NewsTrust - Money and Politics - Most Recent Stories: Opinion

Money and Morals

Fri, 10 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0800

New York Times - By Paul Krugman - Feb. 10 (Opinion) - Conservatives have started telling us that the growing inequality is about a decline in morals. But it’s mainly about money.

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Komen Fundraiser Calls for CEO Nancy Brinker to Quit

Fri, 10 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0800

readersupportednews.org - By Karen McVeigh - Feb. 10 (Opinion) - Ellis refers to her disappointment even as Brinker reversed the funding decision. "Brinker's words struck me as vague and hollow – no future commitment to Planned Parenthood and no specific apology to the low-income women who would have become the collateral damage from the defunding," Ellis wrote. "I also don't believe Brinker and her board when she claims that Komen's decision wasn't political."

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League of Conservation Voters: George Allen Named to Dirty Dozen

Fri, 10 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0800

action.lcv.org - Feb. 10 (Press Release) - Former Virginia Senator George Allen earned an abysmal 1% LCV lifetime score during his time in the Senate. Additionally, Allen has received nearly $500,000 from oil and gas interests. This is Allen's 3rd time on the Dirty Dozen, having been named to the list in 2000 and 2006.

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The Big Lie: “Rich People Create Jobs”

Fri, 03 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0800

Yahoo! News - By Nick Hanauer - Feb. 03 (Opinion) - One of the most commonly repeated theories about job-creation is that "rich people create jobs"--specifically, rich investors and entrepreneurs who build companies that eventually employ hundreds or thousands of Americans. This theory is often used to justify very low taxes on investors and high-income earners, under the theory that such folks have to be given an incentive to "create jobs." But the trouble with the theory, says Nick Hanauer, is that it's just wrong.

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Minority Dems raised more in 2011

Fri, 03 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0800

The Politico - By Alex Isenstadt - Feb. 03 - Minority Dems raised more in 2011

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"Gasland" Director Josh Fox Fires Back at Republicans After His Unfair Arrest

Thu, 02 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0800

AlterNet - By Ed Schultz - Feb. 02 (Interview) - Gasland director Josh Fox, ... was arrested this week, in violation of his first amendment rights, while covering a Congressional hearing on fracking. In the interview, Fox fires back at the Republicans who have been targeting him

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Washington Is Rigged

Thu, 02 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0800

readersupportednews.org - By Elizabeth Warren - Feb. 02 (Opinion) - Many people who work for a living pay 25, 28, or even 33% of their hard earned money on taxes. We should get rid of the special protections that allowed Mitt Romney to pay only 14% of his income in taxes. That's what the Buffett Rule is all about: making sure those who have already made it pay their fair share to help the folks behind them get ahead.

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Medical Whistleblower Dr. Steven Nissen on "Escape Fire: The Fight to Rescue American Healthcare"

Mon, 23 Jan 2012 00:00:00 -0800

Democracy Now - By Amy Goodman - Jan. 23 (Interview) - As the Republican presidential candidates propose to dismantle President Obama’s 2010 healthcare reform package, we speak to Dr. Steven Nissen, one of the nation’s leading cardiologists. His research into Vioxx and Avandia led to severe restrictions by the Food and Drug Administration, reducing the use of both drugs. Nissen is profiled in the documentary, "Escape Fire: The Fight to Rescue American Healthcare," which is being featured this year at the Sundance Film Festival. The film tackles the powerful forces behind the battle over heathcare costs and access.

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With Republic, Lost, Lawrence Lessig Takes Center Stage

Fri, 30 Dec 2011 00:00:00 -0800

Huffington Post - By John Wellington Ennis - Dec. 30 (Interview) - In this pivotal year of public uproar over the consequences of money in politics, Harvard Professor Lawrence Lessig has attracted considerably more attention to his work in devising a constitutional road map for reform.

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The Big Lie

Sun, 25 Dec 2011 00:00:00 -0800

New York Times - By By JOE NOCERA - Dec. 25 (Opinion) - So this is how the Big Lie works. You begin with a hypothesis that has a certain surface plausibility. You find an ally whose background suggests that he’s an “expert”; out of thin air, he devises “data.” You write articles in sympathetic publications, repeating the data endlessly; in time, some of these publications make your cause their own. Like-minded congressmen pick up your mantra and invite you to testify at hearings.

