegates committed to Senator Clinton from states Senator Obama won, and there are 32 Super Delegates committed to Senator Obama from states Senator Clinton won.  This discrepancy accounts for more than a third of the 27 delegate "lead" that CNN is reporting for Senator Clinton.

Here, for your edification, are the names of those Super Delegates:

Just for kicks, I thought 

Super Delegates Committed to Senator Clinton from States Senator Obama
Won:
(42 total so far)

DNC Patti Higgins (AK)
DNC Joe Reed (AL)
Rep. Diane DeGette (CO)
DNC Manny Rodriguez (CO)
DNC Maria Handley (CO)
DNC Ramona Martinez (CO)
DNC Ellen Camhi (CT)
Gov. Ruth Ann Minner (DE)
DNC Rhett Ruggerio (DE)
DNC Karen Valentine (DE)
Rep. David Scott (GA)
Rep. John Lewis (GA)
Michael Thurmond (GA)
Carole Dabbs (GA)
Lonnie Plott (GA)
DNC John Rednour (IL)
Rep. Leonard Boswell (IA)
DNC Sandy Opstvedt (IA)
DNC Sarah Swisher (IA)
DNC Mike Gronstal (IA)
DNC Teresa Krusor (KS)
Gov. John Baldacci (ME)
DNC Ken Curtis (ME)
VP Walter Mondale (MN)
DNC Jackie Stevenson (MN)
DNC Rick Stafford (MN)
Rep. Emanuel Cleaver II (MO)
Fmr. Rep. Dick Gephardt (MO)
DNC Doug Brooks (MO)
DNC Sandy Querry (MO)
DNC Don Fowler (SC)
DNC Marva Smalls (SC)
DNC Hon. Karen Hale (UT)
DNC Helen Langan (UT)
Sen. Maria Cantwell (WA)
Sen. Patty Murray (WA)
Rep. Jay Inslee (WA)
Former Speaker Tom Foley (WA)
DNC Ron Sims (WA)
Rep. Norm Dicks (WA)
 
Super Delegates Committed to Senator Obama from States Senator Clinton 
Won:
(32 total so far)

Gov. Janet Napolitano (AZ)
Rep. Raul Grijalva (AZ)
Rep. Anna Eshoo (CA)
Rep. Xavier Becerra (CA)
Rep. Barbara Lee (CA)
Rep. Adam Schiff (CA)
Rep. George Miller (CA)
Rep Zoe Lofgren (CA)
Rep. Linda Sanchez (CA)
DNC Hon. Eric Garcetti (CA)
DNC Norma Torres (CA)
Rep. Robert Wexler (FL)
DNC Allan Katz (FL)
Gov. Deval Patrick (MA)
Sen. John Kerry (MA)
Sen. Ted Kennedy (MA)
Rep. William Delahunt (MA)
Rep. Michael Capuano (MA)
DNC Alan Solomont (MA)
Rep. John Conyers (MI)
Rep. Steve Rothman (NJ)
DNC Steven Horsford (NV)
Rep. Carol Shea-Porter (NH)
Rep. Paul Hodes (NH)
DNC Hon. Martha Fuller Clark (NH)
Fmr DNC Chair Fred Harris (NM)
DNC Kitti Asbury - (OK)
Rep. Jim Cooper (TN)
Rep. Steve Cohen (TN)
DNC Lois DeBerry (TN)
 
__________________________________________________________________ 
The Daily Brew is an editorial/opinion column delivered to a select
group of political junkies who occasionally forward them along to their
colleagues.

If someone sent you this, you should consider it an invitation to join,
and sign up to receive future editions by entering your email address
here: 

http://brew.notifylist.com/thedailybrew.html  

I will never use your email for any purpose except to send more
columns.

I love it when I get edified.

First of all, I am a Windows man. No question about it. Yet, the truth be told, I am only a Windows man because I can not afford the Macs. To get the same computing strength that I am use to with Windows machines, I would have to spend almost double. And the few half dozen readers of mine are more than aware of my financial condition.

Anyway, the truth be told, I am secretly envious of those whom own a Mac. I'd expound more about that envy, but it is for another day.

I am, however, going to step up and proclaim my deep, abiding disgust with the Microsoft Corporation. But, instead of making my case, let me highlight a portion of an email I got Friday from Completely Free Software.

The article also went over how Microsoft feels about the initial release of Vista, which occurred almost one year ago. According to Microsoft's corporate vice president Mike Sievert, the launch of Vista did not go as well as they thought it would. "Frankly, the world wasn't 100 percent ready for Windows Vista." [highlighting mine]

The world wasn't 100 percent ready for Windows Vista? What the hell happened to giving the customer what they wanted?  Faced with the failure of Vista to sell, instead of doing some soul searching, to see where they made mistakes, they blame the world. Now, that is arrogance in its most base form. And this is what disgusts be about Microsoft, and all Multi-national companies. Service has replaced greed. They honestly lost sight of supplying service to people, and simply look to pump out product for profit and greed.

