June 30, 2015

Sending History Down The Memory Hole





[From article]
But if we are going to take the Confederate flag down because it no longer represents us, then there is no reason why we shouldn’t take the American flag down, too. Not just from the government buildings in South Carolina, but from every home, ship, office, and church throughout the entire American territory. Because neither flag has anything to do with who we are anymore. Old Glory is now just as much a meaningless relic as the republic that created it -- as obsolete as the Stars and Bars became in April of 1865.
[. . .]
The borders that give us identities are dissolving, just as the histories that stabilize us as a people have been rejected.
[. . .]
The Southern states whose leaders and symbols are now roundly despised seceded from the still fledgling American nation-state not one hundred years after its birth. But those Southern states had more in common with the North than any of us have in common with one another now.
[. . .]
If we really want to be honest with ourselves, we will display other symbols in our public squares. Down with the Confederate flag, symbol of a once-proud patrimony and reminder, too, of the suffering of so many who worked thanklessly to sustain it and died to defend it. Down with the American flag, too, symbol of oppression and injustice to those who live in the highest level of material comfort ever achieved by mankind. A white flag of cultural surrender might be better, a kind of semaphore to our enemies to invade and take over. But it would also be redundant. Our enemies already know of our surrender, and they are long since living among us,
[. . .]
If the argument is that no one identifies as a Confederate anymore, then the counter-argument must be that no one could possibly identify as an American. What was glorious about us is just as dead as Jefferson Davis and Abraham Lincoln alike. The invaders and anarchists who run wild in our streets are now in control, and they have made it clear that whatever the United States of America used to be -- whatever its citizens once held dear, which in turn held them together -- is worthy only of contempt.

http://www.americanthinker.com/articles/2015/06/dissolving_america_.html

June 29, 2015
Dissolving America
By Jason Morgan

Supreme Court Of the United States Writes Laws, Interprets Them and Corrects Them




[From article]
Misapplying the U.S. Constitution is one thing. Usurping the constitutional powers of the federal legislature is altogether another.
The U.S. Supreme Court (SCOTUS) has done plenty of the former during the last century. So far in this century, however, it has brazenly embarked on the latter. After its Obamacare and homosexual marriage decisions, Americans must now realize they no longer live in a democracy. They now live in a SCOTUSocracy. They are now governed by judicial rather than political decision-making.
In both its Obamacare decisions, SCOTUS rewrote federal law. In its homosexual marriage decision, however, it went even farther and actually wrote de novo federal law. SCOTUS has no constitutional power to write or rewrite federal law. In fact, SCOTUS has no constitutional power even to judicially review the constitutionality of federal law.
The net effect is this: not only has SCOTUS usurped the constitutional powers of the federal legislature, but it has now also denied Americans their most basic constitutional right – the right to democratically govern themselves through their political representatives.
[. . .]
Most Americans probably don’t realize that SCOTUS has no constitutional power to judicially review the constitutionality of federal law. That it has done so for 212 long years stems simply from its unilateral judicial assumption of that unconstitutional power in an 1803 case involving William Marbury’s dispute with James Madison over the delivery of a justice of the peace commission to which John Adams had appointed Marbury. Thus, the power of the majority of unelected lifetime judges to have recently forced Americans to purchase something they didn’t want to purchase (Obamacare) and to accept something they didn’t want to accept (homosexual marriage) is an artifact of a mere justice of the peace commission 212 years ago. From little acorns do great trees grow.
[. . .]
If the legislature “inartfully” drafted Obamacare, then the proper constitutional remedy should have been the legislature itself more “artfully” drafting a legislative amendment. Roberts should be impeached.
[. . .]
If the states’ same-sex marriage bans were unconstitutional, then the proper constitutional remedy should have been the legislature itself proscribing them. Kennedy should be impeached.
[. . .]
Ruth Ginsburg, Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan, and Stephen Breyer should also be impeached, but Kennedy was the balance of SCOTUS power that resulted in constitutionally denying the states and the American people their right to limit marriage to persons of the opposite sex. Besides, Ginsburg and Kagan should have recused themselves after having both, previously and prejudicially, officiated at same-sex marriages.
[. . .]
The only possible conclusion is that the American people are too immature to preserve either their sovereignty or their Republic.
They have traded their democracy for what now amounts to a mere SCOTUSocracy.

http://www.americanthinker.com/articles/2015/06/scotuscare_scotussexuality_and_scotusocracy.html

June 29, 2015
SCOTUScare, SCOTUSsexuality, and SCOTUSocracy
By Michael L. Grable

Extremist Leftists Do Not Want Racial Healing. All About Job Security



Booker T. Washington Lived 1856-1915

People are still doing the same dumb things as they did 5,000 years ago.

[From article]
Folks, our president actually said racism is in our DNA and is passed on from generation to generation.
Dude, you're a black man whom white folks -- because blacks are only 12% of the population -- made leader of the free world two times. Stop it with the “blacks are victims” nonsense. Millennial blacks have never or rarely experience bona-fide racism. So why are Obama and his fellow Leftists hell-bent on instilling racial paranoia and resentment against whites in millennial blacks?
[. . .]
The Left has been demonizing white males with impunity for years. In 2009, a NY Times article proclaimed “white men are evil”. “White Privilege” is included in public school curriculum, teaching white kids to feel guilty. The Left's assault on all things white has to have sparked resentments. Even a passive dog will turn and bite if kicked enough.
There is also no question that the Left's continuous drumbeat that all opposition to Obama is racist, that cops routinely murder blacks and that America has racism in its DNA has effected blacks.
[. . .]
The Knockout Game and Polar Bear Hunting are individual black youths blindsiding whites including the elderly and women in public places; punching their unsuspecting targets with all their might in hope of knocking them out with one punch. Then, these black attackers proudly post video of their successful knockouts on YouTube for their fans.
Before Ferguson and Baltimore, across America flash mobs of black youths were assaulting whites and looting at county fairs and malls. Again, under-reported by the mainstream Leftist media.
[. . .]
the last thing the Left wants is racial healing.

http://www.americanthinker.com/articles/2015/06/the_last_thing_the_left_wants_is_racial_healing.html

June 27, 2015
The Last Thing the Left Wants is Racial Healing
By Lloyd Marcus

Black 13-year-old Girl Arrested For Beating White Teen Girl Holding Baby



Vicious Attack by Black Teen Of White Teen Holding Baby 

[From article]
Texas cops last night arrested a 13-year-old girl in connection with a viral video showing her attacking a classmate who was holding a small child in her lap.
[. . .]
As seen in the video, the victim was sitting at a table holding her three-year-old cousin when she was approached by the attacker and another girl. As the girls converse, a male voice can be heard saying, “Take the baby off, the baby’s the reason why she not getting beat up.”
The victim, who apparently declined demands to fight, was subsequently yanked to the ground by her hair and beat by the 13-year-old. As she was pulled from a bench, the girl’s cousin went flying in the air and landed on a concrete slab. The victim and her cousin suffered minor injuries during the fracas, according to police.
[. . .]
None of the other teens present has been charged, including the young jackass who can be seen dancing and gyrating over the victim as she is being pummeled.

