#Billionaire dark Money

[dreaminginthedeepsouth]

LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN

May 16, 2023

HEATHER COX RICHARDSON

MAY 17, 2023

Ukraine president Volodymyr Zelensky has been on a tour of visits with European leaders. On May 13 he met with Pope Francis, who offered help finding the Ukrainian children kidnapped by the Russians and returning them to Ukraine, and with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni. The next day he met with German chancellor Olaf Scholz before flying to France to meet with President Emmanuel Macron. On Monday, Zelensky made a surprise visit to the United Kingdom, where he met with Prime Minister Rishi Sunak. The European Parliament and the Foundation of the International Charlemagne Prize of Aachen awarded the Ukrainian people and Zelensky the Charlemagne Prize “for their fight for freedom and democracy against the unjustified Russian war of aggression. This award underscores the fact that Ukraine is part of Europe and that its people and its government—headed by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy—support and defend European values, and therefore deserve encouragement to enter swiftly into accession negotiations with the European Union.” Leaks linked to Air National Guardsman Jack Teixeira have revealed a dynamic landscape. On the basis of those leaks, on May 13 the Washington Post reported that Zelensky’s calm public demeanor is different from his private positions, which have called for a much more aggressive stance toward Russia. On May 14 the Washington Post reported on a leaked document revealing that Yevgeniy Prigozhin had offered in January to tell Ukraine where Russian forces were positioned if it would pull back from the front in Bakhmut, where Prigozhin’s Wagner Group mercenaries were getting pounded. On Sunday, as Zelensky was receiving promises of more European support, Ukraine said it had captured more than ten key Russian positions near Bakhmut. Last week, Germany announced its largest aid package to Ukraine since the war began—a package of nearly $3 billion—and U.S. Abrams tanks arrived in Germany ahead of schedule for training Ukrainian troops. Rumors are swirling about the health of Belarus president Alexander Lukashenko, one of Putin’s key allies, who has not been seen recently and has skipped important public events. In July, leaders of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) will gather in Vilnius, Lithuania, to discuss strengthening the organization’s defenses against Russia, and the relationship of NATO to Ukraine. Meanwhile, the U.S. and the European Council have been hosting peace talks between Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan of Armenia and President Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan after Russian peacekeepers have become ineffective. And U.S. Deputy Secretary for Management and Resources Richard Verma is currently on a trip to Poland, Moldova, and Romania to “emphasize the United States’ commitment to our European Allies and partners, Transatlantic security, and our shared democratic values” even as Russia seeks to destabilize Moldova. Elections in Turkey have produced a runoff between President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his main challenger, Kemal Kilicdaroglu. Kilicdaroglu has promised to move Turkey closer to Europe than would Erdogan, who has swung toward Russia and authoritarianism. Turkey is a member of NATO, and Erodgan has ruled it for two decades, eroding its democracy. Opponents of Erdogan have coalesced behind Kilicdaroglu, who is popular enough that he managed to get within striking distance of Erdogan despite the leader’s attempt to rig the vote. Expert on Turkish foreign policy and fellow at the Brookings Institution Asli Aydintasbas told Jared Malsin and Elvan Kivilcim of the Wall Street Journal: “A Turkey that tilts a little more toward Europe or NATO, even if it’s not a full pivot, that would be a huge change for the global balance of power, particularly with Russia’s war on Ukraine.”

U.S. senior officials are in Detroit this week for one of a series of meetings of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation, a group of 21 countries with nearly 40 percent of the global population— almost 3 billion people— and nearly 50 percent of global trade.  APEC members account for more than 60 percent of U.S. goods exports and seven of our top ten overall trading partners. Hosting APEC this year was supposed to show “U.S. economic leadership and multilateralism in the Indo-Pacific and highlight the direct impact of international economic engagement on prosperity here in the United States,” an illustration of the Biden administration’s outreach in the Indo-Pacific.  But just as Biden’s attempts to counter Russia and China and shore up democracy globally are bearing fruit, he has to cut short his visit to Australia and Papua New Guinea, where he was scheduled to travel after this weekend’s meeting of the Group of Seven (G7) in Hiroshima, Japan. The G7 is a forum of the leaders of France, the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, Japan, Italy, and Canada, along with the European Union, to discuss economic and governmental policies. The debt ceiling crisis is forcing Biden to come home early rather than continue to strengthen ties in the region. Today, more than 140 leaders of the biggest U.S. companies published an open letter to the president and congressional leaders “to emphasize the potentially disastrous consequences of a failure by the federal government to meet its obligations.” They noted that when the government approached a default in 2011 under similar circumstances, the U.S. lost its AAA bond rating (which it has never regained), the stock market lost 17% of its value for more than a year, and “Moody’s reported that the heightened uncertainty from this crisis resulted in 1.2 million fewer jobs, a 0.7 percentage point higher unemployment rate, and a $180 billion smaller economy than it otherwise would have—dire impacts that occurred without an actual default.” House Republicans, led by Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA), are refusing to raise the debt ceiling, which is a limit to how much money the Treasury can raise to pay existing obligations, in order to extract budget cuts they cannot get through the normal process of legislation. While Republicans claim to be concerned about spending, it is notable that they have flat-out refused to help reduce the deficit by closing tax loopholes that would raise $40 billion. They also refuse to consider any measure that would raise taxes, focusing solely on spending cuts. Meanwhile, Americans for Prosperity, a group funded by billionaire Charles Koch, has rolled out an ad campaign putting pressure on Biden and Democratic senators in the battleground states of Arizona, Montana, Nevada, Ohio, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and Wisconsin to give in to Republican demands rather than insist on the same clean debt ceiling Congress passed three times under Trump.

