Two quickie items from Public Citizen’s latest DontGetRolled.org “e-newsletter about the movement to curb corporate influence in politics and restore our democracy,” as brought to my attention by Ernie Canning today…
Stunning Statistic of the Week:
- $75 million: The liability cap for BP for the Gulf oil spill, for damages such as lost wages and economic suffering
- $5.6 billion: BP’s first-quarter profits, a 135 percent increase over the first quarter of 2009
…
Election spending by third parties and special interest groups is up dramatically
Spending by independent and third-party groups on TV ads for seats in the House of Representatives and the Senate are nearly four times the amount from four years ago – $48 million vs. $11.2 million, reports the Campaign Media Analysis Group, an organization that tracks political spending. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is one of the big spenders, as is the conservative group Americans for Job Security.
Americans for Job Security is the same as the Chamber.
http://www.stealthpacs.org/profile.cfm?Org_ID=41
How bout this group “VoteVets” who are running that ad trying to whip up war hysreria against Iran under the guise of sane energy policy.
I checked into them a little. On the board: Leslie Gelb, Lawrence Korb, Lawrence Penn. All long time members of the Council on Foreign Relations.
We know the CFR loves itself some war. Especially if it’s American soldiers dying for Israeli interests.
While I appreciate your thinking here, Camus. VoteVets has actually been a terrific advocate against such wars over the years, and, I believe, in their current commercial campaign are trying to touch an appropriate chord with the American people who have been worked into a froth over Iran.
I think it actually makes sense for them to say “Hate Iran? Then cut ’em off by moving to clean energy!”, etc.
Cynical? Perhaps. But is a measure of cynicism needed to survive, rise above the noise these days? Also perhaps. Given what I know of VV over years, I’ll given them the benefit of the doubt for the time being on this one.
Why would anyone hate Iran? I’m taken aback Brad, even shocked……shocked!
You must admit CFR wants war w/Iran. Who is responsible for working the sheeple into a froth? Why would VV spend millions to continue the frothing if they are not panting for another illegal invasion?
If sane enrgy policy is their goal, isn’t the disaster in the gulf and global warming enough to run ads on?
I happen to think Ahmadinejad is a good man. Way intelligent, funny, humane, leading a strong proud peaceful ancient civilization in a crazy neighborhood. On his western border, the world’s only “superpower” has illegaly invaded Iraq. On his eastern border the same out of control war machine has invaded Afghanistan. The lies and threats and sanctions now lobbed against Iran are alarmingly similar to what preceded the raping of Iraq.
Millions of innocents have been slaughtered. Who knows how many tortured. Evil is being done in our name, with our money for what? Because our Zionista masters have so ordered? Will we march on Tehran at their behest as well?
That ad will change nobody’s mind about oil usage. It does clearly and intentionally stoke the winds of war and unfairly continue the demonization of the last strong voice for balance in the middle east.
I feel sick. I would say betrayed but I guess I just never knew your position on this matter.
This is off topic but many Bradbloggers will understand the connection …
1000 Architects/Engineers and 100 Firefighters Expose 9/11 Myths at San Francisco Bay Area Events
“Veteran Bay Area radio personality Peter B. Collins will host this penetrating examination of the most critical event in recent American history. For additional information, and to arrange interviews, please contact Tania Torres at Architects & Engineers for 9/11 Truth: (510) 292-4710, or by email at 1000@ae911truth.org.”
CamusRebel @ 4 said:
Um, because they’ve been propagandized to do so, for years, by the U.S. corporate media?
But that’s hardly the point. Perhaps you didn’t read my comment carefully enough. The point was not to encourage hatred of Iran, but to use whatever hatred there might be there in order to get something *good* out of it, like the developement of clean energy in this country.
I don’t see any “frothing” going on by VV here. I see the use of a common belief (which I can’t verify as accurate either way) to do something positive: develop clean, reusable energy, and reduce the need (legit or not) to encourage more death of our folks and theirs in wars over oil.
Not if you’re talking to Fox “News” viewers/zombies, apparently. And even for non-zombies, the reminder of the cost of foreign wars for oil as a reason to encourage clean energy legislation now makes plenty of sense to me. Not even sure why it wouldn’t to you!
While I think the above point is far afield from the general point of the main article above, or even the campaign itself, there are many who justifiable feel very different about that. Including those who have been imprisoned, tortured, convicted, killed etc. for standing up peacefully for what they justifiably feel was a blatantly stolen election by Ahmadinejad recently.
(Whether or not the election was actually stolen is beside the point, btw. His regime was brutal in the suppression of those who had very good reason to believe that it was and to stand up peacefully in support of that belief.)
No question about that. But it has little to do with whether or not Ahmadinejad is a “good man”, or the point being made in the spot rejected by Fox. (And, btw, I guarantee you they did not reject it on any of the grounds you are proffering here.)
Again, that point has nothing to do w/ this commercial and it’s rejection.