http://www.thesmokinggun.com/buster/little-monsters/arrest-in-texas-teen-assault-895612

Girl, 13, Arrested For Vicious Videotaped Attack On Classmate, Young Boy
June 29, 2015
Smoking Gun

Ann Coulter Speaks The Unspeakable




[From article]
Author and political commentator Ann Coulter said there should be a 10-year freeze on immigration to the U.S. since the federal government has demonstrated it cannot enforce current law.
“There’s a law on the books that says if a country will not take a criminal back the attorney general shall, not may, shall deny visas, any visas coming from that country – that is on the books right now. Has it been enforced by Republicans or Democrats? No, it has not,” Coulter said during an interview with PJ Media.
“There’s a law on the books right now that says an immigrant who has been convicted of a crime in America who does not cooperate in being sent home, that itself is a crime, not signing the papers, not showing up when you’re supposed to, that itself is a crime punishable by 4 years in prison – that’s never enforced. It’s just not enforced. Three times Congress has voted to build a fence and it never gets built,” she added.
According to Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) released 33,007 illegal immigrants with criminal records in 2013. Following these releases, 121 were charged with homicides.
Based on the research Coulter conducted, she concluded that a legal fix is not going to improve the immigration system.
“The entire thing has to be shut down. No more immigration for 10 years. We get our books in order. We assimilate the ones already here. Build a fence. Repeal anchor babies and then we start up with the pre-1970 immigration policies,” Coulter said.
http://pjmedia.com/blog/coulter-to-pjm-cut-off-all-immigration-focus-on-white-voters-to-win/

Coulter to PJM: Cut Off All Immigration, Focus on White Voters to Win
"The entire immigration bureaucracy is corrupt; it is run by and staffed by left-wingers who hate America."
by Nicholas Ballasy
June 27, 2015 - 9:25 pm

Social Experiment Shows Adults Giving Cigarettes To 12-year-olds




[From article]
A video has emerged on YouTube of a 12-year-old boy asking the Australian public for a lighter as part of a social experiment. It exposed the ease in attaining a lighter or cigarette from the general public, despite the person requesting clearly being underage. (Watch the video above.)
While reactions vary, the video shows most people were willing to offer the young boy a lighter and in some cases a cigarette.
Only one woman, who claimed to be a nurse, seemed shocked at the age of the supposedly young smoker and tried to educate the young boy about the dangers of smoking.

http://nypost.com/2015/06/29/social-experiment-shows-people-giving-cigarettes-to-a-12-year-old/

Social experiment shows people giving cigarettes to a 12-year-old
By News.com.au
New York Post
June 29, 2015 | 3:25p

Cambridge, MA, Official Fined $58 thousand, What Howie Carr Calls Licking The Plate




$58 K fine, his investment for a return maybe up to $1.5 million. Not bad. Working in Arlington too? How much did he earn there? Plus two taxpayer funded pensions? Journalists, politicians and their appointees, remain focused on same sex marriage, global warming, racism, diversity, censoring protected speech. No wonder taxpayers are clueless.

http://cambridge.wickedlocal.com/article/20150629/NEWS/150626571

Former Cambridge Redevelopment Authority director to pay $58K for ethics breach
By Andy Metzger
State House News Service
Posted Jun. 29, 2015 at 2:39 PM
CAMBRIDGE Chronicle

June 29, 2015

Volunteer At Disability Facility Shot Dead By Former Patient



Mozelle Nalan

[Obituary from Skagway [Alaska] News]

Mozelle Nalan
February 1992 – July 2011

Leap Year Day 1992, in Whitehorse, Yukon, Ken and Natasha Nalan were blessed with an adorable baby girl, Mozelle.
Mozelle became extremely ill and doctors did not expect her to survive an emergency surgery at 36-hours-old. God blessed Mozelle's family and they enjoyed her bright blue eyes and shining spirit for 19 years, 4 months and 17 days. We are striving to thank God for the precious years we had her instead of those we lost.
Mozelle spent her childhood years in Skagway. Many happy times were spent with her dog, Shelley. During summer she would hike to and camp at Upper Lake with Judy Selmer, and even hiked the Chilkoot Trail. Zell could write and sing wonderful songs. She loved skiing, swimming, rock climbing, zip lines but most of all playing with siblings. She attended horse camp at Heart-Bar Ranch first as a camper then as a counselor. Her Baha'I faith was important to her.



Mozelle was honored to attend NCCI in London, Ontario. Mozelle enjoyed her teachers and friends. She happily immersed herself in dance, music, and theater.
Mozelle then moved with her mother and siblings to the Seattle area in 2007 to be closer to the medical care she needed. During her treatments she would take time to visit teenage cancer patients during their chemo. Her love of horses led her to volunteer at Little Bit Therapeutic Riding Stable. She had hoped to make this her career. Sadly that desire to serve others was cut short when she was murdered while volunteering in Anchorage.



Please honor Mozelle's life of service by doing a good deed on Leap Year Day.
Mozelle is survived by her parents, beloved siblings Erik, Aurora and Layli, and 10 half brothers and sisters. We thank the community for their concern and support. Donations would be greatly appreciated through the Mozelle Nalan Memorial Fund at Key Bank Alaska to lay her body to rest. A celebration of life took place at the Anchorage Baha'I Center on Sunday July 24 for friends and family, followed by a potluck.
A Skagway remembrance service and celebration of Mozelle’s life will be held at Seven Pastures on Sunday, July 31 at 4 p.m.. There will be a half-hour ceremony officiated by local ministers, and then the celebration will begin. People are welcome to stop by, bring food and share memories of Mozelle. Please bring meat for the barbecue or other dishes. All are welcome, especially musicians with their instruments. Mozelle loved music.
The family especially thanks Samantha Welch and Brandy Mayo for their valued friendship. – Submitted by the family.

Editor's note: Coverage of the Skagway memorial appeared in the August 12, 2011 issue.

This event occurred more than four years ago. I found out in June 2015. It shows how misguided journalism and politicians' priorities are.

