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Author Topic: Corruption in Government  (Read 57522 times)

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AGelbert

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Re: Corruption in Government
« Reply #645 on: April 12, 2018, 02:43:07 pm »
Agelbert NOTE: Some very brave people are making life real hard for the Kinder Morgan polluting liars and crooks 🦕 that have Trudeau 🐒 in their pocket. As usual when democracy gets in the way the polluters, the front ment like Trudeau try to sabotage it on behalf of more profit over people and planet 😠. Let us hope Kinder Morgan and Trudeau continue to have their polluting asses handed to them by the brave Canadian defenders of the environment. 



April 11, 2018

Trudeau 🦖 Panics After Trans Mountain Tar Sands Pipeline Suspended  ;D

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau convenes an emergency cabinet meeting to save Trans Mountain while Alberta Premier Rachel Notley warns of a "constitutional crisis." Dimitri Lascaris reports


http://therealnews.com/t2/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=31&Itemid=74&jumival=21556




Mining of the tar sands will not be stopped.


You are entitled to your opinion and to be as wrong as you wish of course, but I disagree with your rather depressing opinion.


I think that soon the polluters will have to stick the product of tars sands mining where the sun doesn't shine. 


Times are changin', K-Dog. The polluters will increasingly find themselves out gunned, despite their past successful efforts to corrupt every government that has fossil fuel resources. 8)
He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. Matt 10:37

AGelbert

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Re: Corruption in Government
« Reply #646 on: April 12, 2018, 06:48:29 pm »
Mining of the tar sands will not be stopped.[/center]

You are entitled to your opinion and to be as wrong as you wish of course, but I disagree with your rather depressing opinion.


I think that soon the polluters will have to stick the product of tars sands mining where the sun doesn't shine.


Times are changin', K-Dog. The polluters will increasingly find themselves out gunned, despite their past successful efforts to corrupt every government that has fossil fuel resources.

It will stop due to energy economics.  When the net energy return is negative, it stops itself.  This will take a little while though.

RE
the view from here is we want the revenue and the righteousness of being clean energy crusaders. I see zero enthusiasm for the financial pain it would cause here. I don't know if there will be future tar sands money but there is no way in hell Alberta will shut down mature developments. At 60 something a barrel everyone is anti tar sands at 110 a barrel... that is a hell of an incentive. You buy a lot of senior care daycare housing projects with that money. There is an established route to the Gulf refineries and infrastructure designed to take it. The trick will be making sure no new money goes in...

So, it's all about money, is it?  I'll agree with you on just one thing: $110 a barrel is a HELL of an incentive. I'm sure your daughters will NOT thank you profusely in a decade or so for supporting polluting tar sands at the "right" price. I think anyone that does figure that tar sands polluting is "okay" at the "right" price will soon be very sorry they did. But for now, I'm sure the lawyers from Kinder Morgan agree 100% with your "math".  Good luck with that.




« Last Edit: April 12, 2018, 08:08:55 pm by AGelbert »
He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. Matt 10:37

AGelbert

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Re: Corruption in Government
« Reply #647 on: April 12, 2018, 06:50:36 pm »
Mining of the tar sands will not be stopped.[/center]

You are entitled to your opinion and to be as wrong as you wish of course, but I disagree with your rather depressing opinion.


I think that soon the polluters will have to stick the product of tars sands mining where the sun doesn't shine.


Times are changin', K-Dog. The polluters will increasingly find themselves out gunned, despite their past successful efforts to corrupt every government that has fossil fuel resources.

It will stop due to energy economics.  When the net energy return is negative, it stops itself.  This will take a little while though.

RE



The energy net return for fossil fuels has always been, when ALL the "externalities" are taken into account, negative. They've gotten around that with corruption, gamed markets and welfare queen subsidies, NOT because they had a positive ERoEI.

I've made that case to you for years but you just do not want to hear it.  ::)

RE, whether you want to accept it or not, the "high energy density" (LOL!) of this tar sands crap is NOT the issue here.

In regard to the present situation in Canada, the issue for the fossil fuelers is that, as long as the polluters can buy governments to give them a free pass to continue using the biosphere as a dumping ground for their pollution, they will continue.

They will scream about "sanctity of contracts" (even though the fossil fuelers 🦖 - SEE EXXON 🦖 in Guyana right now! - will mangle contracts any time they feel like it or defend them like Bible Quotes when the contract is a sweetheart deal in their favor!). They will wail about world trade agreements. They will threaten to sue. It's all legaleze BULLSHIT.

The "business model 😈" of the Fossil Fuel Industry 🦖, AT PRESENT, has NOTHING to do with real energy product thermodynamics of energy return on ENERGY invested cause and effect. Regardless of how uncompetitive their polluting product is, the polluters will cling to their stupid business model as long as they can keep the corruption gravy train going.

Spare me the talk about energy product "energy" returns. You peak oil folks see lack of energy as the only trigger for disruption. That's way too reductionist. How come your "peak oil" isn't at $200 a barrel, huh? Over a decade ago it was over $100! Inflation PLUS "peak oil"  should have raised the price above $200 NOW, not the measly $67 or so!

We've used a LOT of oil since 2005! If the supply was really going down so much, they would have jacked up the price, regardless of the Great Recession! Don't bother to riddle me why they ain't done that, Batman. I can answer WHY the price of oil ain't gainin' traction, despite the best efforts of corrupt governments hither and yon.

The answer is REAL COMPETITION from clean energy, whether you want to accept that or not (see graphic below).

The only thing that will stop the polluters is people willing to give their lives to stop them. That will happen soon in Canada and in many other places as well.