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A Congress of Cowards

Thu, 22 Dec 2011 00:00:00 -0800

Op Ed News - By Rob Kall - Dec. 22 (Opinion) - Congress is punting again, this time on the tax cut extension. This pattern, which has led to the lowest approval levels since measures of approval were taken, has become chronic. It's really about the bulk of the members of congress being cowards who are intentionally destroying the balance of powers between legislative, Judiciary and Exectutive, so they can save their jobs.

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Republic, Lost: How Money Corrupts Congress--and a Plan to Stop It

Sat, 17 Dec 2011 00:00:00 -0800

edmaysproductions.net - By Lawrence Lessig - Dec. 17 (Speech) - In an era when special interests funnel huge amounts of money into our government-driven by shifts in campaign-finance rules and brought to new levels by the Supreme Court in "Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission-"trust in our government has reached an all-time low. More than ever before, Americans believe that money buys results in Congress, and that business interests wield control over our legislature. With heartfelt urgency and a keen desire for righting wrongs, Harvard law professor Lawrence Lessig takes a clear-eyed look at how we arrived at this crisis: how fundamentally good people, with good intentions, have allowed our democracy to be co-opted by outside interests, and how this exploitation has become entrenched in the system. Rejecting simple labels and reductive logic-and instead using examples that resonate as powerfully on the Right as on the Left-Lessig seeks out the root causes of our situation. He plumbs the issues of campaign financing and corporate lobbying, revealing the human faces and follies that have allowed corruption to take such a foothold in our system. He puts the issues in terms that nonwonks can understand, using real-world analogies and real human stories. And ultimately he calls for widespread mobilization and a new Constitutional Convention, presenting achievable solutions for regaining control of our corrupted-but redeemable-representational system. In this way, Lessig plots a roadmap for returning our republic to its intended greatness. While America may be divided, Lessig vividly champions the idea that we can succeed if we accept that corruption is our common enemy and that we must find a way to fight against it. In REPUBLIC, LOST, he not only makes this need palpable and clear-he gives us the practical and intellectual tools to do something about it.

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Gingrich has it wrong about the poor

Tue, 13 Dec 2011 00:00:00 -0800

CNN - By LZ Granderson - Dec. 13 (Opinion) - This country isn't great in spite of the poor. It is great because of the poor.

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David Cameron’s move to save the City, not the euro

Mon, 12 Dec 2011 00:00:00 -0800

Washington Post - By Anne Applebaum - Dec. 12 (Opinion) - .. no other European capital thinks quite like London, and no other European capital will think like London anytime soon.

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Ex-Greek PM George Papandreou on Greece's Fiscal Crisis and Why He Backs Occupy Movement

Fri, 09 Dec 2011 00:00:00 -0800

Democracy Now - By Amy Goodman - Dec. 09 (Interview) - In an exclusive interview, we speak with former Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou, who is attending the U.N. climate change summit in Durban, South Africa. Papandreou was forced to resign last month when he suggested holding a national referendum to allow the Greek people to have a say in whether they would accept the European Union’s bailout plan which would necessitate severe austerity cuts. We speak to Papandreou about the financial crisis, the role of banks and the importance of the growing Occupy Wall Street movement. "The Occupy Wall Street movements ... are saying something very, very specific. That inequality in the end is an inequality of power. And we need to redistribute power, not just money. Power –– and this is I think the Democratic challenge that we have today," Papandreou says. [Rush transcript to come. Check back soon.]

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Op-Ed Columnist: All the G.O.P.’s Gekkos

Thu, 08 Dec 2011 00:00:00 -0800

New York Times - By Paul Krugman - Dec. 08 (Opinion) - In getting to the truth about those wealthy “job creators” the Republicans aim to protect, the ’80s film “Wall Street” seems more relevant than ever.