[From article]
Police say McEvoy was 21 years old on June 30, 2011, when he walked into the back yard of the Soteria House, on the 3200 block of Doris Street, and shot Nalan, who had been in training at the facility for nearly a year. Nalan suffered multiple gunshot wounds to her head and neck, including a final round which McEvoy allegedly fired while she was lying on the ground; she was taken to a hospital, but died weeks later.
McEvoy was accused of first-degree murder and other charges in Nalan’s shooting. He initially entered a not-guilty plea in the case, but pleaded guilty to the murder charge in August; in exchange, prosecutors dropped several counts of assault related to the case.

http://www.ktuu.com/news/news/man-sentenced-to-60-years-in-2011-shooting-of-mozelle-nalan/22757050
Man Sentenced to 60 Years in 2011 Shooting of Mozelle Nalan

Chris Klint, Senior Digital Producer
cklint (at) ktuu.com
POSTED: 10:21 AM AKST Dec 24, 2013 UPDATED: 06:11 PM AKDT Nov 01, 2013

June 28, 2015

Updated(7): Unable to Post Temporarily


First posted on or about June 2, 2015; Last updated June 28, 2015




It appears that the primary harasser, the charming and always delightful lesbian graduate student in psychology at Harvard University Medical School is on hiatus, replaced by a chemistry major. Not certain but that is the initial observation. She brings an extraordinary enthusiasm for harassing a 70-year-old broken white man after 45 years of previous criminal abuses by crime families, police, FBI informants, Communists, Harvard University campus police, building superintendents, affiliated lawyers, and assorted psychopaths. On Sunday, June 28, 2015 in addition to the usual sleep deprivation and disturbances every one or two hours, she added dropping large pieces of wood and metal for ten minute periods at a time. That was her personal flourish to the usual pattern of abuses. 

I revealed on this blog, which Harvard University lawyers relentlessly remind me, "No one reads your blog." that homosexuals rejoined this criminal harassment begun in 1968 in New York City. These homosexuals mostly Communists and FBI informants (Is that triple redundancy?), enhanced the harassment both at my humble residence and as I do errands. Additional evidence of the misguided focus of the FBI. In his June 28, 2015 Boston Herald column about the New York state prison escapees, Howie Carr refers to the FBI as "Famous But Incompetent."



I used to call them the Federal Bureau of Intimidation. In either case these legacies of J. Edgar Hoover are reportedly from the San Francisco area offices. Boston FBI employees have had enough stress relief which they get from harassing disabled and elderly persons in the Boston area. The San Francisco agents and informants need some recreation. What better activity than harassing a 70 year old white man who survived 45 years of abuse? These are brave courageous FBI employees. No need to direct energy at violent criminals or terrorists. The FBI hires criminals to conduct their criminal abuses. They prefer to target an old man who is barely moving. He won't fight back. He won't harm them. 

They try to provoke violence by intense and severe harassment. They try to create violence which was the false claim by police employees of California Syndicate in 1990 in Cambridge. That crime family hired Cambridge and Somerville MA police for a complete frame up. It included several  police employees, seven defense attorneys, five judges and a few prosecutors. Oh and one social worker and a state public records employee. See brief description of that event at this link. 

http://enoughroom.blogspot.com/2014/12/multi-millionaire-actor-seeks-pardon.html

Add to the motivation (stress relief, and just for fun) for targeting me while police resources are diverted from watching known violent criminals and suspected terrorists, ordinary civilians who do not like "wise asses." That is what they  call me because I object to the 45 year campaign of criminal abuses of police, crime families, Communists, FBI employees and Harvard University employees, using words. They say "You're uncivil." Uncivil? Writing and talking is uncivil? What do they prefer?  

* * *

Harassment intensifies. Homosexuals rejoined the daily abuse. Has the Supreme Court of the United States emboldened them? Homosexuals are like the other two wealthy and powerful victim groups who rule the cultural revolution.  Ever since high school I had friends who were what were called flamers, homosexuals who openly lived as homosexual. They knew I was not one of them. They respected me as a friend. I grew up in a mixed race neighborhood and went to school with black children. One black classmate would run 100 yards to knock me down whenever he saw me. I attended parties in college where I was the only white guy. I went on a cruise with 1,000 people, four white the rest black. I always defended black people and supported them. I admired Mohammed Ali when he stood up to the selective service system. But in 1979 a team of government thugs began a relentless 35 year character assassination campaign calling me racist. It woke me to the fact that people are clueless about others. Collectivism has taken control of how Americans see one another. White people are all racist today. They enjoy white privilege. Even poor white people who have no education and live without running water. All black people even the multi millionaire athletes, celebrities, businessmen, and government chiefs are victims. It is irrational what is going on in this country. I used to help women when they were in trouble. Now women attack and harass me, as if I am trying to rape them as I do errands. For 45 years the U.S. government including but not limited to the FBI told everyone I knew, know and met, "He’s a homosexual." Huh? That was news to me. They didn’t tell me. Now even the homosexual thugs harass me. Haven’t had much sleep in the past two weeks due to relentless harassment where I live. Entire body aches. They are working overtime. Must be under pressure to get control.

* * *

Beginning on or about June 20, 2015 an intense campaign of severe harassment at my residence disturbing my sleep and preventing me from sleeping began. It continues as of June 25, 2015, when it was so brutal I anticipated having a heart attack of a stroke. I am not certain if that was the goal, or if it was to provoke violence, or all three. One thug who conducted one day of abuse actually expressed his surprise that I survived his attempted homicide. In any case the lawful authorities remain silent and inactive as bystanders while this criminal abuse continues. Unable to determine if it is in fact Somerville, MA police employees who harm me trying to cause my death. It appears to be from Somerville and perhaps an associate of the California Syndicate which harassed me since 1968. Little progress on finding the source of difficulties with my home computer. An upgrade did not fix the problem.  

* * *

Unable to provoke violence, the latest team of abuser police and FBI bullies from Somerville, MA were joined on Tuesday June 9, 2015 by some of the Harvard University building superintendents and one of their criminal associates, using psychiatric drugs. There was another illegal entry to my residence when drugs were placed into foods I ingested. The charming and always delightful graduate student in psychology at Harvard University Medical School rejoined the bullies for more psychopathic activities. To repeat I am not under the care of any psychiatrist or any psychologist. There is no court order permitting treatment without consent. I never volunteered for any medical research project as a human subject. These are criminal assaults, and trespass. The FBI continues tampering with and interfering with USPS mail, telephone and email communications. The FBI scared me in my impaired state in 1973 after government psychiatrists drugged me for 80 consecutive days, contrary to law. Then the FBI used me to fight organized crime for 15 years and did not pay me. They did pay, and continue to pay,  a woman I dated for three months when I was in law school who turned out to be a lesbian. She is now married to a black homosexual FBI informant. They are paid to pretend to be my friends and to prevent me from enjoying the basic rights of American citizens, and to prevent me from getting relief from 45 years of relentless harassment 24/7. Charming couple. 