While you may or may not be right about whether the ad would change anybody’s mind (who knows?), and that there is demonization in the spot (fair or otherwise), I certainly don’t see the spot as “clearly and intentially stok[ing] the winds of war”, but rather attempting (successfully or otherwise) to do the exact opposite. At least in my opinion. Your mileage, of course, is welcome to vary.
Not sure what you feel sick about, or what you believe is revealed about my “position on this matter”. But either way, I hope you’ll feel better soon. If there’s anything to be sick about these days, it hardly seems to be me. But again, that’s just my position. As always, you, and everyone else, is welcome to their own.
thanks brad, i do feel a little better, thanks. would like to come back w/equally in depth and respectful counter and may later. My lady and i are headed out to see a 16 yr guitar phenom Andy Poxson, plays and sings the blues like an old master.
Questions remain on CFR and Likudniks influence but will save it for another day, prob. tomorrow.
Peace
Brad,
please confirm. you didn’t question nor defend cfr’s war mongering agenda right?
Camus,
from what I’ve seen and heard from VoteVets, they’re as progressive as VVAW and IVAW, if not more so. They’re stoking strong against war. They’re target audience is probably what’s throwing off perspective here. These ads are way beyond preaching to the choir. They’re clearly talking to the TobyKeithBootInYourAss glitter gulch wannabe cowboy crowd.
And that crowd is in diar need of someone clearly stating that it’s not ok to spray their m-16’s in all directions in order to achieve ANY goal.
Better said: like invading and occupying two countries per decade in wars based on lies clearly intended to produce wild profits for anti-american corporate pigs.
besides all that, while acknowledging the pressures unduly placed on Iran, what does achmedinejad matter? he’s window dressing for the theocrats who run the country right?
by the way, a bit more to ernest’s and maybe not as much brad’s points:
seems readily apparent that regardless how obviuos and bad deepwater horizon gets in the GOM and beyond, bp’s and their sisters and their lobbyists and their bought and paid for judges, executives and legislators are already aggressively working to weather the pr storm. downplay is not the right word for what they’re workin on.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/De...izon_oil_spill
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Montara_oil_spill
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ex...ldez_oil_spill
reading those three sites gets one thinkin:
– the Wiki on montara had no numbers at all addressing the amount of oil spilled while the wiki on deepwater horizon is providing a broad selection of speculative numbers – and they’re still growing larger. given how much access corporates have to wiki how much has the montara site been scrubbed since 11/09.
also the first two articles give the overall warm fuzzy feeling that this is a common occurence that the big oil guys can and have taken care of all the time – aka “move along nothing to see here….” as though to say “give us a couple months to get things under control and we’ll tell you how bad the damage is.”
once again, let’s leave it to the corporate powers to sort this all out for us and decide if they’re good for us or not. and how much money we need to give them Beyond the Pay they’ve already sucked out of us.
by the way: a longer term perspective gives some idea of the cronyism and antimeritocracy running our world today
http://cluborlov.blogspot.com/2...chernobyl.html
how do you spell corruption?
capitalism = corporatism = communism
anyone got a valid comparison between deepwater horizon’s oil spilled and the valdez spill?
it keeps getting better
http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2010...ll-giving.html
Since spill, feds have given 27 waivers to oil companies in gulf
Cap’s on liability? Whatever happened to the Pottery Barn rule: ‘You Break It, You Bought It.’ These caps are a blatant exhibit of the complete corruption of the Senate as it protects its corporate masters.
Mick: thanks for posting the link about ae911truth’s event, bringing firefighters and architects/engineers together for two nights. I didn’t just attend, I helped publicize these events in the bay area. Over 2000 watched the webcast saturday night, and Friday, the Marin Civic Center Showcase theatre’s 350 seat capacity overflowed by another 40 or 50 (despite a surprise DUI stop by the friendly Marin police right outside the venue, thank you very much?!). We invited pretty much every firehouse in the Bay Area. The presentation focused on the ‘anomalies’ in how the investigation of the THREE (Towers 1, 2 &7) WTC Tower collapse sites were managed in the face of the overwhelming indications of a controlled demolition scenario for all three buildings. Richard Gage, AIA, and Erik Lawyer, a 14-year veteran firefighter, provided extensive documentation of the violations of normal procedures according to the national firefighter standards and the clear evidence of a controlled demolition event vs. the very weak report with obviously incomplete information submitted by NIST. I am very proud to have participated in promoting these events. If anyone is interested in helping to establish an Action Group in your neighborhood to further the call for an investigation into what really happened on 9/11n please visit the AE911Truth.org web site. A DVD of the May 8 presentation is soon available, which will help raise funds for a Firefighters for 9/11 (ruth-specific DVD. It is the beginning of the intention to build the relationship between architects, engineers & firefighters-natural allies when it comes to following the well-established standards for building safety, if nothing else!? You are also invited to sign the petition calling for a proper investigation. There are over 9000 signers, including over 1000 licensed architects & engineers. This is where it starts: get the TRUTH and then hold the perpetrators accountable. Since Washington is CLEARLY unable to do the job of protecting us all, we must stand together to do it for ourselves. Thanks much for your time/listening. Blessings…