(C) 2004 Motown Records, a Division of UMG Recordings, Inc.
You may have heard that this is Republican Retreat Weekend, highlighted by Mitt Romney hosting hundreds of his biggest donors in (one of) his home state(s), Utah. If you think your invitation got lost in the mail, don't worry: at least 99% of us never got one. Who will be there? Melissa will reveal some names to you near the top of our show, which is much more than we can do for the Koch brothers' convention, also taking place this weekend. Frankly, I was surprised that we ever learned that it was taking place in San Diego.
The concept of rich white men plotting America's future in a smoky backroom is a cliché grande, but this is real life in the Citizens United era. The Koch Brothers are running more of a political party, going further than they've gone before -- further, arguably, than the Sheldon Adelsons of the world to whom seasoned political observers have become inured. And it's not just about money; political transparency is a public demand which too often goes unanswered. It pervades so many aspects of our political system, our elections, and the philosophies of the parties in power. We'll be digging deep on that topic today.
Also on the menu? Discussions about HPV vaccination in South Carolina (or the lack thereof); African American migration and how that shapes the perspective of our President; and SNAP (more commonly referred to as food stamps). We'll also bring you the latest on last night's verdict in the Jerry Sandusky trial, and highlight a young Foot Soldier who spoke up this week at the Rio+20 earth summit.
Melissa will welcome:
- Jelani Cobb, Associate Professor of History and Director of the Institute of African American Studies at the University of Connecticut.
- Catherine Crier, former Texas judge, journalist and author of "Patriot Acts: What Americans Must Do to Save the Republi
- Peter Edelman, professor at Georgetown Law School (amongst many titles), and author of "So Rich, So Poor."
- Lee Fang, investigative reporter and freelance journalist.
- Kathleen Hall Jamieson, director of the Annenberg Public Policy Center and professor at the Annenberg School for Communication at the University of Pennsylvania.
- Alicia Menendez, co-host of Power Play on SiriusXM Cristina Radio, and host of HuffPost Live.
- Rep. Bakari Sellers, Democrat from South Carolina.
- Rachel Swarns, New York Times correspondent and author of "American Tapestry: The Story of the Black, White, and Multiracial Ancestors of Michelle Obama." Read the NYT review here, and check out a short video about the book here.
We hope that you interact with us during the show here in the comments of this post, on Facebook, and on Twitter, using the hashtag #nerdland -- and encourage others to do the same. We look forward to having you join us at 10am ET on msnbc!
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After watching members of Congress questioning Jamie Dimon like a bunch of smitten school girls… and then listening to those sell-outs in the news media cover the banking crisis/scandal… I realized our government doesn’t have it’s heart in holding the rich guys accountable for their billion dollar crimes. Now, as laid out by the Constitution and Declaration of Independence it’s up to the PEOPLE to ACT! If the PEOPLE don’t fight and take their power back then FREEDOM and RIGHTS will be reduced to delicate concepts. Allow me to explain how this is happening.
Corporations are people too?
Republicans believe Corporations have a right to do as they please. Most card carrying conservatives are so ignorant they don’t even know their own ideological CREDO… The Neo-Conservative credo is “limited intervention in the economy and substantial intervention in morality”… which means let the rich guys do whatever they want while pointing fingers at the “little people”.
A “Conservative Labyrinth” preaching, jailing, fining, penalizing, taxing, code enforcing, pepper spraying and blaming the Average American. The Rich @$$holes almost bring down the world’s economy and the LAW ignored it but CONTROL by AUTHORITY targets the lower classes like they grew a tail and it looked like a cop (lol).
The Billionaire Aristocrats and their Republican Party flunkies have a LOT TO ANSWER FOR! These vain, self-serving, power-mad, greed stricken silver spoon con artists have turned the USA into the United Suckers of America.
Reagan/Bush killed ANTI-TRUST and any regulation that kept industry HONEST. When Reagan/Bush came to power, the USA was #1 on the planet in exporting goods and importing raw materials. This is the very definition of a prosperous economy. By 2006, it is the exact opposite. Why? Years of Republicans selling out the American middle class, that’s why. The Bush’s and a Republican Controlled Congress (1994-2006) gave it up for a very few wealthy families.
And what did these elitists DO? Stall new technology, steal pension funds, move to China, India, Mexico. THIS while paying for those high priced, patriotic commercials, WE LOVE THE USA, THIS IS OUR COUNTRY, etc. BS! (when I snap my fingers you‘ll wake happy and refreshed… lol)
I think we need to focus on those in the TOP 1% Koch Bros, Sheldon Adelson, Diane Hendricks, Council for National Policy, Bush Crime Family types along with their flunkies such as the Mitt Romney, Scott Walker types. An American Aristocracy, who made their fortunes on the backs of American workers… The water, air and wealth of resources used to manufacture the goods. The brain power and innovation, with American ingenuity, technology, ideas… using infrastructure paid for by the American taxpayer…
And how did they repay us? The silver spoon, trust fund baby m’f***er’s moved all our jobs to Asia, fouled our environment with stuff that would make a bill goat puke and turned our politicians into a stable of high priced prostitutes.