* * *
More changes after a week. A team for Somerville, MA replaced the previous team. Never a gap in coverage. Better attention to details keeping me under surveillance and harassment than the TSA exhibits looking for weapons. It shows the priorities of the ruling class. Focus on harmless, law abiding persons for abuse. Leave dangerous violent persons alone. They may hurt you. 
(June 7, 2015)

* * *

The primary harassers appear to be from elsewhere, e.g., New York, New Jersey and Washington State. It is disappointing because I am fond of New York and New Jersey. They must be the same people who harassed me in those jurisdictions when I lived there. It was the California Syndicate who hired local police to implement a police frame-up in Cambridge in 1990-91. That criminal organization harassed me relentlessly since 1968, when I was a student at Columbia University in the City of New York. (June 6, 2015)

* * *

Did some superficial maintenance, enabling sporadic postings. Working on more repairs, but cannot control external tampering with life and communications.
(June 2, 2015)
* * *

Please take notice that due to extreme harassment and criminal sabotage to my home computer I will be unable to continue posting for a while. It appears that local police including but not limited to Cambridge police and Harvard University campus police target me for what they say no one reads. Regular posting will resume as soon as possible. Thanks for your support.

Gary Hart Laments Corruption in and Around Government




Gary Hart wrote 21 books after running for president. He is an unlikely candidate for being targeted by the FBI,  police, crime families and Communists. He is and was a prominent politician who says he got religion. Ahem! My question is about the role of homosexuals in the increasing corruption of the nation and the various state, local and federal governments. In a history class in college the instructor mentioned that when homosexuals come to power, the society does not last long. Homosexuals in power indicate the end of a civilization. That does not mean they are evil, just that they are like the canary in the mine. In this once great democracy the President and the Attorney General for seven years demonized white people stirring up racial animosity. They did it with smiles. It is how they fooled white people, with their smiles. Oh, and yes, with their degrees too.

So now homosexuals are taking power, in the local and state governments, the courts and the executive division. For the past 45 years the FBI broadcast extreme character assassination about me. One element was "He's a homosexual." Never was and never will be. But everyone I know, knew and met thinks I am. In 1990 the California Syndicate hired police employees in Cambridge and Somerville, MA for a police frame  up. 25 years later that malicious prosecution remains on police files for anyone to see. Every local member and associate of the crime families, every local policeman and politician, Communist who saw that entry tried for days, weeks, months to provoke violence in order to make the frame up be true. They did it over and over, again  and again for the past 25 years. 

In June 2015 homosexuals from San Francisco  arrived in Cambridge and now they are trying to provoke violence. It is a never ending parade of psychopaths who target me. What if the arrest was proper? What is the explanation for all of these depraved criminals to target me for the report on police files? The matter was closed by the courts in 1991. Why do they try to repeat it, whether it is true or not? Then there is the $2 billion funded human services industrial complex (MA State Rep. Marie Parente's term) in Massachusetts, whose mission is to protect vulnerable persons. They were informed about this abuse hundreds of times since before the initial arrest. But they continue to stand by and to allow it to continue. The reaction of the FBI to my revelation that, e.g., I am not a homosexual, is to target me for more criminal abuse. It is how they cope with being exposed as liars. They accompany their abuse with threats, most recently on Sunday, June  28, 2015 "They [homosexuals] will  kill you." It is only the latest in a 45 year campaign of threats made to me by police and criminals. It is how they relate to others. They only know brute force and to scare people to try to get control of them. It is how most people react, they get scared. See how docile most people are when they react to the extensive corruption which Hart refers to in this article?  

[From article]
Four qualities have distinguished republican government from ancient Athens forward: the sovereignty of the people; a sense of the common good; government dedicated to the commonwealth; and resistance to corruption. Measured against the standards established for republics from ancient times, the American Republic is massively corrupt.
From Plato and Aristotle forward, corruption was meant to describe actions and decisions that put a narrow, special, or personal interest ahead of the interest of the public or commonwealth. Corruption did not have to stoop to money under the table, vote buying, or even renting out the Lincoln bedroom. In the governing of a republic, corruption was self-interest placed above the interest of all—the public interest.
By that standard, can anyone seriously doubt that our republic, our government, is corrupt?
[. . .]
What brought us to this? A sinister system combining staggering campaign costs, political contributions, political action committees, special interest payments for access, and, most of all, the rise of the lobbying class.
[Harvard University has three full time lobbyists in Washington DC]
[. . .]
This development in recent years has been so insidious that it now goes without notice. The key word is not quid-pro-quo bribery, the key word is access. In exchange for a few moments of the senator’s time and many more moments of her committee staff’s time, fund-raising events with the promise of tens, even hundreds, of thousands of dollars are delivered.
Corruption in a federated republic such as ours operates vertically as well as horizontally. Seeing how business is conducted in Washington, it did not take long for governors of both parties across the country to subscribe to the special-interest state.
[. . .]
Frustrated, irate discussions of this legalized corruption are met in the Washington media with a shrug.
[. . .]
the ultimate victims of the corruption of the democratic process are not defeated candidates and parties but America’s citizens.
[. . .]
You have a billion, or even several hundred million, then purchase a candidate from the endless reserve bench of minor politicians and make him or her a star, a mouthpiece for any cause or purpose however questionable, and that candidate will mouth your script in endless political debates and through as many television spots as you are willing to pay for. All legal now.
[Putting words in government officials' mouths was demonstrated in detail in the film Wag The Dog.]
[. . .]
sponsored candidates will not be openly promoted by Exxon-Mobil or the Stardust Resort and Casino but by phony “committees for good government” smokescreens.
[. . .]
the largest by far is WPP (originally called Wire and Plastic Products; is there a metaphor here?), which has its headquarters in London and more than 150,000 employees in 2,500 offices spread around 107 countries. It, together with one or two conglomerating competitors, represents a fourth branch of government, vacuuming up former senators and House members and their spouses and families, key committee staff, former senior administration officials of both parties and several administrations, and ambassadors, diplomats, and retired senior military officers.
WPP has swallowed giant public relations, advertising, and lobbying outfits such as Hill & Knowlton and BursonMarsteller, along with dozens of smaller members of the highly lucrative special interest and influence-manipulation world. Close behind WPP is the Orwellian-named Omnicom Group and another converger vaguely called the Interpublic Group of Companies. According to Mr. Edsall, WPP had billings last year of $72.3 billion, larger than the budgets of quite a number of countries.
[. . .]
Why pay for a senator or congresswoman here or there when you can buy an entire committee? Think of the banks that can be bailed out, the range of elaborate weapons systems that can be sold to the government, the protection from congressional scrutiny that can be paid for, the economic policies that can be manipulated.
The lobbying business is no longer about votes up or down on particular measures that may emerge in Congress or policies made in the White House. It is about setting agendas, deciding what should and should not be brought up for hearings and legislation. We have gone way beyond mere vote buying now. The converging Influence World represents nothing less than an unofficial but enormously powerful fourth branch of government.
[. . .]
America’s founders knew one thing: The republics of history all died when narrow interests overwhelmed the common good and the interests of the commonwealth.
[. . .]
Welcome to the Age of Vanity politics and campaigns-for-hire featuring candidates who repeat their sponsored messages like ice-cream-truck vendors passing through the neighborhood.
[. . .]
[Thomas Jefferson] was way ahead of his time. The limits of his imagination would not have encompassed the early twenty-first-century financial world where vast sums of money are manipulated like the world’s greatest three-card-monte game and nothing tangible is being produced—except fees and more money. Even the titans ruling over this game confessed, after the 2008 financial collapse, that they did not know what collateralized debt obligations, bundled derivatives, and other tricky instruments devised by clever twenty-eight-year-olds were about. All they knew was how to respond to their industry lobbyists’ requests for very large contributions to compliant members of congressional finance committees and to do so quickly and often. And they did get their money’s worth.
[. . .]
For all practical political purposes, the government of the United States is for sale to the highest bidder.
A harsh judgment? Indeed. But it is impossible to claim to love one’s country and not be outraged at how corrupt it has become.
[. . .]
When the founders discussed virtue, they were harking back to ancient Athens and the ideal of the republic. And, as scholars of ancient Greek and Roman political texts, they knew in their minds and in their hearts that a republic with leaders who lacked virtue would not long survive.
[. . .]
When the founders discussed virtue, they were harking back to ancient Athens and the ideal of the republic. And, as scholars of ancient Greek and Roman political texts, they knew in their minds and in their hearts that a republic with leaders who lacked virtue would not long survive.
[The current White House disagrees, thinking laws are made to be broken and helping friends and punishing enemies is justice. This White House greases the corruption skids.]

