Who writes our laws? – ALEC: America’s little known ghost organization

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ALEC: The Voice of Corporate Special Interests In State Legislatures

As The Last Word with Lawrence O’Donnell puts it, democracy is for sale.  In 1973, a little known organization called the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) was formed.  This organization is comprised of extreme right-winged politicians and multinational corporations.  These corporations write hundreds of model bills every year that factor their interests.

 

People for the American Way (PFAW) informs us that “in 2009, of the 826 ‘model bills’ that were introduced in state legislatures, 115 of those bills were enacted into law.”  In some cases, these laws were written almost word for word as the legislation proposed by ALEC.

Health Beat: Medicare trustees report that reform legislation cuts Medicare costs 25 percent

This is a must-read; it is very informative.

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Health Beat: Medicare trustees report that reform legislation cuts Medicare costs 25 percent

Stay tuned for part 2.  

VIDEO: Koch brothers buy economics department at FSU

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St. Petersburg Times: Billionaire's role in hiring decisions at Florida State University raises questions

These guys have no shame... 

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FSU is a joke.

VIDEO: Stephen Colbert heads to the FEC to form "super PAC"

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Examiner: The very serious point behind Stephen Colbert's FEC request

I am glad someone is finally taking the proper steps to expose the absurdity of the Citizen's United decision.  The Supreme Court sold out.  It is not democracy if the elections aren't free and fair.  That's sort of a fundamental, you know?

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VIDEO: Senate Finance Committee holds hearings on Big Oil subsidies Thursday

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Hearing: Oil and Gas Tax Incentives and Rising Energy Prices

According to a press release from the U.S. Senate Committee on Finance, the top five oil company executives in the country will have an opportunity Thursday to testify why they should continue receiving tax subsidies.  Oil receives at least $4 billion a year in tax breaks.  The meeting, announced by committee chairman Max Baucus, is to be titled “Oil and Gas Tax Incentives and Rising Energy Prices” and will feature executives from Exxon Mobil, Shell, ConocoPhillips, BP America, and Chevron.

GRAPH: Average CEO earns 200 times the salary of a Navy SEAL

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ThinkProgress.org: An Average CEO at America’s Big Corporations Earns 200 Times the Salary of a Navy SEAL 

In honor of the SEAL's elimination of Osama bin Laden, I thought I would illustrate the lack of wealth parity in this country using ThinkProgress.org's graph showing how much more a CEO makes than a Navy SEAL.

I think my job is done.

According to the 2011 Executive Pay Watch, CEO's made an average of $11,358,445 in 2010.  That is up 20% from the previous year.  Contrast that with the $0.58 a week raise the average worker saw.  According to The Rachel Maddow Show, average worker pay is down $10,000 a year from ten years ago.

Think Progress:

"It’s important to note that the gap between executive compensation and average worker compensation has exploded over the past few decades. CEOs at America’s largest companies now earn 343 times more than the typical worker. In 1970, the average CEO earned 28 times as much as the typical worker."



So why is production and CEO pay up and worker pay down?  I guess that $10,000 decrease in pay is a prime example of how great those Bush tax cuts have been treating us.  It might even be a better example than the lack of job growth those cuts produced.





OSAMA BIN LADEN DEAD!

[EDIT:  This post is not intended to exploit the SEAL's in any way, shape, or form.  As a veteran of two foreign wars, I completely understand the concept of volunteer service.  This post was used merely  as a tool to illustrate the obscene lack of wealth parity in this country.]

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Usama bin Laden Killed in Firefight with U.S. Special Ops Team in Pakistan

On April 29, 2011, President Obama gave the order for U.S. Navy SEAL's to invade Abbottabad, Pakistan and killed Osama Bin Laden.  Congratulations to everyone who played such a vital role in eliminating this villain from our planet.  Thank you to the SEAL's, all of the troops, intelligence agencies, 9/11 First Responders, and the many others that contributed.

Unfortunately, the capture was followed by many unsettleing questions.  Why didn't Pakistan inform us that he was there?  They had to have known where he was.  Bin Laden was found in a compound just north of Pakistan's capital, Islamabad.  What is even more unsettleing is that this structure was located just 3,000 feet from Pakistan's equivilalent to our West Point Academy.  His compound, which cost over $1,000,000 to construct, has security walls exceeding 16 feet, barbed concertina wire along its perimeter, and is eight times larger than any surrounding structure.  There is no way that Pakistan did not know that he was there. 

And all this after they got upset that we wanted them to disclose how they were spending the billions of dollars we have given them.  The U.S. gives Pakistan over two billion dollars a year on average and is slated to give them almost $3B in 2012. 

 This should get interesting...