It used to be called bribery, collusion and all those crimes covered by the RICO Act. How come they can get away with a white bred corporate crime wave of epic proportions but our jails are filled by pot smokers? WHY IS THAT? These Wall Street guys ruined our economy with their ALEC, reckless policies and deregulation, so why aren’t the American PEOPLE standing up to them? WHY AREN’T THE FED’S PROSECUTING? WHERE’S THE IN-DEPTH INVESTIGATIVE NEWS REPORTS documenting the outrage?
It’s up to the PEOPLE to focus on those billionaires meeting at the Koch Bros, rich @$$hole Convention in San Diego. These are the true enemies of the our beloved USA who want to do a “Citizens United”, hostile takeover of everything Americans hold dear about our great country and turn the average American into a debt slave.
Conservatives are insane, you brainwashed fools YOU! Here’s the thing Conservatives/Republicans have yet to grasp. Sure we’re fighting war on terror (allegedly) at the front door but you people left the back door open to economic terrorists. Remember the COLD WAR? Remember our former enemy those Red Commie pukes? How much did we spend to fight them, TRILLIONS? AND WHAT BECAME OF THAT? The rich guys decided to sell the American worker out to the Commies. Communist China now owns a third of our national debt. Thanks for NOTHING m’#*@/r’s!
After the corporate crime wave that was perpetrated during the Bush/Cheney disaster… I can’t believe there is still morons/fools out there who think capitalism can survive WITHOUT ethics, responsibility and accountability. Believe it or not, Republicans all over the nation are involved with a reverse Robin Hood philosophy of raising taxes on the poor to pay for tax cuts for the rich… INSANITY!
If the government doesn’t start to regulate and punish the con artists on Wall St then the PEOPLE will rise up to get the power back. Like I always tell my Conservative wacko friends, this ain’t no Tea Party, this is a full scale Class War and the Aristocrats are kicking the American People’s @$$! If you don’t join the fight then you’re a coward who doesn’t deserve the rights and freedoms the Constitution affords.
None too soon, because the hypocrites are thick as thieves. Open your eyes and look at the Bush/Cheney catastrophe… The rich guys spit in American faces, pulled down Americans pants, f***ed Americans in the @$$ for 8 years and stole your wallet before they left in 2008. Any American citizen with half a brain is VERY angry, demanding accountability but Republicans don’t see it that way. They liked the violations so much they want MORE!
There’s only a few thousands of them but there’s MILLIONS of us. There’s 48 MILLION of us living below the poverty level. Probably another million+ non-violent offenders ruined by the jail/prison industrial/vendor complex & Convict Lease System. That’s a fight I’ll take… what about YOU? I am somebody who demands accountability, spoact.blogspot.com
©2012 by FGE
I hope you will make the connection between the protection of and invisibility of the Penn. pedophile, and the protection and invisibility of the Koch level perpetrators, and the disregard of the victims common to both.
I'm sure Professor Perry and Mr. Fang would be allowed to attend the festivities in Utah, which remind me of the Mafia Apalachin meeting in 1957, as maid and butler.
"There’s 48 MILLION of us living below the poverty level"
I'm guessing most of them seniors.
Whoever's running that poll claiming most seniors vote 'R' needs a progressive update and/or a seriously funded debunk. OF course, you should see all the (probably PAID, as they were by Armey's Koch-donated, DLAPiper-laundered cash during the HC "debates") Right Wing shills, on the very active, and once intellectually impressive, AARP political forums. Where I once enjoyed lively well researched debate, it became a game of Wack-A-Mole when the shills sailed in - as I suspect has happened again, in an election(=Auction) year.
Luckily seniors are not as gullibly susceptible to TheBigLie as the RW Dollar$ seem to assume. We have TIME to research our facts and viewpoints, where the nonretired wage slaves sure DON'T. (which is how The Big Lie lives. Well- that, and the left's curious -'library books?'- refusal to see that, after FL's nonfactual "News"/Monsanto BGO case, it was a 24/7 media battle - not just Prime Time.)
And of course refusing to see that our best soldiers -Weiner and Grayson- should be BACKED 100%; while NOT going after Vitter until he was ousted - or even nuking Rule22 when we could-and should have- to get single payer.
I note that you propose to "vote with your pocketbook" against (or for) those identified with certain political donations. Do you extend this right to everyone? That is, can an employer fire an employee because of their political donations? Can a business refuse service to someone for their political donation history? Can a bus company make you sit at the back of the bus based on who you support politically? Or should we discriminate against those not of our political mindset and not give them the rights we claim?