[. . .]
There is a Gresham’s law related to the republican ideal. Bad politics drives out good politics. Legalized corruption drives men and women of stature, honor, and dignity out of the halls of government. Self-respecting individuals cannot long tolerate a system of election and reelection so dependent on cultivating the favor of those known to expect access in return. Such a system is corrosive to the soul.
[. . .]
The treasurers of most campaigns have only to funnel the checks from lobbyist-bundlers (those who collect bundles of checks) into the accounts of the campaign management companies. It is a great hydra-headed monster, one that is rapidly devouring American democracy.
The significant issue is the effect of this relatively recent conversion of a democratic process to a major industry that devours money.

http://time.com/3937860/gary-hart-america-corruption/

Gary Hart: America’s Founding Principles Are in Danger of Corruption
Gary Hart
June 26, 2015

Misguided FBI Prioriities




[From article]
How long did those two killers who escaped Dannemora last — 21 days?
Three pitiful weeks. Whitey took it on the lam at the end of 1994, and the cops didn’t catch him until June 2011 — over 16 years later and a continent away from South Boston.
Of course, Whitey had an edge on David Sweat and the late Richard Matt. The Boston FBI didn’t get around to interviewing Bulger’s older girlfriend until he’d been gone for 18 months. God forbid the G-men should actually do some sleuthin’ to find out that his alias was Thomas Baxter — they might have caught him!
Plus they let him stash maybe $10 million cash in safe deposit boxes around the world before he left town. FBI — Famous But Incompetent.
At least the New York cops didn’t waste any time zeroing in on Matt’s main squeeze, the prison employee now known as “Shaw-Skank.” Not just another pretty face.
[. . .]
Whitey was in the Winter Hill Gang. They were always ending up on the FBI Most Wanted Fugitive List. Joe McDonald had two multiyear flights. And then there was Johnny Martorano, who screwed on a race-fixing beef in 1979 and wasn’t lugged until January 1995, in Florida.
Of course, the Hill knew how to do flight from prosecution. Their Mafia cohort Sonny Mercurio once summed up their philosophy in court, “I advocate the lam!”

http://www.bostonherald.com/news_opinion/columnists/howie_carr/2015/06/carr_whitey_knows_how_to_duck_the_cops

Carr: Whitey knows how to duck the cops
Saturday, June 27, 2015
By: Howie Carr
Boston Herald

Updated(2): Two NY Convicted Killers Escaped; One Shot Dead By Police, Other Shot and Captured


Posted June 6, 2015 5:34 PM ET; Last updated June 28, 2015 4:34 PM ET


David Sweat, left, and Richard Matt escaped Saturday from a maximum-security prison in upstate New York. Both are convicted killers.

[From article]
Fugitive prisoner David Sweat is ​in ​police custody after getting shot during a confrontation with searchers, sources told The Post on Sunday afternoon.
Sweat, 35, “is down” and medical workers are “working on him,” one source said.
Sweat’s capture in upstate New York follows the fatal shooting of fellow killer Richard Matt, 49, by a fed on Friday.http://nypost.com/2015/06/28/cops-capture-escaped-killer-david-sweat/

Escaped prisoner David Sweat shot, in police custody
By Jamie Schram and Selim Algar
New York Post
June 28, 2015 | 4:01pm

* * *

[From article]
Escaped killer Richard Matt was shot and killed by the State Police deep in the woods of upstate New York on Friday afternoon, law enforcement sources told The Post.
The other fugitive, David Sweat, was being hunted by the cops in the wilderness area around Lake Titus — about 50 miles west of the Dannemora prison from which they escaped on June 6.
http://nypost.com/2015/06/26/escaped-killer-richard-matt-shot-in-woods/

Escaped murderer Richard Matt shot and killed by police
By Jamie Schram and Selim Algar
New York Post
June 26, 2015 | 4:21pm

* * *

[From article]
Two convicted murderers made a daring escape from a maximum-security prison by drilling through cell walls,stealing through plumbing tunnels and then climbing out a manhole, authorities said Saturday. A massive search is underway.
Richard Matt, 48, and David Sweat, 34, are dangerous and should not be approached, New York state police warned. Officials at the Clinton Correctional Facility in Dannemora called state authorities after both men were missing from a 5:30 a.m. bed check.
[. . .]
Sweat is a 5-foot-11 white male with brown hair and green eyes, weighing 165 pounds, police said. He has tattoos on his left bicep and his right fingers.
Matt is a 6-foot white male with black hair and hazel eyes, according to police. He weighs 210 pounds and has tattoos including "Mexico Forever" on his back, a heart on his chest and left shoulder and a Marine Corps insignia on his right shoulder.
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/convicted-killers-escape-n-y-prison-article-1.2248902

Two convicted murderers, one of them a cop killer, escape from New York maximum-security prison
BY DEBORAH HASTINGS
NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
Published: Saturday, June 6, 2015, 12:24 PM
Updated: Saturday, June 6, 2015, 5:09 PM