The economics of fossil fuels has been brain dead stupid for several years now. Corrupt government handouts and subsidies is the only thing keeping those bastards in business, whether you peak oil folks want to believe that or not. 

The following chart is irrefutable evidence that the fossil fuelers have ZERO REAL economic reason, beyond corrupt practices that game the energy prices, for continuing the polluting product BAU.




« Last Edit: April 12, 2018, 09:32:26 pm by AGelbert »
He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. Matt 10:37

AGelbert

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Re: Corruption in Government
« Reply #648 on: April 12, 2018, 07:47:01 pm »
Quote
AG: The economics of fossil fuels has been brain dead stupid for several years now. Corrupt government handouts and subsidies is the only thing keeping those bastards in business, whether you peak oil folks want to believe that or not.

I have been saying that for ages: the only reason fracking continues is because the Fed guarantees the commercial bank's loans to the frackers, despite their business case not adding up.  This because Amerikans are addicted to oil and that is the only way to keep BAU ticking over.

I agree with you on this, but I do not think you are stating the whole story. The "addiction" to fossil fuels is certainly not limited to the USA. About 17% of the world's population is "addicted" to dirty energy. The following graphic may be a bit dated because China's thirst for fossil fuels has grown a LOT, but you can see that population itself is not the problem:



I believe that the gaming of markets on behalf of all types of fossil fuels is the sad legacy of government corruption. You accuse Americans of being addicted to oil. True. But, the drug pusher that got them (I am NOT addicted to oil - they would be bankrupt if they had to rely on my use of fossil fuels for the last 30 years  8)) "addicted" was the US Government, a subsidiary of Standard Oil for over a century. Did you know that the ENTIRE intelligence organization for US agencies in foreign countries came DIRECTLY from the officies of Rockefeller's Standard Oil? You didn't? Well, that is a historical fact.

The tentacles of the fossil fuel industry were so engrained in US foreign and domestic policy as to be indistinguishable from Fossil fuel corrupt corporate fun and games until Renewable Energy began to make some headway in the last two decades.

Read "The Tyranny of Oil" by Antonia Juhasz to learn how ever single effort by competing energy technologies since the early 20th century have been ruthlessly and methodically crushed.

Disinformation campaigns (Government FUNDED! not just Fossil Fuel Industry funded) subsequently would make, and repeat a LOT, the bold faced BULLSHIT claim that "they weren't ready for prime time" or "they couldn't compete" or the old reliable "They didn't have enough energy density". They were all half truths at best, though more often just plain corrupt profit over people and planet "business as usual".





« Last Edit: April 12, 2018, 09:29:27 pm by AGelbert »
He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. Matt 10:37

AGelbert

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Re: Corruption in Government
« Reply #649 on: April 12, 2018, 10:29:50 pm »
Truthdig

APR 11, 2018

By Robert Reich  RobertReich.Org

The Truth About an Untethered Trump🦀


The petulant adolescent in the White House – who has replaced most of the adults around him with raging sycophants and has demoted his chief of staff, John Kelly, to lapdog – lacks adequate supervision.

Before, he was merely petty and vindictive. He’d tweet nasty things about people he wanted to humiliate, like former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick.

Now his vindictiveness has turned cruel. After smearing FBI deputy director Andrew McCabe with unfounded allegations that he lied to investigators, the new Trump made sure McCabe was fired just days before he would have been eligible for a pension after more than twenty-one years of service.

Before, he was merely xenophobic. He’d call Mexicans murderers and rapists.


Now his xenophobia has turned belligerent. He’s sending thousands of National Guard troops to the Mexican border, even though illegal border crossings are at a record low.

And he’s starting a trade war against China.

China has been expropriating American intellectual property for years. But Trump isn’t even trying to negotiate a way out of this jam or build a coalition of other trading partners to pressure China. He’s just upping the ante – and, not incidentally, causing the stock market to go nuts.

But the most dangerous thing about the new Trump is his increased attacks on American democracy itself.

Start with a free press. Before, he just threw rhetorical bombshells at the Washington Post, CNN, and other outlets that criticized him.

Now he’s trying to penalize them financially, while bestowing benefits on outlets that praise him.

Last week he demanded that Amazon, the corporation headed by the man who owns the Washington Post, pay higher postal rates and more taxes, and that the Post should register as Amazon’s lobbyist. Amazon stock wilted under the attack.

They’re absurd charges. Amazon collects and pays state sales taxes on its products, and the Postal Service is losing money because of the decline in first-class mail, not package deliveries.

Presumably Amazon can take care of itself. Trump’s attack was intended as a warning to other companies with media connections that they’d better not mess with him

Trump is trying to hurt CNN, too. The day after the Justice Department moved to block AT&T’s purchase of Time-Warner, parent of CNN, he said the deal wasn’t “good for the country.” Few missed the connection.

Meanwhile, he’s praising Trump-adoring Sinclair Broadcasting, signaling to the FCC it should approve Sinclair’s pending $3.9 billion purchase of Tribune Media’s TV stations.

We’re entering a new and more dangerous phase of Trump’s “divide and conquer” strategy, splitting the nation into warring camps – with him as the most divisive issue.

Even Trump’s tweets have become more brazenly divisive. Last week he called his predecessor “Cheatin’ Obama.” When was the last time you heard a president of the United States disparage another president?

He’s more determined than ever to convince supporters that Special Counsel Robert Mueller is in cahoots with Democrats and the FBI to unseat him.