Now, that all being said, I am not upset with Window's Vista. It works fine for me. But then, that's because I am use to Windows being buggy, and having quirks that are different from computer to computer. Anyway, for your pleasure, I've supplied the entire article that came with the email, under the fold.

Lord almighty! Don't tell O'Reilly, but I've found the headquarters for the war against Christmas.

New York Times

On the eve of an important Senate committee meeting to consider the legislation, Nancy A. Nord, the acting chairwoman of the Consumer Product Safety Commission, has asked lawmakers in two letters not to approve the bulk of legislation that would increase the agency’s authority, double its budget and sharply increase its dwindling staff.

Ms. Nord opposes provisions that would increase the maximum penalties for safety violations and make it easier for the government to make public reports of faulty products, protect industry whistle-blowers and prosecute executives of companies that willfully violate laws.

The measure is an effort to buttress an agency that has been under siege because of a raft of tainted and dangerous products manufactured both domestically and abroad. In the last two months alone, more than 13 million toys have been recalled after tests indicated lead levels that sometimes reached almost 200 times the safety limit.

Ms. Nord’s opposition to important elements of the legislation is consistent with the broadly deregulatory approach of the Bush administration over the last seven years. In a variety of areas, from antitrust to trucking and worker safety, officials appointed by President Bush have sought to reduce the role of regulation and government in the marketplace.

Right. Because being a third world economy is good for business. No need to have to spend the proper time, effort, and expense at using safe, harmless materials.

These people really do not give a damn about the average person. All they care about is pushing an ideology that has already proved itself to be a complete failure. From Katrina, to the Southern California fires, to the lack of response to state level emergencies, this government is all about the little man doing for himself. Oh, but still they take the little man's taxes. Where as the top 1% of the richest see their tax burden decreased.

And I keep waiting for that pro-life stance talked about in two election campaigns to show up in action. But all I see is death. With BushCo™ it's all about bombing, killing, destroying. Show me one solid, concrete example of a constructive, productive action on their part. You know, where the policies they enacted have resulted in a decrease in mortality, the saving of lives. If you do, than balance it against all the premature deaths these past 6 years.

If ever there was a candidate for anti-Christ, Bush sure makes the grade.

New York Times

WASHINGTON, Oct. 28 —The Federal Communications Commission, hoping to reduce the rising costs of cable television, is preparing to strike down thousands of contracts this week that gave individual cable companies exclusive rights to provide service to an apartment building, the agency’s chairman says.

The new rule could open markets across the country to far-ranging competition. It would also be a huge victory for Verizon Communications and AT&T, which have challenged the cable industry by offering their own video services. The two companies have lobbied aggressively for the provision. They have been supported in their fight by consumer groups, satellite television companies and small rivals to the big cable providers.

Commission officials and consumer groups said the new rule could significantly lower cable prices for millions of subscribers who live in apartment buildings and have had no choice in selecting a company for paid television. Government and private studies show that when a second cable company enters a market, prices can drop as much as 30 percent.

This is cool. Now, if they could just tighten the restrict of media ownership in local markets, I'd be a happy blogger. Oh, and I like the thought of this even more:

Mr. Martin has also pressed the cable companies to offer so-called à la carte plans that would permit subscribers to buy individual channels, or groups of channels, at lower rates than they now pay.

I could just imagine the loss of revenue for the religious groups that rely on bundled cable deals. Nor would I lose any sleep over their loss. I am rather tired of paying for programing I find offensive, oppressive, and intolerant. I guess I am just an intolerant bastard myself. Looks like I am not alone:

But large cable companies, as well as associations representing building owners and tenant groups, said the change would fundamentally alter the economics of cable television in apartments in ways that would be harmful to consumers. They are threatening to challenge the commission in court.

“It is both unlawful and, as a matter of public policy, wholly inappropriate and counterproductive for the commission to bar cable operators from enforcing existing exclusive contracts,” said Daniel L. Brenner, a senior vice president of the National Cable and Telecommunications Association, the cable industry’s main trade association in Washington. “Exclusive contracts and building-by-building competition can, in fact, promote investment, efficiency and competition.”

Intolerant bastards seem to not like the idea of losing power and control. What I don't understand is; whatever happened to the customer is always right? Hell, in this whole scenario, the customer doesn't even get to speak. Besides, having lived in apartment buildings, I can tell you, there is no efficiency. The cable companies in the greater Twin Cities area have hardly made any effort at improving the cable infrastructure.