—

LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN

HEATHER COX RICHARDSON

[socialjusticeinamerica]

[the-posh-life]

[republicansaredomesticterrorists]

These rotten motherf—kers need to be jailed!

😡🤬☠️

[agentfascinateur]

Billionaire-sponsored NYC cop campus crackdowns:

[graveyardfullofstars]

[littleapocalypsekitten]

So, okay, things on my dash today have got me thinking about the whole “Glee over death / wishing death on people” thing that is very popular on the Internet, and life in general it seems.   I will not lie and say that I haven’t done this.  I do outright imprectory (?) prayers sometimes.  It’s a matter of certain politicians, people in power and wanting them out of power because they’re a clear and present danger to Democracy, my rights and the rights of people I love and innocent strangers, they are the creators of wars, so on and so forth.  I hope every day that a certain person who puts chandeliers in his bathroom is found dead on the toilet beneath said tackiness from a random heart attack because I literally think he might be Hitler 2.0 if he meets with undeserved success again.  However, when I think like this, I’m always “If it is the only thing that will get them out of power,” because, at the end of it all, I really would rather people SEE negative consequences for their negative actions.  It’s much more fun to me to watch someone who had no love for others and actively hurt a majority see his empire crumble.  I like the idea of certain people (who, in all likelihood, never will) spending the remainder of their lives powerless and behind bars.  So, I really don’t want people to die, I just want them de-powered and it is much, much more fun to me to think of bad people rendered powerless in a non-lethal way.  Jaiiiiil.  Jaiiiiil for a thousand years!  It feels like more of a punishment.   I feel the same way about mass-shooters.  Most of those people go in with suicide in mind as well as homicide.  They want to go out in blaze of glory, taking out a lot of random people before getting shot by a cop.  (This is why the proposal for an automatic death penalty for them will not stop them).  I much prefer the rare occasion when these monsters are taken alive, because that way, we can put them in the can and study them.  The Buffalo supermarket shooter is going to be in prison for the rest of his life - and while I doubt he’ll have remorse, he at least does not have freedom - nor the finality of death.    I don’t cry for a bunch of billionaires who played stupid games and won stupid prizes.  I’m pretty apathetic.  We need fewer billionaires in the world, so I do not grieve them, but I also do not celebrate, because it doesn’t feel quite right to me.  To me, Death is something that we will ALL face, one way or another, eventually.  Unless the transhumanists actually succeed in transferring rich people’s brains into robots, they will die.  You and I will die.  I lost a very dear loved one this year, unexpectedly - everyone you love will die - I have been feeling this keenly.  So, to me, death is not justice.  It’s just a thing that happens to everyone.  Every time is “before your time.”  Every time is “too soon.”  So, you know, it feels hollow to me to wish death on anyone.  I much prefer wishing consequences on bad people.   Sometime, the consequences are an “early” death, but it feels like a get out of jail free card to me. 

[dontmeantobepoliticalbut]

Why is a billionaire-funded super PAC aligned with Republican Rep. Kevin McCarthy playing a role in talks over who will become the next Speaker of the House?

Democratic lawmakers and campaign finance watchdogs raised that question Wednesday after the Congressional Leadership Fund (CLF) and the Club for Growth—another right-wing organization bankrolled by billionaires—announced a deal under which CLF won't spend any money on "open-seat primaries in safe Republican districts," a key demand of McCarthy opponents who felt their preferred candidates have been snubbed by the deep-pocketed super PAC.

As Fortune reported Wednesday, "far-right lawmakers have complained that their preferred candidates for the House were being treated unfairly as the campaign fund put its resources elsewhere."

CLF spent nearly $260 million during the 2022 election cycle, including millions to help reelect Republicans who are trying to tank his speakership bid. The super PAC's top donors in the midterm cycle were banking scion Timothy Mellon, Blackstone CEO Stephen Schwarzman, and Citadel CEO Kenneth Griffin—all billionaires.