This might give him some protection if Trump decides to fire Mueller, or if Mueller’s investigation turns up evidence that Trump collaborated with Russia to win the election, and Congress moves to impeach him.

“Try to impeach him, just try it,” warned Roger Stone, Trump’s former campaign adviser, last summer. “You will have a spasm of violence in this country, an insurrection like you’ve never seen.”

But Trump’s strategy might just as easily extend beyond Mueller. What happens if in 2020 a rival candidate accumulates more electoral votes, but Trump accuses him or her of cheating, and refuses to step down?

“He’s now president for life,” Trump recently said of Xi Jinping, adding “maybe we’ll 🦀 have to give that a shot someday. 😈” Some thought Trump was joking. I’m not so sure.

Democracies require leaders who understand that their primary responsibility is to protect the institutions and processes democracy depends on. The new Trump seems intent on maintaining his power, whatever it takes.

Democracies also require enough social trust that citizens regard those they disagree with as being worthy of an equal say, so they’ll accept political outcomes they dislike. The new Trump is destroying that trust.

Trump untethered isn’t just a more petty, vindictive, and belligerent version of his former self. He’s also more willing to sacrifice American democracy to his own ends. Which makes him more dangerous than ever.

https://www.truthdig.com/articles/the-truth-about-an-untethered-trump/
He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. Matt 10:37

AGelbert

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Re: Corruption in Government
« Reply #650 on: April 13, 2018, 04:57:48 pm »
The Associated Press

Ex-FBI Director Comey in new book says Trump 🦀 is 'unethical and untethered to truth,' demanded loyalty like a mafia boss.

13 Apr 2018

By CHAD DAY and JONATHAN LEMIRE

full truth filled article:

https://apnews.com/3e123c8153d6497c9e07ec77bdd24171

He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. Matt 10:37

AGelbert

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Re: Corruption in Government
« Reply #651 on: April 17, 2018, 02:54:18 pm »


As the Republican Roof Caves In, Paul Ryan 😈 Hits the Road

Saturday, April 14, 2018

By William Rivers Pitt, Truthout | Op-Ed

SNIPPET:

What began two Novembers ago as an all-encompassing Republican victory, a takeover of two branches with a stranglehold on the third, has devolved into a chaotic stampede to avoid the looming and seemingly insurmountable "Blue Wave" to come. "This is the Watergate pattern writ large," writes Rick Wilson for The Daily Beast. "In 1973, Republicans were screaming that the investigation was nothing but a Fake News Witch Hunt. They lost 49 House seats and eight Senate seats in 1974, two months after Nixon resigned."

Full article:

http://www.truth-out.org/opinion/item/44163-as-the-republican-roof-caves-in-paul-ryan-hits-the-road

He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. Matt 10:37

AGelbert

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Re: Corruption in Government
« Reply #652 on: April 18, 2018, 02:07:25 pm »
GOP Congressional Candidate Kimberlin Brown Pelzer 😈 Takes the Low Road

By Came In On Saturdays | April 16, 2018 at 02:16 PM EDT

GOP “Young Gun” Congressional Candidate Kimberlin Brown Pelzer—She Shoots Herself With Planted Questions and Extremist Pals   

      The GOP will do anything and everything to win elections from the top of the ticket on down. We all know about Demagogue Donald’s 2016 campaign of fake news and his gang’s probable collusion with Putin’s Russia.  Down-ticket “Team Red” 2018 midterm candidates for House and Senate races are no better. Arizona GOP Cong. Martha McSally, who is running for a Senate seat, held a Facebook Live Event. At that event, she posted a comment from her own account praising herself for “great video quality,” and adding, “thank you for your service (shareblue.com, Willis, 4/10/18).” McSally is not the only GOPer who was recently caught planting her own comments to look good. GOPer Kimberlin Brown Pelzer, running for a congressional seat in CA, was caught doing a similar stunt. As part of a Facebook Live Q&A, where candidates are supposed to be taking questions from voters, a question about “sanctuary cities” from Brown Pelzer’s personal account was added/planted into the mix of questions (See shareblue.com, Willis, Metz, “Desert Sun,” 4/06/18). “Sanctuary cities,” where illegal immigrants can not be apprehended by state or federal authorities for deportation, constitute a central issue in the immigration debate, especially for the GOP’s hard-right xenophobic base (See Metz, “Desert Sun”). Who is Kimberlin Brown Pelzer?

           On 10/10/2017, GOPer Kimberlin Brown Pelzer (56) announced she was running for CA’s 36th Congressional District (CD) in 2018.  She wants to defeat that district’s current Congressman, Democrat Raul Ruiz (46) who is running for his 4th term (cactushugs.com, Dolan, 10/10/17, 115th Congress At Your Fingertips). The present CA 36th CD covers eastern Riverside County. On its western side, the 36th takes in Banning and Beaumont and stretches all the way east to Blythe at the AZ border. The 36th includes the cities of Palm Springs, Palm Desert, Indio, Hemet, and San Jacinto. This CD also includes Coachella and Rancho Mirage. Agriculture, tourism, and alternate energy sources constitute this area’s economic pillars (CQ & Barone 14 Political Almanacs). The 36th contains the Coachella Valley which produces 95% of the dates eaten in the U.S. The Coachella Valley’s fertile farmland relies on irrigation from the western waters of the Colorado River and seasonal migrant workers. Palm Springs, once the winter resort of the stars, has now become popular with rich retirees and gay couples. Former Presidents Eisenhower and Ford retired to this desert area. Several Native American reservations are in the 36th and have tribal casinos in the Palm Springs area. About 1/3 of the jobs in Palm Springs, Cathedral City, and Palm Desert are provided by hospitality and retail sectors. With its high desert sands, the Joshua Tree National Park is a tourist spot. The alternative-energy industry is growing. The western edge of Palm Springs is dotted with windmills, and huge solar projects are under way in the desert region to the east (CQ 14).

