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Eastwood For Detroit: Big Picture 02/07/12
This commercial featuring Clint Eastwood aired during halftime of the Super Bowl. Eastwood says that it is "halftime in America" because "people are out of work and they are hurting." He suggests that America will pull out of out it, because the American people always band together and do what's right. He cites bailing out the auto industry in Detroit as an example.
Email this pageObama Hearts Super-Pacs DN! 02/07/12
President Obama reversed his opposition to campaign support through super pacs. On Monday, his campaign urged wealthy donors to support a super pac called Priorities USA Action. Obama's campaign manager, Jim Messina said, "we're not going to fight with one hand tied behind our back. With so much at stake, we can't allow for two sets of rules. Democrats cant be unilaterally disarmed."
ALEC Corporatocracy? Big Picture 02/06/12
In his daily take, Thom explains how ALEC, the American Legislative Exchange Counsel is leading America into a corporatocracy, which means that elected officials represent corporations instead of people. ALEC joins with CEOs and lawmakers a few times a year to draw up legislation approved by the corporations. Florida Republican State Representative, Rachel Bergen, proposed legislation to reduce corporate taxes. Bergen forgot to take out ALEC's mission statement located at the top of the legislation, showing that she took the model legislation proposed from ALEC and just passed it along to the state house.
Bank of America Lawsuit: DN! 02/06/12
New York Attorney General, Eric Schneiderman has filed suit against the Bank of America, Wells Fargo, and JPMorganChase for deceptive and fraudulent use of a private database known as the mortgage electronic registration system. Schneiderman said, "the mortgage industry created MERS to allow financial institutions to evade county recording fees, avoid the need to publicly record mortgage transfers and facilitate the rapid sale and securitization of mortgages en masse."
Koch Brothers Campaign Retreat DN! 02/06/12
The Huffington Post reports that conservative billionaires Charles Koch and David Koch recently held a three day retreat in California to raise money to help defeat President Obama. Those who attended the retreat pledged to give $100 million. Charles Koch himself pledged $40 million and David $20 million.
Occupy Peaceful Consistency: Big PIcture 02/02/12
Tina Dupuy, managing editor of Crooks Liars, is on The Big Picture talking about the occupy movement needs to remain peaceful and not damage property, in response to protesters breaking into city hall in Oakland. She talks about how people and the media will begin to confuse isolated incidents such as 2 protesters breaking into cars on the occupy the ports day that 5, 000 people took part in to 5,000 people breaking into cars, and also represent the entire movement. She quotes Michael Lewis who said that the movement has justice on its side, history on its side, and the public on its side.
Citizens United Demystified: The Stream 01/02/12
The Stream shows a clip of Robert Reich, the CEO of Common Cause explaining the implications of the Citizens United ruling through a illustration/animation video. The video says the court ruling basically decided corporations were people, that super PACS are expected to shatter all spending records on political ads, and that corporations that caused a failed economy that caused Americans to lose their jobs and homes are the ones that are drowning out peoples voices in elections.
Democracy Now! Thursday, February 2, 2012
The Academy Award-nominated filmmaker Josh Fox was handcuffed and arrested Wednesday as he attempted to film a congressional hearing on the controversial natural gas drilling technique known as fracking, which the Environmental Protection Agency recently reported caused water contamination in Pavillion, Wyoming. Fox directed the award-winning film, "Gasland," which documents the impact of fracking on communities across the United States, and is now working on a sequel. Fox says he was arrested after Republicans refused to allow him to film because he did not have the proper credentials. Last week, President Obama called the United States "the Saudi Arabia of natural gas" in a speech about boosting domestic energy production. That concerns Wyoming farmer John Fenton, who already has more than two dozen gas wells on his property. The Environmental Protection Agency ruled in December that water contamination in Pavillion, Wyoming, was a result natural gas extraction and the controversial technique known as fracking. The nation's leading breast cancer charity is under intense scrutiny for its decision to cut off funding for breast cancer screening programs run by Planned Parenthood. Susan G. Komen for the Cure has confirmed it is withdrawing support for 19 of Planned Parenthood's 83 affiliates, citing a new policy barring funding for any groups under investigation by local, state or federal authorities. Democracy Now!, a daily independent newshour.
Freddie Mac Bets on Failure: DN! 01/31/12
Journalist Jesse Eisenger from ProPublica talks on Democracy Now! about an article he wrote that appeared in NPR News about Freddie Mac betting on struggling homeowners. They would lose money if a lot of people were able to get refinances. At the same time, they made it harder for people to get those refinances because they are key gatekeepers of who gets loans, even though they are suppose to exist to help people get loans. He comments on Newt Gingrich, although he does not appear in the article, saying that he has run into political trouble because his involvement with Freddie Mac appears like lobbying.
Democracy Now! Tuesday, January 31, 2012
At the United Nations, Russia is refusing to back a U.S.-supported Security Council resolution calling for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to hand over power to a deputy. According to the Associated Press, the draft resolution insists there will be no use of foreign forces in the country. Russia has accused Western and Arab nations of putting Syria on the "path to civil war." Russia and China have also accused the United States and other Western nations of misusing a U.N. mandate to depose Libyan strongman Muammar Gaddafi. Voting has begun in the closely watched Florida Republican primary. Polls suggest former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney will easily win today’s vote, securing the state’s 50 delegates in the winner-take-all primary. On Monday, Romney continued to attack his chief rival, Newt Gingrich. Some analysts have linked Mitt Romney’s surging popularity in Florida to the influx of pro-Romney TV spots airing in the state. According to Politico, Romney and pro-Romney super PACs have paid for almost 13,000 television ads, as of last week. Democracy Now!, a daily independent newshour.