The deal between CLF and Club for Growth came as McCarthy continued his frantic efforts to cobble together the necessary 218 votes, offering a number of concessions to Republicans who have rejected the California lawmaker in six consecutive votes—and possibly more on Thursday.

Sen. Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii) was among those who raised concerns over CLF and Club for Growth's role in the ongoing Speakership debacle.

"It is creepy that dark money super PACs are explicitly part of the negotiation regarding who becomes Speaker of the United States House," the Senator wrote on Twitter.

Federal law prohibits candidates from coordinating with super PACs, though the independence mandate is often flouted in practice. In a press release, CLF and Club for Growth insisted that "no one in Congress or their staff has directed or suggested CLF take any action here."

"Interesting that an independent super PAC that isn't supposed to coordinate with members of Congress comes to an agreement to benefit a specific member of Congress," responded Adam Smith, action fund director of End Citizens United.

Club for Growth, which bills itself as a "leading free-enterprise advocacy group" that promotes tax cuts and deregulation, originally opposed McCarthy's run for Speaker, pushing him to agree to a number of concessions backed by far-right House Republicans.

But the organization, which has received funding from the Koch network and other right-wing forces, suggested Wednesday that it will support McCarthy if he upholds the concessions he has offered thus far.

"This agreement on super PACs fulfills a major concern we have pressed for," Club for Growth president David McIntosh said in a statement.

While the CLF-Club for Growth agreement was seen as a major victory for the anti-McCarthy faction, it's not clear whether it will be enough to end the impasse. The House is set to convene again Thursday at noon.

Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.), a member of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, argued in a tweet Wednesday that "these types of shady, backroom deals—which indebt our lawmakers to corporations and special interests—are corrupting our democracy."

"This is why I started the bipartisan Congressional No PAC caucus and have never taken PAC money, and refuse to start," Khanna added.

[inbetweenie]

I think we don’t teach kids in school important concepts of finances like taxes and budgeting and investing because we need to keep the hope alive of magically becoming a billionaire and never worrying about money

[kp777]

The Scheme 34: Ready to Deliver

Senator Sheldon Whitehouse

Aug. 1, 2024

Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Courts Subcommittee, delivers the thirty-fourth in a series of speeches titled “The Scheme,” exposing the machinations by right-wing donor interests to capture the Supreme Court and achieve through the Court what they cannot through the elected branches of government.

Whitehouse discusses President Joe Biden’s commonsense proposal for rebuilding public confidence in the Supreme Court. The President’s proposal includes a binding code of ethics for the Supreme Court, 18-year term limits for Supreme Court justices, and a constitutional amendment to overturn the Court’s disastrous decision on presidential immunity.

Whitehouse is the lead Senate sponsor of the Supreme Court Ethics, Recusal, and Transparency Act, judicial ethics legislation that advanced through the Judiciary Committee last July and awaits a vote on the Senate floor. He is also the lead Senate sponsor of the Supreme Court Biennial Appointments and Term Limits Act, which would create effective 18-year term limits for the Supreme Court.

[scumgristle]

sidenote: earlier this week i posted this, comparing Marilyn Manson's opening for FFDP to the Puppet Show / Spinal Tap gag. i'm wondering is Vincent Gallo going from writing / directing Buffalo 66 to being the nth banana in a Bent Shipoppi's ponzi scheme takes in the same territory.

[wilwheaton]

After being wined and dined for years — with one of his billionaire patrons buying his mother’s house and fixing it up and putting his grandnephew through a ritzy private academy — Clarence Thomas returned the favor by casting his tie-breaking Citizens United vote, almost fully legalizing billionaires and giant companies bribing politicians. Political bribery is still illegal in Scotland, The Netherlands, and Australia, which is why politicians in those countries could stand up to the fossil fuel industry. America, in fact, is the only country in the developed world that lets the massive, gravitational “dark force” of billionaires’ and giant corporations’ money be used to purchase politicians who put themselves up for sale. And that’s not only why we won’t see a ban on fossil fuel advertising any day soon; it’s why we won’t see a lot of other things that a majority of Americans want, as well.

What is the Invisible Dark Force Destroying Everything?

[the-posh-life]

[republicansaredomesticterrorists]

Republicans have been re-shaping America since the 60’s to suit their views. They have billionaires pumping unlimited dark money into hundreds of political foundations staffed by right-wing scholars and lawyers. We have a handful of social media bloggers sending warnings into the digital ether.

Educate yourself and educate others. They don’t even need to control Congress or the White House to do this. They’ve been doing this at the state level for decades, long before they purchased the Supreme Court.

[faultfalha]

Nina-Bytes: Bagmen for the Transnational Oligarchy is an expose of the contemporary condition. It is a work of fiction that reveals the mechanisms of power and the invisible hand of the market. It is a masterpiece that will change the way you see the world.

[foe-of-fate]

Cant wait for when they make a movie about the Titan and the entire thing portrays the billionaires as tragic victims