           About 300,000 people live in the 36th.  Hispanic residents make up 48% of the 36th’s population barely edging out whites.  CA’s non-partisan redistricting commission, which drew the boundaries of the 36th after the 2010 census, wanted to keep the retirement and Indian lands together. The result is a strongly competitive swing district. The latest 4/07/2017 Cook Partisan Voting Index (PVI) gives the 36th a D+2 score. Democrats have a narrow 6% voter registration edge. The GOP voters in the 36th are not overwhelmingly hard-right conservative. Obama carried the 36th by a 4% margin in 2008 and by 3% in 2012. In 2016, Hillary beat Donald by 9%, 52%-43% (CQ 14, pe.com, Horseman, 1/30/18).   

           Born in Zacatecas, Mexico, Raul Ruiz was adopted by migrant farmworker relatives as a baby and raised in Coachella. From a very young age, he wanted to become a doctor. A high-achieving high school student, Ruiz went door-to-door in Coachella with a handmade contract to ask neighbors and local businesses to contribute to his college tuition. He raised almost $2,000. After graduating UCLA magna cum laude in 1990, he attended Harvard Medical School. He became the first Latino to receive three graduate degrees from Harvard, his M.D. and master’s degrees in public policy and public health (Barone & CQ 14, voxxi.com). While at Harvard, Ruiz spent almost a year in Chiapas, Mexico with a health and social organization. He told “The Desert Sun” newspaper that that experience showed him the “tremendous nature of poverty and how real policies can actually affect human lives (Barone, 14).” After graduating Harvard, Ruiz worked in Mexico, El Salvador, and Serbia. He then took a job as an emergency room physician at the non-profit Eisenhower Medical Center in Coachella Valley. In 2011, Ruiz became senior associate dean at the University of California Riverside’s Medical School (voxxi.com, washingtontimes.com, 1/10/13). In 2012, he received an award from the U.S. Army’s 82nd Airborne Division for aiding the victims of the 2010 Haiti earthquake (voxii.com).

          In 2012, in his first run for public office, he ran against incumbent Mary Bono Mack. Bono Mack first won this seat in 1998, after her husband, singer Sonny Bono’s, death. Ruiz’s campaign was considered a long-shot. However, Bono Mack was facing her first Hispanic challenger. Ruiz had a demographic advantage in this newly redrawn district where Latinos then had almost 40% of the voters. He ran as a “public servant and physician, dedicated to serving the community.” In the general election, the DCCC (Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee) gave Ruiz substantial support and former Pres. Bill Clinton endorsed him (KESQ, 10/23/12). GOP PACS spent lots of money on Bono. Bono attacked Ruiz for being in protest demonstrations while at Harvard. GOP ads called Ruiz a “tool” of Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi and a supporter of Obamacare. In an upset victory, Ruiz won by a 6% margin, 53%-47%. In 2014, a big GOP year, “Team Red” thought freshman Ruiz was vulnerable. This time, he beat his opponent by 8 points. In 2016, Ruiz won his third term by a 24.2% margin (U.S. House of Reps. Elections, 2012, 2014, 2016).

          In the House, Cong. Ruiz sat on the Natural Resources and Veterans’ Affairs Committees and currently sits on the key Energy and Commerce Committee (CQ 14, !15th Cong. At Your Fingertips). In this swingy district, he has voted with “Team Blue” 90.8% of the time (projects.prorepublica.org). He has been labeled a Populist-Leaning Liberal (on theissues.com). He has basement ratings from the NRA as well as anti-immigration groups (votesmart.org). In 2016, after the Pulse nightclub Orlando, FL massacre, Ruiz joined dozens of his Democratic colleagues as part of a House sit-down to force a vote on gun control legislation including universal background checks (desertsun.com, 6/22/16). He has stated his support for Obamacare and voted against its repeal (thehill.com, Baker, 6/11/13, clerkhouse.gov). He is strongly pro-choice. He voted against an act to ban abortions that take place 20 or more weeks after fertilization(nytimes.com). He is for protecting Medicare and Social Security (ruizhouse.gov).

                 Under CA law, the 6/05/2018 primary will send the top two vote-getters, regardless of party, to the 11/06/2018 general election.  Although five GOPers have filed to run against Ruiz, Kimberlin Brown Pelzer looks like the GOP front-runner who will face Cong. Ruiz in the 11/2018 election. Ruiz has no Dem. opponents. Brown Pelzer, because of her fundraising ability, has been named, along with 15 other GOP congressional hopefuls to the “Young Guns” program.  Being a GOP “Young Gun” boosts her candidacy. It gives her the opportunity to receive more financial national GOP aid, more help from GOP- leaning groups  such as the Koch Bros., and assistance from Republican campaign consultants. Brown Pelzer has been endorsed by former H.W. Bush Chief of Staff and ex-NH Gov. John Sununu, outgoing Fullerton GOP Cong. Ed Royce, and the Riverside County Republican Party (See pe.com, Horseman, 1/30/18, kimberlinforcongress.com). Hayward, CA native Brown Pelzer is best known for her soap opera acting career. She portrayed Sheila Carter on “The Young and the Restless” and “The Bold and the Beautiful” off-and-on from 1992-2006. She built several businesses with her husband including a sports fishing and marina rental business and an avocado farm. She owns and personally operates a design company (cactushugs.com, Dolan, 10/10/17, kimberlinforcongress.com). Brown Pelzer entered the political spotlight by speaking in prime time at the 2016 GOP National Convention that nominated Donald (cactushugs.com, kimberlinforcongress.com). A big Trump supporter, she proudly attended his inauguration (See cactushugs.com). Brown Pelzer believes that the 36th CD “has not been effectively represented” by Cong. Ruiz. She stated that “hard-working people across the district want to see conservative leadership in Washington (pe.com, Horseman, 1/30/18).”