Homosexual Who Lobbied Hard To Be Jury Forman for Vanderbilt Rape Case, Causes Mistrial Due to Failure To Reveal He Was Raped



Former Vanderbilt University football players Brandon Banks, Cory Batey, Jaborian ‘Tip’ McKenzie, and Brandon Vandenburg, are accused in the July 2013 gang rape of a female classmate.
[From article]
The judge in the Vanderbilt University rape case has declared a mistrial, tossing out the verdict for football players Brandon Vandenburg and Cory Batey, who were previously convicted on multiple counts of aggravated rape.
Judge Monte Watkins handed down the ruling Tuesday, which entitles the men to a new trial, in an eight-page written order obtained by ABC News, because the jury foreman failed to disclose that he was once the victim of statutory rape, according to the order.
[. . .]
Vandenburg and Batey were previously found guilty of four counts of aggravated rape, one count of attempted aggravated rape and two counts of aggravated sexual battery. Vandenburg was also found guilty of tampering with evidence and unlawful photography after prosecutors claimed he recorded a sexual assault of a female classmate on his phone and shared it with friends.
Prosecutors said the victim, a 21-year-old former neuroscience major and dance team member at the university, was drunk and passed out during the alleged 2013 attack.

http://abcnews.go.com/US/judge-declares-mistrial-vanderbilt-rape-case/story?id=31978445
Judge Declares Mistrial in Vanderbilt Rape Case Because Juror Hid Being Victim of Sex Assault, Documents Say
Jun 23, 2015, 5:25 PM ET
By LAUREN PEARLE, MARA SCHIAVOCAMPO and AVIANNE TAN
"20/20" Producer
via GOOD MORNING AMERICA
[link to entire show Reversal of Fortune, broadcast June 26, 2015]

http://abc.go.com/shows/2020/listing/2015-06/25-2020-062615-reversal-of-fortune

June 27, 2015

Nature Rules, Proof At Lesley University




These images demonstrate that nature will have its way no matter what man does. Global warming enthusiasts insist that man has harmed the environment especially the atmosphere irreparably. But some scientists indicate that nature will do what it must to achieve its end, i.e., to maintain its equilibrium. If the earth gets too hot techtonic plates will move to allow heat to escape. They are called earthquakes. 



Whatever misguided actions of man will be compensated for by nature. If it requires eliminating man that too will happen. Life will continue with or without man. In view of the growing number of intelligent robots it is questionable that man will survive or even be necessary soon. So global warming is not a matter to be obsessed with. Robots will rule. One article suggested that man will be pets of robots. Hehe.



In these images you can see green plants, weeds perhaps, growing up through concrete sidewalks at Lesley University in early June 2015. It is not unique. It happens a lot. Man's attempt to regularize nature making walkways even and level, will be adapted to suit the needs of nature.























Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet with Acrobats in Joan Lorentz Park, Cambridge, MA




BOSTON’S ANTHEM THEATRE COMPANY STAGES
BASEBALL RIVALRY-INSPIRED “ROMEO VS. JULIET” IN CAMBRIDGE PARK

CAMBRIDGE, MA–Just as baseball season gets into full swing, Anthem Theatre Company presents Romeo VS. Juliet, a baseball rivalry-inspired vaudeville comedy version of Shakespeare’s classic, June 2015 at Joan Lorentz Park in Cambridge.

Adapted by Johnny Kinsman, Anthem’s Associate Artistic Director and beloved Boston DUKW-boat personality “Plucky Ruffles,” Romeo VS. Juliet strikes out the tragedy of the famed romance and pitches some olde tyme song and dance. Complete with Coach “Friar” Lawrence caught in a rundown of “Who’s on First” and the bat-crossed title duo falling in love on the pitcher’s mound, this summer romp will please audiences of all ages.

The play, with music sourced from baseball’s golden age, will be performed outdoors and FREE of charge to the public at beautiful Joan Lorentz Park (Broadway & Ellery St., Cambridge, MA 02138) on June 19-21 and June 26-28. Friday performances are at 6:30pm, with Saturdays and Sundays at 2pm. Joan Lorentz Park is located in front of the Cambridge Public Library and is easily accessible via MBTA’s Red Line to Harvard Square Station. More information can be found at

www.anthemtheatre.org

Romeo VS. Juliet is produced in part by a grant from The Hollister-Clagett Family Foundation for the Arts, a champion of new works. Performances are co-sponsored by Cambridge Arts Council.

###

The mission of Anthem Theatre Company is to entertain. Anthem produces excellent theatre that draws audiences to seek out more theatrical experiences. Anthem Theatre Company was founded in New York, and relocated to Boston in 2013. Run by actors, directors and producers, Bryn Boice, Johnny Kinsman, Lindsay McConchie and Michael Poignand, their simple goal is to produce engaging and entertaining works that compel audiences to make theatre-going a regular part of their lives.


Our vision: We believe that by delivering on this simple mission, we will enrich our community with thoughtful art; we will connect people to us and to one another through shared emotional experience; we will support the work and talent of local theatre artists; and we will ensure the longevity of this art form and its important place in the cultural landscape of our city.

Contact: Lindsay McConchie
Managing Director, Anthem Theatre Company
(617) 216-2757 or Lindsay (at) anthemtheatre.org
[Images captured on June 26, 2015 by Roy Bercaw]




























Acrobats practiced their moves nearby.














June 26, 2015

Israel Urges French Jews To Come To Israel



MK Ze'ev Elkin
Flash 90
[From article]
Israeli Immigration and Absorption Minister Ze'ev Elkin on Friday urged French Jews to flee to Israel after an Islamist terrorist attacked a factory near Lyon and pinned a severed head to the gates.
"I call on the Jews of France - come home! Anti-Semitism is rising, terror isincreasing," Elkin, a member of Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu's Likud party who also serves as Minister for Jerusalem Affairs.
"This is a national mission of the highest priority," he said.
At least one Islamist terrorist launched a daylight raid on an industrial gas factory in France Friday.
"The intent was without doubt to cause an explosion. It was a terrorist attack," said French President Francois Hollande in Brussels, cutting short an EU summit to chair emergency meetings in the French capital.
The victim was identified as a businessman from the suburbs of Lyon.

http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/Flash.aspx/329277#.VY3FESu-2G4

6/26/2015, Tammuz 9, 5775
Elkin Calls on French Jews to Come to Israel
Israeli Minister Urges French Aliyah Following Beheading Attack
Immigrant and Absorption Minister Ze'ev Elkin calls on French Jews to move to Israel following Friday's gruesome attack.
By Arutz Sheva Staff
First Publish: 6/26/2015, 6:32 PM