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Democrats, Stop Caving In

Sat, 19 Nov 2011 00:00:00 -0800

readersupportednews.org - By Bernie Sanders - Nov. 19 (Opinion) - 'This is a pivotal moment in American history. The rich and large corporations are doing phenomenally well while the middle class is collapsing and poverty is increasing. Now is the time to answer the question that the Woody Guthrie song poignantly asked, 'Which side are you on?' The Democrats must answer boldly that they are on the side of working families and the middle class and that they will fight to protect their interests.' Sen. Bernie Sanders, Reader Supported News

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Failure Is Good

Fri, 18 Nov 2011 00:00:00 -0800

New York Times - By Paul Krugman - Nov. 18 (Opinion) - In Democrat-world, up is up and down is down. Raising taxes increases revenue, and cutting spending while the economy is still depressed reduces employment. But in Republican-world, down is up. The way to increase revenue is to cut taxes on corporations and the wealthy, and slashing government spending is a job-creation strategy.

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In Campaign Financing, More Money Can Beat Big Money

Thu, 17 Nov 2011 00:00:00 -0800

New York Times - By Lawrence Lessig - Nov. 17 (Opinion) - A public funding system would stop the influence of big money in politics.

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Beyond the Limits of Neoliberal Higher Education: Global Youth Resistance and the American/British Divide

Wed, 09 Nov 2011 00:00:00 -0800

TruthOut - By Henry A. Giroux - Nov. 09 (Opinion) - The global reach and destructiveness of neoliberal values and disciplinary controls are not only evident in the widespread hardships and human suffering caused by the economic recession of 2008, they are also visible in the ongoing and ruthless assault on the social state, workers, unions, higher education, students, and any vestige of the social at odds with neoliberal values. Under the regime of market fundamentalism, institutions that were meant to limit human suffering and misfortune and protect the public from the excesses of the market have been either weakened or abolished, as are many of those public spheres where private troubles can be understood as social problems and addressed as such.

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Here Comes The Sun

Sun, 06 Nov 2011 00:00:00 -0700

New York Times - By Paul Krugman - Nov. 06 (Opinion) - We are, or at least we should be, on the cusp of an energy transformation, driven by the rapidly falling cost of solar power. That’s right, solar power. If that surprises you, if you still think of solar power as some kind of hippie fantasy, blame our fossilized political system, in which fossil fuel producers have both powerful political allies and a powerful propaganda machine that denigrates alternatives.

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Our Politicians Are Money Launderers Not Too Different from Tony Soprano

Fri, 04 Nov 2011 00:00:00 -0700

AlterNet - By Bill Moyers - Nov. 04 (Speech) - journalism for me has been a continuing course in adult education, and I came early on to consider the work you do as part of the curriculum – an open seminar on how government works – and for whom. Your muckraking investigations – into money and politics, corporate behavior, lobbying, regulatory oversight, public health and safety, openness in government, and consumer protection, among others – are models of accuracy and integrity. They drive home to journalists that while it is important to cover the news, it is more important to uncover the news. As one of my mentors said, “News is what people want to keep hidden; everything else is publicity.”

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Special Investigation: Who’s Behind the “Information Attacks” on Climate Scientists?

Tue, 01 Nov 2011 00:00:00 -0700

Think Progress - By Climate Guest Blogger - Nov. 01 (Opinion) - by Sue Sturgis, in an Institute for Southern Studies repost This week, in a courtroom in Prince William County, Virginia, a hearing will take place that could have implications for the privacy rights of scientists at colleges and universities across the country. It’s part of a lawsuit brought by the American Tradition Institute, a free-market [...]

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Goldman Sachs v. Occupy Wall Street

Tue, 25 Oct 2011 00:00:00 -0700

Democracy Now - By Amy Goodman, Greg Palast - Oct. 25 (Interview) - A controversy in the banking community has arisen around the Occupy Wall Street movement. Greg Palast investigates the story behind Goldman Sachs' recent decision to pull out of a fundraiser for the Lower East Side People's Federal Credit Union in New York City after it learned the event was honoring the protesters at Occupy Wall Street. The investment bank withdrew its name from the fundraiser and also canceled a $5,000 pledge. Was the $5,000 a Goldman Sachs donation or actually American taxpayer bailout money Goldman set aside for community banks? [includes rush transcript]

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Something More Than Polarization

Tue, 25 Oct 2011 00:00:00 -0700

Huffington Post - By Lawrence Lessig - Oct. 25 (Opinion) - We can't afford to simply indulge the passion of our differences. Not anymore. The challenges we face as a nation are just too great. It is time for us to practice a politics that doesn't fit the business model of Fox v. MSNBC.

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