        In addition to burnishing her record by trying to plant her own questions among regular voters, Brown Pelzer pals around with some controversial extremist characters. Photos posted to her Instagram from the GOP 2016 Convention included one posing with former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn. Flynn is at the center of multiple ongoing investigations into Russian interference in the 2016 election (cactushugs.com, 10/10/17).

    Besides Flynn, Brown Pelzer is a fan of former Deputy Assistant to Trump, Sebastian Gorka, one of Donald’s top anti-terrorist “experts.” Gorka, a native of England, whose family came from Hungary, was the fellow who wore a Vitezi Rend medal on his suits. Vitezi Rend was a Hungarian far right group that the U.S. State Dept. labeled as being under control of Nazi Germany during WWII. Members of this group helped Nazis in 1944 Hungary round up Jews and send them to the Auschwitz concentration/extermination camp. Gorka was accused of taking an oath of loyalty to this group. He denied that, but said he wore this medal in honor of his father’s “struggle” against totalitarianism. In any event, Gorka, for years, has had close ties and worked with far-right openly racist and anti-Semitic Hungarian groups (See Nichols, “Horsemen of the Trumpocalypse,” “The Forward”). On 4/08/2018, Gorka came to address GOPers at the Unite the Inland Empire Conservative Conference about the 2018 midterms. Brown Pelzer was “excited” to see Gorka. She wanted to hear what Gorka would say about “sanctuary cities (Metz, “Desert Sun,” 4/06/18).” Prior to his speech, Brown Pelzer met with Gorka and called this meeting with him “wonderful (desertsun.com, Metz, 4/08/18).” Brown Pelzer also spoke at this gathering (desertsun.com).

           Kurt Bardella, a former spokesperson to retiring right-wing GOP Cong. Darrell Issa and former moderate GOP ME Sen. Olympia Snowe, left the GOP. He became a Democrat after Trump’s rise and the GOP’s backing of AL sexual predator Roy Moore (USA Today, Bardella, 12/10/17). Bardella aptly stated, “Anyone who wants to be seen with extremists who vocalize these views is the reason the Republican Party is an endangered species in California (desertsun.com, Metz).” Yes, the GOP, with its extremist platform and extremist personalities from Trump on down, is an “endangered species” in CA and many other places in the U.S. 
Ruiz has a big political war chest and has won his previous elections easily. However, elections are not won by theorizing pundits. They are won by strong turn out on the ground. Speaker Ryan and 38 other GOPers are retiring rather than running again in 2018. The 36th CD remains a competitive district. The GOP still plans to challenge Ruiz, because it believes that Democratic voters will not turn out in midterms while the “Red” base will (See Wildermuth, sfchronicle.com, 2/28/18). On 11/06/2018, Democrats in the CA 36th and the rest of the country must prove the GOP wrong by voting in droves. Ruiz must be re-elected and the House taken back. We must reject Trump 🦀 and Brown Pelzer’s 👹 extremism.

http://cameinonsaturdays.com/?s=gop-congressional-candidate-kimberlin-brown-pelzer-takes-the-low-road

He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. Matt 10:37

AGelbert

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Re: Corruption in Government
« Reply #653 on: April 27, 2018, 08:08:50 pm »
The real reason Paul Ryan just fired the House Chaplain

Daniel Cotter | 4:03 pm EDT April 27, 2018

Palmer Report » Analysis

We have learned recently that United States House of Representatives Chaplain Patrick Conroy was asked to resign by Speaker of the House Paul Ryan. For anyone who knows Ryan and his affection for Ayn Rand, this should not come as a surprise. Conroy’s letter stated: “As you have requested, I hereby offer my resignation as the 60th Chaplain of the United States House of Representatives.” Various reports have made it very clear that Conroy was told by Ryan to either retire or be pushed out. Chaplain Conroy had served in the role since 2011, when then-Speaker John A. Boehner hired his fellow Catholic Conroy.

Ryan is a Catholic conservative who once reportedly got up and walked out of his Janesville parish when the priest discussed social justice and helping others. Conroy is a Jesuit priest. Recall also this seeming incongruity in Ryan – he is a committed follower of Ayn Rand and her views of radical individualism.

Ryan has argued the two are not fundamentally opposed and can coexist, but scholars have questioned how Rand’s “morality of capitalism” squares with Christian teachings. Rand was an atheist who also affirmed the need for spirituality, but it’s hard to reconcile God’s grand plan with Ryan’s view that capital markets free and unfettered from regulation lead to liberation of the poor.

Reportedly, what triggered this forced resignation were two events- in the first, Conroy permitted a Muslim to give opening prayer and in the second, Conroy offered up a prayer in connection with the tax bill that passed in December, challenging the House of Representatives to make sure that the outcomes of their activity would be guided so “there are not winners and losers” but that the law’s “benefits [were] balanced and shared by all Americans.”