Beheading And Bombing In France



Special forces from France's Research and Intervention Brigades leave Yassine Salhi's home with an unidentified woman today.
[From article]
Four people are in custody in connection to a beheading and explosion at a gas factory in south-eastern France - and police are still searching buildings for evidence.
Heavily armed police investigating this morning's brutal terror attack in France have removed a woman and child from the home of Yassine Salhi - the suspected Islamist accused of beheading his boss and trying to blow up the American-owned gas factory.
He was known to factory personnel because he came in regularly for deliveries, Paris Prosecutor Francois Molins said.
Police swooped on the apartment building in Saint-Priest, in the suburbs of the city of Lyon, just hours after the 30-year-old delivery driver was arrested on suspicion of writing Arabic slogans on his employer's severed head and hanging it on a fence outside the nearby headquarters of Air Products.
Salhi is accused of going on to crash his Ford Fusion delivery van through the factory's gates before ramming it into several large gas cannisters left in the car park - apparently in the hope they would explode and destroy the entire factory complex.
The explosions were relatively small, however, leaving just two factory workers with non life-threatening injuries.
The murdered man - who French media say owned the delivery company Salhi worked for - is believed to have been killed elsewhere before his corpse was dumped at the factory site in Saint-Quentin-Fallavier and his head impaled on a fence 30 feet away surrounded by homemade Islamist flags.
Speaking before the raid on her home, Salhi's wife described her husband as a 'normal Muslim' who left for work as usual at 7am this morning. 'My heart stopped when I heard he was a suspect....I expected him this afternoon,' the unnamed woman told French radio station Europe 1.
Salhi - who is understood to have been known to security services since at least 2006 - reportedly told arresting officers that he is a member of the Islamic State terror group. He is believed not to have a criminal record and an investigation into his 'possible radicalisation' was dropped in 2008.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3140304/Decapitated-body-Islamist-flag-industrial-estate-France.html

Armed police investigating French decapitation terror attack swoop on former home of suspected Islamist and remove woman and child after Yassine Salhi is accused of beheading his boss
Shocking attack took place at the headquarters of American-owned Air Products close to Lyon in southern France
A severed head covered in Arabic writing was then placed on the factory's fence along with two Islamist flags
Suspect then drove through factory gates, crashing into gas cannisters and causing blasts that injured onlookers
Alleged killer has been named as father of three Yassine Salhi, 30, with the victim believed to be his employer
The company both men worked for is understood to have regularly delivered to the Air Products factory
Delivery driver's wife later claimed that Salhi was a 'normal Muslim' who left for work as usual at 7am today
By JOHN HALL and FIDELMA COOK and SIMON TOMLINSON and PETER ALLEN FOR MAILONLINE
PUBLISHED: 04:18 EST, 26 June 2015 | UPDATED: 13:03 EST, 26 June 2015



American Conservative Union Reacts To Supreme Court Activity




FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 26, 2015

ACU Chairman Matt Schlapp on today’s Supreme
Court decision in “Obergefell v. Hodges”:

“The Supreme Court has become unhinged from its purpose…
resolving questions through judicial fiat,” says Schlapp

WASHINGTON DC – “The American people have received two devastating rulings from a Supreme Court that has become unhinged from its purpose. As with other catastrophic decisions, this Court is attempting to resolve through judicial fiat questions appropriately belonging in the hands of the American people. That is the opposite of what our Founders envisioned.

“The Supreme Court under Chief Justice John Roberts has dramatically re-imagined the role of our Judiciary and has empowered the Court to behave as unelected legislators without term limits.

“It should come as no surprise given yesterday’s tragic dismantling of a government of, for, and by the People, that the Roberts Court has moved us farther in the direction of using the Judiciary to serve political ends by disregarding the notion of constitutionality in today’s decision. Sadly, one consequence of this overreach will undoubtedly be growing resentment and rancor around these issues. As in the Roe vs. Wade decision concerning abortion, usurping the will of the people does not resolve conflict, it only extends it.

“The 1st Amendment clearly states that Religious Liberties are protected. However, President Obama and the liberals ignore this protection and seek to dictate what are ‘appropriate’ tenets of faith. Today’s opinion creates the Church of the Supreme Court, with President Obama serving as its High Priest.

“If America is strong enough to live under this decision, then it should be strong enough to protect the rights of sincere and decent people of faith, whose rights are sadly forgotten.”

For more information or to schedule an interview or additional comment from ACU Chairman Matt Schlapp contact Ian Walters or Ross Hemminger at (202) 347-9388 or by email at
iwalters (at) conservative.org
and ross (at) conservative.org

UK Police Knew For Five Years About Muslim Men Sex Trafficking Young White Girls, Did Nothing




[From article]
West Midlands Police knew five years ago that Asian grooming gangs were targeting children outside schools across the city - but failed to make the threat public.
Documents obtained by the Birmingham Mail show the force were aware pupils were at risk of child sexual exploitation (CSE) back in 2010.
The confidential report, obtained under a Freedom of Information Act, also shows police were worried about community tensions if the abuse from predominantly Pakistani grooming gangs was made public.
The West Midlands Police document entitled Problem Profile, Operation Protection is from March 2010 and highlights how grooming had been directed specifically at schools and children’s homes.
In one heavily redacted passage, entitled ‘Schools’, it states: “In (redacted) a teacher at a (redacted) that a group of Asian males were approaching pupils at the school gate and grooming them. Strong anecdotal evidence shows this MO (modus operandi) is being used across the force.”
[. . .]
The 2010 report said police had identified a potential 139 victims, 78 per cent of whom were white while more than half were aged 13 to 15. Half of all victims lived within parental homes, while 41 per cent lived in care.
The report said of the 75 grooming suspects identified, a large proportion were from a Pakistani background and a significant proportion were likely to be from a Muslim background.
[. . .]
In an October 2009 police report obtained by the Birmingham Mail, a lack of trust between police and social workers was highlighted and some of their unsympathetic attitudes to vulnerable runaways.

http://www.birminghammail.co.uk/news/midlands-news/police-knew-grooming-gangs-were-9518461

Police knew grooming gangs were targeting Birmingham schools five years ago but did not alert public
13:38, 24 JUNE 2015
BY JEANETTE OLDHAM
Confidential documents also show West Midlands force was concerned about community tensions because of link to Pakistani men

* * *

[From article]
They did nothing and they still do nothing. One of the victims did a comprehensive interview with me here and here. She had over 100 names of rapists and traffickers, but the police “didn’t have time” to take all the names.
When I was being regularly abused by the Muslim men, my school knew about it. They eventually made me transfer to a part-time school because I was out so much. The men would come and take me out of the school, sometimes in the morning just as school was starting. It was high school, so they don’t stop you leaving when the gate is open.
They school never questioned who was taking her out or why. They did nothing. But they did ban Robert Spencer and me from visiting the UK, because our presence would not be “conducive to the public good.” Got that?
“The predominant offender profile of Pakistani Muslim males… combined with the predominant victim profile of white females has the potential to cause significant community tensions.” In other words, don’t say anything about this, because if you do, you’ll be charged with “racism.” The British authorities, all over the country, let the Muslim rape gangs — which were operating according to the Qur’an’s permission of men to take sex slaves (4:3, 4:24, 23:1-6, 33:50) — operate with impunity. Better societal death than charges of “Islamophobia.” Carve that on Britain’s tombstone.

