Money IS Influence: The Koch Brothers, Universities, and Public Broadcasting

Does money buy influence in politics? Of course it does. You know that. I know that. We all know that. When it comes to buying influence nobody does it quite like the Koch Brothers. Since the infamous Citizens United ruling by the Supreme Court that allowed unlimited spending in elections by anyone through so-called Super Pacs, the Koch brothers have become the most influential donors of the far right.

In 2012, for example, they spent at least $60 million in an effort to unseat President Obama. Most of that was funneled through Super Pacs that don't have to disclose their donors. So, we don't know the precise number. This year, the Kochs were bigger spenders. According to the National Journal, they spent $100 million in their successful bid to win the US Senate for Republicans.

Politics is one thing. Most people are so convinced that both major parties are so corrupt, and that the game is and has always been rigged by big money donors that even this kind of prodigious spending is often met with numb shrugs. What many in the public don't pay as much attention to is how much big donors influence our universities. Earlier this year, under pressure from big donors the University Illinois fired Steven Salaita for tweets he made that criticized the State of Israel for its treatment of Palestinians. But that is almost small potatoes compared to the influence the Koch Brothers want at universities accross the country. The most notable example is at Florida State.

Banksters, GOP Plot to Trigger Another Economic Meltdown

Remember the 2008 econmic meltdown? Well, of course you do! You lost your job, your home, your 401k, and your child's college fund as a result. If you are a Tea Partier you probably blame it on Obama even though Obama didn't take office until 2009. If, instead, you are a rational human being, by now you know that a wildly un-regulated financial sector gambled with your money in high-risk investments because GET RICH QUICK WITH OTHER PEOPLE'S MONEY is only a risk for the other people. This cavalier behavior caused the greatest economic collapse since the Great Depression.

You voted for Obama because you wanted this fixed and wanted him to do what was neccesary to prevent the banksters from being able to do this again. In July of 2010, President Obama signed landmark legislation called Dodd-Frank. It was designed to bring some regulation to the Wild West Salloon Brawl known as Wall Street.

More Proof that Obamacare is Working!

As we already pointed out, Obamacare is working on every front.  Over 27 million have gained coverage through the law, and a million more have signed up during the first month of this enrollment  period. Hospital accidents are down, and so is healthcare spending. The reduction in healthcare spending over the last few years lead the CBO to reduce its estimate of Medicare spending into the next decade, and expanded the lifespan of the Medicare trust fund.

And all this has occurred while slowing the cost of premiums. And one of the reasons premiums are being kept in check? A provision of the law called the Medical Loss Ratio (MLR). This provision is designed to force insurers to reduce adminstration costs, which are much higher in the private sector than public insurance programs like Medicare, or send rebates to customers. MLR requires health insurers to spend at least 80% of their premium revenue on patient care. Any amount below that and insurers must send rebate checks to their customers.

Torture Report: America, Confession is Not Enough

Imagine a young Catholic boy who bullied a classmate. Now, imagine the same boy going to the confessional booth on Saturday to confess this sin to the priest. Confession is good for the soul, they say. It is really big of you to admit your wrongdoing. But, as those of us raised Catholic know, confession is not enough. It must be followed by an act of contrition. The "Hail Marys," of course. But also the priest is likely to instruct the boy to apologize to the classmate he bullied, not only must he promise to the boy to never do it again, he must be willing to accept whatever punishment that the bullying necessitates. Confession is good for the soul, but the complete confession, and true remorse comes with the willingness, and even desire, to be held accountable.

Today, the United States Senate released its report on a five-year-long investigation into the CIA's "Enhanced Interrogation" program. The details are gruesome, disgusting, and sound like something from the twisted mind of a depraved sociopathic sadist. There are the things we were already aware of: waterboarding, simulated drowning, stress positions, sleep deprivation, and now we find out about another perverse torture technique: rectal feeding.

At one CIA detention facility known as Cobalt, detainees were forced to stand on broken feet and legs. Another detainees' bullet wound was allowed to get infected. Another practice called "rectal feeding" was forced on prisoners without any medical need. This practice is not used in the United States for medical purposes today. Making matters worse, more than one-in-five detainees were innocent of any crime.

What Progressives are Saying...

Ever get the feeling that the media has a double standard in the way it covers the personal lives of male and female celebrities? Well, yes, of course you do. Female celebrities are shamed for the way they dress, for who they date, or how they party, whereas male celebrities are cheered, and even encouraged for the same things. Recently, Leonardo DiCaprio was seen hanging out with about twenty women. The media applauded his virility. Well, Think Progress wrote a mock article showing us what it would be like if the media treated DiCaprio the same way they would treat a woman who was seen hanging out with twenty men. And it is a gem:

 “A lot of these women are blonde, I assume,” said psychologist to the stars, Kevin Springfield. “And Leo has never won an Oscar. So he’s trying to replicate what he doesn’t have — a beautiful, gold statue — with the next best thing: women who look like beautiful, gold statues. But that’s not going to satisfy him.” 

 Sources close to the star describe him as someone who “never got over” his true love. “Gisele wanted a family,” a friend reported. “And he just wasn’t ready, so she left him. He’s got a whole complex about it now: the quarterback gets the girl, and what does the drama geek get? Just a bunch of meaningless flings. Just trying to fill that void.” Last night’s antics are just the latest in a years-long stream of debauchery and decline.

Supreme Court Rejects BP's Appeal on Deep Water Horizon Settlement

It has been a long, hard fight for the victims of BP's Deep Water Horizon explosion and ensuing oil leak. It all started on the 20th of April in 2010 with a fiery explosion aboard the rig that caused the deaths of eleven workers. The horrific scene that followed for those workers was a literal no-escape scenario. The New York Times described in vivid detail the ghastly horrors the workers aboard that vessel faced as the inferno raged:

Crew members were cut down by shrapnel, hurled across rooms and buried under smoking wreckage. Some were swallowed by fireballs that raced through the oil rig’s shattered interior. Dazed and battered survivors, half-naked and dripping in highly combustible gas, crawled inch by inch in pitch darkness, willing themselves to the lifeboat deck.

It was no better there. 

That same explosion had ignited a firestorm that enveloped the rig’s derrick. Searing heat baked the lifeboat deck. Crew members, certain they were about to be cooked alive, scrambled into enclosed lifeboats for shelter, only to find them like smoke-filled ovens.

For some small towns government isn't the problem; government is the solution

Chanute, Kansas is a small town comprised of about seven square miles with a population of about 9,000 according to the latest estimates. Originally a railroad town founded in 1873 as the result of a consolidation of four smaller towns, it is located in southeastern Kansas in Neosho County. It is home to Neosho  County Community College. It has several tourist attractions including museums, historic homes, and a memorial to the famed Wright Brothers.

Like many small towns across America its population had stagnated as residents moved away for the convenience and services of the big city. But in recent years Chanute has turned things around and is growing again. It is one of the few rural towns across the US to be able to make such a claim. And how has it managed this feat? By building its own broadband network to serve businesses and schools. But it wasn't easy as entrenched corporate interests attempted to halt the project by lobbying state legislators in Topeka to forbid Chanute from going forward with its plan.