Democratic Representative Gerald E. Connolly has stated that in discussions with Conroy, the priest told him he speculated that was the reason for his departure. While we wait for the definitive reasons for the forced resignation, one must lament that Paul Ryan is the poster child for letting the funding by PACs turn him potentially into another PAC – a phony arse Christian. *

The New Testament is full of stories of Jesus helping those less fortunate, balancing the needs of all, showing love and mercy for the downtrodden and marginal. Too often anymore, we are seeing the actions of those who profess their faith but have “forgotten the face of their Father.”

Recommended reading: Trumpocracy – The Corruption of the American Republic

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When it comes to important political storylines, Palmer Report is consistently early and accurate – just ask our longtime readers. You can follow Palmer Report on Facebook and Twitter, or sign up for our mailing list.

Daniel Cotter is a lawyer writing and teaching about SCOTUS, and married father of two boys living in Chicago, Illinois.

http://www.palmerreport.com/analysis/house-chaplain-fired-paul-ryan/9745/

*Matthew 7:21-23 New King James Version (NKJV)

21 “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. 22 Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ 23 And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’
He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. Matt 10:37

AGelbert

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Re: Corruption in Government
« Reply #654 on: April 30, 2018, 06:44:31 pm »

Almost 2/3 Of Americans Have Given Up On Political Parties, Citing Corruption In Government

by Tyler Durden

Mon, 04/30/2018 - 17:15

Authored by Mac Slavo via SHTFplan.com,

Disillusioned by the promises of politicians and convinced that the entire political system is irreparably corrupt,  many Americans will be staying out of the voting booth for the 2018 elections.

This isn’t new, however, as many refused to vote in 2016 as well.

Respondents told poll takers at USA Today and Suffolk University in a recent survey:

Quote
“Nearly two-thirds of adult U.S. citizens will stay away from the polls during the coming midterm elections, and they say they have given up on the political parties and a system that they say is beyond reform and repair…

A majority of those non-voters would like to see a third party or multiple parties.” –Suffolk University

Although that number may seem high, in 2016, faced with the prospect of having to choose between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump, 46.9% of eligible voters didn’t even vote in the presidential election.

Most of those who no longer vote have given up on the “lesser of two evils” fallacy and the irrational belief that somehow the government has our best interests in mind.

The Huffington Post noted,

Quote
“The poll surveyed Americans who aren’t registered to vote or who are registered but say they’re unlikely to cast a ballot. Combined, the two groups include more than 100 million adults, the pollsters note.”

And the corruption in government is becoming apparent to those who choose to opt out of voting. About 68 percent of independent voters and party registered voters who say they are unlikely to vote this year agreed with the statement:

Quote
“I don’t pay much attention to politics because it is so corrupt.”

It’s a marked increase over the 54 percent of respondents who agreed to this characterization of politics in the 2012 survey.

The bad news for both major political parties continues too.  According to Truth in Media, around 63 percent of respondents in these categories agreed or strongly agreed with the statement: “I don’t pay much attention to politics because nothing ever gets done – it’s a bunch of empty promises,” which is also up from the 59 percent who said the same nearly six years ago.

Only 22 percent of respondents said the Democratic and Republican parties do a good job of representing Americans’ political views, which is down from 32 percent when the question was asked in 2012.

An increasing number of voters from both sides are beginning to see the corruption and manufactured compassion inherent in most (if not all) politicians.

https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2018-04-30/almost-23-americans-have-given-political-parties-citing-corruption-government

Agelbert NOTE: When a government no longer has the consent of the governed, the governed become ungovernable (see below).

He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. Matt 10:37

AGelbert

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Re: Corruption in Government
« Reply #655 on: May 03, 2018, 02:52:39 pm »
AgMag

Top 8 Farm Subsidy Loopholes

By Scott Faber, Vice President of Government Affairs

TUESDAY, APRIL 17, 2018

Our farm safety net is already so filled with loopholes that the top 3 percent of farms – or about 60,000 farms – receive roughly 40 percent of all farm subsidies. 

Many farms receive more than $1 million in subsidies annually, and the share of subsidies the largest farms claim has increased from 11 percent in 1991 to 34 percent in 2015.

But the farm bill under consideration by the House Agriculture Committee tomorrow would create new loopholes that would further tilt the playing field in favor of the largest farms.

Here are the top farm subsidy loopholes in the House farm bill:

Eliminates Means Test – Under current law, farm operations with adjusted gross incomes of more than $900,000, or $1.8 million for couples, are ineligible for subsidies. The House bill would eliminate the means test for “pass-through entities,” like partnerships and joint ventures, allowing millionaires and billionaires to get subsidies. In addition, the bill fails to lower the current means test to $500,000 and apply the means test to crop insurance subsidies, as proposed by President Trump.

Adds Cousins, Nieces and Nephews – Under current law, family members like siblings and adult children are eligible for subsidies – regardless of whether they live or work on the farm. The House bill would also make cousins, nieces and nephews eligible for subsidies. The bill does not limit subsidies to one person per farm, as proposed by President Trump, or create work requirements for farm subsidy recipients.

Creates New Corporate Loopholes – Under current law, a corporation is treated as a single person for the purposes of determining eligibility for subsidies. But Section 1603 of the House bill would allow each member of certain pass-through entities, like S Corporations, to receive subsidies, just like farm partnerships.

Exempts Pass-Through Entities from Payment Limit – Pass-through entities like partnerships and joint ventures would also be exempt from a $125,000 payment limit on certain subsidies. The bill also removes payment limits for loan deficiency payments and marketing loan gains, does not cap crop insurance premium subsidies, and fails to reduce the payment limit for peanut subsidies, as President Trump proposed.