http://pamelageller.com/2015/06/muslim-rape-gangs-were-targeting-schools-5-years-ago-did-nothing.html/

“UK cops knew Muslim rape gangs were targeting schools 5 years ago, did nothing,” BY Robert Spencer, June 25, 2015
Muslim Rape gangs were targeting schools 5 years ago, authorities did nothing
ByPamela Geller
on June 25, 2015

Cole Porter Wrote This Song in 1934 for Today




Published on Jan 7, 2013
From the musical "Anything Goes." Music and lyrics by Cole Porter. Original book by Guy Bolton and P.G. Wodehouse.
Debuted on Broadway in 1934.

Mark Levin Urges Democrats To Work With Conservatives To Oust U.S. House Speaker Boehner




[From article]
Last night Mark Levin praised House Conservatives, explaining how they are now threatening to side with Democrats in a vote to oust Boehner from the speakership. They are offering Democrats the ability to use this as leverage in upcoming battles against Boehner, saying they will vote with Democrats to oust him.

http://therightscoop.com/mark-levin-praises-house-conservatives-who-threaten-to-side-with-democrats-to-oust-boehner/

MARK LEVIN PRAISES HOUSE CONSERVATIVES WHO THREATEN TO SIDE WITH DEMOCRATS TO OUST BOEHNER
Posted by The Right Scoop
Jun 25, 2015 at 10:48 AM

Culture War Focuses On South




[From article]
If slavery was the worst thing that happened to black folks brought from Africa to America, Christianity was the best.
Charleston, too, gave us an example of how a city should behave when faced with horror.
Contrast the conduct of those good Southern people who stood outside that church in solidarity with the aggrieved, with the Ferguson mobs that looted and burned and the New York mobs that chanted for the killing of cops when the Eric Garner grand jury declined to indict.
Yet, predictably, the cultural Marxists, following Rahm Emanuel’s dictum that you never let a crisis go to waste, descended like locusts.
[. . .]
But the battle flag is not so much a symbol of hatred as it is an object of hatred, a target of hatred. It evokes a hatred of the visceral sort that we see manifest in Jenkins’ equating of the South of Washington, Jefferson, John Calhoun, Andrew Jackson and Lee with Hitler’s Third Reich.
What the flag symbolizes for the millions who revere, cherish or love it, however, is the heroism of those who fought and died under it. That flag flew over battlefields, not over slave quarters.
Hence, who are the real haters here?
[. . .]



Vilification of that battle flag and the Confederacy is part of the cultural revolution in America that flowered half a century ago. Among its goals was the demoralization of the American people by demonizing their past and poisoning their belief in their own history.
[. . .]
And how is the Republican Party standing up to this cultural lynch mob? Retreating and running as fast as possible.
If we are to preserve our republic, future generations are going to need what that battle flag truly stands for: pride in our history and defiance in the face of the arrogance of power.

http://buchanan.org/blog/love-and-hate-in-dixie-16191

Love and Hate in Dixie
Friday - June 26, 2015 at 12:11 am
By Patrick J. Buchanan

June 25, 2015

New York City Inspectors Found Widespread Overcharging For Five Years at Whole Foods Stores




[From article]
The city has launched a probe of Whole Foods Markets after investigators nabbed the upscale food purveyor for routinely overcharging customers on groceries during dozens of inspections dating back to at least 2010, the Daily News has learned.
The most recent spate of violations came during a sting operation the Department of Consumer Affairs conducted in the fall that specifically checked the accuracy of the weight marked on pre-packaged products.
Inspectors weighed 80 different types of items at Whole Foods’ eight locations in the city that were open at the time. They found every label was inaccurate, with many overcharging consumers, agency spokeswoman Abby Lootens told The News.
Whole Foods spokesman Michael Sinatra said the Texas-based chain "never intentionally used deceptive practices to incorrectly charge customers."

http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/exclusive-foods-faces-city-probe-overcharges-article-1.2268695

EXCLUSIVE: Whole Foods chain faces city probe after investigators found ‘worst case of overcharges’
BY SARAH RYLEY , REUVEN BLAU 
NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
Tuesday, June 23, 2015, 9:17 PM

Big Business Contributions Influenced Secret Trade Agreement Votes




[From article]
Fast-tracking the TPP, meaning its passage through Congress without having its contents available for debate or amendments, was only possible after lots of corporate money exchanged hands with senators. The US Senate passed Trade Promotion Authority (TPA) – the fast-tracking bill – by a 65-33 margin on 14 May. Last Thursday, the Senate voted 62-38 to bring the debate on TPA to a close.
Those impressive majorities follow months of behind-the-scenes wheeling and dealing by the world’s most well-heeled multinational corporations with just a handful of holdouts.
Using data from the Federal Election Commission, this chart shows all donations that corporate members of the US Business Coalition for TPP made to US Senate campaigns between January and March 2015, when fast-tracking the TPP was being debated in the Senate:
Out of the total $1,148,971 given, an average of $17,676.48 was donated to each of the 65 “yea” votes.
The average Republican member received $19,673.28 from corporate TPP supporters.
The average Democrat received $9,689.23 from those same donors.
The amounts given rise dramatically when looking at how much each senator running for re-election received.
[. . .]
In just 24 hours, Wyden and five of those Democratic holdouts – Michael Bennet of Colorado, Dianne Feinstein of California, Claire McCaskill of Missouri, Patty Murray of Washington, and Bill Nelson of Florida – caved and voted for fast-track.
Bennet, Murray, and Wyden – all running for re-election in 2016 – received $105,900 between the three of them. Bennet, who comes from the more purple state of Colorado, got $53,700 in corporate campaign donations between January and March 2015, according to Channing’s research.
[. . .]
“How can we expect politicians who routinely receive campaign money, lucrative job offers, and lavish gifts from special interests to make impartial decisions that directly affect those same special interests?” Gidfar said. “As long as this kind of transparently corrupt behavior remains legal, we won’t have a government that truly represents the people.”

http://www.theguardian.com/business/2015/may/27/corporations-paid-us-senators-fast-track-tpp

Here’s how much corporations paid US senators to fast-track the TPP bill
Critics of the controversial Trans-Pacific Partnership are unlikely to be silenced by an analysis of the flood of money it took to push the pact over its latest hurdle
C Robert Gibson and Taylor Channing
Wednesday 27 May 2015 08.30 EDT