Does Not Limit Partner Subsidies – The House bill places no limit on the number of partners who can receive subsidies. Under current law, each member of a farm partnership is treated as a separate person when calculating subsidy payments, so the partnership’s potential payment limit is equal to the number of qualifying members.
Does Not Limit Manager Subsidies – The House bill does not reduce the number of so-called farm managers who can receive subsidies. Under current law, certain farms could continue to designate up to three managers to be eligible for subsidies – even if those individuals don’t work on the farm or provide little or no management.

Increases Price Guarantees – The House bill also increases the price guarantees included the 2014 Farm Bill by up to 15 percent. The bill fails to reduce crop insurance premium subsidies from 62 percent to 48 percent, as President Trump proposed.

Extends Insurance Company Subsidies – The House bill continues to provide $1.5 billion in annual subsidies to crop insurance agents, and continues to guarantee crop insurance companies a 14 percent rate of return.

https://www.ewg.org/agmag/2018/04/top-8-farm-subsidy-loopholes
He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. Matt 10:37

AGelbert

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Re: Corruption in Government
« Reply #656 on: May 21, 2018, 05:52:25 pm »
Truthdig

May 21, 2018

The Coming Collapse

By Chris Hedges —  Every day the foundations of our institutions decay more, but American society is emotionally unable to grasp the mortal danger that approaches.

SNIPPET:

The system is designed so we can never free ourselves from debt.

However, the next financial crash, as Prins points out in her book “Collusion: How Central Bankers Rigged the World,” won’t be like the last one. This is because, as she says, “there is no Plan B.” Interest rates can’t go any lower. There has been no growth in the real economy. The next time, there will be no way out. Once the economy crashes and the rage across the country explodes into a firestorm, the political freaks will appear, ones that will make Trump look sagacious and benign.

Full article:

https://www.truthdig.com/articles/the-coming-collapse/

He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. Matt 10:37

AGelbert

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Re: Corruption in Government
« Reply #657 on: May 21, 2018, 06:34:48 pm »
Truthdig

MAY 20, 2018


Trump’s 🦀 Strategic Assault on Democracy, Word by Word

By Karen J. Greenberg / TomDispatch

SNIPPET:

Tiny as that incident was, at a conference meant largely for students but open to an array of professionals, it caught the essence of this administration’s take-no-prisoners approach to the language many of us customarily use to describe the country we live in. Such an assault is, of course, nothing new under Trump. After all, the current president had barely entered the Oval Office when the first reports began to emerge about instances in which language at various government websites was being altered, words and concepts being changed or simply obliterated.

Since then, the language of an America that the president and his associates reject has been under constant attack. Some of those acts of aggression were to be expected, given the campaign promises that preceded his election. Take climate change, which Donald Trump called a “Chinese hoax” long before he filled his administration with rabid climate deniers. The Department of Agriculture was typical. Its new officials excised the very word “climate change” from their website, substituting “weather extremes,” and changed the phrase “reduce greenhouse gases” to the palpably deceptive “increase nutrient use energy.” Across the board, in fact, .gov websites replaced “climate change” with vague words like “resilience” and “sustainability.”


But you don’t have to focus on the urge to obliterate all evidence of climate change, even the words to describe it. Other alterations have been no less notable. For starters, as at the recent conference I attended, there has been a clear rejection of language that connoted the have-nots, the excluded, and the marginalized of our world. At the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), for example, this year’s budget request carefully excluded such descriptors from its mission and purpose statement. Originally incorrectly reported as a policy decision to ban certain words from use at the agency, CDC officials were simply reading the tea leaves of the new administration and quickly ridding their budget requests of key words, now poison in Trump’s Washington, describing their mission. These were words suddenly seen as red flags when it came to the use of government funds to help the less fortunate or the discriminated against. Examples included “vulnerable,” “entitlement,” “diversity,” “transgender,” and “fetus” — and with science now in disrepute for its anti-fossil-fuel findings, also discarded were the phrases “evidence-based” and “science-based.” 


Full article:

https://www.truthdig.com/articles/trumps-strategic-assault-on-democracy-word-by-word/

He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. Matt 10:37

AGelbert

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Re: Corruption in Government
« Reply #658 on: May 23, 2018, 03:07:09 pm »
How Big Is the “City of London”?

London is one of the most popular tourist destinations in the world, but just because you've visited London doesn't mean that you've actually visited the City of London. In fact, Greater London is divided into 33 local authority districts: 32 boroughs and a 1-square-mile financial district officially known as the "City of London."

The hotbed of monetary matters is overseen by the City Corporation😈 🍌 🏴‍☠️ and is home to less than 10,000 residents 👹 🎩  , yet hundreds of thousands of Londoners commute there every day.

It is also the historic center of Greater London and was known as "Londinium" when it was founded in 43 A.D. by the Romans. The rest of the metropolis gradually grew up around the City, and Greater London is now home to more than 8 million people.

Secrets of other cities: 🕵️

We call Los Angeles "L.A." for short, but its official name is El Pueblo de Nuestra Señora la Reina de los Ángeles Sobre el Río Porciúncula:P

The Golden Arches in front of the McDonald's on the Champs-Elysées in Paris, France, are white because the yellow arches were deemed to be too tacky for the City of Light. 

Istanbul, Turkey, is the only city in the world that sits on two continents, spanning Asia and Europe. 👀

http://www.wisegeek.com/how-big-is-the-city-of-london.htm

Greater London is formally created

Greater London

Greater London was formally created by the London Government Act 1963, which came into force on 1 April 1965, replacing the administrative counties of Middlesex and London, including the City of London, where the London County Council had limited powers, and absorbing parts of Essex, Hertfordshire, Kent and Surrey. Greater London originally had a two-tier system of local government, with the Greater London Council (GLC) sharing power with the City of London Corporation (governing the small City of London) and the 32 London Borough councils. The GLC was abolished in 1986 by the Local Government Act 1985. Its functions were devolved to the City Corporation and the London Boroughs, with some functions transferred to central government and joint boards.[20]

Greater London was used to form the London region of England in 1994. A referendum held in 1998 established a public will to recreate an upper tier of government to cover the region. The Greater London Authority, London Assembly and the directly elected Mayor of London were created in 2000 by the Greater London Authority Act 1999. In 2000, the outer boundary of the Metropolitan Police District was re-aligned to the Greater London boundary. The 2000 and 2004 mayoral elections were won by Ken Livingstone (L), who had been the final leader of the GLC. The 2008 and 2012 elections were won by Boris Johnson (C). The 2016 election was won by Sadiq Khan (L).

The Greater London Authority  is based in City Hall

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greater_London
He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. Matt 10:37

AGelbert

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Re: Corruption in Government
« Reply #659 on: May 23, 2018, 10:18:52 pm »
How Big Is the “City of London”?

London is one of the most popular tourist destinations in the world, but just because you've visited London doesn't mean that you've actually visited the City of London. In fact, Greater London is divided into 33 local authority districts: 32 boroughs and a 1-square-mile financial district officially known as the "City of London."

The hotbed of monetary matters is overseen by the City Corporation😈 🍌 🏴‍☠️ and is home to less than 10,000 residents 👹 🎩  , yet hundreds of thousands of Londoners commute there every day.

It is also the historic center of Greater London and was known as "Londinium" when it was founded in 43 A.D. by the Romans. The rest of the metropolis gradually grew up around the City, and Greater London is now home to more than 8 million people.

Secrets of other cities: 🕵️

We call Los Angeles "L.A." for short, but its official name is El Pueblo de Nuestra Señora la Reina de los Ángeles Sobre el Río Porciúncula:P

The Golden Arches in front of the McDonald's on the Champs-Elysées in Paris, France, are white because the yellow arches were deemed to be too tacky for the City of Light. 

Istanbul, Turkey, is the only city in the world that sits on two continents, spanning Asia and Europe. 👀

http://www.wisegeek.com/how-big-is-the-city-of-london.htm

Greater London is formally created

Greater London

Greater London was formally created by the London Government Act 1963, which came into force on 1 April 1965, replacing the administrative counties of Middlesex and London, including the City of London, where the London County Council had limited powers, and absorbing parts of Essex, Hertfordshire, Kent and Surrey. Greater London originally had a two-tier system of local government, with the Greater London Council (GLC) sharing power with the City of London Corporation (governing the small City of London) and the 32 London Borough councils. The GLC was abolished in 1986 by the Local Government Act 1985. Its functions were devolved to the City Corporation and the London Boroughs, with some functions transferred to central government and joint boards.[20]

Greater London was used to form the London region of England in 1994. A referendum held in 1998 established a public will to recreate an upper tier of government to cover the region. The Greater London Authority, London Assembly and the directly elected Mayor of London were created in 2000 by the Greater London Authority Act 1999. In 2000, the outer boundary of the Metropolitan Police District was re-aligned to the Greater London boundary. The 2000 and 2004 mayoral elections were won by Ken Livingstone (L), who had been the final leader of the GLC. The 2008 and 2012 elections were won by Boris Johnson (C). The 2016 election was won by Sadiq Khan (L).

The Greater London Authority  is based in City Hall

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greater_London

A conspiracy theory favorite...but most of this info is legit.

The City of London houses

Rothschild controlled ‘Bank of England’
Lloyds of London
The London Stock Exchange
All British Banks
The Branch offices of 384 Foreign Banks
70 USA Banks
Fleet Streets Newspaper and Publishing Monopolies
Headquarters for Worldwide Freemasonry
Headquarters for the worldwide money cartel known as ’THE CROWN’
The City of London is controlled by the Bank of England, a private corporation owned by the Rothschild family after Nathan Rothschild crashed the English stock market in 1812 and took control of the Bank of England.

The Queen refers to the City of London Corporation as the ‘Firm’  but it is known as The CROWN (not representing the Royalty of Britain). Buckingham Palace is in London but not in the City of London and the City is not part of England.

City of London directly and indirectly controls all mayors, councils, regional councils, multi-national and trans-national banks, corporations, judicial systems (through Old Bailey, Temple Bar and the Royal Courts of Justice in London), the IMF, World Bank, Vatican Bank (through N. M. Rothschild & Sons London Italian subsidiary Torlonia), European Central Bank, United States Federal Reserve (which is privately owned and secretly controlled by eight British-controlled shareholding banks), the Bank for International Settlements in Switzerland (which is also British-controlled and oversees all of the Reserve Banks around the world including our own) and the European Union and the United Nations Organization.  The Crown controls the global financial system and runs the governments of all Commonwealth countries, and many non-Commonwealth ‘Western’ nations as well (like Greece). The Crown traces back to the Vatican, which is headed by the Pope (who owns American Express)  In essence the City of London Corporation would become the “One World Earth Corporation” and would privately own the world.


http://www.sinhalanet.net/three-corporations-run-the-world-city-of-london-washington-dc-and-vatican-city

I'm not so sure about the connection to the Vatican, or whether the Pope really owns American Express.

Just because we are paranoid does not mean they aren't out to git us.  ;D
He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. Matt 10:37

 

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